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FIRST THINGS April 2020

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

501 Church Street, Sweetwater, TN 37874

423-337-7903

Email: office1@sweetwaterumc.org

Website: www.sweetwaterumc.org

Church Staff:

Ron Fisher, Pastor Pam Haislip, Administrative Asst.

Crystal Ragan, Associate Pastor Jacqueline Mason, Children’s Minister

Margareth Urias, Music Minister _____________, Organist

Melinda Hendricks, Custodian Janet Standridge, First Kids Director

“Glorifying God—Offering Christ

Making Disciples—Serving Others”

When we gathered for the Ash Wednesday wor-ship service on February 26, we had no idea that our Lenten services would be suspended beginning March 15 (the third Sunday of Lent). Currently, it looks like we will be unable to gath-er in the sanctuary to celebrate Easter. United Methodist Pastors throughout Holston Confer-ence and other conferences are sharing mes-sages on social media. Pastors are able to stay connected with church members and friends through this tool. This is an unprecedent-ed time in history. The world is faced with a pan-demic event. Our way of life has been disrupted and endangered. In fact, all facets of life have been impacted. Many people fear contracting COVID-19. Although the elderly are particular-ly vulnerable to the virus, all age groups are susceptible to it. During this time when anxiety has gripped our hearts, it is imperative that we hang on to our faith. "And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (I John 5:4-5) "We walk by faith, not by sight.” (II Corinthians 5:7) "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

REFLECTIONS from PASTOR Ron

Although we are not gathering in the church building, we remain the church. I have been humming the song "We Are the Church.” Here are some of the lyrics:

“I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together! All who follow Jesus, all around the world! Yes, we're the church togeth-er! The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is a people." Be the church where you are or where you go. Check on your neighbors and friends. Give them a call or send a card. Spend time in prayer, Bi-ble study, and seeking God's Holy Spirit. Let the light and love of Jesus shine in your life. On April 8 Maundy Thursday and April 9 Good Friday, Communion will be served from 11:30 am until 1:00 pm. We will have drive through Communion in the parking lot. You will receive a prefilled Communion juice cup and wafer in one convenient pack. Easter worship will be held drive-in style at 10:00 at the Sweetwater City Gazebo.

Please keep up with your offering. I look forward to seeing you soon at the place we call First United Methodist Church.

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor Ron

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HOLY WEEK & EASTER SUNDAY

Holy Week is a name for the week beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with Easter.

In less than a week, Jesus went from entering Jerusalem to cries of “Hosanna in the High-

est,” to being condemned with shouts of “Crucify Him!”

This year our Holy Week experience at FUMC will be different from usual as we balance

the desire to worship as a community with the necessity to maintain distance to prevent

the spread of COVID-19. We will offer drive through Communion on Maundy Thursday

and Good Friday, using Fellowship Cup communion packs that include an unleavened wa-

fer and prefilled cup of juice. We are working on our plans for Palm Sunday and Easter

Sunday services. We will post notices and links on our website and Facebook when they

are finalized.

Mark your calendar with these important dates!

Holy Week 2020

April 5 Palm Sunday 9:00 Service on You Tube

(can be viewed any time after that)

April 9 Maundy Thursday Drive-thru Communion 11:30-1:00

April 10 Good Friday Drive-thru Communion 11:30-1:00 April 12 Easter Sunday 10:00 Drive-In Church

at Sweetwater City Gazebo

We will notify you by email and on social media if there are any changes.

Be the church!

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Dear Friends, I hope all of you are doing well! I have missed seeing all our choir members, praise team, children’s choir, preschool choir, and our congregation.

I would like to give you an update on the Easter Cantata and Children’s Spring program. We are post-poning both programs, and the exact dates are still undecided due to the uncertainty of how long the quarantine will last. I hope the adults and kids are listening to their CDs. If you need a new CD, just let me know and I will send it to you. Also, I ask all the kids with speaking parts to be memorizing their lines. This way we will be ready to go when we resume practices. I really can’t wait for the time we can be back together!

All of you have been in my prayers! I’ve been praying for God’s protection and peace over our church family. It comforts me to know that we don’t have to walk alone through this time, and that we have God’s promise that He would always be with us! I love Isaiah 41:10. It says “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” I’m thankful to God for His constant presence in our lives. I put together a playlist for the quarantine. You can listen to these songs on YouTube or any music app. Hope you enjoy it!

Faithful to the End by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

His Eye Is on the Sparrow by Selah

’Til the Storm Passes By by the Gaither Vocal Band

I Am Not Alone by Kari Jobe

Eye Of the Storm by Ryan Stevenson

I love my church family! Hope to see you soon!

Margareth Urias

MUSIC MINISTRY

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MINISTRIES

NEEDED: SERVANT(S) TO SHOW HOW MUCH

“WE CARE” We are very much in need of someone to or-

ganize meals for those individuals who have

just come home from the hospital due to ill-

ness or surgery. Can you please find it in your

heart to take on this very important and re-

warding responsibility? It can be done by tele-

phone or on-line with Mealtrain, or a combina-

tion of both. We can show you how to set it

up. If a team of two people stepped up, it

would be even better. Please contact the

office if you are willing to help.

