Youth Events
Scrapbooking
Bible Study Groups
Book Club
Emergency Food Pantry
Extra Yarn
Caring Closet
Capital Campaign
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News ~ Calendar
We have a weekly bulletin and annoucement page given out at each service, you can download the PDF version of both pages before or after each weekly service.
View the church newsletter online -- April/May 2008
Activities
Youth - CLICK HERE to go to the Youth Page for all the latest activities!
Fall Worship Schedule - Comments & Suggestions
The worship committee needs your comments and suggestions regarding the worship schedule starting this fall. The Journeys in Reel Times worship service has filled the Chapel to capacity and will be moved into the Sanctuary in the fall. The question is, what time should it meet? Considering similar contemporary worship services in Fargo and the US, this type of worship
services are more successful later in the morning, while traditional services do well earlier in the day. One suggestion from the worship committee is for the Traditional Worship to move to the 9-10:00 a.m. timeslot and the Journeys in Reel Time would move to the 10:45-11:45 a.m. timeslot. Sunday School would also take place from 10:45-11:45 a.m. This is just a suggestion but we need to throw out the idea to you and get your feedback. Perhaps, the feedback would be supportive; we won’t know unless you tell us. Regardless of where we have the services, both the Traditional and the Journeys Services will be held in the Sanctuary in the fall and there will need to be a 45 minute timeline between services to allow comfortable movement of people in and out, and time for the musicians before the second service begins. It is exciting that one of our services is large enough to outgrow its’ space. Please consider alternatives prayerfully and provide your comments to me sometime during the month of May. There will be no decision made until late June. My contact information is:
Dave Franzen, Worship Committee Chair
Email: franzens3@cableone.net
You may also drop off written comments and suggestions in the church office where I will pick them up. Please put your name on any comments/suggestions you make. We would like the opportunity to follow-up on any comments and there might be questions regarding your comments that we would like to visit with you about. Any comments received without a name may be discarded.
Dear First Church Member(s) and Friend(s), 5/01/08
I made the cut! I’m getting a tax stimulus check soon. So now the question is; “How do I spend it?” It’s purpose is to stimulate the economy, so how do I do that? I have thought about a few things: 1) A gas fund and see how far it goes; 2) Investing it; 3) Pay for a short summer vacation with the family; 4) Buy Bonnie and Sheridan new bikes (the boys and I already have nice bikes and this will help the gas fund go farther). Then I got to thinking about a quote from the founder of the United Methodist Church, John Wesley. He taught us as followers of Christ we are to “Make all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.” I’m not sure I earned the stimulus check, but I’m getting one so I guess I did indeed earn it. John Wesley’s second piece of advice - save all you can. I think Bonnie and I have decided to save 20% by putting it in a good safe investment, maybe the kids college funds. Then comes John Wesley’s last piece of financial advice - give all you can. It is time for us to tithe, so we are going to give 10% of the check to the church to help stimulate the general budget of First Church. The fact is our church does need a little stimulus. We are doing just fine financially. We ended ‘07 with money in the bank and emergency reserves are strong. But like your family budget the rising costs of doing business is starting to affect the church. Putting gas in the church bus so we can pick up people who need a ride to worship is costing more and more. Helping kids get to camp (and we have a lot of kids going this year) is costing more. Supplies, lights, heat and … well you get the picture. Just as family budgets are getting tighter so will our church budget. So let’s give it a little stimulus. Consider joining Bonnie and me in tithing your stimulus payment to the general budget of First Church. Can you give 10% of what you earned to help support the ministry and mission of First Church? But don’t stop there, take John Wesley’s advice and save some as well. We all need to become better financial stewards and save. Saving just 10% or 20% will help stimulate the American economy as well as spending it all on some big ticket items we probably don’t need. Consider saving and tithing a portion of your tax stimulus today.
In a few weeks you will be receiving a letter from the trustees of First UMC and myself about an upcoming capital campaign. Over the next two to three years we would like to raise some capital to do a number of things. If you live in Fargo/Moorhead Metro, you understand Special Assessments. We would like to pay the church’s special assessment in full, pay down our mortgage on The Gathering, and support a few projects which are on the Trustee’s schedule. More information will be coming to you soon about this upcoming capital project. I would ask you today to begin praying about this capital campaign and ways you can contribute to the project.
First Church is in a very healthy place financially. Our budget is being met. Our bills are being paid, and ministries are being expanded. Tithing your stimulus check, or making a special gift to the general budget, if you are lucky enough to not qualify for a stimulus check, will help our church remain financially healthy.
In Christ,
Pastor Rich
EMERGENCY FOOD PANTRY First United Methodist Church and the Gathering have agreed to help out at the Emergency Food Pantry the week of May 19th to the 23rd. Last year the Emergency Food Pantry distributed an amazing 675,440 pounds of food to 16,886 people. And the demand for help keeps increasing! We will be looking for 3 people to help out in the afternoons. More information and sign-up sheets will be coming.
EXTRA YARN ? A former First UMC member is now a resident of one of our nursing homes in town. She has been knitting stocking caps for little ones for our Caring Closet and is nearly out of yarn. If you have extra yarn that you no longer need, you may drop it off at the church office and we will see that our “knitting-buddy” gets it to make more caps for “Kids without Kaps.”
Caring Closet: Children’s Clothing Needed for CARING CLOSET First Church’s CARING CLOSET- The new ministry started this fall at First Church, that furnishes gently used (and sometimes new) clothing free of charge for children, has been such a tremendous success, that it is running short of clothing. If you would check through your closets for children’s clothing you no longer use (infants-teen sizes) and would be willing to donate them to the Caring Closet, we will give you a receipt for tax purposes.
NEW ADULT BIBLE STUDY OPPORTUNITIES...A Bible Study is taking place at Rod & Ellen Shafer’s (215 South 8th St, Fargo) at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays (note change in day of week and time). This study is on Ephesians. Call the church office (232.4416) if you have any questions. A new 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning Bible Study, “What’s so Amazing About Grace” is being offered beginning Sunday, January 20th in the Dinette on main floor-downtown..
A book group is starting on April 16 and will meet the 1st & 3rd Wed.'s of the month at 6p.m.The books we are reading might not interest you, but feel free to join us or think about getting a few friends and starting another book group. To start we chose books that might speak to church leadership.
#1 book: The Starfish and The Spider, The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations (Brafman & Beckstrom)
#2 book: Growing an Engaged Church, How to stop "doing church" and start BEING church again (Winseman)
If you would like to join us I can order the book for you or you can pick
one up. If interested contact Mari
McCullough
