Skiatook First United Methodist Church

Methodist

Messenger Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the

transformation of the world!

1007 S. Osage

P.O. Box 910

Skiatook OK 74070

www.fumcskiatook.com

Email: office@fumcskiatook.com

918-396-2519

Fax: 918-396-7973

August 2015

Planning in Skiatook

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)

It is that time of the year when lots of planning seems to be going on. Teachers have already begun planning the

new school year, students are planning how to spend the few remaining days of the summer, and we at church

are planning the events, classes and activities that will take place this fall and winter. Good planning is an essen-

tial component to the success of programs and activities. Planning requires thought, patience, and diligence. Ad-

ditionally, we must know what our goals and outcomes are, and then plan so that we reach those. Dave Ramsey,

author of Financial Peace, likes to say that without a plan, we plan to fail.

As a church, we plan programs and activities that will help people become disciples of Jesus. The goal of the

planning is to help people grow in faith and Christian maturity. We plan for our children and youth, so that they

may develop a growing faith, and have the assurance that God is always with them. We plan for adults to help

them know Christ in a deep, meaningful way that has an impact on daily life. We plan for making new disciples

and attracting new guests by looking at our worship services carefully, outreach events, our physical building,

and procedures that help new guests become part of the church family. Without a plan, without knowing what

our goals and outcomes are, it is easy to get distracted by every new thing that comes our way. When we en-

counter adversity, it is all too easy to become discouraged, and lose our vision of where we are going. A plan

helps us stay on track.

What about our spiritual lives? Do you plan for how you are going to grow closer to God in the coming months?

Do you have a plan that includes daily Bible Study or a devotional reading? Do you have a plan that allows you

to spend time in prayer and/or meditation? Your plan will be your map and direction to your goal. A carefully

made plan will surely bring you more success while action without a plan can bring you to distraction or failure.

Just imagine sailing in the ocean without a map and a compass… will you be able to reach your destination effi-

ciently and accurately?

If our goal is to grow as Christians, and as a church, then we need a plan to reach that goal. Just as we would

never sail the ocean without a map or compass, how can we expect to navigate through the sometimes turbulent

waters of life without a plan to rely on Christ to be our source and our strength?

It is the beginning of a new school year. Good teachers help their students plan for success in the classroom. In

the next few weeks and months, will you pray with me that God will help you find the plan for your life, for our

church, and help each of us develop a plan to become better disciples of Jesus? What will be your plan to help

you achieve the goal of becoming a true disciple of Jesus?

Blessings,

Pastor Susan

August Children’s News

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of

Heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

Miria Jones’ contact info

405-850-2253—Cell (anytime) 918-396-2519—Church children@fumcskiatook

I would love to have some feedback from parents about our Children’s Program. If you have any ideas or suggestions for future possibilities, or ar-eas of change or improvement, please let me know.

Sunday School—each week at 9:30

Children 3 years old thru 4th grade will study Heroes of the Bible this month in Sunday School and Children’s Church.

Please contact Miria Jones if you are able to help in either of these sessions.

Check out the newest

place to get infor-

mation about the

Childen’s program at

Skiatook FUMC. SKIATOOK FUMC CHILDREN

Acolyte Calendar:

2nd—Lexi / Mallory 9th—Tyler / Will 16th—Lexi / Mallory 23rd—Tyler / Will 30th—Gabe / Mallory Acolyte training 08/09, after 2nd service.

G-Force

“In God we live, move, and ex-ist.” Acts 17: 28a

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who helped make VBS 2015 a great success!

The children learned to MOVE, ACT, CARE, FOL-LOW and SHARE through story telling, games, crafts, science and music. And YOU made it possi-ble!

THANK YOU!

Pool Lunches

We continue to serve lunch

at the city pool on Thurs-

days through August 6!

Thank you for your support!

Blessing of the Back-

packs!

Have your children bring their backpacks on Sunday, August 9, (either service), and we

will have a special prayer and blessing over our students during the Children’s moment. We will lay the backpacks on the altar, and pray over our children as they begin a new school year! Our kids, families, and teachers need all the pray-ers they can get!

Misc. Happenings

Red Cross Blood Drive

This summer the Red Cross has struggled to maintain the units needed for the hospitals. Because of this, the August drive will be ex-tended in an effort to serve more do-nors. If you are able to donate, walk-ins are welcome, but you can also make an appointment by logging on to www.redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.

August 6th, 9:30am—6:30pm

Servant Spotlight Thanks to: Boy Scout Troop 250, for re-striping the lines

in the parking lot.

Kiefer Jones for hauling off old unwanted furniture at the church

James Prather, Patti McKinney, Sharon Langen-berg, Kim Warrick, and Miria Jones for taking care of the pool lunches

To all who donated money to the pool ministry

School Supplies

Our annual school supply drive is in full swing, with just anoth-er week to go.

There is still sorting, counting, shopping and much more to do! If you would like more in-formation, or want to sign up to help on any of the days, please be in touch with Sheril Lewis or Ka’Lu in the church office.

There will be sorting on Sunday, August 2nd, shopping at Skiatook Wal-Mart on Monday, August 3rd; followed by more sorting and bag-ging. Distribution will be Thursday, August 6th, 2-8pm and Friday, Au-gust 7th, 9am-3pm.

