To the faithful at Brenham FUMC:

The cooler weather is somewhat here finally. The pumpkin-spice flavoring and candle scents have been around for a bit longer, but it seems our temperatures are beginning to be more fall -like as well. I pray the coolness continues!

The changing season also reminds us that we are moving into a time of holiday celebrations and preparations. It won’t be long before Thanksgiving week is here and the excitement of gathering with friends and family will begin to bubble up more and more. That, of course, will lead us right into a time of Advent – a time of making sure we have room for Jesus to be born in us once again. I love the Advent/Christmas season and I look forward to sharing my first one with you here in Brenham. With that in mind, I thought I might share what I am thankful for this year in this new place.

I am thankful, firstly, for the God who loves me. You may not know this, but I am not always the man God asks me to be or created me to be. I know, it’s hard to believe! Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our Lord, I am forgiven and restored and given the power to live in new and better ways.

I am also thankful for my family, and foremost for my wife, Jan. Time and again you all tell me how right I am – you’ll put up with me so you can keep Jan. I love doing this ministry with her and living our life together. I am grateful as well that I have children who love Jesus. They may express it in different ways, but I do not doubt their faith. They inspire me and stretch me, and I give God thanks for that.

The last word for now is my gratitude for God allowing me to be the pastor here at Brenham First United Methodist. This church stuff can get messy and challenging, but through these past 10 months you have shown yourselves to be a loving and hopeful congregation. You are willing to do the work to be connected even when you don’t see things the same way. You seek first to love more than judge, and I like that a lot. It’s something our community and our country and the world needs to see – people willing to love and stay connected even when they don’t always agree.

What are you thankful for? What is your hope for the future of the church? What could you imagine God doing in us and through us if we would just let him?

As we move into the holiday/Advent season and we recall a young woman suddenly with child, and a fiancé who was asked to take her in, may we remember that God does things that are unexpected and even scandalous to bring new life and new hope into the world. May he do the same in us and through us.

Blessings,

Anyone who wishes to join our church family will be invited to do so on November 13^th at both services. At the same time, all those who are currently members will be invited to renew their covenant as members of the church. 

We love our animals, and God love them too. Join us November 13th at 2:00pm on the church lawn for a special and fun service of worship and blessing over our animal companion. All dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, lizards, etc. are invited to join us! If you do not feel comfortable bringing your pet you can simply bring a collar or favorite toy of theirs to be blessed.

 All Saints Sunday

Handbell Rehearsal

In October, we continued our Walk With Jesus! Each week, we mark where we have been or where we would like to travel on a huge USA map! This is a visual reminder that Jesus is with us everywhere we travel! We learned that God made each of us in His likeness, and to remind us of that, we created our own flip flops! We travelled in LARGE shoes and compared it to others’ journeys. We began our scavenger hunt through the Bible to learn all about where God has taken us and where we are to go. And finally, we had all kind of Stinky Feet games! Because, well… life can sometimes be Stinky! But, God is always with us!

NOVEMBER Mission Sundays! This month we are going to spread thankfulness! The youth and children will help to build beds on an alternate date in November. Our Mission Sunday school lesson will be all about saying thank you- to our Creator, to our community, to our loved ones!

On behalf of UMW I extend our sincere thanks to all who supported and contributed in any way to the success of our Harvest Market – and it was just that, a huge success! It could not have been done without your help.

With gratitude,

Mary DeSalvo

I would like to thank everyone for the cards, calls, texts and especially prayers that I received as I struggled with multiple health issues over the past few months. I am so very grateful for the love and support given to me by my church family during this difficult time.

Blessings,

Joy Goedeke

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Rev. Mike Lindstrom, Senior Pastor

Pastor Madison Garcia, Associate Pastor

Chris Ann Stroech, Children’s Ministry Coordinator

Matt Hulon, Minister of Music

Diane Garrett, Organist

Maxwell Burgess, Celebration Worship Leader

 Kris Trevino, Office Manager

Iliana Flores, Administrative Assistant

Michelle Lookingbill, Lead Administrator

Lelli Hernandez, Child Development Center Director

Lelli Hernandez, Nursery Coordinator

Cindy Mathis, Custodian