Praise Service 9:00 a.m.

Church School 9:55 a.m. Adoration Worship 10:45 a.m.

Rev. Mark Finfrock, Pastor

John Fisher, Director of Music

First United Methodist Church

Volume 9, Issue 2

FOCUS ON “FIRST”

February 2015

Special points of interest:

Civil Service

GFS Coupons

History of Hymns

UMW Special

Speaker

4 F’s Lunch

Pastor’s Page 2

Prayer Concerns 3

Church Happen-

ings

6

Birthdays and

Anniversaries

6

Calendar 7

Inside this issue:

Become Part of God's Family at First UMC

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, February 18: Ash Wednesday 3:10 p.m.—Berkeley 7:00 p.m.—First

Sunday, March 29 9:00-10:45 a.m. Palm Sunday

Thursday, April 2 Maundy Thursday service, 7 p.m.

Friday, April 3 Good Friday

Sunday, April 5 Easter Sunrise Service—TBA 9:00 & 10:45 a.m. Easter Sunday Services @ First

Dear Fellow Followers,

February brings to mind several things: cold, birthdays and romance.

Cold, it seems as if the whole month is just frigid. Toward the end of the month we will feel a little warming but that will be just an indication of what is yet to come and no real relief.

Maybe that is why we concentrate on the events of the month to get us through. Our sixteenth president has a birthday on the 12th. Honest Abe would be 206 years old this year. Our first presi-dent also has a birthday on the 22nd. I think I am one of the few people who remember when the two birth-days were celebrated separately. Does anyone remember the big Washington’s Birthday Sales in downtown Hamilton? Mother would spend hours in the basement of Wilmur’s trying to get the best deal on our un-derwear and other clothes during those sales. I think I was “of age” before I had underwear that did not have an irregular tag in them.

This is also the month for romance. Flowers and candy seem to be the order of the day for St. Valentine’s Day. What I had forgotten was that St. Valentine was a real person and truly a romantic. It seems that Claudius II, the Roman emperor in the third century, felt that men would be more eager to go into battle if they did not have to leave their wives. So Claudius banned marriage for all young men. Valentine took ex-ception to this and married young couples anyway. The result was Valentine was martyred on February 14, 270. That is a romantic, one that would die for love.

I guess we could say that Jesus was a romantic as well. After all didn’t he die for love? Love for us. This thought brings me to our celebration of Ash Wednesday on the 18th. With all of the other things going on, it is this day we reflect on the deep love Jesus has for us and that, without Jesus, we are mere dust and ash-es. Our service at First will be Wednesday February 18th at 7:00 PM. Also, Pastor Joe from Zion Lutheran and I will be together conducting a service at 3:10 PM at Berkeley for those of you who would prefer to at-tend a daytime service on Ash Wednesday.

Take some time. Think about your blessings. Think about our need for grace. Then come to church on the 18th a very special Wednesday. Grace and Peace,

Pastor Mark

Page 2

Pastor’s Page

FOCUS ON “FIRST”

The City of Hamilton will be administering a civil service exam for police officers on February 18. Applications to apply for the test must be received by the Civil Service and Personnel Office by 5 p.m. Tuesday, February 10. Qualifications are:

21 years of age at time of the appointment and not yet 35

Successfully complete thorough medical exam

Possess a valid Ohio driver’s license & complete physical fitness exam

For a complete listing refer to the Legal Notice of Exam site at http://www.hamilton-city.org/index.aspx?page=449

For additional info or questions, contact the Civil Service & Personnel office at 513-785-7030 or the recruiting office of the Hamilton PD at 513-868-5811, ext. 1801

Looking for a few Good Men & Women

Volume 9, Issue 2 Page 3

Prayer Concerns Those who do not know the peace of Christ. Let us offer Christ, who will heal their souls. George & Nell Bassitt & Family Alan Haid Carolyn Jones Ilena Cornelius Dwight Pflanzer Gertrude Reed Ruth Stanton, continued healing Lori Ott's mother, Natalie, severe health concerns Dick Haid, continued healing Jamaal, addiction recovery Alice Stephenson, recovering from back surgery Leesa Frederick's father, John Camp, health issues; her mother for strength Tammy Jones, dealing with MS Sheila Messerschmidt Regan Coleman, recovering from car accident Tom York, recovering from brain tumor surgery Lois Maida, breast cancer (Alice Stephenson's sister) Jason Schubert's aunt Lorraine, health issues Scott Fuhrman, continued healing Leon Johnson, recovering from heart attack, and his mother, hospitalized Community lunch, missionaries, Peace Corp workers, and those who work for international peace. Mili-

tary members and their families and national leaders. Shalom Neighbor who continues to work for the betterment of the Second Ward. Concerns of the people in places of war, famine and social unrest. Those who are sleeping outside.

