Thank You!

On Sunday, June 22, I

will lead you in worship
for the last time. For those
who did not grow up in
the Methodist Church (or
perhaps in some branch of
the military) our way of
sending pastors from one
church to another can
seem a bit odd. It is a
process like any other, just
as is the call system,
where churches search for
and hire their own
pastors. I have seen both
processes succeed
tremendously, and both
fail famously. I imagine
you have, too. In the end,
the Holy Spirit can work
through whatever system
we utilize.
I have great faith and
trust in the system that
brought me into the life
of this church four years
ago, and which now leads
me to
Children and youth (pg. 2)
Choir Notes (pg. 3)
Important Dates (p. 4)
Calendar (p. 5)
Vol. 10, No. 6 June 1, 2014
(cont. on pg. 6)
In this Edition

Vacation Bible School! June 23-27 5:30 p.m.
until 8:30 p.m.
Dinner served nightly! Dont miss out!!
Church camp at Lakeview will be here
before you know it! Sign up your 5th12th
graders today! Camp is July 7th-11th.
Register at lakeviewmcc.org, then pay at the
church ofce.
Say Howdy! to Our New Pastor
Our new pastor, Rev. David Cartwright
will be joining us next month. You are
encouraged to send him your
greetings and well wishes, as his
family prepares for their big move
from West Virginia. You can find and
friend David on Facebook at
facebook.com/david.cartwright.927?
fref=ts, or you can drop him an email
at prchrdave@me.com. Lets give
David and his family a big Texas
Howdy!
Cottage Meetings
We are looking for folks willing to host a
small group in their home for a cottage
meeting with our new pastor. If you would
be interested, please contact the ofce 903-
873-2569. Thanks!
Food Drive
HELP! The Middle School
back pack program needs
food! This vital program
sends backpacks flled with
food home each weekend
with students in need. Items
should be easily opened and
consumed by a child (nothing
requiring a can opener). Small containers and
single-servings are helpful, as well. I was
hungry, and you gave me food. (Matthew
25:35). We will still collect through the summer.
We are taking a
break from our
weekly K5 Kids
meeting for
summer. We will
have activities
planned
periodically, so
be on the
lookout for
information about upcoming events!
The Youth Group is going to summer hours!!
We will not meet every Wednesday, but we will
have some fun things to do this summer. Stay
tuned for information on all upcoming
activities!






Summer Camp
Mark your calendars now for Summer Camp at
Lakeview, in Palestine, Texas, for all children in
grades 4-12. Our week is set for July 7-11.
Register online at lakeviewmcc.org!


VBS
Children going into grades K-5 are invited to
join us for a Weird Animals Adventure, where
Jesus love is one-of-a-kind, on June 23-27.
Mark your calendars. Registration is online at
groupvbspro.com/vbs/ez/
RussellMemorialUMC or at the church!
HELP WANTED!
Needed:
Adult child care provider for our church
nursery. Sunday mornings, 8:20 a.m.- 12:15 p.m.
Contact the church ofce (903-873-2569) or
Theresa Turner (903-873-3447)
Help Jana on Her 3 Day Journey
Jana Davis, and her husband Damon, will walk in
their 2nd 3 Day 60 mile journey in November to
raise money for breast cancer research. They are
walking in memory of Linda Glover. If you would
like to help them meet their fund raising goal,
forms will be
available at the
church or you can
donate online at
the3day.org. Keep
an eye out for more
opportunities to
give to this cause.
Community Garden
Have you signed up to help with the Wills Point Community
Garden? Have you placed a donation for supplies in the red
bucket at the church? What are you waiting for? We are excited
to be sponsoring this wonderful opportunity for our community!
Please contact the church office to volunteer. Weeds need to be
pulled and crops need to be tended!
Love Ofering
As you know, moving day is fast approaching
for our pastor and his family. We would like to
send them of with a special love ofering. We
will be collecting funds in our beautiful
orange bucket this month.
Notes from the Loft
Summer Singers Needed:
The Sanctuary choir is now on
its summer schedule, when
we meet for rehearsal on the
frst Wednesday of the
month at 7:00 P. M. Our frst
monthly rehearsal will be
Wednesday, June 4.
New members are welcome
at any time; at the present
time, our needs are limited to
the soprano, alto, tenor, and
bass sections. Come to
rehearsal on the 4
th
or just
come to the choir room on
Sundays at, or shortly after,
10:30 A. M. See you at Choir!
Love,
Bob
Our Presence and Our Gifts
May 4 May 11 May 18 May 25
the early service 43 46 36 39
Sunday School 72 83 80 64
Traditional Worship 78 122 132 72
$9,901.27 $6,443.09 $3,988.00 $2,490.86
Dates to Remember!
Sun. June 1, 2:00 p.m. VBS Meeting
Wed. June 11, Birthday Girls
Sun. June 15, Fathers Day
Sun. June 22, Billys last day, VBS Meeting
2:00 p.m. Bring cookies for VBS!
June 23-June 27 Vacation Bible School
Sat. June 28, 11:00 a.m Neighbor to Neighbor
Sun. June 29, NO POTLUCK!
June Worship Assistants

