Home ~ First Methodist Church Winnsboro

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

CLICK HERE to go to our FACEBOOK page for updates and to

watch past Sunday services and/or devotionals.

Looking for a Sunday Small Group?

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4-1-20 FUMC Update

Posted on Apr 1, 2020 in HomePage |

There are no words to tell you how much sadness I feel in my heart not being able to see each other and to worship together. Every day I hear stories that touch me deeply and there is little we can do to “fix” things EXCEPT stay away from each other, wash our hands, not touch our face, and continue to reach out to each other, pray HONESTLY and trust in God!

I will not be doing a Facebook message today but I am attaching the AUDIO message I did yesterday. I hope you find some solace in knowing that this season of LENT is about becoming more aware of God’s presence. Let’s try to do JUST that!

As you all probably know, the State of Texas has now issued a statewide STAY AT HOME Executive Order (attached). This means only non-essential travel (grocery/doctors/gas, etc.) is allowed and all places of business are mandated to be closed accept those of essential workers (see that list here.) “This executive order does not prohibit people from accessing essential services or engaging in essential daily activities, such as going to the grocery store or gas station, providing or obtaining other essential services, visiting parks, hunting or fishing, or engaging in physical activity like jogging or bicycling, so long as the necessary precautions are maintained to reduce the transmission of COVID- 19 and to minimize in-person contact with people who are not in the same household.”

(BTW, the State Parks are ONLY allowing admission for those with State Passes, you can no longer pay by the day.)

This Executive Order is now the law and it goes on to say: “WHEREAS, under Section 418. 173, failure to comply with any executive order issued during the COVD-19 disaster is an offense punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000, confinement in jail for a term not to exceed 180 days, or both fine and confinement.”

BUT WE WILL STILL WORSHIP AND LEARN TOGETHER REMOTELY! Please do what you can to help your “non-connected” friends find a way to connect. If you don’t have Facebook and can get it, talk to your kids, they’ll help you!

This Sunday is Palm Sunday, then we will have a Holy Thursday service and then …..

JOIN ME FOR A ZOOM BIBLE STUDY THURSDAY MORNINGS at 10 AM ~ Believe me, this is ALL NEW TO ME TOO but unusual times push us ALL into learning new things so we’ll do our best! You don’t NEED the app to join the study, but please click on this link and go NOW to see how easy it is ~

Join Zoom Meeting Visually … https://zoom.us/j/872980258

Meeting ID: 872 980 258

CALL INTO THE MEETING: 253 215 8782 or 301 715 8592

Meeting ID: 872 980 258

WE’LL BE CONNECTING ON ZOOM: Zoom is a FREE video conferencing app that allows you to watch and listen (or just call in and participate) while desktop images can be SHARED with those watching. Your device must have a CAMERA and a MICROPHONE to participate visually OR you can call a phone number and participate verbally. It’s an incredible technology that allows us to interact verbally and visually, VERY valuable during this time of social distancing.

FACE MASK UPDATE: Thanks to all of you working hard to make masks, the more the merrier! We have delivered about 130 masks so far, supplied the Winnsboro Police AND five different assisted living/nursing homes. We have also sent some masks to the Wood County Courthouse for doctors who are searching for masks because of overcrowded waiting rooms. We will obviously need MORE in these next few weeks so keep sewing!

DON’T FORGET TO BRING US YOUR OLD BATH TOWELS/BEACH TOWELS: And any old t-shirts or scraps of clothes that can be used to stuff the dog beds. Check out animals for adoption here.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Tim 1:7

CDC Test English: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavir…/…/symptoms-testing/index.html

CDC Test Spanish: https://espanol.cdc.gov/…/20…/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

Debbie Lyons, Pastor

3-30-20 FUMC Update

Posted on Mar 31, 2020 in HomePage |

Well, it looks like our social distancing restrictions have been extended through APRIL 30. No one is sadder about this than I am because I TRULY MISS YOU ALL! Unfortunately, this means we will not be gathering in our sanctuary together until at least May; and never before in the history of the world has a pandemic caused such strict isolation guidelines in order to save lives. I know this is extremely difficult. Like me, I’m sure you waited for the COVID TASK FORCE briefing hoping beyond hope we would have good news since we are blessed not to have become a hot spot for the disease and the COVID cases creeping into our local counties has been minimal. And I’d SURE like to see it STAY this way! This is so difficult for all of us in so many different ways … physically, financially, socially, and spiritually, but as difficult as it is, we WILL GET THROUGH THIS! It does, however, mean we all need to do our best to stay home. ATTACHED is the audio from today’s Facebook devotional if you didn’t see it.

