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November 15, 2026
25th Sunday After Pentecost
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Ready, Faithful, and Preparing for Advent!
What a wonderful time of year to be part of the life of our church! As we move through November, I am reminded of just how much we have to be thankful for, and how quickly the seasons seem to change. Before we know it, Advent will be here!
Looking Back at Last Sunday
Last Sunday, we continued our Overflowing Gratitude series with Gratitude for Readiness in Hope. Through the parable of the ten bridesmaids, we explored what it means to be prepared for Christ's coming.
One of the things that struck me about this story is that all ten bridesmaids were invited, all ten had lamps, and all ten fell asleep. The difference was not in the invitation or even in their ability to stay awake. It was in how they had prepared for the waiting.
We talked about the oil in their lamps and how our relationship with God requires attention and care. Faith is not something we simply put on a shelf until we need it. It is something we nurture through prayer, worship, service, and the grace of God at work in our lives.
And perhaps the most important reminder was that we are not called to live in fear of what is coming, but to live faithfully in the present.
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Looking Ahead to This Sunday
This Sunday, we take that conversation one step further as we continue our series with Gratitude for Faithful Stewardship.
Last week, we asked whether we were prepared. This week, we ask another important question: What are we doing with what God has entrusted to us?
Our Scripture comes from Zephaniah 1:7, 12–18, where the prophet challenges people who had become so comfortable with their lives that they had grown complacent in their relationship with God.
When we hear the word stewardship, we often think immediately about money. But stewardship is about so much more. It is about how we use our time, our talents, our relationships, and the opportunities God places before us.
As Thanksgiving approaches, I hope we will consider not only what we are grateful for, but how we might use those blessings to make a difference in the lives of others.
Because gratitude isn't just about what we've been given. It's about what we do with it.
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Advent Is Coming!
Can you believe it? Advent is almost upon us!
This is one of my favorite seasons in the life of the church. There is something special about preparing our hearts and our sanctuary for the celebration of Christ's birth. The familiar hymns, the decorations, the candles, and the anticipation all remind us that God continues to enter our world in extraordinary ways.
On Sunday, November 22, immediately following worship, we will gather for our Hanging of the Greens. I hope you will stay and help us transform our sanctuary as we prepare for the Advent season. There is something wonderful about coming together to decorate the church, sharing a little laughter and fellowship along the way, and preparing a welcoming place for all who will worship with us during this special season.
| | And don't forget our Bake Sale on December 20! Another wonderful opportunity to enjoy fellowship and support the life of our church. | | |
Advent reminds us that waiting is not the same as doing nothing. We prepare, we anticipate, and we make room for Christ in our lives. In many ways, that brings us right back to what we have been exploring these past few Sundays.
As we move toward Thanksgiving and Advent, may our gratitude continue to overflow into faithful living, generous hearts, and a willingness to share God's love with those around us.
I look forward to seeing you Sunday!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Scott
| | As we look ahead, we have several exciting projects planned to strengthen and enhance the music program at FUMC. Our goals include refurbishing our largest and smallest handbells, purchasing a much-needed large bell to complete our collection, adding a new set of hand chimes, and purchasing new table covers for our handbell equipment. We are also hoping to upgrade our sanctuary piano so that it continues to serve our musicians and congregation for years to come. These improvements will help us expand our musical opportunities, care for our existing instruments, and continue offering meaningful and inspiring music in worship. We invite you to consider supporting these projects through a financial gift or donation. Every contribution, large or small, makes a difference and helps ensure that music remains a vibrant and important part of First Church. Thank you for being part of this growing and meaningful music ministry! | |
Advent Bible Study — The Redemption of Scrooge
Begins December 2 | 10:30 am
Can Ebenezer Scrooge find redemption? Join us for a four-week Advent Bible study based on Matt Rawle's The Redemption of Scrooge. Through Charles Dickens' beloved A Christmas Carol, we'll explore Jesus' teachings, the power of second chances, and what it means to live with love and generosity.
Sign up at the Welcome Center!
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Altar Flowers
This week's altar flowers are given by the Castrillo family in memory of Ed's mother Carmen Castrillo.
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Dedicate Sunday altar flowers to someone special! Sign up in the church lobby or email Karen in the church office. After worship, take your flowers home or donate them to a local organization to brighten someone's day. The cost is $40.
Last week, Ken delivered altar flowers to The Shelter for Abused Women and Children, an organization that leads and collaborates with the community to Prevent, Protect and Prevail over domestic violence and human trafficking.
