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CLARKSBURG, WV

PERMIT #74

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

SUNDAY SCHOOL 9:30 A.M. …… SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE 10:45 A.M. …… ALL ARE WELCOME!

F I R S T U N I T E D

M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H

117 N. Second Street

Clarksburg, WV 26301

Phone: 304-623-3397

website: www.cfumc.org

E-mail: cfumc@citynet.net

FUMC Staff

Pastor Greg Godwin, Senior Pastor

Rev. Harry Jenkins, Associate Pastor

Don Gardner, Director of Music and Operations

Jocelyn Blackwell, Children’s Director

Ethan Rapking, Youth Director

Debby McCune, Secretary

John Greaver & Don Barickman, Custodians

O P E N H E A R T S . . . O P E N M I N D S . . . O P E N D O O R S

T H E P E O P L E O F T H E U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H .

CL

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BU

RG

FIR

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UN

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D M

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FROM THE SENIOR PASTOR — Pastor Greg Godwin

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6

T H E G R A P E V I N E

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

F R O M T H E

D E S K O F T H E

A S S O C .

P A S T O R

2

H A R V E S T

B A Z A A R 3

U P C O M I N G

E V E N T S /

C H A R G E

C O N F E R E N C E

4

B O N N I E ’ S B U S 5

V E S P E R S /

M O N A S T I C

M E A L /

N E W

D I R E C T O R Y

6

O U T R E A C H /

W R I T I N G

C I R C L E

F I R S T C H U R C H

W O R K T E A M /

7

S T E P H E N

M I N I S T R Y /

F U M C W O M E N /

N E W S L E T T E R

D E A D L I N E /

F A C E B O O K

8

M E E T I N G S /

U S H E R S /

V A N D R I V E R S /

G R E E T E R S /

B I R T H D A Y S

9

C A N - D O K I D S /

B R E A K A W A Y

Y O U T H /

1 0

O C T O B E R

C A L E N D A R 1 1

I am always reminded of the hymn, “For the Beauty of the

Earth” during fall when the leaves come alive with color. October is a beautiful month in West Virginia which will bring us a variety of

worship opportunities for our church family. I invite you to experience the fullness of each opportunity.

We will start our month with World Communion Sunday, United Methodists join our sisters and brothers in other Christian denominations

around the world in observing Holy Communion to promote Christian unity and ecumenical cooperation among the body of Christ.

Next, Sunday, October 9, will be the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the dedication of our church home. Our ministry celebration will be

to lift up the work of our trustees & property committee along with the official recognition of the retirement of the million dollar debt from the elevator/parking lot addition. We will remember our baptism during this

service.

Judy Burns, our Lay Leader, will lead Laity Sunday, October 16, as we celebrate the ministry of the laity. Our congregation has a strong

ministry and witness among the laity. October 23, will be stewardship Sunday, with the Rev. Dr. Jeffrey

Godwin delivering the sermon. Dr. Godwin is an Elder in our Annual Conference appointed to the faculty of St. Vincent College in Latrobe,

PA. We will reflect on our need to give and to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to us by God.

Our fifth Sunday service, October 30, will held in the fellowship hall with Jennifer Sayers preaching on the text 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5.

We will celebrate Jennifer’s completion of Local Pastor Licensing School

this past summer and her sense of call to pastoral ministry.

As the colorful tapestry of the West Virginia mountains appears in

full beauty reflecting God’s creation, we will have five different worship experiences to enrich the color of our souls and reflect the beauty of

God’s Love in our journey together.

Again, I invite you to renew your spirits during the month of

October.

“Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.”

Pastor Greg

Page 2 T H E G R A P E V I N E

FROM THE DESK OF THE ASSOCIATE PASTOR — Rev. Harry Jenkins

Celebrating Uniqueness

I have a diverse family. I mean we are really diverse! My wife and I adopted three children with

the vision of having a multi-racial family. Presently, we have an African-American son, grand-

daughter, and great-granddaughter; a white daughter and granddaughter, a Japanese daughter-in-

law and grandson. One Christmas holiday I remember everyone together playing cards and laugh-

ing and teasing each other and I sat back in this almost surreal moment and gave thanks for this

wondrous gift we had been given. Oh to be sure, we have had some difficult moments, but it has

been worth it. We grafted on the family tree some diverse branches. All a wondrous gift of God

who loves the world and its entire people.

