First United Methodist Churches

of Barksdale and
Rocksprings, Texas

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Nueces Canyon Ministerial Alliance

First Annual Community Sunrise Service

on Easter Sunday, March 27, at 7:00 AM
at the Valley Ranch Retreat Center
2 miles east of Camp Wood on Hwy 337,
to the left at the sign for Mockingbird Rd.
Bring a lawn chair if you can, otherwise youll be sitting
on a folding metal chair.
Outside in good weather, inside in bad weather.

Holy Saturday Downtown Walk

Beginning at 10 AM on March 26 at the Washateria in

Camp Wood, people will gather to walk from there to
the city park along the sidewalks. Someone will dress
like Jesus carrying His cross. Walkers will have fliers
advertising the Sunrise Service. As they walk along,
they will hand out the fliers in local businesses and to
other people out and about. Come to participate or
just to watch!

Stations of the Cross Prayer Service

Montell Episcopal Church of the Ascension

on Good Friday, March 25 at 5:30 PM.
Methodists do not generally observe the Stations of the
Cross because a few of them are not mentioned in the
gospels. Yet they are part of the tradition of the church
and meditating upon Jesus going to the cross for our
sake is the theme of every Good Friday service.
Participants in this service will silently and prayerfully
walk around the grounds following a program that will
be given to each.

No Maundy Thursday services this year.

Pastor will be gone grandmothering.

FUMC BARKSDALE

FUMC ROCKSPRINGS

BIRTHDAYS in March
6Tracie Schneider
10Don Howell
21Cody Preece
22Tena Hunger
Colten Preece
Colista Preece

BIRTHDAYS in March
3Kathy Walker
19Kristin Shanklin

ANNIVERSARIES in March
10Don & Konoe Howell
29J.R. & Rosemary Boland
30Kathy & Mark Norvell
31Liz & Vic Mikulec

BARKSDALE
Yolanda Bird
Cindy Clements
Julie Colclasure
Fred Cox
Caleb Evans
Family of Miranda Hernandez
Gail McElroy
ALL PRAY
Jenna Milam
Our Military
Schools
Our Pastor
Dorothy Stotts
Schools
Gloria Turner
Peace on Earth
Scott Williams
Gods Will Be Done
ROCKSPRINGS
Justin Brock
Lorine Brown
Dillon Brown
Ro Clark
Sarah Crenshaw
Janice Edwards
Aubara Fotiades

Family of Miranda Hernandez

Keith James
Scotlyn McDonald
RAIN
Maxine Sorrells
Tanner Walkermilitary going to Syria

ANNIVERSARIES in
March
21Jody & Chantz
Greene

and

Please correct and add

to these lists!
Thank you!

SHANKLIN
Souli Sloan Shanklinborn February 26,
2016 to Ryan and Kristin. He weighed 7 lbs. 10
ozs. and was 20 inches long. He is the grandson of Souli and Patty Shanklin and greatgrandson of Lillie Shanklin.
This newsletter didnt come for a long time due
to the illness of the editor, who has just realized
another announcement needs to be made.
Therefore, we will report the birth of Azlyn Lillie
Shanklinborn October 1, 2015 to Asa and
Katy. She weighed 5 lbs. 13 ozs. and was 19
inches long. She is the sister of Saige, the
granddaughter of Souli and Patty Shanklin, and
the great-granddaughter of Lillie Shanklin.
COLCLASURE
Annie May Colclasureborn March 3, 2016 to
Julie and Andrew. She weighed 9 lbs. 5 ozs.
and was 22 inches long. She is the sister of
Sandy and the grand-daughter of Linda ONeal.
Praise God for them all!!
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Barksdale News

Worship Sundays at 9:00 AM

Nursery for Toddlers is provided in the back of the Sanctuary every Sunday
morning during worship, which begins at 9:00 AM.

Adult Sunday School takes place every Sunday after church in the Fellowship
Hall. We use the Adult Bible Studies curriculum and people take turns leading the
class. In March we will be studying:
6Powerful Faith, M ark 9:14-29
13Simple Faith, M ark 10:17-31
20Struggling Faith, M ark 14:26-31
27Resurrection Faith, mark 16:1-8

Childrens Sunday School takes place every Sunday after church in the
Sanctuary. All ages study together and adults take turns teaching.

Bible Study takes place on Monday nights at 6:30 PM in the Fellowship Hall. Dinner
is provided. Ron Fulton teaches the class. They are studying The Parables of Paul.

Womens Bible Study takes place on Wednesday mornings at 10:00 AM in the

Fellowship Hall. Those who wish to do so meet for lunch at a local restaurant
afterwards. Cindy Meador is teaching the class. They are also studying The Parables of
Paul.

Bob Brown (rt) and his son-in-law

Mike Brandon are digging trenches in
Panajachel, Guatemala on a mission trip
to help build a house. They are digging
trenches for the septic system and for
the rebar in the foundation. This team
will be replaced later by another, then
another, then another until the house is
built, then they will start all over again!
Way to go Bob! Your daughter picked a
good Christian man, praise God!

