Christmas
Ensemble Brings the Nativity to Life
Sunday, December 22, The Place Where You Belong was honored to host a 2013 performance of Black Nativity. The Vision from Pastor O, was to bring to life the Christmas Story through an anointed group, providing Christmas enlightenment as well as entertainment. The Ensemble Theatre of Houston was no disappointment.
The Cast was stocked full of talented voices, amazing dancers and great actors and actresses. Directed by Eileen J. Morris, the cast of Black Nativity brought the Christmas story to life with renditions of Oh What a Wonderful Child, Silent Night, Mary Did You Know, Total Praise and many others soulful Christmas songs and melodies.
The amazing dance numbers fit well into the performance, showing the full range of all on stage. Each actor and actress displayed talent and ability well beyond the expectation of the audience, bringing smiles and applause from all presence. Spotlighted was anointed vessels Lashanna Leonard and Samanta West, both who’s solos covered the with of the stage, conquering each place their foot trod. Their routines was graceful, and as one attendant labeled them, “angelic”.
A powerful performance by JoAnne Davis-Jones set the tone for the entire evening. Her energy and powerful voice insured the audience that their attendance was no accident and would not be an evening without purpose and or fulfillment. Midway through the production, Tommie Harper III brought the audience to their feet, mastering the falsetto solo in a rendition of Temptations rendition of Silent Night.
The night was brought to a boil with a duet by Constance Washington and Brandon Johnson, as they performed a First Met Favorite, Mary Did You Know. This song is near and dear to First Met, as our Pastor O’s solo tradition each Christmas. The song displayed the talent of both soloist, and was under girded by the harmony of the entire cast. This lead to the powerful concluding number Total Praise, which featured the backing of the amazing First Met Choir. The full power of the voices was the perfect conclusion to the night.
- L to R Top Brandon Johnson, Tommie Harper III, Samantha West, Werner Richmond, Bottom L to R JoAnne Davis-Jones, Constance Washington & LaShanna Leonard
Snow on the Beltway
December 21, 2013 First Metropolitan hosted our Annual Christmas Event, “Snow on the Beltway”. This year it had a slit twist to it. The weather just so happened to storm on the beltway, but without a hassle we moved our event indoors to assure that we could still put a smile on every child’s face. 
With over 200 children in attendance it was destined to be a magnificent experience for all involved. With the help of our food pantry, and community sponsors we distributed over 500 toys. Guest were able to take pictures with Santa, participate in Christmas games, eat cookies & hot chocolate, as well as pizza sponsored by Pizza Hut. It was a beautiful visual to see each guest (including parents) go home with bags of gifts. Santa took pictures with each child and gathered a list of their “Christmas List”. Santa was elated to grant the children with their wishes of dolls, teddy bears, gift certificates, make-up kits, coloring books, Crayola’s, trucks, and so much more.
Pastor O & Lady O greeted each guest, and our evangelism ministry provided prayer to those who requested. FMC Food Pantry did an amazing job of gathering families in the community who could use a lending hand during the Holiday season. Amongst gifts, families also went home with food items to prepare a great Holiday meal. We would also like to send a special thanks to KFMC News for provided everyone with great coverage and assisting in advertising.
Although we could not predict the thunderstorm that took place prior to “Snow on the Beltway”, we knew that God was smiling down on us as we ended the event with clear skies and sunny weather. God has a special way of letting us know that he is happy.
Pastor O & Lady O, and the entire First Met staff would like to Happy New Year. We will see you all at our New Year’s Eve service on December 31st at 8:30 pm.
Salute the Single Mothers Event Recap
On Sunday, December 8, 2013 First Metropolitan Church implemented our first ever “Salute The Single Mother” event. This event was created by Pastor Ogletree to allow the single mothers of First Metropolitan and the community to feel special, loved, adored, and honored. As we know, Christmas is normally centered around the children, but during this time we wanted to let the single mothers know that they are appreciated for their countless hours of raising the wonderful children of our community.
The single mothers were able to enjoy a message delivered by Pastor Ogletree titled, “Hope during the Christmas Season”. The message encouraged everyone to never give up hope no matter what is taking place in your life. Directly after the message, Pastor O & Lady O had each single mother stand up for the celebration of the event. As each mother stood, Lady O welcomed them to service, and she explained how growing up her mother struggled to keep all of her children in great spirits during the Holiday season. 
