Don’t forget to enjoy an extra hour of sleep tomorrow (Sunday, November 1, 2015) as daylight savings time comes to an end and we “fall back” one hour.
2015 Church Conference
The 2015 Church Conference of the Abilene First United Methodist Church will be held at 7 pm on Sunday, November 29, 2015. As a church conference, this meeting is open to all church members and everyone is encouraged to attend.
Voice of the Day: Naim Ateek
Today’s voice of the day comes from the Palestinian Anglican priest Naim Ateek. He gets right to the heart of one of my favorite things about the Bible:
“It is part of the genius of the Bible that it preserved a record both of the good and of the bad.” —Naim Ateek.
Unlike other ancient religious texts, the Bible presents its main characters with their flaws and foibles intact instead of carefully edited out. We see both the good and the bad of Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Peter, James, John, Paul and countless others. The hero of the story, Jesus, is without sin, but he is still fully human and must endure human weaknesses and limitations: he hungers, he thirsts, he questions God. I’ve always loved the honesty of the Bible, and I hope that you’ve learned to appreciate it as well.
Hat Tip: Sojourners
Vintage Years Sunday
On Sunday, November 1, 2015, we will hold our annual Vintage Years Celebration and honor the “gift of years.” During the worship services, there will be a time of recognition for those members of our congregation who have reached 80 years of age or more, with special recognition for nonagenarians (those in their 90’s).
Youth News
The following post was received from Wendy Robinson and lightly (and lovingly) edited:
There will be no Power & Light or Youth Group on Wednesday, November 25, 2015. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
The youth will be selling Christmas Wreaths until November 15. The wreaths will be ready for pick-up on Sunday, November 29. The money raised from the sale of the Christmas wreaths will help offset the costs for special events and trips for the youth during the coming year.
The youth will be preparing Care Packages for college students preparing for final exams again this year. They are asking for the congregation’s help in filling the boxes. These care packages will contain baked cookies and goodies that our youth will be making. A basket will be placed in the narthex from November 1 to November 8, and we would appreciate your donations of snacks (microwave popcorn packages, jerky, chips, fast food coupons, etc.). You can also donate shoe boxes that will be used for mailing the packages. For additional information, please contact Wendy at wendy@abilenefirstumc.org.
The 2015 Christmas Pageant performance by the children and youth of the church is scheduled for Wednesday, December 9, at 6:30 pm in the sanctuary. The participants in this year’s pageant will practice each Sunday morning beginning November 8 during the Sunday School hour (9:20-10:20 am) on the third floor. If you or your child would like to be a part of this year’s pageant, please contact Wendy.
Thank you for supporting our youth!
Music Ministries Sunday
Jenny and I are looking forward to celebrating Music Ministries Sunday this coming Sunday. We’ll have special music by Lori Mitchell, Ben Luty, and Ward and Lisa Turnbull. The bell choir anthem will be accompanied by Thomas Forrester on the Cello, and the choir has a special anthem prepared. Both services will follow our customary order of worship. Clark has prepared some reflections on Music Ministry and put a lot of time and effort into this service, and we hope you can make it.
Proofreading Banners
I received the proofs for our two new banner designs today. I thought I would crowdsource the proofreading by posting them here. If you see anything that needs to be changed, please let me know at john@revcollins.com.
Podcast: Choose to Serve
My sermon from this past Sunday, October 18, 2015, has been posted to SoundCloud. The sermon was titled “Choose to Serve” and the textual reference was Mark 10.32-45.
If you have an Apple product you can subscribe to the podcast through iTunes.
Link: http://bit.ly/1jByzLk
Youth Trip to the Corn Maze
The Youth Group will be going to the Corn Maze this Saturday, October 24, 2015. Youth will meet in the church parking lot at 5:30 pm and return at 10 pm. The cost is $5 and any additional money needed for snacks at the Corn Maze or dinner at Taco Bell. Youth must RSVP to Wendy by October 22 to ensure transportation.
New Banners Ordered
Some of the mortar joints between the brick on the newer portion of the church building are being repointed this week. Because of this the old banners on both the east and west sides of the building have been taken down. Because the old banners had seen better days, new banners have been ordered. They will not match exactly (the old banners have been discontinued), but they will include the phrase “Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors.”
New Coffee Bar Location
The coffee bar has been moved away from the wall to allow coffee and cookies to be restocked from the back side and to make the built-in shelves available.
The Danger of Being Rabidly Right
We had a wonderful, respectful discussion of the United Methodist Church’s position at our “Table Talk” last night. I don’t think anyone’s mind was changed (and I didn’t expect anyone’s mind to be changed). My goals last night are almost perfectly summed up in the following video interview below of Tim Otto, author of Oriented to Faith: Transforming the Conflict over Gay Relationships. I haven’t read the book, so I’m not recommending it (at least not yet). I’m only recommending the video (and that with the caveat that the music is overly dramatic).