101 E. Barbour Street

P. O. Box 72

Eufaula, AL 36072

(334) 687-8227

(334) 687-8285 FAX

fumc@fumceufaula.org

www.fumceufaula.org

VOLUME XXXIV

NUMBER 32

August 8, 2018

Pastor

Dr. Alan Cassady

Youth/Missions Director

Britt Martin

Music Director

Billy Wilbourne

Office Staff

Jodi Stockberger

Pam Hunter

First United Methodist ChurchFirst United Methodist Church

Recharge begins

Wednesday,

September 5

4:30—Children’s Choirs

6:00—Adult Bible Study

6:00—Handbells

6:00—Elevate Next Level

7:00—Chancel Choir

Let’s Play Dominoes!

The

Disci-

pleship

Team

will

lead a

game

of

Mexi-

can Train Dominoes on Saturday,

August 18th, at 2:00 p.m. at Brick-

stone Burgers. Join us, and invite

your friends!

Flower Calendar If you would like to place flowers in the sanctuary on any of

the following dates, please call or email the church office.

September 30 ——- October 7 ——- October 21

A sweet friendship refreshes the soul.

(Proverbs 29:1)

►Meets every other Thursday at

FUMC from 8:30—10:30 a.m. begin-

ning August 23.

►Childcare provided.

►www.fumceufaula.org/register

for more information or to register.

►Join the Mom Tribe of Eufaula

FaceBook Group or email

momtribe@fumceufaula.org for

more information and to stay con-

nected.

Church Directory Photos We will take new photos for the

church directory in the parlor each

Sunday in August between worship

services. Please have your photo

taken! Also, if you don’t already

have it, be sure to download the

Instant Church Directory app for

your phone or tablet! Contact Pam

in the church office if you need any assistance.

Back-to-School Swim Party

Wednesday, August 15

4:00 — 7:00 p.m.

Eufaula Country Club

Children under 13 must be

accompanied by an adult.

Pizza, snacks and drinks

will be provided @ 5:30.

August 12 Volunteers

►Acolytes

11:00 — TBA

►Sacristy Prayer Leaders

8:30 — Caryl Munford

11:00 — Richard Wingate

►Ushers

8:30 — Aubrey & Margaret Baugh

11:00 — Logan Mitchell

John Gray

Dan McKenzie

Robert Bennett

►Lay Readers

8:30 — Pam Wilkes

11:00 — West Martin

►Greeters

8:30 — Buck Earnest

11:00 — Dan & Martha McKenzie

►Elevate Supper

6:10 — TBA

Calendar of Events

►Sunday, August 12

Worship 8:30

Sunday School 9:45

Worship 11:00

Elevate — Night of Worship 5:30

►Monday, August 13

Missions Team 11:00

Trustees 5:30

►Tuesday, August 14

Worship Team 9:00

CARE Team 4:30

►Wednesday, August 15

Back-to-School Swim Party 4:00

Chancel Choir 7:00

►Saturday, August 18

Dominoes @ Brickstone 2:00

Hey FUMC Family,

Here’s a Back-to-School jam-packed edition of the

Elevate Top 5!

1) Be sure to come by the fellowship hall this Sunday

to hear a little about our trip to Ecuador! We’ll have

tasty breakfast treats and delicious Ecuadorian coffee! We’ll share a video

from our trip, and we’ll also hear some stories from our team members.

We’ll share from 9:45 until a little after 10:00 and then again

from 10:30 until just before our 11:00 service. Maybe make a pact with

your Sunday School class to start a little late or finish a little early and

come hear from our mission team!!

2) If you’re a teacher, or you have a student, make sure you come to the

youth room at 6pm TONIGHT (Wednesday) for a Back-to-School prayer

service. We want to give all of our people the tools to make this year an

awesome year so we’ll take some time on Wednesday to focus our minds

on Jesus as we begin this school year.

3) This Sunday night is our Back-to-School

Night of Worship. This will be a very special

night as we continue to focus our hearts and

minds on Jesus through the transition back

into the school year. This will be an excel-

lent night to get back involved if you’ve

missed this Summer. We’ll also be sharing

the direction we’ll be heading this school

year so we really want everyone there to

hear our vision for this school year.

4) Go ahead and save the date of August 26 for our 3rd annual Hootenan-

ny! We’ll kick off the fall in the most rootin’, tootin’, boot scootin’ way

we know how! So go ahead and hunt down your finest hillbilly apparel,

round up your posse, and get ready to come chase chickens, pick pigs, and

square dance the night away!!

5) Be on the lookout via social media for a few Summer Highlight videos

coming soon! We’ve had a terrific summer around here and we can’t wait

to share it. From mission trips, to 12:12 Bible Study, to wild and crazy

Sunday nights, it’s been a blast! We’ve welcomed new 6th graders into our

family and we’ve prepared to

send our Seniors off into the

world. Be sure to follow us on

Social Media to see these videos!

You can follow us on Facebook

at FUMC Eufaula Youth Ministry.

