Middleton United Methodist Church
429 North Main Street
Middleton, TN 38052
731-376-0159
Pastor Jerry Shaver
Parsonage 731-376-0257 or Cell 731-693-9196
429 North Main Street
Middleton, TN 38052
731-376-0159
Pastor Jerry Shaver
Parsonage 731-376-0257 or Cell 731-693-9196
| 429 N. Main Street, Middleton, TN 38052 Webmaster - Mary Cumberland - firstunited50123@bellsouth.net Copyright © 2006 MUMC. All Rights Reserved. |
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The Pastor’s Perspective:
The burly miner blinked as he left the dark interior of the coal mine. Stopping at a faucet near the mine entrance, he washed the worst of the grime
from his face and hands, then headed towards his home on the outskirts of the village. As he trudges along the dusty lane, he passed the open door
of a little church. Inside, a small crowd listened intently as an energetic man paced from the pulpit. Interested, the miner stepped to the door.
“Absolute surrender is what we must have,” the minister was saying. “Are you willing to surrender yourself absolutely into His hand? If not, you
are not ready to meet your God.” The minister paced back and forth on the platform. “We do not know how much longer our earthly probation
will last. Tonight you are living; tomorrow may be too late. Ask yourself, I beg of you, “Am I ready to meet the Lord?”
The miner, touched to the quick, slipped into the back pew. I am not ready to meet God, he thought. I have lived a careless, godless life. How
can I make peace with Him? The meeting ended, and the people filed out. Still the miner remained in the pew, his head in his hands.
Finally, the minister touched him on the shoulder. “Brother, are you ready to meet the Lord?”
Blindly, the miner shook his head. “Stay with me a little longer, it must be settled tonight.”
Once again the minister explained the way of salvation and prayed, but in vain. Another hour passed.
“You must go home.” the minister told him. “It’s late, and I cannot make it any clearer.”
“It must be settled tonight.” the miner repeated, his eyes burning with earnestness.
“Then we shall stay here together, “the minister agreed. Once more he spoke of Jesus, and shared promise after promise. Once more he prayed,
but in vain. “I must go,” the minister finally said. “It will soon be morning. Go home, and return tomorrow night. Maybe then you will find
peace.”
“Sir, I cannot leave this place until I find peace.”
The poor man’s voice trembled. “Tomorrow may be too late. It must be settled tonight.”
Again he explained the steps of conversion; again he prayed. As he spoke, the miner broke into sobs and tears, and at last the light pierced his
darkness.
“I see it!” he cried. “I give myself absolutely to God, to His will, to do only what He wants. It is settled.
Praise His name, it is settled!” The two men knelt again, but this time to thank God for bringing light to a sinner’s soul.
The next morning the miner went to work as usual. During the day he was sent to a distant part of the mine to fetch some tools. When he did not
return, his fellow workers went to look for him. They found that the mine walls had caved in on him, and he was buried in the debris. Working
with pick and shovel, they began to dig. Finally, from the fragments of rock and rubbish and stone which hid him from sight, came a faint sound:
“Tonight------would have been---too late. Thank God---it was settled---last night!”
Are you ready to meet the Lord?
Brother Jerry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Stranger:
A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small Tennessee town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with
this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.
As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors:
Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on
end with Adventures, mysteries and comedies.
If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even
seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to their first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger
never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.
Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the
kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)
Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not
allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my
ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a
regular Basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments
were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.
I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my
parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.
More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at
first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk
and watch him draw his pictures.
His name?..........we just call him “TV”. He has a wife now........we call her “Computer” and they just had their first child………“Cell Phone”.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angel Food Ministry:
I have shared our involvement in Angel Food Ministries with many people. Not one person has not heard of it or failed to praise this ministry. As I
related our experiences, I realize how much this does for me. I love the fellowship with our church family, the volunteers from other churches who
come to help, and of course our recipients. At the end of each distribution day, I feel good about what we have done. Barbara Houck
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Braggin’ Corner:
We have some "bragging" to do:
• Dawson qualified for the Wrangler Junior High National Finals in Gallup, NM, and we were there with him June 26- July 4. He finished 8th in
the Chute Dogging event.
• Dayton was elected Student President of the Mississippi High School Rodeo Youth Board.
