11.23.24 - E-News
Out from Behind the Pulpit
Thank you to all who turned in your financial commitment card for 2025. As of Monday, 103 families have turned in cards or commitments. If you’d like to submit your commitment online, please CLICK HERE
This will be the last Sunday for our stewardship campaign, “Known By Our Love.” Each week, the compelling witness of the earliest Christians has been our guide. These first Christ followers committed to a life of nonviolence, “an ecosystem of peace,” as it is called in Eric Kreider’s book, The Patient Ferment of the Early Church. They insisted on peace within their fellowship and as a response to the world around them. This Sunday, I’ll conclude our sermon series with a look at how their weekly worship formed this peaceful response within them.
I am grateful to Garett Reding and his leadership in preparing a new website and an app to improve our communication. This week, we are offering a “soft launch” for the church app. (See details below.) Eventually, this will be your one-stop-shop for all the information you need to participate with us. You can download and begin using the app right now! Over the next two weeks, we are seeking feedback as we tweak it for the “grand opening” to come soon. Shortly after Advent begins, we’ll unveil our new website.
Finally, I wanted to pass along an invitation to join our Annual Conference for the installation of Bishop Laura Merrill on Dec. 7 at Chapel Hill UMC in Oklahoma City. (See details below.) Bishop Merrill was elected to the episcopacy in Nov. 2022. She was first assigned to the Arkansas Annual Conference where she has served since Jan. 2023. As of Sept. 1, 2024, she was also assigned to the Oklahoma and Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conferences. She is a powerful presence and an amazing leader. Her installation service will be a wonderful celebration for our Annual Conference.
This Sunday, we’ll begin our preparation for Christmas with the Hanging of the Greens. Our Momentum Youth will lead us in a wonderful worship service, Nov. 24, at 6:30pm. We will learn about the symbols of this special season as we all add a touch to our decorations. I hope you’ll join us. Advent begins on Sunday, Dec. 1.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Charla
This will be the last Sunday for our stewardship campaign, “Known By Our Love.” Each week, the compelling witness of the earliest Christians has been our guide. These first Christ followers committed to a life of nonviolence, “an ecosystem of peace,” as it is called in Eric Kreider’s book, The Patient Ferment of the Early Church. They insisted on peace within their fellowship and as a response to the world around them. This Sunday, I’ll conclude our sermon series with a look at how their weekly worship formed this peaceful response within them.
I am grateful to Garett Reding and his leadership in preparing a new website and an app to improve our communication. This week, we are offering a “soft launch” for the church app. (See details below.) Eventually, this will be your one-stop-shop for all the information you need to participate with us. You can download and begin using the app right now! Over the next two weeks, we are seeking feedback as we tweak it for the “grand opening” to come soon. Shortly after Advent begins, we’ll unveil our new website.
Finally, I wanted to pass along an invitation to join our Annual Conference for the installation of Bishop Laura Merrill on Dec. 7 at Chapel Hill UMC in Oklahoma City. (See details below.) Bishop Merrill was elected to the episcopacy in Nov. 2022. She was first assigned to the Arkansas Annual Conference where she has served since Jan. 2023. As of Sept. 1, 2024, she was also assigned to the Oklahoma and Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conferences. She is a powerful presence and an amazing leader. Her installation service will be a wonderful celebration for our Annual Conference.
This Sunday, we’ll begin our preparation for Christmas with the Hanging of the Greens. Our Momentum Youth will lead us in a wonderful worship service, Nov. 24, at 6:30pm. We will learn about the symbols of this special season as we all add a touch to our decorations. I hope you’ll join us. Advent begins on Sunday, Dec. 1.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Charla
What's New?
THIS SUNDAY -
Hanging of the Greens Service
Join us for our annual Hanging of the Greens on November 24th, at 6:30pm, in the Sanctuary. On this night, our church family gathers to prepare the sanctuary for the Advent and Christmas seasons. Led by Momentum Youth, it’s an evening of beautiful music, scripture, and readings that explain the significance of each decoration put in place. At the end of the service, everyone will have a chance to place an ornament on the Sanctuary’s Chrismon Tree!
