Today in Iraan

We are blessed to have such a welcoming place to gather each week for fellowship, for learning, and for worship. As the congregation gathers in the sanctuary each there is a genuine feeling of being part of a community of faith. We are growing in the faith each week and visitors are expected every time we come together!

Scripture Lesson for Sunday, January 31

(fresco of the Prophet Jeremiah, circa 1120)

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Jeremiah 1:4-10 (KJV)

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “ Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Then said I: “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” But the LORD said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,” says the LORD. Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.”

Passing of Dorothy Young

Dorothy Young, 88, a long-time member of the First UMC in Iraan, passed away this morning at the McCamey Convalescent Center with family at her side. The funeral service will be Wednesday, February 3rd at 2:00 pm at the First UMC in Iraan.

Pastor Charles Organizing!

What a busy day Pastor Charles had at the Iraan United Methodist Church yesterday! He put his organizing skills to work and cleared out the children's education center.

Monday in Iraan

The Iraan Senior Center was the place to be for lunch today. Dottie and Lee Mann took Pastor Charles and Belinda to the center for the midday meal, which was a real treat. We enjoyed seeing several other First UMC members and being introduced to some of the other Iraan residents.

Thanks also goes to Ronnie for spending time at the church this afternoon, taking care of the leaves that had collected around the church.

We are blessed to have such hard-working folk at the church!

Sunday in Iraan

It is a blessing to be in the house of God each week. Today was another example of the joy that comes when God's people come together! Our worship focused on the reading from Luke 4:14-30. We returned to the community energized to rethink church. Instead of church being a noun, it is time to think of it as a verb!

Prayer for Sunday, January 24

O Lord:
In a world where many are lonely, we thank You for our friendships.
In a world where many are captive, we thank You for our freedom.
In a world where many are hungry, we thank You for Your provision.
We pray that You will: enlarge our sympathy, deepen our compassion, and give us grateful hearts.

In Christ’s Name.

The Rev. Terry Waite, Prayers Encircling the World, SPCK, London, 1998, p.87

First UMC - Iraan at work

The Administrative Council met this evening in the church fellowship hall. Attending tonight's meeting were: Dottie, Cathy, Kirke, Pastor Charles, Deanna, James, Ron, Lee, and Belinda Alkula. We are blessed to have such faithful workers in this corner of the kingdom!

Prayers requested for Rev. Clinton Rabb family

The Rev. Clinton Rabb, 60, a leader in The United Methodist Church's extensive mission volunteer program, died on January 17 in a Florida hospital of injuries sustained when he was trapped for 55 hours in the ruins of the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Rev. Rabb was also a clergy member of the Southwest Texas Conference (including serving as pastor of St. Luke UMC in San Angelo).

See the full article from the United Methodist News Service.

Sunday at First UMC - Iraan

Sunday in Iraan was a wonderful day to gather in the House of God for worship! We are blessed to have such a faithful group of disciples who come together week after week to praise God and share in this time of worship and fellowship.

San Angelo District Epiphany Party

The second annual San Angelo District Epiphany Party took place Saturday afternoon at San Angelo's First UMC. Bill & Bobbie Lester (from McCamey) joined Pastor Charles & Belinda (and Belinda's mother, Sheila Hammitt) and dozens more UM's from around the district in the celebration.

Our District Superintendent, Rev. Larry Altman, introduced Pastor Charles & Belinda to the district along with the new pastor at Bronte UMC.

We also heard from the District Lay Leader, Wade Powell, and a home missionary, Maria (forgot to write down her last name), about the continued efforts by the UMC to eliminate malaria. Look for more information on this blog and in the February e-newsletter about what we can do to be involved.

Urgent need for UMCOR Health Kits

Health kits provide basic necessities to people who have been forced to leave their homes because of human conflict or natural disaster. Health kits are also used as learning tools in personal hygiene, literacy, nutrition and cooking classes.

