Palm Sunday weekend is going to be BIG. On Saturday April 4th we will hold our first annual All Church Community Service Day. It is so easy for a congregation to fall into the "service to your own church" rut. This day will remind us who God has called us to serve in Jesus' name. We have three service projects. We want you to sign up for one at church ASAP. They are:
(Steve Whitford)
Remodel Hemlock Cabin, Paint rooms in the lodge,
General Clean-Up and Prep for the Camping Season.
(Karen Peacock)
Canvass the neighborhood with info to have them grow vegetables
and supply the AP Food Bank & invite them to church.
(Vi Nagley)
Help us practice hospitality by creating an inviting appearance to our building and landscaping.
Celebration Sunday (April 5th) will honor our Triumphant King, Jesus Christ, and conclude our Lenten Emphasis on The Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. During worship we will dedicate our new worship media in memory of the late Leo Young. We will baptize and welcome new member/disciples. Pastor Carl is announcing an "amnesty" for all those who have been participating at Audubon Park UMC but have never officially joined us. Call the church office and let us know if you'd like to become an official member of APUMC. After worship, we will share an Agape Meal, an old Methodist tradition of praise and fellowship. Our United Methodist Women will provide a soup lunch and our United Methodist Men will clean up. Come ready to share how God has blessed you during "Open Mic" time.
And while I'm at it, April 12th is Easter Sunday. Since God is blessing us with larger attendance, we will be offering two worship services on Easter: 8:30 & 10:30 AM. Breakfast will be served from 7:30 - 10:30 AM in the Fellowship Hall. Donation proceeds to Hemlock Cabin expenses and Youth Ministries.
All Sundays are not equal in regard to evangelism. Many people are more receptive to an invitation to worship at Easter. Who can you pray for and invite to attend with you?
See you in Church, APUMC!
Pastor Carl
Our sympathy is with Rob Roberts and his family on the death of Naomi on March 14th. Her memorial service will be held March 20th at 2:00 p.m. at the church. Naomi will be missed by all.
Congratulations to Chris and Julia Johnson on the birth of their little boy, Nathan Oliver, on March 6th. He joins sister, Hailey, and his parents at home and all are doing well!
Their new address is:
3086 CR 353
Brazoria, TX 77422
Dear Ladies of the Knitting Group: What a perfectly gorgeous prayer shawl you made for Muriel. It is beautiful! Having it blessed by Pastor Herb, too, is meaningful and special.
The comfort and warmth of God's love I'm sure is woven in every stitch. May God's grace be extended to those of you who participate in this wonderful witness.
Muriel is enjoying its warmth and comfort and God's presence therein.
-Howard Davis
On behalf of the Board of Directors and the women and children we serve, I want to thank you for your generous donation (from the Christmas offering). We are very grateful for your interest in the Women's & Children's Free Restaurant.
-Marlene Alford, Executive Director
Women's & Children's Free Restaurant
Thank you for your generous contribution in support of the ministry of Twinlow Camp and Retreat Center. Your gift of $864.67 has been designed to our General Operations Fund and will be used to provide quality camp and retreat experiences to children, youth, adults and families. As stated in our mission statement , we seek to be sanctuaries of Christian hospitality, renewal, and learning within God's natural world- sanctuaries that celebrate diversity, inspire love and service, and fulfill our special partnership with local churches in the development of disciples and spiritual leaders.
Twinlow Camp has been transforming lives through Christ for 81 years. Your gift (from your Christmas offering) makes it possible for facility improvements, programs, and camp and retreat events.
-Brian White,
Twinlow Director
A work day, just in time to beautify the church grounds for Palm Sunday and Easter is scheduled for April 4th from 9 to noon. Please bring appropriate garden tools if you can.
We will be doing general clean up, raking, picking up pine cones, pruning, etc.
Everyone is welcome and no experience necessary!! For more information call Vi Nagley @ 326-2546.
APUMC is scheduled for the Parking Lot re-furbishing in April, as soon as weather permits. To date we have raise $4,755 for this purpose. $7,025 remains to be raised by the start date. Please donate so we don't have to borrow this money. Make sure you designate "Parking Lot" on your check made out to APUMC.
There is a sign-up sheet in the parlor for the upcoming men's golf retreat, March 27th & 28th, in Lewiston, Idaho.
A church-wide Lenten Experience
"My Father is glorified by this,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."
John 15:8
Sundays, March 1 - 29 9:00 a.m.
Wednesdays, March 4 - April 1 2:30 p.m.
