Ogallala, Nebraska 69153 www.methodistchurchogallala.com

FIRST UNITED

METHODIST CHURCH

Ministers

The Worshiping Congregation

Pastor

Chuck Rager

Christian Education Director

Renee Meyer

Administrative Secretary

Dawn Haney

Custodian

Dawn Haney

Newsletter Editor

Karen Nenstiel

District Superintendent

Cindy Karges

Bishop of Great Plains

Conference

Ruben Saenz, Jr.

First United Methodist Church

Pastor’s Page 2

2nd Wednesday Questions 3

Mark Your Calendar 3

Newsletter Deadline 4

Confirmation Class 5

An Activity Page 6

Summer Campers 7

CCC Sunday 8

Stewards for October 9

IN THIS ISSUE

Here are (in no particular order) some things that I appreci-

ate. In no way is this a complete list of all the things that I

appreciate.

My wife. She is a big help to my ministry and her patience

and understanding are crucial to what I do to serve you and

lead this church.

Sunday School teachers and helpers. Sunday school is

off and running and we have many persons that benefit from

the efforts extended by our Sunday school teachers and

helpers.

Visitation Team. The persons who are a part of our church

visitation team call on individuals in the care centers and

those who are homebound. This is a tremendous ministry.

Youth group leaders and helpers. Our youth group leaders

connect with and care for our youth group participants at a

high level. Our youth group leadership team does a great

service for our young people and our church.

Musicians and music leaders. We are so blessed to have talented and committed

people leading and participating in our music ministry. At a time when some churches

struggle to have music leaders, we are blessed to have the music leaders and helpers

that we have.

Young people. The young people who participate in Youth Group, Sunday School,

Confirmation, Children’s Time, Sunday morning Worship and Vacation Bible School

are a blessing to our future.

Church newsletter editor and Church photographer. Our newsletter editor Karen

Nenstiel and our church photographer Jeff Peterson provide a wonderful and greatly

appreciated ministry to our church.

Church staff. Dawn Haney is our church secretary and custodian. Renee Meyer is

our Christian Education leader. I appreciate their great work and help immensely.

Joyful givers. Everyone who gives financial gifts to support the life of our church is

truly appreciated.

Committee members. Much good work is done in the committees of this church and

through the persons that serve on those committees.

As I said earlier, this is not a complete and exhaustive list of everything and everyone

that is truly appreciated, but merely a humble attempt to say how blessed we are as a

church and to say thank you. Thank You.

See me Sunday,

Pastor Chuck

Page 2 September, 2019

“Fortress”

The tower, or fortress, is a symbol that, in the words of

Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength.” Martin Luther used this psalm as the basis for his hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our

God.” The tower or fortress may

also represent Saint Barbara, an early Christian martyr, who ordered that

her tower be built with three windows instead of two to

signify the Trinity. Another scripture reads

“But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take

refuge” (Psalm 94:22, NIV).

Christian

Symbols

Question: I work most Sundays. Is there another time that I can attend church?

Answer: We have a church service on the Second Wednesday of the month. We have

supper in the Fellowship Hall downstairs at 5:30 and worship at 6:15 in the sanctuary.

Worship is over by 7 P.M.

Question: How much does supper cost?

A n s w e r : I t i s a f r e e w i l l o f f e r i n g . C o n t r i b u t e a s y o u a r e w i l l i n g a n d a b l e .

Q u e s t i o n : I a t t e n d c h u r c h e v e r y S u n d a y . W i l l I h e a r t h e s a m e s e r m o n W e d n e s d a y t h a t I h e a r d S u n d a y ? A n s w e r : N O . T h e m e s s a g e W e d n e s d a y i s n o t a r e r u n a n d i s n o t a p r a c t i c e f o r S u n d a y .

Q u e s t i o n : I f I c o m e t o s u p p e r ; m u s t I v o l u n t e e r t o c o o k a n d h o s t a m e a l m y s e l f o n s o m e f u t u r e W e d n e s -d a y ? A n s w e r : N O . S o m e p e o p l e t e n d t o v o l u n t e e r t o h o s t /s e r v e / p r e p a r e a m e a l . I t i s n o t a r e q u i r e m e n t t h a t y o u p r e p a r e a n d s e r v e a m e a l i f y o u a t t e n d . H o w e v e r , i f y o u a n d y o u r f r i e n d s w i s h t o p r e p a r e a n d s e r v e a m e a l , y o u a r e w e l c o m e t o d o s o . S a v e y o u r r e c e i p t s a n d s u b m i t t h e m f o r r e i m b u r s e m e n t i f y o u w i s h .

