When you hear the word grow, what comes to mind?  Perhaps you think of the child that you saw some time ago.  They hit a growth spurt.  You were almost shocked to see the difference. Perhaps you said something like this when you saw them, “You are growing like a weed.”  Or perhaps this line, “I’m going to have to put a brick on your head so you’ll stop growing so fast.”  I will admit that someone said that to me when I was a child.  At the time, I did not quite understand the phrase. Were they really going to put a brick on my head?  It was the summer after my seventh-grade year in school.  That summer my parents bought three pairs of baseball cleats. 

When you hear the word grow, perhaps something else comes to mind.  The growth is inside more than it is outside.  You are maturing.  Perhaps the maturity comes in how you relate to other people.  Maybe the maturity comes in your work.  Maybe still, the maturity, the growth that you are experiencing inside has to do with your spiritual life and your relationship with God. 

At the beginning of most years, I try to focus on a word or a passage of scripture that I will focus on throughout the year.  I ask God for guidance and to give me the word and the passage.  For me, personally, the word that God has laid on my heart is the word peace.  The passage that accompanies it comes from John 14 where Jesus tells His disciples, “My peace I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”  (John 14:27) 

I asked God to give me a word and a passage for our church in 2025.  The word God has laid on my heart for us is the word grow. The passage that came along with it can be found in the fourth chapter of Mark’s gospel.  There, Jesus gives us the parable of the Sower, the parable of the mustard seed, and the parable of the growing seed.  Mark writes, 

The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’

Growth is like that, isn’t it?  Seeds are scattered and find their way into the soil.  We go to sleep, we wake up, we go to sleep, we wake up, day after day.  And while that happens, growth happens. The stalk comes first, then the blossom, then the grain and the harvest has come. 

I want this year to be one of growth for our church.  May we scatter seeds like the farmer in the parable of the Sower did.  May the seeds find their way into the soil and may they grow while we do the things that we have always done. 

Growth happens in a lot of ways. We get taller. We grow inside and mature.  When it comes to the church, we want numerical growth always, but we also want to find ways to growth in grace, in faith, in our spiritual walk with God.  When you pray with me at 11:02 every day, will you ask God to give us growth in every way. 

You will hear more about word and this passage throughout this year.  I know that 2025 can be our best year! 

Hope Always, 

John Fleming 
Senior Pastor 

Our annual Chili Cook-off and Youth Dessert Auction will be on Sunday, February 2nd at 5:00 pm. This is an event you won't want to miss! Make your best pot of chili and enter the contest or just come and eat the chili and vote for your favorite. There will be prizes for the best chili and the best decorated booth. The cost is $5 per person to eat and vote.  Set up for those making chili is 4:00 pm.

Then be sure to stay for the dessert auction.  Everyone will recieve an auction paddle for bidding.  If you've never been, this can get quite exciting and competitive but in a fun way!  Bring your checkbooks because you won't want to miss the fun! If you are a baker, we would love for you to make your favorites to donate to the auction. This is our largest youth fundraiser and all proceeds go to youth missions. 

We hope to see you there! 

Studying Scripture is one of the most important ways we learn about God. FUMCMH presents personal Bibles to each student in 3rd grade or above as a statement of their growing faith development and as recognition of their being old enough to study Scripture on their own. We celebrate this tradition of presenting Bibles to our 3rd -5th grade students as a gift from the congregation. It is our prayer that this gift will be a starting point for a deeper relationship with God through Christ. Bibles for 3rd-5th graders will be presented during worship on Sunday, February 23rd. That evening all 3rd-5th graders (regardless of when they recieved their bibles) are invited to Bible Exploration from 4:00-6:00pm. We will spend some time with the children talking about what a wonderful Book the Bible is and showing them some tools for finding their way around the Bible. Our prayer for these kids during this event is that it sparks a life-long love of reading the Bible. We will supply a snack during the event.

