CALENDAR

SUNDAY  JANUARY 24, 2021
Third Sunday after Epiphany
10     R.L. Pope Class by Keith Tobin 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.)
2-3:30  Youth:

MONDAY  JANUARY 25
10    10@10 Devotion on Facebook

TUESDAY  JANUARY 26
9-10   Men’s Prayer Group (Contact: Tim Lyons, tlyons00@gmail.com)
9-11  Sewing Ministry
10     10@10 Devotion on Facebook
5:30   Yoga

WEDNESDAY  JANUARY 27
The Weekly Update on Facebook
6      Youth Small Groups Online (contact Rodney Denton)

THURSDAY  JANUARY 28
10     10@10 Devotion on Facebook

FRIDAY  JANUARY 29
10    10@10 Devotion on Facebook

SUNDAY  JANUARY 31
Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
10    R.L. Pope Class Online: Stan Styers
11    Live Worship In-Person & Online
2-3:30  Youth

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…

Bill Stine
Cornelius Greene
Lizzie Akins
Priscilla Everhart
Bill Stine
Zeb Hanner, Sr.
Andy and Joyce Royals
Ronnie Dancy
Dorann Edwards and family
The family of Florence Highsmith
Amos Fisher
Mike Lanning
Britt Martin Williams
Peggy Graham
Cyril Harrington
Brad Hulin
Jessie Collett
Roy Flanagan
Our country and healing for all
Jennifer Ruff
Margie Collins
Carol Kaiser
Josef Walker
Dean Sharpe-Austin
Finley Price family
Andrea Cain and family
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

We extend our prayers and sympathy to Tommy Poole and family on the death of Tommy’s father on January 7, 2021.

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.

COVID-19 VACCINE INFORMATION FROM NCDHHS

YourSpotYourShot.nc.gov

Many people are understandably skeptical about the COVID-19 virus and whether to receive the vaccine. The NC Dept. of Health and Human Services site provides facts and information to assist you in making an informed decision about the vaccine. The more our community understands about the vaccine, the better everyone will be in determining their best next step.  Please visit YourSpotYourShot.nc.gov to learn more.

Please help do your part to stop the spread of Covid-19 virus by wearing a mask when in public, washing your hands, and observing a 6-foot social distance.

COVID-19 VACCINE CLINIC SAT. JAN. 23

SATURDAY JANUARY 23rd
Memorial UMC Christian Enrichment Center
Various appointment times between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m.
You must sign up online at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c044aa4af29aa8-sponsored, and you need an email address to sign up.

As of this writing, there are still openings available in the COVID-19 vaccine clinic this Saturday, January 23rd, being offered by Thomasville Pediatrics in conjunction with the Davidson County Health Department and hosted by Memorial UMC.

You are eligible to sign up for the vaccine if you are 75 years or older.

Memorial UMC is the vaccination clinic site but all registration must be done through the website at the link above. 

If you cannot register for this event online, please contact the Davidson Co. Health Department for their vaccination schedule.

VALENTINES FOR UMW SCHOLARSHIP FUND 

VALENTINE ORDER FORM

We support our high school seniors, and we know you will too!

Honor your Valentine.  For $5.00 per name you can purchase a Valentine in honor or in memory of those who are special to you. All funds go to the UMW Scholarship Fund. 

Submission deadline is Monday February 8th. Valentines will be printed in a special insert on Sunday February 14th, as well as in the church eNews for that week.

Please download the VALENTINE ORDER FORM and mail or bring the completed form with payment to the church office.

Thank you for your support of this important outreach to our high school seniors!

UMW ZOOM GATHERINGS 

All women of Memorial are invited to join the United Methodist Women (UMW) monthly Gatherings via Zoom. Gatherings usually are held on the second Saturday of the month, and the time is usually 12:00-12:30 p.m. The Zoom meeting links will be sent out a week prior by email. If you are interested, please contact Cheryl Herman for more information. Zoom Gathering Schedule: February 13 March 13 April 17 (Third Saturday due to Easter and school breaks) May 8 June 12

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: January 24  Keith Tobin  January 31  Stan Styers

GIRL SCOUTS 

The Girl Scouts of Memorial are happy to help you with your cookie needs. Below is the information for both troops. If you would like to order or have any questions, please contact Julie Tyson at julesaxton@aol.com or (336) 687-5231.

Troop 2558 booths are:

1/29/21 from 5:00-8:00pm at GNC in Lexington at Lexington Parkway Plaza

2/20/21 from 4:00-8:00pm at Lowes Home Improvement Center in Lexington

Troop 2557 booths are:

1/23/21 (Drive Thru) from 12:00-4:00pm at First Presbyterian Church in Thomasville

1/30/21 from 4:00-7:00pm at GNC in Lexington at Lexington Parkway Plaza

2/6/21 from 4:00-8:00pm at Lowes Home Improvement Center in Lexington

Cookies are $5.00 per box this year.

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 – Ext. 12; nnorwood@mumctville.org Aaron Prillaman, Director of Contemporary Worship – Ext. 20; aprillaman@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 November 6, 2020.

Flip the Switch!

