FIRST THINGS SEPTEMBER, 2016

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

501 Church Street, Sweetwater, TN 37874

423-337-7903

Email: office1@sweetwaterumc.org

Website: www.sweetwaterumc.org

Church Staff:

Ron Fisher, Pastor Anne Wilson, Administrative Asst.

Jacqueline Mason, Children’s Minister Melinda Hendricks, Custodian

Crystal Ragan, Youth Minister Patricia Richesin, Organist

Larry Orr, Senior Adult Minister Janet Standridge, First Kids Director

Margareth Urias, Music Minister All Christians, Ministers

“Glorifying God—Offering Christ

Making Disciples—Serving Others”

REFLECTIONS from PASTOR ron

Becca & I just got moved into the parsonage. I am grateful to Pam Morris, Chair of Trustees and the many volunteers who prepared the house for our arrival. Pam arranged for the furniture to be moved out to make room for our things. Pam & many volunteers cleaned and painted the parsonage. Our furniture was moved to Sweetwater on Monday, August 22. The movers brought two truckloads of furniture to the parsonage and left about 11:30 pm. We were worn out but not as exhausted as the movers.

It will be a while before we get things in order at the parsonage. We have plenty to do at our house in Lenoir City as we approach "Closing Day" which is on Au-gust 29. We have lots of stuff to sort through and much cleaning to do. The buy-ers were scheduled to do a walk through on Sunday, August 28. My real estate agent called and said the date was changed to Thursday. I immediately be-came overwhelmed wondering how we would get it done. The prayer I turned to for strength was, "Give us this day our daily bread." This is the prayer I have been pray-ing since I began preparing my house to be put on the market.

Life is filled with overwhelming mo-ments. Instead of losing heart we must fo-cus our sight on God who empowers us at all times in life including those times that overwhelm us. The words of the Apostles Paul come to mind, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Each day is filled with challenges and struggles. Let's remember to look into the face of God before we face the day. The song, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, reminds us, “Look full into his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace."

Many blessings,

Ron

ENGAGE, The Event of the summer

Bring your family and friends and join us for a wonderful Combined Wor-

ship Service in the FLC on Sunday, August 28 at 10:30 am featuring Doug

Richesin, Beth Burkey, Michael Rodgers, the Chancel Choir, the Worship

Team and the Men’s Choir. Following the service, everyone can enjoy

food and drinks, displays, games and other activities. Also at this event

you can sign up for WNC Small Groups. Bring a chair and join in the fun!

MUSIC & WORSHIP

HYMN SING NIGHT

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

7:00 PM IN THE SANCTUARY

The Chancel Choir and Men’s Choir would like to

invite you for the third annual Hymn Sing Night on

Sunday, September 20th at 7:00 pm in the Sanctu-

ary. We will be singing many of the wonderful

hymns that proclaim the majesty and glory of our

God and tell of the wonderful love of Jesus Christ.

Please invite friends and family to join us on that

special night of worship.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT CONNECTION

BEGINS ON

SEPTEMBER 7, 2016 IN THE FLC

It’s always so exciting when we begin our Wednesday Night Connection (WNC)

sessions with activities for all ages to include the whole family! You can come to enjoy a

nice meal prepared by members of our congregation and have fellowship with old and new

friends, followed by a variety of interesting Bible studies available for adults of all ages.

The youth, grades 6-12 can join us for dinner and then resume their own activities including

Bible study and fun activities with the Youth Director, Crystal Ragan.

The children, K-5th grade, can attend choir with Miss Margareth and this is open to all chil-

dren in the community. This semester they will be preparing for the musical “All About that

Baby” to be performed on Sunday, December 4th at 5:00 pm in the FLC. This group also

can attend WEB (Wednesday Evening Bible) with Miss Jacqueline for Bible studies, fun

crafts and play time.

There are sessions for the tots, ages 1-4, for preschool Bible studies and preschool choir.

They love being a part of the musical in December too.

We even have a nursery for the babies.

So please plan to come for a very enjoyable family night. You are welcome to attend all or

part of the activities. The time schedule is below.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT CONNECTION SCHEDULE

Sep 7—Preschool Bible (1-4) begins on Wednesdays from 4:30-4:45

Sep 7—Preschool Choir (1-4) begins on Wednesdays from 4:45-5:00

Sep 7—Children’s Choir (K-5) begins on Wednesdays from 5-6:00

Sep 7—WNC (Wednesday Night Connection) begins on

Wednesdays with a meal at 5:30 pm. Adult Bible Studies

will begin on Sep 14.

