The Message p. 2

Ministers

All Who Profess Christ

Pastor

Roger Parker

Youth Director

Michael Smith

Lay Leader

Gary Clower

Administrative Assistant

Sharon Pilant

Church Custodian

Francisco Parada

Chancel Choir Director

Debbie Bailey

Pianist

Donna Talley

Bell Choir

Dana Parker

Preschool Director Sherrill McPherson

Preschool Teachers Jana Pahukoa Debra Chancellor

Joni Clark

Tammy Woodruff

Dana Parker

Megan Chancellor

Lauri Pell

Kelsey Eby

Nursery Attendants

Linda Brandon

Joni Clark

“Just as each of us has one

body with many members,

and these members do not

all have the same function,

so in Christ we who are

many form one body, and

each member belongs to all

the others.

Prayer Concerns

Austin Acuff

Larry Baumert

Richard & Patti Beattie

Davis Beaver

Adam Brown

Don Brown & Family

Stacy Bugher

Jayson Burd

Brian Carey

Kathy Davis

Kim Dennis

Judy Diver

Anna Duerkson

Ed & Bettye Giles

Christine Griner

Paul Hays

Brad Higginbotham

Fred & Glenda Jostes

Naomi Kay

Judy Keith

Ron Kincade

Maelee Larson

Lydia Lawrence

Amber Leamy

Sharon Merriman

Tim Nutter

Dorothy Quoy

Tom Reier

Betty Smith

Payton Stanley

Merril Stott

Mildred Stott

Jimmie Summers

Hazel VanVoorhis

Dennis Wilmot

For the month of February the church will be col-

lecting toothbrushes and toothpaste

for the Pryor Ministry Center.

Sunday, March 18th will be the date

the children will be collecting this

and monetary donations during the

Children’s Moment in both services.

Neighborhood Organizational Services What is it Who is it Where is it

United Methodist Women Sunday will be March

18.

Focus will be Neighborhood Services Organiza-

tion. What is it? Where is it? Who supports it

[you do]?

Who will be honored and receive the Special

Membership pins this year?

Come enjoy the fun!!

Dates are set for the upcoming spiritual retreat,

“Walk to Emmaus”. Both weekends will be

held at Claremore First United Methodist

Church. I you are interested please contact

Jeanne Kelly or Skip Ray.

Men’s Walk, April 12-15

Women’s Walk, April 26-29

Thank you for the cards and prayers during my

hospital stay and while recovering from surgery.

Pastor Roger’s visit and phone calls were greatly

appreciated. God Bless.

Herman Werkman

p. 3 March, 2018

Pastor's column-March 2018-"From Roger's Pen"

Olympic Greatness and God’s Joy

I don’t know about you, but I was somewhat disappointed after the

short program of the women’s individual skating event at the Olympics this

year. Not only did the first two groups appear to be so determined to do well

at the start of their routines, only to be so dissatisfied with their own performances at the end of their

routines, they just seemed like they weren’t having any fun at all. Now I missed the last group (I was

too sleepy to watch after the late news was over) and the second part the program has yet to come,

but it felt like everyone was trying so hard not to make a mistake and lose a chance to get a gold-

metal, that all the joy had gone out of the moment!

And then I remembered the 2002 Winter Olympics in the same event. It was 5 months after the

September 11, 2001. The country was demoralized by the events of that day. And Sarah Hughes, a 16-

year-old Olympian, who was a rising star because of her silver-metal performance in the national

event the year before, stepped out on the ice to perform her “Free skate”, which was the second-half

of the event. She was in fourth place behind three other very talented skaters. Hughes was not even

expected to be on the podium at the awards ceremony…

…But then, wrote one sports writer, “She pulled off an impressive long program, which includ-

ed landing a record-setting seven triple jumps. Hughes’s near flawless routine helped her edge out

Russia’s Irina Slutskaya and U.S. favorite Michelle Kwan for the gold-metal.”

