In Person and Livestreamed

Worship Service

First United Methodist Church of Naples

Christ the King/Reign of Christ Sunday, United Methodist Student Day, Thanksgiving Sunday

10:15am

November 24, 2024



Welcome to our Newest Member

On November 10th, we joyfully welcomed Tom McGuire into our First Church family through a heartfelt reaffirmation of faith. Tom has exemplified the spirit of service, dedicating his time and energy to numerous projects that enhance our church grounds, from changing lightbulbs to pressure washing, ensuring our campus remains a welcoming and beautiful space for all. His unwavering commitment and contributions have not gone unnoticed, and we are profoundly grateful for his presence in our congregation. We look forward to witnessing the continued impact of his involvement as we grow together in faith and community.

From Pastor Sara

Fall Festival

What a fun time we had at our Fall Festival on Saturday November 16!!!

I am so grateful to Alicia Silvin, our Preschool Director and her staff (Evie, Margie, Cathy, Angela and Audrey), our new Preschool Board, so ably lead by Karen Bach, and some wonderful church volunteers who made this a very special day for our Preschool families and for our community!!  Collectively we consumed 168 hamburgers, cheeseburgers and hotdogs!!!! We had some terrific vendors and sponsors, fun games, Princess Margie as our Face Painter, a wonderful bounce house, ax throwing and amazing crafts. I am so appreciative of each person who contributed their time and their talents to make this such a great occasion. I know many of us were exhausted afterwards but it was good tired!!

A Financial Update from the Finance Chair

I want to give you an update on our financial situation through October 31, 2024.  At this point we have booked 10 months of the year and have a good view of the full year.  After the midsummer financial update I provided to you, we made a nice stride in improved financials in August/September and reduced our loss.  Unfortunately, October congregational giving was quite low and we took a step backwards. 

We are so grateful for your generous giving towards the ministries, missions and overall support of our church.  But unfortunately, despite good management of expenses which are slightly under budget, congregational giving toward the operating budget has dropped off and through the end of October we have a deficit (loss) of $30,000.  

We would really like to close out the year on a positive note, and contributions for the first half of November look quite good.  December is always our best month for congregational giving, and we hope with your generous support as we finish 2024 we can close out the year at breakeven or very close.   We will continue to manage expenses closely.  There is renewed excitement and vibrancy at First Church with the arrival of Pastor Sara who is working closely with Pastor Scott, the church staff and our leadership team.  I ask you to prayerfully and thoughtfully consider how you can help support the ministries and mission of our church of Loving People – Loving God during the remainder of 2024. We want to make this a successful launch year with our new leadership!

As you consider what you might give before the end of the year, please review the “Giving Goal” you may have made at the beginning of the year, or how you can make a statement about your support of what God is doing here at First Church.  

Thank you for your prayerful consideration.

Tom Bach, Finance Chair

Email:  Tom.J.Bach@gmail.com

Interested in joining our choir? Come join us and discover serving God and First Church through song! For more information contact our Director of Music, Dr. Karen Click.

Book Study

Join us for the first three Wednesdays in December (beginning December 4th) for a book study on Ruth L. Boling's Season's Greeting. Wednesdays at 10:30am. Book is available here.

Come Help Decorate the Church!

Advent is quickly approaching and we are going to decorate the church on Saturday, November 30th starting at 10:00 am. Please volunteer to help make our worship area and campus festive. Signup at the welcome center.

UPDATE ON CUBA

Our sister church in Biran, Cuba, celebrated and praised God this week for a great Sunday School class and enjoyed a hearty meal after worship. Also, the women’s group had a great meeting!

CUBA TRIP UPDATE

Cuba Trip dates are March 19-25. Pastor Scott is going with a couple other church members and hopes for more. The week we are going is designated for toiletries and feminine products, so watch for an update on donating these items for them to bring.

Come, be a part of this experience. 

Altar Flower Ministry

This week's altar flowers are dedicated by Jim Barker in memory of Joanne, a wife, mother, and sister in Christ to all.



Every week, you have the opportunity to donate altar flowers for our Sunday worship and dedicate them to the memory of someone who was special to you or to honor someone who presently needs to be recognized! The cost is $40. Purchase and dedication can be arranged by signing up in the church lobby or by sending an email to Jaimie Dandridge at admin@fumcnaples.org. Then you can either pick up your flowers after church or donate them for us to take to organizations in our community, bringing a ray of sunshine to workers and volunteers.

Learning is fun at Methodist Day School!

This week on Thursday, Pam McDonald brought her dog Coco in for the MDS children. The children got to pet the dog, brush the dog, and give Coco some treats. All the kids loved Coco!

On Friday we had a very special Thanksgiving chapel with Pastor Scott followed by a Thanksgiving lunch with all of our families.  MDS got some new playground equipment donated by the Malone family which all the children are loving. 

