THIS SUNDAY
March 13, 2022
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In Person
Rev. DeeDee Autry
Offertory
“Adagio” J. B. Loeillet
Robert Spicer, Recorder
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In Person, 6pm Premier on Facebook and YouTube
Rev. Bud Reeves
“Raise A Hallelujah”
“Give Me Faith”
“Thy Will”
“Build My Life”
“The Lord’s Prayer”
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In Person, Facebook Live, YouTube, and FM 103.5
Rev. DeeDee Autry
Prelude “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” Ladybells
Anthem “Our Joy Is in the Lord” Ladybells
Anthem “Thy Kingdom Come”
Ladybells
Lori Fay, Violin
Chancel Choir
Gaye Mings, Chancel Choir Director
Nancy W. Vernon, Organist
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Sunday, March 13
8:30 am Chapel Service
9:30 am Holy Grounds
9:45 am Sunday Small Groups
11:00 am Connexion Worship, In Person,
11:00 am Sanctuary Worship, In Person, Facebook Live, YouTube & FM 103.5
4:00 pm Confirmation Class
6:00 pm Connexion Premier on Facebook & YouTube
4:30 pm Middle School Youth, Loft
6:00 pm Dr. Amy-Jill Levine Lecture, Fireside Room & Zoom
6:00 pm High School Youth, Loft
Monday, March 14
12:15pm Downtown Lenten Service, Immaculate Conception
Tuesday, March 15
9:30 am UMW Unit Meeting, Fireside Room
5:00 pm Good Scout Dinner, Great Hall
7:00 pm Young Adult Ministry, St. Paul UMC
Wednesday, March 16
9:15 am Women’s Bible Study, Fireside Room
10:00 am Ladybells, Bayliss Hall
5:00 pm Children’s Choir
5:30 pm Evening Prayer, In Person and Facebook Live
5:45 pm Wednesday Night Life & Classes
6:30 pm Praise Band practice, The Great Hall
7:00 pm Chancel Choir, Choir room
Thursday, March 17
9:30 am Pacestters trip to Greenbrier
10:00 am Knitters & Knotters, Fireside Room
Friday, March 18
10:00 am Pacesetters, Fireside Room
Saturday, March 19
10:00 am AR Single Parent check give-away, Breezeway Drive-thru
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UPDATE ON DENOMINATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS… |
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Lately I’ve been musing on the tagline from the 1978 sequel movie, Jaws 2: “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…” It seems like every time we kill off a great white shark, another one comes along to terrorize the beach. I’m about ready for some calm waters and safe swimming myself! |
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Just when it seemed the omicron variant was subsiding and we might see some relief from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russians invade Ukraine and start a worldwide military escalation. |
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Then the United Methodists postpone their General Conference! Well, OK, maybe that’s not nearly on the level of a pandemic or an invasion. But for those of us who are part of the United Methodist Church and pay attention to denominational developments, it was a pretty big deal. And I like to keep you all informed. |
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The General Conference is the body of delegates representing the global UMC. It normally meets every four years (on American election years), but the GC scheduled for 2020 was postponed by the COVID pandemic–to 2021, then to 2022. Then last week, the Commission on the General Conference postponed the next meeting until the year it would have met anyway–2024. |
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Under normal circumstances, such a postponement would have been an inconvenience. The General Conference sets policies, revises church law, and creates a budget for the worldwide church to do ministry. It is also connected to the regional conferences that elect bishops, and as bishops retire or die, we keep needing new ones. If all that were on the table were business as usual, the postponement would not have been a big deal. |
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But the major issue facing the United Methodist Church is a proposal to divide into at least two denominations. Since 2019, a group called the Wesley Covenant Association has been organizing a new denomination that will split from the United Methodist Church over the issue of homosexuality–specifically gay marriage and the ordination of gay people. (Several denominations have had a similar split in recent years.) Last year, they announced a new name, the Global Methodist Church (GMC), and began to get their structure and Book of Discipline put together. Leaders from across the UMC met and negotiated an exit plan called the “Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation” (the Protocol for short), and it was supposed to have been acted on by the next General Conference in 2020. |
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Then the pandemic happened. Because of the structure of the UMC, only the General Conference can make a decision as monumental as dividing the denomination. The further postponement came about because the pandemic has caused massive backlogs in the visa process for US visas, and it was likely that a significant number of the overseas delegates could not attend GC in the US. (44% of GC delegates are from overseas.) Surprisingly, it was not the lack of vaccinations; that could be handled. But slow government bureaucracy is even stronger than a virus. Because the GC involves a week of legislative committees and many votes, the logistics of handling everything online with integrity and fairness was just too much to contend with, apparently. |