We need your help to re-stock our Angel Food Pantry. This Food pantry supplies our emergency food bags for families in need as well as our Hope For all clients who are homeless and  hungry. Below is a list of suggested, easy open, non-perishable food items.  A hard copy of this list is available at the Welcome Desk. Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Shelf Stable Milk
Cans with pop top easy access
    Spaghetti-Os
    Spaghetti & Meatballs
    Ravioli
    Soups
Microwave Shelf Stable Meals
    Chinese dinners
    Hormel dinners
    Mac & Cheese cups
    Hamburger Helper cups
Spaghetti(dried)
    Pasta Sauce (plastic jars or cans)
    Marinara
    Alfredo Sauce
    3 Cheese
Canned Tuna
Canned Chicken
Canned Ham
Crackers
    Saltines (snack stack size)
    Ritz (snack stack size)
    Club Crackers (snack stack size)
    Cheese Crackers
    Peanut Butter Crackers
Cereal
    Snack Packs
    Individual Cups
Drinks (plastic, small individual bottles)
    Kool-Aid
    Sunny D
    Gatorade
Snacks (snack packs or individually wrapped items)
    Cookies, Graham Crackers, Cheez-its, Goldfish
    Fruit Snacks
    Pudding Cups (Shelf stable not refrigerated)
    Little Debbie Snacks
    Granola Bars (chocolate chip, fruit bars, chocolate, peanut butter)

In the event of inclement weather, please look for closings and cancellations on KTLO, the church website fumcmh.org or our Facebook page.

Beginning in March, our Wednesday evening meal will be changing format.  We will be moving to twice a month on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month. There will be a meal followed by a devotion, followed by table discussion. We hope this will give us more time for fellowship with one another and help us to grow in our faith. 

We are asking for you to RSVP for the meal by the Monday before and we are going to make it very easy for you to do so. Simply use the button in the monthly newsletter or write the number of people who will be attending the upcoming meal next to your name when you sign in on the attendance books on Sunday Morning. You can also call the church office to RSVP.

The suggested donation for the meal will be $5 per person with a $15 maximun per family. 

This new format will of course need volunteers. We will be looking for teams, groups of people who will volunteer to take a Wednesday to cook, serve and clean up. If you are interested in forming a team or volunteering to be part of a team or if your small group/Sunday School Class would like to take a Wednesday, contact Aaron Hosman or Hollye Lee.

This has the potential to be a wonderful and meaningful time and with your help we can make it successful!

Late last year, during our pledge and promise drive, I mentioned that early in 2025, there would be another campaign whose purpose it would be to pay off our debt and to do some much needed projects around the church.  

For several reasons, we are pushing this drive to the fall and will include it with our annual pledge drive, combining them.  I hope that this will not cause any confusion. Our just completed pledge drive Better Together, went very well. Pledges for both the budget and the building fund were received. 

Between now and our drive this coming fall, I encourage you to be generous in your giving to both our budget and our building debt. I would love for us to retire that debt as soon as possible and to do these much-needed projects. 

Thank you for the love that you have for our church, for your service, for your prayers, and for your generosity. 

The FUMCMH Scholarship Program exists to offer financial help to deserving young members or constituents of FUMCMH who plan to attend an accredited college or vocational school. Currently, we are serving students in the freshmen year only. Constituents (non-members) need a recommendation by the Youth Director 

The scholarship amount for this academic year is $800.00 to be paid in two equal amounts of $400.00 each semester. Checks for the scholarship sum will be made out directly to the recipient 's school and mailed to the registrar of the designated school. 

Recipients must: 

   •  Be enrolled full time (academic load of 12 credit hours or more) 
   •  Maintain a "C" or 2.0 or above average to qualify for subsequent semester's payments. 
   •  Provide proper address for the registrar of their school 
   •  Provide documentation of acceptance to college of choice, which includes their student ID number, 
   •  Upon completion of the first semester, send, or bring a transcript of the previous semesters grades or email to the Church Financial Secretary at finance@fumcmh.org in order to receive the scholarship payment for the spring semester. 

TO APPLY: Use the button below to apply online by July 1st, or by MAY 1st IF APPLICANT WISHES TO HAVE THIS AWARD ANNOUNCED AT SCHOOL AWARD CEREMONIES. 

Paying for college can be stressful. For many families, affording higher education is the number one factor when deciding which school a student will attend. Applications are now open for scholarships from The United Methodist Higher Education Foundation. UMHEF scholarships help make it financially possible for students attending United Methodist-related institutions to obtain higher education.

Every year UMHEF awards $2 million + to students attending one of the 100+ UM related colleges, universities and seminaries across the country.  Don't let finances get in the way of achieving your dreams of a quality education.  Apply by April 1st.

Hello Kids & Parents!

It’s hard to believe that January is already over! I can't wait to see what 2025 has in store! 

