First LookVolume 2 ISSUE 2 Februar y 2017W W W.FUMC- CONROE.ORG

Upcoming Events:

February 18 @ 5pm Saturday night Live

(children’s event)

February 26 @ 9:45amCoffee with a Pastor

February 28 @ 5pmPancake Supper

February 28 @ 6:30pmFamily meeting

(all church members)

March 1Ash Wednesday

(services @ noon & 7pm)

Read like you’ve never read before...

In This IssueThe First Word....................p. 2

Stephen Ministry news......p. 4

Deaths & Birth notices.......p. 5

Mission of Hope..................p. 6

New Members .....................p. 7

We will begin week 6 of our Bible reading plan by the time this newsletter comes out. Pastor Jeff Olive has invited us to join him in reading through the New Testament during 2017. That means reading 5 chapters each week - so one chapter each day with 2 days off! We hope you are reading along as the Holy Spirit conitnues to show us more of who God is and more of who we are created to be!

Whether you have been a Bible reader most of your life or if it’s something new to you, before you read consider the following:

• Pray. It was the Spirit of God that inspired the writers so let the Spirit of God inspire your reading

• Choose to read with “new” eyes. Sometimes the stories are old favorites or ones we’ve heard many times in church, which means we might not read them as carefully as we do others. When you read, take time to go slowly and read the story thoughtfully. Listen for that new thought or little detail you might not have noticed before.

• Journal. Writing down your reflections about what you hear and read can help that truth get more firmly situated in your heart and soul.

and desires for meaning, love, and connection within us and he calls us to be hopeful and confident

that he understands our dreams. Author Barbara Johnson said it this way, “Allow your dreams a place in your prayers and plans. God-given dreams can help you move into the future he is preparing for you.”

Finally, this verse reminds us to also have “assurance about what we do not see.” In our culture of immediate gratification and material security this may be the biggest challenge of the verse. How do we manage to

This verse from the book of Hebrews is one that has been meaningful to my family and me for many years. Like all Methodist clergy, I am an itinerant pastor appointed by my Bishop, thus there are no real guarantees about when or where my family will be asked to serve the Lord. We have clung to this passage on faith throughout my ministry as we have traveled our journey. Although this is different from many other jobs, the truth is that there are no guarantees for any of us regarding what our futures may hold.

Herein lies the challenge of faith. The author of Hebrews pens, “Now faith is confidence…” God boldly calls us to a life of confidence. Not confidence in what we have or in our own strengths or abilities, but instead confidence in who he is and his power through the Holy Spirit which is at work both in us, around us, and through us.

According to this verse we are to be confident in “what we hope for.” So, what are your hopes this day? This year? Most of us hope for good things – success, healing, peace, security, safety, salvation for family members, a life that makes a difference in the world. God has placed those hopes

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. – Hebrews 11:1

Dr. Jeff Olive

have assurance when there seem to be so many unknowns? The book of Jeremiah tells us this, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” To have assurance about what we do not see is to live a life that proclaims in word and deed that I don’t have all the answers, but I believe and trust in the one who does.

As we venture together into this new year and new season of life and ministry at First Methodist Conroe, I invite you to continue in prayer with me for God’s holy presence to be strong among us and to strengthen us in faith, hope, and love so that we are able to fully embrace the bright future that he has planned for us as a congregation.

Pick up a February prayer calendar

in the Church office

FEBRUARY 18(3rd Saturday of every month September-May)

5:00 pm-5:30 pm

Bring your child’s dinner, they will eat together

5:30 pm-9:00 pm planned activities

2 years old-5th gradeSign up now on the church website

$10.00 per child with $25.00 max per family

Nana Puddin’SAVE THE DATE

Wednesday, April 5, 20176:30 pm

in the Sanctuary

A Dennis Lee Production“Lite As a Feather”

Every year Dennis Lee Productions presents a new show with all new music, sets, costumes and content. They also use a few new puppet friends and a few old favorites like Nana Puddin’ and his big brother Nick the Punk Monk.

This year the show is called “Lite As A Feather” It is about finding the super hero in all of us. The catch phrase is “Be a Fountain Not a Drain”. Using positive character traits as its main message this uplifting, encouraging, “side splitting” show will be something children and those who love them will never forget!

What happens when Nana Puddin’ gets in one of the pipes at his tree house? He calls Peacock Plumbing where he learns a little lesson. Everyone has something special about their lives. All of us have strengths and weaknesses. Where I am weak you are strong and we need each other to get along!

