CALENDAR

SUNDAY  NOVEMBER 15
Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
10     R.L. Pope Class by Elaine Rabon on Facebookand WGOS AM 1070
11     Live Worship In Person and Online on Facebook and WGOS AM 1070
(Please read below about protocols and how to enter the building.)
4      Youth (In-Person) **Note time!**
No Worship on the Lawn 

MONDAY  NOVEMBER 16
10   10@10 Devotion on Facebook

TUESDAY  NOVEMBER 17
8      Men’s Prayer Meeting Online via Zoom (New Contact: Tim Lyons)
9-10   Christmas Craft – Angels (Contact Katie Conant to register.)
10:30-12    Christmas Craft – Doily Wreath (Contact Katie Conant to register.)
12:30-1:30    Christmas Craft – Lunch Bag Wreath (Contact Katie Conant to register.)
10    10@10 Devotion on Facebook
5:30  Yoga (Jarrett Hall)

WEDNESDAY  NOVEMBER 18
The Weekly Update on Facebook
10     10@10 Devotion on Facebook
6        Youth Small Groups Online (contact Rodney Denton)

THURSDAY  NOVEMBER 19
10    10@10 Devotion on Facebook
1:30-6  Red Cross Blood Drive

FRIDAY  NOVEMBER 20
10    10@10 Devotion on Facebook

SUNDAY  NOVEMBER 22
Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
10   R.L. Pope Class Online: Richard Herman
11   Live Worship In-Person & Online
4     Youth (In-Person)

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…

Our country and healing for all
Jennifer Ruff
James Carmichael
Margie Collins
Carol Kaiser
Josef Walker
Dean Sharpe-Austin
Finley Price family
Andrea Cain and family
Robert Miller
Dave Ogren
Tim Priska
Chris Eddinger
Peace and justice in our nation, state, and city
Our first responders, medical community, and essential workers
All those affected by COVID-19
All military personnel
Our United Methodist missionaries
The United Methodist Church

WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY

What to Expect at Indoor Worship

• Access to the Sanctuary is through the Randolph Street doors only.  The designated entrance for those needing the elevator will be the door under the walkway.
• You’ll be greeted upon entering the church and asked a few questions.
• Face masks will be required for everyone.
• Some pews will be blocked to maintain social distancing; an usher will help direct you.
• Out of respect for others, please refrain from shaking hands or hugging.
• Offering plates will be available at the entrance and exit of the sanctuary.
• When services end, attendees will be dismissed by section to avoid hallway congestion.
• No nursery staff will be present, but the nursery space will be available.
• Sunday school will not be offered at this time.

DROP OFF DONATIONS THIS SUNDAY!

Support our kids as they collect food for Cooperative Community Ministry.

STEWARDSHIP MOMENT: ERIC KUPPEL

Please remember to return your financial pledge card for 2021. We hope to wrap up the campaign soon and finalize our plans for next year. You may drop your card in the offering plate, mail it to the church office, or bring it by the office. Please let Peggy May in the office know if you did not receive a pledge card or if you have any questions.

We invite you to read Eric Kuppel’s Stewardship Moment comments from October 18:

Good morning.  I have to begin with the reason I stand before you today. If you ever watched “Wild Kingdom” on a Sunday afternoon, you know the scene. The hapless herd of antelope, impala, or wildebeest wandering across the Serengeti Dessert, and—from out of nowhere—the lion strikes.

Brant Conner was that lion for me. I had just entered the grocery store. Concealed behind my mask, I felt as safe from identification as the random bovine in a herd. Then, I heard my name. And before you know it, Brant had his October 18th Stewardship Moment speaker.

We have had some wonderfully compelling and passionate speakers on the subject over the years. It’s a subject that is, frankly, a little awkward to speak about. And now you’re stuck with the slowest wildebeest in the herd!

What I would like to speak about today is the moment that was most inspirational to me as far as stewardship is concerned. It was several years ago at an Administrative Board meeting, when Tom Smith stood up to speak. He was probably on the Finance Committee, and you could sense the frustration in his voice as he spoke of some budget issues and the lack of pledges in the congregation. There were even people in that very meeting, Tom stated, who hadn’t made the pledge commitment. And I was one of those people. He spoke of the merits of a stable income stream for the church to function smoothly, and it made sense.

Now, I didn’t shun the plate or conveniently tie my shoe when it passed. I threw money in when it went by, if I had remembered to bring some. I just never gave it serious thought. But that day the light went on, and I made the commitment to pledge the minimum stable weekly amount. And so it was: $10. Now $10 wasn’t a lot, but I made sure it made its way to the plate every week.

