CHILI COOK OFF and BINGO FUN – SUNDAY, MARCH 19 AT 5:00

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You may sign up to bring chili, salad, or dessert.
Drinks and salad dressings will be provided.

ALSO we would like each person to bring an old gift you might have laying around your house for Bingo prizes.

The Sign-Up Sheet will be available in the annex section of the church.
If you will not be at church to sign up, please call Jim or Dianne Marshall at 236-5426.
The Committee is hoping this event will be lots of fun and well attended.

March Activity Sponsored by the Adult Council Committee

FUMC raised $1,284 for the Backpack Buddies in 2016!

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Thanks to your support, FUMC raised $1,284.00 to help support Galax and Grayson County Backpack Buddies in 2016.
During the school week children have access to a hot and fresh meal prepared by the school. Too often when they leave school on Friday, they may not have access to three meals a day. Backpack buddies receives recommendations from school staff for K-12th grade and send each child recommended home with a backpack full of non-perishable, healthy food so they will have breakfast, lunch, a snack, and dinner for the weekend.
It cost $10.00 a week to feed one child and $370.00 a year for one child.
The Backpack Buddies organization is completely run by volunteers. If anyone is interested in volunteering Backpack Buddies meet on Friday’s at Warrick Hall behind Galax Presbyterian Church.

  • 10:45 am for the unpacking of the food items and to make them ready to put in backpacks
  • 11:30 am packing of the Elementary and Middle Grades bags
  • 12:00 pm packing of the High School Grade bags

Thank you for your commitment to your community, and your continuing support it is greatly appreciated! Giving is not easy and this is especially true when there is a sacrifice involved. It is one way we have of demonstrating our faith and trust in God as we assist one another in building up His Kingdom on Earth.

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

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Life Line Screening will be offering preventive health screenings on Wednesday, March 8, 2017. As part of the screening event, Life Line Screening will offer low-cost take-home colorectal cancer tests called FIT (Fecal Immunochemical Test) in recognition of March as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. These tests are simple, accurate, and recommended for the early detection of colorectal cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the risk of developing colorectal cancer increases with age. More than 90% of cases occur in people aged 50 and older.

Other preventive screenings provided check for stroke risk, abdominal aortic aneurysms, and osteoporosis. Galax First United Methodist Church is pleased to make these important screenings available by hosting Life Line Screening, the nation’s leading provider of preventive health screenings.

Screenings are fast, painless and affordable. Three key tests check for blocked carotid arteries, an irregular heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation, and high blood pressure, which are the three leading risk factors for stroke. Strokes are the third leading cause of death in the U.S., yet, with preventive strategies, 80% of strokes can be prevented.

Other tests check for abdominal aortic aneurysms and hardening of the arteries in the legs. A bone density screening to assess osteoporosis risk is also offered and is appropriate for both men and women. Many events also offer blood tests, including cholesterol, glucose and c-reactive protein screenings.

Screening packages start at $139. Single tests cost around $70.

For more information regarding the screenings or to schedule an appointment, call 1-888-653-6441 or go to www.lifelinescreening.com/communitycircle. Pre-registration is required.

UMW NEWS – March 2017

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Thanks to all who helped with our Shrove Tuesday pancake supper and to all who came and enjoyed eating with us. It’s great to see our church family and friends coming together for food and fellowship. Our next UMW meeting will be March 14 at 10:00 am in the UMW room. Judy Farmer has the program which will be our Call to Prayer program. Lunch plans will be announced later. Please make every effort to attend. On the 25th we will be going to Aldersgate UMC for the Spring Mini-Retreat. Please let me know if you would like to go. Lake Junaluska plans will come next month.

UMW President, Peggy Chappell

Grace in the Season of Lent.

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“For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God-not the results of works, so that no one may boast.”  [Ephesians 2:8-9 N.R.S.V.]

Easter comes late this year. Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent is March 1st. Lent is the season of the church year when we prepare ourselves for Easter. We remember the sacrifice our Lord Jesus made for us and in response we sacrifice something we like or we begin a new spiritual discipline. Overall, it is not usually the time we think that much about grace.

I read an interesting story the other day about a group of scholars who were debating what sets Christianity apart from the other religions of the world. With our age so concerned with multiculturalism and the rise of Islam, it is a debate that is really relevant and timely for today. However this exchange happened over fifty years ago.

The first answer proposed to the question of what is it exactly that makes Christianity different was he Incarnation. God with us was suggested. It was immediately pointed out that other religions, Buddhism for example, taught of a god living with humans. The next suggestion was resurrection. Christianity teaches that is another life beyond this one. However, both Islam and some forms of Judaism, believe in an afterlife as well.

At this point when the debate seemed hopelessly deadlocked, a young scholar name C.S. Lewis stood up and said: “It is grace. Christianity is the only one of the world’s religions that teaches us about God who loves enough to give us the gift of His grace and that is what makes it so different from all the rest.”

That is so true! Other religions teach that God is a stern judge or offer a rigid set of rules that must be obeyed. Or else they teach that salvation can be earned by what the believer does or does not do. In our text quoted above, the writer of Ephesians reminds us that in Christianity salvation is by grace, through faith, and that it is a gift from God.

Perhaps the greatest example of this gift of God’s grace is the Cross of Calvary. For it was there that God’s gift was freely given for “whosoever will” accept it. So maybe Lent is the perfect time of the year to think about and talk about grace.

So this year we prepare once again to remember the Easter event, let us open our hearts and minds to receive grace on top of grace, so that salvation can be ours: remembering that it is not the result of our works, so we have no right to boast. Rather it is the gift of God. God’s grace is offered to you. Receive it. Accept it. Use it. Live it.

Richard