Sunday, January 26

8:50 am – Encounter Worship

10:00 am – Sunday School

11:00 am – Traditional Worship

5:00 pm – Choir Rehearsal, choir room. 

5:00 – 6:30 pm – Youth & Kids – check group Facebook pages for details

 

Monday, January 27

 6:00 pm – Finance Meeting, fellowship Hall

 

Tuesday, January 28

9-11:00 am – Chrismons, fellowship Hall

         

Wednesday, January 29

9:00 am – 1:00 pm – Mission House Open

6:00 pm – Food & Fellowship meal provided by Soul Sisters

6:30-7:15 pm – Small Groups, Youth & Kids Classes

To our First Methodist church family,

 

As you know, we have had multiple instances over the past two years of church members receiving text messages or emails claiming to be from me (Clint) asking the church member to take some kind of unusual action – usually to purchase gift cards and reply with the serial numbers. This scam attacks seem to happen around two or three times a year now.

The messages seem to always give some explanation of why your help is needed immediately. They may include some story about another person in dire circumstances whom the pastor is trying to help. But instead of helping a needy person, if you respond you will actually be turning over money and possibly your identity information to a scammer.

Unfortunately, it’s difficult to stop these scam attacks. In the scam that happened last week, the scammer “spoofed” a fraudulent email account that was cleverly configured to look at first glance like my real email address.

We can’t really stop the scammers from sending these messages, but what we can do is be educated and know what to look out for. Here are two simple guidelines to help avoid being tricked:

One, verify the “from” email or cell phone number. The malicious actors behind these attacks are counting on people springing into action as soon as they see an important name on an email. You can outsmart them by looking beyond the name and checking the “from” email address or the sender’s cell phone number to see if it matches what you know the pastor’s email to be. On email, if you only see a name, you can cause the “from” email address to be displayed by hovering the cursor over the name. My email is always clinton.mcbroom@gmail.com and my cell is (334) 805-6390. If you receive any emails from another address, or any text from another number claiming to be me, it will be a scam.

Two, confirm requests with a conversation. Even if the email or text seems legitimate, if a request seems even remotely “off,” don’t act on it until you contact the church office and confirm it with a phone call or face-to-face conversation. Always call the church office, or my cell number above. DO NOT reply to the suspicious email or text.

Observing these two steps will go a long way in identifying and avoiding scam attacks.

In Christ,

Clint                                                       

 

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MARK YOUR CALENDARS

We will have a Lenten Revival on March 16-18 led by Dr. George Matheson. Dr. Matheson will preach on Sunday morning, and then at services on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights.”

 

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LOST AND FOUND TABLE

If you are missing any dishes, please check the lost and found table by the coke machine.

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WEDNESDAY EVENING FELLOWSHIP

A time of food, fellowship, and midweek Bible study.

 

 

ON THE CHURCH CALENDAR

JANUARY/FEBRUARY

 

• January 27^th – Finance Meeting – 6:00 pm
• January 28^th – Chrismons – 9-11 am
• January 29^th – Wednesday Night Activities – 6 -7:15 pm
• February 3^rd – Women’s Circle – 10:00 am

                                Crafty Christians – 1-2:30 pm

                               Church Council – 6:00 pm

• February 4^th – Chrismons – 9-11 am
• February 5^th – Wednesday Night Activities – 6-7:15 pm
• February 9^th – Men’s Breakfast – 7:00 am
• February 11^th – Widow/Widower’s luncheon – 11:30 am