First United Methodist ChurchHwy. 37 North of I-30PO Box 659Mt. Vernon, TX 75457

NON-PROFITORGANIZATION

U.S. Postage PaidPermit #30

Mt. Vernon, TX

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCHP.O. Box 659, Mt. Vernon, Texas 75457

903-537-3616 Website: fumcmv.org Email: office@fumcmv.org

Office Hours: Monday-Thursday, 8:30am - 4:00pm; Friday 8:30am-Noon

Jack’s Journal

On October 29, 2011, a beautiful baby girl was born in this world, a gift to very proud parents. She came into this world under an emergency situation, as her mother experienced placenta previa. After birth, the baby girl had gastrointestinal difficulty, as well as failure to thrive syndrome and a tethered spinal cord. Around eight months later, genetic testing diagnosed that she had a 2Q23.2 deletion. Being the genetic novice that I was, I asked her mother, a registered dietician and nutritionist, to explain the meaning and symptoms of the deletion. Even after the explanation, that sometimes went way over my head, I understood that the little girl could have a myriad of neurologic and physical developmental deficiencies.

Several doctors told the parents that their daughter would never walk. However, the parents who were given the gift of their daughter, experienced another unexpected gift today as I write this. The now little girl, our granddaughter, who doc-tors never thought would walk, took eight steps on her own! Eight steps! Little Zoey, three years, 22 days old became independent, stood erect, and walked from her physical therapist to her momma, our daughter Meri. Such a blessed gift!

Meri and her husband Frank, Zoey’s sister Mya and brother Frankie, received a gift on the birthday of Zoey. Today they received another gift of Zoey walking. In fact, each day the family receives a new gift of Zoey. I do believe that because Meri and her family were persistent and gave their time, their love of Christ and one another, God gifted them in return with His love for them, and one of many gifts, that of Zoey walking. Each day we celebrate the gift of Zoey!

As I reflect on this giftedness, Zoey’s unexpected achievement points to the greatest gift given to us - the birth of Jesus Christ - which keeps giving. We are overjoyed with the gift of walking that Zoey experiences and look forward to other achievements each and every day. Yet, we are even more overjoyed with the gift of the Christ Child into our lives who gives us hope, peace, joy, because of His love. So, in all of our gifting, may we receive The Gift anew during this holiday season, that is Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas. The best gift of all time!

Grace and peace,

Jack

Emmanuel -- God with Us!A Contemporary Lessons and Carols

on Sunday, December 7 at 4 PM

The one central message pervading all the sights, sounds and smells of the Christmas Season is Emmanuel -- God with Us! Don't miss the December 7 presentation of a Contemporary Lessons and Carols cantata, blending timeless scriptural passages with the songs of the season -- both old and new. The Music Makers children's choir, Bell Choir, instrumentalists and readers will join our Chancel Choir to bring you the joyful noises of the season. The service of Lessons and Carols dates back to 1918 when the first such service was held at King's College in Cambridge, Eng-land. Over the years, the basic format has been adapted and used by

churches around the world. Emmanuel -- God with Us! is a delightful work by Lloyd Larson featuring historic carols and newer compositions, along with the Holy Bible, to tell the ageless story of Christmas.

Thanksgiving HolidayOffice Closed, November 26-28

Community Thanksgiving DinnerNovember 27, @ 11:30 am

December ScheduleEmmanuel -- God with Us!

A Contemporary Lessons and Carols, December 7, 4 pm

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, December 24 @ 5 & 7 pm

One Worship Service, December 28 @ 9:45 am

We are taking reservations now for Christmas Poinsettias.

The cost is $12.00 per plant.

To make your reservation, complete the form below and place it with a $12.00 donation for each plant in the collection plate or mail it to the church office. You may reserve plants in honor, or in memory, of someone. After Christmas Eve Worship services, deliver your plant(s) to someone who needs extra beauty in their life.

Number of plants __________ (just one designation per plant)

(UNDERLINE) In memory - OR - In honor

Please PRINT

____________________________

From____________________________

Christmas Store Donations NeededCHILDREN Clothes, Coats & Shoes

FUMC will host the fourth annual Christmas store in Jennings Hall in the Family Life Center on Monday, Dec. 15, 5-7 pm and Tuesday, Dec. 16, 8 am-Noon. “One gently used outfit and new underwear will be given to each child and one coat per family,” said Susan Sample. We can use items for babies through high school students including children’s clothes, toys and books. If you have good, used clothing, please remem-ber the Christmas Store and help a family who is less fortunate.