Sep 7—WEB (Wednesday Evening Bible) for children (K-5)

@ 6:15.

The Nursery for the little ones is available every Wednes-

day evening.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT CONNECTION

SMALL GROUP ADULT BIBLE STUDIES, FALL 2016

The Call: The Life and Message of the Apostle

Paul- by Adam Hamilton

Follow the journeys of Paul, beginning with his dra-

matic conversion as he spread the Gospel through

modern-day Greece and Turkey to the early church

sites, and explore Paul’s conversations with the Ro-

mans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippi-

ans, Colossians, and Thessalonians. In this six

week study, you are invited to experience faith

through Christ’s greatest teacher and missionary.

Facilitator: Ron Fisher 6 weeks. Audience: All

Beautiful Mess—Sherry Surratt and Tracey

Eyster

As much as women desire to become mothers,

sometimes the challenges and circumstances are

not what they ever expected. Being a mom is won-

derful, but it’s also hard. Moms wonder: Am I

enough? How can I love today when my child is de-

liberately disobeying me? How did I get in this

mess, and why can’t I get it together? Motherhood

is a beautiful mess. And, regardless of the season,

it requires balance and time management with the

strength of a CEO! Along the way, women often

feel like they’ve lost themselves and wonder what

God is doing in their lives or if they are getting any-

thing right. This study helps each mom discover (or

remember) that she is the mom God chose for her

children, and she is a beautiful mom. Facilitators:

Beth Killingsworth and Hannah Camp Audience:

Moms with young children *Will be held at Beth

Killingsworth’s house on Wednesdays from 6:00-

7:30

Good and Bad Girls of the Bible- by Liz Curtis

Higgs (No book needed- just a bible).

Examine the lives, situations, and personalities of

eight women from the bible. Some of these women

play prominent roles in the bible, while others are

barely mentioned. Yet, each of them have some-

thing to teach us about what not to do, as well as

how to live a better life in Christ. The design and

questions discussed will have people look at their

own lives and see how we can learn from our own

mistakes. Facilitator: Tony Martini 8 weeks. Au-

dience: All

Armor of God- Patricia Shirer

All day, every day, an invisible war rages around

you. A cunning, devilish enemy seeks to wreak

havoc on everything that matters to you—your

emotions, your mind, your family, your future.

But…….when the enemy meets a woman dressed

for the occasion, he fails miserably. Join Patricia

Shirer in this study that will challenge you to suit up,

stand firm, and secure victory in your life. Facilita-

tor: Kristi Correll 7 weeks. Audience: All

Teach Us To Want—Jen Pollock Michel VIDEO

SERIES including discussion guide-

We all want things: certain relationships, just the

right job, affirmation from others, a life full of pas-

sion and purpose. Contemporary culture says to go

after desire, pursue your “I want” list ruthlessly.

Christianity seems to send a different message:

Wanting is sinful and selfish. Faith is about obedi-

ence and sacrifice. How do we reconcile the long-

ings in our hearts with the God we’re called to fol-

low? In six sessions, based on her 2015 Christiani-

ty Today Book of the Year Teach us to Want: Long-

ing, Ambition and the Life of Faith, Jen takes us on

a brave journey through their desires- Jen offers

insight from her own life, dives deep into scripture

and asks what it means to desire as a Christian.

Topics include: Fear and Change, Grace, Good

News and Scripture, Prayer and Petition, Confes-

sion and Community, Commitment Facilitator: Ka-

ren Sadikoff 6 weeks. Audience: All

Another Way to Give

If you are one of the many

who pay their bills online,

here is another way to

make your donations to

the church. Go to our website:

www.sweetwaterumc.org and click on the

“online giving” button. You can set up repeat-

ed donations or even one time donations. If

you have any questions or need assistance,

please call the office at 423-337-7903.

Thank you for your support of your

church. It is greatly appreciated.

LADIES

BREAKFAST

SATURDAY,

SEPTEMBER 17

@ 9:00 AM

AT THE DINNER

BELL

Please come and

join us

for yummy food and fellowship.

REPORT FROM THE MISSION TEAM

On August 6 our Mission Team including Tony & Tonya Martini and Micky & Greer Heatherly left

for The Methodist Relief Depot in Baldwin, LA. This is a 48,000 sq. ft. un-air conditioned warehouse that

rotates through a 4 million dollar inventory of donated supplies for those in need in the US and around the

world. People of all denominations, race, and economic status donate time and/or goods to help a young

mom give birth where no medical personnel are available in an African village, help a child stay healthy in

a shelter after a flood or hurricane in Texas, assist families left homeless in a California wildfire or those

left devastated in a rare hurricane in New Jersey.

