MEMORIAL UMC’s MISSION…

We are CALLED by Christ to GROW in faith, BUILD relationships, and SERVE all people.

WEEKLY CALENDAR

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 20
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
10 a.m.    R.L. Pope Class by Harold Vannoy on Facebook and WGOS AM 1070
11 a.m.    Live Worship Online on Facebook and WGOS AM 1070
4 p.m.     Youth: Virtual Zoom Games
** NEW **  6 p.m. Worship on the Lawn
Please Note: The retirement celebration for Peggy Finch, previously planned for September 20, has been postponed. When the new date is set it will be communicated in this newsletter.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 21
9-11 a.m. Internet Access for Students (Fellowship Hall)
10 a.m.    10@10 Devotion on Facebook
5-7 p.m.   Internet Access for Students (Fellowship Hall)

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 22
8 a.m.       Men’s Prayer Meeting Online via Zoom (New Contact: Tim Lyons)
9-11 a.m.  Sewing Ministry
9-11 a.m.  Internet Access for Students (Fellowship Hall)
10 a.m.     10@10 Devotion on Facebook
5-7 p.m.    Internet Access for Students (Fellowship Hall)
5:30 p.m.  Yoga (Jarrett Hall)

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 23
The Weekly Update on Facebook
10 a.m.    10@10 Devotion on Facebook
6 p.m.      Youth Small Groups Online (contact Rodney Denton)

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 24
9-11 a.m.  Internet Access for Students (Fellowship Hall)
10 a.m.     10@10 Devotion on Facebook
5-7 p.m.    Internet Access for Students (Fellowship Hall)

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 25
10 a.m.     10@10 Devotion on Facebook

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 27
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
10 a.m.     R.L. Pope Class by Richard Herman on Facebook and WGOS AM 1070
11 a.m.     Live Worship Online on Facebook and WGOS AM 1070
4 p.m.       Youth **In-Person** Cornhole Tourney
6 p.m.       Worship on the Lawn (See announcement below.)

UPCOMING DATES
SEPT. 30  CCM MONTHLY DROP-OFF EVENT

PRAYER CONCERNS

If you or a loved one would like to be added to the prayer list, please contact Lorna McCullough at 336-259-5814. If you put a name on the list, please keep in touch to let us know how that person is doing, as names are removed after three weeks.

During the coming week, please pray for…

Carol Vannoy
Susan Kennedy and family
Margie Collins
Katie Ballard, Eddie Branson, and the family of Jeanette Branson
Charlotte Rorie
Brandon Rorie and family
Carol Kaiser
Josef Walker
Dean Sharpe-Austin
Kay Eanes
Grant Brinkley and Family
Finley Price Family
Robert Miller
Andrea Cain and Family
Dave Ogren
Dallas Hutchens
Tyler Oldaker
Tim Priska
Chris Eddinger
Tracy Brinkley
Peace and justice in our nation, state, and city
Our First Responders, Medical Community, and Essential Workers
All those affected by COVID-19
Our UM Missionaries
All Military Personnel-
The United Methodist Church

**NEW** WORSHIP ON THE LAWN

CHURCH LAWN
SUNDAYS AT 6:00 PM

We are pleased to offer an additional opportunity for you to share in worship! You are invited to bring your lawn chair and come join others for a time of worship on the church lawn. We will sing familiar hymns and share prayers, scripture readings, and a homily. We hope you will dress casually and find this time to be both inspirational and relaxing. This service allows us to gather safely, yet still come together for worship. Our plans are to continue the service each Sunday evening until the time that we can safely return to the sanctuary.

We will continue live-streaming worship at 11:00 a.m. each Sunday morning on Facebook Live and WGOS 1070 AM.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES DRIVE 

It’s Back to School time and we are collecting needed supplies for area students. Collection bins are set up outside of the church reception door at the Mission Racks for easy drop-off. Thank you for your generosity helping students with the learning materials they need.

  • Paper
  • Notebooks
  • Glue Sticks
  • Folders
  • Safety Scissors
  • Crayons
  • Markers
  • Erasers
  • Highlighters
  • Colored Pencils
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Sanitizing wipes

STUDENT REMOTE LEARNING INTERNET ACCESS CAFE  

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP or call the office at 336-472-7718.