Invite your friends & neighbors!!

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY

Four new Stephen Ministers

to be commissioned

Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill

the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2, NRSV).

Sunday, February 12th, our church will commission the following people as Stephen Ministers:

Ann ChurchillErol KnottEvonne Martin Blaine Wofford

Stephen Ministry is the one-to-one lay caring ministry in congregations that use the Stephen Series system.

“Hundreds of thousands of Stephen Ministers have been trained so far, and tens of thousands are being added every year. Each Stephen Minister brings to his ministry a unique combination of gifts, personality and character.”

~ Kenneth C. Haugk, Founder of Stephen

Ministries

Stephen Ministry congregations equip and empower lay caregivers—called Stephen

Would you be willing to walk beside someone and

help them along their journey?

Life has lots of twists and turns...

sometimes we just need a spirtual friend.

Could you be that friend?

Could you be one of our next Stephen Ministers?

The next training session will begin in September, 2017. If you are interested in learning more about the

Stephen Ministry training, please call the church office.

Ministers—to provide high-quality, confidential, Christ-centered care to people who are hurting.

These four persons join many others who have successfully completed 50 clock hours of training to become Stephen Ministers at FUMC-Conroe. The training includes pre-class readings of information in the training manuals/books, guest speakers and panel discussions. The recent training classes took place on Sunday afternoons at our church.

You may visit the Stephen Ministry website for more information at: www.stephenminister.org.

The Houston North Emmaus Community invites you to prayerfully consider strengthening your love of God and neighbor and growing in discipleship by going on a Walk to Emmaus in 2017.

Men’s Walk #92 March 23-26Women’s Walk #93 March 30-April 2Men’s Walk #94 July 17-20Women’s Walk #95 July 24-27Men’s Walk #96 September 21-24Women’s Walk #97 September 28 - October 1

For more information please contact: Rev. Mary Tumulty at mtumulty@fumc-conroe.org.

Sherri, Conan and Kerri Henry on the January 1 death of Sherri’s father, Jim Jackson, of Conroe, Texas.

Layne and Megan DeMoss on the January 3, 2017 death of Layne’s mother, Rebecca DeMoss, of Coldspring, Texas.

Wayne Collins on the January 4 death of his wife, Irene “Rena” Collins, of Willis, Texas.

Don and Phyllis Rainey on the January 10, 2017 death of their son, Clayton Rainey, of Oklahoma.

Bob and Dorothy Hargrave and family on the January 18, 2017 death of Dorothy’s mother, Marge R. Bartlett, of Montgomery, Texas. Elizabeth Evans, Rebecca McCurry and Jamie Graham on the January 22, 2017 death of Elizabeth’s husband and Rebecca and Jamie’s father, John Evans, of Conroe, Texas.

Ruth Strozier and her family on the January 25, 2017 death of Ruth’s husband, Richard Strozier, of Conroe, Texas.

The family of Lawrence Buck Curtis who passed away on January 25, 2017. Lawrence was a former member of the Pathfinders Sunday School Class.

The family of John Wiesner who passed away on January 26, 2017.

Bob Jackson and his family on the January 27, 2017 death of Bob’s wife, Theta Ann Jackson, from Cypress, Texas.

Our Deepest Sympathy to...

Our Joyful Congratulations to...Colby and Katie Long on the December 19, 2016 birth of their daughter, Tatum Joyce Long. Proud big sister and brother are Tinlee and Reed.

Kyle and Tammy Bryant on the January 13, 2017 birth of their son, Lincoln Nathaniel Bryant. Proud big brother and sister are William and Christine.

Providing meals for a new mom and her family can help ease the stresses of the first week home with the family’s new addition.

If you are interested in providing food for those in our church family who have a “new blessing,” or, if you are a parent with a recently born addition, please contact Stacy Ferro at 936-672-4340 or stacyferrorealtor@gmail.com.

Three of our faithful members will be traveling to Haiti on February 18, and staying through February 24, 2017, to participate in our work with Mission of Hope. Haiti has experienced so many trials and difficulties in recent years, all of which have been compounded by the October hurricane. Those who are going will be able to serve a country that needs hope in a desperate way. The people in our adopted village are absolutely wonderful, and they love meeting and getting to know their American friends. Fortunately, our village was spared significant damage from the hurricane and the infrastructure we have helped create remains intact.