MISSIONS

True Purpose Women’s Center Yard Sale Fundraiser

It’s time for Spring Cleaning! When you purge your closets and basements of serviceable but unneeded clothing and household items, please consider donating them to our yard sale to benefit the True Purpose Women’s Center. 90% of proceeds will go toward the True Pur-pose Women’s Center light bill, and 10% to the Church. We are hoping to have the sale in June. Watch your bulletin for dates and times.

Ladies Breakfasts Suspended

Our monthly 2nd Saturday break-

fasts at The Dinner Bell are sus-

pended until the COVID-19 pan-

demic is over. We normally meet

at 9am on the second Saturday of

each month. We are looking for-

ward to getting together again and

hope you will join us!

EVENTS FOR THE LADIES

Women’s Monday Morning Bible Study

Did you know that we have a Monday morning

Women’s Bible Study group? We invite you to

join us after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

We meet in the church conference room every

Monday at 10am. When we resume, we will be

studying the Book of Revelation.

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Young at Heart PotlucksYoung at Heart PotlucksYoung at Heart Potlucks

We are eagerly anticipating the resumption

of our monthly potlucks as soon as the

COVID-19 pandemic has abated.

One of our future programs will include a

travelogue of Bonnie & Alan Cleveland’s re-

cent trip to the Holy Land.

SPECIAL BIRTHDAY GREETINGS SPECIAL BIRTHDAY GREETINGS SPECIAL BIRTHDAY GREETINGS

TO OUR SENIORS BORN IN APRILTO OUR SENIORS BORN IN APRILTO OUR SENIORS BORN IN APRIL

Apr 2 Carolyn Stutts

Apr 2 Becca Fisher

Apr 4 Bill Smithey

Apr 10 Beulah Torbett

Apr 11 Daryl Williams

Apr 14 Joe Purdy

Apr 15 Leon Verderese

Apr 16 Shirley Brown

Apr 19 Dolores Walton

Apr 29 Geri Babb

Apr 30 Nancy Walden

Young at Heart Dinner with Youth

Postponed

We are disappointed that our potluck din-

ner with our Youth has been postponed a

second time! We really enjoy spending

time our youth and getting to know them!

We will be looking forward to reschedul-

ing the event when it is appropriate.

Operation InAsMuch, Scheduled

for Saturday, April 18, will be

postponed until sometime this

fall. Watch for the new date!

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MESSAGE FROM CRYSTAL

YOUTH NEWS

Our Youth at the Ash Wednesday service

“You're the God who stays You're the one who runs in my direction When the whole world walks away You're the God who stands With wide open arms” “No enemy can separate No power of hell can take away Your love for me will never change I’m Yours Forever” As I sit ALONE in my car in the EMPTY parking lot of Dinner Bell, waiting to meet a co-worker who is ALONE to bring a computer, to enable me to work from home, ALONE .... This song came on the radio. “YOU’RE The God who stays” !!!! What a powerful state-ment. Tears come to my ears as I am reminded.... I am NEVER ALONE, because I belong to The GOD WHO STAYS !!!! It’s almost unavoidable to talk about this time in our lives. Most of us have never experi-enced anything quite like it. I have kids at home who will remember this time forever, they will be the ones to reflect and say “remember when”. In the midst of all this, let us not for-get and let us REMIND these precious kids around us who are “shaped” by these tender years, that God NEVER LEAVES us.... we are NEVER ALONE as a child of The Most High King !! If there is a kid in your life, this is the time... they are surrounded by STILLNESS for the first time in a long time (or maybe ever). They long for connection, structure and teach-ing .... even though they may not admit it. Would you take this time to start a Bible Study with them, include them in your own study, give them Bible Study Work to turn in to you

and hold them accountable. The beautiful thing about this, it holds you accountable as well. May this time of uncertainty bring you (and your family) closer to The God who STAYS !!!! I miss you all so much and can’t wait to hug you all again !!!! Love, many hugs and prayers for you, My Family, Crystal Ragan

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Message from Miss Jacqueline

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VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

“ROCKY RAILWAY”

Mark your Calendars for July 19-23 for VBS!

Join us on Rocky Railway, where we learn that

through life’s ups and downs, "Jesus' Power

Pulls Us Through". Sign up sheets for helpers

will be posted at the end of April.

Well, this has been interesting month! I have had adjust to not working with kids or at the

cheese factory. It’s been really hard to keep my Lenten sacrifice, how about you? I just

want the kids to know I’m praying and reading over their Lenten sacrifices and praying that

they stay healthy . This is a great time for parents suggest to your kids to read and memo-

rize some scriptures. They could also do an experiment and send pictures to me. It’s ok

that mine sometimes don’t work, but it’s fun and I love seeing kids’ reactions. I’ll keep you

posted on fun to come after this is over!

Easy Science Experiments for Kids

1. Make a rainbow by holding a glass of water up to the sunlight with a white sheet of paper

behind it to catch the colors.

2. Demonstrate refraction by drawing a fat arrow pointing to the right on the sheet of paper

from experiment #1. Place it behind the glass of water. Does the direction of the arrow

change to the left? Try placing the paper closer to and further away from the glass and see

how the picture changes.

3. Set up a row of bottles with varying amounts of liquid and then blow across the openings to

hear the different tones. See if you can play a tune!

4. Make a water xylophone by filling several glass jars with different amounts of water. Tap

gently on the jars with a popsicle stick or handle of a spoon. Listen to how the tones change

depending on how much water is in the jar. See if you can play a tune!

5. Change how an egg sinks or floats in a glass by adding salt to the water.