this month at russell (february 2014)

8/13/2019 This Month at Russell (February 2014)

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VCI: Next StepsI have written numerous times in thisspace about the Vibrant Church Initiative(VCI). In phase one of this process, a

team of volunteers from our church family read several books andattend meetings with folks from other VCI congregations. Some ofthe information they encountered is now making its way intoseveral Sunday school classes, as well as many of yourconversations. When the work of the VCI team was complete, theyrecommended to the Church Council that we continue on to phasetwo of VCI, which involves a church consultation. Thisrecommendation was unanimously and enthusiastically approved.

Many of you may be wondering, Whats next? This past monthwe were given the dates for our consultation weekend: April 25-27.There is much work to be done in advance of this important event.The consultants have requested an extensive list of informationincluding background information and histories on our congregation

and community, interviews with our neighbors and communityleaders, and surveys of our congregation. I am encouraged by thedata requested; as it indicates to me the consultants will not becoming to us with a one-size-ts-all approach, but rather withsuggestions and observations based on our specic circumstances.

This past Sunday, the VCI Team formally handed leadership ofthe VCI process over to the Church Council. Members of the Councilare now busy at work compiling the data requested, and may beapproaching many of you for assistance. Some of you will be askedto ll out surveys, others may be asked to join a focus group, andothers still may be called on for your knowledge of Wills Point and

Russell Memorials history. Thank you for your

Children and youth (pg. 2)Help Wanted (pg. 3)

Important Dates (p. 4)Calendar (p. 5)

Vol. 10, No. 2 February 1, 2014

(cont. on pg. 6)In this Edition

UMW Annual Valentines

Day LuncheonWe are all set for thisevent on Saturday,February 8thfrom 11:30 1:30! A delicious lunchwill be catered and wewill have door prizes aswell as the Secret PalReveal. We invite allladies of the church andtheir friends to come andjoin us for this specialannual event.Please reserve your placeby contacting Theresa

Turner, Nancy McDonaldor Gerda David. The costper person will remain, asalways, $15.00 you maypay in advance! We lookforward to seeing you!!**Please indicate yourneed for childcare wewill absolutelyarrange for this if weneed to!**


2/8

Food DriveHELP! The Middle School

back pack program needsfood! This vital programsends backpacks lled withfood home each weekendwith students in need. Itemsshould be easily opened andconsumed by a child (nothing

requiring a can opener). Small containers andsingle-servings are helpful, as well. I washungry, and you gave me food. (Matthew25:35)

Join us onSundays from5:30 to 7:00 p.m.in the Deenbuilding. Bringyour kindergar-ten through 5thgrader for fun,food, andfellowship. Come

at 5:00 p.m. for our K5 Kids Choir!

The Youth Group hosted a Lock In on Fridaynight, January 24th. They ate pizza andcookies, played life sized Clue, and othervarious games, watched movies and had awonderful time. They would like to thankeveryone that helped make it possible,especially Erin Galope and Jerry Don Hu.

Opportunity Knocks...Are you looking for a way to help our K5 Kids

and Youth Group? We need volunteers to helpprepare and serve a light snack-supper eachweek. Or maybe helping directly with the kidsis more your style. We arelooking for folks ready to make adierence in the lives of thesechildren. If interested, contactthe church oce.

The Youth Group had somuch fun and helpedout with dessert forNeighbor to Neighborby decorating cupcakes.


3/8

ATTENTION SUPPER

CLUB MEMBERSOur rst get togetherof the new year iscoming up onSaturday, February8!! So, put the date onyour calendar now.

Your host will be calling you in the next week toinvite you and tell you what to bring to theirhome. It should be a fun Valentines evening.Anyone interested in attending, please callMarilyn Roddy 972-965-0524, Kelly Teel, or thechurch oce. We meet the 2ndSaturday of the

month, from 6:30-9.m.

Angel TreeIt is never to early to stock up for the next

Angel Tree. If you are out and see items suchas shoes or coats on sale CHEAP, buy them!We will store them for the upcoming AngelTree. These two items seem to be the ones weare in most need ofduring the big push.Coats are not so easy tocome by in midDecember, so when yousee them on sale in thespring, pick up a couple!The kids will

appreciate it, and you!

Help Wanted!As you may know, Russell Memorial is charterfor our local Boy Scout Troop. As such, wehave a position as chair person on their troopcommittee. This position has long been heldby Mary Keller. She has faithfully served formany years, even after her son was long out ofscouts. She is retiring from scouts and we

need to nd someone to step into this posi-tion. If you, or anyone you know, is interested,please contact the church oce (903-873-2569). We would like to thank Mary for somany years of faithful service to the scouts onbehalf of the church. We appreciate all you do!

