Our Mission: To be the head , heart and hands of Christ!

A publication of :

First United Methodist Church

With Campuses at Caddo and Durant

5400 W. Main

Durant, Oklahoma 74701

(580-924-4670) (580-367-2415) Caddo

firstumc@durantumc.org

www.durantumc.org

Rev. John Breon—Senior Pastor Jeff Hiller—Associate Pastor Tim Ford— Director of Youth Ministries Kim Vincent — Director of Children’s Ministries Nancy Breon—Director of Traditional Music Christy Hamilton– Director of Worship Arts Ivan Matthews-Director of Contemporary Music Lindy Hanson– Administrative Assistant

Pastor What do Christians believe? Does it matter what we believe? Do we have a summary of basic Christian beliefs?

What we believe does matter. Yes, faith is personal and relational, but it also includes believing certain things. Knowing God includes knowing some things about God. The Bible shows many things to believe. Within the Bible there are also several summaries of tradition or brief statements that express a larger set of beliefs in a compressed way. The Church later developed other summaries of Christian faith (in the sense of what is believed). These summaries are called “creeds” (from the Latin credo, “I believe”). The two main Christian creeds are the Nicean Creed and the Apostles’ Creed. Both of these are in The United Methodist Hymnal, numbers 880-882 (there are two versions of the Apostles’ Creed).

The Apostles’ Creed is regularly featured in our worship services. From the earliest centuries of the Church, this was the creed of baptism. People coming into Christian faith and preparing to be baptized were taught the Creed. At baptism they were asked to affirm the statements of the Creed. Each time we recite the Apostles’ Creed, we are reaffirming our baptism and renewing our commitment to live in light of baptism—dying with Christ to sin and being raised with him to newness of life.

The Apostles’ Creed is also a way of telling our story. It’s the story of the Trinity, of creation, incarnation, redemption, life in the Spirit, hope for the future. As we rehearse that story, it becomes our story. We enter into it and live it. The Creed helps us know Christ better and grow in our relationship with God through Jesus.

From the Church’s earliest days, we have given to new believers the gifts of the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed. These are means of grace. They are weapons in spiritual warfare. They help us recall who God is and what God does. We can use them to be more aware of God’s presence. They help us be prepared to share the reason for our hope when people ask.

In light of the importance of Christian belief and recognizing the need to learn, understand and grow, I plan to preach a series of sermons on the Apostles’ Creed. Exploring what we believe can help us grow spiritually.

People are often curious about why we use the Creed and what it means. The most frequent question I’ve received about it is, “Why do we say we believe in the catholic church?” There’s also that line about Jesus descending into hell or to the dead. What’s that about? For answers to these questions, and more, join us on Sundays in August and September as we explore What Do Christians Believe? Have you thought about remembering the church in your will?

Pastor John

The Church has a new email address!

It is firstumc@durantumc.org

Church Wide Pool Party and Ice Cream Social:

The annual church wide pool party and ice cream social will be on

August 9th 6:30-8:30 at the City Pool. So come on out and enjoy the fun and yummy treats in the warm summer sun. Come and fellowship and enjoy a snack even if you’re not

planning to swim.

Sunday Services:

9am Traditional 10am Sunday School 11am Contemporary

11am Caddo

August Sermons Apostles’Creed Series: What Do Christians Believe?

2nd -“Complete Joy, My Friends” Pastor Jeff John 15:9-17

9th-“I Believe in God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” 2 Timothy 1:11-14

16th- “I Believe in God: Father, Almighty, Creator” Ephesians 1:3; Revelation 4:8,11

23rd- “I Believe in Jesus, God’s Son” John 1:1, 14; Hebrews 1:1-3

30th- “I Believe in Jesus Christ Our Lord” Acts 1:1-11

Sermons can be heard at durantumc.org

UMW United Methodist Women will meet Sunday August 23 at 1:00 p.m. for its annual “Welcome Back Tea” as summer ends and fall activities resume. Esther circle will be hostess and preparations for our hosting the last Ardmore District Annual Meeting

on September 12 will continue. Assembling table “agape” gifts as well as plans for Registration, Food, Decoration and Tours will all take place in August. Members are reminded that the Conference “Hands-on- Project of Gift Cards.” (Walmart or Dollar General) will be collected at the Annual Meeting. They go equally to Cookson Hills Mission and Neighborhood Services Organization. For more information about UMW or to join, contact the church office or go to our church website: durantumc.org and check out our page under the Ministries tab.

