SENTINEL HORIZONS. Houston Mission Team. Houston Hoedown Fundraiser. Ways to Give. Give online Go to: santamonicaumc.org/houston.

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1 vol. cxliii, no. 4 April 2018 FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH of SANTA MONICA SENTINEL HORIZONS It s not often that Easter falls on April Fool s Day. It s fun to play with the juxtaposition of the two. Seems to me that the very least we can say is that both are days for laughter, merrymaking and joy. Ralph Waldo Emerson said that the earth laughs in flowers. What a wonderful way to bring together the laughter and joy of Easter in light of our Lenten theme: Love God/Love Creation. For Easter is the Day of Resurrection, the day all life and all creation are restored to the fullness of their beauty through the love and power of God. The tomb is empty. The flowers bloom! Houston Mission Team In 2017 a devastating hurricane hit Houston and the surrounding communities of Texas. Unlike the majority of hurricanes, Harvey was a flooding event, dumping 19 trillion gallons of water on Southeast Texas. The National Hurricane Center has called this the worst flooding disaster in U.S. history with 1.2 million people asking for aide. They need our help. First United Methodist Church of Santa Monica is sending a volunteer team to Houston from April Serving with others through Texas Recovers and with the Texas Annual Conference, we will be lending our time, talent and faith to help the communities in Houston on relief efforts and rebuilding of their communities. The Houston Team: Tricia Guerrero, Adam Guerrero, Jessica Jones, Art Dodd, Jr., Roxanne Corley, Larry Young, Jamie Jones, Michael Olsson, Heidi Crooks and Janet Searfoss. Hey y all! We need your support! Mosey on over to Simkins Hall after worship on April 15 for our Houston Hoedown Fundraiser! Your purchased ticket will support our mission team and their service work in Houston. Plenty of fun for the whole family: delicious lunch, live band and square dancing, games and activities for kids, photo booth and more! An early church father born around 625 A.D. in Syria, St. John of Damascus, wrote a poem for Easter that was translated and adapted into a hymn text by John Mason Neale. Be sure to come and sing The Day of Resurrection on Easter Day with congregation, choir, organ and brass. It will lift your spirits and open your hearts to the laughter of the very flowers themselves: Now let the heavens be joyful! Let earth the song begin! Let the round world keep triumph, and all that is therein! Let all things seen and unseen their notes in gladness blend for Christ the Lord hath risen, our joy that hath no end. Alleluia indeed! Senior Minister Houston Hoedown Fundraiser Sunday, April 15, 11 a.m. Simkins Hall Ticket Cost: $25 per person, $50 per family To help us provide enough food for lunch: RSVP to t.guerrero@santamonicaumc.org, or reserve your tickets ahead of time: Ways to Give Our trip cost, including airfare, housing, food and site building materials for 10 days is $13,000. Our volunteers are covering their own travel expenses, therefore, 100% of donations will make a direct impact in Houston rebuilding efforts. Give online Go to: santamonicaumc.org/houston Send checks by mail: memo line: Houston Work Team Donations are 100% tax deductible. Stories of Grace Save the Date for Sunday, May 20. The team will host a Report Back Luncheon at 11 a.m. in Simkins Hall. All are welcome to hear team members share their experience and news from Houston. Live music by Echo Mountain, and a square dance caller featured!