• Dayton competed in Shawnee, OK, July 13-18, at the International Youth Rodeo Finals, where he was selected to serve as a Youth Director
again for the 2009-2010 rodeo season.
• Dayton and Dawson both qualified for the National Little Britches Finals Rodeo in Pueblo, CO, July 26- Aug 1. Both made it back to the short-
go in one of their events. Dayton finished 9th in the world in bulldogging.
• Our new rodeo season is already underway and will keep you up-to-date.
• Dayton's horse was selected as Purina's SuperHorse of the year at the National Little Britches Finals at Pueblo, CO. (This is the same horse
that he broke his hand on this time last year...they have come a long way!)
My grandson Cody Houck, who worships at Milan First United Methodist Church moved into the dorm at UT Martin on August 27. I am very
proud of his accomplishments and request prayers for his new experiences and growing in God.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Calendar of Events:
Oct. 2,9,16,30 7 PM Movie Nights
Oct. 5-12 10-2 PM Angel Food Orders Taken
Oct. 6 7 PM UMW
Oct. 10-11 MYF Land Between Lakes
Oct. 11 6 PM Pot Luck & Council Meeting
Oct. 17 Angel Food Distribution & Flu Shots
Oct. 18 Old Fashion Day
Oct. 23 Wesley Class Dinner
Oct. 24 Reaves Chili Supper
Oct. 25 Old Fashioned Day (Toy Drive Starts)
Oct. 31 12 – 5 PM Harvest Get Together
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charge Conference Forms:
It’s that time of year again. Brother Jerry has passed out the various conference forms that need to be completed, signed and returned to him no
later than October 13th so that he can submit them to the District office by our deadline of October 16th.
Our County Cluster Charge Conference will be held at Bolivar United Methodist Church on November 1st at 2:00 pm for everyone that is interested
in attending.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MYF
New officers have been elected for the Senior High Youth. They are as follows:
President: Jodi McKelvey
Vice President: Aaron Hasapis
Secretary/Treasurer: Ereka Luttrell
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newlyweds:
Congratulations goes out to Katherine (Sones) and Ken Moore in their marriage. They will have an instant family with the Elizabeth (Lizzie) joining
Cameron in their new family. May your marriage be blessed!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Tribute:
Our church has once again lost one of its dearest members when Jack Brady went to be with his Lord and Savior on September 15, 2009.
Jack will be sorely missed by everyone in this church and his presence will leave an empty space for years to come. He was always here with a
twinkle in his eye and a comment that would make you smile no matter how you felt. Jack was active in the life of Middleton United Methodist
church for the majority of his life. He served willingly on every committee and office that we have here. His love for the Lord shined in his work
and his daily life. He loved his family and has left us with a legacy that we should all inspire to adopt.
Jack, we will miss you, but you are now enjoying your reward. You’ve left your mark here on earth and your family will carry on your tradition of
loving our Lord and spreading His word. Rest in peace.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday Night Bible Study
Brother Jerry is conducting a new Wednesday night Bible Study entitled Restoring Methodism. It begins at 7:00 pm each Wednesday night. It just
began so there’s still time for you to come. It’s a very interesting study of our “roots” and the participants are very excited about this new study.
See you there!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome:
We were all thrilled to welcome the Curry family into membership here at Middleton United Methodist Church. This family consists of Dennis,
Adrien, Jonas, Kai, Asher, Shalom and Sharon.
Both Dennis and Adrien are teachers. Dennis teaches troubled youth and Adrien is our teacher here at our Parents Day Out program. We are
blessed to have this loving family as part of our Christian family. Welcome home Currys!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UMW News:
We had a great turnout for our guest speaker, Lindia Speer, from Alamo First UMC on Sunday afternoon, September 20th. We had visitors from
Whiteville, Alamo, Middleton and Grand Junction and a total of 29 present. Lindia’s presentation on Native Americans was very interesting and she
had lots of artifacts available for us to touch and feel. She even performed a smudging ceremony that we all felt was similar to our baptism. Even
though the rain came down, we were bright and sunny inside and enjoyed the day.
Our UMW ladies are working on repairing the Chrismons so if you’re interested in helping please contact Louise. They are also cutting out the new
costumes that we will be using for the Living Nativity scene in December. If you’d like to volunteer to sew them, please contact Mary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHRISTIAN SISTER
By Maya Angelou
'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ
that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not shouting 'I'm clean livin'' I'm whispering 'I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven.'
