The Shepherd - May 2024 by Newnan First UMC

Pastoral Notes

“Christ is just like the human body—a body is a unit and has many parts; and all the parts of the body are one body, even though there are many. We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body... and we all were given one Spirit to drink. Certainly the body isn’t one part but many.” 1 Corinthians 12:12–14

The church is wonderful and beautiful, and at our best we are an in-breaking of God’s kingdom joy to a world in desperate need of God’s saving grace. But like any human institution, we have a tendency to segregate and divide ourselves. This is very true when it comes to age demographics. Too often, we ﬁnd ourselves gravitating only toward those who are in a similar phase of life as we are.

But when we serve together, a beautiful thing happens. Like parts of the human body, our differences becomes assets rather than divisions, and the whole body is made better for it! The Church becomes one living, breathing thing, caring for all of its parts in times of trial, growing in fellowship, and showing the world the love of Christ.

This July 13th-18th, our church will be taking an inter-generational mission trip to Epworth by the Sea in St. Simons, GA. This is a beautiful retreat site that hosts groups to do work at various worksites to love our neighbors in St. Simons and Brunswick, and will include a diverse set of projects: park cleanup, home repair, working at a children’s shelter, and more. Anyone in our church between the ages of 13 and 110 is invited to come and be a part of our time in mission together (we may be able to accommodate younger folks with adult supervision). Spaces are ﬁlling up, so claim your spot soon! Scholarships are available, so do not let cost be a barrier. Prayerfully consider joining us for what will surely be a spirit-ﬁlled week of service.

Grace and Peace, Rev. Connor Bell

P.S.: Please join me in welcoming our newest members: Danny and Polly Davis, Scott and Kate Goodson, John and Kathryn Parrish, Eric & Cheryl Wood, and Jordan & Loren West! We are also so excited to have celebrated 3 baptisms: Elsie Jane Goodson, Dottie Robbins Hagler, and Hensley Grace Sherman.

THANK YOU for GIVING IT UP FOR LENT

Andrew and Connor presented Bridging The Gap with a $10k check from our Give It Up For Lent campaign. Using their connections with the Atlanta Food Bank, they are able to get 12lbs of food for every DOLLAR donated!

Upcoming Missions

Inter-Generational Mission Trip

July 13-18, 2024 | Epworth By The Sea

We hope you’ll join us as we serve our neighbors in St. Simon’s and Brunswick, GA! The cost is $600/individual and $400/each additional family member, and covers meals, lodging, transportation to and from Epworth, and supplies for each participant. Sign up by May 5. We won’t be able to guarantee availability after then!

Mission Trip Contacts

Aileen Burnett aburnett@newnanfumc.org

Paul Mosley pmosley@newnanfumc.org

Safe Sanctuary Training

When: May 19 | 12:15-2:00pm | Lunch will be provided!

Where: NFUMC Parish Hall

What: God calls us to make our churches safe places, protecting vulnerable persons from abuse. Safe Sanctuaries is our response to this church-wide challenge, and is the UMC-recommended resource for ensuring safety.

Who: Anyone who works with children, youth, or senior or disabled adults. This includes VBS volunteers, Sunday School teachers, Youth volunteers, Senior adult volunteers, Bus drivers, etc. This training and certiﬁcate must be re-completed every two years, and a background check every three. Given the timing of our last training, there is a high likelihood that you need to renew your certiﬁcate if you have done the training before.

Safe Sanctuary Training Contact

Aileen Burnett aburnett@newnanfumc.org

If you’re signing up multiple people, please ﬁll out a form for each person. Childcare will be available.

Donation Requests:

Mission Sunday May 19

Bar soap, hand soap, shampoo, toothpaste, & deodorant. Please drop off your items in the work room conference space (between the Gathering Room and work room).

Volunteers Needed: Summer Lunch Program

June 3, 5, & 7

FUN ‘n FROLIC

Buckner’s & Peaches

July 11 | 10am-4pm | $26

RSVP to attend by July 1

KIA Tour & Lunch

Aug 22 | 10:30am-4:30pm | $5

RSVP to attend by August 12

Nashville Trip

Sept 21-24 | $977(S)-$1,326(D)

RSVP to attend by July 11

Mercier Orchard & Lunch

Oct 24 | 9:00am-6:00pm | $10

RSVP to attend by October 7

Christmas Made In The South

Nov 1 | 9:00am-3:30pm | $12

RSVP to attend by October 28

Missions + Fun ‘n Frolic

Aileen Burnett, Missions & Senior Adult Coordinator aburnett@NewnanFUMC.org | 770.253.7400 (x206)

A huge THANK YOU...

