Thursday Thoughts

1. Sunday Morning Worship - This week we are beginning a new preaching series, "Lessons from the Life of Paul." Pastor Loida will be preaching on "It's Never Too Late to Change" from Acts 9:1-6. Invite a friend and a neighbor and we hope to see you at 8am, 9:30am, or 11am! All are welcome, all are invited.

2. CUMC Concert Series - The next concert is Friday August 3rd at 6pm in the sanctuary. Allegro, is a musical concert of Praise, Proclamation and Exultation, featuring the keyboard talents of Mr. Joseph Martin, Mrs. Mary McDonald and Mr. Joel Raney, with area choristers singing their musical compositions. Doors open at 5:30pm - the concert is free with a love offering being taken to help support instruments and lessons to local students.

3. Dates for August to Remember 

The first Winterfest Committee meeting will be Monday August 20th at 6pm in Room 208/210. If you're interested in helping coordinating an area of this important free block party for our community, come on out. Winterfest is coming on Saturday February 2, 2019.

Those wishing to volunteer with our after school program Wonderful Wednesday will have a training session on Wednesday August 29 at 3pm in Room 208/210. Wonderful Wednesday runs from September through April of each school year. Do you have a fun skill or talent you would like to teach the kids? Would you be willing to be a helper in one of the rooms? Come on out for the training.

4. We Need You! - We are in need of a few people to help on Sunday mornings.

• The first way is with the tech aspects of worship at our 8am and 11am worship services. We will provide all the training, but we need people to help with the PowerPoint and soundboard operations during the services. These positions are very important to the flow and experience of worship and truly add to our time together. 

• The other area we are looking for people is to drive a golf cart helping transport people to and from our parking lots. This is often our first point of contact and is extremely important in helping people feel welcome. 

If you are interested, please contact the church office by clicking here or calling us at (352) 787-1829. Thank you in advance for your consideration.



5. Be In the Know! - One of the great things about Community is all the options and choices you have to help make disciples and build the Kingdom. And we want you to know about as many of them as possible. The best way to do that is for you to sign up for any of the various ways we have set up to communicate with you. Here is a list of them and how you can sign up or follow them:

• Churchwide Email System - just call the church office to sign up, (352) 787-1829 or email us by clicking here. 

• Pastor's Blog - you can find the blog by clicking here. Once you are there, bookmark it and you can even subscribe to have email updates of new posts sent to you automatically. The subscribe box is on the side underneath Pastor Debbie's Photo and Bio. Once you subscribe, don't forget to confirm that subscription by responding to the email you will receive, so the emails will start being delivered to you. 

• Our Church Website - you can find our church website by clicking here. Don't forget to bookmark it once you are there. 

• Our Church Facebook Page - there are many updates, photos, and even Facebook Live Videos we post on this page, a great resource! You can find that page by clicking here. 

• Our Church Instagram Page - where we host many pictures of church events showing how we are living out our faith in Fruitland Park and beyond. You can find that page by clicking here. 

• Our Church Text Messaging Feature - get updates about the church sent to you via text message (text message and data rates may apply). You can sign up for that by sending the text message @cumcfp to the number 81010. Texts will usually arrive during church office hours.

• Our Church Publications - and as always you can find great information in our weekly bulletin and monthly newsletter. 

I hope you will take advantage of as many of these avenues for communication as possible. There is a lot happening at Community and we do not want you to miss a thing!

Have a great weekend!

Midweek Moment

On Sunday in worship we commissioned two teams of folks for short-term mission trips this week: the youth group and the choir. The choir is leaving early this Sunday morning for several days in Georgia, and the Carolinas singing in churches and volunteering in nursing homes. Our youth group left last night for New Orleans to work with Matt and Sarah Bruzzi's Intersection ministry in the lower 9th Ward. We received word this morning that they arrived safe and sound. The youth are set to return late this Saturday night. 

Mission trip experiences like these are an incredible learning and growing opportunity. You are often stretched outside of your normal comfort zone to interact with people who are from different backgrounds and have very different life experiences, even when you're working in the same country. This is different than a tourist visit somewhere - you have to go with an attitude of being a servant, for mission trips are about being the heart and hands and feet of Jesus wherever you go. And when you reach the place where you aren't comfortable and can't naturally do everything in your own strength, you quickly find a closer connection to God who gives you the grace and strength through his presence and Spirit. We're so thankful for the opportunities that both groups have to travel and share God's love. And we will continue to find ways and opportunities for others in our Community family to be serve in other mission trips.

