Week of July 26 - August 1, 2015

Prattville FUMC

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Calendar for the Week of July 26 - August 1, 2015

Through Our Prayers

Church Family- Brasel Family, Nan Cadenhead, Tyler Crane, Daughn Earnst, Linda Earnst, Bill Garrett, Rev. Ed Henne, Larry Herbaugh, Kay Hines, Jessica McDonald, Louise Moody, Drew Peterson, Eddie Pope, Sandy Poynor, Brenda Rawson, Joe Storay, Cynthia Summers

Extended Family- Theresa Bryant, Michael & Marie Butts, Sharon Campbell, Betty Carver, Eric Cates, Katie Clark, Bridgette Coley, Pamela Cooper, Lacey Evans, Betty Hinton, Carrie Hughes, Rex Reddish, Betty Sansom, Tommy Sargent, Mickey Smith, Waylon Smith, Myrtice Tatum, Mac Thacker, Mary Tullos, Rev. David Warren

Deployed- Daniel Clark

Death- Janice Payne, Crystal Couch's Aunt

Sunday, July 26th8:30 am Traditional Worship Sanctuary9:45 am Sunday School 11:00 am Traditional Worship Sanctuary11:00 am The Well Pratt Hall5:00 pm Children's Ministry Team Library6:00 pm Prayer Ministry Team WES 212Monday, July 27th9:00 am Youth Mission Monday 9:00 am Children's Choir Camp Pratt Hall 10:00 am Wesleyan Bible Study WES 1027:00 pm Men's Study Bell HouseTuesday, July 28th9:00 am Children's Choir Camp Pratt Hall2:00 pm Wesleyan Bible Study WES 1025:30 pm Weekday Ministries Team WES 1026:30 pm Grief Share ParlorWednesday, July 29th9:00 am Children's Choir Camp Pratt Hall5:30 pm Jr. High Harbor Youth Youth Room6:00 pm Wesleyan Bible Study Off Campus6:30 pm Sr. High Harbor Youth Youth Room7:00 pm The Well Band Rehearsal Pratt HallThursday, July 30th9:00 am Children's Choir Camp Pratt Hall5:00 pm Choir Camp Dinner & Program Pratt Hall6:30 pm Book Club Panera Bread

I am Grateful!

This past Sunday the air conditioning unit went down before worship in Pratt Hall; a lightning strike caused a power surge to damage our fire alarm, phone system, and internet; we had a handful of members receive surgery; deadlines approached for our fall brochure, and in the following days my family’s two cars broke down.

I am grateful for our church programming staff, custodial staff, trustees, finance team, ushers from the traditional service, The Well hospitality team, the man who offered me cold water on the side of 1-85, my wife, and Rob’s leadership that has helped equip us to continue our mission in his absence. I am also giving special thanks to God for all of our members who do their part to support this church financially.

Thanks to all of these people, our church quickly responded to the challenges this week. We kept in stride as we marched toward our goal of being a church that multiplies disciples of Jesus Christ who worship, grow, and serve for the transformation of the world.

On a normal week it is often easy to overlook the many blessings that are poured out for, and through, our church. I am reminded this week how blessed we all are to be part of Prattville First Methodist and that with this blessing we are commissioned to do more good work for the sake of the Gospel.

Peace be with you,

Drew A. WillisAssociate Pastor

This Sunday, July 26, 2015

Through Our Gifts

2015 Operating Budget$1,166,322.60

Received 7/19/15$15,961.06

Total Received For 2015 as of 7/19/15:$569,818.69

Total E-Giving Received For 2015:$20,546.00

Through Our Presence

Total Worship376

Total Sunday School212

Traditional Worship8:30 and 11:00 am

SanctuaryDavid- The Unlikely King

Unlikely Fall2 Samuel 11:1-17

The Well11:00 amPratt Hall

David- The Unlikely KingPart 3

Youth Ministry

Announcements

This Week's Prayer Focus:

Seeking Christ's direction.

Nicaragua Pictures

Our church is excited to partner with ARM this fall in their mission to “extend the love of Christ through home repair”. We are planning to send a team of 15-20 people to Tuskegee, AL for a short term mission trip in October. This is a great opportunity to answer God’s call to the mission field while working within our family budgets and time constraints. Our team will leave from the church at 6:00pm on Thursday, October 15th, and return Sunday, October 18th, after worship. The cost will be $170 per person. This includes meals, lodging, and the materials for our projects. Registration closes September 4th, so don’t hesitate. Sign up today through the church office.

Youth Week 2015Harbor Youth Ministries is kicking off Youth Week on Sunday, August 2nd with a week full of fun, engaging, and meaningful activities that are certain to make you stop and ask the question, “Why can’t every week be Youth Week?” Events include lock-ins, Airwalk in Birmingham, games, worship, sharks, hand-to-hand combat, monkeys, yo-yos and more (Youth Week may or may not include these things but it COULD happen). Here is schedule for Youth Week. For any questions contact Justin at justin@prattvillemethodist.org or call/text 334-546-4627.