For more and details (including shipping information), please see the UMCOR health kit link or see this link - Health Kit PDF (1pp, 78K)

Place these items inside a sealed one-gallon plastic bag.
1 hand towel (15" x 25" up to 17" x 27", No kitchen towels)
1 washcloth
1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket-sized)
1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
1 bath-size bar of soap (3 oz. and up)
1 toothbrush (single brushes only in original wrapper, No child-size brushes)
6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages
$1.00 to purchase toothpaste

(NOTE: UMCOR Sager Brown is now purchasing toothpaste in bulk to be added to health kits before shipping to ensure that the product does not expire before they are sent.)

Praise report from Haiti

There is good news from Haiti today: "Two United Methodist mission leaders have been rescued from the rubble of the Hotel Montana, and workers are close to extracting a third church leader pinned under a concrete beam after the massive earthquake rocked Haiti Jan. 12." (please see the story from the United Methodist News Service)

Prayers for Haiti

Three staff members from the United Methodist General Board of Global Missions (GBGM) were in the Hotel Montana in Haiti at the time of the earthquake. There has been no word. Prayers for all Haiti and for Sam Dixon, Clint Rabb, Jim Gulley & families.

Please see this link for the latest news from the United Methodist News Service.

Haiti Emergency

Please be in prayer for the people of Haiti in the aftermath of the major earthquake that struck that impoverished country this week. You can read the story about the earthquake in Haiti at the United Methodist News Service.

"United Methodists have had a long-standing relationship with Haiti through the Methodist Church of Haiti. The strong ties between the Methodist Church of Haiti and The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) helped in facilitating the opening of the UMCOR Haiti field office in 2005." (from the UMCOR web site)

Please visit the UMCOR web site to make your donation online.

Baptism of the Lord Sunday

On this Baptism of the Lord Sunday, won't you consider your own baptism and what it means for you, for your church, and for the world?

"We give thanks for all that God has already given us. As members of the body of Christ and in this congregation of The United Methodist Church, we will faithfully participate in the ministries of the church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness, that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ."

From the Baptismal Covenant IV, The United Methodist Hymnal (1989).


This window is from the parish church in Troutbeck, Cumbria, UK. It was manufacturered by William Morris and designed by Edward Burne Jones.

San Angelo District Epiphany Party

Who: All UMC members in the district

What: Epiphany Party
When: Saturday, January 16, 2010
Where: First United Methodist Church - San Angelo

Why: To celebrate!
How: Gather at 11:30 a.m. & Eat at 12 noon

PLEASE RSVP to Amy in the District office, (325) 486-1500 by Jan. 13th

Potluck Items to bring:
District: Meat, King’s Cake and Drinks

West Area: Salads
(Barnhart, Big Lake, Rankin, McCamey, Iraan, Ozona, Mertzon)

South Area: Breads
(Sonora, Barksdale, Rocksprings, Eldorado, Del Rio, Brackettville)

East Area: Vegetables
(Eden, Paint Rock, Melvin, Menard, Brady, Castell, Hilda, Art, Mason,
Junction, London)

North Area: Vegetables
(Miles, Veribest, Bronte, Robert Lee, Water Valley, Sterling City)

Central Area: Vegetables
(Christoval, All San Angelo Churches)

January 6th is marked on the church calendar as the Day of Epiphany. From now until Ash Wednesday (and the beginning of Lent), the liturgical color is green.

Here is an Epiphany Day reflection from the General Board of Discipleship: Epiphany Reflections.

Epiphany Day Prayer
Everlasting God, the radiance of faithful souls,You brought the nations to Your light and kings to the brightness of Your rising. Fill the world with Your glory, and show Yourself to all the nations; through Him who is the true light and the bright and morning star, even Jesus Christ Your Son, our Lord. Amen.

(Latin Sacramentary, 5th-7th century - UMC Book of Worship, #297)

Wesley's Covenant Prayer for the New Year

I am no longer my own, but Thine.
Put me to what Thou wilt, rank me with whom Thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for Thee or laid aside for Thee, exalted for Thee or brought low for Thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to Thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Thou art mine, and I am Thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.



(As used in the Book of Offices of the British Methodist Church, 1936)