Let me describe one of the days here at the Depot. It started off with a great breakfast, and the usual, yet informative orientation class. We then began to assemble Health Kits, which I believe should be called Hygiene Kits. Today hundreds of thousands of people around the world are living in unhealthy con-ditions not by choice...in refugee camps, shelters, or in the middle of a recent disaster. The kits we as-sembled today are simple, yet powerful, in helping change the attitude/health of those who receive them. Each kit contains soap, comb, clippers, toothbrush, toothpaste, band aids, washcloth, and hand towel, items we all have and take for granted, but not so for those folks in need. The volunteers from Sweetwa-ter will never know or meet these recipients, but we will have connected and sent the love that God and those doing His work have for those less fortunate. We also delivered the donated products from our congregation to the Chez Hope Women's Shelter near Sager Brown. These abused women and their children are getting the help and protection they need to survive in difficult situations. The items donated will help the Chez Hope staff to use funds for other needs. They were all so grateful and thank each and everyone of you who donated. We encourage you to join us on one of our trips, or find a way where you can donate time, goods

or money to help someone in need. Our next trip to Sager Brown is scheduled for July 9-14, 2017. If you

would like to participate in this trip, or would like to have another trip organized

in the winter months, contact John Mortimer or Greer Heatherly. Call the

church office if you do not have their numbers.

Blessings to you from your Mission Team

KIDS KORNER

IMPORTANT INFO FOR

PARENTS & KIDS

Kids, be sure to check out the Bible verse on the

bulletin board. You will get a prize for knowing this

verse on September 7, the first night of WNC, at

Wednesday Evening Bible.

Parents, we are excited to be preparing the

WNC supper on September 14th as one of our fund-

raisers. I will need some assistance, so please contact

me if you are willing to help in any way. We will be

having spaghetti and all the fixings.

Be sure to check out the schedule for the up-

coming events starting in September.

Thank you, God, for my

church family,

Miss Jacqueline

DATES TO

REMEMBER

Aug 23—TASK (Tuesday After

School Kids) begins at 3:15-5:00

Sep 7—Preschool Bible (1-4) begins

on Wednesdays from 4:30-4:45

Sep 7—Preschool Choir (1-4) be-

gins on Wednesdays from 4:45-5:00

Sep 7—Children’s Choir (K-5) be-

gins on Wednesdays from 5-6:00

Sep 7—WNC (Wednesday Night

Connection) begins on Wednesdays

with a meal at 5:30 pm

Sep 7—WEB (Wednesday Evening

Bible) for children K-5 @ 6:15

A FUN DAY

FOR OUR TOTS

Check out our cute Tots having a wonderful morning of fun.

Getting the photo taken was not nearly as much fun as being in the bouncy house.

Thanks Miss Jacquel-ine for such a special treat!!

CHECKING IN

ON OUR YOUTH

Hello Church, This summer has been super busy for our Youth. We have taken 2 Mission Trips, Jr Hi and Sr Hi separately. The Jr Hi ventured to Maryville in June for Home Repairs and Service to the Elderly and Impoverished communities. Our Sr Hi recently returned from Epworth by the Sea at St. Simons Island. Their mission work there included serving as Counselors for CIA Sports, having recreational time with Seniors in a nursing home, and Trash Clean Up in the down-town and pier area. I must admit, knowing the majority of our time would be spent at the Sports Camp, I feared we wouldn't get much Mission Work accomplished!!! But what a beautiful surprise as I watched My Kids cre-ate relationships with these Inner City Kids who were born into "A Life of Hard Knocks". My Kids loved on them, sweated with them, instructed them, consoled them, held them, corrected them and loved them some more !!! I am so very proud of how they poured their hearts out and were transformed during their time at this Mission Camp !!! Much love in Christ, Crystal Ragan

Senior Adult Trip

TENNESSEE VALLEY FAIR on September 13, 2016

It’s Senior Citizens Day at the Knoxville Tennessee Valley Fair so we’re head-

ing out via the church bus to enjoy a day of fun at 9:30 am on Tuesday, Sep-

tember 13. It’s free for seniors over 65 years of age. Everyone will be on their own for eating at the Fair. It sounds

like so much fun, so invite your friends and come to join us. Please sign up your intentions to attend by Sunday,

September 4, either in Larry’s office or in one of the Sunday School Classrooms.

SUMMER IS OVER, ALMOST!

