THE SPIRITFOUNTAIN CITY UMC

JULY 2017 NEWSLETTER

FOUNTAIN CITY UMC212 HOTEL ROADKNOXVILLE, TN 37918(865) 689-5175www.fountaincityumc.org@fountaincityumc

I love the statement in Luke 5 when Jesus said to Peter, “Launch out into the deep.” When Peter and those in his boat went farther into the deep, a futile night ended with a miraculous catch of fish. I have always understood that statement of Jesus to be our calling as individuals and as the church. Too many times I have been guilty of only staying in the shallow waters of faith.

One thing I have learned over the past five years is that Fountain City UMC isn’t afraid to launch out into those deep waters. We have taken significant steps of faith, only to see God bless us in abundant ways. This year’s capital campaign (“Belonging, Changing, Growing: Positioning ourselves to make disciples and change lives”) is a challenge to move into the deep waters of faithful stewardship and more effective ministry. The reality is that our $1.1

million debt is limiting the ministries we can offer and makes it difficult to move beyond what we are already doing for Jesus’ sake.

To date we have received $663,518 in pledges to our capital campaign. That figure more than doubles our commitments from the last campaign, but it only underwrites approximately 66% of our debt. I hope as we move through the summer, you will consider making a pledge to this campaign, help us pay off the debt, and position the church we love in a way that will help us to more fully answer God’s call to become fishers of men and women.

We can meet this goal and go far beyond it. Commitment cards can be found in the envelope racks in our pews or picked up at the church office. If we are willing, I can’t wait to see what miraculous results God will bring!

A LOOK AHEADMORE DETAILS AVAILABLE AT

WWW.FOUNTAINCITYUMC.ORG

UPCOMING JULY DATESSUNDAY-SUNDAY, JULY 2-9Family Promise (Churchwide)

MONDAY, JULY 3, 10, 24, 316:30 pm : Middle School Girls’ Bible Study (Room 104)

TUESDAY, JULY 4Church offices closed

FRIDAY & SATURDAY, JULY 7 & 8Youth trip to Carowinds

MONDAY, JULY 1010:30am : Retired Ministers (Wesley Hall)

TUESDAY, JULY 1110:00 am : UMW Ruth Circle (Room 135)1:00 pm : UMW Sarah Circle (Room 137)

FRIDAY, JULY 1412:00 pm : Adults 50+ Indoor Picnic (Wesley Hall)

SUNDAY-FRIDAY, JULY 16-21Youth Project Crossroads Mission Trip

THURSDAY, JULY 201:00 pm : Adults 50+ Coloring (Room 137)

FRIDAY, JULY 2111:00 am : UMW Ruth Circle Bingo (Wesley Hall)

SATURDAY, JULY 225:30 pm : Open Door Community Meal (Wesley Hall)

SUNDAY, JULY 23Faith Promise Sunday

THIS FALL: DISCIPLESHIP OPPORTUNITIESWEDNESDAY NIGHT ADULT FORMATION CLASSES

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? To bemore than just a believer in His existence? To answerHis call to follow Him?

No matter where you are in your journey of faith - whetheryou’ve just heard the name of Jesus for the first time or you’ve been a member of the church your whole life or you’re somewhere in between - God’s desire foryou is to continue growing in your faith. As a church family, we want to provide the tools andsupport along that faith journey so we all strive for the same goal: to experience life with God to the full.

This Fall, we will be offering new Wednesday nightformations for adults: Pathways: Opportunities to Grow as Disciples of Jesus Christ. Pathways will consist of three distinct growth tracks tailored to where you find yourselfin your relationship with God, with the goal of goingdeeper, both individually and as a church body.

Course listings and descriptions will be available at theWelcome Center, in adult Sunday School classes, andon our website.

EMERGENCYON CALL

July 7-9 : Amy Aycock(423) 276-1965

July 14-16 : John Gargis(865) 310-4783

July 21-23 : Randy Frye(865) 228-5510

July 28-30 : Amy Aycock(423) 276-1965

PASTOR,

CORNERED

A NOTE

FROM RANDY

STEPHENMINISTRY

Gail Clift(865) 922-9408

INTERCESSORY PRAYER

Mary Bolton(865) 688-6277

Tom Harrington(865) 687-8460

SUNDAYMAY 28

SUNDAYJUNE 4

SUNDAYJUNE 11

SUNDAYJUNE 18

Sunday School 273 340 283 295

8:30 am Traditional Worship 125 137 192 195

11 am Traditional Worship 217 244 215 230

11 am The Journey 78 80 89 78

Celebrate Recovery 106 98 107 101

TOTAL WORSHIP SERVICES 526 559 603 604

OUR GIFTS

WEEKLY OFFERING

May 15-21 $ 21,596.27May 22-28 $ 11,985.23May 29-June 4 $ 35,395.96June 5-11 $ 15,876.63June 12-18 $ 20,437.02

FAITH PROMISE FOCUS

Faith Promise Sunday will be on July 23, focusing on the Baltic Methodist Theological Seminary Scholarships and Wesley House ministries.

