What’s Inside

First United Methodist Church109 S. HarperPoteau, OK 74953

Non-Profit Org.

Permit No. 40

Poteau, OK 74953

Address Service Requested

YEAR 24 VOLUME 9 SEPTEMBER, 2016 SERVing gOd 123 YEARS

The United Methodist News

The United Methodist NewsPASTOR TO PEOPLE

REV. JIM PERKIN

Sunday School9:30 A.M.

Morning Worship10:30 A.M.

Church Calendar ................ 2Prayer List .......................... 2Finance Report .................. 2News of Youth .................... 3Children’s Ministry ............ 3Correspondence ................ 3Sympathy Note .................. 3VIM Training ....................... 3Preschool Report ............... 4Fall Bible Study .................. 4Birthdays, Anniversaries .. 4Growing Kids God’s Way .. 4

FIRST

A little boy was riding along with his father from New Mexico to Colorado. They were traveling 250 miles to go fishing. Every 50 miles the excited son asked his father if they were almost there. The father answered that they had quite a distance to travel yet. So the son waited for a few more minutes and then asked his father again.

“Sorry, son, we have another hundred miles yet.” After 50 more miles the son asked, “Daddy, am I still going to be four

years old when we get there?” (Parables, Etc. July 1990)

Many of us have been in a very similar situation as this. We take the family on a long car trip and we just wait for the, “are we there yet?” ques-tion to rise from the back seat. As frustrating as that can be for hours on end, many of us live on the other side of that story. We are often the ones asking, “are we there yet?” Waiting is hard. Especially when it comes to waiting on an answer from God for a particular question in your life.

It seems to me that we fall into 2 groups when it comes to waiting. The first group of us just can’t seem to wait. We are impetuous. We want a deci-sion and we want it now! We want God to answer us and we want God to answer us on our time. We get in such a rush in our life that we end up telling God what we want God to do! The rest of us are really good at wait-ing. We wait and we think about the decision. And then we think about the decision some more. Sometimes we wait so much we get paralyzed and we never act on the call that God has on our lives. What if I make the wrong decision? What if it isn’t what God wants me to do? And we don’t do any-thing…

In the month of September, I will be preaching a sermon series called, “Waiting.” We are going to talk about waiting on God to help us make our decisions in life. But we are also going to talk about the rest of us who wait too much and never act on what God is calling us to do. What I hope we can do is find a place where we can live out Isaiah 40:31 which says, “Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

So wait on the Lord. But wait with purpose. When God answers may you have the strength to run and not be weary and to walk and not faint. May you have the strength to do what God asks you to do when he answers.

On the Journey with you, Pastor Jim

September 73:15 to 5:15 p.m.

After School Program

Every Wednesday(See story, page 3)

ACOLYTES

WORSHIP GREETERS

WELCOME TABLE VOLUNTEERS

LITURGIST

PAGE 2 SEPTEMBER 2016

THE UNITED METHODIST NEWSPublished by the Communications Committee

Carol Baker, EditorFIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

109 S. Harper, Poteau, OK 74953Telephone 918-647-2217

e-mail: adminassistant@poteaufumc.comwebsite: www.poteaufumc.com

Sunday School 9:30 a.m. • Morning Worship 10:30 a.m.Bishop Rev. Jimmy NunnDistrict Superintendent Larry BaumanSenior Pastor Rev. Jim PerkinDirector of Youth Ministries Melanie WheatDirector of Music Ministries Mary Lynn PerkinDirector of Children’s Ministries Suzanne KluttsAdministrative Assistant Melissa WardLead Nursery Attendant Jayla CraigOrganist Bill KingFacility Manager Phil Smith

District web page: www.gbgm-umc.org/mc-dist/

1 Evangelism Committee, 6 p.m. 5 Office closed for Labor Day 6 SPRC Meeting, 5:30 p.m. 7 JAM (Jesus and Me) begins, 3:15 p.m. 8 Committee on Lay Leadership, 6 p.m.13 Trustees Meeting, 6 p.m.14 Evening Bible Study begins, 6:15 p.m.15 Afternoon Bible Study begins, 1 p.m.17 Neighborhood Breakfast, 7:30-10:30 a.m.19 Finance Committee, 6 p.m.21 Membership Care, 12 noon24 VIM Training in Okla. City25 Church Council, 12 p.m.

• SEPTEMBER CHURCH CALENDAR •• SUNDAY •

Sunday School, 9:30 a.m.Morning Worship, 10:30 a.m.