Time flies when it’s warm and you are involved with

visiting family and friends, camping, lying on the beach,

and mowing lawns. What?, enough of that mowing

lawns! The Senior Adult activities will be back in full-

swing starting Monday, September 5, 2016 @ 5 pm

with the Labor Day Picnic at the Walden’s. We appre-

ciate their hospitality to include all of us and provide

music as well. Bring your favorite dish to share and a

chair. The fun and fellowship is outstanding. You

know, “them Methodist can cook.”

Our trip to the Tennessee Valley Fair is in September

also. Senior Day is September 13, 2016 and the ad-

mission is free for those over 65. Sign-up sheets will

be placed in your SS classrooms and Larry Orr’s office.

The bus will leave @ 9:30 am and John Mortimer will

be our chauffeur. There will be all kinds of food at the

fair for lunch. We will be returning home @ 2:30 pm.

The Senior Adult Council Meeting will be on September

20, 2016 @ 6:00 p.m. Your Senior Council members

are Bob and Alicia Fugitt, Greer Heatherly, Betty Hunt,

Brent Miller, Pat Mow, Larry Orr, Jill Stowe, Peggy

Young, and Ann Thomas.

On October 2, 2016 @ 12:15 pm, we will resume our

Sunday Senior Adult Luncheons. Eddie Byrum, Chief

of Police is to return to talk with us about Readiness

Preparation for Emergencies.

Come along for a trip up the Cherohala Skyway. The

colors should be outstanding! The journey will happen

on Tuesday, October 25 @ 10 am in the UMC parking

lot. We will have lunch on our own at a café on the

river. Grab a jacket and join in on the fun.

November 6, 2016, at our Senior Luncheon, we are

looking forward to hearing from our State Representa-

tive, Dr. John Forgerty. Bring your favorite dish.

November 11, 2016, we will attend the Ice Bears’ Hock-

ey Game in Knoxville on Military Appreciation Night.

More details later on.

December 9, 2016 is the tentative date for a tour of

Shadrack’s Christmas Lights in Kodak, TN.

December 17, 2016, CHRISTMAS PARTY! We will

gather at Willow Creek Center. We will again bring

gifts (funny or nice) and hope you wind up with the gift

you liked best. Much fun!

We are certainly fortunate to be able to share these

times together in Christian fellowship. Please come

and join in. Have fun and soak in the love of your

neighbors!

Thanks,

Ann H. Thomas, Chairman, Senior Adult Council

The answer to the August feature “Who Am I” is Linda Holt.

WHO AM I?

I was born in Monroe County but have no brothers or sisters. Daddy worked in a hardware store and

also sold farm equipment while mom was a 3rd grade teacher. A couple lessons they taught me that I al-

ways remember were to “mind my manners and be nice to people”. I went to Sweetwater schools, gradu-

ated from Sweetwater HS, and also had 2 years of college in

North Carolina. I never played sports in school but “love UT

sports teams…all of them”. My favorite food is Italian and my fa-

vorite dessert is cake with caramel icing on it. I like to read in my

spare time and “I love music”. Frank Sinatra is one of my favor-

ites. Also, I’m a big fan of suspense movies. Not everybody

knows this, but there is one thing that sort of annoys me; “being

told what to do and how to do it”. My husband and I have been

fortunate to see much of the world…traveling and sightseeing in

both hemispheres. My favorite part of church is the music. And

before I forget it… my 3rd grade teacher, Sally, was one of the

people I admired most in my life. Lastly…the greatest job I have

ever held “is being a mother”. Who am I?

SPECIAL BIRTHDAY GREETINGS SPECIAL BIRTHDAY GREETINGS SPECIAL BIRTHDAY GREETINGS TO OUR SENIORS BORN IN SEPTEMBERTO OUR SENIORS BORN IN SEPTEMBERTO OUR SENIORS BORN IN SEPTEMBER

Sep 3 Brent Miller Sep 4 Leon Holder Sep 5 Pat Richesin Sep 8 Greer Heatherly Sep 10 Carolyn Meeks Sep 10 Jim Thomas Sep 12 George Johnson Sep 12 Betty Williams Sep 16 Joe Sherlin Sep 17 Betty Sue Hicks Sep 22 Betty Tallent Sep 17 Judy Waters

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

SEPTEMBER UPCOMING EVENTS

100th

BIRTHDAY PARTY

For Leon Holder

Sunday, September 4

From 2:00-4:00 pm in

the FLC

Please RSVP to Anne at 423-337-7903

by Friday, August 26.