OUR SYMPATHIES

We extend our sympathy to Gary McMahon and family in the death of his aunt,Leota Beamer, on May 16.

We extend our sympathy to Lynn Dare and family in the death of her mother,Beatrice Alligood, on May 23.

We extend our sympathy to Celia Thompson and family in the death of her brother-in-law, J. W. Dannel, on May 24.

We extend our sympathy to Doug Kose and family in the death of his grandfather, Paul Henry Kose, on May 31.

We extend our sympathy to the family of Elizabeth G. DeMontreville following her death on June 2.

We extend our sympathy to Delores Harrison and family in the death of her sister Ollie Riley on June 4.

PRAYERS, PRESENCE,

GIFTS, AND SERVICE

BEAT THE HEAT ANNUAL INDOOR PICNICADULTS 50+ LUNCHEON | JULY 14 | 12:00PM

The Adults 50+ Ministry will have their annual indoorpicnic on Friday, July 14, at 12:00pm in Wesley Hall.Our special guest speaker Edd Templeton will speak onthe topic: Live Well! Laugh Often! Love Much!

A delicious menu will be provided by Doug Shipman.The cost for lunch is $6.00. Join us for loads of funand fabulous food!

For more information, please contact Jeanie Tillmanat jeanie.tillman@fountaincityumc.org or call the church office at (865) 689-5175.

“MEMBERS IN THE WILD”FCUMC is filled with folks with sincere servant hearts. So it should come as no surprise whenseveral FCUMC women participated in Habitat forHumanity’s 2017 Women’s Build! Habitat forHumanity is one of the many ministries supportedthrough Faith Promise; what a treat to see ourpeople support them beyond financially!

IN MEMORY & IN HONOR

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILDIn Honor of Fred and Pat Cazort by Anonymous

CELEBRATE RECOVERYIn Honor of John Gargis by Jane Comiskey, Mary & Jack Ridenour

MELTON SCHOLARSHIPIn Honor of Chloe Harrington by CharlotteMusgraves

CHOIR FUNDIn Memory of Bea Alligood by Tom & Martha Wells

FOUNTAIN CITY MINISTRY CENTERIn Memory of Bea Alligood by Thomas HarringtonIn Honor of Chloe Harrington by Tom Harrington

GENERAL FUNDIn honor of Bryce H Hodge by Pete & Elizabeth BrownIn Memory of Beatrice Alligood by AnonymousIn Memory of David Watkin by Shane & Janet Logue

JULY USHERS

8:30AM SERVICEScott & Twila Womack, Head UshersDon & Wanda Crawley

11:00AM SERVICEJohn Bolton & Gary McMahon, Head UshersRob KohoElizabeth & Sherman MortonCharlie DurhamKen LettKenton Page

THE JOURNEYMark & Karmen SharpJen SmithMegan RedmonPaul & Angie MakresRichard & Sonja BockRich & Jenny BrownDanny Huffaker & Dee Dee SealsVernon & Jeanette CoramRichard & Stephanie Belew

We celebrate and rejoice in the birth of Emmaline Smartt on May 25 in Franklin, TN, to proud parents Jason and Sarah Smartt and thoroughlysmitten grandparents Dave and Mary Fredna Danford. Our congratulations on this sweet little squish to love on! May you experience God’s joy through beautiful little Emmy!

OUR PRESENCECELEBRATING WITHOUR FCUMC FAMILY

JULY OCC DONATIONSSHOEBOX COLLECTION ITEMS

We are continuing to collect items for our Operation Christmas Child shoebox drive in November! This month’s donations are small soft dollsand stuffed animals.

In November, we will fill hundreds of boxes with basic necessities and toys to send to poverty-stricken countries through Samaritan’s Purse. Please drop off items at the Welcome Center or in the marked boxes near church entrances. For more

information on OCC,please contact BetsyCastleberry or BethPetersen.

NEWS, NOTES, AND

THE NOTEWORTHY

We celebrate and rejoice in the marriageof Aubin Elizabeth Fowler to RichardThomas Canning on May 27. May God bless your marriage and many yearstogether. Congratulations on your beautiful wedding, and prayers for an adventurous and love-filled marriage!

FRIENDS OF LITERACY GRADUATIONGED GRADUATION CEREMONY HELD AT FOUNTAIN CITY UMC

On June 8, eleven candidates earned their General EducationDiploma (GED) through the GED program. This program is offered through Friends of Literacy and hosted right here at Fountain City UMC! Friends of Literacy is a local non-profit organization dedicated to supporting second chances. We congratulate thesestudents on all of their hard work and achievements!

If you would like to know more about the GED program offered at FCUMC or how to get involved, please contact the Friends of Literacy office at (865) 549-7007.

