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“Come expectantly seeking Jesus. Follow Him boldly. Go witness intentionally.” July 2020

The Messenger

As you all know my mother passed just recently – and thanks to all who shared words of comfort! Ecclesiastes says that there is a time for every season under heaven. There is a time to mourn and a time to dance. One of the most amazing blessings of this season of mourning has been reviewing my mother’s life – first in shared memories and then in going through her home. It was so revealing and really, even with the grief, so inspiring and such a blessing. My mother was an artist and one of the things that she would do was regularly give me a plethora of objects of inspiration. One of them was a small picture of a little boat upon a rolling sea which came with the inscription: Dear God, be good to me; the sea is so wide and my boat is so small”. I have always felt that a little boat on

a wide sea was such an apt metaphor for our lives. On Sunday last, I mentioned the British marshalling of pleasure boats, sail boats, yachts – a fleet of civilian vessels to rescue the trapped British army stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk. The operation itself was called Dynamo – a fascinating title, interestingly taken from the brand name of a fan. Combined it suggests the power of the wind – in this case driving the fleet of little vessels to the rescue of those in the crosshairs of evil. Stretching the metaphor a bit farther, in scripture the idea of wind and breath are used to speak of the power of the Holy Spirit. And so whenever I see these little boats crossing the English channel, my mind harkens back to that little picture and prayer that my mother gave to me. And I never, ever underestimate the power and presence of the Holy Spirit driving all our little boats to the rescue of those in the crosshairs of evil. Our temptation, our deception, is to be blind to the authority and the power that God has granted to his fleet of little boats cast upon the troubled sea. In fact, one of the devil’s most strategic tactics is to fill us with despair and a sense of helplessness. The sense that our prayers mean nothing, do nothing, are nothing. But we are not helpless and our prayers are not vacuous and powerless. One of the most fearful thing the devil can see is a child of God on his or her knees in prayer before the Throne of God! Many times when we kneel to pray we feel the thought that our prayers are futile, bouncing off the ceiling, just whistling in the dark. But they are not. God has given us the weapon of prayer to counter the movements of darkness and evil in this world. And my friends, that’s where we stand today. The call has gone out for God’s fleet of little boats to traverse the troubled sea in the wind of the Spirit to release the power of prayer. Every day, hear that call and stand before God in the Spirit pleading in the name of Jesus for evil will be thwarted, that good shall prevail, that people will awaken to the truth, that deception will fail, that we will take our stand in this hour for the Kingdom. KEEFE

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Beth Aikman

Bob Asmussen Elaine Asmussen Betty Bozeman

Tina and Keefe Cropper Mary Ann Fitzgerald

Lynn Emmert Bruce Grider Gail Lumley

Diane Mosley Jack Robinson Gary Simpkins

Eddie Steck Larry Tucker

Annette Wilbourn Ron Wimp

Financial Update as of June 22, 2020:

Year-to-Date Giving: $ 191,141 Year-to-Date Budget: $ 192,575

11:00 am Service Bob King. Brad Medlin, John Seekins, Sally Seekins

July Communion Offering

Wood County Child Protection Board

Methodist Men have canceled the July fellowship and program meeting. Meetings are planned to resume in August.

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We have moved! Our new home is in the room that was the library. We are so excited to finally have a permanent home. There is still a wall of shelving that contains all kinds of reference books for everyone in the church to use

and some important historical documents relating to our church which are still in the room. Due to the pandemic, our choir may look a little different for awhile but I believe I have found a way for us to be able to share our bells in the worship service that will be just as meaningful. We are all anxious to get back to ringing THE BELLS!

