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The First Word First United Methodist Church

1526 E. Wooster Street

Bowling Green, Ohio

Pastors: Amy Miller, Chris Walter

FROM OUR LEAD PASTOR Dear Friends,

A few nights ago I was outside watching what was supposed to be a spectacular meteor shower,

after about 20 minutes, I’d seen two. Yet, as I was looking up at the night sky I was reminded of a

Psalm of King David, Psalm 19:1-2 tells us -“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies

proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they

reveal knowledge.” In the hustle and bustle of our days, with school starting, with fall activities

picking up, it’s easy to bypass those spectacular but often overlooked reminders of God in our

lives. When I see the sunrise or glance up at the night sky, I’m reminded of a big, big, God, who

cares for every detail of what often feels like my small life. The heavens truly do declare the

glory of God. As life prepares to get back into a new rhythm, I hope you’ll take some time each

day to notice those ‘God-sightings.’ Whether it’s in the joy of a child, the embrace of a loved one,

or a quiet walk through nature. Day after day the heavens declare the glory of God, should we not

do the same?

I also want to remind you that Sept. 11th we will start back with TWO worship services! You

have the opportunity to worship at the contemporary service at 8:45, or the traditional at 1l:00.

Between the services we will have our Sunday school hour with class offerings for all ages! Keep

your eye out for more information forth coming!

Lastly, our new sermon series “The Christian Atheist” will kick off Sept. 11. Invite your friends;

God has something good in store for you! See you soon.

In Christ’s Service,

Rev. Amy J. Miller

Volume XXVI, Number 7 September, 2016

The First Word September, 2016

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Another year begins

Another year of school has begun for students and parents alike. Its back to the early morning

routines of getting everyone up, having enough time for a good breakfast, and out the door in

time so you’re not late for school and or work. There is even a moment when you realize how

crazy the mornings are yet how relieved you are that your students are all back in school and that

normalcy has returned. The life of the church isn’t much different as fall picks up so does the

daily life of the church. Meetings become a regular event throughout the day, more and more

groups return to the church to hold their events, and it seems that everything just gets more active.

This is a great thing to celebrate yet before we do we should also look back over the summer and

celebrate the calmness as well as the activities that did take place.

This past summer especially in student ministry was both quiet and exciting. When June rolls

around the Youth Group evenings on Sundays take a pause. Yet we begin to ramp up for the

summer High School mission trip. This summer we gathered up 14 students and 5 adults in July

bound for Milwaukee. In this group there were many returning student missionaries and several

students who never experienced a mission trip before. Even 2 of our adults had never been on a

mission trip before. This alone could be celebrated as 19 students and adults gathered together,

regardless of experience, and went out to proclaim the Good News of Jesus to the world.

During the week though we saw the group truly experiencing God through their ministry to the

people of Milwaukee, yet also through the people of Milwaukee to them. One individual our

students encountered was Jacob. Jacob was a staff member of the ministry organization we

worked with and was on his first experience serving in a summer-long ministry setting. He was

far from home, lives in Kentucky, and was being asked to shepherd students throughout the week.

As the week began there were struggles in communication and even just working along side each

other. Yet as the week progressed you witness God working through Jacob to the team that was

with him throughout the week. The students, by the end of the week, truly loved Jacob and were

sad to go. They heard his story and his journey of faith and in that story they connected to him. I

believe what truly happened was our students witnessed Jesus working in and through Jacob. This

is just one of many stories from our summer in Milwaukee and there are many more.

So as you and your family return to the routine of school, programs, and other activities may you

remember that whom ever you encounter be open to hearing Jesus through them. It might just

impact you in a way you are not even anticipating.

Blessings,

The First Word September, 2016

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Bible Sunday

On Sunday, September 11, 2016, we will be blessing new Bibles for the children of our

community and church. Stacy Kerr, Director of Family Ministries, has reached out to many

families regarding this event. If you have a child who does not have a Bible or who is in need

of a new Bible please let Stacy or Pastor Chris know. We will be giving a wonderful story

Bible to children through 1st Grade and for children 2nd Grade through 5th Grade we will be

giving them a wonderful NRSV Bible from Spark that will be utilized throughout the year.

WORSHIP SCHEDULE: The last Sunday of our summer

worship schedule with one service at 10:00 a.m. is September 4. We

will return to two worship services at 8:45 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on

Sunday, September 11.

