Ocala First Connection

Christmas Eve Services - Saturday, December 24th 4:00 p.m.   - Traditional Service in the Sanctuary 5:30 p.m.   - Family/Contemporary Service in the Family Life Center 7:00 p.m.   - Traditional Service in the Sanctuary Christmas Day Worship, Sunday, December 25th at 10:00 A.M. On Sunday, December 25 we will have one combined worship service at 10:00 A.M. in our Family Life Center .    All are welcome!    We encourage you to come as you are and join in celebration of the birth of Jesus with our church family.  News Years Day Worship, Sunday, January 1, 2017 at 10:00 A.M. Start the new year in the right way as we gather in the Sanctuary at 10:00 A.M. for our combined worship service.  We will celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord ! Monday, December 26th – Friday, December 30th The Church Office will be closed for the Christmas Holiday. End-of-Year Giving In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the season, you likely receive many appeals from worthy cause

It took courage for Joseph to make a home with Mary and Jesus. His rather straight-forward plan to settle into life together with Mary is seriously disrupted when he finds out she’s pregnant.  And not only pregnant, but seemingly miraculously pregnant.  If Joseph had a dozen fearful questions, he likely had a hundred.  His conviction about Mary wobbled and collapsed. His plan derailed. Joseph decides to back out.  He’s a kindhearted man, so he’ll break off his relationship without embarrassing or endangering Mary.  At least this is what he thinks he’ll do when he goes to bed that night. He has a dream.  An angel shows up.  “Don’t be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,” the angels says.  “I know that all that the prophet said about this wasn’t part of your plan. But go ahead—make God’s plan your plan.  You, Mary, and Jesus—together make a home.”  The angel didn’t have to say anything more. Joseph got up the next morning with courage.  He still had questions but the fear they

A preview of what is coming up this Sunday, plus all the announcements and the calendar of events. Make sure you note our Christmas eve service times and our Christmas Day and New Year's Day combined services. 

THIS SUNDAY – December 18th Worship - Join us at 9:00 am or 11:00 am for worship on the Fourth Sunday of Advent! Rwth will be preaching from Matthew 1:18-25:  “Together a Home” Women's Advent Retreat  - The Women's Advent Retreat will be at 6:00 pm in the Family Life Center. What do you need to bring? Nothing! Just bring yourself and spend some time with God and preparing our hearts for the coming of Christ! Koinonia Student Ministries – ALL YOUTH (6 th – 12 th Grade) are invited to the “All Youth Christmas Party” beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the Backyard (Youth Center).  CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES - Saturday, December 24th -           4:00 p.m. - Traditional Service in the Sanctuary -           5:30 p.m. - Family/Contemporary Service in the Family Life Center -           7:00 p.m. - Traditional Service in the Sanctuary CHRISTMAS DAY - Sunday, December 25th One combined service at 10:00 a.m. in the Family Life Center.   All are welcome and invited to c

Our theme this Advent season is  "Come Home"  - We hope you will accept the invitation:  Come home to the God who has made a home among us! (John 1:14)   During the First Week of Advent we looked at the longing for home that lies deep within us and the joy that comes at being at home with God.  We pray this Advent that you will return to place of your most intimate encounters with God. We pray that you will remember the home from which you came with joy and thanksgiving. We pray that through our worship together you will get a glimpse of the home for which we all yearn - a home promised by God of hope, love, joy and peace.  And we pray that you will be renewed and strengthened as we continue our journey of faith together as we prepare for the coming of Christ. During the S econd Week of Advent we reflected on the experience of exile, both physical exile and the exile we experience due to the loss of loved ones, of jobs, of homes, or anything else that takes away ou

Our theme this Advent season is "Come Home" - We hope you will accept the invitation: Come home to the God who has made a home among us! (John 1:14) As we began our Advent journey last week we looked at the longing for home that lies deep within us and the joy that comes at being at home with God.   This past Sunday we looked at Isaiah 35 as we continued our Advent journey. Rwth reminds us that the words of the prophet came to those who were in exile. To be an exile means you’re displaced.  And displacement literally means not-placed. To be an exile is to experience a radical loss of belonging.  When you’re displaced, you lose your roots, your ground of identity and meaning.  You lose the familiar landmarks that exist not only in geography, but in seasons, culture, and daily life rhythms.  You feel fragmented, as if some invisible yet indispensable glue that held you together has evaporated and left you in pieces, without wholeness, without coherence.  Exile comes

