Ogallala, Nebraska 69153 www.methodistchurchogallala.com

FIRST UNITED

METHODIST CHURCH

Ministers

The Worshiping Congregation

Pastor

Chuck Rager

Christian Education Director

Renee Meyer

Administrative Secretary

Dawn Haney

Custodian

Dawn Haney

Newsletter Editor

Karen Nenstiel

District Superintendent

Cindy Karges

Bishop of Great Plains

Conference

Ruben Saenz, Jr.

First United Methodist Church

Pastor’s Page 2

Mark Your Calendar 3

Meetings This Month 3

United Methodist Women 4

UMW Special Awards 5

An Activity Page 6

Infant Baptism 7

Youth Activities 7

CCC Awards 8

Scholarship Applications 9

Adult Sunday School 10

Stewards for September 11

IN THIS ISSUE

Join us for an evening of high energy, fast-paced

entertainment your entire family is sure to enjoy!

“Start your children off on the way they should go, and even when they

are old they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:4

Sunday School classes start for all ages on Sunday, September 15, right

after the worship service. Sunday School and church attendance are help-

ful in the training and guidance of children. Bring your children to church

and Sunday School. It is Biblical and it is helpful.

Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the way of the Lord.

Psalm 34:11

Sunday School and church are excellent ways and places for our young

people to learn about God AND learn to live according to God’s will and

God’s way. Bring your children to church and Sunday School. It is Biblical

and it is helpful.

Teach these words of mine to your children, talk about them when you sit

at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when

you get up. Deuteronomy 11:19

When you bring your children to church you can all learn more about God,

and you can discuss what you learn about God’s instructions for us at

home with your children. Bring your children to Sunday School. It is Bibli-

cal and it is helpful.

“The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have

children who are wise” Proverbs 23:24

Sunday School and church are excellent places for a child to become wise

in the way of God. Bring your children to church and Sunday School. It is

Biblical and it is helpful. You will experience joy.

See me Sunday,

Pastor Chuck

Page 2 September, 2019

“Pearl”

The pearl is a symbol of the surpassing value of

the kingdom of God, based on Jesus’ parable

in Matthew 13:45-46: “The kingdom of heaven

is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,

who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and

bought it.”

Christian

Symbols

September 4 (Wednesday) at 6 P.M. — Confirmation Class begins

September 8 (Sunday) at 6 P.M. — Illusionists David and Teesha Laflin

September 11 (Wednesday) — Second Wednesday — Supper at 5:30 P.M.

and Worship Service at 6:15 P.M.

September 11 (Wednesday) at 7 P.M. — Youth Group

September 12 (Thursday) at Noon — U.M.W. General lunch

September 15 (Sunday) at 8 A.M. — First Chancel Choir practice

September 15 (Sunday) — After Worship — Sunday School begins for all ages

September 17 (Tuesday) at 9 A.M. – Bible Study of Joshua begins

September 22 (Sunday) — Men’s Group will lead worship

Page 3 The Messenger

Your Church

Office will be

closed on

Monday,

September 2,

2019.

Mark Your Calendar

Labor Day, September 2, 2019

National Grandparents Day, September 8, 2019

Patriot Day, September 11, 2019

Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 – Oct. 15, 2019

First day of Autumn, Septem-ber 23, 2019

Board of Trustees on Wednes-day, September 4, at 7:00 p.m.

Finance Committee on Thurs-day, September 12, at 5:00 p.m.

Administrative Council on Wednesday, September 18, at 7:00 p.m.

Meetings Special Dates

Safeway Community Giving Benefits Our Church

Have you been using your Safeway

Community Giving card to pay for your

groceries?

Your Finance Committee would like

the congregation to know that the Com-

munity Giving program has been a sig-

nificant source of funds for our General

Operating budget. Between the time

we initiated use of the cards in April,

2015, and the end of April this year, the

program has added $7,785.40 to our

coffers.

When a shopper pays for groceries

at the Safeway store using a Communi-

ty Giving card, 5% of the total bill is do-

nated back to the Church.

If you do not yet have a card (or if

yours has been misplaced), they are

available from the Church Office. The

card may be purchased for $5 and is

pre-loaded with $5 purchasing power.

Then you can add more (up to $500) to

the card at any time.

If you have been using your card —

THANKS! If you haven’t —

please start now!

Thank You . . . .

Page 4 September, 2019

United Methodist

Women September

Meetings

UMW General

Thursday, September 12

12:00 noon

Fellowship Hall

Circle 1

Thursday, September 26

(B. Johnson)

Circle 3

Thursday, September 19

2:00 pm

Hess Lounge

Circle 5

Monday, September 16

6:00 pm

Women’s Resource

Center Banquet

. . . to the following persons who worked and/or furnished food

for the George McCreath funeral luncheon on June 28, 2019:

Teresa Davis Sharen Terry Susan Schimonitz

Pam Abbott Edna Meyer Jen Blackman Twila Haney

Kathy Knight Janean Lindauer Bev Armour Shirley Bassett

Dorothy Glenn Sherri Walker Doris Hickam Bertie Siders

Karen Nelson Karen Powell Jan Haggard Rose Holechek

Thanks to the Cowboy Capital Consultants for providing the meat!

