EGG HUNT

On Saturday, families from our two FBC sister churches joined together in our sanctuary with Easter baskets in tow. We sang some songs together and listened to the Bible story about the good news of the empty tomb that we celebrate at Easter. We then proceeded to hunt eggs, and the sogginess of the morning did not deter our fun! We moved our egg hunt indoors and had a ball, with our toddlers finding eggs in the coziness of the parlor, while our older preschoolers and grade-schoolers hunted high and low for eggs throughout the classrooms on the second floor. We all gathered back together in the fellowship hall for refreshments and face-painting, made possible by our wonderful children’s Sunday School teachers.

CHURCHWIDE RETREAT T-SHIRTS

We're excited to bring you a churchwide retreat t-shirt again this year!  All adult shirts will be long-sleeve, 100% organic cotton, Comfort Colors pocket tees from Philadelphia-based sustainable company, Print Natural. They are the leading supplier of eco-friendly and organic custom apparel in the USA. They continue to be the only screen printers in North America to exclusively use organic, non-toxic, water-based ink, so we can all feel good about these ethically responsible shirts!  

How to order - Please email Leah by tomorrow, Thursday, March 28 and let her know your size(s). Adult sizing is available in Small-3XL for $25, and children's shirts are available in all sizes for $15. You may pay at all the usual places — online, check, or cash, and designate "retreat t-shirt." We will place a bulk order at the end of this week to ensure they arrive in time. Even if you're not going on the retreat and want a shirt, feel free to order! All shirts will be sent to the church, and we'll have them for you at check-in when you arrive at the Blue Ridge Assembly.

PLAY BALL!

Are you ready to step up to the plate and join our church league softball team? We welcome players of all abilities, ages 18 and up, to come together for some fun and friendly competition. Take a look at the schedule below and get in touch with Michael to secure your spot on the roster. Don't miss out on this opportunity to bond with fellow community members and enjoy the thrill of the game!



2024 Softball Schedule

HOLY WEEK SERVICES

We have four opportunities for worship during Holy Week, the annual recognition of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. We began with Palm Sunday, remembering Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem which includes shouts of “Hosanna!” and the waving of palms, but which also takes place under the shadow of the cross.  We continue with a Maundy Thursday service (a name derived from the Latin mandatum which means “command” or “mandate” and refers to Jesus’ last teachings at the table, recorded in John 13) on Thursday, March 28, at 7pm in the sanctuary and on our YouTube channel. This service will include the celebration of communion. And then on Easter Sunday, you will have two opportunities to worship and celebrate the resurrection: the Easter Sunrise Service at the Capitol at 6:30am (music begins at 6:20am) and our worship service in the sanctuary at 11am.

This is a week that defines our faith, one that points to the central mysteries of crucifixion and resurrection, and each part of this story is significant. Thus, we encourage you to participate in as many of the services as possible and to reflect daily on the meaning of this week for your life and the whole world. To experience Maundy Thursday and Good Friday without experiencing Easter is to miss the ultimate joy that is ours. To experience Easter without experiencing Maundy Thursday or Good Friday is to miss the cost of our salvation and to hide from our responsibility. To experience all of the events of this week is to know authentic joy – the joy that comes because love prevails over fear, hope prevails over despair, life prevails over death. Who would want to miss that?

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

FOR ALL AGES

Our intergenerational VBS will be Sunday, July 28 – Thursday, August 1, from 5–8pm (which includes an optional supper). There will be self-contained classes for babies through rising kindergarteners, and for rising 1^st graders through adults, we’ll have age-grouped Bible study followed by the ever-popular craft, recreation, and music electives! 

It’s never too early to let Lynn know if you can help teach and/or if you have ideas of fun and engaging elective ideas! Teaching opportunities include:



• self-contained preschool classes
• Gradeschool Bible study
• craft and recreation electives

We hope you can join us! It’s a great time of intergenerational fun and learning!  

WEDNESDAY NIGHT SUPPERS

Please note that every person eating Wednesday night supper must check-in with our volunteer collection team before getting their meal. Even if you have pre-paid online, please check-in with our volunteer. We recognize that many of you do this every week, but many do not. This is just an attempt to streamline our process and make sure every person is checked off the reservation list. A volunteer will be stationed in the Lewis Lobby with the Wednesday night supper reservation list. You may reserve your spot at this link on the website or by calling the church office. The volunteer will check-in your family and collect payment for the meal - we accept cash, checks, or credit cards.

Ages 0-3: Free

Ages 4-12: $4

Adults (over 12): $8

Family cap (over 3 people): $24

The menus for upcoming Wednesday night suppers are as follows (all meals come with salad and bread):

March 27 - No Wednesday night activities (Holy Week)

April 3 - Pizza

April 10 - Shrimp and grits with vegetable medley; non-meat option: mock shrimp and grits; kids: pizza rolls.

April 17 - Hamburger steak and gravy with rice and mixed veggies; non-meat option: non-meat patty; kids: hamburger.

April 24 - Chicken fried rice, egg drop soup, Asian veggies; non-meat option: mock chicken fried rice; kids: spring rolls.

NEW WIFI NETWORK

Due to the high use of the WiFi at the church, we have established a guest WiFi network. Please begin using FBC-MG when at the church. The password is "biography." This network refreshes each day so we will not clog up the network with users, many of which are connected only one time. Last fall, we were unable to connect any new devices to the FBC network due to the high number of users being retained by the network. We refreshed the network but do not want to clog it up again. The FBC network will soon have a new password that will be used only by staff.  Thanks for shifting to the use of FBC-MG. You will need to sign in upon each use.