Altar Guild: Nelda Currie (Chair), Linda Malone, Bonnie George,
Bernadette Kolb, Charlotte Conn, Dana Hullum
Ushers: Sherri Rowe (Head), Lynn Rowe, G.R. Culpepper, Beau
Poteet
C
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l
e
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d
a
r

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f

E
v
e
n
t
s

f
o
r

J
u
n
e

Happy Birthday!
Lue Miles 6-2
Hannah McFarland 6-7
Adele Monning 6-8
Frosty Tunnell 6-9
Chuck Currie 6-10
Mary Keller 6-10
Wayne Watson 6-11
Vera Lofand 6-12
Charlotte
Youngblood 6-14
Billy Watson 6-17
Riley Moore 6-22
Glenda Miller 6-23
Amelia Watson 6-24
Katie McDonald 6-25 Community Outreach Program
Neighbor to Neighbor Lunch
11 am-1pm
Fourth Saturday of each month
Deen Building - George Hall
OPEN TO ANYONE
WHO CHOOSES TO COME
Please contact Gerda David for
details (214-538-0192).
June
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1
2:00p.m. VBS
Meeting
2
10:00 am Prayer
Group
6:00pm Trustees
3 4
7:30p.m. Sanctuary
Choir
5 6 7

8
8:30 am Early
Service
9:45am Sunday
School
11:00am Worship

9
10:00 am Prayer
Group
6:00pm Finance
10
6:45pm Bee
Keepers


11
Birthday Girls
12 13

14


15 Fathers Day
7:30am UMM
Breakfast
8:30 am Early
Service
9:45 am Sunday
School
11:00 am Worship
3:00pm Crestwood
16
10:00 am Prayer
Group
6:30pm Day
School
17

18
Youth will meet
19

20

21


22
8:30 am Early
Service
9:45 am Sunday
School
11:00 am Worship
2:00pm VBS
Meeting
Please bring
VBS cookies!
23
10:00 am Prayer
Group

24

25
10:00am Sunshine
Circle


26

27


28

Neighbor to
Neighbor
Lunch 11 am1pm


29
8:30am Early
Service
9:45 am Sunday
School
11:00 am Worship
NO POTLUCK


30
10:00 am Prayer
Group







Vacation Bible School
5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Calling All Bakers
We are in need of cookies for Vacation
Bible School. Please help us out by
bringing your favorite cookies to us,
Sunday, June 22nd. The kids will be so
grateful (they like store bought too)!
Thank you.
a new and exciting ministry in Orange, Texas. I hope you do, as well. I
can assure you it is bringing you a wonderful new pastor in Rev. David Cartwright. I know you will
love and support him and his family as they come to be the church with you.
As I refect on the past four years here at Russell, I am overwhelmed by the amazing things
God has done in our midst. When I arrived, we were worshipping in Dean Hall, and our sanctuary
was just a stack of cinderblocks about 5 feet tall. We were all amazed by the great redemptive
work God did among us in the wake of the arsonists fre. We had barely settled into the new
sanctuary when we tackled the task of renovating our childrens facilities. Now the Sowers
Building makes a great statement to our community about the value we place on children at
Russell.
Of course, the Sowers Building renovation was also invaluable to the great work we have seen
done in our Methodist Day School. A program which was once a perennial fnancial burden to our
church family and something about which we had little reason to take pride has become a blessing
to our church and to our community. This transformation also beneftted from the bold decision to
have the McLeod House sold and moved to make room for an expanded playground.
We have seen ministries expand and come to life in these four years. The Angel Tree has
grown to a true community-wide efort. We have gone into our schools with the backpack
program and the back to school fair. Neighbor to Neighbor provides food and fellowship for many
in our community each month. We were even recognized as Citizen of the Year at last years
Chamber of Commerce community awards luncheon.
Internally, weve hired a new youth director, and weve seen our childrens ministry adapt and
expand every year. Weve added an early, contemporary worship service on Sunday morning,
which has reached people we would never have reached with our traditional service alone. Weve
expanded to monthly gatherings for potlucks or picnics, which have shaped our community and
fellowship with one another. The Deen Building will be paid of this year, and the Sowers Building
remodel will do the same in the following year. God is good!
In the midst of all of this, I have witnessed the heart of this congregation change. I have seen
us moving from a largely inwardly focused church, concerned primarily with the wants and needs
of the members (like most churches are), to one much more invested in the needs of the
community we are called to serve in Jesus name. I believe this change was in large part
responsible for the overwhelming, Yes! this congregation gave to our VCI prescriptions on
Sunday, May 18. Greater things are yet to come in this church, and through this church in this
community. To God alone be the glory!
God has done great things here! As I prepare to move on to a new season of ministry, I want to
pause to say, Thank you. Thank you for loving and supporting my family for the past four years.
Thank you for accepting my leadership and partnering with me in ministry. Thank you for being
open to the new things God wants to do here. Thank you for being gracious with my faults and
shortcomings, which I know are many. Thank you for the encouragement you have always
supplied me. You will forever be a part of my life, and you will always be in my heart and in my
prayers. Thanks be to God for Russell Memorial United Methodist Church!
Grace & peace,

