THIS SUNDAY

November 6, 2022

Gratitude


“It is not happiness that

makes us grateful; it’s gratefullness that makes us happy”


All Saints’ Sunday

Holy Communion will be celebrated.

8:30 am Roebuck Chapel

In Person, Facebook Live & YouTube 


Rev. Bud Reeves

Offertory “God Shall Direct Thy Paths”

Soloist: Cash Standridge  

Organist: Benjamin Henderson  

11:00 am Connexion

In Person. Facebook and YouTube @ 6pm


Rev. DeeDee Autry

Psalm 34 Taste and See

“Christ Be Magnified”

“Holy,Holy,Holy”

“I Will Rise”

11:00 am Sanctuary

In Person,Facebook Live,

YouTube and FM 103.5


Rev. Bud Reeves

Anthem “Celebrate God’s Gift of Music”

Children’s Choir

Offertory “Then Shall the Righteous Shine Forth”


Grant Harper, Soloist

Gaye Mings, Chancel Choir Director

Benjamin Henderson, Organist

WEEKLY CALENDAR

Sunday, November 6

8:30 am All Saints Prayer Experience, Narthex

8:30 am Roebuck Chapel Service

9:30 am Holy Grounds

9:45 am Sunday Small Groups

11:00 am Connexion Worship, In Person

11:00 am Sanctuary, In-Person, 

Live Facebook/YouTube & FM 103.5

5:00 pm Youth, Loft

5:00 pm Trustees Meeting

6:00 pm Connexion Worship, Recorded Facebook & YouTube

Tuesday, November 8

8:30 am All Saints Prayer Experience, Narthex

10:00 am Circle Rebekah, Conference Room

10:00 am Circle Ruth, Room next to Fireside

Wednesday, November 9

8:30 am All Saints Prayer Experience, Narthex

9:00 am Women’s Bible Study, Fireside Room

10:00 am Casserole Group, Aldersgate Room

10:00 am Ladybells, Bayliss Hall

4:00 pm Children’s Choir, Bayliss Hall

5:30 pm Dinner Church, Fireside Room

7:00 pm Praise Band Practice, Great Hall

7:00 pm Chancel Choir

Thursday, November 10

8:30 am All Saints Prayer Experience, Narthex

10:00 am Knitters & Knotters, Fireside Room

11:00am Modern Widows Club, Fireside Room

Friday, November 11

10:00 am Pacesetters, Fireside Room

4:00 pm Youth ACCYM Refuge Trip

Saturday, November 12

4:00 pm Youth ACCYM Refuge Trip

KNOW YOUR WHY!

In all sorts of areas, it’s important to “know your why.” In order to be successful in the true sense of the word, we have to know why we are seeking to accomplish a task. It’s not enough just to go through the motions. We have to understand our inner motivation. That gives us the will to do it and the joy in seeing it done.

Last month, I talked about the “how” of our financial support of God’s ministry at First United Methodist Church. According to Scripture, God calls us to give proportionately, prayerfully, and sacrificially. This leads to the joy of generosity. We have a number of ways you can do that for the church: directly through cash or check, by mail, by automatic bank draft or recurrent electronic giving through our website, or by gifts of appreciated stock. You can even give by texting 73256. That’s pretty much the “how” of supporting the church financially.

But the “how” doesn’t mean much without the “why.” Why is it so important to give our gifts to the church? Why does God give us all these instructions in Scripture to be good givers?

We give to support vital ministry. The work of the church to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world is maybe the most important work there is. We have a lot of that going on at FUMC in Fort Smith. Worship every week, studies for training in discipleship, outreach into the community, training for children and youth learning to be Christians, pastoral care for the sick and dying. Your gifts to the church change lives and offer encouragement and support in the trying times of life. It’s a great investment!

We give because we are stewards of God’s gifts. Everything we have belongs to God. Our physical lives, our income, our homes, our families, our community and nation, the world we live in–everything is God’s gift to us. Like a trusted servant in biblical times, we are entrusted with the care of God’s creation and providence. Our goal is to make the best us of what God has given us. That’s the call of stewardship.

We give because we are grateful. What God has given us is pretty awesome–sunrises every morning, sunsets every evening, a beautiful planet, smiling faces of people we love, meaningful work, adequate income, a great community of faith. We are full up with blessings. As a demonstration of our gratitude, we give some of our blessings back to God–our time, energy, talents, and gifts–just to show God that we are thankful.

We give because it builds our faith. When you commit to something–a marriage, a workout, a degree–you become invested in that commitment. As time goes by, your relationship with that commitment deepens and strengthens. When we first start to give, and we see what good it does for our souls, we become deeper and more committed in this act of faith. Our faith grows with our giving, and if we can attain the goal of the tithe (10% of income), it brings with it a tremendous feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. I know; I’ve been doing it for over 40 years.

