It is amazing to me how Christmas seems to get earlier and earlier every year. Wal-Mart was converting the Garden Center to “Santa Land” before the Halloween decorations were taken down. In Hillsboro this past Spring I walked into a store at the Mall and they already had their Christmas decorations out (OK they are a Christmas store but you get my point.) Any way you want to look at it, Thanksgiving is upon us and the Christian year is coming to a close. Between this Sunday and next Sunday we will celebrate Thanksgiving with our friends and families then we will return to church as Advent begins. Decorations will be going up, trees will be decorated, and “Christmasy” songs will be sung. But most of all, we will spend a month celebrating the coming of Christ into our lives.
Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year. Like Lent, it is a time of reflection and preparation. Like New Years Eve, it is a time of resolutions and changes. This year I hope you will begin reflect on what you might want to change. Maybe you know that you could be more regular at church. Maybe you could be more consistent with your giving. Maybe God has been calling you to start a new ministry here in the community. Maybe you haven't completed something you know you need to do... and the list goes on.
This year, may Advent be a time to prepare our hearts and lives for the coming of Christ. May we expect something great to happen in our community, in our church, in our homes, and in our lives as we prepare for the coming of our King.
Peace and Grace, J
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Here are a few of the Articles from our recent bulletins. Each of these have to do with our Charge Conference and the future of our congregation. let me know if you have any ideas:
I have heard many of you say how special this years Charge Conference was. I agree! This was a great time of sharing together our past and looking to our future. Thank you to all of you who took the time to make Sunday night a priority. If you were here I hope you heard a vision for the future as we talked about last years goals and accomplishments, the goals and leaders for the coming year, the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, and the Bishop Lowry's 3 P's. Over the next several weeks I will be outlining each of these in this section of the bulletin.
To start, let's look at the goals that were set for 2008 and how we have done with them.
Build strong relationship with residents of the community ( The congregation visited door to door in 2008, Fish Fry and Fall Festival, Quilters group, Ladies exercise class, youth and children activities, all reach out to the community.)
Have a VBS (We did not have a VBS in 2008 but are committed to having one in 2009)
Continue to be committed to mission outreach (the Charge has given over $2500 to UMCOR, we have and continue to give to the Food Pantry, we have a presence each week at the Nursing Home...)
I look forward to a great year ahead.
As promised we continue to look at where we have been and where we are going as a follow up to our recent Charge Conference. A large part of the Conference was focused on the 5 Practices book by Bishop Schnaze. This is a little excerpt from what was mentioned about it:
In the year ahead I see God leading us further and further into the community as we seek to offer Christ to a world full of unchurched people in need of God’s grace. In order to do this we as the people of God must make the following steps a priority:
We must get serious about our own faith development. In a sense, we must become intentional about our faith development. We can’t offer what we don’t have. We can’t give what we don’t know that we have received. To focus on our own spiritual growth and faith development we will offer a mid-week Bible study beginning in February in addition to our already developed Sunday School program.
We must make our stewardship of the resources God has given us a priority. You may want to call it Extravagant Generosity if you have studied the 5 Practices book. This Spring we will begin a time of focusing on our giving, what it means to give, why we give, why a tithe is important,…
This covers only 2 points of the book. We'll look at more next week.
...Continued from last week!
Below is the rest of the excerpt about the 5 Practices book that was discussed at Charge Conference.:
We must do better at inviting and receiving newcomers to the church. Some may call it radical hospitality, others may call it just being friendly but we need to take it to the next step. How we will do this is up for debate but we can begin on the streets here in Wortham and continue right here in the pews of the church
We must become passionate about our worship. Bill, Linda, and the pastor cannot do it all. You must come to worship prepared to encounter the risen Christ. We must all come to church ready, willing, and expecting change to take place in our lives and in the lives of those in the community.
We must step out of our comfort zone in ministry to others. You might hear of Risk-Taking Mission and Service or you might be asked to go on or receive a group for a mission trip. What ever it is you and I must be willing to reach out beyond the walls of the church, beyond the confines of our property, outside of our community, across the state and national boundaries, and into the world where Christ has called us to make a difference.
Here's to a great year behind and a wonderful year ahead!!!!
Jay
I have heard many of you say how special this years Charge Conference was. I agree! This was a great time of sharing together our past and looking to our future. Thank you to all of you who took the time to make Sunday night a priority. If you were here I hope you heard a vision for the future as we talked about last years goals and accomplishments, the goals and leaders for the coming year, the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, and the Bishop Lowry's 3 P's. Over the next several weeks I will be outlining each of these in this section of the bulletin.