Then the next Fall came, and the pledge was increased. I had started to budget for the church, but I also started budgeting at home, and the irony of that first pledge was… it took the first pledge to find the blessings that were already there. I just wasn’t being a good steward of what I had been given.

Proverbs 3:9 states:  “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce….” My monthly budget starts off with First Fruits. The first line item of the budget is the church.

In closing, I have to add that, since that first pledge, I have seen the other side of that silver plate. I’ve seen the committees that take care of it with the passion and reverence that come from the responsibilities of handling such a heavy burden.

I’ve seen the other side of the plate in the tearful joy that a bag of food has brought at CCM. Or on a volcanic mountainside in Guatemala, hanging out with Janet and Kyles, building a church, and handing out school supplies to the eager village children. This is what your pledge does and will continue to do in his kingdom.

Ask the Lord that these words may touch someone today, as the words of Tom Smith had touched me.

Thank you.

FILL THE VAN FOR CCM – NOV. 29

CHRISTMAS CRAFT CLASSES

Join Katie Conant for a fun Christmas craft class – or two, or three! Each craft can be completed in a two-class session. Choose a November or December session for your classes. Cost is $20 per session.

TO REGISTER OR ASK QUESTIONS call Katie Conant at 336-225-1947.

DATES:
SESSION 1: NOV. 17 & 24
SESSION 2: DEC. 1 & 8

TIMES AND SUPPLIES:
9-10 a.m.    Christmas Angel Craft Class
Needed supplies: 1 yd. of 45″ width lace or lightweight fabric, Scissors, glue gun and glue sticks. All other materials will be provided.

10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.    Christmas Doily Wreath Craft Class
Needed supplies: 9′ spool of wired edged ribbon, scissors, glue gun, and glue sticks. All other materials will be provided.

12:30-1:30 p.m.    Christmas Lunch Bag Wreath Craft Class
Needed supplies: 9′ spool of wired edged ribbon, scissors, glue gun, and glue sticks. All other materials will be provided.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS:
All classes will meet in the Fellowship Hall.
Social distancing and face masks will be required.
Hand sanitizer and surface disinfectant will be in use.
There is a 10-person maximum, including instructor.

R.L. POPE CLASS ONLINE LESSONS

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

The R. L. Pope Class is excited to offer weekly online lessons. Tune in to Facebook Live or  WGOS on your radio or computer.

Teaching Schedule:
November 15 Elaine Rabon
November 22 Richard Herman
November 29 Stan Styers

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
Norris Norwood, Director of Music Ministries – Ext. 12; nnorwood@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

FEATURED DEVOTION

We close this week’s eNews with a 10@10 devotion shared by Rodney Denton on October 2, 2020.

I’m Not Monkeying Around

So, this morning I have found myself in a little bit of a predicament. Just before my 10 @ 10, I saw something in this jar and I stuck my hand in the jar to get it out. But now it seems as if my hand is stuck. I didn’t have time to work the jar off, but it seems pretty tight. Also, I don’t really want to break the jar because that might cut my hand up, and I would be in worse shape than I am right now. Hopefully, I will figure something out.

This situation does sort of remind me of a story I once heard about the way they hunt monkeys in South America. Now, I have never been monkey-hunting, myself, but apparently they are really difficult to capture because they are so quick and smart. However, there are places in South America where monkeys run wild and the people there have found a way to trap monkeys using only a jar with a narrow neck and a banana. The way it works is that they place the banana in the jar. Then they leave the jar, with its special treat, tied to a tree. Then it is a waiting game. The trap is set. Eventually, a curious monkey will come along to investigate the jar and find that there is a tasty treat that has been hidden down in the jar. The monkey will then stick its hand down in the jar for a quick and easy meal. Of course, the monkey’s hand easily slips into the jar when it has nothing in it, but when its hand is in a fist wrapped around a banana, its hand becomes too big to pass back through the narrow opening of the jar. This is where the situation gets really weird. The monkey will spend hours trying to remove its hand from the jar without letting go of the banana. It knows that it has a treasure and is unwilling to let go of the treasure to get its hand free. Eventually, hunters (or perhaps, as I like to believe, zoologists or people who just want a new pet) come along and easily capture the monkey (so they can pet it, take care of it, and play with it). Regardless… no matter how long it takes, the monkey will not let go of that banana in the jar. It is driven by its hunger to hang on to that banana in its hand; despite putting itself in danger, it will not let go of what it views as the prize. In fact, even if a different banana is presented to the monkey just out of its reach, it will not let go of the banana in its hand (in the jar…) to collect the new banana. It never occurs to the monkey to free itself by giving up on what it understands as a treasure in its hand. The jar that once held the promise of an easy meal and an end to the monkey’s hunger ultimately becomes a prison that keeps the monkey trapped, still hungry, and now open to threat. This phenomenon is so unique that it even has even been given the title: Spider Monkey Syndrome.