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Unfortunately, the further postponement caused the Wesley Covenant Association to announce the launch of the Global Methodist Church on May 1, 2022. It is not clear how this will be done without breaking the covenant that holds the current denomination together. It is a move clearly engendered by the frustration of waiting two years–now four–to get some resolution of the issue. On the other hand, other people are frustrated because the policies of the church to be more inclusive cannot be changed either, until the GC meets in 2024. |
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What does this mean for our church, First United Methodist of Fort Smith? Frankly, I don’t know yet. It means nothing in the short term. There will be no substantive changes in our Book of Discipline until 2024. But there will be much discussion and politicking and words shared and ink spilled in the interim. Meanwhile, at our church, we will continue to be in ministry, to do the best we can to crawl out of the hole of the pandemic, to pray and hope for peace in eastern Europe, and to stay informed about our future as the United Methodist Church. When I know enough to share with you, we will have informational meetings. As your pastor, I want to be in conversation and relationship with you no matter what your position might be on any particular issue. We are in this together, and I am hopeful we can all stay together through whatever transpires. |
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Pray for our church and its leaders–locally, statewide, nationally, and globally. And as we have said throughout the last two years, stay faithful. God is with us, and that is where our hope ultimately rests. |
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As we enter this season of Lent, I was so touched by one of my daily readings. These words come from Henri Nouwen: |
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“You are not what you do, although you do a lot. You are not what you have collected in terms of friendships and connections, although you might have many. You are not the popularity that you have received. You are not the success of your work. You are not what people say about you, whether they speak well or whether they speak poorly about you. All these things that keep you quite busy, quite occupied, and often quite preoccupied are not telling the truth about who you are. I am here to remind you in the name of God that you are the Beloved Daughters and Sons of God, and that God says to you, “I have called you from all eternity and you are engraved from all eternity in the palms of my hands. You are mine. You belong to me, and I love you with an everlasting love.” |
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During these days of Lent, it is a helpful reminder that what God wants the most is to draw us close to God. Whatever we might choose to fast from, or a spiritual practice we might take on….it’s all about us growing our relationship with God. When we give ourselves these 40 days to grow in our faith then it is amazing how much more of an impact Easter has on our life. Not only do we then celebrate our resurrected Lord, but we celebrate a revived and renewed faith that is alive. And our celebration rest on the fact that we are truly Beloved Sons and Daughters of God! |
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FEBRUARY WAS A GREAT MONTH IN THE WORLD OF CHILDREN’S MINISTRY |
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Despite the weather not cooperating, we were able to start Wednesday Nite Life. This month we did a special series on the Disney movie, Encanto. If you haven’t seen the movie, I 100% recommend it. I want to share a bit about some Biblical parallels I found intriguing in the movie and some great lessons we can learn.
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This family, much like many families, struggled with communication. Abuela, the grandmother, had unachievable expectations of her children and grandchildren. Those expectations were rooted in fear and misunderstanding. Jesus came as the ultimate communicator. He was there to help the Jewish people understand things that had been lost in translation or misinterpreted. The Pharisees, a group of religious leaders obsessed with following the rules, strongly opposed Jesus. The Pharisees and Abuela had a lot in common. Their desire to follow the rules and to make sure everything was “perfect” led to an inauthentic life. Jesus wanted the Israelites to have a true relationship with God, not put on a mask of perfection when really their insides were cracking. Mirabel, the granddaughter in the movie, wanted the same for her family. The struggles that the Madrigals faced in the movie are struggles that we all face from time to time. Looking through a Biblical lens, we can see how to overcome the struggles. |
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In February we also started our Bible Explorers class for our 4th and 5th graders. We have had a great time digging into the structure of the Bible, playing games, and enjoying fellowship with one another.
