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www.fccmidland.org ● 1301 W. Louisiana, Midland, Texas, 79701 ● (432) 682-2541
The Christian Builder
October 5, 2011 A weekly publication of
First Christian Church Midland Volume 55 No.40
Church Calendar Sunday, October 9 CWF Blanket Sunday 10:00am Sunday School 11:00am Combined Worship 12:00pm Stewardship Kickoff Luncheon 4:15pm Adult Handbells 5‐7:00pm Celebrate (1st to 5th grade) 5‐8:00pm SOLID God in the Movies ‐ Chi Rho (6th‐8th) & CYF (9th‐12th) 6:00pm Sunday Evening Bible Study
Monday, October 10 9:30am Staff meeting 5:30pm SHARE Grief Support Group
Tuesday, October 11 9:00am Concerns 7:00pm PDAP 7:30pm Boy Scouts (Rm. 105)
Wednesday, October 12 7:00am Men’s Prayer Breakfast 5:30pm Breaking Bread (Florida St.) 7:15pm Sanctuary Choir Rehearsal
Friday, October 14 5:30pm SHARE
Saturday, October 17 9:00am Sib Shop/SHARE 4:00pm Children to Fiddlesticks Farms
Sunday, October 16 9:00am Contemporary Worship 10:00am Sunday School 11:00am Traditional Worship 4:15pm Adult Handbells 5‐7:00pm Celebrate (1st to 5th grade) & SOLID ‐ (Chi Rho 6th‐8th)& CYF (9th‐12th) 6:00pm Sunday Evening Bible Study
October 9th – One Service Sunday Please join us this Sunday, October 9th, for a very special day. We will have ONE COMBINED WORSHIP SERVICE at 11:00 AM in the Sanctuary.
Immediately following the service, we will gather in the Family Life Center for our 2011 In His Steps Kickoff Luncheon. Here, we will hear about the exciting ministries and plans for 2012! There will also be a “Ministry Fair”, highlighting all the ministries in which you can pledge to serve in 2012.
We will also hear details regarding “The Next Step” Capital Campaign, which provides upgrades for children, youth, and worship spaces.
Our meal will be catered by Big Daddy's Catfish and Chicken and will include: catfish, fried Chicken Strips, charbroiled chicken, pinto beans, green beans, mashed potatoes, and banana pudding.
There will be no charge for the meal, but donation baskets will be available on each table to “tip” our servers, the FCC youth, who will be raising money for their 2012 Mystery Trip and summer Mission Trips.
It will be an amazing Sunday! You won’t want to miss it!
October 9th Schedule: 10:00 AM Sunday School 11:00 AM Combined Worship in the Sanctuary Noon All Church Lunch in the Family Life Center 1:15 PM Luncheon Concludes
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Thoughts… Rev. Mike Hunter Senior Minister
This Week’s Sermon
It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
Matthew 22:1‐14
Our Praise Team will sing "Praise You", and the Sanctuary Choir will be singing "O God, You Are My God".
Sunday’s Stewardship Theme: Step Up: Prayer!
Testimonies by
Brenda Nance & Kelly Cook
Exciting times…and I’m not just talking about a grandbaby! Thanks for all your well wishes about our grandbaby. She is wonderful and we are already looking for the second one due in February!
But these are also exciting times for the church. For fall and the start of the ministry year, for Sunday evenings coming alive again with 70+ children and youth and adults, for choirs and bells and Bible studies and more. This is such a gifted church and it is exciting to just be a part of all that you are. This week is exciting as we will come together in one worship to launch our In His Steps. Also we will receive Sunday more details about the planned capital renovations to sanctuary, youth and children spaces Next Step. It is time for us to take the Next Step. I hope to see you on Sunday. The Stewardship Committee have prepared a great meal…all you have to do is come…and hear…and pray…and answer God’s call. Invite someone to join us this week. Our new will be showing!
Don’t forget to check out our website (www.fccmidland.org)
for news, publications, and previous sermons!