One of my favorite spiritual leaders writes: “God’s goal, it seems to me, is diversity in creation. It

is the making of persons, not the making of a uniform mob, which means there is clear diversity and

a kind of open-endedness in all of nature. In other words, heaven is precisely not uniformity. The

diversity of heaven was never something I considered in my earlier years. I thought we were all

handed the same white robe and standard issue harp, assigned to an identical cloud for all eternity.

But how does Jesus himself deconstruct this big-box, strip-mall, McHeaven franchise? He tells us:

’In my Father’s house are many mansions’ (John 14:2).”

Diversity is a gift. In our world, in our nation, in our community and in our families we see this

being played out. We see this uniqueness in our church staff. We all have different gifts that we

contribute to the church. Each of our church family has eternal specialness. One writer writes “All I

can give back to God is who I really and fully am.” That is all God wants. It is so liberating to know

that I can simply be my ordinary self.

Christ invites us just as we are as a congregation to serve Him in this place. It is our uniqueness

that He will use for His Glory.

Harry

Sun. 2— 9:30 am Half Truths Bible Study -

in the fellowship hall

10:45 am World Communion Sunday

Children’s Church during worship

12:00 pm Children & Youth Lunch

12:15 pm Children & Youth Choir

1:00 pm Can-Do-Kids (till 2:00 pm)

1:00 pm BreakAway Youth (till 2:00 pm)

Mon. 3— 6:00 pm Staff Parish Relations Committee

Tues. 4- 12:15 pm Monastic Meal

Wed. 5— 4:00 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry

5:15 pm Fellowship Meal ($4.00)

6:00 pm Wednesday Worship (thru 6:45)

Thur. 6 - 4:00 pm Handbell Rehearsal

5:30 pm Contemplative Living Study

7:00 pm Chancel Choir Rehearsal

Fri. 7— 8:00 pm Children & Youth Lock-In until

Sat. 8— 8:00 am

*************************************************************** Sun. 9- 9:30 am Half Truths Bible Study -

in fellowship hall

10:45 am Anniversary Celebration

Children’s Church during worship

12:00 pm Children & Youth Lunch

12:15 pm Children & Youth Choir

1:00 pm Can-Do-Kids (till 2:00 pm)

1:00 pm BreakAway Youth (till 2:00 pm)

Mon. 10—1:00 pm Writing Circle (in the parlor)

Tue. 11- 12:15 pm Monastic Meal

Wed. 12- 4:00 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry

5:15 pm Fellowship Meal ($4.00)

6:00 pm Wednesday Worship (thru 6:45)

Thur. 13- 4:15 pm Handbell Rehearsal

5:30 pm Contemplative Living Study in

Room #302

7:00 pm Chancel Choir Rehearsal

*************************************************************** Sun. 16- 9:30 am Church School

10:45 am Laity Sunday

Children’s Church during worship

12:00 pm Children & Youth Lunch

12:15 pm Children & Youth Choir

Mon.17–12:00 pm Feed My Sheep

Tue. 18- 12:15 pm Monastic Meal

5:00 pm Finance Committee

5:00 pm Outreach Committee

6:00 pm Church Council

Wed.19- 4:00 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry

NO Fellowship Meal

NO Wednesday Worship

Thur.20–10:00 am Harvest Bazaar (till 7:00 pm)

12:00 pm FUMC Women

NO Handbell Rehearsal

5:30 pm Contemplative Living Study -

Room #302

NO Chancel Choir Rehearsal

************************************************************** Sun. 23— 9:30 am Church School

10:45 am Stewardship Sunday

Children’s Church during worship

12:00 pm Children & Youth Lunch

12:15 pm Children & Youth Choir

1:00 pm Can-Do-Kids (till 2:00 pm)

1:00 pm BreakAway Youth (till 2:00 pm)

