THIS SUNDAY
February 6, 2022
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In Person
Rev. DeeDee Autry
Special Music Organ Voluntary “Pastorale”
Babs Jetton, Guest Organist
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In Person, 6pm Premier on Facebook and YouTube
Rev. Bud Reeves
“In The Secret”
“Give Me Faith”
“Waiting Here For You”
“I Give Myself Away (Here I am to Worship)”
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In Person, Facebook Live, YouTube, and FM 103.5
Rev. DeeDee Autry
Anthem “How Will They Know?”
Anthem “So Do Ye Also”
Participants
Chancel Choir
Gaye Mings, Chancel Choir Director
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Sunday, February 6
8:30 am Chapel Service
9:30 am Holy Grounds
9:45 am Sunday Small Groups
11:00 am Connexion Worship, In Person,
11:00 am Sanctuary Worship, In Person, Facebook Live, YouTube & FM 103.5
4:00 pm Bible Explorers, Children’s Area
4:00 pm Confirmation Class
6:00 pm Connexion Premier on Facebook & YouTube
4:30 pm Middle School Youth, Loft
5:30 pm Administrative Board Meeting, Zoom
6:00 pm High School Youth, Loft
Tuesday, February 8
10:00 am Circle Rebekah, Conference Room
7:00 pm Young Adult Ministry, St. Paul UMC
Wednesday, February 9
9:15 am Fierce– Women’s Bible Study, Fireside Room
10:00 am Casserole Group, Aldersgate
10:00 am Ladybells, Bayliss Hall
5:00 pm Children’s Choir
5:30 pm Evening Prayer, In Person and Facebook Live
5:45 pm Wednesday Night Life
6:30 pm Praise Band practice, The Great Hall
7:00 pm Chancel Choir, Choir room
Thursday, February 10
10:00 am Knitters & Knotters, Fireside Room
6:00 pm Modern Widow’s Club Valentine's' Dinner, PT's Manor
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In Baptist Van Buren Hospital:
In Mercy Hospital:
Loss of Loved Ones:
- Lester Baker - brother of Gladys Walz.
- Ola Waters - family and friends.
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February 2 is Groundhog Day, an American tradition that originated with German immigrants in the 19th century. Counter-intuitively, if the groundhog sees his shadow because the sun is out, there will be six more weeks of winter. If the groundhog does not see his shadow because of cloudy weather, spring will come early. There is no scientific basis for this prediction or statistical correlation of groundhog prognostications to actual weather events. Still, it’s fun. Ask the people in Punxsutawney, PA.
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Since 1993, Groundhog Day has reminded me of the movie of the same name starring Bill Murray. In the movie, Bill’s character, Phil, is doomed to repeat Groundhog Day, a holiday he despises, over and over. |
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It seems like we have been in sort of a “Groundhog Day” scenario with the pandemic. We think we have it licked, then another variant will create a surge. We put the masks on, then take them off, then put them back on again. We moved to virtual meetings and worship, then to in-person, then back to virtual, then back to in-person. It’s been a crazy, topsy-turvy time. It would be sort of comical, except that along with all the pivoting, over 900,000 Americans and almost 6 million humans globally have died, including many of our friends and family. Economies have been wrecked; schools have been disrupted, and mental health has become a widespread struggle. |
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As I was greeting folks at church this past week, I literally heard the same response from over half the people. As usual, I would say something like, “How are you doing?” And the common refrain was, “I’m hanging in there.” I guess that’s better than saying, “I’m at the point of despair,” but it was an indicator, good-natured though it was, that people are struggling. This pandemic has gone on far too long. We are all longing for some normal, consistent activity, and we are all grasping at the last straws of sanity. |
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Perhaps you would think that church people (and church staff) would be immune to emotional and spiritual struggles. Not so. We’re all real people in the real world. But what better place to be when the struggles are real than in the church? Our God made the world; we are God’s children. No disease will take away God’s control of the universe. Our hope is still in God, come what may. Our Savior loves us and offers us rest from the burdens we face; he said, “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” We have a community of believers who love one another and care when others are sick or grieving. In your church family, you will never be without a shoulder to lean on and a helping hand of compassion. |
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So maybe the best response right now is “I’m hanging in there.” In other words, “I have not given up. I am not defeated. I am still hopeful and still faithful. I acknowledge that these are tough times, but I am tougher, and my God is greater.” |
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I encourage you, as we expect to see the light at the end of the tunnel again as the current surge diminishes, to continue to engage (or re-engage) with your church family. Come in person when you can. Attend online when you can’t. Sign up for a class, in-person or online. Do not despair. God has a great future for you and First United Methodist Church. (Jeremiah 29:11) |
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And, oh yeah, happy Groundhog Day! |
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FUMC FOUNDATION HAS SUCCESSFUL
YEAR IN 2021
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Fort Smith First United Methodist Church Foundation is at work today, striving to fulfill its mission to support the work of our church, and to shine the light of Christ in our community. What does that look like? In 2021, the Foundation disbursed $567,740 to our church and our community, and its assets grew by $1.5 million to reach an end of year record value of $14,435,635. |
In January following the Foundation board meeting, the Foundation transferred $290,000 into the Trustees’ fund for maintenance projects on our church campus. Additionally, three new grant requests were funded: We supported scholarships to allow Northside High School (one of our school partners) students to attend a choir trip to Washington, D.C.; purchased a church-wide license for the Dave Ramsey Financial program; and provided the honorarium to bring Bible Scholar Amy-Jill Levine here on March 13. |
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Northside choir director Jordan Smith and students Mylesiah Wright (11th grade) and Gabriel Marin (12th Grade)
receive the Foundation scholarships from Rev. Bud Reeves.
