New Year's Eve

It's party time again!
Tonight at 6:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall
Come anytime, leave anytime
Bring games, food, puzzles, movies, music
or whatever you think would be a fun addition to our evening.
We'll ring the bell at midnight.

Christmas Joys

Here is some wonderful news from Jay Hunt, father of Madison, the five-year-old girl on our prayer list. "My daughter and my family have received good news, the Leukemia cells can not be detected in the bone marrow and pending a test result from the national laboratory where the bone marrow sample has been sent, the leukemia will officially be in full remission. Thank you for your prayers."
Katherine had a God sighting on Christmas Eve: "On Christmas Eve mom was without heat or electricity at Brookridge. We went to get her. We tried to get the car close to the ramp at the house and got well and truely stuck in the snow. At the point we were stressing the most a truck pulled up behind us and three young men stepped out offering assistance. They not only used the truck to pull us out but helped move a vehicle in our drive and then helped mom up the steps and into the house! God's true gift to us on the eve of Christmas!!! I do not even know who they were but they have my gratitude for their selfless act of caring!"

Deloris shared in church about a special encounter she had. She was sitting in her living room and looked outside to see an angel shoveling snow off of her porch.

Thanks to all of you who remember to do kind things for others, who are available to help when the occasion arises and who intercede for others through prayer.

Coming Soon to IUMC Blog

Weekly pictures taken at church, scriptures from Sunday sermons and even sermon podcasts!

Sunday Snow Service

We had 21 at church this morning, and I was surprised to see that many turn out. There were still snow drifts by the entrances and icy patches here and there. Beth and Owen were the acolytes. Mari and Beth lit the Christ candle in the Advent wreath. Herwannah led the choir. Janie played the piano. Daryl, Ken, Virginia, Shirley and Jim sang in the choir. Daryl did the children's sermon and the big people's sermon. The rest of us were the congregation.

Blessings to all. Enjoy the end of 2009.

Christmas Eve

Due to the snow storm blizzard, our Christmas Eve service has been canceled. Please celebrate safe and warm in your own homes.

Christmas Program

Our annual Christmas cantata was another enjoyable evening of music and Christmas festivities. Thanks to Herwannah for her continual dedication as choir leader and Janie for her fabulous fingers on the piano. The members of the choir deserve kudos as well for the hours they spent rehearsing. It really paid off.

The best part of the evening was being with people from near and far. Catching up, exchanging gifts, meeting new people, laughing, sharing and, let's not forget, eating. How can I lose the five pounds I gained at the fellowship part of our Christmas Program?

Fourth Sunday in Advent

We light the Candle of Love

“We can do no great things; only small things with great love.”
--- Mother Teresa

What small tasks do you perform with great love?

Don't forget the Christmas program this evening at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary followed by fellowship, food, and fun in Fellowship Hall. The candy sacks are "plum full" of delicious goodies decorated with a bell ornament made by Katherine Hunt. See you at 7:00 p.m.

December Board Meeting

December 6 2009

Patrick opened the meeting with prayer.

Minutes of the November meeting read and approved.

Treasurers' Report: building Fund $3942.45 + General Fund 6590.45 = $10,532.90
We've paid $2000 labor & $248.72 for materials for church repairs.

UMW Report - All is well.

Trustees Report - The window looks great. Ronnie is going to come back and match the paint. The bathrooms are much better. We might consider putting ADA toilets in the Fellowship Hall bathrooms. We need to get the speakers on the wall and run a separate line for our sound system. In spring we'll spruce up the courtyard and fix the bricks under the bell tower.

Choir Report - There are only two Wednesdays left for Christmas Program practice.

Pastor's Report:
1. The after school reading program is doing well. We need more helpers to tutor.
2. The District Youth Lock In that was scheduled for DEC 31 has been postponed.
3. WED, DEC 9th at 12 noon we will host a free lunch for Indiahoma High School students. We discussed who will cook lasagna, who can be at church to set up and serve. Patrick will buy the food at Sam's. Patrick will also do a devotional while the kids eat.
4. DEC 13 IUMC will go se CUMC's Living Nativity with SUMC.
5. DEC 20 at 7:00 p.m. is the Indiahoma UMC Christmas Program.
6. Patrick will be gone DEC 27 celebrating Christmas in Ft. Worth. Daryl will preach that Sunday.

