Love One Another:

      Where does love fit into our list of priorities? Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). It seems that Jesus was saying love is the main thing on which we should concentrate. The Apostle Paul stated that “…faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Love should be number one on our spiritual priority list. We should study love, pray about love, and develop the fruit of love by practicing loving others. God is love, so when we walk in His love we abide in Him. Because we walk in God’s love by receiving and expressing it, we should not deceive ourselves into thinking we can love God while we hate other people. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20). Love is the greatest thing in the world. It is the best thing to commit our life to, to seek, and to excel in.

We may seek many things in the course of our lifetime. We hope to find fulfillment in each one, but most of them fall short of the desired goal. When we put our time and energy into things that do not fulfill us, we feel frustrated. What are our priorities? Is love the main priority in our life? The commitment to learn to walk in love should be one of the best decisions we could ever make as a Christian. Love not only blesses others, it also blesses the one doing the loving. Concentrating on being a blessing to others will bring us joy. We will find it exciting and challenging. All of us must become students of love, and pray that the love that God has filled us with will overflow to everyone we come into contact with.

In this month that we celebrate Valentine’s Day let us make the commitment to make Jesus’ commandment to love one another our number one priority in our lives.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Bob

Small Groups

Sunday School. Sunday mornings 9:00 AM. Open to all youth pre-k through high school. Please contact Robin Stolarcyk if you can help or would like more information.

Christian Fellowship Class. Sunday mornings 9:00 AM. Room B6.  Please join us. Leader: Shirley Prentice.

Pastor’s Study & Prayer Group: Sunday mornings 11:30 AM, Room B6. Everyone is welcome to join.  Questions contact Pastor Bob (910) 260-0551 or 648-4326.  No Class 4th Sunday’s, join us for Pot Luck Luncheon in fellowship hall.

Unity Circle: Ladies Group, 2nd Monday of every month 11:00 AM. All ladies are invited to join. Contact Bev Hamm at 723-2864 for more information. (Some dates the ladies have luncheons at 12:00 so please contact Bev if you are new to the group & don’t have a schedule.) No meetings in January, February, July & August.

Youth Group meets Monday evenings in the loft. All youth 5th – 12th Grade are invited to attend. Please join us in the loft at 6:30 PM. Leader: David Black, 648-5444.

Monday Evening Ladies Book Study Group: Monday evenings at 6:30 pm. In the Disciple Room (B4). Contact Karen MacKenzie for more information.

Rachel Circle: Ladies Group, 3rd Tuesday of every month 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM in the Frazer Room (B18). All ladies are invited to join. Contact Marita Root for more information.

Tuesday Women’s Group: Join us in Tuesday’s at 12:45, Disciple Room (B4).  A time of Bible Study, friendship, good food, & great conversation. Contact Carol Krizan or Pat Winters for more information.

Knitting for the Lord: Tuesday, evenings, 6:00 – 7:00 PM, Room B2. Contact Sue Alcott or Lynne Masland for more information.

Choir. Thursdays 4:00 – 5:00 PM.  Everyone is welcome to join. Contact Carla Fako for more information.

Please contact the church office, 648-4339 if you need contact information for the leaders or would like more information about the groups. 

WordGirls: Wednesdays, 9:15 – 11:15 a.m.  Questions contact Amy O’Brien. This group meets outside the church building but welcomes any ladies that would like to join. Please contact the church office for Amy’s contact information for locations of meetings.

Rodney Lucas, our custodian has retired. As the Trustees and SPRC work diligently to find a new custodian, we are turning to you to ask for your volunteer help. At this time, we are only doing basic housekeeping in order to give our worshippers a clean, healthy environment. Can you help? Cleaning would include the bathrooms, minimal vacuuming of the sanctuary & corridors, & ensuring our Sunday School rooms are ready for Sunday morning. If you have a couple hours available during the week, please contact Vicky Kwartler at 648-3295, Tom James at 648-7934 or Hudda Aswad at 724-2568.

Church Women United: Feb. 2019. Project No-Bake Bread. Chairperson: Sue Frost, 765-2698. Mail donations to: 115 Rosedale Drive, Binghamton, NY 13905.

Church Women United: World Day of Prayer: Friday, March 1st, 10-Noon. Centenary-Chenango Street UMC, 438 Chenango Street, Binghamton, NY. Chairperson Eleanor Stethers (204-0996) & Louise Barvinchak (722-1305). Theme: “Come-Everything is Ready”. Contact Eleanor or Louise for more information or to attend.

Special Lenten Services: 

Ash Wednesday Worship Service: March 6th, 7:00 PM. Please join us!

Maundy Thursday Worship Service: April 18th, 7:00 PM. Please join us!

Tenebrae/Good Friday Worship Service: April 19th, 7:00 PM. North Fenton UMC, 5984 State Rd 79, Chenango Forks, NY 13746. Please join us!

Pot Luck Luncheon Following the Worship Service the 4th Sunday of each month. Please bring a dish to pass & join us in fellowship hall for the luncheon!

Audio & Video Volunteers are Needed: Training will be provided. Please contact the church office; 648-4339 or Mike Howard (contact the church office for Mike’s contact information)  if you would be able to help. 

Coffee Hour: Volunteers Needed! Nothing fancy just light refreshments & coffee needed. Sign up sheet by the refreshments. Thank you in advance for your help.

Coupons to Care: Our program has helped many families, individuals & organizations. Please save your coupons. Put them in Sharon Quackenbush or Karen Hojsik’s mailbox. Help feed our neighbors through food banks and emergency requests. Shoppers are needed. For more information please contact Sharon Quackenbush, Karen Hojsik or Joyce Neumann.

Trustees Project Board in the back of the Narthex for those of you that may want to sign up for projects or may wish to contribute to a project. Please contact Hudda Aswad if you have any questions. Thank you.

Liturgists Needed: If you are thinking about it, but feel you can’t do a whole month, don’t let that get in the way. We can work around schedules. It is a nice way to participate in the service & serve both the Lord and the congregation. Everything you need is provided each week. Penny can email you the readings ahead of time, if you prefer. Talk to the other liturgists and get their perspective.  Please consider giving it a try!!  Thanks. Pam Wasley.

Wi-Fi Access at Church: If you would like access to wireless at the church please contact Mike Howard at: cbfumc@hotmail.com. Thank you

Reminder: 1st United Methodist Church of Chenango Bridge / Maines GiveBack Program: For every twenty (20) dollars spent, God’s church receives $1.00. Obtain your application of a Maines membership card from the church secretary Monday – Thursday 8 AM – 1 PM or you may request it by email from the church office as well at chenbridgeumc@outlook.com or you may get one from our forms & applications tab above. Our Maines account is “Chenango Bridge UMC” in order to receive the proper credit.

Fund Raiser for First United Methodist Church of Chenango Bridge.     Present this advertistment (below) and 10% of all work done will be donated to the church. For all questions and appointments please contact Quality Steam Cleaning. (You may also find this coupon in the back of the church or contact the church office.