Sunday November 14, 2021

9am Traditional Service in the Sanctuary

10am Sunday School All Ages

11am Contemporary Service in the Family Life Center (FLC)

COVID19 Protocol Update

First Church leadership asks that congregants wear masks while inside the building per CDC recommendation.

This is recommended NOT mandated.

 

 

Covid in Franklin County

The latest statistics for Pennsylvania and Franklin county as of 11/10/21 reveal that the number of tests for covid are positive in Franklin county 11.4% of the time. This is the lowest in the south central region (12.9-17.7% in other counties). That is significantly less than in early September (19.1%) This is great news. Hospitalizations are also decreasing. However, The number of people fully vaccinated is still quite low at 38.5%. The total statewide is 59.2%.
The recommendations from the CDC have not changed at this point. Masks are highly recommended for everyone indoors. The covid vaccine is highly recommended as well. Booster shots are available for people previously vaccinated 6 months ago including those over 65, those with serious health problems, and those in the public arena as part of their jobs. Vaccines are now approved also for children 5-11 years old. Finally, the flu shot is also strongly suggested. - ~Dr. Hurley

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

Altar flowers are presented to the glory of God and In loving memory of our mother Susie Robison who's birthday was November 19. Given by the Robison family.

***

FLOWERS Due to increase in costs, Royer’s Flowers informed us that beginning December 1st the price for 2 altar vases will be $40 and consist of 6 carnations per vase. Mix floral vases are $45 with 3 car-nations and 3 large mums. A new delivery charge of $9.00 will be add-ed. Total base cost will be near $50.00. In-house floral arrangements for those desiring an alternative is being considered.

Flower Arranging Workshop - We will offer a flower arranging workshop, Monday, November 22 at 10 AM. Come learn how to arrange vases and centerpieces. You take your arrangements with you, just in time for your Thanksgiving table! Cost is $10.00. Bill Corwell will be the teacher. To register by 11/18 please email. Flowers will be provided.

 

 

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.

The infant/toddler room is open for Infants - 3 years and nursing mothers on Sundays.

It is staffed with volunteers during the 10am SS hour.

There is a designated family area in the FLC for families with little ones at the 11am service.

If you would like to volunteer in this important ministry, please email Brianna.

Visit First Lights.org for more

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.

Visit Illuminate.org for more

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.

Visit Hungry Hearts

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
Surviving the Holidays (November 14 or December 12) is a helpful, encouraging seminar for people facing the holidays after a loved one’s death. Please join us on November 14 or December 12 at 3:30pm at First United Methodist Church.

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.

Visit Pastoral Care Ministries

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 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.

Blind spots. Whether they’re on your car or in your life, they’re dangerous because we can’t see them. But we all have them. Most of us think we know ourselves because we’ve been ourselves our entire lives. But what we don’t see is how other people see us. We don’t usually know what it’s like to be on the other side of us. But discovering our blind spots is one of the ways we grow as a person. So, how can we see something that we’re blind to? We can’t! But God and other people can reveal them to us. But we need to be open to it, and that’s not always so easy. We have to know that we don’t know it all and turn to the One who does. Sometimes God uses other people to show us where we’re out of step with the person He created us to be; where we’re rubbing someone wrong without even knowing it. Other times, God uses tests and trials in our lives to get our attention. It’s not always fun or easy—in fact, it’s usually not—but growing as a person is always worth it.

Blind Spots is led by Dan Renshaw in the Family Life Center at 10am for two 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 Blanche Mock's family and friends as she has entered the Church Triumphant

Prayers of comfort for Marian Truett's family and friends as she has entered the Church Triumphant

Pray for those attending Surviving the Holidays on Sunday Nov. 14th at 3:00 pms for Sarah Baker

Healing prayers for Bunny Parson

Healing prayers for Ann (Janae Pensinger’s sister)

Healing prayers for David Livermore  (Pastor Steve's brother)

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.

Prayers Needed for:

  • John & Bunny Parson
  • Larry & Avis Guise
  • Al & Linda Lojacono
  • Jay & Betty Upperman
  • Bill & Mary Butts
  • Jack & Bette Bowers
  • Dean & Carol Crow
  • Paul & Erma Collins
  • Bill & Thelma Peerce
  • Kirk & Kathy Paul
  • Chuck & Dianne Salter
  • Dave & Joan Kauffman

Praise and Thanksgiving!

We celebrate the baptism of  Jaxon Ray Dudas last Sunday!

We praise God for those who seek to live a new life in Christ!

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)

 

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