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Attendance October 2, 2011
Contemporary Worship 44 Children’s Church 6 Nursery 2 Total 52 Traditional Worship 96 Children’s Church 7 Nursery 2 Total 105 Total Worship 157 Sunday School Attendance Nursery 4 Children’s Church 19 Youth 19 Adult 65 Total 107 Sunday Night Attendance Nursery 3 Children 17 Youth 25 Adults 28
Musings… Rev. Cory Glover Associate Minister
Visitors Corner October 2, 2011
Suzanne Gonzalez Georgia Keaton
Nicholas & Aidan Ramsey Kevin, Greta & Kaylee Renfro
Alex Teichmann Art & Carla Wilson
Thanks for joining us for worship!
Last week, I attended my third Bethany Fellowships Retreat since coming on staff here at First Christian Church.
I realized that, while I’ve told you about my going to these retreats, I’ve never actually explained what happens while I am there…
Bethany Fellowships is a mentoring program enabling young ministers (within 5 years of seminary) to work together to strengthen their own spiritual disciplines, to develop systems for accountability, and to pray for one another while they pursue new ideas for congregational growth and organization.
Currently, there are 48 Fellows, with almost as many people on the waiting list.
The retreats follow the same basic layout:
On Monday, everyone arrives at the retreat center (this last week, it was just outside St. Louis). We spend the better part of the day doing a “check‐in”, a brief overview of what has happened in our lives, especially spiritually, since we last met. The conversation and catching up usually continue well into the night.
On Tuesday, we do “site visits”. We visit a couple of churches in that area, spending time with church leaders to see how they are living out their call in their communities. These sites are intentionally diverse to give us a greater scope of different varieties of ministry. At the last several retreats, we have also interacted with Bethany Fellow alums who are now serving in that particular area of the country. Tuesdays are a bit like trying to drink from a fire hydrant, as we are overwhelmed with information and ideas.
Because of this, following breakfast on Wednesday, we enter into a 24‐hour period of silence. This is a time to process what we’ve heard the day before, to center ourselves spiritually, and block out all the noise of our usually‐busy lives. It is often a time for exhausted young clergy to rest and remember their need for discipline and Sabbath.
We come out of silence on Thursday and into small groups, where we share more deeply about the state of our soul and how we are responding to God’s call. We spend the afternoon on Thursday as tourists, enjoying our host city for a few hours before coming back together for a celebration of our week.
Fridays consist of closing worship – which includes the heartbreaking ritual of saying goodbye to those who have completed the program – and traveling back home.
The Bethany Fellowships was birthed as a way of addressing the 30% burnout our denomination was experiencing with young ministers. I can honestly say that it is helping me create healthy patterns of ministry that will continue long beyond my involvement in this wonderful program. On October 16th, we will have a representative from Bethany Fellowships in both our worship services. Rev. Kim Gage‐Ryan, Co‐Director, will be here in early worship, and Rev. Suzanne Kerr, a Bethany Alum and Timothy of FCC Midland, will be in late worship.
They are coming to support me (as well as Regina Erwin, from FCC Odessa, another Fellow) and to say thank you to the congregation for allowing me to have the time away needed to participate.
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Ponderings… Rev. Paula Brooks Associate Minister
Birthdays 10/4 Cooper Burns Mary Miller 10/5 Keith Somerville 10/6 Jared Campbell Deborah Vanley 10/7 Darla Pepper Lee Beggs Johnny Espino Charlye Campbell 10/10 Sarah Jones 10/11 Anne Schwiening Bill Womack 10/12 Austella Berry Taylor Hamilton
Sneak Previews of Children’s Events
Oct. 9 ‐ Movie Night Oct. 15 ‐ Fiddlestick Farms Oct. 16 ‐ HOPE LIVES – “Esther”
The majority of people make their lifelong, faith shaping choices and form their values when they are young. The Children’s Ministry of FCC strives to offer meaningful, stimulating, learning and worship experiences for children from birth through fifth grade as they grow in their
relationship with Jesus Christ. Not only do children need us to teach them and model a Christ‐following lifestyle, but also we need them to remind us of what our relationship with God is at its essence. We need to be intentional about knowing what children need to learn at each stage of development so that programs can be designed to provide a strong foundation for discipleship. By the time you receive this newsletter I will be on my way to the ‘windy city’ of Chicago attending KidMin. KidMin is the unconventional conference for Children’s Ministry that is sponsored by GROUP publications. I will be gathering with hundreds of other ministers and lay people who work in the field of children’s ministry. At KidMin you don’t just sit in a chair, listen, and leave. You zoom in, grapple, and dig. Its four days of marinating in fresh ideas and topics that really matter. The speakers and leaders at KidMin are there to interact with the participants. There will be opportunities for discussions, sharing and listening. It will be a time to connect with other children’s ministry workers on every level from all over the United States. I will be attending sessions based on spiritual formation/development of children, family ministry, new program ideas, etc. With so many distractions for kids in our world today, we need to make our weekly children’s ministry an experience that children can’t wait to return to for the next service or event. We need to make our children’s ministry the highlight of each child’s week. My goal is to return with new, fresh ideas to guide us in creating a children’s ministry that’s fun, kid‐friendly, and unforgettable while at the same time helping our children grow in their faith. My prayer is that KidMin will give me the tools to do that! In loving partnership,
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Anniversaries 10/15 Jimmy & Leslie Vines 10/19 Randy & Diane Hicklin
Lectionary Scriptures
for the week of October 9, 2011
Exodus 32:1‐14 Psalm 106:1‐6, 19‐23 Philippians 4:1‐9 Matthew 22:1‐14
*If you do not see your birthday or anniversary listed, please contact the
church office and share that information with your church family.
