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Ministers—Congregation Pastor— Dee Dowdy
Administrative Assistant—Gina Bailey Burns Financial Secretary—Gerry Cagle
Wee Angels/Children's Director—Peggy Epperson Traditional Choir Director—Jennifer Roland
Traditional Pianist—Gloria Griggs Traditional Organist—John Lee
Contemporary Keyboard—Jeanne Mabeus Custodian—David McWhorter
Audio & Visual Technicians—Scott Jones
Alan McInturff, Jimmy Owens, Randall Vickery Nursery Worker—Sara Herring
Children’s Church Crossroads—Peggy Epperson
Traditional-Peggy Epperson Sheri McInturff
Greeter Schedule Crossroads
Evelyn Muskett & Rachel Stewart
Ushers Amy Mitchell Dinah Etchison Shirley duPont Angie Nalan
Acolytes Jan. 6th: Amberlee Tucker Lily Epperson Jan. 13th: Jacqueline Roland Akarra Tucker Jan. 20th: James Blanton Nikita Blanton Jan. 27th: Lily Epperson Jacqueline Roland
Highlights is a monthly publication of First United Methodist Church of Rainbow City 3208 Rainbow Drive Rainbow City, AL 35906 Phone: 256-442-3620 Email: [email protected] Website: www.rbcfumc.org Editor: Gina Bailey Burns
Highlights January 2019
Knowing Jesus Loving Jesus Serving Jesus
January 2019 ISSUE
Sunday Schedule
Sunday Crossroads Worship Service 8:45 am Sunday School 9:45 am Traditional Worship Service 11:00 am
Crossroads-Children’s Minutes Sammie Hawkins Traditional—Children’s Minutes Jonathan Roland
Crossroads—Scripture Reader Ernest McBride Traditional—Scripture Reader Olivia Kendrick
3208 Rainbow Drive Rainbow City, Alabama 35906 Email: [email protected] Website: www.rbcfumc.org Phone: 256-442-3620
January 2019
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 Happy New Year 2 Praise Team 6:30 3 Ladies Bible Study @
10a;
4 5
6 7 Rainbow Retirees at 11a
8 Men’s Bible Study @
Jack’s at 6:45a; Agape
12p; Bead Group 3:30p;
Choir 5 p
9 New Testament Bible
Study 10:30 & 6:30p;
Wonderful Wed. 5:30p
Praise Team 6:30
10 Ladies Bible Study @
10a; Sanctuary Group @
5p. Fellowship w/Elmo
guys @ 5:30
11 12 UMM Breakfast @ 8a
Leadership Training Event
9:30a-12 noon in FH.
13 Live Love Circle at 5 p
14 15 Men’s Bible Study @
Jack’s at 6:45a; Bead
Group 3:30p; Choir 5 p
16 New Testament Bible
Study 10:30 & 6:30p;
Wonderful Wed. 5:30p
Praise Team 6:30
17 Ladies Bible Study @
10a; Alzheimer’s Group
11a; Sanctuary Group @
5p.
18 19 Emmaus Walk #91
Mtg 9a-3p in FH.
Youth Leave for Behold
Youth Conference at
Camp Sumatanga
20 Fellowship Meal at 12p.
21Youth return from Behold Youth Confer-
ence
22 Men’s Bible Study @
Jack’s at 6:45a; Bead
Group 3:30p; Choir 5 p
23 New Testament Bible
Study 10:30 & 6:30p;
Wonderful Wed. 5:30p
Praise Team 6:30
24 Ladies Bible Study @
10a; Sanctuary Group @
5p.
25 26 Clothes Closet 9-11a
27 28 29 Men’s Bible Study @
Jack’s at 6:45a; Bead
Group 3:30p; Choir 5 p
30 New Testament Bible
Study 10:30 & 6:30p;
Wonderful Wed. 5:30p
Praise Team 6:30
31 Ladies Bible Study @
10a; Sanctuary Group @
5p.
