Two Sections, Section A July 8, 2011 Vol. 158, No. 10 | 073785
Children’s Area Renovations
Inside This Issue: 6A California Concert Tour 7A UM ARMY in Amarillo
The Trustees’ are pleased to announce that the renovations to the Children’s Hallway are almost complete. We will be phasing in one room a week for the next 3 weeks. Renovations included a new look in the hallways, new paint and new flooring. Each room received a make-over that included some new equipment and furnishings. Please take some time to visit the renovated area. Look for a “Grand Opening” Sunday in the near future for the Children’s Hallway and the Church Prayer Room.
First Church Program Staff Updates by Dr. Tim Walker, Senior Pastor
7A Pastor’s Pen 8A KidShine
We are pleased to announce two new staff members for the Program Staff of our congregation. They will bring good energy and focus to several areas of our life together. Jim Collett, a long-time member, will be joining us as part-time Adult Education Director, maintaining and leading our twenty adult Sunday School classes as well as assessing our need for new classes. He will provide encouragement, training and curriculum offerings to our classes, and be the “go-to” person for adult education. In addition, he will manage our Wednesdays @ First classes. Jim Collett, Adult Education Director Jim and his wife, JoAnn, have attended a number of years. He has two degrees in education, and has recently retired as Curriculum Director of Region 18, serving a wide area and number of schools with his expertise in curriculum and technology. He is one of the teachers of the Buddy Wood Sunday School class, and has served as a Trustee of the church. His earlier career was that of a teacher in McCamey, where he and JoAnn served in the United Methodist church there. He has recently authored a best-selling book on the history of Midland. He begins his staff work on July 5, and his schedule will be published soon after. Lori Miller, Director of Lori Miller, also a long-time member, and re-
Inviting and Involving
tired secondary science teacher for MISD, joins our staff as the part-time Director of Inviting and Involving. She has lead our volunteer team for the hospitality we provide at our funerals, as well as a number of other roles in our congregation. She is married to Kerry and has two adult children. Her daughter and son-in-law, Allison and Lance Creswell attend our church with their kids Hannah and Ryder. In this position, she will relate to first-time worshippers and new members, connecting them to our various ministry teams, and to our Sunday School classes. We have about 90 ministry teams of one type or another, and about 400 people in our Ministry Connection. She will come on board no later than August 15. Please welcome these two new staff members. The transitions have been realized due to Daniel Harris, at his request, returning to part-time status, working in the area of Spiritual Formation with classes and retreats, as well as doing some technology work through our Communications department. We welcome him back from his sabbatical. Be sure to welcome these new members to our staff. We are excited and confident in their decisions to serve on our excellent staff.
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Tower Times
“California, Here We C[a]me!”
6A
2011 Celebration Singers & Ringers Southern California Concert Tour and Ministry Trip by Dr. Glen Olsen, Director of Worship Arts
The Celebration Singers and Ringers prepare for their performance at First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton, California. The concert was one of six concerts the group performed as part of their 2011 Concert Tour of southern California. I am always amazed at the goodness and grace of our God. On Thursday, June 9, 22 singers (and ringers) – Lyndsay Beran, Michaela Blair, Catherine Brown, Ben Caswell, Kayleigh Cottle, Zane Cox, Samuel De La Cruz, Sierra De La Cruz, Brittany Harrell, Kayleah Harrell, Zach Harrell, Timothy Hennings, Addison Larson, Matthew Moore, Michael Moore, Melissa Olsen, Tim Olsen, Jake Pannell, Daniel Priebe, Sabrina Roberts, Jennifer Taylor and Libby Thomas – 14 chaperones – Kay Baker, Sharla Blair, Lori Cottle, Barbara Cox, Jerome and Tresa De La Cruz (actually, they drove the luggage out to California in their van), Beau Garza, Melissa and Robert Harrell, Betsy McKeller, Katie Moore, Amy Olsen and Kristen Olsen (who, actually, was out there waiting for us) – under the direction of Beth Garza and myself – 37 all together – boarded the AMTRAK Sunset Limited at Alpine, Texas, for our train ride to southern California. We had a wonderful and exciting ride through the southwest; and, as we slept that night on the train, four armed and in full combat gear Homeland Security agents came through the train! Luckily they weren’t looking for us … We spent the entire week in the dorms at Biola Uni-
