Tennison Tower July 2019 pg. 1

TENNISON July 2019

TOWER

Tennison Memorial United Methodist Church

313 N Church Street, Mount Pleasant TX 75455

903.572.5341 ~ www.tennisonumc.org

CALENDAR

July 1-5 Kids Cafe

July 4 Office closed

July 9, 6pm Worship Committee

July 10-19 Pastor on vacation

July 15, 5pm Finance Committee

July 25-26 Camp Brave Heart

July 27, 8-3pm Emmaus planning mtg.

WORSHIP SERVICES

8:45 a.m. The Gathering Comfortable and casual Kid friendly Sing with the Praise Band Meets in the Gathering Hall 9:45 a.m. Sunday School Classes for all ages Meet in Education Building 10:45 a.m. Traditional Worship Service with Chancel Choir Meets in the Sanctuary www.facebook.com/tennisonumc

FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK

Hey everyone! Summer is here and that means travel for a lot of us. Summer vacations— beach-es, mountains, fishing, amusement parks, cabins! It is just amazing to me that while I was working on this newsletter article, Jeani Guest shared an audible book with me called “The 3-Day Effect.” The basic premise is that being in nature is very good for us. Many studies have been done show-ing that our observance of nature is healing, calm-ing, makes us happier, and increases our creativi-ty. I, of course, would say that being in nature equals being in creation. We can see God there and that is very good for us.

A few months ago, I came across something an-other church did last summer and I thought it would be a cool thing for us to try. At the end of this article, there is a list of things for you to do while you are traveling around this summer. If you want to play along and send your pictures to us you might make it to the big screen in church. And you might even make it to our Facebook page.

Fred Craddock once did a sermon about vacations. He talked about the stress, the hurry, the short tempers and the anxiety. He said when we get back home everyone is tired and snippy and won-dering if the vacation was worth it. But then we get our pictures back (in the days when you had to send your film off to be developed). That is when we remember the amazing things we did on vacation. It is those memories that make a sum-mer road trip so special and memorable.

So, whether we are traveling far, or enjoying hometown sites, most of us will go somewhere. We will celebrate those pictures here if you want to send them.

(cont’d. on pg. 3)

FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK

Pastor Mike Cline

Gloria Holt and Alan McMillin help excited kids create moon landers in To Mars & Beyond vacation bible school. See story on pg. 2.

Tennison Tower July 2019 pg. 2

SERVING OTHERS

TO MARS AND BEYOND

From toddlers to teenagers, Ten-nison UMC welcomed kids to vaca-tion bible school (VBS). This year’s program, June 10-14, was a space adventure To Mars and Beyond. A Mars Outpost was set up in the sanctuary, complete with a huge red rocket, while rooms in the Edu-cation Building became a journey to distant planets where art, crafts and fun experiments in the science room were paired with Bible stories in the Go Beyon story room and games outside with Pastor Mike.

The space theme focused on Ephe-sians 3:20. When we know God is with us and will help us, we can go beyond and do amazing things. The

evening sessions emphasized the elements of faith, boldness, kind-ness, thankfulness and hope.

Children’s Director Corey Mills designed the sets using her creative talents to transport over 70 space voyagers to distant galaxies in their imaginations. A team of volunteers helped her decorate each room and staff the learning stations, nursery and kitchen.

In addition to Tennison members, VBS drew attendees from the Annie Sims Kids program that met at Tennison through the school year and also attracted kids who attend other churches. Corey’s vi-sion for VBS is to have as many kids as possible having fun and learning to love God. To see photos and videos of all the fun activi-ties, go to https://www.facebook.com/tennisonumc/ .

PRAYERS NEEDED

Judy Barry

Rosemary Davis

Bob Dunegan

Randy Dungan

Nancy Hairston

Randy Hodge

Kathy Huffman

Menhennett Family

Galand Nuchols

Kay Petty

Socorro Sausedo

Chris Shelton

Bobby Joe Spearman

Margaret Thigpen

Vakisha Williams

Confined at home:

Lucretia Alexander

Patsy Morrison

Bob Nuchols

Faynelle Taylor

Military:

Jeff Cody

Nicklaus Kirkham

Christopher Manchigiah

Lt. Charles Moler

TRUSTEES REBUILD FENCE

Trustee Chair Herbie Cross and volunteers, including his wife Jan,

demolished the decaying fence around the church parking lot. A

team of volunteers erected a new fence in its place.

The crew installed

more than 70 string-

ers to improve the

structure, then

trimmed and at-

tached over 500

pickets to create an

attractive new

boundary fence that

enhances the church

property and gives

the neighbors back

their privacy.

Corey Mills coordinated vacation bible school To Mars and Beyond.

Tennison Tower July 2019 pg. 3

FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK (cont’d.)

And for my part, I am going to send pictures of Colora-do and share some of what I do there. Where will your journey with God take you?