To start, let's look at the goals that were set for 2008 and how we have done with them.
Build strong relationship with residents of the community ( The congregation visited door to door in 2008, Fish Fry and Fall Festival, Quilters group, Ladies exercise class, youth and children activities, all reach out to the community.)
Have a VBS (We did not have a VBS in 2008 but are committed to having one in 2009)
Continue to be committed to mission outreach (the Charge has given over $2500 to UMCOR, we have and continue to give to the Food Pantry, we have a presence each week at the Nursing Home...)
I look forward to a great year ahead.
As promised we continue to look at where we have been and where we are going as a follow up to our recent Charge Conference. A large part of the Conference was focused on the 5 Practices book by Bishop Schnaze. This is a little excerpt from what was mentioned about it:
In the year ahead I see God leading us further and further into the community as we seek to offer Christ to a world full of unchurched people in need of God’s grace. In order to do this we as the people of God must make the following steps a priority:
We must get serious about our own faith development. In a sense, we must become intentional about our faith development. We can’t offer what we don’t have. We can’t give what we don’t know that we have received. To focus on our own spiritual growth and faith development we will offer a mid-week Bible study beginning in February in addition to our already developed Sunday School program.
We must make our stewardship of the resources God has given us a priority. You may want to call it Extravagant Generosity if you have studied the 5 Practices book. This Spring we will begin a time of focusing on our giving, what it means to give, why we give, why a tithe is important,…
This covers only 2 points of the book. We'll look at more next week.
...Continued from last week!
Below is the rest of the excerpt about the 5 Practices book that was discussed at Charge Conference.:
We must do better at inviting and receiving newcomers to the church. Some may call it radical hospitality, others may call it just being friendly but we need to take it to the next step. How we will do this is up for debate but we can begin on the streets here in Wortham and continue right here in the pews of the church
We must become passionate about our worship. Bill, Linda, and the pastor cannot do it all. You must come to worship prepared to encounter the risen Christ. We must all come to church ready, willing, and expecting change to take place in our lives and in the lives of those in the community.
We must step out of our comfort zone in ministry to others. You might hear of Risk-Taking Mission and Service or you might be asked to go on or receive a group for a mission trip. What ever it is you and I must be willing to reach out beyond the walls of the church, beyond the confines of our property, outside of our community, across the state and national boundaries, and into the world where Christ has called us to make a difference.
Here's to a great year behind and a wonderful year ahead!!!!
Jay
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Fall Festival & Bar-B-Q 2008!
The Fall Festival is here!
This Saturday, September 27, from 5:00 - 7:00 PM we will be having our Annual Fall Festival and Bar-B-Q. Included in the festivities will be a country store with homemade goods and crafts as well as a Cake Auction of some of the finest deserts in the Bi-Stone area.
Tickets for the meal are available from many of the church members and at the door. Adults eat for $6.00, children 12 and under eat for $3.00 and children under 5 eat Free. Also available are Take-Out orders for $6.00.
Come by, enjoy the fun, enjoy the food, and enjoy the fellowship.
This Saturday, September 27, from 5:00 - 7:00 PM we will be having our Annual Fall Festival and Bar-B-Q. Included in the festivities will be a country store with homemade goods and crafts as well as a Cake Auction of some of the finest deserts in the Bi-Stone area.
Tickets for the meal are available from many of the church members and at the door. Adults eat for $6.00, children 12 and under eat for $3.00 and children under 5 eat Free. Also available are Take-Out orders for $6.00.
Come by, enjoy the fun, enjoy the food, and enjoy the fellowship.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Fall is in the air!
Fall is in the air!!! It may only be September but the cool air of the Fall is already being felt. AND... along with Fall comes all the Fall activities. This Fall we are expanding our Christian Education program here at the church. Starting September 7, 2008 we will have more Sunday School classes for more ages of children and youth and more interest for adults. The following classes are now available for you and your family: Nursery (serving cradle age children to age 3), Early Elementary Children (serving children pre-K age (4) through 1st Grade), Older Elementary Children (serving children 2nd Grade through 5th Grade), Youth (serving 6th Grade through 12th Grade), and two adult classes (one studying Cokesbury's "Adult Bible Study" materials and the other reading and studying various books by modern popular Christian writers such as Philip Yancy, Robert Schnaze, Max Lucado, and others). You are welcome here and we have a place for you.
Come be a part of something new & Come grow with us!
Come be a part of something new & Come grow with us!
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