Finally, we give because it brings us joy. It’s no sin to feel good; God wants us to be happy. God’s desire for our life of faith is a deep, abiding joy. Giving faithfully is not the only way we find happiness, but it is a key element, because we can’t help but feel good knowing that we are doing what our God–our Creator, Savior, and Sustainer– wants us to do.

There are plenty of reasons “why” we give. I hope you will think about those as you pray and get ready to make your financial commitments for the New Year. You will be blessed for doing it; God promises!

WE ARE GIVING “WITH A JOYFUL HEART!”  


During the month of November, we will be emphasizing our ministry of generosity under the theme “With A Joyful Heart.” Scripture emphasizes that our giving should bring us joy, and we are encouraging everyone in the congregation to pray and commit to support the ministry of FUMC in the coming year. MailingS will be sent out and witnesses will testify in our services on November 6 and 13. On Sunday, November 20, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we will offer our estimates of giving in an act of worship. Based on our results, we will plan our ministry for 2023. This is a crucial time for the future of our church, because we want to do all the ministry God calls us to do to fulfill our mission. Read your mail; pray your prayers; and let’s celebrate what God is doing in and through our church!

THE GIDEON CARD PROGRAM Available in Narthex

The Gideon Card Program gives us a unique opportunity to send special occasion cards. We honor the recipient of the card with Bibles sent in their name. There are cards for Memorials, Recognition, Thinking of You, Get Well Soon Praying for You, etc.

As we honor the recipient of the card with a personalized message, we are sending Bibles in their honor to people in Fort Smth, the United States, and throughout the world. We begin this process by getting a card from the rack in the Narthex.

As we center our sermon series on a Season of Joy, I want to encourage each and every one of you to consider what brings you joy. When I center my life in Jesus and take my focus off myself it’s amazing how much more joy I feel. Remember joy is an attitude, not just an emotion. So that even when life gets a bit crazy, we can still muster up some joy in the midst of it all. 

Each card has two envelopes. The first one is for the card you send to your loved one or the person you are honoring. Put your personal message on it, the number of Bibles you are sending in their honor, and put it in the mail. The second card is the one you fill out for the Gideons. You fill out the recipient and the number of Bibles you are buying in their honor. The Bibles are $5.00 each. Include a check or credit card information and mail the envelope to the Gideons.

This is a way to continue God’s mission of reaching out to the unsaved, through scripture.

OCTOBER WAS A BUSY MONTH!

We kicked off the month with our Spooky Bible Stories Sunday School curriculum. The kids heard Bible stories that may seem scary at first, but actually show God’s awesome and powerful nature. We talked about when Moses parted the Red Sea, when Jesus called Peter out on the water, Noah’s ark, and when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. 


We ended October with our second annual Fall Festival. We saw a shocking number of people from our church and community. Everyone had a blast jumping on our inflatables, playing our plethora of games, and doing crafts. We also had a wonderful turn out at our Chili Cookoff and Dessert bakeoff. Congratulations to the winners of our Chili Category: the Thames family for most unique, DC Basham for the Spiciest, and Stacy Stites for best overall! Congratulations to our bake off winners: the Speck family for most creative, Aubrey Pierce for best little baker, and Livia Pryor for Best Overall! I also want to say a HUGE thank you for all of those who helped make Fall Festival possible. From our youth working to games, to every adult that jumped in wherever I needed them! I am SO thankful for each of you! 

Looking forward to the start of Advent at the end of the month, we will be starting Wonderland Wednesdays, our Advent series. You won’t want your kiddos to miss out on all the fun! 

OUTREACH

In October, some of our church family cooked and served around 30 people at Community Rescue Mission. Our church is signed up to cook again on Sunday, November 13th, at 4:00 pm. We would love to have you join us as we serve a vital ministry in our community. 

Collectober collections went great! The bins were filled from our generous church family. These supplies will be sent to the UMCOR Sager Brown Depot to be used to help those in need of necessities. Thank you for contributing to these relief kits.

We had a great time at the Pet Blessing at the Village at Heritage. Attendees enjoyed seeing the pets in their Halloween costumes. Each pet was blessed and received a pet bandana. Ice cream, pup cups, and a giveaway also took place at this event. It was fun to have conversations with some of the medical school students and to build relationships with the community. 

Friendsgiving, the one with the turkey, is happening on Wednesday, November 16th, at 5:30 pm! Dinner Church is wrapping up for the semester with a “Friends” themed evening. Invite your friends for thanksgiving food, activities, a message on generosity, and leave with a way to spread kindness to your neighbors. Bring a non-perishable food item to Friendsgiving for Little Food Pantries in Fort Smith. Sign up for Friendsgiving today by using the QR code.