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect, my flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain..I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou, I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!
Pretty is as Pretty does... but beautiful is just plain beautiful!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HAPPY AUTUMN!
Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep
inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff-- including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light
inside you to shine for all the world to see.
The burly miner blinked as he left the dark interior of the coal mine. Stopping at a faucet near the mine entrance, he washed the worst of the grime
from his face and hands, then headed towards his home on the outskirts of the village. As he trudges along the dusty lane, he passed the open door
of a little church. Inside, a small crowd listened intently as an energetic man paced from the pulpit. Interested, the miner stepped to the door.
“Absolute surrender is what we must have,” the minister was saying. “Are you willing to surrender yourself absolutely into His hand? If not, you
are not ready to meet your God.” The minister paced back and forth on the platform. “We do not know how much longer our earthly probation
will last. Tonight you are living; tomorrow may be too late. Ask yourself, I beg of you, “Am I ready to meet the Lord?”
The miner, touched to the quick, slipped into the back pew. I am not ready to meet God, he thought. I have lived a careless, godless life. How
can I make peace with Him? The meeting ended, and the people filed out. Still the miner remained in the pew, his head in his hands.
Finally, the minister touched him on the shoulder. “Brother, are you ready to meet the Lord?”
Blindly, the miner shook his head. “Stay with me a little longer, it must be settled tonight.”
Once again the minister explained the way of salvation and prayed, but in vain. Another hour passed.
“You must go home.” the minister told him. “It’s late, and I cannot make it any clearer.”
“It must be settled tonight.” the miner repeated, his eyes burning with earnestness.
“Then we shall stay here together, “the minister agreed. Once more he spoke of Jesus, and shared promise after promise. Once more he prayed,
but in vain. “I must go,” the minister finally said. “It will soon be morning. Go home, and return tomorrow night. Maybe then you will find
peace.”
“Sir, I cannot leave this place until I find peace.”
The poor man’s voice trembled. “Tomorrow may be too late. It must be settled tonight.”
Again he explained the steps of conversion; again he prayed. As he spoke, the miner broke into sobs and tears, and at last the light pierced his
darkness.
“I see it!” he cried. “I give myself absolutely to God, to His will, to do only what He wants. It is settled.
Praise His name, it is settled!” The two men knelt again, but this time to thank God for bringing light to a sinner’s soul.
The next morning the miner went to work as usual. During the day he was sent to a distant part of the mine to fetch some tools. When he did not
return, his fellow workers went to look for him. They found that the mine walls had caved in on him, and he was buried in the debris. Working
with pick and shovel, they began to dig. Finally, from the fragments of rock and rubbish and stone which hid him from sight, came a faint sound:
“Tonight------would have been---too late. Thank God---it was settled---last night!”
Are you ready to meet the Lord?
Brother Jerry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Stranger:
A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small Tennessee town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with
this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.
As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors:
Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on
end with Adventures, mysteries and comedies.
If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even
seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to their first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger
never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.
Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the
kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)
Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not
allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my
ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a
regular Basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments
were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.
I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my
parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.
More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at
first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk
and watch him draw his pictures.
His name?..........we just call him “TV”. He has a wife now........we call her “Computer” and they just had their first child………“Cell Phone”.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angel Food Ministry:
I have shared our involvement in Angel Food Ministries with many people. Not one person has not heard of it or failed to praise this ministry. As I
related our experiences, I realize how much this does for me. I love the fellowship with our church family, the volunteers from other churches who
come to help, and of course our recipients. At the end of each distribution day, I feel good about what we have done. Barbara Houck
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Braggin’ Corner:
We have some "bragging" to do:
• Dawson qualified for the Wrangler Junior High National Finals in Gallup, NM, and we were there with him June 26- July 4. He finished 8th in
the Chute Dogging event.
• Dayton was elected Student President of the Mississippi High School Rodeo Youth Board.
• Dayton competed in Shawnee, OK, July 13-18, at the International Youth Rodeo Finals, where he was selected to serve as a Youth Director
again for the 2009-2010 rodeo season.
• Dayton and Dawson both qualified for the National Little Britches Finals Rodeo in Pueblo, CO, July 26- Aug 1. Both made it back to the short-
go in one of their events. Dayton finished 9th in the world in bulldogging.