Q u e s t i o n : I h a v e a f r i e n d w h o i s n o t a m e m b e r o f t h i s c h u r c h . M a y I i n v i t e t h e m t o e a t s u p p e r A N D a t t e n d t h e w o r s h i p s e r v i c e ? A n s w e r : Y e s ! P l e a s e d o .

Q u e s t i o n : I s t h e r e H o l y C o m m u n i o n o n W e d n e s d a y n i g h t ? A n s w e r : Y e s . H o l y C o m m u n i o n i s s e r v e d a n d o f f e r e d t o a l l b e l i e v e r s .

Q u e s t i o n : W i l l I e n j o y t h e f e l l o w s h i p a n d t h e s e r v i c e ? A n s w e r : I d o .

S e e M e W e d n e s d a y , Pastor Chuck

Page 3 The Messenger

October 6, 2019

Second Wednesday Questions and Answers

Confirmation Class on Tuesday, October 1, 6:00 p.m.

Board of Trustees on Tuesday, October 1, at 7:00 p.m.

Finance Committee on Thursday, October 3, at 5:00 p.m.

Second Wednesday Worship on October 9, supper at 5:30, worship at 6:15 p.m.

Mark Your Calendar Annual Charge Conference on

Saturday, October 12, at 3:00 p.m.

Missions Outreach Committee on Wednesday, October 16, at 5:30 p.m.

Administrative Council on Wednesday, October 16, at 7:00 p.m.

Page 4 September, 2019

United Methodist

Women October

Meetings

UMW General

Thursday, October 10

12:00 noon

Fellowship Hall

Circle 1

Thursday, October 24

(Sheldon)

Circle 3

Thursday, October 17

2:00 pm

Hess Lounge

Circle 5

Monday, October 21

6:00 pm

Hess Lounge

JU

ST

FO

R F

UN

!

Submissions for the November, 2019, issue of

The Messenger need to be in the editor’s hands no

later than Monday, October 21. Bring items to the

Church Office, or you may e-mail them directly to

the newsletter editor at:

ogallalaumcnews@gmail.com.

Observing this deadline really helps us get the

newsletter out in a timely manner. Thanks so

much for your help!

MONDAY,

OCTOBER 21

World Communion Sunday, October 6, 2019

Reformation Sunday, October 27, 2019

Reformation Day, October 31, 2019

All Hallows Eve, October 31, 2019

The Christian does not go to the

temple to worship. The Christian

takes the temple with him or her.

Jesus lifts us beyond the building

and pays the human body the high-

est compliment by making it his

dwelling place, the place where he

meets with us.

~~Ravi Zacharias

Special Dates Beyond the Building

The Messenger Page 5

Members of the Confirmation Class of 2019 were introduced to the

congregation on Sunday, September 15. Pastor Chuck and Roberta Rager

presented each member with “talents” which they will attempt to increase and

return to the church when they are confirmed in May of 2020. Class members

(from left) are: Kaden Walker, Emily VanBorkum, Jack Rezac, Payton Catlin

and Parker Catlin.

Aw-fall!!!

Share some laughs — or groans — with these autumn-themed jokes:

• What did the tree say to autumn? “Leaf me alone!”

• What did one autumn leaf say to another? “I’m falling for you.”

• How do you fix a broken pumpkin? With a pumpkin patch.

• Why are trees very forgiving? Because in the fall they “let it go” and in the

spring they “turn over a new leaf.”

• How do leaves get from place to place? With autumn-mobiles.

•What’s the ratio of a pumpkin’s circumference to its diameter? Pumpkin pi.

In his autobiography Set Free,

Roy Peterson describes how God’s

Word transformed his life. After

making some reckless decisions at

age 19, Peterson landed in a Mexi-

can jail. One day, two “long-haired

American hippies” visited and gave

him an English Bible.

As Peterson read the words of

imprisoned men and gained wisdom

he wished he’d had earlier, hope

emerged: “I observed grace, kind-

Free Indeed ness and the value of humanity dur-

ing a time when I felt so ashamed

and unworthy.”

Now, as president of the Ameri-

can Bible Society, Peterson works

to provide Bibles to every person in

their own language. Having been

rescued from sin and death, he

wants others to know that Jesus is

“the truth [who] will set you

free” (John 8:32, NIV).