Old Business:
1. Our church gave $150 to the school robotics team for their National Competition trip.
2. Daryl has 2 slabs from the Mesquite tree that was cut down.
3. Christmas Eve service will probably be at 7:00 p.m.

New Business:
1. We decided to sponsor two students from the Indiahoma Angel Tree. Alba will buy the gifts and decide how much to spend.
2. The church Christmas tree is getting old. Katherine made a motion to buy a new pre-lit tree after Christmas. Colleta seconded. All in favor say, "Get a new tree!" Motion carried.

Fred dismissed us with prayer.

Amazing Grace

created at: www.wordle.net

High School Students Come to Lunch

Our first school lunch was a success. 48 high school students and teachers filled the Fellowship Hall on WED, December 9th for lasagna, garlic bread, salad, cookies and pop. The food was good, many came back for seconds. Patrick told a story about a mission trip to Washington DC to work at St. Francis House, a beautiful building and gardens used to house dying homeless men. The students listened attentively. They know how to act at church. :~) My last count was 49 students and teachers plus the IUMC "lunch staff."

Looking forward to December

Here is most of what is going on at church in December. Mark your calendars, and if you don't have a calendar, we have beautiful calendars with gorgeous scenic photographs and scripture verses on sale for $5.00. Leave a message here if you are interested or talk to Alba at church.

December 2 --- Women's Circle at 1:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall

December 6 --- Church potluck dinner at 12:30 p.m. followed by administrative board meeting in Fellowship Hall.

December 9 --- Free lunch for Indiahoma High School students at 12:10 p.m. in Fellowship Hall.

December 13 --- Senior Citizens Christmas Celebration at 1:00 p.m. at the Indiahoma Mini Mall.
--- IUMC will attend Cache UMC Live Nativity with Snyder UMC

December 16 --- Christmas Caroling

December 20 --- Candy sacking during Sunday School in Fellowship Hall
--- Christmas Program at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary

December 31 --- New Year's Eve party at 6:00 to midnight and beyond in Fellowship Hall

What's left in November

November 15, Sunday, 6:00-7:00 p.m. --- Community Singing at our church
November 22, Sunday --- Singing at Snyder Baptist Church, Patrick preaching
November 23-28 --- Patrick will be celebrating Thanksgiving in Nebraska
November 28, Saturday, 6:00 p.m. --- Indiahoma Alumni Banquet

November 1, 2009 Administrative Board Meeting

Treasurers’ Report: $2313.97 was paid for apportionments & new refrigerator. We are solvent.

Trustees’ Report: By motion and vote Jimmy Neugebauer was hired to replace the frame and support system for the stained glass window at a cost of $1250 labor and we buy the materials ($300--$350). We will get composite material instead of wood and treated wood for the support with a ¼” Lexan cover outside the window for weather and damage protection.

There was discussion about hiring Jimmy to fix the old bathrooms after the window project.

Pastor’s Report: Two IUMC youth went to Haunted Corn Maze in Weatherford.

Crossfire District Conference was a big success.

After-School Tutoring on Thursdays is touching children’s lives.

Two IUMC youth (Mattie & Cassie) will go on the District Mission Trip in June

December 31^st---District Youth Lock-In at Centenary UMC, Lawton, 7pm-7am

December 9, free lunch for high school kids at our church

December 13, attend Cache UMC Live Nativity with Snyder UMC

Patrick will be in Nebraska, November 23-28, celebrating Thanksgiving

New Business: Senior Citizen’s Christmas Celebration is December 13.

Calendars are in. Alba is making labels for the calendars to let people know they are gifts from our church. They will be given to teachers, city workers and postal employees. Anyone else who would like to buy one, they are available for $5.00

Indiahoma School Robotics Team is going to National Competition in December. Each of the 9 students need $75 to attend. The school is looking for sponsors. We voted to sponsor two students if they did not find other sponsorship. 

Wednesday, December 16 is the date set for Christmas Caroling. 

Matt Roberts offered to cut down the dead mesquite tree in the parking lot and use it for firewood. 

After discussion, a motion and a vote, Matt will cut down the tree, leaving us a slice to use to determine the tree’s age and for an historical display.

