J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5

V O L U M E 2 3

I S S U E 1 F I R S T U N I T E D

M E T H O D I S T

C H U R C H O F

C O M M E R C E

January 1 Church Office Closed

January 5th-8th Bible Studies Resume

January 7th @ 5:30p Wonderful Wednesday Resumes

January 12th @ 2:00p Annual Planning Meeting

January 14th @6:00p Family Night Supper

January 19th Church Office Closed (MLK Day) @7:00p– Circle 3 Meeting

January 20th @2:00p– Hannah Circle @7:00p– Circle 5

January 25th @ 8:00a Men’s Breakfast @ CPC

January 27th @ 7:00 pm Trustees Meeting

Compassionate…

Full of Faith…

Trustworthy…

Skilled…

…these are the guide words for the Stephen Ministry.

Stephen Ministry is a system of lay ministry that uses carefully trained and supervised lay members of the congregation as an exten-sion of pastoral counseling. Stephen Ministers are trained empathetic listeners. They meet regularly one-on-one with their “care receiver.” They help the care receiver understand his or her situation better, so that the care receiver can change that situation if he or she wants.

We are looking to expand our Stephen Ministry here at Commerce First United Methodist Church and will soon be offering training to those who would like to be involved.

Stephen Ministry training is set to begin at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, Janu-

ary 12 in the John Varner Sunday School Room. There are still places

for three (3) more people to join us. Please contact Joyce Phillips

(706-335-5103) or David Bowen (678-230-3519) for more information.

Our Annual Calendar Planning meeting will be held on Sunday, January 11th

at 2:00p in the Fellowship Hall. The meeting is open to everyone. However, if

you lead a committee, ministry, mission, or any group in our congregation,

you must attend.

Thanks to our generous congregation! We took in over $750 at our Honduras Mission Trip church supper. All of that money will be

used to buy tools and bibles for the villagers. We also need clean 5 gallon buckets with lids,

crayons, glue, markers, bars of soap and white computer paper. If you would like to donate

any of these items there will be bins in the church to collect them. Thanks for being an im-

portant part of this ministry!

Circle 3 will meet on January 19th at 7:00p.

Hannah Circle will meet on January 20th at 2:00p in the Fellowship Hall.

Circle 5 will meet on January 20th at 7:00p in the Church Office

Thank you!

The Youth Yard Sale was a HUGE success due to the support of our congregation. Thank

you for the items you donated. Thank you for helping with set up for sale and cleaning up

after the sale. A special thank you for those of you who came to shop. We raised about

$800 which will allow us to sponsor a Food Truck for iServe ministries. Our sponsor date

will be Sat. Feb. 14. Hope everyone will join us that day. As always, thank you so much for your

support of our Youth!

Choir Notes

Adult choir practices resume on Jan. 14th! Enjoy the break and thanks to the choir and musicians for

MANY hours of hard practice!

A big thank you to all who helped in anyway with the Children's Program and Cantata. Those who

decorated, prepared and served food, provided technology support, 12 day "characters", candle lighters, narra-

tors, and costume designers- there was a great effort by many people to make this season "bright". Thanks be to

God for you all!

2015 CHURCH YEAR

(all Communion Sundays are White Paraments) ADVENT SEASON (purple)…Four Sundays immediately after the Sun-

day of Christ the King (white) and ending with Christmas Eve (white).

This is a preparatory (purple) season during which we focus on the roy-

alty of Jesus and our personal penitence (sorrow) for our sins.

CHRISTMAS SEASON (white)…Begins Christmas Eve and includes

the two Sundays immediately following Christmas Eve. It includes the

Epiphany of Christ (wise men appear), that is twelve days after Christ-

mas. This is a festival (white) season during which we focus on the glo-

ry of God, the purity of Christ, and our joy at the gift of Christ.

EPIPHANY SEASON (green) for five Sundays and then white for one…

five Sundays immediately after the Epiphany (appearance or manifesta-

tion) and ending with Transfiguration Sunday (white). This is a growth

(green) season during which we focus on our own spiritual growth in

light of the coming of Jesus Christ.

LENTEN SEASON (purple)…Six Sundays immediately after Transfig-

uration Sunday and ending with Holy Saturday (Easter Eve). This is a

preparatory (purple) season during which we focus on the sacrifice, suf-

fering, and death of Jesus as well as our own prayers and penitence

(sorrow for our sins).

EASTER SEASON (white)…Seven Sundays beginning with Easter Sun-

day and ending the before the Day of Pentecost (red). This is a festival

(white) season during which we focus on the glory of our risen Lord, the

power of the Resurrection, and the worship of our Lord and Savior.

