First Fruits — October 2015

First FruitsSPRINGVILLE FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

474 East Main St., Springville, NY 14141OCTOBER 2015 DIGITAL EDITION

DEADLINE FOR NOVEMBER FIRST FRUITS NEWSLETTER: TUESDAY, OCT. 20EMAIL [email protected] OR DROP OFF ARTICLES TO CHURCH OFFICE

THANK YOU for your support of our church team for the Walk To End Alzheimers!

Our team of Jan Ingerson (team cap-tain), Don & Shirley Orton, Lois Scharf-Newman and Vonnie Vredenburg had a great time attending the event and show-ing support for the WNY Alzheimers Association.

As of the printing of the First Fruits, we raised $540 for this cause. It is not too late to make a donation if you wish to do so. Just give your donation to one of the team members!

Raising money to fight Alzheimers...

Theres ways to grow spiritually for both...

MEN

AND

WO

MEN

Oct. 3 Details, Page 5 Oct. 24 Details, Page 4

First Fruits October 20152From the Pastors Desk...

It began with prayer. That statement can be said of anything meaningful that has been accomplished in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It could also be said of many meaningful days in the life of our Lord as well. Throughout the history of this country, great things have happened because they began with prayer. Great revivals have been the result of much passionate prayer, and even in our own tradition, the Wesleys 18th century revival experience only happened because of Gods response to the prayers of the people.

As we live into our vision with a purpose and passion this coming year, I want the above phrase to become a regular mantra around the community of Springville. I hope and pray that we will be able to see much fruit because many people are taking serious the call to be on their knees early in the morning or late into the night.

I desire for us to be found as such a people of prayer that we are able to be continually amazed and celebrating the great things only our God can do through the faithful prayers of His people. A prayer of mine is that we would find clarity of vision as we understand through much prayer what it truly means to be empowered to love and serve those we are called to reach in our given context. I believe that it is only through much prayer that Gods vision becomes his peoples vision and therefore in must begin in prayer.

These are dire times we live in as a nation. Distractions abound, and I believe that sometimes those things we see as material blessings are the very things that distract us from what God wants to reveal to us. I am often challenged and blessed by our African brothers and sisters who have some little materially, though who are so rich spiritually. There is much we can learn from them.

Everything we do in the name of Jesus this year must begin in prayer. As we seek creative ways to glorify God and spread the Gospel, please take serious your own call to prayer God honors you time spent with Him. My prayer is that you and I will be passionate about our faith in Jesus Christ, that we will be greatly burdened for those lost a part from Christ, and that we will boldly risk in creative ways to bring people to Christ this year. And in doing this, we will be able to celebrate the great things God has done, by looking back and seeing It (all) began with prayer!

I am excited to see what great things Our Mighty God has in store as we regularly and faithfully seek His face. I would simply close by offering an excerpt from a prayer given by Anne Graham Lotz:

Lord of the Universe. Lord of this planet. Lord of the nations. Lord of our heartswe look to YouIn the darkness, You are our Light. In the storm, You are our Anchor. In our weakness, You are our Strength. In our grief, You are our Comfort. In our despair, You are our Hope. In our confusion, You are our Wisdom. In time of terrorism, You are our Shield. In time of war, You are our Peace. In times of uncertainty, You are the Rock on which we stand. We make our prayer to You using the words of the prophet Daniel: O Lord, You are the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His command-ments. You are merciful and forgiving. You are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame because we have sinned against You, and done wrong. We have turned away from Your commands and principles. We have turned away from You. Yet You have promised in 2 Chronicles 7, that if wea people identified with Youwould humble ourselves, pray, seek Your face, and turn from our wicked ways, then You would hear our prayer, forgive our sin and heal our land For the glory of Your Name hear our prayer, forgive our sin, and heal our land. We ask this in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ who offers us salvation from Your judgment, forgiveness for our sin, and reconciliation with You through His own blood shed on the Cross. Amen

All for Jesus,

Pastor Kevin

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark,he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

Mark 1:35

First Fruits October 20153

Youth Alive started Sept. 20 at 9:10 a.m. The group meets weekly in the Choir Room.

Any children, Grades 1 and up, are invited to come and join us. We sing once a month in the 11:00 service and on Christmas Eve at the Family Service.

All you need to bring is a love to sing praises to our Lord. If there are any questions, feel free to call Linda Blesy.

Sunday School & Small Group News

Youth Alive continues

Welcome to Childrens Sunday School! Lets dive deep into the Bible!Our classes meet from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. in the first floor of the educa-

tion building. We have wonderful, loving, and caring teachers to lead us. This year our teachers will be:- 3- and 4-year-olds: Ann Marinaccio- Kindergarten, and First Grade: Lisa

Yaeger2nd and 3rd Grade: Linda Blesy4th and 5th Grade: Emily DechowFloater: Lynne Reynolds

This year we are diving deep into the Scriptures using as our resource Deep Blue A Weekly Adventure through the Bible. During the month of October we will be studying about Abra-ham and his family: Sarah, Lot, Isaac and Rebekah.