2 APRIL Calendar Sunday, April 1 - Easter Sunday 6:30 a.m. Easter Sunrise Service, Palisades Park (Santa Monica Blvd. & Ocean Ave.) 10 a.m. Easter Celebration Worship, Sanctuary Saturday, April 7 1 p.m. Albright Memorial/Reception, Chapel/Fireside Room Sunday, April 8 - Holy Communion 9 a.m. Red Cross Community Blood Drive, Simkins Hall Wednesday, April 11 12:10 p.m. Mid-Week Recital/Reception, Sanctuary/Fireside Rm Friday, April 13 - United Methodist Foundation Scholarships available 7 p.m. Shareringer Monthly Dinner, Fireside Room Saturday, April 14 4:30 p.m. Messy Church, Chapel/Simkins Hall Sunday, April 15 - Children s Sabbath Houston Work Team Commissioning 11 a.m. Houston Hoedown, Simkins Hall 11 a.m. Free Blood Pressure Screenings, Fireside Room 2:30 p.m. Walk the Labyrinth, Simkins Hall Saturday, April 21 - Houston Work Team departs 9:30 a.m. Prayer Quilt Workparty, Room 300 Sunday, April a.m. Preschool Spring Fair, Courtyard/Simkins Hall 11:30 a.m. April Book Study/Potluck, Fireside Room Thursday, April 26 5:30 p.m. Family Place Community Meal, Off-site Saturday, April 28 - Houston Work Team returns 10 a.m. DanceFit, Simkins Hall Sunday, April 29 - Faith in Action Sunday School WEEKLY or BIMONTHLY AT FIRST UMC Mondays: Church Office Closed Tuesdays: 7 a.m. Men s Breakfast Bible Study, Fireside Room Wednesdays: 9 a.m. UMW Workparty/Lunch, Workroom Thursdays: 7:40 p.m. Chancel Choir Rehearsal, Choir Room SUNDAYS-AT-A-GLANCE 9 a.m. Lectionary Scripture Discussion, Fireside Room 9 a.m. Partnership with God Sunday School, Room a.m. Nursery Care, Room 204 9:30 a.m. Chancel Choir Warmup, Choir Room 10 a.m. Worship, Sanctuary 10:10 a.m. Sunday School, Education Bldg. 10:10 a.m. Youth Connect, Room a.m. Fellowship, Simkins Hall in The Shelby Center 2 p.m. Amadeus Handbell Choir Rehearsal, Choir Room, Chapel 6 p.m. United Methodist Youth Fellowship, Youth Lounge 6 p.m. Youth Choir Rehearsal, Choir Room Flower Orders: Order flowers for the reredos or narthex. Available dates at press time: April 15, 22, 29. Please contact the church office to order flowers for one of these dates, or order online: Red Cross Community Blood Drive You may still sign up for the Red Cross Community Blood Drive online. At the blood drive, special food treats and surprises will be offered, and best of all, you ll have the knowledge that you ve helped to save up to 3 lives! Child care can be provided while you donate with prior arrangements. For more information, questions, or to volunteer, contact Dorothy Williams (dorothywil@gmail.com). Schedule your appointment now on the website: www. redcrossblood.org, and enter sponsor code FirstUMCSM. Sunday, April 8: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. in Simkins Hall West District Lay Servant Ministries Spring Classes The West District Committee on Lay Servant Ministries is offering Spring classes, including: The Basic Class, Leading Missional Small Groups, Embracing Personal Prayer, and Justice in Everyday Life. For more information, pick up a brochure at the Sunday Hospitality Table. Monday nights: April 9, 16, 23, 30, and May 7. Torrance First UMC (1551 El Prado, Torrance, CA) Mid-Week Recital for April April s Mid-Week recital features artist Nancy Roth, violin. Violinist and violist, Nancy Roth, is currently concertmaster of the Culver City Symphony and Marina Del Rey Summer Symphony. She is a former violinist of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, was co-principal violist of the Graz Philharmonic in Austria, and served many years as concertmaster of the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra. She has a Master of Music degree from The Julliard School, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California. To see the complete list of musicians for this year's recitals, and to view select videos of past recitals, go to: FREE Concert Wednesday, April 11: 12:10-12:40 p.m., Sanctuary. Reception with the artist follows in the Fireside Room. Methodist Foundation Scholarships Attention students! Applications for the annual Methodist Foundation Scholarships are available online beginning Friday April 13. Go to: Hard copies will also be in the church office and at the Sunday Hospitality Table. Deadline for application: Sunday, May 13

