1st United Methodist Church Weekly Update - May 6, 2022 |
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FOLLOW US & JOIN US THIS SUNDAY FOR WORSHIP LIVE AT 9:15 & 11 AM
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Message: "Mary, the Mother of Jesus"
Pastor Bob Carlson
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Special Announcement from Pastor Mike |
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Dear 1st Church Family:
It is with great pleasure that we announce that we have hired an Assistant Pastor who will begin at the end of June. Her name is Angela Hinchman. She is passionate about Jesus, discipleship, and spiritual growth. Angela will begin her ministry with us at the end of June. Along with her husband, Christian, and their three children, Ella (17), Aliana (14), and Caleb (9), she will be moving from Holland, Michigan.
Angela grew up in the Reformed Church in America. She has been a short-term missionary, as well as having various ministry roles. She has a B.A. in Humanities/Religious Studies from California State University, Sacramento, and has had coursework at both Fuller Theological Seminary and Western Theological Seminary. She is the author of Come, Gather at the Table, an 8-week study on discipleship.
We want to thank all who have been praying as we have searched for the right person to fill this important role within our church.
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Dear Church Family,
As you can imagine, finding a home sight unseen can be pretty difficult. We are looking for help to find a home for Angela and her family to rent for 6 months while they look around the area for a home. If you or someone you know has a seasonal home that could be rented from the end of June to the end of December, please contact Kathy Butgereit in the church office. We would certainly like to make this transition as easy as possible for Angela and her family.
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A Mother's Prayer of Hope - Food Drive |
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Mother's Day. A day to honor/remember our mothers. Let's do this in a way that reaches out to other mothers! Let's each bring a can or boxed food to church THIS SUNDAY! Pray blessings of hope over this item (or bag of items) and deposit them on the cart or box as you enter! 8:00 service- look for the container! "A Mother's Prayer of Hope" will be answered and blessed abundantly by your giving! |
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Teen Mission Project was a Huge Success! |
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Did you know that our Youth Ministry recently help to facilitate and provide housing to accommodate 17 high school seniors from Grace Academy along with 3 adult chaperones for a local mission project? These students traveled to Punta Gorda from their hometown of Hagerstown Maryland and stayed with us last week. They slept on air mattresses, showered in the Life Center, ate breakfast in Lenox Hall, fixed themselves bag lunches, and traveled out to Crossroads Hope Academy each day. Once at Crossroads they dove into a variety of jobs like painting, cleaning, and working in the garden. When the work was finished each day and the Crossroads boys returned from school they were able to visit together and get to know one another. They played a variety of sports and games outside with the crossroads guys, ate dinner together each night, and even hosted an ice cream social for the boys. We were happy to be able to provide our facilities to them to stay here at 1st Church to help make their mission trip a reality. Congratulations to the Grace Academy Class of 2022 for a successful mission trip - Well Done! |
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Operation Christmas Child |
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The Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Ministry Team will be collecting donations during the months of May & June to help defray the shipping costs for OCC shoeboxes packed during the Church Packing Party (date TBA). Our goal this year is to pack 100 shoeboxes at the party! The shipping cost per shoebox is $10, so any amount you can give is greatly appreciated! Please note in the memo line of your check ‘Shoebox Shipping’, or on your donation envelope. God Bless You! |
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Bargain Boutique - Summer Schedule |
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The Bargain Boutique will begin our Summer Schedule starting in May. We will be open 3 days a week, Monday-Wednesday-Friday 10AM-2PM.
Thanks to all of you who bless us with your donations, we are moved by your compassion to help us as we help others in our community.
When you see, Mary Jacobs, Judy Ewing , Jane Prevost, Ely Weaver. Barbara Cobb, Ruth Shaffer, Sandy Anderson, Bette Hanlon, Susie Krause, Trish Rusca, Arlene Waters, Pat Williams, Lynne Britton, give them a 'shout out'..."well done good and faithful servants."
A page from our Diary written by two of our volunteers...Sandy and Ruth:
We were working this past Wednesday when a gentleman came in looking for something for his wife. Ruth talking with him learned that his wife has dementia and is in a memory care unit. He said she liked colorful, bright things and with out hesitation Ruth gave him a lap mat (fidget) that we had on display and was given to us by those Crafty Ladies in Room 9. It was perfect for his wife, she could touch many things on it (buttons, zippers, pockets with keys in them etc. He was so pleased he had something his wife could actually use. He was so thankful. He continued shopping looking for other small things for his wife. Reaching out and touching others in different ways is as we say a 'God thing'. He is at work all around us. We just have to look. Putting two missions together the Bargain Boutique and those Crafty Ladies in Room 9 God does His math for us. And all of that happened on our Church Campus!
