Volume 1, Issue 5 April-July 2013 Editors Gayle Gavorcik Georgene Brinkley

The Wave
Psalms 107:29 He makes the storms calm, so that

The Waves are at peace and still.

First United Methodist Church of Mexico Beach, Florida

Jerry Arhelger, Pastor

A Wo r d f ro m Pa s t o r Je r r y Special Greetings in the Joys and Love of the Lord Jesus! What a great blessing the first half of 2013 has been! I rejoice in how every day the Body of Christ ministers to each other in love, supplying every need to each other for the glory and praise of the Lord Jesus. The Word tells us in Hebrews 12:2, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. What a glorious promise to know that what the Lord begins in us He will finish. It is important what direction we look. If our attention is drawn away from the Lord Jesus then we will miss our mark. The world is in a time of great peril and difficulty. All signs point to the return of the Lord Jesus. Our focus must remain looking up to Jesus who will finish and complete what was started in us. As a church let us reach out to share the Good News to others. Let us love each other with a greater compassion and let us look with a new vision of completion to the Lord Jesus each and every day. We are looking at our growth and giving the Lord glory! In a short few months the summer will be over and our family from the north and other places will be arriving again. It is my heart that we will be prepared for a great move of the Holy Spirit in our lives and fellowship. Look up and prepare for the Lords blessings. Special thanks to Gayle for her work and patience with the newsletter. My love and thanks to all who work so hard. Best of love and blessings always and forever. Pastor Jerry

In this issue: A Word from Pastor Jerry Ministry through Technology Choir Intercessory Prayer Ministry Early Response Team The United Methodist Women New Kitchen Correctional Facilities Ministry Community Ministry Thank You Special Services Summertime Flick The View from the North Sunday School Weekly Church Calendar

MINISTRY THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

By Lori Butler

F i rs t Un i t ed M et hod i st Church of M exi co Be ach i s on

!!!!!!

"Like" our page and keep up with what's going on with your church family no matter where you are. Please post and let us know what you're up to! Find us on the web at Http://www.umcmexicobeachfl.com . Be sure and check it out!

If you would like to receive the prayer list and the newsletter by email, please make sure we have your email address.

We have a Facebook prayer chain that works in conjunction with the telephone prayer chain. Please post your prayer requests and your praise reports. What a blessing to be able to use technology to keep us close and to lift each other up in prayer. Let's use every means available to take the Gospel to the world around us. If you are new to Facebook or the Internet in general, please contact Lori or Bo Butler for assistance.

CHOIR
By Wanda Walker

While waiting for The Lord to send a piano player our way the church is enjoying special music periodically. For those of you with talent of voice, instrument or both please share with us by doing a special song. Know of someone you feel led to have come in to share? Please contact Pastor Jerry or contact Wanda Walker 648 -5395

INTERCESSORY PRAYER MINISTRY

By Cathi Rigdon

The Lord is at work in the prayer ministry of the church! New ideas are being discussed and prayed about to determine what will best meet the needs of our ever changing congregation. If you have any ideas or if you feel led to be a part of the prayer ministry, please contact Cathi Rigdon at 850-628-9049 or mimicat50@yahoo.com or Pastor Jerry Look for more information in upcoming bulletins and/or issues of The

Wave

EARLY RESPONSE TEAM aka ERT

By Lori Butler

As you know Hurricane season is here. The Early Response Team would like to encourage everyone in the Church and our community to be prepared. You can find useful information for setting up your emergency kit on the website: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare/ . Also, be sure to have an evacuation plan keeping in mind special needs, medications and pets. There are still a few "bug out bags" available at the Church. The ERT is in the process of purchasing an Early Response trailer so that we can readily respond to a disaster if needed. Team leaders are working with other agencies in the area to better serve the community. If you are interested in joining the effort please contact Carol Bonanno or Lori Butler. Training and certification are done around the area and you can find information on our district website: http://www.awfumc.org/

THE UNITED METHODIST WOMEN

By Ardie Schreck and Lori Butler

The UMW is currently on their summer break. Meetings will resume on the third Wednesday of September. We look forward to seeing you then. The Church Cookbook is still in the works. If you have recipes to submit please get them in soon. We want everyone to be a part of this project! You can leave them in the box in the narthex or you can email them to Lori Butler at Nolefan713@yahoo.com.

OUR NEW KITCHEN

Have you seen our new kitchen? If not please stop by and appreciate all the hard work that has gone into that area. A few things are still in the works to have the kitchen complete so if you are interested in learning more see Carol Dow or Jackie or call Carol at 850-227-6831

CORRECTIONAL FACILITY MINISTRIES

In addition to her duties as Victim Advocate for the Salvation Army, and board member for the Gulf County Domestic Violence Task Force, Pam Martin teaches, through her faith based prison ministry, a victims awareness class at Gulf Correctional Institute (GCI) and Calhoun Correctional Institute (CCI). Pam Currently has 30 in her class at GCI and CCI combined. The groups are on the domestic violence section now. The attendees will receive a certificate of completion that they very much look forward to. The class covers crimes of all varieties to include domestic violence, violent crime, sexual assault, murder, child abuse, sexual abuse, drunk driving, and drugs and society. Discussions address the impact of these crimes on the victims; the perpetrators do not consider the overall impact on the victim and their family and friends. Pam forces them to think about the victims view of the crimes committed against them. God surely blessed Pam with a unique talent and she in turn blesses those whose lives she touches. Lets continue to pray and support her efforts for the Lord Jesus. Contact Pam at (850) 769 -7989.

