First Connections Spring 2024

Page 1

2 3 7 8

That’ll Preach

Awakening Our Souls

With his family on the road from Tampa to the South Carolina coast for summer vacation, teenage Charley Reeb found himself in the way, way back of the station wagon, munching on Twizzlers and listening to cassette tapes on his Walkman.

There’s no doubt about which tapes were playing. Def Leppard. Dokken. Motley Crue. Famous Preachers.

Famous Preachers? Unlike the other three, that’s not a heavy metal or rock band.

Reeb began immersing himself in the art of preaching before he was old enough to drive the family station wagon alone. “At 15, I was reading books on homiletics, books on the art of preaching, books of sermons of master preachers,” he said. “I would listen to tapes of sermons over and over again. I was all about the craft of it and the call to it.”

Looking back, Reeb sees God planting the seeds of his call to preaching in elementary school, when he listened intently to the Rev. Dr. Bill Self’s sermons

1
WORSHIP+3 INVITE | GROW | SERVE SPRING 2024
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Beginnings
at Heart
VISTE
IN THIS ISSUE page
New
A Writer
Our Ministry Partner
Bringing People Together Over Food

First Things First

863-686-3163

firstumc.org

Charley Reeb

Andy Whitaker-Smith

Nicki

New Beginnings

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? -Isaiah 43:19

We celebrate a new year of ministry at First UMC, thanking God who is able to make all things new. Our belief that God can make all things new is really a call to action. It is an invitation to be co-creators with God, agents of God’s love, healing and transformation bringing hope to this world. The light we shine shows the world that no matter how dark or hopeless circumstances may be, God has the power to make all things new.

Speaking of new, you can see that our First Connections magazine has a new look.

Another new thing is that Forrest White, our Director of Mission Ministries, will now be providing the content for the magazine. If you’ve read his stuff, you know what a blessing this is for our church! In addition to being a valuable asset to the mission ministries of our church, Forrest has over 10 years of experience as a journalist. He has a special gift of capturing a story and he will be providing many compelling stories of ministry for us to enjoy.

I hope you will take time to enjoy this latest issue of First Connections and share this publication with a friend.

With Great Expectations, Charley

2 A publication of First United Methodist Church 72 Lakeland Morton Drive Lakeland, FL 33803
Church office
PHOTO
BY FORREST WHITE
SENIOR
PASTOR
ASSOCIATE PASTOR
Taylor ASSOCIATE PASTOR
HAVE AN IDEA FOR A STORY? Contact Forrest White at fwhite@firstumc.org
PASTORS

A Writer at Heart

Back in the fall of 1997, I was passed over for a promotion at the Charleston Post and Courier, the newspaper where I’d worked for nearly eight years. I thought I’d earned the promotion.

The boss men and women in the newsroom disagreed. They hired someone from another paper.

Almost immediately I began searching for another job. I applied for two – a columnist job in the Clearwater bureau of my favorite newspaper ever, The St. Petersburg Times (now The Tampa Bay Times) and the director of youth ministry position at Trinity UMC in Richmond, Va.

I had wanted to be a newspaper columnist for years. As a child growing up in Western North Carolina, I would get up early on summer days to walk across the street to my grandparents’ house and get their Charlotte Observer out of the box. I’d sit down outside and read the sports pages and the comics.

All these years later I vividly remember dropping both envelopes into one of those big mailboxes outside the post office and praying, “God, it’s in your hands. ” Where else would it be?

The Times wrote back and said they liked my work but they were promoting from within. Of course, I respected that decision.

Trinity called to set up a phone interview. From there, I traveled to Richmond for a weekend of interviews and meetings and eventually took a huge pay cut to accept the job. It meant giving up my dream of being a newspaper columnist.

I began working with the Trinity youth on April 14, 1998. Sometimes in the months following the career change people asked me why I left the newspaper business.

“I had been writing other people’s stories for years,” I would say. “I want to write my own now.”

“I had been writing other people’s stories for years. I want to write my own now.”

As for youth ministry I had run from that calling for years, though I served a 1,500-member church in Charleston as a volunteer youth leader for almost the entirety of my time at the newspaper. With a fairly flexible schedule as a reporter, I did everything a paid youth worker would do and loved it.

Disillusioned by my personal (job) Passover, I addressed two large envelopes, one filled with newspaper clippings of my work as a reporter and one filled with my history as a volunteer youth worker, which included a fact no one at First UMC knows about me … I could slurp massive amounts of Jell-O in mere seconds.

