A Periodical from First United Methodist Church in Temple, Texas February 2009 The Word The Word Inside This Edition Inside This Edition Call It Risorgimento • Putting Words into Actions • 2009 Confirmation Class • Construction Pictures • June-July 2009 You are the light of the world... You are the light of the world... let your light shine before others let your light shine before others Matthew 5:14-16 Matthew 5:14-16
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A Periodical from First United Methodist Church in Temple, Texas
February 2009
The WordThe Word
Inside This EditionInside This EditionCall It Risorgimento•
Putting Words into Actions•
2009 Confi rmation Class•
Construction Pictures•
June-July 2009y
You are the light of the world... You are the light of the world...
let your light shine before otherslet your light shine before others
Matthew 5:14-16Matthew 5:14-16
The Word from Pastor TomThe Word from Pastor Tom
A few months ago, Shannon and I were eating a Saturday morning breakfast at a Mexican food restaurant here in Temple. After I ordered, I looked across the restaurant and saw a member of our congregation. She was staring at me with intense concentration and I said, “How are you doing?” She said, “I thought that was you but I wasn’t sure because this is the fi rst time I’ve seen you in clothes.” At that moment I realized there was no noise. Everyone in the restaurant had stopped eating and staring at us. Luckily Shannon knew what she meant.Have you ever thought you recognized someone but you weren’t really sure? This happens to me on a fairly regular basis. I see people and I am not sure if I should know them or not.I think the same thing can be said for my spiritual life. There are times when I think I encounter Jesus but I’m not sure. When a homeless man asks for money; when a child is hungry; when an old man is sitting alone in a nursing home – Jesus is always there. But how often do we recognize him?In the 25th chapter of the gospel of Matthew Jesus says that whenever we reach out to another person in need, we are actually reaching out to him. So the way to recognize whether or not you are seeing Jesus is very simple. If there is a person in need, Jesus is there. My prayer is that we see him.
God Bless,Tom
Worship With UsContact Us
First United Methodist Church102 N 2nd StreetTemple, TX [email protected]: P.O. Box 773 with zip 76503
SermonsRadio Broadcast KTEM 1400 AM Sunday 9:30 amwww.fumctemple.org/content.cfm/sermons
Special EventSpecial Event
Third Annual Patriotic Concert“An American Hymn Festival”
Sunday evening, June 28th 7 p.m.
Submit your “Top Six” hymns to Pastor Jane in either of the following ways: 1. e-mail [email protected] 2. Write down and place designated box outside Sanctuary on 2nd fl oor or in foyer of Dennis Hall
The six hymns which receive the most total votes will be sung during the Hymn Festival.
Special Music for the evening includes:Chancel Choir - “An American Rhapsody” by Randall Stroope and other
American Hymn Anthems.Dr. Bradley and Mrs. Becky Bradley offer organ/piano Hymn duets.
Military Personnel will be recognized and Boy Scouts will post the colors.WEAR RED, WHITE, and BLUE
FUMC Event CalendarFUMC Event Calendar
Call It RisorgimentoCall It Risorgimento
by Bill Horick - Retired Pastorby Bill Horick - Retired Pastor
Risorgimento. I discovered that lovely Italian word some years ago when I researched the life of Giuseppe Garibaldi for a short story I wrote. He has always been an honored name in European history. Garibaldi is known as the 19th century patriot statesman who transformed several paperweight Italian states into a single, unifi ed country. Thus the word risorgimento aptly means renewal or resurgence. Not to be overly glib, but I think of the word each time I dine at The Olive Garden. It reminds me of all those delicious menu items.
It would be a grand word to describe how our church maintains a healthy cadence with progress. Risorgimento is a fresh and stimulating term. I much prefer it than hearing that our church has a “new lease on life.” In fact, I hate such trite, hackneyed phrases. For example, when I hear a coach say “We’ve certainly got our work cut out for us”, I cringe in horror. Now our Central Texas Conference is preparing to call the seven districts---Brownwood, Weatherford, Fort Worth, Mid-Cities, Waxahachie, Waco, and Temple---into risorgimento at its annual conclave to be held this year at the prestigious White’s Chapel United Methodist Church in the city of Southlake, one of those mushrooming communities in the Fort Worth area. With our new bishop,
Mike Lowry, presiding, the Conference will offer a number of changes from past years that are sure to invigorate the daily business sessions and worship services. One of those innovations includes a fellowship night at the Arlington Ballpark with the Texas Rangers. How’s that for risorgimento? But it will surely also be felt from the opening session on Sunday evening, June 7th to the closing ceremony on the June 10th Wednesday afternoon with the reading of the clergy appointments and the Sending Forth by Bishop Lowry. And hopefully, that sense of renewal and resurgence will manifest itself in every church of the Central Texas Conference. It does happen, you know. Just look how that risorgimento shaped our church when Tom Robbins became our Senior Pastor through Methodism’s appointive system.
