THIS SUNDAY
December 1, 2019
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Rev. Bud Reeves
Offertory
“Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming”
Mercy Trahan, Soloist
Nancy W. Vernon, Organist
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Rev. Bud Reeves
Solo
“Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming”
Offertory
“E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come”
Mercy Trahan, Soloist
Gaye Mings, Chancel Choir Director
Nancy W. Vernon, Organist
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Rev. Roy Beth Kelley
“The Lion and the Lamb”
“O Come O Come Emmanuel”
“Great Are You Lord”
“God With Us”
“Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble”
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Sunday, December 1—Student Sunday
Tuesday, December 3
7:00 pm Southside High School Choir Concert, Sanctuary
Thursday, December 5
7:30 pm Fort Smith Chorale Concert, Sanctuary
Monday, December 9
7:00pm Coffee and Carols, Propak
Thursday, December 12
12:00 pm CEC Christmas Program, Fireside
6:00 pm United Methodist Men, Patrick’s Butcher Boy Burgers
Sunday, December 15
Lessons and Carols—8:30 am Roebuck Chapel,
11:00 am Sanctuary
9:45 am Sunday School with Santa, Fireside
5:00 pm Youth Caroling
Tuesday, December 17
5:30 pm Creekmore Holiday Express Train
Wednesday, December 18
10:45 WDS Christmas Program, Sanctuary
Friday, December 20
10:00 am Pacesetters, Sanctuary
Sunday, December 22
8:30 am Last Sunday Breakfast, Family Life Center
5:30 pm Longest Night Service, Sanctuary
Tuesday, December 24—Christmas Eve Worship
12:00 pm Roebuck Chapel
3:30 pm Great Hall
5:30 pm Sanctuary
Wednesday, December 25-—Christmas Day
Church Office Closed through December 27
Tuesday, December 31—New Years Eve
Church Office Closed
Wednesday, January 1—New Years Day
Church Office Closed
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WE’RE COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!
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Can you think of any more exciting words to hear? Especially if you’re in the stage of life when your kids have all grown up and left home, or if you’re younger and you’re telling your parents or grandparents that you will be home to celebrate the holidays, it is joyous news to hear: “We’re coming home for Christmas!”
At First United Methodist Church this year, we are “Coming Home For Christmas.” That is our Advent theme, and we will orient our worship around the ways that we come home for Christmas. For those of us who are always around here, it will be a time to enjoy our church family and welcome new friends.
If you have been away for a while, there is no better time to “come home.” We have missed you and would love to see you again.
For many, they have never found a “home” in the church or with Jesus Christ. This will be our opportunity to invite our friends and family who have not experienced the warmth of a relationship with God to find a true and eternal home with their Master.
We have so many great homecoming opportunities this month. Check them all out in this newsletter. Especially I hope you will pick up an Advent Devotional book (written by our own people), be present in worship on Sundays, especially for the Lessons and Carols service, and enjoy the children’s program on December 8, the Longest Night Service, and Christmas Eve worship.
For all these and other events, be thinking about that friend or family member who is lost, lonely, or broken-hearted this Christmas. An invitation from you might lead to a real turnaround in their lives!
There’s a reason we have a song in our heart, a spring in our step, and a twinkle in our eye this time of year. It’s because we can “Come Home For Christmas!”
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Senior Pastor
breeves@fsfumc.org
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‘TIS THE SEASON FOR GIVING!
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We have had a great response so far to our Taking the Next Step Campaign. But we still have a ways to go. So far we have received 138 cards for a total estimate of giving of $999,469.20. This year’s (2019) total estimate of giving was $1,526,071, so every family who can take a next step and make a commitment is very important. Thanks so much to those who have already committed!
We are still taking estimate of giving cards through the end of the year. If you have not yet turned in an estimate, and you would like to be part of this big victory for our church, you can mail the card in, stop by the church office, or make your estimate online at fsfumc.org. Every commitment, no matter how large or small, is important to our church and to our God.
We will also be sending out statements of giving for this year’s commitments and gifts, so you can see where you are and have time to complete your giving to the church for 2019. We will receive 2019 gifts until January 3, but they must be dated 12/31/2019 to count for this year.
We will also soon send out a letter to those who made Faith Forward Capital Campaign commitments in 2018. We are 18 months into the campaign--halfway there! We will remind you of where you are on your commitment so you can have time before the end of the year to make any payments.
We are so grateful for the faithful contributions of our church family! Without you, we could not have this church and do all the things God calls us to do. You are truly life-changers. Let’s have a great month in December and look forward to an even greater year in 2020. (Hmm… 20-20 ...I can “see” it now…)
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SALLY WARE TO RETIRE AT END OF YEAR
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Our “Miss Sally,” who has led an excellent program of children’s ministry for 21 years at First United Methodist Church, has announced that she will be retiring at the end of 2019. While we will miss her excellent leadership and are so thankful for all she has given to us, we also want to wish her well and pray that God will bless her abundantly as she enters a new chapter in her life. Sally will still be in the church and in Fort Smith, so she will still be with us, just not in a staff role any more. We will announce retirement festivities soon.
