Non-Profit Permit No. 98 T HE M E S S E N G E R N EWSLETTER US Postage Paid West Monroe, LA FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 1411 Glenwood Drive · West Monroe, Louisiana 71291 Phone: (318) 387-0511 · Fax: (318) 387-0249 · Daycare: (318) 361-9059 Website: www.fumcwm.org · Email: [email protected] First United Methodist Church “Our mission is to love, proclaim, know and serve the Risen Christ.” 1411 Glenwood Drive West Monroe, LA 71291 Volume 17, Issue 02 MARCH EDITION February 22, 2017 LENTEN JOURNEY—2017 Why the Cross? Lenten Luncheons Holy Week March 6—Rev. Bob Deich Palm Sunday—April 9 Worship Services and Communion March 13—Rev. Juliet Spencer Traditional 9 am March 20—Rev. Ben McGehee Sunday School 10 am Contemporary 11 am March 27—Rev. Lynn Malone Maundy Thursday—April 13 Easter Baskets for CASA April 3—Rev. Gary Willis Worship Service 6 pm Cross and Flame Musicians Shrove Tuesday—February 28 Every year the I Love Lucie’s sponsor Easter baskets for CASA Good Friday—April 14 children. This year there are 130 children. Please consider pick- Tenebrae Service 6 pm ing your perfect egg for a special child or two for Easter. Be look- Ash Wednesday—March 1 Worship Service 6:30 pm Chancel Choir ing for the display in the Narthex soon. All baskets are due by Sun- Lenten season with imposition of ashes day, April 2. If you are unable to make or buy an Easter basket, we with Holy Communion Easter Egg Hunt—April 15 will be accepting monetary donations. Any questions, call Kathi Church Grounds 10 am Reeves (318) 245-4007 or the church office. Easter Sunday—April 16 Sonrise at Kiroli Park—6:30 am Worship Service 10 am Early Learning Center On February 6, 2017, Jennifer Upton, ELC Director, attended the “2017 Living the Dream” luncheon provide by ARCO. First United Methodist Church was recognized and received a certificate of appreciation for Generously giving opportunities to individuals with developmental disabilities by providing meaningful and inclusive employment through ARCO’s Supported Employment Program. The Early Learning Center has a young lady from ARCO that works three days a week. She assists with folding laundry, reading to children, picking up lunch dishes and cleaning toys. This year has started out with a bang. We hired Trae Milam as the Director of Campus Children’s Ministry News Ministries [youth, college and children]. We hired Caitlin Milam as the Director of Children’s Ministries. We had a great Affirmation Retreat, (Ashram). We celebrated the voices of Children’s ministry is rocking and rolling this month! We are having a blast in Landry Allen and Brooke BeDoit as they prepare to sing with the National Honor Choir. We Children's Church every week. I have loved getting to know all of our kids and look also had a stellar scouting service. forward to meeting those that have not come in yet. Easter is just around the corner In just a few days Lent begins! As we begin Lent, we want to invite everyone to pray that in and we will have some fun things lined up for our kids to celebrate the risen Christ. 2017, we will be who God wants us to be personally, and as a body of Christ. Lent begins with As always, I want to invite everyone to bring their children on Sunday mornings with the Ash Wednesday service. We will take up our cross and receive a prayer band. It is a band the knowledge your children will be loved, instructed in God's Word, and encouraged. that is embossed with this message; †FUMC WM GRACE 2017 FUMC WM†. This band will Stay tuned for more updates! become a prayer marker and a conversation piece with your neighbor. We are asking members and friends of First Church to wear one of these for the next year. It will be a Mark your calendar to attend this year’s Easter Egg Hunt scheduled on Saturday, reminder to pray for each other, to pray for our church that we will be an outpost of grace for children, youth, April 15 beginning at 10:00 am. More information will be in the April newsletter. If families and adults. It will also remind us to pray for our community. you are interested in volunteering to help plan and coordinating please call me at Why is this important? We are convinced that it is only by the grace that flows from the cross of Christ that (318)-376-9007. we find strength. So 2017 will be