Bunco is BackVan Zandt County Community Partners workalmost exclusively on behalf of the ABC Room.Through this room they have served countlessnumbers of abused, neglected and at riskchildren. They haveprovided emergencyresources for childrentaken into state care,established a program toassist with the expense ofsummer camp for VanZandt County fosterchildren, assisted ingraduation expenses, prom and more. Ourchurch has long been supports of the ABC Room.Their biggest fundraiser of the year is fastapproaching on February 15th from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. here in the Deen Building. If you havenot participated in A Bunco Celebration, you are

missing a great time! There will be Bunco, greatfood, fun door prizes, and a wonderful silentauction. Tickets are just $30 a piece and will beavailable at the door. You dont want to miss outon the fun or helping this great organization.


4/8

Our Presence and Our GiftsJan. 5 Jan. 12 Jan. 19 Jan. 26

the early service 53 41 46 40Sunday School 87 85 85 103Traditional Worship 87 88 95 109

$7,623.00 $7,205.00 $6,565.97 $2,792.06

Dates to Remember!Feb. 1st, 8:30 a.m. Cub Scout Pinewood Derby

Feb. 8th, 11:00 a.m. UMW Valentine Luncheon

Feb. 8th, 6:00 p.m. Girl Scouts Daddy/Daughter Dinner and DanceFeb. 8th, Supper Club Kick O

Feb. 15th, 10:00 a.m. ABC Room BuncoFeb. 16th, 12:00 p.m. Church Council MeetingFeb. 22nd, 11:00 a.m. Neighbor to NeighborFeb. 23rd, 12:00 p.m. Potluck/ABC Room Birthday Party

February Worship AssistantsAltar Guild: Charlotte Conn (Chair), Beth Basham, Molly Brittain,Joni Tunnell, Sherry MooreUshers: Cyndi Fields (Head), Ernie Fields, Beau Poteet, LindaPoteet

Cale

ndarofEv

entsforF

ebruary

Happy Birthday!Alexandra Carter 2-4

Gerda David

2-4

Claire Watson 2-6Dana Hullum 2-8Ted Deen, Sr. 2-10Colton Reynolds 2-12Peggy Kinney 2-13Vanessa Roberts 2-14Bernadette Kolb 2-17Nadine Mills 2-18Phyllis Mayo 2-20Linda Malone 2-21

Debby Roberts

2-

22

Will Morgan 2-24

Diane Sandifer 2-27Linda Dennis 2-28

LeiLanie Galope

2-29

Marigrace Lang 2-29

Community Outreach ProgramNeighbor to Neighbor Lunch

11 am-1pm

Fourth Saturday of each monthDeen Building -George Hall

OPEN TO ANYONEWHO CHOOSES TO COME

Please contact Gerda David fordetails (214-538-0192).

February


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Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

8:30am Pinewood

Derby in DeenBuilding

28:30 am Early

Service

9:15am Coffee &Donuts

9:45am Sunday

School11:00am Worship

5:00pm K5 Choir

5:30pm Youth

K5 Kids

310:00 am Prayer

Group

6:00pm Trustees

47:00 pm Cub

Scouts

54:00pm Girl Scouts

6:00pm Hand Bells

7:30pm Choir

6 7 811:00am UMW

Valentine

Luncheon

6:00pm Girl Scout

Daddy/DaughterDinner & Dance

Supper Club Kick

Off

98:30 am Early

Service

9:15 am Coffee &Donuts

9:45 am Sunday

School11:00 am Worship

5:00pm K5 Choir

5:30pm YouthK5 Kids

1010:00 am Prayer

Group

6:00pm Finance

117:00 pm Cub

Scouts

124:00pm Girl Scouts

6:00pm Hand Bells

7:30pm SanctuaryChoir

13 14 1510:00am ABC

Room Bunco

16 8:30 am Early

Service

9:15 am Coffee &

Donuts9:45 am Sunday

School

11:00 am Worship

12:00pm Church

Council

3:00 pm Crestwood5:00pm K5 Choir

5:30pm Youth

K5 Kids

17

10:00 am Prayer

Group

6:30pm DaySchool

18

6:00pm Jesus

Girls

7:00 pm CubScouts

19

4:00pm Girl Scouts

6:00pm Hand Bells

7:30pm SanctuaryChoir

20 21

Youth Event

22Neighbor to

Neighbor

Lunch 11 am1pm

238:30am EarlyService

9:15am Coffee &

Donuts9:45 am Sunday

School

11:00 am Worship12:00pm Potluck/

ABC Room

Birthday Party5:00pm K5 Choir

5:30pm Youth

K5 Kids

24

10:00 am Prayer

Group

6:00pm SPRC (if

needed)

25

7:00 pm Cub

Scouts

26

10:00am Sunshine

Circle

4:00pm Girl Scouts6:00pm Hand Bells

7:30pm Sanctuary

Choir

27 28


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enthusiastic help in these tasks, as better data means a better grasp ofwho we are for our consultant.

