The Spirit in the House
What Spirit do you bring to the House of Love?
|
|
Facebook Live
Rev. Bud Reeves
Revival
Holy Spirit
Healing Rain
Let it Rain
|
|
Facebook Live and FM 96.7
Rev. Bud Reeves
Anthem Solo:
"Holy Spirit, Flame and Fire"
Anthem Solo:
"Come Down, O Love Divine"
Gaye Mings, Breck Cogswell, Soloists
Nancy W. Vernon, Organist
|
|
TRANSITIONING BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS
|
|
I must confess, I haven’t been to the gym in almost two months. I used to really enjoy my workout three mornings a week. Of course, my lack of attendance is not because I have suddenly developed a lazy streak. The gym was closed for safety during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. And now that it is open again, I still have not ventured a visit; I want to wait a while and see how it goes. Abundance of caution, you know
Instead of gym workouts, I have started a discipline of walking a 2.5 mile route through my neighborhood 4 or 5 times a week. And golf season has returned. I’m sure my muscles are atrophying with less gym work, but at least my pants are still buttoning at the waist.
My exercise routine is just one of the many adaptations we have had to make in the last two months. We are “doing church” very differently now--worship, classes, and meetings online, and pastoral care without physical presence are the most obvious. In talking with a group of church leaders that I called together to discuss re-opening the church, I found that they were “ready but not ready.” We all miss one another terribly, and we long to be back together, but nobody wants to move too soon and endanger anyone’s health. And many of our most faithful people, who will show up the minute we allow it, are in vulnerable populations.
In the meantime, as we have said before, the church is not closed. Our ministry continues; the staff has been busy. (Everything is a little more complicated now.) Church members and friends have been very supportive with their prayers, presence, gifts, and service through this time. We are getting ready to make a transition back to in-person gatherings as soon as we feel it is safe. I have two groups--one mostly lay people, one mostly staff--working on plans. We will communicate these plans as soon as we know what they are!
If you want to help our church in this crazy time we are enduring right now, here are some things you can do:
1.
Pray for your church, staff, and members, and for all who are affected by this pandemic. Pray for our wisdom as we navigate the weeks ahead.
2.
Attend church online or on the radio. We have been learning how to do this as we have had to do it, but it’s coming along. We expect more improvements in the coming weeks. I don’t know how many have been staying through the whole service, but we are engaging 3-4 times the number of people each week that were attending worship in person.
3.
Plug in to a class. If your small group has not been meeting, maybe it’s time to start. We’ll be glad to show you how. I encourage everyone to take the Wesley Challenge. Make up your own small team. Elizabeth Thames dared me, and I told her if we get 25 teams participating in the Wesley Challenge, I will kiss her pet goat on video for the world to see!
4.
Keep your personal church connections. Call, email, or text your church friends just to stay in touch or maybe to offer help if they need it. I announced last Sunday our small group leaders, Congregational Care Ministers, and staff have made over 7,000 contacts with people since we stopped in-person worship. That’s amazing, and it doesn’t even count more casual connections. Keep it up.
5.
Keep supporting the church financially. We are doing OK so far, thanks to a government loan/grant that is helping us pay people. That runs out soon, and we won’t be passing the offering plate for some time. Mail a check; set up a recurring electronic gift; give online at our website. We appreciate it so much! (Soon we will have a text-to-give option that will be even more convenient.)
6.
Fill out the church survey. The link was published last week; it is also in this newsletter. Let us know how you’re doing and what you think. The opinion of every single member of our church family is important. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
These last two months have been both exhausting and exciting, frustrating and rewarding. We have learned so much, and so much has been accomplished. Yet nothing will do my heart as good as seeing your faces again--not on a computer screen! We will come into a “new normal” eventually, and there will be significant changes that will stay with us for a while. But I am convinced that God is leading us through this time to become a more vital and effective church. It’s an exciting time to be the Body of Christ, and I can’t wait to see what is going to happen!
