Worship Notes for September 13, 10 AM – RALLY SUNDAY
Worship Leader: Pastor Laura Ymker
Scripture: Romans 4:1-4, 16-21 NIV
Sermon: “What Will You Do?”
Lay Reader: John Baker; Ushers: Steve & Karen McElroy; Acolyte: Aalayah Dunn; Accompanist/Music Director: Melissa Gilbert; Nursery: May Harris; Sunday School: Janet Koostra; Fellowship: Doris Motley, Susan Thomas, Heather Weibel; Treats: Karen McElroy, Rosemary Neilsen; UCC Tellers: Paul Haffeman, Ed Venetz
Christ UMC Tellers: Rosemary Neilsen, Jeanne Nobbs
The service will be live-streamed on both church Facebook pages and a recording of the livestream will be available on YouTube later in the day and on the UCC website.
September 20 Music – click HERE to preview our music for Worship!
NOTE – Each week’s complete Worship Bulletin is also available on this web page – both on the front page and in the Posts.
Christian Education News
Children will begin in worship on Sunday, September 20. After the children’s message, Sunday School will have the first fall lesson from our curriculum, “Shine: Living in God’s Light”. Each week, students will review the Class Covenant outlining the class rules. Time will be spent with prayer, a story and an activity which might be a craft, a game or puzzle, a video or a song. Extra emphasis will be placed on music this year, with children learning the same new song each month that the congregation will be learning. The classroom will have more access to technology with a TV monitor, wi-fi, and a tablet or laptop. These changes will make all resources in the curriculum accessible for teachers and students. Families, please be sure to return your registration paperwork. See you on Sunday!
Nursery Hits a Bump in the Road – We need adult volunteers to help in the nursery. Currently, we have one nursery attendant; our second staff person has quit. Our Safe Conduct policy mandates that two attendants must be present in the nursery at all times. The Personnel Committee recommends helpers be at least 18 years old. The process has begun to hire two new staffers for the nursery. Three staff persons will provide better coverage and more flexibility for our nursery care givers. This process will take a little time. Until we can fill at least one staff position, nursery care will depend on church volunteers to help fill the gap. Nursery is a critical ministry for a thriving church. Please prayerfully consider lending a hand. The paid nursery care provider will handle messy chores like diaper changes. Church volunteers may engage with kids at their own level of ability and comfort. Without help from the congregation, we will have to cancel nursery care. Please contact Janet at (406) 727-8443 or janetkoostra@gmail.com or the church office, 406-453-4316, if you can volunteer.
“Gracious Space” begins this week! When: 6:30 P.M. on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month, beginning September 17. Where: the Fellowship Hall. CLICK HERE for more information about this engaging opportunity!
Read With the Pastor – Pastor Laura is still reading A Hidden Wholeness by Parker Palmer. Palmer is a popular Quaker writer, and there is much to learn from his thinking. You’ll still get together this fall, perhaps sometime in early October to discuss the author’s vision for a journey toward wholeness and how we can incorporate what we learned into our own faith. In the meantime, keep reading and feel free to begin mini-discussions about this topic (or anything else) when you see me around.
Christian Service
The greatest gift you can give someone is your TIME. Because when you give your time, you are giving a portion of your life that you will never get back.
West Elementary support – click HERE to learn how you can help!
Slides and Soundboard – Operation of the slides and soundboard during our Sunday morning worship service falls under the duties of the Worship Board, who are currently looking for volunteers to learn this process. If you would like to learn to help with this important aspect of our ministry, please contact Dale Dallmann, chair of the Worship Board, at (406) 253-4640 or dogger.drd@gmail.com.
Town Pump has selected FISH to be part of the 25th Anniversary of “HELP THOSE IN NEED” Challenge. Town Pump will match all donations to reach $30,000.00 that FISH receives September 1-November 30. What a great way to double your gift & help FISH. Donations can be made through the church with “FISH” in the memo or sent to P.O. Box 662, Great Falls MT 59403.
