Weekly Newsletter - August 21, 2025

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News of the Church

September Worship & Prayer

Join us September 3 for Wednesday Night Worship & Prayer! Our monthly time of contemplative practices, prayer and worship is a great opportunity to deepen our faith together. Dinner begins in the Fellowship Hall at 5:30 pm, followed by the service at 6:15 pm. We'll see you there!

CCM Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser

The Children's Center at Mulberry will host a to-go Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser on Thursday, September 18. Tickets cost $10 per plate and can be purchased at the CCM office during the week or by calling the church office at 478-745-8601. Pickup will be available from 3–6 pm in the church Fellowship Hall. We hope you can take part in this fundraiser & show your support for the Children’s Center!

Message of Thanks from Anna Waters

I want to thank Mulberry Street Church for the recognition of both Bob’s and my service over the years. We have continued our connection to the church after moving out of state. I’m grateful for this and for the memorial and contributions made in honor of Bob. Your cards have been truly appreciated.

Yours in Christ,

Anna Waters

UWF Esther Grace Circle Starting Back Up

The new school year has begun and the Esther Grace Woman’s Circle has a meeting scheduled for Friday, September 12 at 1pm in our church conference room. All women all urged and invited to join us as we plan ways to serve God! We will also study An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor. If you are interested in ordering this $10. book, please let Elyene Thompson (elyenet@att.net) know. It’s going to be a great year!

Help Feed College Students at Wesley

Mulberry friends, we have a great opportunity to support the Wesley Foundation of Macon as their students kick off a new semester of worship and community! On Tuesday, September 2, we’re providing dinner for their weekly gathering. There are lots of ways to help:

Donate money to help cover the cost of food
Bake or cook something delicious
Join Payton and hang out with the Wesley students that evening

Payton will also be preaching that night, as incoming Wesley director Rev. Hannah Pye will be on maternity leave. If you’d like to contribute or come along, please contact the church office or reach out to Payton directly. Let’s show these students some Mulberry love!

A Bicentennial Moment

In anticipation of Mulberry’s upcoming Bicentennial Celebration in 2026, the Leonard Hill Cochran Historical Room presents a moment of Mulberry history.

The following are excerpts from various committees given at the Board of Stewards meeting, March 28 1963.

“There are 106 members of The Board of Stewards. The Commission of Finance and Treasurer’s Report noted that approximately one-third of the 1962-63 pledges had been collected to date with total pledges towards the 1962-63 budget were $108,261.21. Also reported was the fact that since the beginning of the new church year, there were 56 new members. The Board also discussed that for some time there has been, on the part of the membership, some lost motion in visiting new members to welcome them into the church and securing from these new members their pledge towards our operating budget. The Committee also felt that is both the visitation and the pledge solicitation of new members could be coordinated, they might meet with greater success. Approximately one week after a new member is received into the church they will receive 445 total words – Heading @ 15 – Body @ 420)from the church office information about Mulberry with a pledge card enclosed. The chairman will receive a list of all new members of the church. Also within 30 days a new member, select people from the committee, will call on new members for a social visit. No church pledge will be solicited at this time. If a pledge has not

been received in answer to the information sent out by mail after a normal waiting period, another committee member along with other committee members will again visit the new members in order to give them an opportunity to pledge to our church budget if they so desire.

The Music Department reported that eight singing groups plus a small group selected for special services furnish music regularly for worship service. Added to this is a male quartet and a girls’ trio. For the most part, our younger choirs meet for the purpose of learning the music of the church and fundamentals of singing. They appear in public only at Christmas and Easter. On Palm Sunday evening, combined youth choirs will sing Holy Week music assisted by students from Wesleyan College and the Male Quartet. On Maundy Thursday, the Ainsworth Choir will sing a group of anthems preceding Holy Communion. Then on Easter Sunday, special music, including a brass ensemble, will be heard at all three worship services. For May, several musical events are planned, including presentation of Gounod’s St. Cecilia Mass on the evening of the 26th by the 16-voice Motel Choir and a gala evening of music for entertainment on family night, May 29th.”

Sunday Worship

August 24, 2025

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

Rev. Jack Varnell, preaching

“Reverence & Rest”

Exodus 20:7-11

Assisting with Worship

Ushers

Gary Dunn, Vaughan Smith, Emory Dunn, Jim Manley, Stuart Walker,

Flowers

The flowers are given to the glory of God in memory of their parents, Harold and Madge Chapman and Albert and Alouise Wray by Harold and Freeda Chapman.

11 a.m. Worship Service will be Live-Streamed and available on Facebook and YouTube.

