"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is the one true
church, apostolic and universal." This preface to a Modern Affirmation in
our United Methodist Hymnal (page 885) defines the church in relationship to
God's Spirit made known to us in Jesus Christ. The operative words are
"the Spirit of the Lord" - God's presence, Christ's presence in our
midst when we gather as a community of faith. This summer our church combined
our 2 worship services into one for the first time in a number of years. The
intention was to move back to two services this fall but many people were
sensing the movement of God in this experiment and the Administrative Board
voted Monday night to make the change permanent effective Sept. 8 with a
worship time being 9:30 am.
The discussion to change was agreed upon without any negative
votes by the Administrative Council. I believe most of the Council must have
had the same type of experience as I have had with many people sharing their
positive comments about the joint service. I know that not all will be happy
with this decision, but I pray you will put into practice the teaching of Paul
to the church in Ephesus; “3 “making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in
the bond of peace…13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of
Christ.” Ephesians 4:3,13
The new combined service will enable us to: 1) establish a
permanent Children’s church, a great tool for nurturing our young disciples,
who are the future of the church 2) be a blessing to young families as we
fulfill our pledge to support and nurture the baptized into faith 3) work
towards uniting and strengthening our church family.
We will never be a perfect church and we will continue to fine
tune the format of our combined service but what we can be is with God’s grace
a community of the faithful believers growing in the unity of the love of God
in the Spirit of Christ Jesus.
We need and want all to be a part of this call in Christ Jesus.
Let us all pray for the Spirit guidance as we move with patience, love and
unity in this new work of God.
PASTOR LANE
MEALS ON
WHEELS DELIVERY
FUMC is scheduled to deliver Senior Nutrition/Meals on Wheels September 30th -October
25th. Currently, meals are provided to 59 people
on a daily basis. The need for home
delivered meals continues to increase as more people choose to remain in their
homes rather than going into a long term care facility. Each day has four routes and meals are to be
picked up at 11:00 a.m. from the Senior Center. Each route takes approximately
30-45 minutes to complete. It is ideal
to have 2 persons per route, but a driver alone would suffice. Signup sheets for volunteers to deliver the
meals are located on the table in the main entry way of the church. Thank you
for your participation in this valuable program. This important service could not continue
without volunteers such as yourself!
HAND BELL PRACTICE Seasonal hand bell practice will begin Wednesday, September 25th at 5:30 p.m. in the bell choir room. Everyone interested in trying is welcome. For more information call Bonnie at 641-828-8750.
LAY SERVANT MINISTRY COURSES SEPT. 7 & 14
Basic and Advanced Lay Servant Ministry Courses will be held September 7 and 14 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Courses offered include Basic Course – “Basic Lay Servant Ministries”; Advanced Course – “Preaching: From your Heart to Theirs”; and Advanced Course – “United Methodist History: Living Our United Methodist Beliefs”. Registration fee is $30 and the deadline for registration is September 3. Registration forms are available in the church office.
Join
us in West Fellowship Hall for a video tour of the life of Jesus Christ as He
travels through the Holy Land during His ministry at 10:15 am on September 1st.
Travel with Adam Hamilton as he retraces the life and ministry of Jesus
Christ. Once again, Hamilton approaches his subject matter with
thoughtfulness and wisdom. Using historical information, archaeological
data, and stories of the faith, Hamilton follows in the footsteps of Jesus from
his baptism to the temptations to the heart of his ministry, including the people he loved, the parables he
taught, the enemies he made, and the healing he brought.
YOUTH LED
SERVICE
Come join the FUMC Youth Group on Sunday, September 15 as they
lead worship and share the special music and lessons that were shared during
their mission trip to Colorado. They will also be sharing pictures and
telling about the mission work that was done during the Week of Hope.
Join the group following service downstairs in West Fellowship Hall for some
fellowship and a longer slide show of what the group did while in Colorado.
FUN
on the Farm Hay Ride
UMW GUEST DAY AT
OSKALOOSA & SEPTEMBER MEETING
We
have been invited to Guest Day at the Central United Methodist Church in
Oskaloosa on
Wednesday, September 11, at noon.
Joan Benscoter will be giving the program on “underground Railroad Quilt
Code". I will need to let them know
how many of us are coming by September 6.
This will be after our September 5 meeting. So you can email Pat Haning if you are
planning on going or let her know at the meeting. We will be having the executive meeting at
12:30 on September 5 and the general meeting will be at 1:30. Hostess, greeters, and devotions are by Mary
Circle. Our program is to be Anne Bacon
of Bidwell Riverside. We would love to
see a good turn out to start our fall season.
Hope to see everyone there. Pass
the word to friends. God Bless. Pat Haning
Youth Group Kickoff
FALL KICKOFF PARTY
Plan to join us Sunday, September 8th at our
new time (9:30 a.m.) for kickoff
Sunday with special events including special music by Katie Davis and a light
lunch provided immediately following the service (free will offering).
Sunday
Worship Service
Effective September 8th, Sunday worship time will be 9:30 a.m.
Children’s
Church
Children’s church will now be held weekly on Sundays at
approximately 10:00 a.m. All children ages 2 through 5th grade
are invited after the children’s time to go down stairs for 30 minutes of
extended learning time with stories, crafts, and games. The kids can be picked up downstairs after
the church service.
Youth
Sunday School
Youth Sunday School classes (7th
through 12th grade) will meet immediately following church services weekly on Sundays 10:30-11:15 a.m. in the youth room beginning September 22nd. All youth are invited to attend!
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