8/2 Sunday Dinner at Fox's Pizza* Meet at church 6pm Guys Lock-in° 7:30pm-7am (Girls picked up at church) 7:30pm

8/3 Monday Airwalk in Birmingham** Meet at church 4:30pm Girls Lock-in° 10pm-7am (Guys picked up from church) 10pm

8/5 Wednesday Night of games, worship and speaker*** 5pm-7pm

8/6 Thursday Night of games, worship and speaker*** 5pm-7pm

8/7 Friday Pool Party@ Beatty’s Home# 6pm-8pm 540 Jasmine Trail (Prattville)

*Bring money for dinner at Fox’s. Bus will leave church at 6pm.° Bring a drink and snack for lock-in**Bring $20 for Airwalk and extra money for snacks onsite- may want to eat early dinner***Food provided at no cost. Both nights in Pratt Hall.#Snacks will be provided but may want to eat dinner prior. Ladies please remember to wear a one piece, 2 piece with shirt, or tankini. Drop off and pick up at Michael and Avery Beatty’s House.

The Alabama-West Florida UMC Conference for Older Adults announces an upcoming event: Trip to Explorations in Antiquity and Hills and Dale Estate- September 28-30. Cost: $150 double occupancy. For more information, pick up a brochure from the counter of the reception desk or call Sonya Murphree at 365-7264.

Book Club Meets Thursday, July 30th.The next Book Club meeting will be at Panera on July 30 at 6:30 pm. We will be discussing Across Many Mountains: A Tibetan Family's Epic Journey From Oppression to Freedom by Yangzom Brauen. Questions? Contact Macie Ousley at drmacie@gmail.com.

The Fifty Forward Lunch Bunch will meet on August 6, 11:00 am at Mexico Tipico. Remember your items to donate to AICC.

The August Third Thursday activity is a trip to Montgomery to the Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald exhibit at Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. Lunch will be at MMFA Cafe. Cost of trip is $15.00; sign-up and pay at the church office. Space is limited to nineteen so don't delay. Deadline is August 7.

Montgomery-Prattville DistrictLay Servant Ministry TrainingAugust 14-15, 2015 at Dalraida UMCCost: $50 includes books, snacks and meals.Register by Friday, August 7, 2015Forms are available in the church office. If you have questions, email dbowenjr@aol.com or call 334-353-0848.

Get Ready! Our next Linus Project quilting day is Tuesday, July 28th. Never sewn before? No problem! There is always plenty to do for all skill levels.

Do You Have Questions About Participating in the Disciple Studies This Year?

Call and talk to Leslie Lewis about the courses (365-5977). She can answer all of your questions and help set you up with the course that best fits you. You can also email her at leslie@prattvillemethodist.org.

There will be NO Men's Basketball on Sunday night (7/26). They will resume play on August 2nd.

Dear Church Folks,Thank you for your love and prayers. Joe and I hope to see you soon. Keep those prayers coming! In God's Love, Joe & Claudia Storay.

Worship.

Sticky Faith Led by Pastor Drew Willis“40 to 50 percent of kids who graduate from a church or youth group will fail to stick with their faith in college.” This statistic, which was highlighted by Dr Kara E. Powell & Dr. Chap Clark in their book Sticky Faith, has me deeply concerned as a pastor and a parent. We often just chalk this up as normal; a phase, a timing of sowing wild oats, and we hope that they will return to the faith later in life. The good news is that many do return. The bad news is that the time they are distant from God and the church coincides with one of the most challenging times in their life where they will face major life decisions (i.e. marriage, career path, debt management). An active faith during this time is invaluable. If you are a person of influence in the life of a preteen, teen, or college student, please join me during the opening 5-week session of Wednesday United as we discover together how to develop a “Sticky Faith” among our youth.

A brief look around our church and you can tell serving others in the name of Christ is central to our identity. What you may not know is that the church has tasked the Outreach Team to develop more opportunities in order to reach our goal of having every member engaged in life-giving service that is transforming our community, country, and world. Our Outreach Team is doing a fantastic job during our planning session, and we want to invite you to dream with us. Do you have a sense of where God is calling our church to serve? If so, please share with Pastor Drew Willis or our Outreach Team Leader, Merrill Carroll. We will pray over all of these suggestions to seek how we can best use our church’s resources to partner with you.

Wheelchair Lift

The Trustees have voted to install a wheelchair lift near the Sanctuary, near the small flight of stairs which lead from the narthex down toward the Parlor. This will help remedy a major accessibility issue of our building and enable more people to access our traditional worship services and special presentations. The cost of this lift, which will not only accommodate wheelchairs but anyone with difficulty navigating stairs, is approximately $15,000. The trustees will install the lift as soon as the funds are raised. If you would like to donate to this worthy cause, please mark your check with “accessibility fund.” Any amount raised above the needed funds for the lift will be used for other accessibility projects in the church.

Wheelchair

Lift Eighteen dedicated and caring Fifty Forwarders participated in Third Thursday visits with our homebound and nursing home members. Old memories were shared and new memories were made during the visits. Everyone agreed it was a very rewarding and worthwhile activity. Many thanks to Linda Ramsey and Rev. Willis for organizing the visits. The next scheduled visitations will be the December Third Thursday activity.

Below: Visiting Eddie Pope

Above: A Visit WithRev. Ed Henne

Where Are We Being CalledTo SERVE Next?

What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? -Micah 6;8