There was a great spirit about the church today. You really could feel God's presence!

Great Church Family Fellowship

We had a great morning of church family fellow- ship at our brunch today! Folks at the Iraan First United Methodist Church sure know how to cook! Praise be to God for special times of church family fun and fellowship around the brunch tables, surrounded by God's love and care!!!

A Thought for the Second Sunday in Lent

Today in our worship we will be considering prayer as a means of grace. Join us in the prayer that Jesus taught His discipes...

Don't forget to come for Breakfast!

We're breaking bread and a whole lot more tomorrow morning at the First UMC - Iraan! February 28th marks the start of a new tradition in our fellowship, a monthly breakfast potluck!

Come and share this time together with your church family starting at 8:30 am and then join us in the sanctuary and receive the spiritual food you need!

Don't forget to bring a FRAN (Friend, Relative, and Neighbor)!!!

The FUMC Has a New Welcome Mat

The friendly folks at the First United Methodist Church have "put out the welcome mat!" Everyone who comes through the door is offered a warm welcome, indeed!

Great Sunday at Iraan FUMC!

Praise be to God for a great Sunday at the First United Methodist Church in Iraan! We had a great fellowship time before the service. And we delighted in welcoming visitors this morning!

A thought for the First Sunday in Lent

"The problem for most of us is that we cannot go straight from setting down the cell phone to hearing the still, small voice of God in the wilderness. If it worked like that, churches would be full and Verizon would be out of business. If it worked like that, Lent would only be about twenty minutes long."

~Barbara Brown Taylor

Christianity and World Religions Study starts 2-21-10

Who: Anyone interested in learning

What: Learn more about Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, & Islam. What they have in common, and what makes them unique.

When: Sundays (Feb. 21 - Mar. 28) @ 5:30 pm

Where: First United Methodist Church - McCamey (1601 S. Burleson)

Why: Wrestling with the questions people ask.

How: Bring a ""brown bag" supper, watch a dvd/video presentation by the Rev. Adam Hamilton, and share in a discussion. Child care will be provided.

The Lenten journey begins

Look in the mirror and see a face that is a canvas on which an ashen cross might be drawn. Pause for a moment and remember that we will once again be fitted with new sandals for our forty-day Lenten journey. Repentance bows our heads low. God's love, grace and forgiveness lifts our heads up again. Today is Ash Wednesday.

The Rev. Anna Murdock, Statesville, NC

Ash Wednesday 2010

Please join the congregation of the First UMC - McCamey (1601 S. Burleson Ave.) for an Ash Wednesday service tonight (Feb. 17) at 7:00 pm. The service will include Holy Communion and the imposition of ashes.

A prayer for Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday") and Carnival ("Farewell to Meat") precede Ash Wednesday and Lent around the world, even where Lent has ceased to have much religious meaning.

The following prayer for Mardi Gras is from the Creighton University (Omaha, Nebraska) Online Ministries page:

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for it is from your goodness that we have this day to celebrate on the threshold of the Season of Lent. Tomorrow we will fast and abstain from meat. Today we feast. We thank you for the abundance of gifts you shower upon us. We thank you especially for one another.

As we give you thanks, we are mindful of those who have so much less than we do. As we share these wonderful gifts together, we commit ourselves to greater generosity toward those who need our support. Prepare us for tomorrow.

Tasting the fullness of what we have today, let us experience some hunger tomorrow. May our fasting make us more alert and may it heighten our consciousness so that we might be ready to hear your Word and respond to your call.

As our feasting fills us with gratitude so may our fasting and abstinence hollow out in us a place for deeper desires and an attentiveness to hear the cry of the poor. May our self-denial turn our hearts to you and give us a new freedom for generous service to others.

We ask you these graces with our hearts full of delight and stirring with readiness for the journey ahead. We ask them with confidence in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.

Prayer for Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday

(Church of the Transfiguration, Mt. Tabor - Israel)

Transforming and Holy God … The glory of Your Presence is much too brilliant for our stammering words to make sense in telling others. We find ourselves face down in awe and yet these moments become our faith story. With tremendous love, You have whispered "Shhh… Listen."