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How does the Foundation continue to grow in challenging times? Generous friends and members invest in the work of First United Methodist Church through legacy gifts to the Foundation endowments. Every gift, large or small, strengthens the Foundation for the future. For more information about ways to give, please call Pastor Bud Reeves or Foundation executive director Patti Cox. |
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THANK YOU FOR A GREAT END OF
THE YEAR IN 2021!
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The generous members of FUMC came through again in December, and the church was able to meet its obligations and end the year with a healthy surplus. In 2021, our church income was $1,910,334.60. This included $190,503 of Paycheck Protection Program money from the federal government which was received in 2020, but not taken as income until 2021. Against these receipts, our expenses were $1,765,952.53. This left us with a surplus for the year of $144,382.07. (Thank God and the government, as they say.) |
Our “Seeing The Light” generosity emphasis had great success as well. We received $1,276,194.92 in estimates of giving from 236 families, compared to $1,363,243.00 from 237 families in 2020. * |
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Thank you for your continued generous support of God’s ministry through First United Methodist Church. Your giving is making a difference! |
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* In these times, that is a great response! We will make up the deficit in estimates with responsible budgeting, unpledged giving, & support from our Foundatioin. |
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FIRST YOUTH’s February at a Glance |
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February is going to be a great month for our teens. Confirmation begins on February 6th for 6th and 7th graders. For the duration of Confirmation, our Sunday evenings will be combined (middle school and high school), and we will be meeting from 5-7PM. |
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With Valentine's Day approaching us, we’re going to take the opportunity to talk about love (dating, romance, and redeeming love from lust). There are so many things in the Bible that help us to understand eros love, and it will be a very helpful conversation for our teens to engage in as they seek to navigate through life. |
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February 13th is the Super Bowl! We will be having a Super Bowl party in the Family Life Center. Bring a friend and come watch the game with us! For those who are not interested in football, we will have plenty of other activities to enjoy as well. Check youth communication platforms to see what kind of food/drinks you can bring! |
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As many of you know, Veritas 2022 has been rescheduled. In lieu of Veritas, youth groups from the Northwest District will be linking up for a Midwinter Meetup. Midwinter Meetup will be on Saturday, February 26th. We’ll be headed to Lake Fort Smith for a day outside to play games, hang with other youth groups, grill out, and worship! Check youth communication platforms to sign up! |
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February is One of My Favorite Months of the Year |
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I love Valentines Day, and it’s my birth month! The past couple of Februarys have been quite different, as have many of the other months, due to COVID. However, my focus word for 2022 is “renew”. Merriam-Webster defines renew as a verb to make like new: restore to freshness, vigor, or perfection. My prayer is that this February we are renewing our faith. I encourage each of you to reach out of your comfort zone and focus on one thing you’d like to renew each day. What in your life needs to be made like new or restored to freshness? |
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Here are a few opportunities for your children to experience some spiritual renewal: |
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RAMSEY+ LICENSE MAKES GREAT MATERIAL AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE! |
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For the last few years, we have been offering Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University as a Wednesday Night class. This study has transformed the lives of millions of people worldwide and teaches Biblical principles of financial management and stewardship. This year, FUMC has purchased a license with the Ramsey group to make much of Dave Ramsey’s material available to any church member or friend for free. That’s right–all those cool videos, the FPU lessons, a state of the art budgeting tool, all kinds of resources to help you manage your money better–for free! Simply use the link or the QR code to access the website, go through a short registration process and questionnaire, and the Ramsey world will be open to you |
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This material is not just for those in financial difficulties. Even if you think you are doing fine, you will learn how to do better on this website. People who are taking the FPU class will need to register to get access to the videos to watch before the class sessions. You’ll be glad you did! |
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As I was contemplating what to write for the newsletter this month the word Service came to mind. Over the last couple of years service has looked a bit different to all of us, but I wanted to encourage us to remember that even if it has looked different or has seemed insignificant, it is still meaningful. The pandemic as well as busy, hectic lives have forced us to get out of the habit of some of our service practices. I pray that soon we will all get back into some of these routines. I encourage you to find a new way to serve, maybe something that you have not done before. Maybe something that you have always wanted to do. Maybe something that you never thought you could do. Take some time to evaluate what types of service are the most meaningful to you and focus on those activities. Here are a couple of things to remember, as you think about service. |
- Service is Christian ministry, not volunteer work
- When we join the church, we vow to actively participate to help our congregation and others
- The time that you give to ministries is an expression of stewardship
- Stewardship of our time should be a priority, not an afterthought or something we might do if we have extra time (We are all guilty of this.)
