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Sunday, April 2
Worship at 8:15, 10:30, 11:45 AM | Sunday School at 9:15 AM
The Way: "The Extravagant Way"
There's nothing like an extravagant gift to bring on suspicion and judgement and a questioning of motives. Mary's costly gift is a prelude to God's costly gift of Jesus' life, which he will soon lose in Jerusalem. One costly gift to anoint another.
How do we deal with the extravagant gift of Jesus? Mary offers a powerful and poignant blessing of that gift. Judas spurns it. How can we be extravagant with our blessings, with God's grace so that we might make a path for others whose way is hard?
Rev. John Mollet speaking in the traditional services
Rev. Grant Palma speaking in the contemporary service
Rev. Armando Alvarado speaking in the bilingual service
Communion Offering
This Sunday is Communion Sunday, and Holy Communion will be served in all worship services. Our altar offering will go to the Benevolence Fund. These monies are used to help those in need in our community pay for rent and utilities. If you would like to give, simply mark "Benevolence" in the memo of your gift and bring it to the altar with you during communion. You may also give online at
www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/give.
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Church Staff News
Staff Restructuring
After a time of prayer and discernment from our leadership team, the Family Ministries department will be undergoing some reorganization to simplify our current structure. Unfortunately, that means we will be saying goodbye to our Director of Family Ministries, Patty Bandy, as a member of our church staff. Patty has made great strides in making the Family Ministries department as strong as it is today, and we are grateful for the time in ministry she has shared with us.
Moving forward, Monica Lackey, our current Nursery Director, will be expanding her working hours and will now be responsible for children six weeks old through third grade. Her new title will be Director of Children's Ministries. Monica has been such a blessing to our church through the work she has already done with our little ones and with the implementation of new programs like S.T.E.M., weekly story time, and sacred circle time in our Sunday School classes. We are excited to see what this newly expanded ministry holds for the future of the church!
Sandy Robinson, our current Tweens/Early Teens Director will also be expanding her hours to full-time. Her new title will be Director of Early Teen Ministries. Sandy's energy and passion for ministry with young teens is evident. She has broadened the scope of the tweens/early teens ministry to include regular mission work in the community, participation in worship, and a community pet blessing. Her major area of focus will remain our Early Teens age group, which is 4th-6th grade. Sandy will work closely with Monica for our large Family Ministries events. She will also team with Robby to ensure a great transition between children's and youth ministries.
Robby Balbaugh will continue as our full-time youth director. In his short time here, Robby has added a great depth to the youth program and has brought new ideas with him to engage and grow our current youth program.
As we had previously announced, Amy Gravitt's last day on staff will be April 8. Patty's last day on staff will be April 2, and the new structure for Monica and Sandy will be effective April 9.
We have an amazing team for Family Ministries that works together to make sure our families, our children, and our church are loved and shown the grace of God from our youngest members through our wisest members. We look forward to a bright future as we raise our children in the light of Christ.
If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact
Rev. Jenn Pick,
our pastor over Family Ministries (
jennp@fumcg.org
, 817-481-2559 x114), or SPRC Chair Mark Manness
(
mmaness2@verizon.net
, 817-212-8419).
In Christ's service,
The Staff/Parish Relations Committee (SPRC)
A Note From Patty
Dear Church Family,
It has been a pleasure to work at FUMC Grapevine for the past couple of years. So many of you have become an extended family for Grace and me. The future holds great things for our church and our community. I am so grateful I was able to spend this season with you. My family looks forward to remaining in the Grapevine community and continuing to call this place home. I pray as we all move forward that God guides us in the direction we need to go. You have been a blessing and I am grateful for each of you.
Blessings in Christ,
Patty A. Bandy
Welcome Frank Rodriguez
We would like to welcome Frank Rodriguez as our new full time Facilities Associate, working alongside Bill Smith and Donnie Johnson. Frank (or Frankie) is a recent transplant to our area from Brooklyn, New York. You will see him around the campus on Sundays, as well as during the week. Be sure to say hello and welcome him to our church staff family!
News from John Mollet
Although John's plan had been to retire to North Carolina this summer, in light of his upcoming wedding he will be staying in the area. An opportunity has developed that will allow him to continue in ministry. John will begin working for the Texas Methodist Foundation in September, taking Rev. Eric McKinney's place as Senior Area Representative for the Central Texas Conference.
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Opportunities to Serve and Give...
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Top Need: Benevolence
We are currently very low on Benevolence Funds, which are needed to assist families in our community with rent and utilities. This time of year, many people are stretched thin. If you would like to give to this need, mark "Benevolence" in the memo or your check or
online gift. You may also give to the Communion Offering on Sunday.
Easter Gift-Giving Opportunity
Members of our Latvia Village team have recently returned from the Friends of Latvia gathering with handmade items from Latvia. Among these are note cards for Easter, Mother's Day and Spring! We also have a couple of hand-knitted stuffed bunnies, some laser-cut wood-working and jewelry. If you would like to get cards for Easter, they will be available in the church office. Due to other fundraisers previously scheduled, we will not have these in the foyer on Sunday mornings before Easter. However we invite you to come by the church office or contact Melissia (
melissiam@fumcg.org) to shop! We will have an opportunity for you to shop on a Sunday before Mother's Day, on Sunday, April 30.
