Worship Schedule

8:00 Traditional Worship (Sanctuary)
9:00 Sunday School for all Ages (various locations)
9:00 Contemporary Worship (Chapel)
10:30 Blended Worship (Sanctuary)

*We serve Holy Communion in both services on the first Sunday of every month. We practice "open communion," that everyone is invited to share, regardless of church affiliation.

**Nursery Care is available in room #207 during both services - we have pagers.

HURRICANE IRENE
As families and communities begin to assess the damage and clean up the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, we will be in prayer for those who have lost loved ones and have property damage. Monetary donations to UMCOR may be directed to US DISASTER RESPONSE 901670 or visit http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/

 

The Philippine Way Newsletter

September, 2011-From Janet M. McCarty
Advance #13028Z jmccarty50@yahoo.com


Mission Teams

SPMC (Southern Philippines Methodist Colleges) has been blessed in the past to have 3 Mission Teams visit from Texas Annual Conference. Chapelwood UMC of Houston, TX, sent the first team to visit in '08. Now they, and the Texas Conference have offered to work with SPMC & Bishop Soriano's office to bring more teams to help us.
There are times that I get somewhat frustrated at the slow pace of the Filipino people. The first presentation of the plan was in June. Chapelwood UMC asked us to come up with a five-year plan. After much work we have finally come up with one. Originally, the Board of Trustees named a special committee to work on this. The Physical Development Committee met to lay out priorities. All of the Physical Development Committee attended. They toured the campus, then sat down to list what needed to be done, prioritized them, and listed whether a Mission Team would do the work or SPMC. Then, the new committee met & quickly decided that the whole Board be involved since the plan covered all areas: physical development, finance, etc. The Exec. Committee of the Board met to discuss the plan on Sept. 3rd. By lunch, we came up with definite suggestions & plans. I visited with Bishop Soriano's assistant in Davao on Sept. 9 for more suggestions. Sept. 24 was the meeting of the full Board to listen to the report of what has been worked on. Here is the very worthy Mission Team Purpose as proposed by Chapelwood:

To help empower SPMC to grow by attracting new students during the next 5 years while a new building is constructed. Mission teams will focus on short term improvements to facilities to help attract new students & enhance the college experience for the purpose of making SPMC a major Christian college, self sufficient and a leader in the southern islands of the Philippines.

Celebrations

- August was Buwan ng Wika (Language Month). On Aug. 19, the college celebrated Linggo ng Wika (Language Day), beginning a program, speaker, then games. As President, I gave opening remarks. Since it was language day, I spoke in Tagalog. The Filipino teacher translated my "few" words the day before, coached me on correct pronunciation & where to pause, then I practiced more in the evening. The students cheered and clapped as I spoke. Each Linggo ng Wika day, male students try to climb a greased bamboo pole. This year took longer and many tries before the flag at the top was snatched. Finally the boys used a ladder to climb on each other's shoulders to make it. It was fun to watch. Later, activities in the chapel included a traditional Search for Lakambini at Lakandula ng Wika 2011 (Mr. & Ms. Language) and contests for poem recitation, song solo, song duet, chorus & folkdance.
The preschool had their own celebration Aug. 26. The students
were dressed in Filipino clothes, each class gave a presentation
as well as the parents and a good lunch was served. Go to http://community.webshots.com/user/janetmmccarty100 and click
on 2011 Linggo ng Wika to view pictures of these celebrations.

Prayer Requests

1. Please pray for the finalization of the 5 year Mission Team Plan and our partnership together.

2. SPMC is experiencing some very tight times financially. Pray that I may have more faith. God has been providing, sometimes at the eleventh hour. Give thanks for answered prayer.

3. Pray for our students. Some are struggling with personal problems and some with financial problems.

NOTE: No October Newsletter – I will be on vacation.