Blessings

Thursday Thoughts

1. Sunday Morning Worship - This week we will concluding our series on prayer entitled, "Prayer Is...." Pastor Daryl will be preaching on Mark 1:35-37, looking at how to be still and listen for God in prayer. Invite a friend and a neighbor and we hope to see you at 8am, 9:30am, or 11am! All are welcome, all are invited.

Don't forget the churchwide BBQ is after the 11am service in the Family Life Center. Everyone is invited to stay for food and fellowship as well!!!!

2. Prayer Vigil - Our prayer vigil is going well today. What a beautiful blessing to have so many people engaged in prayer on behalf of our church leadership and ministries, our community and our world. Several people that I have talked to have expressed that 15 minutes was just enough time to whet their appetite for praying some more!

3. Upcoming Mission Trips 

The youth group leaves Tuesday July 17th for their mission trip in New Orleans and they will return Saturday July 21st. They will be working with Matt and Sarah Bruzzi's ministry, the Intersection, in the lower 9th ward.

The choir leaves on Sunday July 22nd for their mission trip in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina and they will return Friday July 27th. They will be performing in several churches, and doing service projects at several different assisted living facilities.

Please keep both of these groups in your prayers for safe travels and for the Holy Spirit to be at work in them and in those that they meet.

4. We Need You! - We are in need of a few people to help on Sunday mornings.

• The first way is with the tech aspects of worship at our 8am and 11am worship services. We will provide all the training, but we need people to help with the PowerPoint and soundboard operations during the services. These positions are very important to the flow and experience of worship and truly add to our time together. 

• The other area we are looking for people is to drive a golf cart helping transport people to and from our parking lots. This is often our first point of contact and is extremely important in helping people feel welcome. 

If you are interested, please contact the church office by clicking here or calling us at (352) 787-1829. Thank you in advance for your consideration.





5. Be In the Know! - One of the great things about Community is all the options and choices you have to help make disciples and build the Kingdom. And we want you to know about as many of them as possible. The best way to do that is for you to sign up for any of the various ways we have set up to communicate with you. Here is a list of them and how you can sign up or follow them:

• Churchwide Email System - just call the church office to sign up, (352) 787-1829 or email us by clicking here. 

• Pastor's Blog - you can find the blog by clicking here. Once you are there, bookmark it and you can even subscribe to have email updates of new posts sent to you automatically. The subscribe box is on the side underneath Pastor Debbie's Photo and Bio. Once you subscribe, don't forget to confirm that subscription by responding to the email you will receive, so the emails will start being delivered to you. 

• Our Church Website - you can find our church website by clicking here. Don't forget to bookmark it once you are there. 

• Our Church Facebook Page - there are many updates, photos, and even Facebook Live Videos we post on this page, a great resource! You can find that page by clicking here. 

• Our Church Instagram Page - where we host many pictures of church events showing how we are living out our faith in Fruitland Park and beyond. You can find that page by clicking here. 

• Our Church Text Messaging Feature - get updates about the church sent to you via text message (text message and data rates may apply). You can sign up for that by sending the text message @cumcfp to the number 81010. Texts will usually arrive during church office hours.

• Our Church Publications - and as always you can find great information in our weekly bulletin and monthly newsletter. 

I hope you will take advantage of as many of these avenues for communication as possible. There is a lot happening at Community and we do not want you to miss a thing!

Have a great weekend!

Thursday Thoughts

1. Sunday Morning Worship - This week we will continue our new series on prayer entitled, "Prayer Is...." Pastor Debbie will be preaching on James 4:1-10, looking at how prayer is supposed to transform us in a message entitled, "Spring Cleaning". Invite a friend and a neighbor and we hope to see you at 8am, 9:30am, or 11am! All are welcome, all are invited.





2. Prayer Vigil - To go along with our summer preaching series on "Prayer Is," we are hosting a prayer vigil on Thursday, July 12th from 8:30am to 4:30pm. Signups are currently full for praying in our prayer chapel, but you are encouraged to find some time on that day to pray for our church and its ministries, our surrounding community, our country and the world. If you would like guidance on ways to pray for this day you can email Jenn Landstedt, by clicking here, and she can provide you with a sheet of information. Jeremiah 29:12 ~ Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

3. Churchwide BBQ - It is that time of year again! We will be hosting our annual churchwide summer barbeque after all three worship services on Sunday, July 15th in the Familly Life Center. The menu is smoked pulled pork, coleslaw, baked beans, watermelon, chips, and chocolate delight. There will be slips in the bulletin this week to fill out and drop in the offering plate to register - or you may call the church office.