In his book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller writes, “The truth is if what we choose to do with our lives won’t make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either.”

There have been times when I have wondered how well I’ve lived my story. Mostly, I am happy with it, though there are some chapters I would edit if given a chance to live it again.

I’ve met some amazing characters along the way, and I’m thankful to have been given the chance to play a role, however minor, in the unfolding life stories of so many others.

Now here at First UMC, in addition to my role in missions, I’ve taken on the role of writing content for the church magazine. So, once again, I find myself telling the stories of others.

I’m grateful for this chance to serve First UMC in another way. I know its people. I know there are so many meaningful stories to share.

All the best,

3 From the Editor

at Wieuca Road Baptist Church in Atlanta.

When his family moved to Tampa, they found their way to Lake Magdalene United Methodist Church where the Rev. Brad Dinsmore served as senior pastor.

“I couldn’t wait to get to church and listen to him,” Reeb said. “While the rest of the youth were bored or passing notes or not going to church I would be on the front row. I couldn’t wait to hear him. I was mesmerized by his preaching, not only his skill, but the message of his sermon.”

Dinsmore noticed. “One day after church when we were going through the receiving line, he shook my hand, looked me right in the eyes and said, ‘I want to know what you want to do with the rest of your life,’” Reeb said.

Over lunch soon thereafter, they talked a bit about ordained ministry in general, but mostly about preaching. “His passion was preaching,” Reeb said. “Through his sermons I felt called to preach.”

Now 35 years later, at age 50, he’s the Rev. Dr. Charley Reeb, First UMC’s senior pastor since July 2023, author of six books on preaching, and as passionate as ever about the impact a 20-minute sermon can have on congregation members, old and young.

The Rev. Riley Short handpicked Reeb out of Candler School of Theology in 1999 to be an associate at First UMC. Word had gotten back to Lakeland about this red-headed seminary student who earned a religion degree at Florida Southern College. Short took a flight to Atlanta to meet with him and his girlfriend (now wife) Brandy.

On the way back to Lakeland, he prayed for God’s guidance and felt strongly that he should request Reeb’s appointment to First UMC, without ever having heard the young man preach. That would come a few months later. “It was obvious Charley was a gifted preacher from the very beginning,” Short said. “I knew he was destined to be a pastor of a large church because people are hungry for preaching.”

Reeb sent tapes of his sermons to Self for feedback shortly before arriving at First UMC, where he served in the associate role from 1999-2003.

“He said, ‘Listen, the content is good, but Charley I know your heart, how passionate and convicted you are. People come to church to hear the convictions of the preacher. You seem to be holding back your passion. Throw your head back and let it go.’” He took the advice to heart.

“The secret sauce to great preaching is conviction,” Reeb said. “A convicted preacher is a compelling preacher. You can’t fake that. I think that’s always been at the core of my effectiveness. It’s real and people sense that.”

Count First UMC member Muriel Kuhn among those who find Reeb’s sermons compelling. She speaks of how he raises “real life, difficult issues” for daily living, of how he chooses just the right verses of scripture, of how he offers a “step by step plan” for action and change. She likes how he mixes in humor without diminishing the “significance of the issue.”

4
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Awakening Our Souls
Rev. Riley Short and Paul Reeb Charley and his twin Nancy

Charley Reeb

“I look forward to his sermons every week,” Kuhn said. “Pastor Charley awakens our souls!”

Short believes Reeb’s sermons flow naturally from his theology. “Charley’s theology is simple – Jesus is the help and the hope of the world,” he said. “It comes through in his preaching.”

After preaching three sermons on Sunday, Reeb takes Monday as his Sabbath. On Tuesday, he’ll focus on the scripture text for the coming Sunday, with the goal of crafting a clear, compelling sentence which will be at the core of the message.

“I teach other preachers this … ‘A mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew,’” Reeb said. He did his doctoral dissertation on sermon form and structure, “how you form a message, rhetorically and persuasively,” he said. Reeb primarily uses a hybrid preaching method he calls AGAPE, which combines aspects of all the approaches – deductive, three point, inductive, expository, etc.

come across to the listener, how they are going to receive it.

“One of the reasons why preachers are ineffective is they have the curse of knowledge. They’re preaching sermons they want to hear or only from the perspective of how they’re going to receive it. As a preacher you have to kind of unlearn all you’ve learned and think about the average person in the pew and how it’s going to make sense to them where they live. I’m constantly thinking about that as I’m preparing my sermon.”

