WMU appreciates your support of Operation Christmas Child! Please return your packed Shoeboxes to the Loving Kindness Room by this Sunday, November 18th. Boxes will be delivered to First Methodist immediately after worship on Sunday.
Cuba Team Update
The Cuba team has been meeting and we are excited about a possibility for some of our church members to go to Cuba this spring from March 9 through March 16. It is an excellent opportunity to build a relationship with other Christians in their home community and to support each other as we all journey on the path of discipleship. If you are interested please come to a brief meeting this coming Sunday Nov 18 after worship. We will be meeting in the gathering room. Also feel free to contact a team member if you have other questions.
Judy Seago 507-7489, Kelly Brown, Renee Coward, Debbie Higdon, Jerry Parker
HOW IS YOUR MATH?
If our attendance at church is 125 and we need 450 cans of Spaghettios and Ravioli to meet our pledge in filling the Christmas Break Bags, how many cans do YOU need to bring?
Answer: 450 divided by 125 = 3.6 cans PER PERSON
(family of 4 = 15 cans, family of 3 = 11 cans, family of 2 = 7 cans, etc.) Of course, you may bring more!
Donations go into the UCM box in the Loving Kindness Room.
A Note from SMHS Football Team
Pastor Jeff Mathis and First Baptist Church,
Thank you so much for partnering in the FCA/Church pre-game and adopt-a-team ministries in Jackson County! We are grateful for the amazing pre-game meal, but especially the ministry of our great Lord and Savior to our young athletes and coaches! God has used you to impact and transform many lives for the cause of Christ through both of these ministry opportunities!
Thank you again and God bless!
SMHS Football Program & Athletic Dept.
P.S. - Special thanks to Ruth McConnell and her awesome team of cooks!
Thank You from the Youth Group
"The youth would like to thank all the adults who helped to make Sunday's College Student Lunch a success. For helping us with our grocery shopping and transportation, Dee and Larry Grantham; for helping with organization and planning in the kitchen, Cheryl and Steve Beck, and Sandra and Leo James; and thank you to all the youth parents for making sure the cooks and prep crew were in their places ready to work!. Thanks for making it possible for us to cook and serve this meal!"
-The Youth and Carol
Volunteer for CDP and REACH
Center for Domestic Peace and REACH of Macon County are looking for volunteers! CDP & REACH of Macon County are in a collaborative partnership to provide services to the victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Jackson County. We are proud to now have our office doors open 9-5 Monday through Friday but we still have some growing to do! We are looking for volunteers to help us complete our client and children’s waiting areas. Many who come into our office are in a state of crisis and having a space where clients can rest while their children play safely is a vital component to our services. If you or a group are willing to donate 3-4 hours of your time to help us bring this safe space to life, please contact Destri Leger at (828) 586-8969 or dleger@reachofmaconcounty.org
Prayer Request Alerts
We are starting a text message alert group that will notify individuals about prayer requests that need immediate attention. If you sign up to receive these messages, a text message alert will be sent to you so that you can join us in praying for God’s intervention in a particular circumstance. If you would like to receive these updates, you can sign up by emailing the church office (fbcsylva@gmail.com) or by calling us at 586-2095 and give us your name and cell phone number.
The 3rd Annual Alternative Christmas Fair: Christmas with a Cause!
Join us at The Mission & Fellowship Center at First Baptist Church, Sylva on Saturday, November 17th from 12:00pm-4:00pm for an opportunity to give a gift that transforms lives in our community and world this holiday season! Local, national, and international ministries and agencies will host tables during the fair, selling handmade goods, raffling off items, and accepting donations in honor of your loved ones.
Participants include: United Christian Ministries, HIGHTS, The Community Table, READ Ecuador, Clean Slate Coalition, Full Spectrum Farms, Vecinos, Circles of Hope, UMCOR Hurricane Relief Fund, Heifer International, The Department on Aging Senior Christmas Boxes, and Blue Ridge Health - Jackson.
Cash and Check encouraged. Some groups may accept Credit Cards. All donations are tax deductible!
Crafting Your Last Will and Testament
How do you capture someone’s life in less than 60 minutes at their funeral?
Short answer? You don’t. But still, the question haunts me.
One of the greatest honors that I am bestowed as pastor is to be present with families when a loved one dies. I can freely testify that God’s love, God’s strength, and God’s peace are felt at these most-important moments. The ground is transformed into Holy Ground, and it is a privilege to bear witness to a person’s entry into life eternal.
A different kind of energy, however, is required in the coming hours and days. We all know this. Unlike other ceremonies and services, funeral arrangements require swift attention. Although the bereaved have often had the chance to get some rest in the hours since their loved one’s death, there is still the unmistakable air of disbelief in the looks of those who meet with me to discuss the funeral.
At these times, we need help and assistance to make the necessary arrangements for family travel realities, visitation, the funeral service, burial possibilities, etc. Some have reflected that the business of death is helpful; one can focus on the logistics and delay the inevitable tidal wave of grief.
“I know that daddy would have wanted this hymn sung at his funeral,” one bereaved child once mentioned to me when we were planning his funeral service.
Her mother, however, snapped to attention at the suggestion: “I don’t like that song. I’ve never liked that song.” There was a moment of awkward silence. “But I think you’re right. He would have liked that song to be played.” Resolution and disappointment clouded her face.
I couldn’t help but to speak up and to give some perspective at this difficult moment.
“Actually, the funeral is not for the one who died. The funeral is for you, the family and your friends. The service is a time for you to grieve and to be comforted in the solidarity of your church family. You may choose whatever you may wish to help you memorialize your husband's life. But you should consider a song that would be meaningful for you.”
When I was in seminary, I took a class where I was directed to write my own funeral. Interestingly, I was also working on the service for my Ordination to the Gospel Ministry at the same time. One of my friends remarked, “Aren’t they one and the same?”
It’s a good exercise to write your own funeral, and I can certainly commend that experience to you. And yet, you probably shouldn’t take it too seriously. Why? The funeral service is for the living, not the dead.
The purpose of a Christian funeral is to give thanks for God’s presence in a life that we held dear. It is a time of bearing witness to someone’s life. But the funeral is also a time of remembrance of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, as that gives us assurance and hope in the reality of the deceased’s journey into eternal life.
The funeral cannot bear the weight or responsibility of capturing the power and significance of a person’s life. Yes, we will remind the congregation of your birth, your vocation, the facts and figures of your life’s journey. There will probably be some music played or sung. And yes, we will reflect on how your story and God’s story intersect. We will most definitely pray for your friends and loved ones, and we will seek comfort in scripture passages that you held dearly.
But that moment does not belong to you. It belongs to the survivors, to the congregation, to friends and family, and to us.
The funeral service that I wrote for myself is my own assessment of my life. The truth is, however, that the life that I choose to live is the only testimony I’ll ever really have. Our lives and how we choose to live them are our real legacy; our true last will and testament.
So, if we find ourselves anxious about what will be said at our funeral and wish to script it out in the framework of our own choosing, we’d best remember this: It’s our life, our love, our sacrifice, our service, our actions and decisions that really matter.
And once you live your life, you entrust it to others.
Focus on your life now. Be grateful for the gift of life! Let someone else worry about your funeral service. Trust me. If you live your life faithfully and well, your funeral will write itself.
Christmas Break Bags
Our church has been asked to provide 450 cans of Spaghettios and Ravioli for the United Christian Ministries break bags which will be distributed to the 46% of the children who qualify for free breakfast and lunch when school is in session. Meeting the needs of hungry children locally is our way of responding to Jesus’ command to “go first to Jerusalem”. Donations are to be put in the UCM box in the Kindness Room.
