Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart
    be pleasing to you, Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
- Psalm 19:14
IN WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY
LECTIONARY READINGS FOR OCTOBER 4, 2020 
18TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
WORLD COMMUNION SUNDAY
    
                           1) Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20    2) Psalm 19 (UMH 750) 
                           3) Philippians 3:4b-14             4) Matthew 21:33-46 

INDOOR IN-PERSON WORSHIP IS BACK!
This Sunday, October 4, is World Communion Sunday and we will meet inside our church building for our worship services. There is no limit on the number of people who can attend. All of our safety protocols will be in place so we ask that you arrive 20-30 minutes early. Registration is highly recommended so that we may plan for appropriate socially distant seating between families. Please use this link to register for our 8:30am Traditional Service and this link to register for our 11:00am The Journey Service. If you are not feeling well or if you are at a higher risk because of age or medical conditions, please consider continuing to worship with us online.

As we celebrate World Communion Sunday, we ask that if you have a need for a gluten free option, that you plan to bring your own bread in a sealed container as we do not have gluten free options available at this time. 

OUTDOOR GATHERINGS
Small groups are encouraged to meet outdoors at this time. If your group or class would like to begin meeting outdoors, whether on-campus or off-campus, and in accordance with prescribed protocols, please complete this request form.

CELEBRATE RECOVERY WILL MEET INDOORS TONIGHT
CR will meet tonight, September 29, at 6:30 pm inside the church building. We ask that those planning to attend CR meetings register through Realm by Monday at midnight each week. If you are attending tonight's meeting, please bring a face mask and plan to arrive 20-30 minutes early. If you are not feeling well or if you are at a higher risk because of age or medical conditions, please consider continuing to worship with us online.

CELEBRATE RECOVERY OPEN SHARE GROUPS
Men's Open Share Groups and Women's Open Share Groups will meet tonight, September 29, at 7:30 pm. Our share groups will take place in larger spaces to maintain proper social distancing. The Men's Chemical Dependency Group will meet in Wesley Hall and the Women's Chemical Dependency Group will meet in Rooms 134/135. Please bring a mask and plan to arrive 15-20 minutes early. 

ONLINE WORSHIP
We continue to provide online worship on Sundays. Please join us by going to our YouTube channel or our Facebook page. We invite you to subscribe to our YouTube channel, follow us on Facebook, and like and share our Facebook posts! Please take a moment to comment on Facebook regarding our online services.

FOUNTAIN KIDS 
We had a great start to our outdoor Fountain Kids small group during 11 am worship this past Sunday. Our kids are amazing and so adaptive!   

Upcoming Events for Fountain Kids:
Ijams Nature Center: Saturday, October 3 from 10 am-12 pm  
Meet at Ijams Nature Center no later than 10 am. We will gather and the kiddos will be given disposable cameras and a nature scavenger hunt page. We will have devotion and prayer before embarking on our family Ijams adventure.
Register your family here!

Worldwide Communion Day: October 4, 2020   
What a blessing to share holy communion together in person with individual communion packs, or you can worship from your home with our online worship services.   

Family Day at Oakes Farm: Saturday, October 10 from 11 am-1 pm  
We will meet at Oakes Farm at 11 am. We have a group rate so please register here!  

Online Parenting Class
Fountain Kids, in partnership with Discipleship Ministries and Sisters of Spirit (SOS), is offering an online parenting class based on the book Parenting Beyond Your Capacity by Reggie Joiner and Carey Nieuwhof. The books are available at Amazon, the Orange Store, and various Christian book distributors. Miss Donna has 10 copies of the book. If you would like a copy from her, please email or text her at 772-631-1380. The price of the book is $10. Pastor Kristen and Miss Donna will be recording chapter updates each week for six weeks that will be posted on the SOS Facebook page as well as the Fountain Kids Facebook page. The SOS Facebook page is private. If you would like to join, please send your request to Pastor Kristen, Carol Sewell, or Donna Lewis to get a personal invitation for this closed group.  
 