Volunteers from First UMC Conroe, First UMC Kingwood and First UMC Houston plan to paint a house, to take male and female goats to five families, and, hopefully, plant some trees for much needed shade and vegetation. Goats are incredibly important to these families because they provide milk, meat and other nutritional value for families that have very little. They will also be visiting our village of Source Matelas to play

with the children and get to know some of the families there. It will be a busy week full of adventure and hard work. They will be experiencing the kind of work that makes God most evident.

Please be in prayer for: Shannon Hill, Terry Finkbiner, and Wendy Wilson as they embark on this mission of hope. Pray for their safety, their strength, and their openness to God working through and all around them.

I would like to say thank you for your support, prayers, and cards during Hoppy’s illness and death. Our church family was such a comfort during this difficult time and it was all so deeply appreciated.

Maxie Hopkins and family

1st & 3rd Monday of every month 9:00 a.m.-Noon

February 6 & 20Rooms 123 and 125 Cards and Dominos9:00 a.m. - 12 noonContact: Gloria Harris: 936-522-8567cwgmharris@aol.com

Various activities throughout the month.

Bible Study Wednesdays 5:00pm-6:00pm

Juanita Stanley Coordinator

jlmstanley@aol.com

Welcome New Members!

Blessings to those who were Baptized!

Janice Evans

Julia Johnson Colby & Katie Long(with Tinlee, Reed, & Tatum)

Jorge Recio, Carmen Oropesa Recio

& Eugenio Molinasa

Robert & DeeDee Withers(with Emma & Zoey)

Luis Martinez MunozZell Ferro

Jonathan Paulino

Not pictured:Ricky & Nancy Morton

Jeff & Sharla Olive(with Avery & Anson)

Purchase tickets in the Church Office $4/person; Max $15/family

($6/person at the door)

District Youth EventSunday, February 19, 2017

2:00 p.m - 6:30 p.m.Klein United Methodist Church

Lunch together and then leave for Klein UMC at 1:30pm.

Youth: bring money for a drink and/or snack on the way home.

4308 West Davis Conroe, Texas 77304 936.756.3395 church@fumc-conroe.org www.fumc-conroe.org

Connection CelebrationThank you to all who made January’s Connection Celebration such a success! Whether you took part in Sunday’s Ministry Celebration in the gym, lent your voice and thoughts to the videos shown on Sunday mornings during the month, or serve in some capacity in our congregation and community all through the year, you assisted in making the celebration a shining example to all of what God can do when you allow his Spirit to move among us.

What did we learn and what did we accomplish during the Connection Celebration? Well, we learned that there are 1,398 volunteers who make each ministry area function throughout the year. Some of those are folks who participate in more than one ministry area.When we take out all of the duplicate names there are 680 servants who are involved in the work of the Lord in this congregation and who take the Word out into the community. We also know that a vast majority of those servants have agreed to continue to serve in those ministry areas through 2017. Just in case those numbers weren’t enough fun facts for you to ponder, this past Sunday’s Ministry Celebration found over 60 new servants called to serve the Lord! Through our Called to Serve information forms we have another 38 individuals looking for more information in several different areas - seeking to find where God is calling them to serve.

Thank you, thank you to those who have answered God’s call, to those who are inquiring about areas they feel they are being called and to those who may still be considering where the Lord is calling them. God is surely connecting this congregation in mighty ways here at First Methodist, and that is a wonderful reason to continue celebrating!

A Lenten Study for Adults, by Dottie Escobedo-Frank, Abingdon Press: Nashville, 2014

Rev. Escobedo-Frank is a UM elder and district superintendent, author, speaker and leader in church revitalization.

Format: 7 weeks (6 weeks of Lent and Easter Sunday)

This thought-provoking study calls us to do some difficult things – shed and release something to gain something in the ancient practice of “fasting.” We are not asked to fast from food, but from what feeds our brokenness and the tyranny of our broken culture.

From the back cover:“Our world is full of distractions and noise: from cell phones and social media to mirrors and even our own voices, we are surrounded by things that monopolize our minds and isolate us from God. In this study….(we are called) to Give It Up! By fasting from each of these things for a week. A week without mirrors allows us to see the true beauty within, while a week of silence attunes us to God’s voice and the sounds of life. The six-week commitment to step away from life’s commotion culminates with Easter, where give it up takes on a whole new meaning. Free of distraction, we can give it up in applause and celebration for Christ, who rose from the dead and seeks to meet up with us in our daily lives.”

If you are interested in this study for yourself or your small group, contact Rev. Mary Tumulty in the Church Office or at mtumulty@fumc-conroe.org