² Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ ³ He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ⁴ They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ ⁵ But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. ⁶ But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” ⁷ “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁸ and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’

¹⁰ Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. ¹¹ He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; ¹² and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’

¹³ People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them.
¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ ¹⁶ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

OUR RESPONSE TO THE DISASTER – Please Read

More has been going on than we can tell you, but, just to start, the church building has all utilities restored, and you are welcome to come and use the Wi-Fi, charge your phones, etc. A truck arrived on Tuesday (today) with a large donation of food, water, and other supplies to be distributed as needed, and we accepted it. The ERHS Soccer Team and some volunteers from the community came to unload and place in the Fellowship Hall. A semi-trailer from Elizabethtown, NC, is coming this Friday with a large load of food, water, generators, fuel, chainsaws and emergency relief supplies.  Katie and Nathan Bass were instrumental in making this connection.  These items will be shared with the RCS families and with the Sheriff’s Department (to be distributed to the front line).  Call first if you can, but someone should be at the church during the usual office hours of 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Monday-Thursday. We will probably be here outside of those hours due to the situation. 

Many of the activities we had planned are not going to happen. The WOW group will obviously not be going to Lake Lure, and the Youth pottery class at the Rogalski’s this Sunday has been postponed, so, here are the events as they stand now on the church calendar:

• This Sunday, Oct. 6 – Sunday School classes will meet as usual. We will be back in the sanctuary for World Communion Sunday at 10:30 a.m. The Blessing of the Animals scheduled for the afternoon is cancelled.
• The More or Less Circle will meet this Tuesday, October 8, at 11:00 a.m. in the Men’s Bible Study Classroom. Please bring tweezers and/or nail clippers for Abounding Grace.
• The Grace Circle will meet this Tuesday, October  8, at 1:00 p.m.  in the Men’s Bible Study Classroom.
• The Administrative Council will meet next Monday, October 14, at 6:30 p.m. in the Men’s Bible Study Classroom.
• The Brookdale Visitation Team will meet at Brookdale at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesdays. We will bring some of the children’s Orff instruments and desk bells with us and try to make this a special interactive time of fun, worship, and a distraction from what all is going on. Please join us!
• He-Brews Coffee and Conversation meets on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. at Hope House Coffee Co. 1066 S. Broadway in Forest City.  Our current study: Acts: Lessons From Our Backstory  by Jim Dalrymple
• The Mountain Dulcimer Class will resume on Tuesday, October 15, at 10:00 a.m.
• The Handbell and Hand Chime Choirs will not rehearse until further notice.

FUMC Youth

• This Sunday, October 6 – Meet at 5:00 p.m. for a time of study, and possibly a service project.
• Next Sunday, October 13 – The Chicken Pie Fundraiser is cancelled. Meet at 5:00 p.m. for a time of study, and possibly a service project.
• Saturday, October 19 – The bike trip is cancelled.
• Sunday, October 20 – Food for Friends
• Saturday, October 26 – Youth Pottery Experience with Paula at 3:00 p.m.  Join us as we create soup bowls for our Stewardship event in November.  We will leave the church promptly at 3:00 p.m.  We will have a picnic afterwards. Note – this is on Saturday, not Sunday.

Other News

As you probably noticed, this is a new format for the newsletter. This page in the church website will be the permanent home of the newsletter. Text-to-speech apps will work on this page. Older newsletters, beginning with this one, will be archived and the current newsletter will always be at this address. This mobile-friendly format, albeit not as pretty, will be much more accessible and allow for immediate updates to information. Feel free to check by as often as you like. The goal is for  major updates to happen on schedule by Wednesday, and a print edition will still be sent via US Mail to those who have requested it. If you no longer need the printed copy, please let the church office know. This edition was rushed to press due to the ongoing emergency, but future editions will include more of the familiar elements like the budgetary numbers, birthdays, and Worship Volunteer schedules. Speaking of that, this Sunday, World Communion Sunday, will be in the sanctuary and the helpers are as follows:

Lector – Russell Spicer

Finance – David Eaker, Mike Gavin

Greeters – Sharon Shipley, Martha Jones

Ushers – Chuck Summey, Cooper Flack

Head Usher – David Eaker

Communion Stewards – Russell Spicer, Christy Brown

May the Peace of the Lord, and His Blessings be with you all, and we hope to see you on Sunday!