Elder - On - Call
10/2 ‐ 10/8 Kelly Cook
10/9 ‐ 10/15 Twana Evers
10/16 ‐ 10/22 Mike Nance
CWF Blanket Drive
This week, we will be benefitting Church World Service. Blankets+ is a special mission opportunity for all ages. Some 8,000 congregations and groups across the U.S. hold Church World Service (CWS) Blankets+ events, providing funds to help people in need around the world.
$25 can provide five warm blankets or a family left homeless by an earthquake or other disaster.
$100 can enable three women to receive a microcredit loan, a sound investment in their family’s future.
$200 can provide a struggling farm family with a animals to increase their harvest and carry their produce to market.
$250 can provide a sewing machine to a young mother learning to support her family.
$1,000 can equip a village well with a pump and provide hygiene training.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in danger”
‐ Psalm 46:1 Blood Drive
Our next drive will take place October 16th. Let’s continue to give the gift of life every opportunity we get.
Church Bulletin Board Please send your announcements to Katie by 5 PM on Mondays.
Financial update through 9/30: Income $509,167.91 Disbursements $515,390.39
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Church Bulletin Board Please send your announcements to Katie by 5 PM on Mondays.
Adult Sunday School Studies
Mixed Blessings Room 301 Leader: Bill Bucy Topic: Matthew 22:1‐14
II Chronicles 7:14 Room 302 Leader: Members of the Class Topic of Study: Hebrews
Pairs and Spares Room 303 Topic of Study: “The History of St. Augustine” (audio)
Genesis Room 304 Leader: Paula Brooks Topic of Study: Discovering the Power of Prayer – When Doing All You Do Isn’t Enough
Fellowship Room 307 Leader: Loren Stiles Topic of Study: Old Testament‐ The Kingdom Age
Mike Hunter’s Class Montgomery Room Leader: Mike Hunter Topic of Study: Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping People Over 60
Children’s Sunday Activities
October 9th Sunday School: God Floods the Earth,
God keeps His promises
(Gen. 7:1‐8:22, 9:8‐16)
Children’s Church: Tabernacle
Brenda Morris & Judy Spruell
CELEBRATE – Sunday Evening Movie Night
Trunk or Treat 2011 Sunday, October 30, 2011, 4:00 to 6:00 pm
Calling all cars! You are invited to join us for this year’s Trunk or Treat!
You decorated trunk filled with goodies will help us promote a fun and safe Halloween, as a free gift to our neighborhood and community.
Our goal is to have 100 trunks decorated with a Halloween/Fall motif! Yes, you read that right! If we can gather thousands of eggs for our Easter Eggstravaganza, then we can round up 100 trunks filled with goodies. We have plenty of parking places available that are just waiting to be reserved by you today! Call the church office to reserve your parking place. Trunk or Treat is open to all children, grades 5th and younger. In addition to the trunks, we will have a jumper, hayride, various activities and games, face painting, cookie walk, and free food. Help us spread the word and come and be a part of the fun and excitement of Trunk or Treat 2011!
CYF Day @ TCU
October 22‐23, 2011 $50/person
This annual trip to attend a TCU Horned Frogs football game with youth from across the Southwest Region is open to all youth (grades 6‐12).