PALM SUNDAY is THIS SUNDAY, April 5 at 10:50 a.m. ~ Parents, please drive by the church office this FRIDAY, APRIL 3, from 1-3 p.m. and pick up one palm for each of your kids or grandchildren. And please take one palm for each of your kid’s friends and ask them to give to a FRIEND! Please then take a SHORT 30-45 second video of your kids saying HOSANNA and welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem and text it to me before Saturday at NOON. We will have a “virtual” processional this Sunday morning to begin our worship service! We will ALSO be having a very special “communion” service together and I will have more details on that this week. You don’t want to miss it!

HOLY WEEK: April 5 through April 11 ~ I am working on our services for this special week but PLEASE mark HOLY THURSDAY at 6:30 p.m. for our worship time together. We WILL be together on Facebook or ZOOM so stay tuned.

WHAT IS ZOOM? Zoom is a FREE video conferencing app that allows you to watch and listen (or just call in and participate) while desktop images can be SHARED with those watching. Your device must have a CAMERA and a MICROPHONE to participate visually OR you can call a phone number and participate verbally. It’s an incredible technology that allows us to interact verbally and visually, VERY valuable during this time of social distancing. In fact, ZOOM is offering all TEACHERS free unlimited conference time during these coronavirus restrictions because the teacher and students can see each other in REAL time!

JOIN ME FOR A ZOOM BIBLE STUDY THURSDAY MORNINGS at 10 a.m. ~ Believe me, this is ALL NEW TO ME TOO but unusual times push us ALL into learning new things so we’ll do our best! You don’t NEED the app to join the study. But please click on this link and go NOW to see how easy it is …

Join Zoom Meeting Visually … https://zoom.us/j/872980258

Meeting ID: 872 980 258

CALL INTO THE MEETING: 253 215 8782 or 301 715 8592

Meeting ID: 872 980 258

“LIVE” WORSHIP (and other stuff) ON FACEBOOK ~I can’t thank Ken and Elaina Ragsdale and Kade Martin for managing the required technology we need to worship together. Danny has been singing wonderful songs and Lola has been playing the piano beautifully! I’m not nearly as nervous as I was when we started (you have no idea how hard it is to preach to a little black camera!) and it is sooooooo heartwarming to see so many of you watching together! However, I know not ALL of you are able to watch.

1. If you have a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet (iPad, Fire, etc.) or a cell phone where you can get on the internet, please call if you want help getting the Facebook app. You don’t have to use it for anything but CHURCH if you don’t want to but you’ll not only be able to join worship but also see the morning devotionals but also the daily things happening. You all have an email address and that’s all you need!

2. If you don’t have WiFi, bring your tablet, laptop or phone to the church and sign into OUR wifi. Again, call and we can help you!

3. If you have a SMART TV, have you set up your SMART TV to watch Facebook on your bigger screen? Since we’ll be using Facebook for our Sunday morning worship (Sunday 10:50 am) there are two ways to go from watching on a tiny phone or a small laptop to watching on your TV? YOUNG PEOPLE, help your parents! https://www.facebook.com/help/276515126152168

NEED SOME SPIRITUAL EXERCISE? This is an amazing resource for FREE METHODIST STUDY GUIDES for all ages if you’re looking for a way to keep up with your faith growth during this time. There is a great study by Adam Hamilton on FEAR here (available through April 19th) and PARENTS, you’ll find a children’s study too, here. Parents, homeschooling must be challenging but this will help you teach “Sunday school”! CLICK HERE

THANKS FOR MAKING FACE MASKS! WE NEED MORE! I had a call for Wood County Judge Lucy Hebron’s office today and there are doctors calling the courthouse asking where they can get MASKS. They need them for PATIENTS who are flooding their offices and they want to use them to protect their patients from each other and they are! If you need fabric, please let us know. Amy and Penny have done a great job coordinating all of this and MANY of you came by to take fabric home. THANK YOU. Please drop them in the plastic tub at the office door when they’re ready.

WE NEED YOUR OLD TOWELS, SCRAPS, NON-DONATABLE CLOTHES ~ As I said yesterday in worship, people are cleaning out closets and taking their donatable things to the Blessing Box AND thankful that they have a PET to snuggle up with during this no-contact time. Our Wood County Animal Shelter cannot have volunteers coming in to do the work so volunteers are fostering and setting appointments for adoption. Right now, they have 40 dogs ready to be adopted (by appointment) but they REALLY need large old bath towels, beach towels and “stuffing,” old t-shirts, fabric scraps, clothes (not donatable) that can be cut into scraps, etc. The QUILTING CREW is doing it all so bring your towels or contact us for how to make them yourselves!

DRIVE THROUGH AND SAY HELLO TODAY: MONDAYS from 1-3 pm through April ~ It was GREAT to see so many of you today. Wow, we were visiting the whole two hours! I refuse to let this social distancing stop us from ALL face-to-face time, even if it’s just a minute or two! Plan to take a drive through our beautiful East Texas towns and see the wildflowers and the dogwoods blossoming, and squeeze in a “drive-by” at the church on your way going or coming home!

