An Update from the Worship and Music Ministry Team
Your Worship and Music Ministry Team is pleased to announce some exciting adjustments to worship for the time being, effective May 1st:
* Communion – Our monthly celebration of Communion will now be offered to congregants as they come forward and will utilize a choice of actual bread and juice (presented by masked, gloved Session members) or prepackaged elements. Communion elements will be brought to individuals as requested, who remain seated.
* Bulletins – Our bulletins will now be stapled in book format (two staples on the left, opening to allow viewing two pages at once). Continuing the 8.5″ x 11″ format is necessary to enable online viewers to follow along and/or print their own copy more easily.
Our team hopes you find these changes both helpful and meaningful. The change in Communion will particularly necessitate additional volunteer help, and we look forward to your response. Contact Phyllis McGee to be added to our volunteer list.
Graduation Sunday and Youth Sunday 2022
We will combine Youth Sunday and Graduation Sunday and will celebrate both on Sunday, May 15. There will be a single service at 11 AM on this day. We will honor our graduating high school seniors, and our high school youth will lead the service. We hope you will plan to worship with us on this special day. Seniors, please get your picture and information for the bulletin insert to Jeanna by May 5.
Called Meeting on May 1, 2022
The Session has called a Congregational Meeting for the purpose of receiving a report from the Congregational Nominating Committee and electing new Elders. The meeting will be held May 1, 2022, immediately following the 11 AM First Sunday blended worship service.
One Great Hour of Sharing 2022
Started in 1949, One Great Hour of Sharing is a long-standing ecumenical effort aimed at raising the funds necessary to provide relief and reconstruction for communities in the aftermath of disaster. What started as an hour-long radio appeal has evolved over the years, varying from eight to 29 participating denominations, and has become the most participated-in offering in the PC(USA). Today, projects supported by One Great Hour of Sharing are underway in more than 100 countries.
Around the world, people lack access to food, clean water, sanitation, education, and opportunity. Each gift to One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) serves to help change the lives of people in these challenging situations. This offering provides a way to share God’s love with our neighbors in need. On Easter Sunday, April 17, you will have the opportunity to contribute to these efforts through your gift to the One Great Hour of Sharing offering. Alternately, you may visit the PCUSA’s Special Offerings website to give online. Please prayerfully consider how you might support this important offering.
2022 Applications for Green Scholarship Now Being Accepted
The Session and the Endowment Ministry Team of the Session would like to invite eligible persons to apply for a grant from the Winnifred Zimmerman Green Higher Education Scholarship Fund. The Scholarship was made possible by a generous gift from the estate of long time member Winnie Green to aid “worthy students of high academic achievement” with their college expenses.
The Session has established guidelines for the awarding of grants. Grants will be awarded each spring; students receiving scholarships shall not be guaranteed renewal of scholarships. Students must re-apply for a new grant each year.
The application deadline for this year is May 1. Application forms and the full list of applicant guidelines are available from the church office, on the lobby side of Jeanna’s service window, or may be downloaded by clicking here.
VBS 2022
Mark your calendar for this year‘s Vacation Bible School – July 18-22 – with a musical offering by the children on July 24! Our church will be transformed into a Jerusalem Marketplace, with children creating their own costume to play the part each day. Families interested in signing up your children or grandchildren may contact Jeanna in the church office (office@fpclexnc.com or 336-248-2140, ext. 1) or text Ann Kiefer. Adult volunteers are welcome to join the fun as well!
Good Friday Service
Rev. Cheryl Skinner will lead us in a guided Labyrinth walk (rather than a more traditional service) this day as we focus on the cross. The Good Friday service will be held April 15, at Noon and again at 7:00 p.m. Both services will be held at First United Methodist Church. Our time together will include some opening liturgy, an explanation of the prayer labyrinth, an invitation to walk and allowing time for the walk. We will conclude with reflection on the experience and prayer.
Maundy Thursday Service
We will worship at First United Methodist Church at 7:00 p.m. on April 14. Pastor Nancy will offer the meditation, and communion will be served. We hope you will join us for this special observance as we approach Easter.
Funeral/Memorial Service Pre-Planning
On Ash Wednesday, we heard the words, Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return. These words, along with the sign of the cross on our forehead with ashes, remind us that death will come to each of us. Death is not the last word, though. Our faith proclaims that in life and in death we belong to God. Because Jesus lives, we shall also live. This hope helps us to face our present mortality with faith. A funeral and/or memorial service gives us the opportunity to witness to this hope. Have you considered pre-planning your service? One of the gifts the late Harriet Zimmerman and Kitty Anderson gave to their families was a plan for their memorial services. They made sure their children knew favorite hymns, scripture ideas, and other details so that the service would reflect who they were as God’s beloved, and who God is as Creator and Redeemer.
Perhaps you would like to think about your own service this season of Lent. Funeral/Memorial Service Planning Guides are available in the church office. I encourage you to pick one up or request Jeanna to email it to you. Take some time to think about what you’d like your loved ones to know when that time comes for your transition from life to death to life everlasting.
Pre-planning is not only a gift to your loved ones, but it is a gift to yourself and a witness to your faith in Jesus Christ. It also will help your new pastor to learn about you as she or he prepares your service with your family. Reach out to Pastor Nancy for more information. She would be glad to meet with you to discuss your ideas.
Lenten Sermon Series 2022
Praying through Lent is our theme this holy season. The disciples said to Jesus, Lord, teach us to pray. Prayer is communication with God, and it includes both speaking and listening. Using the Psalms and other scriptures each week, we will be introduced to various aspects and types of prayer and invited to practice prayerful disciplines. See the tentative schedule below:
March 6 Our Posture for Prayer
March 13 The ACTS Prayer
March 20 Quiet Prayer
March 27 Lament
April 3 Perseverance and The Lord’s Prayer (One blended service at 11:00)
April 10 Prayerful Walking (Palm Sunday)
