Skiatook First United Methodist Church

Methodist

Messenger Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the

transformation of the world!

1007 S. Osage P.O. Box 910

Skiatook OK 74070 www.fumcskiatook.com

Email: office@fumcskiatook.com

918-396-2519

Fax: 918-396-7973

July 2019

Freedom in Skiatook

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be bur-dened again by a yoke of slavery. …..You my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use

your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather serve one another in love.” Galatians 5: 1, 13 (NIV)

July is a month that is filled with celebration and summer fun. We celebrate the 4th of July, usually over the course of several days, with picnics, barbeques, parties, and fireworks. It is an important day in the history of our nation. It is the day we as a country declared our independence from the mother country of England, and made our individual and collective freedom the cornerstone of our new nation. It is a day to celebrate our patriotism and our pride in the United States of America. It is a day we celebrate our freedom. But the Apostle Paul reminds us of our true freedom through Christ. We are not to use our freedom , in the words of the Rolling Stones, “free to do what I want any old time.” And as Christians, we certainly know it’s not ok to do any old thing, or say any old thing, and get any old thing we want. In the Kingdom of God, that Rolling Stones song is just not true, Jesus says to love your neighbor. Paul says here we are to love our neighbor. Love one another. True freedom is in Jesus. True freedom is in the Spirit of Christ. Freedom comes through discipline, through self control, through love. That’s right, through love. Our words and our actions matter. More than you know. Freedom is not about being totally consumed with yourself, but with thinking about others and with God as well. You might think, “How do my words matter? Nobody possibly cares about what I say or what I do . My words don’t mean a thing”. But they do.

When you share your story, your life, your experiences, and you share it with love and with the well-being of others in mind, those words matter. Your words matter even when you don’t think they do, or even when you think you have nothing at all to say. Galatians tells us Christ has set us free. And so we must ask ourselves two questions: What have we been set free “from”? And what have we been set free “for?” We have been set free from the burden of sin and guilt. That was done for us by Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. But on the same hand, we have been set for service and love to others, in the very name of Christ.

How will we use our freedom this holiday week? How will we use the freedom given to us by God, through our forgiveness of sin through Christ Jesus? Will we use it in a self-centered manner, free to do what I want, any old time? Or are we free to live in the spirit, loving and serving one another, loving our neighbor as ourselves? You have the freedom to choose!

Happy Independence Day,

Pastor Susan

Misc. Happenings

Servant Spotlight

Thanks to:

Lora Cartner and Sandy Kimbrough for being greeters during May

Mark Boynton for changing the church sign

Colten Lewis for helping to build a wheelchair ramp for a local family in May

Keifer Jones for repairing the LAF toilets and replacing the ceiling fans in room 103

To our United Methodist Men for all the painting, repairing, and sprucing they did during the Work Day

Craig Riggs and Bob Goodloe for picking up the stove and moving Bet-ty Holt’s furniture to storage

Erin Davis, Mark Boynton, and Tom Weathers for being able and willing to help when the call was put out

Miria Jones, Debbie Bennett, Julie Guy, Pastor Susan, Mika & McKenna Shelton for decorating for VBS

Gifts are given…

To Fellowship Meals in memory of Pat Allen by Glenna Long

To the Parking Lot Fund by Jane Loveless

To the many who felt led to help provide scholarship money for various kids’ camps

To the LAF Building Debt Relief by Glenn & Mary Nelson

To the LAF Building Debt Relief by Peck & Glendell Brown

Condolences

With our heartfelt sympathy, we said

good bye to Mrs.

Pat Allen last

month. Please

continue to be in

prayer for Mr.

Dick Allen and

his family, as they grieve the loss of

their matriarch. She will be missed

by her family and by her Skiatook

FUM Church family.

New Sunday School Class!

Beginning Sunday, July 7, we

will launch a new intergenera-

tional adult Sunday School class.

We will meet in Room 102 just

outside the sanctuary. It will be a

discussion, participatory type

class, with facilitators rather than

just one person being responsible

for “teaching.” We will begin

with a 7 week video study called

“Animate: Faith”. Each week, a

different video presenter discuss-

es a general broad topic, such as

“God: Faith is a Quest”, or

“Religion: Is ‘Spiritual Enough?”

If you are new to the church and

looking for a class, or if you have

been around for a while, but

haven’t found a class to fit, give

it a try! All are welcome to be a

part of this new group.

Servant Opportunities

There are always opportunities for service

within our church. We would love to have

new, fresh faces join hands with those with

experience in various areas. These areas

could be as visible as you would like

(greeters) or they could be behind the scenes

(running slides on Sunday.) They could be

weekly (helping with ASAC when school is in

session.) Or they could be done monthly

(bringing snacks for youth.) Whether you

enjoy interacting with others or spending time

alone, there is a place for you! Not sure

where your talents lie? Please visit with Pas-

tor Susan or call the church office and dis-

cuss areas where your

light might shine the

brightest. 918-396-2519

Health Screenings

On Thursday, July 18th, we will *host a Life

Line Screening. Sponsored by the Oklaho-

ma Heart Institute, there will be several

screenings available to help measure your

risk of developing 6 chronic diseases, in-

cluding heart disease, congestive heart

failure, stroke, diabetes, COPD and lung

cancer. Call 1-888-653-6450 or visit

www.lifelinescreening.com/community-

partners to inquire about insurance, get

more information, or to schedule an ap-

pointment. *This is not a UMC event.

A special thank you goes out to Storage Bay

USA of Sperry for housing Ms. Betty Holt’s

belongs for two months at no charge!

