the church at work - winter 2014

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The Church at Work e-zine (electronic magazine) is designed to give you a glimpse into the stories being lived out through the ministries of First United Methodist Church Grapevine. Lives are being touched and changed

forever, and we want you to hear the story.

4 Kids Against Hunger

8 Refreshed by The Well

12 Are We Making a Difference?

17 Coffee & Praise

20 ¡Costa Rica!

24 Healing & Wholeness

26 Waiting for Answers

30 A New Vision

33 Lent 2014

If you have feedback about the e-zine or a story to tell, please contact:

Dr. Cindy [email protected], 817-481-2559 x222

or Melissia Mason

[email protected], 817-481-2559 x109

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The Church at Work || 3

mailto:[email protected]

These staggering numbers touched hearts

at FUMC Grapevine and led the church

to get involved with Kids Against Hunger, an

organization that packages highly nutritious,

life-saving meals for starving and malnourished

children and their families in developing

countries and the United States.

On January 20, the church held its first MLK

Day of Service to benefit Kids Against Hunger.

Volunteers packaged 22,032 meals!

By Joni Lehmann

Kids Against HungerEvery six seconds a child dies due to hunger and related causes.

1.02 billion people do not have enough to eat – more than the populations of USA, Canada and the European Union.

It is estimated that 684,000 child deaths worldwide could be prevented by increasing access to vitamin A and zinc.

source: www.kidsagainsthunger.org

4 || The Church at Work

Kenda Diehm first became aware of

Kids Against Hunger through her

friendships at St. John the Apostle United

Methodist Church in Arlington. She

shared a video of the organization’s work

with the United Methodist Women (UMW)

Exectuive Board last summer to gauge its

interest in getting involved.

Due to the $5,000 start-up fee, the UMW

involved the church staff, who embraced

the idea. The

January communion

offering served

as the first step

in raising the

necessary funds.

Almost the entire

amount was

donated in that first

attempt, according

to Miriam Ward, UMW president.

The goal of Kids Against Hunger is

for its meals to provide a stable

nutritional base from which recipients

can move their families from starvation

to self-sufficiency. The meals consist of a

highly-nutritious vitamin-fortified soy-rice

casserole.

The non-profit was incorporated in 1999.

Its network consists of the International

Headquarters office located in

Bloomington, Minnesota (a suburb of

Minneapolis), a Division in Mankato,

Minnesota, and close to 100 independent

non-profit food packaging “satellites”

across the U.S. and Canada. St. John’s in

Arlington serves as the satellite campus

for Tarrant County.

Since its launch, Kids Against Hunger

has provided over 200 million meals for

children and their families in more than 60

countries through the efforts of hundreds

of thousands of

volunteers. Last

year alone over

40 million meals

were distributed.

The organization’s

goal is to

eventually

eradicate world

hunger.

After careful planning and promotion

by the UMW, approximately 150

volunteers helped make FUMCG’s initial

effort a great success. UMW members

were on hand to help unload, set-up and

clean up, as well as provide snacks for

the volunteers. A video explaining the

procedure was shown to the volunteers

prior to the packaging.

“I loved seeing the children involved,”

Miriam Ward shares. “Moms wanted a

mission project in which the entire family


could participate. Our volunteers now want to do it again!”

The meals packaged by FUMC Grapevine were distributed

to areas in which the need is the greatest at the current time.

In addition, a few packages were sent with the Kenya and

Costa Rica mission teams on thier February trips.

Ward hopes this becomes an annual project for MLK Day

and noted that another packaging day is being discussed

that will involve the youth over the summer. Some of the

participants in the first project included scout groups and

high school students earning community service hours.

“It was a very rewarding experience,” Ward concluded. “I

was blessed to be a part of it.” W

Kids Against Hunger is not

affiliated with or restricted to

a particular religious group

and does not discriminate on

any basis when distributing

its meals. The organization is

entirely comprised of volunteers.

Donations are not used to fund

salaries. Kids Against Hunger

has distributed food to...

