One of my spiritual practices through the years has been to savor

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1 One of my spiritual practices through the years has been to savor the quarterly collection of writing and art in Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, a publication of The Upper Room. Each issue is centered on a facet of living a Christcentered life. A past issue centered on Resilience ( spring back ). During the 40 days of Lent, we are given an opportunity to discover and deepen spiritual practices that will help us navigate the rough patches on our journeys. Jesus prayed and fasted in the wilderness in preparation for his ministry. Keeping Sabbath, practicing good self-care, journaling, participating in a small group, serving, and/or going on a retreat are a few practices that help to foster resilience in our lives. Springing back from difficult experiences is a taste of the Resurrection. Keep a holy Lent; Share the Good News Christ is Risen!

2 Thanks to the many church members who have shared their wedding photos for display in the glass cases in the Extended Narthex and the Gathering Space. The Heritage Committee appreciates your participation. Be sure to take the opportunity to view the photos, which date from 1946 to We also have included an interesting 1960 wedding breakfast photograph with two dozen people that you can try to identify. In the weekly class, members seek to answer the question: What is the or perhaps a Christian solution to the stated topic. Class topics have included: Global Anglican Communion suspends American Episcopalian Church for 3 years over issue of homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and the role of women; Bargaining power at stake for unions in fee dispute; Syrian Refugee finds support/suspicion; Separation of Church and State; Augusta County cancels school over Islamic lesson anger. Topics to come include: Illegal immigrants; Rights of transgender children; What exactly is meant by freedom of religion?. Class meets at 9:45 AM in the Parlor. Pick up a brochure in the gathering space or Charlotte Street entrance and try us out! Call Bill Blaine ( ) for more information. Have you ever seen the excitement of Fredericksburg s annual Great Train Race? It is held on the first Sunday of May each year and usually fills our church with happy, sweaty children proudly sporting their new medal. This year we are looking at the possibility of having a group representing FUMC. We would meet on Wednesday nights before the race for a devotion and then have children and adult partners run the race course. On the Saturday before the race, we will worship together as a group and then on race day, we will proudly wear our FUMC shirts and cheer each other on. We would also like to pass out water or other items to draw attention to FUMC and our offerings for families. If you child or adult is interested in this idea, please call Shannon Bolick. 2

3 T he organized unit of United Methodist Women shall be a community of women whose purpose is to know God and to experience freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ; to develop a creative, supportive fellowship; and to expand concepts of Mission through participation in the global ministries of the church. T he Monday Morning Bible Study group will meet on March 7 and March 21 in Room 210 from 10:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. We will continue our study of Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference, by Max Lucado. This book is based on the first 12 chapters in the book of Acts. We will study Chapter 9, Do Good, Quietly, on March 7 and Chapter 10, Stand Up for the Have-Nots, on March 21. We welcome all interested persons to our group. Contact Charlotte Edge at or candhedge@msn.com. 3

4 Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6 4

5 5 Mike and Joanne Wilson on the death of his father, Michael George Wilson (Tobago, West Indies) Kendall and Susanne Martin on the death of his brother Dorothy Lough on the death of her husband, Junior Logan Lough, on February 6 Muriel Edna Hicks Allen who passed away on February 4 Susan and Mark Goodpasture on the death of her father, George Bobb Charlotte and Hubert Edge on the death of her brother, Taylor Robinson Smith, on January 29

6 A new phone system was installed February 9th. Please be patient as the receptionists and staff members are learning how to use the new system. Here are the new phone extensions: If you wish to order Easter flowers for church decorations in honor and/or memory of a loved one, use the envelopes found in the pews, extended narthex, Charlotte Street reception desk, and gathering space. Fill in the information, place a check or cash in the envelope, and drop it in the offering plate. If you plan to pick up your flowers after the 11:00 a.m. Easter service, check the box on the envelope. Orders must be received by Monday, March 21. Suggested donation is $15.00 per plant. 6

7 Fall registration for preschool is underway, and many classes are filling up quickly! Information and registration forms are available on the Preschool bulletin board in the hallway by the Charlotte Street entrance. If you or someone you know is interested in more information about our exciting preschool program, please contact Becky Patrick in the Preschool Office at or via at Write your burden on a purple card and tie it to the cross i n t h e courtyard. Cards are in baskets throughout the church. On Easter Sunday, please bring fresh-cut flowers to the courtyard. We will cover the cross with flowers as a symbol of resurrection and hope. Merry Makers will travel to Richmond on Tuesday, March 29, for a guided tour of the Richmond Holocaust Museum with lunch at a Richmond restaurant then tour the Governor s mansion. We will leave the parking lot at 8:30 and be back by 4:00. The cost is $3 payable that day, but you must reserve your space by contacting Ronda Worcester. Rondaworcester@yahoo.com or cell phone Westview on the James is an outdoor ministry of the Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, and Richmond districts of the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church. This camp, set on the banks of the James River in Goochland, is about fun, making new friends, renewing old friendships, and caring about each other in a Christian community. Fredericksburg United Methodist Church is committed to helping children have this experience to have fun, try new adventures, and deepen and share their faith. The United Methodist Men and the Wayfarers Sunday School class are offering scholarships for this camp. Westview offers a variety of camp options for children between age 7 and 17 based on the age and interests of the child as well as dates throughout the summer. Camp brochures are available in the church office or from the Directors of Children or Youth Ministries. For more information on Westview on the James, visit Scholarships will be offered for $375 for residential camp or adventure camps and $185 for mini camp. (If the remaining funds are a problem, please indicate that.) Applications can be picked up from the church office or from the Director of Children s Ministry in room #203 or the Director of Youth Ministry in room #206. Applications for scholarships should be turned into the church office BY THE DEADLINE OF SUNDAY, MARCH 20, Scholarship recipients will be asked to write about their experiences at Westview on the James to be shared with our church family upon returning home.