Meeting Adjourned

Crossfire

Our District Conference was everything we'd been promised and more. It was a youthful worship with music led by a band from Duncan, I think. The leader of the band introduced the choir as being made up of choir members from your church and from a bunch of others too. Herwannah and Elsie represented Indiahoma. Bishop Hays was energetic and inspiring as always.

Thanks to Herwannah and Mattie for providing the photos that will tell the story of the youth gathering.

After the worship service, people gathered in the Christian Life Center of 1st Methodist, Lawton for supper.





After the meal, Patrick Introduced the band.










The Copeland Brothers rock!














Keith (Herwannah's grandson) on the drums.











Seth on the table.

CROSSFIRE

Tomorrow's the day---Sunday, October 25: CROSSFIRE, the Lawton District Conference event.

Gather at 3:00 p.m. for food and fellowship.

CROSSFIRE worship begins at 4:00 p.m. with Bishop Robert E. Hays delivering the message.

Afterglow after worship:

Youth gather in the Christian Life Center for a Crosswire concert
Young Adults gather in Currell Hall
All others go to Pusan's Restaurant

Have Questions or Need Information? Call Patrick at (580) 569-2734 or 591-0513.

Wednesday

5:00 p.m.---Prayer Group

6:00 p.m.---Choir Practice

This Week

TUE, OCT 13---NO Back Porch Theologians

WED, OCT 14
5:00 p.m.---Prayer Group
6:00 p.m.---Choir Practice

THU, OCT 15---NO After School Tutoring & Homework Help because there is no school: FALL BREAK!

SUN, OCT 18th---Cookout at Pastor Patrick's is postponed until December.

Tomorrow is Sunday

Don't miss church tomorrow. Morning worship begins at 9:30 (or there about) with Sunday School following at 10:45ish. Pastor Patrick has to be in Snyder to preach at 11:00 (or whenever he gets there) so our sermons are never too long! :~)

Youth meeting begins at 4:30 on Sunday afternoon.

Coming up...

Sunday, October 18th
12:00 noon - Cookout at Pastor Patrick's home

Sunday, October 25th
3:00 - District Conference: Crossfire Worship
Our favorite local band, Crosswire, will be playing and our favorite Bishop, Robert E. Hays, Jr., preaching.

No Kids Today

We had no kids today for after school tutoring. One was sick with strep throat, three were playing in an elementary basketball tournament, two younger siblings went to watch the basketball games and one was too shy to be the only kid at tutoring.

There's always next week!

UMW---NOTE Time Change

Wednesday, October 7th
12:30 - United Methodist Women meeting in the Fellowship Hall.

UMW is meeting 1/2 hour early this month.

Administrative Council Meeting

October 4, 2009

Patrick opened the meeting with prayer.

Treasurers' Report:
On October 1 the third apportionment payment was made.
Building Fund---$5,159.89
General Fund---$6,909.14
Total-----------$12,069.03
Harold asked how he should pay the $667.97 for the new refrigerator. Daryl said, "Pay it all at once." Everyone agreed. Harold will write the check out of the building fund.

The United Methodist Women (UMW) are doing great. Daryl thanked them for helping a family pay their water bill. Herwannah answered, "What else would we do with our money if we didn't help people?"

Trustees said we need to act quickly on getting the stained glass window fixed. Patrick will get a hold of Bob Warren this week and see if he can get started soon. They also thanked Harold for purchasing the new refrigerator and getting it installed.

Pastor's report:

• Charge Conference went very well. The District Superintendent told Patrick that he always enjoys being with us and feels quite at home in Indiahoma.
• Ooze Fest at Cache UMC was a really good time. Three from our church went with a total of 142 youth from around the district and 165 total people enjoying good music, good fellowship, good devotion, good food and MUD.
• Two youth from Indiahoma will go on the Lawton District Youth Mission Trip in June. They will fix a church, work at a soup kitchen and maybe a homeless shelter in Espanola, New Mexico. Fifty youth from the Lawton District will go on the mission trip June 20-26, 2010. Each participant has to pay $100 deposit to go. Patrick asked if the church would pay the deposit for our two participants. Daryl entertained a motion to pay the $200 deposit, Virginia made the motion, Hewannah 2nded, motion carried.
• The after school program started with three kids and nine adults. It went well. We look forward to seeing it grow.
• Crossfire Lawton District Conference---1st UMC Lawton, October 25, 3:00 p.m. Worship begins at 4:00 with Bishop Hayes speaking. He's a phenomenal speaker. After the worship service are afterglow breakout sessions for youth, young adults, and adults.

