We will lift up the theme of Thanksgiving in our morning services of worship on Sunday, November 24.  this will be a service in which we will sing the great songs of Thanksgiving,   share our testimonies and hear a message on the importance of gratitude in our life. Sunday evening all are invited to participate in a community service of thanksgiving sponsored by the Sapulpa Ministerial Alliance.  That service will be at 6:30 at the Church.
 

Sunday, November 24, is the Sunday in which we will begin to decorate our church for the season of Advent.  It is “all hands on deck” and everyone invited to a decorating party at 5:00, Sunday evening.  We will need workers to decorate the sanctuary, halls, class rooms, family life center etc. Everyone is invited to bring some snack foods to share with all as we eat, visit, share, and dress our church in it’s Advent décor.
 

It has been a blessing to be a part of God’s ministry the last 2.5 years at Sapulpa First United Methodist Church. We have overcome many obstacles and allowed God to move in many areas. We have traveled the great state of Oklahoma along with a greater part of the US. We have been filled with the Spirit and been brought to new life by all the wonderful things God has shown us. 
 
As I begin to reminisce on my time as Youth Minister, I cannot choose one time that stood out from another, because I truly feel that every moment has been a blessing! The Spirit of God has moved among us and we have been shown that he can be alive in every moment. This season of youth ministry has been a great one for our church! 
 
The new season of the ministry is beginning quickly and I am excited to see where God takes our church and this youth ministry! It is with great sadness and joy that I write this last article for the crossbeams at Sapulpa. This is not goodbye but see you later. I will be around as I currently am planning to stay in the area, until God unfolds the rest of His plan for my families life! 

Happy fall from the Children’s Department! We want to give a big thank you to everyone who donated candy, helped out and participated in our Trunk or Treat this year, it was a huge success!
 
After a brief hiatus we have resumed our Wednesday night program for children 1st through 5th grade, join us at 6:15 P.M.-7:15 P.M. each Wednesday night for a ton of fun! Checkout our FUMC Sapulpa Children’s Ministry Facebook Page for all the details on each night’s theme. We are hosting a Toys for Friends drive and will start collecting toys for local children Wednesday November 6th at our children’s night program.
 
If you would like to help us with this bring a new unwrapped toy and drop it off at in the bin that will be located in the children’s Sunday school room. We will be collecting the toys until December 15th. I know it still seems so far away but soon we will start preparing for our children’s Christmas Program, it will be here quicker than we think! This year we will be using a new program called Jingle Jam and we are excited to try it out!
 
Next month the children will be decorating sugar cookies to pass out to the congregation, if you have any cookie decorating or baking supplies you’d like to donate to this cause please drop them off in the children’s Sunday school room or get in contact with Keri Bunting. As always we are looking for volunteers for all of our programs! Very flexible opportunities to serve, we have a blessed group of children! If you feel led to volunteer please don’t hesitate getting in touch! Any questions please feel free to reach out to Keri Bunting.

Thank you for your donations to the Blessing Box this last month!  You have helped to alleviate hunger and food insecurity for many in Creek County!  And thank you to those that contributed to our 5th Annual Dave Herbeck Chili Cookout last week!  The weather was beautiful and we had a wonderful crowd, not to mention delicious chili and stews!  We are looking forward to our upcoming Mission Trip to UMCOR Sager Brown January 18-25, 2020.  If you are interested in going, please call and get signed up.  Everyone is welcome to become a member of the team, as the only requirement is a willingness to serve!  The deadline for signing up is Sunday, October 27th.  God’s richest blessings to all!

COATS FOR ALLEN BOWDEN KIDS
Church family, in the month of November we are having a coat drive for the children. The cold winter months are upon us and the principal, Amy Karnes, said the children are in need of coats, both new and gently used. The sizes are 5/6 through 12/14. Most kids need 8-12. Boxes for the coats will be clearly marked and placed both in the Narthex and downstairs.  Checks are also welcome and can be made out to FUMC with coats for AB Kids in the memo and placed in the offering plate or you can give checks to Cheryl Cox or Laurie McDonel. We will be glad to shop for you.  Thank you for all you do to support the children. You are so greatly appreciated!!!!

