80 Years of God’s blessings at the corner of Lyndon Avenue and Memorial Drive—That is what our celebration is all about.

Start making plans to be a part of this special birthday! The message of the morning worship service will be offered by Rev. Spurgeon McCartt former minister who provided leadership of the building of our present sanctuary and invested five years in the life of White Oak. Family, friends and former members who have shared in these blessed 80 years are welcome!

9:00 AM Light brunch in Memorial Garden
9:45 AM Sunday School
10:45 AM Morning Worship
12:00 PM Covered dish luncheon in Jimmie Harris Fellowship Hall
1:15 PM Gathering in sanctuary for sharing, recognition, and communion

We are pleased that our nursery is filling up with children. The Maturity Team has received suggestions that we start Children’s Church again. If you would be willing to serve in this ministry, please contact Lynne Curvin or Dana Stone at dana@whiteoakumc.org

New Wednesday Schedule:

It’s back to school time and that means a few changes in our youth group. We will be welcoming a new sixth grader into our group: RJ Ellison. We will try some changes in our Wednesday schedule as well. We will no longer have homework help in the library or supper in the fellowship hall. Instead we will open up the youth house at 5:30 for games time. If you have homework questions, we’ll use a room at that time to help you. Youth worship and Bible study will start at 6:00. Around 7:30 the children will come over and share a snack with us. This will all begin on August 22.

Ultimate Reality Week-end for Senior High:

Senior Highs, you have a chance to take the trophy from St. John UMC at this year’s Ultimate Reality week-end for Chattanooga and Cleveland District senior highs at Camp Lookout on Sept 7-9. We almost had it last year until we had to play frisbee golf, so start practicing (although we may have different events this time). Let’s see if we can take home the trophy this year—St. John says they are going to keep it! We will meet at church at 11:00 PM on Friday the 7th to depart for camp. The games begin at midnight. We will return by noon on Sunday after having worship at the camp. Cost will be $25 each. You will also need a Camp Lookout Medical Release form. Sign up on the youth bulletin board, and I will get you the forms you need.

News from Camp:

We had a great summer camping season at Lookout this year (record attendance!). Thanks to all those who provided scholarship funds to send six children to camp this year. Also, Kris Kammerdiener was able to attend junior staff camp. For all those who camped at Camp Lookout this summer (and others who are interested), we will have Celebration Sunday at camp on August 5. Let Dave know if you want to go, and we will go after church. I also hear that the camp will be dedicatin the new bath house that Sunday. That’s a celebration after two years of construction! Camp Lookout is in the middle of a capital campaign to make some much needed and long overdue improvements at the camp. Please prayerfully consider how you can help the camp over the next three years. You will have an opportunity to participate in this in the near future.

Young Adults

Covered dish and movie night at the Grant house on August 25 at 6:00 PM.

As the kids head back to school this month, we’ve made an adjustment to our Wednesday night schedules. Kids for Christ will meet at 6:30pm and then head over the youth house at 7:30pm for a snack supper. We should be done between 7:45pm-8:00pm. You can pick your kids up at the youth house.

Thanks to everyone who has brought food for the children’s weekend snack packs (for their Friday backpacks) distributed by the Food Bank.We will be calling them to pick up the first barrel and bring another. This is a worthwhile missionary project for our church, and we hope to fill more barrels before school begins, and possibly continue if there is enough interest. For those of you who have not yet contributed, why not keep this in mind when you shop for your own groceries and pick up one or tweo cans of soup, breakfast bars, small eay open cans of fruit, etc., and bring them for Food Bank barrels. We plan to keep the barrel at one door and a smaller container at the other for your convenience as you come in or leave the church. All of us love children and hate to think of their being hungry on weekends when they are not getting a school lunch, so let’s help as many as we can.

We visited the Food Bank for our June meeting and were really impressed with the fine job they are doing. One of the many impressive things thatr they do is to prepare weekend packets to go into backpacks of children who need food. They are placed in the backpacks on Friday to last the child through the weekend. We would like to fill the barrel at the front of the church with items for these packs. Items needed are: Soups-pop top cans with child friendly varieties like chicken noodle Fruit cups with peel top; Pasta meals with pop top; Pop Tarts or any breakfast bars; Fruit juices in single serve containers Donation barrels are located in the narthex and the door at the front of the sanctuary.

The church are in the planning and fundraising stage of a mission trip to Marion, VA the week of June 17-23. As in years past we will help by painting, roofing and doing light construction work through the guidance of Project Cross Roads in the Holston Conference. If you would like to participate in the journey to Marion let Dave Grant know. Planners, kitchen volunteers, prayer warriors and a construction team are needed. There is a fundraising goal of $3500 needed by June. So far the youth have raised $1400.

White Oak United Methodist Church will be going to the area around Marion, Virginia in June to assist rural Appalachia families and individuals who need assistance with home repairs. For every pound of coffee or tea purchased by participating congregations, Equal Exchange makes a contribution to UMCOR to provide additional support to coffee-growing communities. By purchasing fairly traded coffee and tea from the Young Disciples Class, you not only help farmers in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, but you also help White Oak raise funds needed for serving others in the southeastern United States. For more information download our brochure on this link Coffee Brochure.pdf .

Through Easter we will be remembering what Jesus did for us. And what a perfect time for each of you to once again  collect our loose change to help those in need. Last year we collected over $800.00 for mission projects. So many people were blessed because you cared enough to give your loose change. So once again we ask you to prayerfully place your loose change in a baby bottle. Together we can accomplish much for GOD’S KINGDOM and help those in need.

Life is getting noisier in the United States and as it does, people are losing their hearing. The rate of hearing loss has increased in every age group, but perhaps most alarming is that 15% of children ages 6-19 are showing signs of hearing loss. Up to one third of all cases of hearing loss are due to extended exposure to loud noise.

If you can’t talk over the music you are listening to, it’s too loud. Be careful if you listen to music through headphones because the sound is so close to the eardrum. If the music can be heard by a person not wearing the headphones, it’s too loud.

Wear earplugs whenever you’re around loud machinery or other noisemakers such as lawnmowers, leaf blowers, motorcycles, monster trucks, power tools, and rock concerts, or if you will be exposed to sudden, loud noises such as gunshots while hunting. Seek medical attention if you experience any of the following signs after being exposed to loud noises: ringing or buzzing in the ears, difficulty in understanding speech, or difficulty hearing normal conversation in a group of people or where there is background noise.

Lynn Curvin, RN, BSN