WELCOME TO FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH WINNSBORO!
All are welcome at Winnsboro’s First Church so dive on in! We are a warm and welcoming congregation where you can meet people, celebrate life, grow deeper, stronger in your faith and turn energy into action that transforms the world. EVERYONE is invited and if you’d like us to meet you at the door, email us HERE and we’ll be there!
Sunday Morning Worship
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10:50 a.m.
Worship on FACEBOOK LIVE or In-Person
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watch past Sunday services and/or devotionals.
Looking for a Sunday Small Group?
8-13-20 FUMC Update
Thanks to all of you who came last night to pray for everyone going back to school today! We met and prayed with Dr. Pam Gambrel at the Elementary School, then we drove to the High School, Intermediary School, Middle School and Administration offices. Let us continue to pray without ceasing!
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 1 John 5:14
I hope those of you who were able to come to worship in the sanctuary this past Sunday were as excited to see so many people worshipping in the same space as I was. In addition to the 58 people in the sanctuary there were six in Wesley Hall together and what a JOY to see your faces! I want to THANK YOU for maintaining six feet apart from everyone, sitting in places that might only be close to your regular spot, and wearing your face coverings in and out. You are amazingly respectful! But I also want to remind everyone that BECAUSE of social distancing, we cannot have the same number of people together as we did before. In fact, Danny and Amy Moss walked with me through every space in our building to help determine safe occupancies, and when we meet those numbers, we’ll go to options. And don’t worry, we have options!
~ If you sit in the balcony, the pulpit-side stairwell will be closed so everyone can go up one set of stairs on the choir side. The balcony, like the main floor, has every other pew blocked off. But depending on the number of families that sit together, the most we can have upstairs is 16-20. But depending on how families are seated, maybe less. Please help each other stay safe up there! OPTION: if the balcony is closed, you can sit on the main floor. There’s usually room up front with me and I’d LOVE to have you in MY pew neighborhood!
~ As you know, only the main door to the sanctuary is open, but if we reach capacity, again depending on family numbers (50-60), we’ll direct people to Wesley Hall where you can watch LIVE on Facebook with others, although in a smaller group.
~ ONLY THE COURTYARD DOOR TO WESLEY HALL WILL BE OPEN after 10:30 and all the same safety protocols will be in place ~ masks in and out, hand disinfecting and 6-feet family distancing. Amy and Danny Moss have been acting as gracious hosts for some in their Sunday school class and I know they’ll be gracious hosts to you too!
Please come a few minutes earlier than you might normally so you can get situated where you want or have time to head through the courtyard to Wesley Hall! And don’t worry. As more and more people start to return, we have more and more options. There will ALWAYS be a place for you to worship God with YOUR church family!
PARENTS: we are making plans to get our kids reconnected so stay tuned!
Grace, peace and patience,
Pastor Debbie
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8-09-20 FUMC Update
Selfishly, I admit that having even some of you back in the sanctuary today was exceptionally refreshing, especially as we recognized our kids and adults going back to school! There was lots of energy and excitement, and we will be praying for ALL of our students and school employees as they navigate new procedures this year! If you missed the video tribute to our adults and kids, you can watch the updated version on Facebook or CLICK here to watch it on YouTube.
As wonderful as it was to have so many of you in the sanctuary this morning, it’s just not the same without EVERYONE in our church family being together! Let’s all continue to pray hard, every single day, that as safe vaccine development continues at “warp speed,” it will be sooner than we hope!
As always you can watch the Sunday services on Facebook. Even if you don’t plan to use Facebook for anything OTHER than worshipping with your church family, all you need is an email address! You can also watch the weekly devotional on Facebook (I’ll post one tomorrow) but it will always be up by Tuesday mornings. If you don’t want to use Facebook, you can listen to the sermon and the devotional on the website . Just choose what you want and push play and you can listen.
EXCITING STAFF CHANGES ~ As you heard me mention yesterday in church, we have decided to repurpose the budgeted position of Office Manager, (which was a 20 hour/week position), and create two part-time positions that will be much more focused on our mission, to GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES. Much of the Office Managers position was doing bookkeeping, and we will now contract that out for a fraction of what a paid position was. Instead, we will be looking to the future and hiring a 10-hour/week SOCIAL MEDIA-COMMUNICATIONS Coordinator and a 10-hour/week CHILDREN’S MINISTRY COORDINATOR. This information is now on our website under HIRING so if you know anyone you think is qualified and interested, they will contact Cyndie Ewert, Chair of the Staff/Parish Relations Committee.