Every parent has a daunting task ahead of them - helping their kids know, love and serve Jesus. We often talk about discipling another person, but the most important disciples you will ever have are found right inside your own family. This unique parenting study offers biblical guidance on leading our own families in faith. (In fact, there are principles in this study that apply to church members that are not parents.)  The local church is part of our children's community and therefore, the church family provides some of the most important role models in a child's life outside their nuclear family. Sisters of Spirit offers confidentiality in their communications, and mentors with our encouragement partners. Be authentic with one another as we all struggle. Discipling our families is HARD WORK! 
 
Continue to checkout our Fountain Kids Facebook page each week. Our weekly mailings to children will continue. If you have a need, please do not hesitate to contact us.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT YOUTH GROUP IS BACK! 
We have approval for our youth group to meet outside beginning on Wednesday, September 30. We will meet September 30, October 7, October 21, and October 28 from 7-8 pm. (We will not meet on October 14th due to fall break.) If we have to cancel due to inclement weather in the forecast, we will send an email out by 3:00 pm on that Wednesday. We will continue into the fall as long as we can, but may need to reassess our time once Daylight Savings ends. We do have some flood lights, but if anyone would like to donate or lend us a propane outdoor heater, we would greatly appreciate it!

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS FOR OCTOBER
Our office staff is working remotely in October during the following hours:
Monday-Thursday: 8:30am-5:00pm (closed from 12pm-1pm for lunch) 
Friday: 8:30am-12:00pm
 
The FCUMC staff remains committed to service and you can still reach us! Calls to the church office phone number will be answered during the hours listed above. To contact staff members directly, please email them. You can find staff emails on Realm or on our website under the Who We Are menu on our home page. If you need to meet with a church staff member in person, please make an appointment directly with that staff member. We encourage you to mail your check or give online. However, if you must drop off your check, please contact Ashley Garren and she will make plans to meet you at the church. Thank you!
___________________________________________________________________________
purple-water-flowers.jpg
NOTABLE NEEDS
PLACES TO SERVE

WORSHIP AT FCUMC IS ENRICHED BY OUR VOLUNTEERS! 
We invite you to consider how you can serve God as a volunteer at FCUMC. Please SIGN UP HERE  to volunteer at one of our worship services. If you have questions, please contact the Church Office at 865-689-5175. Thank you for serving!

KARM NEEDS OUR CONTINUED SUPPORT 
During the months of January, February, and March, 214 donations from those connected with FCUMC were received at KARM Stores. These donations included both gifts of time and household items. As a token of their appreciation, KARM has shared $640 in gift cards with our church to help out members of FCUMC and our community who may need a little extra help at this time. They also shared $570 in gift cards from 144 donations and volunteer time during April, May, and June. We have shared some with our ministry partner, Fountain City Ministry Center. If you know someone who is in need of KARM gift cards, please contact Ashley Garren. 

If you have begun to clean out your closets in transition to the fall season, consider donating clothing and household goods to KARM. Please let them know you are with FCUMC so that our church can continue to bless others. 

In addition, KARM is in need of volunteers at every store to sort through donations. If you are interested in serving in this capacity, please email KARM. Volunteers must bring their own masks when serving at KARM Stores, and should be prepared to have a good time working alongside their team! 

COVID COMPASSION: Want to love your neighbor during this stressful time? Click here to sign up to run errands, call, or write notes to our homebound and those in isolation, all on a flexible time schedule.
____________________________________________________________

artistic-cherryblossom.gif
NEWS & NOTES
THE MORE YOU KNOW

FALL DISCIPLESHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Adapting continues at FCUMC in the area of Adult Discipleship Ministries as we seek to live into our church mission of Making Disciples, Changing Lives. We are now offering the following options for six weeks on Wednesday nights at 6:30pm starting October 7.  The deadline to sign up for a class is October 4 by midnight. You can click on the class below to sign up now!
 
1. The Discipleship Class & The Journey Worship Leader, Mark Seals, will be meeting to work through the study by Judah Smith, How's Your Soul? Why everything that matters starts with the inside you.
 
