Community Wheelchair Ramps
Did you know that Tennison Memorial United Methodist Church helps provide ramps for homebound people in the local area? Learn more about our wheelchair ramps below. You can also click the donate button in the navigation bar at the top of the page to donate to the Wheelchair Ramps fund. This allows Tennison to build ramps for people who might not qualify under Texas Ramps or Area Agency on Aging.
Hope Is Like Your Car Keys
Where did you leave it? When is the last time you saw it? Hope can be misplaced just like your keys, but it is much too valuable to lose. Dig around a little bit and you'll find what you're looking for.
Holy Thursday Devotion
Pastor Mike Cline offers a reflection on the importance of remembering what God did for us through Easter.
A Prayer for the World
Dear God,
It seems like lots of uncertainty around us. So many people who need prayers.
Today, I pray…
For those whose health is compromised by the coronavirus or other health issues.
For those who suffer from the economic impact of the virus, in travel, manufacturing, hospitality, energy or so many other industries.
For healthcare workers and first responders, and other public servants who put themselves in harm’s way for us.
For our leaders of the world, our countries, states, and cities, as they seek to help manage this challenge
God, it can be overwhelming. But you tell us over and over again not to be afraid.
Show me how to trust in you.
As I examine my heart this Lenten season, help me to turn away from my concern with self,
and turn my heart, hands, and prayers toward the concerns of others.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
A Prayer for a World Facing the Coronavirus was adapted from a prayer posted by St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas. 713-622-5710, 3471 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX 77027.
Have you paid your rent?
You take up a lot of space. So do I. How do we pay for our room on earth?
Service is one answer. Do you know what one of the most amazing ways to see God is? Serving others. Variations of the word “serve” are in the Bible over 1,400 times. Coincidence? Learn more at https://tennisonumc.org/news/the-tower-church-newsletter/
I REALLY EXIST.
What would happen if God, instead of depending upon our faith, did decide to give us a proof.
What if God did decide to clear all this religion business up and give us something scientific, something tangible, that would be beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Read more in the pastor's column of the February newsletter. https://tennisonumc.org/news/the-tower-church-newsletter/
Christmas Eve Services
Services at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Dec. 24th in our sanctuary will tell the ancient story of Christ's birth in the glow of candlelight. Please, be with us to give thanks and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.
Living Nativity
Come by the church Wednesday, Dec. 18 from 6-7:20 p.m. and enjoy a living nativity starring our Preschool Christmas Cuties and Bethlehem Buddies. Children and youth will fill all the roles from wisemen and angels to cows and donkeys. Look for them on the corner of Church and 3rd. Enjoy a cookie and cup of hot chocolate with us. It's sure to warm your belly and your heart.
Kids Christmas Program
Sunday, Dec. 15 at 10:45 in the Sanctuary
It's "Simply Christmas" when the Preschool Cuties take the stage to sing "Children Go Where I Send Thee." Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wisemen and angels will bring enthusiasm and fun to our worship service.
They'll be followed by the Bethlehem Buddies with "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" and a cast featuring all the familiar characters of the ancient Christmas story. Their joyful music will fill the air with sound and our hearts with happiness. Please join us!
Celebrating Advent
Through the month of December we will have one worship service each Sunday at 10:45 a.m. Please join us in the beautifully decorated sanctuary.
Dec. 15th will feature children in skits and songs as they share their take on the ancient story of a starry night and choirs of angels in Bethlehem.
Christmas Eve offers two services, 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., with communion served at both services. These will be our candlelight services.
We look forward to seeing you!
Fall Faith Festival
We're welcoming kids of all ages to our annual Fall Faith Festival on Wednesday, October 30. There will be snacks and plenty of photo ops from 4:30-5:30 p.m. in the Education Building. Games in the Gathering Hall will run from 5:30-7:30 p.m. with plenty of prizes and lots of fun. Fun and silly costumes are welcome!
Queen of Gospel Song Writers
Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019 at 10:45 a.m. you'll step back in time to the 1800's and meet a remarkable woman, Fanny J. Crosby. Born in 1820 and blinded at the age of 8, opportunities seemed very limited for this little girl. Who could guess she would grow up to write some of the best-loved hymns ever penned? Seven of the more than 8,000 hymns she wrote are still in the Methodist hymnal today. They include "Blessed Assurance," "To God Be the Glory" and "I Am Thine, O Lord."