Putting Our Words into ActionPutting Our Words into Action
by Jane Woodwardby Jane Woodward
The Holy Spirit is moving in our Church. It is moving our people to put faith into practice. This is evident through the good works of Joshua Stegall and his ministry of collecting soccer balls and sending them to Haiti, Brookie Martin’s ministry of selling hand-made bracelets to raise funds for fresh, clean water for the children of Haiti, and Kimberly Rankin’s ministry for God’s earth by collecting items for recycling. What follows is yet another example of how God is working through us to bring the Kingdom of God upon the earth.
In early 2006, Melanie Morrow and her sister, Donna Stoa, had a dream. They created what they called Lavender Girls Farm on the land owned by their parents, called Circle F Ranch, located off of Elm Grove Road, outside of Belton. It was a four-acre plot of land to be devoted to raising Lavender. These sisters educated themselves about Lavender and all things lavender. Species, climate, topography, disease, pests were researched. Products were explored. Costs
were calculated. Trips to lavender festivals, farms, book stores, and the internet served as learning tools. So, in the early Spring of 2006, Melanie came from Albuquerque and Donna came from Houston to put in the fi rst 50 plants, purchased from Martha’s Bloomers Nursery in Navasota. After beds were planned (and re-planned), measurements were taken, sand was purchased, and soil was tilled, the 4” plants were placed in their new homes, thanks to the help of family and neighbors. Then, Melanie, who had lived in Albuquerque, relocated to Temple, bought a house, joined First UMC Temple, and began a new phase of life. Consequently, the Farm was expanded in 2007 to house over 600 plants. But then things began to change dramatically.Because of rain and ensuing fungus, 50% of the plants were lost. Sadly, it was decided that lavender would not be re-planted. Lavender Girls Farm became, instead, a garden planted with produce and herbs for family use. Tomatoes, peppers, okra, squash, and watermelon all thrived. The crop was abundant, more so than they would have ever dreamed.
At Christmas of ’08, as family members gathered to celebrate the birth of Jesus, they planted 1800 onions – six times as many as before. All 1800 onions survived - 700 pounds worth! Drying tables were built. Onions were put in bundles and hung for storage. The problem was that they certainly didn’t need that many onions for themselves. There was no buyer, nor was there any way to distribute all these onions elsewhere, anyway. The question was, “What are we going to do with all these onions?” After several sleepless nights, the vision began to unfold. The vision was very simple, but it was not at all what was originally intended for Lavender Girls Farm in 2006. That is to say it wasn’t what Melanie and Donna had intended, because God had a plan for this land that was much greater. Give the food away. After that decision was made, things began to happen, and problems began to be solved. Within only 10 days, Donna happened upon a wholesaler at a farmer’s market who agreed to buy 40% of the onions, sight unseen. This amount of cash would cover costs for replanting. The remaining 60% of the harvest went to Capital Area Food Bank of Texas-Austin (which brought a big truck to pick up 225lbs worth!). Helping Hands Ministry of Belton and Martha’s Kitchen of Temple received the rest. The end result is that Lavender Girls Farm is now not just a dream shared by two sisters. It is a ministry. It is one which they hope to expand beyond simply fi nding a place for 700 lbs of onions.As Melanie and Donna put it, “Our onion beds are empty. Our drying beds are empty. But, our hearts are full. We are moving on to the next adventure. We now know our mission. We are going to help feed America.”As to how this ministry will expand, well, that remains to be seen. There are costs for materials and equipment. But, they believe that God will provide. The truth is: God will bless our efforts when we give back that which we have been given. For more information regarding Lavender Girls Farm, and how you might be able to be a part of their mission to “help feed America”, contact [email protected]
“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.”
