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______FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, MERKEL TX._____
Pastor: Rhonda Greenwood Non-Profit Organization
Lay Leader: Delbert Dearing U.S. Postage Paid
Organist: Kenny Stephens Merkel, Texas 79536
Youth Directors: Matt & Misti Dearing Permit No: 23
Treasurer: Candace Dempsey
Office Assistance: Joan Reed, Louise DuBose, Johnnie Wade, Jane Watson
Phone: (325) 928-5333
www.merkelumc.wordpress.com______________________________________________________________
July 2011 ISSUE 7
____________God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1_____________
The Star-Spangled Banner
—Francis Scott Key, 1814
O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro’ the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watch’d, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro’ the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen thro’ the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O thus be it ever when free-men shall stand
Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation;
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
On Sept. 13, 1814, Francis Scott Key visited the British fleet in Chesapeake Bay to secure the release of Dr. William Beanes, who had been captured after the burning of Washington, DC. The release was secured, but Key was detained on ship overnight during the shelling of Fort McHenry, one of the forts defending Baltimore. In the morning, he was so delighted to see the American flag still flying over the fort that he began a poem to commemorate the occasion. First published under the title “Defense of Fort M’Henry,” the poem soon attained wide popularity as sung to the tune “To Anacreon in Heaven.” The origin of this tune is obscure, but it may have been written by John Stafford Smith, a British composer born in 1750. “The Star-Spangled Banner” was officially made the national anthem by Congress in 1931, although it already had been adopted as such by the army and the navy. (from http://www.infoplease.com/pages/copyright.html)
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Please remember our military men and women who put their lives in harms way in order to serve our country so that we may maintain our rights and freedoms. Freedom is not free. Many have given their lives for our freedom. May God continue to watch over and protect our military. May He bless them and keep them safe! And, may God’s peace rest upon their families.____________________________________
Nursery Schedule:
Sunday, July 3: Lillian Jones
Sunday, July 10: Stacy Cullins
Sunday, July 17: Misti Dearing
Sunday, July 24: Polly Campbell
Sunday, July 31: Lillian Joans
Note: We are still in need of more people to be involved in volunteering in our nursery on Sunday mornings. If you feel God is calling you to assist in this area of ministry, please call the church office!
Children’s Time During worship:
Sunday July 3: Rhonda Greenwood
Sunday, July 10: Mac Sipe
Sunday, July 17: Lillian Jones
Sunday, July 24: Brad Banner
Sunday, July 31: Jean Blue
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ACOLYTES SCHEDULE
Leader: Jean Blue
ACOLYTES FOR JULY
Sunday July 3: Brooke Jones & Jacob Dearing
Sunday, July 10: Jackson & Jake Schriver
Sunday, July 17: Carissa & Yancy Downum
Sunday, July 24: Brooke Jones & Jacob Dearing
Sunday, July 31: Jackson & Jake Schriver
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USHERS SCHEDULE
Head Usher: Tom Watson
Sunday July 3: Tom Watson, Adam Bloodworth,
Jeremy Tipton, Matt Dearing
Sunday, July 10: Tom Watson, Tony Medauer,
Ernie Piske, Brad Banner
Sunday, July 17: Tom Watson, Tony Medauer,
Ernie Piske, Brad Banner
Sunday, July 24: Tom Watson, Ronny Doan,
Mac Sipe, Darryl Schriver
Sunday, July 31: Tom Watson, Ronny Doan,
Mac Sipe, Darryl Schriver
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KID’S ACTIVIES
Frogs (3rd – 5th Graders)
5:30-6:30 p.m.
2nd & 4th Sunday of each month
Donna Carter-Leader
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO LILLIAN JONES FOR PUTTING TOGETHER A GREAT VBS PROGRAM, AND A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED!!! WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU! GREAT TEAM WORK! THANK YOU!
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UNITED METHODIST MEN’S BREAKFAST
Saturday, July 2, 7:00 a.m.
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2nd SUNDAY FELLOWSHIP MEAL
July 10, 2011, noon
Bring your favorite
Covered Dish
Host: Young Adult Sunday School Class
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LET US REMEMBER IN PRAYER
Our men & women in the Military Service of our country; Our Veterans; Our President & Leaders of our country; Our Church; Our Community; Public Servants; All Shut-ins & Nursing Home Residents; Those in Hospital Care; Our families & friends; and especially those who have not accepted Jesus Christ into their lives!
FOR: Kathy Seymore, Ruby Sipe, Barbara Whisenhunt, Phyllis Farmer, cancer victims, & those who have lost loved-ones.
Note: If you would like for your name to be added/removed from our prayer list it is important that you, or a family member contact the church office. Due to privacy laws we can no longer print information without that person(s) personal request. We are unable to print name(s) called into the church office by someone other than that individual, or his/her family.
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July Birthdays:
July 1: Hunter Seymore
July 2: Lucille Gray
July 3: Taresia Griffith
July 4: Lybi Borrego
July 10: Polly Campbell
July 11: Jason Moran
July 12: Kathy Seymore
July 19: Stacy Cullins
Gary Hicks
July 23: Ruth Clark
Stephanie Moran
July 25: Corky Cox
July Anniversaries:
July 2: Randy Taresia Griffith
July 8: Dwight & Bobbye Bean
**Please accept our apology if we missed placing your birthday or anniversary in the newsletter. Contact the church office–help us make sure your date(s) is on file. Thank you.
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Once again I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone that helped to unload our truck & trailers when we arrived. Thanks, too for the wonderful meal. It was greatly appreciated and absolutely wonderful. And, the welcome flowers were beautiful. I know we are really going to love being in Merkel. I can already tell that you are a loving, inviting, and wonderful church. Thank you for inviting us into ministry with you!
With love & appreciation,
Rhonda Greenwood & family