Due to the earlier game time this year (1:00 PM), we have to leave very early (6:15 AM) to make it on time. After the game, we will be going to AlleyCats in south Arlington for bowling, lasertag, gaming, fun, and food. We should arrive back in Midland around 4:00 PM on Sunday.
Youth will need additional money for two travel meals and spending. They will need to bring bedding, clothing, toiletries, and a towel.
Sign up today!
FCC
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Marketing Corner
MAILOUTS This week we are inviting all of those who attended the Easter Egg‐stravaganza to our annual Trunk‐R‐Treat that will be on
October 30th. This will be a great way to invite people back to First Christian Church. You don’t want to miss this event! Be sure to sign
up to host a trunk!
DAYCARES We are currently in the process of visiting daycares and schools and creating relationships with them.
FCC is excited about the community presence they are
having and hope to reach out to tons of families through the upcoming Trunk‐R‐Treat!
Sunday Evening Schedule
4:15 PM ‐ Adult Handbell Practice
5‐7 PM ‐ CELEBRATE for Children 5‐8 PM ‐ SOLID God in the Movies for Youth
6:00 PM ‐ Evening Meal is Served
6:00 PM ‐ Adult Bible Study This Week’s Menu: Lasagna, Salad, Breadsticks, Dessert $3 suggested donation
Prayer Room Chapel Lock Box Code #1301
Those in need of prayer: Bruce Stanley – MMH Room 468 Mike Nance ‐ recovering from knee surgery Joe Campbell – knee surgery pending Ray Berry – recovering from surgery Betty Rodgers – recovering from surgery Dee Head – cancer treatments Jim Coats – continuing health concerns Susan Jones –continuing health concerns Jean Connor ‐ continuing health concerns
Those in extended/long term care: Jerry Johnson Joe Brittain H. G. Bedford Luci Cranford – mother of Mark Cranford Pat Faulkner Nancy Gill Clarese Gough Jackie Hanna Rosemary Rankin Jerry Sloan Keith Somerville Mary Jane Strobel
In the service: Nicky Miller ‐ son of Vicki Miller Rich Klumpp ‐ nephew of the Midkiffs. Seve Sanchez ‐ nephew of Martha Fentem Daniel West – son of Gary & Debby West Damon Darnell – grandson of Floyd & Doris Miller
Families/Friends beyond FCC: Marcietta Taylor – friend of Paul Hancock Cory Johnson ‐ grandson of Jerry Johnson Nicholas Colburn ‐ grandson of Diane Bailey Fisher Margaret Joe Garces ‐ Betty Rodgers friend’s daughter facing surgeries Dean Stephenson ‐ brother of Meta Jones, having surgery Jimmy Duewall ‐ son of Charlotte Millican Jennifer Mayben ‐ friend of the Bucy's daughter Frank Nix – friend of Carol & Gary Thompson Irma Martinez & Family ‐ Cousin of Martha Fentem ‐ lost house in fire Courtney Shumway – friend of Marlene Glover Pete Furin –brother of Dee Head Frankie Espino –brother of Johnny Espino Paul Petree –father of Kelli Hamilton/grandfather of Taylor & Alyssa
Families/Friends beyond FCC in long term care: Laura Autrey– sister of Susan Jones Lori Hays – cousin of Mary Anne Benton Alvin Traylor – father of Vicki Miller Monte Hewitt – cousin of Anne Schwiening Sonya Hopkins – friend of Kelley McCullough Jered Groner – friend of Mary Anne Benton Michael Castillo –nephew of Meta Jones
The Christian Builder First Christian Church 1301 W. Louisiana Ave Midland, TX 79701
432‐682‐2541 online at: www.fccmidland.org October 5 , 2011 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
Non-Profit Org
US Postage Paid
Midland, TX 79711 Permit No. 145
Fiddlesticks Farms For Children
• Join us for an amazing fall adventure on October 15th. • The cost is only $8.00 and this includes a corn maze, goat walk, hay jump, sandbox, tube slide, hay ride,
rodeo roper, pumpkin patch, potato sack slide, pig races, and learning barn. • Children ages 3 up through 5th grade invited as well as friends & parents • We will meet at the church at 1:00pm and we will return around 4:00pm.