Sunday November 7, 2021
9am Traditional Service in the Sanctuary
10am Sunday School All Ages
11am Contemporary Service in the Family Life Center (FLC)
All Saints Sunday
Harold Boyer
Susan Briggs
Jean Cramer
Patricia Gerhart
Edward Gunder
Betty Houpt
Dennis Miller
Del Mills
Willian Myles
Beverly Rensch
Mary Rine
Doris Ryder
Janet Shatzer
Jay Upperman
COVID19 Protocol Update
Because Franklin county has moved into the High category of COVID transmission, First Church leadership asks that congregants wear masks while inside the building per CDC recommendation. This is recommended NOT mandated. We understand that individuals have varied feelings on masks.
We are also again encouraging social distancing in the sanctuary and in the FLC.
Franklin County is being hit hard by the latest surge in the COVID-19 pandemic. We [Wellspan] are caring for 76 COVID-positive patients in our Chambersburg and Waynesboro facilities, and our urgent cares and clinics are overflowing. There have been times this week when so many patients have turned to our Emergency Department in Chambersburg for care that a line has extended beyond the entrance. A tent is now being placed outside of the Emergency Department in Chambersburg to accommodate patients who may be waiting, and we are again in the position of needing to delay some surgeries and procedures to care for COVID patients. Visitation also continues to be restricted in our hospitals and emergency rooms. And, once again, our health care workforce is being pushed to their limits, both physically and emotionally.
Watch our services on youtube at 12pm!
We also have a dedicated phone number so you can listen to latest recorded service at 717-899-4JOY (4569).
We are asking folks not to mail donations through the US Postal service. Please hand-deliver them to the church, because we are having issues with receiving mail. We also have online giving available as well. Thank you for blessing us!
In Traditional Service this week:
Pastor - Steven M. Livermore
Organist/Choir Director
- Diaconal Minister of Music: Linda A. Peppernick
Reader - Becky Foor
The altar flowers are presented to the glory of God and in loving memory of Margaret C. Hoover who's birthday would have been November 10. Given by Jean and Fran Flohr.
The basket of flowers is presented to the glory of God and is in loving memory of my parents Roy and Mary Hays. Given by Evie Gray.
MINISTRY UPDATES
Children's Ministry
Pray with us Tuesdays at 2:52pm.
Worship Bulletins for kids to engage them with the service are available at the welcome tables.
Our Sunday Children's programming begins at 10am. Children ages 4yrs through 5th grade will meet on the 2nd floor. We will have infant and toddler care on the 1st floor soon.
Youth Group
Illuminate Youth Ministry will be meeting in backyards this September on Wednesday nights. A full schedule is on the events page at illuminateyouth.org.
Hungry Hearts
Egg Cartons -We have more than enough and no more room to store egg cartons for HH so, please stop bringing them to the church. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!
Hungry Heart's Clothing Mission is NOT accepting donations at the present time due to the church elevator being out of operation and several of our regular volunteers not being available due to health issues. We are looking for some additional volunteers. The job includes sorting and sizing incoming donations, maintaining the store in the church basement, storing out-of-season clothing, and greeting our guests on Thursday afternoons. Parents and children may want to consider helping during the summer months. (We find younger volunteers to be very helpful in sorting toys.) Our usual hours are from 1 pm to 5pm on Thursday but we can be flexible. Call Carel Fish 717-264-4354.
Team Haiti
Sponsors are Needed for Haitian Children at Kaendra's Place orphanage. School of Hope tuition sponsorships at $140 a semester or $280 for the school year. Fall semester tuition is due now. Talk to Pastor Steve or mail haiti4fumc@gmail.com for more information.
Cookie Dough and Coffee Sale Pick up for orders will be Saturday, November 20th.
Pastoral Care Ministries
GriefShare group meets Mondays at 1:00 PM. For more information or to register for the seminar contact Gail at 717-263-8491 ext. 207.
Stephen Ministry is here to walk with you through difficult journeys. If you need someone to listen and to care, call Gail at 717-263-8491 ext. 207 for more information. Also, please take a moment to read this wonderful testimony from Bill Holland entitled The Story of Rosemary's Bible.
Women Connect
Women Connect now has a private Facebook Group! All women in the church are invited to join!
Our next meeting is November 20 at 9am-10:30am in the Connect café. Find out more here!