Take our COVID-19 Church survey! You can find it by going to fsfumc.org.
|
|
|
|
Senior Pastor
breeves@fsfumc.org
|
|
|
|
ADVICE ABOUT COVID-19 FROM
THE HOMEBOUND OFFICES OF
REV. JANICE SUDBRINK AND DR. DAVID STAGGS
|
|
Because we work in a medical environment, our training has taught us to protect ourselves from COVID-19. Over the next few months, we will share with you ways to stay safe and prevent spread of the disease.
Every day, we read conflicting advice about how to stay safe in the Covid-19 pandemic. Here are some recommendations:
- Social distancing – avoid crowds and keep at least six feet away from others. Stay home whenever possible.
- Frequent hand washing for 20 seconds, using hand sanitizer if hand washing isn’t possible, and wiping down surfaces with a disinfectant.
- For those over 65 and anyone with a chronic illness, such as heart or lung disease, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease or obesity, and anyone of any age whose immune system is suppressed by chemotherapy or by taking other immunosuppressive medication may be at a higher risk for severe illness from Covid-19.
- When you must be out in public and social distancing is difficult, wearing a mask is recommended.
This month, we will focus on mask wearing. We know this disease is highly contagious and can cause death, especially in the vulnerable population. The virus can be spread through speaking, singing, coughing, or sneezing. Wearing of masks has become controversial and many have resisted. This past weekend, the store parking lots were full, with only about 1/8 of the consumers wearing masks.
Hospitals, doctor’s offices, some businesses and restaurants, barbershops and hair and nail salons are requiring people to wear masks. As churches open up, masks will probably be required to attend services. This reduces the likelihood of infecting someone else and may offer you protection as well. Many are rebelling against this, but as Christians we are commanded to love our neighbor, and wearing a mask is one way of showing that love.
Your church loves you and we want to show you that love by providing a mask for you if you don’t have one or if you are in need of a replacement. We have several ladies in the church who are sharing their talents by making masks. There are children and adult masks available. Call Elizabeth Thames at the church office at 782-5068 to request masks or email
janice.sudbrink@arumc.org
. We can deliver or mail the masks to you.
We are all in this together and until there is definitive treatment for this pandemic, we owe it to ourselves and to each other to do all we can to stay safe and protect our neighbors. Be patient. With God’s help, we will get past this.
|
|
|
|
Minister of Pastoral Care
jsudbrink@fsfumc.org
|
|
|
|
A strange thing happened a few weeks ago. My husband found a catfish in our front yard -- a whole fish! But, let me explain. As an itinerant pastor, I have a wonderful parsonage to live in in Fort Smith, and my husband and I own a home in Russellville, on Lake Dardanelle, where I hang out on my days off. This fish was in the Russellville yard. So we assumed the fish had come from the lake, but how did it get there? It was about that time that we began to see three bald eagles virtually every day. Over the last 9 weeks that we have been working a lot from home, we have watched them sail in the breeze high in the air. We have heard their loud, distinctive cries back and forth - communicating something important, I am sure! And, we have been fascinated to watch them perch in the tall pine trees behind our house and soar out across the lake to snag a fish before returning to their perch for a nice feast. Apparently, one of our eagle friends had been scared off his eating tree and lost his prize in the front yard.
Not only that, but the great blue herons have been extremely active; four or five will fly by going one direction and then 30 minutes later fly back in the other direction. At the Fort Smith house we have a pair of hard-working robins who are constantly searching the yard for worms, and a beautiful cardinal couple who visit regularly.
This week my daily devotional from Father Richard Rohr has been about St. Francis who experienced God in creation -- including in the birds of the air whom he called his sisters and brothers and apparently preached to. Francis’
Sermon to the Birds
begins like this:
“My little sisters, the birds, much bounden are ye unto God, your Creator, and always in every place ought ye to praise Him, for that He hath given you liberty to fly about everywhere, and hath also given you double and triple raiment.“
I think Francis preaches to us, too. I don’t know why I have been so taken by the birds, lately, but noticing God’s creation has caused me peace and joy and has brought me to praise and trust in God “always and in every place.” Anthony of Egypt wrote that: “My book is the nature of created things; any time I want to read the words of God, the book is before me.” (Thomas Merton,
The Wisdom of the Desert, 62.)
