There is something special about a warm welcome.  Perhaps you have experienced such a thing in your life.  Someone reached out to you.  Maybe it was a note or a card, perhaps it was an email.  There is a chance that it was a meal.  Maybe even a smile.

As I write these words for our monthly newsletter, we have had two Sundays together.  I look forward to years of Sundays together. And I want to get to know each of you better.  One of the ways that I have done that in previous churches is to have what we will call Cottage Meetings.  You will have the opportunity to sign up for these meetings.  All will happen at the parsonage.  The purpose of these gatherings is simple.  For me to get to know you and for you to get to know me and my family.  We will begin with cookies and lemonade or water (I’ll make some coffee for those who desire it), and then we will spend some time together. The purpose of these meetings has nothing to do with raising money.  No, these gatherings are for us to get to know each other. I will ask three questions during our hour long time together.  Here are the three:  What do you love about your church?  What is so sacred that I had better not change or alter?  And finally, what are some of your hopes and dreams for our church? 

When our gatherings are complete, I’d like to tell you what I learned in a sermon.  I’m so looking forward to these gatherings.  I hope you are, too!

Pastor John

Seekers Sunday School class will begin a new study beginning Sunday, September 15th. We’re taking on the book of Isaiah with a study by Dr. Sandra Richter.  Isaiah is an important book as the prophet Isaiah is quoted more often than any other book in the New Testament and it has more to say about Israel’s coming Messiah than any other Old Testament book.  Dr. Richter takes us back to the eighth century BCE and explains Israel’s religion and economy, explores the definition and role of the prophets, and helps us to apply the message of this great champion of the faith to our lives today.  Whether you’re new to the Bible or have studied it all your life, Dr. Richter always delivers great insights into the word of God.  Join us!.

Please join us on Sunday, September 22nd at noon in the Parlor for a Gift Card Wedding Shower honoring Laura Law and Chris Pedigo. Help us celebrate their upcoming wedding by showering them with gift cards to Hobby Lobby, Target, Amazon and Home Depot.

What is a Cottage Meeting? Cottage meetings are an opportunity for brothers and sisters in Christ to get to know each other on a closer level. These meetings are good for individual voices to be heard in smaller groups. In this time of transition this is also a good time to learn more about Pastor John and Susie, as well them getting to know you.

Where: Pastor John and Susie will be hosting these meetings at the Parsonage. The address of the Parsonage is 1912 Osage Lane,
Mountain Home, AR 72653.

When: These meetings will be held as follows:
Tuesday Meetings: September 10th, 17th and 24th 6:30-7:30 pm
Thursday Meetings: September 12th, 19th and 26th 6:30-7:30 pm
Sunday Meeting: September 15th 4:00-5:00 pm

Who: These meetings are open to everyone to attend. Sign up: There are sign up sheets located in the CWC and Narthex by the Welcome Desk before and after church, in the church office during the week or on the church website or you can sign up using the button below. You only need to attend one cottage meeting. There are several available dates to accommodate more people. Choose the date that works for you. If you have any questions please contact Hollye Lee.

The Table Sunday School class will begin today! Those in grade 6 through 100 years of age are invited to join us for this new class in the youth room from 10:00-10:45AM! We will be walking through the Bible one story and one conversation at a time. If you do not already have a Sunday school  class I hope you will join us! Sunday school for children is also provided!

Wednesday afternoon activities for Children and Youth has started and we are in need of a few more bus drivers to help get the kids from the elementary schools and middle school to the church. It is not a long commitment, less than an hour each Wednesday afternoon. Please see Kyra Anthony or Laura Law if you have any questions or would like to volunteer.

We are still needing a few more volunteers for our Church Nursery. Our age range at this moment is from 1-5 years old. If this is something you are interested in please contact Hollye Lee.

Backpack Food 4 Kids wants to thank everyone who participated in Bomberfest - the men who got the trailer safely there and back, the volunteers that stood in the heat and accepted and packed the food into bins, and those who unpacked and shelved the food Saturday morning.  We appreciate you all so much! We recieved 26 bins of food and $336.00 which will give us a good start feeding 300+ children.

We could still use a few more strong individuals to help deliver the backpacks to the schools.  This takes about 2 hours on Wednesday morning on a once a month rotation. Contact Kathy Bauer if you can help.

Join us for our monthly fellowship meal the first Wednesday of each month at 5:15pm.  Also, if you or your group are interested in sponsoring a meal, please see Hollye Lee. If you are able to help set up, serve, and/or clean up, please let us know.

If you would like to stay in the know with all things First United Methodist Church Mountain Home, download our church app. You can access news and events, watch services, listen to sermons, receive important push notifications and more; all via your phone!  Simply click on the button below from your phone to download the app. You can also use the QR code above using your phone's camera.