Download our New Church App (Soft Launch Release)
We are so excited to share that we are finally ready to have the soft launch of our new church app! What does "soft launch" mean? It means that not all of the features are available yet, as we hope to hear your feedback on the core features first! So what can this app do? Great question! In our church app you can create a profile to check-in, give online, access our sermon library and watch or download sermons any time, read along with the scriptures in our services with a built in Bible, see all of our upcoming events and add them to your calendar, read the E-News, and so much more! We will keep you updated when we roll out new features, so make sure to keep an eye on the E-News for those! One of the upcoming features we are excited about, and we are sure you will be as well, is being able to also watch our Livestream live from the app as well as child check-in for Sunday mornings!
If you are having any issues with the app, or have questions about it, please feel free to reach out to Garett Reding via email at greding@fumcstw.org
To download the new app, click one of the links below
For Android Users - CLICK HERE
For iPhone Users - CLICK HERE
If you are having any issues with the app, or have questions about it, please feel free to reach out to Garett Reding via email at greding@fumcstw.org
To download the new app, click one of the links below
For Android Users - CLICK HERE
For iPhone Users - CLICK HERE
Invitation to Bishop’s Installation
Friends in the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church,
you are invited to a special occasion with The Oklahoma Annual Conference for A Service Celebrating the Assignment of Bishop Laura Merrill.
On Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 1 p.m., our Annual Conference will gather at Chapel Hill United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City for a worship service marking the covenant between Bishop Merrill and United Methodists in Oklahoma.
Following worship, stay and enjoy a reception with refreshments. All are invited to meet our new Bishop and extend your welcome and support. A special offering will be taken in honor of Bishop Merrill to benefit Cookson Hills Indigenous Center and Project Transformation.
you are invited to a special occasion with The Oklahoma Annual Conference for A Service Celebrating the Assignment of Bishop Laura Merrill.
On Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 1 p.m., our Annual Conference will gather at Chapel Hill United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City for a worship service marking the covenant between Bishop Merrill and United Methodists in Oklahoma.
Following worship, stay and enjoy a reception with refreshments. All are invited to meet our new Bishop and extend your welcome and support. A special offering will be taken in honor of Bishop Merrill to benefit Cookson Hills Indigenous Center and Project Transformation.
United Women in Faith Receive Award
The United Women in Faith recently received the Heart of the Community Award from the Payne County Children Services. The award was for the continued financial support given for services to children.
Lyrics from Last Week's Anthem
We received a great amount of positive feedback from last week's anthem, and were asked if we could make the lyrics available for anyone who may wish to reflect on the words this Thanksgiving season.
“Thankful” Words and Music by Carole Bayer Sager, David Foster and Richard Page
Some days we forget to look around us. Some days we can’t see the joy that surrounds us.
So caught up inside ourselves, we take when we should give.
So for tonight we pray for what we know can be. And on this day we hope for what we still can’t see.
It’s up to us to be the change and even though we all can still do more, there’s so much to be thankful for.
Look beyond ourselves, there’s so much sorrow. It’s way too late to say, “I’ll cry tomorrow.”
Each of us must find our truth; it’s so long overdue.
So for tonight we pray for what we know can be.
And every day we hope for what we still can’t see.
It’s up to us to be the change, and even though we all can still do more, there’s so much to be thankful for.
Even with our differences, there is a place we’re all connected.
Each of us can find each other’s light.
So for tonight we pray for what we know can be.
And on this day we hope for what we still can’t see.
It’s up to us to be the change, and even though this world needs so much more, there’s so much to be thankful for.
“Thankful” Words and Music by Carole Bayer Sager, David Foster and Richard Page
Some days we forget to look around us. Some days we can’t see the joy that surrounds us.
So caught up inside ourselves, we take when we should give.
So for tonight we pray for what we know can be. And on this day we hope for what we still can’t see.
It’s up to us to be the change and even though we all can still do more, there’s so much to be thankful for.
Look beyond ourselves, there’s so much sorrow. It’s way too late to say, “I’ll cry tomorrow.”
Each of us must find our truth; it’s so long overdue.
So for tonight we pray for what we know can be.
And every day we hope for what we still can’t see.