Choir News In August, our special music will include a men's quartet and piano and vocal soloists. The month will conclude with Grandpa's Neighbors bringing their gospel music on August 30 in both services. Thanks to all who share your talents in worship.

Choir rehearsals will resume on August 12 at 6:00 p.m. Bell Choir rehearsals will resume later in August--as soon as the bells are back from being refurbished. New voices and ringers are always welcome!

Piano Fund Our piano fund is growing. Our goal is to purchase a refurbished grand piano that will be new to us. Several musical groups have used and are interested in using our building as a concert venue. Our current sanctuary piano has been declared irreparable due to damage from high humidity. We will move the choir room piano into the worship space and move an older piano into the choir room for now. Hopefully, this is just a temporary fix. If you wish to contribute to the piano fund, please indicate on your check or envelope. Thank you.

Annual Teacher Appreciation Luncheon The Missions Committee will host the 19th Annual Teacher Appreciation Salad Luncheon from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 19, 2015. Volunteers are needed to prepare and serve the luncheon and to bring those delicious salads. A signup sheet is posted in the church hallway By the West Entrance. Or call the church office at 924-4670 or Arnold Walker at 924-1742.

The New Lake Country District of the United Methodist Church incorporates most of the old Ardmore and McAlester Districts and a bit of the old Muskogee District. It includes territory from I-35 (and a few churches west of the interstate) to the state line and from I-40 to the Red River. It's probably the largest district geographically in Oklahoma. The district has 75 churches. Nine have average worship attendance of 100 or more. Durant-Caddo has the third largest worship attendance in the district. Fifteen of the churches average 50-99 in worship. Twenty-three average 25-49. Twenty-eight average 0-24 in worship.

2015 Disaster response, disaster recovery, floods, response teams, host facility, and help; these may be a few words or phrases you have heard since the rains started in May. But, the sun is shining and it is hot now, as we transition from July to August. What is my point?

When hurricanes hit the coast or tornados wipe out large metropolitan areas camera crews flood the area and the news media goes wild reporting the devastating disasters. When the media presents an aerial photo of a whole community that has been turned into splinters and debris, people take notice, emotional responses run high, and help comes almost instantly. We certainly took notice of the flooding that occurred in May and June because it either affected us, a friend, or a colleague. Many of us had to reconsider how we were going to get to our destinations because floods and damage closed

our normal routes. A few of us have had our summer plans changed because of the flooded lake. But, did you even know that homes were destroyed and family heirlooms were lost?

Now that the sun is out, most people, who have not suffered a direct impact, have nearly forgotten the difficulties the flooding has caused. This means the donations are not pouring in and the volunteer help will not likely respond in force. The Disaster Response office from our Oklahoma Conference has reported 8,000 needs have been registered in 60 Oklahoma counties. That is a lot of families who need help. These are families who are not in a high profile setting and may receive little sympathy, because hey, they chose to live where it floods, even though many locations have never experienced flooding like this before. How can we help? How can we be the hands and feet of the Body of Christ (the Church) to show the compassion of Christ? Take notice. Listen, look, and explore. If you discover someone in need make sure they have reported to the government and the non-profit relief organizations. Consider making donations to organizations like United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) or our Conference Missions office. Help to

welcome volunteer teams who use our church as a base to serve the community. Become a volunteer. Spread the word that we really do have families in this general area who need help.

