I have been thinking about Brantley Craig. I first met Brantley when he was a graduate student at UVA. I went to the Wesley Foundation’s talent show, and Brant-ley—rather than singing or dancing or telling jokes—read a short story he had writ-ten. It was mesmerizing. I don’t re-member who won the tal-ent show, but Brantley was my pick, hands down. Brantley is now a profes-sor of English and Reli-gion at Wesley College in Dover, Delaware. He posts poems and little snippets of wisdom on Facebook. I still have a copy of an essay he wrote on 9/11, titled, “Moses, Ahab, and Jesus.” It re-mains the most powerful faith statement I’ve seen from that day. Sometimes Brantley writes for The Christian Century Maga-zine. I decided in this newsletter to share a po-em, several blessings, and a few profundities from Dr. Craig. He writes songs, too, he’s kind of a United Methodist version of Lin Manuel Miranda! Some of his gems:

“Just a reminder that the property manager for your mind is you. Don't let in people who will trash the place. Don't

let clutter pile up in the hall-ways. Kick out obnox-ious squat-ters who don't pay rent. Put stuff you like on the walls. Set the tem-perature where you

like it. Improve the areas you know need it, at your own pace. You're the one who lives there all the time, so make it cozy.” “Noticed on my run today that some of the trees are already all out in leaves and some are just getting started. So that's cool, and you just keep on at your own pace, too.” Parables They came to him and said: To what can you compare the Kingdom of God, and what para-ble can you use for it? For the only mustard we know is on hot dogs. And talents are what people have on TV. And counting sheep just

makes us sleepy. And he said to them: The Kingdom of God is like finding a $20 bill in your jeans pocket.

The Kingdom of God is like a pizza just the right amount of time out of the oven.

The Kingdom of God is like suddenly seeing a peacock in the road.

The Kingdom of God is like the sound of a match catching fire.

The Kingdom of God is like that time you laughed until you wept, or wept until you laughed.

The Kingdom of God is like soft slippers on a rainy day.

The Kingdom of God is like your best friend’s mailing ad-dress.

The Kingdom of God looks like a single star in an indigo sky.

The Kingdom of God smells like a baby’s newfound out-breath.

The Kingdom of God tastes like a bar of dark chocolate at mid-night.

The Kingdom of God sounds a saxophone in a downtown alley-way.

The Kingdom of God feels like a high-five in the dark.

The Kingdom of God is within you, around

January 2021

First Fruits

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

you, behind you, and above you.

The Kingdom of God is lying in wait for you, behind the couch, gig-gling, with cupcakes.

The Kingdom of God is like nothing you’ve ever seen. It is like nothing., except, that is, for all the times it’s like, well, everything.

Pandemic Blessings

A Blessing for Monday: Peace and gratitude this Monday morning to all my friends (and their friends) in the medical field, facing down this virus stuff daily in ways the rest of us (thankfully) can't imagine. My thanks to you for an often thankless job. Wishing you strength, hope, and humor - and wishing you time to include your-selves on the list of peo-ple you care for. A Tuesday blessing: Peace this Tuesday morning to all my teacher friends, at every level, missing their students and figuring out how to spark lights of learning in the great digital void. Lesson planning is one thing; lesson re-planning (or re-re-planning!) is quite another. May we all tap in to our creativity, remember our compas-sion and maintain our sanity! And I'm pretty

January 2021

FEEDING THE CHILDREN Thank you to everyone who helped support Feeding the Children finan-cially and in prayer. With the help of Feeding America, which gave us 68 cases of children's foods, we were able to feed 109 children insecure of food for 18 days during the Christ-mas holiday. We usually help three elementary schools, but this year, we helped four. Each child received two bags of food. Thank you again for Feeding the Children. Praise Our Lord with him all things are possible

KROGER CARDS Just a reminder to renew your Kroger card online with the Community Re-wards Program under the Kroger website. Kroger gives us a donation quar-terly determined by use of our cards. The funds are used in our clothes clos-et to help purchase needed items. Go to www.kroger.com to sign up. Go to Menu, Save, and get Kroger Com-munity Rewards. Every August you have to register again. Search for First United Methodist Church or our number is UJ932. You will need a valid email address and a Kroger rewards card. After you are registered, you must swipe your Kroger rewards card when shopping for every purchase to count. Be sure and do this starting January 1. They have to be renewed annually.

