Announcements & Prayers

January 3, 2021

 
A blessed and happy Epiphany this coming week!

I hope you enjoy the fun video we made for you this week! I think you will relate and hope you get a good laugh at our expense. I wish we had gathered a choir, but the bad singing almost adds to it. I hope we will have more fun and meaningful worship in 2021.

I am looking for input on improving sermons and general worship on the website.

• Sermons – I have tried to keep them short, but do they need to be shorter?
• Do you like the music choices each week?
• Do you like the video children’s messages?
• Do you wish there was something that is not there on the website?
• Is there something listed on the worship page that you skip over every week or feel is not needed?

The next two weeks will be virtual only for Magazine UMC.

• On January 10th, the Bishop will be preaching with special music.
• On January 17, Dr. Nick Jewell will bring our Gideon Message and we hope you will support this great organization! You can make your donations marked to the respective churches and they will forward them to the Gideons.

I will be resting my voice, working on my ordination questions, and doing some other work by text and email. My prayer is to see you on January 24! Steve will call the respective prayer tree caller to let them know when I am in recovery. I will let you know if there is anything I need! Mom will be here for a few days helping me get my ducks in a row and to be with Steve through my surgery. I expect it to be easy peasy!

Remember to turn in your Mission Giving so we can forward those amounts at the beginning of the year. We are so thankful to be able to give this year!  I wrote in this week’s sermon that we need a list. Here is the beginning of mine. What is yours?

For Paris UMC 

1. Youth leader.  
2. Children’s ministry leader.  
3. Young adult class/gathering
4. Elevator.  
5. Small accessible restroom upstairs.  
6. Play/nursing/quiet room for children and parents upstairs.  
7. Repair the walls in the sanctuary.  
8. Microphone stands.  
9. New microphones.  
10. Make education building more energy efficient.  
11. Wifi that reaches the whole campus. 
12. Upgrade our computer for worship – it is almost out of memory!  
13. Do something awesome with our courtyard – at least get rid of the stickers!  
14. Paint the things that need a touch up.  
15. New furniture and carpeting in the parlor downstairs.  
16. A community garden.  
17. Sign for the food pantry.  
18. Another freezer and refrigerator. 
19. A separate building that could be a drive up for the food pantry
20. Update the youth room.  
21. Go through classrooms and clean out and freshen up and reorganize.  
22. Clean our lift elevator and make it look nicer.  
23. Make the elevator area downstairs friendlier.  
24. Fix lead in basement back door. 
25. Banner for our historical project.  
26. Funding to finish that project.  
27. Flowers planted year round in our sign out front.  
28. Basketball court fence repaired, removed?  
29. New nets for goals out there.  
30. Blessing box shoppers on a weekly or at least monthly basis.  
31. People give testimonies at church.  
32. An ongoing way to make disciples and welcome new people.  
33. A strong presence in our community.

For Magazine UMC 

1. An accessible bathroom.  
2. A bigger kitchen.  
3. A piano that is in tune all of the time.  
4. A youth leader.  
5. A teacher for children.  
6. New microphones.  
7. Clean out and organize classrooms.  
8. A computer for use in the sanctuary.  
9. Wifi that reaches over the whole campus and courtyard.  
10. Padding for a gaga pit and a place where basketball goal can be used.  
11. Update the courtyard plants and re-mulch them.  
12. Clean out the storage rooms and make it where it does not smell like mildew in there.  
13. Have worship flowers for each season and throw away old ones.  
14. Someone to fill the blessing box each week.  
15. Designated place for receiving those items.  
16. Fire kit project updated.  
17. System for checking on our isolated. 
18. Equipping for families to do at home study.  
19. Clean the steeple on the church.  
20. Get rid of the old furnace and put in something safer and more efficient.  
21. Check on fire extinguishers.  
22. Make a craft area for adults and children, a library study room and a children’s room, and nursery, and an adult/youth room.  
23. Designate each one as such and update decor.  
24. Start a website.  
25. Get a church email address.  
26. Be a stronger presence on facebook.  
27. Identify ways to be present in the community.  
28. Give testimonies in church.  
29. New ways of making disciples and welcoming new people.

For Waveland UMC 

1. To be the church God is calling us to be in that wonderful little community!  
2. To welcome the young people God has given us and find a place for them in the church.  
3. To continue to care for and equip those who cannot meet in person.  
4. To identify our mission projects and continue to give toward them.  
5. To link with our sister churches in all of these activities and possibly lead in some of them!