Our bible verse for October is All the families of earth will be bless by you. Genesis 12:3 (CEV)

Childrens Sunday School

All 6th, 7th and 8th Graders are invited to join the Middle School Class as they Claim The Promise this year. Our words in the study, Journey for October are IMAGE OF GOD, COMMITMENT, FOLLOW and TEMPLE. Come, explore, and learn what these words mean as we look at making faithful decisions. Our teachers are Jason Harrington and Arlan Harvey.

All Senior High Youth will be joining in the study Claim The Life: Prom-ise this year. Join us to learn what THE NATURE OF PROMISE is all about and to learn more about GODS PROMISES. Our teachers are Jill Narraway and Luke Skura.

The Womens Class led by Mary Lou Forster explores making deci-sions from Scripture based insights. Using Lysa Terkeurst resource, The Best Yes, you will learn to discern the option that shapes all of your other choices the best yes!

Gods Girls Class, formerly known as Healthy Living, is using Max Lucados book, Grace, for their resource for learning more about grace and what it means. Donna Ben-stead is the leader for this class.

The Family Class led by Tracy and Jeff Maybray studies The Pow-er Of A Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian. Through her own life story, Stormie looks back at the trials and joys of parenting and the power in praying for her children. She shares from her own personal experience as to how parents can pray for their children. Come join us as we grow in God through Jesus Christ and con-tinue to strengthen ourselves as Chris-tian parents.

The Mens Class led by Bill Skura uses the resource Stepping Up from Iron Sharpens Iron. This study provides biblical content that speaks to the everyday challenges of living your life for God through using real life stories and real life solutions. The goal of the study is to claim new vic-tory in Christ, as godly men.

The Discipleship Class is read-ing and studying the book, The Sa-cred Year. Come and learn how your life may be shaped by intentionally liv-ing in simplicity, grace, and gratitude. Mary Kay and Paul Williams will lead the discussion each week.

Sunday Morning Adult Small Group Studies

Middle School/Senior High Sunday School


Sunday School & Small Group News

We had a great and informative Fall Ministries & Sunday School Kickoff on Sept. 13! We hope and pray that you were able to enjoy good food, great fellowship, and most importantly gain more information about our fall pro-grams and ministries.

Sunday School Kickoff was a success!

Not too long ago Mary Lou Forster had a bible study on the Book THE CIRCLE MAKER and every one has raved about it. I am wondering if any-one would enjoy joining a book study concerning this book. I would love to hostess a study on this book. Meet-ing time and frequency is up to those who are interested. Please email me at [email protected] or phone me at 243-6958. It could be a lot of fun!

Marion Labincki

Looking for interest in The Circle Maker

Pastor Kevin leading Tuesday Bible study

I am excited about being able to walk through the Bible through Dr. Russells text Invitation with you! I appreciate the description of the text that confirms whether you have some Biblical knowl-edge or no knowledge of the Bible, All will walk away marveling at the bril-liance of this book and the God who in-spired it, while discovering a motivation and comfort level to delve deeper into study and learning. I know personally from studying under Dr. Russell that it will be more than just gaining head knowledge, but we will be challenged to live out what we learn.

Pastor Kevin

A new prayer group is beginning! Starting Tuesday, Sept. 29 from

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. there will be a new prayer group formed. It will begin with coffee and fellowship for about a half hour in the yellow room and then move to the prayer room.

This will be an ongoing general

prayer time as well as a support group for people who pray. Anyone is welcome to attend.

If you have questions, please con-tact Marion Labincki at 243-6958 or email her at [email protected].

New prayer group beginning Sept. 29

FORUM will meet at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21

The hostesses will be Louise Grigs-by and Jane Kester, and the devotions and meeting leader will be Cathie Phelps. The program will be on UM-COR and God Ministries of Harris Hill and the group will be collecting health kits.

FORUM group meets Oct. 21Women! Youre invited to a retreat that will be held at our church on Saturday, Oct. 24.

The retreat, Beloved: Daughters Gathered By Grace, will be a gathering of women from the greater Springville area who come together for a time to connect, be refreshed and encour-aged!

Pre-sale tickets are $5, which includes din-ner. Registration forms can be picked up in the church office.

Womens retreat at our church Oct. 24

1 p.m.1:45-2:45 p.m.

2:55-3:55 p.m.

4-5 p.m.5:15-6:15 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

WelcomeWorkshopsPrayerWorkshopsDinnerWorship &Keynote Speaker

Schedule


Upcoming Events/AnnouncementsOperation Christmas Child is year-round!Items for September and October are clothing items, such as hats,

gloves, T-Shirts, sweatshirts, socks and baseball caps; personal hygiene items, small toys and school supplies.