WALDEN’S ANNUAL SENIOR ADULT LABOR DAY PICNIC

Monday, September 5 @ 5:00 pm

Bring a chair and a dish to share. The Walden’s will supply grilled hotdogs, buns,

tea & wonderful entertainment. Many thanks to John and Nancy for their hospital-

ity in sharing their beautiful surroundings and special music with us. Come rain or

shine. They have a huge warehouse if we need to go inside.

SENIOR FEATURE

SEPTEMBER 2016 Larry Orr

Larry is from Cotton Country. Born August 15, 1946, in Arkansas, just a few miles from the Mississippi River, he is one of the early Baby Boomers. His daddy and his maternal grandfather were both employed as marshals for the little company town of Wilson, not even an incorporated town at that time. Larry’s dad, Will Frank Orr, was from West Tennessee, and that’s where the family moved when Larry was two years old, to the little family cotton farm. Those were not flush times for cotton farmers, and his dad was not particularly successful. Lar-ry’s mom, Mary Hawk Orr, went to work at a garment fac-tory. Larry still grew up a country boy, hoeing and picking cotton, hunting, fishing and playing in woods and fields. His three brothers were all much older and left home ear-ly, leaving Larry to grow up almost as an only child.

Church, school, and teachers made a huge dif-ference in Larry’s life. The family attended a nearby Cum-berland Presbyterian church, where he made a sincere commitment to Christ at age nine. When he was about 12, the family started attending an Assemblies of God church, and as a very young teen, Larry more deeply committed his life to God, even starting to consider a call-ing to ministry. Church is also where he met Karen, who was not impressed with his ragged, too-short jeans and bad haircut, but couldn’t keep resisting his big bright smile! Thus started a romance for life! Larry and Karen recently celebrated 50 years of marriage.

Learning came easy for young Larry. He not only learned school subjects well, but started early to read and love the Bible. Sunday school and youth leaders rein-forced this love and deepened the learning. By the time he was 17, Larry was committed to the ministry and be-gan to speak in some area youth services. A part-time job at the local Ben Franklin 5 & 10 helped round out Larry’s work experience and ability to relate to all kinds of peo-ple, a helpful thing for later pastoral ministry!

Larry graduated from Dyer High School as Vale-dictorian in 1964. It was then off to Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. He and Karen would be married two years later, and she would accompany him for the two remaining years. In 1968 Larry received his BA de-gree in Bible, and was selected to give the student ser-mon as Commencement speaker.

Fresh out of Bible college, Larry and Karen soon found themselves as pastors of a small Assemblies of God church in Shelbyville, Tennessee. Their son Antho-ny was born there in early 1969. Small churches, bivoca-tional ministry, part time and full time jobs were his pat-tern in these early years. Larry sold insurance, worked as a desk clerk, painted houses and drove school buses to

supplement meager in-come from the pastor-ates. Christie came to join them in 1971.

After serving as pastor at churches in Owensboro and Lexing-ton, Kentucky, Larry brought his little family back to West Tennessee in late 1974. In Newbern, Tennessee, the tiny, struggling Assemblies of God church began to grow under their leadership and was recognized among the 100 Fastest Growing A/G Churches in the Nation in 1976. In 1979 a large new building was constructed, and the Orrs continued in Newbern for 17 years. Daughter Jill was born there in 1977.

Larry, Karen and Jill moved to Sweetwater in early 1992 to lead First Assembly of God. Anthony was by this time a high school teacher in Texas, later moving to Kentucky, where he is a school superinten-dent today. Christie is a technical writer and editor living in New Jersey. Jill grew up in Sweetwater, be-came a math teacher, and is now a foreign mission-ary in Laos.

Leaving the Sweetwater A/G pastorate after 17 years, the Orrs have remained in Sweetwater. Karen has served in various capacities, retiring re-cently from a very successful nine years as Executive Director of a local charity, Sweetwater Area Minis-tries. Larry had become very involved with volunteer support for local public schools, and now serves part time as a school security officer with the Sweetwater Police Department. Six hundred school kids call him “Officer Orr,” but six grandchildren all call him “Homie!” In 2010, over a year after leaving the full time pastorate, Larry was invited to serve as the Senior Adults Minister for First United Methodist Church here. He loves to consider himself a Pastor to the Community, not just one congregation! Larry turned 70 recently, and now admits that he is finally “Officially Old!” But don’t look for him to sit down and be still! He says “There is always plenty of work to do, wherever you are—not that you always get paid for it! “ His motto, borrowed from FaceBook: “If serving is beneath you, then leading is beyond you!”