Wee Angels 256-442-8001
Renewing Our Promises “The king took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the cove-nant in the LORD's presence. He pledged to obey the LORD by keeping all his commands, regulations, and laws with all his heart and soul. In this way, he confirmed all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll, and all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.” 2 Kings 23:3
During the time of Moses, the Israelites made a covenant with God. They promised
to obey His Commandments and live as a holy people whose God was the one true God. However, it did not take the people long to forget their promise. In fact, things had be-come so corrupt that the law and the covenant had been forgotten and they literally lost it.
But during the reign of King Josiah, the law was found and brought to the king. When he read it, he was shaken to his core because he knew that he and his people had strayed far from the Lord. So, he gathered all the people and they renewed their promise by pledging to obey God and keep His commandments.
The beginning of each year is a great time to consider and renew our promises made to God and His church. In fact, John Wesley and the early Methodists held a service on New Year’s Eve whereby they did just that. (We now call it the Covenant Renewal Ser-vice). We held one such service last year. However, this year, I want to encourage every-one to consider and personally renew the promises that they made to Christ and His Church when they united with this church. Below are the promises each United Methodist makes when making a profession of faith and uniting with the Church. Look over each of them and consider renewing these promises in your heart.
Prayers—Each United Methodist promises to pray for their local church as well as the
Christian Church worldwide. Presence- Every UM promises to do their very best in being present at worship ser-
vices as well other opportunities for service and spiritual growth. Gifts- We promised that we will support our church by giving of our financial and spir-
itual gifts as well as natural talents in service to Christ so that our church may con-tinue its mission and achieve its vision.
Service- We promise to serve others as Christ instructed us and to serve in and through our Church so we may be able to reach others for Christ.
Witness—We vow to live our lives in such a way that through our actions and words others may come to know Christ.
Pastor Dee
Highlights Page 11 January 2019 Highlights Page 2 January 2019 This Month’s Fellowship Friends:
Leaders: Jennifer & Jonathan Roland
Jerre & Phil Baxter, Adrena Benjamin, Cathy & Dennis Bohannon, Annette Harmon, Jean
Haynes, Pat & Dennis Henderson, Cathy Majors, Jim & Jenny Nabors, Angie & Chuck Nalan,
Joe & Cathy Rowe, Joyce & Joe Ed Seale, Larry & Jane Sligh, & David Usry
January Birthdays
1st– Janet Plunkett
1st– Jimmy Owens
3rd—Kay Gibbs
12th– Gina Payne
16th– Cade Baxter
17th– Jane Sligh
18th– Peggy Epperson
19th– Jo Marks
19th– Amberlee Tucker
20th– Daniel Tucker
24th –Michael Archer
25th—Carla Watson
29th– Patsy Henderson
January Anniversaries
7th– Dennis & Cathy Bohannon
7th– Wayne & Gayle Chambers
21st– Tom & Diane Greenhaw
29th– Jonathan & Jennifer Roland
Fellowship Friends
Lead Family: Jonathan & Jennifer Roland Phil & Jerre Baxter
Dennis & Cathy Bohannon Annette Harmon
Jean Haynes Dennis & Pat Henderson
Cathy Majors Jim & Jenny Nabors
Chuck & Angie Nalan Carlos Payne
Linda Rediker Joyce Seale
Larry & Jane Sligh David Usry
Our church collected $1,743.00 for White Christmas this year!
Thank you so much for contributions to the United Methodist Children’s Home.
Our
Giving Tree
Our giving tree sponsored by the UMW was a success again this year. We donated warm gloves, scarves and hats to distribute to those in need. Thanks to all who donated these much needed winter items.
Toys Under The Rainbow was a great suc-cess! We helped make some local children very happy at Christmas!
Poinsettias were purchased and placed in the church in memory or in honor of a loved one this past Christmas. Not only did they help dec-orate our church, the proceeds went to our Youth Fund and Darden Rehabilitation also profited!
facebook.com/rbcfumc
Larry Parker spoke in both services about the ministry of the Gideons In-ternational last November. Our church donated a total $820.32 to help them with their ministry.
