INVITE Welcome to Week of November 22, 2015 Transformation in Christ | Changing lives inside and out United Methodist First Church NEW TO FIRST CHURCH? - Steps to find your way: Step 1) MEET FIRST CHURCH—December 6 th right aſter worship Join one of our pastors for a few minutes geng to know First Church and learn about the ministries most relevant for you. Bring the kids. Aſter 9:30 service; room 101 below the sanctuary Aſter 11:00 Life Center service; upstairs in the loſt Aſter 11:00 North Campus service; in the Fellowship room Step 2) A DISCIPLE’S PATH—6 week group This group will guide you onto a path of growing discipleship and connecon at First Church. It is also the membership group if you would like to join at any me. Led by Pastor Rick Waters, 6:00- 7:00p.m. Wednesdays beginning January 13 in the church office, 604 Market Street. Childcare provided. WELCOME MISSIONARIES We welcome missionaries Jordan and Kate Egli as they share in worship during all four Sunday morning services on November 22 nd of their work in Aix-les-Bains, France. Jordan and Kate are among the missionaries fi- nancially supported by First Church. They have been serving as missionar- ies in France, spreading the gospel in a highly secular area of the world for the last several years. Jordan and Kate have always felt a call into mis- sions, and spent years praying and asking God, “where should we go?” Taking the great commission seriously, they knew they were called to go and make disciples in a country in desperate need of Jesus Christ. Jordan and Kate are graduates of Penn State University (they met the first week- end of their freshman year). Kate is from Enon Valley, PA while Jordan is from Muncy, PA. SUNDAY WORSHIP 8:00am—Tradional 604 Market St. 9:30am—Blended 604 Market St. 11:00am—Contemporary 601 Market St. 11:00am—Contemporary 1157 Market St. (live streamed message) 5:00pm—Celebrate Recovery 604 Market St. WEDNESDAY WORSHIP 5:00pm—601 Market St. Night meal, fellowship, music, brief message, small groups (kids, youth & adults) FEC FLOWERS The altar display is presented to the glory of God and in memory of Michael G. Durrwachter by George, Shirley, Susan and Kae Durrwachter. CHARGE CONFERENCE Charge Conference will be held this year on Tuesday, November 24, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. at Faith UMC in Montoursville. This is the Church annual meeng including the elecon of officers. All full members are encouraged to aend and vote. FAMILY PROMISE Eat at Hoss’s on Sunday, Decem- ber 6, 2015 and help raise funds for Family Promise of Lycoming County. Pick up your card at the informaon center, 1 card per group is all that’s needed. WINTER JACKETS NEEDED Once again we are collecng gen- tly used, clean winter jackets and coats for some of our First Night friends. All sizes will be used but parcularly hooded jackets for boys would be useful. Please call Nancy Somers at 570-419-3039 and she will arrange to get the donated coats from you. First Church 604 Market St. Williamsport, PA 17701 570-322-3572 [email protected]Check us out at www.firstchurch.cc Donate
Transcript
INVITE
Welcome to
Week of November 22, 2015
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United Methodist
First Church
NEW TO FIRST CHURCH? - Steps to find your way: Step 1) MEET FIRST CHURCH—December 6th right after worship Join one of our pastors for a few minutes getting to know First
Church and learn about the ministries most relevant for you. Bring the kids.
After 9:30 service; room 101 below the sanctuary After 11:00 Life Center service; upstairs in the loft After 11:00 North Campus service; in the Fellowship room Step 2) A DISCIPLE’S PATH—6 week group This group will guide you onto a path of growing discipleship and
connection at First Church. It is also the membership group if you would like to join at any time. Led by Pastor Rick Waters, 6:00- 7:00p.m. Wednesdays beginning January 13 in the church office, 604 Market Street. Childcare provided.
WELCOME MISSIONARIES We welcome missionaries Jordan and Kate Egli as they share in worship during all four Sunday morning services on November 22nd of their work in Aix-les-Bains, France. Jordan and Kate are among the missionaries fi-nancially supported by First Church. They have been serving as missionar-ies in France, spreading the gospel in a highly secular area of the world for the last several years. Jordan and Kate have always felt a call into mis-sions, and spent years praying and asking God, “where should we go?” Taking the great commission seriously, they knew they were called to go and make disciples in a country in desperate need of Jesus Christ. Jordan and Kate are graduates of Penn State University (they met the first week-end of their freshman year). Kate is from Enon Valley, PA while Jordan is from Muncy, PA.
SUNDAY WORSHIP
8:00am—Traditional
604 Market St.
9:30am—Blended
604 Market St.
11:00am—Contemporary
601 Market St.
11:00am—Contemporary
1157 Market St.
(live streamed message)
5:00pm—Celebrate Recovery
604 Market St.
WEDNESDAY WORSHIP
5:00pm—601 Market St.
Night meal, fellowship,
music, brief message,
small groups (kids, youth & adults)
FEC FLOWERS The altar display is presented to the glory of God and in memory of Michael G. Durrwachter by George, Shirley, Susan and Katie Durrwachter.
