In-Person and Livestreamed
Worship Service
First United Methodist Church of Naples
Sunday Service 10:15 am
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Anointing and Healing Sunday
Christ the King Sunday
November 22, 2020
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From the Pastor
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Thanks to all who have been serving God and our community through our church this past week. We are spreading the love of Christ into the world, and making a difference, through our food ministries, flower ministry, and card ministry. This week we helped fill the food banks at St. Matthew’s House and Grace Place and we provided Thanksgiving dinners for 25 needy Haitian families who are our brothers and sisters from La Piscine United Methodist Haitian Mission, here in Naples. We also made the volunteers and staff at Boys and Girls Clubs happy with beautiful flowers, and we cheered up and encouraged EMS workers as they each received personalized cards from us.
This is Thanksgiving Sunday for us, as the following Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. THANK YOU to Pam Kennedy for decorating our beautiful Thanksgiving/ Fall altar table, which she does every year! Right after Thanksgiving, on November 28th, we will need to take that down and decorate our sanctuary for Christmas. We really need a few more volunteers! Please see the note on that below. It will be fun!
I pray that some of you will jump fully into Advent by participating in one or both of the two Advent studies – one is online on Wednesday evenings and the other is in-person, Wednesday mornings, in Barton Hall. There are openings for both. Just scroll down for info.
Thanks to everyone who will be helping us to have a holy and joyful service on Sunday, both in-person and at home, online. Special thanks to Vanessa Fletcher who will be preaching for us! Thanks also to Jeff Currier and all our ushers and greeters, Jackson Parry who will be our Acolyte and Scripture reader, and John Mayeux and Bill Parry for their diligent work in the AV room. Ken and Carol Carper will be ushering us in with their beautiful hymns on horns, outside.
I have added NEW photos of the children in our wonderful MDS preschool as they learn and play. Just scroll down to the bottom of this Eblast to see!
With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, I pray that you will take the time to pray and especially to thank God for the many blessings that we DO have despite the challenges and change in circumstances for so many of us during this pandemic. Pray for all of those on the prayer list as you scroll down. I pray that you will make every effort to stay safe and to protect others, especially at gatherings with family and friends. Please continue to show your neighbors you love them by socially distancing and wearing a mask.
I love you and pray for all of you. See you Sunday!
Blessings,
Pastor Nancy
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Sunday's Online Worship Service
Every week you will receive a newsy Eblast on Saturdays. This is our electronic newsletter and you are reading it now! It will always contain a link for you to press that will cover you for both the “live” version and “recorded” version of our worship service on YouTube. You can also find our recorded service through our web page or Facebook. So, join us in-person Sunday mornings, online “live”, or at your convenience, through our recorded service. We start showing announcement slides at 10:05 (or earlier) as people are coming into the sanctuary and then the actual worship service starts at 10:15.
If all else fails, just go to www.youtube.com and in the Search box at the top of the page, type "First UMC Naples" and press enter. On the next screen go down about 4 or 5 topics and you will see "First UMC Naples - Full Sunday Service - 11 22 2020 - Rev Nancy Mayeux". Click on that title or the picture of our church to see the “live” broadcast.
Blessings as you watch and participate. Be sure to share the link for live or recorded versions of our service with your friends and family, so they can join you in worship.
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Life & Faith Lesson
Vanessa Fletcher
A Call of Gold
Vanessa Fletcher, our Director of Discipleship and Youth Ministries, is our second Lay Servant in the final stages of becoming certified. She has taken 4 full days of courses, including two on “preaching” in addition to a preaching course taken through her seminary education. You recommended her at our Charge Conference in October. After taking these courses, she is prepared and excited to share a message with us this Sunday!
Do you ever feel like you cannot help others or do certain things because of your age, resources or abilities? You’re not alone! Join us as we explore how God has called each of us to serve and share the love of Christ, even during a pandemic. Vanessa will be preaching from the Gospel of Matthew 9:35-38 which sheds light on the deep compassion Jesus Christ has for people and how he calls each of us to have this compassion. There is hope in God’s word of how He has used people for His glory despite their age, what they had, or what they could or could not do. We hope you will be encouraged and inspired through the life of Jesus, Vanessa’s personal call story and even the background of the man you may know from the popular Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket, Colonel Sanders. How do these stories join together? What do they mean for you and me? Join us this Sunday to find out and worship with us in-person or online!
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Anointing & Healing Service
This Sunday, our service includes a time of anointing and healing. Normally (pre-pandemic) everyone came forward to receive anointing with oil (sign of the cross on the forehead) and laying on of hands, along with a prayer and blessing. It is a special time for all of us to pray for each other, and loved ones who need healing from brokenness (spiritual, physical, emotional, economic, relationships, memory and grief). I can’t physically anoint your foreheads with oil, but we can still do a virtual anointing and God will find you where you are for that blessing and healing. If you are home, you can bring your own oil to wherever you are watching this service (olive oil, cooking oil, suntan oil or baby oil) and your spouse or family members can anoint each other or you can anoint yourself while I do the liturgy. To make your participation even more interactive, you may want to read from the liturgy from the United Methodist Book of Worship that we normally use by clicking on this link below, and printing it out to use on Sunday morning. If you don’t have a printer, you can still participate by listening.
