First Church Family,
I pray you are having a safe and enjoyable lead up to the 4th of July weekend. I am looking forward to Sunday, when we will actually worship on Independence Day, at 10:00AM in our beautiful Sanctuary. The service will focus on God’s presence with us through Holy Communion. We will sing patriotic Christian hymns, and have our FUMC orchestra play patriotic music. Please don’t miss it.
I’ve been asked if we could say the “Pledge of Allegiance” during the service. It is my opinion that it is not proper to pledge allegiance to anyone or anything but our Heavenly Father, Himself, during a service of Christian worship.
Join us either in-person or online. And be sure to have your elements ready for Holy Communion, if you can’t worship in-person with us.
Thank you for your response to our Brady McCormick’s request for help for our United Methodist food pantry at CCC&TI. Boxes of simple heat and eat foods are being filled in our church’s reception area (and outside both entrances to the Sanctuary and CLC) for delivery later in July. Many of the students at CCC&TI do not have the resources to buy food during the school day and go without. We pray for the new Wesley Foundation program our United Methodist churches are establishing there.
Thank you also to David and Mary Ruth Horn, Sherry Ford, and Kay Lanier, who allowed me to be a part of baking 125 loaves of zucchini bread Monday to be distributed to persons in our community in need of food provisions. I had the elite position of peeling zucchini that morning, and my hands stayed green all day–HA!
Our congregation continues to have a heart for providing food for impoverished persons and families in our county. On Sunday, I will announce the number of pounds of soup, pasta, rice, beans and pasta sauce that you have brought to our church to be donated to Yokefellow in June. You will be amazed!
God has blessed us richly during the time of the COVID pandemic. And what better way to respond to God’s goodness than to care for those in need!
My prayers are with you and yours during this holiday week.
Pastor Dave