Those who have no food. The Imagine No Malaria campaign (INM)(imaginenomalaria.org) as it works to eliminate malaria in our lifetime. INM has made a big difference where it used to be at a person died from malaria every 30 sec-onds this rate has decreased to every 60 seconds. Our goal is zero. Do you have someone you would like us to pray for? Please call or email the office. 513-896-LOVE (8653) or firstumc@firstumc-ham.org.

Stepping Up - A Men’s Event On Saturday, February 7, Cornerstone will be hosting a men's event entitled "Stepping Up" begin-ning at 7:30 a.m. Feel like you're being blitzed by life? Let Dennis Rainey, Tony Dungy, Matt Chandler, and others help you develop a game plan for living a godly, courageous life. If interested in attending check out the bulletin board for more details and contact Dave Stephenson.

Page 4 FOCUS ON “FIRST”

For newsletter submissions, contact Stacey Morefield, newsletter edi-tor, at edsjmorefield@gmail.com

History Of Hymns: “Pass It On” by C. Michael Hawn "Pass It On" by Kurt Kaiser The United Methodist Hymnal, No. 572

It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up in its glowing. That's how it is with God's love once you've experienced it; you spread his love to everyone; you want to pass it on.*

If you are a baby boomer, raised in the church, and born in the late 1940s or 1950s, you probably grew up singing Kurt Kaiser's "Pass It On" around a campfire or at youth group meetings.

Kurt Frederic Kaiser was born in 1934 in Chicago. He received his musical education from the American Conserva-tory of Music and Northwestern University (B.M., 1958; M.M., 1959). According to his web-site,www.kurtkaiser.com, Mr. Kaiser "joined Word, Inc., in 1959 as director of artists and repertoire, and later be-came vice president and director of music for Word. Mr. Kaiser has arranged and produced albums for many gifted artists, among them Kathleen Battle, Diane Bish, Ernie Ford, Hale & Wilder, Larnelle Harris, Jerome Hines, Burl Ives, Ken Medema, Stephen Nielson, Christopher Parkening, George Beverly Shea, Joni Eareckson Tada, Ethel Wa-ters and Anne Martindale Williams." Mr. Kaiser maintained his relationship with Word, Inc. until 1989. Kurt Kaiser has received many honors, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for his contributions to the Christian music industry (1992); an hon-orary Doctor of Sacred Music degree from Trinity College in Illinois; and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Baylor University. In 1993 his album Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs was recognized with a Dove Award. In 2001 he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and was placed in the Hall of Honor by the Christian Booksellers Association. The Faithfulness in Service Award was presented to him in 2003. In 2011 he re-ceived the Hines Sims Award, named for the editor of the Baptist Hymnal (1956), one of the most successful hymnals in the history of the denomination. He and his wife, Pat, reside in Waco, Texas. They have four grown children and ten grandchildren. Dr. Carlton Young notes that Kurt Kaiser is an active churchman, serving as “a founding member and Deacon in the Seventh and James Baptist Church at Waco.”

While known primarily for his youth musicals, Mr. Kaiser is an accomplished pianist and has written music for a variety of performing media in varied styles. He has composed more than sixty hymn texts and tunes, the most fa-mous of which are “O how he loves you and me” (1975), and “Pass It On.”

In correspondence with the author, Mr. Kaiser provided the background to "Pass It On," one of his most famous songs: "In 1969, Ralph Carmichael and I collaborated on a musical, Tell It Like It Is. It was written to get young peo-ple involved in the Church. After reviewing what we had written, we decided there needed to be a closer, a modern 'Just As I Am' [a hymn by Charlotte Elliott written in 1835, and a favorite of Evangelicals for altar calls]. "On a Sunday night I was sitting in our den by the fireplace where there were remnants of a fire, and it occurred to me that it only takes a spark to get a fire going . . . and the rest came very quickly. My wife suggested that I should say something about shouting it from mountain tops, and that ended up in the third verse. It only took about 20 minutes to write the lyrics. Afterwards my wife and I went for a walk, letting the song ruminate in our minds." (continued)

Focus on “First” - ISSN383367-148 Published Monthly, Issue No. 2 Issue Date: February 2015 First United Methodist Church, 225 Ludlow St. Hamilton, OH 45011 MARCH NEWSLETTER DEADLINE: February 20

Kurt Kaiser

Volume 9, Issue 2 Page 5

Attention Ladies!! Let’s kick off our United Methodist Women’s 2015 with an evening of fellowship, fun and food. Feb 5 at 7 pm at First UMC, we will have an exciting evening with Mission-ary Michelle McKirahan speaking on the exciting journey the Lord has taken her on in the past five years. Michelle is a full time missionary who ministers life, freedom, and wholeness to women through the creative arts of silk painting and worship dance, as well as through teaching and testimony. She is passionate about seeing the body of Christ live from a heart that’s fully alive, and walk in the fullness of their destiny. She travels locally and internationally bringing hope through equipping and training and is based in Atlanta, GA. Michelle says, “What is prayer and what does it look like? Five years ago, I would’ve answered that question much differently than I would now. Over the past five years, prayer has taken on an entirely new life form, and become more of who I am versus something that I do.” She uses dance and art as a big part of her missionary journey. On dance she says, ”For as long as I remember, I’ve always loved to dance. It was my one true passion, and the thing I wanted to do all the time. But, I never knew it even existed in the church or that you could use it to worship God until I was out of college. Up until then, I only knew performance – related dance. What I love about the visual arts is that there’s power in it. God says the eye is the window to the soul. So, a person can look at a piece of artwork, and it bypasses the mind and goes straight to the heart … thus bringing truth, hope, healing, and freedom. Michelle says, "I am a worshiper and a lover of God, using prophetic dance and art to share the love of God and lead others to freedom of worship.” Please invite your friends to come join us to hear more of what God is doing in this young lady’s life. Her website is: www.hisjewel.org