With tremendous love Jesus lifts us up and veils Your holy radiance once more so that we might keep our eyes upon Him. And with tremendous love, Your Son walks to the cross for us. O God, help us see Your Presence with a brilliance that is unmistakable. Be with us in our silence as we soon prepare to step out on our Lenten journey.

Form our sentences in Your most perfect of timing, sending us out to tell what we have seen as truth. Give us blessed eyes to see Your Holy Presence around us and a renewed understanding of what You would have us tell others. Amen.

(The Rev. Anna Murdock, Broadstreet UMC, Statesville, NC)

Prayer asked for Russell Memorial UMC

Only days after fire destroyed their historical sanctuary, Russell Memorial United Methodist Church (Wills Point, Texas) members move forward with their mission and ministry. During worship service on Sunday morning, the church offered prayers and began the healing process as over 300 persons gathered only yards from where agents for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms sought the cause of the fire.

“They got the building – not the church,” stated member Nathan David only hours after the Thursday morning, February 4, blaze. Even as the fire still burned and the church roof collapsed, church members were already witnessing to God’s presence in their midst as they began setting up chairs in two-year-old Dean Hall in anticipation of Sunday worship.

(To the rest of this story, please see this link)

A Letter from the Conference Treasurer

Grace and peace to you in the name of Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Please relate to your congregation how proud I am to be associated with a church which is so generous and committed to living out its faith as pat of the United Methoidst Church. During 2009 you were one of 279 churches in the Southwest Texas Conference which gave 100% of their connnectional share of ministries. As a conference, we gave 95.92% of all funds apportioned to our churches.

This year particularly, your generosity makes me proud. Because of the apportioned funds which were received, The United Methodist Church was able to immediately be in Haiti after the tragic earthquake. We are able to support the surviviors of that earthquake through UMCOR knowing 100% of the money goes directly to relief efforts because your apportioned giving supports the "overhead" of the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM)and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) itself. This especially came home to many of our members of the Southwest Texas Conference, when the life of one of our own clergy, the Rev. Clint Rabb, was lost in Haiti. He was in Haiti as a staff member of the GBGM working to facilitate ministries in that country in which our church was already involved.

I am also proud because I know that 2009 was a tough year financially for many of our members and many of our churches. We had difficulty making our dollars stretch far enough to support our families and to support our church. Fortunately, those who were able to do more stepped up and gave more. I also know that many churches gave more to local ministries and support of those in their communities who were in need because of the economy.You and your church have been faithful servants of the Lord. You have been a blessing to Christ's work in the world. Because of your faithful giving, I am especially proud to be joined with you as members of The United Methodist Church, connected in faith and ministry.

Blessings,

Rev. David A. Seilheimer

(Treasurer & Secretary, Office of Finance and Administration, SWTX Conference)

February 7th in Iraan

Worship at First UMC in Iraan began with a treat, Kirke McKenzie adding the sounds of his trumpet to the hymns. Our service today had a special atmosphere with twenty-five in attendance. We are looking forward to continuing to grow in both numbers and as disciples!

On the way to worship this morning, Belinda and Pastor Charles watched three deer stroll across the road in front of their car. Then they watched as the deer crossed back and nimbly leaped over the fence. Isn't God's creation amazing?

UMCOR Health Kit Update

From Gini Christian, San Angelo District Program Director
"Sending a HUGE thank you to all that brought in/or mailed Health Kits for Haiti ! We received an email yesterday from the Conference Office with a deadline date. Please share with the teams that continue to assemble these kits. "

From Marta Rose, SWTX Conference
"We have had a wonderful response to our request for the Health Kits - 3,000+. We need to let you know that we will need them by Monday or Tuesday of next week (2/8-9/2010). We will be renting a U-Haul truck to take the kits to Sager Brown. We would like to thank each of your churches for the wonderful response."

