Weekly Announcements

DEVOTIONAL:

Allies and enemies

Psalm 18:1-20: [My enemies] confronted me in the day of my disaster; but the LORD... rescued me because he delighted in me. On this date in 1943, Italy declared war on Germany. Earlier in the conflict, the two despotic regimes had been partners in the Axis. We shouldn't be surprised when former allies become enemies. We live our lives in a space where human beings and systems manipulate one another for their own purposes, turning against one another when those purposes are satisfied or frustrated. The manipulative nature of much of human interaction explains the difficulty we have in understanding the unconditional love of God. The love of God transforms because God needs nothing from me in return. God "rescued me because he delighted in me," so I need not worry what will happen when God no longer needs me. Pure, non-manipulative love can also transform human relationships. But offering grace to others requires work and persistence; human nature has been trained to ask, "What's the catch?" Human nature half-expects today's ally to become tomorrow's enemy, or at least tomorrow's competitor. When someone offers me a gift of pure grace, I can be suspicious and wonder when that ally will become an enemy. Or I can practice remembering that unconditional love cannot be taken away; it is a gift from God. And God rescued me simply because God delighted in me. Jeremiah 38:1-13; 1 Corinthians 14:26-33a, 37-40; Matthew 10:34-42 Copyright 2011 by Carol Mead. This material is copyrighted, but you are welcome to share it in its entirety with others. To subscribe, visit the website at www.holyordinary.com

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Exciting news!  Charlie Crews will be baptized this Sunday, October 16th at the 8:45 service.  Congratulations to the Crews family on this very special occasion.   

PROGRAMS:
This week, Rob Spencer and Joe Fess will share with us their experiences on their recent mission trip to Honduras.  Joe led the team this year and this was Rob's first trip, so it promises to be a great discussion.  

SOCIAL:

Please mark your calendars for a Halloween costume party at the Kelly's home on Sunday, October 30th at 4:00 pm.  Bring the whole family as we will have a pumpkin carving contest for the adults and a pumpkin decorating station for the children.  If you did not receive the EVITE please let Natalia or Elizabeth know. 

Our social event in November will be centered around Thanksgiving therefore we will be partnering with Outreach for a volunteer project and a fellowship dinner.  More details to come.

Please save the date for the LAF Christmas Party to be held on Saturday, December 10th at the home of Kevin and Jo Hodges. 

TREASURER:

This year we are trying something new!  We will be collecting "pledge cards" from each LAF couple during October so that the officers can set a realistic budget for our year.  In past years, we've had a significant surplus of funds, but we're beginning to whittle it down. We are suggesting a pledge of $100 per couple but are leaving it up to each couple for a final decision.  Look for pledge cards and a collection envelope in the weekly attendance folder.  We hope to collect all dues by December 31st and will be tracking our progress with a fancy fundraising thermometer on the bulletin board.  Please note that we will accept them after  December 31st, but we are encouraging everyone to get them in by this date.  

FROM MEG:
Also, there's a change to the football and tailgate party.  We will now be going to the BT v. Therell High School game on Friday, October 21st.  The game is at Grady Stadium (which is in Midtown Atlanta) at 5:30 p.m.  We'll meet up outside to sit together and then go over to Mellow Mushroom afterwards for dinner.  The game should be finished by 7:30 at the very latest, so hopefully those of you with small kids can join us.  If you can make it, please let Meg know by emailing her at mthomablackwood@gmail.com so that we can save you a seat.  Be sure to wear your green and gold to cheer on BT!




FUN VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY:
There is a great opportunity to volunteer at the church's kid Halloween party on October 26th.  It sounds like it will be a lot of fun.  If you are interested, please let Al know via email at almcdaniel@prumc.org.  Here is Al's email:


Hi Everyone, 


We are very excited about the Carnival and things are coming along awesomely. We have an Oglethorpe Fraternity helping with many of the kids games, and one of the Sororities helping make cupcakes for the cake walk and thank ya'll that have volunteered to make our big prize cakes.


We are now looking for additional volunteers to man the booths/activities and play with the kids. Being in costume would be great. Please let us know if you would be willing to help with this. The carnival is from 5:30-7:30 on Wednesday, Oct. 26. And we would love for ya'll to start around 4:30-5. Here are some of the things we need folks for:


Ticket selling (2 people)
Riding with James on the Gator for the Little kids hay ride (1 person)
The haunted Elevator and basement tour (4 people)
Corndog Tent (2 people)
Funnel Cake Tent (2 people)
Touching the scary zombie parts (2) -peeled grapes, spaghetti, apple sauce, wet pretzel sticks, etc
Cupcake walk (2 people) 


Jumpies (4 people)
Decorate your candy bag (3 people)
Please let us know where you might like to help.

Thanks,
Al 




Blessings, 
Malia, David, Susan & Wes