VPK Class: This week in Ms. Angela and Ms. Audrey's class they had their VPK Early Learning observation and it went great! The literacy letter for the week was letter H. The number of the week was number 11. The children did word family reviews this week as well as games to reinforce their sight words. Feed the Turkey letter recognition was a favorite game played this week by all the children. In library this week they read books about, Fall, Leaves, and Thanksgiving. For PE the parachute was enjoyed by all. For music this week everyone had fun singing songs about Fall and Thanksgiving. For art they did a cute turkey craft which was on display at the Thanksgiving lunch and loved by all the families!

Three Year Class: This week in Mrs. Ledbetter's class the letter of the week was letter J. They did a letter art activity making jellyfish with watercolors. They played a fun numerical order game where they had to find the missing letter. This challenging game was liked by all. Mrs. Ledbetter's class worked a lot this week on their fine motor and gross motor skills. The had fun going on a Shape Scavenger Hunt.  

Two Year Class: This week in Ms. Margie's class was all about Thanksgiving. They talked in circle time about all the special foods that they eat at Thanksgiving. Then, they did a Thanksgiving Dinner Matching Game that everyone loved. They worked on their fine motor skills and did fruit loop paper corn with googly eyes. Wednesday was Show and Tell and everyone brought something to talk about and share with their friends. A favorite activity this week was Pilgrim Magnets. For the Thanksgiving lunch all the children made special handprint turkey placemats.  

Toddler Class: This week Ms. Evie's class had fun making Thanksgiving Lunch Mats. For sensory this week they children loved playing in the sensory table with soapy water and playing a duck matching game. In circle time the children read storied about Thanksgiving, turkeys, and fall this week. Some favorite songs this week were, "If You're Thankful and You Know It," "Turkey Hokey Poky," and "The Turkey Hop."

Tell Your Friends and Neighbors

about our MDS Preschool!



The school year has just begun but we are still enrolling for the 2024/2025 school year for toddler, 2 year, 3 year, and VPK. We are the earliest established preschool in Naples and have some of the best teachers in Naples who nurture and care for these children. All our children tested above Kindergarten level when they graduated from VPK last year!

Contact Director Alicia Silvin 239-262-1152 mdsofnaples@gmail.com

Please be sure to let us know if you or a loved one are in the hospital so Pastors Sara or Scott can come visit and pray with you and your family.

We are alway in prayer for our church family, those around the world living in poverty, our leaders, and our country. Please join us in prayer.

Prayer Requests

From our FUMC Church Family



Intercessory prayer is a blessing that God has given us to pray on behalf of 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, just email us and we will pray for that person and that need privately: pastor@fumcnaples.org

• Jeff Currier (member)
• Ted and Ann Baker (attenders)
• Bruce & Pam McDonnell (members)
• Jean Humphries (member)
• John Schloendorn (Church electrician and friend)
• Michael DiGaetono (friend of John Riccio)
• Ina Gassett (friend of Norine Tempelman)
• Dick Evans (member)
• Joan & Dick White (friends of Judy Margrey)
• Jen Wolf
• Jill Loveday (family of Susanne Edson)
• Marcia Bowser (neighbor of the Parry's)
• Chris Grimshaw (member and husband of Christine Grimshaw)
• Evelyn Johnson (sister-in-law of Al Johnson)
• Rev. Flo Scott (attender)
• LeeAnne Merrifield (daughter of Jim Merrifield)
• Larry Croy (friend of Bill Parry)
• Baby Abby Joy and parents (family of Lisa Passeri)
• Family of Valya Staruchin, Januk, Orysia and family, Irina and family (three families of the Jaworsky's in Ukraine)
• Rosa Fogle (family of Thelma and Al Johnson)
• All the many unspoken requests and needs of our congregation and their loved ones.

Previous Worship Services



If you would like to watch any of our previous worship services click on the link below to access our YouTube channel.

Welcome back to our AA friends who will be meeting on our campus on Thursday evenings at 7pm in Barton Hall and Saturday evenings at 7pm in the Parlor. We are so glad to have our community sharing our facility! Welcome home, AA Friends!

We Packed 495,000 Meals!!

We’re Helping to Feed Hungry People

in our Community

Congratulations to everyone who has helped pack food in our meal-packing program! Thank you for helping to feed hungry families. Food insecurity has been a major challenge for families throughout the pandemic, and especially now with food prices soaring. Help us to be Jesus’ hands and feet in the world and show the love of Christ to others by participating:

1. Bring in non-perishable food or financial contributions earmarked for “Food Ministry” and we will deliver to either Grace Place or St. Matthew’s House for their food pantries. (Please be sure to check the expiration date before donating items.)
2. Volunteer to come help pack food for 1.5 hours on an upcoming packing day. To sign up, contact Wendy McKee, our food-packing coordinator, at WendyMckee3@gmail.com. She will schedule you. It’s lots of fun! 

Need to Reach Us? Here’s How!



We are available to you! Our church office is open Tuesday-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

Email us: admin@fumcnaples.org  or

Mail contributions to:

First United Methodist Church, 388 First Ave S, Naples FL 34102