Confirmation Class of 2009Confirmation Class of 2009
Caroline Elise Arthur
Hannah Cruzan Avery
Tristen Alexandra Coffee
April Elizabeth Fowler
Remington Anderson Kent
Snowden Marie Kent
Trevor Wells Kortz
Grant David Laughlin
Zoe Marie Mischtian
Rachel Ann Moger
Meredith Ann Norton
Grace Vallecillo-Drews
Brett Michael Wilson
Kaley Mariah Zett
We believe in one God, the Father of all nations, the source
of all goodness and beauty, strength and love; whose mercy
is over all His works.
We believe that God is large enough to fill the whole
world with His love, yet small enough to reside in our
hearts.
We believe in God, the creator of all things, who continues
to create in our lives every day.
We believe in Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God,
Who was eternally begotten of the Father, born of the
Virgin Mary and became truly human.
He was crucified on the cross on Good Friday for our sins,
and was resurrected from the dead three days later on
Easter Morning in victory over death. He ascended into
Heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.
We believe in the Holy Spirit which is God’s continual
presence in our lives which helps us and guides us along
our Christians path of faith and gives us comfort and
strength in times of need.
We believe that the Church is not a building but a group
of people who have come together for the purpose of
worshipping God. We believe that the church exists to help
us further our relationship with God and to spread God’s
love to all the corners of the earth.
We believe that we are called to be loyal to the church
and honor it with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and
witness.
We believe that the Bible is God’s love letter to us and serves
as our road map and compass to God. It is the holy, inspired
word of God.
We believe that Christ will come again in final triumph over
sin and death to judge the living and the dead and that all
who believe in Him will have everlasting life.
Amen
2009 Confirmation Class Creed2009 Confirmation Class Creed
FUMC YouthFUMC Youth
FUMC YouthFUMC Youth
Jeff StegallJeff Stegall
June 21st, July 19th, Aug 2nd Swim Party 5:00-7:00pm TBA
June 28th Frisbee Golf Lions Park 5:00-7:00pm
July 7th & 8th - Schlitterbahn
July 12th - Paintball
All youth are needed to help at VBS June 15-19. Let Jeff know if you are planning to help so we can give you a job assignment.
Summer Concert Series Wednesday June 17th, July 15th, and August 19th at 7:00 PM
This summer is fi lled with lots of fun activities for all our children! Take a look at the calendar on the next page. VBS will defi nitely start out our summer activities. Kim Myers and her team are working very hard on putting this year’s VBS together. The theme for this year is Rome and we will have many educational and fun activities. The children will be divided into “families” of 10 which is a nice size group to lead to the different events. There will be a market place were the children can explore some of the skills, trades and foods that people in Rome were accustomed to during the Bible times. We will have lots of music, games and tons of other activities to make this a week to remember!
Terrifi c Thursdays always are fun; we leave the church at noon and take mini fi eld trips to various places in Central Texas. Terrifi c Thursdays are open to all children ages 1st grade thru 5th grade.
We will once again have 2 trips to Glen Lake Camp; this is our Methodist Summer camp in Glen Rose, Texas and is just a beautiful place. You can fi nd more information on there various camp opportunities on their web site www.glenlake.org. We will go together as a church group for a weekend camp on the 17th – 19th July and for a week long trip on the 27th -31st of July.
The summer will wind down with a Bible presentation on the 16th of August for all our upcoming 3rd graders. Promotion Sunday is on the 23rd of August, the offi cial start of the new Sunday school year .
The children will still continue to recycle during the summer to collect funds for care packages for our soldiers.
Have a great summer and I hope that you will join us on our fun activities planned for the summer!
FUMC ChildrenFUMC Children
Iris RankinIris Rankin
FUMC KIDS SUMMER ACTIVITES
June15th – 19th VBS – Rome, Paul and the underground Church, ages 4years to 5th Grade. 9am – 12:00pm
25th Terrifi c Thursday Kick off, trip to Waco Water Park, ages 1st grade through 5th grade.
July 2nd Terrifi c Thursday trip to Bowling in Waco ages 1st - 5th grade 9th Terrifi c Thursday trip to Ice skating in Austin ages 1st - 5th grade 16th Terrifi c Thursday trip to Nifty’s 50’s (burgers, putt putt and Karaoke) ages 1st – 5th grade17th – 19th Glen Lake weekend camp for all 3rd – 4th grade students registration with www.glenlake.org required.23rd Terrifi c Thursday trip to Summer Fun USA ages 1st – 5th grade27th – 31st Glen lake week summer camp for all 5th – 6th grade students Registration with www.glenlake.org required.