I hope you see God in amazing ways and then share those times with all of us! Don’t forget that we have those who are not able to travel this summer, so your pictures might be a great blessing to many others if you send them to us!

- Mike

Pictures to Send!

1. Bulletin of a church you attend on vacation 2. Eating at a great place 3. A beautiful cross 4. Landmark or iconic location 5. Performing an act of service 6. Family member sleeping in public 7. Someone taking a picture 8. An Amazing View 9. Funny church sign 10.Selfie by a yellow car 11.Someone praying 12.Visitors Center or Rest Stop

IN MEMORIAM

John E. Thomas

(July 10, 1933— May 31, 2019)

John E. Thomas, 85, of Mt. Pleas-ant, TX passed away on May 31,

2019 in Mt. Pleasant, TX. He was born on July 10, 1933 in Marshall, TX to J. T. & Ruby Thomas.

He was a member of Tennison Memorial United Methodist Church for 59 years. He was very in-volved in the Masonic Lodge for 63 years, worked with the Fire Department from 1965-1988 serving as Captain of the volun-teer fire department and retired as the Assistant Chief of the vol-unteer fire department. He was a city police officer from 1968-1978; served as Chief Lake Patrol officer at Lake Bob Sandlin from 1978 and retired in 2000. He was a member of the Titus County Fresh Water Supply District Board from 2000-2018.

He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Eddie and Debra Thomas; daughter and son-in-law, Marcie and Bill Faske; daugh-ter, Mandy Pope; grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife of 52 years Gail Thomas, brother Dudley Thomas and sister Joan Doss.

BAPTISM

Bethani Ann Nichols was baptized June 2, 2019 surrounded by her family and congregation. She is the daughter of Dr. Brian Nichols and Kerri Nichols. Her grandparents are Patti Miller and Johnny and Judy Nichols. Bethani’s baptism oc-curred one day before her 11th birthday. Her brother, Luke, was baptized at Tennison in May 2015.

Bethani has been active in Sunday School classes taught by Mollie Means and has frequently attended vacation bible school. She was in the sewing class through the school year.

Bethani says she loves coming to Tennison UMC because she enjoys Sunday School and wants to be closer to God.

Pastor Mike Cline’s summer travels began with a trip to Daingerfield State Park showing youth how to backpack and hike like experts.

Tennison Tower July 2019 pg. 4

ONLINE GIVING IS HERE

You can now contribute to our church through a mobile app! To get started, download GivePlus Church for free from the App Store or Google Play. Simply search for “GivePlus Church” to quickly find and download the app. You can easily make donations directly from your smartphone using your debit/credit card or checking/savings account.

You can also choose to donate as a guest or set up an account that allows you to securely and conveniently schedule recurring donations and manage and review your giving history. Enjoy the convenience of this new way to contribute to Tennison’s ministries.

CONTACT US

Church office: (903)572-5341 Mailing address: PO Box 967, Mt. Pleasant TX 75456

Office hours: Mon-Thurs, 8:30-4:30, closed for lunch 12-1 Closed on Fridays

Pastor: Mike Cline, pastor@tennisonumc.org Administrative Secretary: Melissa Pearson, admin@tennisonumc.org Finance Secretary: Jeani Guest, finance@tennisonumc.org Music Director: David Mills, music@tennisonumc.org

BIRTHDAYS

07/04 Jane Scharlach

07/06 Mary Ann Spearman

07/08 Charles Stanley

07/10 Debbie Rodriguez

07/13 David Stanley

07/15 Jan Roesler

07/16 Janie Witherspoon

07/16 Penny Oliver

07/17 Rosemary Davis

07/17 Ramsey Strube

07/19 Faye Hardman

07/20 Lisa McKinnie

07/22 Mac Wilhite

07/23 April Welch

07/28 Randy Dungan

07/29 Leah Schumacher

07/30 Herbert Cross, Jr.

07/31 Sara Russell

07/31 Emily Ward

Non-resident members:

07/02 Allen Bland

07/11 Marie Nuchols

07/14 Melissa Frazier

07/22 Jason Greenlee

07/27 David Riepe

07/29 Mia Boatner

WORSHIP ATTENDANCE

June 2 123

June 9 120

June 16 99

June 23 104

June 30 113

A SOLDIER RETIRES

Congratulations to Tracy Roesler who retired from the US military with honors. His service included four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He wants to thank the church for all the prayers and concerns during his 25 years in the Marines.

THANK YOU FROM A SCOUT

Dear Tennison Church Family: I would like to thank everyone that came to the Herschels' fundraiser dinner and to those who gave me a donation. I appreciate your kindness, generosity and support for my Eagle Scout project. It is so nice to have a loving and caring church family. Sincerely, Luke Nichols

Happy campers (l-r): Luke Nichols, Madison Hargrove, Elijah Mills and Ethan Guest depart for two days of backpacking at Daingerfield State Park with Pastor Mike Cline. See more photos on our Facebook page.