3 Messy Church Family Camp Sign Up Now! Join the Messy Church community for a family camp! There will be fellowship, fun, campfires and the beautiful stars! Meals are included in the cost, but we ask families to bring snacks to share. Sign up using the form on the website, at the Sunday Hospitality table or Rev. Robert English: r.english@santamonicaumc.org. Deadline to sign up for camp is April 15. Messy Church is an opportunity for families to be together in worship without the worry of being too silly or messy because, let s face it, life can be messy! At Messy Church, we grow in our relationship with God and with one another through crafts, activities, music, and stories of God s love. Then, together we enjoy a shared meal. April s theme: Messy Easter. Saturday, April 14, 4:30 6 p.m., Chapel/Simkins Hall Children s Sabbath Children s Sabbath is a day set aside to celebrate children as active participants in the life of the church and to thank the many volunteers who help our children to grow in faith. Children will serve as worship leaders throughout this service. If your child would like to participate, Tricia: t.guerrero@ santamonicaumc.org. Sunday, April 15: during 10 a.m. worship Preschool Spring Fair Come to the First UMC Preschool Spring Fair for great fun for the whole family! Featuring moon bounces, arts & crafts, pony rides, petting zoo, taco stand, and lots more! Proceeds from the Fair go to funding Preschool programs, scholarships and school improvements. Sunday, April 22: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. in the Courtyard Loving God with Our Minds Book Study/Potluck The featured book for April is Love in a Time of Climate Change: Honoring Creation, Establishing Justice by Sharon Delgado. Thanks to Sharon Delgado, we ll expand our Lenten theme, Love God/Love Creation, out to Earth Day Basing her argument on the commandments to love God and neighbor, Rev. Delgado, an ordained UM elder, uses the traditional Wesleyan quadrilateral (Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience) to unpack the issues and point us towards a creation-loving, justice-seeking ethic. This is a call to faithfulness and hope! And along the way, it teaches us how Methodists do theology. Come one and all! Bring something to share for our potluck lunch. Book may be purchased on Amazon or at the Sunday Hospitality Table. Sunday, April 22: 11:30 a.m. in the Fireside Room 580 Cafe 4th Annual Spring Gala & Open House UCLA s 580 Cafe, a space for students to break bread & build relationships through food, conversation, study and arts, is having their 4th Annual Spring Gala & Open House. Featuring student performances, art, dance, spoken word and more. Light refreshments and fabulous fun for all. Suggested donation: $25 at the door. com. Sunday, April 22: 1-3 p.m. 580 Cafe (580 Hilgard Ave. LA) Parking at St. Alban s Church Family Place Community Meal simple church hosts a monthly potluck Community Meal with Upward Bound House's Family Place. The Community Meal potluck is an opportunity to help feed about adults & children, served buffet style. Attending the potluck not only provides a delicious meal for the families and allows the parents an evening free from cooking dinner but is a way for all who attend to be a part of a warm and accepting community. Invite your friends and join the next potluck for an evening of conversation, crafts/games with the kids, and a shared meal. For more information, contact the Community Meal Volunteers by ing: meals@santamonicaumc.org, or call the church office (310) Thursday, April 26: 5:30 p.m. Family Place ( th St. Santa Monica)

4 Haiti Report Back The 2018 Haiti Mission Team consisted of: Grace Cho, Charity Goldberg, Katie Goldstein, Mahetzi Hernandez, Glenda Martinez, Michael Olsson, John Pfister, and leaders Todd & Sherry Erlandson. At the Report Back luncheon, each spoke of their own personal impressions on the trip, while also describing the continued improvements made in their work team efforts. Working together with Église Methodiste d Haiti (United Methodist Church of Haiti), and Michael Kelly at Hollywood UMC, the building of the medical clinic in Sobiér that has been in progress for the last three trips is close to completion. For the first time this year, the local men who have been training on the building sites are now leading the projects, rather than working under outside hired crews. The team delivered suitcases full of school supplies for the children (75% of Haitian children go to school), and 600 toothbrushes were distributed to local women for their families. Following last year s effort to purchase goats for the neediest