October 8, 2017

6610 Vaughn Road Montgomery, Alabama 36116 334.272-6152 email: office@aldersgateumc.org

Church Staff

Senior Minister Dr. Brian Miller

brian@aldersgateumc.org

Minister of Discipleship

Rev. Richard Williams richard@aldersgateumc.org

Minister of Worship Rev. Steve Badskey

steve@aldersgateumc.org

Director of

Youth Discipleship Paul Horton

paul@aldersgateumc.org

Director of Children’s

Ministries Katie Blair

katie@aldersgateumc.org

Co-Director of

Weekday Children’s Ministry Lana Ward

lana@aldersgateumc.org

Contemporary

Worship Leader Micah Williams

micah@aldersgateumc.org

Church Administrator/

Building Superintendent Bill Haigler

bill@aldersgateumc.org

Executive Assistant

Linda Anderson office@aldersgateumc.org

Financial Secretary

Dory Hector dory@aldersgateumc.org

Bookkeeper Pam Harvill

pam@aldersgateumc.org

Program Assistant Allison Frost

allison@aldersgateumc.org

Music & Youth Ministry Intern Eliza Richardson

eliza@aldersgateumc.org

Hospitality Coordinator

Jimmy Dennis dennisfamily@charter.net

After Hours Minister

On Call: 334/544-0168

“To Know Jesus And To Make Him Known”

Let me tell you about Al. I met Al when traveling recently. He's a big, self-confident guy from Illinois. He rocks a pretty cool Corona trucker cap. Al knew that I was a United Methodist minister. He introduced himself to me as being in town for the poker tournament in the town we were staying. Then, he said, "Plus, I own a den of iniquity back home." A bar.

Eager to be in congregation, Al shared his appreciation for a well-lived life. Then, he began to tell me that he was saddened by the idea that churches would not wel-come on a Sunday those whom his bar welcomed every night. I was taken aback and got defensive. However, before I spoke out of my defensiveness, I listened to him more.

Al had bad experiences with church. His uncle was a preacher at an independent church. He had been in trouble with the law and suddenly had a conversion experi-ence, said that he was called, and began to lead a church. Al didn't just question his uncle's call. He questioned his uncle's very timely conversion.

Several times in the conversation, Al mentioned shamed. He wanted preachers who preyed on the goodwill of their television viewers to be ashamed. He had ex-perienced shaming from churches. My new friend was burdened by shame to some degree. It came out in conversation.

What I began realizing was that Al had found a way to only depend on himself, to try to have as much control as possible, and developed a set of beliefs to help him move forward. In fact, this set of beliefs in one's action, in self, and in positive thinking was so powerful to Al that he had begun gathering people at his house to talk about life and his burgeoning faith. That's right. Al, who had bad experiences with church, is organizing a kind of church! It's not a church based on Jesus Christ. But it is a gathering under tenets with basic practices and regular meetings.

Following my conversation, two things came to mind:

1. What would it take for us to help Al open up, detangle Jesus from the bad ex-periences of church he had, and offer him a life of freedom and grace that he doesn't currently know?

2. How can I be an evangelist in the way that Al is an evangelist? What would it look like for me to be more interested in someone experiencing Christ than what they look like? How would I interact with them differently on Monday through Saturday? How would I interact with them on Sunday?

Al has given me a lot to think about. I'm grateful for that. See you at the Good News place on Sunday!

Peace,

Vladimir grew up in the Soviet Union in a family of nine chil-

dren who survived on rice and potatoes. His father was the

pastor of an underground church, and the family was persecuted

heavily for their faith in Christ even after the fall of com-

munism. When he was nine years old, Vladimir and his sib-

lings were invited to a special event for low-income fami-

lies. He describes the event, “When we arrived we found a lot

of welcoming American smiles. They served us snacks, sang

songs, and showed us a cartoon sharing the Gospel. At the end

of this, they opened big boxes that contained our Operation

Christmas Child shoebox gifts. I had never received a gift be-

fore.

“My shoebox gift gave me an example of unconditional

love. No strings were attached. Bribery was commonplace

there, so a gift was rarely a gift—something was always ex-

pected in return. Most people looked out only for themselves,

but the shoebox gifts gave us hope that people can be loving

and generous. Receiving something as a free gift was new to

me—and helped me better understand God’s free gift of salva-

tion, which we can’t earn and can never repay.”

Boxes will be available for filling later this month; look for

them in the CAC and atrium.

SEED Planting

Calling All Potential Saints! All potential saints are welcome as we fellowship together and learn a music program to sing in our community throughout this next year. Join us on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays at 11:00 in October.

