December 17, 2014 Methogram

December 17, 2014
The Methogram is a
publication of :
“The mission of First United Methodist Church of Silsbee is to glorify God,
make disciples, and transform lives in Christ
First United
Methodist Church
670 North 5th Street,
Silsbee, Texas 77656
Phone: (409) 385-5568
Fax:
(409) 385-7219
Dr. Dan Darby
Senior Pastor
Rev. Nancy Ratchford
Associate Pastor
Jennifer Suitt
Office Manager
[email protected]
Come Visit Us At:
www.SilsbeeUMC.com
Inside this issue:
Children’s Ministry
2
Gifts and Presence
2
Youth News
3
Memorials
3
Sing for Your Supper
4
New Year’s Eve Service
4
Dan’s Divinities
It is often my privilege to enjoy being
with the families of the bereaved at funeral luncheons our church members
host. We had a funeral for Jack Edwards last Monday, and on the dessert
table I saw pieces of Martha Bradshaw’s famous pound cake, so I immediately took the largest slice. Of course,
we had Martha’s funeral a number of
weeks ago, so I assumed that Dana
Bradshaw had made the cake. But the
ladies in the kitchen told me, that, no,
Martha had indeed made it. It was the
last one in her freezer.
That made me smile. Martha was living
on in her innumerable good works even
after death. We have lost a number of
the great saints of the church in recent
months and years, and in a way they all
live on among us. They have taught us
what life is all about. They have taught
us to love and to contribute to the lives
of others. They also teach us something
about the importance of the church.
The church was a bedrock to their lives,
and they worked through the church to
help others in countless ways.
I look around the church and see family
names on numerous rooms, and buildings, and scholarships. These persons,
too, have left a legacy for us. Because
of their generosity in life and in death,
we have what we have and are able to
continue the work of the church.
So, whether it is for cakes, for witness,
for dollars, or just the legacy of godly
influence, this Christmas I thank God
for those who have gone before us. We
have a great treasure. Let us continue to
build upon the foundations laid for us.
I hope to see you Sunday and on Christmas Eve as we celebrate with all the
saints.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Dan
Our Christmas Eve Services will be at 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. Both services will feature Holy Communion and the lighting of candles as we sing Silent Night together. Nancy will be preaching at 5:00, and
she always strives to involve the children in this service. We are hoping the Sunday School Singers
will sing “Happy Birthday, Jesus” together as a group this year. Parents if you are willing to have
your child involved, please come to the 5:00 p.m. service. They will be practicing at the Happy
Birthday Jesus Breakfast at 10:00 a.m. this Sunday, Dec. 21.
Paula and Rebecca Darby will be singing a duet entitled Gesu Bambino, at both services. Pastor
Dan’s sermon at the 7:00 pm service will be a dramatic retelling of the Christmas story from the perspective of Simeon, who met Jesus in the Temple when he was eight days old (Luke 2:25-35).
FYI, parents, Church Camp at Lakeview next summer is July 13-17. Be
sure and plan your vacation around these dates so your child(ren) can go to
summer camp! We will also be needing adults to go as counselors, so please
begin praying and see if you would like to serve the Lord in this way.
The Christmas Parade was spectacular and our church was blessed to
have so many join us for the hot
dogs, chips, and cookies before it
started. Thank you so very much for
all those who helped in preparing,
serving, furnishing cookies, and
cleaning up after the event. A special thanks goes to Richard Burton
who grilled over 300 hot dogs—they
were absolutely delicious! I told
those waiting to watch the parade
that we were swamped with cookies
but I was wrong—there were very
few left.
Thank you to all that joined us and if
you were unable to make it this year,
plan to come next year and invite
your friends and neighbors. Let’s
make next year’s even bigger and
better!
Let’s Celebrate
Worship
12/07
132
12/14
149
Ora Lee Caldwell’s
90th Birthday
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Hours: 2:30-4:30 pm
Sunday School
12/07
77
12/14
68
4650 Collier Street
Beaumont, Texas 77706
Polo Room
12/07
$7,844.40
12/14
$7,554.55
RSVP to 409-385-8888
By January 2nd
Gifts
Sincerely,
Atria Senior Living
*Your presence is her gift
Rick Fetterolf
An Update by Director of
Children’s Ministries, Glenda Delano
Sunday
morning,
December 21, we will
have our Birthday Party for Jesus.
We will meet in the Dauphin Room
of McDonough Hall during the
10:00 am Sunday School hour.
Please contact Glenda Delano if
you would like to help with this
event.
Thank you for you support of the
Children’s Ministry!
This is your opportunity to dig in and get serious about Bible
Study. Phase 2 of the Covenant Bible Study will begin soon.
There are two groups, one beginning on Sunday, January 11, at
5:30 p.m. led by Pastor Darby, and the other beginning on Thursday, January 15 at 2:00 p.m. Both groups will meet weekly.
