Genesis News and Notes
May 13, 2021
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Word from the Co-Pastors
Many of us can probably quote the Greatest Commandment Jesus gives us about loving the Lord and loving our neighbors. In Luke's version (chapter 10), there is a follow up question to clarify - so who is my neighbor? Jesus' response is to tell the story of the Good Samaritan, a story that is about much more than simply having compassion and doing something to help someone in need. Jesus was sharing this story to a (mostly) Jewish religious crowd, and the Samaritans and Jews despised one another. By making the Samaritan the hero, in contrast to the other characters in the story, Jesus is making a point about the people's prejudices and how that can affect who we define as our neighbor and who we are willing to love.
We will finish up our "world-blessing" series this Sunday by talking about Jonah and the real reason he didn't want to go to Ninevah. For those reading along or reading ahead, you may know what's coming this week. Jonah's honesty may surprise you; we hope God's response does not! Praise God for being a God of mercy and grace, who is always inviting us into deeper and wider love of our neighbors...especially those we struggle to love!
Look forward to being with you in worship this week, either in person or online!
Grace and Peace, Amber & Paul
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Worship Live Stream
Ending Soon
Did that headline get your attention? Then please read on!
We have been saying for a while that we need more volunteers to help with the AV/Tech support for our worship service. Right now, we have 5 people who help regularly; 4 of these folks are transitioning this summer and will no longer be available.
The Co-Pastors and church staff have been working on contingency plans and talking about different options. We are excited that a couple of new volunteers have expressed interest, but we still need a full team! Yes, we understand technology can be intimidating...but we will train you!
We will have an AV/Tech support volunteer training on Monday evening, May 17th @ 6pm. Please consider joining this vital ministry team. Also, please contact Pastor Paul at paul@genesisumc.com for more information about how you can help keep our livestream going!
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All are invited to wear something red to celebrate
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
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Summer Bible Study - "Jesus & Justice"
Pastor Paul will be leading a Bible study this summer on "Jesus & Justice". We will look at words from Jesus, as well as stories and passages from the OT prophets, and how they have inspired and influenced Christians to be concerned about matters of justice. This study meets on Zoom at 1pm on Thursdays, and includes folks from both Genesis UMC and Christ UMC. We will meet every week beginning May 20 through the end of July, knowing that people will be in and out based on summer travel. If you are interested in more info or in joining the study, please contact Pastor Paul at paul@genesisumc.com to make sure he sends you a Zoom invite!
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This Sunday the Handbell Ensemble will lead us in worship and the Prelude Sunday morning will be “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus.” Following is the almost unbelievable story of how the words came to be written.
In 1858 a great city-wide revival swept across the city of Philadelphia. One of the most powerful ministers participating in this revival was 29-year-old Dudley Tyng. He had inherited his father’s ministry at the large Episcopalian Church of the Epiphany, but after meeting with resistance to his strong stand against slavery, he ended up resigning and starting the Church of the Covenant.
Tyng also began holding noonday services at the downtown YMCA and on March 30, 1858 five thousand men were in attendance to hear him preach from Exodus 10:11 - “Go now ye that are men and serve the Lord.” - and that day over 1000 of them committed their lives to Christ and His service. During that sermon he also remarked that he would rather lose his right arm than come short of his duty to deliver God’s message.
Unbelievably, the next week while visiting in the country, his sleeve got caught in a corn thrasher, his arm was severely lacerated, and the main artery was severed. Four days later he developed further infection and on April 19, 1858 died from shock and great loss of blood. At his death bed, his final whispered words were “Let us all stand up for Jesus.”
The next Sunday Tyng’s close friend and fellow worker, the Rev. George Duffield preached on Ephesians 6:14 as a tribute to his friend. He also closed his sermon with a six-stanza poem he had written that was inspired by Tyng’s final words. His poem came to be widely circulated in the Presbyterian Church and was eventually distributed to a larger audience by the editor of a Baptist periodical.
George J. Webb, who had been born in England in 1803 came to work in Boston in 1830 as a secular and religious composer (and ended up serving as organist of the Old South Church for 40 years). The secular tune that he had already written for a musical show on a transatlantic ship, “’Tis Dawn, the Lark is Singing,” became the hymn tune that is in our hymnals today.
God truly works in mysterious ways!
See you Sunday! - Robyn
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Genesis Garage Sale Update
This year’s garage sale will look a bit different but we believe it can still be a success. We will begin taking items on Sunday, May 30th immediately following the 10:30 worship service. Our hours for taking items will be as follows:
Sunday, 5/30 from 11:30am to 4:00pm
Monday, 5/31 from 10:00am to 4:00pm
Wednesday, 6/2 from 10:00am to 6:00pm
Thursday, 6/3 from 10:00am to 1:00pm
Garage Sale!
Friday,6/4 8:00am to 3:00pm
Saturday 6/5 8:00am to 2:00pm
Location - Commons and Atrium
Due to our garage sale being on a smaller scale this year, we will NOT be taking the following items:
NO Electronics (this includes TV’s and computers)
NO Clothes (with the exception of baby clothes)
NO Vacuum Cleaners
We WILL TAKE the following items:
Baby Clothes
Baby Toys
Books
Crafts
Dishes
Furniture
Hats/Ball Caps (in good condition)
Home Decor
House Wares
Jewelry (must be in individual bags)
Linens/Bedding
Luggage
Shoes/Purses
Tools/Lawn Equipment
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So start gathering your goodies and bring them to Genesis during the hours listed above. We ask that when you bring your items, you have them boxed and labeled. This will help us when we sort and organize the items. It will be the responsibility of each one to get their items to Genesis. We will not be scheduling pick up’s as we have in the past.