Quilt Raffle – United Women in Faith is sponsoring a quilt raffle. The quilt is on display in Fellowship Hall and will be raffled during coffee fellowship on December 6. Tickets are 1/$1.00 or 6/$5.00. All proceeds will benefit local charities. Please see Jeanne Nobbs or Carolyn Dowdy for tickets. Need not be present to win.
Volunteer Drivers, Please – The church has had several requests from folks who are no longer driving but would like to come to church. Are you a person who would be willing to take a few extra minutes on Sunday morning to provide a ride for another member of our church family? Maybe you will make a new friend. Maybe a current friendship could be strengthened. Maybe you will make someone’s day better. And it wouldn’t even have to be every week! If the Spirit moves you to lend a hand, please call the church office at (406) 453-4316.
Calling All Vendors! First United Methodist Church is hosting a parking lot craft fair and market on September 19 from 9:00 A.M.-2:00 P.M. (610 2nd Ave. N). Booth fees are $50.00 for a 10×10 space. No electricity available. Applications will be accepted until all spaces are filled. For an application or if you have any questions, call Hollie King at (406) 453-3114 or email churchoffice@umcgreatfalls.org.
Shoe Box Time – A friendly reminder to folks buying new shoes for the school year: if you don’t need your shoeboxes, please bring them to the church for our Christmas Shoebox Ministry. You can leave them in the office or hand them off to Janet Koostra. In December, Sunday School children and other volunteers will fill the boxes with gifts and wrap them for transport to Browning United Methodist Parish for distribution to kids of all ages!
Worship
Pray with the Pastor -Pray with the Pastor will continue indefinitely, meeting Monday from 5:30-6:00 PM; Wednesday, 12:30-1:00 PM; Thursday from 8:00-8:30 AM.
Fellowship
The “Great Outdoors” was a Great Time! Rally Sunday, the first Sunday of our program year, was so much fun! Snow cones, bingo, rock painting, flower bomb planting, popcorn, cookies, gummy bears were just a few of the many activities and treats that 60+ folks joined in last Sunday. Tables were creatively and beautifully decorated. Some of the guessing game winners included Lily Borland, Steve Gettel, Jeanne Nobbs, Dennis Dell and Heather Weibel. The Bingo Game winners were Allie Storle, Nancy Dallmann and Angel Cortez (new foster son in the Dunn Family). Folks strolled through the fellowship hall, enjoyed hot and cold beverages, snacked on a wide variety of treats, visited, and shared all around the room. Many thanks to all the boards for their wonderful displays and to Eric Dunn and Janet Koostra for setting up. And of course, a big round of applause for the Church Growth and Vitality Board which sponsors this annual activity.
United Women in Faith – All women are invited to join us this Thursday, September 17, at 1:00 P.M. in the Fellowship Hall. Allie Storle will be our guest speaker to talk about foster kids, adoption, and the Hot Mess Homestead.
Growth and Vitality
Raise our Rank – Click HERE to learn how you can help us promote and grow our church!
Stewardship
A Reflection from your Stewardship Board
“Whoever sows generously will also reap generously” 2 Corinthians 9:6
We are United Spirit Community Church – Reminder that our bank account for the new church name is in place! Folks should be writing checks to United Spirit Community Church. If you have automatic payments sent from a financial institution, be sure to give the new name. This needs to be done any time before December 31st.
Announcements and Upcoming Meetings
Reminder – Newsletter items should be received by 12:00 P.M. on Tuesdays of the week you wish to have your information printed.
Open Minds Discussion Groups
The definition of us: We are those who at one time were trained to believe that members of the LGBTQIA+ community are in one way or another unacceptable to God. We seek to understand God’s love in new ways that are true to the nature of God, faithful to Scripture, and inclusive of all people as God’s beloved children created in the Divine image.