Prayer List

Scott and Wanda Fitzgerald

Nancy and Lowell Belk

Jarrod Heggins

Jimmy Roach

Freeda Chapman

Thomas Marlow

Linda Sankey

Yetta Price

Eddings Smith

Sharon and Tony Marks, sister and brother-in-law of Kathy Welch

Mable Mashburn, Kathy Welch’s mother

Ashley and Mary Hurt

Frances Inzer

Charlotte Barker

Michael Downs, grandson of Harold Downs

Susan McIntosh, Daniel’s mother

Brian and Sonnya Wilson

Edith Smith, mother of Hinda Ramsay

Ray McIntosh, Daniel’s sister

Martin Magda

Susan Middlebrooks

Jackie Holtzclaw, Katherine Holtzclaw’s mother.

Kay Harris

Elena Balkcom, Stephanie Henson’s daughter, and her grandson Reed

Kendra Triesenberg

Russell Sanderson, Wende Meyer von Bremen's brother,

Marguerite Pound

Jane Moore

Helen Stroud, Brian Wilson’s mom

Reed and Mary Lee Watts

Tommy Tucker

The United Methodist Church, Bishop Robin Dease

District Superintendent Jeff Cook

Our church, its clergy, and its members

Our community of Macon

Coming Up at Mulberry

September 1

Office Closed for Labor Day

September 3

Worship & Prayer

Full Calendar

On Call Line

478-219-9926

Check out what's going on in Realm!

Be sure to check out the News feature on Realm!

If you need help getting connected, contact the church office at

478-745-8601.

Ainsworth (Adult) Choir Rehearsal

Wednesdays at 7:15 pm in the Choir Room!

We welcome all who like to sing and want to be part of music ministry in worship. Come join us! Please contact Terre Johnson, Director of Music, for questions.

**Nursery is provided during Choir Rehearsal for any parents wanting to join!

Weekly Prayers & Scripture

Week 39: Trust

Day 1. Proverbs 3:5 (Morning); Psalm 9:10 (Evening)

Day 2. Mark 1:15 (Morning); Psalm 56:11 (Evening)

Day 3. 1 Peter 1:8 (Morning); Psalm 20:7 (Evening)

Day 4. Isaiah 26:4 (Morning); John 14:1 (Evening)

Day 5. Romans 10:10 (Morning); Psalm 37:5-6 (Evening)

Morning Prayer of Petition

Steadfast God, may your Spirit so fill me that every day I learn to trust you more. Call to mind today the assurance that you are worthy of my trust when:

I am scared or nervous about what the future holds
I am overwhelmed and uncertain about a way forward,
I am bored and life feels rote
my relationships feel strained or stuck,
I doubt your presence in my life or in the world.

Strengthen within me a reliance on your and a strong belief that you are active and at work in me. Amen.

Evening Prayer of Gratitude

Almighty God, you are once far above all creation and intimately close and present in my life. While I often neglect to pay attention to your work in my life, I know you are here. Let gratitude well up in me today as I name:

the moments that were life-giving today,
the interactions with others that reminded me I am not alone,
progress I made in the challenges I am facing,
signs of light and hope in my community, country, or world.

Thank you, God, for being ever present to me in Jesus and through the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Taken from The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer

Donation Needs

Macon Outreach Needs

**Plastic Bags**

Cereal

Pop tarts

Canned peas

Canned black eye peas

Canned collards

Jelly

Cases of bottled water

Financial Donations

Cereal

Hamburger helper

Cornbread mix

Condiments

Cake/cookie/muffin mix

Snack items

Daybreak Needs

Volunteers!!!

Canned Or Fresh Fruit,

Fruit Cups

Applesauce (Individual Containers)

Jelly

Vienna Sausages (4.6 Oz.)

1 Min. Instant Grits

1 Min Instant Oatmeal

Chips (Individual Bags)

Snack Items (Individually Wrapped)

Gatorade (Powder)

Water

Sugar

Cough & Flu Medicine (Non-Alcohol)

Biofreeze

Disinfectant Spray

Air Freshener

Benadryl

Triple Antibiotic

Ointment

Denture Paste

Cough Drops

Claritin

Dulcolax

Muscle Rub

Hemorrhoid Cream

Bug Spray

Resources & Links

South Georgia Advocate

The South Georgia Advocate, a twice monthly online news publication, is the official news source of the South Georgia Annual Conference and a ministry of the Office of Connectional Ministries.

Click here for the Georgia Advocate

One Matters Resource Toolkit

As part of this year's conference focus of "One Matters", the South Georgia Conference is providing monthly resources designed to empower each of us in our mission of making meaningful connections and living out transformative discipleship. Each toolkit presents a challenge questions & resources tailored to address that challenge.

Click here for the One Matters Toolkit

Have an addition to the newsletter?

Email Millie Thompson at mthompson@mulberrymethodist.org