“Almost There”

A Cinematic Musical Exploration of Christmas

10:30 a.m. Sunday, December 10

A heart stirring presentation

Featuring the Chancel Choir,

Youth Choir and Orchestra

10:30 Sunday, December 10

Now is a great time to join our Adult and Youth Choirs as they begin working on our new Christmas Musical “Almost There” featuring popular Christmas anthems by Michael W. Smith including “Emmanuel,” “Gloria,” “Almost There,” along with all-new songs penned by Michael W. Smith, Wes King and Amy Grant and cinematic arrangements by Bradley Knight. Youth are invited to join us at 4:00 on Sunday after-noons and Adults are invited to join us at 7:00 on Wednesday evenings.

“Almost There”

Orchestra Rehearsal Schedule

Sunday October 8 11:35 Rehearsal in Choir Room Sunday October 15 11:35 Rehearsal in Choir Room Sunday October 22 11:35 Rehearsal in Choir Room Sunday November 5 11:35 Rehearsal in Choir Room Sunday November 12 11:35 Rehearsal in Choir Room Wed, November 29 6:15 Dress Rehearsal in Sanctuary Wed, December 6 6:15 Dress Rehearsal in Sanctuary Sunday, December 10 9:45 Sound Check Sunday, December 10 10:30 Christmas Musical

2018 Short Term Mission Trips

Interest Meetings

October 15, Room 25, 3:00 p.m.

November 1 and 8, Room 25, 6:30 p.m.

Question and Answer: How can you help ensure the future success of our church? A simple answer is by designating a Legacy Gift to Aldersgate's Permanent Endowment Fund. This is easily done by way of your personal Will or Life Insurance Policy. The end result is both a meaningful way and an effective way of supporting this church well beyond your lifetime. For more information, go to the church's website and click on "Permanent Endowment Fund", or contact the church office. The staff will have an appropriate committee member contact you.

River Region Readers Join the book club at 6:00 p.m. Sunday, October 8, in room 119 as we discuss Hank Hung the Moon...And Warmed Our Cold, Cold Hearts, by Rheta Grimsley Johnson. All a re welcome! Come even if you haven’t finished the book.

Aldersgate

Food Pantry

October Food of the Month

Soup & Crackers

Don’t forget the Food Pantry when you

go to the grocery store!

January-August we have distributed 683

bags. Your food and monetary donations

are necessary to sustain our Food Pantry

Ministry.

Thank You... Thank you to all the Sunday School Clas-

ses for participating in Sock and Seat. We

were able to partner with Engage Church

and provide over 1,000 pairs of Socks and

Underwear. Congratulations to the Berean

Class for having 161 pairs. Way TO

GO!!!!

Midweek Gathering

October 11, 2017, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Serving & Clean-up: UMM/UMW

Adults & Children:

Chicken & Dumplings, Field Peas,

Turnip Greens, Cornbread,

Bread Pudding

Kid’s Option: Hot Dogs

Or: Entrée Salad

(Cost is Adults/$6.00, Youth/$5.00, College/free, Children/$3.00,

Family/$25.00 maximum)

To register, please sign up on the sheet provided in the attendance pads, call the church office by Monday noon (272-6152), or www.aldersgateumc.org - “Events”

Coffee With the Pastors The next Coffee with the Pastors for newcomers and guests of Aldersgate, is sched-

uled for Sunday, October 22, at 9:30 a.m. in the parlor. During this time, Dr. Brian

Miller and Rev. Richard Williams will share about the people at Aldersgate and ways

that we are fulfilling the mission. If you would like to join “Coffee with the Pastors,”

please email office@aldersgateumc.org or call 272-6152.

New Creation Sunday School Class Study

Rev. Jim Dannelly will be teaching a 4 week study on the Apostles Creed in the New

Creation Sunday school class. Everyone is welcome to join us on Sunday!

Tuesday Morning Bible Study

Brother Cliff Cobb will be the leader of our Tuesday morning Bible Study for Octo-

ber. Join us in room 22 at 6:30 am for breakfast, fellowship, prayer, and God’s Word.

The study is till only $2, but it comes with FREE breakfast!

BBQ October 20-21—Still Need Volunteers

We still need men to fill out some shifts for the BBQ October 20 and 21. If you can help, contact Robert Thompson or Jimmy Dennis. You can also email Robert at wrthompson.droid@gmail.com.

Discipleship Event—Revised

Ministry Fair—October 15 (tabling of different ministr ies) immediately follow-ing the 10:30 worship services. Refreshments will be provided. Each Ministry is asked to sign up—call or email Linda at office@aldersgateumc.org or 272-6152.

If you have questions or would like more information, please email Richard at richard@aldersgateumc.org or you may call him at 272-6152.

