Volume 5.04 | January 26, 2023

Your Weekly News and Updates

Welcome to your weekly newsletter from First Methodist Church of Livingston! We hope that you enjoy what we share and that this newsletter will connect you to more activities within the church and community! Keep reading to see what is happening around FMC Livingston this week and in the weeks to come!

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Dear First Church Family,   This next week is a momentous one for our church. The Convening Conference of the Eastern Texas Conference of the Global Methodist Church meets next Thursday through Saturday, February 2-4, at Christ Church in College Station. This is the next step in our new beginnings as a part of a new denomination. Of special note is Alain Leistikow’s ordination as an Eder in the GMC on Saturday morning! 90 other ordinands and limited seating prevents us from extending a blanket invitation to everyone, but we will be celebrating his ordination immediately after the 11:00AM service on Sunday, February 5, in the Fellowship Hall. Please come celebrate this special moment in his life with us!   A few other items to note:   1. WATCH ALAIN’S ORDINATION SERVICE @ 10:00AM ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4 Alain’s ordination service will be Livestreamed, and you are invited to be part of time of celebration. We will open the church and show the service in the sanctuary. The Livestream begins at 10:00AM, so be there early to get a seat! 2. CHURCH COUNCIL ACTIONS There are a few things to report from last Saturday’s officer orientation and Church Council meeting.   First, the Church Council approved our 2023 budget of $1,130,685. This along with a conservative estimated income should give us a surplus of $993 for 2023! This is great news for us as we continue forward in this new year. Since so much was going on last fall, Church Council voted to extend the current leadership of committees and teams in the church by one year. There are some changes, however, that required approval. The following are in new positions: SPRC Chair – Sally Frasier Kitchen Team Chair – Steven Fair Evangelism Chair – Kathy Moody Missions Chair – Jim McNinch 2. ISRAEL TRIP REGISTRATION LINK It looks like we have a fantastic group going to Israel this December, and there is still plenty of room! The trip will be December 5-14, and we will be flying out of Houston. Brochures available for you in the church office. Also, to make things easier for people to register, here is a special link for you: EO Holy Land Tour with Rev Joel McMahon - December 2023 3. PASTOR’S THURSDAY BIBLE STUDY WILL NOT MEET FEBRUARY 2 Because of the Convening Conference scheduled for next week, the Pastor’s Bible Study will not meet on February 2, but will meet again the following week at its regular times.   Hope to see you in church on Sunday! Joel

Sunday Service:

Marks of Discipleship: "Service" Ephesians 2: 8-10, 4: 11-16 This series focuses on the discipleship vows we make when we join the church. Pastor Joel will be preaching during the 9 am Contemporary Service and the 11 am Traditional Service or join us by watching our livestream services.

The Way: "Jesus the Servant" Mark 6: 30-44 No matter how busy or tired our Lord is he constantly sets aside himself to serve us. Being his disciples who yearn to be like him in all our ways we must learn how to set aside ourselves to serve others.  Pastor Alain will be preaching during our 9 am Gospel Service.

FELLOWSHIP DINNER MENU:

February 1, 2023 Fettucine Alfredo Green Beans Green Salad Roll Dessert  Dinner is served from 5 pm to 6pm in our Fellowship Hall Fees: Adult $7.50, Youth (11-17) $2.00, and children 10 and under are free.

Contact Suanne Wilson for more information

METHODIST WOMEN NEWS:      Our new Directories are ready for you to pick up in the Church office and at our next meeting. The next meeting is: Thursday, FEBRUARY 2 at 9:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Small. The Program is HUMAN KINDNESS and the Leaders are Suzanne Ganzer and Grace Baker. Giving the Devotional is Wilbur Lee Schubert. Hostesses are Martha Eeds and Suzanne Ganzer.

Gifts of Hope Report for 2022   Thank you to everyone who participated in our Gifts of Hope alternative giving this Christmas season. This year we had 30 orders and $9745 contributed which will be distributed to 11 organizations.    Here is a list of what the organizations will receive.   Empty Stocking (Christmas of Hope) $855 FAITH $700 Habitat for Humanity $625 Heifer Project $910 Helping Hands $950 LHS food backpack program $945 MannaFest $1210 Maua Methodist Hospital, Kenya $590 Noah’s Helpers $1000 Polk County Mission Center of Hope $1160 UMCOR $800   Your generosity will make a big difference in the lives of many. There are still forms in the mission box if you want to go by the office and contribute to any of the organizations.   Thank you! Mission committee

INVITATION FROM YOUNG ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS  The Young Adult Sunday School Class is embracing the new church adventure of becoming part of the Global Methodist Church by beginning a study of the Doctrinal Standards of the Global Methodist Church. These standards can be found on their website, globalmethodist.org. We hope this will interest and motivate people to explore joining our Sunday School class. The first question people may ask themself is, Am I a YOUNG ADULT? I believe the current members may ask that question on occasion. The best thing to do is say a prayer and visit the class. I believe the Holy Spirit will answer that question for you. We hope to see you this Sunday. We cam be found on the 2nd floor of the Discipleship Building in Mercy Room from 10 am to 11 am.

Mothers Together is for All Moms! Our prayer is you will find Mothers Together a haven from the daily demands of life, a place to connect with other women and grow in your faith as we navigate the journey of motherhood together. No mom will be left behind! We meet the 1st & 3rd Monday of each month in Fellowship Small from 9:00 – 11:30am. Our group is open to all moms looking for fellowship, sisterhood, and laughter.  Childcare is provided. Contact Suanne for details @ 281-682-3013.

Please, Don’t Forget Your Church!! Here are all the ways that you can give:  Web Giving: Logon to https://www.livingstonfmc.org/. At the top of the home page click on “Online giving”. Scroll down to “Choose a Fund”. You can link a credit/debit card or bank account or use your existing PayPal to give. PayPal: Use your existing account to donate to businessmanager@livingstonfmc.org. Auto Draft: Request a form from our financial manager, Cynthia Lane. The form can be emailed to you at your home. Fill the form out and return it to back to Cynthia. Be sure to choose which week of the month you want to draft to take place (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) and to which fund (General, building, etc.) Bank Bill Pay: Through your bank you can set up Livingston FMC as a vendor. Be sure to state in the memo which fund you want to give to (General, building, music, etc.)

CURRENT STUDIES

Tuesday Morning Seekers 9:00 – 11:00am Fellowship Small January 10 - February 14 Material Fee $13

Women of Grace Bible Study Jan. 11 – Feb 15 9:00-10:45am Fellowship Small Material Fee: $13

ONGOING STUDY

Refiner’s Fire Men’s Group Tuesday Evening Bible Study for Men  6 – 8 pm in the Strength Room  We Work Together to Refine Christian Men to Reflect God’s Purpose through Study, Prayer, and Fellowship. Come and grow your Faith with others who also struggle with finding the time, and opportunities to Study, Pray, Outreach, and Fellowship. Light snacks are provided.                                                                                                      “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD.”   Malachi 3:3

Please Keep These People in Your Prayers:

Leon Bailey Elliott Diggins Katherine Wade Susie Gearing ME & Mary Palmer Larry Reed Mason Harris Jerry Riley Jr Jeanette Stratmann Keith & Claudia Hollis Melba Day Lisa VanWagner Pat Grimsley Rosie Barnes Sandra Menefee Zachary Dickerson Ann & Bill Kingzett Angela Figgs Bonnie Barry Brown Debbie Wilson Wanda & Leonard Roberson Tara Stout Gloria Wicks

First Methodist Church of Livingston 936-327-7100 email - operationsmanager@livingstonfmc.org www.livingstonfmc.org