July 2024 Newsletter
Dear Church Family,
This morning as I was taking Isabell to Savannah, a song came on the radio that I had not heard in many years; it was “Heart of Gold” by Neil Young which was written in 1971. In this song, a man is spending his time in search of peace or some form of purity in the heart of man, hoping that what he finds would bring some form of salvation to him. As the song begins, he is a rather young man but as the song goes on, he ages into a more mature adult. The searching man spends his entire life looking for something yet never finding it.
Many people are in this same situation: looking for something to bring about a sense of hope or fullness in their lives. They search in relationships, world philosophies, and false religions only to find nothing more than a false hope. For many of these people, they give up on the journey living their lives with an emptiness within. Others take on the old attitude of “fake it till you make it” only to close their eyes at night just as lonely and cold as the many nights before.
It is not irrational for any man or women to seek out this supernatural experience because no matter who we are or where we come from there is a longing to be whole. Sin created a universal problem for all humanity when it caused a separation between humanity and God. When we begin the search to fill this emptiness or brokenness, we are really searching for what is missing from our lives and that is an intimate relationship with God.
How do we find God? Truth is God is not to be found because He has never been lost, though we may not have recognized Him in our daily tasks. The longing to find Him is actually God working on our souls introduce us to Himself. It’s God’s way of reaching out to us that we would be reconciled back to him. Jesus said it plainly, “No man can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them” (John 6:44). The longing and the desire can only be filled by one thing, the very presence of God.
If you find yourself wandering around feeling lost or in search of what you’re not sure of, consider God. He is what the heart desires and the very thing the heart needs.
God Bless
Pastor Tommy
WORSHIP INFORMATION
If you are unable to attend our Sunday morning service at 10:30 a.m., you may view the service on the homepage at AlphaMethodist.com, the Alpha Methodist Facebook page or on the Alpha YouTube channel.
The Alpha Leadership Board will meet Sunday, July 14. It is very important to be at this meeting if you are on the committee
We will be having the monthly Men’s Ministry Breakfast on Sunday, July 14. Join us the 2nd Sunday of each month for food and fellowship.
We will be recognizing our graduates at an upcoming Sunday service. If you or your immediate family member is graduating from Pre-K, elementary, middle school, high school or college, please let Susan know by July 14 so she can buy the gifts. While we’d love to recognize everyone you know, we will only be doing immediate family this year. We need to know the school they are graduating from, (for high school and college) any graduate honor level and college degree.
The church office will be closed July 1-5 for the Independence Day Holiday. If you need anything, please send an email as those will be checked throughout the week.
There are some changes to the Senior Ministry schedule due to the Independence Day holiday. The Senior Morning Out will be moved to the second Tuesday (July 9) at 9:30 a.m. In addition, the Canasta usually scheduled for the 2nd Tuesday has been cancelled. Also, Senior Game Night on July 4 has been cancelled.
The Bloomingdale Food pantry, normally scheduled for the 1st and 3rd Thursdays will be on the 2nd and 3rd Thursdays in July due to the Independence Day Holiday. We will resume the normal schedule in August.
The Effingham County Camp Meeting will be July 19-24 at the Methodist Campground located in Springfield. Go to EffinghamCampground.com for more information about times and speakers.
JULY BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES
July 1: Scott Jones
July 2: Maggie Jones
July 3: Shirley Sapp
July 6: Madison Koskela
July 7: Walter and Shirley Sapp
July 8: Andrew Ehret
July 22: Emily and Mat Lawler
July 23: Matt Cary
July 27: Linda Denhardt
July 27: Nadine Rardin
July 28: Julie Rogers
KIDS’ POWER HOUR
July 7: No Kids’ Power Hour (Communion Sunday)
July 14: Autumn Venturelli
July 21: Autumn Venturelli
July 28: Autumn Venturelli
JULY COMMUNION SERVERS
Wilma Strange and Linda Mosley
JULY 2024
We do not want to remove anyone who still needs prayers, just for the sake of removing people. However, there are several on here that we do not personally know or have not gotten recent updates. If there is anyone on the list who has recovered, please let us know. Again, please do not remove people if they still need prayers! Our prayer life at Alpha is one of our strengths.
NON-HEALTH RELATED CONCERNS:
Christians Around the World
The Prayer Team
Our Nation
Children's Ministry Leaders
Our Military
First Responders
The people of Haiti and the aid workers/missionaries there
Katrina Butler
Growth of the Church and for young families to come
Jen Parker and her family
CAREGIVERS:
Lois Clements
Rev. Kenny and Shari Harrelson
Janice and Larry Stricklin
ASSISTED/INDEPENDENT LIVING:
Residents of Magnolia Manor
REHAB CENTER:
Jazie Ingram
HOSPICE:
Carl Clements
HEALTH CONCERNS:
Betty Vickery
Carl Clements
Cathy Cribbs
Ruthie Brown
Jenny Myers
James Brown
Trish West
Anna Kelley
Phyllis Graham Harper
Harry Godbee
Ina Lynn
Bubba Daiss
Lauren Humble
Michele Adams
Mark Waller
Teri Sumner
Barbara Creech
Dorothy Eagerton
Susan Ehret
Margel Winn
Lily Mae Stafford
Pam Nettles
Walter Sapp
Fred Denhardt
Patricia Willis
Jazie Ingram
Linda Kaapa
Wayne DeFore
Deborah Dean
(Julie's sister-in-law)
Patricia Mullins (David Stumbaugh's sister)
Davis Walker (Willene's cousin)