marked by grace and we will be the GRACE CONNECTION. -- Caitlin Milam Join us at the Ash Wednesday service March 1, at 6:30 p.m. to begin our season of prayer and receive your prayer band. Many Blessings, Jon Music Notes From Dan Rehearsals for Chancel Choir are on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 pm Reaching our Goal — $70,000 in the choir room. We continue to press on to retire the debt for the sanctuary renovation. As of February 20, Rehearsals for Handbells are on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm in the handbell room. we have received $6,780. Daylight There will be no choir or handbell rehearsal on Wednesday, Savings Time Please consider giving over and above your regular pledge and offerings to help reach this March 1. We will dismiss after the Ash Wednesday service that even- goal by August 31, 2017. ing. Sunday, We are so excited to announce that our choir has been invited to sing in March 12 a performance in Carnegie Hall in New York! Joseph M. Martin, the February was another successful month for Frontline Student Ministries. composer of several of our most recent Christmas Cantatas, is conducting Our weekly youth gatherings were headlined by our “Why God” series. We a performance of his work "Appalachian Winter." We were approached by spent our Bible study time learning about the character of God in Psalm 139 the production team for this performance because of the notoriety we have Welcome New Members which proved to be very edifying. Our youth worship team has found their received in recent years from our Christmas cantata performances. We will “tempo” as they are meeting and practicing music together on Sunday travel to New York on Friday, November 24. While in New York we will George Chain afternoons at 4:00pm. We have also begun to find our rhythm in service as have two days of rehearsals with Joseph before we perform in Carnegie Ruth Chain we had a successful gardening project weeding flowerbeds around the church Hall with a professional orchestra and a GRAMMY award winning David Gardner this month. Bluegrass group on Monday, November 27! If you are interested in joining Peggy Gardner st rd Our college ministry is finding its stride as well. We have decided to meet the 1 and 3 Tuesday of the us, there may still be time. Contact Dan as soon as possible if you would Don Hammett month where we will join together for a meal and prayer. After fellowship, we will join other students at the like more information. There are options for going as a singer or just as a Terri Hammett ULM Wesley Foundation, a Methodist campus ministry that our church has supported through the years. Our VIP patron of the group. hope is that this experience will allow our college students to connect to other Christians on campus while also connecting other college students to FUMCWM. Your church family would like to wish you Happy Birthday! If you are looking to get involved, our youth program is for students 6th—12th grade. Whether you are a youth, in college, or an adult looking for somewhere to plug-in, we would be honored to have you join any of our 1 Zachary Blake Emma Lovell 27 Becky Ham Frontline Student Ministries. Give me a call or text at (318) 773-7727 or come join us at any of the meeting times 2 Jean Holloway Hattie Steen Logan Lee for March listed below. Bob Titus 11 Hunter Harrison Mary Grace Lee —Trae Milam Richard Johnson 12 Brenda Howell 28 John David Trettin Sara Blackwell Cole Rhoten 29 Tammy Slocum Frontline Student Events in March (All meetings at the church unless specified otherwise) Kayla Ray Billy McClendon, Sr. 30 John Putnam Sunday Morning Sunday School for all ages –10:00am-11:00am Collier Breen Terri Fricker Todd Tatum Youth Sunday Night Worship Practice – 4:00pm-5:00pm 7 Doug Curtis, Jr. Chase Breen Kyle Hill Keaton May 17 Dana McCarthy Joseph Puckett Youth Sunday Night Meal and Meetings – 5:00pm-7:00pm 8 Mark Brooks 20 Jordan Sellar Youth Wednesday Night Meeting– 6:00pm-7:30pm If your birthday is not listed, we do Teresa Wilson 23 Avery Allen apologize. Please contact the church st rd College Night 1 and 3 Tuesday of the Month – Meal at 6:00 and then ULM Wesley Meeting 7:30 9 Jessie Tate 24 Pam Chapman office to make sure we have accurate Louise Sinclair 25 Jacie Rhoten information. .