Saturday, October 21st

Couts Countdown Go WEST - Welcome, Equip, Serve, Transform October 1, 2017 Volume 11 Issue 10 Saturday, October 21st Worship 10:30 a.m. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Sunday School 9:30 a.m. 802 North Elm Weatherford, Texas 76086 817-599-8601 Church Office Bake Shop Silent Auction 8am - 5pm Monday - Thursday Closed on Friday Visit us on the Web www.coutsmethodistchurch.com Sr. Pastor - Matt Hall Children s Area Meal

From The Pastor Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ! Thank you, Couts UMC, for your generous offering and compassion. We have seen multiple hurricanes hit the US along with earthquakes in Mexico and fires out west. So much is happening in a short period of time, and the magnitude of destruction is overwhelming at times for me. As a United Methodist, I am proud to know that our denomination has people on the ground who are helping those who are experiencing tremendous loss in all of these places. United Methodist volunteers are present in these high-profile areas as well as in areas that do not make our headlines. How do we do this? Supporting our mission and ministry each year provides the infrastructure for us to respond and allows 100% of funds collected to directly help those affected. If you want to become an Early Response Team (ERT) trained person, check out the conference website ctcumc.org and sign up for you training. Keep up the good work. As we enter the last quarter of the year, do keep the ministry of our church in your prayers. As we have committed to reaching above and beyond our commitment to God in supporting the ministry of our church, your consistent and continued support keeps our ministries effective and reaching people on behalf of Christ each week. The month of October has multiple opportunities for us to learn so that we can gain ideas and insights for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. I encourage any and all to sign up and attend these events. This next weekend (October 6 and 7) I will be attending Engage. The focus will be how to engage in mission in such a way so that people will mature in their faith and live as followers of Jesus. The second Saturday in October (the 14 th ), an update on a way forward will be shared. A Way Forward addresses the questions facing our denomination regarding church unity and human sexuality. The commission charged with this task will present their final recommendation at the called General Conference in 2019. That Saturday (the 14 th) meeting is a time to hear the update and to share your thoughts. Do keep our denomination in your prayers during this time. Saturday, October 21 st,is Harvest Festival. See all of the related items in this newsletter and on our website. Finally, on Saturday, October 28 th, a seminar on creating new faith communities will be offered at First UMC Burleson. This will offer ideas on how we can offer new opportunities to bring people together to follow Christ. I know it is a lot. Please prayerfully consider attending some or all of these events. There are more details on the Central Texas Conference website. Also in October, our Charge Conference is at 3 pm Sunday, October 15 th, at University UMC in Fort Worth. The Couts Care Corps is also in training and their next meeting is Sunday, October 8 th. Please keep all the staff and these ministries in your prayers. Grace and Peace, Pastor Matt As of 8/16/17 Debt Reduction Commitment Total: $381,448 Debt Reduction Amount Collected: $115,100 Loan Balance: Debt Reduction Update As of 1/31/17 - $908,567.67 As of 9/26/17 - $783,099.39 Page 2 Page 2

October 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 11:40 a.m. Church Council 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Couts Care CTC Engage - 1st UMC Temple Emmaus 8 Corps Meeting 9 10 11 12 13 Community 14 11:45 a.m. Handbell Rehearsal 6 pm Church Office Closed Willing Workers Breakfast 10 a.m. Sunny Street Café Finger Foods & 42 6:30 p.m. Finance Committee Meeting 6:30 p.m. Conference Room Gathering 6 p.m. - Couts Listening - 9:30-12:30 Arborlawn UMC Latest report from Committee on the Way Forward Flu shots 9-Noon F Hall 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Charge Conference 3pm-University UMC - Ft. Worth Handbell Rehearsal 6 pm SPRC Meeting 7 pm Harvest Festival 10am - 2pm 6:30 p.m. 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Handbell Rehearsal 6 pm 29 30 31 Handbell Rehearsal 6 pm Wesley Found. Lunch 11am-1pm Page 3 Trustee Meeting Conferenc Room Creating Faith Communities Burleson 9-4 Jr. League Regis. 9am-1pm Couts Regular Wednesday Activities 2:00 p.m. - Prayer Force 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. - Kidzone 5:30 p.m. - Snack Supper 6:00 p.m. - Tweens, Youth, Bible Studies, Music Rehearsal

