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Newsletter>
Pastor Craig's Notes; 2005 Outreach and Property;
February 1, 2006
Pastor Craigs Notes
Have you been watching all the reports about the fires this
winter in the states of Texas and Oklahoma? We all have
been seeing, almost on a daily basis, the many times that
our local firefighters go out to some field or along some
roadside to battle a fire. Some of these fires
unfortunately have involved homes and businesses. It has
been awe-inspiring to see these brave and un-paid people
standing between the flames and those in need. We sometimes
forget how many people we rely on daily in our lives. All
the people that make our lives safe and enjoyable to live.
The many people we pass by without ever giving as much as a
glance or thought. Some how believing that we are able to
exist without anyone else and that we are the only one who
matters. We have come to pretend that we are the captains
of a ship of one.
In doing this, I believe that we place ourselves outside of
what God has called us to be. We are not only called to
respond to God at an individual level, but to respond on a
communal level as well. We are all part of something that
is bigger than we are. We are all part of the communal Body
of Christ. We cannot only be aware of our own actions, we
must be aware of all those around us.
I have heard many times those who would try to defend a
lifestyle outside of the fellowship of the church. To me,
this is like saying *I can put out a field fire by myself.*
We are always in need of the help of others to keep
everything in our lives together. Even in our Christian
walk of life. We always need others to help us out. God
bless our firefighters and all those who work out of sight.
God bless everyone who helps us in any way and God bless us
too.
Praying for you as I hope that you are praying for me.
~Craig
NEWSLETTER
ON THE WEB
The Church newsletter is now available on our website.
Please logon at fccmariettaok.com to enjoy the newsletter
and the activities of our congregation. The website is
linked to the Love County Chamber of Commerce and our
Regional Disciples of Christ website.
Due to increase in postage we encourage you to enjoy the
newsletter on line. Please contact the church office at
580-276-3093 or e-mail at fccmar@brightok.net if you prefer
to continue receiving the newsletter by mail.
Thank you,
Membership
Committee
PROPERTY 2005 YEAR END REPORT
The year was routine until February when business picked
up. A new telephone was installed in the kitchen to replace
the old one. A new flush-valve was installed in the men's
room to correct one problem and plumbing in the wall had a
long term leak that damaged the wall, and the floor tile in
the ladies room. A plumber did his thing and a carpenter
did the rest. Got two new 24,000 hour mercury-vapor flood
lights for the steeple and when things are right, we'll be
on the roof. In March we hired a grounds keeper for the
mowing and trimming to help keep our area nice. Primary
requirement: Grounds to look nice by Sunday morning
services. Need volunteers for upkeep in the Prayer Garden
pending complete makeover, also need volunteers for all
types of property upkeep. Accepted the responsibility for
Church Sign (marquee) and change messages each Wednesday.
April's weather halted the efforts of Carrie and Yvone in
the prayer garden. Received steel shelving for the storage
shed. Steeple floodlights have been wired and are
operational now. The Church thanks Jerry Dutsch and Jerry
Cochran for their work on the floodlights, beautiful
stained glass window lighting and on the under eave accent
lighting. Along came May and it was basically another
electrical month. Other than the great work our
groundskeeper was doing, many outdoor lights and some of
the indoor ones had out lived themselves. Fixture repaired
in the Pastor's office so we can actually see him now.
Sander's hall had a couple "way up there" lights out and a
broken switch next to the sound room. While repairing this
switch, we discovered an extra switch going nowhere. Still
don't know. All the EXIT lights were reworked and are
operational again but be careful they are HOT! Marquee
updates get good reaction from public, enjoy messages and
info.
Then came June. The Property and Memorial Committees
negotiated a tough agreement that Property would assume
care/maintenance/upkeep/etc of the memorial garden and
request Memorial funds for repairs/flowers/signs/etc as
needed. A thief dubbed "the freon bandit" finally got us.
He robbed one of our east end air conditioners of its
lifeblood leaving us warm and uncomfortable for Sunday
school. A police report was made. Suddenly it's July. Now
the parsonage has a/c problems. On top of that, the
pastor's office and secretary's office wouldn't cool, and
Sander's Hall was again warm. This time they found pin
holes in the attic lines. When it was done, we ended the
month spending $439.50 and hoped it worked. Procured
additional 50 gallons of sealer for parking lot, and
installed some of the new shelving in the storage shed.
August heat. Heat continues to be a problem for any
parking lot work, hopefully there will be a cooler spell to
help us out. Kitchen a/c putting out more warm air than
cool gets another shot of Freon. Serviceman suggests
setting thermostats at 80 deg during week for both
east/west a/c units, conserves energy, less wear etc.
Thermo- stats labeled and word passed.