What I was most impressed with was a comment she made after the Olympics about her per-

formance. She said, “I skated for pure enjoyment. That’s how I wanted my Olympic moment to be.”

I share this because I think the greatest part of knowing God and living as a servant of Jesus

Christ is: You can find joy in a life with God!

That means we make mistakes and risk looking foolish. It means that we are willing to trust

God. It means we live simply, walk humbly, and refuse to tolerate injustice. It means we love one an-

other and offer help to our neighbor, every neighbor. It means we live content…and we enjoy it as

God intended it to be!

We don’t have to live like we’re avoiding mistakes and fretting over losing awards and

recognition.

We can live with the joy of the Lord and have strength of spirit in everything we do. Every-

thing!

In Christ's footsteps we walk,

Pastor Roger

The Message p. 4

V.I.M. to Tennessee this summer The Volunteers-in-Mission regulars have decided to serve the folks in Obion, TN, at

the Reelfoot Rural Ministries during the week of June 10 - 16. We surely would like

for more of our own Pryor First United Methodists to join the 2018 V.I.M. Team and

plan to serve our Lord helping needy folks with home repairs. If you are interested

and want to find out more about our V.I.M., contact Benny Williams at (918) 864-

7238 or email at clemson68tgr@gmail.com.

Save the dates: April 23 - 27, 2018: If you haven't experienced a mission trip lately

or maybe have never experienced one of our

church's V.I.M. (Volunteers-In-Mission) mission

trips over the past 25 years, then, Boy! Do we

have an opportunity for you!

Some of you may ask: What is an "At-Home Mission Week?" It is a week of working

around our own church doing similar tasks/projects that we normally do on any of our summer

VIM mission trips. And, it allows EVERYONE in our congregation, not just a few missioners,

to contribute some time, some energy, and some skills to serving our Lord. Furthermore,

EVERYONE can enjoy fellowship, maybe get to know fellow church members a little better,

and experience what it's like to go somewhere else on a mission trip.

The main focus of this "At-Home Mission Week" is the upstairs of our educational build-

ing. We want it to look nice and inviting to our church members, visitors, and the community.

Right now the upstairs needs an overhaul, so to speak. Our planning team has set five priority

projects to accomplish our goal:

1. Upgrade the Movie Room - to include audio/visual equipment

2. Reorganize Storage with the goal to open up 2-3 rooms for classroom space

3. Clean, Clean, Clean - stairways, walls, floors, light fixtures (some need repair)

4. Paint some rooms - Tween room, Movie room, Youth corner room

5. Playground Repair - fence

Everyone will be given an opportunity to participate in our "At-Home Mission Week" by

signing up to work on a specific project from the list above. Now, this mission will involve all

skill levels from no particular skill to craftsmen. In other words, you don't have to be experi-

enced in any type of craft; just come help out wherever you can. In a couple of weeks, we will

post a "Sign-Up" list for everyone to join the mission.

As we do on our VIM mission trips, we plan to have breakfast and devotional time at the

beginning of each workday. Lunch and snacks will also be provided. Therefore, for those of

you who don't feel like you are able to work upstairs, you will be needed on the "Cooking

Team."

So. . . Mark you calendars NOW for April 23-27 and plan to be a part of something special . . .

. maybe it could be a "spiritual happening!" Somewhere I heard that "the Lord helps those

who help themselves."

March, 2018 p. 5

SWEETHEART DINNER WAS DELICIOUS!

From comments made by a lot of folks who dined with the Methodist Men on Sunday, February

18th, the 2018 Sweetheart Dinner was a success. If you were unable to attend, you really

missed an enjoyable dining experience. We sincerely hope you will be able to join us next

year around Valentine’s Day.