Project Giving Tree This year Ocala First is adopting families from Wyomina Park Elementary School who are in need of a little Christmas help.   We are asking church members to adopt a family and provide three gifts for each child.  Contact Shannon ( shannon.vianello@gmail.com ) or Austin ( austin@fumcocala.org ) for more information on how you can serve!  Christmas Concert On Sunday, December 11 at 6:30 pm our wonderful Praise Band will present the concert “Emmanuel: An Evening of Contemporary Christian Christmas Music” in the Family Life Center. The free concert will feature traditional and new Christmas favorites. Infant and Pre-K childcare is provided and an offering will be taken to support our Ocala First homeless ministries. This concert is a great opportunity to invite family, friends and neighbors to join you for an open and enjoyable event for all ages! Wednesday Evening Prayer Group All are invited and welcome to join our Wednesday Evening Prayer Group as they

To:                          Members of Ocala First United Methodist Church From:                  David & Rwth Fuquay, Co-Pastors  Concerning: Purchase of Property at 1136 East Silver Springs Blvd Date:                   December 1, 2016 _____________________________________________________ Ocala First UMC will convene a special Charge Conference session on Sunday, December 11, 2016 at 10:00 am in the Chapel .  The charge conference will have one agenda item: “to seek approval to purchase property adjacent to Ocala First UMC.”  The Rev. June Edwards will preside. The property in question is known as the “Shashy Property” immediately to the east of the sanctuary – 1136 East Silver Springs Blvd, Ocala, Florida, 34470 (see map at bottom). What steps were taken prior to the Charge Conference being called? We own the adjacent property to the east, south and west. In the church master plan developed and adopted in 2011, this Shashy property was id

Our theme this Advent season is "Come Home" - We hope you will accept the invitation:  Come home to the God who has made a home among us! (John 1:14) This past Sunday we looked at Psalm 122 as we began our Advent journey. Psalm 122 was sung with joy by pilgrims going up to Jerusalem to worship -  " I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let’s go to the Lord’s house!”   They were returning to the place which represented the most intimate encounter between God and God’s people. But they were not merely looking back to what God had done for them in the past. In returning to their spiritual homes they were renewing their expectations for the hopeful and hoped-for future promised by God.  We pray this Advent that you will return to place of your most intimate encounters with God. We pray that you will remember the home from which you came with joy and thanksgiving. We pray that through our worship together you will get a glimpse of the home for which we all yearn - a home

We are so excited about the upcoming Christmas concert by our Praise Band on December 11 at 6:30 pm.  The concert is a great way to celebrate the season and to connect with those who may not have a church home.  We need your help to get the word out to the community! First ,  we hope YOU are making plans to attend with your family.  Second , we encourage you  to invite your FRIENDS and NEIGHBORS to join you.   Third , if you are a FACEBOOK user, we have created a  Concert Page of Facebook .   Click the link to get to the concert page. On the concert page , click the button to indicated that you are "going." Then click the "Share" button and invite your Facebook contacts in the Ocala.  Our goal is to get 1000 people invited to the concert through Facebook (267 invited so far).  You can also download the event flyer below and share it with friends via email or text. 

Rwth and I pray that you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!  We are so grateful for our first (almost) four months here at Ocala First.  We have been humbled by the countless ways church members have welcomed us and made us feel right at home. More importantly, you all have been so good to Michael in helping him adjust to a new school, new city and new church, which means more to us than words can express.  We thank God for the blessings of serving this wonderful church and working with the best church staff anywhere.  As we take Thursday off to give thanks, we are pray you too will count your blessings! We will see you on Sunday as we being the Season of Advent!

Back in October we had the opportunity to contribute to this meaningful project - a huge part of Ocala First UMC's outreach and connection with Wyomina Park Elementary School!  We are so grateful to Cindy Gude and SIS for leading the way! Cindy Mason Gude  with  Tim Gude . 47 mins  ·  25 Turkey's going to Wyomina Park Elementary School for Thanksgiving meals for those in need. SIS (Sisters In Service) of FUMC helping our community! Thank you church members and Sonny's BBQ. Blessings to everyone during this season of gratitude. And watch for our Giving Tree this Advent as we help Wyomina Park Elementary School parents provide a full and happy Christmas for their families.