Tue. 25- 12:15 pm Monastic Meal

Wed. 26– 4:00 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry

5:00 pm Trustees Meeting

5:15 pm Fellowship Meal ($4.00)

6:00 pm Wednesday Worship (thru 6:45)

Thur.27- 4:15 pm Handbell Rehearsal

5:30 pm Contemplative Living Study in

Room #302

7:00 pm Chancel Choir Rehearsal

Sat. 29— 9:00 am Children & Youth go to Upshur

Parish House & football game

************************************************************** Sun. 30—9:30 am Church School

9:45 am Covered-dish breakfast

10:45 am 5th Sunday Service in

Fellowship hall

12:00 pm Trunk or Treat after worship

Mon. 31 - All Hallows Eve

Let's FALL in love with Christ! Join us for some fun activities this October!

On October 7th, we are having a lock-in for both the children and youth.

We encourage anyone coming to bring your friends along with you. It should be a fun

and exciting night! The times will be 8:00 p.m.- 8:00 a.m.

We will be continuing to collect canned food items for the Clarksburg Mission.

We are also opening this up for the entire church to participate in.

On October 29th, we will be taking a trip to the Upshur Parish House where we will learn about how they

help their community and will also help them out a little bit. Lunch will be provided.

We are also going to be attending a WVWC football game afterwards.

We will be leaving from First Church around 9:00 a.m.

October 7th 8:00 pm - 8:00 am we will have our Lock-in for youth and children! Come and join us as

we celebrate our faith in crafts, devotions, games, and fun.

October 29th - we are invited to participate in a fun-filled day at West Virginia Wesleyan College to join in with

the youth as we do a local mission project and watch a good old Bobcats football game!

Can-Do Kids N ews for Ch i l d ren & The i r Fami l i e s !

Page 10 T H E G R A P E V I N E

B R E A K A W A Y Y O U T H !

If you have any questions or would like more information on Can-Do-Kids,

you can contact Jocelyn Blackwell at 304-669-3675 or e-mail tapper22a@aol.com

If there are any questions that you may have about breakaway youth please contact me,

Ethan Rapking at Ethanarapking@gmail.com 304-677-9378.

October 30th will be our annual trunk or treat in the parking lot after church.

Who will have the spookiest trunk? We welcome all little goblins and ghouls!

Page 3 T H E G R A P E V I N E

HARVEST BAZAAR -- THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20th

10:00 am to 7:00 pm

100% of Proceeds go to Missions Near and Far

The chosen recipients this year are:

FUMC Emergency Fund, Clarksburg Mission, Mustard Seed

Faith UMC, Richwood, WV

UMC Advance: Water and Sanitation

-------

CRAFTS, CANDIES, COOKIES, BAKED GOODS COLLECTIBLES

--------

LUNCHEON PLATTER

11:30 – 1:30

Barbeque Sandwiches

Homemade Chicken Salad - $7.00 per person

DINNER

5:00 – 7:00 pm

Baked Steak Potato Casserole Mixed Vegetables

Garden Salad Homemade Desserts Bread & Beverage

$9.00 for Adults $4.00 for children 12 and under

Tickets / Reservations Required for dinner

Call 304-623-3397, 641-3417 or 677-9859

DINNER TICKETS ON SALE IN NARTHEX

Sundays, October 2nd—9th—16th

____________________________________________________________

HELP WANTED!!

We need help in following areas: Distributing posters

Selling dinner tickets* Clean up lunch and dinner

Crafts to sell Collectibles to sell SERRV sales

*Call Kim Floyd if you can sell some tickets for dinner (304-641-3417)

Call Cheryl Moorhead if you can help with any of above (304-677-9859)

Page 4 T H E G R A P E V I N E

OCTOBER 16

OCTOBER 23

Guest speaker:

Dr. Jeff Godwin

OCTOBER 30—Fifth Sunday Service in the

fellowship hall—10:45 a.m.

Covered-dish breakfast at 9:45 a.m.

Jennifer Sayers will be preaching.