Missions Update

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A Blessing for Friday: Peace this Friday to all of you NOT working through this pandemic, by choice or otherwise. Remember your time is yours, and your way is the right way to spend it. Remem-ber that we remember when you were out there in our stores, our restaurants, our offices, our parks. Remember that nothing lasts forev-er, even this. And remember that YOU - not your job - are what's essential. It's not the same without you. Hang in there! A Blessing for Saturday: Finally, peace this Saturday morning to YOU. Just you, wherever you are, getting by however you can. Happy, sad, busy, bored, scared, sleepy, grumpy, cuddly, angry, crowded, alone, or whatever it is & wherever you are - it's all all right. Hang in there. We're all here. We'll get through it. Be good to your-selves & each other. A Sunday blessing: Peace this Sunday morning to all my clergy friends and family. As weird as it is for me to give a lecture or answer questions to online meeting squares or virtual silence, I can only imagine that giving a sermon or offering a prayer under the same

sure (at least some of) our students

miss us, too. A Blessing for Wednesday: Peace this Wednesday morning to all my fellow parents, now also be-come full-time(ish) educators, enter-tainers, and food-service providers along with whatever else you have going on. Stay safe and stay sane. Don't compare yourselves to any-one else. The only "right" way to do any of this is with love, so I wish you all extra reserves of it. And patience. And noise-cancelling headphones. And a beverage of your choice. Hang in there! A Thursday blessing: Peace this Thursday morning to everyone working through this pan-demic. Peace to you working from home, with your dining room be-come a workstation and your kitch-en become the breakroom. Peace to you working not at home, with a mask for a security blanket and un-certainty as your new constant coworker. So grateful this #thankfulThursday for everyone keeping us going, moving, learning, entertained, fed and cared for. Stay strong; stay safe! ❤

conditions is even more so. Not to mention being a resource through-out the week for others' states-of-mind (when your own is God-knows-where). "Many waters can-not quench love, neither can floods drown it." Neither can coronavirus. Blessings, light, and love to you & your self-isolated flocks. I love that Brantley writes words of encouragement and blessing as a part of his spiritual walk. It’s a love-ly way to spend time. It’s a lovely way to begin the New Year. The next time you are feeling out-of-sorts, I encourage you to try your hand at writing blessings for the days of the week, as Brantley has done, or for the people who have brought joy and meaning to your life. Happy New Year! And blessings upon blessings to you! Pastor Elizabeth

On Saturday, December 5, 2020, Auntie Anne Moore, Auntie Martha McGhee,

and I hosted a Gingerbread House Decorating Event at the Ministry Center. As

you can see by the pictures, the kids were very creative, and we all had a great time

of fellowship and FUN, listening to Dolly Parton's "Have A

Holly Dolly Christmas" album!

Our next Youth Event will take place on February 20 at 2pm

(weather and COVID-19 permitting) when we will make yarn

crosses to usher in another reflective season of Lent. Some of

the crosses we make will be shared with those in our congre-

gation who are sick or shut-in. So, please mark your calendars

now for this event.

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Gingerbread Delight

First Fruits

Birthdays and Anniversaries

146 E. Main Street

Martinsville, VA 24112

First United Methodist

Church

Ray Mallinak 1/25

Jan Martin 1/27

Suzanne Turner 1/28

Julie Bryant 1/28

Becki Vasquez 1/29

Lucas Vasquez 1/29

Emilie Wooldridge 1/30

Spencer Gravely 1/30

Beth Adkins 1/31

Haley Parker 1/31

Anniversaries

Craig & Kathy Dietrich 1/15

Dale & Kevin Farrell 1/29

Birthdays

Norma Reed 1/2

Billy Cross 1/3

Corky Corcoran 1/3

Paul Eason 1/3

Vicki Easley 1/4

Walt Rhea 1/4

Vincent Childress 1/5

Davis White 1/6

Diane Bassett 1/8

Kathryn Gross 1/8

Neil Hawks 1/8

Campbell Ferguson 1/9

Holly Hunter 1/9

Freddie Hill 1/10

Mary Smith 1/11

George Clanton 1/12

Sam Nichols 1/14

Ricky Swinney 1/14

Chuck Whitmore 1/14

Martha Clark 1/15

Laura Rogers 1/15

Sissy Sherwood 1/16

Connie Roberts 1/16

Susan Parker 1/17

Evan Nichols 1/19

Tish Smith 1/20

Rebecca Stone 1/21

Marnie Gross 1/24

Phone: 276-638-8733

Fax: 276-638-8598

Website: fumcmartinsville.net

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Permit No. 112

Martinsville, VA 24112

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BIG THANKS to the FUMC Choir

Squad

I want to offer my deepest thanks to

all the members of the FUMC Choir

Squad who graciously gave their time

and talents to make our Advent and

Christmas online worship services so

unique and special. Following all

COVID-19 protocols, we gathered in

our beautifully decorated choir room

to sing hymns and make special music

during the final weeks of November

and early December. I will be eternally

grateful to soprano Mary Ann

McConnell; altos Miranda Gunn and

Kimberly Snyder; tenors Freddy

Compton, Parker Gunn and David

Martin; bass Ed Dietrich and accom-

panist Beth Chapman for their pio-

neering and generous spirits. Even

during these difficult days, it is a privi-

lege to serve First Church in music

ministry, and I thank God for all those

within our congregation who commit

to this ministry through their time and

talents as well. THANKS BE TO

GOD!