We hope you will join us at 9:00 or 11:00 am for worship.   Invite a friend or neighbor to join you. We look forward to seeing you then! LOOKING AHEAD . . .  Advent Family Event: Our Advent Family Event will be held on November 27th in the Family Life Center from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. The entire church, preschool and community are invited to make an Advent Cedar Log Candle Holder to take home. Cost is $10.00 at the door for the entire family and one family project. We will have dessert and beverages for everyone. Giving Tree: Look for our Giving Trees on November 27th in the Narthex, Family Life Center and Preschool Sign-In Room. Plan on taking a number from the tree and an information sheet to provide a child with a full Christmas. These children are living right in our neighborhoods and attending Wyomina Park Elementary. Let’s come together to spread Joy and Hope to these children! Christmas Concert: Save the Date! Our very own Praise Band will presen

The  Youth Cake Auction  is happening Sunday, Nov 13 from 6 pm - 8 pm!   We need your help!      First:  Buy your tickets now!  They will be on sale on Sunday morning.       Second:   They also are in need of cake donations to be auctioned!   All proceeds from the ticket sales and cakes go to support our wonderful youth program! 

Lots of important things happening this weekend at Ocala First!   1 - Saturday morning our very own BSA Troup 100 will be having their Pancake Breakfast (8:00 am - 11:00 am) and Yard Sale (8:00 am - 1:00 pm).  Come on out and support our Scouting program! 2 - Sunday we will celebrate All Saints' Sunday remembering those in our church family who have passed away in the last year.  You can see the names in the bulletin posted below. Please make a special effort to be at worship at 9:00 am or 11:00 am to surround these families with our love. 3 - On Sunday at 10:00 am we will have Coffee Connect .  Come by the FLC and have some wonderful treats and get to know others in our church family!  Special inter-generational activities for kids and adults (aka "Messy Church") will also being happening in the FLC during that time.   4 - The Youth Cake Auction is happening soon (Nov 13, 6 pm - 8 pm).  Buy your tickets this Sunday!  They also are in need of cake donations.  

Below is a preview of our bulletin with the announcements and calendar of events.  You should be able to click on each image to make it full screen or save the image to view on a different program.

Grace and Peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! This coming Sunday (Oct 30) we celebrate the end of our Stewardship Campaign with Commitment Sunday.  If you have not turned in your Financial Commitment Cards before this Sunday, you can drop them in the offering plate during worship.  After the offering, all the Commitment Cards collected over the course of the Stewardship Campaign will be gathered together and we will ask for God’s blessing on the both the gift and the givers. Rwth and I have been so impressed with the generosity of this congregation.  As I have said throughout this past month, our membership vows are to support Ocala First with our prayers, our presence, our gifts and our service. I am grateful for Karlie Harper and her message to us on Oct 9 about the importance of offering out time and talents to God in service through the church. We do need you! And this past Sunday, Dianna Peltier spoke very personally about the difference we make together in o

You are invited to join a new Bible Study using Adam Hamilton’s   John: Gospel of Light and Life .  Barbara McNamara will lead the sessions using a mix of videos and workbook discussions.   Watch a brief preview video by clicking  HERE.  The six-week study will meet each Wednesday night in Room #30.  The first session is this week, Wednesday, Oct. 26!   You are encouraged to join our church family  for Weds Night Dinner between 5:00 - 6:15 pm before the  Bible Study.  Cost is $7 for adults.  Details: What:   Bible Study on Gospel of John When: Wednesdays at 6:15 pm Where: Room 30  Who:    You! and the friends you invite along. 

We hope you will join us at 9:00 or 11:00 am for worship.   Invite a friend or neighbor to join you. We look forward to seeing you then! Below is a preview of our bulletin with the announcements and calendar of events.  You should be able to click on each image to make it full screen or save the image to view on a different program.

This past Sunday,  Karlie Harper shared our Stewardship Moment during worship by speaking about the giving of our time and talents to the church.  We hope you will continue to be inspired by her words and consider how you will support Ocala First with your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service and your witness.  +++++ My name is Karlie Harper, and I am here to talk to you today about giving your time to the church. I’m going to talk about gifts and public speaking is definitely not one of my gifts, so bear with me. I was asked to speak to you today because I tend to be here, giving my time or my gifts in some way. And I want to take this time and encourage you to do this same. We love this church, but this church is not a building, this church is the community of people who worship and serve here, and we need you.   I know that you, right where you are sitting, whether with a large family, or by yourself, whether you are wearing an outfit that you meticulously p

Check out the North Central District Newsletter below.  Lots of information about events and training workshops around the District and the Florida Conference!  A Message From Your DS October, 2016    Dear Friends,    Having begun to get to know more of you and the churches in the district through the beginning of the Charge Conference season, the Bishop's Town Hall Gathering and other meetings, there is a sense of excitement and hope regarding the direction of ministries that I am learning about throughout the district. I have met many committed disciples and followers of Jesus Christ engaged in the communities in which our churches are located and I am grateful you are their pastors. I have listened with interest as it is apparent which congregations have taken to heart the minimum factor identified through the survey in the Natural Church Development process and have worked hard to improve that area in order that more health and vitality move throu