Argentina - Armenia - Belize

- Bolivia - Burkina - Faso

- Burundi - Cambodia -

Cameroon - Canada - Chad

- Chile - Colombia - Congo

- Cuba - Dominican Republic

- Ecuador - El Salvador -

Ethiopia - Federated States

of Micronesia - French -

Guiana - Gabon - Ghana

- Guatemala - Haiti -

Honduras - India - Indonesia

- Israel - Jamaica - Kenya

- Liberia - Mali - Malawi -

Mexico - Myanmar/Burma

- Nicaragua - Niger - Nigeria

- Palestine - Panama -

Papua New Guinea - Peru

- Philippines - Romania - Sao

Tome & Principe - Senegal

- Sierra Leone - South

Africa - Sudan - Swaziland

- Tajikistan - Tanzania -

Thailand - Tobago - Togo

- Trinidad - Uganda - USA

- Vietnam - West Timor -

Zambia - Zimbabwe

Joni Lehmann has been a member of FUMC Grapevine since 1999. She enjoys participating in Kenda’s Wednesday evening bible study, Suddenly Single and the Campus Angels ministry. She has served as a writer for the church e-zine for the past year. Joni works as the Associate Director of Communications for the Big 12 Conference.


By Debbi Reecer

Refreshed by The Wel l


C lose your eyes and picture yourself drawing up a fresh bucket of water from a wel l. You can almost taste the clean coolness, and it evokes a sense of calm...

T his is the vision of The Well, the women’s

ministry at FUMC Grapevine. This year

The Well celebrates its 10th anniversary.

What began as a local event with about

100 attendees, mostly from our church,

has now grown into average attendances

in the hundreds. The

Well attracts highly

recognized Christian

speakers such as

Thelma Wells, Carol

Kent and recently Jen

Hatmaker – who topped

the attendance record

of 435 women from DFW and surrounding

areas.

“Early on, Associate Pastor Dr. Cindy Ryan

had a vision for a women’s ministry where

women could just be replenished,” says Ann

Hailey, who now leads the committee of 14

women who coordinate The Well events.

“We wanted women to not have to cook or

clean… they could just show up and be

refreshed.”

At first the speaker

list only included

women who were

within driving distance

because The Well

was not in the church

budget for funding.

But as the events

grew in popularity, they attracted more

and more attendees, and people willing to

donate funds. Now, The Well is a beneficiary

of the church gala and auction, and also


individual donors who are passionate

about the ministry.

Not only has it drawn the attention of

those who participate, but The Well has

also built a reputation with Christian

speakers from around the country to come

to FUMCG to share their stories and their

faith. Ann jokes that she was given the

gifts of gumption and gab from her dad,

longtime Gideon Bob West, so she’s felt the

calling to contact speakers’ organizations

and build the speaking circuit.

“Now we’ve had so many speakers from so

many different places that I don’t have to

beg them to come,” Ann notes. “They say

they like how the ministry is being handled

and how it speaks to the hearts of women,

so they’re very willing to be a part.”

Other churches have even shown an

interest in The Well. DeeDee Hill, a

former member of FUMCG and a friend

of Ann’s, came to a Well event when

she was visiting. She went back to San

Diego’s Rancho Bernardo Presbyterian

Church and started a Well there, using

the same model. “They continue to refresh

women there, and we compare notes on

speakers and ways to continue to grow

our ministries,” Ann says.

Attendees pay a very reasonable $25 to

get a great sit-down dinner, followed by

the presentation. When you look across

the room, you see women in their 20s, on

up to their 80s, and from all walks of life.

“I tell our speakers we have seekers,

veteran Christians, married, single,

divorced women,” Ann says. “Women

have their girlfriends, but we also need

other women to encourage us along the

way and expand our relationships with

God. The Well is a safe place to do that.”


Debbi Reecer has been a member of FUMCG since 1997. She serves on the Campus Angels and Angel Food teams. Debbi and her husband Rich attend the Open Door Sunday School Class and worship at the 11:00 AM service. They have a son, Matt, who is a student at Texas Tech University.

Interested in learning more about The Well? Contact

one of the committee members below and

visit The Well’s page on the church web site for

upcoming events!

Ann Hailey

Trudy Hughes, staff liaison

Carol Howe

Karen Watson

Deb Scheiwe

Sharon Walker

Wendy Merrill

Jana Howell

Karen McCurdy

Amy Gravitt

Micah Basiti

Debbie Klein

Donna Chabot

Sally Itz

Anyone who’s been around a few years has

an appreciation for how the ministry has

grown, including its outreach to the Hispanic

women in the church. “Honestly, I thought I was

going to arrange speakers for a couple of years

and then turn it over to someone else,” Ann

notes. “But God has prepared me to be able to

set the tone of who’s going to be there, and then

He’s in charge of how it all turns out.”