It’s up to us to be the change, and even though we all can still do more, there’s so much to be thankful for.
Even with our differences, there is a place we’re all connected.
Each of us can find each other’s light.
So for tonight we pray for what we know can be.
And on this day we hope for what we still can’t see.
It’s up to us to be the change, and even though this world needs so much more, there’s so much to be thankful for.
Join Us For Our Live Nativity
Each year we gather together to celebrate the birth of Jesus by recreating the manger scene for the Stillwater community as an immersive experience. This year, our event will take place December 21st, from 5:30-7pm, in the Labyrinth area.
We are also looking for specific contributions to help this year:
Do you have tame 'manger' animals that can add to the atmosphere?
Feel comfortable portraying a King or shepherd?
Know a baby Jesus with a Mary and Joseph?
Costumes and guidance are provided.
Please contact Irene Upson at iupson@fumcstw.org if you're interested or have questions.
We are also looking for specific contributions to help this year:
Do you have tame 'manger' animals that can add to the atmosphere?
Feel comfortable portraying a King or shepherd?
Know a baby Jesus with a Mary and Joseph?
Costumes and guidance are provided.
Please contact Irene Upson at iupson@fumcstw.org if you're interested or have questions.
Opportunities to Serve
Announcing Our 2025 Bolivia Mission
Bishop Medardo of the Methodist Church in Bolivia has invited us to come in May of 2025 to share in the fellowship of our South American brothers and sisters. This mission team will again be a combination of medical, construction and children’s ministries. We can schedule dates for after our schools are dismissed for the summer which would possibly allow for more younger people to be available including students and teachers.
The Methodist church in Bolivia, the IEMB, maintains a number of health clinics and hospitals throughout the country. They have been so successful that over the years several have been turned over to the government to serve the citizens in remote areas.
When this has happened, the church establishes another clinic. One of these expansion clinics is the one in Capayque that FUMC Stillwater helped to build, and to which we have returned several times to provide free health care to thousands of rural residents.
We are organizing our next mission team for 2025 and will likely travel to a new site this time. Several of our veteran (older) mission team members feel that their health no longer will permit them to participate, primarily due to the high altitudes we experience. We are actively seeking additional medical and dental personnel who are interested in this mission. Our medical team is bare bones right now, so if you have a Medical Doctor, Physician’s Assistant, Registered Nurse or other medical professional in your acquaintance please pass on information about what an important and fulfilling mission this is.
No commitment is necessary at this time, we are just seeking interested persons. For more information contact Doug Valley at doug.dvllc@gmail.com
The Methodist church in Bolivia, the IEMB, maintains a number of health clinics and hospitals throughout the country. They have been so successful that over the years several have been turned over to the government to serve the citizens in remote areas.
When this has happened, the church establishes another clinic. One of these expansion clinics is the one in Capayque that FUMC Stillwater helped to build, and to which we have returned several times to provide free health care to thousands of rural residents.
We are organizing our next mission team for 2025 and will likely travel to a new site this time. Several of our veteran (older) mission team members feel that their health no longer will permit them to participate, primarily due to the high altitudes we experience. We are actively seeking additional medical and dental personnel who are interested in this mission. Our medical team is bare bones right now, so if you have a Medical Doctor, Physician’s Assistant, Registered Nurse or other medical professional in your acquaintance please pass on information about what an important and fulfilling mission this is.
No commitment is necessary at this time, we are just seeking interested persons. For more information contact Doug Valley at doug.dvllc@gmail.com
Christmas Cards for College Students
Momentum Youth will be sending Christmas cards to college students again this year! If you have a student you’d like to include, send their name and mailing address to Janelda Lane at jlane@fumcstw.org or (405) 762-9551, by December 1st. Cards will be mailed on December 3rd wishing them a Merry Christmas and letting them know we are thinking of them during finals!
Advent Event Calendar
Upcoming Advent Events
We are so excited that the season of Advent is nearly here! Pictured above we have some great upcoming events for our community and beyond. Be sure to download our Church App to stay up to date on any other fun events that may pop up as well! If you would like a physical calendar to have or to put on your refrigerator, they will be available at any Welcome Station at the church.
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