Worship with us online March 24, 2024

Posted By EmmanuelUMC on Mar 30, 2024 |


Welcome to our Palm Sunday worship service!  The Order of Worship is available at this link.

EMMANUEL’S NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

*Throughout the month of March, we are collecting special offerings for our United Methodist
Committee on Relief’s UMCOR Sunday Offering collected annually each year. UMCOR exists to bring
humanitarian relief to people in the U.S. and around the world who are living in the aftermath of natural
disasters, war, and other life-altering situations. The UMCOR Sunday offering helps to support UMCOR’s
administrative costs so that 100% of all funds given to particular projects throughout the year can be given
completely for that purpose. Our UMCOR buckets will remain in the Sanctuary through Easter Sunday,
March 31 to receive your gifts for UMCOR. Please mark your gifts for UMCOR Sunday. Thanks for
considering this opportunity.
*Easter Donations to the Capital Improvement Fund: Please use the purple insert in your bulletin to
honor and remember loved ones with an Easter Donation to our Capital Improvement Fund. Forms and
donations are due to the church office today, March 24. Please see the insert for details and thank you for your
generosity.
*Seder Meal this afternoon, March 24, 4:00 p.m. in the Social Hall: Come and participate in a
Passover Meal to learn and experience this sacred tradition of the Jewish faith, a ritual that Jesus and his
disciples would have observed with their families throughout their lives, and that Jews worldwide observe
today. The reservation deadline was Wednesday, March 20, but we have planned for some extras if you would
like to come. If you have not already reserved, please use the back of your blue “Connect with Us” form to
make a reservation. Suggested donations of $10 will be received at the meal to help cover the cost of the food.
*Easter Food Box Ministry will take place on Thursday, March 28 at 8:30 a.m. in the Social Hall.
All are welcome. Please see Mike Stinnett if you have questions.
*Special Opportunities for Holy Week and Easter 2024: Please see the insert in today’s bulletin for a
listing of special services and events at Emmanuel for Holy Week and Easter. Please share the information with
your friends and family, and bring someone with you.
*Thursday, March 28, 7:00 p.m. From Gethsemane to Golgotha: A Service of Shadows for Maundy
Thursday ~ Join us for a traditional Holy Thursday Tenebrae Service of Shadows featuring prayer, Scripture
readings, Lenten hymns, special music and Holy Communion with a progression of darkness as Good Friday
approaches. All are welcome. A love offering for local missions will be collected.
*Friday, March 29, 5:00-7:00 p.m. A Self-Guided Prayer Walk for Good Friday ~ Join others in small
groups for this special opportunity to enrich your Holy Week observance. Begin the walk at the front of the
church where you will receive a guidebook and instructions for the walk. Chairs will be available at the various
prayer stations set up around the lawn. Groups may start the walk every 15 minutes continually throughout the
time. The amount of time needed to complete the walk depends on how long you choose to spend at each
station. Come and go as you are able. In case of rain, an indoor alternative prayer time will be provided in the
Sanctuary at 6:00 p.m.
*Saturday, March 30, 10:00 a.m. Annual Community Easter Egg Hunt on the Church Lawn,
Preschool thru Grade 5 ~ Calling all kids, grandkids, young friends and neighbors to come out for our Annual
Easter Egg Hunt and visit with the Easter Bunny. Refreshments, activities and games on the lawn will follow
the hunt. The congregation is encouraged to bring bags of individually wrapped candies for the hunt and place
them in the narthex tub by Sunday, March 24. Any help we can get with refreshments on the day of the event
would be most appreciated (finger foods, kid-friendly snacks and treats, etc.) Bring your items to the church
kitchen before the hunt. The event will take place indoors if raining. Use the invitation in your bulletin to share
the information with family and friends.
*Easter Sunday, March 31, 7:00 a.m. Easter “Son”Rise Service at Amherst Cemetery followed by our
Annual Easter Breakfast in the church Fellowship Hall. Please come and bring friends and family with you! If
it rains, the service will be held in our Sanctuary. A sign up sheet for breakfast foods is at the back of the
Sanctuary. 10:30 a.m. Resurrection Celebration in Worship The congregation is invited to bring fresh flowers
to decorate the Easter Living Cross before the worship service. Invite others to join us as we worship our risen
Lord!
*Children’s Church/Sunday School is provided each Sunday during worship. The children will remain
in the Sanctuary for the beginning of worship and will then be dismissed for an age-appropriate Sunday School
lesson. If you are interested in volunteering in this important ministry, please see Jeanie Combs to sign up.
Teaching materials are provided.
*The Mountain View District Prays for General Conference: As United Methodist delegates from
all over the globe prepare to meet at General Conference later in April, we are invited to join in prayerful
support for the work they will do on our behalf. Together we will be still and seek God's will for our church.
General Conference is scheduled in Charlotte, NC from April 23-May 3, where United Methodists will
gather together for worship, prayer, holy conferencing, discernment and work for the future of the church.  As
a district we want to join in praying continually for this important and holy work from now until the end of
General Conference.  We invite you to join us as we unite in daily and ongoing prayer.  Ways to pray with us:
1) “Pause and Pray” every day from 4:23-5:03 – AM or PM – you pick!  If these times (which coincide
with the dates of General Conference 4/23-5/03) don’t work for you, then simply pick another time each day
to pause and pray for General Conference wherever you are – at home, work, school, church, etc. 2) In-person
prayer gathering for the Peaks View Region, Sunday, April 21, 4:00 p.m., Chestnut Hill UMC in
Lynchburg. 3) Zoom prayer time every day of General Conference session (April 23-May 3) from 4:23-5:03
p.m.  Join us for this time via zoom where our whole district can intentionally pray together for our bishops,
our delegates, and the work they are engaged in each day of General Conference.  If you can’t connect with
us via zoom please plan continue to “Pause and Pray” on your own wherever you are during these days.  Join
Zoom Meeting at https://zoom.us/j/98170052005 Meeting ID: 981 7005 2005 Passcode: 496334.