And when she hears a woman say “it’s just what

I needed,” she knows He drove the local vision

to exactly the right place. W


Africa – Kenya – Meru – People’s lives...

Are we making a

difference?By Ed Crater


We have been going to Meru for

nearly eight years. Our first visit

was in 2006 to explore how we might

establish some relationships and begin

planning how we could help people in

that area. This was our first international

“village.” Our repeated trips nearly twice

per year have cemented friendships and

expanded our influence.

What do we see now as a result of our

efforts? Lives have been changed;

progress is being made toward self-

sufficiency; learning has been exchanged;

and the results are contagious.

There are many great stories from our

recent trip to Kenya, and I encourage you

to reach out to our mission team members

for their favorites. Here I will only touch

on a few highlights of where we saw life

changing impact.

We spent two

afternoons with

the Meru street kids

(glue kids). There were

about 75 kids each day

ranging from two years

old to mid-20’s who made the trip to the

Meru Childrens’ Home, where members

of our church contribute funds to provide

three meals per week. During those meals,

project team members from the Bishop’s

office take note of who is new, who is sick,

and who is making progress.

During our visits, we spoke with three

boys who are success stories among

these kids. They shared their message

about recovery with the kids who are still

existing on the streets and addicted to

glue. Their message was simply that they

can have a different life. We saw about

eight youngsters, ages two to nine, among

the street kids. The new director of the

Childrens’ Home made sure that as many

of them as possible were allowed to stay

at the Childrens’ Home to get them off the

streets and to begin their recovery.

Hillary, who was one of

the first street kids to be

rescued, is now in the

equivalent of 10th Grade

(Form 2) and is looking

forward to going to college

in a few years.


We also met a little seven year old boy

living at the Childrens’ Home who is one

of the first rescued from the streets as part

of a new strategic plan to help the street

kids. He is a bright-eyed smart little boy

who thoroughly enjoyed being a helper

with our visit and saying hello to his

friends who are still on the streets. These

lives are being changed.

Our church sponsored two health

clinics, serving over 1,000 people

who had medical and dental needs. Our

team members worked alongside the

clinicians for two long but rewarding

days.

During the first trip to the village of

Ntumburi, the team saw children

standing in line out in the sun or the

rain as some women cooked lunch

over an open wood fire inside a rickety

lean-to. Contributors to our Meru

village committed to build a cafeteria

building at the school, and that project

is nearly completed. What had been

six classrooms of 100 students eating

outside with no electricity has become

one of the best schools in the area with

over 400 students, electricity into the

classrooms and office, and a nearly

completed cafeteria.

Health Clinics


We spent a delightful day with over

150 of our 182 AIDS orphans

supported by individual members of our

church. Letters were exchanged, pictures

were taken, and stories were shared. We

even played a few games... since kids are

kids anywhere in the world! The laughs

and smiles were really uplifting to us as

we still dealt with jet lag and long days.

Our team noticed that as these kids grow

up, we need to find a way to continue our

support so they can go to university or

to trade school and develop themselves

sufficiently to make their own impact as

adults.

The guest house, which includes a

cornerstone foundation block dedicated

Progress on the Cafeteria at Ntumburi

AIDS Orphan Day


Ed Crater and his wife Kim have been members of FUMCG since 2002. This was his first trip to Kenya. Ed has been active in church leadership, serving on the Finance Committee, as an usher and communion server, with Handyman on Call and local mission days. Ed is currently serving as the church’s Lay Leader for 2014.

to Ken Diehm, is making good progress.

The training/dining room is completed

and functional. The first floor guest

rooms are completed. The second floor

framework is up with walls to follow. The

third floor foundation is in place with the

support beams set to begin construction.

This guest house will provide a source of

income to support local mission projects.

Is our presence in Meru making a

difference? No doubt! We continue to

listen to the needs of the people we meet,

and decide what we can do to help. It is

a blessing to us as we see the combined

efforts changing lives and making lasting

improvements. W

Our next mission trip to Kenya is July 8-20. If this sounds like your calling, please join in. Contact Trudy Hughes

for more information about this [email protected], 817-481-2559 x150

Guest House


T he seating consists of folding chairs

rather than pews and the walls

aren’t graced with beautiful stained

glass, but for those who prefer praise

music in worship, the Family Life Center

has become their sanctuary. The Coffee

& Praise service, added to our church’s

worship line-up in December, was well

received from the start, and continues to

grow in attendance.

