Women's Ministry, First United Methodist Church-Boerne

08/16/2023

WOMEN'S ENRICHMENT MINISTRY FALL 2023
Wednesdays, September 6-November 15, 9-11AM • Family Life Center 204
Hybrid Option Available

Please join us starting Wednesday September 6th for Women’s Enrichment Ministry Bible study. Our study this semester will be Original Blessing: Putting Sin In Its Rightful Place by Danielle Shroyer. For detailed information about the book, or to purchase it on Amazon, and to register please see the church website. Pastor Kim Burke and Pastor Lori Balensiefen will teach the class. We will provide a study guide with questions, so we are sure to have a lively discussion each week as we explore this book. Please join us for this study and invite some friends as well! All are welcome to participate in Women’s Enrichment Ministry regardless of whether you are a member at FUMC.

07/29/2023

01/04/2023

Women’s Enrichment Ministry Bible study will resume for the winter/spring semester on Wednesday, January 18th. This group meets weekly on Wednesday mornings from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM in the Family Life Center, room 204. The room is open at 9:00 AM for early arrival and social time.

Our study this semester will be focused on the Holy Spirit. We will be using a book called “Encounter the Spirit” by Carolyn Moore. Pastor Kim Burke and Pastor Lori Balensiefen will teach the class.

For more info and to register for the semester please visit our WEM website at www.fumc-boerne.org/women

08/11/2022

From our church newsletter yesterday. Written by Pastor Lori.

What do we mean when we say we love someone? Is it just a warm fuzzy feeling we have towards someone? Or is it a deep abiding sense of their presence that moves us to action that is in their best interests? We all have given and received love. We also have all experienced anger, hurt, frustration, and sadness that have kept us from loving well. What happens when our love seems to wear out? When we are angry or tired, out of patience, or out of time – how do we love ourselves and our neighbor when we can so easily run low on love?

The greatest gift we have is the gift of love that comes from God. It is out of love that God created all things. The literal foundation of all things is love. So how do we love others when we don’t feel like it? We tap into God’s love. We ask God to love others through us. That way, we aren’t relying on ourselves, but on God.

This month in our sermon series, Family Matters, we are looking at the ways we partner with God in raising children in the faith. However, this is not a sermon series just for parents. We are all called to be a part of raising the children of God’s family. It might be through kind words and encouragement. It might be by listening to what they have to say and showing them that they are valued. It might be by teaching them to sew, bake, crochet, do woodworking, etc. It might be through education, both in school and in faith formation. Whatever your gifts and graces are, they are meant to be shared with others. The primary way children learn how much God loves them is by how well the adults in their lives love them.

Similar to the way Pastor Kim shared the story of her fourth-grade teacher last Sunday, think back to a time in your childhood when an adult poured into your life, showing through their actions that you were valued and loved. How did they encourage you? How did you grow and change because of their care? Whoever that person was, they were sharing God’s love with you. They didn’t always do it perfectly. They, at times, ran low on the love they had to give. But by tapping into God’s love, God loved you through them. A love that formed you, that grew you, that transformed you into a disciple of Christ. Now it’s our turn to help shape the children in our lives into disciples by allowing God’s love to flow through us to them.

08/11/2022

Copied from our church newsletter. Written by Pastor Lori.

What do we mean when we say we love someone? Is it just a warm fuzzy feeling we have towards someone? Or is it a deep abiding sense of their presence that moves us to action that is in their best interests? We all have given and received love. We also have all experienced anger, hurt, frustration, and sadness that have kept us from loving well. What happens when our love seems to wear out? When we are angry or tired, out of patience, or out of time – how do we love ourselves and our neighbor when we can so easily run low on love?

The greatest gift we have is the gift of love that comes from God. It is out of love that God created all things. The literal foundation of all things is love. So how do we love others when we don’t feel like it? We tap into God’s love. We ask God to love others through us. That way, we aren’t relying on ourselves, but on God.

