Thursday Lunch Club
When First Methodist’s Thursday Lunch Club guests gathered in March 2020 to enjoy hearing Bill Lepp, a featured performer at the Azalea Storytelling Festival, we all had no inkling it would be 18 months before our beloved TLC monthly luncheon would return! We finally have a firm date for our first TLC luncheon in over a year (that is, as long as the Delta variant doesn’t take a more negative turn). Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 2, at noon in Wesley Hall! Be sure to make a reservation by signing up online,
emailing us at churchoffice@lagrangefumc.org, or calling us at 706.884.4635 by noon on Tuesday, August 31.
Back-To-School Sunday: August 15
Please join us for worship on August 15, when we will celebrate Back-To-School Sunday! During the service, we will pray for blessings upon our students, families, and educators as they start the new academic year. We also are inviting students to bring their backpacks so we may bless the bags that carry the resources necessary for their learning. If you know of a student, educator, or other school staff member who may be interested in joining us, be sure to extend an invitation.
After the service, we'll all head outside to enjoy Kona Ice, a photo booth, and a bouncy house. In addition, we'll have a dunking booth to help raise money for our School Ministries program, which includes School Shepherds as well as our Blessings In A Book Bag and Teacher/Staff Encourager programs at Ethel Kight Elementary. (School Ministries also will be our August Mission of the Month.) For $5 for three throws, you'll have a chance to dunk some of the pastors and other brave souls who've stepped up to raise money for the cause (including Dr. John)!
We'll also host a 10:00 am brunch in Wesley Hall for the teachers and staff in our Ethel Kight Encourager program. Started last year, the ministry pairs an individual church member with a teacher to provide prayer, encouraging emails and notes, small gifts, and treats during the year to let them know we embrace their call to educating and caring for our community's children.
Forty-three teachers have requested an encourager this year, and we currently have paired 29 of them with an encourager. Will you be one of the 14 additional encouragers needed? We hope so! Please contact Peggy Feather, coordinator, if you'd like to be a part.
Mission of the Month:School Ministries
Throughout August, your donations and volunteering will support all the ways we impact local students, educators, and school staff in our community! Help us make a difference by donating toward “missions” this month or by volunteering to serve with one of our mission areas. You can volunteer by reaching out to the ministry leaders listed below or by filling out our volunteer opportunities form by clicking the “Make an Impact” box on our homepage. We've included information below on our three main School Ministries.
We extend a heartfelf thank-you to everyone who donated to Meals on Wheels, our July Mission of the Month. Our goal was $2,000, but our church family went above and beyond: thanks to you, we raised $2,925 for this vital ministry!
Blessings in a Book Bag
Led by our Student Ministry, Blessings in a Book Bag served 35 students a week in 2020-21 at Ethel Kight Elementary School by providing food for two breakfasts, two lunches, and two snacks over the weekend. Through your generosity and our church's youth, we provided 3,500 meals to food-insecure students who might go hungry otherwise. As we begin another year of this vital mission, we need to restock the food and drink items we pack in each Blessings bag. A $5 donation ensures a student has the sustenance needed during the weekends.
School Shepherds
School Shepherds coordinate with school counselors in Troup County to assist vulnerable students by anonymously providing clothing, school supplies, and other resources as needed. Your donations prepare us to respond to the immediate needs of students. You also may donate kids’ clothes and shoes, men’s pants and shoes (especially size 11 shoes) to the Jabaley Clothing Center to support the School Shepherds' ability to respond to these clothing needs.
Ethel Kight Teacher Encouragers
Last year we began our New Teacher Encouragers Program with Ethel Kight Elementary! The Encouragers program pairs teachers with an individiual partner from First Methodist who encourages the teacher throughout the year with prayer, notes, small gifts, and supportive emails. Last year we had 40 teachers partnered with encouragers! In addition, our Encouragers treated the entire Ethel Kight staff last year to a back-to-school brunch, fall goodie bags, Christmas dessert buffet, and an end-of-year ice cream sundae bar. We really believe that education is ministry and want to support our local educators! Donations to the Encouragers program support all the teachers and staff at Ethel Kight by providing the funds needed for special events throughout the school year. Forty-three teachers have requested an encourager this year, and we currently have paired 29 of them with an encourager. Will you be one of the 14 additional encouragers needed? We hope so!
Financial Giving
As of Sunday, July 25, we have received 101.11% of our anticipated giving year-to-date based on our 13-year giving model for our annual mission and ministry plan.
More than $372,857 has been pledged above and beyond our operating budget to fund the current renovation projects in the Methodist Ministries Center (MMC) with $77,142 needed to fully fund the project.
Thank you for your faithfulness to Christ and His Church!
Wesley Fellows: Learn more about including First Methodist in your estate planning and becoming a Wesley Fellow.