EVENTS THIS WEEK ~ See details on the CALENDAR
~ Socks, undies and gift cards for SCHOOL due by the August 16.
~ Mondays in August, 9 am-11 am, drive by and say hello!
~ Monday, August 10, 5:30-6:15 pm, Rally 4 Winnsboro, community prayer at the Civic Center
~ Wednesdays ongoing, 10 am, ZOOM Bible Study, Matthew 5-6
~ Wednesday night, 6:30 pm, Prayers for Our Schools, we’ll meet at the Elementary school and caravan to the other schools
New Sermon Series Begins Sunday, August 16 ~ We’ll finish out the month of August with a three-week worship series on lessons we learned in school and one thing we learn quickly is… sometimes life isn’t FAIR.
Blessings to you this week,
Pastor Debbie
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8-03-20 FUMC Update
The Church Council met tonight, and after careful consideration of the Net Health seven-county numbers dropping and our strong protocols to keep everyone safe, we’re excited to reopen our sanctuary this Sunday, August 9, at 10:50 a.m.! I’M SO EXCITED! And the good news is, like before, you only have to wear your mask in and out. But once you’re seated and 6 feet apart from everyone, you can take it off! Of course, for those in vulnerable health situations or who live outside of the area, we’ll be continuing to have Facebook LIVE, and as always, the AUDIOS of the weekly devotional and sermons are on the website.
BLESSING OF THE BACKPACKS ~ This Sunday, August 9 ~ Teachers, School Employees and Kids, please sit as close to the front of the church as you can get so we can recognize and PRAY for you! Kids, bring your backpacks to church this Sunday and we’ll bless you AND your backpack as you prepare to return to school! PARENTS/GRANDPARENTS: Don’t forget to send me your pictures by this Thursday!
CORONAVIRUS FREE TESTING IN LONGVIEW ~ Because we know the virus can be spread by asymptomatic people, the Texas Department of Emergency Management is providing free testing, whether you have symptoms or not, every Monday through Saturday, 8 am – 2 pm. (See below for details.)
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO CAME THROUGH THE DRIVE THROUGH! Mondays in August, 9-11 am ~ I loved being able to talk to so many of you, and I’ll be at the Church Street door every Monday morning in August!
LAST DAY TO BRING SOCKS AND UNDIES or Gift Cards; ~ Sunday, August 16 ~ School starts back on August 13, and we don’t want ANY child to be without such basic necessities!
ZOOM BIBLE TALK is on MATTHEW 5 on WEDNESDAY, August 5, at 10 am ~
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 451 285 222 Passcode: 486447
OR … dial in by PHONE so you can listen and participate:
346 248 7799 Meeting ID: 451 285 222 Passcode: 486447
This Sunday, we’ll finish our GOD in the MOVIES summer series with a look at “God’s Not Dead: Where is God When Life Falls Apart?” Can’t wait to see everyone!
GRATEFUL to be in MINISTRY with you all!
Pastor Debbie
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7-27-20 FUMC Update
It’s always great to get back to doing God’s work after having had a nice break over the last two weeks! I’m so grateful to Pastor Sue and Brother Henry for stepping in for me on Sundays and for Don Beaty and Cyndie Ewert who were on call. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful leadership in our church!
SUNDAY WORSHIP WILL REMAIN ONLINE THROUGH SUNDAY, AUGUST 2 ~ Your Church Council agreed to postpone our recent meeting until August 3 to wait to see how the COVID cases in East Texas have changed and to see what would happen when the Governor’s mandate to wear masks in all public places was in place through August 3. Although I have not seen an update from the Governor’s office yet, epidemiologists seem to believe the numbers ARE beginning to flatten again, so I sincerely doubt that mask mandate will change yet. In our seven counties of East Texas, July cases of COVID skyrocketed but in the week of July 24, there was a 14% drop in active cases from the week before. We certainly want to see this trend continue! Let’s continue to pray, pray, pray that we can get BACK to in-person worship again soon, and I will send you all an update as soon as we have a decision next week about moving forward.
BIBLE TALK ZOOM MOVES INTO THE NEW TESTAMENT, Wednesday, August 6, 10 am ~ If you have given ZOOM a try, now would be a great time as we turn a corner into the influential chapters of the Gospels. Here is a LINK with very simple getting started instructions, step by step, and it’s really easy! You DON’T need a tablet, laptop, phone, or desktop computer to join in. You can simply CALL in to participate although as these are verse-by-verse discussions, you’ll want to have your Bible open with us so you can follow along on your own. I do hope you’ll join us for an in-depth look at what John means when he talks about how the WORD BECAME FLESH.
