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:
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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OGALLALA, NEBRASKA
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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