versity (“BIOLA” is an acronym for the original name of the University: “Bible Institute Of Los Angeles”), a Christian university in La Mirada, California, and centrally located for all our concerts and other activities. Saturday, June 11, we had a bus tour of Griffith Park (where we could not see the “Hollywood” sign because of fog), Hollywood, Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach. Sunday, June 12, we began our concerts by participating in the Sunday morning worship service of the New Hope Community Church in Sunland and then singing for the Sunday Evening Chapel Praise service at the First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton. Monday, June 13, was spent at Disneyland; we stayed there until midnight when the park closed. Tuesday, June 14, we had two more concerts: one at the La Mirada Landmark Adult Community, where we sang our “California, Here I Come” music from Evening of Entertainment, and the other in the evening at La Jolla Community Church in San Diego. Before the evening concert the youth group at La Jolla hosted us for a barbeque on the beach. We immediately recognized the sand, but it took awhile to figure out what the liquid substance was called at the point where the sand
ended … Wednesday, June 15, was spent at the San Diego Zoo. And, while it was very tempting, we did not leave any of our animals, sorry, students, there. Thursdays, June 16, we had our last concert at The Palms, a retirement community in La Mirada. We then joined the residents for lunch and, after a wonderful meal, headed off to the beach for the afternoon. And, imagine our surprise to see the Pannell family walking up to us on the beach! They came to see us and then get Jake to stay some more days in southern California. Friday, June 17, we boarded the train to return home again! The grace of God was seen in his provision for us during these nine days and through your prayers for us. God is so good; and your support of us made it possible for us to minister to so many people in southern California. And your continuing support allowed us to not only minister on the Pacific coast this year, but on the Atlantic coast last year as well. This is the goodness of God; to see the desire for ministry grow and faith deepen in our kids is such a blessing. God is good and God is gracious. Thank you for prayers and gifts to make this possible!
After 52 Years, Member Retires from Serving in Church Music Submitted by Ronald Thomas, First Church Member Ronald Thomas, a member of First United Methodist Church, Midland, Texas, has retired as of May 8, 2011 from church music. Thomas worked as a church pianist, church organist, music director, and director of music and education in the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Christian Church, the Catholic Church, the Salvation Army, Lutheran Church, Episcopal Church and Anglican Church. His career began in Midland, then took him to Odessa, Pecos, Tulia, Palestine, the Dallas metroplex, and Clarksville and Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Churches served ranged from 17 to 5000 members. He has played or directed for several Catholic, Methodist, and Episcopal bishops. Currently Ronald Thomas teaches private music lessons at his home. Ronald is married to La Vonn Biles Thomas. The Thomases have two sons, David, who is a vice principal at Midland Freshman and Brian, who is a supervisor of EMT dispatchers in Dallas. David plays the cello in the Midland-Odessa Symphony.
La Vonn and Ronald Thomas
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First Church Youth Participate in UM ARMY in Amarillo by Kelsi Curtin and Emily Moody, Oasis Youth Interns
During the week of June 19 - 25, 24 students and adult sponsors from First United Methodist Church of Midland traveled to Amarillo with 138 other students and sponsors from churches across Texas to work with UM ARMY(United Methodist Action Reach-Out Mission by Youth). The students and adults were divided into 15 work-teams and they worked on over 20 sites and houses. UM ARMY participants worked to repair and replace roofs and fences, replace siding, build wheelchair ramps, clean homes and yards, replace flooring, install sheetrock and even tear down a house. Students were encouraged to get to know their clients and listen to their stories and experiences. The students also enjoyed getting to know their teammates and other youth through programs held throughout the week. We visited to the Amarillo landmark, the Cadillac Ranch, had a swim night provided by the Amarillo Town Club, and students ate out with their teams on another night. The students participated in worship and devotionals held each day and grew closer in their walks with Christ. A unique part of UM ARMY that the students enjoy is Client Night, in which the students invite the people and families they have assisted during the week to come and share a meal with the camp. The clients are able to speak to the group and tell how Christ has impacted their lives during the week through the work. United Methodist churches that participated in this camp were from Bethany, and Oak Hill in Austin, Boerne, Seguin, Fredericksburg, Midland and De Soto. During the week, St. Stephens United Methodist Church hosted the group. Meals were cooked in the church and bought by the church and other organizations. The theme of the week was “Servant” and the youth and adults truly learned what it meant to be servants, as God has called us to be His hands and feet in this world. We learned how to put God in our lives first, others around us second, and ourselves last.