The First Word September, 2016

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JOB JARS With summer coming to a close, Job Jars will begin meeting again each

Tuesday morning beginning September 6, 9:00-11:00 a.m., starting in the

Meeting Room. If you have a church job that can be done by Job Jars,

please fill out a FUMC Job Jars Form located on the nursery counter and

place it in the fish bowl. New members to the group are always welcome.

Alita Frater, Coordinator

"You know how, when you were a small child, you were taught the Holy

Scriptures; and it is these that make you wise to accept God's salvation by

trusting in Christ Jesus" ~ 2 Timothy 3:15 (TLB)

The TrebleMakers' mission is to learn to share the Word of God through

music as we sing songs that inspire us to be better Christians. We

are all called to serve our Lord--even children!

So, children (K-8) come join us for singing, dancing, playing instruments,

while we learn to praise the Lord!

Our rehearsals begin:

Wednesdays

beginning, August 31, 2016

FUMC Room 207-208

5:00-6:00 PM

**To sign up now, call, text or email Jo Ascunce--419-308-2928 /rascunce@woh.rr.com

or contact the church office, 419-353-0682 for more information.

**Check out our Facebook page-- https://www.facebook.com/TrebleMakers1526/?fref=ts

The First Word September, 2016

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Katrina/Hurricane Mission

Are you feeling the Lord calling you to serve his people? An opportunity is coming up in our

Katrina/Hurricane Mission in the Gulf Coast area March 4 through 12, 2017 (BGSU spring

break). Those are the dates for your opportunity to answer the call we find in Matthew 25. We

will again be traveling to the New Orleans/Louisiana area to serve God’s people. Epworth

Project - the organization we work through - still has a large number of people waiting to have

repairs made to their homes so they can return to a more normal way of life. Please prayerfully

consider being a part of our mission team to share God’s love and help restore people’s lives. If

you are considering being a part of the team, or simply want more information, please contact

Tom Moyer (419 823 1005, 419 308 3479, or besstom@metalink.net), or Thad Long (419 308

8927 or longtha@bgsu.edu)

God bless! Tom and Thad

ENJOY A WEEKEND OF GOD’S LOVE AND GRACE The Walk to Emmaus is an opportunity to meet Jesus Christ and

experience God’s love and grace in new ways as they are revealed

through other believers. It is a 72 hour (Thursday evening through

Sunday evening) spiritual journey in which people have the opportunity

to find new and re-energized joy and richness in their spiritual lives, as

well as new friends. During the three day “weekend” participants will

enjoy times of singing, learning, laughing, worshiping, reflecting, praying, sharing, and

fellowship with other Christians. Overall it is a fun-filled weekend of experiencing the joy and

richness of life our faith offers us. The next opportunities to participate in a Walk to Emmaus

weekend are October 13 -16 for men, and November 10-13 for women. If you think you might

be interested in participating in an Emmaus Walk, or would just like more information, please

contact me at 419 823 1005, or 419 308 3479, or besstom@metalink.net.

Tom Moyer

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS: The church office will resume

normal business hours from 8:30 a.m.—4:30 p.m. beginning Tuesday,

September 6.

The First Word September, 2016

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KAIROS PRISON MINISTRY

Kairos Inside Weekend #27 at Toledo Correctional Institution will occur September 22-25. Rick

Brechmacher and Tom Moyer will be serving on the team They prayerfully request your

participation on this weekend as we respond to Jesus’ call to “visit those who are in prison.”

You may participate by:

Baking Cookies for the weekend. This is a tangible way to show the inside participants

that the body of Christ is alive and well in this world today.

Financial Donations. Please make your donation to “Kairos Ohio”and indicate “ToCI”

on the memo line. Checks may be given to Rick or Tom for delivery.

Pray for the Weekend. The weekend needs to be blanketed in prayer. If you are

willing to pray for the weekend as it is happening, please sign up in the narthex or go to

3dayol.org, scroll down to Toledo Correctional Kairos #27, open the prayer chart and

select a time slot(s).

Attend the Closing Graduation Ceremony. You are invited to attend the closing

ceremony on Sunday afternoon, September 25. This is an opportunity to physically

“visit those who are in prison.” A brief application form is required and they are

available in the narthex. They must be submitted to Rick or Tom no later than

September 15. We invite all of you to attend. It may be one of the most blessed, spirit-

filled events you have ever attended. Carpooling can be arranged.