Sign Up Here

Feed the Fort ministries are continuing here at First United Methodist Church. The next Last Sunday Breakfast is on Sunday, November 27th, 8:30 am in the Fireside room. The Casserole Ministry and Food Patrol prepares and distributes food each month. This month, over 20 casseroles went to families at local schools and non-profit organizations such as Next Step and Community Rescue Mission. 


It is a blessing to serve alongside this wonderful church family!

‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it; ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Matthew 22:37-39 NRSV

YOUth NOVEMBER


Sunday Night Dinner @ 5pm in the Fireside Room in the FLC unless otherwise noted.


Nov. 6 5-7pm - Dinner, Games, Thanksgiving meal, and Small Groups focusing on Thankful and Unthankful.


Nov. 13 - Bowling Night. 4:15-6:30. $10 (includes shoes, bowling, and some pizza. Bring more $ for drinks or other food.


Nov. 20 - Agape Feast Worship (worship with food) plus regular dinner.


Nov. 27 - Special Advent worship @ 5 in sanctuary, dinner at 5:30, and YOUth Mission 6-7 where we have a mission night here as we prepare for Christmas.

Sign up for Dinners here

MUSIC DEPARTMENT

We had a wonderful turnout for the Organ Concert on October 23rd. With your help, we were able to raise over $4500 for the Guatemala Mission Trip from the over 350 in attendance and over 400 viewing on YouTube and Facebook! The evening was full of wonder and amazement; I am so thankful for all your support of me, the Church, the Mission Team, and the organ. You won’t want to miss the next one! BUT, if you happened to miss this past one, there is a recording available on the FSFUMC YouTube and Facebook pages. Please share this video with your friends and we will gladly accept your contributions to help the Guatemala Mission Team.

UPCOMING MUSIC DEPARTMENT DATES


DEC 1 • 7:30PM Fort Smith Chorale Christmas Concert

DEC 5 • 6:30PM Northside HS Choral Winter Concert

DEC 18 • 11:00AM Lessons and Carols

WELCOME NEW CHURCH MEMBERS

Dustin and Jennifer Foster joined on 10/16. Dustin is the assistant to the vice-chancellor in development at UAFS, and Jennifer is an instructional specialist with Fort Smith Schools. Their daughter Charlotte is 4 years old. They transfered from other denominations.

Sharon Stiles is a retired business teacher and recently moved to Fort Smith. She transferred from another United Methodist Church.

Welcome, Sharon!

PACESETTERS

Pacesetters had a busy October, starting the month with a trip to Alma’s Catfish Hole Restaurant before experiencing the Redneck Tenors at the Skokos Performing Arts Center. Our Children’s Minister, Ashley McNeal, helped us make beaded bracelets during our October 7 meeting. October 16 found us traveling again to Mansfield to celebrate the completion of Susan Chaney’s country bungalow.The celebration included a house blessing offered by Susan’s Mansfield pastor. Pacesetters are delighted to have Rosemary Ayers sitting in the driver’s seat.


November promises to be a busy month. Our November 4 meeting will include watching the delightful movie “Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris” in our Great Hall, followed by lunch. Friday, November 11, we’re off to Siloam Springs for the annual Dayspring Cards warehouse sale.  


Nancy Vernon has agreed to share her funny side with Pacesetters for our November 18 program.  Join us in the Fireside Room at 10:00. You will be entertained, enlightened, and uplifted. I promise.

October 21 we made pumpkin door hangers with Church Outreach Director, Tiffany Pierce.

RECENT MEMORIALS

IN MEMORY OF:

  • Betty McGee by

Kyle & Renee Parker

Jack & Louanna Green

Claude and Donna Hawkins

  • Helen Couvillion by

Brian & Susie Rosenthal

Jack & Louanna Green

Mary Lee Kulin

Ronald & Paula Pressnell

  • Nancy Sickman by

Susan Chaney

Jack & Louanna Green

Susan Roberts

Myrna Sue Lough

George & Carole Beattie

  • J.C. McChristian by

Robert & Wanda Blanchfill

  • Kim Friery by

Eric Nelson

Harry Cunningham

Floyd & Judy Bradberry

  • Carl Hill by

Edna Burgerson

  • Marvin Mumme by

Tom & Debbie Hardgrave

Robert Powell by

Melissa Joyce

  • Nancy Bradt by

George & Carole Beattie

IN HONOR OF:

  • In celebration of the birth of Barrett Elizabeth Beauchamp by

Jimmie Lou Sagely


FIRST UNITED METHODIST NEWS published weekly except the last week of the year by First United Methodist Church 200 North 15th Street, Fort Smith, Arkansas 72901. 
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