Also, the Women Connect group is making Advent wreaths at our meeting on November 20th. We need live greens such as pine, juniper, holly, etc. We would like to cut November 18 and 19th. Please notify Paula Hepfer 717-360-6634 if you are willing to share with us!
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Joyful for Jesus!
Joyful for Jesus (formerly Joyful Jingle) gift shop will be giving out Christmas gifts this year by partnering with Hungry Hearts food distribution on Thursday, December 16th and 23rd from 9 o’clock to noon.
Since there are several community programs focused on gifts for children, we will focus on gifts for adults. We are asking the church community for donations of women’s and men’s slippers, gloves, items for gift baskets and small kitchen appliances. Items can be dropped off at the information desk. Bring completed baskets or join in the fun of making gift baskets Sunday, December 12th in the Family Life Center after the service.
Thank you for shining the joy of Jesus to our community folks in need. Questions? See Susie Kunkle or call 717-352-2562.
Mt. Asbury Retreat Center in Newville is hosting their 2nd annual drive thru Christmas Lights Show! This event takes place every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening from November 26 to December 19. ILLUMINATE YOUTH is volunteering at this great event, and we invite you to join us in helping!
Here are the ways you could join us and support this ministry:
- Volunteer day on November 13 (9am-3pm at Mt. Asbury)
- Help at the Lights Show on November 28, December 11, and December 18.
- Bake Cookies for the event
- Donate to raise money for the Retreat Center
If you are interested in helping in any of these ways, or would like more information about the Lights Show, please contact Collin .
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Important Note regarding upcoming events: If you are planning a church event, please contact Stacey in the church office so that we can coordinate all events in the church and are not overlapping ministries. Thank you!
Please contact the church about hospitalizations as we no longer are contacted when parishioners are hospitalized.
Chancel Choir-Practice is held Wednesday nights at 7:00. All singers welcomed! Contact Diaconal Minister Linda Peppernick at lindapeppernick@embarqmail.com
Post-High School Connections - First Church Friends: I am looking for people to connect with our post high age young adults. Check-in texts, notes, and emails are a great way to let them know they're a part of the family even when they may not be able to attend regularly. If you're willing to friend one of our post high young adults, please contact Beth Stahl (stahlfamily2000@gmail.com or 717-375-8011).
200th Anniversary – 2022 will mark the 200th Anniversary of the birth of First Church. We are looking for interested individuals to be part of the committee planning our celebrations. Please contact Pastor Steve at pastor4fumc@gmail.com if you would like to help.
Evening Bible Studies:
Intergenerational Study -Interested in making connections between faith and real life? In building intergenerational relationships within the church? Consider joining this discussion-based Bible study at 5:30 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of every month. Study is designed for youth Grade 7 or higher in the company of their parents. All adults welcome!
“Wednesday Bible Study” @ 6:30 PM and meets every Wednesday in the Preschool Classroom (Apple Place). We will be studying the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah lived and wrote in a dark time. Studying the ministry of the prophet Jeremiah, you will get a glimpse of what it is like to have a personal relationship with God, for God and a human to be together and you will discover how you can grow in your own personal relationship to God. This study will also stream on Zoom. Study guides are available to pick up at the Welcome Center or you can download a copy here.
Elevator Update -the elevator company was in the building this week taking measurements and gathering information to order needed parts.
First UMC Church Conference Sunday, November 21st at 5:00 PM. Our District Superintendent will be with us to conduct the meeting. Please mark your calendars and plan on attending.
Friendly reminder that if you need to take tables out of the FLC please return them by Wednesday night so they are available for Thursday morning food distribution.
Refugee Resettlement: Franklin County has welcomed a Syrian refugee family - (Dad & Mom with three young sons... 10, 8, & 6 years old) and has been provided temporary living quarters. Please contact Clint Bolte (717) 267-2157 to volunteer with helps for the family. Donations can be sent to Congregation of the Sons of Israel, 109 East King Street, Chambersburg 17201—memo “refugee resettlement” to be used for living expenses for the family directly.
Cookie Dough and Coffee Sale Pick up for orders will be Saturday, November 20th of following services on the 21st.
Advent Wreaths The Women Connect group is making Advent wreaths at our meeting on November 20th. We need live greens such as pine, juniper, holly, etc. We would like to cut November 18 and 19th. Please notify Paula Hepfer 717-360-6634 if you are willing to share with us!