• Our new rodeo season is already underway and will keep you up-to-date.
• Dayton's horse was selected as Purina's SuperHorse of the year at the National Little Britches Finals at Pueblo, CO. (This is the same horse
that he broke his hand on this time last year...they have come a long way!)
My grandson Cody Houck, who worships at Milan First United Methodist Church moved into the dorm at UT Martin on August 27. I am very
proud of his accomplishments and request prayers for his new experiences and growing in God.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Calendar of Events:
Oct. 2,9,16,30 7 PM Movie Nights
Oct. 5-12 10-2 PM Angel Food Orders Taken
Oct. 6 7 PM UMW
Oct. 10-11 MYF Land Between Lakes
Oct. 11 6 PM Pot Luck & Council Meeting
Oct. 17 Angel Food Distribution & Flu Shots
Oct. 18 Old Fashion Day
Oct. 23 Wesley Class Dinner
Oct. 24 Reaves Chili Supper
Oct. 25 Old Fashioned Day (Toy Drive Starts)
Oct. 31 12 – 5 PM Harvest Get Together
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charge Conference Forms:
It’s that time of year again. Brother Jerry has passed out the various conference forms that need to be completed, signed and returned to him no
later than October 13th so that he can submit them to the District office by our deadline of October 16th.
Our County Cluster Charge Conference will be held at Bolivar United Methodist Church on November 1st at 2:00 pm for everyone that is interested
in attending.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MYF
New officers have been elected for the Senior High Youth. They are as follows:
President: Jodi McKelvey
Vice President: Aaron Hasapis
Secretary/Treasurer: Ereka Luttrell
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newlyweds:
Congratulations goes out to Katherine (Sones) and Ken Moore in their marriage. They will have an instant family with the Elizabeth (Lizzie) joining
Cameron in their new family. May your marriage be blessed!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Tribute:
Our church has once again lost one of its dearest members when Jack Brady went to be with his Lord and Savior on September 15, 2009.
Jack will be sorely missed by everyone in this church and his presence will leave an empty space for years to come. He was always here with a
twinkle in his eye and a comment that would make you smile no matter how you felt. Jack was active in the life of Middleton United Methodist
church for the majority of his life. He served willingly on every committee and office that we have here. His love for the Lord shined in his work
and his daily life. He loved his family and has left us with a legacy that we should all inspire to adopt.
Jack, we will miss you, but you are now enjoying your reward. You’ve left your mark here on earth and your family will carry on your tradition of
loving our Lord and spreading His word. Rest in peace.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday Night Bible Study
Brother Jerry is conducting a new Wednesday night Bible Study entitled Restoring Methodism. It begins at 7:00 pm each Wednesday night. It just
began so there’s still time for you to come. It’s a very interesting study of our “roots” and the participants are very excited about this new study.
See you there!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome:
We were all thrilled to welcome the Curry family into membership here at Middleton United Methodist Church. This family consists of Dennis,
Adrien, Jonas, Kai, Asher, Shalom and Sharon.
Both Dennis and Adrien are teachers. Dennis teaches troubled youth and Adrien is our teacher here at our Parents Day Out program. We are
blessed to have this loving family as part of our Christian family. Welcome home Currys!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UMW News:
We had a great turnout for our guest speaker, Lindia Speer, from Alamo First UMC on Sunday afternoon, September 20th. We had visitors from
Whiteville, Alamo, Middleton and Grand Junction and a total of 29 present. Lindia’s presentation on Native Americans was very interesting and she
had lots of artifacts available for us to touch and feel. She even performed a smudging ceremony that we all felt was similar to our baptism. Even
though the rain came down, we were bright and sunny inside and enjoyed the day.
Our UMW ladies are working on repairing the Chrismons so if you’re interested in helping please contact Louise. They are also cutting out the new
costumes that we will be using for the Living Nativity scene in December. If you’d like to volunteer to sew them, please contact Mary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHRISTIAN SISTER
By Maya Angelou
'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ
that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not shouting 'I'm clean livin'' I'm whispering 'I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven.'
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect, my flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain..I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.
When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou, I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!
Pretty is as Pretty does... but beautiful is just plain beautiful!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HAPPY AUTUMN!
Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep
inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff-- including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light
inside you to shine for all the world to see.