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FIRS EDITION
First United Methodist Church,Greenwich,Connecticut
www.fumcgreenwich.com
The Rev. Heather A. M. Sinclair
February 2015
Dear Beloved in Christ,
One of the most important habits of a healthy church is prayer. (For a refresher on the other healthy habits, see
page 2 and come to worship to hear the sermons!)
I have three visions for enhancing the prayer life of FUMC. These have been shared with church leaders at Ad
Council and in worship on February 1. For our congregation to be vital and healthy, everyone is encouraged to be a part
of this vision.
1) We will precede every worship service with prayer. I will gather with worship leaders at 10:20am (or 10
minutes prior to the start of any other service) to pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire all of us as we worship together.
2) We will be making plans for a monthly mid-week prayer service to pray for the church, ourselves and our
neighbors, so that all may be invited to lift their prayers and all will know that FUMC is a community that believes in the
power of prayer.
3) We will be exploring the idea of a Prayer Box, posted in a convenient location(s) that will allow our neighbors to submit prayer requests to be lifted during weekly worship and the mid-week prayer service. My hope is that people will come to know that FUMC is a place that cares and prayers for the community.
Please join me in praying that these visions will become reality, so that we may trust more fully on God and
God’s call for us as a healthy body of Christ.
Thanks to Euphemia Whylly for sharing this poem that reminds us of “The Power of Prayer”
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Heather
The Power of Prayer
By Shirley Hile Powell; Submitted by Euphemia Whylly
Where two or three are gathered,
And two or three agree,
God will hear your every prayer
And always answer thee.
Know that He is with you
Through every step of life.
He is your beloved comforter
During your woes and strife.
We must place our lives into His hands
As we walk this earthly sod
And always do his holy will
For He is our Lord, our God.
Remember what we ask in Prayer
God might not grant that day
But He will always answer us
In His own time and way.
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What Makes a Healthy Church?
A New Years’ Sermon Series
based on the video Bible Study by Rev. Chuck Ferrera
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon
everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in
common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent
much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and
having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47)
Just as we make personal resolutions for our health, the church needs to make resolutions for our health and
vitality. For the next five weeks, our worship will explore the need for these healthy habits. I challenge you to
commit to being in worship during this series so that together we may learn and grow and bear witness to the
great things that God is doing in our church.
January 25—John 1:1-18
A Healthy Church Makes sure that the Bible, God's Word, is central to everything it does.
February 1—Matthew 6:1, 5-14
A Healthy Church Makes Prayer a Priority
February 8—Acts 2:42-47
A Healthy Church Offers Loving Fellowship and Welcomes New People into the Fellowship
February 15—Mark 9:2-9, 14-29
A Healthy Church is a Church that Offers Small Groups Relationships so that Believers Walk in Unity
and Favorable and Positively Impact the Community Around Them.
NY/CT District Leader-to-Leader Training
for new and experienced church leaders
Saturday February 21, 9:30am, Fishkill UMC
Workshops will include:
✰ SPRC I — Basics
✰ SPRC II — Personnel issues
✰ Parish Development
✰ Trustees
✰ Church Finance
✰ Evangelism
✰ Youth & Young Adult Ministries
✰ Meeting Basics
Plenary Speaker—Rev. Dr. Derrick Noble
NYAC Director, of Congregational Development and Revitalization
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Lent Begin with Ash Wednesday
on February 18
The sanctuary will be open from 8am-3pm for quiet prayer and meditation.
A service with imposition of ashes will be at 12 noon.
The congregations of First UMC, Diamond Hill UMC
and First Church Round Hill will worship together
at 7pm at First Church Round Hill, 464 Round Hill Road, Greenwich.
Lenten Worship
The churches of the Greenwich/Stamford United
Methodist Cluster will gather for weekly Wednesday
evening supper and worship for five weeks during of
Lent. Our worship theme will be Wesleyan “Means of
Grace.” And our weekly offerings will go towards the
New York Annual Conference goal of raising $1.2
million for Imagine No Malaria. (For more information
on this campaign go to www.imaginenomalaria.org)
FUMC will be hosting dinner (6:30pm) and worship
(7:30pm) on Wednesday, February 25. Dinner will be a simple meal of
soup, bread and salad. We are looking for people to bring pots of soup to
share and to help with dinner set-up and clean-up.
Our guest speaker that evening will be Lynda Gomi, Assistant to the
Director of Connectional Ministries for the NYAC. Lynda is passionate
about the Imagine No Malaria campaign.
A full schedule of Lenten Services will be available shortly.
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Mardi Gras
Pancake Supper
Tuesday, February 17, 6-8 pm
Pancakes
Sausage
Bacon
Fresh Fruit
Coffee & Tea
Juice
Join your neighbors for great food and fellowship!
$5 suggested donation. Kids under 10 eat free!
All donations will support the mission and ministries
of the First UMC of Greenwich.