Couts United Methodist Church Sunday School Has taken off with a bang. On Sunday mornings we gather at 9:30 to create our Bible Point reminder and work with the theme for the day. When we have our class gathered we go to our sacred circle where we dress the table in the color of the church season. We have been in the green season, called the season after Pentecost or ordinary time, ever since June. We light our candle, pray the hand prayer, and take up our offering. Parents please send your children with a cash offering so their outreach will grow. Tweens We have a lively and engaged group of Tweens this year. Tweens are fifth graders who will enter the youth program next year. In the three meetings since the program year began they have collected and filled 10 flood buckets, and shopped for 22 hygiene kits. Not bad for four energetic fifth graders. Thank you to all the folks at Couts that made this possible. Our regular meetings consist of prayer, Bible Study, and fun! If you know of a fifth grader ready to join our group, please let me know we can invite them. So far this year we have sent 400.00 to Heifer International, and raised 105.00 toward the flood buckets and hygiene kits. For our closing we change the light of our candle and see how the smoke particles can travel farther than the flame can. So it is with the word of God, we must carry it out beyond COUTS into the community. Kids Fall Bash Will be part of our COUTS Harvest Festival October 21. We will have games, crafts, story telling, movies, and yummy snacks. We invite the 6th grade Youth and Tweens to help with this event. Thank You: On a personal note thank you for all your prayers for my 13 year old nephew, Solomon. He is out of the ICU, got to go home after they got his heart regulated. He will have dialysis three times a week at Children's in Dallas until he is ready for a kidney transplant. It is a lot for a a young man to cope with, so please keep those prayers coming. Kidzone Has grown to 27 kids, We thank everyone who volunteers making this a great afternoon event every Wednesday. We still need some drivers to fill in when our regular drivers are not available. Children from CCA and children whose parents can transport them after school are welcome to join the program at any time. Upcoming Events: Sundays in October 9:30 Sunday School meets 10:30 Worship: Children s Sermon Children Church; for all children unable to remain during the sermon. Oct 4, 2017 3:30 Kidzone meets (weekly 5:30 Snack Supper (weekly) Page 4

Newsletter Oct. 2017 Youth service opportunities 10/21 Harvest Festival (help set up, serve food, clean up) 10am-2pm 10/29 Collecting non perishables for Center of Hope begins Mark your calendars! 10/1 SS 9:30a "Cain and Abel" 10/4 Wed youth 5:30p-7:30p "The Word" 10/8 SS 9:30 "Ester saves the Jews" 10/11 Wed youth 5:30p-7:30p "The Word" 10/15 SS 9:30a "Ezekiel's Vision" 10/18 Wed youth 5:30p-7:30p "The Word" 10/21 Couts Harvest Festival 10a- 2p Sunday School: 9:45 10:45am (6th-12th) Great Bible Stories 10/22 SS 9:30a "Job tested" 10/25 Wed youth 5:30p-7:30p "The Word" RSVP DUE for "Hell House" 10/28 Hell House 6pm meet at the church return? $12 per person (eat dinner before you come) Snack Supper Wednesdays @ 5:30pm! To receive mobile updates by text message, text keyword coutsyouth to 77948. 10/29 SS 9:30a "Part 2 Job tested" Collection of non perishables begins for COH CONTACT INFO Katrina Nager - katrina@coutsumc.org Check us out at CoutsYouth on the Facebook, and the Instagram. Amy McSwain - amy@coutsumc.org For Questions about Couts UMC Youth Ministry, call the church office at 817.599.8601. Page 5

Couts Church Council Meeting Sunday, October 1 11:45 a.m. - Fellowship Hall The Church Council will meet on Sunday, October 1st, following worship in the Fellowship Hall. A light lunch will be served. Agenda items include a vote on recommendations for Leadership for 2018 from the Lay Leadership Committee, Pastor s Compensation Package for 2018 from the SPRC Committee and reports from administrative and program committees from the church. All are welcome to attend Church Council meetings. Mission Team Meetings Tuesday, October 3, 2017 Worship Mission Team 6:00 p.m. - at Fuzzy s Adult Nurture / Outreach, and Representatives from Hospitality, Youth, Children, Technology and Worship Mission Teams Tuesday, October 3rd 7:00 p.m. Central Texas Conference October 6th & 7th 1st UMC Temple - cost $25.00 Friday 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Saturday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (our own Pastor Dawn Phillips is the Mission coordinator for CTC) Engage is designed for clergy and laypersons involved in mission ministry in the local church. Through plenary and breakout sessions, participants will learn ways to grow in mission ministries. Tom Bassford is the Keynote speaker for the event. For more information: www.ctcumc.org/engage Willing Workers Breakfast Group Tues., Oct. 10th 10:00 a.m. Couts Care Corp Training Sunday, October 8th 11:45 a.m. Fellowship Hall Finger Foods and 42 Tuesday, October 10th 6:30 p.m. - Fellowship Hall Everyone is invited to attend. Please bring a finger food to share with the group. The newly re-organized Couts Care Corp will meet for it s second training meeting. Anyone in the church can become a member and receive training. Members of the group will assist Pastor Matt and the congregation in care for members / families of the church. Emmaus Community Gathering Friday, October 13th 6:00 p.m. at Couts UMC Please bring a covered dish to share with the group. Dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend. Couts SPRC Committee Meeting Tuesday, October 17th 7:00 p.m. Conference Room Couts Finance Committee Meeting Thursday, October 5th - 6:30 pm Conference Room Page 6 Couts Trustees Committee Meeting Thurs., October 26th 6:30 p.m. Conference Room