For a complete list of the Health Kit contents, please visit the UMCOR Health kit page.

Dorothy Young's Funeral Service

With gentle rain falling on Iraan throughout the day, the community gathered to say goodbye to Dorothy Young. The fellowship hall was filled with family and friends who shared in an amazing bounty of food and fellowship.

Pastor Charles had invited Rev. Mike Wright, from First Baptist Church in Iraan, a long-time family friend of the Young's, to bring a message of hope and resurrection. It was wonderful to see the sanctuary filled on this rainy, blessed day.

Thanks to Pat Schneider for her ministry of hospitality before the service. We also want to thank the ladies from St. Francis Catholic Church for taking the lead on providing the lunch and to First Baptist Church for providing the musical leadership.

Obituary for Dorothy Young

Dorothy Evelyn (Gentry) Young of Iraan, or as she would say, “Happy Valley,” passed away January 29, 2010 at the McCamey Convalescent Center. She was born April 23, 1921 to Cecil and Anna Gentry on the family farm in White County, Arkansas.

As a young girl she helped her father with the family farm, store/café, and helped with her three brothers. As a young lady she headed west to California where during WWII she became a welder in the ship yards, after the war she worked in a box factory. She then came to Texas where she owned and operated “The Happy Valley Package Store and Station” for twenty two years.

Dorothy married her late husband Gerald Young on January 30, 1968 in Pecos, Texas. Gerald Young preceded her in death on February 4, 2002. During their thirty four years of marriage they enjoyed traveling and spending time with family, friends, and loved ones. Dorothy was also preceded in death by her parents Cecil and Anna Gentry as well as her brother Leon Gentry.

Although Dorothy never had children of her own she helped her brother Leon raise his two sons Frank and Cecil. She made sure everyone knew they were “her boys.” In her last years “her boys” along with Lavita and other close family and friends where there to help and take care of her.

Dorothy is survived by: her brother Tom and his wife Mary Gentry of Kensett, Arkansas, brother Paul (Buster) and wife Algeria Gentry of Searcy Arkansas, step-son Eugene and wife Patty Young of Salt Lake City, Utah, and step-daughter Lavita Young Reed of Midland, Texas; Nephews Frank and Cecil Gentry of Iraan Texas; Grandchildren Brenon Young of Andrews, Texas; Bradley Young of Roswell, New Mexico, Michelle and Chris Houck of Sandy, Utah, Jubel and Heather Reed of Midland Texas, Judson and Amy Reed of Midland, Texas, Brandon and Laci Gentry of Odessa Texas, and Cullie Gentry of Iraan, Texas.

Dorothy also had nine great grand children and a number of nieces and nephews. Dorothy was known to all of us as Mamaw.

Dorothy enjoyed playing cards with long time friends Imogene Bryant and Wanda Watts along with many other friends and family. Dorothy was an exceptional cook and loved to entertain family and friends.

The family wishes to extend many thanks to all who cared for Dorothy during her illness. In place of flowers donations may be made to Dorothy’s favorite charity “The West Texas Boys Ranch” in San Angelo, Texas, or a charity of your choice.

February 1st in Iraan

Pastor Charles met Wanda Morrow at the Iraan General Hospital today and was given a tour of the facility, incuding the beautiful chapel. Wanda also introduced the pastor to a number of the hospital staff and volunteers. Thanks to Wanda for taking part in this very public ministry! Pastor Charles also took time today for lunch at the Senior Center which is the place to be in Iraan, it is a great place to see and be seen by a terrific bunch of folks.

In the afternoon, Pastor Charles met with some of Dorothy Young's family to discuss some of the details of Wednesday's service. The funeral lunch will be at 12 noon and the funeral will be at 2:00 pm with internment following at the cemetary in Iraan.

Pastor Charles enjoyed a treat today at the church, when taking out some trash, he noticed a cedar wax-wing in a tree behind the kitchen. Such a simple thing really, seeing a bird in a tree, but when it is part of the church it takes on a special aura.