Fanny exceeded expectations from a very young age. Raised by her mother and grandmother, she was taught to memorize five chapters of the bible each week from the age of 10. Just before her 15th birthday, she entered the New York Institution for the Blind. There, she learned to play the piano, organ, harp and guitar. She was taught to sing and had a fine soprano voice.
Playwright Dr. Shellie O'Neal was inspired to write a one-woman show about the inspiring life of Fanny J. Crosby. She first learned about her in a Sunday School class and never forgot about her astonishing life journey. O’Neal has written 26 plays, two of which won Texas state play writing competitions. For the past 18 years she has served as Director of Theatre at Navarro College in Corsicana TX, where she has directed over 70 productions. O’Neal has performed this one-woman show 140 times in 134 locations including a performance on her 40th birthday at the Bowery Mission in New York City where Fanny Crosby often spoke and sang.
Jesus' Hands Were Kind Hands
"Jesus' hands were kind hands, doing good to all, healing pain and sickness, blessing children small, washing tired feet, and saving those who fall; Jesus' hands were kind hands, doing good to all."
The words of this hymn written by Margaret Cropper in 1975 provide the perfect musical backdrop for events at Tennison UMC in October 2019.
We will host the annual community Health Fair on Saturday, Oct. 12 from 8-11 a.m. in the TMAC activity center on our campus. Free health screening will be provided to anyone in the community. Blood sugar, blood pressure, vision, spinal and osteoporosis screening will be available from medical professionals. Information will be distributed on topics ranging from stroke prevention, heart disease, diabetes and cancer to children's health and safety. Church volunteers will serve water and snacks in addition to guiding visitors and staffing the event.
Sunday, Oct. 13 at 10:45 a.m. in the sanctuary presents a unique opportunity for inspiration by being present to hear the remarkable true story of Fanny J. Crosby. Born in 1820 and afflicted with blindness due to an infection in childhood, Crosby succeeded in becoming a teacher and social worker with a deep and sustaining faith. During her long lifetime of 95 years, she wrote over 8,000 hymns and gospel songs. She became known as the "Queen of Gospel Song Writers" and was a household name by the end of the 19th century.
Crosby's story of unshakable faith and determination will be performed by Dr. Shellie O'Neal who wrote the one-woman play and has performed it more than 140 times. For the past 18 years, O'Neal has served as Director of Theatre at Navarro College in Corsicana TX where she has directed over 70 productions. O’Neal has written 26 plays, two of which have won Texas state playwriting competitions. Her performance at Tennison UMC is free and open to the public.
Finally, a special Healing Service is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 27 at the 10:45 a.m. worship service in the sanctuary. Anyone who wishes to come forward during this service will be prayed for, anointed with oil and blessed by Rev. Mike Cline. If your loved one who is in need of healing is unable to attend the service, you may stand in for that person.
3 Ramps in 3 Days
Woohoo! Ramp-building marathon weekend was a success! Three new ramps were built by Tennison volunteers. Three homeowners regained the freedom to enter and exit their homes safely. A huge thank you to our wonderful volunteers who gave their time unselfishly to this important ministry in our community.
The first ramp benefited a woman with macular degeneration who was prone to falling on her porch steps. At the age of 83, another fall could be devastating. A crew of three volunteers provided a safe new way to leave her home and re-enter the world.
Our second ramp delighted a retired schoolteacher who was forced to miss her doctor appointments for fear she couldn't climb the steep steps into her home. After falling a few times, she decided to simply withdraw into her house. Tennison volunteers changed that by building a big new ramp that she can navigate with her wheelchair. Her great grandson said, "Nan, I like your new bridge!" and she thought to herself, "That's exactly what it is. A bridge over troubled waters." She was delighted to make a donation to the church to help buy materials for someone else's ramp.
The third and final wheelchair ramp of the building marathon was the biggest project with the greatest engineering challenges. In spite of threatening rain clouds, the crew built a 36 foot ramp in 2 1/2 hours. Steep steps won't keep 79 year old Mr. Minter captive now!
If you would like to help build ramps in our community, contact the church office at admin@tennisonumc.org or 903.572.5341. You can also send donations to the church for lumber and hardware needed to construct ramps. The mailing address is Tennison Memorial United Methodist Church, PO Box 967, Mt. Pleasant TX 75456.