Iron Men Golf Tournament Registration
Who's ready to golf?! The Iron Men Golf Tournament is now open for registration! The event is on Sunday, April 30. Gather your friends and get ready to golf for a great cause. Details and registration at: www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/golf
Main Street Fest Booth
First Methodist Grapevine is continuing the tradition started last year by operating an outreach booth at the Grapevine Main Street Fest on May 19-21! We'll be selling family-friendly drinks and snacks and, more importantly, being a vibrant part of our community.
The idea for our church to have a booth at Main Street Fest was sparked by a desire for us to get more involved in the community. Our inaugural year was a big success and we are hoping to continue the track record. This year's proceeds will go to our Benevolence Fund. Visit our website for more details on how you can be a part. If you are interested in being a sponsor, please complete the sponsorship form (pdf).
MinistrySafe Training Updates
Two years ago this April, our church rolled out the MinistrySafe plan that was adopted by the Central Texas Conference. Everyone who participates must renew their background check and online training every two years. Many of you will be in need of your two year training update beginning in April. When your training is due, you will receive an email from Lori B. Wolfe with the background check form attached and a deadline date. You will also receive an email from MinistrySafe which will include a link to the online training. Please be timely in completing your MinistrySafe training so you may maintain your safe volunteer status and keep impacting lives for Christ.
We are known for being a friendly church, but our campus can be confusing! With parking lots off of Church Street, Franklin Street and Ball Street, and with two worship services beginning at the same time in two different places, we want to be better at showing our radical hospitality. Would you enjoy being a part of a newly forming ministry team called The Black Top Brigade? To serve, you would simply stop by the Ushers Room of the Sanctuary and don a fashionable and flashy safety vest, grab a walkie talkie and perhaps you'd enjoy adding a black hat to your ensemble just to help you be noticed! This team will be waving and offering friendly parking directions, making sure folks get safely across a street they might be crossing and asking if they know where they are headed, then pointing them to the Family Life Center for the 10:30 Contemporary Service or the Sanctuary for the 10:30 Traditional Service. The time to serve will begin at 10:00 and end at 10:45 AM to ensure all of our late arrivers are comfortable getting to their preferred destination. To staff the 3 locations with a team for each Sunday of the month, we are looking for 12 individuals, or serve more than one Sunday a month! Contact Bev Campisi at beverlyc@fumcg.org to be a part of this awesome team who will be welcoming everyone to FUMCG each Sunday.
VBS Volunteers... Sign Up Now!
Registration for VBS volunteers has begun! VBS is July 24-28 this year. If you would like to be a youth or adult volunteer for VBS, we're excited to have you. Please note that all volunteers over age 18 are required to be MinistrySafe trained. Note that registration for participants (children) will begin on April 23.
Get all the details about VBS at
www.firstmethodistgrapevine.org/vbs.
If you're ready to sign up to volunteer, follow the appropriate link below to get started:
Food for the GRACE Food Pantry
Don't forget to grab some extra items when you do your grocery shopping! GRACE is low on condiments, salt and pepper, ramen noodles, juice, pasta sauce, dry pastas, canned meat, and canned fruit. Visit the
GRACE website for a full list of needs. If you would like to donate any of these items, please bring your donations to the God Can bins outside the church office or in the Sanctuary Foyer/Atrium.
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Tweens Leading in Worship
Our tweens have been caught caring, regularly taking on the role of creative scripture reading in the contemporary worship service. What a great blessing to have young people who have a desire to lead! Pictured left to right are
Lindsay Neil,
Cooper Lemman,
Elena Pieters, Anna Kanaga.
Members of our Latvia Village Team took time last week to attend the Friends of Latvia gathering in Alabama, and some stayed on for the Women's Walk to Emmaus the following weekend. Friends of Latvia is working to take Emmaus to Latvia, so this was a first step in achieving that. Eight Latvians, and our own Julie Croft, were on the Emmaus Walk. Mark Croft will continue to serve as Friends of Latvia Chair, and Julie will serve as Secretary. Also in attendance from Grapevine
during the week were Richard and Conner Payne, Jesse Sowell, John Mollet, Bev Campisi, and Melissia Mason. The photo below was taken after the closing of the Walk to Emmaus. Pictured left to right are: Back row - Mark and Julie Croft, Zinta Dzintara, Edgars
Sneiders, Ilzite Ozola, Oskars & Kristine Rozefelde, Vera
Titoviča, Astra Dannenfelte; Front row - Bev Campisi, Daina Zamberga, Gunta Grīna-Sologuba.
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Don't forget to install our church app on your phone or tablet! You'll have easy access to all the latest info, plus we'll be able to notify you if there is a last-minute change or important announcement. Search your app store or go to bit.ly/fumcg-app. |
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First United Methodist Church | 422 Church Street | Grapevine, TX 76051
E-News is published every Wednesday afternoon. The deadline for submissions is Tuesdays at 5 PM. Send requests to
melissiam@fumcg.org. Past editions can be found in the
E-News Archives.
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