- Start and lead a new project that is meaningful to you. Invite others to join you
- Do something different. If you don’t have the same joy that you used to have when serving, choose another way to serve.
- Cook, mentor, tutor, visit others, make people feel welcome, lead a new group in a ministry that is important to you.
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Strong and growing congregations typically have a very high percentage of people who are actively involved in learning, serving and leading. Acts of service that honor God, no matter how big or small are meaningful and impactful. |
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“Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.”
- Sally Koch
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POLL SEEKS OPINIONS ON COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS |
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One of Jesus’ primary commandments was to love our neighbors as ourselves. We can love our neighbors better if we know them and understand them more. This is especially important with neighbors who may be of a different racial or ethnic background than us. It is especially important to have this conversation now because of the opportunity that is before us for racial reconciliation. It is especially important to have this conversation in the church because the love of Jesus is what binds all people together, regardless of race. |
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However, we want to tailor our conversations to our context, so the first step in this conversation is to ask the opinion of the congregation. Go to our website—fsfumc.org or use this QR code to access an online poll regarding race relations in our church. If you would like a paper copy mailed to you, call the church office and request it.
Thanks for your help!
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Dr. Bart Sills and Dr. Donna Shipley. Bart is transferring from Mountainburg Presbyterian Church. He is a family practice physician.
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Kevin and Lisa Newton with children Nora and Harry. Kevin is transferring from another UMC, he works for CBRE inc.
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Rev. Ben Anderson and Laura Beth Anderson, with son Tyler Anderson. Transferred their membership from Woodllands UMC. Ben is a retired UMC pastor and works at UAFS. Laura Beth works in the Greenwood Public Schools.
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In Baptist Van Buren Hospital:
In Mercy Hospital:
Loss of Loved Ones:
- Lester Baker - brother of Gladys Walz.
- Ola Waters - family and friends.
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Memorials will be in next months
March newsletter.
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TRUSTEES CONSIDER COVID POLICY |
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The Board of Trustees of the church is the group charged with the responsibility of maintaining the safety policies of the church. They have met numerous times over the last two years to discuss and decide how best to maintain the safety of the congregation, while at the same time allowing ministry to continue. Most recently the policy was revised to require masks indoors for all persons regardless of vaccination status. With the continuing surge of COVID numbers due to the omicron variant, the Trustees met again on January 26 and decided to keep the current protocols in place, but not to suspend any in-person groups. Worship, classes and mission groups will continue to meet, masked if indoors. If your small group seems crowded in your space at church, ask to be moved to a bigger room to allow distancing. Most meetings will be held by Zoom for a while. We will not be planning many extra events in the next few weeks, until we see improvement in the local statistics on the pandemic. |
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Church activities are all voluntary, of course. If you feel uncomfortable gathering with other people for safety reasons, we don’t want you to feel uncomfortable at church. We encourage you to participate online as much as possible. However, we are taking prudent measures to make the church a safe place, and we are much safer than most places in public that we all frequent on a regular basis. |
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If you have any questions, contact a pastor or Larry Weir, Chair of Trustees. |
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Pastor on Call
M-F 8:30 AM-4:30 PM: (479) 782-5068
Weekends and Evenings: (479) 459-5060
When there is a hospitalization, a death in the family, or any other time you may need urgent pastoral care, we encourage you to use these numbers. The pastors rotate on-call responsibilities to assure that one of them is always accessible.
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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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