2018 Christmas and other Mission Projects
At First United Methodist Church of Rainbow City
Each Sunday both our services are posted on our facebook page. This is a very effective ministry. Many people see our services on facebook that would not see it otherwise.
Fun at the Fundraiser! Nikita Blanton, Amberlee and Akarra Tucker and Neil Thoney and others helped with the Youth Spaghetti Lunch to raise money for a Youth Conference.
Highlights Page 3 January 2019 Highlights Page 10 January 2019
Rainbow City First United Methodist Church News
Giving
December 2
Total Deposit:
$9,329.00
December 9
Total Deposit:
$4,564.00
December 16
Total Deposit:
$4,076.85
December 23 Total Deposit:
$6,659.00
Presence
December 2
Total Attendance:
129
December 9
Total Attendance:
115
December 16
Total Attendance:
141
December 23
Total Attendance:
130
Pastor Dee had the privilege of baptizing little Orion Brown here at the church on Sunday, December 2, 2018. The proud parents are Malcomb and Emily Marie Hawkins Brown. Orion is the grandson of Tim & Sammie Hawkins. Pictured from left to right: Sammie & Tim Hawkins, Emily & Orion Brown and Pastor Dee Dowdy.
Dear Rainbow City United Methodist Church, I can’t thank you all enough for your love, support, and prayers as we were married. I’m so thankful to have been a part of such a loving and caring church family growing up. You all are amazing and the Lord’s love shines brightly through you! With deep apprecia-tion and prayers for your many blessings. Laura (Norton) & Mitch Hawley
Clothes Closet Saturday
January 26th 9 a.m.-11a.m.
If you would like to plug into this ministry please con-tact Wanda Douthit at 256-442-4198.
The Ladies Bible study will resume on Thurs-day, January 3rd. Ladies, please come and join us each Thursday in the church library at 10 a.m. For more information call Gayle Chambers:
256-442-2237 or 256-393-5400.
CHILDREN ARE OUR NEXT GENERATION OF CHRISTIANS!
If you have been looking at our Facebook page, you have seen that we are having sometimes as many as 12 children on any given Sunday and 15 on Wednesdays. I have been told that this church has been praying for quite a while that we would have many children again. So, it would seem that God has answered your prayers! Thanks be to God!
However, with this many children comes responsibility. Children are the next generation of Christians. I have read several articles in the past that state that the U.S. is now just one genera-tion away from no longer being a Christian nation. This means the nurture and training of children in the Christian faith is extremely important right now!
Since God has blessed us with this amount of children, WE MUST HAVE MORE HELP! Peg-gy Epperson (our children’s director) and only a very few (but worn out) folks cannot do this alone. Therefore, Peggy will be building a Children’s ministry team at the beginning of the year. People who serve on this team must be willing to take a turn teaching in Children’s Church, assisting in Sunday school, teaching on Wednesday nights and helping in other ways. Those who wish to help must also have a background check done on them in accordance to our safe sanctuary rule and be trained in our safe sanctuary policies.
Now let me be very direct, if we do not have people to really step up to help with the ed-ucational part of the children’s program, we will lose this group of children. God has blessed us enormously with these precious ones, but we must act now! So please be willing to help Peggy and those few who are already volunteering. If you are willing to help, please contact Peggy Ep-person (our children’s director) at 256-393-1692 or 256-442-8001. Just remember what we do about answering this call, reflects our sincerity about having children at our church and teaching them about Jesus!
Pastor Dee
The Sanctuary Group will resume meeting on Thursday, January 10th at 5 p.m. in the activities room. You are welcome to join them!
United Methodist Men’s Breakfast
Saturday, January 12th, 8:00 a.m.
in the Fellowship Hall
All men are invited to attend!