30th NO TERRIFIC THURSDAY TRIP, WE WILL BE AT GLEN LAKE
August6th Terrifi c Thursday trip to Chuck E. Cheese & Boulders in Killeen ages 1st grade through 5th grade13th Terrifi c Thursday trip to Austin Park & Pizza 1st - 5th grade14th Parents Night Out 6- 10PM, registration required, dinner, games crafts and lots of other fun activities offered.
Your Money at Work2009 2nd Quarter Operations Income Goal: $394,250June 7, 2009, Operations Income Received: $290,364June 7, 2009, Organ Note Balance: $257,463June 7, 2009, New Construction Loan Balance: $674,917Total Building Campaign Pledge to Date: $2,962,006Total Building Campaign Pledge Paid to Date: $1,541,024Total Remaining Building Campaign Pledge Outstanding: $1,420,982
MARCH MEMORIALS & HONORABLYMARCH MEMORIALS & HONORABLY
APRIL 27-MAY 28THAPRIL 7 MAY 8TH
Memorial Fund:IN MEMORY OF HARVEY DAVIS:Tim & Yvonne Morris
IN MEMORY OF LOUISE HACKER:Gail Campbell
IN MEMORY OF MRS. J.H. MYERS:Lorene Myers Carver
IN MEMORY OF E.P. SPURLIN:Walt & Doris Tomlin; Carol & Michael Clements; Dorothy Jane Pace Ham; Sam Farrow
IN MEMORY OF CLAIRE WELLS:Wayne Matthews & Sandra Oliver; Jeanette Gregory; Stephen & Alicia McQueen
IN MEMORY OF GEORGE YOUNG:Wayne Matthews & Sandra Oliver
Organ Fund:IN HONOR OF ALL PARTICIPANTS OF THE EASTER TENEBRAE SERVICE:Anonymous
Building Fund:IN MEMORY OF ALLEGRA BARNES:J.W. & Ruth Perry; Ethel Venable; Mr. & Mrs. O’Gene Barkemeyer; Lavelle Parsons; Mary Ann Mitcham
IN MEMORY OF ERMON MILLER:Ethel Venable; Mr. & Mrs. O’Gene Barkemeyer
IN MEMORY OF CLAIRE WELLS:Bell County Gunslinger’s Riding Club; The Central Texas Council of Governments; Jeanette Mundell; DiAnne Allison; The David Hanson & Jeff Hanson Families; JoAnn Wells; John Versie; Jeanie Underwood; Janice Wright; Mr. & Mrs. Glenn Cathey, Sr.; Ralph & Debbie Sheffi eld; Joan Welch; Wallace & Sue Lowry; John & Bonnie Asbury; Cynthia Radle
IN MEMORY OF JACK JAVENS:Mr. & Mrs. O’Gene Barkemeyer
IN MEMORY OF LOUISE HACKER:J.W. & Ruth Perry
IN MEMORY OF E.P. SPURLIN:Olga Christy; J.W. & Ruth Perry
IN HONOR OF TIM & SHERRIE WILSON:John & Janet Epperson
Latest Construction PicturesLatest Construction Pictures
FIRSTUnited Methodist Church
102 N 2nd StreetTemple, TX 76502
Non-Profi t Org. U.S. Postage
PAID Temple, TX
Permit No. 123
Devotional by Hubert AustinDevotional by Hubert AustinFrom God’s Little devotional Book by Honor Books
On a Friday evening, just as the light turned green, his car stalled. All his efforts to start it again failed. A chorus of honking instantly arose from the cars behind him. Feeling just as frustrated as everyone else eager to get home for the weekend, he finally got out of his car and walked to the car behind him. He waited for the driver to roll down his window, then said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t
seem to get my car started. If you’ll go up there and give it a try, I’ll stay hear and blow your horn for you.” A person who is chronically impatient rarely makes anyone else go faster or arrive earlier. Instead, the effects are usually negative – affecting the impatient person as well as others. Accidents occur more frequently when we are in great haste. Ulcers, headaches, and other health problems quickly develop, and relationships become more strained. To battle your impatience, try giving yourself ten extra minutes everyday. Get up ten minutes earlier in the morning. Leave ten minutes earlier for work, and so forth. You will arrive at the end of the day feeling much more clear-headed and relaxed.
Patience is better than pride. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. Ecclesiastes 7:8-9