Recently we’ve been having some trouble with Periscope.com, the service we use to livestream worship services over the internet. So we’re switching to an audio-only service called Spreaker.com (I don’t like the name either). This should put less of a strain on the church’s internet connection, improve reliability, and increase the amount of control we have over our archives of the worship service all while maintaining the simplicity of our setup. You can find us at https://www.spreaker.com/user/afumc.
Category Archives: Announcements
After Worship Coffee, Juice, and Snacks
June is one of the months when we need volunteers to provide snacks (usually cookies) and prepare coffee and juice for the fellowship time after the 10:30 worship services. Volunteer(s) are still needed for June 23, 2019. Drop me a line if you’re willing to volunteer.
Back in the Office this Week
Jenny and I are back in the office this week before taking another “Staycation” week beginning Monday, June 24, 2019.
Funeral Services for Emy Lou Peterson
Emy Lou Peterson, mother of Lynn Peterson has passed away. Lynn has asked me to share that there will be a service for her at Martin-Becker-Carlson on Friday afternoon. More information can be found at martinbeckercarlson.com.
Funeral Services for Wanda West
Wanda West has died. A Service of Death and Resurrection will be held this Friday, June 7, 2019, in the Sanctuary at 11:00 a.m. There will be a visitation from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. the evening before in the narthex/lobby. Tim Johnson will officiate as Jenny and I are in Colorado.
Funeral Services for Bill Sexton
William “Bill” A. Sexton passed away on Monday. Visitation will be on Thursday, May 30, 2019, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in the narthex/lobby. A Service of Death and Resurrection will be held in the sanctuary on Friday, May 31, at 10:00 a.m. with a graveside service following at Keystone Cemetery near Manchester.
Guest Preaching Schedule
This information made it into the bulletin, but not the blog. My apologies. Here’s a list our guest preachers in June. (I’ll be preaching on June 23.)
- June 2 — Susan Mercer of Wesley KU (John and Jenny will be present and will lead the worship service)
- June 9 — Amanda Cormack
- June 16 — Amanda Cormack
- June 30 — Mark Queen
That Was On Me
Last Sunday, the old computer that we used for running the worship slides decided it didn’t want to work properly anymore. Since we typically have middle school or high school students (who use iPads for school) running the slides we decided to save money and replace the old computer with an iPad.
I plugged the new iPad in and had everything all set up, but I didn’t relay all the relevant information to the person running slides and sound. So the small snag we encountered during this afternoon’s worship service was my fault. Things have been relabeled to ensure that the next time something goes wrong, it will be something else entirely.
Funeral for Robbie Bottorff
Robert Bottorff has passed away. A Service of Death and Resurrection will be held this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. Burial will follow at Prairie Mound Cemetery in Solomon, Kansas.
Link to Changes
A helpful text from my mother pointed out that I did not include a link to the resolution with the underlined and crossed out changes. Here it is: https://revcollins.com/gpac-petition/.
Changes to the Resolution
I have made some changes in the Resolution I submitted to the 2019 Great Plains Annual Conference. Along with the changes I included the following note:
The changes above (deletions crossed out and additions underlined) were made to avoid having the resolution declared out-of-order. They were made in light of Judicial Council Decisions 1297 and 1340 and after conversation with Bishop Saenz. I am disappointed the Great Plains Annual Conference cannot decide whether or not it’s money shall be expended for the purpose of enforcing the discriminatory, anti-LGBTQ+ policies found in our current polity, but I do not want the entire resolution to be declared out-of-order and set aside. I am hopeful that other means to the same ends will be successful.
If you no longer wish to have your name on the resolution you can email me at john@revcollins.com. (You will need to use the same email that you signed on with.) If you’re still supportive and have not yet signed the resolution you may do so at: https://goo.gl/forms/aG3y9HMlZNY8EoHD3
2020 Scholarship Applications
We recently announced scholarship recipients for the 2019-2020 academic year. Next year’s applications are already available on the downloads page of the church’s website. Next year’s applications must be completed in full and submitted to the church office or the AHS Counselors’ office by 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 8, 2020, to be eligible for consideration. If you’re going to submit your application before March 2020, I would encourage you to do so via an email to office@abilenefirstumc.org so that you have a record of your submission. I would also advise you to double check if you don’t receive a reply confirming that your application was received.