UMYF (CHAOS), 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.• MONDAY •

Christian Preschool Monday – Thursday8:30 - 11:30 a.m., Education Building

• TUESDAY •Cub Scouts, 6 p.m., CFLCBoy Scouts, 7 p.m., CFLC

• WEDNESDAY • Jesus and Me Activities, 3:15 p.m.Celebration Choir Rehearsal, 6 p.m.

• THURSDAY •Senior Café, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., CFLC

Poteau F.U.M.C. Report for July 2016Average Attendance Figures for July: 1332016 Budget Requirements: $340,000.00

Needed through July: $198,333.33Year to Date received through July: $195,258.94

July Receipts: $26,096.75July Expenditures: $24,680.34 New Building Fund Figures:

Deposits: $2,098,207.76; Expenditures: $2,580,121.03

4 Jon and Mandy Mitchell11 Mike and Linda Lee18 Robert and Tami Holt25 Janet Sockey and Judy Peerson

4 (Volunteers Needed) 11 (Volunteers Needed) 18 Charles and Marilyn Meek25 (Volunteers Needed)To be a Welcome Table volunteer on one of the Sundays, please contact the church office.

4 Mary Lynn Perkin11 Jim Perkin18 Suzanne Klutts25 Mary Ford

4 Burke Perry and Brady Perry11 Ryker Holt and Brock Call18 Lexe Pickle and Jenci Quarry25 Maggie Wheat and Kendy Traywick

Prayer List(As of August 28, 2016)

To add to or remove a name from the list, call the church office at 918-647-2217.

Nursing Home/Homebound: Maxine Ny-berg

Health: Landon Akins, Landa Aubree, Debbie Billy, Matthew Billy, Ed Brody, Darrell Brown, Maria Burnett, Perry Carter, Jim Davis, Dale De-Camp, Duke Dunn, Mary Folsom, Jim Gaines, Vickie Gillion, James Graham, Mike Hargrove, Fay Havlick, Allen and Jane Ann Inge, Donna Jackson, Walter and Lorene Johnson, Colton Knight, Lloyd and Dana Lee, Arlene LeMaster, Sandra Lum, Gwenda Martindale, Kyle Ma-tos, Sharon Mikkelson, Mason Mitchell, Sunny Muse, Christy Oehlschlager, Pat Pate, Kallie Peck, Jean Potts, Beckham Prescott, Kaycee Quarry, William Quarry, Valeri Repass, Bobbie Rowland, Joe Sabatucci, Charles Saviers, Jim Shore, Richard Sockey, Dennis Thomas, Rita Thomas, Dorothy Watkins, Pegee Werline, Ed Wilson, Ann Young.

Bereavement: Family of Joe K. ThomasMilitary and Law Enforcement:Ashlin Hensley, Jared Baughn, Kyle Kinman,

Taylor Baughn, Tyler Berlin, Victor Murray, and all our military and law enforcement.

Terri Martin

CHILDREN’S MOMENTS

Welcome!

SEPTEMBER 2016 PAGE 3

News of Youth

UMYF (CHAOS) meets Sunday evenings from 5 to 7 p.m. and is for all youth 6th – 12th.

• Children’s Ministry •

JAM JAM (Jesus and Me) will be kicking off on

Wednesday, Sept. 7 from 3:15 to 5:15 p.m.This ministry is a mid-week program for chil-

dren pre-k through middle school.We will be learning about God through games,

crafts, Bible stories, snacks, music and FUN!Registration is available at www.poteaufumc.

com, www.facebook.com/fumcpoteau or come by the church.

If you are interested in being a JAM volunteer, call the church office at 918-647-2217.

PROMOTION SUNDAYPromotion Sunday was held on August 14

for children’s Sunday School. Students enter-ing grades 3 and 6 were recognized during the morning worship service.

Jenci Quarry, Warrick Quarry and Jet Thomp-son were given a children’s devotion book, as they enter Poteau Upper Elementary.

Sisnie Brookfield, Wesley Garrett, Wyatt Holt, Nathan Murray, and Sadie Perkin were hon-ored with a youth Bible for promotion to middle school.

Remember to keep all of our students in your prayers, as they begin a new school year.

By Suzanne Klutts

By Melanie Wheat

I am super excited to be the new youth direc-tor. I really feel that God has called me to do this and I couldn’t be happier. Please be in prayer for me and the whole youth group as we start this new chapter.

