From the Senior Minister... Here are the numbers from my recent trip to Africa: Miles travelled - 20,000 Days - 14 Members from FCC Tyler - 2 Total team members - 29 Baptisms - 33 Global Leadership Summit venues - 5 Global Leadership Summit attendees - 1,524 Water wells drilled - 2 Pastor’s Institute Graduates - 34 Questionable meals consumed - 13 Pepto Bismol tablets taken - 26 (continued on page 2) THANKSGIVING SUNDAY SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23RD ONE SERVICE AT 11 A.M. BANQUET AT NOON Don’t miss our Thanksgiving Banquet this Sunday, November 23 rd , immediately following worship. We will worship together at 11:00 a.m. (Sunday School as usual at 10:00) and then gather for lunch with our friends from University Christian Church. The Outreach Ministry Team will provide turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings. There is no charge for the meal; however, a love offering will be received to support the capital campaign to build a new meeting place at Disciples Crossing in Athens. Bring a friend and join us for a day of worship and thanksgiving. MISSION: To speak and live for Christ in our community and world. VISION: To be a worshipping community in which all people At First Christian Church… We believe God wants to transform our lives individually and collectively for His purpose. In everything we do, we speak and live for Christ. The way we do that is simply to take God’s love and our God given gifts and talents into the world to make a difference. We gather on Sundays to worship and refuel. FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH - Tyler, Texas www.fcctyler.org November 19, 2014 Vol. 57 No. 24 Night of Nativity All are invited to a “Night of Nativity” in the FCC sanctuary, Friday, December 5th, starting at 7 p.m. and lasting roughly an hour. This event will combine drama, dance and musi- cal performances from a group of FCC children, as well as performers from On Stage Dance Academy. (continued on page 3)
Transcript
From the Senior Minister...
Here are the numbers from my recent
trip to Africa:
Miles travelled - 20,000
Days - 14
Members from FCC Tyler - 2
Total team members - 29
Baptisms - 33
Global Leadership Summit venues - 5
Global Leadership Summit attendees - 1,524
Water wells drilled - 2
Pastor’s Institute Graduates - 34
Questionable meals consumed - 13
Pepto Bismol tablets taken - 26
(continued on page 2)
THANKSGIVING SUNDAY
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23RD
ONE SERVICE AT 11 A.M.
BANQUET AT NOON
Don’t miss our Thanksgiving Banquet this
Sunday, November 23rd, immediately following
worship. We will worship together at 11:00 a.m.
(Sunday School as usual at 10:00) and then gather
for lunch with our friends from University Christian
Church. The Outreach Ministry Team will provide
turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings. There is no
charge for the meal; however, a love offering will be
received to support the capital campaign to build a
new meeting place at Disciples Crossing in Athens.
Bring a friend and join us for a day of worship
and thanksgiving.
MISSION: To speak and live for Christ in our community and world. VISION: To be a worshipping community in which all people
At First Christian Church…
We believe God wants to transform our lives individually and collectively for His purpose. In everything we do, we speak and live for Christ. The way we do that is simply to take God’s love and our God given gifts and talents into the world to make a difference. We gather on Sundays to worship and refuel.
FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH - Tyler, Texas www.fcctyler.org November 19, 2014 Vol. 57 No. 24
Night of Nativity
All are invited to a “Night of Nativity” in the
FCC sanctuary, Friday, December 5th, starting at
7 p.m. and lasting roughly an hour.
This event will combine drama, dance and musi-
cal performances from a group of FCC children, as
well as performers from On Stage Dance Academy. (continued on page 3)
2
From the Senior Minister (continued from page 1)
Inoculations - 5
Cases of Ebola contracted - 0
Most consecutive days without a shower - 3
Goat slaughters - 1
Lions spotted - 20 (from a distance)
Beautiful smiles received - innumerable
God Moments - immeasurable
In worship Sunday, Jim Lowell and I told you some of our greatest
stories from Africa. I talked about my participation in baptizing 33 people
in the river. While that experience was clearly my mountaintop, I had many
other amazing moments as did Jim—greeting at the Global Leadership
Summit (GLS); washing the hands of the attendees before lunch (see photo);
the simple, beautiful smiles of the village children; speaking before the GLS
crowd ; praying with 3 others for an hour during Session #3; working with the
“Ombra Hughes” of our Ethiopian host church; sunset over Mt. Kilamanjaro
and the Serengeti; seeing Jim Lowell go deep in conversation with our
Ethiopian friends.