Rev. ONeal,
and Kathy
Fulton give
the Nueces
Canyon EMS
a check for
$1050.00
from the
Shrove
Tuesday
Pancake
Supper
Fundraiser.

Emmaus Reunion Group meets

Mondays at 5:15 PM in the
Fellowship Hall.
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Rocksprings News Worship 11:00 AM

We are continuing to meet in the basement as work is going on in
the Sanctuary. We have three rows of pews and many
folding
chairs set up. Many people have described it as cosy. The pastor
is much less lonesome, being so much closer to the congregation,
although they sit as far away as they can. She recently bought new,
expensive perfume. Perhaps that will help. We have purchased new
beeswax candles for the altar. They are not supposed to drip so
much.
Trustees Meet First Monday of the Month (After First Sunday) at 5:15 PM in
the Fellowship Hall, this month March 7.
The Trustees will meet in March on the 7th. Since the last newsletter, a lot of
progress has been made stripping the window frames and molding of paint,
taking them back to the original wood. It is beginning to look quite lovely in the
sanctuary!

Come to church an hour early

on Sunday, March

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Beginning of Daylight Savings

Time
Nueces Canyon Community
Sing-a-bration
Saturday, April 9, 6:00 PM

Anyone who would like to sing at the

Sing-a-bration is welcome to do so.
Practice will be at 1:00 PM.
Christian music.

Valley Ranch Retreat Center

2 miles east of Camp Wood on Hwy 337,
to the left at the sign for Mockingbird Rd.
Come hear the preacher sing
and Tena Hunger sing better!

This is the monthly newsletter of the First United Methodist Churches of Barksdale and Rocksprings,
Texas. Check out our web sites: fumcbarksdale.weebly.com & rockspringsfumc.weebly.com
Editor: Rev. Linda ONeal
revlindalee@yahoo.com
1267 CR 411
Home: 830-597-2114
Uvalde, TX 78801
Cell: 979-253-1592
Everyone is welcome to make contributions and suggestions to the publication of this newsletter!
Your input is solicited and most welcome!
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As I write this, I am still waiting to welcome my fourth grandchild into the world.
The baby was due to be born February 19. It is March 1 and we are still waiting. He
or she has a big sister, Sandy, who is 19 months old. My daughter, Julie, and her
husband, Andrew, and their daughter live in Morrison, Colorado, a suburb of Denver to
the west. I will travel there and time the trip so that I arrive when my son-in-law has
to go back to work. He plans to take off a week after the baby is born.
So I have been sort of on hold for about a month now. Sandy was born over 3
weeks early, so I have been anxious since about the end of January wondering whether
or not this one would be early too. I have preached many sermons about: Do not
worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6 NRSV)
I know exactly where to find that scripture in the Bible. I have pondered it, prayed it,
preached about it, and generally manage to live by it.
Until my baby and her baby are involved. Thats different. God NEEDS my help
in looking after them. They are going to be safe and secure precisely because I am
spending energy worrying about them. The truth that parental worry has a protective
quality may not be biblical, but it is nevertheless an incontrovertible factif a mother
worries about you, you are much safer and more secure than if you have no mother to
worry about you. The same is true for fathers.
Of course I am also praying. I am soliciting prayers from everyone I know.
However, here we are in the middle of Lent, the season of repentance, and I must
confess I am not living according to Philippians 4:6. I am worrying. I may be going on
to perfection, but I am not there yet.
I never could watch the movie The Passion of Christ. I dont know how God the
Father could sit by and watch what was happening to His boy. I cant watch it. I
couldnt watch someone doing that to my child, and I cant watch someone doing it to
my Savior. It will always be something of a mystery to me why it was necessary for
Jesus to die on the cross. God the Father doesnt do cruel, He does mercy. God the
Father chooses mercy over revenge every time. The main thing I figure is that God
the Father wanted us to see what it is we do to Him every day when we ignore Him
and let the world lead us into despair and degradation.
So when I am anxious and worried, I know I should let go and let God. Its hard
to do, so sometimes the best I can do is to confess over and over again that I want to
let go, but I am having trouble doing it. Even when I am doing wrong by being
anxious, I can keep praying and confessing. I can keep up the good fight to fully follow
God. I can confess that I really want to have my way in regards to my children and
grandchildren. I can confess that if I dont have my way, I am going to get really mad
at God. Yet even if I get mad, I will still hang on to God. Only God can give me the
strength to cope.
I am learning even more through all of this just how much God the Father and
God the Son love us. Jesus forgave His murderers, so that means His Father did too.
Knowing how deeply humanity can disappoint and just how evil we can manage to be,
still the Father and the Son reach out to us and offer us salvation and forgiveness.
How amazing is that? But then wed do it for our kids, too.
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The First United Methodist Churches of

Barksdale and Rocksprings, Texas
1267 CR 411
Uvalde, TX 78801

Address Correction Requested

Nueces Canyon Ministerial Alliance

Community Easter Sunrise Service
Easter, March 27, 7:00 AM

Valley Ranch Retreat Center

Camp Wood
Bring a lawn chair if you can.
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