(cont. from pg. 1)
Remember in Prayer:
America
Annual Conference
Bennie Scott
Beverly Davis
Bill Lacy
Billy Bobbitt
Billy Bruster
Billy Watson & Family
Bo & Maxine Clopton
Bobby Mayfeld
Bruce Lacy
Charles Marical
Chris Cagle
Clif Rabal
Cotton & Lue Miles
Danny Harris
David Cartwright & Family
Dennis Basham
Don Hollister
Eldon Hiler
Methodist Church (RMUMC)
Henry Watson
Inez Wade
Israel, Egypt, Syria, Russia,
Ukraine, & Venezuela
James Lawrence
Jane Webber
Jay & Marty Miller
Jennifer Langford
Johnny & Laura Bates
Joni Tunnell
Judy & Walter Cook
Ken Davis
Larry Zirkelbach
Liz Ellis
Londell Green
Lopez Miles
Mack Waller
Margaret Butler
Mary Helen Castleberry
Nadine & Charles Mills
Norma Hundley
Our Armed Forces
Our World
Phil Looney
Ron Turner
Sandra Brown
Sharon Akins
Sim Caldwell
Thomas Hill
Tom Richardson
Travis
Vivian Pine
Wick Wilkerson
Yadira (Jo)
Galope



Memorials

In memory of Blanche Read
given by Lucinda Oakley and
Billy & Dorothy Bruster.

In memory of Frances Fletcher
given by June Hatfeld.

In memory of Chester R. Hunt
given by the Friendship Class.

In memory of Grace Robertson
given by the Friendship Class.
Letters of Thanks

To the fne folks at Russell Memorial UMC:
I want to thank you for the shawl that you sent
to me. At the time I received it, my prognosis
and treatment plan was not as promising as we
would have preferred. When I opened the box, I
wrapped the Prayer Shawl around my neck and
said a prayer, frst for healing and second for the
hands that made this shawl. Since that time all
reports, treatments (including 2 surgeries) and
recovery have been excellent! I am thankful for
having you stand beside me during this difcult
time.
Most Sincerely,
Louis (Carter)


Thank you so much Methodist Men! My
backyard is free from fallen trees and waist
deep grass, thanks to your hard work I can enjoy
my yard again.
Love and thanks,
Phillis Humphrey

The Russell Report
Russell Memorial United Methodist Church
A Family Rooted in Christ and Reaching Out in Love
201 S. Fourth Street
P. O. Box 335
Wills Point, TX 75169

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED








NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT #2
Wills Point, TX
Dr. Billy Watson, Pastor Dr. Bob Gilbreth, Music Director
Nancy McDonald, Ofce Administrator Fritz Gilbreth, Organist
Theresa Turner, Ladies Hand Bells Director Mary Keller, K5 Kids Coordinator
Denise Ross, Pianist Jackie Cockerham, Financial Administrator
Ofce Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday
Join us Sunday Morning!
Contemporary Worship @ 8:30 Sunday School @ 9:45 Traditional Worship @ 11:00