Since it's February, I thought I would write something on the subject of love. When I think back (way back) to my childhood, I can remember many a time when I would get so frustrated. It usually had something to do with my sister. When it came to them, I often had a short fuse and my sister was great at lighting it! She would say something, push just the right button, and I would go off on her. Then, in true sister fashion she would run to my parents crying about how mean and awful I was, and I would be the one to get in trouble. Typical right? It sure was in my household.

After every spat and fight, my dad would sit me down, and I would say through my tears, “but Dad! She made me do it! She made me mad!” and he, in all his fatherly wisdom and patience would once again remind me that she can’t make me do anything. I chose to get mad. I chose to react. I chose to do something I knew would get me in trouble.
Choices. We all make them. We make good choices, we make bad choices, we make choices with unknown outcomes. Choices.

1 Corinthians 16:14 tells us to “do everything in love.” As believers in Christ, we are called to make choices that reflect that belief and relationship. We are called to make choices guided by love. When we read through Scripture we see time and time again God choosing love. The promise that the rainbow stands for is a promise of love. Gods continuous patience with Israel was a continuous choice He made with love. The birth and death of His son, and all the things Jesus did during His time on earth, is an incredible example of God choosing love, even if it was hard. God loves us, to the point of sending His son to die for all of us. We don’t always make it easy for Him either, but, He always chooses love.

Each and every day, we need to choose love, just as God does. When your sister pushes your buttons, you need to choose love. When your boss tests your patience, you need to choose love. When that car in front of you cuts you off and makes you late for an important event, you need to choose love. When it seems impossible to choose anything else, choose love. This is sometimes easier said than done. Especially in moments of frustration. As I go into the month of February, I plan to make an intentional choice to choose love in every situation.  Maybe you can do that with me.  Maybe you can talk to your kids about choosing love.

"Let all that you do be done in love." 1 Corinthians 16:14

This month we will have our Bible Presentation and our Bible Exploration events. Studying Scripture is one of the most important ways we learn about God. FUMCMH presents personal Bibles to each student in 3rd grade or above as a statement of their growing faith development and as recognition of their being old enough to study Scripture on their own. We celebrate this tradition of presenting Bibles to our 3rd -5th grade students as a gift from the congregation. It is our prayer that this gift will be a starting point for a deeper relationship with God through Christ. Bibles will be presented on Sunday, February 23rd during worship. Bible Exploration where we will play games and give the children tools to help them use their bible, will be that same afternoon from 4:00 to 6:00pm. All kids who are 3rd grade and up and have received their bibles from FUMC either this year or prior years are invited to participate in this event! 

Wednesday afternoons are going along wonderfully!  We are still in need of a bus driver as well as supervision during recreation time.  If you think you can help, please let me know.

God bless & have a safe and warm February that's full of LOVE!

Laura Pedigo

Hey 605 Students and Families! 
 
I hope you have had an amazing January and that your 2025 has been off to a great start. January was full of so many amazing sporting events, time with students and families, a couple really great snow days, and so much going on! 
 
I look forward to February as we continue with the amazing church events, conferences, and community activities. It seems that this is the month of transition- we are watching sports move from indoor winter activities to more spring outside sports, the weather getting better, the sun warming us up, and pushing through the second half of the school year. 
 
With February here let’s talk about some of the important events coming up this spring to put on your calendar and some highlights for this month (a full February calendar can be found just below the highlights): 
 
Chili Cook-Off and Dessert Auction: This event is so exciting and fun. We hope you will join us as we raise some money to support the youth ministry and our many activities. There will be amazing chili to taste and vote on, desserts on a grab-&-go table, and plenty for you to bid on with our dessert auction. I cannot thank everyone enough for all of their support and the wonderful donations that you give to this event! 
 
Veritas 2025: February 21-23. I am so excited to be able to take an amazing group of 7 students with 2 amazing adults to Veritas this month. This year we are exploring the idea of Ardor, simply put, means enthusiasm, fire, and being passionate about something. During the weekend we will take a deeper dive into different Biblical stories and the ways which someone can experience Ardor in their life! 
 
Some Dates for your Future Calendar: 
 
March 8th: Youth, families, and church members are invited to join us Saturday March 8th at the Food Bank from 9:00AM-12:00PM to pack food boxes for members of our community. Leading up to this event there will be a sign-up just so we have an idea of who will be joining us. I hope that you all will come have some fun with us as we serve our greater community.
 