A Welcome Sunday Morning AdditionCoffee & Praise!

“Some people think that this type of

service appeals mostly to young people,

but I don’t think that’s the case,” says

Tanya Lippe, who attends the service

with her husband Kary and their young

children. “I think it just depends on what

type of music speaks to your soul,” she

added. Among the group of some 80-

100 attendees, there are singles and

couples, families with young children

By Pam Fry


and teens, empty-nesters, senior citizens

and grandparents worshipping with their

adult children and their grandchildren.

Regardless of age, the group has

embraced the return of a praise music

service at FUMC Grapevine.

A fter years of worship in the sanctuary,

the 9:00 AM contemporary service

ended as the church began a new

worship service

schedule last April.

The large seating

capacity of the

sanctuary dwarfed the

number of attendees

at the contemporary

service; and after the

schedule change, they scattered among

the other service offerings.

Prompted by comments solicited by the

church leadership in the months following

the new service schedule, a small group

of church members and staff worked hard

to offer an opportunity to attend a praise

music service once again. Thus, the new

9 AM Coffee & Praise Service was born.

I nitially, a small number of chairs and

some round tables were set up on half

of the Family Life Center floor. Soon, the

growing attendance pushed back the

moveable wall dividers to fill a larger part

of the FLC with more chairs and more table

seating. As the service grew in popularity,

the music also evolved. Jordan Nix provided

excellent direction as song-leader, and

taught the congregants new songs of

praise. Then, a

full Praise Team

and Praise Band

developed around

him, adding more

instrumentalists

and singers as well

as a big-screen for

the lyrics, and we welcomed back familiar

faces and songs both on stage and in the

congregation.

In addition to the return of a familiar

worship style, attendees were genuinely

happy to reunite with friends with whom

they worshipped for years at the old 9 AM

service. Perhaps O.C. Hailey said it best

when he joined the Coffee & Praise Service,

stepped to the front of the group to make


announcements and said “Where have

you all been?”

The gathering has evolved into a full

worship service with music, a message

from one of our pastors, announcements

and monthly communion. The music

style, the fellowship and even a cozier

venue have appealed to many attendees.

Several people who had previously

worshipped at the Heritage Campus

joined the Coffee & Praise crowd, noting

that this service feels a lot like the smaller

services there. As the service grows and

evolves, it’s evident that praise-style

music and worship have a place in our

church, and praise teams armed with

guitars and electronic keyboards have led

worshippers “back to the heart of worship,”

where “it’s all about You, all about You

Jesus.”

So next time you walk through the

Family Life Center at about 9 AM, and

you’re greeted by strains of “The Heart

of Worship,” “The Revelation Song” or

“Blessed Be Your Name,” join us, pour

yourself a cup of coffee and sing praise to

God, and you too will be blessed. W

Pam and her husband Herb have been members of the church since 1991. Pam has served in many different capacities at the church over the years, and currently serves on the Prayer Team, as a volunteer with the Never Go Hungry Casserole Ministry, and attends Kenda’s Serendipity Bible Study. She and Herb are members of Journey’s Foundation Sunday School Class.


Aside from my experiences in local missions and a secular trip to Russia & Romania in 1979, I haven’t had the blessing of serving in a mission

capacity to another country until this trip to Costa Rica. While I was much too young to appreciate

another culture back in ’79, God truly blessed my heart on this trip to a beautiful country full of

beautiful kind-hearted people.

By Wren Robinson

¡Costa Rica!


Costa Rica lies between Nicaragua

to the North and Panama to the

Southeast with the Caribbean Sea to

the East and the Pacific Ocean to the West.

It is a country of around 4.8 million people.

There are two seasons – wet and dry. The

dry season basically runs from December

to March with March being the hottest

month. The high temperature was in the

low 90’s (Fahrenheit) for most of the week

and interestingly, the hottest part of the day

was between 10:30 AM and 2:30 PM.

There are seven provinces including

Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia,

Limon, Puntarenas, & San Jose. Cantons

(spanish: cantones) or counties are a

second-level administrative division.

