Bellwether Spring 2018 Newsletter A Letter From Our Pastor Dear church family, With Lent underway, there is much going on leading up to Easter. I want to make sure you know about everything in the upcoming weeks. On Sunday March 25th, Palm Sunday, we will have our annual Easter Egg Hunt Picnic. This will be a fun time for the kids and adults to eat, visit, and hopefully we ll be blessed by good weather. We ll have the picnic and Easter Egg Hunt right after church that Sunday. For Easter Week this year, we are having a Communion service on Thursday night at 6pm. This will be a time to remember and reflect on the Last Supper. For Good Friday, we will have our annual service at Noon in the church sanctuary. This year we are going back to our Tenebrae service. Tenebrae literally means a service of shadows. This will be a dark service to reflect upon Jesus sayings on the cross. For Easter morning, we will have a special Sunrise Prayer Time at 6:30am before our Resurrection Celebration at 10:30am. If you have not been baptized or have thought about being baptized, we would love to talk to you about being baptized this Easter. Altogether, it will be a powerful, special week. Also, I hope you will consider going to Honduras this summer. It s always a great trip. We will be going July 12-19. Contact Hunter Poole if you are interested in going.
And, VBS is coming soon, in June 18-21. Thankful for those who helping serve and lead it. Go ahead and begin planning for your child or a friend of your child to be part of it. It will be fun for all the kids and the teachers! There is much going on leading up to and after Easter. Don t forget to use our 40 Days of Prayer booklet to pray for one another and our church family. Thank you, and hope to see you Sunday. In Christ, John Hugh Rise with God 2018 LENT 2018 40 DAYS OF PRAYER, NAILS ON THE CROSS Join the church in a specific time of corporate prayer by committing to 40 Days of Prayer using the Lent Prayer Book in the foyer. These prayers show how diverse we are as a church family, and how much we need the Lord as the primary focus of our lives. We will continue nailing our desires, hopes, dreams, & sins to the cross during Sunday worship service. This is a powerful time to reflect on the cost and gift of grace during Lent. We hope to see you every Sunday. EASTER BAPTISMS If you have never been baptized or feeling led to be baptized, we invite you to schedule a time with the Lead Pastor, John Hugh Tate by email at
jhtate@bellwetherchurch.org to discuss baptism. Easter Sunday is a great celebration Sunday to be baptized. EASTER WEEK, March 25 April 1 Maundy Thursday, 6pm We will have a special Communion Service in the White House on Maundy Thursday. This will be a time to remember and reflect on the Last Supper. Childcare available. Good Friday Tenebrae Service, Noon We will have our annual service at Noon in the church sanctuary. This year, we are going back to our Tenebrae service. Tenebrae literally means a service of shadows. This will be a dark service to reflect upon Jesus sayings on the cross. Childcare available. Easter sunrise prayer, 6:30am For early birds on Easter morning, we will have a special Sunrise Prayer Time at 6:30am before our Resurrection Celebration at 10:30am. Join us on Bellwether s property. Easter Sunday Baptism Service, 10:30am Our Resurrection Celebration will be 10:30am. Come early with family and friends. If you have not been baptized or have thought about being baptized, we would love to talk to you about being baptized this Easter. Altogether, it will be a powerful and special week. Love Your Neighbor 2018
Adult News Looking for a Small Group? You can find a list of B Groups at www.bellwetherchurch.org under Adults. B Group times: Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Monday lunch, Tuesday morning, Wed lunch, Wednesday night, Thursday morning, & Thursday evening. Childcare provided for some groups.
Youth News From Hunter Poole, Student Leader Bellwether Students are gearing up for a great summer! There are going to be some great opportunities for students to grow, as well as to serve this summer! Graduation Sunday, May 6 First up, our end of the year shindig and Graduation Sunday will be on May 6th! All graduating seniors will be recognized in the morning service, and the rising sixth graders will be promoted into Bellwether Students. That night at our normal time, 5-7 pm, we will have our last meeting of the school year and will celebrate it with some wild and crazy fun! Student Life Camp, June 11-15 Next we have Student Life Camp, June 11-15 at Austin College in Sherman, TX. This is going to be an awesome week of digging into who God says He is through scripture, worship, and small group activities. We will also be adding a missions emphasis to this year s camp where we are
not just getting poured into, but we get to pour ourselves out to those less fortunate. This was a great week of growth for our students last year, and we are hoping more will come and experience who God is through this week. You can register online at www.bellwetherchurch.org, or by contacting Hunter Poole. Vacation Bible School, June 11-15 Then VBS will be happening June 18-21 and we need students to volunteer and to help make this a great week for all the kids that come! Please contact janajlong@gmail.com to sign-up. Honduras Mission Trip, July 12-19 We will close out our busy summer with a mission trip to Honduras, July 12-19. This is a great opportunity for parents and students alike to see God s global church at work and to step outside comfort zones and serve those who are oftentimes forgotten about and marginalized. I encourage as many students who can go, to go! Your life and perspective will be changed by what you see and how you see God work, through you and in others. Sign-up can also be found at www.bellwetherchurch.org. Children News
Vacation Bible School, June 18-21 VBS is June 18-21 from 9:00-12:00 for ages Kindergarten- 5th grade. There will be a preschool class offered for children of the volunteers. Registration will begin in March. Email Jana Long if you would like to volunteer at janajlong@gmail.com. Children Ministry Substitute Teachers Do you love kids, but can t commit to a regular rotation? We are in need of a few substitute teachers in the Children s Ministry. You will asked to help out as the need arises and as your schedule permits. Contact Jo Alice Hall at family@bellwetherchurch.org to sign up. Honduras Mission Trip July 12-19 This is a great opportunity for families to see God s global church at work and to step outside comfort zones and serve those who are oftentimes forgotten about and marginalized. Your life and perspective will be changed by what you see and how you see God work, through you and in
others. Sign-up & details can be found at www.bellwetherchurch.org. Heart of David Ministries, Dinner Hosts We are looking for families to host a dinner in their home for Heart of David kids. Heart of David ministries reaches teenagers from ages 13-17 who need to hear the radical message of grace. Heart of David will provide the teaching and devotion. These kids simply need a space where they are recognized and loved for who they are in God s eyes. Contact Linda Tate at lindatate2@me.com if you would like to host. Spann Elementary Book Fair Volunteers & Book/Math Buddies Thank you to all our volunteers for the Spann Book Fair in February and to our faithful Book and Math Buddies. We are thankful for the energy, love, and teaching we can pour into the K-5th children at our neighboring Jackson Public School. As the area ELL school (English as a Learning Language), we see kids from all over the world right in Jackson, MS. Contact Linda Tate at lindatate2@me.com for more details. January and February in Pictures
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