Listening Meeting - Sunday, October 14, 2017 @ Arborlawn UMC A Way Forward addresses the questions facing our denomination regarding church unity and human sexuality. The commission charged with this task will present their final recommendation at the called General Conference in 2019. That Saturday (the 14 th) meeting is a time to hear the update and to share your thoughts. Charge Conference Sunday, October 15th 3:00 p.m. - University UMC in Fort Worth Couts 2018 Charge Conference will take place at University UMC in Fort Worth on Berry Street at 3 pm. All members of the Church Council plus the retired ministers are encouraged to attend. Harvest Festival - Saturday, October 21st 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Harvest Festival 2017 will be held on October 21st. An exciting day is planned and we hope that all can be a part of the special events: Children s Area - Headed up by the Children s Mission Team & assisted by CCA All kinds of fun activities will be held in the Fellowship Hall Silent Auction (items need to be a minimum of $50.00) The committees suggests theme baskets, individual items, and/or large ticket items. The top few large ticket items will be auctioned off. You can bring those to the church when you have them ready. Bake Shop - Looking for homemade pies, cakes, cookies, bread, soup mixes and etc. Minimum price for an item should be $10.00. (The top bake shop items will be auctioned off. Barbeque Lunch - served from 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Lunch will be prepared by the Journey Sunday School Class - if you would like to help with the meal, contact Katrina Nager. We will pre-sell meal tickets. Harvest Festival Committee - Meal - Journey Class, Silent Auction - Larry Vanhoozer & Clent Collier, Bake Shop - Linda Fuller, Children s area - Mona Holderfield, Dessert Auction - Eddie McSwain & Curtis Nager Creating New Faith Communities Saturday, October 28th 1st UMC Burleson - 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. All persons in church leadership are encouraged to attend this Session at 1st UMC Burleson. We ll learn about building passion to see lives and our community transformed. Flu Shots by Weatherford Regional Hospital District at Couts - Fellowship Hall Sunday, October 15th 9:00 a.m. - Noon (Most insurances are accepted) Page 7 Operation Christmas Child Boxes are now available in the Welcome Center to be filled for Children who would not otherwise experience the joy of a Christmas gift. If you would like to provide a gift, there are packing lists and instructions on the table. The deadline for bringing back the boxes is: Sunday, November 19th

Go Welcome, Equip, Serve, Transform Couts Methodist Church 802 North Elm Weatherford, Texas 76086 W E RE ON T HE WEB - V I S I T US WWW. C OUTSMETHOD I S T C HURCH. C OM Our Military October Birthdays Billy Burris Matt Couch Will Dowd Matthew Geyer Michael Gilliam Jeff Johnson Blake Hubbard Mike Hebert Hunter Hiett Kali Yarnell Lussier (Africa) Michael Martin Matthew Mitchell Josiah Sorrells Doug Yarnell (Now in Florida) Cody Williams Page 12 October 1 Jennifer Morgan Geneva Oakes October 2 John Park October 3 Amy McSwain October 4 Addalee Sears October 5 Wanda Torbett October 6 Allison Taylor October 8 Ian Linden October 9 Xavier Hott October 11 Bobbie Lackey Reudie Noe October 16 Shawn Hallman Barbara Vanhoozer October 22 Arlene Padilla October 23 Nancy Martin Kathy Curry October 24 Shelby Lackey Chris Safford October 25 John Jester October 28 Butch Hott October 31 Lorene Clerihew