April 4th-6th: Young Christians Weekend @ Silver Dollar City! More info to come! 
 
Full February Calendar: 
 
February 2nd: The Table Sunday School Class 
February 2nd: Chili Cook-Off and Dessert Auction 5:00-7:00PM 
February 5th: Youth Group 
February 6th: Lunch at the Junior High 
February 9th: The Table Sunday School Class 
February 12th: Youth Group 
February 16th: The Table Sunday School Class 
February 17th: Lunch at Pinkston 
February 19th: Youth Group 
February 20th: Lunch at the High School 
February 21-23rd: Veritas 2025 
February 23rd: The Table Sunday School Class 
February 26th:  Youth Group 
 
Thank you all so much for your support and know that you are deeply treasured, fully loved, known, and prayed for always! 
 
Blessings

Kyra Anthony

What is Lent?
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten Season in the Christian calendar. Lent is a season of forty days (not including Sundays) which begins today and ends on Holy Saturday (the day before Easter). Lent is the season during which we are called to prepare our hearts, minds, & spirits for Easter’s joy. During Lent, we spend time contemplating our sinful nature and seeking to refocus our hearts on holy living through prayer, repentance, and self-denial. Then, as Easter’s sun rises, we can more fully experience the wonder of God’s forgiving grace and resurrection power.

Why are we marked with a cross made of ashes?
On Ash Wednesday, we receive the “imposition of ashes.” The ashes serve as a reminder of our mortality (ashes to ashes) and as a reminder of our need to repent for our sins (ashes are used as a sign of repentance in the Bible). This ritual act in worship can be a powerful nonverbal and experiential way of participating in this season’s call to repentance and reconciliation.

BACKPACK FOOD 4 KIDS
In memory of Marty Steele
Lynnell Cooper, Janna Ryan & Jeff Cooper
In memory of Ray Bauer
Robert Bauer

Prayers after Loss:
Susie Fleming and family on the loss
of her father, John Simpkins.

Concerns:
Bonnie Benham (01/19/245)
Ron Riddell (01/12/25)
(Sharon Hamilton)
Kate Melnik (01/13/25)
(Tom Yoder)
Wesley Werner (1/7/25)
Tommy Hawthorne (1/7/25)
(Gail House's nephew)
Estes Owens (12/30/24)
Aiden Garner (12/30/24)
Ashton Walker (12/30/24)
Kaden Brassfield (12/30/24)
Landen Haynes (12/30/24)
Diwan Blackburn (12/29/24)
Mark, Melissa & Jason Morgan
(12/23/24)
Doug Dethloff (12/22/24)
Tina Benton (12/08/24)
Mike & Mary Jane Carroll (12/08/24)
(Tina Benton)
Pat Harris (12/01/24)
(Tina Benton)
Paula Flippin (12/01/24)
(Tina Benton)
Diane Lucas (12/01/24)
(Tina Benton)
Emily Jones Griffin (12/01/24)
(Teresa Kenyon)
Bill Wagner (12/01/24)
Scott Cain (11/19/24)
(Jill Chandler’s Son)
Elden Lowe (11/19/24)
(Jill Chandler’s Nephew)
Linda Brooks (11/19/24)
(Jill Chandler)
Tim Dorram (11/12/24)
(Yvonne Hall)
Matt Zipperer (10/29/24)
(Sue Storm)
Ruth Greer (10/29/24)
Carol Hurley (10/24/24)
(Sharon Fabich)
Sharon & Wendell Dennis (10/13/24)
(Debby Bodenhamer)
Jack Knight (09/22/24)
(Jill Chandler’s brother)
Ruth Clark (09/19/24)
Regina Gillihan (09/15/24)
(Bernice Koonce)
Wally Smietanski (09/10/24)
Sue Robinson (09/01/24)
(Marilyn Bonecki)
Denise Rohr (08/18/24)
(Christine Rohr’s daughter)
Ronald Robinson (07/29/24)
(Marilyn Bonecki)
Casey Craig (07/21/24)
(Tim & Amanda King)
Jerry Beaver (07/07/24)
(Sharon Fabich’s cousin)
Connie Acheson (06/25/24)
Barbara Hagebock (06/24/24)
Johnny Johnson (06/09/24)
(Christine Rohr)
Heidi Garner (06/04/24)
(Phil & Vicki Garner’s daughter in law)
Chris Sinning (05/17/24)
(Paula Bodenhamer)
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)