If you did not take Phase 1, don’t worry about it, you are welcome to join us for phase 2. If you were not a part of Phase 1,
call the church office to reserve a study guide for yourself. Donations of $20 are accepted, but not required, to help the church pay
for the guides. The Bible study calls for the reading of several
chapters a day of the Bible and a bit of introduction in the study
guides. Join us, you will enjoy it!
Wow, what an amazing Season it is!
Converge has been having all sorts of
fun fellowship this Advent Season. We
have had a progressive dinner that
was marvelous, thanks to the
Gilchriests, Auers and the Days. The
food and fellowship was great. We also
went to the Cantata. We had a great
time and also got some kids that might
join in next year! We are studying the
other side of the story of advent (from
the innkeeper and shepherd boy). It is
very fun way of learning the true
Martha Bradshaw
Dorothy Modisette
Carol Shilling
James and Tonya Haswkins
Oscar Morrison
Johni Ruth Dunbar
Ed and Sonia Cain
Lois Chance, Carolyn and David Waddell
Edward and Glenda Hill
Allan and Dagma Murphy
Dorlores Nicar
Dorothy Modisette
Hugh Smith
Dana Bradshaw
Warren Barfield
Marianne Deadmon
Suzanne Barfield
Bill, Lynn, Beth and Susan Barfield
Fred Kellum
Dana Bradshaw
Ed and Sonia Cain
Allan and Dagma Murphy
\
Larry Hollis
Dana Bradshaw
Allan and Dagma Murphy
\
Jack Edwards
Dana Bradshaw
Ed and Sonia Cain
Bonita and Donnell Cattle
Marianne Deadmon
Allan and Dagma Murphy
meaning of the season.
We are having a lock-in to ring in the New Year. The youth will
be bringing in the New Year at church. What could be a better
place, right? We will have a night of fun and games, starting at
5:30 pm on December 31. We will eat dinner first and then head
to worship. It will be one fun night! We will be looking for people
to come hang out with us. You don’t have to come the entire time.
You can come and see some of the fun things we do other than
Converge on Sundays.
Hot Hearts is upon us. For all that don’t know what Hot Hearts
is, it is a large two-day Christian concert in Beaumont. We have
15 tickets and that is all. Permission forms are hanging outside
my office. First 15 will get the tickets. The cost of this event is
$50 and, as always, scholarships are available.
The youth will be leading the Live Nativity on Monday, December
22. We will be meeting at 5 for dinner, then do the live nativity
from 5:30-7pm.
Converge has a wish list hanging out side of my office of things
they would like. The kids have come up with things they would
like to have, some are just fun stuff and others are very serious
needs. Please stop by and take a look.
Converge is open to all youth from sixth grade
through twelfth grade. If you have a child that
you would like to me to reach out to, please
don’t hesitate to call, email or stop by and let
me know. We also invite any adult to stop in
and see the fellowship that happens within your
church with the youth.
James Borello,
Director Of Converge Student Ministries
Stewardship Drive Report
So far, we have received 43 pledges, six of which are families who are pledging for the first time, 14 of which increased their pledge over last year, two of which decreased their pledge. We have lost 15 giving households due to
death or moving away. At least six households are giving a full tithe of their income. We estimate that we will have
111 households supporting the ministry of the church in 2015. As of December 16, the total amount pledged plus what
we estimate families will give who did not make a pledge is $293,973, which compares to last year’s estimate of
$295,836.
Christmas Caroling!
You are invited to join with other church members and friends
of all ages as we go Christ Caroling on Sunday evening, December 21. Bring a pot of soup, a pan of cornbread, a dessert,
or whatever you would like, and we will have a meal together
afterward. We call this event, “Sing for Your Supper!” We
will gather in McDonough Hall at 4:00 p.m., receive assignments of people we will sing to, travel in caravans to the various locations to sing, and return to the church for the meal at
6:00 p.m. If you don’t sing, you can always tag along with one
of the groups, or stay in the kitchen with Pastor Nancy to help with the food. If you would like to receive
a group of carolers or have a suggestion for someone who might to receive a visit from the carolers,
please give Pastor Nancy a call. She composes our caroling list. If you play a guitar or another portable
musical instrument and would like to accompany a group of carolers, please bring your instrument and
let Nancy or Paula Darby know you will be there. We have little booklets of Christmas carols for everyone to sing from, complete with guitar chords for the instrumentalists.
New Year’s Eve Service and Youth Lock-in
A Watch Night service for persons of all ages will be held on Wednesday, December 31, at 6:00
p.m. in the Chapel in the Sanctuary building. Following the service, the youth will have a lockin for the night featuring lots of fun and crazy activities.
First United Methodist Church
670 North 5th Street
Silsbee Texas 77656
Non-Profit Organization
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Permit No. 29
Silsbee, Texas
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