Let’s Read the Bible Together
Our bishop has challenged every United Methodist across North Alabama to read the Bible together
in 2019. I want to encourage everyone to do this. The schedule of readings that we will be doing to-
gether is enclosed in this newsletter. I would encourage you to read these texts and jot down your
thoughts that God’s Holy Spirit brings to mind or any questions you have. You can either use these
thoughts and questions to discuss together in your own Sunday School Classes (as one class is doing). Or you can do to a
new Facebook page set up just for the members of our church to discuss what we are reading. The facebook page name is
Rbcfumc Read the Bible in Year. I have sent out several invitations to everyone. But if you did not get one, simply go to
the page and like it.
Pastor Dee
Highlights Page 9 January 2019 Highlights Page 4 January 2019
Looking Ahead at Pastor Dee’s Upcoming Sermons
Starting in January, Pastor Dee will be focusing on some of the early events in the life of our Lord. Below are the texts that he will be preaching from. You are encouraged to read them ahead of time to help you be better prepared to hear the sermon. 1/6 Life of Jesus: Three Visitors (Mt. 2:1-12) 1/13 Life of Jesus: First Time at Church (Luke 2:21-40) 1/20 Life of Jesus: Parental Issues (Luke 2:41-47) 1/27 Pastor Dee will be preaching at Bellevue UMC. Mike Holland, pastor from Bellevue UMC will be preaching here. Lectionary is Luke 4: 14-21 2/3 Life of Jesus: Dealing with the devil (Luke 4:1-12) 2/10 Life of Jesus: Calling Some Disciples (John 1:35-51) 2/17 Life of Jesus: Making a Little Wine (John 2:1-11) 2/24 Life of Jesus: Mission Impossible? (Luke 4:14-19, 31-37)
Church Wide Christmas Party December 2018
Angels Among Us By Marie McCluskey Have you ever felt like you were in a situation which involved the help of angels? Were they visible, did you feel their touch, or did they impact your life in some manner? This author’s literary work describes the levels and tasks of angels, and gives examples of en-counters with angels in their own life. It incorporates the words to the song with the same title and also includes input from a well-known author. There are people who have impacted my life and seemed like an angel. There is a tribute in the book to the following people:
Bryon & Doris McCluskey Jennie James Deborah Walters Marcy Puckett David & Deborah Shockley Deb Shaffer Marshall & Nilm Stovall Harry McCauley Mitch Martin Howard Schwartz Faye Holmes Walter Majors George McMahan Adrena Benjamin Jimmy Perkins Dee Dowdy Evelyn Perkins Chris Payne Linda Lemons Clothes Closet Workers Marcus– lifeguard at YMCA Evelyn Banks Chris Hallmark William Swindall Joe Keracher Violet Swindall Charles Woodward Elaine Anglin
PREACHER “SWAP” ON SUNDAY (Jan. 27th) On Sunday, January 27, 2019, Pastor Dee and Rev. Mike Holland will be swapping pulpits. Mike is the pastor at Bellevue and Union Hill United Methodist Churches. This will be the first time since 1996, that Pastor Dee has gotten to preach at his home church (Bellevue). So, please be in prayer for him and please come out to hear Mike as he will be preaching here during both services.
You can order this book direct-ly from Marie McCluskey, which is the best option for her, how-ever the book can also be or-dered through amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. Marie can be contacted in per-son or can be reached by phone. Her number is 256-266-3540.
The Church wide Christmas Party was a lot of fun! Everyone brought yummy finger foods to share! The fellowship hall was decorated with beautiful poinsettias and a Christmas tree. Our children led by Jennifer Roland sang Silent Night and other Christmas songs. We had a visit from Santa Claus during the party and the children got to tell him what they want for Christmas. Santa also talked to the adults as well.