Your involvement in the VCI process doesnt end with there. To better explain, Id like to giveyou a sketch of what our consultation weekend will look like:We will begin on Friday, April 25, with interviews of all sta members by the consultation team.

Following this, Jennifer and I will have dinner with the consultants, during which they will havemany questions for the two of us. After dinner, the consultants will return to the church, wherethey will meet with a focus group from our congregation.

On Saturday, April 26, after a meeting with the Church Council, the consultation team will holdan extended workshop open to all members of our church family. Following this, the team willtake all of the information they have compiled and put together a report includingrecommendations for our church familys vibrant future. They will share this report with meSaturday evening.

On Sunday, April 27, the consultation team will join us in worship, with the lead consultant

delivering the sermon. After worship, at our monthly potluck dinner, we will hold a town hallmeeting during which the consultants will share their report and recommendations with the entirecongregation.

Once we have those recommendations in hand, we will have a vital decision to make as achurch family. If we say yes to the consultants prescriptions for change, we will move into phasethree of VCI, with ongoing support from the conference as we implement the recommendedchanges. Before we make this decision, however, we will hold town hall meetings in whicheveryone will have the opportunity to share any concerns openly with our church family. The naldecision will take place in a Church Conference, a meeting in which all members of thecongregation have both a voice and a vote. The date for this crucial meeting will likely depend onhow many town hall meetings are scheduled beforehand, but will almost certainly be within a

couple months of the consultation weekend.I hope this information helps all of you feel more in the know about our church familys

future. I hope any concerns that any voices might not be heard in this process are now alleviated. Ihope any concerns about know-it-all consultants who dont know anything about who we areassuaged. I know the only person who likes a change is a wet baby, and that the prospect ofchange causes anxiety for everyone. I hope and pray knowing that this will be a transparentprocess will help minimize that anxiety. Should you have any questions, please dont hesitate toask me, any member of the VCI Team, or any member of Church Council. We all want a vibrantfuture for Russell Memorial, and I am condent this process will help us.

There is one more thing you can do: pray. We have a prayer team in place who is meeting topray for this process. They are praying for our church family. They are praying for our community.

They are praying for our consultants. They are praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They arepraying for open and receptive hearts. They are praying that everyone is listened to, and that allquestions and concerns are addressed. They are praying that we will boldly face any prospects forchange together as a church family. Wont you join me in praying with them? God has great thingsin store for Russell Memorial. I cant wait to see. Grace & Peace,

Billy

(cont. from pg. 1)


7/8

The oce sta of RMUMC would like to takethis opportunity to thank you all for thegenerosity extended to us this holiday season.It means so much. It is an honor and privilegeto work for and with you all.Thanks again!

We want to express our thanks for providingfood for Mike Rodens service. We cant thankyou enough.With Love,Ashley Roden

Remember in Prayer:AmericaAnnette Clemmons

Bennie Scott

Bill KennedyBill LacyBo & Maxine CloptonBurh FamilyCathy CourseyChris CagleDebbie, Sam, & babyDennis BashamDon & Judith HollisterElizabeth Blasingame

Elton HilerGarcia Family

Methodist Church (RMUMC)Henry WatsonInez Wade & Family

Israel, Egypt, Syria, & RussiaJay & Marty MillerJoe Bob AndersonJohnny & Laura Bates

Joni Tunnell

Judy & Walter CookKen DavisL.N. HillLiz EllisLondell GreenLopez MilesMack WallerMargaret ButlerMark BrownMary Helen Castleberry

Matthew BurgessNorma Hundley

Olympic GamesOur Armed ForcesOur World

Ryan MasseyRobin & Gigi PruittShari MagarThomas Hill

Travis Sissel

Memorials and HonorariumsIn memory of Gregory Dagnan

Given by Weldon, Judy, andLenna Powers.


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The Russell Report

Russell Memorial United Methodist ChurchA Family Rooted in Christ and Reaching Out in Love201 S. Fourth StreetP. O. Box 335Wills Point, TX 75169ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

NON-PROFIT

ORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT #2

Wills Point, TX

Dr. Billy Watson, Pastor Dr. Bob Gilbreth, Music DirectorNancy McDonald, Oce Administrator Fritz Gilbreth, OrganistTheresa Turner, Ladies Hand Bells Director Mary Keller, K5 Kids CoordinatorDenise Ross, Pianist Jackie Cockerham, Financial Administrator

Oce Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday

Join us Sunday Morning!Contemporary Worship @ 8:30 Sunday School @ 9:45 Traditional Worship @ 11:00

this month at russell (february 2014)

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