8 As one of the four core ministry areas of FUMC, the SERVE Team is coordinating and supporting the many outreach/mission ministries here at FUMC. This month, the team is informing all FUMC members about one of our ongoing ministries, the Outreach Food Pantry. Future articles will describe other ministries. Any members interested in participating with a ministry can contact the Church office. The objective of the pantry is to provide enough food for several days to those in need. Additionally it provides those seeking food assistance with a listing of other Food Pantries in the area including location, telephone number and days and hours of operation. A schedule of Micah breakfasts and evening meals is provided as well. During 2015, the FUMC Food Pantry volunteers distributed 40,438 pounds of groceries providing 2,573 bags of food for 4,558 people. For the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, the pantry distributed 34 hams and 107 turkeys, most of which were donated by the Adventurers Sunday School Class. Donations of non-perishable food may be placed in the appropriate bin in the Mission Control area. Money donations may be made to FUMC, indicating the Food Pantry. This ministry spends over $30,000 per year to obtain food for distribution and was fully funded by donations last year. As PBS says so well: Thank you! In January of this year, the pantry was open 18 days and served 122 clients (feeding 328 people). One hundred sixty bags of groceries, weighing almost 2,200 pounds, were provided. The FUMC Outreach Food Pantry operates Monday through Friday from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Room 110. There are presently 23 FUMC dedicated volunteers who administer the pantry to those in need. People requesting food assistance normally are from Fredericksburg and surrounding counties including Caroline and Fauquier. Clients include young families as well as senior citizens and all are most appreciative of the groceries. Logistics involves ordering, pickup and delivery of most food products including food donated by FUMC members. This requires 8 10 hours each week. Administrative duties involve the maintenance of all necessary records associated with the operation of the pantry. This includes volunteer scheduling; maintenance of the Client Log; and entering all client data into the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank/United Way data base. This activity requires approximately 6 to 8 hours of record keeping and data entry each week. Monthly updates of pantry activity are provided to the Senior and Associate Pastors, the SERVE Coordinator and all Food Pantry volunteers. Volunteers are responsible for manning the food pantry Monday through Friday except where noted. There is presently a shortage of two volunteers. The obligation for most is one day each month. Any member interested in participating, please call the Church office. 8

9 Please come and join us for the joy of singing praise to the Lord. We meet every Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. in the Choir Room (113). This choir sings for all 11:00 a.m. worship services. For information, contact Bill McCoy at Planning a hospital stay? Are you headed to surgery? Want to have prayer and someone from the clergy staff to visit? Tell us when you are in the hospital and, if surgery is scheduled, the day, time and place where a Pastor can locate you. Our Pastors can serve you best when they know your schedule. They can meet you at the health facility prior to surgery. They can have prayer and support you and your loved ones. Hospitals no longer notify churches when members are hospitalized. If you wish to have a Pastor visit, you or a family member will need to notify the church. The United Methodist Council of Bishops has invited each annual conference in the denomination to designate one day to hold a 24-hour prayer vigil for General Conference. Bishop Young Jin Cho has selected Sunday April 10 to be the day for the Virginia Conference prayer vigil. April 2 has been selected for Fredericksburg United Methodist Church. Rev. Dr. Ted Smith, Fredericksburg District Superintendent, Rev. Jarvis Bailey, District Program Director and Rev. Gerry Headley, District Prayer Coordinator have created a prayer schedule so that churches on the Fredericksburg District will pray for the Church, not only on April 10, but each day between March 9 and May 21, giving the General Conference full coverage plus one day for travel home from Portland, Oregon. The General Conference is the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church, and meets once every four years to determine the denomination s future direction, consider revisions to church law, and approve plans and budgets for church-wide programs. The 2016 meeting will take place May at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. Nashville, Tennessee: Exploring General Conference, a free online course from United Methodist Communications, is designed to help participants learn more about the official decision-making body of The United Methodist Church and to explore many of the aspects of General Conference in anticipation of the 2016 session. The course is comprised of five modules, which are designed to take about 30 minutes to complete: the history of General Conference, its role and purpose; how delegates are elected to General Conference; delegates roles and responsibilities; how petitions, general church budget and other important matters are decided through General Conference; various social issues facing The United Methodist Church and the denomination s stance on these issues; the highlights of the 2012 General Conference and what s ahead for the 2016 General Conference. The Exploring General Conference Course is free and ongoing through June 30, For more information, or to sign up for the course, go to umcom.org/learn/exploring-general-conference. 9 Meals on Wheels is a service which delivers prepared meals to persons who cannot do this for themselves. The program is selfsustaining when all clients can pay. However, there are a few clients who are not able to pay at this time but who still need the service. If you would like to help this program, you may write a check to FUMC with Meals on Wheels in the memo line and your donation will be forwarded to the appropriate person.

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