A reminder with all donations that liquids are not permitted.Families and individuals are still encouraged to pack shoeboxes for the

November 2015 distribution. Boxes with donated items will be packed before the deadline of Nov. 16-23.

See OCC information by the donation shoebox.

The Iron Sharpens Iron Mens Con-ference is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Hamburg Wesleyan Church.

Those men who are interested in at-tending and have not yet registered are asked to call the church office as soon as possible to be part of this event!

Iron Sharpens IronMens Conference is Oct. 3

Volunteer drivers are needed to take people to medical appointments. These rides are arranged through Love In the Name of Christ (Love InC). Springville First United Methodist is one of the Love InC member churches. These rides are usually for the elderly who do not have avail-able family members to drive them, and who are unable to use the gov-ernment vans. Sometimes the clients have to cross county lines between

their homes and the doctor's offices. Sometimes they use a walker and cannot get into a van.

The people I've driven are lovely pleasant peo-ple and very grateful for the assistance. I've been providing these rides for about 5 years and con-tinue to do so on the eastern side of the Love InC area. Love InC calls and asks if I'm available on a certain day at a certain time and I can say yes or

no. One of "my" ladies is legally blind, lives in Cattaraugus County and has doctors in Wyoming and Erie Counties.

Drivers who live in the Springville area are especially needed. You can make as few trips as you wish and only when it is convenient to your schedule. Would you please call Love InC at 592-3761 and leave a mes-sage that you would like to talk about becoming a volunteer driver for those in need? Thanks!

Cathie Phelps

Love INC needs volunteer drivers

Our Memory Impairment Respite Program meets on the first Wednesday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 pm in the Family Life Center.

We are in need of more people to become buddies for each individual who attends our program. We are es-pecially in need of men!

If you feel that God is calling you to this special min-istry, please contact Vonnie. We will be having a training

session for all our new volunteer servants in conjunction with the new Respite Program at Baker Memorial UMC in East Aurora on Thursday, Oct. 15 from 9 a.m. to noon. This training session will be held at Baker Memo-rial Church. (Another training session is being scheduled at night later in the month.)

Vonnie will need to know by Oct. 9 if you will be join-ing us for the training.

Volunteers sought for Memory Impairment Respite Program

I know our hearts will be stirred on Saturday, Oct. 3 as a day a part for fel-lowship, worship and discipleship.

I am excited to see what happens the presence of our Lord. After the event, I prayerfully want to offer a chance for men to grow in their faith by meeting on Tuesday mornings at 7 a.m. at the Apple Dumpling Restaurant beginning the Tuesday after the ISI event.

Even if you did not attend the event, please join us as the Lord leads you!

Pastor Kevin

Mens Disciple Study to meet beginning Oct. 6


Upcoming Events/Announcements

Watch the Harvest Table in the foyer sponsored by the Missions team. Bring produce from your garden to share with one another.

Your thank offerings will be sent to the mission in Elcercado, Dominican Republic, where a team from our church went in 2012. The money will be used to buy seeds for the organic farming co-ops and also for the peanut butter project.

Harvest Table will be weekly in green room

The exercise class in our church has resumed. It meets Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 8 to 9 a.m. in the Family Life Center.

Participants are asked to bring a mat and weights. The program is centered around Leslie Sansones Walk to Be Fit DVDs, which are low impact aero-bics.

Basic pilates are used for stretching and balance. New people are always welcome.

Exercise classes back

Randy Stewart returns to our church on Oct. 30 and 31 for two days of leadership training.

Randy will walk us through the leadership training process he uses in his own church. Plan to strengthen your gift of leadership for this special event!

Randy Stewart Leadership Training Oct. 30 & 31

Please help! We want to make this event to be a huge suc-cess.

Each week there will be a shop featured in the bulletin. This will give a list of items we need. Please keep these lists so you can check for things you may have or could make or donate.

We have made a few changes this year. Below is a list of our shops:

Pantry and Bake Shop: Need pies, cookies, breads, canned items, any goodie

Basket Corner: Need items to fill our baskets (at least 12 inch diameter), any sport items, mens/boys favorites, bird books, suet cakes, etc., pet stuff, kitchen items - towels, spoons, supplies, Easter grass/ colorful scrunch paper for basket fill.

Needle and Thread: Need scarves, hats, tote bags, run-ners, potholders quilts, and sewn baby items.

General store: Only new or gently used! Collectables Natures Corner: Organic products, wood, walking

sticks, bird feeders, pottery, wreaths, dried flowers, clay, wire, etc.

Antiques: Anything The Soup Bowl - Our refreshment stand: Need

homemade soups and cookies, money for paper supplies.

