Central The

As many of you already know, I have

been appointed to the Greenwood

District as pastor of First United

Methodist Church of Greenwood,

which will take effect on June 26,

2018. First, allow me to express my

sincere gratitude to the entire Central

UMC family for your patience,

guidance, and wisdom that you have shared with me over the past �ve years. You

have made Dawn, Shelby, Cole, and me feel so welcomed from the very �rst day

and have become our extended family—our home away from home.

Second, you have been such an encouragement to me. I am indebted to the

Central community for giving me room to grow as a pastor, teacher, and

administrator. A big “thank you” to our Lead Pastor, John Branning, for taking a

chance on this older Associate Pastor. The experience and knowledge I have

gained here at Central will most de�nitely further me in the future. I can now leave

with con�dence to serve the folks in the Greenwood area.

Finally, I want to give a huge “shout-out” to the Senior Adult Ministry. Thank you

for all that you do. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of such a wonderful

ministry. I am taking with me your spirit of volunteerism, excitement, zest for life,

as well as all of the collective wisdom into every future appointment. You have

helped me more than you will ever know.

If I could ever give advice to any future clergy person, it

would be, “Apply for an associate position, and if at all

possible, go to Central!”

With much love,

Dennis

Call

from Rev. Dennis Gossettfrom Rev. Dennis Gossettfrom Rev. Dennis Gossettfrom Rev. Dennis Gossett

July-August 2018 Issue

Students three-years-old through 12th

grade will be promoted to their new

Sunday school classes on Sunday,

August 5, 2018. All students will

report to their new classes, except for

students in the 5th

grade [those going

to sixth grade in the fall]. These 5th

-

grade students will meet in the Zone,

and a representa�ve from Youth

Ministry will come and greet them and

take them to their class.

Ministry Staff

John Branning [Lead Pastor]

Matt Farmer

[Associate Pastor/Missions-Evangelism]

Bob Peden [Worship/Technology]

Benji Riddle [Youth Ministry]

Sabrina Williams [Children and Family Ministry]

Tim Wise

[Senior Adult Ministry/Sanctuary Choir Director]

XYZ’s final spring session ended on May 1, 2018,

with Sandra McMullen and Jack Harris performing.

This was also Dennis Gossett’s final gathering with this

group. XYZ will resume on September 11, 2018, with

Tim Wise as the new Director of Senior Adult Ministry.

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Tim WiseTim WiseTim WiseTim Wise

Central’s Children Center

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Lunch Bunch continues to

meet year-round on Fridays at

11:30 a.m. Dennis Gossett will

be greatly missed by the

“bunch.”

My wife, Tiffany, of 13 years, is a Physical Therapist Assistant and currently works at H.C. Watkins in Quitman, MS. Together, we have one son, Ellis, who is ten-years-old. In my spare time, I love painting with watercolor and drawing, reading, playing euro-style/designer board & card games with my family, and playing video games with my son. My family and I are natives of Meridian. We have a passion for helping others experience the grace and love of Jesus Christ in their lives. Our prayer is that as we join Central in ministry and begin working together to reach our community with the message of Jesus that we will continue to see God’s hand at work through the various ministries offered here. We look forward to serving you as we tenaciously pursue the will of God for our lives and His church! Blessings,

Matt Farmer

Greetings Friends! My family and I are honored to be joining the Central UMC family. We too believe that life is better connected, and we are excited to connect with you! We have already been warmly welcomed by many and look forward to partnering with each of you in life and ministry. I began my journey in ministry in the first quarter of 2003 as a worship pastor. During the last 15 years, I have had the honor

of serving in various ministerial roles — from church planting and youth ministry to children’s ministry and senior pastoring and the many areas in between. My previous appointment was at Big Oak UMC near DeKalb, MS, where I served as Senior Pastor for two years. During my time there, I completed Mississippi Licensing School with the United Methodist Church and was licensed for pastoral ministry at Annual Conference this year.

The fall program for Central's Children's

Center will begin with Open House on

Thursday, August 9, 2018. The first day of

school will be Friday, August 10th

. Our

program is a half day program for children 1 - 4 years of

age. (Children must be one-year-old by September 1, 2018.)

We s�ll have a few openings in each age level.

We will also be offering an Early Bird Program (beginning at

7:50 a.m. each morning) and two "stay-and-play" days on

Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Both of these programs are

separate from our normal hours and will be an addi�onal fee.

For addi�onal informa�on, please call Glenda Thomas,

Director, at 601-483-8502.

Although many of you know me, I am

excited about the new opportunities

Central has afforded me and continues

to afford me. While I have only been

involved at Central for three years, I

feel as though I have been encircled

within the community at Central for

much longer. I am thankful for the

opportunity to continue my work with

the Sanctuary Choir. I will also be the

Director of Senior Adult Ministry, and I

have bright visions for building this

ministry.

As I transition to a full-time role at Central and continue in a part-time

role at Lamar School, I look ahead with great excitement! God is

continually working through our ministries at Central, and I am

grateful to be a part of that leadership and vision.