New Sunday Morning Study Groups!
FUMC Prayer & Study Group-
Starting Tuesday, November 16, 2021 at 6:30-8 pm in the Sanctuary
You are invited to join us on a new journey toward intimacy with God. We will be studying different prayer techniques and spiritual rhythms. This will be a hybrid group: if the group would rather meet on Zoom or in-person we can do either. We will meet once a month on a Tuesday and there will be a weekly reading assignment during the month. To keep connected during each month we will be using a Padlet Board to post our comments & experiences on! All the group information will be on Padlet. If you have any questions or if you are moved to join our group you can email Lindsay Zubal.
No two worlds seem further apart than the worlds of science and faith. In fact, sometimes the two seem so far apart that it feels like we’re forced to pick a side. And while it may have originated years ago in a high school science class or with a college professor, for many of us, the tension between science and faith extends far beyond classroom walls at this point. In fact, in many ways it seems that the tension between science and faith is growing now more than ever. Instead of science merely being dismissive of God, it now seems like science is actively trying to disprove God. And if that’s true, does God disapprove science? After all, if one is right, the other must be wrong . . . right? Well, as it turns out, maybe not. The truth is, science and faith may not be as far from each other as we’ve been, perhaps, led to believe. In this series, as we take a look at the ways science and faith might actually relate, we’ll discover that the more we learn about how this world works, the more we’ll learn about the Who behind it all.
World's Apart is led by Dan Renshaw in the Family Life Center at 10am for 4 weeks.
Hope you join us!
PRAYER, PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Proverbs 17:22 (KJV)
We lift our prayers to the Lord!
Prayers of comfort for Paul Bridegam and family at the passing of his youngest son.
Healing prayers for Sarah Baker
Healing prayers for Bunny Parson
Healing for Ann (Janae Pensinger’s sister)
God’s grace for Blanche Mock
Healing for Paul Bridegam and wisdom for the Dr's
Healing prayers for Matt - some improvement
Continue praying for the people of Haiti & Afghanistan
Pray for our government leaders
Prayers for Norine Selby (Glenn & Natalie Aylesworth’s daughter)
Pray for all those who take the gospel to a broken world in need of healing
Pray for those who are coming to GriefShare
Pray for Stephen Ministry
Continued prayers for Postal Service
Healing for those with Covid
Safety and protection for school children and those working in school systems
Pray for First Lights -Connecting the light of the church to the heart of families to ignite the faith of the next generation
Pray for Illuminate Youth Ministry
Pray for Hungry Hearts Ministry
Pray for yourself that you might be true to Christ even if you are rejected.
Please pray for those coming and the facilitators for Surviving the Holidays seminar on Nov. 14 @ 3:30 here at FUMC
Prayers Needed for:
Linda Leidig
Kathy Beaston
Barb Armstrong
Peggy
Deb Ewing
Shirley Jones
Evelyn Jones
Erma Collins
Susie Bulger
Betty Naugle
Dean Crow
Jeff Brookens
Ginny Adams
Praise and Thanksgiving!
We praise God for His abundant blessings. We praise God for giving us Heaven as our forever home!
Endowment Fund Status
as of September 30, 2021
The total amount of principal (market value) in the Endowment fund is $1,412,978. This is an increase of $59,086.28 from the beginning of the year. As you know we cannot spend the principal amount. We can only spend the interest earned. The amount available (interest earned) is $221,164. The amount available by category is as follows:
General $88,653 Music $41,017 Facilities $40,484 Missions $11,723 Scholarships $39,287
So far this year the Fund has purchased a mobile sound system ($2,200) for use at the park and the church. We supported building/repairing a wall ($3,000) at the Haiti Orphanage for safety and security. We provided uniforms and books ($2,000) for the students at our school. Uniforms are very important in Haitian society so that the children are not bullied or targeted by traffickers. In the near future the Endowment Fund will contribute $29,500 towards the repair of the elevator.
Please consider contributing to the Endowment Fund. In addition to the support the Fund has provided this year, examples of past year support are:
Stain Glass Windows – Pastoral Support to Sierra Leone – Visits to Haiti – Adult Work Camp – Continuing Ed Conferences – Auto Repairs for a Missionary – Noah’s House – Video/Streaming Equip. – Sierra Leone Initiatives (5-year commitment)