“A convicted preacher is a compelling preacher. You can’t fake that.”

Within each sermon, he will share some of his life’s struggles. “Without empathy your message has no credibility,” Reeb said. “The people have to first sense you’ve struggled, too, which I have. That’s key to getting them on board.”

On Wednesday, he will think about and pray the core message for the coming Sunday, then spend Thursday morning putting the sermon on paper. “My perspective as a preacher is to always think about the listener which is a step most preachers don’t take,” Reeb said. “I’m always thinking about how the sermon is going to

Like any great story, sermons need to build tension. “The relief of the tension is the point of the sermon,” Reeb said. “Build the tension. Explain the text. Reveal the answer. That relieves the tension. After you proclaim the message, why it’s important, you give the listener a handle on how to apply it. Then you end with a powerful illustration and close the curtain soon after.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

5

At some point on Friday, he will go back over the sermon and make any revisions. “I’m a big believer that a sermon is twice born, once in the study, once in the pulpit,” Reeb said. “Just because a sermon is prepared doesn’t mean it’s ready to preach.” On Saturday, he memorizes the script, which isn’t as difficult for him as you might think for two reasons. First, it’s an oral manuscript. “I’m speaking it out as I’m writing it. Writing for the ear is different from writing for the eye. That makes it easier to memorize.” The second advantage, like his calling, is rooted in his childhood.

Reeb’s mother Jane was an actress in California. She was offered a movie contract when she was 16. Later, she taught public speaking and drama.

“She had a real gift for public speaking,” Reeb said. “From early on, she would coach me and coach me and coach me on memorizing poems, on giving speeches in class. She would make me memorize it. I’d have to rehearse it in front of her. I enjoyed it. When I preached my first sermons she would do the same thing.”

Reeb rarely glances at his notes while preaching. “I allow for rabbit holes. I’ll constantly say things I didn’t plan to say,” he said. “But discipline in the study means freedom in the pulpit. You know the path but you can go off when you feel led, but you know how to get back on the path. If you lose eye contact with people, if you just stare at your notes, you’ll lose them.”

As Kuhn noted, he won’t hesitate to break script to interject a little humor into his sermons. It’s not something he writes in advance to memorize. It’s spur of the moment, improvisation. “That’s when humor is the best,” he said.

If he gets a good reaction from an ad lib at an early worship service, he’ll make note of it to include in a later one.

“I try to balance challenging sermons with affirming sermons,” Reeb said. “Dessert sermons as Brandy calls them. Churches need a balanced diet. In a given year for example if I’ve preached a hard series on the tough sayings of Jesus I need to preach a series on the love of God.”

After preaching three times on Sunday morning, Reeb finds himself dead tired on Sunday afternoon.

“Riley would often say, ‘If you’re not tired on Sunday afternoon you didn’t do it right,’” he said. “When you take it as seriously as I do it’s exhausting.”

Looking back across decades to his childhood and teen years, when God used Self to plant the preaching seed in him and Dinsmore to water it, Reeb never doubted his calling or the awesome responsibility that comes with it each Sunday.

Dinsmore died in 1993, Self in 2016.

Reeb believes a part of them lives on through him, every time he rises to preach.

“From the beginning I realized what preaching can do for somebody,” he said. “It can transform their life because it transformed mine.”

6
Reeb CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
Charley
Charley, Brandy and Paul

Our Ministry Partners

VISTE and the Power of Us

Even now, all these months later, Steve Bissonnette finds himself marveling at the impact of one man’s dedication. This man had no family. He lived alone in a small apartment. He was still learning to read into his 80s.

The world at large looks upon such folks as easily replaced. But Robert Smith was irreplaceable.

For a dozen years until his sudden death in March 2023, Smith showed up every weekday – sometimes before sunrise – to volunteer all morning in the warehouse at Volunteers in Service to the Elderly, known across Western Polk County simply as VISTE.

“Robert was a man who didn’t have much in the way of means,” said Bissonnette, VISTE president since January 2015. “And it has taken us an entire year since he passed and multiple people to try to make up for his loss.”

A framed picture of Smith hangs in the corner of the VISTE warehouse where he faithfully served all those years, often loading heavy boxes of food into cars for delivery, always offering a good word or two and a smile. He is smiling in the picture, his face as bright as the VISTE shirt he’s wearing.

