A monthly publication of the First United Methodist Church

The Voice Rev. Dr. Brian Bosworth, Pastor

Rev. Ricky Harrison, Associate Pastor

(940) 627-3362; info@decaturmethodist.org

Issue 1 of 12

January 1, 2018

Children: Ashley Craven Youth: Patrick Steil

Secretary: Rebecca Broker Administrator: Bonnie Wohlleben

I have chuckled a few times in the days following Christmas Day. Of course in the hearts and minds of

Christians who embrace the traditional faith teachings on things Christmas-related, the Christmas Season

actually does not begin until Christmas Day (or Eve) and then lasts through the Day of Epiphany (usually we

get 2 Sundays in Christmas). I have heard and seen comments about getting ready for Christmas 2018

(explaining why people still have their trees and decorations up) and even a meme from the Episcopalians

(using Downton Abbey of course) reminding us that what “is proper” is to leave the tree up through

Epiphany. These have been funny moments observing people both share and ask others about the various

traditions and understandings of the Season’s decorations and trappings.

Unfortunately, there has been a noticeably lesser amount of comment on the real reason for our Christmas celebration

– the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ, and how we ought to continue to give God praise and thanksgiving for this incredible

gift of love. It feels like so many have gone back to the way things were before Christmas Day. Selfishness, rudeness, self-

centeredness, greed, to name a few, are prominent, it seems again, and gone (or at least less evident) are warm wishes and

greetings, acts of kindness or helpfulness, and compassion.

Maybe we can be challenged by this to be a better presence in the world. Just as God came into the world as a gift of

love for the world, we can come into other’s presence and continue to be messengers or at least a sign of God’s love. We are

not the Christ, but we can be Christ for someone who is struggling, or hopeless, or even confused if we are willing to share

ourselves with others. This is what we Christians can and should do, not just at Christmas, but every moment of our lives.

As we gather regularly throughout the year and celebrate the seasons of the Christian year, we have heightened

awareness about particular things, usually related to the life and experiences of Jesus or the early Church, so that we don’t

remain complacent or focused on any one thing in our individual and/or communal journeys of discipleship. These things are

important, and can even cause some chuckling along the way, as people embrace them for their lives or simply observe customs

and traditions of others who find our practices, routines, and rituals meaningful for the Christian experience.

My prayer for us during 2018 is that not only will we meet regularly (to worship and also in our small groups), but that

we will continue to be people who are Christ’s presence and messengers of grace and hope to our community and the world.

We are in a unique time and even place to make a difference. God is blessing us and we are called to bless others so that God is

praised and glorified. People are watching…what will our response be today, tomorrow, and next month?

See You in Worship!

Brian

Reconnect Begins January 24

Our mid-week fellowship meal and study, which we call Reconnect, begins Wednesday, January 24th. We come together at the

Methodist Activity Center (the MAC) in Asbury Hall for a community meal at 5:45 pm and then adjourn at 6:30 for various

smaller group activities such as faith studies, Youth, Children’s activities, and Chancel Choir.

For adults, we are offering only 1 study for the first 6 weeks of Reconnect – Adam Hamilton’s Moses: In the Footsteps of the

Reluctant Prophet. If you would like a copy of the book, the cost is $13 and a sign-up sheet will be in the Narthex.

Decatur Cares Mobile Food Pantry

Saturday, January 6 8:00 a.m., DISD Admin Building

United Methodist Men (Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday)

Tuesday, January 9 6:30 p.m., Alvord UMC

Church Office Closed Monday, January 15

Trustees Meeting Tuesday, January 16 6:30 p.m., Room 209

Staff Meeting Thursday, January 18 12:00 p.m., Room 209

Family Ministries Team Meeting Monday, January 22 5:00 p.m., Room 209

Reconnect Resumes Wednesday, January 24 5:45 p.m., Asbury Hall

Methodist Men’s Breakfast Saturday, January 27

7:00 a.m., Room 100 (Fellowship Hall)

District Leadership Training Sunday, January 28

3:00 p.m., Whaley UMC (Gainesville)

CHURCH FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Family of An Ell Crudup, Family of Mildred Joe Tredenick, Madolyn Congdon, Jack Tucker, Annette Stephens, Donna Peet,

