First United Methodist Church of St. Cloud
April 2022 Newsletter
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From the Desk of Pastor Cathy
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Dear friends,
Happy birthday to our Newsletter! It is officially one year old this month! I am so grateful to Jaynee Yocum for all her hard work on our Faith Alive Newsletter! Sadly, Jaynee and John will be moving to Georgia to be near their daughter and her family! We will miss them but know this is the right move for them at this time! For now, Jaynee plans to continue to do our monthly Newsletter until someone else is interested in taking over. Thank you for everything, Jaynee!
Our sermon series, The Way: Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus concludes on Easter Sunday with The Resurrection Story! We will hear special music at all three services and our combined choirs at the two services in the Sanctuary!
Our next sermon series will be “The Difficult Words of Jesus” based on the book by Amy Jill-Levine. Jesus provided the disciples with teachings for how to follow the Torah, God’s Word; He told them parables to help them discern questions of ethics and of human nature; he offered them Beatitudes for comfort and encouragement; but sometimes He taught words that then and now followers have found difficult. I look forward to this series as we explore “The Difficult Words of Jesus.”
The Holy Week schedule includes Maundy Thursday service at 7:00 PM on April 14th with Holy Communion and Hand Washing; Good Friday service at 7:00 PM on April 15th with Stations of the Cross; Easter Sunrise Service at 6:30 AM on Apirl 17th at the St. Cloud Lakefront at Ohio Avenue (near the park by Crabby Bill’s); 8:30 AM Traditional Worship Service and 10:00 AM Blended Worship Service in the Sanctuary. Elise Petitt will provide special music at each service.
Please bring your flowers on Easter Sunday to decorate our cross. We will see the visual transformation of the cross which reminds us of the resurrection and the transformation God brings in our hearts. My hope and prayer is that this becomes a First UMC St. Cloud tradition!
The Florida Annual Conference will be held in person this year on June 9-11 at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. There will be a virtual option. The 2022 General Conference of The United Methodist Church has been postponed to 2024. We will have more information soon about the details.
After Easter, Rusty and I will travel to the eastern shore of Virginia to visit our daughter, Sara, and her family. We enjoy being with our grandchildren Sadie, 11 years old and Caleb, 7 years old; eating delicious seafood like oysters, clams and crabs; and going to the beach at Cape Charles. Our favorite treat is ice cream at the Brown Dog Café!
Here are some pictures from some recent visits:
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Ash Wednesday
On Wednesday, March 2, Pastor Cathy offered ashes for Ash Wednesday starting at Noon in the parking lot on 10th Street at a DRIVE-IN ASH WEDNESDAY opportunity. Several church members and some of the Preschool parents participated. That evening an Ash Wednesday service was held in the Sactuary.
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Larry and his wife, Lynn have been married for 52 years. They have two grown daughters; Sarah lives in Clermont and Elizabeth lives in Naples. Sara is a probation officer for Osceola County and Elizabeth is the Collier County School System’s Director of Dietary Services.
Larry and Lynn moved to Kissimmee in 1980 when Larry was transferred to the Hyatt Hotel of Orlando from Lexington, Kentucky. He was the Director of Human Resources for many years. He also worked for the Grand Cypress Hyatt Hotel. During the last 14 years of his career, he worked in the Human Resources Department for Osceola County. Since retiring, Larry has enjoyed gardening. He has been in the Master Gardener’s program for about ten years. He also enjoys sports, especially football and basketball, supporting the University of Western Kentucky and University of Kentucky teams.
Larry came to FUMC of St. Cloud a couple years ago, shortly after Pastor Cathy Thacker arrived. He has known Pastor Cathy for many years. He enjoys the people at First Church and says that everyone is very friendly. Larry has been involved in getting the Coffee Hour started at First Church. He, Rhys Bibeau, and Don White set up the morning goodies and make the coffee each Sunday. He has to arrive at the church around 7:30 AM to get everything ready. He has also been involved in the St. Cloud Food Pantry until it’s closing. The Osceola Council on Aging has taken over this program in the community. Larry and Lynn are a wonderful couple who share the love of Christ by serving this church and the community.
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Arya Marie is the two year old grandaughter of Larry and Celia Finch. She was baptized on Saturday, March 5, 2022. Her parents are Michael and Nicole Finch. Pastor Cathy officiated this joyous occasion.
