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First United Methodist Church St. Charles, MO August 12, 2009 Vol. 38, No. 15 www.fumcstcharles.org |
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New Choir Director I am very pleased to begin my time among you as choir director at First United Methodist Church, St. Charles. Having just moved to the area, there is a lot going on for me right now, but I look forward to things settling down soon. Previously I served in Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran (ELCA) and Congregational churches as organist, choir director, organist, and organist/Director of Music, respectively, over the past 14 years or so - and I feel that has helped lead me to and prepare me for my work here. My junior high and high school years were spent as a member of Vermont St. United Methodist, in Quincy, IL, and I am finally serving in a church of my own denomination! Most recently I lived in Champaign, IL, for many years, where I am completing work on the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Coaching & Accompanying. In addition to my work at the church, I will be on the accompanying staff at UMSL, as well as teaching voice and piano privately in several venues. I look forward to meeting you all (don't be offended if it takes several times for names to stick - but once they do, I remember well!) Please feel free to stop and say hello in or out of church, and to contact me if I may be of service. For now, contact me through the church, and I will be sure to make known updated contact information soon. Additionally, if you have thought about singing in the choir before, we would love to have you as I begin this time with you. I would also love to know about other musical gifts that members have to contribute, so please don't be reticent about that!
Have You Heard? Did You Know? Have you heard? Did you know? With so many things going on it is difficult to know some of the great things happening at First UMC. Today a few odds and ends of goodness. Did you know that Evelyn Wall has secured, trained and scheduled liturgists for our traditional services for well over a decade? She has worked behind the scenes to make sure folks had a way to participate in worship, offering their gifts to God in those moments. After all this time she is taking a well deserved break. Thank you, Evelyn! Take time to search her out and give her your thanks. Have you heard? Betty Hedges will be taking over the Liturgist training and scheduling duties at this time. Thank you, Betty! Did you know we were the recipient of kindness from a local business person? A piece of siding blew off the end of the parsonage and needed to be reattached. Cliff Brandon of Brandon Siding was contacted to make the repair. Mr. Brandon is a member of Harvester Baptist and is not a member or prospective member for us--but he did the repair without cost! Thank you, Mr. Brandon! Keep your eyes and ears open and let's celebrate all these great folks in our midst. Send me an e-mail if you've “caught someone doing good” and would like to lift them up in future spots!
Share an Hour Weekly with Children The Mission Ministry Team is recruiting volunteers to begin our ninth year of the program to help young students improve their reading skills. YOU could make a difference in a young child’s life! Please pray about helping. The training/informational session will be Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. in the Catherine Collier Room. Betty Knapp has graciously agreed to do the training for this program. Volunteers will receive helpful tips and give us input as to the best day and time for them. (It will take only one short meeting.) Please call Claudette Jones at 636-940-1563 or Betty Knapp at 636-723-0320 to volunteer, or you may leave your name and phone number in the church office. God bless you for your love of children and for wanting to help improve their reading skills.
Charge Conference - Second Year List Each year at Charge Conference (the annual meeting where United Methodist church members elect lay leadership and discuss the church’s status) we read two lists of names. The second year list comprises persons for whom we have no record of attendance who will be taken off of the rolls of the church, unless we hear otherwise from them. Our practice as Methodists is to contact these individuals to try to determine their current status, whether it be that they have gone on to another church, they have decided to drop their membership, or they wish to reactivate membership with this church. We have a number of persons for whom we have no current address. Below is a list of these individuals. If you have any contact information regarding anyone on this list, please contact the church office. We will then get in touch with them. We will do a separate listing at a later date for the first year list, which is the first step towards removal from the rolls. Thank you for your help.
Youth Mission Round-Up The youth have been busy serving others this summer! 
In June, the senior high youth headed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to work at The Pittsburgh Project repairing homes for people in need. They spent five days doing everything from painting to replacing support beams for a front porch. Construction, electrical work and plumbing were all skills our youth were able to learn and enjoy. Some of the comments our youth made while reflecting were: “I never realized how much I judged and stereotyped other people and I want to stop doing that.” “This is the best mission trip I’ve ever been on.” “It was fun working with other people from other denominations.” While the youth worked hard, there was also some time for fun and they got to take a riverboat cruise, see a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game, and check out the sights of Pittsburgh. It was a great week of learning, serving, worshipping, and growing. 
The Middle School youth had their mission trip in August and headed to Kansas City for the Missouri Conference work camp. On the way they stopped in Columbia, MO for some fun and got a head start on their serving by doing the road trash pick-up for the local church where they were staying. In Kansas City they had the opportunity to learn more about homelessness by visiting Grand Avenue Temple and walking the “Trail of Tears” – the path that homeless people travel during the day. 
After that, they headed to Harvester Food Bank to repackage frozen sausage from 40 pound boxes to 1-pound bags to be distributed at local food pantries. Then, they spent the next day working at an outdoor education area at a local elementary school clearing brush, pulling weeds, and unblocking a stream so the water could flow through. They also got to have some fun and went swimming at a water park one evening. Both groups enjoyed evening worship with youth from several other churches and made lots of new friends. Best of all, they learned more about how to serve God by serving others.
Food for Thought: Church? God? What positive remarks do you make or hear when leaving worship?
“What a great choir!”