Today is a good day to read the words of God in a new way. The words of God are before us in the squawk of the heron, the soaring wings of the eagle, the brilliant crimson cardinal and even in the ordinary hungry robin.
Legend of St. Francis: 15. Sermon to the Birds (fresco detail Upper Basilica of San Francesco d’ Assisi, Assisi, Italy, artist unknown)
I would love to see your bird pictures and hear your bird stories--email me any time!
Happy bird watching,
|
|
|
|
Executive Associate Pastor
rbkelley@fsfumc.org
|
|
|
|
“The fruit of the Spirit is… goodness.” -- Galatians 5:22
If you’ve ever visited with me before, you’re fully aware that I have a bad habit of using entirely too many superlatives when I talk. I’m guilty of using words like “awesome”, “amazing”, and “incredible” to describe nearly everything. When saying “Taco Bell is awesome” or “it was awesome to get that gum off my shoe” it doesn’t take too long before the word “awesome” gets hollowed out.
To modern ears who have grown used to this way of speaking, when we say that God is good, it almost doesn’t seem good enough. We’d rather move from good to great. When we feel the need to use more intense words to describe God, we only find ourselves stuck in the superlative corner where God is awesome, and so is Taco Bell. We know that God is in a category of his own, but our words have lost the power to express this.
Can you see how this might cause some confusion about what it means for God, or anything, to be good? Sure, we might have an intuitive sense about what God’s goodness is, but we have wide and varying opinions about what is right and wrong or good and evil. Our culture’s vision for “the common good” is opaque. A biblical definition of goodness would give some much needed context.
A central idea of biblical goodness is whether or not something fulfills the purposes for which it was created or intended. For example, a boat is good if it floats. A toaster is good if it can make toast without burning anything. A recipe is good if it tells you how to make the yummy dish you’re after. Etc., etc. As people of faith, we can determine true goodness when we ask ourselves the question, “Is this what God created it to be?”
The first 2 and last 2 chapters of the Bible are the perfect picture of God’s goodness. It’s well worth your time to read about in Genesis and Revelation. In these passages we see God’s masterpiece of beauty, harmony, peace, joy, wholeness, justice, unity, and love. God embodies all of those things, and so God’s goodness is tangibly reflected in Eden and the New Creation.
My prayer for us in this time is that we will see the fruit of God’s goodness in our lives as we work alongside him in the restoration of all things to their good, God-given purposes. Amen.
Conceptual credit to the Bible Project, N.T. Wright, and Jon Tyson, Church of the City, New York:
|
|
|
|
Director of Youth Ministries
mmings@fsfumc.org
|
|
|
|
Loss of Loved Ones and Friends:
- Don Dickey—husband of Kathy, father of Paige (Jim) Ingram and Kiann Robinson and family
- Martin Soudbash—brother-in-law of Bob (Mary) Worley, Uncle of Debbie Collyge
|
|
Phone backgrounds!
Each week, go to our Facebook page or Instagram stories and save a Bible verse background for your phone! This is a perfect time to memorize scripture.
Screenshot the story or save the photo and set as your lock screen.
|
|
Sunday, May 31—Pentecost Sunday
8:30 am Cornerstone and Roundtable Class, Zoom
9:00 am Last Sunday Breakfast, outside of the Family Life Center
9:30 am Connexion Worship, Facebook Live
11:00 am Sanctuary Worship, Facebook Live and FM 96.7
5:00 pm First Youth, Zoom
Monday, June 1
2:00 pm Staff Meeting, Zoom
Wednesday, June 3
5:30 pm Evening Prayer, Facebook Live
6:00 pm Chapel Class, Zoom
7:00 pm The Enneagram Journey, Zoom
8:00 pm Youth Bible Study, Zoom
|
|
ARE YOU READY FOR THE CHALLENGE?
|
|
We hope that you are. Form your team and be a part of the 21 day journey focused on growing in our spiritual life. Each day during this journey we will focus on one of the 21 questions John Wesley developed for use with a small group of college students at Oxford University in 1729 to help them grow in their faith. Through weekly sermons, small groups, and daily reflection questions, we will explore how we can develop the spiritual habits, practices and actions that can lead to a thriving Christian life.
