Dear Friends in Faith,
This has been a week of tragedy and tears as we’ve reeled from the violence in Las Vegas. The enormity of the tragedy is hard to comprehend – dozens killed, hundreds wounded. We lift our prayers of lament and petition to God who weeps with us. My faith was buoyed by stories of local United Methodist Churches that reached out with compassion and a helping hand. You can read one such story here: http://www.umc.org/news-and-media/after-mass-shooting-churchgoers-offer-help
Let us pray for the grieving, the wounded, the traumatized. And let us work and pray for a world of peace and love, a world without violence and hate. Below us a prayer we can lift in the face of the tragedy. Further down you can read news of happenings in our church and local community.
Your Friend in Faith,
Pastor Kristabeth
Lord God, we don’t know how to pray.
This immense tragendy feels overwhelming.
We can only imagine how the victims feel,
and we are so many miles away that we feel helpless.
Surround those directly involved with your loving presence.
Comfort the families of the dead and injured,
Sustain those waiting for word of those they love.
Protect, strengthen, and uphold
the rescuers and emergency personnel.
Help all of us to remember that your love
is bigger and stronger than despair and destruction.
Guide and strengthen us to reach out to those affected
in ways that will bring healing.
Give them and us a sense of your peace and hope.
In the name of Jesus, our friend and healer. Amen.
~ Adapted from Prayers for Life’s Ordinary and Extraordinary Moments
Pastor Kristabeth’s Schedule and Office Hours Week of October 8-14
(Schedule may change as visitation needs and other pressing matters arise.)
Sunday: Worship 9:30am
Monday: Office Closed – Columbus Day
Tuesday: Writing Day – Office Closed – Rosemary Vacation
Wednesday: Office 11am-2:30pm, New Member Class 5:30pm, Staff Parish 5:30pm
Thursday: Office Hours 10am-2pm, Visit, Barnes & Noble Open Hours 3:30pm-5:30pm
Friday: Office 8am-10am, Writer’s Workshop 10:30am-12:30pm
Saturday: Pastor’s Sabbath
Worship Sunday, October 8
Theme: God’s Wisdom
Scripture: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Sermon: “Rule of Life”
The Church Office will be closed Friday (Oct. 6) through Tuesday (Oct. 10) for UVM Family Days for Pastor Kristabeth’s family, Columbus Day, and Rosemary’s vacation.
Our Conference Week of Prayer begins Sunday: Praying our Way Forward
As part of the Council of Bishops’ initiative Praying Our Way Forward, our conference will engage in a week for intentional prayer for the denomination Oct. 8-14, 2017. The Praying our Way Forward initiative launched on New Year’s Day 2017 with 75 weeks of focused prayer for The United Methodist Church. Each annual conference will take one week to have intentional prayer for the mission of The United Methodist Church to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world and for the work of the Commission on a Way Forward. The Commission on a Way Forward was proposed by the Council of Bishops and approved by the 2016 General Conference to do a complete examination and possible revision the Book of Discipline paragraphs concerning human sexuality and explore maintaining and strengthening the unity of the church. Prayers written by United Methodists in New England will be shared our website www. neumc.org. Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar has written a prayer to begin our week which you can find here http://neumc-email.brtapp.com/files/imagelibrary/e%20news%20photos/2017%20aug%20-%20dec/oct%204%202017/devadhar%20week%20of%20prayer%208.5×11.pdf.
Installation of new District Superintendent, Rev. Jill Colley-Robinson
Sunday, October 15th at 3pm
Dear Partners in Christ: It is my delight to invite you to the installation service on Sunday, October 15 beginning at 3 p.m. at Faith United Methodist Church in South Burlington. Rev. Jill Colley Robinson, Vermont District Superintendent
Everyone is welcome and invited to bring a fall-flavored (apple, pumpkin, etc.) dessert for the refreshment time. The offering will be designated for the use of the Mission HUBs in our district: Green Mountain (Shelburne-based) and Central Vermont (Montpelier-based).
Cookies for College!
A sign-up list has been placed on the kiosk in the narthex for our “Cookies for College” distribution on Sunday, October 29th. We will be sending cookies to at least 12 college students this year, so we anticipate needing at least 18 dozen cookies. Our youth will package them in tins after worship service that Sunday, and we will mail them out the following day. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful (and yummy!) contribution. – Tim Hess
New Coordinator for our Prayer Circle
The Prayer Circle is a group of individuals who value, practice and encourage compassionate and healing prayer. The Coordinator leads the group in weekly prayers of Joys & Concerns as well as more customized and personalized prayer requests received from the congregation. If you have a prayer request, or would like to join the Prayer Circle email list, please e-mail Anne Roberts at acyroberts@comcast.net. If you don’t have email access, please leave your prayer requests with Rosemary in the Office or via a message on the office voicemail at 802-863-6764.
Our FUMC Men’s Breakfast takes place the first Saturday of every month at 8am at Denny’s on Shelburne Rd. All men welcome! Next one THIS Saturday, October 7th
Our FUMC Women’s Breakfast takes place the second Saturday of every Month at 9am at Trader Dukes on Williston Rd. All women welcome! Next one Saturday, October 14th
Donate to the Food Shelf – Fill the Shopping Cart! – Place your non-perishable food donations in the shopping cart in the Narthex. We donated 125 pounds of food for August. Let’s keep up the good work for September.
Donations of disposable razors and toothbrushes are needed for JUMP (Joint Urban Ministry Project).
Register for Vermont Interfaith Power & Light’s Annual Conference
VTIPL’s 2017 conference, Building Local Resilience — Inspiring Climate Action!, will be on Saturday, October 21 from 10 am – 4 pm at First Congregational Church in Manchester, VT. Deb Markowitz, former Secretary of Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources, will be the Keynote Speaker. The conference also features six workshops in two workshop sessions so each participant can attend two. (Faith UMC is a member church of Vermont Interfaith Power and Light.) You may follow this link to register:
https://vtipl.givezooks.com/events/building-local-resilience-inspiring-climate-action