The deadline to register is Wednesday, July 11th and it is coming quick.

Don't miss out on this great time of food and fellowship.

4. We Need You! - We are in need of a few people to help on Sunday mornings.

• The first way is with the tech aspects of worship at our 8am and 11am worship services. We will provide all the training, but we need people to help with the PowerPoint and soundboard operations during the services. These positions are very important to the flow and experience of worship and truly add to our time together. 

• The other area we are looking for people is to drive a golf cart helping transport people to and from our parking lots. This is often our first point of contact and is extremely important in helping people feel welcome. 

If you are interested, please contact the church office by clicking here or calling us at (352) 787-1829. Thank you in advance for your consideration.





5. Be In the Know! - One of the great things about Community is all the options and choices you have to help make disciples and build the Kingdom. And we want you to know about as many of them as possible. The best way to do that is for you to sign up for any of the various ways we have set up to communicate with you. Here is a list of them and how you can sign up or follow them:

• Churchwide Email System - just call the church office to sign up, (352) 787-1829 or email us by clicking here. 

• Pastor's Blog - you can find the blog by clicking here. Once you are there, bookmark it and you can even subscribe to have email updates of new posts sent to you automatically. The subscribe box is on the side underneath Pastor Debbie's Photo and Bio. Once you subscribe, don't forget to confirm that subscription by responding to the email you will receive, so the emails will start being delivered to you. 

• Our Church Website - you can find our church website by clicking here. Don't forget to bookmark it once you are there. 

• Our Church Facebook Page - there are many updates, photos, and even Facebook Live Videos we post on this page, a great resource! You can find that page by clicking here. 

• Our Church Instagram Page - where we host many pictures of church events showing how we are living out our faith in Fruitland Park and beyond. You can find that page by clicking here. 

• Our Church Text Messaging Feature - get updates about the church sent to you via text message (text message and data rates may apply). You can sign up for that by sending the text message @cumcfp to the number 81010. Texts will usually arrive during church office hours.

• Our Church Publications - and as always you can find great information in our weekly bulletin and monthly newsletter. 

I hope you will take advantage of as many of these avenues for communication as possible. There is a lot happening at Community and we do not want you to miss a thing! 

Have a great weekend!

Midweek Moment

This year for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, for every person in worship and corresponding to the occasion, we pledged $1 per person towards a local mission. I am absolutely thrilled to announce that we donated over $1,500 to Esther House and Open Arms Village combined.

Esther House is “a twelve-month Christ-centered residential reentry program for adult women released from incarceration seeking to change their life for good.” Open Arms Village “exists to create a safe community that treats homeless individuals with dignity and provides for their basic needs... [as they] move themselves toward independence.” Both of these missions, at their very core, seek to better the lives of those they serve. I believe that our gift to them will further enable them to serve in this way. In fact, for Esther House, I know it will.

A week after Mother’s Day, I was leaving the church for the night and I ran into the executive director for Esther House. I asked how things were going and I got a wonderful response. Esther House was in need of something to help their mission and the cost was rather high. High enough that they did not have the funds. But the necessity was so strong they pushed ahead and asked God to provide. Shortly after this, our check arrived in the mail and it covered the expense. Praise God!

Our decision to support Esther House with a Mother’s Day gift was not done in conjunction with them, meaning we knew they had a need. Once we felt God guiding us to honor Mother’s Day in this way, we began to pray and ask for guidance as to where the money would go. Esther House was the answer all of us received. God knew the need before we did, God knew the need before the people at Esther House did, and God made the way. What a great God we serve!

My friends, that is the hand of God at work. And that is what can happen when we are faithful to go where God leads. I am grateful to each of you for your support of this church, which allows us to support others. Your faithfulness paves the way for God’s blessings to be felt far and wide and gives us the opportunity to see it unfold and it is in those moments that we can see a piece of the Kingdom of God.

I am looking forward to what God has in store for us here at Community, as we bind together to be the church and the embodiment of Christ to the people around us!

Blessings,