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Serving Others with
Our Mercy Ministries
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FUMCSC is always in need of food to fill the bags! We are serving record breaking numbers of hot breakfasts to-go on Tuesdays and Thursdays to the underserved of our community when they come to receive a bag filled with nonparishables. You may help supply the need of the Bags of Love lunches by bringing any of these items to the FUMC office; Vienna sausages, canned tuna or chicken, Beanie-Weanies, bags of chips, cookies, peanut butter or cheese crackers, fruit cups, pudding snacks, applesauce, or bottled water. As our numbers continue to go up we thank you for helping us serve the community!
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Click on the image above to go to the Bags of Love Store Page directly.
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Elmer's Kitchen
FUMC of St Cloud serves as the host site of Elmer’s Meal Kitchen, partnering with the St. Cloud Ministerial Association. Each Sunday at 2:00 PM in the Family Life Center, a free nutritious meal is served to the unemployed or underemployed by a different church or local group.
First Sunday of month: First Presbyterian Church of St. Cloud
Second Sunday of month: Boy Scouts
Third Sunday of month: Soul City Church
Fourth Sunday of month: Christ the Savior Church
Fifth Sunday of month: FUMC of St. Cloud
We are seeing an increased number of individuals coming to receive a meal on Sunday afternoon with a record of 107 meals served on Sunday, March 20. We are very thankful for all of the churches who participate in this ministry.
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Love All Mission
The Love All Team had their first meeting recently and are planning to meet virtually as needed. This team will work together as an extension of the UMC Florida Conference. The conference of the United Methodist Church has put forth a call to move congregations toward dismantling racism. During their meeting it was decided that the team members would read the book, Cousins by Betty Kilby Baldwin and Phoebe Kilby. It is a true story about a white woman and an African American woman who grew up on opposite sides of slavery and commit to a path of reconciliation. The team will use this book as a learning tool to grow in awareness of racism. If you are interested in reading this book along with the team, it is available on Amazon.
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Each month we hold a Church-Wide Wednesday night dinner with physical distancing followed by an activiity. It is a great time to get to know your church family. During the March dinner we celebrated St. Patrick's Day by wearing green and enjoying a traditional St. Patrick's Day feast. The tables were decorated for the festivites and we played a lively game of Bunco.
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Barbara and Dennis Serving
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Ruth Nye assisted at the computer.
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Everyone had a great time playing Bonco!
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Players rotate tables at the end of each round.
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Four Players at each table work in pairs.
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Please plan on joining us for the next Church-Wide dinner on April 6th at 5:15 PM (Note: This is a date change due to Holy Week.) Following the meal you may want to stay and be creative by painting a Lighthouse Masterpiece. Please RSVP this week since the art supplies will need to be ordered in advance.
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Coffee Hour on Sunday Mornings
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"Coffee Hour" is offered between church services from 9:15 to 10:00 AM either in the FLC or out on the covered walkway (weather permiting). Please join your church family for Coffee, Donuts, Cookies, and other treats. This is a wonderful opportunity to get to know others from our church and have some good old-fashioned Fellowship! Rhys Bibeau, Larry Dyke, and Don White are your hosts each week.
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Your Hosts: Rhys Bibeau and Larry Dykes
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We are halfway though learning from the book of James. The study titled James: Mercy Triumphs provides a personal study experience five days a week plus viewer guides for the 8 video sessions of this in-depth women's Bible study. If you would like to join this small group and just come on Thursday afternoon to view the videos we welcome you.
If you are interested in participating in this study please contact the church office or Jaynee Yocum (407) 922-1613. This two hour study is being held on Thursday afternoons begining at 1:00 PM. We will conclude the study on April 28th.
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Announcing a New Sunday School Class!
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You are invited to attend a new Sunday School Class/Bible study on Sunday mornings at an in person setting at FUMC St. Cloud. We will study various books by Christian writeres and authors like Ellsworth Kalas, Amy Levine, Max Lucado, Adam Hamilton, James W. Moore and others. We will enjoy great fellowship and friendship! If you are interested please call the church office and let Joyce or James know which time you prefer; either 8:30 to 9:30 AM or 10:15 to 11:15 AM. The time slot with the most interest will be selected when this study is scheduled.