The caption on the picture reads: “You will always be in our hearts.”

“We were his family,” Bissonnette said.

Many assumed Smith was a staff member when he was actually a shining example of a true servant.

“If you want an example of someone who was able to meet some great needs without having the resources to fund them, that was Robert” Bissonnette said. “It’s hard to imagine

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

7
Steve Bissonnette VISTE President

Cookin’ it Old School

Bringing People Together Over Food

Bill Moore, Director of Kitchen Ministries

Amid America’s sizzling backyard arms race, as others bring home the latest and greatest high-tech grills and griddles, you’ll find Bill Moore cooking over a worn out $98 charcoal grill from Wal-Mart.

“It’s held together with spit right now,” he said. “Probably got another six months. Then I’ll toss it and get another one.”

If he’s in the mood for burgers, Moore will drop his “$40 slab of metal” on the grill to form a makeshift griddle.

“Not only does Bill care about the church, he’s just a caring person.”
Mike Stasiak

“Burgers are better on a flat top,” he said. “All the juices stay in and you can crisp ’em up good on the outside.”

Whatever he cooks, whether in the kitchen at First UMC or in his backyard, Moore will be happy to share it with you. Don’t expect him to share many recipes, though. Sharing isn’t the issue. He’s just not big on recipes.

“That’s why I don’t do much baking,” he said. “It’s too precise. It’s like a science project. I cook a lot by feel.”

Moore began as Director of Kitchen Ministries at First UMC on Aug 1, 2023, handpicked by Mike Stasiak who spent 19 years in that role.

When he decided to retire, Stasiak was looking for one thing above all else in someone to take over his position.

“I had to find someone committed to the church and Bill was,” he said.

Stasiak first approached Cristi Moore – First UMC’s Director of Children’s Ministries – about her husband taking over the church’s kitchen ministry. “My reaction? Bill would love that,” Cristi said. “That is exactly what he was created for.”

Soon thereafter, with a transition plan in place, Bill Moore was working alongside Stasiak, learning the business side of the kitchen ministry.

“Not only does Bill care about the church, he’s just a caring person,” Stasiak said. “I told him, ‘Even if your meals stink they’re going give you a lot of slack because they like you as a person.’”

8
Bill’s backyard happy place.. Bill and wife Cristi

Moore had one requirement when Cristi accepted the job at First UMC in 2016: they had to move from Tampa to Lakeland. “I want to be a part of the community,” he said to her.

During Cristi’s time serving on staff at a church in Tampa, Bill established himself as the go-to cook for monthly men’s group breakfasts, quarterly church dinners feeding 250 or more and even Thanksgiving fundraisers.

It wouldn’t take long for him to be immersed in similar roles at First UMC, giving his time to cook Sunday evening meals for the children’s ministry (and eventually the youth as well) and for church events and fundraisers.

Moore is as old school as it gets when it comes to cooking. He quit entering contests on the BBQ circuit when technology began to encroach upon tradition. “To me, it was about staying up all night with the stick (wood) burners trying to keep the fire going,” he said.

On a November night several years ago, when it was about 40 degrees and drizzling, Moore manned his Pitts and Spitts smoker, working through the night to get the meat inside just right for the next day’s competition. His neighbor was entered, too.

“The guy across the way had two pellet cookers on the back of his trailer,” Moore said. “He came out at four in the morning, fired up a cigarette and waved at me. He put in a couple of scoops of pellets, finished the cigarette, waved again and went back to bed. I didn’t see him the rest of the night.”

Moore shook his head. “That’s not cooking.”

People often ask how he got to be such a good cook. “Two reasons,” Moore said. “One is because I’m old. I’ve been doing it a long time. Two, I’ve been around people who know how to cook.”

That’s the secret ingredient. Experiment with your cooking and hang around the kitchen with friends and family to learn from them, Moore said. And try not to be overly critical of what you prepare, something that’s easier said than done for him.

“I’m never satisfied,” he said. “I’m my worst critic.”

Since he began learning to cook alongside his mom –described by him as a “good Southern cook” – nearly 50 years ago, Moore has embraced cooking for others and with others, not simply to feed them, but for a greater purpose.

“The kitchen is a social area,” he said. “That’s what they’re for.”