Please sign up one time slot for each child in your family who will be using internet access for remote learning. Children grades K-8 will require an adult chaperone. High schoolers must pre-register but no chaperone is required. This service is to provide internet access only. We will not be able to provide tutoring.

Students and chaperones will be required to wear a face mask, sanitize their hands, and have their temperature checked by a volunteer before entering the space. You will have an assigned table.

Parents please note if you have more than one child attending so that we can group you as close together as possible.

Location: Memorial UMC Christian Enrichment Center

101 Randolph St, Thomasville, NC 27360

A/V VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR WORSHIP 

Do you enjoy photography? Interested in the latest information technology? We need a few good men and women to train as video camera operators. If you have any interest in helping us take this step forward in virtual broadcasting, please notify Susan Frye (sfrye@mumctville.org or 336-472-7718) or Harold Vannoy (hvobwnknob@gmail.com or 336-240-9524) who will get you in touch with the right persons. We will need this help in the near future to execute this critical outreach mission. Thank you!

R.L. POPE CLASS ONLINE LESSONS

SUNDAYS AT 10:00 A.M. on FACEBOOK and WGOS

The R. L. Pope Class is excited to announce the return of new, weekly online lessons. Tune in to WGOS on your radio or computer.

Teaching Schedule:
September 27  Richard Herman
October 4  Chad Carrick
October 11  Allen Brown
October 18  Jim McGhee
October 25  Kyles Wallace

PUMPKIN UPDATE

There is mixed news in the pumpkin department. We have made the decision not to host a pumpkin patch in 2020. We do this with the health of the many volunteers in mind–both those who download and those who manage the pumpkin sales and interact with the public. We WILL be setting up our traditional fall harvest photo backdrop in the church yard, and it will be available for photo ops October 10 through November 1. We regret that the change in plans will come as a disappointment, and we appreciate your understanding of a difficult decision. We eagerly anticipate the return of our pumpkin patch in October 2021.

 

CLERGY AND STAFF ARE AVAILABLE

You may contact members of the staff directly or by calling the church office at 336-472-7718 and following the instructions on the recording. Here is a list of staff phone extensions and email addresses, for reference:

Danny Leonard, Senior Minister – Ext. 16; dleonard@mumctville.org
Rodney Denton, Minister of Youth and Young Adults – Ext. 18; rdenton@mumctville.org
Lynda Hepler, Minister of Children and Families – Ext. 11; lhepler@mumctville.org
Brian Russell, Director of Contemporary Worship – Ext. 20; brussell@mumctville.org
Danny Frye, Director of Music – Ext. 12; dfrye@mumctville.org
Susan Frye, Secretary – Ext. 14; sfrye@mumctville.org
Peggy May, Financial Secretary/Treasurer – Ext. 13; pmay@mumctville.org
Jarry Oldaker, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds – Ext. 17; joldaker@mumctville.org

FINANCIAL GIVING OPTIONS WHILE THE OFFICE IS CLOSED

Thank you for your ongoing generosity to Memorial. While the office is closed, there are three options for making gifts to Memorial:

The address for mailing checks is:
Memorial UMC
P.O. Box 428
Thomasville, NC 27361-0428

Online gifts can be made securely at https://onrealm.org/mumctville/give/now which can also be accessed from our website homepage.

Electronic funds transfer (EFT) giving can be set up for your recurring tithe. For information on how to arrange this, please email or leave a message for Peggy May, Financial Secretary, at pmay@mumctville.org or 336-472-7718.

FEATURED DEVOTION

We close this week’s eNews with a 10@10 devotion shared by Rodney Denton on July 31, 2020.