CHARGE CONFERENCE Charge Conference will be held this year on Tuesday, November 24, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. at Faith UMC in Montoursville. This is the Church annual meeting including the election of officers. All full members are encouraged to attend and vote.
FAMILY PROMISE Eat at Hoss’s on Sunday, Decem-ber 6, 2015 and help raise funds for Family Promise of Lycoming County. Pick up your card at the information center, 1 card per group is all that’s needed.
WINTER JACKETS NEEDED Once again we are collecting gen-tly used, clean winter jackets and coats for some of our First Night friends. All sizes will be used but particularly hooded jackets for boys would be useful. Please call Nancy Somers at 570-419-3039 and she will arrange to get the donated coats from you.
SECOND MILE GIVING The Second Mile Giving for November and December is Missionary Support. First Church supports the following missionaries: Missionaries Phil (doctor) and Linda (nurse) Byler spent 20 years in Williamsport and are now working in northern Uganda under Africa Inland Mission in medical Hospi-tal work (Phil) and administration (Linda); Missionaries Jordan and Kate Egli are missionaries in Aix-les-Bains, France, one of the most secular coun-tries in the world. Less than 2% of the population has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. JordanandKateE-gli.blogspot.com Please make checks payable to “First Church” with “Missionary Support” in the memo line.
MISSION TRIP JOIN US in working with the poor! Second Annual First Church MISSION TRIP to NASSAU, BAHAMAS (cost is $750) Monday, January 25 -Tuesday, February 2, 2016 ($100 Deposit to commit). Volunteer opportunities include preschool to 12th grade, Sun-day School & Church, and Young Life ministry in this cross cultural rural community. TEAM LIMITED TO 16. For more information or an applica-tion contact John or Susan Best at 570-326-1943 or [email protected]. This is NOT a construction trip.
MISSION ITEMS NEEDED Local Food Pantry— fruit snacks, mac –n- cheese, chunky soup, tomato soup. Shepherd of the Streets— toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss. Donations for these missions may be left in the baskets at the following lo-cations: Christian Life Center - the Market Street entrance; Evangelical Center - the Ross Street entrance; North Campus - Lounge.
FRIDAY MORNING PRAYER
For anyone who wishes to come, we will be gathering at the North Campus sanctuary every Friday morning from 6AM-6:30AM. This prayer time will serve as a reminder, and a joy, that we come into the presence of the RISEN Savior! I hope you all will come as you are able!
GRAND FRIENDS Grand Friends will meet Tuesday, No-vember 24, 2015 at noon at Hoss’s restaurant. Yvonne Shenuski will be speaking about her mission trip to Africa. Lunch will be on your own. Please RSVP no later than November 22 to Carol Cassidy@ (570) 323-5596.
WOMEN’S GROUP – JOIN US
Starting December 2, Lorrie Netzley and Ruth Vierra are leading the study “The Christ-Centered Woman: Find-ing Balance in a World of Extremes”. In this six-week Bible study for wom-en, based on Ephesians 3, Kimberly Reisman provides a guide to finding balance at every age and stage of life. She leads us to the biblical answer to stress and imbalance: living a Spirit-filled and Christ-centered life. Using a wheel as a metaphor for the jour-ney, she identifies barriers to bal-anced living and explores what the Bible teaches about Christ-centered living. Meeting Dec 2, 9, 16, Jan 6, 13, and 20 in room. 216, NC. To reg-ister or for more information, contact the church office or sign up on the back of the communication card.
ADVENT AND CHILDREN’S MINISTRY Kids will be “kicking-off” Advent on Sunday November 29th. Elementary Sunday School at 9:30 (K-5th grade) will meet in CLC room 132/133 on Nov 29th. Preschool and Nursery will meet in their rooms as normal at 9:30. Kidzone (NC and CLC) will “Kick-Off” ad-vent as well at 11am!
FIRST NIGHT AND CHILDREN’S MINISTRY Children’s Ministry on Wed nights….There will be NO children’s ministry on Nov 25th due to Thanks-giving. Children’s Choir and Small groups will be focused on Christmas and will meet combined in room 132/133 for the month of Decem-ber. Choir and Small groups (5:45-7 pm) on Dec 2 & Dec 9. Choir ONLY Dec 16 (5:45-6:15).
CHILDREN’S CHOIR Sunday (Nov 22) the children’s choir will sing “Give Thanks” at the 9:30 service. ALL children over 3 yrs old will meet in the Sanctuary in the FEC at 9:30 with their families in wor-ship. Following the children’s an-them and a special message for the kids in the front of the Sanctuary, children will then be dismissed to Sunday school. Children will exit the Sanctuary in the back (toward Ross Street) and together, with the help of the Sunday School teachers, will care-fully walk the kids across the street to the CLC for Sunday School. Nursery for kids under 3 will meet as normal at 9:30 in the CLC.
ALL-CHURCH LEADERSHIP RETREAT Saturday February 6 from 8:30-1:30 Christian Life Center Continental breakfast and lunch will be served. All are welcome.
