The Shepherd - June 2024 by Newnan First UMC

Pastoral Notes

Rev. Andrew Chappell, Senior Pastor achappell@NewnanFUMC.org | 770.253.7400 (x202)

IFriends and Family of Newnan FUMC,

t is hard to believe we are already in June. We have already commemorated some of the larger celebration days of the church (Confirmation Sunday, Easter, and Pentecost). Now we enter the long road in the church calendar called “Ordinary Time.” And if we are not careful, we may let one of the more important Wesleyan holidays get away from us. In the Methodist world, May 24 is known as “Aldersgate Day.”

When John Wesley sailed to a little colony in Savannah, GA to share the gospel and take care of a church, it didn’t go well. Through a strange turn of events, Wesley ended up hopping a boat back to England with a warrant out for his arrest. With all his young adult aspirations of being led by God to save 100s in the new world, Wesley had failed. In the days after, as he reflected upon his failure, he went to a small group meeting on Aldersgate Street. As the group read through Martin Luther’s preface of Paul’s letter to the Romans, something about Luther’s words touched Wesley’s soul.

Have you been there before? Where the words you read or hear seem to be the exact words you needed to hear? It is as if God has seen fit to have those words as a gift for you in that exact moment? John Wesley felt something that night and wrote the following:

“While [Luther] was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

Interestingly, John’s brother Charles would (within the same week) feel a “strange palpitation of the heart.” Something happened in their lives that week. God sought to reach into their hearts and stir a confidence that Jesus did in fact love them both enough to melt away the power of sin and death and give them an assurance that the Spirit had some things planned for them. May God do the same within you and within me.

God be with you, and don’t forget to pray for and welcome our new members: Tom Upchurch, Heather Upchurch and Chris Manley, Jonathan Pritchard, Kay and Michael Luzaich, and Ben Kelley. And be sure to congratulate Nancy Martin as she retires at the end of June. She has had such an impact on so many families. Thank you, Nancy!

Grace and peace,

Andrew Chappell

Bus Drivers Needed

There is an urgent need for a driver during the week for Fun ‘n Frolic events. The church will pay for your CDL training (26-passenger bus) and your meal and activity fee will be covered.

For more information, please contact our Transportation Chairperson, Craig Bryan at cbryan83dawg@gmail.com.

Summer WNF 5:15pm | PH

June 26: BINGO Chick-fil-A Sandwiches with Chips & Cookes *MUST register by noon June 25

July 24: Bible Trivia Corned Beef with Cabbage, Rice, & Cucumber Salad *Register by noon July 23

SAVE THE DATE - August 11

Church Picnic | 12:15pm “Hawaiian Luau” Theme

New Members

Be Sure To Say Hello!

Tom Upchurch

Heather Upchurch & Chris Manley

Jonathan Pritchard

Kay & Michael Luzaich Ben Kelley

Pastoral Notes

Rev. Connor Bell, Associate Pastor cbell@NewnanFUMC.org | 770.253.7400 (x208)

Safe Sanctuaries- Mandatory Training for Staff and Volunteers

In an effort to uphold our general rule to Do No Harm, uphold scriptural commandments to care for “the least of these,” and to comply with the United Methodist Book of Discipline, Newnan First United Methodist Church has a set of policies and procedures known as Safe Sanctuaries. The purpose for establishing this Safe Sanctuary Policy and the accompanying procedures is to demonstrate our absolute and unwavering commitment to the physical safety and spiritual growth of all our congregants and vulnerable persons.

All staff and volunteers who work with vulnerable populations in our church are required to complete this training and consent to a background check every two years. You may be a ministry volunteer or staff member who works with children, youth, or vulnerable adults (those over the age of 18 who are mentally, physically, or psychologically challenged and unable to make responsible legal decisions about their own welfare). Many folks who serve in our church are overdue to complete the assessment!

We will occasionally offer in-person trainings, as we did on May 19th of this past month. However, we also offer an online version of this training that you can complete on your own schedule. It involves a video, assessment, and covenant agreement, and will take around 1.5 hours to complete. In the future, we will have this link available on the website for this online training to be easily accessible. Until then, please send me an email at cbell@newnanfumc.org, and I will send you a link to complete the training.

I thank you in advance for your commitment to caring for the most vulnerable in our community. As Jesus says, “whatever you [do] for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you [do] for me.” (Matthew 15:40)

Connor Bell

Missions Update

Thank you for your generous donations for our monthly One Roof donations. Requested donation items for June are: granola bars, peanut butter/cheese crackers, mac & cheese, chips, pop tarts, and cereal.

Drop your donations off in the conference roomby the work room or bring them to the altar on Sunday, June 16th where they will be blessed. Thank you to Mary Jane Ginn for your dedication in taking our donations to One Roof.

There is still room for the Domestic Mission trip. Please contact Aileen Burnett or Paul Mosley if you are interested in signing up or receiving more information. Sign up deadline is June 16th.