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Lou Murray has been leading a Meditation Class on Sunday mornings at 11:30 AM after the Blended Worship Service. This class is being held during Lent. Contact Lou for more information if you are interested in participating.
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by Lou Murray, Music Director
Welcome to our two new altos, Carolyn and Pamela! They have enriched the sound of our little choir at the traditional service.
April means the celebration of Easter, so we'll be offering special choral and instrumental music for Holy Week services. There will be a handbell duet performing at the Maundy Thursday service. Our Easter sunrise service at the lakefront last year drew twice the crowd we expected. Hopefully, conditions will be right to do that again this year. Also, we will combine the choir and praise band for Easter morning services, for an extra powerful sound of joy.
The choir practices at 7:00 Wednesday evenings in the sanctuary. If you'd like to join us, just show up and sing. More male voices
would be a blessing. I'm always open to suggestions or requests
regarding the music.
Thanks for listening!
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Lucy Knowles, accompanied by Lou Murray at the Traditional Service
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Chancel Choir at the 8:30 AM Traditional Worshiip Service
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Our Talented Hand-Bell Choir
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Praise Team Soloist, Amber Smith at the Blended Service
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Praise Team Soloist, Chuck McLendon at the Blended Service
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Praise Team ~ Blended Service
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Mark Your Calendar
Upcoming Events
April 6 - Church Wide Dinner and Painting ~ 5:15 PM
April 9 - Pancake Breakfast with the Easter Bunny - 9-11 AM
April 14 - Maundy Thursday ~ 7:00 PM
April 15 - Good Friday ~ 7:00 PM
April 17 - Easter Sunday
- Sunrise Service at St. Cloud Lakefront Park ~ 6:30 AM
- Traditional Worship Service ~ 8:30 AM
- Blended Worship Service ~ 10:00 AM
April 24 - Newcomer's Luncheon
May 1 - Deadline for youth to apply for summer camp at Warren Willis
June 9-11 - Florida Annual Conference at Florida Southern College
June 20-24 - VBS - Volunteers needed
June 27 - July 2 - Youth camp at Warren Willis Camp, Leesburg
Regular Meetings
Sunday
- Traditional Worship Service ~ 8:30 AM
- Serendipity Sunday School Class ~ 9:00 AM
- Coffee Hour (FLC or walkway) ~ 9:15 - 10:00 AM
- Blended Worship Service ~ 10:00 AM
- Newcomer's Luncheon ~ 3rd Sunday Quarterly, 11:00 AM
- Elmer's Kitchen ~ 2:00 - 3:00 PM (FUMCSC - 5th Sunday)
Monday
- Power Hour Prayer Group ~ 8:30 AM
- Seasoned Souls ~ 1st & 3rd Monday, 10:00 AM
- Smooth Stones Bible Study ~ 2nd & 4th Monday, 10:00 AM
- Boy Scouts ~ 7:00 PM
Tuesday
- Bags of Love ~ 9 - 11 AM (Hot Breakfast to Go)
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Online Bible Study with Pastor Cathy - 7:00 PM; Please join using your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://us04web.zoom.us/j/4346020464 use passcode: 62397
- Cub Scouts ~ 7:00 PM
Wednesday
- Church-wide dinner FLC (1st Wednesday) ~ starting at 5:15 PM
- Youth Group ~ 6:00 - 7:00 PM
- Children's program ~ 6:00 - 7:00 PM
- Adult Choir Rehearsal ~ 7:00 - 8:00 PM
Thursday
- Bags of Love ~ 9:00 - 11:00 AM
- Beth Moore Video Bible Study (8 Week Study) ~ 1:00 - 3:00 PM
Please Note: Our Church Services can be viewed on
FACEBOOK LIVE on our FB page or later on our YouTube
Channel. Click on the links at the bottom of this newsletter to
find these videos.
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Visit our Website!
Office Administrator, James Wise has been working hard to update the church website. Past newsletters are available by clicking on the Resources tab and our Monthly Overview Calendar which is continually updated by James. The calendar can be found by clicking the About tab and then the Weekly Schedule line. Go to www.firstchurchstcloud.org to find these great resources or click on the button labeled "Visit our Church Website" at the bottom of this newsletter.
