2011 Bishop's Convocation

Pastor Charles is attending the Bishop's Convocation at Mount Wesley (in Kerrville) today and Tuesday (2/28 & 3/1).  Rev. Mike Slaughter, senior pastor of Ginghamsburg UMC in Tipp City, Ohio, is the speaker for the event.  Rev. Slaughter said the church needs to have an outward mission focus rather than an inward one, if it wants to grow.

February 27 @ FUMC - McCamey

A very windy day was in store for McCamey today, but that didn't stop the faithful from assembling for worship!  It was a blessing to welcome our guests to share in the worship of our amazing God!  We had a double row of cars in the parking lot!

 

Cytha Peters and Sara Hill provided a beautiful clarinet/piano duet, which really made the worship service extra special.

This afternoon at the McCamey Convalescent Center, a large gathering assembled in the multi-purpose room for worship.  Cytha Peters accompanied the worship on piano with Bill & Bobbie Lester and Belinda Alkula lending their support to the residents' worship.

A Good Thing: Clearing out the clutter in our lives!

GREAT BOOK: "Clutter's Last Stand," by Don Aslett.


This is a great book! If you want to borrow it, we have a copy.  Every once in awhile, we need to re-read it! - Pastor Charles and Belinda Alkula  (Excuse us now. We probably should tackle a closet or something...)

Here is an excerpt from an interview with this book's author. To read the entire interview, click here.

What advice can you give to those who feel completely overwhelmed by their junk and clutter? They don’t even know what color their carpet is anymore. They don’t know where to begin. Where should they start?

Go for your own stuff first. We have a tendency to worry about our neighbor’s junk or our spouses and children’s junk before our own. We always see people who are worse than we are. Get your own wallet, your own purse, your own bulletin board, your own tools, your own photo album, your own notebook, your own closets. It’s amazing how when you go after your own junk the world changes. It brightens up and there’s not nearly as many bad junkers as you thought after you get rid of your stuff. Dejunk alone. Do it in the morning. Do your own stuff first.

I got a call from a lady who was 65 years old. She said I’m sixty-five, I’ve had a lot of stuff, wealth and everything. I read Clutter’s Last Stand and dejunked my life. For the first time in my life I understood what living was like. Life for her before was tending her junk. We tend our jewelry, or our car, or our house. Tend all the excess we have. She got rid of all of that stuff, and finally she was able to tend to people instead.

It can change lives spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Get rid of evil thoughts, things, covetousness, disrespect, get the junk and excesses out of your life. Even doctors tell us to do it. When you think about it, It’s a truly exciting message…an overall cure for life. Throwing out everything on you, in you and around you…It’s a transformation.

E-News from FUMC - McCamey

First UMC in McCamey has added another tool to its e-ministry tool-kit, our very own web site!

http://www.firstumcmccamey.weebly.com/ joins other e-ministry elements: a blog, an e-newsletter, and a Facebook group in giving church members and guests more sources for information. 

More resources will be added to the web site over the coming weeks, so come back often and see what we're all about at FUMC - McCamey!

The clean-up continues!

There was more cleaning taking place at the church today.  Mary Witcher, Marian Brown and Belinda Alkula did more work on the kitchen cleaning project.  It is looking SO much better!  Not to rest from their labors, they then tackled more cleaning in the janitor's storage room, which is looking a lot better!  Next cleaning time for these areas might just be next Thursday, March 3rd, beginning at 1:00 p.m.  (Stay tuned for confirmation at a later date.)  Any and all are welcome to join in on the fun!

Please note: Only cleaning supplies should be placed in the janitor's cleaning supplies room... just off the kitchen, leading to the rear door.  All items used in the serving of food are now stored in the kitchen itself.

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Meanwhile...  Jim Witcher and Ted Creech stopped by the parsonage to tackle tricky leaky faucets.  Mission accomplished!  It sure is nice to have such able folks available to lend a hand!

Pastors & Professionals Meeting in San Angelo

The San Angelo District held the monthly meeting of district pastors/professionals this morning at Sierra Vista UMC.  Pastor Charles was the preacher at the communion service.  His message reminded those present to remember why they said "yes" to God's call and to celebrate that with their faith communities.

The sound of music

The sound of music was heard tonight in McCamey with both the choir and hand bells bringing sound to life.   It is a lot of fun each week to hear the participants sharing the joy of making music with one another.

God Squads on a a Mission!

Church Trustee Roy Kephart and his assistant Alice (his lovely wife) were at the church today on a mission!  At Sunday's trustee meeting, they volunteered to tackle the project of reviewing and upgrading where needed... the church's electrical systems.  This morning, they were doing a walk-through to determine what items needed to be purchased.  Electrical outlet covers and childproof plugs were some of the items on their list!

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In addition to their financial tasks, Belinda Alkula & Bill Lester took time to clean and store the Advent Wreath stand.  This will grace our sanctuary once again come November.
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Praise be to God for such faithful folks who are working to improve God's House!

Sunday, February 20th

Today was a very busy day in the life of the First UMC!  Our worship service this morning was alive with the sound of a joy-filled people!  What a blessing it is to come together each week!