First United Methodist Church of Greenwich
59 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830 203-629-9584
Email: [email protected]
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Your help is needed for the pancake supper!
Publicity in advance of the event.
Set-up at 3:00pm
Pancake flippers at 5:00pm
Servers from 5:30 to 8:00pm
Greeters from 6:00 to 8:00pm
Clean-up from 7:30 to 9:00pm
Sign-up sheets will be available on Sundays in worship
or contact the church office.
Car pooling will be
arranged for the
district meeting with
Bishop Middleton.
Email Pastor Heather
([email protected]),
if you are interested.
Donations of cash
and food for Neighbor to Neighbor
may be made
through
February 8th.
Thank you for your
generosity!
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In remembrance…
Our thoughts and prayers are with the
family and friends of Ken Washburne,
especially John Provino, at this time of
grief and loss. We give thanks to God
for Ken’s long life and the promise of
eternal life in Christ.
Funeral services will be held February
6 & 7. See calendar for details.
Carol and George Stockbridge
wish to advise that their
new phone number is
203-698-0710.
The old number no longer works.
Happy Birthday
Sunday School News
Sunday School gathers on the second and fourth
Sundays of the month.
On the first Sunday, kids will spend time with
Miss Hortencia before returning to worship for Holy Communion.
On the third Sunday, we will all gather for
family-friendly, intergenerational worship.
Thanks for our January & February teachers
Jeff Brown & Terry Kimball
2 Clayton Bassford
3 Alice Connolly
3 George Lowden
4 Peter Tryhane
8 Diane Tryhane
And a Happy
Anniversary to . .
Feb. 14—
Daniel and Ginny Marciano
Feb. 27—
David and Virginia Lentz
Give a child a lasting gift—invite them to church!
Please pick up your offering envelopes from the narthex. They are labeled with
your name. Please do not pick up someone else’s. If your name is not there,
take an unlabeled packet and contact the church office to let Ann C. know what
number you got.
If we’ve missed your birthday or
anniversary, we’re sorry! We
don’t want to leave anyone out!
Please email us at
churchnews@fumcgreenwich.
FEBRUARY SUNDAY TEAMS
GREETERS
2/1 open
2/8 George & Carol Stockbridge
2/15 Euphemia Whylly & Sarah
Vorder Bruegge
2/22 open
(Please speak with Pastor Heather
or Julie Brown to volunteer!)
USHERS
2/1 John Provino & Kenneth Washburne
2/8 Jean Cupp & Claire Horton/Julie Brown
2/15 Claire Horton & Julie Brown
2/18 Ash Weds—open
2/22 Wally Rozmus & Scott Sargeant
TELLERS
2/1
2/8 tbd
2/15 tbd
2/22 tbd
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FUMC Greenwich
February 2015
Sun
Mon
2
1
Tue
3
Wed
4
10:30 am
Worship
8
9
10
10:30 am
Worship &
Sunday School
15
7pm Ad
Council
16
10:30 am
Family
Friendly
Worship
22
10:30 am
Worship &
Sunday School
11
23
17
18
6-8pm Shrove
Tuesday
Pancake
Supper
7pm Ash
Wednesday at
Round Hill
24
12pm Ash Wed
Prayer
Thu
6
7pm
Covenant
Bible Study
10-11am
Visiting Hours
for Ken
Washburne
11am
Memorial
Service for
Ken
Washburne
12
13
14
7
20
21
27
28
7pm
Covenant
Bible Study
19
6-8pmGathering
with Bishop
Middleton at
Yorktown Heights
26
6:30/7:30
Lenten Supper
& Worship
8pm Trustees
7pm
Covenant
Bible Study
7
Sat
5
25
Church Office Hours are Tuesday and Thursday 8am-1pm.
Pastor Heather’s Sermon Preparation Day is Friday
and she reserves Saturdays for family and personal time.
In case of a pastoral emergency, you may reach
Pastor Heather at 203-913-8148.
Fri
First United Methodist Church
of Greenwich
59 E. Putnam Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830
(203) 629-9584
[email protected]
First United Methodist
Church of Greenwich
Find hope here. Find peace here.
Find joy here. Find the love of God here.
Sunday Worship, 10:30 am
with Sunday School and childcare for the kids.
Fellowship & Coffee to follow in the narthex.
Holy Communion first Sunday of the month.
Lent Begin Ash Wednesday, February 18
Rev. Heather Sinclair
Church Office: 203-629-9584
Parsonage Phone: 203-869-1686
[email protected]
Church Office
Phone: 203-629-9584
Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 8:00 AM—1:00 PM.
Email: [email protected]
First Edition is a monthly newsletter of the First United Methodist Church of Greenwich. First Edition welcomes your
submissions and photos. Please email them to [email protected] or by regular mail by the 25th of the month.
First Edition reserves the right to edit for clarity or space.
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