As always, the men of our UMM Fellowship really enjoyed preparing and serving the congre-

gation for this special occasion. A boatload of “Thanks” goes out to many dedicated and really

nice folks:

To Patty & Gary Clower for a delicious meal made with LOVE

To Mary Proctor for helping Patty with some of the meal preparation

To all the kitchen helpers—tater peelers & mashers, can openers, stirrers, bread roll ten-

ders and others

To all the dish washers, driers and put-uppers

To all the table set-uppers and decorators

To Patty & Gary Clower for the pretty rose table centerpieces

To the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and their leaders for performing a myriad of tasks that includ-

ed serving and cleaning up the Fellowship Hall.

And we extend our UMM appreciation to all of you who attended the Sweetheart Dinner for

helping make this event an enjoyable experience.

Monday thru Friday of Holy Week our church will host a noon luncheon and message for the community: Monday: First Church of God Tuesday: Hispanic Church of God/Pleasant View Baptist Wednesday: Church of the Nazarene Thursday: Christian Presbyterian Church/Episcopal Church Friday: First United Methodist Church

Maundy Thursday Service at 6:00 p.m.

Children will bring in the palms during both services

Pastor Roger will bring the message during the noon luncheon served by our church

March, 2018

Everyone is invited to

“The Resurrection of Gavin Stone” will be the movie shown on Sunday, March 11th.

The evening will begin at 5:00 p.m. with a meal of Frito chili pie, hot dogs, chips,

desserts and beverages. During intermission popcorn and drinks will be served.

LeAnn Taylor from Channel Six News will be here Tuesday, March 13th at

11:00 a.m. She will be speaking to members and guests of the OHCE—

Oklahoma Home and Community Education group. She will be speak-

ing about cancers that involve women. There will be a panel discussion

including several members of the church. All women are invited to be

present.

We choose whom to love. It’s sad but true. Students know from experience in school and all too often in church that people do not always act as though there is enough love to go around for everyone. Daily, our students live with the reality that there are groups and cliques with which they are either in or out. At some point in their lives, most students have been on both the inside and the outside. 1 John 4: 18-19 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear expects punishment. The per-son who is afraid has not been made perfect in love. We love because God first loved us.

Loving everyone is hard to understand and doesn’t make sense sometimes. Most students have no frame of reference for love other than ROMANTIC or PARENTAL love. Loving people who are not a part of their crowd might push them to the unexplored boundaries of that area known as “UNCOOL”. The use of the word LOVE can be more than romantic, it has much more to do with actions than with feelings. Even if you do not have “feelings” of love for another person, you can follow Jesus’ footsteps when deciding to act lovingly toward a person. Love can be confusing and can be considered “uncool” at times, but if loving others like God loves others is “uncool”, then I’m OK with being uncool.

Michael Smith

Pryor Firs Church 400 E. Graham / P. O. Box 67

Pryor Creek, OK 74362-0067

Building God’s Kingdom by Being Christ’s Disciples”

Non Profit Organization U. S. Postage

PAID Pryor, OK.

74362 Permit No. 41

Return Service

Requested

8:30 Children’s Moment

03-04 Dana Parker

03-11 Christine Sprang

03-18 Janice and Jeff Tullis

03-25 Michael Smith

If you would like to be a part of

the Children’s Moment Team for

either service please call Chris-

tine Sprang at 918-825-4796.

8:30 Liturgist for March

Dana Halsey

10:40 Children’s Moment

03-04 Heather Trout

03-11 Christine Sprang

03-18 Janeen and Steve Axtell

03-25 Michael Smith

10:40 Liturgists for March

03-04 Benny Williams

03-11 Alicia Osborne

03-18 John Wilkerson

03-25 Fred Sprang

UMM FELLOWSHIP

8:00 am Saturday, March 3rd

Fellowship Hall

Breakfast is served.

Prayers are lifted.

Fellowship is enjoyed.

All Men of the Church

are invited.

UMW Business Meeting Monday, March 5th at

1:00 p.m.

UMW Circle Monday,

March 26th at 6:30