The United Women In Faith group had the fun SOLVE baby shower in September. This is our annual event to support this local that helps expectant mothers and their families. THANK YOU to all who contributed!!!
PLEASE HELP – We are collecting personal hygiene items during the months of October and November. They will be given away to our friends in need in December. We can’t do it without you! Please donate the following items: small bar of soap, small hand towels, toothpaste, and toothbrush, small packages of tissues and wipes, small flashlights with batteries, razors, and small bug spray, or bug wipes.
There will be a box in the Narthex for your donations or bring them to the church office. Thank you for your help with this project.
The daily devotional guide “UpperRoom” for November-December 2023 is here. It is available for purchase in the Narthex or in the office. Please put $2 in an envelope if you take a booklet from the Narthex.
Throughout the month of October, the Methodist Men will be meeting every Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. in Henderson Hall to continue to plan the Fall Festival that will take place on 10/28. Some meetings include a guest speaker and every meeting closes with a devotional.
Bob Yarnell 
Organization and Volunteer
Signup While the United Methodist Men are taking
the lead in planning the Fall Festival (Oct 28), this is a church-wide endeavor. Volunteers are needed. Please get involved!
The purpose of the Festival is to reach out to the community and let people know what is available at the church…Sunday School for their children, a craft group, a choir, and so on. Sign up to represent your group at a table
and help us reach out to the neighbors!
We are collecting small bottled water to hand out during the festival. If you can contribute, please drop them off in the Narthex or the office. Thank you! Bob Yarnell
Cake Walk
Calling all Bakers!
Calling all ‘w….crafters’!!
We are excited to bring back our good old-fashioned cakewalk for the Fall Festival!
Much fun will be had by all ages in trying to win the ‘musical chairs’ game. The winner gets to choose their cake to take home and proceeds will go towards our Food Ministry.
Homemade cakes/cupcakes are preferred but bought items are welcome. Cakes should be on a sturdy non-returnable plate and labeled. Items can be packaged by yourself (think wrapped gift basket in fall theme) or we can wrap them 10/27 (Friday) afternoon or 10/28 (Saturday) morning.
If you would like to help package our cakes or decorate for the festival please contact Julie at 727-534-9109.
Julie Calafiura
Marvin Earl Hiuser, affectionately known as Marv, peacefully passed away on September 6, 2023, in New Port Richey, Florida. He was born on December 7, 1935, in Wyandotte, Michigan. Marv was 87 years old at the time of his passing.
Throughout his life, Marv had a diverse and fulfilling career.
He owned a Snelling & Snelling Employment Franchise and also worked as a Safety Kleen Branch Manager and Sales representative. Additionally, he dedicated many years to retail management for Neisner Brothers Variety Stores, which led him to move twelve times within a span of twenty years, residing in various states including Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and finally Florida.
Marv had a wide range of interests and hobbies. He enjoyed woodworking and took great
pleasure in creating beautiful pieces. He was an avid ice hockey and baseball fan, finding joy in watching his favorite teams play. Above all, Marv cherished spending time with his stepgreat-grandchildren and loved watching them participate in sports. In his younger years, he played golf and later in life, he found delight in playing cards and games with his loved ones.
Marv was a devoted member of several churches throughout his life. He served on the Board of Trustees and held the position of Chairman of the Board in some of these churches. He also served as an usher, choir member, and dedicated volunteer, always willing to lend a helping hand wherever needed.
Marvin will be remembered as a loving husband and father. His deep love for God and the churches he served in was evident to all who knew him. He had a wonderful sense of humor that brought joy to those around him.
Marv is preceded in death by his parents, Conrad and Viola Hiuser, as well as his siblings: Vanetta Horsburgh, Lenoard, William, and George Hiuser. He leaves behind a loving family, including his wife Patricia Hiuser, his daughter Denise (Dan) Snyder, his sister Virginia Freese, his stepson Brian (Sharyn) Price, four step-grandchildren, and six step-great-grandchildren.
Marv will be deeply missed and his memory always be cherished by all who had the privilege of knowing him. May his voice delight his Father in heaven as he joins the choir of angels and faithful departed above.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that memorial contributions be made to Gulfside Hospice or to the First United Methodist Church of New Port Richey, as these were causes close to Marv’s heart.
Celebration of Gratitude and Hope Our first-ever celebration in preparation for
our annual District Charge Conference was a great success!
Many thanks to our Church Council who hosted the luncheon. A special thank you to Rick Savard for cooking the quiches; thanks to those who brought in treats and an extra special thank you to the surprising angels who helped with the cleanup! Thank you Joe and Karen for your dedication in setting up the tables.
It was good to have time in fellowship—our gatherings have been missed!! We received reports about our membership and attendance, the church’s financial status, the work of the Trustee Committee in maintaining our campus, and future plans.
While receiving an update on our Children’s Ministry we observed children having fun together and clearing our tables. We closed our time together with the introduction of our elected leaders for 2024.
If you missed the luncheon, a copy of the reports may be obtained from Pastor Lee. Thank you Pastor Lee for your vision and direction.