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Volunteers!
Be Part of Our Worship Team!
Help make Sunday worship special by greeting, reading Scripture, lighting candles, collecting offerings, or assisting with Communion and anointing.
Interested? Contact Pastor Scott or Judy Margrey to get involved.
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Meal Packing at Meals of Hope
Help Pack Meals of Hope!
Join us Tuesday, November 17, at 10:30 AM to help pack meals and make a difference in our community!
📍 Meals of Hope
4176 Mercantile Ave, Naples, FL 34104
Contact Wendy McKee for more information or to volunteer!
| | Family Chapel with Pastor Scott – A Lesson in Thankfulness! | | |
| This week at Family Chapel with Pastor Scott, the children learned all about being thankful! The Bible story was Jesus Heals the Ten Lepers, teaching us an important lesson: always remember to say thank you! Everyone had a wonderful time learning about Jesus and the message, reminding our little ones to have grateful hearts and appreciate the blessings in our lives. What a beautiful lesson for us all! | | This Week in Ms. Angela & Ms. Audrey's VPK Class! | | The VPK students had a busy week filled with learning and discovery! The focus letter of the week was M, and their focus number number of the week was 10. The children practiced segmenting syllables in words, explored octagons, and reviewed numbers 1–20. In math, they worked on recognizing, extending, and creating AB and ABC patterns, including more complex patterns. In science, the children explored living and nonliving things and learned how living things grow, change, and go through life cycles. We are so proud of all their learning and progress! | |
| This Week in Mrs. Ledbetter’s 3 Year Old Class! | | |
| This week, the letter of the week was I, and our number of the week was 8! The children explored opposites, focusing on inside and outside, practiced letter strokes, and learned about rectangles. They also discovered how many legs a spider has and created their very own spider crafts featuring eight legs! It was a fun week filled with learning, creativity, and hands-on discoveries! | | This Week in Ms. Margie’s Class! | | This week was all about turkeys and fall fun! The children enjoyed making footprint turkeys, creating colorful fall coffee filter art, and watching the colors blend together during a fun science experiment. Paper plate turkeys and paper corn with googly eyes were also exciting activities. One of everyone’s favorites was corn cob painting using real corn! Some books the children enjoyed this week were: A Plump and Perkey Turkey, and Where is Babay Turkey? The class had a wonderful week filled with creativity, exploring, and lots of fun! | |
| This Week in Ms. Evie’s Toddler Class! | | |
| This week was all about turkeys! The children enjoyed creating adorable leaf turkeys and decorating their turkeys with leaves they collected on their nature walk. Through these hands-on activities, they explored fall textures, practiced fine motor skills, and used their creativity while learning about turkeys and their features. Turkey counting was a fun activity the children did at circle time. They even had a silly turkey song the children enjoyed singing. Five Little Turkeys, Turkey Trouble, and a The Very Stuffed Turkey were favorite books this week. It was a fun-filled week of sensory exploration, creativity, and Thanksgiving excitement! | | Thanksgiving Fun in Ms. Miha's Toddler Class! | | Ms. Miha’s little learners are getting into the Thanksgiving spirit! This week, they are exploring all things Thanksgiving through fun, hands-on activities designed especially for our toddlers. The children will enjoy sensory play with fall-colored rice, scooping and pouring activities, exploring pumpkins, and creating adorable turkey crafts using paint, feathers, and little hands. They practice fine motor skills with Thanksgiving-themed activities, explore fall colors, and talk about the things we are thankful for. The children enjoyed Thanksgiving stories, including Five Little Turkeys, 10 Fat Turkeys, and Turkey Trouble. They enjoyed singing turkey songs, dancing, and learning new words as we explore the season together. | | | Soccer with Coach Brandon! | | |
| This week, the children reviewed their soccer skills while practicing dribbling and ball control, changing speeds, step-overs, pullbacks, passing, trapping, shielding, scissors, and the outside chop. We love watching their confidence and soccer skills grow each week! | | Our First Library Field Trip Was a Success! | | What a wonderful time we had walking to the Central Library for our very first library field trip! The children had so much fun spending time with Ms. Jen, who shared some wonderful fall-themed stories, led fun songs and dancing, and even brought out the bubbles! The children also enjoyed participating in fun activities and exploring all the wonderful things the library has to offer. A big thank-you to Ms. Jen for making our visit so special and to all of our families who joined us for the walk! We had such a wonderful time and cannot wait for our next library adventure! | |
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Please continue to keep our brothers and sisters in Cuba in your prayers. The difficult situation in the country has forced us to pause our travel to Cuba for the time being, but our relationship and commitment to our ministry partners there remain strong.