All of the mothers being honored at the event received a gift bag including, tickets to see the new movie “Mandela”, beauty products, gift certificates to various restaurants, perfume, and various items to show our appreciation of these strong single mothers. Several members became our “Secret Angels” by adopting a few single mothers and giving them monetary gifts to assist with special needs. Four deserving mothers received $100 gift cards from Pastor & Lady O, and over twenty mothers received $40 gift cards. All mothers also received bags of groceries from First Metropolitan Church’s food pantry.
“This event was a complete blessing to me. I appreciate First Metropolitan Church for hosting an event such as this one”, said Valencia Guinn.
We are so thrilled that we were able to uplift our beautiful single mothers. Pastor & Lady O would like everyone to know that this is the time to of giving, and take this time to do something special for someone else. We love each of you, and we look forward to making this event bigger and better in the future. Happy Holidays.
Let There Be Snow!
The 2013 date for “It’s Snowing on the Beltway” is December 21st, from 2pm to 5pm. This fun event, a vision of Lady O, Executive Pastor of First Met, is a joint venture from The You Belong Food Pantry, Adopt-a-Family and the Young Adult Ministry of First Met.
Bring your family out to thousands of pounds of snow, which will be delivered to the beltway and placed on our Infant Development Center playground. Kids ranging from toddlers to 12 years of age can enjoy making snow men, snow angels and the fun of making snow balls.
An appearance from Santa himself has been solidified, so your youth can have a special photo opportunity as well as a chance to share Christmas wishes and desires. 
In addition to Santa, families will be able to meet Senior Pastor of First Met, Dr. John Ogletree, Jr, a Trustee on the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District Board and Executive Pastor Dr. Evelyn Ogletree, a college professor at Lonestar College.
You can receive a notification about “It’s Snowing on The Beltway” and other events by following us on Twitter @FirstMetChurch or on Instagram at 1stMetChurch. Our website and Facebook are also great sources of information. See you December 21st from 2pm to 5pm.
Adopt-a-Family this Christmas
Each Christmas, First Met participates in the Adopt-a-Family project. This project connects people from the church and community with needy families who lack the resources to buy gifts for their youth. For many of these families, these gifts will be the only ones received during the holiday season.
The team has already identified some needy families, in which we can share the love of Christ with. These families are made up of a variety of family units in Northwest Houston and Acres Homes, but all have one common trait; their need for assistance making the holidays special for their youth.
To help these families, we are asking, those who are able to, prayerfully help a family from our community this Christmas. Children can be adopted by an individual or as a group or ministry. Groups can also adopt a family, as some of our identified families have multiple children who are in need of a holiday blessing.
Forms will be available in the church foyer and can be obtained online through the Adopt a Family team. Choose to show the love of Christ through personal sacrifice and gift giving. All gifts must be delivered to the church by Saturday December 15th. Gifts will be distributed on Saturday December 21st. For more information, please contact Sister Jackie Henry at 832-588-0505.
It’s Snowing on the Beltway
In 2012, the first ever “It’s Snowing on the Beltway” was held at First Met, The Place Where You Belong on December 22nd. The event, a vision of Lady O, Executive Pastor of First Met, was brought to life by a concerted effort from the You Belong Food Pantry and the Young Adult Ministry of First Met.
Pounds of snow were cast across the Infant Development Center playground; allowing kids of ages ranging from toddlers to 12 years of age to enjoy snow living. Children made snow men and snow angels, giving them a moment to form childhood memories and just for the moment, enjoy being children.
While playing, the kids were able to share moments with the Senior Pastor of First Met, Dr. John Ogletree, Jr. Dr. Ogletree, a Trustee on the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District Board, took time to pour into the lives of all present, praying and playing; building moments that will never be lost. 
The Young Adult Ministry served hot chocolate and snacks, some of which were donated by Cook Middle School. Later, the kids were welcomed by a surprised guest, Santa himself. Santa took pictures with all present and encouraged the children to enjoy the days of their youth and to never loose hope. 
Dates for the 2013 It’s Snowing on the Beltway will follow soon. You can receive notification by following us on Twitter at FirstMetChurch , Instagram at 1stMetChurch or Tumbler at 1stMetChurch, as well as Facebook and Foursquare.
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