I loved being around an experienced missionary who laid out his overall
strategy for Ethiopia that includes water wells, health training and disease
prevention, pastors’
training, baptisms, new
churches, new church
construction, the Global
Leadership Summit, and
even a cinderblock making business.
As you can see, the GLS is just one part of a larger
ministry in Ethiopia. I don’t know all the goals for that
ministry, but I do know that we are working to grow the
Global Leadership Summit attendance in Ethiopia from
1,500 to 5,000 over the next 3 years. As Jim said
Sunday, leadership training (and not handouts) is
exactly what the Ethiopian people need, so they can
rise up to address their country’s many challenges.
Will FCC join this ministry movement in Ethiopia or will we work in other parts of our world? I don’t
know the answer to that. I will join the Outreach and Mission Teams in prayerfully considering our strategy
going forward. There is no shortage of “good” to be done. We press on to speak and live for Christ in our
community and world.
Your Friend and Pastor,
Chris
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23RD
After the Thanksgiving Banquet we will begin
decorating for Advent and will continue decorating
during Thanksgiving week. If you can help Sunday
afternoon or during the week, please call Joyce
Gibbs (903-561-2870).
Adult Sunday School
Believers Class
Rob Bradford
“Convictions”
by Marcus Borg
Disciples Class
Mary Waldrop
November 23rd
"Transformation Continued"
Ezekiel 47:13 - 23
November 30th
"Let Zion Rejoice"
Isaiah 52:1 - 2, 7 - 12
Cana
“The Life I Have
Always Wanted”
Seekers Class
Jackie Littleton
The Choir/Forum Class
Troy Smith
Genesis Class
“Current Issues”, using the
Rob Bell NOOMA Series.
Koinonia Class
Michael Lewis
Café Class Study in conjunction with
our Children’s Ministry
Coming Home
The Thanksgiving Offering we receive Sunday will
help underwrite the education of students attending
our fourteen member undergraduate institutions and
our seven seminaries or divinity houses. Coming
home to a Disciples College or Theological School is
possible through the scholarships and grants that are
made available by generous individuals, the Disciples
Mission Fund and your gifts to the Thanksgiving
Offering. Together we can make coming home to
Disciples educational institutions more affordable.
The Thanksgiving Offering benefits the Colleges,
Universities, Seminaries, and Divinity Houses affili-
ated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
These learning communities are an extension of the
church, challenging students to understand and
respond to God’s call to serve. Your support pro-
vides scholarships, church relations programs, and
chaplaincy offices. Most importantly, your support of
the 2014 Thanksgiving Offering helps Disciples raise
up servant leaders! Please mark your checks
“special offering”.
3
SERMON “SEASON”
In the first quarter in 2015, FCC will be following
Jesus’ footsteps throughout the Gospel of Mark.
Starting Sunday, January 4th, and continuing through
Easter Sunday, April 5th, Dr. Pulliam and Revs.
Goodrich and Brandt will be preaching through Mark
one chapter at a time. Once we are ready to kick off
our concurrent worship schedule (both Traditional and
Contemporary worship at 9:30 in separate venues)
during that season, our ministers will preach from the
same passage in different venues. We are excited to
add this unifying element to our separate worship
services. Please pray for FCC and our ministry as
we prepare to transition to our new facilities.
THE WELCOME TEAM NEEDS YOU!!
The Welcome Team is looking for members for
this valuable ministry team. The vision of our
Welcome Team is to be a loving and friendly group
of FCC members who will meet and greet visitors
on Sunday mornings, help them connect with other
people and ministries of FCC, and walk with
them as they discover their place in the FCC Church
family.
If you’re interested, please call Lisa Pulliam
(903-830-5303) to see how you can help FCC grow
as we open our new doors in 2015!
NIGHT OF NATIVITY (continued from page 1)
Our young actors are under the direction of Ann
Russell and the dancers are students of Patti Patter-
son. (Some of you may have attended this evening
in past years, when it was strictly a dance perform-
ance known as Nativity Ballet. This year, Ann
Russell and FCC’s Fine Arts Department have
incorporated a range of performances, including
soloist Grace Johnson, a doctoral student in music
performance.)
