'Sunday Worship' Tagged Posts (Page 4)
Slowing Down
First Church Family, It’s good to have settled back in after some days away. I’m using this brief message to share several important updates with you: Ivey is away with family this week, so many phone calls will be going to our staff voicemails. We will respond to your messages while she is away. The office will be back up and running this coming Monday. The wave of the Delta variant of COVID has forced us to slow down returning…
Living Water
Jesus said to the woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water,so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”John 4:13-15 NRSV Water…
September News
Dear First Church Family, I pray this newsletter finds you in good health and spirits. This past week has had its share of bad news: chaos and death in Afghanistan after our troop withdrawal, pain and loss in Haiti in the after-math of a powerful earthquake, flash flooding in western North Carolina and Tennessee that took lives and destroyed property, and rising COVID numbers in our community and state. I shared recently that September is one of my favorite months…
VBS Report
First Church Family, This week our Christian Life Center has been abuzz with children participating in our first Vacation Bible School in two years. The experience has been wonderful. Titled: “Rocky Mountain Railway,” together we have learned about the power of God, which is available in all areas of our lives. Many thanks to our Tara Hatton and Jamie Jones for their wonderful leadership; to our Danny Clark, who has gotten our facility ready to receive our volunteers and children…
4th of July Weekend
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.…
Promises, Promises
First Church Family, I pray that you had a blessed Memorial Day Weekend. That holiday marks the unofficial beginning of summer. And last Sunday, we began our summer worship series on the “Promises of God.” In ensuing weeks, we will take a close look at some of the important things God promises us in the Scriptures. Topics will include promises made about: eternal life, heaven, the Holy Spirit, God’s presence, rest for the weary, peace in our lives, and God’s guidance, among others. I…
June Message
First Church Family, Over the past week, it has felt like we have jumped right into summer, with daily highs near 90°. That is after a long, cold, dark, and wet winter and early spring. Over the past fourteen months, we at First Methodist have been the most cautious and safety conscious church of which I am aware. We have sought to follow governmental guidelines as closely as possible. And I am proud of and thankful for our decision making…
Diversity and Freedom
First Church Family, I pray that you are in good health and spirits. Much has happened over the past week. The COVID-19 Pfizer vaccination was approved for ages 12 up, and thankfully, several of our youth have already been able to get it. I pray that you pursue that option in your families. Over the past fourteen months, we at First Methodist have been the most cautious and safety conscious church of which I am aware. We have sought to follow governmental…
Youth Sunday
First Church Family, One of the treasures in every community and church is its youth. And 2020-21 has been a very challenging, difficult time for them. Last school year was shortened by massive restrictions due to the COVID pandemic. And though this year has been a bit less restrictive, much teaching was done online, masks were required, even for athletes during their events, bands and choruses weren’t allowed to function. The list goes on and on. Actually, to their credit, it…
Mother’s Day Service
First Church Family, Blessings on you this first full week of May. The experts tell us that our last chance of a killing frost is past us, meaning that we are free to set out annual plants and garden vegetables without fear of losing them to cold weather. But is anyone really an “expert” on weather? Ha! We continue to move forward following our resumption of in-person worship services on Sundays. Thank you for participating the way you have. And many thanks to…
Spring Worship
April 28, 2021 First Church Family, I pray you are enjoying the wonderful Spring weather with which we’ve been blessed the last days. A couple of weeks ago I spent several days at the beach, and while it was fun and restful, the water temperature was still in the mid-fifties! Evidently, winter was cold, dark and wet there too… But now things are changing. I actually set out annual vegetables on my Sabbath yesterday. And so far, there is not a predicted frost/freeze in…
In-Person Worship
First Church Family, What a glorious Easter season we enjoyed at FUMC! Easter Sunday was the first Sunday we didn’t rigidly limit the number of people in our Sanctuary, but we were well under our maximum of people limited by COVID protocols. And what a great feeling it was to be together! Our total worship attendance (including those worshiping with us online) was well over 400 persons. Many thanks to staff and volunteers who worked together to ensure our safety as they encouraged COVID-19…