80 Angels with Christmas wishes are on the Christmas Tree!

CHRISTMAS ANGELS ARE NEEDED EARLy THIS yEAR. Only three weeks after Thanksgiving the school children will be dis-missed for the Christmas Holidays. You are invited to take an angel from the Narthex and make a young person happy this Christmas. We are partnering with the Community in Schools to provide gifts for children who need special attention.

Pick an angel or more than one. Purchase the items. Box, but DO NOT WRAP them or place in a gift bag. Securely attach angel to the gift or attach a card that has the same information as the angel including the number. Angel numbers are very important to identify the child. Return the gifts to the tree by December 7.

Women’s Bible Study“Not a Silent Night”

An Adam Hamilton Advent StudyDecember 2, 9 & 16, 2014, 8:30-11:00

AMFamily Life Center, Room 201

If you are interested, please contact Jill Lowry @ 903-860-3560 or Betsy Gekiere @ 903-860-7404.

Altar Flowers & Narthex Plants

Altar Flowers and Narthex Plants are furnished by Bloomin Crazy and Ar-madillo Flowerworks and are funded by the Charles Bruce Flower Endowment Fund.

November30 Richard Haynie & Tom Standridge

December 7 Ed Joyce & Tom Sample14 Jim Kober & Mike Fisk21 Bob Singer & Linda Moore28 Georgia Gibson & Johnny Kirby

Finance Counters

ORDER YOUR POINSETTIAS

Special Thanks to Liz Etheridge for sharing her reflections and observations.

Special GiftS & MeMorialS

Members of First United Methodist Church express our thanks to each of you who have recently given a special financial gift in memory or in honor of

loved ones.

It's the season of Thanks-Giving......a time when many struggle to find even one thing to Give Thanks for.....and try as they may, it sim-ply doesn't come to them. They sit quietly as the fog of life envelopes them....just waiting...no, BEGGING....for this time of year to be over with already. And I just want to whisper to them.....”Hold your hand out....hold it out and let Him grab it...you're not alone.”

But they can't.

It was a day ago I learned that my good friend, Brian, had killed himself. Drove his car straight into the house I first met he and his wife in, and shot himself. Tragic. No one knew the pain he was going through....but amongst the 7.125 billion people in this Whole Wide World and the 196 friends he had on Facebook and the 84 followers on Twitter and his ginormous family who loved him, he was alone. A-L-O-N-E.

Sometimes it feels like the earth is cracking.....and people are falling into the cracks. And as we carefully step over the cracks, we say “What a shame about Brian Monshower or Robin Williams or Cici Paris.......” and we move on, shaking our heads as we turn our eyes away from those who are barely hanging on before falling into the darkness of this world. And we convince ourselves if we didn't turn away, it would mess up our holidays.

May I suggest that maybe....just maybe....if we worried less about our holidays being messed up with a messed up person and more about inviting that messed up person to share our holidays with us, that maybe....just maybe....it could turn our holiday into the PERFECT holiday. That the great-est gift we could GIVE and RECEIVE would be to extend our hand and pull that person out of the darkness that is closing in around them....to open the door to hope.

Look around......grab a hand.....and Give Thanks.

Prayer List, November 2014

Ka AdamsLarry AdamsVal AndrewsZoey ArthurMerlin BanmanLinda BarrettJ. D. BaumgardnerJames BellRick BenderBeth BolgerCarol Bushee Brandon CantrellPatty CheatwoodTerri ColemanBennie ConnellyBarbara DanleyLoraine DeanerJames DuckDerek FisherVictoria FletcherSally FordGene FrazierJeff GibsonBrenda Hebert

Nadine JenningsLarry LittlefieldSue LittlefieldMichael LockhartZoe MatherKaren McCartyBea McClainEimilie MitchellMary Moore (Hospice)Bill NashRea NorrellCallan PenceBreeland PetersonRegina PierceChristina Plantinga Nina RameyLena Mae ReederOscar ReederVirginia SmithHugh StoneJulie WhitakerMark Wossom

Sympathy to :.....Paul Tullis on the death of his mother, Lillian Pauline Tullis.

