Midweek Messenger August 3, 2011

Dear Friends in Christ,

This is an official public service announcement and warning: the roads in Gibsonville will no longer be safe, because my 16 year old daughter now has her driver's license. Just thought I should put that out there.

Other announcements include:

The Children's Council will meet Monday Aug. 8 at 7:00 p.m.

Care and Share will meet on Thursday Aug. 11 at 7:00 p.m.

Several of our youth will be going to SPIRITUS on Oak Island on Saturday Aug. 13- Monday Aug. 15.

The United Methodist Men will meet Sunday Aug. 14 at 8:45 a.m.

The Hand bell Choir will begin rehearsals starting Wednesday, Aug. 17 at 6:00 pm.

We will have the Blessing of the Book Bags on Sunday morning Aug. 21.

On August 21, the afternoon schedule is:

4:00 PM - special games, crafts, and inflatables for children.
5:00 PM - Ice Cream will be served for all.
6:00 PM - Sunday night worship - special praise band has been invited and we will also sing some of our VBS songs.

The Spirited Friends will go to Fearrington Farms in Pittsboro on Saturday, Aug. 27.

There will be a church-wide pancake breakfast and Sunday School Kick off on Sunday August 28 at 9:45 a.m.

There will be a Blood Drive here on Monday Aug. 29 from 3:00 PM - 7:30 PM

All of these announcements and more will be in this Sunday's bulletin!

As you can see, the summer is almost over, and we are gearing up for the beginning of a new school year. The summer has just flown by too quickly!

If you were here in church on July 17, you may remember the great music and the inspiring message we had from Claude Little. You can listen to the music and the message for that Sunday by going to the church blog: http://gibsonvilleumc.blogspot.com . You can also find many other items of interest in the life of the church there. I encourage you to write something about an area of ministry you are involved in - send it to Edith or me and we will put it on the church blog.

I'll leave you with this blessing from the Apostle Paul:

May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. -- Romans 15:5-6

Peace,
Jonathan

Midweek Messenger July 13, 2011

Dear Friends in Christ,

Hot enough for you? Hope you're staying cool somehow, either inside an air-conditioned house, by the poolside, at the beach, in the mountains, or maybe just sitting in the shade enjoying a nice breeze (my favorite).

Last Sunday was a great Sunday as we gathered together to worship God and also recognized Ted Bales as our 2011 Layperson of the Year.

This Sunday will be a special Sunday at GUMC as well. Claude Little's family reunion is in town and there will be about 100 of his family members with us for worship. Claude will also be giving the message. We will have a closed-circuit broadcast of the service in the fellowship hall for any possible overflow. Be sure to come and enjoy this wonderful worship opportunity.

Also, this Sunday evening at 6:00, we will have our 3rd Sunday of the month Sunday evening worship service. Susan Owen's band "Highway 61" will provide the music for this service. This is another great opportunity for worship!

Many of you have noticed our announcements in the bulletin and newsletter about July 24 being our matching funds Sunday for the building fund. An anonymous donor has offered to match anything above $1000 given to the building fund on that Sunday. For example, if $4000 is given to the building fund that Sunday, then our anonymous donor would give an additional $3000. This is a good opportunity to pump up our building fund! There is a $5000 cap on the matching fund.

The evangelism committee met Monday night and considered ways to increase the church's on-line presence. We decided to try developing a church blog. It's free, and it's easy to update. For now, it is still in its experimental stage, but if you would like to see it, this is the address: http://gibsonvilleumc.blogspot.com . This will not replace the church website, but it will be an additional way to get out information quickly and easily. It will be updated frequently, so check it often.

Well, I'm about to go get ready for PB & J. We have had a lot of good youth participation this summer in this ministry, which has been fun. Our youth are also working tomorrow at Loaves and Fishes. Loaves and Fishes called us just yesterday and asked if we could come earlier than we were originally scheduled. They need extra help. So, now the youth are gathering at the church on Thursday at 9:00 AM to go to Loaves and Fishes. Wear your youth T shirt and closed toed shoes. Bring money for lunch. This ministry is so important. Just this morning, someone came by the church needing help with food. We were able to refer them to Loaves and Fishes knowing that they could receive the help they need there.

Hope to see you Sunday!

Peace,
Jonathan