This afternoon at the McCamey Convalescent Center, we celebrated the first worship service in the newly renovated multi-purpose room.  It is a wonderful space, and it will be such a joy to worship there each week.

This evening in the fellowship hall, three meetings took place: Trustees, Finance and the Ad Board.  The trustees received the report regarding the recent inspection of the church building and parsonage by Jim & Mary Witcher, who have extensive experience in facility inspections.  The resulting report provides a roadmap for the care of the church's property.

Following the trustee portion of the evening, those in attendance shared a potluck meal.  Thanks to everyone who shared in this impromtu meal.

The finance committee presented some ideas about how to pay for the needed changes and will have more to report next month.  The evening was brought to a close with a productive Ad Board meeting.

Thanks be to God for faithful folks who do what they can to make the world a better place! 

Lay Speaking Courses in Sonora Today!

Lay Speaking Courses were held at the First Sonora United Methodist Church today.  Pastor Wells and church leaders did what they could to make participants feel welcome.  There was great fellowship and learning!  Our Marian Brown and Belinda Alkula attended the Basic Lay Speaking Course which was taught by Mr. Buster Terrell, District Lay Speaking Ministries Coordinator. 

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Others attended the Advanced Lay Speaking Course which was taught by Ms. Gini Christian, Ministries Coordinator for the San Angelo District.

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Praise be to God for those willing to celebrate and enhance the gifts that God has given them!

UM's are on the town!

The monthly "UM's on the town" took place tonight with thirteen of us gathering for supper at Elena's in McCamey.  It is always fun to get together on the third Friday of each month, nothing like a great group like ours to break bread with!

Spring Cleaning is Early This Year!

All afternoon in the church kitchen, there was a LOT of clearing and cleaning out of cabinets and the fridge.  Whew!  God bless Mary Witcher, Billie Mitchell, Belinda Alkula and Pastor Charles Alkula for their hard work and commitment to improving the condition of the church kitchen!  (Billie's son from Big Spring stopped by to say hello and to provide words of encouragement!  He said their church just finished remodeling their kitchen.  It was great to see him!)
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This was "day 2" of the effort.  Between both days, a total of 34 man/woman-hours have been clocked in.  The plan is to meet next Wednesday afternoon to continue.

One Year Ago Today...

If you want to see what we are doing on this day last year, click here!  (It was Ash Wednesday 2010.  This year, Ash Wednesday will be 9 March 2011.  If you want to know why Ash Wednesday falls on different days of the calendar year, click here.)

Convalescent Center Coffee & Donuts

The McCamey Convalescent Center dining/ community room renovation is nearly complete. Today was the first time that the Thursday morning coffee/donuts gathering was held in the newly renovated space. Metal art outside and new artwork inside contribute to making this an inviting space for the residents.

Verla Flading, Alice & Roy Kephart joined Pastor Charles in helping the residents and friends to innagurate this wonderful addition to the MCC.

The FUMC was buzzing today!

The church building was abuzz with activity today!

Bill Lester and Belinda Alkula were at work in the church office this morning, tending to the business-side of the church.  Louise Carll also could be found in the office, preparing musical selections for today's choir practice.

Today was also the "Badgers for Christ" lunch gathering at the FUMC.  Dozens of the McCamey High School students and staff stopped by for pizza and some home-made cookies which had been made by Billie Mitchell.  Volunteering their time today were Pastor Charles & Belinda, Andy Andrews, Bill Lester, Billie Mitchell, Jean Myrick, Debbie White and Mary Witcher. 

In the afternoon, Mary Witcher, Billie Mitchell and Belinda Alkula tackled the first phase of the kitchen cleaning.  All of the food-serving items are now stored in the kitchen pantry.  Bill Lester was assisted by Pastor Charles in stepping in for the trustees and changing some overhead lights in the kitchen.

Mid-week message for February 19th

"The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." -Leviticus 19:1-2


This week's sermon, "In simple terms," is based on the passage from Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18. In this reading, Moses relays the message from the Lord describing, in simple terms, the conditions upon which the people are to base the life of the community.



*What does it mean to be a community of faith?
*What are the limits to our responsibility to the community we live in?
*What is the connection between how we treat our neighbors and our relationship to the Lord?

UM's On The Town

(this picture is from our December gathering at Elena's)

Join us on Friday, February 18th at 6:00 p.m. for the monthly gathering of McCamey "United Methodists on the Town!"  We'll be gathering at Elena's Kitchen for a "Dutch Treat" meal, and as always, this is a "no fuss - no muss  program" gathering.  See you on Friday!

United Methodist Women Tonight!

The February meeting of the United Methodist Women took place on Valentine's Day in the church parlor.  Each February, the units  of The United Methodist Women (UMW) take part in "The Call to Prayer and Self-Denial."  This year, the offering goes to support the Retirement Benefits Fund.  This fund provides pensions and health care for retired United Methodist Women deaconesses and missionaries.
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After the meeting, our "sweet" Theodora invited us to be her valentines by accepting her gift of beautifully decorated heart-shaped cookies.  Thanks be to God for faithful folks who want to share with others!