According to Wikipedia, “A unique feature

of the cantons is that they are the only

administrative division in Costa Rica that

possess local government in the form

of municipalities (municipalidad). Each

municipality has its own mayor (alcalde)

and several county representatives, all

of them chosen via municipal elections

(Concejo Municipal).”

The people of Costa Rica are referred to

as Ticos (tee-coe) as opposed to Costa

Ricans. Reverand Roberto Berrantes is the

pastor of Iglesia Evangelica Metodista in

the gold-mining town of Las Juntas located

in the Guanacaste province. We flew into

Liberia which is the capital of Guanacaste

and travelled by taxi to Las Juntas –

approximately 48 miles. We settled into

our rooms (cabinas) Saturday evening at

the Hospedaje El Encanto and enjoyed a

good night’s rest.

The downtown area of Juntas is easily

traversed on foot. The church is just a

few short blocks from the cabinas and

the pastor’s house just a few more blocks

beyond that. We awoke Sunday morning

and walked to the pastor’s house for

breakfast and then on to the church

for worship. It was obvious that these

Christians are passionate, hard-working,

and sincere people. While the services

were in Spanish, we worshiped in Spirit

and Truth and truly experienced God at

work in each of us!

I fell in love with Pastor Roberto, his

wife Ana, and daughter Bitia. Their

love for God and His children is self-

evident. Roberto truly has a passion for

reaching the lost, feeding God’s sheep,

and ministering to those in need.

While their means are slim, we have been

given a wonderful opportunity to share

in this ministry. The church building is


a renovated movie theater and originally

had a sloped floor and balcony. Work to

renovate, I believe, began back in 2010 by

Woodmount UMC of Reidsville, NC. By the

time FUMCG visited under Dr. Ken Diehm

in 2011, the floor had been leveled and

work begun to transform the balcony into

education space.

Woodmount UMC

visited just days

before our trip and

nearly finished

the decking on the

steel floor joists of

the upper level .

Our work involved

finishing the floor

deck and walls as

well as decking the outside overhang above

the front entrance of the church, along with

some small odds and ends. The church

from North Carolina is very grateful for

our help in this project and it has made a

wonderful difference to work in tandem with

them.

The two outside churches are not the only

ones at work. The Las Juntas congregation

agreed to hire two local workers to help in

the process, at a cost of around $600 each

per week. Roy is a welder and his cousin

Chunche is a carpenter both gifted at what

they do and truly a blessing to work with.

Roy is a Christian but Chunche has yet to

make a profession of faith. They are both

hard workers with light-hearted and kind

demeanors.

Anecdotally, Chunche literally means “that

thingamajig” or “whatchamacallit”. As a

parent, I can relate to

those times when you

run through everybody’s

name until you get to

the right one. I guess

this happened so much

that it just stuck with

Chunche. The story

was told that at one

time the river came

out of it’s banks and

the fire department was rescuing town

folk. In distress the mother exclaimed to

the firemen, “Don’t mind me, get all the

chunche’s out of here!”

There’s no doubt that God is at work in Las

Juntas and it was an honor to have served.

I made wonderful friends and now have an

extended family. W

Wren Robinson joined the staff of FUMC Grapevine as Director of Worship Arts in 2006. Wren directs many of the choral and instrumental programs at the church, including overseeing all worship services, Children’s Worship Arts and ensembles. Wren is also active in Iron Men. He and his wife Jill stay busy entertaining their grandbabies and doing home renovations.


By Rev. Annette Sowell

Nine year old Philip placed his

small hand on mine, just above

the wrist. I was kneeling at the

altar of our church. It was our weekly

Saturday night service of Healing and

Wholeness. Philip was one member

of a three-member prayer team who

ministered to me every Saturday night.

While he laid hands on me, an adult

member of the prayer team anointed my

forehead with oil – making the sign of

the cross – and the third member, also

an adult, prayed for my healing and

Service ofHealing& Wholeness

wholeness. Then, all three of the prayer

team members moved on down the altar

rail to the others awaiting their touch

and prayer.

Philip did not come to Sunday School or

Sunday Church because he didn’t like

either. But he never missed a Saturday

night service of Healing and Wholeness.