Rise Against Hunger is scheduled for Thursday, October 10th at 6pm in the Parish Hall. We have jobs for everyone. If you need accommodations, please contact Aileen Burnett.

hat a whirlwind the month of May has been! From Children’s Sunday to Senior Recognition, from Pentecost to Trinity Sunday, we’ve really gone on a journey together. As the school year comes to a close, we have so much to celebrate and be thankful for. I’m just so grateful that this newsletter marks my one-year anniversary here at Newnan FUMC. It has been a year full of new relationships, amazing music making, and growth. I have learned so much and become that much closer to God in this year. I couldn’t be more

This first week of June if you’re looking for Bonnie or I, you won’t find us, as we are off in California for Youth Choir Tour. Check in with the church social media accounts for daily updates. We’ll be adventuring through Los Angeles, Yosemite National Park, and San Francisco for the week. We have an amazing service opportunity with Fertile GroundWorks, a non-profit that is affiliated with Asbury UMC in Livermore, CA. Some of you may remember that we hosted a group from this church last summer as they were on their way to a mission project in Alabama. We are excited to work with them this week. Produce from their educational garden is given to local

We hope to bring the kids back exhausted, but full of great memories and stronger bonds with God and each other. We will celebrate their homecoming with a youth-driven service on Sunday, June 9th. You won’t want to miss it!

As we shift gears for the summer, I hope everybody finds some time to rest for the next few weeks, and then is rejuvenated and ready to go for Vacation Bible School on June 17th-20th! It’s going to be a great opportunity. We hope, if you haven’t already, that you’ll consider volunteering to help. I know Andrea and the rest of the church staff would appreciate it. You can find more information about that on the church sign-ups page at https://www.newnanfumc.org/signups.

I will also take this opportunity to announce a schedule change. The previously mentioned Southern Gospel Concert will now be on July 21, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. This will give you an extra month to get excited for a new type of worship experience at the church. I hope to see you (and some new friends) there!

Aileen Burnett, Missions & Senior Adult Coordinator

Remember: All Trips Must Be Paid To Reserve Your Spot!

In May, we enjoyed trips to the Legacy Theater to see Steel Magnolias on Sunday, May 5th. We enjoyed our annual Braves outing seeing a day game on Monday, May 20th. Although the Braves did not win, it was an awesome day of fun and fellowship.

Reservations are being taken for the following upcoming trips: July 11th Buckner’s and Peaches. Bring along a bag to carry your purchases. Shopping is on your own. August 22nd KIA Plant Tour. We will stop for lunch in LaGrange on the way there. The deadline for the Nashville trip (September 21-24) is July 11th. October 24th Mercier Orchards. We will stop for lunch on our way to Mercier. Bring along a bag to carry your purchases. Shopping is on your own. November 1st Christmas Made In the South. The cost is $12 for the ticket and bus. Lunch is available at the venue. Bring along a bag to carry your purchases.

All trips must be paid for when you reserve your spot. If payment is not received, you will be added to the waiting list until payment is received.

Paul Mosley, Youth Minister pmosley@NewnanFUMC.org

We have officially closed out the 2022-2023 school year, and it was an awesome one! From Bite Nite to UTHapalooza we had a lot of fun, but we also learned a ton along the way. UTHapalooza finished our Sunday night meetings, and it was so much fun !

We closed out May with Senior Sunday, and it was so wonderful to celebrate these wonderful young adults. We had a ton of help making this day special for our seniors, so, from our Saturday set up crew to those who helped at breakfast and the service on Senior Sunday, thank you for all of your help!

The UTH Choir will be out on Choir Tour as you read this, so please be in prayer for these students as they spread the Good News this summer!

We start Downtown Devos next week on June 12. Meet every Wednesday at 11:30am to talk bible then walk to a Downtown restaurant. First up is Oink Joint. This year we are focusing our lessons on the Fruits of the Spirit, so join us each week as we dive into a different one!

Upcoming Summer Adventures are available to register for today! You can find registration links online, on our social media pages, or in my emails that go out each month. We have so much planned and hope you will join in with us this summer.

First Kids

Andrea Stuart, Director of Children’s Ministries astuart@NewnanFUMC.org | 770.253.7400 (x209

We are kicking off summer with a bang!

Sunday School is doing big things learning about the courageous people in the Bible. We are exploring the Disciples, learning about the bravery of Queen Esther, Daniel, along with some other followers of God! In Children’s Worship we will be having fun wiggling, crafting, and playing games as we grow closer to God and learning about all the wonderful gifts He gives us!

We are taking the Summer off for ROOT345, but don’t worry, we will be back in August!

Please make sure that you sign up for VBS! Our theme this year is Camp Firelight and we are so excited to learn about putting our trust in God! We need volunteers and attendees! All Pre K 4 (must be 4 years old) to rising 6th graders are encouraged!

Sign up for GROW Camp! It is a week long camp where Camp Glisson is coming to us! All rising 1st graders through rising 6th graders are welcome to join this amazing week!

If you have a 3rd grade through 6th grade that is interested in being an acolyte we would love to have your service! Please let Ms. Andrea know if you are interested or have questions!

Preschool + Kindergarten

Susan Mitchell, Preschool Director smitchell@NewnanFUMC.org | 770.253.7400 (x212)

Some End-of-Year Updates

We wrapped up the school year by graduating another set of alumni from our Pre-K and Kindergarten programs.

The students enjoyed getting to milk a cow with Mrs. Betsy and having a mobile petting zoo visit our campus!

Our lunch n learn celebration was the icing on the cake to finish out the 2024 school year.

We are looking forward to hosting three weeks of summer enrichment camps this summer. We still have availability for July and August. In June we will be mining for gold and gems during our Gold Rush themed camp. Visit our website at nfumcpreschool.org to register. Tuition for summer enrichment is $150 per week and is available for ages 16 months through rising first graders.