What a blessing we all received at CBS on Sunday, November 11th. There were 10 children present and 6 adults who heard the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers as told by our puppets Pink and Tigger. Following that they completed the bulletin board about thankful hearts then painted over a secret message from God.
Our next event will be a HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS party on Sunday, December 2 from 3:30-5:00 in the youth lounge.
This year the Christmas poinsettias that decorate the church will be red and the cost is $22.00 each. For anyone interested in purchasing one in honor or memory of a loved one, please place your order as soon as possible and no later than December 5th. Order forms will be placed in the bulletin and in December’s issue of the Vine. Or, you can mail or drop your order by the church office at 306 West Center Street, Galax, VA 24333. Please include the name of the person/people your are honoring or remembering.
It is November. I think of it as the “in-between time.” The time between Halloween and Christmas. Although Advent and Christmas are a high season on the Christian calendar, there are important special dates this month. All Saints Day is November 1, and we celebrate it the Sunday after Nov. 1 as All Saints Sunday. Veteran’s Day is November 11. Thanksgiving is in the latter part of November and then the last Sunday of the Christian Year: Christ the King Sunday!
November is also the month for pledging in our congregation and many others. It is a time to evaluate our support of Christ’s Church for the coming year. Sports wise, the college teams going to bowls are beginning to take a rough form, and if you follow pro football you begin to know which teams are really the better ones this season. As for baseball, I know the world series is going on but I do not watch baseball. I have not learned much about professional baseball since the Big Red Machine of the Cincinnati Reds, and that has been a few decades ago. Sorry baseball fans.
November is also the “in between season time.” We go from late Autumn to anticipation (or more likely dread) of long, cold winter nights and days. We do get an extra hour to sleep on the first Sunday of November. The drawback is that darkness arrives much earlier in the evening. Everything has a price from time changes, to seasonal weather changes, to celebrations that may renew our grief over lost loved ones.
Following Christ has a price. We die to the self. What does that mean? I take it to mean that we realize that the world is larger than our world; and, if the world is larger than our world, what steps are required of us to conceive and implement plans for a better world? Ah, the mission of Christ’s Church is global and international, yet it is also local and personal. When the opportunity presents itself, may we make that change or move or even a genuine smile or show of compassion that makes the world a better place in which to live, not just for us, but for others. This is part of dying to the self. Christ has given us an example; may we follow it.
Pastor Mark McFadden
P.S. Glenna and I appreciate your thoughtfulness in October from flowers to the gift of theatre, to a beautiful, humbling, bulletin board. Most of all thank you for our support in our ministry together here at First UMC, Galax.
Our next UMW meeting will be held November 13th at 10:00 a.m. Barbara and Elaine have the program. Lunch plans will be announced closer to the meeting date. Plans are going forward to put the Angel Tree up November 20th with gifts due back December 10th. More on that later. The Cookie Walk is scheduled for December 8th in the Fellowship Hall. Hope to see you then, we’ll have lots of cookies for the holidays. They make great gifts.
It was a wet September. We witnessed a five-inch rainfall night and then a week later, Hurricane Florence, downgraded to a tropical depression, moved through our area. Perhaps October will not be as dramatic weather-wise. As I sit here writing the first draft of “pastoral ponderings” for October, the sun is shining brightly! There is hope!
We hope to have a beautiful fall foliage in late October. We hope our respective teams win. We hope the weather to be that perfect mix of cool nights and cooler (not cold) days.The drives in this region during this time of the year are among the best. We hope to find time for those drives. There is hope!
We hope in God, that is, we trust that God is with us. This is easier to proclaim when things are going well than when things are not going well, but it may be that at our lowest points we have a greater hope in God. What I mean by that is that when things are going well, we have received that for which we hope. Perhaps we get complacent.
It is easy to overlook those who hope for many of the things we have. This can be anything from material goods to social situations we take for granted. For instance, we do not have to worry that the neighboring town will invade our town, burn it to the ground, and murder everyone over the age of 30 while enslaving the rest, but what about those in such a situation?
In Nigeria? Yemen? Syria? Myanmar among the Rohingya? On a personal level, if we have good mental and physical health we may overlook those who have ill health.
The world is big and far from perfect, just as we ourselves are, yet when we consider in our prayers those still hoping for the things we already possess, we pray and hope with them so that when the opportunity presents itself to make a difference, we are ready for action.
How big and broad is your hope? Does it extend beyond you personally? Does it include God’s hope for the world: Peace, kindness, fairness, justice? May our hope and faith be broad
and grand.
Pastor Mark McFadden
Life Line Screening is once again holding their event at our Church on Monday, November 5, 2018.
Pre-registration is required.
If you are interested, please contact them directly at (888) 653-6450 for an appointment.
The Church office can provide you with further details.
Come and have Sunday dinner with us October 28th after worship service. There is no charge for the meal but donations will be happily accepted to carry on the Church’s mission work. Hope to see you all there.
It is late summer. I anticipate the crisp, cool autumnal days ahead. Football season is in full swing: First, high school, then college, and pro. I have attended two Maroon Tides games. They play well and appear to be well-coached. I am also impressed with the field and stadium. It is a nice spot for a high school football game.
I also noticed that FUMC is well represented in supporting the community from concessions to parking. Part of being a Christian is certainly being a help to the local community. To be a follower of Jesus Christ is to make a difference for the good. This is indeed spreading Good News of peace, and far more often than not, this is accomplished is the small, everyday things we do in life from a genuinely warm greeting to selling popcorn to raise fund
for scholarships.
It is difficult to believe that Jesus was only in public ministry for three years, yet his words and way of life have made a grand impact upon human life and in history. Of course, being resurrected from the dead is the ultimate impact in that resurrection demonstrates that God’s love cannot be defeated by hatred, malice, and corruption.
Be encouraged that following Jesus Christ is the way of life that God intends for human-kind. Do not be swayed by the corruption and evil around us; rather, be a light shining in the darkness. No matter our profession, or place, or situation in life, we can always bear witness to God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit leads us in this way.
Pastor Mark McFadden
Thanks from the Mission Committee for the support you have given to our projects so far this year. We are continuing our help to God’s Storehouse Soup Kitchen during the month of September. Their most pressing need is for to go containers for the 45+ dinners they deliver several times a week to the elderly shut-ins. If you would like to purchase a box of containers for them the church office will be happy to order them for you for a cost of less than $25. God’s Storehouse also needs hygiene supplies such as shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes, lotion, soap, etc. Monetary donations would also be appreciated as they buy gas for those who deliver the meals to the shut-ins. Our drive will begin the second Sunday in September and continue throughout the month. Thanks in advance for your help.
