We invite the community to partner with us as we reach out and help Bethel Bible Village. Donations of nonperishable food items may be brought to the church on
Saturday, Oct. 15, from 8 – 2 p.m.
Welcome New Members
We happily welcome Rick and Anne Gibbons into the membership at Fairview UMC. We are excited that they have decided to join us in worship, fellowship, and the ministries at Fairview.
Rick and Anne live on the ridge, have 2 grown children, a son in the Navy and a daughter working on her masters degree. They enjoy camping, writing poetry, and gardening.
Pastor’s Column – August 2016
Gleanings…
When I was a whole lot younger, my family and I lived in a house down a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. The house was mostly pine and cypress wood which meant that there were occasional knotholes. One particular knothole was in the corner of the dining room about 2 to 3 foot off the floor. This was my treasure chest.
Dad worked for the phone company and carried a large keyring with keys to the various switching and repeater offices in our area. Over time, that keyring would stretch from taking off keys and putting on new ones. When that happened, dad would bring that old keyring to me.
I loved little bits of nothing like that. Keyrings, little pieces of change, chain pulls for lights, and assorted other things made me feel like I had a great treasure. Because they were so precious, at least to me, I felt that I had to keep them in a safe place and, you guessed it, most of them went into that knothole in the wall.
The fact that I could not retrieve them did not matter to me. The fact that no one else would think they were valuable did not occur to me. That knothole was the entry point to the safest storage place that I could think of, so that is where I kept them.
We eventually moved from that house and I left all of those treasures behind. That house was still standing the last time I went that way and I imagine that the items in that wall, my treasures, are still there, too. I wonder what they will think if they ever tear that house down and find all of the stuff I dropped into that knothole.
Most of us have something like that knothole for storing treasures. Sometimes it is out of sight and sometimes in plain view. We put into it the little things that we are given and rarely take them out or use them.
This is often true for the less tangible things we receive. Things like spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities can often find their way into treasure boxes. We may take them out occasionally and allow them to remind us of other times, but mostly we just keep them put up so they don’t get broken or dirty. Heaven forbid we should ever use them!
Dropping my treasures into a knothole meant that they could never serve again. They could not produce joy. They could not be used for a fun time of play. In effect, they became useless and the gift of them was wasted.
What gifts and treasures, abilities and blessings have you hidden away? Why do you keep them hidden? Wouldn’t it be fun to bless someone with what you can do?
There are plenty of needs in this world where your treasures could heal someone, help someone, and give them hope. And wouldn’t it feel good to know that all of the treasures you have been hiding away have brightened someone’s day just as it did yours? Don’t drop them down a knothole; ask God to show you how to use them again. We have plenty to do.
Blessings,
Braxton ><>
We Were Blessed!
→ We were blessed to have William French and Philip Schofield from Hixson United Methodist Church at our worship service recently to share their testimony from their mission trip to Haiti. Their group of 7 went to the COP (Child of Purpose) House where they played soccer, basketball, hide and seek, colored and sang songs with the children. They also ministered to the people living in the mountains where voodoo is practiced. William said they loved on the children and had a hard time leaving them.
Hosanna Community Outreach Update!
→ During the month of July we collected items for the Hosanna Community located on Grubb Road in Hixson. We had an awesome response from our congregation and delivered a truck full of paper towels, toilet paper, Ziploc bags, Kleenex, and more. Thank You to our congregation for helping with the needs of our community.
Fifth Sunday Offering for the Holston United Methodist Home for Children
Fifth Sunday Offering for the Holston United Methodist Home for Children
Holston Home for Children is located in Greenville, TN and provides a place for children to live, worship, go to school, work and play. Help us Make a Difference in the Lives of Boys and Girls!
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Outreach: Hosanna Community
We are collecting items from their wish list during the month of July. Toilet paper, paper towels, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, Ziploc bags of any size.
The Hosanna Community is located on Grubb Rd. in Hixson and is a home for adults with disabilities. The Hosanna Home provides each person with their own bedroom with the comfort and security of living in a community where each individual is recognized as a vital member. We welcome all donations!
Hands on Mission Project
We collected 44 Health kits for underprivileged children in Zimbabwe.
Thank You to everyone who helped us reach out and share God’s love with the world.
Below is a brief note from the Pastor on his thoughts about the mission..
Gleanings…
Went down to the district office at Brainerd UMC today to participate in a little love in action. I am speaking specifically of receiving, verifying, and packing the health kits for shipment to Zimbabwe. It was a great opportunity to see the love of God being poured out and I was among those who marveled at the evidence of love being packed in cardboard boxes.
What do the health kits provide? Items of basic hygiene begin the list: a washcloth, two bars of soap, two toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste, and a bottle of mouthwash. Not very spectacular but they are such a blessing when they can be difficult to buy.
Next came the incredibly tiny bottles of acetaminophen, ibuprophen, antihistamine, and cough syrup. One small bottle was for young children but the majority of the items were for older people. But what seemed so small to me can really be a major source of comfort to those who are hurting.
All of the bags were checked to verify that each held the items that we were permitted to ship. Some held too much and some held too little, but most were filled correctly. This is important because we are permitted only so much in each bag by the country of Zimbabwe. If the officials pull a sample bag and it is not correctly filled, we have to check every bag and those that fall outside of the allowable limits require extra duty payments.
The physical actions aside, these bags say something very important to both givers and receivers. Every filled bag lovingly packed tells someone that they are loved as family. Every filled bag lovingly packed reminds us that we are part of a global family that extends to the ends of the earth. Thus the giver and the receiver are blessed and God is praised.
At Annual Conference, we will celebrate the accumulation of health kits, school kits, food buckets, and sewing kits which have been packed into shipping containers for their ocean voyage. The trucks with shipping containers will sound their horns and the people will cheer in praise of God and all will know that a little bit more has just been accomplished in the struggle to combat isolation and separation in our world.
And that, precious people, is what it is all about. We are all children of God and we have the responsibility to see not only that people know that truth but daily seek to live into it with glad hearts. May God’s love be reflected in our lives every day and may the world be transformed by it.
Grace and peace,
Braxton ><>
New Member!
Everyone welcome new member Annabel Hudgins!!
We are so happy to have her as part of the family at Fairview. She is very active in the ministries at Fairview participating as an acolyte, singing solos and with the choir and collecting the children’s offering. Welcome Annabel!
Happy Fathers Day!
Fairview United Methodist Church 