About our destination: We are people who are on a journey of faith. Perhaps we’ve left where we came from permanently, perhaps someday we will return to it, but today we journey together into the unknown, hoping God is more gracious than we ever imagined “he” could be, hoping God is not male as we once may have thought “he” was, hoping God accepts all people including those we once were certain were rejected by the Holy One.
This group is a place where we can:
- Be honest about where we came from, where we are, and where we want to go
- Be sad about the ways where we came from may have hurt us
- Grieve the things we once loved about our pasts or perhaps still love about our pasts
- Acknowledge in the midst of our grief that we may also feel relief that we’ve moved on
- Talk about new ways that we are discovering God’s goodness and the words of Scripture
Here we are honest in hope that our honesty will lead to a greater knowledge of God, ourselves, and each other. Interested in joining? In order to keep the groups emotionally safe, times and dates will not be advertised and, if Pastor Laura doesn’t know you, she will meet with you prior to your decision to join. This is to prevent anyone from showing up to taunt or argue rather than engage in honest reflection. Anyone and everyone is welcome to join as long as they are interested in honest reflection. Please call or email Pastor Laura with questions or your desire to join.
New Website, New Emails – Click HERE to gain more information and to help promote our church and help us grow!
“Justice Isn’t Blind: Race and Inequality in the Federal Criminal Justice System”
Click HERE for information about an upcoming October 1 presentation by our own Hank Branom, Criminal Defense Attorney
A Sure Foundation – A reflection on A Sure Foundation, (the UCC’s handbook for relationships between pastors and congregations and A reflection on A Sure Foundation, the UCC’s handbook for relationships between pastors and congregations).
- Covenant is central to the UCC’s organizational structure. Its Manual on Ministry describes covenant as “the commitment of God to God’s people, of the people to God, of the people to one another as the Body of Christ.” In the UCC ministerial code, I covenant with God, myself and family, the UCC, my ministry setting, and all ministers. Relying on God’s grace, I make seven promises to each of these parties. You should know that in her relationship with her ministry setting, your pastor has agreed to:
- Preach and teach the gospel without fear or favor, regarding all persons with equal respect and concern, and undertaking to minister impartially.
- Honor all confidences shared with me; telling only those who need to know, what they need to know, when they need to know it.
- Steward church funds and property faithfully, while overseeing the administrative tasks of ministry with integrity.
- Speak the truth in love, not using my position, power, or authority to exploit any person nor using my position for unwarranted personal gain, including financial gain.
- Assess with care the implications of accepting gifts from congregation members.
- Not perform pastoral services within a congregation or for a member of a congregation, without the invitation of the current pastor of that congregation.
Neither interfere with nor intrude upon the ministry of my successor upon my departure from a ministry setting; and to deal honorably with the record of my predecessor and successor.
Coming Up
Thursday, September 17
8:00 A.M. Pray with the Pastor, Sanct.
9-10 A.M. Pastor Laura Office Hours
1:00 P.M. United Women in Faith, FH
6:30 P.M. Gracious Space, FH
Saturday, September 19
9:00 A.M. Craft Fair at First UMC (9:00A.M.-2:00 P.M., 610 2nd Ave. N)
Sunday, September 20
9:15 A.M. Choir Rehearsal
10:00 A.M. Worship Service
11:00 A.M. Coffee Fellowship
2:00 P.M. United Methodist Circuit Gathering at Big Sandy UMC
Monday, September 21
5:30 P.M. Pray with the Pastor, Sanct.
6:30 P.M. Church Council, Zoom
Wednesday, September 23
10:00 A.M. Bible Study, Parlor
12:30 P.M. Pray with the Pastor, Sanct.
1-2 P.M. Pastor Laura Office Hours
1:30 P.M. Pinochle, Fellowship Hall
6:00 P.M. Youth Group
6:00 P.M. Handbells
7:15 P.M. Choir Rehearsal
