Upcoming Virtual Worship Service
First United Methodist Church of Naples
Sunday Service 10:15 am (Online)
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10th Sunday after Pentecost
August 9, 2020
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From the Pastor
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
I pray that you have had a good week, despite difficult circumstances, and that you are healthy and safe. This has been a bittersweet week for me, as my father, John Rains, went on to glory, to his heavenly home on Wednesday. I will miss him terribly, but am happy that he is in a beautiful place, free from pain and his wheelchair, enjoying all his loved ones who have gone on before him. His last week was tough on him and our family, as I was not allowed to be with him at the hospital. I am so grateful for the wonderful Hospice programs that DO allow you to be together with your loved ones in their last days. He was moved to Avow Hospice where he passed away peacefully. We all got to say good-bye and spend time with him. Even though my father did not have COVID, my heart breaks for all of the people who do, and are not able to die in Hospice or have loved ones at their side. Families simply get a call that their loved ones have died. Please pray for everyone who is hospitalized or in a long-term living facility (Assisted Living, Rehab or Nursing Home) as it is very hard to be alone without your family for months on end during this pandemic. Our family is working on an obituary for my father who led an extraordinary life. We’ll include it next week.
As we look at when we can reopen in-person worship, we struggle with determining what’s safe to do, what kind of quality we can provide in a worship service with so many restrictions, and how many will actually attend. We need to weigh this against the additional costs for sanitization and the expense of trying to do a “live” worship transmission for those at home, rather than the prerecorded format we are presently doing (new audio/visual equipment and personnel for live streaming our service will be needed). Many pastors I have spoken to have not yet opened their sanctuaries for worship and some others, who have opened, expressed regret that they did that, with the small number of attenders. I would like to have a clear idea of how many are actually interested in coming to in-person worship. Our previous survey was sent out before Florida’s numbers skyrocketed, and I know that some who thought they were ready to come back, have indicated that they’ve changed their minds. It was also anonymous, so we cannot follow up with anyone to see how they feel today. We’ll send out a new survey next week that will require your name. This will be considered a reservation, if you are interested in being here physically for worship. The previous survey indicated that most people were not yet ready to come back, and that may continue to be the case. The Reopening Task Force and I just need to know that.
I’d love to hear from you to know how you are doing or to know what I can be praying for. Please write to: pastor@fumcnaples.org I miss you and look forward to being with you at our online, virtual worship this Sunday (or whenever you are able to tune-in to the recorded service.)
Blessings,
Pastor Nancy
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Sunday's Worship Service
Our worship service will be recorded and available to you online by Sunday morning at our regular worship time of 10:15 am, so you'll be able to worship online together with others, or you can click and watch on your own time. Every Saturday night, you will receive an Eblast with the link for Sunday's worship service, or you can go to our web page at: fumcnaples.org and click on the link there for Sunday's service.
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Life & Faith Lesson
Rev. Nancy Mayeux
“You Are My Friends.”
Jesus
How would you define a “friend”? By your definition, how many friends do you have? Those of us who use Facebook, find that it helps us stay in touch with our many friends from different parts of the country and various stages in our lives. I used to send out about 300 Christmas cards as my way to stay in touch with many people I had met along the way. I had developed a relationship with each that I wanted to keep. As children came into my life, and life got complicated, I no longer had the time and I found that I lost touch with many people I had considered friends. Facebook has helped recover those relationships, as I discovered this week with so many sending condolences when my father died. There are some people, however, that have over 1000 “friends” on their Facebook, and I know it is not possible to know very much about all those people. How many are real friends? We are back to asking what it means to be a friend. Jesus has a great definition of a true friend. In the Scripture for this Sunday, Jesus says we are to “love one another, just as I have loved you.” He informs us that we are HIS friends, and he says, “No one has greater love than to give up one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” Let’s explore that together when you tune in on Sunday at 10:15.
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Tithes and Offerings
Please remember that your tithes and offerings are a form of worship, and that your church really needs you during this time, to continue paying our bills and keeping our faithful staff on the payroll. We pray you will donate at least what you would have given, had you been sitting in the sanctuary as the offering plate was passed. Donations can be mailed to: First United Methodist Church of Naples, 388 First Avenue S, Naples, FL 34102. OR you can click on the box below to make an online donation. If you’ve never done this before, when you click on the box for the first time, you will be asked to create your online profile before you can donate.
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Thank you for caring and loving your neighbor these last few weeks as we launched our “Fill the Table” initiative to feed hungry people in our community. All our donations will go to St. Matthew's House and Grace Place for distribution. Hunger continues, especially during this pandemic, so please continue to donate. We will keep the same collection days and times each week.
Ways to Help Right Now!
1) Give Food. 1.2 pounds of food equals one meal! Drop off non-perishable, unexpired food to the church office on Tuesdays, 12:00-2:00 pm or Thursdays, 4:00-6:00 pm. The office reception area will be unlocked for you to drop off your items. For drop-off assistance, please call Vanessa Fletcher (954) 850-2343 on Tuesdays or Crystal Gibbs (239) 253-3541 on Thursdays. They will be on-campus and will come and help you. Click on the link below to find out what’s needed most.
2) Donate Funds. $2 donation equals one meal! Write out a check to FUMC of Naples with "Food" in the memo line. Send to the church at: 388 First Avenue S, Naples, FL 34102. You can also give online and designate your online gift by typing "Food" under the “Other” category.
