Vacation Bible School Wrap-up
By Dawn Orndorff

Crocodile Dock rocked FUMC! What an incredible week: 152 children learned all about shining God’s light. There were crazy skits, singing and dancing, wild games, tasty snacks, cool crafts, amazing bible stories, and Chadder Theater! Thank you to the 60 youth and adult volunteers that made Crocodile Dock come to life. Your tireless efforts are amazing and commendable. God truly blessed us all with this experience. We experienced God sightings, wrassled alligators, faced our fears and Pharaoh, prayed, laughed, and grew as Christians.

As we wrapped up Power Lab VBS in 2008 we set our sights on providing VBS free to all. God blessed us through the extravagant generosity of the United Methodist Men. They paid the usual $5 registration fee for each child at VBS!

Wrapping up Crocodile Dock and looking ahead to 2010, and as we move towards becoming embedded in our community and focusing our ministry and membership on the surrounding 12 block radius, we will set our sights on another lofty goal. We want to increase the number of children we can serve to 200.

Take a deep breath; we can do this! 150 children required 25 crew leaders, not to mention the station leaders, registration & volunteer coordinators, and two exhausted but uplifted directors. For 200 children we need to add 18 more volunteers than we had this year.

I encourage all of you to become crew leaders next year. There are many excuses out there:

“I did that when my kids were young.”

“I am too old for that.”

“I am not a teacher.”

“Someone else would do a better job.”

To those, I quote from 1 Samuel 16, verse 7: “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Pray for God to open your heart to the possibilities. Talk with those who volunteered this year. 2010 may take us on a high seas expedition, or maybe all the way to the palace with Joseph! Wherever the journey takes us, I hope you’ll come along.

The Gardens and Grounds of FUMC
by Robin Roderick

Did you know that a great group of volunteers keeps our grounds looking so good? Below is information from Ray Deweese and his crew. Why not take a moment and say thank you to someone below for their fine efforts and our beautiful surroundings? If you would like to adopt an unclaimed area, please contact Ray.

The areas already claimed are:

1. Area to right of Atrium entrance: Holly Hickman has this area, and Donna Kinslow will be helping Holly.
2. Area to left of Atrium entrance: Lloyd Gross has this area.
3. Oval area at Atrium entrance: Joan Berry has this area. Joan would like to have someone to help her with this area.
4. On 8th Street, the mulched area on either side of the Atrium entrance: Debbie Pratt has this area.
5. On 8th Street, the areas at the old entrance: Jo Cross has this area.
6. The area around the old church sign on 1st Capitol: Debby Mack has this area.
7. The area beside the Becker Building ramp entrance: Dot McDole has this area.

There are still some areas not 'adopted'. These areas are:

1. On 8th Street, the oval next to the sidewalk.
2. At the 1st Capitol entrance, four areas:
   • by the ramp, to the left of the steps;
   • to the right of the steps/porch;
   • the two areas to the right ...
   • and left of the sidewalk, as you approach the entrance.
3. Areas at the center and to the right of the entrance to the South parking lot.

PowerHouse Concert

A contemporary Christian concert will be given on August 9 at First United Methodist Church, 801 First Capitol Drive, St. Charles at 6:00 p.m. This concert will be given by the PowerHouse band, which is the house band for the EnterLife contemporary service at the church.

The concert will be on the front lawn of the church and is free and open to the public. Please bring blankets or lawn chairs. Refreshments will be provided at no charge. Parking is to the rear of the church. The concert will be moved indoors if the weather is bad. Please contact (636)-947-0066 for more information.

Good News Series

The Good News Sunday School Class would like to extend an open invitation to anyone who would like to join us for a special upcoming eight week series based on the book Evil: Sin, Satan, and Psychology. This series will begin on September 13 and will be taught by one of the authors of the book, Cindy Epperson.

Cindy is an Associate Professor of Sociology at St. Louis Community College-Meramac, a doctoral candidate at the University of Missouri St. Louis, and a member of First United Methodist Church.

Join us in an interactive class as we delve into the issue of evil and how it interfaces with one’s faith, conscience, psychology, and the general intellectual, moral, and cultural state of our era. The text will cost $10 and can be ordered through our class. Please make checks payable to: “Good News Sunday School Class” and get them to Joan Crenshaw or Karen Bahr by August 16. These books can also be ordered at Amazon. The class meets in room 304 at 9:30 a.m. Sunday mornings. All are welcome.

Good News Series

First Church continues to be a main contributor to the FISH food pantry here in St. Charles. FISH provides 100-150 local families with food each month.

A family may receive food no more than 4 times annually. This disbursement of groceries is meant to assist families, and not to be a permanent means of support.

With summer in full swing, and children home from school, it is even more important that we share our bounty with those in need.

Please continue to support this important local ministry by taking a sack each month, and returning it the following week. What a rewarding way to reach out in service to others and to fulfill our mission to Gather, Grow, and Go for Christ!