Students in 6^th through 8^th grades are invited to sign up for this years Refuge Retreat hosted by the Arkansas Conference Council on Youth Ministries (ACCYM). 

Refuge is an opportunity for Jr. High/Middle School youth to be introduced to the connectional events of the Arkansas Conference Council on Youth Ministries of the United Methodist Church. They enjoy a weekend in the beautiful outdoors, focusing on Christ, developing friendships, and having fun while getting away from the busyness of life. This event will be held at Shepherd of the Ozarks, a great setting filled with large, comfortable log cabins surrounded by bluffs and a creek.

Refuge will be November 8^th-10^th 2024. We will leave after school on Friday and return for pickup from the church on Sunday Afternoon. 

Cost for the retreat will be $85 per student. Scholarships available. Middle school parents keep an eye out in your email for more specific information regarding this retreat.  If your student is interested, please see Kyra Anthony for paperwork or your email for info. Registration deadline for Refuge is September 25^th!

Enjoy a day of craft beer from Arkansas breweries, traditional Oktoberfest games, an entire kid's zone, food vendors and LIVE traditional Polka music!

Come celebrate the Brew-iest day of the year with an Arkansas twist.

The event will kick off with Mountain Home's first official Beer Mile run at 2:30pm. In a nutshell- Chug a beer, then run 1/4 mile, repeat until you hit 1 mile.

At 6:00pm join us for Masskrugstemmen....Our Stein Hoisting Championship! Challenge your friends to see who has what it takes to be a Masskrugstemmen champion! The competition will be fierce and the rules will be strictly upheld. Only one will remain victorious! Practice throughout the event at the Masskrugstemmen booth, but bring your A-game for the championship! Those brave enough to compete will keep their commemorative 1 Liter glass stein filled with beer- better not drop it!

All proceeds from this event will be donated to Mountain Home Backpack Food 4 Kids, an organization that provides our community's food insecure youth with meals at home.

WHEN:

Saturday October 5th, 2024 from 2:00pm-7:00pm (VIP Tickets grant early access starting at 1:00pm)

WHO:

All ages welcome! Must be 21+ to participate in Beer Festival

PRE-PURCHASE PRICE:

• Ages 11 Under: Free Game/Kidszone Wristband
• Ages 12+ Game Wristband: Donation (unlimited game play and access to Kids Zone)
• Ages 21+ Beer Festival Wristband: $40
• Ages 21+ VIP Beer Festival Wristband: $60 (1 hour early access + Food Voucher)
• Ages 21+ Beer Mile Only Including Participant T-shirt: $35 - Beer Mile Registration Here
• Ages 21+ Stein Holding Championship: $20 (Includes1 Liter Stein and Beer Fill )

Prices increase on event day**

21+ ticket participants will be required to show a valid ID at check in

BEER FESTIVAL WRISTBAND INCLUDES:

• Commemorative Taster Cup
• Bottomless beer fills from all vendors
• Pretzel Necklace
• Unlimited Game Play

VIP BEER FESTIVAL WRISTBAND INCLUDES:

• Beer Festival Wristband and all that is included
• Early Festival Access- Starting at 1:00pm to ensure none of the vendors run out of their favorite brews
• Food Voucher

All tickets and valid ID's must be presented at event check-in where you will receive your wristbands

No refunds, ARktoberfest is a rain or shine event!

By now school is well underway and hopefully you are all having an amazing school year so far! We are so excited to be back to First Kidz Wednesday afternoon ministries! We are continuing with our DIG IN curiculum. Last year's program was "The Heart of God". This year the program is called "Foundations of Faith". We start our Wednesday afternoons with snack once the kids arrive. We then move into uplifting and exciting worship music followed by fun, interactive bible activities and end with recreation. 

If your kids aren't already coming on Wednesdays, you can register them using the button below.  

Thank you to the volunteers who are already helping with Wednesdays. If you are interested in helping out on Wednesdays or Sundays for Sunday School, please email me at llaw@fumcmh.org. There are many low stress and easy ways to help. We need bus drivers, bus riders, teacher helpers and recreation supervisors. Plus, the kids are so much fun!

Have a great September! See you Wednesday!  

God Bless!

Laura Law
Interim Director of Children's Ministry

Hello 605 Students and Families, 

I cannot believe that summer is over and that the school year is here and underway! With School starting we are getting underway with all things youth related!! Our first Wednesday will be SEPTEMBER 4^TH! And I am so excited to be kicking off our new youth structure! Youth this year will look like this:
3:30-5:30PM- 6^th-8^th Graders for Middle School Youth
5:30-6:00PM- Dinner for Everyone 
6:00-8:00PM- 9^th-12^th Graders for High School Youth

As we move to this split structure 6^th-8^th graders will continue to come right after school where there will be snacks for them and then we will jump into our time with some games, a lesson, and small groups. (If your student will need to be picked up by the church bus at Pinkston or the Junior High please let Kyra Anthony know!) High schoolers are then invited to arrive for dinner at 5:30PM, where we will all share a meal together. At 6:00PM 6^th-8^th graders will need picked up by a responsible adult. High schoolers that didn’t join us for dinner are then invited to come for youth where they will have games, a lesson, and small groups. 