JULIE DAWSON

SUSAN IGLEHART,BETSY CASTLEBERRY, JULIE DAWSON

JESSIE BUTTRAM

BETSY CASTLEBERRY

NANCY NOLEN

WOMEN’S BUILD 2017

be crowded, & the childrenwhom we served at VBSto be sweet; however, I was not quite expecting Jesus to move and reveal Himself in such quiet moments ofbeauty in the way that He did.

I’ve been asked to share a highlight of my trip or aparticularly moving expe-rience with the children, but it would be impossi-ble to do so without filling the pages of this news-letter. Each school and church where we led VBS was filled with both chil-dren and adults that radi-ated with light and happiness, and told us they had been waiting for us for so long. They hugged us, greeted us, and praised God, thanking Him for our safe arrival. At each of these locations, we sang, shared the word of God, made crafts, and played games.

And we painted fingernails, so many fingernails. This seemed like a small action, but Jesus revealed himself most clearly to me through the painting of fingernails. Toward the middle of the week, at one of the schools, I was painting a young girl’s nails. We couldn’t communi-cate very well with her English being even more limited than my Spanish, but as I looked at her hands and into her eyes, I was suddenly hit very hard with the reality of the scripture, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is part of it.”

Here I was in a tiny village in a small country holding a young girl’s hand who I may never see again, but her hands were my hands. They were smaller and darker, but they were the same. Christ made each of us in His image and designed us to work together to glorify His kingdom. My work with that child may have just been painting her nails and singing songs with her, but for that time, I got to hold her close and show her that I love her, purely for the reason that she and I are a part of the same body of Christ.

Through the children of Guatemala, God showed me that the greatest way to spread His message and love is through laughter, play, and the simple acceptance of another person as a blessed child of the Lord and apivotal part of His kingdom. We are all the same because we are all loved and saved; there is no greater message.

BEYOND ALL BARRIERSBY SARAH COOK

Going to Guatemala was my first international missions trip, and it was full of many experiences. While I wasreally excited to go, I was also nervous. But the nervousness went away when I saw the way God was working in all of our lives. Though we didn’t share a common spoken language, we shared alove of God that goes beyond all language barriers.

I saw God everywhere I went: walking through themarket, going to the corner store, and visiting the schools and churches where we worked. Through every nail I painted and every hair I braided, I was able to see firsthand the joy a little child could get from something we would consider simple.

The city of Chichicastenango in Guatemala isabsolutely breathtaking. At one school in particular,we went up on the roof; from there, we hada beautiful view and were amazed by the landGod had created.

To kick off VBS at every church or school, we wouldsing. We didn’t exactly know what we were singing, butwe got to see the smiles on the kids’ faces. They alsoenjoyed seeing and hearing us mispronounce thewords. The translator would do a Bible lesson, followedby an altar call. One of the days, we had about 180kids give their life to Christ! It was beautiful. Ourprimary goal was to serve the people ofGuatemala. After being there for a little while, werealized the people of Guatemala were serving us too.

GUATEMALAOUR TEAM MEMBERS SHARETHEIR LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

RETURN TO CHICHIBY KELLEY FLATFORD

I was blessed to have the opportunity to travel toChichicastenango with our youth and young adults this year. It has been 5 years since my last trip to Chichiand the orphanage. I was able to see Samuel from the orphanage who I had held as a baby on my first trip. It both saddens me and gives me hope at the same time. Yes, he is still there at the orphanage, but they love him dearly and are giving him the tools and education to succeed wherever his life may take him.

Our youth and young adults worked hard and played hard. They all enjoyed getting to know the children through VBS and worship with the entire team at night. Being able to see my daughters, Brooke & Cameron, experience the love and joy the kids bring was amazing. At one location we had about 150 children for VBS. After Susanna, a pastor who leads a Hispanic congregation in Pigeon Forge, gave the lesson, about 130 kids re-af-firmed or asked Jesus to be their Savior for the first

time. It was truly an amazing sight to see.

After each lesson and craft, our youth would paint the kids’ nails, draw “tattoos” on hands and faces, blow bubbles or play games with the kids. Trying to hand out balloons or sidewalk chalk would quickly lead to being surrounded by at least half of the kids wanting one. I found this out the hard way! At one school, the teachers challenged some of our group to a game of basketball - not unusual, but there was also a soccer game on the same court! Both games played on like this was nothing unusual. The cultural experience was an adjustment, but no one complained (at least not too much). We saw beautiful homes and mud huts on the same road, we visited some schools that had very little in the way of supplies while others that had more supplies and even computers and iPads.

Looking back on the trip, I know that each of our hearts were touched. For me, Chichi will always be a beautiful city, a place that makes me feel welcome, a place where I see God’s love being poured out for everyone.

HER HANDS, MY HANDSBY MOLLY SHIPMAN

Three weeks ago, when I began preparations to embark on our international mission trip to Guatemala, I was expecting a few specific aspects about the country. I was expecting the mountains to be beautiful, the streets to

TRUST WITHOUT

B O R D E R S