Highlights Page 5 January 2019 Highlights Page 8 January 2019 This Month’s Fellowship Friends:
Leaders: Jennifer & Jonathan Roland
Jerre & Phil Baxter, Adrena Benjamin, Cathy & Dennis Bohannon, Annette Harmon, Jean
Haynes, Pat & Dennis Henderson, Cathy Majors, Jim & Jenny Nabors, Angie & Chuck Nalan,
Joe & Cathy Rowe, Joyce & Joe Ed Seale, Larry & Jane Sligh, & David Usry
LIVE LOVE CIRCLE CHRISTMAS PARTY! What an unselfish, loving, caring group of ladies! Instead of having a traditional Christmas party these ladies made 536 scarves for the Giving Tree. They spent their party time helping people who needs warm scarves for the cold winter.
Christmas Parties December 2018
The following ladies pictured here helped make this possi-ble:
Cathy Majors Nancy Vickery Evelyn Muskett Mary McAbee
Cathy Bohannon Linda Cleveland Sherri Watson Beckii Bradley Marcy Puckett
Jo Gibson Amy Mitchell
Dannie Hallmark Laura Durbin
Jeanne Mabeus Barbara Cagle
January 2019 Mission Focus
Christ Central United Methodist Food Pantry
Christ Central distributes food items each month to those who are in need. There are usually more requests for food during the winter/holiday season. We would like to help Christ Central, our sister church, replenish their food pan-try. We are asking you to collect the following items during January. Please place your items on the table in the Mission Depot.
Spaghetti O's or Ravioli (pop top cans) Fruit cups Granola bars Pop tarts Juice boxes Deadline: Sunday, January 27, 2019
Memorials
In Memory of Reba Brooks
Ray & Carol Hutchison
Bob & Bobbie Walden (Youth Camp) Larry & Shelby Hawkins
In Memory of David McAbee
David & Melissa Behrens
In Memory of Waldo Young
Larry & Shelby Hawkins
Bobby & Bettye Kirk Ginger Archer (White Christmas)
Tom & Diane Greenhaw
We express Christian Love and Sympathy to Ginger Archer and family in the loss of her father, Waldo Young.
PHILLIPS-HUTCHISON SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS PARTY! What a fun group! Bob Walden entertained the group, doing his stand up comedian rou-tine while waiting for the food to arrive. The food was late, which ended up being a good thing until Bob started to run out of material. Betty Crowe led us in some fun games and Gloria led us in some Christmas songs.
LEADERSHIP TEAM TRAINING SATURDAY (JAN. 12TH-9:30 am)
Everyone that is serving on the leadership team should be at a training meet-ing that will be held on Saturday, January 12th beginning at 9:30 am. The meeting should last no longer than 3 hours but most likely only two. The pur-pose of this meeting is to train every one of the Leadership team about their work and role as part of that team. We will also talk about how each adminis-trative and ministry teams are to function and how they relate to the larger Leadership team. Pastor Dee has asked his good friend Rev. Dr. Tiwirai Kufarimai to assist in this training. Pastor Dee asked “T.K.” because he is a certified church consultant who can help us to look at our goals and objectives this coming year. All members should do their very best to be at this meeting because you all agreed to serve on this team.
The youth are attending the Behold Youth Confer-ence at Camp Sumatanga. They are leaving on Sat-urday, January 19, 2019 and returning on Monday, January 21st. They helped fund the trip by picking and selling tomatoes and having a Youth Spaghetti Fundraiser last month.
Thank you church for the birthday and Christmas cards, gifts, facebook posts, phone calls and emails. They were much appreciated. I love you guys! Gina Burns
Highlights Page 6 January 2019 Highlights Page 7 January 2019
Wee Angels Christmas 2018
Wee Angels Daycare
Phone: 256-442-8001
Email: [email protected]
Modern Christians’ Sunday School Class Christmas Party 2018
Betty Grace left this party a very rich girl! Seems to be a lot of blowing going on...
Pat sitting pretty with her candy! Not sure what is happening here… kinda afraid to ask.
The Wee Angels presented their Christmas program with songs! Many parents and grandparents were pre-sent. They also had a birth-day party for Jesus!
Annette Harmon opening her gift
Jimmy Owens seems pretty content here.