Signup sheets in green room ---a must!We will need help setting up on Friday, Saturday and

cleanup on Sunday (the main crew is very weary by then!)Were looking forward to our churchs Hand and Heart

Bazaar ... and as you can see, we need you!Any questions, call Carolyn Johnson 592-4350 or home

532-0115; or Deb Ploetz 592-7735.

Hand & Heart Bazaar will be Saturday, Nov. 7

A thank you to the individuals who purchased Nev-er a Dull Moment.

The church portion of the proceeds were turned over to the history committee in early July to be de-posited in the church account earmarked for history committee projects.

Jane Kester

Jane Kester says thanksfor book purchases

The Respite group will meeting on Oct. 7 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Family Life Center.

Respite to meet Oct. 7 in FLC


PASTORKevin [email protected]

PASTORAL ASSISTANTRev. Vonnie [email protected]

DIRECTOR OF STUDENT MINISTRIESLuke [email protected]

CHURCH SECRETARYPeggy [email protected]

TUNE IN TO RADIO 1330 WSPQ-AM TO HEAR THE 11:00 SERVICE LIVESERMONS & SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE

SERMONS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE VIA PODCAST. SEARCH S1UMC IN THE iTUNES STORE

CALL US (716) 592-7451FAX US (716) 592-9143

EMAIL US [email protected] US ONLINE S1UMC.ORG

Our Staff & Information

Lay Leaders Corner

The Genesee Valley District Lay Servant Ministries Committee is hap-py to present their fall course offerings for 2015.

The courses this year include the fol-lowing:

- Introduction to Prison Min-istries, an advanced course (led by James Brown, CLM at North Chili UMC.

Courses below will be held Nov. 6, 7 & 8 at Camp Asbury and Retreat Cen-ter in Perry:

- The Basic Lay Servant Min-istries course taught by Reginald Higgins and Ed Jaqua. This is an over-view study and exploration into the many ways Christians may serve our Lord through Lay Servant Ministries.

And three advanced courses:- Storytelling led by Rev. Rich-

ard C. Hurd. The course will explore several different aspects of storytelling, both technical and emotional.

- Strategic Planning/The Fu-ture of Your Church led by Rev. Linda Glantz. As our congregations struggle with changing demographics, a changing cul-ture and shrinking attendance, this class will provide you with the tools to help get your church back on track.

- United Methodist Polity led by Doug Spencer. This United Methodist Church is governed by The United Methodist Discipline. This is an opportunity to find out how the United Methodist Church operates.

Those interested in participating are asked to call Tom Place at 942-6671.

Lay Servant courses coming up

AN OLD MAN boasted, Ill be 96 tomorrow and havent got an enemy in the world.

That speaks volumes about your personality, his friend replied, smiling.

Yup. Ive outlived every darned one of them.


Youth Group

Our Fall Retreat will be held on Oct. 10 & 11 at Camp Vick. You can still sign up for retreat, but sign-ups for the TobyMac concert have ended.

Our Prayer & Pledge fundraiser is currently set up on the wall in the yellow room. We encourage you to stop by and check it out. Fill out a prayer card while you are there, and the youth will be praying for you during youth group gatherings!

The sign-up deadline for Lasertron will be Oct. 25. We will be having a Youth Group Halloween Party on Oct. 31 in the Family Life Center.

Come join us for a fun evening of games, contests, prizes, and food!

UPCOMING MEETINGSOct. 4Oct. 18Oct. 25

At the end of the second trimester (May to August), the church budget was $7,700 behind where we need to be.

Often during the summer, donations and pledges drop off while people are away. If this has happened to you, wont you please consider catching up and help us to close the budget deficit?

The Finance Team appreciates your help.

Financial report for second trimester of 2015

8:45

11:0

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USHERS/GREETERS

Moody Family Bentson Family Drumsta Family Haught Family

WORSHIP LEADER

Anita Domes Kim Jackson Jan Ingerson Judy Law

GREETERS De & DolfBonenberger

Shirley QuickPeggy Rice

Mary HillCheri Westman

Tom & JudyLaw

RADIO CREW Jan Ingerson Richie Place

OCT 4 OCT 11 OCT 18 OCT 25

October Worship Assistants

USHERS Duane Domes Rich Place Tom Place

Upcoming Events/Announcements

The History and Archive Committee has can-celed its dinner and antique auction that was originally scheduled for Oct. 17.

Committee members will let the congregation and community know if and when the program is rescheduled.

History and Archive Dinner and Auction canceled


Missions Moments/Updates

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Springville First United Methodist Church474 East Main St.Springville, NY 14141

OR CURRENT RESIDENT

First FruitsSPRINGVILLE FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

474 East Main St., Springville, NY 14141

OCTOBER 2015

First Fruits — October 2015

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