2. Rev. Dr. Jim Dougherty will be leading a group through The Heart of Christianity.
 
3. Ramsey Financial Coach, Amy Harrington Bible, will be leading a virtual Financial Peace Class. This class will continue past November while adjusting for holidays and group needs.
 
4. Senior Pastor, Rev. Tom Ballad will lead a holy conversation along side a group of FCUMC leaders around Starting Point: Listening to Voices Addressing Racism.
 
5. Journey with Dave Danford as he continue's to help us look at the Holy Land and the Bible.
OUR OPEN DOOR COMMUNITY MEALS 
ARE GOING MOBILE!
Our Open Door Community Meals remains vital for those in need in our community; therefore, instead of welcoming members of the community through our church doors, we will provide meals to go - curbside! If you know of individuals or families struggling to meet their food budgets, please welcome them to take part in our Curbside Open Door Community Meals. The first of these events will take place on Wednesday, October 14  from 5:00-5:30 pm at Door #5. We will have additional dates in November and December. People may drive by or simply walk up, and we will provide healthy meals that they can take with them. 

GRESHAM PRAYER PARTNERS MINISTRY
We are excited about the opportunity to continue our partnership with the teachers, staff, and administrators at Gresham Middle School (GMS). Because of the restrictions in place at Knox County Schools, the principal has requested that this year's Gresham Prayer Partner Ministry is all digital. 

Click here for detailed information about how you can support GMS as a digital prayer partner, to view the available Gresham Staff, and to "adopt" that Staff Member. If you have any questions, please contact the FCUMC Church Office at (865) 689-5175. Thank you for making this ministry a success!

PRESCHOOL OPENINGS IN FOUR-YEAR-OLD,
THREE-YEAR-OLD, AND INFANT CLASSES
There are limited spots available in our Preschool Four-Year-Old, Three-Year-Old, and Infant Classes this fall. If you or someone you know would like one of these spots for your child, please call the Preschool office at (865) 689-5518 or email Alycia Truett. 


LIBERIA EDUCATION UPDATE
Please check out the July 2020 and August 2020 editions of the Liberia Education Update from our covenant partner, Helen Robert-Evans, Global Ministries Missionary. In these editions, Helen thanks Holston Conference for gifts toward the Water for Life Advance project which led to obtaining a crucial hand pump in Yao Lepula, and a container of much needed supplies.

STAYING IN THE KNOW
Please follow our Facebook pages to see up-to-date information on what's happening during the week. Our Facebook links:

Click here for the Fountain City UMC page
Click here for The Journey page
Click here for the Celebrate Recovery-North page
Click here for the Fountain Kids page
Click here for the Fountain City UMC Youth page

ALTAR FLOWERS
Altar flowers are a beautiful way to honor and memorialize a special person or event in your life. Flowers are arranged by Petree's Florist and cost $65. Contact Melissa in the church office for available dates.

NO FELLOWSHIP MEALS THIS FALL
For the health and safety of all church members, we will not have Wednesday night fellowship meals this fall. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to follow the guidelines set by Holston Conference.

SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER
Check out the September 2020 edition of The Spirit.
NEXT UP AT FCUMC
MARK YOUR CALENDAR

October 3 from 10am-12pm:  Fountain Kids at  Ijams Nature Center 

October 4 from 4-7pm:  Disc Golf  at Tommy Schumpert Park - High School Activity

October 10 from 11am-1pm:  Fountain Kids at Oakes Farm 

October 11 from 4-7pm:  Disk Golf at Tommy Schumpert Park - Middle School Activity

PASTOR ON CALL
Tom Ballard (423) 585-7054


Fountain City United
Methodist Church
212 Hotel Road
Knoxville, TN 37918
(865) 689-5175
www.fountaincityumc.org
WORSHIP WITH US
 Please join us on Sundays for 8:30am Traditional Worship or 11:00am The Journey Contemporary Worship. 

We also invite you to view our online worship.
You can check out our YouTube channel 
or our Facebook page on Sunday mornings 
for links to our online worship services.
 
STAY CONNECTED
Like us on Facebook    Follow us on Twitter    View on Instagram