Church News
THANK YOU!
The resurrection window was removed for repairs August 18, 2011. The wood frame was rotting and, as a result, the stained glass was sagging and separating from the lead.
The window was returned Septemver 14th beautifully restored. The frame was rebuilt and old BB holes filled. Thank you Stained Glass Unlimited for the wonderful work and to the anonymous donor who generousity made the repair possible.
Cedar Tree Removed
The old cedar tree which has shaded the Church building for who knows how many years was removed in February, 2011. High winds over the last several months increase the rate at which the truck of the tree was splitting and the Board of Trustee voted to have the treetcut down.
Church members are using part of the tree to try to raise money to restore the stained glass windows. Cedar sachets are on sale for $1 each.
Texas Treasure
The Church has been thrice blessed these past few months. We have been approved for a historical marker, and received two anonymous monetary gifts. Thank You! whomever you are. The Church is grateful for you kindness and for the blessing you have bestowed upon us.
A Letter from the Pastor
To the United Methodist church in Aubrey,
Greetings and God’s continued blessings to you. Before I begin reflecting on our past year together, allow me to brag on you a little. The Gist family has been richly blessed by you in 2010 by your warmth, your prayers, your friendship and your continued signs of grace toward us, including most recently the wonderful Christmas gift Denise Gilliland presented on your behalf Christmas Eve. We are deeply appreciative of each of you and you mean a great deal to your pastor and his family.
I realize that an attempt by me to recap the events of 2010 for our congregation would be hit-and-miss at best and unintentionally negligent at worst. Before I begin to reflect on 2010-where we were at the beginning of the year, what we accomplished together and where we are now- I’ll first ask you to pause and reflect on the things you were part of this past year and send me a listing of those items. I’m thinking about Bible Studies, mission projects, fund raisers, fellowship events, outreach events, and of course, projects related to the building. I’ll hit the highlights, knowing these are only the highlights. I’ll give you, let’s say, a week to reflect on those events and projects you were part of and send me your list. I’ll then correlate and condense the list for 2010 and send it back out so we may all get a more truthful view of just what happened in our congregation this past year. I think we’ll be surprised and amazed at what we accomplished.
As with any congregation with an aging but beautiful facility, we find a great deal of our time, energy and resources were directed to maintaining and preserving the ‘brick and mortar’. There were many projects, large and small, most of which most of us may have been unaware of. If you replaced, repaired, painted or preserved some part of the building or grounds this past year, let me know.
Preserving our nearly 92 year old sanctuary wasn’t the only thing we put our hearts and souls into in 2010.
Here are a few items I remember:
--Over 75 personal hygiene kits sent to Haiti following the devastating earthquake
at the beginning of 2010
--Aubrey UMC youth participated in the “30 Hour Famine” event
--Ash Wednesday service
--Holy Week services including Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and Good Friday
--Easter Sunrise service at the Trusty’s pond, Easter services in the sanctuary
--The Lindberg-Tyson wedding
--Annual Conference attendance, represented by the Keithleys and Gists
--One youth attended Junior High Summer Camp at Lake Bridgeport
--Adult Bible Studies in Spring, Summer and Fall
--Creation of Nurturing Ministry Team
--3rd Annual Hawaiian Shirt Sunday (who says worship can’t be fun?)
--Annual Stewardship Campaign raised over $75,000 toward 2011 Budget and ministries
--Pancake Suppers and Garage Sales, proceeds toward
Apportionments and Building Maintenance Fund
--Award winning float in the Peanut Festival parade
--1st ever Blessing The Animals Service
--Project Board created to list projects needed to be done
--Fall Clean Up Day
--Renovation and re-opening of the Nursery
--Complete replacement of A/C duct work in Collins Hall
--Painting of Center entrance and door and kitchen door
--Replaced lockset on kitchen door
--Open House, Chili Supper and Silent Auction benefitting John Lindberg
--Advent Special music and choir
--Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
Exhaustive list. Hardly. There are more prayers, repairs and projects that occurred in 2010 than I can remember or most of us are aware of. It’s important that we recall, assess, evaluate and give thanks for the many hands needed to not just keep the doors of the church open, but to open those doors of the church and the hearts of the congregation to the community. I’ve been blessed by the growing dedication and involvement in our worship time, study time, prayer time and fellowship time.
Church, you're getting it. I see evidence every week of your understanding and living out those vows of membership each of made and we recall—to support this congregation with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness. You are a blessing to your pastor, to one another, our community and our God. What more could a pastor ask of a congregation but to continue to grow in your love for one another and in God’s grace?
Now I want to hear from you. Let me know how you were involved in the life of the church this past year and I’ll include your involvement in a more concise list. You need not be concerned that your name will be included—names will be withheld to protect the saintly.
The other thing I’d like to hear from you is this. After looking back on the previous year, what do you see happening in 2011? How do you see God leading us, what is to be accomplished to His glory? I have a growing vision for the congregation and am anxious to compare your thoughts with mine and will share them all in the next pastoral letter. Don’t hold back—God knows no limits!
Finally, here are some dates and upcoming events to be mindful of:
January 2nd—Epiphany Sunday. Recounting the story of the Magi
Sunday School begins for adults and youth in Collins Hall,
and children in the sanctuary. 10:00 am
January 9th—Baptism of the Lord Sunday. We celebrate and remember our Lord’s baptism
and our own
January 30th—Hymn Sing Sunday. Brush off those favorite hymns we love
but don’t sing often enough. Special music
(solos, duets, instrumentals) welcome.
March 9th—Ash Wednesday. Lent begins with the Imposition of Ashes Service, 7:00 pm,
followed by a light supper to break the fast
I look forward with great excitement to our ministry together in 2011. Let’s begin it together this Sunday!
Blessings,
Pastor Joe
New Start Time for the Church
Beginning November 7, 2010, Worship services will begin at 11:00 a.m. Sunday School will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. The trial period for the new start time will run from November 7, 2010 to November 6, 2011, at which time the Church will vote again.
Baby Shower for Baby Merrick
Sunday,October 31st. Don't forget!
Record Breaking Stewardship Campaign
The general fund budget for 2011 was set a few weeks ago at $56,145 and the land fund budget was set at $6,828 for a total budget of $62,973. During our Stewardship Campaign this September the congregation pledged $78,000 in support of the Church and its ministry exceeding our total budget by $15,027! (Breakdown on the budget components is not available at this time but will be provided at a later date.)
THANK YOU CHURCH!!
Announcements
Welcome Baby Merick!
Congrats Mom and Dad! She is beautiful.
Congratulations Aubrey FUMC winner of the 2010 Chapparel Community Award for our float in the Aubrey Peanut Festival on October 2, 2010.