• Traditional organ music prepared with accuracy for Sunday services and Special services as scheduled by the Pastors and Traditional Music Director.
• Provide support for the Traditional Music Director,Pianist and Choir.
• Be able to serve as accompanist for the choir if anthem requires organ accompaniment or the pianist is absent.
•  Be able to play for weddings and funerals if available with compensation decided between the family and the organist.
• Maintain a regular practice schedule and keep all organ music filed and organized.
• Be able to accompany vocalists and instrumentalists.
• Be familiar with all music terminology and notation along with music theory. Ability to transpose and play hymn improvisations would be encouraged.
• Support congregational singing of hymns and responses.
• Keep open communication with Music Director and Pastors.
• Audition requirements would include preparation of three hymns and selected repertoire for Prelude, Offertory and Postlude.
• Pastors, Music Director, Pianist and head of SPRC would be present for audition.
• First Methodist Church has a pianist on staff and the Organist position is shared with the duties of the pianist. The hymns are played with organ and piano accompanying together and the organist using improvisations on last verse of hymns when possible. Pre music is played 10 minutes before the service begins at 11:15. Each service has a Prelude, Offertory, Anthem and Postlude.
• Organ and piano duets are encouraged for anthems or preludes

For more information or to apply, contact Susan Crawford at crawfordsing58@gmail.com.

There are a lot of upcoming events planned for our youth ministry, and we encourage all of our youth to pick some events to be involved in. There are some things that need to be signed up for and are time sensitive and those items are in bold with dates due! If you have questions, please let Sarah Beth know!

• Sunday December 22^nd – Children’s Christmas Play at 9:00 am, youth are encouraged to attend to support the children’s ministry!
• Tuesday December 24^th – Traditional Candlelight Service in Sanctuary at 9:00 pm
• Sunday December 29^th – 5^th Sunday 1 service at 10:00 am in Wesley Hall – Lessons in Carols – No Sunday School.
• Wednesday nights will take a break till January 15^th when we will start back up.
• Saturday January 11^th – Youth to cook and serve Matthew 25 meal – Youth will need to be at the church by 10:00 to get everything prepared and get their workstations. We should be cleaned up and finished by 1:30. May go out to Cook Out after!
• Friday January 24^th -26^th in Blowing Rock, North Carolina with Club ministries. Will need to leave the church at 3:00 pm (Parents please give feedback if this is possible). Will return to church dinner time Sunday evening. Church will cover the cost of the retreat and skiing, youth will need money for dinner on the way up, any snacks or souvenirs they would like and dinner on the way back) MUST SIGN UP BY DECEMBER 1^st! 

We have a lot of upcoming events planned for our Children’s Ministry.  We encourage everyone to participate in our various opportunities to prepare for the birth of Christ!

We have something for everyone!

• Sunday December 22^nd – Christmas Play at 9:00 service – Please have children there by  8:30 to 8:45 so that there is time to go to the bathroom and get dressed before service starts at 9:00 am!
• Tuesday December 24^th – Traditional Candlelight Service in Sanctuary – 9:00 pm
• Sunday December 29^th – 5^th Sunday 1 service at 10:00 am in Wesley Hall – Lessons in Carols – Children stay in service, no children’s church or Sunday School.

We will take a break on Wednesday evenings till January 15^th when we will start back up!

As disciples of Jesus who are committed to sharing Christ, the recent devastation brought by hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina moves us to respond in love and generosity. We remember well how people have helped our area in times past. Now it is our turn to help others facing unprecedented disaster.

We understand that there are many efforts being put together from our great community to offer assistance to people affected by the storm. We are gathering news hourly about many of the efforts being initiated, and we cannot possibly list them all. We do encourage you to consider how the Spirit might lead you to be the hands and feet of Christ in one or all of the following three categories.

1. Short term/Immediate relief:  We encourage you to seek out and donate items that will be sent via large trailers. We know that the Salvation Army has such a trailer parked at Walmart with bottled water and other immediate needs listed that it will be delivering in the immediate term. There may be other efforts being initiated by other organizations in Washington that we may or may not know about.
2. Monetary donations: The Global Methodist Church is set up to receive offerings directly. (See appropriate info below for this option.) These funds will be directed to relief efforts of the North Carolina Global Methodist Conference operating out of Kings Mountain, NC. Or you can earmark funds to First Methodist Church Washington (“Hurricane Relief”), and through the work of Finance and Mission Committees we will timely and appropriately disperse funds.
3. Ongoing needs/Upcoming projects: We understand that while there are immediate needs in an area affected by natural disasters, we also understand there will be needs well into the foreseeable future. Therefore, through our Missions Committee, we will be looking out for ways we can organize efforts into the future. One such opportunity will be during Church Has Left The Building on October 27th. We will plan to include in our mission work that morning an opportunity to prepare “Flood Buckets” which contain certain items that help in the cleanup efforts after floods. There is a material/financial cost per bucket that is assembled, as well as the needs for hands to fill these buckets.
   We may also seek to assemble a team of First Methodist members who would want to work together by physically going into the mission field as those opportunities become available.

In addition to these strategies that allow us to put our faith into action, we encourage all of you to continue in prayer for the people affected by this recent storm. May God’s presence be felt in powerful ways among the people left in the path of Hurricane Helene, for we know that our God is more powerful than any storm in life, and we know that our Savior always rescues in mighty ways, and that the Holy Spirit has already preceded and follows our prayers as the Great Comforter in times of trouble.

In Christ,

First Methodist Church Washington Pastors and Staff

Monetary Donations to the Global Methodist Church Disaster Response

Donate to Hurricane Helene Disaster Response Online

Checks can be written to:
NC PAC – memo “Disaster Response”

And mailed to:
NC PAC
C/O Carolyn Hindel
PO Box 667
Kings Mountain, NC 28086