I can still see the bright hope in his eyes

the night he asked to be part of a prayer

team, “...not to pray, Pastor. I just want

to touch them.” And, then, there was


the night he said, “I can pray the prayer

tonight.” And, so, the words: “Loving God,

enter into this your child and heal all that

is broken,” slipped softly from his young

lips to my waiting ears, on the wings of the

Holy Spirit. I have no words to describe

those holy moments.

Someone asked me if I thought Philip

understood what was happening. I do not

know. I know I did not always understand

it myself. But we all came to understand

some important things about healing and

wholeness:

Whatever it is we struggle

with can be brought to

wholeness. Our need may

be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual,

relational or concern for another.

Healing is God’s business. The prayer

teams and the seekers are simply making

themselves available to God.

Wholeness may come instantly or it may

take time or it may not happen the way

we want, but it will happen.

The amount of faith one has or does not

have is irrelevant to the outcome. God

will do what God will do.

We could count on the atmosphere to

always be calm, serene, confidential and

reverent.

We, the prayer team and the seekers,

were made more whole - every time.

The Prayer Ministry Team of

FUMC Grapevine wants to offer

you this same atmosphere of

healing and wholeness. We will hold our

first Service of Healing & Wholeness on

Sunday, March 2, at 6:00 PM in Founders

Chapel. Another will follow on Holy

Saturday, April 19. Come to the altar... be

blessed... be healed. W

Annette Sowell is a retired United Methodist minister with 25 years experience in the Central Texas Conference. She has specialized certifications in Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Direction. Annette’s husband, Jesse, is a professor of Religion and Philosophy at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth. They have three children and nine grandchildren. They have been at FUMC Grapevine since 2007.


H ospital waiting rooms are

interesting places. Sometimes

you are waiting for a friend or family

member’s medical update or diagnosis

result, while other times you are

anticipating news of great joy

or health confirmation. It’s often

a place of reflection and prayer.

Whatever the circumstance that

has brought you to that specific

place and moment in time, your

life often changes course based

on the information received

while inside that room.

On a summer afternoon in 2010, I found

myself sitting in a waiting room at

Parkland Hospital with my wife, family,

and a couple of friends, experiencing

a simultaneous rush of hope, joy, and

uncertainty. We received a phone call the

previous day. After 18 months of foster

parent training and certification activities,

our contact at the Methodist Children’s

Home indicated a two-day old

baby girl was in need of an

immediate placement and that

it was a long-term scenario

(6-12 months) as both parents

were currently incarcerated.

We had been preparing for this

moment that was now upon us.

However, faith is an interesting concept as

it often motivates us to do things beyond

what we think we can do, or go beyond

where we think we can go. My wife,

Lisa, had been inspired by Ken Diehm’s

By Curtis Jones

Waiting for Answers


sermons, many of which had discussed

how it was not only wonderful to serve

many in a small way, but was also just

as important to be very intentional in

helping a single individual or family and

make a significant impact in their life

or circumstance (the birth of our church

Village concept). We had prayed for this

foster parenting opportunity, trained for

its requirements, and now the moment

was here. So why was I experiencing this

combination of emotions in the Parkland

Hospital waiting room?

As this six-pound, bundled-up baby

appeared from around the corner being

pushed in a stroller that seemed way too

big for her little body, our lives changed

forever. While I didn’t doubt that God’s

hand was involved in our situation, I

certainly couldn’t see how this was to

play out or the exact role my family and

I were to play in this situation. However,

I stood back and watched how God can

work if I remain faithful... and just stay

out of the way.

Within 48 hours of Maggie’s arrival

into our lives, our home suddenly had

a crib, diapers, baby clothes, baby

blankets, baby monitors, and lots of baby

formula! We were surrounded with love,

support, and Babies R Us gift cards from

our Sunday School class and friends

throughout the church. As we made

adjustments in our daily routines, our

family was continually blessed by the

support from our congregation. However,

our journey was just beginning and we

would come to rely on our faith even

stronger to get us through some of the

challenging times that were ahead.

A fter about three months, we

heard through the Methodist

Children’s Home that Maggie’s birth

mother was now located in a minimum-

security facility and was interested in

arranging visits with Maggie, Lisa and

our social worker. Again, a wide range

of emotions rushed through our veins

as we prepared for the initial visit. What

was God’s plan here? How do we discern


God’s will versus our own hopes and

dreams for this baby girl?

Through biweekly visits to the correctional

facility, Lisa and Maggie’s birth mother

formed a connection and a relationship

began to emerge. But make no mistake,

these Thursday morning drives caused

great uncertainty and anxiety for Lisa.