Here's the BUZZ from Bea:

I'm looking forward to seeing all of

you at our September meeting on

Thursday, September 12, at

noon. (Executive Committee meeting

at 11:00 a.m.). It's been a long time

since May. Hope your summer went

well, and you got to be with a lot of

friends and family.

Thank you to all who helped make

UMW Sunday happen. Everyone was

so helpful. It was good to see John and

Jeanne, and I thank her for sharing her

story.

I would encourage all United Meth-

odist women who are not members of

UMW to find a circle that fits their time

and personality and join UMW.

Here’s something you might like to

attend: The Women’s Resource Center

will hold their annual 'Uniting for Life

Banquet' on Monday, September

16. The Silent Auction begins at 5:30

p.m. and a light meal at 6:00, followed

by the program. This year it is at New

Hope Worship Center at 319 East O

Street . Please RSVP (308-284-3700)

by September 6. Guest speaker will be

Denny Hartford from Omaha.

Bea Hatch

UMW President

UMW Fall Retreat to be Held in McCook

The United Methodist Women

are planning to hold a Fall Retreat

on October 19 in McCook.

Speaker for the re-

treat will be Ruth Karls-

son. She is the executive

director of Released and

Restored, a prison minis-

try in Lincoln and York for

women who are preparing for a life

after being released from incarcera-

tion. Education, parenting skills, job

opportunities, and housing are all

part of this ministry, as well as per-

sonal and spiritual

growth.

More information about

the retreat will be forth-

coming very soon. If you

are interested in attend-

ing or would like more information,

please contact Bea Hatch.

The Messenger Page 5

UMW Announces 2019 Tribute Recipients

“This honored recipient has done and continues to do many behind the scenes and visible projects for our church. To name a few — changed the light bulbs in the many light fixtures, installed security cameras, helped build the hand rails along the steps up to the stage in Fellowship Hall, helped design and build the deck on the parsonage, serves on the Board of Trus-tees. By now you most likely know that this recipient of the Special Recognition Pin is Allen Cerny.”

Dedicated Light

“There is a song we sang in Sunday School, ‘This Little Light of

Mine, I’m Going to Let It Shine.’ There are many people in this

church who let their light shine through service to keep our church

growing with charity and kindness. Every year the United Method-

ist Women select one of the people to receive the Dedicated Light.

A gift to missions is given in their honor or memory, and for that a

candle is lit at the District Fall meeting and at the Conference for

one minute.

“Do those of us who

have been given the Dedicated Light think

we deserved it? Probably not. Will that

prevent us from continuing our service to

the church? Absolutely not. The light of

our recipient this year no longer shines on

earth, but will shine down to us from heav-

en. We will carry on all that she gave us. I

am sure by now you have guessed that our

recipient is Irene Harmonson.” (Tribute

composed and presented on UMW Sunday

by Karla Lawler)

Irene Harmonson

Family members attending to receive

acknowledgement of the Dedicated Light for

Irene were: Lisa Morris, Brenda Ketchum,

Abby Ketchum and Tony Ketchum.

Special Mission Recognition “Each year our United Methodist Women’s group honors three wonderful and help-

ful people of our church family who have dedicated a good amount of their time and energy to the service and upkeep of our church. The money given in their honor is an undesignated gift for mission work.”

“(This) honored recipient provides much needed guid-ance for the Saturday morning Cowboy Capital Consultant group; completely and beautifully refurbished the well-used rocking chair, the big wooden train set and other toys in the nursery; and always has a very good deal on tickets for the Fun Fest breakfast. If you haven’t guessed by now, this pin goes to….Jerry Speck.”

“The next honored recipient has helped scrape and paint the parsonage garage, helped sponsor the youth on their ski trip, taches Sunday School and is one of several leaders of the Wednesday night youth group. Have you guessed who this recipient is? Ryan Holechek.” (Sorry. No picture available.)

(Presentations by Teresa Davis. Pictures by Jeff Peterson)

Page 6

Classes for all ages

resume on Sunday,

September 15,

immediately

following worship

September, 2019

A Bible Quiz

An Activity Page for Younger People

What number fits in all the blanks to reveal God’s instructions to Joshua about the city of Jericho? Israelite warriors, led by ___ priests blowing ___ ram’s-horn trumpets for ___ days, would march around the city once a day, except the last day, when they would march around it ___ times; then the walls of Jericho would fall.