Old Business: The ice cream toppings at The Indiahoma School Ice Cream Social and Open House were a big success.

New Business: Alba asked if anyone is interested in having a church garage sale. She has three truck loads of stuff to get rid of. I guess she'll be going to the Goodwill as there was no interest expressed.

Fred made a motion that was 2nded by Betty to adjourn. Fred closed the meeting with prayer.

Lunch and Board Meeting Reminder

12:30 p.m.---Lunch, followed by an Administrative Board Meeting.

EVERYONE WELCOME

October Happenings

Special Events:

Sunday, October 4th
12:30 - Church Potluck Meal in the Fellowship Hall. Jim & Billye Lien are providing all the meat. Everyone else bring a side dish or two.
There is an Administrative Board meeting following lunch. Everyone's invited.

Wednesday, October 7th
1:00 - United Methodist Women meeting in the Fellowship Hall.

Sunday, October 18th
12:00 noon - Cookout at Pastor Patrick's home

Sunday, October 25th
3:00 - District Conference: Crossfire Worship


Weekly Events:

Sunday
9:30 - Worship
10:45 - Sunday School
4:30 - United Methodist Youth

Tuesday
7:00 - Back Porch Theologians

Wednesday
5:00 - Prayer Group
6:00 - Choir

Thursday
3:00 - After School Tutoring & Homework Help

After School Tutoring, Day 1

We had three kids, nine adults and a good time. The school superintendent stopped by near the end. It was good for her to meet everyone and them her. We hope she will join us for church on Sunday.

Today's the Day!

Thursday, October 1, 2009
After School Homework Help and Tutoring
3:00-4:15 p.m.

Don't forget to pray!

Tomorrow's the day we have our first after school tutoring session. We (the volunteers) appreciate your prayer support. Katherine and Betty have taken care of snacks. Virginia, Harold, Collene, Colleta, Deloris, Mary Jane, Herwannah and Patrick will be working with the kids, one-on-0ne. Daryl is doing the group activity this month. Alba will take over in November.We want your prayers anytime, but especially on Thursdays from 3:00-4:15 p.m. Central Time. Thank you for being part of this new IUMC ministry.

Charge Conference

We had our annual Charge Conference tonight. People began gathering sometime before 6:00, the conference started sometime after 6:00 with a prayer and then good eats. We ate while the DS shared a devotion based on the story in Mark about the friends who lowered a paralyzed man down through the roof to Jesus. Jesus told the man, "Your sins are forgiven." Huh? What? We didn't go through all this trouble to get his sins forgiven. We want him healed and walking. Others were grumbling, "Who does he think he is that he can forgive sins?" So Jesus told the paralyzed man to get up, take his pallet and walk. That's what the man did, only he left through the door this time. Wow! They'd never seen anything like that before.

Do you love anybody enough to do whatever it takes to get them to Jesus?

Next up, the presentation of reports while the DS ate. Everything is going good. We are financially stable. Pastor is good. Worship is good. Committees are keeping up with things. Lots of laughter and more eating and being a people of worship taking care of business. The DS especially liked Fred's jalepenos and duck breast treats. He said he was sweating on the inside as he wiped the sweat off his forehead and reached for two more.

September Activities

SEPT 27---Ooze Fest/4:30 p.m.

SEPT 28---Annual Indiahoma School Ice Cream Social & Open House. Indiahoma UMC is providing ice cream toppings to make the occasion a little more festive./6:30 p.m.

SEPT 29---FFA Hot Dog Dinner & Silent Auction/6:00 p.m.
Charge Conference/7:00 p.m.

SEPT 30---Prayer Meeting/5:00 p.m.
Choir Practice/6:00 p.m.

Ooze Fest

Sunday, September 27th, 4:30 p.m.
Don't miss Ooze Fest at Cache United Methodist Church. Area Teens and those who love them are gathering to play 4 Square mud volleyball, enjoy live music, food and fellowship.