Join Zoom Meetings ~ Wednesday at 10 am
Meeting ID: 451 285 222 Passcode: 486447
OR, dial-in by PHONE so you can listen and participate: 346 248 7799
Meeting ID: 451 285 222 Passcode: 486447
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdILMUXKgo
MONDAY DRIVE THROUGH IS BACK! 9 a.m. ~ 11 a.m. through August ~ I truly MISS seeing everyone and since so many people are opting to stay safe at home even when the church is open, I’m moving our drive-through time to MONDAY MORNINGS when it won’t be as hot! I’d love to see you and you can drop off your socks and undies, pick up your Community Chronicle and say hello!
DON’T FORGET ~ We’re Collecting Socks and Undies for the Pre-K and Elementary Schools thru August 16 ~ Erika Martin, WISD campus nurse, tells us that this is a TRUE need and what a sad thing to even imagine! You can drop them in the red bin by the office door, or if you’d rather get gift cards to Dollar General or Walmart, etc. slip those in the mail slot or bring them to the drive-through on Monday, 9-11 a.m.
WE STILL NEED SPRAY DISINFECTANT and WIPES ~ If you’re in the store and happen to see Lysol or Clorox Wipes or equivalents, please pick up a few for the church!
THIS SUNDAY, August 2, 10:50 a.m. on Facebook, GOD’S NOT DEAD ~ We’ll finish up our God in the Movies series in the next few weeks with a much-needed reminder that God is definitely not dead! This movie (Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube) has led to some intense discussions over the years and today is NO different!
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6-30-20 FUMC Update
As we have all watched the news of COVID cases in Texas rising and the Governor pausing State re-opening plans, our Church Council met last night. And out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to close the sanctuary on Sunday mornings through July.
Just two weeks later, those cases jumped another 50% from June 12 to June 26, doubling again to 256 cases per week. It appears that when Memorial weekend came, school ended, summer started, and people began to gather again and travel, there have been significant spikes and we anticipate that happening again with July 4th weekend coming. Let us pray that does NOT happen!
My heart is heavy making this decision because I truly believe our Sunday procedures are as safe as they can possibly be! As our original opening documents stated,“The advice of public health officials may change as more becomes known about COVID-19 so we want to reiterate that we may move back and forth between phases of reopening if second or third waves of infections emerge.”
Sadly, while we moved forward when things looked good, it’s now time to take a step back, TEMPORARILY! We just didn’t want to risk even ONE person getting sick. And if that means engaging our spiritual gift of PATIENCE (which P.S., is one I really have to work on!), then we will PAUSE for the next four weeks. Again, please continue to PRAY, PRAY, PRAY that we can stop the spread and get back together, IN PERSON, in August! And as always, we will continue to worship LIVE on Facebook!
WISH HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THOSE WHO CAN’T GET OUT ~ A detailed individual directory with the birthdays that have been given to us, plus the family picture directory were attached to this week’s church-wide email. Please pay special attention to those in our assisted centers and/or are homebound. Every week I will include the birthdays of people who can not get out so you can call and say HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I can’t imagine how hard it is for them so let’s send a little love!
ZOOM BIBLE STUDY CONTINUES, Wednesday Mornings at 10 a.m. ~ This will be a GREAT week for you to join us because we are pointing out the MAJOR Old Testament events that are important to understanding the New Testament. Click here to get the app if you don’t have it: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193- Joining-a-meeting
Then, after you get the app here’s the connection our OUR group, it’s the same every week:
Join Our Zoom Meeting
WE’RE STILL COLLECTING CANS OF “LYSOL SPRAY” (or generic) ~ Most stores have limits on buying one or two, so if you have what you need at home, buy a can of disinfectant spray or wipes and drop them at the church, please. Our red tub is still by the office door. (Copies of The Community Chronicle, Upper Room devotional books, as well as prayer guides are there!)
PRAYING AT HOME ~ As the sanctuary will be closed, I want to ask that everyone to please pray at home! We can’t wait to re-open the sanctuary to have a physical presence in our building, but God hears us no matter WHERE we are!
THIS SUNDAY, July 5, God in the Movies Sermon Series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ~ If you have not seen this wonderful C.S. Lewis film, it’s definitely worthwhile; ESPECIALLY when the Christian allegory of good versus evil is so clearly seen! When you join us on Sunday, please COMMENT and let us know you’re with us. And look for names of people you DON’T recognize, and please reach out to them! You’ll also see the little purple box below the video when we begin and you can SHARE the message and watch with your family and friends. Anytime you share our post, be sure you share the message that we are a church where EVERYONE belongs!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Debbie
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