HANG IN THERE EVERYONE!! This too shall pass …

Debbie Lyons, Pastor

3-29-20 Worship Bulletin

Posted on Mar 26, 2020 in HomePage |

3-25-20 FUMC Update

Posted on Mar 26, 2020 in HomePage |

Today is day 10 of our 15 day quarantine and as I hear from you, it sounds like everyone is doing well!! Mary White gave us some duck eggs (yes, duck eggs!) today and they’re already gone – since you can’t always get eggs in the store, if YOUR chickens are happy and producing more than you need, let us know and we’ll share your name with those who need them! Also … if you need toilet paper (isn’t it crazy we’re asking this?) please let us know … we have some church supplies that aren’t being used right now.

I could not find my notes on the morning devotional so I converted the Facebook video into an audio file … we’re still VERY much needing 1/8 or 1/4 elastic for our face masks so please reach out to your craft friends … we have a box at the office door they can be dropped there. We are providing 15 masks to our police and we have already sent 25 to Autumn Winds thanks to Amy Moss, Penny Boice, and Priscilla Massey … Sandra Strickland has already come back for her 2nd batch of fabric and she’s doing LOTS of cutting. If you are cutting at home (the pattern was in yesterday’s email), you can bag the 3 different size rectangles by size and drop them in the box too.) If you want to come with your sewing machine/extension cord/thread (see yesterday’s email) you WILL be asked to stay at least 6′ away from everyone, or tomorrow we will also have patterns if you want to sew at home. If you want fabric and/or elastic to cut/sew at home let us know if you don’t want to stay tomorrow, 3/26 … we’ll be here at 10.

AUDIO AND BULLETIN ATTACHED!

Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.

IS. 43:18-10

Stay safe!!

Debbie Lyons, Pastor

3-26-20 FUMC Update

Posted on Mar 26, 2020 in HomePage |

WOW … how exciting to people at church today picking up fabric and instructions for making masks! Penny Boice took pictures and wrote instructions if you have fabric at home, and if you don’t have elastic, Amy Moss can walk you through using ribbon that will tie behind the head. If you didn’t see Facebook yesterday, Amy took our SUPERHEROES at the Police Department their requested masks. Aren’t they fabulous?

HERE IS MY FACEBOOK POST FROM TODAY: Could you open the audio I sent yesterday? I’ve attached this new one as I didn’t hear from anyone it DIDN’T work! I will NOT be sending a Friday post but I hope you’ll all be at WORSHIP with us on Facebook Sunday at 10:50 am!

A LOT of people in the United States will be getting droplets of grace very soon. The government is going to give MANY people UNEXPECTED money! Even though it isn’t the government’s fault this contagious virus caused them to mandate “stay at home” restrictions, they have agreed to HELP people through the chaos in the economy that has resulted from efforts to keep people at home to slow down the spread of COVID-19.

Watching the democratic governors from our two largest states most greatly affected by the disease work so closely with our republican President for the greater good DOES inspire me! They are showing that when it comes to doing what’s best for EVERYONE. In circumstances that NO ONE could have planned for or been prepared for, our government officials are trying to do everything they can to save lives!

Just yesterday, the FEDERAL government has even gone a step further. They have also taken responsibility for helping people get THROUGH this time by sending many people a “refund check” from taxes you’ve paid. And make no mistake, we WILL get through it!

I don’t pretend to have details yet, so please watch the Corona Virus Task Force UPDATES held every day!

I want to challenge you to think about that – how will you honor God with whatever you get back! All throughout the Bible, Old and New Testament we are told over 100x to give generously. In fact, many times the amount we are to give is CLEAR. We are to give 10% BACK to Him from everything he provides in order to help build His kingdom on this earth.

Proverbs 3 says: Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine (Proverbs 3:9-10)

God doesn’t NEED your money. He doesn’t ask you to be FAITHFUL because he wants generosity FROM you. He wants generosity FOR you! Let me say that again. God doesn’t want generosity FROM you. He wants generosity FOR you! And when you are generous to Him, he promises to bless you RICHLY.

He even challenges you to TEST HIM ON THIS PROMISE saying: Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. Malachi 3:10

Can you imagine what GREATNESS could come in this world if EVERY faithful person would give 10% of their refund checks to GOD? Can you IMAGINE the blessings that will be poured out on our families and our communities?

Now let me be clear. This DOESN’T mean FINANCIAL blessings will be returned to you. Who KNOWS how you’ll receive your blessing, maybe in ways worth MUCH more than whatever you give!

This is who GOD is! Are you ready to be blessed by YOUR faithfulness?

THANKS FOR ALL YOU’RE DOING TO CHECK IN ON EACH OTHER!!

Debbie Lyons, Pastor

First Methodist Church Winnsboro

We’re easy to find in Winnsboro!

4-1-20 FUMC Update

3-30-20 FUMC Update

3-29-20 Worship Bulletin

3-25-20 FUMC Update

3-26-20 FUMC Update