Weekly Reminders

September 11th, 2026
by Elberton First Methodist

Sunday, September 13, 2026

"Conflict Resolution"
Matthew 18:15-20, NIV
Rev. John Donaldson

Christianity Today’s Leadership Magazine had a poll about church conflict with these surprising results. 95% of churches that responded said they had experienced times of conflict, and 20% of the churches were experiencing a conflict at the time of the survey. Their summary: “If five pastors are sitting at a table, in most cases all five of them can tell the story of a major conflict in their church, and one of them can describe a battle that's raging right now.” Jesus may have been anticipating life in the church when he taught his disciples about conflict resolution. Nothing could be more relevant for church life, or family life, than what Jesus taught in Matthew chapter 18.

We hope you can join us this Sunday,

Blessings,
Pastor John

Lay Leadership Committee
It is time for the annual meeting of the Lay Leadership Committee! This committee is also known as the "Nominations Committee.” The church has several committees/boards that are on 3-year rotations - Trustees, SPRC, Finance, and Lay Leadership - so as one class rotates off, new people need to be nominated for the incoming class. And sometimes, even in positions or committees that do not rotate, there are people who feel they have served long enough and are ready for a change. The first meeting will be Monday night, September 21, at 6:30 pm. If you have concerns or suggestions for the Lay Leadership Committee, or if you would like to volunteer in some area, please contact the Pastor.

Daytime Bible Study?
We have some folks who do not like to do early mornings or evening meetings, so the church would like to offer another option. How does a daytime Bible Study or book study group sound to you? It would be around 10:30 am on Wednesdays. Please call or email the church office if interested.

Women's Retreat
There will be a Women’s Retreat on Saturday, Sept 19th 10 am to 2 pm at Woodlawn Global Methodist Church (378 Brad Dixon Rd, Elberton). This is a Conference-Wide Retreat, and the featured speaker is the Rev. Judy Stevenson, co-Pastor at Macland Community Church, a Global Methodist Church in the West Cobb area of metro Atlanta. The event is free, with brunch included, but attendees are asked to register at woodlawngmc.com.

Praise Report
Mrs. Brenda Rayle celebrated her 85th birthday this past week! In case you would still like to send her a birthday card, please mail it to 68 College Ave, Rm. 65, Elberton, GA 30635.

Add your voice to the songs of praise on Sunday night, September 20th, in the congregational “hymn sing” service at 6 pm in the sanctuary. Our choir director, Davlin Smith, and organist/pianist, Joe Jossey, will be leading us along as we worship the Lord in song.

This is a service primarily made up of the congregation singing hymns. The congregation will be invited to just “call out” favorite hymns, though you can also email or text your favorites ahead of time. (Also, if you have a favorite that is not in our hymnal, we can put the words on the screen if you request it ahead of time.)

Following the service, we will have light refreshments in the overflow room. Come and sing! Stay and visit!