While most Wednesday youth groups will look like this structure, we will still have some combined events and there will be times for special activities that students will come together! Keep an eye out for announcements of those times. 

This fall you will also see the roll out of monthly mailed newsletters, a new curriculum, more information on social media and our website, and the roll out of weekly parent emails that will have important information about that week’s events and upcoming information for you. 

Please make sure that your student is prepared to give me all important contact information for themselves and their parents/guardians at the first youth meeting. I will be collecting contact information to help make sure that everyone stays up to date with what is going on. We will have a new check in system this fall that should speed up our process and will help me collect important information. 

In this new structure we are still feeding our youth dinner! I would love for families, small groups, ministries in the church, or individuals to help us feed our youth. If this is something you would be interested in doing, please check out our meal train or contact Kyra Anthony to sign up. 

The meal train can be found here: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/1v00d3/

I am excited to see what this year brings and here are some important dates for you to know:

September 4^th: First Youth of the Year!     September 8^th: First Sunday School! 
September 11^th: Youth Group                    September 15^th: Sunday School 
September 18^th: Youth Group                    September 22^nd: Sunday School 
September 25^th: Youth Group                    September 25^th: Refuge Registration Deadline!
September 29^th: Sunday School 

Blessings, 
Kyra Anthony

Concerns:
Sue Robinson (09/01/24)
(Marilyn Bonecki)
Mike Cameron (08/21/24)
Sally Moore (08/20/24)
Darrell Jarmen (08/18/24)
(Debby Bodenhamer)
Denise Rohr (08/18/24)
(Christine Rohr’s daughter)
Joe & Natalie Guedry (08/13/24)
(Terre Ware)
Jack Chance (07/30/24)
(Carolyn Densmore’s grandson)
John & Laura Guedry (07/30/24)
(Terre Ware)
Ronald Robinson (07/29/24)
(Marilyn Bonecki)
Casey Craig (07/21/24)
(Tim & Amanda King)
Jerry Beaver (07/07/24)
(Sharon Fabich’s cousin)
Katie Barnett (07/02/24)
(Terre Ware)
Connie Acheson (06/25/24)
Barbara Hagebock (06/24/24)
Peter Peitz (06/20/24)
Lori Cravens (06/16/24)
(Fran Thueson)
Johnny Johnson (06/09/24)
(Christine Rohr)
Heidi Garner (06/04/24)
(Phil & Vicki Garner’s daughter in law)
Don Alkire (06/02/24)
(Cassie Alkire)
Jeni Benton (06/02/24)
(Tina Benton’s Sister-In-Law)
Paula Flippin (05/19/24)
(Tina Benton)
Jody Whitesell (05/19/24)
(Betty Bennett)
Chris Sinning (05/17/24)
(Paula Bodenhamer)
Mike Densmore (05/14/24)
Bob Dickerson (05/12/24)
Carolyn Helvey (04/30/24)
(Jill Chandler)
Rebecca Johnson (04/16/24)
Gordon Knight (04/15/24)
(Tommy Knight’s brother)
Rexene Watson (04/03/24)
(Tom Yoder’s sister-in-law)
Nancy Reed (03/31/24)
(Mary Margaret Pearson)
Beverly Killbourn (03/20/24)
(Lucy Monger’s sister)
Pat Harris (02/25/24)
(Tina Benton)
Diane Lucas (02/25/24)
(Tina Benton)
Chris Humphrey (02/20/24)
(Donna Bohaty’s daughter)
Barbara Sandberg (02/19/24)
Kate Melnik (01/07/24)
(Tom Yoder)

We are trying to clean up the prayer list and have removed all that were listed in 2023. If there is someone you feel still needs to be on, please let Hollye Lee know. Also, if there is someone listed that you feel can be removed, please let Hollye know that as well. You may also use the button below to make a prayer request or remove a previous request.

GENERAL FUND
In memory of June Willborn
Candi Buchenauer
In memory of Dolores Williams
Shirley Poynter

SUNSHINE FUND
In memory of Tommy Johnson
Sam & Estella Rhoades
In memory of June Willborn
Margaret Schmidbauer
Judy Dieter

BACKPACK FOOD 4 KIDS
In memory of Tommy Johnson
Bette Gould
In memory of Johnny Brown
Mary Margaret Pearson
In honor of Rev. John Fleming & Family
Mary Margaret Pearson