Adult Mission Opportunity
Pictured above: Emily Shuler and Haley Blackstock work in the blazing heat to remove roofing materials on a home prior to replacing the roof. At right: Cade Parkison and Michael Wynne tear through sheetrock in one of more than 20 homes worked on during the one-week UM ARMY Mission Camp held in Amarillo this year.
by Marlyn Butler, First Church Team Leader Have you ever wanted to go on a mission trip, but you didn’t want to go to the jungles? UMCOR Sager Brown in Baldwin, Louisiana might be the place for you. On October 9-14, 2011, for the eighth year, First United Methodist Church of Midland will send a team to the United Methodist Committee Relief depot. Volunteers will process health, school and birthing kits for disaster relief, as well as work in the sewing room and the community. The deadline for registration is August 1, 2011. Space is limited. For more information, contact team leader Marlyn Butler at 432.685.4064 or
[email protected] or visit the Sager Brown website at www.sagerbrown.org.
Pastor’s Pen: Encouragement Is On The Way! by Dr. Tim Walker, Senior Pastor
As the story goes, three men were nervously waiting in the Father's room at the Good Samaritan Hospital as their wives prepared for the births of their first
children. They were too scared to go in. Soon the head nurse arrived with good news from the birthing rooms. She said to the first father-to-be, "Sir, you are a father of twins!" “That's great," he said. "I am going to sign a contract with the Minnesota Twins. This will be good press." Soon, the nurse arrived and shared with the second father-to-be, "Sir, you are the father of triplets." "Fantastic," he said, "because I work for the 3M Company. This will be great press." The third father-to-be got up and ran out of the room. He was moving so fast that he did not bother to take the elevator. Finally, the nurse yelled out the window as the man entered the nearby parking lot. The nurse cried out, "What's wrong? Where are you going?" He said, "I've got to resign real fast. I am Vice-President of Seven-up!" I don't know about you, but there are days when I am ready to tender my resignation from it all. I am ready to "hang it up.” Are you ready to “hang it up’? Have you sensed that you have received all the bad news you can handle? Are you ready for a bit of encouragement? My upcoming sermon series is on the theme of encouragement, “Encourage Me!” We’ve had a pretty heavy dose of discouraging news these past several months—and that’s just public information, not to mention all the personal and more private feelings that have us down and out.
There are few ministries more important than the ministry of encouragement. One of the most idealized lifestyles of all time is that of the American cowboy. The success of movies like "City Slickers" shows that the dream to be a cowboy still ranks right up there on people's "wish lists." What is the big attraction behind the cowboy persona? Continued on 8A
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Pastor’s Pen (Continued) Perhaps it can be found in the cowboy "theme song" that we all know: "Home, home on the range Where the deer and the antelope play Where seldom is heard, a discouraging word And the skies are not cloudy all day." "Where seldom is heard a discouraging word." It's hard for us to imagine such a place. From the moment we flick on the early news to get the traffic report, we are bombarded by "discouraging words" all day long. Crime is up, stocks are down; there is global warming, natural resources are dwindling and the air is the color of the lint under your bed. Your boss blames you, your coworkers resent you; your dog bit you, your spouse is glowering at you and the kids are whining at you. Who wouldn't want to "git along" and be a cowboy? But we can’t all be cowboys, can we? For those of us who live in a real world, discouragement is a fact of life. by Clark Williams, In the face of that, I want to share God’s good message of encouragement. In this series, you will learn Foundation Development both how to receive encouragement, and how to give it to others. You will be able to say to someone, “How Committee Consultant may I encourage you?” Based on specific Bible stores and passages, I will be sharing very practical ways of This week I re-read Longfellow’s classic encouraging a friend or family member. I trust you will be present and we will encourage one another. poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” as I always do around Independence Day. In just a few pages it highlights the heroic qualities possessed by the colonists that paved the way for the freedom and prosperity Americans enjoy today. The poem tells a story of the tireless vigilance of Revere and his Previous sermons are available free of charge, in print and friend. It tells of the horseman’s dedication to his task. It deon CD and DVD at the Main Street entrance to the scribes the courage of ordinary farmers and craftsmen as Sanctuary. Podcasts are also available by searching they risked, and sometimes lost their lives for the cause of “First Word Tim Walker.” liberty. In the end, the poem predicts a future for America that Can’t join us for worship? will be better “through all our history, to the last” because of Watch live on the church website Sunday mornings at what those patriots did. Paul Revere’s future, of course, is our 8:30 and 10:45 a.m. at www.firstmethodistmidland.com, present. And it is pretty good, isn’t it? We’re free, comfortable, safe, prosperous. It’s good because great people before listen to KWEL 1070 AM at 11 a.m., or tune into the us planned and took action. First Word television broadcast on My TV 16 Have you thought that you, too, can contribute to a betSundays at 10 a.m. ter future? I’m sure you already do in many ways. I’m talking specifically about the opportunity to give to the First United Methodist Church of Midland Foundation. You can give in many ways - through bequests, memorials, stocks, by Erika Nielson Vargas, Worship Arts Assistant life insurance, property, and others. If you’d like to make the future better, why not start today by talking to your financial planner. Or call Lynda Johnson at the church office, 432.682.3701.
A Better Future
Missed a sunday?
KidShine Performing Arts Camp a Hit
Available for you... @ First Church Library by Julie Cole, First Church Librarian
Check out some great fiction books for easy summer reading.
The Witness by Josh McDowell – popular teen author, McDowell, turns to intriguing fiction. Marwan Accad is pursued by Middle Eastern authorities for murders he didn’t commit. And even as he races against time to find his accusers, he grapples with what’s beyond this life and what’s eternal. A gripping story of a devout Muslim’s conversion to Christianity.
Upon request, the library has started a collection of inspirational movies. They are located at the front of the library on the shelf by the card catalog. Titles include The Blind Side, Facing the Giants, Letters to God, Amazing Grace, The Stranger, Fireproof, Love Comes Softly Series (7 DVDs), and To Save A Life.
KidShine, a performing arts camp, was attended by 32 children and youth the week of June 20-24, 2011. The participants spent the week singing, playing instruments, dancing, acting, and praising God. They performed a musical at the end of the week called “Forever After” which communicated the message of love that God has for us, what we should do as followers of God, and encouraging us to spread God’s word to others. Those who attended said they had a wonderful time and loved being involved in drama and music that focused on their love of God and Jesus.
Dedicate Sanctuary Flowers In Honor of or In Memory of your loved one! Contact Polly Davis at 559.0784 or
[email protected].
Rise & Fall of the Judges
Encourage Me! New Series Begins: Sunday, July 24
Sundays
beginning July 17 Contemporary Worship
in Traditional Worship with Dr. Tim Walker, Senior Pastor
They were the law. They were champions. They waged epic battles and led a nation.
Our Christian Family Christian Sympathy To:
as of 6/30/2011
John Glidewell and family on the death of his wife, Marinell Glidewell. Freda Walker and family on the death of her brother, Scott Walker of Fort Worth. Neal and Bronda Goates on the death of their brother-in-law, Dennis Strother of Sweetwater, TX.
Joys: Avery Elise Attar was born June 10, 2011 to Casey and Sayeed Attar. Grandparents are Randy and Debbie Turner. Eddie and Jane Schulte on the birth of their granddaughter, Madilyn Jane. Ryan Holt McKenna was born on June 12, 2011 to Tom and Katherine McKenna of Denver, CO. Grandparents are Bert and Anne Johnson. Great-Grandparents are Ted and Ann Johnson.
8.13
Prayer Walk for the Schools
8.27
God Bless Midland! RockHounds Baseball Game
9.11
10th Anniversary of 9/11 Community Memorial Service
10.15
Feeding of the 5,000