Stop by the First UMC kitchen and hang out sometime. You have an open invitation directly from Moore. He’ll tell you about cooking for huge events like Pigfest and Sun ‘n Fun and all the commercial cooking equipment he has in the backyard. Maybe he’ll even tell you why he opted for cooking over ordering pizza while in college.

When asked about her husband’s greatest gift, Cristi didn’t mention his BBQ pork or his fried fish.

“It’s hospitality,” she said, without hesitation. “Bringing people together over food.”

Who doesn’t love a smashburger?

9
Fired up! Bill Moore

someone more recognized by our volunteers or staff. He never spoke in public. He was embarrassed if we recognized his birthday. He was just the opposite of what this world would say is an influencer. Yet, we’re still trying to fill the void he left.”

In many ways, Smith illustrates to the extreme what drives VISTE, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2023.

It is a legion volunteers coming together with a staff of 26 (nine full-time) to form the power of us with funding sources that range from massive corporations to annual fundraisers, from grants to faithful individuals, some who give much and others who give a little.

VISTE accepts no money from the federal government.

“We’ve not been federally funded for lot of reasons, mostly because we don’t have the bandwidth to keep up with all of the red tape and administration,” Bissonnette said. “But also because we wanted to be able to respond to needs as they came and not have constraints on what we could and could not do.”

Simply put, VISTE’s mission is to help seniors stay independent in their own home for as long as it’s safe to do so.

While you’ll find other nonprofits doing components of VISTE’s many services, you aren’t likely to find one doing all of them. It is, as best as anyone can tell, one of a kind anywhere, not simply in Florida.

It began in 1983 as a grassroots effort when about a dozen volunteers stepped up to meet a great need –

taking shut-ins to doctor’s appointments, the grocery store, beauty salons, etc. Those earliest volunteers began to ask their riders about other needs.

“Pretty quickly people started to identify lack of food as a major obstacle to staying in their own home,” Bissonnette said.

These days VISTE serves about 4,100 clients age 70 and older, though the number fluctuates as some move to care facilities and some die. That reality takes a toll on volunteers and staff who build relationships with those they serve and often have personal stories of why it’s important to give back to seniors.

VISTE averages about 75 applications per month from individuals who need help or their families.

Half of the staff works in transportation to cover 1,200+ trips a month for around 500 clients.

Additional services include: twice weekly hot meal and monthly supplemental grocery deliveries; weekly reassurance and wellness

Donations to VISTE may be made through our church earmarked VISTE.

To serve with VISTE: Contact Bethany Masters (Bethany@viste.org)

10 Our Ministry Partners CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

check phone calls; and Thanksgiving meal and personal care box deliveries.

Outside agencies provide bathing services and light housekeeping, but VISTE makes the connection and covers the cost.

There’s a team of volunteers building ramps (500 over the last 10 years) and another company providing panic buttons for clients who are a fall risk.

“We’re living a universal experience,” Bissonnette said. “We’re all getting older. We all have parents. We all have grandparents. We’ve all seen what happens as people get older. In some way every one of us can relate to (the needs VISTE meets) on a personal level.”

It isn’t simply about better quality of life for elderly individuals, Bissonnette said.

“What we do is important for the community’s quality of life,” he said.

“By engaging young people and families in these acts of service as well as our older volunteers, we’re passing on that culture of giving back to others that is not inherently learned in our society today where everybody seems to be about themselves.

“We’re teaching them that no matter what our circumstances there’s something we can do to make a difference in someone else’s life.”

It’s one of life’s most important lessons, a lesson Robert Smith lived so faithfully.

DID YOU KNOW?