We will begin immediately to search for Sally’s excellent replacement. In the meantime, Kelley Desoto will be the interim children’s minister, and Christie Jacobs will assume the role of overseeing the Weekday School and the Child Enrichment Center. We plan to continue excellent children’s ministries in the interim and whenever we find a permanent replacement for our beloved “Miss Sally.” We thank you more than words can say!
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What a wonderful adventure my tenure at FUMC has been! In 21 years I have seen a lot of changes in staff members and in this huge campus. However, the commitment to children and their families from this church has always remained strong and totally dedicated to serving the youngest members of our church and their families as well as this community.
I have been blessed by so many young lives, watching them grow in their faith, learning how to use their Third Grade Bibles, the Acolyte program, Sunday School and all the special classes through the years. I only hope that I have been a blessing in some small way to them on their spiritual journey.
I pray for the next Children’s Ministries Director and I know that there will fantastic things happening in the near future.
I am excited about the next phase in my life, but always know, FUMC will remain my church home, I will just be sitting in the congregation with you and serving God in a new way.
In His Service,
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- Sam Houston—Transfer from another UMC
- Suzanne Adrion—New Member
- David Vernon Cormack—Son of Suzanne Adrion, grandson of David and Connie Adrion and Judy and Ken Cormack—Baptized
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In Baptist Hospital:
In Mercy Hospital:
Loss of loved ones and friends:
- Upon the death of Maud Powell Mulvany, our prayers are with her family, Bob and Janice Powell, David & Dwight Curry, Lynn Gilliland, Annie Hendricks, Carolyn Hartley, and Ben Shipley.
- Hillary and Justin, Russell and Wilson Key and family on the death of Hillary’s father and Russell and Wilson’s grandfather, Ralph Wilson Reeves.
- Leslie Drummond Baker and family on the death of her husband Jack Baker.
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Sunday, December 1
8:30 am Roebuck Chapel Worship
8:45 am Holy Grounds, Narthex
9:30 am Prayer Ministry, Prayer Room
9:45 am Sunday School
11:00 am Sanctuary Worship
11:00 am Connexion Worship, Great Hall
5:00 pm First Youth, Loft
Monday, December 2
2:00 pm Staff Meeting, Conference Room
5:30 pm Foundation Meeting, Conference Room
6:00 pm Cub Scouts, Room 309
6:30 pm Scouts, Room 300
7:00 pm Men’s Dart League, Youth Loft
Tuesday, December 3
8:30 am BSF Leaders Meeting, Room 312
9:30 am UMW Unit Christmas Coffee, Narthex
7:00 pm Southside High School Choir Concert, Sanctuary
Wednesday, December 4
10:00 am Ladybell Practice
4:00 pm Children’s Choir Practice
5:30 pm Holy Communion, Roebuck Chapel
6:30 pm Connexion Band Practice, Great Hall
7:00 pm Chancel Choir Rehearsal
Thursday, December 5
10:00 am Knitters and Knotters, Fireside Room
1:00 pm NWD Open House, St. Paul UMC
Fort Smith Parlor
7:30 pm Fort Smith Chorale Concert, Sanctuary
Friday, December 6
Pacesetters Branson Trip
6:00 pm Roundtable Class Christmas Party, Aldersgate
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My call to ministry began when I heard a deep, strong voice say to me: “Make disciples of Christ.” Hearing these words led me to this scripture:
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” Matthew 28:19-20
Although my experience led me to ministry as a clergy person, every disciple of Jesus is called to go out and share the good news of great joy with others. Disciples are people who make disciples. But sharing our faith and inviting others to “come and see” who Jesus is can often be difficult and even awkward. Did you know that “the average United Methodist member invites someone to come to worship once every thirty-eight years?” (
Get Their Name
by Kay Kotan). Crazy, right? I think we all have friends and family who don’t attend church, but apparently we only actually invite them two or three times in our lives!
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year to invite a friend or family member to join us at worship or a church-sponsored event. Check out the December calendar in this newsletter for the wonderful events and worship services coming up, and invite someone to join you. In addition, there are two bridge events being held outside the church walls designed to meet new people and then connect them with our church through follow-up events. One is the Christmas train at Creekmore on December 17 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The other, Coffee and Carols, will be held on Monday, December 9 from 7-9 p.m. at the Propak Building on Garrison Avenue. The event is free to the public, and we are distributing tickets which will be your entry for the event and for a drawing for door prizes. There will be coffee, hot chocolate, cookies, family craft projects, games like checkers and chess, live music and singing. So, please bring your own family and please bring a guest for this fun, casual event. You never know when your invitation for free coffee and the chance to win a door prize could turn into a life changing relationship with Christ for your guest! May your Advent be filled with peace, love, joy and hope.
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Executive Associate Pastor
rbkelley@fsfumc.org
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“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” — 2 Corinthians 13: 14
In 2018, a 14-year-old named Karthik Nemmani won the National Spelling Bee. What word did he win on? Koinonia. What a word, right? If you’re still trying to pronounce it, just say “coin a knee huh?” There you go!