*Please Note: Names added to the prayer list will remain on the list for 30 days if needed. They will be relisted by request.

In Memory of Glynn VickersEd & Marilyn Joyce

In Memory of Wilma Vanden EykelEd & Marilyn Joyce

Donate Now!

Finance Update

January Opening Balance $ 52,928.74Income thru November 25 $517,067.73Expenses thru November 25 $493,601.84 Closing Balance November 25 $ 76,394.63

Wednesday Nite LiveDinner @ 5:15 pm Activities at 6 pm

WEDNESDAY NITE SCHEDULE4:30 pm Bells4:45 pm Music Makers5:15 pm Dinner begins6:00 pm Nursery for young children in Rainbow Hall 6:00 pm Youth6:00 pm God’s Olympians6:00 pm Choir Rehearsal

December MenuDECEMBER 3 PICNIC IN DECEMBER

Hotdogs/HamburgersMacaroni SaladBaked Beans

Dessert

Join Us

We cordially invite you to: Tree of Remembrance & Candlelight Service

6:00 P.M., Thursday, December 11, 2014Sam B. Harvey Funeral Home

409 North Kaufman StreetMount Vernon, Texas 75457

903-537-2232

The evening will include messages of hope by Brother Pepper Puryear, Dr. Jack Wallace, and Brother Gerald Hood and musical arrangements by Betsy Gekiere and Mark Beggs. Sam B. Harvey Funeral Home will provide light refreshments

following the service.We encourage you to bring an ornament in memory of your loved one to place on our Tree of Remembrance. These ornaments will be used in the coming years as

a lasting memory of those we want to remember during the holiday season.

“Love Does”On Sunday afternoons we are doing a Bible Study

entitled “Love Does”. Bob Goff is the author and he is someone I would love to get to know personally! So what do we do when we finish our study? Bob says “It can be a tough question to answer, honestly, but it can be an easy one. Let me tell you what I do to move my dreams down the road. I usually just try to figure out what the next step is and then do that. I know it sounds too simple, too formulaic; it seems like there must be more to it. But there isn’t. For most of us, that next step is as easy as picking up the phone, sending an e-mail, writing a letter, or just showing up and after that, things start happening. Things that perhaps have God’s fingerprints on them. You’ll know which ones do and which ones don’t. Pick the ones that do. What’s your next step? I don’t know for sure, because everyone is different, but I bet it involves choosing something that already lights you up. Something you already think is beautiful or lasting and meaningful. Pick something you aren’t just able to do; instead, pick something you feel like you were made to do and then do lots of that!”May Our God richly bless your lives this

Thanksgiving!With Much love,

Cindy

Homeless Care BagsSunday, November 23rd, the Children’s Sunday School class made approximately 50 Homeless Care Bags filled with basic necessities and a copy of the New Testament. The purpose of this mission is to provide a way for members of our church to help someone they see on a roadside or elsewhere who could benefit from receiving the bag. Students have been studying the teachings of Jesus for the past eight weeks and learning that Jesus wants us to love and care for His people. This is a practical and effective tool to help others in need. At the time of printing, only 4 bags were left unclaimed. Our prayer is that all the bags will go to just the person God knows needs it through our congregation, His servants. Blessings of the Season, Ms. Pam

God’s Olympics Mission Field TripThe kids of God’s Olympics will be going to Mt. Pleasant for a field trip Wednesday, De-cember 10th. We will leave the church at 5:30 p.m. and will be traveling together on the church buses first to Dollar Tree and then to have pizza at CC’s. Each child will need to bring $6 for spending at Dollar Tree for our Christmas Shoe Boxes having the opportunity to pick out the gifts themselves. We will then proceed to CC’s for pizza which is being pro-vided by the church. If your child will want to play in the game room at CC’s, please send extra money for them. We should be back to the church by about 7:45 p.m. This is a great time for the children to learn about the needs of others and how they can personally help. If

any of you would like to participate or contribute to the Samaritans’ Purse Christmas Shoe Box program, you are welcome to come with us or make a donation and we can shop for you. If any parents could accompany us on the field trip, we would love to have your help as we need extra supervisors as we shop and may need a few vehicles to carry kids as the buses hold 35 kids max. If you cannot attend, please arrange to pick up your Olympian at 7:45 p.m. at the church.