NEWS FROM THE HANDBELL CHOIR

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Dear Church Family, I am forever grateful for the path that led me to serve as your choir director. It has been one of the best experiences in my life. I consider it an honor to have

worked alongside the choir members, pianists and staff, they have made me a better person. Your support and encouragement guided me from the very beginning. I'm going to miss you all very much. Thank you for the opportunity to serve at First United Methodist Church. You will always be in my prayers and I am forever grateful to have served in a small way on this church staff. Most Sincerely, Lepha Luttrall

July 3 Pete Andres July 4 Austin Dobbs July 4 Saundra Mott July 4 Elizabeth Taylor July 7 Mary Ann Fitzgerald July 7 Greg Simpkins July 7 Mark Ward July 11 Diane Mosley July 11 Mary Phipps July 15 Brad Gibson July 15 Jimmy Johns July 16 Marja Heinert July 16 Logan Simpkins July 17 Grayson Baker

July 20 Doug Lee July 20 Mary Wimp July 21 Jeff Davis July 21 Teresa Dunn July 21 Jason Edwards July 23 Nick Poppenhusen July 24 Katherine Newsom July 27 Susan Ukleja July 29 Doyle Nelson July 31 Shirely O’Neal July 31 Sally Seekins

4th of July

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C.R.E.W. Connect, Revive, Expand, Worship

JULY 2020

This last week went by quickly but it had a moment of light for the first time in the last 10 weeks. We were actually able to get together as a youth group. We may not have had MASSIVE numbers but those that did come were able to experience fellowship and fun with their church family for the first time in a while. Was it different? Absolutely. Was the program not the usual Wednesday agenda? Of course. But what made it special was the time that we had to spend apart. After 10 weeks something as simple as a game of pool, playing guitar hero, or a very competitive game of dork (with a sweet prize for the winner) gave our youth a small sliver of time to enjoy fellowship with their peers. The hard part is that once they leave our building, they must go back out and navigate the world that is slowly morphing around them. A world filled with injustice, bigot-ry, and fear. But my job, or at least to me, is to help them see the light in this world. To help them keep their eyes up to what the Father has in store for each one of them. None of us is given the promise of a pain free life. Even people such as Moses, Daniel, David, Paul, etc. had fear of things in their lives. But they knew that God was working in their lives to teach them something; and that is my hope for our youth. That they look through the darkness and fog of what is being put out into our world and they are able to see the light and shine their own for someone else to see. I will leave you with a scripture that has been resonating with me throughout all of these troubling times of late. “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, hav-ing stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” James 1: 12 -Tino

UPCOMING DATES

We will be

having youth group every

Wednesday from 2-4 p.m. for the

rest of the summer. This is a time and date that I feel will be easier to handle

and will give the kids a suitable time

for

fellowship and not interfere with any

summer

obligations.

Tino Elias Director of Youth Ministries Work Phone: (903) 763-4127

Cell Phone: (903) 426-8861

Work: tino@fumcquitman.org

Email: tino.eliasamc@gmail.com

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

A Time to Move Slow

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LIBERTY LINES By John Sparks An average of 31 members braved the coronavirus pandemic over the first three June Sundays to attend on-site collective worship services since the “shelter-in-place” orders first went into effect. Pastor Keefe was energized and impassioned with these rare op-portunities for some face-to-face with his flock. All of the proper precautions were observed—Individual temperatures taken at the door; face masks required; six-feet of separation; individual chairs in clusters of one, two or three. By the book! Of course, our two adult Sunday School classes were also impacted—but, the internet and the genius of Sam Scroggins brought the “Early Risers” clas-ses right into our homes in the hour before of the regular Sunday Service was broadcast. For now Liberty’s Fellowship Hall is be-ing utilized for worship services to meet the demands for greater square footage and versatility in use of the space. After being shut down following our March 12 meeting, The Lib-erty Council held a “resumption” meeting on May 28. At that spe-cial meeting we voted to resume our regular monthly schedule of second Thursday meetings at Fellowship Hall starting with the June meeting. Normalcy, however achieved, is wonderful. And, don’t we all look forward to whatever and whenever the “new normal” becomes reality. In my working days and environment we always acknowledged that “The Only Constant in Business is Change.” Perhaps that is the new normal for life as we know it. The June meeting of the Liberty Council resulted in the adoption of the outreaches with which our Church will move forward. These are above and beyond our continuing support of the out-reaches from our Monthly Communion rail offerings and the Con-ference apportionments. Those charities selected include two ac-claimed local organizations: “Rainbow Room” serving Quitman and Wood County children (normally those separated from their parents) and “Highway 80 Missions” located in Longview, but serving area adults and children who are homeless. Each of these organizations will receive $200-a-month. Our more distant out-reaches include monthly stipends of $100 for our ongoing support of the Methodist Church initiatives in Tanzania; for the estab-lished “Christ for India” organization which has been receiving individual monthly contributions from numerous Liberty UMC members for the past year-and-a-half, and the newly-adopted “Children’s Hope Chest” which directs programs serving more than 15,000 orphaned and vulnerable children in Russia, Ethiopia, Estwatini, Guatemala, Moldava, and Uganda. Founded in 1994, HopeChest has developed programming which provides food, nutritional supplements, spiritual discipleship and programming, grief and trauma counseling and safe places to meet. Funding for Hope Chest, currently in the $8.5-million range comes from U.S. church and business partners as well as individual donors who recognize the power of relationships in breaking the cycle of pov-erty and spreading the gospel of Christ around the globe as the organization seeks to fulfill its vision of “restoring hope to those who need it most.” HopeChest is headed up by Ken Sparks, son of Ann & John.