I want to thank you all for your support as I completed Licensing

School the past six months and as I continue my studies for my

Master of Divinity through Asbury Theological Seminary.

I thank God for our relationships and look forward to growing our

community of faith closer to God and closer to each other.

Tim Wise

• June 27 - Wake-up Wednesday - 10 a.m.

Let’s hop over to IHOP on Frontage Road for some pancakes and coffee!

• July 8-11

• July 19 - “Thirst-day” Thursday-Sonic (N Hills St.) - 3 p.m.

Come enjoy fellowship and a limeade during Happy Hour!

• July 27 - Fro-Yoo Friday at Yoo-Yoo Yogurt - 3 p.m. Chill time with friends while we enjoy some frozen yogurt.

• August 5 - Welcome 6th Graders! The rising 6th graders will officially join us today.

• Resumes August 15

• Resumes August 19

M28 Retreat-Lake Junaluska, NC

DATES TO REMEMBER OFFICE CLOSED - INDEPENDENCE DAY

July 4th

XYZ– 11:00 a.m.

RESUMES - September 11th

LUNCH BUNCH 11:30 a.m. - Meets Every Friday [except for holiday weekends]

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING 5:00 p.m. - July 29th

COFFEE WITH THE PASTORS 10:30 a.m. - July 22nd

August 19th

SPRC MEETING July - No Meeting

5:00 p.m. - August 26th

PROMOTION SUNDAY/TEACHER APPRECIATION August 5th

1ST-GRADE BIBLE PRESENTATION August 12th

MONDAYS 10:00 a.m. - Easy Chair Yoga

[Meets year-round] 1:00 p.m. - Prayer Shawl Ministry

[RESUMES Mid-August]

TUESDAY MORNINGS 9:30 a.m. - Women’s Bible Study

[FINAL June 12th - RESUMES Mid-August]

WEDNESDAY NIGHTS 5:00 p.m. - Supper

6:00 p.m. - MidWeek Forge/Programming RESUMES AUGUST 15, 2018

SUNDAY NIGHTS 5:30 p.m. - Youth Worship

RESUMES AUGUST 19, 2018

5:30 P.m. - Zone/Club 412 RESUMES SEPTEMBER 9, 2018

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5:30 p.m.

RESUMES AUGUST 15, 2018

P"#$% I'$"%()% Adults $7, Kids $4

(Maximum family $25)

Sanctuary Choir RetreatSanctuary Choir RetreatSanctuary Choir RetreatSanctuary Choir Retreat Friday, July 29, 2018 - 3:00-6:00 p.m.

Mark your calendars so you won’t miss any of our exciting summer events and activities!

Central UMC 1004 23rd Avenue

Meridian MS 39301 www.cumcmdn.org

(601) 693-1521 ____________________

Sunday Gatherings

Worship 8:30/9:45/10:55 a.m.

Sunday School 9:45 a.m.

Stay Connected at Central Email: central@cumcmdn.org

Web: www.cumcmdn.org

App: Central Methodist Community

Facebook: Central United Methodist Church-Meridian, MS

Central’s Office Hours Monday - Thursday [8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.]

Friday [8:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.]

Closed for lunch every day [12:00 -1:00 p.m.]

Closed for Staff Meeting on Mondays [11:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.]

For safety purposes, the garage door entrance is locked during

lunch.

Sunday, August 5, 2018, is Teacher Teacher Teacher Teacher Appreciation SundayAppreciation SundayAppreciation SundayAppreciation Sunday at Central! We will say

“thank you” to our teachers on this day by having a

table set up in the Crossing for them to collect

school supplies for their classrooms. This is just a

small token of our apprecia�on for their selfless

giving, not only for their teaching but also for ministering to the

students in our community.

Once again this year, our 2018 VBS 2018 VBS 2018 VBS 2018 VBS Mission OutreachMission OutreachMission OutreachMission Outreach is directed toward collecting school supplies. We would like to give our Central teachers an opportunity to collect supplies for their classroom for students who are in need of these items.

You may shop for the supplies yourself or if you would rather make a cash donation, we will purchase the supplies for you. There will be an area set up in the Crossing for the items and a box for the donations. This mission will be a great way to support both our teachers and the students in our community.

Join us on August 5th

, during all three

worship services for Blessing of the Blessing of the Blessing of the Blessing of the BackpacksBackpacksBackpacksBackpacks. Students of all ages are

encouraged to bring their backpacks and

receive a blessing for the 2018-19 School

Year.

Children’s and Family MinistryChildren’s and Family MinistryChildren’s and Family MinistryChildren’s and Family Ministry

On Sunday, August 12th

, during our 8:30 and 10:55

Worship Services, we will have our FirstFirstFirstFirst----Grade Grade Grade Grade Bible PresentationBible PresentationBible PresentationBible Presentation. During this special �me, the

students will receive their Bible from Central that will

be used during their �me on the Elementary Floor.