In the next few weeks I intend on becoming more and more involved in local disaster response and recovery. As I discover more as to what families are facing, I will share that information with you. We have an opportunity to impact lives for Christ. We have the opportunity to do the right thing. I pray that we are given the wisdom, the strength, and the cour-age to follow through and make Jesus real to our neighbors in need. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Praise the Lord! God’s wonders never cease and his work is not fin-

ished.

Pastor Jeff

Contact me: 580-606-7193, assocpastor@durantumc.org, fb/Twitter – you, me, & Jesus …let’s be the gospel. +++

caddo corner

FUMC FIRST KIDS NEWS

Thank you so much to everyone that donated money for camp scholarships this year. The kids that were able to go had a blast, and that was made possible by you. Thank

you for care and concern for their spiritual growth and helping making camp happen! A HUGE Thank You to Jeff and Sharri Hiller!!! Their work with the camps is

amazing!!! We appreciate all you guys do!!

Church wide pool party August 9th at the city pool. Join us for fun in the afternoon sun from 6:30-8:30. Bring

your favorite summer ice cream or treat to share.

GPS starts back up September 2nd. We will be starting a new program that Wednesday night with the kids call Deep Blue. Deep Blue is the new awe-inspiring resource

for children which includes adventure, exciting stories, science experiments, arts and crafts, animated video storytelling, and active

games-all combined into a living–faith experience that will help children discover what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ today! Plan to join

us each Wednesday night from 6-7!!

Immediately following GPS each Wednesday night from 7:00-7:15 we

will have practice for the children’s choir. If your child would like to be

part of the church’s children’s choir please have them here at this time.

We will be practicing in the sanctuary as well as with some members of the

praise band. So bring them at 6 for GPS and let them stay for choir practice immediately following.

Once we get a few practices in we will start preforming for the church on Sundays. Thank you

Dakota and Ivan and the Praise Band for helping lead this new ministry!!

Kimberly Vincent------ 580-380-5458-------- childrendirector@dumc.org

Praise Report and Upcoming Events: Peanut Butter and Jesus: Another great summer is almost over, and we are in our 3rd year of doing PB&J. This year we averaged about 18 kids. We had kids from Durant, Calera, Colbert, and Caddo join us as we enjoyed lots of pool time, great food and Bible Study. Praise!!! Patti Wells opened up her home for us and it was such a blessing to be able to fellowship and connect with all our students. Thank you Patti and Dan Wells.

Pool Party, FUMC Durant, August 9th, 6:30 to 8:30pm Our yearly pool party is back. This summer is coming to an end and now it’s that time where we begin to

prepare for the new school year. Students, parents and families are invited to join us for a cool dip in the city

pool. Join us and invite a friend.

KWAR and Cookout, August 16, 5 to 7pm Lets start the year with a bang with an exciting game of KWAR. If you have never played, there is no way to

explain it, you just have to play it. Kids and adults alike all love this night. Invite some friends and enjoy this

night as we begin another year of school feeling like it’s still summer.

UMY Sunday Night Youth, starts Aug 23rd, 5 to 7pm Each Sunday night is filled with great dinner, games, music, message, and small group

time. I’m excited for another great year for all our leaders and students.

Last year our youth group had grown because of our huge involvement in the after-

school programs. Our students and leaders have been challenged throughout this past

year with this continued growth. Without these great leaders pouring into our students, we wouldn’t have

grown to over 25-30 students. I believe we will continue to grow because of great leaders who love and care

for our kids. We need more leaders to help on Sunday nights. If you’re interested, please

contact me ASAP. This ministry is dependent on leaders willing to get involved and help

serve, so please don’t hesitate to call and be a mentor to a group of students. Let’s show

them what the Body of Christ is by being a mentor to some of our kids.

Power House After-School Ministries – Calera, Starts August 24th, Monday from 3 to 6pm

Power House After-School Ministries – Caddo, Starts August 25th, Tuesday from 3 to 6pm

Power House After-School Ministries – Colbert, TBA

Parent Meeting, In August, TBA Find out what’s happening in our youth and in the coming year. Tim Ford

If your student needs a scholarship, please contact Tim Ford at tim@unitedmethodistyouth.com or call 252.756.3126.