Now, we might listen to this Spider Monkey Syndrome and think, “That it is such a dumb predicament, only a monkey would end up getting caught in a situation like this.” What we could be missing is that, although we might not be curious enough to get our hand stuck in a jar like a monkey, we still have a very real, unfortunate capacity of letting that sweet lure of temptation to draw us into our own version of Spider Monkey Syndrome.

You see, we often find ourselves hungering for things in this life. I’m not talking about the hunger we feel in our bellies, that bananas can fill. The hunger that often drives us is what is known as a hunger of the soul—that emptiness in our lives that removes our sense of security, control, self-esteem, purpose, authenticity, and balance, and leaves us with a hunger for life. We set out in search of something that might satisfy our hunger. We may decide that we can find fulfillment with “stuff” or experiences or a whole host of other distractions that we think might curb our yearning. You see, we fail to see that our “jar” is what the Bible describes as sin, and the banana that lures us is akin to the temptations that offer us temporary gratification for the hunger our soul is experiencing. So, we reach out our hand for a taste of love and acceptance and we get caught up in toxic relationships that we refuse to end. We reach out our hand for control and we end up with a handful of bad habits and addictions that we cannot break. We reach out for self-esteem and end up being caught up in self-indulgence and comparing ourselves to others. We reach out for purpose and we can be sucked in by the lure of greed and the fear of failure. There is a whole list of temptations that promise to satisfy our hunger, but which only lead to a place of feeling exhausted, stuck, or even imprisoned.

The good news is that no matter how desperate our situation might seem, God is always committed to setting us free. Free from the traps of sin that lead to fear, guilt, shame, anger, sadness, and loneliness. God’s love fills our hunger in such a way that our lives are revived. God’s love leads to freedom. God’s love leads to peace. God’s love leads to joy.

I wonder what are you hungering for today? What is missing in your life? If the world with all of its tasty temptations is out there waiting for our hungry little hands to slip in for a special treat, then what is it that has lured you to reach in and take hold of it, in hopes that your hunger will be filled? The truth is, we are all like those monkeys. We’re desperately trying to live the life God has called us to live, but there is that one thing that always seems to tempt us and draw us in. There is that one thing that we believe we need for fulfillment. There is always that one thing that stands to prevent God from being our main thing. We probably know that to hold on to that one thing means we may never experience freedom, but we are willing to hold on to a familiar prison rather than risk venturing into the unknown. I don’t know what this one thing is in your life. I know what it is in mine, and until we get real honest with ourselves and let go of our presumed treasure, we may stay trapped in our soul crushing prison.

What’s the best way to avoid getting your hand stuck in a jar? Don’t put it in the jar in the first place. The best way to avoid being trapped by temptation is to avoid the trap altogether. If someone had only told me that my hand might get stuck, I might not even have put it inside the jar! Fortunately, when it comes to temptation, God does warn us that it can be a dangerous trap. But for some of us, the only way we learn a lesson is to make mistakes.

So, the next pertinent question is: How do we get our hand OUT of the jar? We are so fortunate that God’s love is open to everyone! And I mean EVERYONE! We are not expected to be free and perfect when we seek God’s love. However, the thing is that it is pretty hard to embrace God’s love when we are stuck. So, we might have to let go of a few of the things in our life that ensnare us and keep us captive. We might have to be honest with ourselves that holding on to those negative things in our lives really is bananas, and there is so much more life in store for us when we are able to let go, to fully embrace God’s love. In fact, you might find that by letting go of the things that you were originally hungering for when you put your hand in the jar (such as love, security, self-esteem, purpose, balance) they might be things that God wants to give you when you ask for it. God’s love is not about withholding anything good from our lives, but God’s love does give us the things that we need to be the best we can be and to live life to its fullest and its freest!

I am going to leave you with a passage from Romans that seems to sum up the beauty of freedom through God’s love. It comes from Romans, chapter 6, verses 20- 22:

²⁰ When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to DO RIGHT. ²¹ And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal death. ²² But now you are free from the power of sin and have become servants of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Have a great day, take care of one another, and stay healthy people!!!

Join us this Sunday at 10 AM for Sunday School and 11 AM for worship—both on WGOS 1070 AM and Facebook Live. Or you can come worship in person in the sanctuary Sunday at 11. Bring a mask! The ushers will help you find a place to sit so that everyone socially distances according to family groups.

YOU CAN WATCH AND READ ALL 10 @ 10 DEVOTIONS HERE.