Family of Johnny Hanes, Londyn Hubert, Denny Deady, Hadley Edwards, Dena Silvers, Noah Smith, Vivian Cain, Cathy Sides, The Moss Family,

Family of Jacinda King, Cunnius Family, Kristen and children, sister of Beto O’Rourke, father of Seth Ashley, Brent Kelton and family, Cliff Vick,

Family of Brian DeLeon

In the Military: Charlie Fortenberry, Michael Jordan, Jake Logue, Josh Murphy, Chris Hammond,

Matthew Roberson, Kolin Rottner, Joshua VanNoy, Keygun Beaver and Bryce Dudley

1 - Garry Johnson, Derrick Minor, Kurrie Murphree

2 - Richard Bastian, Tristian Gillespie, Jimmy Kirk

3 - Becky Galindo

4 - Clark Allen, Tanaya Lunday, Mark Null, Dena Silvers

6 - Becky Lyles

7 - Irene Griffith, Amber Ramsey, Shelby Sewell

9 - Morgan Payne

10 - Valleri Sewell, Don Stephens, Clarence Winn

11 - Lily Rosenbaum

12 - Jason Johnson, Cassidy McQuiston,

Jennifer Smurthwaite, Cathy Tally

14 - Kelsey Males

15 - Kaitlynn Koger, Sharon Meyer

16 - Langley Smurthwaite, Loretta Vick

17 - Judy Hill

18 - Joe Miller, David Murphree, Clark Waggoner

19 - David Rosenbaum, Adelynn Summers

20 - Bert Little, Patrick Steil

21 - Bonnie Cocanougher, Linda Cowell,

Sharon Montgomery

22 - Blanca Galindo, Roy Wilkinson

23 - Shannon Johnson

24 - Paula Null

25 - Rubye Helm, Cheryl Renfro

27 - Logan Cullop, Charlotte Meador, Patrick Murphree

28 - Cheryl Fostel

29 - Christopher Caballero, Payton McAlister

30 - Bill Hill, Randall Watson

31 - Kreid Hafer, Steve Young

January

Happenings

Learning Growing Giving Serving

January

Birthdays

New

Members

Florence O’Bryan

12/10/2017

Donations for WARM

Canned Goods (Fruits & Vegetables)

Sunday Refreshments

Men’s Class

Care Corp

Annette Stephens, Notifier Sharon Voss, Shirley Byers, Sharon Walker

January 7th

8:30 a.m. Worship Service Scripture Reader: Barbara Haley

Communion Servers: Virginia Caraway & Marguarette Roberts Acolyte: Ben Bond

10:50 a.m. Worship Service Scripture Reader: Valleri Sewell

Communion: Sally Rieger & Cheryl Renfro Acolyte: Kennedy Hafer Counters: Fred Renfro

January 14th 8:30 a.m. Worship Service

Scripture Reader: Penny Holt Communion Servers: Thomas Laird & Sharon Meyer

Acolyte: 10:50 a.m. Worship Service

Scripture Reader: Sally Rieger Acolytes: Wylie Stone & Tucker Hammons

Counters: Gary Cocanougher & Dwight Reeves

January 21st 8:30 a.m. Worship Service Scripture Reader: Youth

Communion Servers: Youth Acolyte: Audree & Zachary Knox

10: 50 a.m. Worship Service Scripture Reader: Youth

Acolyte: Nolan & Shelby Sewell Counters:

January 28th 8:30 a.m. Worship Service

Scripture Reader: Virginia Caraway Communion Servers: Asa Johnson & Ronnie Walker

Acolyte: 10: 50 a.m. Worship Service

Scripture Reader: Trumanell Maples Acolyte: Julie Stone & Parker Deaton

Counters:

January Communion Set Up: Life Builders Class

"The family of Allen Cocanougher would like to thank his

FUMC Family for their love and support. Whether shown by

a monetary donation in his memory, a delicious dessert

shared at the family luncheon, or merely your presence at his

beautiful service, we are so grateful for each of you and what

you meant to Allen during his lifelong membership

with this Church."