To everyone who came out to support the #ServeCoweta event on April 6th. Our church assisted with breakfast and yard cleanups. It was an awesome day of fellowship and the opportunity to meet new people while serving our community.

Also, thank you to everyone who donated food for One Roof in April, and a special thank you to Ted Burnett for going to Slidell, LA, April 24-27, to assist in tornado recovery!

Check the Upcoming Missions page for information about NFUMC Missions.

Hostess

Remember to register for Wednesday Night Fellowship by NOON the Tuesday before our meals! In May, that’s May 7 & 21.

WNF is $8 per person and $5 for children under 10 years old. Families of four with children under 12 are $25.

1st Place Soup Winner - Sausage Tortellini Soup

Elizabeth Terrell

1 lb ground sausage

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 TBSP ﬂour

1 tsp hot sauce

1 tsp Italian seasoning

½ tsp ground mustard

½ tsp pepper

1 cup heavy cream

5 cups chicken broth

2-3 cups spinach

10 oz cheese tortellini Red pepper ﬂakes

In a Dutch oven, brown sausage and onions. Drain grease. Add garlic and ﬂour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add Italian seasoning, hot sauce, ground mustard, and pepper. Stir. Add chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the pan. Then slowly add cream, bring to a slight boil, and reduce to a simmer. Add tortellini and simmer for 3 minutes. Then add spinach and simmer for an additional 3 minutes. Top with a pinch of red pepper ﬂakes and serve!

May 8 | 5:15pm

Shepherds Pie with Salad, Dessert, & Drinks

May 22 | 5:15pm

Baked Chicken with Vegetables, Salad, Dessert & Drinks

1st Place Chili - White Chicken

Audrey Tomlinson

1 lb chicken breast

1 medium onion, chopped

1½ tsp garlic powder

1 TBSP vegetable oil

1-14oz can chicken broth

2-15oz cans Great Northern Beans rinsed and drained

2-4oz cans chopped green chilies

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp oregano

½ tsp pepper

1 cup sour cream

½ cup whipping cream

In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion & garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add the broth, beans, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and whipping cream. May cook in slow cooker for several hours. Adding sour cream and whipping cream about 30 minutes before serving.

WCaitlyn Dixon, Minister of Music

Hi Church Family!

hat a busy month ahead of us - here is some insight into what’s coming up!

On Sunday, May 5th, our Children’s Sunday service will take place. Worship will be led by our friends in the Children’s Ministry, Cherub Choir will sing for us, and Carol Choir will present “In the Image,” a short musical presentation that recognizes how we are all made in God’s image, no matter our individual personalities, ideas, and interests. Characters include a Literalist, a Catalyst, MisUnderstood Creature Kids (MUCKs), Artsy and Craftsy, an Environmentalist, a Poet, and more! Each of these characters serve to remind us that our personalities, no matter how different, all work together to further God’s kingdom and celebrate His creation.

In some ways, this theme reﬂects that of the Youth Choir Tour, coming up May 31st-June 8th

The 2024 theme is “Identity: Christ in Me.” The students have been preparing music this year that reﬂects this theme. The main image for the trip is that of a thumbprint. We all have them, and each is unique, but each of these is created in the image of God. We are His hands and feet on Earth, and being made in His image allows us to fulﬁll that. We look forward to sharing this program with you when we return for Homecoming Sunday on June 9th!

Looking ahead, we have so many fun events planned. Check out the Vacation Bible School information in the Children’s Ministry section. Camp Firelight has some fun music, and I know Ms. Bonnie is excited to dance with all of her friends. I’ll take a back seat here and help, but Ms. Bonnie is the one with the creative mind for dance. You don’t want me making those decisions, or it will be lots of the twist and the mashed potato!

On June 20th, the night VBS ends, I’m really excited to inform you that we will be having a Gospel Quartet concert in our sanctuary. Some friends of mine and I have been doing this together for the last couple of years, and I’m excited to bring it to our church. If you know anything about the gospel shaped note tradition, this will be a great night to refresh your memory and hear some old favorites. If it’s your ﬁrst time hearing about this, come learn! I promise it will be a night ﬁlled with laughter, joyous music, and God’s presence. Stay tuned for more advertisements on this event. A love offering will be received to help offset some expenses in the music department.