There will be no youth on September 4, due to Labor Day weekend.

Activities this month are:September 11: Earth Ball Fun NightSeptember 17: Tim Hawkins, Comedian.

Tickets are $10. Bring money for dinner. We will be leaving at 3 p.m. and returning around midnight.

September 18: Oaks Nursing Home Service, 1 to 3 p.m. We will meet at the church.

September 25: Regular MeetingSeptember 28: See You At The Pole activities

at your school.

Sadie Perkin, Jenci Quarry, Warrick Quarry, Wyatt Holt and Nathan Murray receive their promotion gifts from Suzanne Klutts.

TWINS & TWINSWe have two sets

of twins in Sunday School.

The boys are Burke and Brady Perry and the girls are Ellie and Annie Martin.

CorrespondenceOur granddaughter, Gabriella Saidleman, is

free of crutches and walking boot! Our family is grateful for your kind thoughts and prayers dur-ing these many months. Thank you so much!

Ben and Judy Curtis

Volunteers in Mission TrainingPastor Jim is looking for four people to go with

him to training on Sept. 24th in Oklahoma City. This training will give us credentials to lead mis-sion trips from our church. It is an all day train-ing and your cost will be paid by the Missions Committee. Contact Jim for more details.

Our SympathyOur sympathy is extended to the

family of Joe K. Thomas who passed away August 21.

2 Sadie Perkin 3 Dorothy Gail James 5 Aimee Ferguson and Mattison Dodson10 Kyle Cofer, Steve Slusser and Matt Wright11 Jet Thompson13 Jane Kilgore14 Averie White16 Kyson Hardaway, Keely Redhage and Daniel Best17 Justin Burton18 David McNair 19 Jennifer Roberts, Jack Oehlschlager and Wrigley Sampson 20 Susan Mixon22 Diane Daigle and Lexi Key 23 Todd Hallmark and J. Sommers 24 Christine Harris25 Kale Kemp, Don Baetz, Grace Dehart and Caden Warren26 Joe Renfro27 Peggy Talley and Kyle Reid28 Daniel Ware, Gary Mason, Cary Baetz, Jane

Ann Inge, Jenny Allen, and Tami Matos30 Buddy Shelton and Dennis Alexander

PAGE 4 SEPTEMBER 2016

September Anniversaries

September Bir thdays

The Upper Room devotional guides for Sep-tember/October can be picked up from the tables in the Narthex. They are provided for you free in either the regular print or large print issue.

ByTracey Gilliam,

Preschool DirectorBeginning in September the Preschool class-

es will be learning about Apple Annie, Benjamin Bunny, Cathy Cook and Daisy Doll.

The classes will be painting with red and learning what things are shaped like circles. The numbers 1, 2 and 3 will also be intro-duced.

September themes include learning about how apples grow, staying healthy in our class-rooms, making friends, and celebrating God’s love for us. The memory verse for September is “I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever.”

In August, the preschool classes had visits from Suzanne Klutts and Pastor Jim. Thank you for sharing the wonderful stories with us. The preschool classes also enjoyed learning the song, “God is with me.”

FallBible Study

Our Fall Bible Study is “It’s Good to be Queen” by Liz Curtis Higgs. Study groups led by Kay Thomas will meet on Wednesday evenings at 6:15, beginning Sept. 14th and on Thursday

3 Dale and Wendy Kelly 7 Robert and Tami Holt 11 Dwight and Sharon Mikkelson12 Jim and Nancy Shore22 Colton and Alicia Castillo

afternoons at 1, beginning Sept. 15th. A nurs-ery will be available on Wednesday evenings.

When it comes to famous queens of the Bi-ble, we know the good one, Queen Esther, and the bad one, Queen Jezebel. Now meet the wise one, the queen of Sheba, who traveled to Jeru-salem to test the mind and heart of King Solo-mon. Her quest for wisdom will surprise you, challenge you, inspire you, change you. This wealthy royal from antiquity will show you how to live boldly, seek after truth, ask the right questions, encourage others, receive gracious-ly, and honor the Lord above all. Shedding new light on this ancient biblical role model, Liz Curtis Higgs unveils timeless wisdom for all who aspire to please the King of kings.

To order a book ($10), use the sign-up sheet in the narthex or call the church office, 918-647-2217.

Study Coming Soon.Space is limited!

Sign up by contacting Randy and Tami Matosor Pastor Jim Perkin

Reaching the Heart of Your Child with a God-Centered Purpose