San Saba

First United Methodist Church

August 2013 Newsletter

San Saba

First United Methodist Church

204 W. Brown

325-372-3120 www.sansabafirstumc.com

Rev. Dan Harrington, Pastor

We bid you welcome

In the name of

Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Pray with us,

Sing with us, rejoice

with us

Sunday School 9:00 a.m.

Worship 10:00 a.m.

Ministers: Entire Congregation

Worship Leader: Tracey Thomas

Accompanist: Nettie Oma Carpenter

Choir Director: Tracey Thomas

Church Secretary: Karen Alexsnder

Custodian: Mario Mendiola

From the Pastor’s Desk…….. .Godly Play Workshop

On July 25th, 26th, and 27th 2013, I had the wonderful blessing of at-

tending a Godly Play Core training at St. Martins Lutheran Church in

Austin. Godly play is the creation of the Rev. Dr. Jerome W Berryman

and his late wife, Thea. It has been his work for over 40 years. "The

goal of Godly Play is for children to move through the spiral curriculum

during early, middle and late childhood in such a way that they will enter

adolescence with an inner working model of the classic Christian lan-

guage system to route them deeply in the tradition and at the same time

allowing them to be open to the future." (Teaching godly play, Berryman,

2009. Page. 21)

Godly Play informs our gathering in the following ways:

Getting ready

We recognize that we need to prepare, to slow down, open our hearts

and anticipate that of God in each other and in our coming together. We

check ourselves to see if we are ready.

Crossing the threshold

We choose to leave one space and enter another, bringing our whole

selves to the circle and choosing to be present as fully as possible. We

come with our doubts, fears, and failings as well as our convictions, joys

and successes, our listening as well as our speaking.

Building the circle

We extend and receive welcome. We do best in hospitable places. In

this circle we support each others learning by giving and receiving hospi-

tality. We take our place and make room for all to take their place.

Telling and Listening to the Stories

We need and use story to listen to our own story. We use an economy of

words and an economy of gestures so that we provide uncluttered and

open access to the story.

Wondering

We invite dialogue with open, honest questions. No fixing, saving, advis-

ing, or correcting each other. When there are differences and we feel

judgemental or defensive we turn to wonder. "I wonder what brought

them to this belief – I wonder how they are feeling now? I wonder what

my reaction teaches me about myself?" We strive to put aside judgment

to listen to others and to ourselves more deeply. 1

2

Church Council Changes Policy

After much discussion and with the best interests of the Church in mind, at its March meet-ing the Church Council voted to cancel the policy of lending church equipment, especially tables and chairs to either members or non-members. This action was reviewed and af-firmed by the Council at its July meeting. The use of tables and chairs will be limited to church activities on church property. Exceptions to this policy may be granted on a case by case basis by the Board of Trustees and the Pastor allowing the use of the church’s long tables and metal chairs by community groups such as the EMS or the Band Boosters when they use our backyard for an event such as the steak supper. Following approval of an exception to the stated policy by the Board of Trustees and the Pastor, the community group shall make proper arrangements in the office including signing a Request Form and placing the event on the church calendar. The upholstered chairs are not to be removed from the church building under any circumstances. The use of the round tables shall be limited to church ac-tivities on church property or person or groups paying a fee to use the church building for an event such as a wedding. In the case of a church activity not on church property-such as the sunrise service at Easter-the pastor and the chairperson of the Board of Trustees may approve an exception to the policy.

Living Thanks

“Thank you!” I eluded, after receiving a hefty bag of home-

grown tomatoes. I set the produce on the kitchen floor. I would

attend to it shortly. But I got distracted—for days.

Finally I lifted the bag to make use of the gift, and the bottom

fell out. Many of the tomatoes had become squishy, their juices

soaking the paper beneath them. Instead of making good use of

the generous gift, I was left cleaning up rotten tomatoes and

throwing many of the veggies away.

We do the same with God’s gifts. “I’ll practice piano tomor-

row...next week….next week….next month…”until soon we don’t

remember how to play at all. We pass up chances to visit

someone dear and, when she moves away, we regret squander-

ing the friendship. We opt to sleep in instead of attending wor-

ship, unaware of what gifts of God’s Word

and Christian fellowship we’ll miss.

Next time I receive something from God

—or anyone else—may the Spirit help me

not just given thanks but live thanks by us-

ing and enjoying the gift! Heidi Mann.

Newest Church Family

Members

Grant & Christi Mays

Libby, Noah, Emily

Grasshopper the Dog

Prayer

Concerns

Charles Belk

Suzanne Walters

Raymond Barrier

Peter Hald

Charles Simmon

Gene Hinyard

Ronnie Schmidt

Lylah (Stephanie and Chase’s

daughter)

Stan Burnham

Johnnie Golden (Tracey’s friend)

Stephanie Conner (Nettie Oma’s

fam.)