Fall Walk to Emmaus Coming Soon!

The Walk to Emmaus is a 3 day inter-denominational experience based on United Methodist the-ology and understanding. It be-gins on Thursday evening and ends on Sunday afternoon. It is designed to bring one closer to Christ and to give a big boost in discipleship! The fall weekends will be held at Boston Ave. UMC.

Men: Sept 24-27 Women: Oct 8-10 If you have ever wondered about Emmaus, see Pastor Susan for more information.

With Our Deepest Sympathy

Our sympathies to Mrs. Rose Brehm in the death of her husband, Mr. Nathan Brehm. Condolences also go to Mrs. Joanna Darrow and her family. Joanna’s dad, Mr. Ray King, passed away last month. Please be in prayer for both families.

Gifts Are

Given:

-In memory of Mr. Nathan Brehm; by John and Donna Watt.

Welcome to our newest members! Ken

and Julee March joined our congregation

in July. Julee transferred her member-

ship from Christ UMC in Tulsa, and Ken

joined by Profession of Faith. Please be

sure and welcome them into our church Fifth Sunday Brunch, Aug. 30 at 9:30 am. Bring a dish and

enjoy great food and fellowship.

2015 Great Commission Project

If you have wondered what those en-velopes in the pews are, that are la-beled “Great Commission Project”, they are for special gifts to our mission obligations, sometimes called appor-tionments. Apportionments are gifts to the Conference that fund the minis-tries outside of the local church. For the past 6-7 years, we have not been able to pay all of our obligations. With budget constraints, only 50% have been budgeted. The remaining amount we hope to make up in special giving. We are doing so much better financially in 2015, and our goal is to pay 100% of our apportionments. Please consider a special gift, no matter how small, to help us reach the goal!

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 29

Noon: level 1 yoga

6 pm: Chums to nursing Hone

30 Pool Lunch Mission

1:00 CHUMS 4:30Chair Yoga 6 pm: Level 2 yoga 7 pm Bible Study

31

4:00—8:00 Fill

the Bus @ Wal-

Mart

1

9:00—5:00 Fill

the Bus @ Wal-

Mart

2 8:30 Worship 9:30: Sunday School 10:30 Worship

3 9:00: School Supply Shopping

Noon: level 1 yoga

6:00: Sewing Class

4 9:00: Sewing Class 5:30: Weight Watchers 6-7:30 Youth at Taco Bueno 7:00 Boy Scouts School Supply Bagging

5 noon: level 1 yoga 6 pm: Chums to nursing Home

6 10:30Blood Drive LAF bldg Pool Lunch Mission 1:00 CHUMS 4:30Chair Yoga 6pm Level 2 Yoga 7pm Bible Study

7

Noon: CHUMS Lunch

8

9

8:30 Worship

9:30: Sunday School 10:30 Worship 11:45: Trustees

10 Noon: level 1 yoga

6:00: Sewing Class

5:30—8:00 ASAC Open House

11 9:00: Sewing Class 5:30: Weight Watchers

7:00 Boy Scouts

12 noon: level 1 yoga 6:00 Chums to nursing home 6:30: United Methodist Men First Day of Ski-atook Schools

13

1:00 CHUMS 4:30Chair Yoga 6 pm: Level 2 yoga 7 pm Bible Study

14 8:30: CHUMS

Breakfast

15

St. Yootz Day

@Frontier City

16 8:30 Worship 9:30: Sunday School 10:30 Worship (No youth—Frontier City Saturday)

17 Noon: level 1 yoga

6:00: Sewing Class

18 9:00: Sewing Class 5:30: Weight Watchers

7:00 Boy Scouts

19 noon: level 1 yoga 6:00 Chums to nursing Home

20 1:00 CHUMS 4:30Chair Yoga 6 pm: Level 2 yoga 7 pm Bible Study

21

8:30: CHUMC

Breakfast

22

23/30 8:30 Worship 9:30: Sunday School 10:30 Worship 5th Sunday Brunch: 9:30 (Aug. 30th) 5:30: Youth Bible Study

24/31 Noon: level 1 yoga

6:00: Sewing Class

25 9:00: Sewing Class 5:30: Weight Watchers

7:00 Boy Scouts

26 noon: level 1 yoga 3:00 FIX 6:00 Chums to nursing Home

27 1:00 CHUMS 4:30Chair Yoga 6 pm: Level 2 yoga 7 pm Bible Study

28

29

School Supply Distribution

Skiatook First United Methodist Church

1007 S. Osage

P.O. Box 910

Skiatook, OK 74070

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

RECYCLE PLEASE

Thank you!

Rebecca Lewis sends her thanks to her church family for the love and support at her bridal shower that was held here at the church last week. As you can imagine, she is so excited to begin this new chapter in her life. Congratula-tions, Becca and Tyler. Job well done to Jerry & Sheril Lewis! We celebrate with you.

It’s a Girl! Dear SFUMC Church Family,

Thank you for joining with us in the celebra-tion of the upcoming arrival of our little girl. It means a lot to us to share such a special experience with our church family. We can't wait to introduce her to everyone!

Thank you,

Gary & Linda Tucker

On Wednesday, July 29th, the Tuck-ers welcomed 7lb., 9oz. Maddie Beth. Mom and BABY are doing well.