In these visits, Lisa was

regarded as the caretaker,

and Maggie’s mom was

the real mommy. After

months of caring for this

precious child, it was hard

not being the real mommy,

even for a couple of hours.

During this time period,

she remembered hearing Cindy Ryan talk

about “breath” prayers, and would repeat

over and over again, “I can do all things

through Christ who strengthens me,” as

she retrieved Maggie from the car seat and

carried her behind the secured areas into

the meeting room in the facility.

M aggie has three older

biological sisters that were

living with their grandmother at the time.

During Maggie’s first Christmas, a special

visit was arranged where our entire family

and social worker met with Maggie’s other

siblings, birth-mother and grandmother

at the correctional facility for an hour or

so. Lisa’s Bible Study class purchased

gifts for the three girls and

grandmother, which we

were able to deliver. Though

it seemed awkward, God

had created an opportunity

for our family to show love

and compassion to another

family that needed to feel

His presence. We had very

little in common with each other, with

the exception of a common love for little

Maggie.

During the next visit, Lisa was informed

by the birth-mother that she wanted to be

reconciled with Maggie shortly after her

prison release later that spring. We were

devastated, but tried to prepare, as this


was a potential and probable outcome of

our foster parenting engagement.

Again, why is faith hard? What is God’s

plan in this circumstance? Are we to have

a role in reconciling this broken family?

Will we be part of Maggie’s future? Or is

our path to move on to the next child who

will need a temporary home?

After the birth-mother was released, it

became apparent that she would struggle

to keep out of trouble, which led us

into serious soul-searching and prayer

regarding our desires versus God’s will

in the decision to either help reconcile or

attempt to adopt.

As we attempted to stay faithful and

open to the Holy Spirit, it was amazing

the people, counsel, and opportunity that

God put in our path during those critical

months. A scenario eventually presented

itself in which we would be able to

permanently adopt Maggie in January of

2012.

A s our family life story continues,

I’m beginning to realize that my

faith often has me asking more questions

than providing answers. It’s taught me that

when I’m in the proverbial “waiting room,”

God is at work. If we continue to have a

spiritual relationship, worship, and serve

while we wait, God’s plan will take us to

places we never dreamed and bring joy in

things that never seemed possible! W

Curtis and his wife Lisa have been FUMCG members for more than 15 years. Both have held multiple leadership roles within the church. Currently Curtis, Lisa, Alyssa and Adam are part of the 9 AM praise team. Curtis leads the Two by Two adult class.

“All of these ministries do wonderful things

here in Grapevine and around the world, but...

We can do better.”

A new “Vision” you understand, but

what’s a COM? It’s a group at FUMC

Grapevine called the “Council on

Ministries.” Unless you have served

before, you may not know what they do.

It takes lots of groups to run our church.

They can be divided into two

categories, administrative

ones and programmatic

ones. Administrative groups

handle finance, physical

properties, nominations

and personnel. All of the

programmatic groups are

members of the “Council on

Ministries.”

Who are these groups? Local missions,

such as Day of Missions and Handyman

on Call; food ministries like Feed Our

Kids, God Can and Be Our Guest; Kairos

Prison Ministry, Project Read, all of

our local and international “Villages,”

Scouting ministries, children’s ministries,

Cancer Support Group, discipleship, and

A New “Vision” for COM By John Erickson

youth ministry.... just to name a few. There

are over 170 ministry opportunities that

are a part of FUMC Grapevine.

That’s a lot for the Council on Ministries

to look after, but new COM Chair, Allen

Barraclough thinks that they

can do more. As he explains

it, “All of these ministries

do wonderful things here in

Grapevine and around the

world, but there is so much

need all around us and so

much potential to do good

things with all the people in

our congregation. We can do

better.”

With that in mind, a special “Visioning

Conference” for members of the COM

was called on January 12, 2014. Almost 40

members attended and were challenged

to look beyond their individual ministries

to dream about what could be done if we

all worked together to meet the needs of


God’s children in our church, in Grapevine

and throughout the world.

Following some heavy brainstorming,

flipchart paper covered the walls of

Leach Hall with innovative and spirit-

led visions. In all, there were 46 separate

items. Then, everyone voted on their

favorite top five choices.