PENTECOST SEASON (red)…Seventeen Sundays beginning with Pen-

tecost Sunday and ending with the Sunday before Labor Day. This is a

spiritual (red) season (as adapted by Bowen) during which we focus on

the gift of the Holy Spirit (as promised by Jesus), the birth of the

Church, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and our

spiritual journey as individuals and as a congregation.

KINGDOMTIDE SEASON (green)…Eleven Sundays immediately after

Labor Day and ending with the Sunday of Christ the King (white). This

is a growth (green) season during which we focus on our decision to fol-

low Jesus as Disciples and our service to Him as we serve one another,

especially the strangers and sojourners in our community.

Second Sunday

Report

The Results:

December 7th-

Our Congregation brought

10 bags of canned food and

bread mixes and other

assorted food items! In

addition, we collected

$165.00 in monetary dona-

tions.

Our Next Challenge:

January 11th–

Soup and Crackers

Also, there is always a

need for Breakfast Items

and Instant Potatoes.

Please remember, if for some

reason you cannot attend

church on the second

Sunday, you can always

drop items off at the church

office.

Cash contributions are also

accepted and appreciated.

Jan 4 Logan Cassidy

Jan 11 Connor Legg

Jan 18 Addie Mitcham

Jan 25 Tatum Jones

Doris Smith, Judy Paugh,

Billie Bowen

Trey Wood

Reece Morris

Judy Paugh

Rita Farris

Sunday, January 4

John 15:1-8

Sunday, January 11

Mark 1:4-11

Sunday, January 18

Matthew 4:1-11

Sunday, January 25

Mark 1:14-20

Jan 4 Joanna Suarez

Jan 11 Gina Hagan

Jan 18 Tara Wood

Jan 25 TBD

Week 1- Dave Moon, Jimmy Bolton

Week 2- Tom Murphy, Al Fleming

Week 3- Jack Legg, Janet Varner

Week 4- Jimmy Bolton, Lee Hagan

Linda Lamb, Janet Varner,

Donna Wilson, Jimmie Claxton,

Barbara Sweetser

1/1 Samantha Clark, Ashlynn Harbin, Inez Mize

1/4 Sadie Beauchamp

1/5 Jan Roe, Zoe Phillips

1/7 Rita Farris

1/9 Scott Martin

1/10 Chartee Pratt, Janet Varner

1/12 Margie Brown, Rory McClintock

1/16 Bryan Harbin

1/23 Lasasha Tiller

1/25 Lisa Marshburn, Annabel Seltzer

1/26 Rick Massey

1/29 Laura Bruce

1/30 Tara Beauchamp, Sid Major, Joe Tiller

1/31 Marie Canady, Barbara Reid

1/12 Mr. and Mrs. Kelly Parham

1/20 Drs. Sam and Joanna Suarez

1/25 Mr. and Mrs. Chad Gregory

1/29 Mr. and Mrs. Trey Wood

Men’s 2015 Breakfast Schedule

Calling all Men! On the last Sunday of each month there is a men’s fellowship breakfast at the

area churches. The breakfast begins at 8:00 am, and will rotate at a different church each

month. Here is the schedule for 2015:

January CPC

February Mt. Calvary

March FBC

April UMC

May CPC

June & July skip

August FBC

September UMC

October CPC

November & December skip

Prayers for Healing:

Shirley Martin, requested by Brenda Meadows

Leon Powell, requested by Kinsey Phillips

Martin Jones, requested by Chris Harmon

Joseph Gibson

Jean Bauerband

Vivian Humphrey, mother of John Sergent

Ted Evans

Parks Mann, requested by Brenda Meadows

John Siwick, father of Gina Hagan

Kevin Purcell, son of Pat and Jim Purcell

Joe Tiller

Calvin Smith, father of Renee Moon

Julie Chambliss and Emma Bush requested by Betty Hoyt

Becky Beggs, niece of David and Billie Bowen

Marty Ludwig, requested by Billie and David Bowen

Sherry Parker, daughter of Judy Paugh

Ruth Morris, sister-in-law of Reece and Faye Morris

Grant Terrell, requested by Dave Moon

Halona Lance, wife of Jeff Lance

Rick McGill, friend of Lee and Gina Hagan

Sonya Synder, daughter of Linda Brake

Stanley Thompson , father of Kristin Hill

John Siwick

Brenda Hay

Billion Anderson, requested by Mandy Prescott

Whitney Diemond-Bergmann

Inez Mize

April Harmon

John Davis Gaissert

Lucy Gailey

Financial Update:

Receipts as of 11/130/14: $377,146.90

Expenses as of 11/30/14: $383,790.14

Deficit: $6,643.24

DEADLINE for 2014 contributions is

Sunday, December 28th. Contributions

received after that date will be deposited

in 2015 and will not appear on your 2014

Giving Statement.