September. Initial plans made to cut down nuisance trees
around the Memorial Garden. Yvone McGinnis will donate a
non-bearing tree to replace one of those being removed.
Jerry Dutsch will also donate a tree in memory of
Margaret-Rose Marek. Air-conditioner for pastor's and
secretary's offices have finally reached a point of
uneconomical repair after 20+ years of patching. The search
is on for what to replace it with. (Cheap bet is a
youngster with a hand fan). Well, October. A new
heating/air-conditioning unit has been installed and the
pastor and secretary's offices are again livable. The new
unit took three days and a new door (door thanks to Carl
Cochran). Curt and Beth worked really hard making the
initial cuts trimming the parking lot straight for the
railroad ties. Jerry Dutsch has volunteered his tractor to
help clean up after the cuts.
November at last. Thanks to Lowell 'Beaver' Baird, Sam
Knight, and Jerry Cochran, most of our "problem" trees have
been cut and the residual removed. Time is limited for the
remaining tree. Although there is still much left on the
table, December ends the year as quietly as it began for
property activity. Thanks to all the committee members for
their hard work during the year and a special thank you to
all the help from volunteers. May next year be as
productive for all of you as it has been for me.
On behalf of the Property Committee: Jerry Dutsch, Sam
Knight,
Barbara McCain, Jerry Cochran, Carl Cochran and Phil
McGinnis
EVENING WORSHIP TIME CHANGED
The evening worship service has been moved up an hour, it
is now at 6:00 pm on Sunday evening. The evening service
is also going through the Purpose Driven Church study. If
you miss a session on Sunday morning you can catch up
Sunday night.
CWF FEBRUARY MEETING
CWF will meet at 4:30 p.m. February 12, 2006. Our meeting
will be held at the church. We will have a lite snack, and
Alice will lead us in our worship study. All women of the
church are invited and encouraged to attend.
THANK YOU
We would like to express our deepest thanks for the
Christmas Cards, Gifts, and the extra special out pouring
of love that we received this Christmas. We love all of
you.
~Craig, Carrie and Conner
OUTREACH 2005 YEAR END REPORT
During 2005 we continued to donate $25.00 a month to Big
Five (Head Start) for the transportation of 1500 pounds of
food from OK City to the pick up site in Ardmore. If they
don't purchase this much poundage then the extra money is
used to buy bread, milk etc. locally. The food they are
able to purchase from the food bank in OK.City costs
pennies on the dollar that it would cost here and there are
many free items available.
In January we participated in the Love Makes the World Go
Round Project. We purchased 10 Valentines and requested the
Church members sign them for the Pediatric Cancer patients
at Children's Hospital in Oklahoma City. It was a state
wide effort. In February we purchased Freezer Number 2 for
Big Five at a cost of $389.00 (they had a large increase in
their FEMA grant and needed the storage space) We also
started our monthly garage sales to raise funds for the
video projector. During March the garage sale continued and
we made monthly donations from our "merchandise" to the
Women's Shelter and the Salvation Army. April rummage sale
canceled for the services of our own Margaret-Rose. In May
we purchased 2 smoke alarms for one of our church members
and the committee voted to help send our kids to camp.
This is the month we also sent $25.00 to the OK. City Food
Bank. $1.00 there can provide food for 7 meals and we
donated $25.00 to a Family Shelter in Ardmore and an
individual with cancer, a broken leg and their house burned
down.
In June we helped additional children go to church camp for
a total of 7 kids. August we bought a memorial brick for a
cost of $35.00. We also donated $500.00 to the American
Red Cross for the survivors of Katrina. The garage sales
were over and we donated left over merchandise to Big Five
Clothing room, Salvation Army, Women's Shelter, Sunshine
Industries and the Children's Shelter. We also had 3 back
packs that I took to the Elementary School. When I made
one of the Deliveries to Big Five I found a person in need
and brought them back to the Church for our unsold end
tables and a bicycle for one of their kids. November we
purchased 15 turkeys for Big Five Thanksgiving baskets for
a total of $160.93. We gave $300.00 to the Hospital for
their food pantry. And a hundred dollars to Mrs Kirby, at
Marietta Schools, to purchase clothes for a foster child.
It was at this meeting that Craig suggested we adopt this
child for Christmas and get her a gift that she wants.
December 15 turkeys were purchased for Big Five Christmas
baskets for $158.54 and a land line phone was purchased for
the little girl that she wanted and her foster mother
approved it.
In this past year we have helped feed locally over 500
people, they are given enough food to last a week; I have
no way of knowing how many are fed at the Food Bank in
Ok.City or the Hospital Food Pantry. This is done with the
One Dollar Bills that you put into the collection plate. I
thank you and I'm sure the hungry people we have fed thank
you.