Ministers On Call In order to provide care for the entire church, our pastoral staff is available in emer-

gency situations. If you have an emergency and are in need of care overnight, during

the weekend, or on holidays, please call 334-544-0168.

Recycling Medicine Bottles The medicine bottle recycling does not include colored bottles that were not originally

prescription bottles. Please do not put other types of recycling in the box, e.g. light

bulbs. Batteries should be put in the tall battery-like containers.

Make plans to be a part of this year’s Fall Festival

on Sunday, October 29! 60 cars are needed for

Trunk or Treat—sign up now to participate!

Visit www.aldersgateumc.org/events for a link to

online registration.

6610 Vaughn Road Montgomery, Alabama 36116

Join us for worship this Sunday! Our gifts to God!

October 1, 2017 Morning Worship—269 Sunday School—196

August 31, 2017

Budget for 2017 $1,287,351

Operating Budget Requirement to Date 858,663

Operating Budget Income Received to Date 860,887

Operating Budget Expenses to Date 814,523

Total Pledges to Capital Campaign 1,419,823 Total Received through 8/31/17 1,371,404

GOOD NEWS

(USPS 521-080) PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY

ALDERSGATE UNITED METHODIST

CHURCH, 6610 VAUGHN ROAD, MONT-

GOMERY, ALABAMA 36116-1203. PERI-

ODICAL POSTAGE PAID AT MONTGOM-

ERY, ALABAMA. “POSTMASTER: SEND

ADDRESS CHANGES TO GOOD NEWS,

6610 VAUGHN ROAD, MONTGOMERY,

ALABAMA 36116-1203.”

Volume 53 October 8, 2017 Number 41

8:15 Chapel Service with Holy Communion

Dr. Brian Miller

10:30 Contemporary—Rev. Richard Williams

10:30 Traditional—Dr. Brian Miller

John 1:43-51

“Evangelism: Explain (Tell)

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8

8:15 a.m. Chapel Service with Weekly Communion

9:15 a.m. Sunday School for Adults, Youth, Children

10:30 a.m. Contemporary Worship Service/CAC

10:30 a.m. Traditional Worship Service/Sanctuary

10:30 a.m. 3D Kids Worship/Room 22

11:30 a.m. Local Missions Team Meeting/Parlor

1:00 p.m. Board of Discipleship Workshop/Rooms 22-28

4:00 p.m. Joyful Bells/Room 29

4:00 p.m. Youth Worship Arts (grades /Choir Room

5:00 p.m. Holy Land Travel Study/Room 28

6:00 p.m. Lay Leadership/Room 25

6:00 p.m. River Region Readers/Room 119

MONDAY, OCTOBER 9

9:00 a.m. UMW Quilting Group/Room 22

1:30 p.m. Mission Prayer team/Room 28

5:00 p.m. Grief Support Group/Room 25

5:30 p.m. Communities of Transformation

Program Office

6:00 p.m. Nominations Meeting/Room 25

6:55 p.m. BSF/Chapel, Parlor, All Rooms

including 114, excluding 22, 25

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10

6:30 a.m. Men’s Breakfast & Bible Study/Room 22

10:00 a.m. Food Pantry Waiting Room/Room 29

4:00 p.m. Tutoring Session/Program Office

6:00 p.m. DeColores Emmaus Cluster Meeting/CAC

6:00 p.m. Scout Den Meetings/Rooms 15-29

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11

9:30 a.m. The Covenant Bible Study/Room 26

2:00 p.m. Knitting & Crocheting Group/Room 25

4:00 p.m. Tutoring Session/Program Office

5:30 p.m. Midweek Family Gathering/CAC

5:45 p.m. Heart Works Lab (Elementary Children)

Room 114

5:45 p.m. Teeny Tykes & Tunes—Infants/Room 27

5:45 p.m. Teeny Tykes & Tunes—Preschool/Room 112

7:00 p.m. Chancel Choir Rehearsal

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12

10:00 a.m. Food Pantry Waiting Room/Room 29

10:00 a.m. Open Time of Prayer/Room 28

1:00 p.m. Vision Impaired Group/Room 23

5:30 p.m. Ezekiel Academy/CAC

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13

5:15 a.m. BSF Leaders’ Meeting/Room 25

9:00 a.m. Reality & Truth Dinner Preparation/CAC Kitchen

5:30 p.m. Ezekiel Academy/CAC

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14

7:00 a.m. Ezekiel Academy/CAC

8:00 a.m. Work Day/BBQ Pit

3:00 p.m. Confirmation Class/CAC Kitchen

3:30 p.m. Confirmation Class to “Breakout”

www.aldersgateumc.org

Aldersgate Weekly Calendar of Events October 8-14, 2017