May we continue with a celebratory heart and support our leaders and programs of the church. Our Fall Festival is a wonderful day to celebrate with our community and we HOPE you will take part in any way you can!
The choir is glad to be back and providing music to enhance our worship experience. We saw lots of smiles when the children helped us out last week.
At choir practice On October 4, we will begin to work on music for Advent. Yes, time moves fast.
Starting this month, and continuing for the next three months, I will be highlighting one section of the choir. This month, the tenors.
When I returned to FUMC in 2017 and joined the choir, I automatically sat with the basses. After a few weeks, Ruthie said, Bob, you’re a tenor, get over there where you belong. At that time, Jack Eckart was the only tenor. He and I were joined every winter by Ken McLintock, who is a very good tenor. Unfortunately, the pandemic, coupled with his and his wife having health issues, has brought an end to their sojourns down from Canada. Then Jack’s health failed and I was alone.
But God does answer prayers. When we returned from the pandemic-enforced layoff, Pete Leuck, from Asbury, joined the choir. Pete is a superb tenor.
When I get a bit too high or too low, Pete ever so subtly manages to get me back on track. I’m a much better singer now than I 
was in 2017. Mostly that is due to Ruthie, with an assist from Ken and Pete. I’m hitting notes I never thought I could.
When I get a bit too high or too low, Pete ever so subtly manages to get me back on track. I’m a much better singer now than I was in 2017. Mostly that is due to Ruthie, with an assist from Ken and Pete. I’m hitting notes I never thought I could.
Bob Yarnell
First United Methodist Church is forming a new “Caring and Sharing” ministry. Pastor Lee has asked me to head this committee. This is why you will see me with my iPad on Sunday mornings taking attendance. Please be patient with me as I learn everyone’s names.
Another facet of this ministry is to keep a close watch on our members and visitors so we can show the love of Jesus to them. If you are in need of prayer or help please don’t hesitate to contact me at (502) 435-8843. We will try to assist you.
Our team is still in the organizing phase but if anyone is interested in being part of this outreach ministry please get in touch with me or with Pastor Lee.
Donna Hammel
Our CELEBRATE WONDER program is off to a good start with an average of 10 children in regular attendance.
We have settled into the rhythm of beginning our time together with prayer, offering and praise, and the weekly bible story video. After the shared video the group is divided by age (elementary aged and under 5). Many thanks to Miss Jean Ann, Miss Joan, and Miss Belinda for working with the younger children and Miss Julie, Miss Mary, and Miss Brenda for teaching the older students.
We are looking forward to having the new air conditioning unit installed so that we can permanently set up our room with our 
‘Wonder with Me’ station. We are grateful to have the opportunity to be part of our children’s spiritual journey and to have such a large space to grow.
If you peek in the classroom you can see that we have inherited an assortment of odds and ends, furniture, and such. We hope that along with a new air conditioning system, we can come together and update the space in the near future.
We are continuing our lessons this month from the book of Genesis; beginning with the story of Abraham and Sarah. Our verse is “The Lord carried out just what he had promised.” (Genesis 12:21) The word for October is FAITH. We have faith that our
the program will continue to grow in children and teachers!
Please consider volunteering once a month to help cover teacher absences. Families, please remember to sign your children in (our policy requires that children in second grade and under be signed in and out). Please also see Mary to update the student registration forms and volunteer for our Children’s Ministry table at the Fall Festival.
Julie Calafiura
Bible Study is back in action! We meet on Wednesdays at 10 am. Please join us! Materials are provided.
Over the next few weeks, Ray Calvert will lead the study based on the book “Finding Jesus in the Psalms” by Barb Roose.
Barb Roose combines an interpretation of the Psalms with real-life stories. The study includes reflections on the life of King David and the original context of the writings, along with connections between the psalms and the life and death of Jesus the Messiah.
We are still working on the quilts for Operation Stand Down. At the beginning of the year, we sent 48 quilts for the homeless vets to One Community Now. The homeless used it during their overnight stay at Operation Stand Down and then took them with them. We continued making more quilts and now have 17 more to make. When these are completed we will have made 220 quilts! I am so very proud of the craft group for all their hard work on this project.
Next, we will be making fleece blankets. They will be given away with the ditty bags that the United Women In Faith give out to
the needy prior to Christmas. Any monetary donations towards this project would be helpful.
We paused on our work for others to make cute tote bags for ourselves. A couple of people said that they didn’t have the ability to sew but the bags are coming right along 🙂
By mid-October, we will be creating Christmas cards. Please join us for card-making and fun fellowship!
Donna Hammel
Our current project is the remodeling of the Finance Room and the installation of new air conditioning in the Finance Room, Craft Room, Sunday School, and Elfers Cemetery Office. The estimated cost is $31K.
Future proposed projects are: Upgrade sanctuary flooring, install carillon system and speakers, replace dumpster fence, trim/
remove trees, remodel Narthex bathrooms, upgrade parsonage master bathroom and closet.
There are many things that need to be done. We are grateful for what we already accomplished this year, mainly the remodeling of the parsonage. And we pray that we will have the means to keep our church in good condition to enjoy a beautiful place of worship.