If you would like to volunteer to sort during the week or work a shift during the garage sale, please let Linda Walker know as soon as possible. You can email her at Linda@genesisumc.com. We will be practicing social distancing, crowd control and safe protocols during the sale.
We look forward to a profitable and successful garage sale.
Hope to see you there!
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ALL CHURCH WORK DAY
Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 15th at 9:00 AM for an all church work day. Various spaces in the church need cleaning out so we hope to have many volunteers. If you would like more information or to sign up, contact Linda Walker at Linda@genesisumc.com.
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Now Accepting Fall Enrollment
See our webpage for more details
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Genesis Youth & Young Adults
Save the Dates!
Youth & Children Mission Week, July 25-29
We are very excited about something happening this summer - a Local Missions Week! There will be age-appropriate mission-oriented activities for children & youth...there will be youth staying overnight at the church for evenings of fun and group formation...there will be opportunities for adults in the church to help with meals and more skilled mission activities...it's going to be an intergenerational week of having fun and serving others. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more info, but black these dates off in your calendar!!!
Saturday, May 29th
Pool party at the home of Ben and Dana Martinez.
Sunday, June 6th
Recognition of all graduating seniors
Check your email for upcoming information.
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Connect with us online.
Join us for worship this Sunday on Facebook Live!
Also, find us on Instagram and Facebook!
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Top 5 Needs
Want more concrete ideas about ways to serve with Genesis? Check out these volunteer opportunities...
#1. Tech/AV volunteers! Help keep our live-streaming going!
#2. Volunteer to help with the Genesis Garage Sale.
#3. Become a Lawn Ranger! A great time of fellowship as we help care for our lawn and grounds!
#4. Help with all church workday.
#5. Donate birthday greeting cards to the church office.
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Phone Problems
The church office is experiencing technical difficulties with the phone system. If you have tried calling the office after hours you have experienced this issue. Please be patient with us as we work through this problem. If you call the church office during the day, and don't get through, please try again. Currently, the voice mail system isn't working, nor is the rollover feature which allows us to receive more than one phone call at a time. We are working with our phone company and will update you on our progress. In the meantime, we kindly ask for your patience.
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Genesis Open for In-Person Worship! |
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Our in-person worship continues to welcome those who desire to be in-person with others in our sanctuary on Sunday. We will continue live streaming in our sanctuary for those not comfortable with returning just yet. You can tune in at 10:30 every Sunday morning for live streaming our worship service. For those of you returning to in-person worship, we ask that you arrive no earlier than 10:15 am, as you will not be allowed to gather prior to or after worship. We look forward to seeing you!
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Join Us for Worship on Sundays at 10:30 |
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Pray with our Prayer Team | Sundays at 5pm |
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May 18th - UMW Meeting 10:00am (via Zoom)
May 15th - All Church Workday 9:00am
May 17th - AV Tech Training 6:00pm
May 20th - Bible Study 1:00pm (via Zoom)
May 23rd - Pentecost Sunday
May 29th - Youth Pool Party
May 30th - Beginning of Garage Sale in take 11:30am
June 4th & June 5th - GUMC Garage Sale 8:00am
June 6th - Senior Sunday 10:30am
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We have a variety of small groups that continue to meet online throughout the week. Join us to help stay connected to God and others during this time! Contact Linda Walker for details about how to get plugged in!
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Memorial Fund
The Memorial Fund allows you to remember or honor a person or event by providing funds for a current ministry of the church. To offer a memorial or honor gift, you may contact the church, mark a gift accordingly or go to our website, www.genesisumc.com
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Genesis offers electronic giving, which allows you to make donations on a scheduled, automatic basis. To set up electronic contributions, (checking or savings account or credit or debit card) you can come by the church office and complete an authorization form or go to the church website and give online.
Another great way to give is with a quick text message! Simply send a text to 817-697-2824 with the amount you would like to contribute. Make sure to include the dollar sign before the amount. Within a few minutes, you’ll be sent a text with a link to register. Once your registration is complete you will receive a text verification and a receipt via email.
It is important to know that we can depend on financial support from our congregation members to continue the missions that Genesis provides to so many, as we go through the summer, fall and upcoming holidays.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact Troy Chapman at 817-292-4551 or email him at troy@genesisumc.com.
Thank you for supporting Genesis!
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Concerns:
Elizabeth Jack
Don Chandler
Aubrey Simmons, wife of Bob & Liz Greer's nephew
Jennifer Johnson & Emily Pendergrass, family of Pat & George Poyner
The Reinhart family & friends
Julie & Don Ward
Juanita, neighbor of The Greer's
Gwen Gibson
Sylvia Dominey
Craig Bender, friend of Shayne & Dennis Rasing
Kerry Winans and her husband Chester
Jo Gehrig, sister of Patricia Graczyk
Dimphna Steyn
Syliva Dominey
Margaret Farmer
Kayleigh Krueger
Thad & Lisa Arms
Roy & Alice Bryson
Mona Foster
Family & friends of Lois Harris
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Genesis United Methodist Church
7635 S. Hulen Street, Fort Worth, TX 76133
817-292-4551
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