With the uncertainties of the continuing impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic, the Council voted to forego our traditional July 4 pic-nic this year. However, in another step toward “normal,” members of the “Early Risers Sunday School Class” will gather at Liberty at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 12—This class will be held in the Sanctuary.

2581 HWY 154 East

Quitman, Texas 75783 903-638-9634

www.libertyumc.info

The Sunday Worship service, however, will continue to be held in Fellowship Hall at the normal 9:30 hour until further notice as we look to our political and medical leaders for decisions re: reopening. Of course, all are welcome to both the class and the service. Liberty’s Trustees are hoping to secure a new home for the wooden storage building which served the needs of Liberty’s congregation for several years. The building is still serviceable, but needs a new home. If anyone reading this has such a need or knows someone else who may be interested, please contact Bob Stewart at 303 994-7308. New owner will be responsible for transporting the building. Pray earnestly for those suffering. Pray earnestly for our Church. Pray earnestly for our Country! See You-All in Church soon!

July 4 Malloy Bridges July 13 Cathy Hibbs July 13 John Sparks July 20 Jerry Hibbs July 27 Sharon Clifton July 30 Neva Potts

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First United Methodist Church 406 E. Lane Street

903.763.4127

Early Worship 8:30 a.m. Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Worship 11:00 a.m.

www.fumcquitman.org

_________________________

Liberty United Methodist Church 2581 E. St Hwy 154

903.638.9634

Sunday School 8:30 a.m. Worship 9:30 a.m.

Sunday School 10:45 a.m. www.libertyumc.info

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If so, please contact the church office.

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Permit No. 14 Quitman, TX

First United Methodist Church P O Box 1643 Quitman, TX 75783

“Transforming God’s Children Into Disciples”

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WELCOME BACK TO WORSHIP

As most readers know, we have resumed in-person worship services on a scaled basis at both FUMC and Liberty UMC. At FUMC, only the 11:00 a.m. service is offered and we are conducting it in J.O.Y. Hall with separate "Masked" and "Mask Optional" entries and seating sections, both which respect the need for social distancing. When safe to resume in an unrestricted fashion we will move back into the FUMC sanctuary, resume the 8:30 a.m. service, and re-open our Nursery Service. At Liberty, the 9:30 a.m. worship service is being conducted in the Fellowship Hall. Masks are required for all worshippers and social distancing is maintained.. Both churches are open to all and reservations are not required. We do ask that those feeling ill stay home, and we are using no-touch infrared thermometers to check everyone’s temperatures prior to entering the worship areas. We know that some church members will not feel comfortable returning to in-person worship as long as COVID-19 hangs around. We are recording the FUMC service live and making it available on YouTube at 6:00 p.m. each Sunday. From YouTube, search for “FUMC Quitman” then locate the service that you want to watch. We hope that everyone will join us when they are able.