Wouldn't that be a great day! It would be hard to complain on a day like that. Which makes me kind of wish I hadn't read the statement I did. I confess I don't remember where I saw it or read it or heard it last week but here is the gist: "We often leave on Sunday saying what a great church we have! " (Boy, am I thankful for those days by the way!) What would it take for people to leave our services thinking "What a great God we have!"? Oh. What would that take for all of our preparations, offerings of word, prayer, music, settings etc. to be so transparent that people left thinking what a great God we have! That would probably mean we were engaging in passionate worship week in and week out. What a great church we have! YES! What a great God we have! Even better.
CERT Training Jesus told us the parable of the ten bridesmaids weighting for their groom, and how five of them where unprepared. God does not wish any of us to perish because we are unprepared. The City of St. Charles has CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), a group of civilians trained and equipped to step up and help out the community in the event of something happening that overwhelms the local fire, medical, and police departments. CERT is looking to train more citizens on how to be prepared to help themselves and their neighbors by holding a new training class this September. This class will be held starting September 10th and continue for the next six Thursdays at 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Fire Station #2, located at 1550 S. Main in St. Charles. If you wish to register for this training, contact Shalom Shoaf (CERT Coordinator) at the St. Charles Fire Department, at 636-544-3422 or at shalom.shoaf@stcharlesmo.gov. |
A Look Ahead FUMC August Calendar August 16: 6th Grade Welcome, 4:30 p.m.; Youth Missions Night, 6:00 p.m. August 23: Youth Kick-off, 4:00 p.m. August 25: Acolyte Training, Sanctuary, 7:00 p.m. August 26: Understanding Grief Class, 6:30 p.m. August 28, 7:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m. & August 29, 8:30 a.m.-noon Beth Moore Video Simulcast at Living Word UMC OR Fee Fee Baptist Sept. 10: CERT Training, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Sept. 16: Share an Hour Weekly Reading Assistance Program, 1:00 p.m. MDO/Preschool First United Methodist Preschool and Mother’s Day Out are now enrolling for their 2009 fall session! Please contact Sally Jacobsen or Kerri Johnston at 636-947-9380 if you are interested in enrolling your children in either of these programs or if you would like more information. Beth Moore Two area churches are offering an opportunity for spiritual renewal by presenting Beth Moore's live video simulcast on Friday, August 28, 7:00-9:30 p.m., and Saturday, August 29, 8:30 a.m.-Noon: Living Word UMC, 17315 Manchester Road in Wildwood, $30.00 per person; walk-ins welcome, OR Fee Fee Baptist Church, 11330 St. Charles Rock Road, Bridgeton, $25 in advance, $35 at the door. Bike Fellowship Are you interested in bike-riding, but just need a little encouragement to get that bike dusted off? We in St. Charles are fortunate to have an extensive network of bike trails. If you are interested in riding on some of our local bike paths and would like to do so with a small group, please contact Sally Haake (636-949-5995). Dates and times will be determined by weather conditions. 6th Grade Welcome All students starting 6th grade this year are invited to the 6th Grade Welcome to meet the youth leaders, play some games and find out what our youth ministry is all about. You should have received an invitation in the mail, but in case we missed you - it's Sunday August 16th from 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. in the youth room (room 316). Come join us! Youth Kick-Off It's time to get in the swing of things again and the youth kick-off will be a blast this year! Sunday, August 23rd join us on the front lawn at 4:00 p.m. for inflatable fun, food, games and reconnecting with your friends you may not have seen over the summer. Then, we'll move inside for a time of worship and our parent/youth meeting where you can learn what's coming up this fall in our youth ministry. Youth Missions Night Are you interested in the missions the youth of First United Methodist Church have been doing this summer? Come to youth missions night on August 16th at 6:00 p.m. There will be a light dinner followed by a slide show and presentation by the youth about what they have been doing. You will have an opportunity to purchase “stocks” to support future youth missions. It’s going to be a fun and enjoyable evening, so come and join us! - Brooke Prigge Acolyte Training Calling all youth from 4th grade up! If you’re interested in a great way to serve your church, why not go through a training session to become an acolyte? We will meet in the Sanctuary at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 25, 2009. Robe fitting will also occur during this session. If you have any questions, please contact Donna Kinslow at (636) 723-7056. We look forward to seeing you there! Understanding Grief Pastor Debby is offering a 12-week small group study based on Dr. Alan D. Wolfelt’s book entitled “Understanding Your Grief.” Whether you are grieving someone who died recently or died some time ago, please join us. Hopefully, through this study and fellowship with others that are also journeying through their grief, you will find comfort and support. The class will meet on Thursdays, August 27 through November 19, 2009, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Cost: $20 for the book. Free childcare will be provided. Call Pastor Debby if you have any questions or to register for the class – registration deadline is Monday, August 24th. New Babies Congratulations to the following families on their latest additions!
Deaths Our deepest sympathies are extended to the families of those who have died recently:
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Articles to be included in the August 26 Spire are due in the Church Office by
Wednesday, August 19. You may also e-mail them to spire@fumcstcharles.org.
Please put the word "Article" in the subject line. Download the PDF print version of this document. (Optimized for 8.5" x 14" paper) Download the PDF of the July Calendar for FUMC. (Optimized for 8.5" x 14" paper) Unsubscribe from this list. Comments? Thoughts? Let us know. Our mailing address is: First United Methodist Church 801 First Capitol Drive St. Charles, MO 63301 Our telephone: (636) 947-0066 Our website: http://www.fumcstcharles.org Copyright (C) 2009 First United Methodist Church. All rights reserved. |
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