Yvone McGinnis, 2005 Outreach Chair
VALENTINE DINNER
Kids in Christ (Disciples Youth) would like to invite you
to the annual Valentine Dinner. Dinner will be served on
February 11th at 6:30pm. This has become a wonderful
tradition to bring your sweetheart or friend to dinner and
have the opportunity to support YOUR youth group. This
year, the menu includes Chicken Spaghetti, Salad, Yeast
Rolls, and Chocolate Covered Strawberries. The kids are
looking forward to serving you on this special night.
*
WEBSITE
With the technology available these days, we can virtually
tour the world from the comfort of our own homes. Internet
usage today is as common as a "cold". I hope you have taken
the time to bookmark the church website and try to visit
often. Updates to the site will take place every two weeks,
and sooner if necessary! If you have a bit of information
you would like cyber-streamed, send it to Carla or Alice.
Articles, pictures, history...you take your pick! We want
the world to know who and what we are. Remember,
www.fccmariettaok.com , your information portal for First
Christian Church.
*
SPONSORS NEEDED
Kids in Christ meets the first Wednesday of each month at
5:00 pm. We need volunteers to provide the meal for March,
April, and May. If you could help us out, please let Carla
know
*
NAMETAGS
Have you noticed the nametags that several of our members
wear on their lapels on Sunday morning. Membership is now
taking orders for these personalized church name tags. The
tags cost around $3.50 and are magnetic and do not harm
your clothing. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin
board for orders.
*
BULLETINS
You will soon notice a change in the bulletins we use on
Sunday mornings. The worship committee would appreciate
any questions or comments you have.
*
RELOCATION
Gracie Drennan has moved to the Ardmore Village Lodge. If
you are in Ardmore stop by and see her. We will have new
address and telephone information in next month's
newsletter.
*
2006 COMMITTEES
The chairpersons for our standing committees for the 2006
year are as follows:
Membership/Evangelism*Alice Cochran
Finance/Stewardship*Darlene Beardsley
Worship***Gwen Bailey
****Bob Frank-Plumlee
Pastoral Relations**Karen Frank-Plumlee
Historical/Memorial**Beth Willis
Christian Education**Carol Baird
Property***Phil McGinnis
Outreach***Yvone McGinnis
Gift Committee**Curtis Cochran
Deacons***Beth Willis
Elders****Jerry Cochran
SCOUT SUNDAY
Please join us Sunday February 5, 2006 as we celebrate
Scout Sunday. We will honor all members of Cub Scouts,
Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
This year we have three scouts receiving their God and Me
medals. This is a big accomplishment for our kids and we
encourage everyone in their church family to be there to
support and congratulate them.
If you are a current or former scout, den leader or have
been associated in any way with the scouting please were
your uniform and join in our celebration.
ONE DOLLAR BILLS
Most people don't think that a dollar buys very much today.
However, if you read the Outreach year end report on page
4, you know just how much a dollar will buy these days.
Think of that each time you put a ONE DOLLAR BILL in the
offering plate. Every one dollar bill we receive during
our offering Sunday morning goes to the Outreach committee
to support their efforts in our community. Every dollar is
greatly appreciated and will be put to good use in our
community.
SPIRITUAL SEEKERS
The annual Spiritual Seekers seminar will be held Saturday,
February 4th, from 9:00 am till 3:00 pm. at the Ardmore
Convention Center. A Group of Ladies from our Church
enjoyed this event in the past. A catered lunch is provided
along with singing, speakers ect. There is no cost for the
event. If you would like to go contact Sue Beach
580-276-9686 or Cathy Brown 580-490-9488 to make your
reservation.
THERE ARE NEW SIGN UP SHEETS ON THE BULLETIN BOARD FOR LAY
LEADER, GREETER AND COMMUNION PREPARATION.
PLEASE SIGN UP!
FEBRUARY
BIRTHDAYS
*1*Barbara McCain
**Cynthia Weldon
*4*Louise Harkey
*10*Gayla Burrage
*19*Alex Hudson
**Valerie George
*21*James Howard
*22*Jesse Barr
*24*Cherokee Martin
ANNIVERSARIES
*4*Lee & Brenda **Pierce
JOYS & CONCERNS
Louise Harkey
Verna McCain
Sybile Askew
Jodie Hall
Agnes Anderson
Jesse Barr
Mary Harper
Catherine Gollan
THANK YOU!
To everyone who provided cookies or cake for our after
church fellowship during January. Yvone & Phil McGinnis,
Carrie Rutherford and Sam and Rosa Knight.
FEBRUARY COOKIE / CAKE SIGN UP
2/5**Beth Willis
2/12*Yvone McGinnis
2/19*Bob & Karen Frank-Plumlee
2/26*Rosa Knight
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