Sunday School – 10:00-10:50am

Sunday Night Youth – Starts back in August

Local Missionaries: “Tag-Team”:

This year we hosted a mission team

from Clyde, Texas. They drove four

hours with a team of Junior High

Students and leaders to team up with

us as we did local mission work in the

community. We had a total of over 30

students participate, 9 from Clyde, 21

from Caddo, Durant, & Calera.

Wow!!! How exciting to see so many

students involved in local missions!

We accomplished 5 projects; painted

the Boys & Girls Club gym and put up

lettering, ministered at Featherstone

Assisted Living, served at Families

Feeding Families, put up 2 signs - one

in Caddo & one in Durant, and filled

500 bags of food for St Catherine’s

Food Bank. Thank you for all the

students, leaders, churches and

anyone I missed who made this week

happen. May our good deeds be used

to point others to know our Lord and

Savior, Jesus Christ.

August: 1st– Katie Lee 10th—Audrey Gordon, Rhonda Sturch, Walter Winch 11th—Chloe McKinney 12th—Aaron Mullens 13th—Chris Cotton 15th— Sydney Long 16th—Jeremiah Satterfield 19th—Ari Cash

20th—Sue Burke, Anne Tuttle, Jacque Midgley 21st—Kay Eggleton 22nd—Suzy Hicks 25th—Jerry Vance, Elizabeth Hitchcock 27th—Daren Grover, Hudson Long 28th—Joe Mabry, Josh Smith 29th—Cole Dixon 31st—Billy Hamilton

*August 20th– Durant -First Day of School

*September 2nd—GPS Wed., Night Program starts back up. Don’t miss it! Also following GPS is Children’s

Choir by Dakota Marcy and Ivan Matthews.

*September 12th– UMW -last Ardmore

District Annual Meeting

Marissa and Chance Dodd (Whitesboro, Texas) wish to express their GRATITUDE for the outpouring of your love for them when their house burned. They are doing well and

hope to have a new place to live in a couple of months.

Our thoughts and prayers to Leroy Watson on the loss of Wanda Watson. Leroy, your Church family loves you!

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First United Methodist Church

PO Box 518

Durant, Oklahoma 74702

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Non-Profit

Organization

U.S. Postage

Durant, Oklahoma

Permit No. 151

August 2015 Volume 19 No. 8

Remember In Prayer Nursing Care

Helen Eggleton

Home Recovery

Don Schmidt

Annette Carlton

Military Personnel

Nathan Wright

Ryan Ball

Tim Hanson

Micah Hanson

Arthur Thomas

Special Needs

Emma Burkhalter

Elsie & Ron Menzel

Sue Dill’s family– Christine Labat, cousin and Jolene Morris, niece

Kim’s Granddad-Vernon Vaughn

The Glenn family’s daughter

Suzanne Garrison

Flint Qualk & family

Father, watch over our Pastors and leaders in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Special Needs

Beth Boothe & family

Christie Pruitt Pate

Nancy’s Mom– Mrs. Miller

Anthony Pedraza

Kay Chappa

Mahala Wright

Please pray for Leroy Watson in the loss of Wanda.

Leroy’s family wishes to thank the Church for the

outpouring of love and care for Leroy at this time.

God is good.

Assisted Living

Beth Harper

Lyn Fene

Odessa McKinney

Jim Jones

Kathryn Shelley

Marcelle Jones

Janet Tompkins

Margaret Flowers

Home Bound

Lee Ballard Christine Tillett Myra Lester Bud Endebrock

Please e-mail Tower news to: firstumc@durantumc.org

TOWER DELIVERY If you would like to get your Tower online rather than by snail mail (get it earlier and save the church some money too!) please do the following: Send an e-mail request to the church office: firstumc@durantumc.org