A. One B. Three C. Five D. Seven

Answer: D (See Joshua 6:1-5.)

The Messenger Page 7

SonShine Singers

will sing in

church on

Sunday,

September 8.

Come for practice

at 8:20 a.m.

Aubrey Joy Bassett was bap-

tized on Sunday, August 11, Her

parents are Jack and Kim Bas-

sett, and her big brothers are Jar-

rett and Jonah. The family were

joined in the picture (at left) by

Lay Leader Roger Rankin, UMW

representative Teresa Davis and

Pastor Chuck Rager.

Back-to-School Humor

Teacher: What’s the chemical formula for water?

Student: H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O

Teacher: What are you talking about?

Student: Yesterday you said it was H to O.

Math teacher: A person from LA drove toward New York at 250 miles per hour as a

person from New York drove toward LA at 150 miles per hour. Where did they meet?

Student: In jail!

BAPTISM

Solid Rock Youth

meetings begin

September 11, 2019

7:00 p.m.

Open to all youth in

the 6th-12th grades

Ogallala First United Methodist

Church has an active

Prayer Chain which

has had some recent

revisions. The partici-

pants are pleased to

receive requests from

anyone who needs to

share either joys or concerns.

If you have a request for the

Prayer Chain, please call the

Church Office (284-8455), Barbara

Draucker (289-0502), or Karen

Powell (284-6145). Your request

will be passed down the chain, and

we will all be praying with you!

Prayer Chain Requests

Page 8

First Day of

Autumn

September 23,

2019

September, 2019

CCC Awards “Everyday Heroes”

What kind of school do you go to

if you’re …

… an ice cream man? Sundae

school

… a giant? High school

… a surfer? Boarding school

… King Arthur? Knight school

Submissions for the October is-

sue of The Messenger need to be

in the editor’s hands no later than

Thursday, September 19. Bring

stories, pictures or ideas to the

Church Office or email them directly

to the editor at:

ogallalaumcnews@gmail.com.

Thanks for your help!

At a recent regular Saturday morning

meeting, the Cowboy Capital Consultants

(CCC) presented “Everyday Hero Awards” to

three of their members. Roger Adkins, Bur-

rell Albee and Ted Slagle were honored for

their excellent service to the church and

community. Roger Adkins

Jim Glenn

Ken Snyder

Burrell Albee

Ted Slagle

Roger Adkins

Jerry Speck

Jerry Speck, Vance Nelson

The Messenger Page 9

To my Church Family:

Thank you so much for the heart-

warming cards with your memories of

George, the generous memorials for

him, the UMW funeral lunch, the other

food you brought that helped feed my

families and your kind visits. All was

very much appreciated and it helped us

through this very sad time. My sons

noted “what a great church.”

God bless all of you. Many thanks

again.

Sherry McCreath

Jon and Allison

Todd and Susie

Scott and Jutta

Sharen [Terry]:

Thank you so much for the lunch

the United Methodist Women made for

George’s funeral. It was perfect for the

early hour that we needed it. Please let

the women of your group know of our

families’ appreciation.

Sincerely,

Sherry McCreath

Notes of Thanks

The Missions Outreach Committee

extends thanks to everyone who partici-

pated in this year’s Baby Bottle Boom-

erang. A total of $892.76 was donated

to help the work of the Women’s Re-

source Center.

It’s time for the high school seniors, and those already in college, to begin thinking about scholarship applications. Ogallala United Methodist Church offers three scholarships, due to the generosi-ty of several former and current mem-bers:

1) The Dowling Family Scholar-ship is given in loving memory by the Phil and Betty Dowling family. Mr. and Mrs. Dowling were long time Ogallala residents and faithful members of the Ogallala UMC who believed in support-ing area youth and their community.

2) The Draucker Family Scholar-ship Fund was established by the Draucker family of Ogallala. The pur-pose of the Fund is to provide financial assistance for members of the Ogallala UMC who wish to further their educa-tion following graduation from high school.

3) The Haggard-Samp Scholar-ship was started and dedicated to the memory of Marge Haggard from the Haggard family, and in honor and memory of Rod Samp, by Rod's family in 2003. Combining the assets provided-ed a scholarship to be offered each year to an Ogallala UMC high school

Scholarship Applications Are Now Available graduate.

To receive these scholarships, the applicant must be a member of the Ogallala UMC.

The recipient may be:

1.) a graduating high school senior,

2.) a student already attending a post-secondary school,

3.) any adult (of any age) who is en-rolled, or planning to enroll, as a stu-dent during the ensuing school year,

4.) a part-time or full-time student.

Students who receive the scholar-ship in one year are eligible to apply in future years. Any student may apply for all three scholarships by filling out just one form, but he/she must apply to be considered.

Scholarship application forms are available in the Church Office. Complet-ed applications should be returned to the Church Office no later that April 1, 2020.

