Hey McFarland! Pastor Wayne here!
As I write this on Friday, November 18, 2022, we are entering the last week of the church year as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving here in the USA. This Sunday, November 20, we will give thanks together for the blessings that we have received. We have so much to be thankful for as we enter this season.
This Sunday, November 20, after church, we will need a few folks to remain after church to move the Christmas tree from the storage room to the Sanctuary. Then, on Monday, November 21, we will need folks between the hours of 10:00 am and 12:00 Noon to decorate the tree and decorate the church for the Advent Season. Your presence would be greatly appreciated if you can help out with this task
As we enter into Advent and the preparation for Christmas, I would like to suggest some local ways that we can make life better in our community or make Christmas special for children in our community:
- Our Christmas Free Store will take place on Thursday, December 1. We can use donations of new or gently used toys for the children that are served through the Free Store. We can also use volunteers to help make this special day happen for the people that we serve.
- Mr. Damon Raines, the Superintendent of Walker County Schools, wrote to me inviting us to once again support the Backpack Blessings program co-ordinated through the North Georgia YMCA. Backpack Blessings provides weekend food for children who are fed through the Free and Reduced School Lunch Program. The food that is provided through the Backpack Blessings program may provide the only opportunity for meals on the weekends for children in poverty. Our Christmas Eve offering will once again support this mission and we will also take a designated offering on December 18. You can offer support through these offering opportunites by marking your check for backpack blessings or by clicking here, choosing 304 – Local Missions, then scroll down to the memo box and designating your gift to Backpack Blessings.
- Walker County DFACS is offering a Secret Santa program to benefit children in the foster care program in Walker County. If you would like to contribute toward this ministry to children in need, please contribute in the offering plate by December 11 so that there is time to get the payment to DFACS. You can also contribute online to this ministry with your debit/credit card or through your checking account by clicking here, choosing 304 – Local Missions and then scrolling down to the memo box and entering Secret Santa. Again, this needs to be done no later than December 11 so that we can get the funds to DFACS in time to get Christmas gifts.
As we enter into the Advent Season, there are many among us who need your prayers for recovery from medical situations or other troubling issues. We join with Lamar Bankston in celebration of his notification that he is currently free from cancer. There are others who also celebrate as we enter into Thanksgiving. Of course, as followers of Christ, it is my hope that we can always find time to give thanks for the blessings that we have received.
We will be sending out estimate of giving cards in the next couple of weeks so that you may respond in a way that will help us budget for the coming year. Your financial support of the ministry and mission of McFarland UMC is essential to us living out our mission to “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”
Once again, I give thanks for you and your support as we seek to be in ministry with the Rossville community. Please be in prayer for Darlene Hicks, our long-time Administrative Assistant. Darlene is experiencing an extreme reaction to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and a pinched nerve in her shoulder that has limited her time in the office. She is expecting her first surgery on December 6. During her recovery, office hours will be spotty, but voice mail will be monitored daily and responded to as necessary. Thank you for your understanding in this time.
I am blessed to be your pastor.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Pastor Wayne