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March kicks off the Lenten season, and we have several fun things planned for the kids. All families can expect to receive a weekly devotional booklet in the mail in the coming week. This booklet contains simple weekly devotions you can do with your children of any age. It’s low fuss and flexible to fit however best suits your family. |
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We also have a special announcement save the date for our Food Truck Party VBS. We are mixing it up this year, and trying a shorter VBS with slightly longer day. We will be meeting Thursday, June 9th from 5-8pm. June 10, 11th from 9am-2pm. On Sunday, June 12th, the kids will perform in service and we will celebrate with a HUGE Food Truck Party directly following service.
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Music Director/Organist Hired |
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We are excited to announce the hiring of Benjamin Henderson for the position of Music Director and Organist at FUMC. Ben will start in June following the retirement of Nancy Vernon. Here is a word from Ben: |
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I am very excited to work within your Church community and getting to know you all! I am from Middletown, Connecticut and grew up in a wonderful Congregational Church with a strong music program. As long as I have been able to, I have sung in my Church's choir and played in their handbell choirs. I studied organ in high school with the organist at my church, at the Eastman School of Music for my Bachelor of Music, and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University for my Master of Music. I find enjoyment in a wide variety of music and look forward to sharing that joy with you!
All the best,
Benjamin Henderson
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If you would like to send Ben a note of welcome to Fort Smith and FUMC,
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RAMSEY+ LICENSE MAKES GREAT MATERIAL AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE! |
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For the last few years, we have been offering Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University as a Wednesday Night class. This study has transformed the lives of millions of people worldwide and teaches Biblical principles of financial management and stewardship. This year, FUMC has purchased a license with the Ramsey group to make much of Dave Ramsey’s material available to any church member or friend for free. That’s right–all those cool videos, the FPU lessons, a state of the art budgeting tool, all kinds of resources to help you manage your money better–for free! Simply use the link or the QR code to access the website, go through a short registration process and questionnaire, and the Ramsey world will be open to you |
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This material is not just for those in financial difficulties. Even if you think you are doing fine, you will learn how to do better on this website. People who are taking the FPU class will need to register to get access to the videos to watch before the class sessions. You’ll be glad you did! |
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ELIZABETH THAMES LEAVING STAFF; OUTREACH DIRECTOR SOUGHT |
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Elizabeth Thames, director of Adult Discipleship, is leaving our church staff for a new opportunity. While we are sad to see Elizabeth go, and she has done an amazing job in a very difficult time, we are excited for her new chapter. And Elizabeth and her family will still be here as active members of our church. |
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Elizabeth’s departure creates a new opportunity for the church to focus a staff position on outreach to the community. The new position of Outreach Director may be ¾ to full-time, depending on applicants. If full-time, it will include benefits. The ministry will focus on outreach to the community of Fort Smith, through local missions and hospitality and evangelism to people who might be interested in our church. The job requires a passion for outreach, an ability to organize and manage events and activities, and an ability to recruit, train, and empower volunteers. |
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It’s an exciting opportunity for the right person! Full job description is on the website. Send resumes to breeves@arumc.org
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Gifts to support the people of Ukraine can be made in the following ways:
- Online at https://umcmission.org/advance-project/982450
- By toll-free telephone: 888-252-6174
- By check with “Advance #982450-Ukraine” written on the memo line, either mailed and addressed to Global Ministries/UMCOR, GPO, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY, 10087-9068 or given at or through any United Methodist church.
One hundred percent of all Advance contributions go to the designated cause.
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Save
the Date
Monday, June 6
Arkansas Conference Youth Choir
at FSFUMC
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Loss of Loved Ones:
- Wilma Turner Dingler- mother of Clay Hinshaw (Susan) and grandmother of Elizabeth Hinshaw.
- Don Platt –husband of Lou Ann Platt, brother of Anne Rosenberg and uncle of Michael, Elizabeth and Mark (Chanel) Rosenberg.
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Memorials will be in next months
April newsletter.
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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 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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