Summer Sabbath Sundays in July
Come Casual, Bring a Friend!
 

And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat.
Luke 5:3

Meet us in the Family Life Center Sundays in July for worship just a bit differently. These relaxed services are 8:45a.m. and 10:00 a.m. each Sunday. There will be no children’s or youth Sunday School during July, and adult classes will meet as planned by each individual class.  Each week we’ll explore one of Jesus’ parables in this series titled:  "Jesus.  Yes or No?". You will not want to miss this special series during July. What a perfect time to invite your friends and neighbors to church.

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Join a Summer Book Club

     As we prepare for Summer Sabbath in July, why not plan to be part of a special book study during July as well?

     Angela Burris invites you to join her in discussion of the book Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren F. Winner.   In her book, Winner invites Christians to enrich their faith with eleven spiritual practices from Judaism that can transform the way we view the world and God.  Whether discussing attentive eating, marking days while grieving, the community that supports marriage, candle-lighting, or the differences between the Jewish Sabbath and a Sunday spent at the Mudhouse, her favorite coffee shop, Winner writes with appealing honesty and rare insight. 

     Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Seminary says, “Winner is a gifted writer who has much to teach us about the deep and indestructible bonds between Judaism and Christianity.”

   Meet Angela and others in the FUMC Theatre on Thursdays in July from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m.  Bring your own lunch.  Drinks and dessert are provided.  Copies of Mudhouse Sabbath are available at Angela's office at the church for $15.00 or from the Cokesbury Virtual Bookstore.

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New Family Life Center Activities

A Summer Basketball Camp will be led by Catherine Greene, a 2008 Graduate of UNC Chapel Hill.  At UNC, Catherine served as Head Manager for the Lady Tarheels where she participated in team practices, drills, and conducts summer camps. During Catherine’s time at UNC, the team won 4 consecutive ACC titles and made it to the Elite 8 this year in the NCAA tournament. Catherine will enroll in graduate school this fall with a major in sports administration and serve as a graduate assistant on the Lady Tarheels.  Please visit our Family Life Center page for details and registration information.

Fall Soccer registration is underway for boys and girls ages three to sixteen.  For program details and registration see the Current News on the Family Life Center page.

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Virtual Bookstore

Our church has partnered with Cokesbury to launch a virtual bookstore that will enable our members to have quick and easy online access to the finest in books, Bibles, music, software, and church supplies. Members also can receive a 20% discount on many of Cokesbury's products. Cokesbury will be capturing sales information that comes through our virtual store in order to calculate a 5% rebate of qualifying sales (curriculum, downloads, official products do not qualify) for our church. In other words, each purchase made by a member through our virtual store will increase the rebate check our church will receive from Cokesbury. To visit our store, click on the Virtual Bookstore image in the links on the border above.

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Our purpose is to call persons into a living relationship with Jesus Christ, so that we live as disciples of Christ and use our resources to share God's love in ministry to the human needs of the church, community and world.

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The Mission of First United Methodist Church, Gastonia is to be a church who will Follow Jesus, Make Disciples, and Transform the World.  We do this through worship, Bible study, small groups, music, fellowship, pastoral care, children and youth activities, and mission and outreach.  You are invited to come and be a part of this mission.

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Check out our worship times and visit us soon!  Please contact us with any questions.  Add your name and address to our mailing list by visiting our Contact Page.