In Joy,
The Volunteers
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Children's Ministry - Volunteer Training |
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Volunteer CYPP Training will take place Sunday, May 15 immediately following the 9:15 service upstairs in the children's Sunday School Room.
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Losing 2 brothers to suicide has inspired Laurie to spread the importance of deep listening, fearless transparency and non-judgmental acceptance.
Laurie is the bestselling author of Leading with GRIT Inspiring Action and Accountability with Generosity, Respect, Integrity, and Truth, endorsed by Don Miguel Ruiz (The Four Agreements) and Ken Blanchard (The One Minute Manager).
Laurie developed the formula G.R.I.T. to bring more to the grit equation – Generosity, Respect, Integrity, Truth.
Laurie has over two decades of executive coaching, leadership training and most importantly, real-life business and personal experience. Laurie is on a mission to improve lives through leadership, and she contends that anyone can stand and be a leader.
Books will be available for sale and autographed at the event. Visit LaurieSudbrink.com to learn more about Laurie. |
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We Need Sunday School Teachers! |
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Our Children's Ministry is in need of elementary Sunday School teachers. If you are willing to serve, please contact Becca: becca@whatis1st.com
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If you’ve walked into the church library recently, you might have noticed a few changes. Three new church library volunteers have been working on shifting books, reorganizing, and getting acquainted with our library collection. As we work with our church collection, we are thankful for the library volunteers who came before us. A special Thank You to Gail LaGro... we appreciate you.
Our goal is to serve the congregation in our Church library by maintaining our core collection. We will do this by organizing, weeding, and adding to the collection. If there is a particular title you think might be current, classic, or worthy of our library, please consider dropping off a note for our volunteers and placing it in the church library return basket and/ or donating such a book to our library.
Please stop in to find a book to borrow that will encourage your Christian faith journey.
We hope to have a church library open house sometime after Easter.
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Vacation Bible School, June 6-10 |
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Registration is now open for this summer's Vacation Bible School!
VBS is a wonderful way to introduce children to Jesus, and share 1st Church with new families in our area. Please share!
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If you are interested in serving on a VBS volunteer team, please email Becca: becca@whatis1st.com.
VBS volunteers needed:
10 group leaders (teens welcome!), 5 rotation leaders, opening and closing leaders (also great for teens), and crafters! We will have a VBS planning meeting on May 19 from 10-11 in room 13. Decoration making from 11-2.
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Crafter's Group - Come Join Us! |
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WE NEED Anyone who can sew on a button, crochet, knit, draw, design, or has ANY creative talent! We work together while enjoying each other's company.
We have made the following items:
*Baby blankets for Careline Pregnancy Center
*Crocheted octopus for preemie babies
*Greeting cards for our own Care Ministry team
*Walker bags for the veteran's home
*Activity mats for those suffering from Dementia and Alzheimer's donated to nursing homes locally
We meet in Room 9 every Wednesday from 1-3:30 pm.
Contact:
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Volunteers needed for Crossroad Academy |
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Every 3rd Saturday of each month volunteers from 1st Church cook food and take it to Crossroads Hope Academy to bless the young men who are residents there. We desperately need more volunteers to either cook food and/or help deliver the meal to Crossroads. We meet in the Church parking lot every month at 11:30 and load the food and go together to Crossroads. This ministry truly is a blessing to those we serve. If interested, please call Gail LaGro at 941-613-1745. |
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Receive Texts from 1st Church |
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1st Church Family... We are trying to improve our communication within the congregation and also looking for a way to keep everyone seeking devotionals each day. If you would like to receive daily devotionals from 1st Church or receive important communications, please sign up by calling the church office 941-639-3842. This will allow us to text you these messages and make it easy for you to receive them. |
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Greetings 1st Church friends and family --
Happy May! A time of gratitude; for rain that is finally turning things from drab brown to a beautiful green, with flowering trees bursting with colorful blooms, and with temperatures definitely heating up. It reminds me that even though I live a life of gratitude there are times of life changes and challenges that make me pause and question. Ephesians 5:20 tells us to "Always give thanks for everything ". We know we should, and we know why. But then thoughts creep in and you ask yourself how can you give thanks when the world seems to be falling apart around us. For me, it means thinking back over my basic gratitude lists; remembering all the things He's answered and all the gifts I've been given. And I try to make a conscious choice to choose gratitude. I can walk around with my head down wondering why I don't have this or question why I'll never be able to do that - but - I choose to look up, smile, and living my life in Jesus is a gift. That means peace and hope no matter what is going on. This means that even when facing a new medical situation I can let go of fears and worries. For me, living a life focused on gratitude didn't just happen, but became a habit after choosing it day after day, no matter what. Remember it's okay to start small by writing down (that's important) 3 things daily; maybe a cup of coffee in the morning, a warm bed, or a friend's kindness.