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Last Sunday's Service
Did you miss worship last week? Click on the link below to view the video of last week's complete online service, with a sermon entitled Salty and Bright based on Matthew 5:13-16 and Isaiah 58:6-10. Also enjoy the guest violin solo by Victoria Gendron playing Trust and Obey.
Just click on the box below.
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White Rose Bud on the Altar
The rose bud on the altar this Sunday is in memory of John Rains who crossed over to his heavenly home this week. This was Pastor Nancy's father. Please keep our Pastor and her family in prayer.
This Sunday’s Altar Flower Dedication
The altar flowers this Sunday, are given by the Mayeux family, in memory of Pastor Nancy's father, John Rains, who passed away this week.
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Our Altar Flowers Went to Special Places!
Each Sunday, if the family who donates the altar flowers does not take them home, we donate them to an organization that would enjoy having them. Last Sunday, they were brought to the Shelter for Abused Women and Children to provide encouragement and to help brighten the days for the residents and staff of the shelter. The previous Sunday, we brought the flowers to Avow Hospice. Our pastor was surprised and delighted to find them still colorful and on display when she arrived at Hospice where her father spent his last days. She said that the nurses and staff fully enjoyed having the flowers, as did the families visiting their loved ones.
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Would You Like to Dedicate
Altar Flowers?
If you would like to dedicate our altar flowers on an upcoming Sunday, please send us an email letting us know if the dedication is in memory of someone who has passed away or in honor of someone special who is still living. Let us know the wording you would like (a birthday, anniversary, etc.) and the Sunday you choose. The cost is $30 for the arrangement, which you can mail in or pay online. We will coordinate so you can come pick up the arrangement to take home during the week. Please email your request to: Pastor@fumcnaples.org
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PLEASE PRAY!
Lots to pray for this week! There are so many impacted by COVID-19. At least 9 are infected with the virus who are loved ones of congregation members. Prayer is important for healing. Remember, also, that every time you pray, you are spending time with God – and God loves that! God is always present, always listening and always ready to respond, but none of that will happen if you aren’t making the effort to talk to God. Ask for those needs that are important to your life and then expand your prayers to include your faith family, others that you know and even strangers. Here are some ideas of what you can be praying for!
Please be in prayer this week for our church family and their loved ones (names listed below are for urgent needs, but we know there are many more unspoken needs that God can help with.) Pray for those who have gotten sick or families who have lost loved ones to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths everywhere are overwhelming. Pray also for all those impacted in some other way by this pandemic – emotionally, economically or by job loss. Pray for the healthcare workers, first responders, and other essential workers, who are serving on the front lines to keep us safe. Pray for all people whose lives have been impacted by racism and injustice. Continue to pray that God eradicates both this COVID-19 virus and racism. Lastly, please pray for our sister church and the people of Cuba who are dealing with a scarcity of food and medicine. They pray for us every day.
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Urgent Prayer Requests
From our FUMC Church Family
We want to remind you that this section is for “urgent” prayer concerns only: (in the hospital, on Hospice, recovering from a surgery, receiving radiation or chemotherapy, recent deaths, etc.) If you have a private prayer that you do not want published below, just email me and I will pray for that person and that need: pastor@fumcnaples.org.
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Heather Pratt Mohler (Bea Mohler's daughter-in-law)
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Kathy, Jacob and Nathan Jaworski (family of Gail & Walter Jaworski)
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Sandy and Jim Barret (Sister and brother-in-law of Pam O’Brien)
- Terry Gum (Member)
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Tim Vincent (Member)
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Bob Willard (Brother of Betty Jaekle)
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Toni McKown (Gwen Pleban’s cousin)
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Shelli Pitchlynn (Gwen Pleban’s cousin)
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Sharon Walker (Pastor's friend)
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Margaret Lofgren (Member)
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Sheila Strenkert (Karen Carr’s cousin)
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Jess Rynders (Ashley Garner’s friend)
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Sean Black (Pat Schanke’s friend)
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Family of John Rains (Pastor’s father)
- All the unspoken requests and needs of our congregation and their loved ones. There are MANY this week!
Also, Please Pray for…
Our pastor, our church, our bishop, our district superintendent, the community, our country and its leaders, first responders, the sick, our homebound, our sister church in Cuba, our MDS preschool children, teachers and parents, Wesley Kids & Youth, and those in military service.
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David Lawrence Center in Naples Offers Help and Hope
Anxiety, stress, depression and substance abuse are at an all-time high due to the Coronavirus lock-down, lost jobs, and life turned upside down. The David Lawrence Center remains committed to serving our community, including “Telehealth services.” If you need help, please call them at: 239-304-3055.
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Domestic Violence & Abuse 911 Calls
(Increased by 30% during the pandemic)
People are stressed and confined in tight quarters for long periods of time. This results in explosive situations. Please let anyone you know, who may be in this situation, that the Shelter for Abused Women and Children has space for women, children and pets, and is consistently open. They should call the hotline: 239-775-1109
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OFFICE HOURS
The church office is closed until further notice. The staff is working from home. Please call and leave a message. We are checking voice mail regularly. Your call will be returned.
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First United Methodist Church of Naples
388 1st Ave S.
Naples, FL 34102
(239) 262-1033
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