families of the village, this year 10 more goats were purchased with the money raised from the Pennies for Haiti fundraiser, and given to 10 more families. Last year s goats are thriving and multiplying. This is one of the most tangible ways to bring income and relief and to the families there. Baptism FIRST UMC COMMUNITY Loren Isaias Garner, son of First UMC member Jocelyn Hicks Garner and William Garner, was baptized on March 25 by Rev. Patricia Farris and Rev. Robert English. Deaths First UMC member Betsy Eleanor Davis Albright died January 12. A memorial service will be held April 7 at 1 p.m. in the Chapel. Thank You from Anne Premer Thank you to all who attended the Five Wishes & Funeral/ Memorial Planning seminars. I hope you found them useful! Many of you ordered additional Five Wishes booklets for family and friends. They have arrived and are available to pick up at the church office or at the Sunday Hospitality table. To offset the cost, we re asking for $1 each. As always, if you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me. Thanks again, Anne Aside from the hard work being done, each team member was clearly touched by the spirit and people of Haiti. Everyday after work, Sherry Erlandson would gather the team to talk about their impressions of their day, and in prayer and reflection, the First UMC Lenten Devotional was read out loud and discussed. Each team member relayed that in spite of the hardship and need in Haiti, the presense of God was clearly evident in the beauty and nature of the environment, and the spirit and grace found in the many moments experienced during the trip. To view a video of the Report Back and see photos from the trip, go to: A Special Labyrinth Walk in May In collaboration with The Labyrinth Society, all are invited to celebrate the 10th Annual World Labyrinth Day on May 5, and join over 5,000 people taking steps for peace, Walking as One at 1 in the afternoon. Last year gatherings were held in over 20 countries and 45 US states! This day will replace the regularly scheduled 3rd Sunday walk for May at First UMC. World Labyrinth Day - Saturday May 5: 12:30-2:30 p.m. in Simkins Hall First UMC Spring Concert First UMC Chancel Choir, and members of the Long Beach Chorale, with the Los Angeles Concert Orchestra will combine to present Kirke Mechem s Songs of the Slave at the First UMC Sanctuary. Featuring Wayne Shepperd, bass baritone, singing the role of Frederick Douglass, and Zaraida Robles, soprano. Also, selected pieces from Maurice Duruflé s Requiem featuring Alexandra Grabarchuk, mezzo soprano, will be performed. Dr. James E. Smith, conductor, Ty Woodward, organist. Suggested donation at the door: $10, Seniors and Students: $5. First UMC Spring Concert - Sunday, May 6: 7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. Reception to follow in Simkins Hall.

5 HAPPENINGS at First UMC Scenes from the St. Patrick s Day luncheon. Sunday School classes & Youth Connect Annika Dodd celebrated receiving the Girl Scout Silver Award for her renovation work in the First UMC Library. Artist Talk with Christian Kasperkovitz (aka Elkpen). She presented a slide show of her artwork, and discussed each piece hanging in the Fireside Room. View the video: The First UMC Youth handpainted and collaged this beautiful mural for the Lenten theme, Love God/Love Creation. Palm Sunday in the Sanctuary

6 FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH of SANTA MONICA 1008 Eleventh Street Santa Monica, CA Church Office Hours: Tues - Fri, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Chapel Open for Prayer: Tues - Fri, 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. On the Website With the new technology available, First UMC is able to livestream select events and services through the church Facebook page! The videos will also be available on the website a few days after the event. Check them out and let us know what you think! WORSHIP SUNDAYS IN APRIL APRIL 1 - EASTER SUNDAY 6:30 a.m. Easter Sunrise Service, Palisades Park (Santa Monica Blvd. & Ocean Ave.) 10 a.m. Easter Celebration Worship, Sanctuary APRIL 8 Holy Communion Sermon by Rev. Patricia Farris Theme: on the power of doubt and the Holy Spirit APRIL 15 Children s Sabbath Commissioning the Houston Team Theme: on bearing witness to forgiving love APRIL 22 Sermon by Rev. Patricia Farris Theme: on why we need a good shepherd APRIL 29 Sermon by Rev. Patricia Farris Theme: on abiding in God s love