That’s all for now.

God looks good on you —

Britt

Prayer List

► New concerns:

*Al Harbour

*Yamandu Acosta

► Continue to pray for:

*Jackie Devlin

*Kirven Gary

Barbara Whitney

*Josh Jones

Mitzi Tzerman

Dave Allen

*Jane Pody

Jim Roberts

George Williams

Mary Sellers

Linda Dudewicz

Cruz Rios

*Mel Stephenson

*John Hagood

*Louise Britt

*Betty Searcy

Walter Harmer

*John Jenkins

Bobby Gray

Kathy Armstrong

*Taylor Washington

*Jeff Richards

*Brian Devlin-Meagher

Mary Lindsey Hannahan

*Richard Boyette

The Pastor’s Page

A Look at July August 5 Sunday School .................. 75

8:30 Worship ................... 37

11:00 Worship ................. 114

Total Worship ................. 151

Offering received ........ $11,178

YTD received ........... $259,695

BTT balance ............ $263,041

► Prayer list guidelines:

Names remain for 4 weeks unless

requested to remain.

* denotes church members.

The Book

The Bible is the most published book in the world and the one published in

the most languages, but to most people it is just a book or a decoration.

A 2015 LifeWay Research study found only 45 percent of those who regu-

larly attend church read the Bible more than once a week. Over 40 per-

cent of the people attending read their Bible occasionally, maybe once or

twice a month. Almost 1 in 5 churchgoers say they never read the Bible—

essentially the same number who read it every day

(www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/july/epidemic-of-bible-

illiteracy-in-our-churches.html).

Another study found that only 53% of church-goers rarely or never study

the Bible. Because people rarely read or study the Bible other parts of

their Christian life go lacking. The study found that people with higher

Bible engagement confessed wrong to God and asked for forgiveness, make

a decision to obey God, knowing it will be costly or pray for people who

are not professing Christians (https://lifewayresearch.com/2013/11/15/

bible-engagement-in-churchgoers-hearts-not-always-practiced-2/).

The question I want to be answered, however, is why? I suppose there are

many reasons: some may not think the Bible is important or relevant,

trustworthy or understandable. That is the reason for this upcoming series

I have entitled, “The Book.”

This series will explore those very reasons and give thoughtful answers

that are not trite, cliched one-liners. I hope that by the end of this series

your own personal engagement with Scripture will increase as you discover

how trustworthy and relevant this book really is.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Alan

Dear FUMC,

I would like to bring to your attention two things. First of all, for a couple of reasons, we will

not be presenting our dinner theater this Fall. I believe that the time was not right to do it.

We will continue to discern God’s will for us in this area. Secondly, and on a much more joyous

note, the Chancel Choir is back in the choir loft. Yes, the swallows have returned to

Capistrano. Frankly, I missed this bunch and am really happy to see them in their places. We

have a dedicated choir and I will take this opportunity to thank them again for their dedication

and hard work. If you would like to be a part of the group, our rehearsals are on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 in the

choir room which is on the lower floor close to the elevator.

Our children’s choirs and hand bells will begin in September. And just a reminder, the Genesis Choir consists of

those children from 4 years old through the first grade and the Joyful Singers Choir consists of those children from

2nd grade through 5th grade. Both of these groups will be meeting at 4:30 on Wednesdays. The hand bell choir will

meet in the balcony at 6:00 on Wednesdays. Please remember that we will not be serving a meal on Wednesday

evenings so the children should be picked up after choir rehearsal is over.

Finally, a personal comment: I really enjoy my time with the children each Sunday during the children’s sermon.

During the summer, our children’s attendance fell drastically. There was one Sunday when I spoke with only one

child. The joy I feel when I see the children in church is wonderful. They remind me that God still sends miracles on

a regular basis. Their smiles and their innocence let me know that there are impressionable little folks out there

that can be molded in more than one direction according to their experience. It reminds me that we have a

wonderful future in the church as a whole if these children are taught that church is important. And folks, the

children can’t come on their own. Now before you think that I am singling out parents of young children, I do want

to add that I have missed a lot of folks over the summer. Please remember that you are important to each other

and your presence at church is an inspiration to others. I will now hop off my soapbox and add that I am glad to see

the children as well as the rest of you returning.

I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday. God bless, Billy

The mission of First United Methodist Church is

to be and make disciples of Jesus Christ for the

transformation of our church, community and world.

Contact Us

Alan Cassady: Britt Martin: alan@fumceufaula.org britt@fumceufaula.org

Birthdays

Friday, August 10

► Karen Andrews

Lilli Kate Darrigan

Britt Martin

Sunday, August 12

► Joni Wesley

Monday, August 13

► Eldon Bargewell

Tuesday, August 14

► Jane Boyette

Karen Bradford

Wednesday, August 15

► Hayley Earle

Ashley Harlamert

Grant Martin

Joel Smith

Thursday, August 16

► Andrew Hodnette

James Orr, Jr.