Bud & Deidra

Parish

12/31/2017

Each group will share a meal once a month from February - May.

Home cooked • Pot luck • Restaurant • Dutch treat Brown bag • Carry out

Sign up now!

“Our Dinner for 4 group gave us an opportunity to get to know a young family from our church that we really didn’t have a personal

relationship with and now we do! We have been blessed!” - Clyde & Penny Holt

Food. Fellowship. Fun. Family.

Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful first semester and are looking forward to all God will do in

our preschool students and families in 2018. December was full of Christmas

activities: ornament making, Happy Birthday Jesus

party, Hey Sugar! visit, and special chapel sessions.

The children loved learning about the organ from

Ms. Kathy and had a blast at the Christmas Party

with Candy Cane 1 and Candy Cane 2 :) Thank you

for your continued prayers and support!

Submitted By: Bonnie Hubbard,

Preschool Director

ALL-CHURCH BIRTHDAY BASH It’s always good to celebrate birthdays, so we’re going to do that.

Join us for an All-Church Birthday Bash right after the late service on February 4 in the Fellowship Hall. Tables will be set up for each month of the year so that we can sit with old and new friends who share our birth month.

We’ll see how we connect and strengthen our church family bonds. What can you do?

Sign up to sponsor a table. You will decorate the table in a way that relates to your birth month, and provide a birthday cake for your group.

Sign-up sheet is in the Narthex.

Come to the party and bring a pot luck dish to share – anything but dessert, since table sponsors will be providing cakes. Sit with your fellow birthday celebrators and get to know them better.

In the meantime, practice up on your rendition of a birthday song!

See you at the Birthday Bash!

Dinner for 4

December Czech Committee Meeting Summary

The chair, Dave Eaton, briefed the committee on his recent trip to Prague to attend the 2017 IMT 50/50 Eastern Europe and Balkans Summit and visit our partner church, Strasnice UMC.

The Christian bookstore at the Prague District office operated by Strasnice has closed. Currently, our partner church has no community out-reach missions. Strasnice has formed an informal leadership board consisting of four male members of the congregation and their pastor, Filip Gartner. They meet monthly and discuss church business. Although Strasnice does not have a treasurer, they use an outside consultant to keep the books and prepare the annual tax return required by the government.

Our partner church strongly desires to donate to our local and national natural catastrophes, such as the recent hurricanes to give back to us for our support of them over the years. The chair is preparing a response to Filip. In 2018, Strasnice would like to send up to six youths and two chaperones to visit us in late June or July and attend our summer mission trip to work alongside our youth. The chair has discussed this project with the pastor and youth director. The committee discussed fund raising for the proposed summer mission trip which would cost approximately $20,000 to include air fare and mission trip fee. Strasnice was made aware they will have to share in the expense of this project.

We urgently need more members from the congregations to participate on our committee. Our next meeting is planned for early January. Submitted by: Dave Eaton

Confirmation 2018 is underway!

The following students have signed up to be part of the Confirmation Class for this year:

Emma R. Kathryn H. Eleanor B. Emma M. Christian S. Torin S. Jack S.

The following brave adults have agreed to be their Mentors:

Trumannel Maples, Meradith Culpepper, Julie Quiring, Pam Shrull, Fred Renfro, Michael Bond and Rick Quiring.

The Confirmation Class will attend a Confirmation Retreat at Bridgeport Camp the weekend of January 19-21. Please

pray for them, that they will continue to grow closer to God!

Giving Made Easy

Choose the option that is most convenient for you. Change the way you give at any time.

Save your checks and your time and set up easy recurring gifts! Recurring gifts can be set up from the Give+ App or the website. (Call or come by the office if you wish to do this and need help.) Kiosks located in the Narthex,

first floor foyer, and MAC.

Smart Phone App

Mail checks to: P.O. Box 302

Decatur, TX 76234

www.decaturmethodist.org

Sunday School Focus

*The Visitors from the East

*A Voice in the Wilderness

*Jesus and the Children

*A Boy’s Lunch

This is truly the prophet who is

coming into the world.

(John 6:14)

Join us each Sunday for a fun-filled hour of Sunday School.