11 VISTE
2022 BY THE NUMBERS CLIENT SERVICES from 70-107 years of age Among VISTE’s 4,160 clients 69% Female 31% Male Average age 82 453 Hours of Bathing Service Provided for 12 Clients 800 Personal Care Boxes Delivered 9,773 Boxes of Supplemental Groceries Provided to 1,100 Households 49 Ramps & 12 Stairs / Handrails Constructed for 61 Clients 73 Hours of Respite Care Received by 2 Clients 14,106 Transportation Trips for 485 Clients 932 Hours of Light Housekeeping Received by 80 Clients 2,000 Thanksgiving Meals Delivered 34,900 Hot Meals Delivered to 635 Clients 24/7 Emergency Monitoring Services Provided for 36 Clients 13,000 Reassurance Calls Made to 4,160 Clients DID YOU KNOW? Median cost of nursing home facility in Lakeland area for a semi-private room‡: $108,086/year Average age of entry into a nursing home in the USA†: 79 years old Average cost of VISTE’s services per client*: $368/year *total operating budget divided by # of clients Genworth Cost of Care Survey (2022) †Morningstar VISTE’s mission is to enable elderly persons to remain What makes a senior high-risk? Advanced Age: 79+ Limited Income: $28,380/year or less 45% are considered high-risk. 2022 BY THE NUMBERS CLIENT SERVICES from 70-107 years of age Among VISTE’s 4,160 clients 69% Female 31% Male Average age 82 453 Hours of Bathing Service Provided for 12 Clients 800 Personal Care Boxes Delivered 9,773 Boxes of Supplemental Groceries Provided to 1,100 49 Ramps & 12 Stairs / Handrails Constructed for 61 Clients 73 Hours of Respite Received by 2 Clients 14,106 Transportation Trips for 485 Clients 932 Hours of Light Housekeeping Received by 80 Clients 2,000 Thanksgiving Meals Delivered 34,900 Hot Meals Delivered to 635 Clients 24/7 Emergency Monitoring Services Provided for 36 Clients 13,000 Reassurance Made to 4,160 Clients DID YOU KNOW? Median cost of nursing home facility in Lakeland area for a semi-private room‡: $108,086/year Average age of entry into a nursing home in the USA†: 79 years old Average cost of VISTE’s services per client $368/year *total operating budget divided by ‡Genworth Cost of Care Survey (2022) †Morningstar What makes a senior high-risk? Advanced Age: 79+ Limited Income: $28,380/year or less 45% are considered high-risk. 2022 BY THE NUMBERS CLIENT SERVICES from 70-107 years of age Among VISTE’s 4,160 clients 69% Female 31% Male Average age 82 453 Hours of Bathing Service Provided for 12 Clients 800 Personal Care Boxes Delivered 9,773 Boxes of Supplemental Groceries Provided to 1,100 Households 49 Ramps & 12 Stairs / Handrails Constructed for 61 Clients 73 Hours of Respite Care Received by 2 Clients 14,106 Transportation Trips for 485 Clients 932 Hours of Light Housekeeping Received by 80 Clients 2,000 Thanksgiving Meals Delivered 34,900 Hot Meals Delivered to 635 Clients 24/7 Emergency Monitoring Services Provided for 36 Clients 13,000 Reassurance Calls Made to 4,160 Clients DID YOU KNOW? Median cost of nursing home facility in Lakeland area for a semi-private room‡: $108,086/year Average age of entry into a nursing home in the USA†: 79 years old Average cost of VISTE’s services per client*: $368/year *total operating budget divided by # of clients ‡Genworth Cost of Care Survey (2022) †Morningstar What makes a senior high-risk? Advanced Age: 79+ Limited Income: $28,380/year or less 45% are considered high-risk. 2022 BY THE NUMBERS CLIENT SERVICES from 70-107 years of age Among VISTE’s 4,160 clients 69% Female 31% Male Average age 82 453 Hours of Bathing Service Provided for 12 Clients 800 Personal Care Boxes Delivered 9,773 Boxes of Supplemental Groceries Provided to 1,100 Households 49 Ramps & 12 Stairs / Handrails Constructed for 61 Clients 73 Hours of Respite Care Received by 2 Clients 14,106 Transportation Trips for 485 Clients 932 Hours of Light Housekeeping Received by 80 Clients 2,000 Thanksgiving Meals Delivered 34,900 Hot Meals Delivered to 635 Clients 24/7 Emergency Monitoring Services Provided for 36 Clients 13,000 Reassurance Calls Made to 4,160 Clients DID YOU KNOW? Median cost of nursing home facility in Lakeland area for a semi-private room‡: $108,086/year Average age of entry into a nursing home in the USA†: 79 years old Average cost of VISTE’s services per client*: $368/year *total operating budget divided by # of clients ‡Genworth Cost of Care Survey (2022) †Morningstar What makes a senior high-risk? Advanced Age: 79+ Limited Income: $28,380/year or less 45% are considered high-risk. 2022 BY THE NUMBERS CLIENT SERVICES from 70-107 years of age Among VISTE’s 4,160 clients 69% Female 31% Male Average age 82 453 Hours of Bathing Service Provided for 12 Clients 800 Personal Care Boxes Delivered 9,773 Boxes of Supplemental Groceries Provided to 1,100 Households 49 Ramps & 12 Stairs / Handrails Constructed for 61 Clients 73 Hours of Respite Care Received by 2 Clients 14,106 Transportation Trips for 485 Clients 932 Hours of Light Housekeeping Received by 80 Clients 2,000 Thanksgiving Meals Delivered 34,900 Hot Meals Delivered to 635 Clients 24/7 Emergency Monitoring Services Provided for 36 Clients 13,000 Reassurance Calls Made to 4,160 Clients DID YOU KNOW? Median cost of nursing home facility in Lakeland area for a semi-private room‡: $108,086/year Average age of entry into a nursing home in the USA†: 79 years old Average cost of VISTE’s services per client*: $368/year *total operating budget divided by # of clients ‡Genworth Cost of Care Survey (2022) †Morningstar What makes a senior high-risk? Advanced Age: 79+ Limited Income: $28,380/year or less 45% are considered high-risk. 2022 BY THE NUMBERS CLIENT SERVICES from 70-107 years of age Among VISTE’s 4,160 clients 69% Female 31% Male Average age 82 453 Hours of Bathing Service Provided for 12 Clients 800 Personal Care Boxes Delivered 9,773 Boxes of Supplemental Groceries Provided to 1,100 Households 49 Ramps & 12 Stairs / Handrails Constructed for 61 Clients 73 Hours of Respite Care Received by 2 Clients 14,106 Transportation Trips for 485 Clients 932 Hours of Light Housekeeping Received by 80 Clients 2,000 Thanksgiving Meals Delivered 34,900 Hot Meals Delivered to 635 Clients 24/7 Emergency Monitoring Services Provided for 36 Clients 13,000 Reassurance Calls Made to 4,160 Clients
Median cost of nursing home facility in Lakeland area for a semi-private room ‡ : $ 108,086 /year Average age of entry into a nursing home in the USA † : 79 years old Average cost of VISTE’s services per client * : $ 368 /year *total operating budget divided by # of clients Genworth Cost of Care Survey (2022) Morningstar VISTE’s mission is to enable elderly persons to remain safely and independently in their own homes What makes a senior high-risk?
Age: 79+ Limited Income: $28,380/year or less 45% are considered high-risk.
Advanced