When we just can’t see…

This week my family and I have been doing sort of a mini “stay-cation.” Since our pandemic has sort of cancelled our summer vacation plans, but Marth Jo had the week off anyway, we have been doing some day trips just to get out of the house. Monday we went to the mountains for the day, and then Tuesday we got together with Martha Jo’s sister and went to a place called Zootastic in Troutman, North Carolina, to see some animals. Martha Jo and Daelyn went blueberry picking, and we did some other cool stuff as well. We were careful to wear our masks and to social distance! But the cool thing was that Martha Jo’s sister has a two-year-old son, and walking around with him in tow was sort of a cool experience for me. He was having such a ball feeding the animals, and I was amazed at how brave he was, even allowing a giraffe to eat right out of his hand. I’m pretty sure I would have been too scared at that age to do something like that. There is just something special about being able to see the world through the eyes of a toddler who is taking in all kinds of new experiences and seeing things with wide-eyed wonderment for the first time. Since my kids are a little older, I’m afraid that I may have forgotten how awesome the world around us can be.   

For my nephew, everything is new, fresh, and exciting. From the zebras (which he called horses) who came right up to our car for a carrot treat, to the stray cat that was hanging around the park where we ate lunch, he was fascinated by everything and helped the rest of us appreciate things that we often take for granted. In fact, watching him sort of reminded me of one of my favorite activities as a kid—going to the toy aisle at Kmart and looking at all of the shiny packages clamoring for my attention and my parents’ money. Typically, my dad would take me to the toy aisle and walk around with me while my mom did the serious business of getting the things that we needed. I can remember always hoping that I could walk out of the store with a brand-new Hot Wheels car or maybe something like a Slinky or one of those gyroscopes. It did not matter that I had one at home; I just wanted to get something. I remember one instance in particular when I must have really been focused on one particular treasure as I surveyed the importance of buying that particular item (an item that, at this point, I unfortunately cannot really recall). I calculated the best approach to take to assure that I would be leaving the store with that item.  My little toddler brain must have finally landed on the sweet, puppy-dog eyed, sympathy approach, thinking that my Dad might have pity if I showed him how this toy would bring so much joy to my pitiful little face. So, I gathered up my courage, and I reached back and began pulling on the pants of the legs that stood behind me. Then I began to point to the area where the toy was hanging. He didn’t say anything at first, which was a good sign, because, often I would get a quick, “Nope, we aren’t buying anything today!” So, with my trap set, I put on the most melancholy face that I could muster and slowly turned my eyes up to meet my dad’s gaze. When our eyes finally met, I was horrified that the pants legs that I was pulling on were not my dad’s pants at all. My sad, forlorn, gaze quickly turned to panic and fear as I was face to face with some stranger and I had no idea where my dad was. I’m sure that this strange man was just as confused as I was, having some random kid looking up at him pointing pleadingly to a toy on the shelf as if he was supposed to buy it. Finally, in the middle of this awkward moment that seemed to last for days, I heard the familiar sound of my dad’s voice just a few yards ahead of me in the aisle, saying, “Rodney, get over here and stop bothering that man!” I ran to his side as quickly as possible, forgetting all about the toy and my puppy-dog eyes, and embracing the safety of my dad’s presence.

I don’t know about you, but there are times when my spiritual life can sometimes resemble that of a toddler, just learning to walk. It is so easy to get caught up in all of the distractions that surround us every day. In some ways, we are not unlike toddlers, cruising through the “toy aisle of life,” getting sidetracked by all sorts of treasures and “stuff” that we think will make us happy and content. The problem is that these distractions can often lead us to dangerous places, and we end up feeling lost or alone. Fortunately, there is a God who continually calls out our name and invites us to come back to the safety and loving embrace that we need when we are lost. This reminds me of a Bible verse in 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 7. It is a short but powerful verse that comes in the middle of a passage that explains how the life we are living on earth is but a limited version of the much larger reality of eternity that Christians are promised through faith in Christ. In fact, earlier in the passage, he even describes the physical things that we can see in the world as “temporary,” and the spiritual things that we can only “see” through faith as “eternal.” These are the words from 2 Corinthians 5:7: “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

This sentence is so short but is loaded with lots of significance. “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

It may be difficult for many of us to remember what it was like to first learn how to walk. It occurs to me that there are three main issues that most toddlers have to overcome in order to be successful at walking. These are: balance, direction, and trust. As you consider these issues, it seems to me that these same issues are also important for us as spiritual toddlers as we learn to navigate in our faith walk. 

