Tyler Cobb
Dear First United Methodist Church,
It is with deep deep sadness that I inform you that one of our youth, Tyler Cobb along with his friend Jace Gill, died today, May 16, 2020, in a side-by-side (SxS or UTV) accident.
My heart hurts just writing this email to you. My prayers are for Shelli, Brian, Clayton and Conner.
We pray that God upholds us now as we entrust Tyler to God’s eternal care. Assure us God that not even death can separate us from your infinite love and mercy.
Services are pending. I will inform you as soon as it is available.
Please keep the Cobb family in your prayers. Please also keep the Gill family in your prayers.
May the love and peace of God surround these families and yours today and forevermore.
Thank you God for gifting Tyler to us for 15 years.
Holy Communion
4/6/2020
Dear Friends,
Blessings to you on this Holy Monday!
I want to let you know that we will be celebrating Holy Communion this week online on Maundy Thursday, 4/9, at 7 p.m. and Easter Sunday, 4/12, at 10:30 a.m. Though we are not able to physically gather, the virtual presence of Christ will be with us. I have ordered and received individual communion wafer and juice sets. You are invited and welcome to receive these individual communion sets beforehand in preparation for our online worship services. I will list below the times you can pick them up.
If you are unable to pick them up or prefer not to, you are invited to prepare your own elements by getting bread and juice before hand. Something to remember is that you can make your living space into a sanctuary, and to set your table knowing that Jesus will be joining you.
I will consecrate the individual elements before you pick them up. I will also virtually consecrate elements that you are preparing during our worship services.
I will be the only one handling these communion sets. I ask that you let me know the time that you will come to church and how many communion packets you need. Please either respond to this email or send a text to 817-874-3533. Please also call/text when you arrive. This way, I will have the packets ready to place on a table outside in the SE parking lot by the fellowship hall. Only one family communion set at a time will be placed outside. I will disinfect the table after each family picks up their set. Gluten free elements are also available. Please indicate whether you would like to receive the gluten free elements.
Times available for pickup are:
For pickup any other times or if you prefer not to get out and would like it delivered, please let me know by responding to this email, or text/call 817-874-3533.
God’s Blessings to you on this Holy Week!
Pastor Sela
A Guide to Stay Connected!
A guide to help you stay connected with your church.Call to Prayer
To the People of the United Methodist Church,
We join with Pope Francis in calling for prayer Wednesday, March 25, drawing strength from the Annunciation (Luke 1. 26-38), as we are approximately nine months from the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We invite all to pray to God to rid the world of the coronavirus pandemic. And all are urged to pray the Lord’s Prayer at noon intheir own time zones. In the words of Pope Francis, “We wish to respond to the pandemic of the virus with the universality of prayer, of compassion and tenderness.” As we prepare to celebrate the resurrection at Easter, we have sure trust and confidence that God will hear the united prayers of the church across the world.
The Peace of the Lord,
+Ken Carter
Resident Bishop, Florida Conference President, Council of Bishops
The United Methodist Church
Media Contact: Rev. Dr. Maidstone Mulenga Director of Communications – Council of Bishops The United Methodist Churchmmulenga@umc-cob.org
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COVID-19 Church Response
COVID-19 Church Response
“For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and sound mind.” 2 Tim 1:7
Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ at First United Methodist Church, Taylor:
Greetings in the name of our Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ!
COVID-19 is a fluid and growing local and global concern. The Federal and State Government has issued a State of Emergency and Disaster, respectively. The Taylor ISD has extended Spring Break. The Bishop of the Central Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church has issued a statement of caution, but leaving decisions to local churches of whether to suspend worship and church activities.
We want to encourage you to use your best judgment and common sense when it comes to your health and safety.
- If you are sick, please stay home.
- If you are a person at high risk of getting sick, please also stay home.
- When in doubt, do what’s best for you or stay home.
- There will be no Youth or Children Sunday School in the morning.
- For other Adult Sunday School classes, please contact your individual leaders.
- We will have Sunday Worship at the usual time, 10:30 A.M.
- Until this pandemic passes, we will forgo the Peace Time.
- Greet each other with smiles, words, air peace, air high fives or with your hand over your heart.
- In lieu of the offering plates being passed around, you will be given an opportunity to give when you arrive and leave. You may also give online or mail in your tithe and offering.
- Distance yourselves from one another.
- We will have hand sanitizers and wipes at various places at church.
- At this time, we do not have the capability to livestream. Our internet connection at church is not strong or fast enough for FB live. We will make an attempt to put parts of the service online; however, this is a new thing. We are not professionals, so we ask for your patience and grace. Also, we do not have the proper license to publicly publish some of the singing outside of our immediate worship context.
Please know that we have your best interest at heart.
We will continue to monitor the situation, particularly with our weekday ministries including Mother’s Day Out. In the meantime take precautions to care for yourselves. Keep calm and do not fear. You have the power to offer love and compassion by checking on your neighbors and family to make sure their needs are met. And by all means, discern what is best practice for you and your family.
Our prayers and hearts are with those directly impacted by COVID-19, particularly the families and communities where lives were lost. Always remember we are a people of faith. We are called to be a light in midst of darkness, and to be a beacon of hope in such a time as this. In times of uncertainty, we can trust in the one certainty and that is God. Let us get on our knees in prayer, seek God, and trust that this global crisis will pass.
In Christ,
Pastor Sela and your Church Leadership Team!