OCTOBER 9

OCTOBER 2

CHARGE

CONFERENCE

Sunday, November 6th at 3:00 p.m.

at the Bridgeport UMC Church.

60 years

“AN EVENING OF MUSIC”

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary

of the installation of our

Casavant-Freres Pipe Organ.

Saturday, October 15, at 7:00 p.m.

Music for brass, choir, bells & organ

“Share our church with the community!”

Page 9 T H E G R A P E V I N E

OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS

10/01 JoAnn Samples

10/01 Jill Bowermaster

10/01 Madison Brown

10/02 Bill Wymer

10/02 Clyde Reeves, Jr.

10/02 Jean Rector

10/02 Bill Gourer

10/02 Rich Fubio

10/02 Natalie Fubio

10/03 Tim Brannon

0/03 Lena Gamble

10/04 Diane Davis

10/04 Brian Squires

10/04 Julianna Matson

10/05 Jean Allen

10/06 David H. Young

10/06 Shelley Hyde

10/06 Ryan Tolley

10/07 Sean Agnew

10/07 Maximus Richards

10/08 Lisa Rogers

10/08 Shelley Spellman

10/08 Alayna Mills

10/09 Debbie Williams

10/09 Brad Rogers

10/09 Kim Floyd

10/10 Roberta Wilfong

10/10 Gary Winters

10/10 Mark Hall

10/11 Al Cox

10/12 Anita Miller

10/12 Ross Thompson

10/13 Joseph Matson

10/15 Andrew Givens

10/17 Sara Gouer

10/17 Isabella Richards

10/18 Melissa Lear

10/18 John V. Grega

10/19 Sheila Turner

10/19 Tim Brannon

10/20 Mary Sue Fraser

10/21 Margaret

McKown

10/22 Tammy Matheny

10/23 Allen White

10/26 Jim Moore

10/26 Jill Lilly

10/27 Missy McMunn

10/28 Dinah Hannah

10/28 Maurice Rhodes

10/29 Dave McMunn

10/29 Cheryl Moorhead

10/30 Emily Rogers

10/31 Amy Gay

Happy Birthday to All!!

JUST A

REMINDER …

Monday, October 3

6:00 pm Staff Parish Relations Committee

Tuesday, October 18

5:00 pm Finance Committee Meeting

5:00 pm Outreach Committee Meeting

6:00 pm Church Council

WEDNESDAY, October 26

5:00 pm Trustees Meeting

PLEASE MAKE NOTE AND PLAN TO ATTEND.

======================================

If there are

corrections

or omissions,

please accept our

apologies,

and let us know.

Thank you

OCTOBER USHERS

David Preston, Susan Wilmerink,

Rick Squires, Jim Turner—team captain

OCTOBER VAN DRIVERS

Ed Arnold and John Cathell

GREETERS FOR OCTOBER

2 narthex Jack & Sue Brandimarte

elevator Carolyn & Brian Yost

9 narthex Judy Burns

elevator Sharon Grega

16 elevator Millie & Carl Lantz

23 narthex Charlene & John Cathell

elevator Rose Cole

COMMITTEE MEETINGS SCHEDULE

Page 8 T H E G R A P E V I N E

STEPHEN MINISTRY … CARING MOMENTS

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus takes time to affirm life. He awakens us to the value of each person

and the goodness of each moment. However, we all have moments that don’t feel as good as we

would like. You or someone you care about could be ill or injured, or heartsick from surrounding

situations, and it becomes challenging to see the blessings at our side.

Challenging moments can be just as important to our lives as beautiful carefree moments, and

Stephen Ministers are trained to help with those challenges. What does a Stephen Minister do? They

listen, accept, care and walk with the person who is having a difficult time. They provide support

through prayer, Scripture, forgiveness, unconditional acceptance and Christian love – with confidentiality and in

appropriate ways to meet the needs of the hurting person. The Stephen Minister stands by the person as God

works through the relationship; through their caring presence, they are being God’s ears, God’s eyes and God’s

heart, providing hope at a time when it is needed most.