NEW GROUP TO MINISTER LOCALLY

By Tom Gavorcik

The Lord is working through us again! A new group of volunteers is being formed to assist elderly and handicapped folks in the church and community with small home repairs and other special needs. Our goal is to help provide a safer environment by reaching out with love to those physically or financially unable to provide these needs on their own. Besides working as an independent group we will also join with Diana Burkett and the Christian Community Development Fund on projects they are working on. This group is a Christian organization willing to assist us with funding and manpower. We have 20 volunteers already and will need only a limited number for each project so your gift of time will be as much or as little as you wish For more information and to volunteer your time, talent and skills please contact Tom Gavorcik at 330 -204-4884 or beacheshelpinghands@yahoo.com

SPECIAL THANK YOU

A special thank you to Ralph and Cathey Parker Hobbs for sponsoring The Wave..

DAY OF SPECIAL SERVICES

Church Membership and Baptism
On June 30 we had a special day of blessings beginning with special testimony and song followed by welcoming new members into our church family. A potluck lunch was enjoyed before gathering on the beach for a blessed baptism. What a day of rejoicing!

SUMMERTIME FLICKSWITH A SPIRITUAL TWIST

By Katrina Larson

This summer, our church family has enjoyed hanging out together with movies, fellowship, and special home -made treats. Our Movie Nightwith a Message programs have drawn crowds up to 25, and attracted the very young and the very young at heart! So far weve seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Meet the Robinsons. Weve enjoyed the films, and just being together, but most importantly weve grown in our faith as weve discovered and discussed how Gods Word is reflected in these movies. If you havent joined us for a Movie Night yet, you wont want to miss the next one! These arent just for the kids. We promise youll ALL be fed in body, mind, AND spirit before the evening is over! Stay tuned for future show times

OUR VIEW FROM THE NORTH

By Gayle Gavorcik

Once life settles in for them, Elaine Horstein will be working with us to write Our View from the North. As most of you are aware we were scheduled to leave for Ohio on May 1 but The Lord had another plan. Tom was hospitalized and both of us were given so much support from our church family here at the beach. In the last newsletter I mentioned how I dread going back to Ohio, leaving all of you and the blessings we receive with our church here. Then I ran across a scripture that reminded me of Pastor Jerry telling us we are the church. From that I knew I needed to take the blessings and love I receive here and share The Word at home but I wasnt sure which direction that would take us. During a brief visit to Ohio we were relating the blessings and miracles we witnessed during Toms illness, his baptism and still to this day. I received the invitation to share my testimony with our church there. So we will take the love and blessings along with our stories of Gods love and work in our lives. Normally I avoid speaking to groups at all but for this one I am excited and bubbling over with the joy of telling of Our Jesus and his everlasting love. Many of those blessings came through our church family so once again you are ministering not only to the beaches but to the north of you also.

WHY I LOVE TEACHING SUNDAY SCHOOL

By Dawn Hennington

Galatians 1:3 5 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen 1. 2. 3. I get to hang out with the greatest kids, (and their parents)! I get to tell kids about Jesus great love for them. I get to show kids how to read and use their Bible.

4. Using the Bible, I get to show the kids how it relates to the world around them; starting with creation in 6 days, to why there are so many languages, and how natural selection gives us the great variety of animals and plants. 5. Using Scripture, I get to share with the kids what brought about the ice age, when it started about four thousand years ago, and why the wholly mammoth was so large. Did YOU know Job spoke about the ice age? 6. Using u-tube and maps, I get to introduce the kids to the world of missionaries, those people who are obeying the great command of Matthew 28:19. Ask any student what Dios te ama means. 7. 8. 9. 10. I get to have tons of awesome fun with action songs, skits and cool experiments that help explain Biblical I am so totally blessed to have the support and prayers of the church staff and congregation. I have immense pleasure spending hours studying the Bible, commentaries, and internet research to proI have dedicated myself to teaching your children about the Bible and about God who is omnipresent, omprinciples. Ask any student what Joshuas faith has in common with balloons and fire.

vide the most accurate and up-to-date Bible information. nipotent, omniscient, immutable, holy, and faithful to all who love and obey Him. I sincerely look forward to being with your children each and every Sunday possible. I welcome any suggestions or thoughts, and all prayers for guidance. Love and blessings to you all, Miss Dawn (Godisgoodforu@hotmail.com)

Weekly Church Calendar

Watch the weekly bulletin for special events! SUNDAY
8:30 am Worship Service Breakfast every 3rd Sunday 9:45 am Bible Study 11:00am Contemporary Worship Service Childrens Church 8:00 am Exercise Class 9:15 am Womens Group Power Thoughts 6:00 pm Worship Comm. Meeting (1st Monday)

MONDAY

TUESDAY

10:00 am Council on Aging 1st and 3rd Mon. 6:00 pm Trustees Meeting 1st Tuesday

WEDNESDAY
6:30 pm UMW every 3rd Wednessday

THURSDAY
8:00 am Exercise class 6:30 pm Bible Study

FRIDAY
Stay tuned!

SATURDAY
Stay tuned!

Pastor Jerry Arhelger......................(850) 509-8308 Email: umcjerry@gmail.com Church Office..(850) 648-8820 Email: umcbeach@gmail.com Trustees Chairperson, Carol Woolley...(850) 537-2399 Admin Board Chairman, Frank Healy.(850) 647-8028 Prayer Ministry, Cathi Rigdon..(850) 628-9049 Church Web Page: http://umcmexicobeachfl.com/