STAY CONNECTED AND GET INVOLVED! First Church is a busy place. We want to make sure you aren’t missing out on anything. Besides reading the Weekly Newsletter, you can go to www.firstchurch.cc to learn all about First Church. The First Glance email newsletter, sent every Saturday, briefly highlights some important up-coming events every week. You can also like the First Church Williamsport Facebook page. Stay connected and get involved!
WINDOWS FUND In memory of Pastor Janet’s father by George and Shirley Durrwachter
EXPECTATIONS DIRECTOR
Do you have a heart for God and a passion to be involved in a life-changing ministry? Expectations Women’s Center is seeking a full-time Center Director who will provide strong Christ-centered leadership in the Williamsport center. Key respon-sibilities of the Center Director posi-tion include implementation and man-agement of client programs; recruit-ment, training and supervision of vol-unteers for these client related pro-grams; and the opportunity to present our services to the community. Strong managerial and organizational skills are a must. If interested, please send a resume to [email protected] . We know God has already chosen the person to fill this role and we are look-ing forward to meeting you.
CHRISTMAS SOCK TIME
Once again it is time for our "Christmas Socks for Nursing Home Shut-Ins", a project of the Church Women United of Lycoming County. Our United Meth-odist Women are filling socks for the county nursing facilities. The cost to fill one sock is $3.00. If you would like to assist with this project, please give $3.00 or more to Barb Harbach by December 1st. Our goal is to fill at least 75 socks this year - won't you please help us achieve this goal?
TOYS FOR TOTS
Please consider supporting Toys for Tots Marine Corps Reserve Campaign. Make Christmas a bit brighter for many tots of families throughout Lycoming County. Toys collected locally stay locally. All toys donated should be new and unwrapped. Donations may be left in boxes at the following locations between Sunday, November 29th and Sunday, December 13th: Christian Life Center - the Market Street entrance; Evangelical Center - the Ross Street entrance; North Campus – by the Information Center.
ANGEL TREE CHRISTMAS PROJECT The Missions Committee has once again teamed up with the Salvation Army to provide gifts to needy children in our area. Each Angel Tree tag will list wheth-er it is a boy or girl, their age and the suggested items to buy. If you are inter-ested in participating in this event, please pick up your tag after each of the services at the Angel Tree Table (in the lounge of the FEC and NC, and in Stryker Hall of the CLC). Gifts need to be returned unwrapped in a box or gift bag to the church office or during Sunday worship no later than Sunday, De-cember 6th. Please help make someone’s Christmas a little brighter. For ques-tions, please contact Cheri Moyer at 570-323-3112 or 570-772-7800.
FIRST CHURCH CHRISTMAS SHUT-INS BAGS
We will be collecting snacks and candies again this year for our shut-ins. There is a poster in the lounge of the Evangelical Center today with items that are needed. Please choose an item from the poster and bake or buy it. Your do-nations can be left in the shut-in box at the Ross Street entrance on or before December 6th. We will be packing the bags on December 8th in the Evangelical Center, Fellowship Hall at 9:30 AM. Please come and help. Caregivers may pick up the Christmas bags from the church office for delivery from December 8th to the 13st.
PASTOR’S PAGE (Continued) **Highly relational **Focused on the words of Jesus to “GO and make disci-ples...” (Matthew 28:19). **The A.N. is not better or worse than our current worship experiences I would ask for your prayers as we seek to do all we can to share the love of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. If you have a heart for sharing in church in this way, please speak with Mitch Marcello. In Christ, Pastor Matt
Acts Network Nuts and Bolts First Church, From our recent sermon series “Waves, Anchors, and Movements” you have heard me refer to the many ways that God has done whatever it took to be in relationship with humanity. In recognizing this we have been ask-ing ourselves as a whole church how we can follow in God’s footstep’s to do whatever it takes to share the transforming love of Jesus with the world. One of the ways that we are doing this is through the Acts Network. I have heard many great questions about the Acts Network so I wanted to offer a few details--some nuts and bolts--about it. What is the Acts Network (A.N.)? The A.N. is an opportunity to share in fresh expressions of worship in places other than First Church, but still connected with First Church. What steps are we taking to develop the A.N.? Our director of the A.N., Mitch Marcello, is currently working hard to raise up leaders for the A.N. and also developing the full infrastructure for it. We are very grateful that our conference is lending support to this endeavor through financial resources as well as coaching and training. What is the focus of the A.N? To develop Jesus relationships with people on the fringes of faith and those currently not connected with the church/faith. How will the A.N. work? While we already have operating small groups, The A.N. will also focus upon two other groups beyond small groups: Community Groups and Worship Communities. Community groups are highly invitational in na-ture. These will be gatherings of people who seek to merge their faith with their lives in everyday environments (i.e. hiking, wood working, sharing in meals, playing music, etc.). Worshipping Communities will be communities of people who generally worship together at non-traditional times and places other than in church facilities (but again will still be part of First Church). What are some A.N. distinctives? **Multiplication **Worshipping in non-traditional ways/places **Offering freedom to the next generation of Christians to live out the faith Continued on the next page
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