Dr. Richard Reed - Senior Pastor
Sandra Boedeker - Program Director
Rev. Jim Senkel - Associate Pastor
Suzy Graham - FUMC Preschool Director
Dr. Christa Friel - Director Of Music
Jerrol Higgins - Accompanist
Beth Gober - Preschool Children
Dru Isom - Elementary Children
Laura Taylor - Youth Director
Dana Dickey - Secretary to the Pastor
CHURCH STAFF:
Woodie Elliott - Bldg. Super .
John & Edith Cole - Custodians
Sarah Bryan - Admin. Assistant
Lynda Dyck - Media Director
First United Methodist Church
700 Third Street
Graham, Texas 76450-3104
Phone: 940/549-0970 / Fax: 940/549-8708
Website: www.fumcgraham.org
Email address: [email protected]
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
-PAIDPermit No. 47
Graham, Texas
THE MUSIC OF HOLY WEEK
Our church provides so many opportunities for reflection during Holy Week. Every year, our FUMC Music Ministry also seeks
to provide special music that will help you think on and feel the journey of Jesus’ last week.
Beginning this coming Sunday . . .
*We will CELEBRATE Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday with our FUMC
children singing; our Klapper Kids bell choir playing; and our choir singing,
“The King Is Coming!”
*We will REMEMBER Jesus’ Last Supper on Maundy Thursday with an all-ladies’ choir singing a beautiful arrangement of
“In the Garden,” and our Celestial Bells playing hymns of communion.
*We will REFLECT on Jesus’ sacrifice Good Friday with a 30-minute mini-cantata presented by our Chancel Choir,
accompanied by strings and woodwinds.
*And finally, we will REJOICE in Jesus’ resurrection Easter Sunday with extra music presented by our Chancel Choir,
accompanied by brass and a penny-whistler!
Know that, during our practices, our Music Ministry has been praying for YOU, that you might come to these services and be
drawn closer to God by all you hear and experience of Christ’s love for us.
I would like to say a special THANK YOU to Ted
Boedeker for his assistance, support, patience and
ears while helping to lay out the Easter Prayer
Labyrinth on the pavilion.
… Eddie Gellner
Let's all give a big "THANK YOU" to our FUMC Family Artists!! The Stations of the Cross are up, and they are AMAZING!
Come enjoy this special meditation walk during Lent. Special thanks to all those who created and shared pieces: Susie White,
Kathy Lambden, Eddie and Joanna Gellner, Richard and Jeri Reed, Liz Hendrix, Dru, Hannah and Livi Isom, Beth,
Ryan, Kate, and Addie Gober, Ann Stroud, Shelley Paclik, Bible Zone Classes, Edith Cole and Children's Church,
John Salas, Barbara Flynn Cox, Tom and Lynne Dechairo. AND, don't miss the Pr ayer Tr ee .
First Word is taking a break NEXT week.
Your newsletter will continue the week of March 28.
This Week at First Un ited M eth odist Ch urch – G rah am
Attendance – 03/13/16
8:45 a.m. Worship – 72
10:50 a.m. Worship – 170
6:30 p.m. Chapel– 19
Total Attendance – 261
Children & Youth – 43
Adults – 111
Total Sunday School – 154
HOSPITALIZED … No n e k n o wn a t t h i s t i m e
MEMORIALS … Scott Hayes b y D o l or e s Cu r r y
Bobby Lee Williams b y B i l l y & R o se W o o d
Tom Golden b y B il l y & R o se W o o d
People & Events of First United Methodist Church • March 16, 2016 • Vol. 31 Number 11
Mark your Calendars!
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL is just around the corner!
We are in need of volunteers. If you are interested in
The wonder and glory of Easter is less than two weeks away, but in order to
arrive at Easter we must first travel the Palm Sunday to Good Friday path.
This coming Sunday we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
These final days of Jesus are filled with a mixture of joy, anger, betrayal, and
finally…death. As much as we would like to jump from the celebration of Palm
Sunday to the joy of Easter, you cannot get to Easter Sunday without traveling
this path.
There are many times in life when we would like to skip over the difficult
parts of life. It would be nice to skip all of the sleepless nights and challenges
but that is not possible or the best route. It is through the difficult moments
of life that we can learn, grow, and discover the strength of our Savior who is
with us each day. The good news in the midst of every challenge is knowing
the day of celebration is coming.
As we prepare for Holy Week let us not gloss over the pain and suffering of
Jesus, but die with him so that we may also be raised with him. I pray that the
Prayer Labyrinth, the Stations of the Cross, the Chapel being open for prayer,
our Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services, will all be an avenue for you
to make this journey.
Grace and Peace,
helping with VBS please contact Beth or Dru.
June 6-9 from 9-12 noon.
Children's Ministry is in need of
PLASTIC EGGS AND CANDY!
Both preschool and
elementary children will be
having an Easter Egg hunt
during Sunday School on Easter
morning. Donations may be
dropped off at the church office
or in the Atrium.
Opportunities for your Lenten Journey to Easter
Walk the Stations of the Cross, located in the hallway of the Education Bldg. just off the Atr ium,
featuring the art work of our FUMC family. Remember the final 24 hours of Jesus’ earthly life.
Don’t miss the Prayer Tree at the end of the display.
A Prayer Labyrinth is located under the Pavilion on the playgr ound as a special way to walk and pr ay,
beginning March 13. A guide is available offering suggestions to use for prayer or meditation as you walk
from one stop to the next.
Maundy Thursday Services will be held on March 24 at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary as we r emember , thr ough the
sacrament of Holy Communion, the last supper Jesus shared with his disciples.
Good Friday Services will be held on March 25 at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary, featur ing a mini-cantata by our
Chancel Choir and chamber orchestra, as we remember Jesus’ suffering and death.
Easter Sunrise Services will be held on March 27 on Standpipe Mountain, with gr oups gather ing
at the Chapel at 6:45 a.m. to walk up the mountain together.
“Christ has risen! Christ has risen indeed!”
There will be two identical celebrations on Easter Sunday at 8:45 and 10:50 a.m. featuring
flowering of the cross and special music by our Music Ministry.
On Easter Sunday our preschool and elementary children will have
Easter Egg Hunts during Sunday School beginning at 9:45 a.m.
Be sure to stop by the Atrium to enjoy an Easter cookie, a tradition at FUMC on Easter Sunday.
SCHEDULE FOR HOSPITALITY
IN THE ATRIUM
March 20 – High Questors
A special thanks to our Sunday School Classes
for providing hospitality during Lent
It is exciting to see the final
paperwork being completed on the
new bus. The plan is for the new bus
to be delivered this week so it will be
on display next Sunday.
Many thanks for the prayers and gifts
that has made this purchase
possible. It will be a positive impact
on the ministries of the church for
many years to come. A special word of
thanks once again to our FUMC
Foundation for the matching grant that made such a difference
in this purchase.