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Treasurer's Corner
Next Thursday is Thanksgiving, and before we can catch our breath, it will be Christmas, and then 2021. What we will remember as time passes, is the pandemic which has brought hardship to so many families. It has also brought hardship to your church. This is a year that many of our winter residents have not come south. It is a year when your staff and volunteers have worked harder than ever to “keep the doors open”, either physically or digitally. I wish to thank all of you who, during these hard times, have continued to support your church financially. The good news is that our deficit is getting smaller. The bad news is that we are still short, and time is running out. Normally, the period from Thanksgiving through Christmas is when our collections are the largest. If needed, we do a “March to the Manger” to help us with year-end bills. This year, that will not be possible. Please help us through this difficult time, either by sending a check, or donating online. Your extraordinary generosity will be immensely helpful and deeply appreciated.
God Bless all of you. Stay healthy and stay safe.
Jeff Currier, Your Treasurer (203) 556-2919
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Last Sunday's Service
Did you miss worship last week? Click on the link below to view the video of last week's complete online service, with a sermon entitled "Faith" preached by Cecil Nance and based on Luke 7:1-10.
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TWO OPENINGS for New
In-Person Advent Bible Study
Starts November 25th
Because of Bethlehem,
Love is Born, Hope is Here
In-person Bible study in Barton Hall on Wednesday mornings, starting November 25. We are limited to ten people for gatherings at the church, other than worship, but we have TWO OPENINGS! This Bible study will be facilitated by Wendy McKee and is based on the Book and video by Max Lucado. How would you answer the questions: What’s the big deal about the baby in the manger? Who was he? What does his birth have to do with me? Max Lucado gives us answers to share: God knows what it’s like to be a human. When we talk to him about deadlines or long lines or tough times, he understands. He’s been there. He’s been here. Because of Bethlehem, we have a friend in heaven. And Christmas begins what Easter celebrates. The child in the cradle became the King on the cross. Because of Bethlehem, we have a Savior in heaven. These heart-shaping promises of Christmas give us hope. Long after the guests have left and the carolers have gone home and the lights have come down, these promises endure. Rekindle your joy for Christmas during this series, which will help you focus on the true meaning of Advent - preparation for the birth of Jesus! If you would like to join us, just call and leave a message at the church office (239-262-1033) or email Vanessa Fletcher at [email protected] . Please note that masks and social distancing are required for this class. You will sit at your own table apart from others. Members of the same household can sit together.
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New Online Advent Bible Study
Sign Up Now!
Incarnation: Rediscovering the Significance of Christmas
Online Study at 6:30pm on Wednesday evenings from December 2nd through December 23rd. This is the 4-week Advent series that will be preached on Sunday mornings during Advent, so having the book and participating in the class with the videos, will supplement what you learn on Sunday mornings! This study will take place by Zoom and will be facilitated by Pastor Nancy, Thelma Johnson and Vanessa Fletcher. Here, we will learn through Adam Hamilton’s book and Bible study, the historical and personal significance of the birth of Christ during four weeks together. This Advent season, more than ever, church families will come together to remember what’s important. In the face of uncertainty and conflict, Christians reclaim the Christ child who brings us together, heals our hearts, and calls us to bring light into the darkness. Let’s reflect on the significance of the Christ child for our lives and the world today! If you would like to join us, just call and leave a message at the church office or email Vanessa Fletcher at [email protected] . We’ll give you info on how to get the book and if you have never used Zoom before, we will help you to do that.
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Altar Flower Ministry
Every week, you have the opportunity to purchase Sunday worship altar flowers 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 $30 and can be arranged by writing the pastor at [email protected] . 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.
Flowers from last Sunday were delivered to the Boys & Girls Club of Collier County, to brighten the day for staff, volunteers and program participants. This wonderful organization offers a safe place for young people to learn, grow and develop ongoing relationships with caring, adult professionals who support the educational, emotional, physical and social development of youth and provide them with the resources needed to become successful adults. Community Engagement Manager, Madelyn Lopardo, accepted the flowers on behalf of the Boys and Girls Club (see photo) and said that they were a delight to everyone who walked past the front desk.
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Our Card Ministry Provided Encouragement
to Collier Emergency Medical Services
Thank you to those in our congregation who helped write cards of appreciation for our local paramedics and emergency medical technicians! Members of our congregation wrote cards for 16 Naples EMTS and Paramedics. Collier Emergency Medical Services brings compassionate and timely life-saving emergency medical care to the streets, homes and workplaces of Collier County. They respond to nearly 40,000 911 calls annually. They work to make our county a healthier and safer place to live and visit 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They run 24 stations with 25 full-time ground transport ambulances in addition to a Medflight helicopter
Chief Tony Camps received the basket of cards at Collier EMS Center. He expressed how much the paramedics and EMTs will appreciate these cards from our church. We will continue to be writing cards and showing appreciation for people and organizations in our community. If you are interested in being a part of the card ministry, whether at home or in-person, please email Vanessa Fletcher at [email protected].