If you have questions about the scholarships, please see Pastor Chuck or one of the committee members.

Becky Plate

Scholarship Committee Chair

Page 10 September, 2019

September 8, 2019

Adult Sunday School Class Begins New Study

attorney or anything else, a Chris-

tian can begin each workday or shift

by praying for opportunities to serve

whoever they’ll encounter. We also

can pray for and seek ways to grow

in “spiritual union with God”: cultivat-

ing spiritual fruits; actively loving

God and neighbor; seeing Jesus in

the vulnerable; practicing humility,

gratitude and praise.

In Labor Day, may we find inspi-

ration to make all our labors loving

and faithful!

Thomas Merton, an American

monk, writer and social activist,

said, “It is in the ordinary duties and

labors of life that the Christian can

and should develop his spiritual un-

ion with God.” As the United States

observes Labor Day, may we find

meaning not simply in marking sum-

mer’s end but in celebrating the

ways nearly all “duties and labors of

life” can empower ministry and faith.

Whether as a dentist, parent,

artist, teacher, mechanic, gardener,

city councilor, farmer, day laborer,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

What? Merry Christmas?

Yes, Merry Christmas!

The Adult Sunday

School class will begin on

September 15, right after

worship finishes that morn-

ing. We will meet in Fellow-

ship Hall downstairs.

We will be using the J.

Ellsworth book, Christmas

from the Backside, as our

material, and we do have copies of

the book available.

This is a seven-week study of

things to consider and explore about

the way we look at and experience

Christmas. We are doing this study

now so that when the Christmas

season arrives, we can look at the

Advent and Christmas sea-

sons with new perspectives.

If you have children in Sun-

day School — come join us.

If you have never been a part

of our Adult Sunday School

— come join us.

If Adult Sunday School is

something you have done

before — come join us.

We will explore thoughts like:

The Scandal of Christmas

Three Votes for an Early Christmas

Christmas and the Impossible

Dream

Merry Christmas! See you in

Sunday School!

Pastor Chuck

In Labors of Love

The worship to which we are called in our renewed state is far too important to

be left to personal preferences, to whims or to marketing strategies. It is the

pleasing of God that is at the heart of worship. Therefore, our worship must be

informed at every point by the Word of God as we seek God’s own instructions

for worship that is pleasing to him. ~~R.C. Sproul

Sept. 1 Greeters Roger & Judi Adkins, Larry & Doris Keller Fellowship Jeff & Renee Meyer Acolytes Amaris Cobaugh Children’s Moment Bea Hatch Ushers Group 8: Lloyd Johnson, Pete Knudsen, Bud Haney, L.D. Walker, Ted Slagle, Jim Hixon Sept. 8 Greeters Lyle & Barbara Nootz, Brian & Claudia Stevenson Fellowship Acolytes Tayven Lumpkin, Tyler Walker Children’s Moment Pastor Chuck Rager Ushers Group 9: Buck Markussen, Eric Troxel, Parker Reil, Hunter Reil, Ryan Holechek, Gary Williams Sept. 15 Greeters Cena Graves, Judy Cross Fellowship Acolytes Children’s Moment Pastor Chuck Rager Ushers Group 10: Cena Graves, Dave Sheldon, Todd Neill, Dave Baltzell, Sharen Terry, Susan Schimonitz Sept. 22 Greeters Cowboy Capital Consultants Fellowship Acolytes Children’s Moment Cowboy Capital Consultants Ushers Cowboy Capital Consultants Sept. 29 Greeters Bev Johnson, Jim & LeAnn Ayres Fellowship Twila & Dawn Haney Acolytes Children’s Moment Penny Benda Ushers Group 2:Steve Shull, Burrell Albee, Terry Johnson, Jerry Speck, Richard Johnson, Mike Henry Oct. 6 Greeters Herb & Karen Knudsen, Norm & Rhonda Duba Fellowship Acolytes Children’s Moment Carmen Troxel Ushers Group 3: Dennis & Teresa Davis, John & Sharon York, Wendell & Ramona Upright

If you would like to have your name added to the rosters for any of the service opportunities listed above, please contact the church office.

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Permit No. 74

Our Vision: “To be a dynamic church, sharing and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ”

Our Mission: “To love God, love each other and extend that love beyond our church”

T h e M e s s e n g e r

F i r s t U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t C h u r c h

4 2 1 N o r t h S p r u c e P . O . B o x 9 1 6

O g a l l a l a , N e b r a s k a 6 9 1 5 3

R e t u r n S e r v i c e R e q u e s t e d

Glory be to God for dappled things —

For skies of couple-colour as a brindled cow;

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;

Landscape plotted and pieced — fold, fallow, and plough;

And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;

Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)

With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;

He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:

Praise him.

~~Gerard Manley Hopkins

PIED BEAUTY