​UPDATE on the Rummage Sale!!!  You exceeded all years in the past with donations!  This last rummage sale we brought in over $4,000.00!  For the two rummages sales this year we netted over $7,000.00.  What a blessing this is to you, us and all the mission work this will help!   AGAIN, we want to thank all the volunteers that came and helped.  No matter how many minutes or hours you volunteered, it was a big help to the United Methodist Women.   And the glory of the rummage sale is the lives we touched.  One gentleman that came to the sale a couple of times has been to church every week since the sale!!!
 
Thank you for all the donations for the John 3:16 Mission.  We have decided next year we will include coats in our collecting!  So any coats in good condition that go into the rummage sale will be added to our basket.  And at the time we collect in October of next year we will have a hanging rack in the Narthex and downstairs for collecting.
 
If you missed our October Unit meeting, you missed a great talk by Heather Graham about the Chainsaw Ministry.  Heather was in the middle of helping to remove a tree in front of the church when she came in (Chainsaw in hand) and gave a wonderful talk!   Thank you, Heather.  What a blessing you are to our church!  The new officers have been voted on and have been sworn in.

The slate of Unit officers is:  President - Ann Cornelius, VP - Judy James, Secretary - Sally Henderson, Treasurer - Kay Arbenz, Membership - Loretta Sellers, Nominations - Barbara Weaver & Sue Coonce.

CIRCLES UPDATE:
The Joy Circle meets the 1st Thursday of the month at 6:00 pm in the Parlor.  The United Methodist Men meet in the Fellowship Hall at the same time as the Joy Circle.  The Esther Circle meets on the 2nd Thursday of the month at 9:30 am in the Parlor.  Circles are a great way to meet women in our church, don’t miss out on Women’s fellowship, Bible lessons, prayer time and good food. 
 
Upcoming Opportunities:
Joy Circle                                                                         November 7th 6:00 PM in the Parlor
Esther Circle                                                                   November 14th 9:30 AM in the Parlor
Executive Meeting                                                         November 25th 1:00 PM in the Parlor
Tool Tyme                                                                       November 8th - 10th
NSO                                                                                  December 7th
South Central Jurisdiction Convention                      March 26th - 29th Little Rock, AR
 
If you have questions regarding any UMW event, just ask, we will be happy to fill you in! Don’t forget your WORLD THANK OFFERING. World thank represents the many things we are thankful for daily, big and small. November is when UMW women give the offering we have been accumulating throughout the year. This offering goes to mission in response to the scripture “GIVE THANKS.” (Jerimiah 33:11)  Please bring your offering to your November Circle gathering.  If you are unable to make it to Circle, Judy will be happy to accept your offering anytime!
 

The Pumpkins are tentatively scheduled to arrive Sunday October 13th at 5:00 PM.  As we know from past experience the truck is not always on time, so we will keep you updated as we get information.
 
We will need help setting up the pallets and unloading the truck!  Pallets are needed!  Do you have any?? 
 
We do not have a tractor this year, so if you have a wagon, PLEASE bring it:  And if you know anyone with a tractor that would be willing to help, please invite them and let Sally Henderson or Kay Arbenz know.
 
The money raised from the Pumpkin Patch goes to the Backpack program.  Volunteers will be needed to man the Pumpkin Patch until we are sold out.  We will have a schedule in the Narthex and downstairs at the Contemporary service.
 
This is a wonderful outreach program and we need your help!!!

​The Pumpkins are tentatively scheduled to arrive Sunday October 13th at 5:00 PM.  As we know from past experience the truck is not always on time, so we will keep you updated as we get information. We will need help setting up the pallets and unloading the truck!  Pallets are needed!  Do you have any? We do not have a tractor this year, so if you have a wagon, PLEASE bring it:  And if you know anyone with a tractor that would be willing to help, please invite them and let Sally Henderson or Kay Arbenz know. The money raised from the Pumpkin Patch goes to the Backpack program.  Volunteers will be needed to man the Pumpkin Patch until we are sold out.  We will have a schedule in the Narthex and downstairs at the Contemporary service. This is a wonderful outreach program and we need your help!!!