Radical Hospitality
Passionate Worship
Intentional Faith Development
Risk-taking Mission and Service
Extravagant Generosity
All church Community Service Day (Saturday)
Celebration Sunday Agape Meal after worship
Feel free to join either of these classes at any time!
A gentle reminder that the Lamplighters for the next weeks are:
March 22 Connie Hickman
March 29 Jan Ferguson & Betty Moos
The following people are scheduled to have this sweeping duty in the coming weeks:
March 22 Tony Ross
March 29 Chris Nickell
Below are the ushers for worship in the upcoming weeks:
March 22 Chris and Danelle Nickell
March 29 Cathy Heider
Below are the worship assistants in the upcoming weeks:
March 22 Holley Ritz
March 29 Claire Story
March 22 Brenda and Madison Banks
March 29
March 22 Don Wilson
March 29 Pat Dobberstein
We're talking about "SERVICE" and the people of our church are involved in quite a bit of that wonderful ACT OF SERVING exemplified by Jesus and his disciples. We have placed "service sign-in sheets" on tables in the parlor. They will be available on Sundays, March 22 and 29. Please place your name and CHURCH AND COMMUNITY services which you are involved in. Use as many sign-in boxes as you need. Please use the multi-colored pens provided to help create a colorful display. The sign-in sheets will be displayed on Sunday, April 5, during the Agape Meal after the service that day. So, please be sure to sign-in with your name and service on the sheets in the parlor March 22 and 29.
Wow! Graduation is almost here and it's time to apply for the Dorothy Jacobson Scholarship. Each year the church accepts applications from graduating seniors to receive this scholarship. If you are interested, please call the church office to receive the needed information for the application. The deadline to submit your application is May 11th.
The April MIDIS Group will be meeting Saturday, April 11, at 6:00 p.m. We will have a big treat as Dr. James Norman and his wife, Terri, visit us again. They will be sharing a new slide show from their African trip, September to December, 2008.
Please bring a dish to share, your own table service and a friend to enjoy the evening!
The National Association of Church Business Administrators conducted a national survey of its members in early 2009. More than 800 responded to questions about how their churches are faring in the recession. Highlights:
Thirty-two percent said their church was definitely having economy-related financial difficulties, up from 14 percent in an August survey.
Sixty-three percent said their church saw giving stay the same or climb in 2008 over the previous year.
Only 24 percent said their church had curtailed mission activities because of the economy. But that's up from 10 percent in the August survey.
Forty-seven percent said their church had frozen or reduced staff benefits, up from 18 percent in August.
Twenty percent said they had had staff layoffs, and 26 percent reported postponing a major capital project. Those were up from August as well.
Source: Sam Hodges, The Dallas Morning News, 2/20/09
*Our Finance Team has decided to withhold payment of the World Service and Conference Benevolence and other missions items portion of our fair-share apportionments until we can assess the giving of our members. The total is approximately $14,000 . We hope we will have enough money to pay those in the second half of the year.
CHECK OUT THE NEW BOOKS
Books for children and youth are available through the Reading Program! Get together in groups, discuss and share the books you've read! Expand understanding, increase sensitivity, encourage critical thinking, grow understanding, enhance self-knowledge, strengthen involvement in local and global Christian mission.
Audubon Park UMC Saturday, March 21 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Come to celebrate the ministry of Twinlow Camp with fellowship, lunch (supplied by our own UMW!), music, photos, inspiration and information. We will also have a chance to look at the summer camp schedule at Twinlow.
Come the with Confirmation Class to see Godspell at the Civic Theater, Thursday, March 26th at 7:30 p.m. If we buy 10 or more tickets the price is $20.00 RSVP to the church office (325-4541). Tickets are going fast!
"From David learn to give thanks for everything.
Every furrow in the book of Psalms is sown with seeds of thanksgiving."
-Jeremy Taylor
Need a gift? Birthday? A Thank you perhaps!
What about tickets to see
SHAKESPEARE IN HOLLYWOOD
The Civic Theater is presenting this comedy on Wednesday, April 8th, as a fund raiser for the United Methodist Women.
Tickets may be purchased for $20.00 each. Call Karen Peacock 869-5741 for more information.
Thank you for your support of our Food Bank! The emphasis food for March is cans of pork and beans. You can bring food to the church during the week or on Sunday mornings.
The Food Bank is accepting donations of an upright freezer. If you have an upright that you don't want any longer, please call Pat Leapley (327-6821).
Sunday, March 22, 4:00 p.m.
Central United Methodist Church
Third Avenue and Howard Street
Come and join the joyous sound of choirs from around our District!