One thing that may surprise you is that this strange word appears 19 times in our New Testament. Hadn’t seen it before? Try reading in a different language! If you flipped through a Greek translation of the Bible, you’d run across the word 19 times.
Koinonia is often translated as fellowship, but the word means so much more than that. The essence of koinonia is the love and peace that exists between Christians. Koinonia is the feeling you have when every voice is lifted up in harmonious worship to God. It’s the warmth in air in the Family Life Center when we’re eating dinner before Wednesday Night Life. It’s the overwhelming desire to serve within the church. Koinonia is that sense of belonging to Christ and his body.
As I’m writing this newsletter, I’m wrapping up weeks of preparation for our winter retreat, Chillin’ with Christ. The name of the retreat may sound a bit funny (like koinonia) but we quite literally want to
chill with Christ!
My prayer for our retreat is that our group would enjoy everything that God has in store for us. That’s what koinonia is. As we come together for the unified purpose of worship and connection, we’re sure to be met by the amazing grace of God!
May our faith be ever increasing, our fellowship ever deepening, and our light ever expanding as we prepare to
chill with Christ
for a joyful eternity! Amen.
In Christ,
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Director of Youth Ministries
mmings@fsfumc.org
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For decades, I have always loved either attending or participating in the Christmas Eve services. I started to attend such services when I was a young teen. During my childhood, we did not attend Christmas Eve Services because we were always in Gainesville, GA having Christmas with my maternal grandparents.
After my grandfather died and my grandmother started a time of living with her children, our family made the decision to attend the Christmas Eve Services at our church (Decatur First UMC in Decatur, GA). Singing Christmas carols, hearing the choir sing “Oh Holy Night”, hearing our pastor preach the Christmas sermon, and then lighting the candles as we sang “Silent Night” just made Christmas for our family. It became a special night.
As we grew older, it was neat each year to visit our home church and have reunions with friends and church family. Some of us sang in the church choir. We lifted our voices in song and in praise to God. Again, it made Christmas for us because it really brought us all together.
It became a unifying night.
As I began to serve on staff of churches, I saw Christmas Eve in a totally different light. It is such an honor to serve in such services whether through reading the liturgy, reading the Christmas Story from Luke (which I tear up just about every time that I read it in these worship services), help serve Holy Communion, or lead the candle lighting part of the service. It makes Christmas for me. It becomes a Holy Night.
Christmas Eve is special. Christmas Eve is unifying. Christmas Eve is Holy. It is all because of the Christ Child whose birth in which we celebrate. I look forward to celebrating Christmas with my Fort Smith First UMC family for one last time.
Happy Holy Days!
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Minister of Adult Discipleship
dthrasher@fsfumc.org
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Are you tired of money stress? Then you’re ready to join more than five million people whose lives have been changed by
Financial Peace University
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Preview: January 19th from 3:00-5:00pm
Classes: January 22-March 18th from 6:30-7:30pm
(The membership is one per couple if married. All other memberships are one per individual)
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PASTOR ON CALL
M-F 8:30 AM-4:30 PM:
(479) 782-5068
Weekends and Evenings:
(479) 459-5060
When there is a hospitalization, a death in the family, or any other time you may need urgent pastoral care, we encourage you to use these numbers. The pastors rotate on-call responsibilities to assure that one of them is always accessible.
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FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
200 N. 15th St. Fort Smith, AR 72901
(479) 782-5068 | fsfumc.org
Pastor on Call (479) 459-5060
Email: fsfumc@fsfumc.org
Office Hours: Monday-Friday
8:30AM-4:30PM
Closed for lunch 12:30PM-1:30PM
SUNDAY SERVICES
- 8:30AM Roebuck Chapel
- 9:45AM Sunday School for all ages
- 11:00AM Sanctuary (Radio broadcast on 96.7 FM)
- 11:00AM Connexion, Family Life Center
Nursery is provided during worship services for birth thru Kindergarten age.
WEDNESDAY SERVICE
- 5:30 PM Holy Communion, Roebuck Chapel
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In Memory of:
- Albert Newton by John & Jane Stauffer
- Champ C. Hinton by Peter & Kay McBrady, John & Rose Mary Ayers, Lori Hardin & Mike Willis, Bob & Janice Powell, Harry Robinson, Mr. & Mrs. Richard Udouj
- John McOlvin by Mrs. Ruth Davis, Rev. Aaron & Nell Barling, Byron & Linda Ware, Charles & Jeanne Ledbetter, Larry & Sandra Clark
- Judy Staggs by Nancy Baker, Suzanne Brooks, Henry & Melissa Udouj, Dr. William & Debbie Hocott, John & Rose Mary Ayers
- Larry Oakes by Virginia Kay Jeffrey
- Melba Coleman by Mike & Bonnie Smets, Walnut Valley Homes Assn.
- Myra Ward by Virginia Kay Jeffrey
- Richard Aclin by Suzanne Brooks
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FIRST UNITED METHODIST NEWS published weekly except the last week of the year by First United Methodist Church 200 North 15th Street, Fort Smith, Arkansas 72901.
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