Page 6

September, 2019

A Bible Quiz

An Activity Page for Younger People

Name the first three kings of Israel in the order of their reigns.

A. Saul, David, Solomon B. Samuel, David, Saul C. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob D. Solomon, Jesse, David

Answer: A (See 1 Samuel 9:15-17; 16:1-13; 1 Kings 1:28-30.)

The Messenger Page 7

FUMC Youth Share Camping Experiences

Summer Church Camp is an exciting experience that many young people recall throughout their lives.. During the summer of 2019, six youth from Ogal-lala UMC attended camps at Norwesca, near Chadron, and returned to share some of their camping experiences with the church family.

Each camper received a camp scholarship from the church or the United Methodist Women to help defray the cost of attending camp.

“When someone is going through a storm, your silent presence is more

powerful than a million empty words.” ~~Thema Davis

“The love we give away is the only love we keep.” ~~Elbert Hubbard

photos by Jeff Peterson

Ethan Dickinson Tyllie Walker Kaden Walker

Parker Catlin

Evan Jones

Payton Catlin

Page 8 September, 2019

October is

Cowboy Capital Consultants in Church

Thank you,

Pastor Chuck,

for all you do

for all of us

all year long!

On Sunday, September 22, the worship service at Ogallala UMC was con-

ducted by members of the Cowboy Capital Consultants. Participants in the service

included Gary Williams, Vance Nelson, Ken Snyder, Larry Keller and Richard

Johnson. Other members also served as greeters and ushers for that Sunday.

The Cowboy Capital Consultants are a group of Methodist men who meet

regularly for Saturday morning breakfast to share fellowship, support, service and

inspiration.

Oct. 6 Greeters Herb & Karen Knudsen, Norm & Rhonda Duba Fellowship Cena Graves, Phil Armstrong Acolytes Children’s Moment Jonnie Peterson Ushers Group 3: Dennis & Teresa Davis, John & Sharon York, Wendell & Ramona Upright Oct. 13 Greeters Cliff & Shirlee Knispel, Jim & Dorothy Glenn Fellowship Dwight & Bea Hatch Acolytes Children’s Moment Pastor Chuck Rager Ushers Group 4: Roger Rankin, Pete Peterson, Phil Armstrong, Ken Meyer, Bruce Anderson Oct. 20 Greeters Buck & Judy Markussen, Roger & Judi Adkins Fellowship Jim & Dorothy Glenn Acolytes Children’s Moment Pastor Chuck Rager Ushers Group 5: Jim Glenn, Mike Samuelson, Gerold Radcliffe, Todd Benda, Shawn Haney Oct. 27 Greeters Barbara Draucker, Dennis & Teresa Davis Fellowship Linda Sheldon, Karla Lawler Acolytes Children’s Moment Penny Benda Ushers Group 6:Larry & Shirley Schlem, Lyle & Barbara Nooyz, Chuck Graff, Larry & Doris Keller, John & Shelia Turner Nov. 3 Greeters Lyle & Barbara Nootz, Brian & Claudia Stevenson Fellowship LeAnn Ayres, Karen Powell Acolytes Children’s Moment Carmen Troxel Ushers Group 7: Jim & LeAnn Ayres, Allen & Janice Cerny, Herb & Karen Knudsen Nov. 10 Greeters Cena Graves, Judy Cross Fellowship Sharen Terry, Susan Schimonitz Acolytes Children’s Moment Pastor Chuck Rager Ushers Group 8: Lloyd Johnson, Bud Haney, L.D. Walker, Ted Slagle, Jim Hixon

If you would like to have your name added to the rosters for any of the service opportunities listed above, please contact the church office.

The Messenger Page 9 The Messenger Page 9

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Our Vision: “To be a dynamic church, sharing and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ”

Our Mission: “To love God, love each other and extend that love beyond our church”

T h e M e s s e n g e r

F i r s t U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t C h u r c h

4 2 1 N o r t h S p r u c e P . O . B o x 9 1 6

O g a l l a l a , N e b r a s k a 6 9 1 5 3

R e t u r n S e r v i c e R e q u e s t e d

St. Francis of Assisi, an Italian Catholic friar, is commemorated on

October 4. Though it’s unclear whether this famous “peace prayer” was

his, it reflects his gentle spirit as an ardent Christ-follower:

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is error, truth;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying to ourselves that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

A Prayer for Peace