I hope, as we prepare to usher in this busy month of graduation parties, school wrapping up, and lots of opportunities around the church, that you remember to keep God at the center of it all. He is in our stories, and we seek to glorify Him everyday!

Soli Deo Gloria, Caitie

YOUTH CHOIR HEADS TO WESLEY WOODS TO PERFORM ON SUNDAY, MAY 5TH!

UTH

Paul Mosley, Director of Youth Ministries pmosley@NewnanFUMC.org | 770.253.7400 (x219)

We are closing out the semester here with UTH.

We had our ﬁnal regular UTH of the school year on April 21st. We met with parents, Seniors put up their ﬁnal hand prints on the walls, and we scattered into Newnan on adventures!

We also had our annual UTHapalooza, an awesome color war to ﬁnish out the semester at UTH! We still have so much upcoming and the thing I want to shout out in particular is a beloved church wide celebration: Senior Sunday! Join us May 19 for a Sunday with all our awesome graduates and their families

We are launching into our summer schedule at UTH! We will be meeting every Wednesday at 11:30am in the UTH Lounge for Downtown Devos. During these, we will dive into our summer devotion series on the Fruits of the Spirit and will then walk to lunch at a local, downtown restaurant.

We also have day trips planned for our UTH outside of our big trips (Choir Tour and the Domestic Mission Trip). We will be going to a Gwinnett Stripers Baseball Game and Tubing in Helen.

Senior Sunday Registration: The end of the School year is fast approaching and for our oldest UTH that means graduation. We want to collect some information from you so we can honor your seniors this Senior Sunday (May 19). Please ﬁll out the form at the QR code with as much information as you can. We understand that their future plans and details may change leading up to Senior Sunday, and we will update them as necessary. We need everyone registered by May 5th, so that we can prepare for that awesome Sunday Morning!

JUNE 25 | 4pm-11:30pm

$25, Includes Game & Bus Game is 7pm, and the tickets are between home and ﬁrst.

JULY 22 | 9am-4pm

$20, Includes Tubing & Bus Bring $ for lunch on the way. Don’t forget your towel and sunscreen!

First Kids

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

May 5 is Children’s Sunday during the 11am Service!

In Sunday School, we are focusing on Acts. The children will be talking and learning about how we can spread the good news! Sunday School is for ages preK-4 through 5th grade and meets on the second ﬂoor of the main building (aka the Children’s Wing). Sunday School is 9:45am-10:45am every Sunday.

We also have Children’s Worship during the 11am Service, except for the 1st Sunday of the month so families can enjoy communion together. There is a note in your Sunday church bulletin letting you know when children can be dismissed to head to the Children’s Wing.

ROOT345 is ﬁnished for this school year, and will pick back up in the Fall. In the meantime, I hope everyone signs up for all the camps we have this summer!

CALLINGALL VOLUNTEERS WeneedyouforVBS!You leadingcanhelpfor1or4days groupsorhelpingteardown.withfood,setup,and/or volunteerWealsoneed nurses!

Preschool + Kindergarten

Nancy Martin, Preschool Director nmartin@NewnanFUMC.org | 770.253.7400

Welcoming Susan Mitchell as our new Preschool Director.

As our school year comes to a close, so does my tenure as Preschool Director. It has been such an honor and privilege to serve at Newnan First United Methodist Church and Preschool. I have been blessed to work with amazing people. The families and staff members I have worked with have touched my life immeasurably and I will be forever grateful. Thank you for your support of me and the preschool ministry. I know you will continue to support Susan Mitchell, our new Preschool Director. I have felt your love through the years and ask for your prayers as I enter this new phase of life.

Blessings!

Nancy

PRESCHOOL SPOTS STILL AVAILABLE

3-year-olds | 3-Day (MWF) 4-year-olds | 5 Day

SUMMER ENRICHMENT SPOTS STILL AVAILABLE June Session: June 10-13 | August Session: August 5-8

Age-appropriate math, reading, and writing activities will be included for each class. Our camp dates and themes for each week can be found on our website: nfumcpreschool.org (choose Summer Enrichment under Admissions). Tuition for Summer Enrichment is $150 per week and is available for ages 16 months through rising ﬁrst graders.