Children’s Ministry

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to pros-

per you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

January 4th: Sunday School – What’s the big deal about a new year?

Wesley Covenant in words that kids can understand!

January 7th: Wonderful Wednesday starts back! Music, Bible stories, crafts and fun!! Meet us in

the gym at 5:15pm, pick up is at 6:15 at the sanctuary ramp.

January 7th: Parent planning meeting during Wonderful Wednesday. We’ll have calendars

ready for you, along with dates for important stuff like Confirmation, VBS and Christmas pro-

grams…Bring your ideas for Sunday school topics, fun field trips, mission work and the like –

the more input we have the better our already good Children’s ministry will be!

January 10th: iServe Ministry Food Truck. It might be cold this day so make sure you have

warm gloves, a coat and a hat! We’ll meet you in the Lanier Tech parking lot at 7:00 am. Join us

for breakfast at Chick Fil a when we are done.

January 11th: Sunday School – Where in the world is Honduras and why are Mrs. Anne and Mrs.

Gina going there? A lesson on missions – timely topic for the New Year!

January 30th: Date Night – we missed the December night due to flu and junk – hopefully we

are all well and parents can enjoy a few hours out on the town! Meet in the family life center at

6:00 pm to drop off the kids. Pick up is 9:00 pm. Donations accepted, all money received goes

toward field trips for the Children’s ministry in 2015.

We will be circulating sign-up sheets for Children’s Church and Nursery Help

during January. Will you pray about where you can serve in the Children’s

Ministry and make a commitment in 2015? We are looking forward to more fun,

mission work and Bible study this year – all your ideas and comments are need-

ed! Call me at (706) 654-6489 or email me at gmhagan@windstream.net

In His Love,

Gina

Youth News Wow! Happy New Year everyone! It is my prayer that this year will be a year of

great joy and growth in your relationship with Jesus Christ for each of you. I am

excited about our upcoming events throughout the winter. Get out your NEW

2015 calendar, write these dates in it and come join us!!

Sun. Jan 4 Movie Night We will Kick Off the New Year by showing the movie “When the Game Stands Tall.” 5:30 until 7:00 ish. Popcorn and snacks will be served. Sorry for pun! Wed. Jan. 7 Bible Study We get linC’ed back into our weekly study. Join us in Youth Room 5:30-6:15 Sat. Jan. 10 iServe Food Distribution meet at Lanier Tech at 7:00 a.m. will be finished around 9:00. Great way to be the hands and feet of Christ.

Wed. Jan. 14 Bible Study Sun. Jan. 11 Mug Exchange and Hot Chocolate 5:30-7:00 Youth Room Wed. Jan. 21 Bible Study Sun. Jan. 18 Mission Project We will be assembling hygiene kits to take to Our Daily Bread Fri. Jan. 20 Date Night 6:00 We will be babysitting for the children of our church. Wed. Jan. 28 Bible Study Sun. Jan. 25 Game Night in Youth Room 5:30-7:00

The Ski Trip to Lake Junaluska has been moved to Feb. 20-22. Please let me know if you plan to go.

Upcoming Events

Sun. Feb. 1 Super Bowl Party

Sat. Feb. 7 Winter Jam

Sun. Feb. 8 Our Daily Bread

Sat. Feb. 14 iServe Food Distribution Youth sponsored truck Breakfast at church to

follow.

Fri. Feb. 20-Sun. Feb. 22 Ski Trip

Thank you for your prayers and for your support of our Youth. We have an amaz-

ing group of young people. Please join us any time you would like. We are looking

for volunteers to chaperone, host Destination Unknown, Wed. or Sun. activities,

share your testimony. In other words, wherever you feel comfortable, we can find a place for you.

God bless,

K.Ellen

kellen@negia.net

706-654-7040

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage Paid

Permit No. 3

Rev. Dr. David G. Bowen, Senior Pastor

16 Cherry St.

Commerce, GA 30529

706-335-4018 (Office)

706 335-2031 (Fax)

Email us at: cmcoffice@windstream.net

Visit us online at: WWW.COMMERCEFUMC.ORG

Like us on FACEBOOK!