First, balance is a key to being able to stand up. A toddler will always have trouble navigating the obstacles and potholes in their path. These complications easily throw an unsteady, newbie walker off balance and even off course. If you have ever watched a toddler walk, they are slow and unsteady and need extra time in order to keep their footing. I was reminded of that this week at the zoo. A lot of patience is required to walk with a toddler, but the reward of watching a person experience new discovery is so worth it! Similarly, as we try to “walk by faith,” situations happen in our lives that we may not understand and may confuse us and throw us off balance. We may try to maintain balance between living a life of faith which we know will make us better people and living in a fallen world that constantly asks us to compromise. It is in times like this that we need someone to give us extra patience and grace as we try to gather ourselves, learn our lessons, and receive any necessary assistance to regain our balance and continue on our journey. Balance can be tough to find at times, but it is the key to being able to walk.

Second, as spiritual toddlers we are not able to see the BIG picture, and that means that sometimes we get going in the wrong direction. In fact, the world is sort of geared toward people who are much taller and can see a whole different perspective than a toddler can see. There are times when all a toddler can see are those tempting, easily accessible, course altering distractions that have purposefully been placed at just their eye level on the toy aisle. Toddlers are doing well just to not stop and be overcome by the lure of each must-have toy. As spiritual toddlers who seem to be constantly caught in a world-sized toy aisle, it would be so much easier to keep our direction and ignore all those distractions if we could simply have a different, more comprehensive perspective on life—if we could just see the big picture from time to time. Unfortunately, that is not the way it works. Often, we find ourselves doing our very best just to faithfully take one step at a time, and the moment we think we have things figured out, life throws us a curveball. We realize that, just like toddlers, we have such limited (or no) control over so many circumstances in life—like the decisions that other people make, how others react to us, and even some of the seemingly random events in the world—all of which have some (or a lot of) influence on our lives. The inability to see the BIG picture unfortunately keeps us from completely understanding how all of these things work together for what we are promised is the “good of those who love God.” Our job is to simply keep our eyes on the path that God has placed before us, avoiding distractions, and navigating around our fellow travelers. During those times when we feel we have ventured off course and need help seeing where we are going, that is when real, radical faith kicks in—faith that God is somehow directing our path and that we will continue to commit ourselves to simply keep going.

Finally, as toddlers of the spiritual world, we must place our trust in something or someone to lead us through this life.  It is so easy to get caught up in thinking that the toy aisle has all the answers to a life of joy and love and peace. Unfortunately, we may find that the toy aisle only distracts us into the arms (or legs) of an imposter or innocent bystander. There are times when it would be so nice to be able to see God and touch God and directly ask for and receive some guidance. It seems like it would be easier to place our trust in something tangible rather than relying on faith in something that we cannot see.  Many people put their trust in all sorts of things that end up getting us more lost and confused than before. So, it is important that as we walk by faith, we place our faith in the One who is worthy to receive that prominent position in our lives. There are plenty of people and things in this world that are more than willing to receive our worship and provide us guidance in how to live. However, for Christians, God alone is the One in which we are called to place our trust. All others fall short!

So, what are we supposed to do as toddlers trying to make it through this world? How do we maintain balance when there are so many challenges in our lives that are trying to create instability? How are we supposed keep going in the right direction when the path that we are called to can be so difficult to discover? How do we stay faithful when there are so many temptations, imposters, and distractions trying to compete for our attention? How will we ever know if we are doing things right? How can life ever be anything other than a hopeless, disorienting, confusing mess? Just as a toddler never gives up, we too are called to keep trying. Every time we fall down, we get back up. Every time we find ourselves lost, we turn ourselves back in the right direction. Every time we get distracted and find ourselves trusting the wrong guide, we run back to God. And soon, each one of those missteps will turn into wisdom, and each stumble that we experience will be a part of our testimony. And I like to believe that God’s love and grace is big enough to cover us when we are truly trying our best. Walk by faith, not by sight. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!  AMEN!

Join us this Sunday online at 10 AM for the R.L. Pope Sunday School Lesson, at 11 AM for worship, and IN PERSON at 6 PM for Worship on the Lawn!  Have a great week, take care of each other, and stay healthy people!

YOU CAN WATCH AND READ ALL 10 @ 10 DEVOTIONS HERE