— JOIN THE CHALLENGE! —

We invite you to join us for our 2018 Lent Challenge.

We invite the community to join us
by doing 40 acts of kindness during Lent.
Feb. 14 – March 31. 

Help us share God’s love and kindness in our community! 

You are invited to the – He Chose the Nails Bible Study!

Each Sunday beginning February 18th at 10:00 AM

Gleanings…

Welcome to February, the month where we begin to lose our fascination with cold weather and begin looking at seed catalogs and vacation options.  February is also the month of Valentine’s Day which, for the first time that I can remember it happening, falls on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.  A word to the wise: Do not get the idea that this lets you off the hook for surprising your sweetheart with flowers and candy.  Instead, you will be able to further demonstrate your deep love and affection for each other with ashes on your foreheads.  Imagine the witness you will be when you go out to dinner later!

Lent is for the spirit what breaking up the ground is for a garden.  Lent gives us the opportunity to prepare our hearts to remember the gifts of Holy Week and Easter.  Remembering our Lord’s journey to the cross and to resurrection enables us to share God’s love with people who are suffering with shame and doubt.  The journey to Golgotha, and through the tomb to the resurrection, removes every doubt whether God knows our pain and has suffered as we do.  Indeed, God is with us in every matter.

Years of little more than egg hunts and bunnies has dulled the Easter message of God’s love for creation.  As we enter the season of Lent this year, let us ask God to grow a new message of hope in us.  Participate in a Bible study, spend time reading devotional materials, share what God has done and is doing in your life with a trusted group of friends.  In this way, remember and rehearse the love of God so that you will be able to share it when someone asks you about Easter.  And, above all else, pray that God will enable you to sense the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you are directed to those who need to hear the message of God’s love for them.

Easter comes at a beautiful time of the year.  Let’s get ready for it by preparing our lives to be beautiful expressions of God’s love throughout this year.

Grace and peace,

Braxton ><>

Looking for a new way to serve in the community this year? 

We partner with Burks UMC and St. Alban’s Episcopal Church to provide a meal and serve the homeless in our community.  All are welcome to join us.  Meet at First Baptist Church downtown the 2nd Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m. to prepare the food and 6:00 p.m. to serve the meal and then clean up after the meal.  This is a wonderful way to reach out a share God’s love and kindness with those in need. 

Thank You!  Our prayer is that all will have a joyful New Year!   

Braxton and Lyndie ><>

“Rise Against Hunger” meal packaging event

Saturday,   January 27 – set up at 9 am. (Need 5 – 7 volunteers to help unload and set up)

Event time:  10:00am – 12:00 noon

We need 50 volunteers to help package 12,096 meals. 

Great opportunity for children and adults who need community volunteer hours.  Volunteers can drop in and stay for whatever length of time they have available to help.   

Fairview United Methodist Church
3901 Hamill Rd.  Hixson, TN 37343

For more information on Rise Against Hunger look on their website:  http://www.riseagainsthunger.org/get-involved/host-a-meal-packaging-event/

Come enjoy a Potluck dinner, caroling, and visit with Santa!

Bring your family and friends and Enjoy the Fun!

Fairview UMC Choir & Friends Present:

 “The Christmas Season”
Sunday, December 3, 2017, 6:00 p.m.

 Amidst the fun of the annual Christmas festival, people are struggling to find hope, love, peace, & joy. It takes a child named Gracie, to help them recognize, receive, and share God’s gift of Light…..His son Jesus!

 Caroling
Beautiful Music
Children Participation
Violin Solo
Refreshments

 Fairview United Methodist Church
3901 Hamill Rd. Hixson, TN 37343

 This is an original play written by Magge Hudgins. Magge teaches at the Center for Creative Arts. She has performed and directed at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre and performed in off off Broadway in New York.

Lindsey Burgess will play the piano for the musical.  Lindsey is the pianist at Grace UMC and teaches music in the Hamilton County School System. 

The Fairview Choir has performed many musicals and dramas, but this is the first original play they have performed.

Gleanings…

How many ways can you think of to say, “thank you”?  Worship for the month of November will focus on thankfulness and the things we can be thankful for.  Each week will address a different aspect of our relationship with God.  Preparing for this series has led me to examine my life for the times when I have experienced the touch of God and the ways that I responded.

To say that my life has always been a bed of roses is laughable.  Thankfully, this is not a confession so I don’t have to reveal how many incidents were my fault.  At the same time, it would be incorrect to say that I have not experienced many blessings along the way; again, not because of something I did, or did not do.  This is probably true of your life, too.

Helping my granddaughters to develop the practice of saying, “thank you” has reminded me of my own journey.  Needing to be thankful in a world that seems to worship self-reliance can be difficult to understand.  The sense of entitlement can also make us wonder why we should be expected to express thankfulness.  Yet, it is an aspect of love that binds us together.  It helps us to form groups that nourish and support its members.  It helps us in our need and it gets us outside of ourselves.

Rick Warren, noted pastor and author, opened his book, The Purpose Driven Life, with these words: “It is not about you.”  Instead, it is all about God.  While we love the sense of thankfulness that goes with Thanksgiving Day, we cannot fully appreciate the day until we come to grips with the truth that all we have is the result of God’s blessing.  Regardless of what we may be experiencing in our lives, God is there to celebrate with us or mourn with us; laugh with us or cry with us; run with us or carry us when our strength is gone.

The Spirit of Christmas Present in Charles Dickens’, A Christmas Carol, calls to Scrooge to “Come and know me better.”  When we get to know God, we find the one who always has us close to God’s heart.  We grow, then, to understand the events of life are invitations to get to know God better.  With that reality before us, we learn to rely more and more on God’s presence—even to desire it.

My prayer is that as we explore the things we are most thankful for, we will see ways to invite others to experience God’s gifts and join with us in thankful worship and praise.  Start a new practice with me this month and say, “thank you” every day to someone who least expects it.  It just might change a life.  See you Sunday and bring a friend.

Grace and peace,

Braxton ><>

November reminds us to count our blessings.  So, we say…..THANK YOU!….. to the employees of Life Care Center of Hixson.  We appreciate all you do to take care of our congregation and others in the community.   We will take homemade bread, cookies, and treats to the employees in November.  We encourage you to join us and say “Thank You” to someone in your life during this season of Thanksgiving.