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We Still Need Volunteers to Help us Decorate!
Volunteers are needed to help decorate our sanctuary for Christmas! Every year, a bunch of us put up the garland, the big wreaths, the Advent candles and decorate the altar. Please consider coming in to help get our sanctuary ready for Advent and Christmas. We are gathering at 10am, on Saturday, November 28th. The following day is the first Sunday of Advent! If you can come to help out, please call the church office and leave a message (239-262-1033) or send an email to Vanessa Fletcher at -[email protected]
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“Fill the Table” Food Ministry
Thanksgiving “Giving”
Thank you for “filling the table” to feed hungry families during this pandemic. In addition to the food and donations given by you to our “Fill the Table Fund” which went to St. Matthew’s House and Grace Place, we also used funding from our Good Samaritan Fund to provide Thanksgiving dinner for families in need from our sister Haitian United Methodist congregation here in Naples. Rev. David Noel accepted the Walmart gift cards for 25 families who might not have had a Thanksgiving meal, or perhaps any meal at all, were it not for our help. This is the 4th year we have partnered with La Piscine United Methodist Church Haitian Mission on Thanksgiving. This, of course, adds to our Fill the Table totals of meals provided to families in need by our church. Through the end of October, we created 2310 meals. These Thanksgiving meals will be on top of that.
Please continue to help feed the hungry. The needs continue and more and more people are finding themselves in new territory – no way to feed their families! Food can now be brought in on Sundays for those who are worshiping in-person. There will be collection boxes outside the sanctuary door as you arrive. Of course, you can continue to bring food on Tuesdays from 12-2 and Thursdays from 4-6. Monetary donations can be made any time online, or by mail.
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Need to Reach Us? Here’s How!
We are available to you! Our church office is open by appointment. Just call us and let us know you would like to meet with one of us and we will arrange it. Food can be dropped off on Sundays when you come to worship, Tuesdays from 12-2 and Thursdays from 4-6. Vanessa Fletcher is there on Tuesdays and Crystal Gibbs on Thursdays. Vanessa and your pastor are mostly working from home during the week and the church presently does not have an admin. When you call the church office, the call goes right to the pastor’s computer and will be checked and responded to regularly. Pastor’s personal cell number is listed on that message you hear, if you have a pastoral emergency.
Call the church office: (239) 262-1033
Mail contributions to: First United Methodist Church, 388 First Ave. South, Naples FL 34102
Make online donations at:
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PLEASE PRAY!
Taking time to pray is a good way to spend precious time with God! It surely makes God happy when you do. Pray for your own needs and the needs of others, but don’t forget to be THANKFUL for all that you have already received and for previous prayers answered!
Remember that prayer is powerful! Prayer not only changes circumstances, but also impacts how we look at and handle the difficult situations in our lives. There are many people in our congregation who are going through very tough times right now, and we can pray for them – for courage, strength and peace as they maneuver through these challenging times. Some are on the prayer list and some are not. Please also pray for everyone impacted in some way by COVID-19: sick, death, loss of jobs and business, and hungry families. Pray for those who have experienced fires or hurricanes, and those impacted daily by racism. Pray for the many people who are isolated in long-term living facilities, those who are risking their lives treating COVID-19 in medical facilities, as well as first responders. Please pray also for our sister church in Cuba. We pray for our veterans and their families who all make a great sacrifice for this nation. We pray for our divided nation and that people can learn to set aside their political differences, and love one another as people who are all made in the image of God and loved by God.
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Urgent Prayer Requests
From our FUMC Church Family
We want to remind you that this section is for “urgent” prayer concerns only: (in the hospital, on Hospice, recovering from COVID-19, recovering from a surgery, receiving radiation or chemotherapy, recent deaths, etc.) If you have a private prayer that you do not want published below, just email me and I will pray for that person and that need privately: [email protected].
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Jerry Skiba (Member)
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Jason Staley (Crystal Gibbs' son-in-law)
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Cecil and Keve Nance (members)
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Trenton Rocco (friend of several church members)
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Sharon Griffith (Jeff Currier's sister)
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Bob Willard (Brother of Betty Jaekle)
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Margaret Lofgren (Member)
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Sheila Strenkert (Karen Carr’s cousin)
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Jess Rynders (Ashley Garner’s friend)
- All the unspoken requests and needs of our congregation and their loved ones.
Also, Please Pray for…
Our pastor, our church, our bishop, our district superintendent, the community, our country and its leaders, healthcare workers, police, fire fighters and other first responders, the sick, our homebound, our MDS preschool children, teachers and parents, our children, youth and college students, and those in military service.
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Our MDS Preschool Photo Gallery
Our Methodist Day School (Preschool and VPK) had a great week continuing learning about dinosaurs. Lots to learn and lots of fun! Thanks to our great teachers, parents and children.
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OFFICE HOURS
Office open by appointment only. Please call to schedule an appointment or let us know if you need us. We will be checking messages regularly.
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First United Methodist Church of Naples
388 1st Ave S.
Naples, FL 34102
(239) 262-1033
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