Ages 1-3 years old Location: Main building, 2nd floor in Nursery.

Ages 4 years - 5th grade Location: Main building on the 3rd floor.

9:40 am - 10:40 am

Questions? Email me anytime at children@decaturmethodist.org

CIA Missions

We are now accepting donations for dog/cat food.

As a yearly tradition our children deliver food to

the local animal shelter in February and volunteer

their time to show the animals a little extra love!

Animal food bag count goal - 25!

Donation boxes will be located on main church

floor as well as the 1st floor entrance.

Sunday School Volunteers

1st Sunday - Sharon Walker, Penny Holt, Jamie Milliman

2nd Sunday - Megan Claborn

3rd Sunday - Stacey Sandford, Debra Walker, Valleri Sewell

4th Sunday - Barbara Haley, Regina Stone

What Comes Next?

After all the gifts have been unwrapped, Christmas feasts have been consumed, desserts have been

overindulged in, and Silent Night candles have been lit…what comes next? Christmas seems like too big of a

deal to end so suddenly, for all the joy and celebrations of the season to be over so quickly. After the tree is

taken down, the carols stop playing on the radio, and the rhythm of life returns to busy-ness as usual, we’re

often left asking, “So, now what?” What does it mean for God to take on flesh and live amongst us in the form

of a helpless, vulnerable infant? What effect does Jesus’ birth have on us the rest of the year? How has the

coming of the Christ Child decisively altered the course of our lives?

Having spent a significant portion of Advent eating, dreaming, and praying with a small but faithful group of co-laborers

in this venture to plant a New Faith Community anchored in FUMC Decatur, I find myself asking this same question. After the

initial excitement of the moment settles down, what comes next? How do we share the Good News that God has entered into our

world and pitched a tent in our own backyard? Over the next six months, we will begin to discern answers to this question by vis-

iting other church plants and historic congregations who have anchored New Faith Communities in recent years. We will explore

together the ways God has been at work in other faith communities, and seek to discern who God has called us to be here in Deca-

tur. As we continue to eat, laugh, pray, worship, dream, plant, and labor together, I ask that you continue to pray with me. Pray for

the 10 individuals whom God has called together this past month to begin dreaming and discerning about what planting might

look like. Pray for the faith communities we will be visiting who continue to dream about how God is calling them to love and

serve their respective communities. Pray for the persons across Decatur and Wise County in whose hearts God has planted the

seeds of faith, and whom God has called to be a part of this budding movement. Pray that the Good News of Emmanuel, God-with

-Us, will disrupt the ordinary rhythms of our daily lives and transform our hearts, our lives, and our world. Pray that God might

work in, through, and among each one of us, so that we might be faithful bearers of the Light that has come into the world.

“The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who lived in a land of deep darkness –

on them light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2)

In Christ,

Ricky Harrison

2018 Leadership Training

Each year, the Northwest District offers Leadership Training for new and current leaders in local churches.

Several new leaders are coming onboard this year and this is a wonderful way to learn about responsibilities

and expectations in those roles. The training is being held at Whaley UMC in Gainesville on Sunday, Janu-

ary 28, 2018 from 3:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. We will take the Church van. There is a signup sheet in the Narthex

if you are attending the workshop.

Childcare will be available if requested, but pre-registration for childcare is needed to provide adequate care.

Please call the Northwest District Office at either (940)767-6621 or (800)497-8163 to make reservations for

childcare no later than Monday, January 22, 2018.

www.decaturmethodist.org

Like us on facebook FUMC Decatur, Texas

Follow us on Twitter @fumcdecaturtx

Follow us on Instagram fumcdecaturtx

First United Methodist Church Presorted Standard

104 South Miller Street Non-Profit Organization

Post Office Box 302 U.S. Postage Paid

Decatur, Texas 76234-0302 Permit No. 166

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

THIS NEWSLETTER CREATED ESPECIALLY FOR

YOU!

Thursday, January 25 8:30 a.m.—Character Builders Classroom

Monday, January 22 at 1:00 p.m.

For any submissions you would like put in The Voice, either call the church office at 627-3362 or email administrator@decaturmethodist.org.