Merry Christmas from the kids of God’s Olympics!

Rainbow ConneCtion

Thank you Church Family for all of your support before, during and after Sid’s death. We appreciate all the calls, food, cards, letters and donations to the church. How blessed we are. Thanks again,The family of Sid Leslie

Rainbow Connection had so many things to be thankful for in November.

We started the month with a food drive for the Food Bank. Our Lil Tots

class and the PK class got class prizes for collecting the most food. The PK

class took 240 items to the Food Bank last week and got to go in and visit

to see how it helps others in the community. Nov. 11 the PK class dressed

up in red, white and blue and walked to the Veteran’s Day celebration at the

Mt. Vernon House and led the pledge and sang My Country Tis of Thee. They also marched around with flags while the

residents sang You’re a Grand Ole Flag. (The video is on the FUMC website thanks to Mr. Stephen!)

All our families were invited to our Thanksgiving covered dish lunch on Nov. 19. We had about 40 family members join

us! Then the PK visited the Paradise Gardens Pumpkin Patch in Pittsburg on Nov. 20. Three parents joined us there for

a morning of climbing hay mountain, hayriding, sliding, bouncing and just generally enjoying the beautiful sunshine.

Rainbow will decorate a tree at the depot again this year. The rules have changed somewhat this year. The votes still

cost $1 each, but the organization that gets the vote will also get the $1. The tree that has the most overall votes will get

$150 from the Franklin County Historical Society. So……we need you to go and vote for our tree on Dec. 6 after the

Christmas parade and again on Dec. 13 from 10 am-2 pm!

Rainbow will be closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day for the holidays.

1 2 3 4 5 65:30pm P31 6:30pm Cub Scouts

8:30am WBS 3:30pm Stephen Ministry 5:30pm P31 6:30pm Boy Scouts

5:30pm P31 9:00am Cantata Rehearsal

7 8 9 10 11 12 135:30pm P31 6:30pm Cub Scouts

8:30am WBS 5:30pm P31 6:30pm Boy Scouts 2:00pm UMW & Bells at the Mt. Vernon House

9:30am Prayer Time 10:15am Pastor's Bible Study 4:30pm Bell Choir 6:00pm God's Olympians 6:00pm Chancel Choir 6:00pm youth No WNL Dinner

4:30pm Angel Pickup 5:30pm P31 6:00pm Dist. Scouts

8:30am Angel Pickup

14 15 16 17 18 19 205:30pm P31 6:00pm Finance 6:00pm Staff Christmas Party 6:30pm Cub Scouts

8:30am WBS 3:30pm Stephen Ministry 5:00pm Rainbow Board 5:30pm P31 6:30pm Boy Scouts

9:30am Prayer Time 10:15am Pastor's Bible Study No WNL Dinner

2:00pm Boy Scouts - Church 5:30pm P31 6:00pm Rainbow Christmas Party

21 22 23 24 25 26 278:30am Worship Service 9:30am Refreshments 9:45am Sunday School 11:00am Worship 2:00pm Boy Scouts 4:30pm UMyF 6:30pm Grace Notes

6:30pm Cub Scouts

6:30pm Boy Scouts Office open 8am-12pm 5:00pm Christmas Eve Worship 7:00pm Christmas Eve Worship

Office closed Office closed

28 29 30 319:45am Worship Office re-opens Office open 8am-12pm

9:30am Prayer Time

December 2014Sunday

Next Sunday - December 7 CANTATA

8:30am Worship Service 9:00am Salvation Army - youth 9:30am Refreshments 9:45am Sunday School 11:00am Worship 4:00pm Christmas Cantata-A Contemporary Lessons & Carols 4:30pm UMyF 6:30pm Grace Notes

8:30am Christmas Party - youth 8:30am Worship Service 9:30am Refreshments 9:45am Sunday School 11:00am Worship 4:30pm UMyF 6:30pm Grace Notes

Monday Tuesday Wednesday

9:30am Prayer Time 10:15am Pastor's Bible Study 4:30pm Bell Choir 4:45pm Music Makers K-5th 5:15pm WNL 6:00pm youth 6:00pm Chancel Choir 6:00pm God's Olympians

Thursday Friday Saturday

MERRYCHRISTMAS!!