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April 2022 CHURCH NEWSLETTER
This school year has flown by! We have only two more months left. April will be another busy month. We will be taking Spring photos and Graduation photos of the children the first week. The children will participate in Easter Egg hunts with their individual classes. Jim and Eileen Zetwo have donated 215 eggs for our hunts. Our school has been blessed by their many gifts! Our students will celebrate Christ’s resurrection with a special Easter Chapel on April 20th.
Enrollment is now open for the 2022-2023 school year. We offer a Preschool class for children who are age 3 by September 1st and completely potty trained. Our VPK Pre-K class is offered for children who are age 4 by September 1st and is free with the Certificate of Eligibility. Additional information regarding our programs as well as a virtual tour can be found on our website at www.firstumcpreschoolstcloud.com or www.facebook.com/firstumcpreschoolstcloud.
We currently have 28 students registered so far for next year!
Smiles,
Ms. Denise
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Pastor Cathy, Jan Baldwin, and Judi Patino on Dr. Seuss Day
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Denise Dunn on Dr. Seuss Day
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The Students in Sue Donnoley's class holding their Dr. Seuss character toys
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Megan Phelps giving the message during the Children's Moment.
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The children of First Church meet on Sunday mornings during the Blended Service after the Children's moment and on Wednesday night for their "B.E.A.C.H. Club" program from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
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Calling All Children!
Join us for a Pancake Breakfast with the Easter Bunny and Easter Egg Hunt on April 9th from 9 to 11 AM. You must have your parent RSVP to participate. We will be having lots of fun with the Easter Story, Games, Crafts, and Photos. Bring your own Easter basket to collect the eggs.
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Vacation Bible School Planning Underway!
Summer is right around the corner and FUMC of St. Cloud will once again host VBS for the Children and Youth of our community. This year it will be held on June 20-24. Volunteers are needed so if you are interested please email Rijean Smith at rijeansmith@yahoo.com. More information will be coming out soon.
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Children & Youth Camp
Students who have completed 3rd through 12th grade can attend the Warren Willis Summer Camp in Leesburg. This year our church has selected the week of June 27th through July 2nd. The appplication deadline is May 1st. For more information contact Rijean Smith at rijeansmith@yahoo.com.
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Our Youth Group also meets each week on Wednesday evenings
from 6:00 to 7:00 PM.
The youth often help with the Children's Ministry activities. This year they will be assisting with the Pancake Breakfast with the Easter Bunny and the Easter Egg Hunt on April 9th. If you know of a teen who would like to get involved in our church's youth program please contact Amber Smith.
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Our Youth Creating St. Patrick's Day Crafts
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April 1 – Andy Smith
April 5 - Karen Winchell
April 5 – Wyatt Scarlett
April 8 - Yvonne Lethenstrom
April 9 - Caleb Meyer
April 12 – John Yocum
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April 14 - Debbie Thompson
April 21 - Samuel Watson
April 22 - Charlie Justice
April 23 - Sharon Donis
April 26 – Ida Bergeron
April 27 - Emalee Gorman
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April 13 – Chris and Amanda McConnell
April 23 - Joel and Darla Kelly
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Note: We don't want to miss anyone! If you know of someone who isn't listed in this birthday or anniversary list please notify the Church Office.
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The Word of Our Lord
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.'
Matthew 28:6-7
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Your safety is our No. 1 concern!
We will continue to monitor the latest guidance from the CDC and new COVID cases. We will re-evaluate in-person worship should anything change. For now, we ask that you continue to practice these essential guidelines:
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Please monitor your symptoms and if you feel sick, please stay home.
- Masks or cloth face coverings are optional indoors and outdoors at this time.
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Please maintain at least six feet of social distance.
- Please sit in every other pew and six feet apart. Family units may sit together.
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No congregational singing.
- No passing of the offering.
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Deposit your attendance card and offering in the box or basket at the back of the church when you leave.
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There will be no meet and greet.
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Ushers will seat and dismiss you.
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Please dispose of your bulletin as you leave or take it with you to reference upcoming events.
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The Sanctuary is sanitized after every worship service.
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Staff Members & Email Addresses
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First United Methodist Church of St. Cloud
1000 Ohio Ave., St. Cloud, FL 34769
407.892.3128
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