Bettye McLaughlin

Elsie Millican

Edgar Gaddison

Mark Owens (safety)

Katie Andreas (in hospital, continu-

ing prayer)

Joe Mack Tilson

Ray Forrester (Grace Hollis’ Hus-

band)

Jeannette & Jeff Toole &Family

Layton Sanford

James and Pat Reavis

Gordan Hall (prostate cancer)

Kathren Wolfe (Martha Schanhals)

Mrs. McDowell (Mike’s Mom)

Margaret Ann Seiders (Celia Bell’s

Mom)

Landon Yarbrough

Pete Hemenway (friends of Trish

Warren)

Mitchell, Johna, Madison and Mat-

thew Moss

Our City, Our Nation, Our

Church Please Pray for Our Troops, All Our Military Men and

Women

3 3

Continued from page 1………………..

Prayers and Feast

We take time to express what is most deeply true and important

(prayer). We recognize that feasting is who we are with

(relationships) – not what or how much we get (product).

Blessing

We both give and receive blessing. We genuinely see each other.

We look for and call out the best in each other and affirm who

each person most authentically is. We each are called to have the

courage to be who we most authentically and uniquely are.

Goodbye

We have all the time we need. We believe that it is possible to

leave the circle with whatever it is that we needed when we joined

the circle and that what we receive will continue to grow in the

days ahead.

In the next few weeks I (Pastor Dan) will be sharing more of this with you as we build our Godly Play Classroom. We will need a creative and talented team to put this together. please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry. For more information please email or call Pastor Dan 512-777-9678 revdanharring-ton@gmail.com

Back to School Blessings

On

Students, Teachers, &

School Board Members

Sunday, August 25th

Blessings During

Worship Service

Covered Dish Luncheon

Immediately Follows

4

July Stewardship Report

The following figures do not include all income, expenses or the end of the month payroll. These are the

totals on July 31, 2013 .

General Fund Income to date for July only $10,467

General Fund Income to date for the year $81,554

General Fund Expenses to date for July only $10,829

General Fund Expenses to date for the year $83,971

General Fund Balance on July 31, 2013 $11,720

Submitted by Millie Burnham

Pumpkin Patch Fund Raiser

What is the pumpkin patch? A company out of New Mexico

provides pumpkins free of charge to churches all across Amer-

ica. There are a set number of pumpkins that we will receive

based on our size. Pumpkins will be delivered and we will

unload them and sell them. We will have them approximately

two weeks and we need volunteers to help run the stand and

unload. Our church will keep a percentage of the total sales

(for example under 7K in sales we would keep 25% and send

the rest to the pumpkin patch.). There are many activities that

can be done while we have the pumpkins such as a photo

booth, carving, instructions, storytime, pumpkin pie contest,

etc. all of which will take quite a bit of time and effort from a number of volunteers. We will be holding a meet-

ing on August 8 at 5 PM Please prayerfully consider joining the pumpkin patch team.

New Church Secretary After several months of prayer for just the right person….FUMC is looking forward to welcoming our

new church secretary!!!

Karen Alexander

2502 West View Circle

San Saba, TX 76877

325-248-7600 or 325-423-9400

Karen comes to us as an experienced office administrator with a work history that includes Secretary/

Treasurer of the Nueces River Canyon Cowboy Church in Barksdale, Texas. Her first day in the office

will be Monday, August 5th.

Letter from Suzanne Walters Dear Church Family,

I want to thank you all for the wonderful breakfast, cards and gifts. I have a wonderful room with a great view.

I'm making friends and really enjoying the great food. Our chef is a registered chef and really can cook. I

enjoy the Sunday school class on Sunday morning iand the church service on Sunday afternoon. I miss you

all- all the time, but miss you most on Sunday mornings. Love in Jesus,

Suzanne

Our Church Family

Zacharias Bock Andrews, born July 15, 2013 in Austin. His parents are Casey &

David Andrews of Round Rock. The Brad Everett Family has enjoyed the relaxed

schedule of summer by going on a family camping

Trip. Jayce stayed 10 days at her aunt’s

house (Brad’s sister’s) and had lots of fun

there. Libby Mays went to a tennis camp

here in San Saba under the direction of

Ralph Cox. The whole Mays family did a

summer vacation to the Guadalupe river.

Bet they had a grand time!! Trish Warren is on the road again.

She will be headed to Colorado and Missouri to see her sons and

grandsons soon. Suzanne Walters was honored with a breakfast

the last Sunday of June. She moved to the Eastern Star Retire-

ment Home in Arlington, Texas. For those of you wanting to let

Suzanne here from you, her address is: Suzanne Walters, 1501 W.