The First Christian children involved in the play,
“Sleepover at the Stable”, range in age from 7 to 14.
They are: Owen Brandt, Cody and Connor Burke,
Grace Cockrum, Kristen Hayes, Miriana Mason,
Carol Ann Pulliam, Taylor Rapp and Jules
Tinsley. The children have been meeting and
practicing since October and will be the first to
debut some new technology generously gifted
to FCC – personal mics so that every actor can be
heard.
The Fine Arts and Children’s Ministry Teams
encourage our whole church family to come out
and “kick off” the Christmas season with us on
December 5th. We will provide something in every
flavor of holiday cheer – from humorous moments
with the animals present for Jesus’ birth to classic
songs of the season like Ave Maria and Silent
Night.
NOVEMBER YOUTH REMINDERS:
November 23rd – Serve Thanksgiving Lunch @ church, decorate CLC for Christmas, then head off to
work on a member’s lawn (12 p.m.- 3 p.m. or so);
November 30th – Serve dinner at Salvation Army (depart FCC around 3:30 p.m.)
4
Children from Ebenezer Day Care
Center started the day’s entertainment.
Great gift ideas!!
Dave Maland & Buster Sartain perform.
Disciples Womens’ Ministry had lots of homemade goodies.
FUN AT THE HAPPY HOLIDAYS BAZAAR
5
DECEMBER
DEACONS
9:00 A.M.
Jan Copas, Larry Davis, Linda
Davis, Randy Perry, Vickie Perry,
Mike Sword, Debbie Sword*.
11:00 A.M.
Chris Burke, Holly Burke, Eddie
Francis, Nace Heard, Charles
Hesse, Nancy Lowell, Jim Lowell*
*Team Leaders
Happy Birthday!!
11/23 Tony Weskamp
Dorris Kidd
11/24 Terry Tosh
11/25 Jean Arnold
Josh Russell
11/26 Nina Sue Thorndike
11/27 Rosemary Power
David Randall
11/28 Samantha Roberts
11/30 Chance Tutt
Will Calhoun
12/2 Brenda Gilliam
Jim Swan
Robin Insalaco
Faye Crawford
12/3 Buster Sartain
John Smith
12/5 Jim Henderson
Tricia Anderson
12/6 Peggy Thompson
Happy Anniversary!!
11/23 Don & Lynda Gunter
11/25 Gene & Barbara
Diedrick
12/5 Tom & Kathy Wall
MANY THANKS…
PRAYER - HOW CAN ANYONE DENY ITS POWER
Dear First Christian Church Family,
Because of your prayers and God's mercy and love, I am able to express
my deepest and sincerest thanks to you for all the many ways you sustained
my family and me during my unexpected medical experience. In the
Hughes family's darkest moments, you were there to comfort them with
your presence, to sustain them with delicious meals and so much more
throughout the days that followed. In the hospital and at home, your lovely
cards, inquiries and beautiful flowers brightened my days. With God's
grace I am doing well, getting stronger and looking forward to seeing you
and worshiping with you soon.
Our lovely city is blessed with an outstanding medical community with
knowledgeable and caring people to minister to our citizens. I thank God
for all who cared for me. And it goes without saying that Tyler is blessed
even more with some of the most wonderful people who worship together
on the corner of Broadway and the Loop - First Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ). Please know how special it is for us to be members
of this terrific family.
God bless you all for your loving care and MOST POWERFUL
PRAYERS.
Bill and Ombra Hughes
P.A.T.H. (People Attempting
To Help) has regular weekly
needs in receptions, casework
and the food pantry. If you can
help, call Rodd Moffett, Volun-
teer Coordinator at 903-617-
2817.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY
Did you know FCC is now working together with Ramey Elementary
School in North Tyler? Monday we delivered goodies for a Teacher
Recognition – the response from you (food items) and from the teachers
(appreciation) was huge. As our groups (Sunday school classes, etc.) begin
to make plans to reach out into our community this Christmas, please
remember Ramey Elementary School. Contact Lisa Pulliam for more