We always need each member of our congregation to help in identifying those who might benefit from a Stephen

Minister. If you or someone you know - family member, friend, neighbor, co-worker – could use the support of a

Stephen Minister, you or they can contact our Referral Coordinator Cheryl Moorhead (304-677-9859) or

Rev. Harry Jenkins (304-623-3397). Don’t hesitate, act now and brighten the moments ahead!

The Methodist Women will meet in

the fellowship hall on Thursday,

October 20th at noon.

In support of the church Bazaar, we

will have our lunch there (a table will

be reserved for us).

Anita Miller is serving as hostess.

Come and enjoy our lunch together and be sure to visit the

various booths either before or after lunch.

ARTICLES for the

NOVEMBER GRAPEVINE

need to be in the office by

Wednesday, OCTOBER 12th

THANK YOU!

** Staff Meetings — every Wednesday @ 11:00 am ** NA Meetings — every Mon., Wed. &

Thurs. @ 7:00 pm ** AA Meetings — every Mon., Tues., & Wed. @ 12

noon; and Tues. at 7:30 pm All NA & AA meetings take place in the Library.

Don’t just “Like” our Facebook

Articles, SHARE THEM!

Page 6 T H E G R A P E V I N E

Fellowship Meal at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday Worship from 6:00 to 6:45 p.m.

We have had a wonderful response to our new

program of mid-week worship and table fellowship! So we will continue...

Join us at 5:15 p.m.. for a home-cooked meal ($4 donation) in our church parlor.

From 6:00 to 6:45 p.m., an Evening Prayer service is offered.

Even if you don’t come for the meal, do come for the worship.

Sunday morning worship is still our primary service this Summer,

but if you can’t come on a Sunday, do get your weekly worship on a Wednesday.

Questions? Contact Don Gardner at dgardner55@yahoo.com or 304-623-3397.

WEDNESDAY WORSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP MEAL

MONASTIC MEALS

Every Tuesday —

Prepared meal ($3.00 each) in our parlor,

eaten in silence while scriptures and other sacred books are read.

12:15-12:45 p.m. Come earlier for silent meditation.

If you would like to attend, or to cook one of the meals, call Don at 623-3397.

NEW PICTORIAL DIRECTORY

It’s not too late to have your photo taken for our new church directory.

Stop by the parlor October 2nd or October 9th to have your picture

taken and to fill out an updated “Family Information” form.

Simple as that! No schedules, no salespersons.

If you choose to, you may use your photo from our last directory

Or submit a photo of your own. Just let us know.

We need YOU to make our directory complete!

Page 7 T H E G R A P E V I N E

MARK YOUR

CALENDARS ...

Outreach Meeting -

OCTOBER 18th

First Church Work Team

November 20-23, 2016

Join Don Gardner again this year on a work team trip to

the SERRV Warehouse in New Windsor, Maryland.

—————————-

As in years past, we’ll work 8 hours a day packing for sale nd distribution

handcrafted items from artisans in developing countries.

It’s tiring and fast-paced work, but well worth the results!

Cost: $220 each (covers van, double occupancy hotel, most meals)

When: After lunch, Sun. 11/20 thru Wed. evening about 8 pm

Food: Breakfast/lunch provided, we’ll buy our own dinner

Hotel: Probably the Best Western (we’ve stayed there before, and it’s nice!)

Contact Don Gardner for more information.

623-3397 or dgardner55@yahoo.com

WRITING CIRCLE

Are you interested in Christian writing? The Writing Circle is a group of women (but men are welcome

too) who meet every other Monday with the exception of holiday Mondays. Using Scripture and other

Christian materials as inspiration, we write our thoughts in various forms—prose, many types of poetry,

prayers, short devotions, etc. Meetings are spent reading our “works” to each other as an encourage-

ment to future writings. Probably none of us will ever be famous for what we do, but we all find that we

are more focused on the Bible and applying scripture to our everyday lives—and we certainly do enjoy

our fellowship. All are welcome to come to see if we are a “fit” for you! Our next meeting is Monday,

October 10th at 1:00 p.m. in the church Parlor. Just bring your favorite writing pen, we will supply the

inspirational materials.