Division, Arlington, TX 76012. Maria Harrington enjoyed a visit

from her dad and his family. Of course, they were very interested

in seeing how much Jesse had changed. She has also enjoyed a

bread-making lesson from the master baker, C.K. Stevenson. A

special thanks goes out to Jantzen Bell for running the sound board several times recently. He did a great job

filling in for the regulars while they were out of town. Christi Mays has also done that. It really helps to have

backup people. Maddy Shahan has been to church camp and then Risien Shahan went. Risien is pictured on

this page with the biggest French fry in Texas. He ate this French fry at the

DQ in san Saba and asked that I put it in the newsletter. Ryan Mathis was in

Stamford Texas for a steer roping. He won!!! He was so excited. Taylor

Wise celebrated her fourth birthday this month. Happy birthday, Taylor!!!

Travis Gage has some really good news. He is officially in remission. Ted &

Klela Red enjoyed some out-of-town company this month. Cindy Prater en-

joyed the Brister reunion the 4th of July week-end and the cousins camp that

followed. Did you notice the write-up in the San Saba newspaper? I am

happy to report that Sue Moody’s knee replacement surgery went well. She is

at home and is getting out some now. Tracey & Mike Thomas have had a

busy month. The celebrated their anniversary by going back to Arkansas

where they honeymooned and then going on to Branson. Their son Josh had

gall bladder surgery and then helped out with the grandkids the day of the sur-

gery. Mark & Kathy McEwin have enjoyed having their daughters Katie

home for one week-end and then Shi’ann home for another week-end. Owen

& Linda Parks had a very special occasion to celebrate. They have a few more years before they will catch

Stan & Millie Burnham. They celebrated their 65th anniversary this month. Their daughter and son-in-law

Kelly and Darren Barker hosted a 50th wedding party for them. Best wishes goes out to Mike & Jerilyn Milli-

can on their recent marriage. The couple married at Elsie Millican’s home. Alvin Thesis enjoyed having his

grandson with him one Sunday. It was good to have Ronnie & Lisa Schmidt worshipping with us several Sun-

day’s. Ronnie we hope you continue to feel better. One Sunday he even had his son with him.

First Choir News: Have you been missing the choir this summer? Choir practice will begin back on August 14th at 6:00 pm. As always, we welcome

ANY new people who would like to come "hang out" with other people who love to make a joyful noise, sing together, and glorify

God in song. Those are the ONLY requirements!! If you need help knowing what part you sing, or who can help you by sitting by

you.....just appear and we will GLADLY help you feel comfortable with those in the choir loft. Christmas cantata practice will be

here before we know it, but I will give you another month to think about that news. Tracey

Be Apart of the

1st FUMC Church

Directory!!!

Pictures Taken August 21st 22nd

Please Sign Up For Your Picture.

For Your Participation You Will Receive:

Free 8 x 11 picture & a Free Directory

Coming Soon….

Bible Study

Led by Trish Warren

Beginning Tuesday, October 1st

Watch Next Month’s Newsletter

For More Details!!!

SOMETHING NEW IS COMING…

A new Sunday school class is coming beginning Sept 9. Believing that God has been laying this on my heart

for a reason, I am stepping out on faith to offer and lead a new class aimed primarily at younger adults. With

fear, excitement and some trepidation...I have been in search of materials and have settled on "Devotional

Classics". This book is full of scripture, short writings by time tested writers such as C. S. Lewis, John

Wesley, John Calvin, Brother Lawrence, and many more. The lessons are not lengthy, but offer great insight

for prayer and discussion and I am so excited to begin this exploration of discipleship with all who will

come. Please seek God to see if you are drawn to this study, and let me know so we can order books.

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? Isaiah 43:19a Tracey

Thank You... A warm heart felt thank you to all the fine folks of San Saba First UM Church. We arrived May 1st thinking

we would have a couple of weeks to settle in before Jesse’s birth but that was not to be case. The next night

Dan and Maria left for the hospital immediately after getting Lyla and Jonah to bed and by the next morning

little Jesse had arrived. What a whirlwind of excitement and joy! We were all made much more comfortable

with your gracious gifts of dinner(s) for not only the Harrington family but you also included us, the grandpar-

ents, in your generosity. We have very much enjoyed being among you the last three months: worshiping with

you each Sunday, celebrating JT’s graduation, a fabulous Bible School, Suzanne’s move and welcoming Jesse

with a wonderful shower of diapers, and other baby care products. Thank you! You helped us to feel right at

home.

In mid-August this visit to San Saba will end as we return to our home in Winston-Salem NC however our heart

is always with our family. . . therefore, we’ve extended the lease indefinitely on our little house at 1410 Dry

Street and will return in October. We look forward to much more time enjoying our children and grandchil-

dren, worshiping with you, Wednesday AM communion, the Pumpkin Patch, Godly Play, Dillo football, bris-

ket and wonderful homemade bread. God Bless you for being “the church”.

Sincerely,

Lynne and Rev. Bill Berry