When several offers to pay were put on the

table, they simply replied, “We want to

help others as we were helped when we

were down.” Thank you, Storage bay USA

and Baylor Fingerlin! If you know Baylor

and his family, please tell them thanks. If

you need a storage unit, please get one at

Storage Bay, located at 10370 N 52nd W

Ave, Sperry (corner of 52nd & 103rd.)

Red Cross Blood Drive

July 25, 2019 in LAF bldg.

12:30pm — 6:30pm

Appointments and Walk-Ins accepted

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Ka’Lu.

UMM & UMW On Hiatus

The United Methodist Men and the United

Methodist Women have taken a break for

the summer. The UMM meetings will re-

sume on Wednesday, August 14th at

6:30pm in the LAF. The UMW meetings

will resume September 10th at 10am. Be

on the lookout for the UMW survey com-

ing in August.

QUESTIONS? TEXT MEG: (918) 906 -0414

JULY 2019

Youth News

Mission Trip!

Charleston, WV July 27—August 2 We will be leaving the building at noon on Saturday, July

27th. We will return late on Friday, August 2nd. All partici-

pants are asked to pack lightly in a single backpack. For de-

tails, see Meg.

Girls Night

Friday, July 12 Youth girls will meet at the building at 6:00 p.m.

UPCOMING

EVENTS

July 1-6

NO YOUTH ACTIVITIES

(Holiday week)

July 7-13

Guys only Wednesday

Night

July 14-20

Lake Trip!

July 21-27

Trip to Pops (Arcadia, OK)

July28-August 3

Mission Trip to WV

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1

11:00: level 1 yoga

6:00: Quilting Class

2

3 11:00: Yoga Lev-el 1

No Youth

4

CHURCH OF-FICE CLOSED

5 10:00: Yoga

6

7 9:30: Sunday School

10:30: Worship New SS class begins.

8

11:00: level 1 yoga

6:00: Quilting Class

9

10 11:00: Yoga Lev-el 1

6-8: Youth (Guys only)

11 1:00: CHUMS’ Game Day 4:30Chair Yoga 6:00: Level 2 Yoga

12 10:00: Yoga

6 pm: Girl’s night (youth )

13

14 9:30: Sunday School 10:30: Worship

15 11:00: level 1 yoga

6:00 pm: Quilting Class

16

17 11:00: Yoga Lev-el 1 12:30: Staff Mtg.

6:00-8:00: Youth

18 9-5:00: Life Line Screening 1:00: CHUMS’ Game Day 4:30: Chair Yoga

19 10:00: Yoga

20

Taste of Sum-mer: Kid’s ac-tivity.

21 9:30: Sunday School 10:30: Worship 11:45: Leader-ship Team Mtg.

22

11:00: level 1 yoga

6:00 Quilting Class

23

24 11:00: Yoga Lev-el 1

6-8 pm Youth

25 1:00: CHUMS’ Game Day

12:30-6:30:Red Cross Blood Drive 4:30: Chair Yoga 6:00: Level 2 Yoga

26 10:00: Yoga

27

28 9:30: Sunday School 10:30: Worship

29 11:00: level 1 yoga

6:00 Quilting Class

30

31 11:00: Yoga Lev-el 1

6-8 pm Youth

Aug.1 1:00: CHUMS’ Game Day

4:30: Chair Yoga

6:00: Level 2 Yoga

Aug. 2 10:00: Yoga 10:30: Prayer Group

Aug. 3

YOUTH M ISSION TRIP TO WEST VIRGINIA

GROWIN’ IN GRACE CAMP

M ISSION

Tea m

Leaves

@ 12pm

Skiatook First United Methodist Church

1007 S. Osage

P.O. Box 910

Skiatook, OK 74070

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

PLEASE RECYCLE!

News from Finance Committee

Thank you to each of you who have

continued to be so faithful in your

commitment to doing God’s work

through your giving. Thanks also to

those who have given designated

funds towards flood relief, the building fund to help us to

pay off our debt; to camp scholarships that help us send

kids to camp this summer; and to the parking lot fund. We

have done a lot so far this year!

We are still anticipating the beginning of the work to-

wards the parking lot. The continued rains, and the

amount of rainfall, has pushed the timeline of our contrac-

tor back further than anyone would have thought! But we

are being patient!

Summer is upon us, and for many of us, that means an

occasional trip out of town on the weekend, or a vacation,

or time spent visiting the great outdoors or a lake day.

Please know that our expenses, our staff salaries, our utili-

ties, and our ministries continue on.

We encourage you to either send in your gifts via mail

when you are gone, or drop them off at the office before

you leave. You can even date it for the future, and we will

hold it. You can always certainly play catch up when you

return. This is also a good reason to do an automatic draft

from the bank!

Did you know that you can have your tithes and offerings

drafted directly from your bank account? We have ar-

rangements with our Exchange Bank that will directly

draft your contribution from your own bank account. EFT

(Electronic Funds Transfer) is a great way to get started

with regular, consistent giving. You can choose any

amount you want (even a small amount is a good way to

start) either once or twice a month. You can also choose

to have it drawn out on the 10th of each month, or the

20th of each month, whichever works best for you. Just

contact the office and we will get you set up.

Be looking for our the 2nd quarter giving statements to be

sent out later in July. If you find any errors, or have any

questions, please contact the office, or Patti McKinney,

our treasurer.

Thank you for you faithfulness, and continued gifts! Min-

istry happens because of you!