Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
On June 29th, we had our Quarterly Planning meeting. This marks a full year of planning events for our church. It’s exciting to know we are planning to seek God’s future for Manor United Methodist Church. Our next Quarterly meeting will be August 31st. Please mark your calendars and PLAN to attend; everyone is invited to participate.
 
It’s been 6 months now since we began the ministries of Missions of Love. We have been the hands and feet of Christ to our neighbors bringing joy to God and to those who have received our love offerings. In case you aren’t aware, you can go to our website (manorumc.org) to see pictures of these events and I encourage you to do so. I also invite you to participate in the upcoming Missions of Love.
 
Our Mission of Love for July is to collect school supplies for the children in our community. We are working in conjunction with Manor ISD Family and Support Services to determine what items are needed. An email will be sent out with a list of things you can donate to this very worthy cause.
 
As I write this, we are preparing for Vacation Bible School. It’s been over 10 years since we had VBS. What a blessing from God for the volunteers, for the children and their families who will be participating. (See the report about VBS below in the newsletter.)
 
We aren’t stopping with VBS. Beginning in July, we will offer Children’s Church for children during our worship service. The children will go into the Education Building to participate in their time of service. You can reach out to Denise Lof for more exciting details.
 
June marked a successful year of the 2025 Rio Texas Annual Conference. Jenise and Thom Baker represented us as the conference and will share a report of about the conference with us. The theme for the conference was: Curiosity, Clarity, and Collaboration
 
What are we CURIOUS about? I hope we are curious to know what God wants for us and our future. Do we need CLARITY? Yes, we do. We need to seek God’s discernment to gain clarity on what our next step needs to be in order to grow His kingdom. And what about COLLABORATION? Collaborate simply means to work together. This means to work with each other within our congregation using our individual gifts to accomplish God’s will. But COLLABORATION also means to work with others. We are not alone; we need each other. God’s plan is for His children to work together.
 
As I thought about the theme words from the conference, I was led to this verse of scripture. I believe this is a wonderful scripture to read, meditate, and pray. Please join me in using this scripture during July to guide our thoughts and wills to what God wants of us and of you.
 
 
Scripture of the Month - 1 Peter 4:10-11
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
 
Here are the weekly verses for the month. I invite you to read over them before the service each week.

July 6 – 2 Kings 5:1-14, Psalm 30, Galatians 6:1-16, Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
July 13 – Amos 7:7-17, Psalm 82, Colossians 1:1-14, Luke 10: 25-37
July 20 – Amos 8:1-12, Psalm 52, Colossians 1:15-28, Luke 10:38-42
July 27 – Hosea 1:2-10, Psalm 85, Colossians 2:6-19, Luke 11:1-13  
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Our birthdays are for celebrating the life we have been given. Here is a list of those persons who have birthdays in July:
 

Victoria - 5
Andria - 17
Cody - 19
Denise - 26
Cassandra - 30

 
Please make sure to share birthday greetings with all of them.
 
July also marks a year for me to be your pastor. As I reflect back, we have done so much! I’m grateful for our past and am hopeful for our future. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us in this coming year. I have faith that whatever we are to do, He will prepare us to go forward. I am forever grateful to have the honor of serving you at Manor UMC.
 
Sending my love,
Pastor Joyce Ann