This song reflects the power of a simple idea set to a singable tune. Such songs take on a life that the composer never considered. Mr. Kaiser notes, "I am always amazed how the Lord can take a little song and use it to reach so many people. It has been sung at countless weddings and funerals, at ordination services, by the Sea of Galilee, in Rhode-sia, on the aircraft carrier Enterprise, and lots of camps."

The late 1960s and 1970s were the heyday of the Christian youth musical. The highly successful Purpose (1968) by J. Phillip Landgrave, and Tell It Like It Is (1969) are often considered to be the first youth musicals to have a major im-pact on the church youth culture, defining the genre. Celebrate Life (1972) by Buryl Red and Regan Courtney fol-lowed on the heels of Tell It Like It Is. Two musicals with Christian themes opened on Broadway in 1971, Godspell by Stephen Schwartz, and the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. “Pass It On” gained traction in broader congregational circles when it appeared in Hymns for the Living Church(1974), edited by Donald P. Hustad, and Hymns for the Family of God (1976), edited by Fred Bock and Bryan Jeffery Leech. Since then, the song has appeared in at least nine other hymnals in the United States, England, and Canada. While this song has received theological criticism by some, Kurt Kaiser joined a number of other composers in the late 1960s, 1970s, well into the 1980s who sought to offer an alternative to, in the words of Dr. Young, “the lifestyle of drug and sexual permissiveness of the youth counterculture, embodied in the Haight-Asbury flower children.” One cannot separate the text from its folk guitar-based music. Many lifelong faith commitments to Christ were made by post-World War II baby boomers around campfires singing this song. Few songs from this era have reached the iconic status of “Pass It On,” which, though informal in its jargon, might be seen as an extension of the Great Com-mission in Matthew 28:19-20.

* © 1969 Communiqué Music, Inc. Used by permission of Kurt Kaiser. All rights reserved. C. Michael Hawn is Uni-versity Distinguished Professor of Church Music, Perkins School of Theology, SMU.

Page 6 FOCUS ON “FIRST”

Game Night Friday, February 27, 2015

7:00 PM @ the Harper’s

The fun and fellowship continues for any and all fun-loving adults. Join this merry group for lots of laughter, pizza, games and loving fellowship. Just bring $5 for dinner, your own beverage and a favorite board game.

Pocket Change Sunday

February 15, 2015

During worship services a special collection of pocket change (dollars, too) will be taken as an offering for the Saturday Community Lunch Program.

UMW Circles

February 5, 2015 7 p.m. @ FUMC

Speaker: Missionary Michelle McKirahan

Dorcas Circle February 10, 10:30 a.m.

Naomi Circle Feb. 19, 7 p.m.

@ Linda DiBenedetto’s

What’s Happening in February at First Church

February Birthdays 2/1 Jenna Tegge 2/2 Lois Tompkins 2/4 Ashley Silva 2/7 Wade Ketron 2/8 Mark Conrad 2/11 Stephen Haid 2/14 Rachel Jewett 2/16 Deborah Williams 2/18 Kathy Thompson 2/21 Brenda Taylor 2/23 Leslie Haid Steven Theobald 2/24 John Day 2/25 Jason Schubert 2/26 Connie Spurlock 2/28 Alma Jean King

February Anniversaries 2/5 Nancy & Harriet Itkoff 2/17 Maurice & Cherie Day

February Worship Leaders

9 a.m. - Praise Service 2/1 - Larry Bell

2/8 - Jim Sebastian 2/15 - Dave/Alice Stephenson

2/22 - Kerry Bossert

February Worship Leaders 10:45 - Adoration Service

2/1 - Kathy Conrad 2/8 - Emily Fuhrman

2/15 - Mary Alice Hensley 2/22 - Lynn Kinkaid

4F's will be meeting on Thursday, February 19, 2014 at El Mariachi located at 787 NW Washington Blvd (Hamilton's west side) at noon. Join us for a great time of fellowship and food. If you would like to carpool, please contact Marjorie Quick or the church office.

Volume 9, Issue 2 Page 7

Kids Klips

Phone: 513-896-5683

Email: firstumc@cinci.rr.com

Website:wwwfirstumc-ham.org

225 Ludlow Street

Hamilton, OH 45011

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