Earlier this summer, I was watching one of my children trying to figure out why we had a light switch on our wall that apparently did not work. They would flip it on and off, but nothing would happen. This situation immediately reminded me of one of those traumatizing childhood events that happened in my own life. You see, in the house I grew up in, we had a light switch on the wall in our hallway. It always stuck out to me because of its unique placement. While most light switches are usually installed about 4 feet from the floor (in other words, just high enough that a curious 3-year-old could not reach it, but low enough that a relatively smart 4-year-old didn’t have to bother his parents to get up and turn that light on every time he wanted to go to his room), this light switch was positioned about a foot or more higher than all the other switches. In addition, it was all by itself in the middle of a long hallway, not anywhere near a door, a room, or an attic access. It really intrigued me. In addition, I never actually saw my mother or father ever use the switch.

Once I was 6 or 7, I was tall enough to reach it and it sort of beckoned me to come and test it to see what it did. One day, my parents were out of the house and I flipped it. I looked all around for any light that had come on and I could not find one anywhere. I quickly flipped it back to its original position. I tried this every once in a while but could never figure out what it was for.

Finally, I gave up my investigation and got the courage to just ask my dad what the light switch was supposed to do. Normally, my dad would respond with something snarky and dad-like such as, “It’s there to make you ask questions” (which, by the way, I found myself saying to one of my own kids this past week and I realized that I am slowly turning into my father—YIKES!). But this time, instead of his usual quick comeback, he looked at me and said, “Oh, don’t use that switch.”

Which made me even more curious. “Why not?” I asked.

Then, he told me, “It turns the lights on and off in a house in China. If we flip that switch, it turns all the lights off in their house and they can’t see anything, so do not flip that switch.”

Now, at this point I probably could have (should have) come clean about my investigations, but I did not, and I felt terrible that over the course of the past few months I had been leaving a poor Chinese family in the dark at random times during the day.

So, I’m not sure why, but I actually believed my dad when he told me that our light switch controlled lights in another country. I had no clue how electricity worked, and it seemed reasonable that somehow every light switch was magically paired with a light fixture, and ours just happened to be paired with some fixtures in China. And I never touched the switch again, UNTIL…

One day we were getting up leaves in our back yard. It was getting late and dark, and my dad looked at me and told me to go turn on the lights for the back yard. I didn’t know how, so he said, “Just go into the house and flip that switch on the left side of the hallway.”

This of course led me to ask the question, “What about the people in China?”

He looked at me like I was crazy and said, “What are you talking about?”

Which led to the conversation, “You told me that that light switch operates the lights in a house in China.”

Maybe remembering what he told me, maybe just realizing what a gullible son he had, he laughed and said, “Just go and flip the switch, the Chinese family will be fine.”

So, I went and flipped the switch and still couldn’t see what was happening until I returned to the back yard, which was now illuminated by lights on the house. My dad pointed to the lights, with a grin on his face, and said “I guess we are the Chinese family that you were looking for. These are the lights that are operated by that switch.”

At that point, the mystery of the hallway light switch was truly solved. (By the way, the switch that my kids were testing out in our current house is the same deal; it operates some exterior lights, but I didn’t confuse them like my dad did me.) Of course, after I learned the truth, I felt sort of foolish for ever believing my dad’s little joke. I understand that my dad probably wanted to discourage me from flipping that switch, because the exterior lights would be on and we would not know it because they could not be seen from inside the house. So, I understand his motives, and as far as his methods, I must admit it was a pretty funny joke to play on a very naïve and gullible son. However, when I look back on this funny situation now, I realize that in some ways it has sort of become an important life lesson for me about truth and faith and exactly what I should base my faith and my beliefs on.

This leads me to a situation that I ran into this past Tuesday. I had the great honor of participating in one of the great rights and responsibilities that we have as United States citizens, by working here in Thomasville as an Election Assistant. The truth is that when James Carmichael invited me to serve my country in this way about 16 years ago (because apparently, I only work on Sundays anyway and should have all my Tuesdays free!), I feel I was an ideal citizen for this duty. I feel like I have a pretty high level of personal integrity, and my faith, not my political affiliation, is the foundation and the guide for my life. I do not try to sway or guide anyone to vote a certain way; I am just happy to see people claim their voice as a part of our great country. This past Tuesday, while serving the polls, I overheard many conversations that people were having before and after they voted. Conversations about important issues of faith like abortion and other questions, as well as more nebulous issues of character and integrity. “How can you, as a Christian, vote for a candidate that supports that?” or “How can you vote for a candidate that acts so un-Christian like that?” I don’t know how you voted, and honestly that is not the part of your life that I really care about. What I do care about is how our community of faith acts toward one another and supports one another. The truth is that we need each other, regardless of who is living in the White House. There are far more things that bring us together than should separate us.

With this conviction in mind, I tried to find a scripture passage that might help me to allay my fears and anxiety about this whole thing and to apply some Biblical wisdom to this very modern problem. I love the book of 1 John because its message is focused on love over hate and placing the Gospel over worldly messages that tend to contaminate our faith. As I read through Chapter 4, I couldn’t find a way to place a limit on the words I want to share with you today. So, my offering today is the entire chapter. May it inspire you during these challenging times.

1 John 4:1-21

 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus, is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

This is the word of God for the people of God. May you boldly go out and share God’s love with every person that you meet. Don’t be afraid to flip on that switch of truth and allow the light of love to guide you. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN!

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

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