If you have any questions, please call or text Rick at 419-494-1203 or Tom at 419-308-3479.

We pray that FUM, as a church and as part of the body of Christ, will answer Jesus’ call with a

resounding Amen!

Rick Brechmacher and Tom Moyer

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UMW

The United Methodist Women will meet Monday, September 12 at 10 a.m. in the FUM kitchen to

prepare Sloppy Joes for the Friendly Center Guild Luncheon.

The following books have been placed on the UMW bookshelves in the church library. They are

the selections for the UMW reading program for the coming year.

The White Umbrella-social action

Lend a Hand-nurturing for community

Lily-spiritual growth

Crazy-nurturing for community

Nature Girl-leadership development

The Underground Girls Of Kabul-education for missions (coming)

There is a yellow legal pad on the shelves for you to sign your name and list the books you have

read. (Jo Vernon has a head start having read five of the books this year). In addition, there is the

program book for 2015-2016 entitled Growing in Blessedness.

Enjoy!

The First Word September, 2016

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ONLINE-GIVING

FUM is pleased to announce the introduction of an electronic option for

making regular offerings. Contributions can now be debited automatically

from your checking or savings account or processed using your credit or

debit card. Our new electronic giving program offers convenience for you

and provides much-needed donation consistency for our congregation.

If you are currently giving on a weekly basis, you will no longer need to write out 52 checks a

year or prepare 52 envelopes. And, when travel, illness or other circumstances prevent you from

attending services, this program will allow your weekly offerings to continue on an uninterrupted

basis.

The online portal is available on the church’s website, www.fumcbg.org. Just simply click on the

Give Online button to be taken to the secure website. Members are encouraged to create an

online profile. You will be able to track your giving as well as make reoccurring payments as

desired.

The service provider Vanco, processes all transactions and their service fees on Automated

Clearing House (ACH) transactions are reasonable. Each transaction costs only $0.35. We

encourage you to consider an “Initial Offering” to cover the annual costs of your transactions.

This is no different that covering the cost of envelops for regular giving. A monthly gift via ACH

would require an initial offering of $4.20 (12 x $0.35).

There is also the option to give by credit cards. Fees for credit card transactions are 2.75% plus

$0.45 and the credit card transaction link gives you the opportunity to provide an optional gift to

cover this charge on behalf of the church.

The Finance Committee is excited to offer this opportunity to our congregation. Vanco serves

20,000+ churches and is endorsed by the United Methodist Church General Council on Finance

and Administration. We hope that you will take advantage of this great opportunity. If you have

any questions, feel free to reach out to Jim Elsasser, Chair, Finance Committee at

jelsasser@woh.rr.com or 419-419-8665.

The First Word September, 2016

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Volunteers Needed for:

PROJECT CONNECT – Wood County 2016

Wednesday, October 19

9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 315 S. College Dr.

Project Connect is a one-day, one-stop event that provides a broad range of services to people at

risk of homelessness or experiencing poverty. Services include hot meals, dental care, housing

assistance, haircuts, and so much more!

Over 250 volunteers are needed to ensure a successful event. Volunteers guide guests through the

event, cook the meal, and distribute hats, coats, and gloves.

For more information, email: volunteerphcwc@gmail.com or sign up today at

http://tinyurl.com/PCWC16vol.

The First Word September, 2016

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MOMSnext is Deeper.

It will shape you, ground you,

teach you, and encourage you.

As a MOMSnext mom, we are going to be leading PTOs, starting teen groups,

serving in churches, praying for schools, connecting with our community.

We are entering a time of life where God wants us to THRIVE.

It’s time for us to look up and see our bright future!

MOMSnext will help us hear God's voice and look ahead together.

You do not have to have been in a MOPS group before to join MOMSNext.

All moms with school age children kindergarten thru high school and up are welcome!

We hope to grow our new group into a supportive encouraging environment for all of us moms

to help one another navigate this stage of motherhood together!

We meet the 1st & 3rd Wednesdays Sept - May from 9:30 to 11:15 in the fellowship hall at

FUMC.

We currently meet as an extension of the MOPS group in BG

(we have our own table(s) and share a lot of great meetings together! )

Our first meeting is September 7th! Come out and join us!

If interested or have questions, feel free to email laurelannebruhl@gmail.com or check us out on

facebook at our main MOPS page www.facebook.com/MOPSinBG

So I ask you…moms, what is your next?