We are grateful for the members of our congregation who turned out last Sunday for the vote to disaffiliate. As you most likely learned from Pastor Mike's message, the membership voted overwhelmingly to go ahead with disaffiliation. We know this was a difficult decision for many. Let's all continue to pray for our church and congregation as we move forward. Continue to sign up for a time in our prayer room and remember the Lord's Prayer at noon. Please know that all are welcome to our prayer time in the sanctuary each Thursday at noon. Let's keep praying.
I'm praying for you!
Rosie Young
Worship Coordinator
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The Eighth Note – Music Ministry in a Minute! |
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Greetings Everyone,
Are you musical? Consider joining one of our groups. This is a great way to serve the church, learn about music and get to know folks.
The Handbell Choir rehearses on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM in the Life Center and plays on Sundays at the 11:00 AM Service. The ability to read music is necessary.
The Chancel Choir rehearses on Thursdays at 6:30 PM in the Historic Sanctuary and sings Sundays at the 11:00 AM Service.
Please contact David Bellows for more information or questions.
Soli Deo Gloria!
David Bellows
Director of Music Ministries
This Sunday's Music - May 8, 2022 - 11:00 AM Service
Prelude: Gigue (Psalm 149:3) – D. Wagner
Opening Hymn: 92 For The Beauty Of The Earth
Offertory Anthem: All Things Bright And Beautiful – J. Rutter
Closing Hymn: Faith Of Our Mothers
Postlude: Toccata in Seven – J. Rutte
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Discipleship Opportunities |
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View a complete list of groups at 1st Church HERE
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The Harmony Bible Study Class will begin a new six-lesson DVD study on Sunday, May 22nd in Lenox Hall at 10:30 a.m. “Five Marks of a Methodist: The Fruit of a Living Faith” by Steve Harper and Magrey R. deVega, will help us learn and live the five distinctive marks that John Wesley set forth in The Character of a Methodist”. The class will also view an action-packed docudrama, “Encounters With John Wesley”, which captures major moments in his incredible life and includes four of his sermons as dramatized and depicted by Mark Topping (as John Wesley). Lesson materials will be supplied for each lesson so no study guides or books are required. Everyone is welcome to attend! If you have questions, please contact Debbie Harrington at 941.380.0213.
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A gathering of men who seek a more complete Christian understanding of the teaching of Jesus. Men of Faith meet in Lenox Hall on Thursdays from 9-10:30am under the leadership of Pastor Bill Grant. The group uses the daily study guide, My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, as a start for each weeks' discussion. The daily study guide is available free at the gathering. Many of the group come from other churches, so invite your friends. |
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2022 Bible Reading Schedules |
We want to encourage you to join us as we once again read through the Bible. Start your new year off right by committing to read God's Word!
Download the 2022 reading guide HERE.
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Worship Service Information |
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If you are planning on attending our services please remember the following:
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Masks are now optional for those that are fully vaccinated.
- Social distancing is still encouraged. Families may sit together, but please leave three seats between you and others not in your family.
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If you are feverish or not feeling well, we ask that you stay home and join us online on our Facebook and YouTube channels.
At this time, you may only enter the Life Center through the main entrance facing the Fellowship Hall courtyard. All other exterior doors will be locked. We'll see you Sunday!
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Join us this Sunday at 8 am for Praise in the Park! Open to everyone, this is your opportunity to join us for "in-person" worship as we enjoy God's scenery from the lawn of the beautiful Gilchrist Park Pavilion, weather permitting of course. If it is or has been raining (or is too cold), Praise in the Park will relocate to our historic Sanctuary. Time may not always be sufficient to get the word out, so in case of inclement weather, please proceed to the Sanctuary.
Please plan to bring your lawn chairs and/or blankets, and, yes, we will be asking you to practice social distancing. Don't forget to join our "Praise in the Park" group on our Church App! As a reminder, our outside services are always subject to change due to the weather. Please make sure you are connected with us through the app, our email list, or social media to receive our updates concerning schedule changes. See you Sunday for Praise in the Park!
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FOLLOW US & JOIN US THIS SUNDAY FOR WORSHIP LIVE AT 9:15 & 11 AM
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Office Hours: Monday - Thursday, 9am - 4pm
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