These are incredibly challenging days for the people of Cuba, with shortages and hardships affecting everyday life. We currently have funds designated to support our ministry partners, and we are hopeful those funds will be safely delivered soon.
Even when we cannot be physically present, we can continue to stand alongside our Cuban brothers and sisters through prayer, encouragement, and faithful support. Please pray for strength, provision, and hope for the churches, pastors, families, and communities we have come to know and love.
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Please let us know if you or a loved one is in the hospital so Pastor Scott can visit and pray with you and your family.
We are always in prayer for our church family, those around the world living in poverty, our leaders, and our country. Please join us in prayer.
Intercessory prayer is a blessing God has given us to pray for others. If you have a prayer request for someone that we can pray for specifically, or even if you have a private prayer that you do not want published below, email us and we will pray for that person and that need privately: pastor@fumcnaples.org
- Mike Santalla (former member)
- Charlotte Schrand (MDS 2 year class member)
- Paul Breelke (brother of Lynda Hurd)
- Mark Humphries (son of Jean Humphries)
- Paul Peterson (friend of Tom Bach)
- Ingo Zacher (cousin of Wendy McKee)
- Mark A. Frederick (Barrie Conley's son)
- Devyn Morones (daughter of Amy and Pastor Scott)
- Sharon Caliguri (friend of Amy and Pastor Scott)
- Emma Wolf (friend of Amy and Pastor Scott)
- Mary Lou Riccio (member)
- Claire Mac Turk (daughter in law of John & Mary Lou Riccio)
- George Japak (Mark Japak's brother)
- Gene Eenigenburg (friend of Norine Tempelman)
- Jean Miller (daughter of David and Dottie Brennan)
- Joseph Courtez (father of Courtney Williams)
- Jill Stephen (mother of Brooke Stephen)
- Jean Smith (friend of Marie Evans)
- Ron ReBell (brother of Marie Evans)
- Maria Cedillo Toma
- Will Carpenter (brother-in-law of Al Johnson)
- Evelyn Johnson (sister-in-law of Al Johnson)
- Rosa Fogle (family of Thelma and Al Johnson)
- Cathy (friend of Gina Holsinger)
- Chiharu Grossman (daughter-in-law of Debbie Grossman)
- Peace in our country
- Jake Powell
- John and Nancy Mayeux (former members)
- Christy Gifford (niece of Judy Margrey)
- Marilyn Kaye
- Teresa Toma Manoquin
- Nicole McNamara
- Susan Tarantino (friend of Pam Kennedy)
- Slavka Pehar (friend of Pat Hamann)
- Jessica Rich (friend of Pat Hamann)
- Ross (cancer)
- Julia Barnard
- Paul Burfoot (son-in-law of Lee Kraus)
- Emily Cundra (granddaughter of Gail Jaworsky)
- Jane Briscoe (daughter of Betsy Ard)
- Chris and Christine Grimshaw (members)
- LeeAnne Merrifield (daughter of Jim Merrifield)
- Family of Valya Staruchin, Januk, Orysia, and family, Irina and family (three families of the Jaworsky's in Ukraine)
- All the many unspoken requests and needs of our congregation and their loved ones.
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| | Your Giving Is a Form of Worship | | | |
For your information:
If you are paying through your bank’s online bill pay, your bank writes the checks, which are then mailed to us. If you can make an online contribution directly from your checking or savings account through our website giving link, we can receive the money more quickly than the US mail can deliver it. Also, if you can pay directly from your checking or savings account rather than a credit card, it can help us avoid credit card fees. Between January and December of 2025, the church has had to pay close to $2000 in credit card fees ($1,998.73). We would far rather use this money for ministry than give it to Mastercard or Visa.
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Need to Reach Us? Here’s How!
We are available to you! Our church office is open Monday-Friday, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. After hours, for pastoral emergencies, call the office, and you will hear how to contact Pastor Scott, who will respond to all pastoral emergencies.
Call the church office: (239) 262-1033
Please email us: admin@fumcnaples.org or
Mail contributions to:
First United Methodist Church, 388 First Ave S, Naples, FL 34102
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First United Methodist Church of Naples
388 1st Ave S
Naples, FL 34102
(239) 262-1033
www.fumcnaples.org
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