What I love about these questions is that they are still very applicable today just as they were almost 300 years ago. From “Do I go to bed on time?”, to “Is Jesus real to me?” the questions touch every aspect of life and faith. Our time revolving around questions and discussion will be one of faith building and growth. Each day we will contemplate a different question. You will also be given some reflection on one person’s interpretation of meanings behind the questions. Each day you will also receive a number of discussion questions and a few practical ideas that will help you develop a healthy rhythm of faithful Christian living. Research shows that it takes 21 days to develop a habit. I pray that we will be disciplined enough to stick to the reading and practices over the next 21 days, forming a deeper relationship with God, self and others.
So...to make this a fun challenge and encourage everyone to join we decided to have a little fun. We all know that second to Jesus Christ, John Wesley was the GOAT. For those of you that don’t know, G.O.A.T. is an acronym for Greatest Of All Time. Our very own Pastor Bud Reeves has agreed to KISS a goat if we get 25 teams to sign up. Who does not need a little laughter and fun during this crazy time? Please email me (ethames@fsfumc.org) with your team name and members so that we can see this happen. The first 20 people that sign up receive a free book. You don’t want to miss out on this study. I will be in touch with those that sign up soon with more instructions.
Miss seeing you all!
|
|
|
|
Director of Adult Discipleship
ethames@fsfumc.org
|
|
|
|
PASTOR ON CALL
M-F 8:30 AM-4:30 PM:
(479) 782-5068
Weekends and Evenings:
(479) 459-5060
When there is a hospitalization, a death in the family, or any other time you may need urgent pastoral care, we encourage you to use these numbers. The pastors rotate on-call responsibilities to assure that one of them is always accessible.
|
|
FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
200 N. 15th St. Fort Smith, AR 72901
(479) 782-5068 | fsfumc.org
Pastor on Call (479) 459-5060
Email: fsfumc@fsfumc.org
Office Hours: Monday-Friday
8:30AM-4:30PM
Closed for lunch 12:30PM-1:30PM
SUNDAY SERVICES
- 9:30AM Connexion, Facebook Live
- 11:00AM Sanctuary, Radio broadcast on 96.7 FM and Facebook Live
WEDNESDAY SERVICE
- 5:30 PM Evening Prayer, Facebook Live
|
|
In Memory of:
- Jane Williams by Mr. and Mrs. James Kell, Brandon & Patti Herrera, Dick and Ann Appleton, Dell and Carolyn Nelson, Patsy Janes, and Mary Margaret Gattis
- Karen Davis by Jack and Louanna Green, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Miller, Jim and Patricia Bolin, Larry and Sandra Clark, Chip and Elizabeth Paris
- Linda Bradley by Gordon and Penny Wilbourne, Doug and Jerre Moore, Dick and Ann Appleton, Sam, Neta and Sharon Bradley, Patty Howe Criner, James and Billie Rutherford, Mark and Jennifer McCarty, Albert and Sherry King, Carolyn Lindsey Polk, National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, Barbara & Stephen Bonds
- Warren Giss by Tony and Lynnell Leraris, Rex and Nancy Cochran, and Patsy Janes
- Agnes Davis by Donna Sue Phillips
- Don Hall by Deborah Hall
- Ron Powell by Joyce and Hunter Babin
- Randall Johnson by Dr. and Mrs. Ben Baker
- B.G. Hendrix by Rex and Nancy Cochran
- David Byars by Drucilla Hughart
|
|
FIRST UNITED METHODIST NEWS published weekly except the last week of the year by First United Methodist Church 200 North 15th Street, Fort Smith, Arkansas 72901.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