We want to share with you the top items

that were discussed in the COM Visioning

Conference. We think you’ll be amazed,

as we were, at the visions and dreams

that lay before us. The following list is in priority order by the number of votes, which appears in parenthesis after each item.

Launch a Spiritual Formation Initiative •for all ages and the entire community, with its own designated building (21)

A new youth center / ministry for young •adults – post high school (15)

To get 100% of our church attendees/•members to commit to at least one ministry activity in the next 2 years (12)

Enhance FUMC Grapevine’s presence •and outreach in local community activities / Main St. Days, Grapefest, parades, football games (10)

Better integration of bilingual families •with ministries for families, youth and children; be more proactive in reaching out and welcoming ethnic groups (10)

Provide a Pre-School for economically •disadvantaged or bilingual children (8)

Greater involvement and better •support of the Chancel Choir (8)

Establish a teaching ministry to •empower other organizations to reach out to our community as FUMC Grapevine does (7)

Expand/engage ministries of the •church to support older adults (7)

Develop a college-age ministry •outreach (6)

Develop a marketing strategy to •increase Sunday School/Bible study participation (6)

Invite people to join the church or •accept Christ (6)

Recruit a unified media support team •(5)

Involve/reach a broader spectrum of •men in the community through Iron Men (5)


Provide support/training for the •“Sandwich Generation” (5)

Develop discipleship training activities •for the 11:00 AM Sunday hour (4)

Help the Thrift Shop to really find/meet •specific needs (4)

Improve interaction/communication •between ministries (4)

Be more welcoming during the week •and on Sunday mornings (3)

Do a better assessment of feeding the •hungry and providing other basic needs (3)

Church-wide study of “My One Word,” •including Bible and small group studies (3)

Find new and innovative ways to keep •church members connected (2)

Establish a process to engage/•articulate expectations of membership/discipleship (2)

Provide inter-generational community •opportunities within and outside the church (2)

Have a clear understanding of partner •ministry opportunities in the community (2)

Attract more families with children and •youth (2)

Involve a broader spectrum of •volunteers in church (2)

Be more transparent about church •finances (2)

Whew! That’s quite a list!

But the discussion didn’t stop with having

dreams. At the next COM meeting on

January 28, several of these visions were

already incorporated into the plans of

specific ministries for 2014.

We look forward to spending the coming

years fulfiling our dreams for ministry! W

If you have interest in any of these visions or if you think the COM may have overlooked an important need, please contact John Erickson, COM Vice Chair

at 817-656-1940 or [email protected].

John Erickson and his wife Sarah have been members of FUMCG since 1996. He has served as the lay leader over Adult Discipleship, and is active in the Chancel Choir, Fishers of Men and the Seekers Sunday School Class. He has also served on the Finance Committee, Staff-Parish Relations Committee and been a Lay Member to Annual Conference. John serves as the Vice Chair of Council on Ministries.


Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is on March 5. This marks the beginning of the season of Lent.

The imposition of ashes is a traditional way of marking the beginning of Lent and

reminds us that we are all in need of God’s forgiveness. Christians use this day to

begin this season of spiritual self-examination. We will have several opportunities

for you to worship that day:

Come & Go Imposition of Ashes•

11:30 AM to 1:30 PM in Founders Chapel

Chicken Spaghetti Supper• provided by the United Methodist Women

5:30-6:45 PM in the Family Life Center

Family Lent Workshop•

5:45-6:45 PM in Room 1009 & 1012 of the Family Life Center

Worship in English• led by the Confirmation Class

7:00 PM in the Sanctuary of the Downtown Campus

Worship in Spanish•

7:00 PM in Founders Chapel

Lenten Devotionals

Leaders of our church have written devotional thoughts to be shared daily through

the season of Lent. We will have printed devotional booklets available starting

Sunday, March 2. The readings begin on Ash Wednesday, March 5, and occur daily

(except Sundays) through Holy Saturday, April 19. You may also access the daily

readings on the 10 & 10 blog at www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/10and10.

www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/lent


www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/stewardship

First United Methodist Church GrapevineDowntown Campus: 422 Church Street | Grapevine, TX 76051 | 817-481-2559

Heritage Campus: 4344 Heritage Avenue | Grapevine, TX 76051 | 817-571-1111


Together, we can make a huge difference!

www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/stewardship

the church at work - winter 2014

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