72 Lakeland Morton Drive

Lakeland, FL 33803

Church office 863-686-3163

firstumc.org

WORSHIP SERVICES

8:15 am

SANCTUARY

The best of traditional worship is presented with a fresh approach to time-honored hymns with a variety of music.

9:30

FELLOWSHIP CENTER

A contemporary, relaxed atmosphere with the worship music of today. ASL interpreter in person.

11:00

SANCTUARY

Traditional hymns with organ accompaniment are featured along with various fine arts music groups.

11:00

FELLOWSHIP CENTER

The Current is a unique, contemporary worship experience. Communion is offered each Sunday.

OF THE CONTINUING WAYS TO SERVE AT FIRST UMC: Just a few

...

Philip O’Brien Elementary - student mentoring and teacher support

KidsPACK - first Wednesday of each month

Sunday Food Collection- first Sunday of each month

ROAR Florida - Tuesday mornings at 10am for games and fellowship

VISTE - needs volunteers to help serve the elderly

Lake Parker cleanup - quarterly

Just a few ...

OF THE UPCOMING EVENTS AT FIRST UMC:

Spring Fling, 10am-1:30pm

at Higgenbotham Rocking H Ranch

Please reach out to ministry area leaders for details.

April 27

Nehemiah Action for Polk County Peace April 29 , 6:30 pm at Resurrection Catholic Church

Hurricane Ian Recovery Teams April, May, Sept., Oct., Nov. Costa Rica Mission trip (registration open) Jan. 4-11, 2025

Handbell Ringers & Singers concert

Sunday

21

8

14, 5 pm

28

23-May 3 Annual Conference, Florida Southern College

6-8

12
Org. U.S. Postage PAID
Non-Profit
30 FIRSTUMC.ORG > GET INVOLVED > EVENTS
Lakeland, FL Permit No.
April
May
Kids Praise Musical
April
Youth
April
Graduation
May
June
Easterific March
VBS June
Confirmation Service, Sanctuary
Sunday
19 Camp Neighborhood
17
23, 10-Noon
10-14, 9-Noon
luncheons April
April
June
JOY (55+ ministry)
19, May 17, June 21 General Conference, Charlotte, NC

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.