This month in our sermon series, Family Matters, we are looking at the ways we partner with God in raising children in the faith. However, this is not a sermon series just for parents. We are all called to be a part of raising the children of God’s family. It might be through kind words and encouragement. It might be by listening to what they have to say and showing them that they are valued. It might be by teaching them to sew, bake, crochet, do woodworking, etc. It might be through education, both in school and in faith formation. Whatever your gifts and graces are, they are meant to be shared with others. The primary way children learn how much God loves them is by how well the adults in their lives love them.

Similar to the way Pastor Kim shared the story of her fourth-grade teacher last Sunday, think back to a time in your childhood when an adult poured into your life, showing through their actions that you were valued and loved. How did they encourage you? How did you grow and change because of their care? Whoever that person was, they were sharing God’s love with you. They didn’t always do it perfectly. They, at times, ran low on the love they had to give. But by tapping into God’s love, God loved you through them. A love that formed you, that grew you, that transformed you into a disciple of Christ. Now it’s our turn to help shape the children in our lives into disciples by allowing God’s love to flow through us to them.

07/19/2022

Fall 2022 Study

06/15/2022

This post is copied from our church’s weekly newsletter. It was written by Pastor Kim. I hope that you will be encouraged by her message. Blessings

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I pray the questions this week lead you into a deepening of your faith and continue to deepen your love for God and the acknowledgment that Jesus loves you...yes YOU! These questions offer us the opportunity for self-awareness in our daily faith walk. So let’s take a look at a few this week:

Am I enjoying prayer? To enjoy prayer is simply to have a good prayer experience. Be it occasionally, daily or hourly, prayer is meant to be a positive and enriching worship experience. In the practice of prayer we find a deeper understanding of God, self and others. Commit to establishing a prayer routine. You can pray as you walk or exercise, you can write out your prayers. Consider downloading a prayer app or sign up for a daily devotional. Find ways that enrich your experience of prayer.

Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy? Every time you find yourself leaning into a temptation, ask yourself these questions: What are the consequences of giving into this weakness? Who may be hurt by this? Will the satisfaction of this moment be worth the consequences I may face? Force yourself to answer the questions before you act.

Did the Bible live in me today? Wesley didn’t ask “Did I read my Bible today?” but “Did it live in me today?” Is the Bible actively shaping your heart, your inner self? To allow the Bible to live in us we must be humble people taking a posture of listening, learning, action and service.

Did I disobey God in anything? When we choose to obey God, we honor God’s love for us and live as God desires. Ask yourself...In what areas of my life am I choosing my own desires over God’s desires? When we don’t do what God intends we choose to confess our actions (or lack there of) and ask for forgiveness. This changes us. Forgiveness gives us a fresh start.

Do I pray about the money I spend? Wesley famously said, “Earn all you can, save all you can and give all you can.” To pray about the money we spend means that we go to God realizing that we do not possess any money of our own. It is all God’s and God’s gift. We are simply holding God’s money for the purpose of God’s work in the world. Evaluate your recent spending. How closely do your habits align with Wesley’s advice?

Do I give time for the Bible to speak to me every day? Wesley didn’t ask this question to create more for Christians to do. He wanted us to look at our efforts to daily engage the Bible as a way for God to speak to us to shape us into more deeply committed Christians. Bible reading is not a task to be completed. It is a habitual practice to shape us and mold us into who God invites us to be. As with any good habit start small-even five minutes a day, and let the time increase as the discipline strengthens your spiritual life.

Keep going! And keep sending in your photos with Flat Wesley! May your hearts be strangely warmed.

In Mission with You,

Pastor Kim

06/02/2022

Staying connected during our summer break. It was so nice to see these sweet woman today. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch and great time catching up with one another. Our plans are to get together once amount durning our summer break to stay connected. We hope that more of you will join us next month. Thank you Jan for organizing our get together❤️

04/27/2022

Pictures from our end of semester luncheon. Our meal was catered by Riverside Catering today It was so delicious!!!

04/27/2022

Today was our last day of our Spring Semester Bible Study. It was an awesome semester of studying “Finding I Am” by Lisa TerKeurst. Pastor Kim & Pastor Lori did a wonderful job of making us dig deeper into the scriptures which resulted in amazing discussions. We are so blessed to have had such amazing women in our class not only in person but also on Zoom. They are all special!!