This week's note from Rev. Bill

What do you see when you look at our cross outside of the sanctuary?

On Palm Sunday, we covered it with palms. They lasted all week. Then they withered and fell.

On Good Friday, we stripped it and then draped with a black cloth to symbolize our mourning. It was there two days.

On Easter, everyone brought flowers from home and we covered it with the beauty God had provided. They lasted a while, but eventually they also faded.

And then, on the weeks following Easter until Pentecost, it was draped with a white cloth to symbolize Jesus' resurrection.

This year for some reason we could not find the white cloth. At the last minute I grabbed a white towel from home (with Kim's permission, of course!) and draped the cross. When I got to the church later in the week I found that it had slipped down on one side and was just hanging there –

But something about it made me think of Jesus' last night with His disciples, when He wore a towel and washed the disciple's feet. I realized that a fancy satin or silk cloth on the cross wouldn't really be appropriate. Maybe the simple, rough fabric of an ordinary towel is a better symbol for Christ. Jesus didn't come to get us to fall at His feet and worship Him; Jesus came to love us and serve us.

The palms wilted. The black drape was only up for 2 days. The flowers were beautiful, but they also faded away.

But serving others – the towel, the humble attitude of bending down to attend to someone else’s needs – that lasts. That’s the kind of Savior Jesus was. That is the God that we serve.

Jesus takes the ordinary things of our lives and transforms them into something new. Bread becomes new life. Stones become our own sins. Simple fishermen become world-changing leaders. Fish and loaves become more than enough.

May your service and mine bring hope and compassion to those whom God puts in our path – 

Service for April 21, 2024

"As He Died, Let Us Live"

1 John 3:16-24

On Wednesday Rev. Bill

will be

at the church office to guide our scripture study that we use to get a "sneak peek"

at the

sermon message for Sunday!



April 24, 2024

John 15:1-8

WHERE ARE REV. BILL AND KIM GOING?!? INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW!!!

                Rev. Bill and Kim will be moving up to Lake Wales, Florida – about 2 ½ hours from here, on Hwy. 27. It is about 35 miles south-east of Lakeland, where Rev. Bill’s father lives. 

                There are two churches for whom Rev. Bill will be responsible – First UMC of Lake Wales, and Indian Lake United Methodist. You can find out more about them from the following links: 

Lake Wales  https://www.fumclw.org/

Indian Lake Estates https://ilumc.org/

               We want for you to know that you are free to contact Rev. Bill and Kim and to even visit them! Just because they won’t be your pastoral family any more doesn’t mean that they can’t still be your friends! And since they live right down the street from Bok Tower and very close to Legoland, you can spend a wonderful afternoon together! (And, of course, fishing!)

                Please be in prayer for Rev. Bill and Kim, for First UMC Lake Wales and Indian Lake UMC, for First UMC Bonita, for Pastor Ben and Dr. Espinoza as they get ready for everything that will be happening over the next 3 months!

Hurricane Ian Repairs and the grant that paid for them are excluded above.

Our utility bills are a little less than forecast because of the cooler temperatures this winter.

GENERAL CONFERENCE CONVENING SOON!

                Please be in prayer for all of the delegates to our General Conference which will be taking place in Charlotte, NC April 23-May 3. You can get your questions answered by going to our Florida Conference website at https://www.flumc.org/general-conference-2020 .

                We anticipate that the recommendation of becoming a fully inclusive church will be passed, and we can get on with the work of being the hands of feet of Jesus to serve the world. The three “R’s” will be at the forefront – REGIONALISM, REVISION, and REMOVAL. 

                REGIONALISM means that we will create 8 Regions worldwide for the United Methodist Church (United States, Africa, Asia, etc.). These regions will still be governed by our Book of Discipline, but can make changes based upon local regional needs and differences. For instance, starting up a new church in Haiti would be totally different than in downtown New York! This “regionalism” would unite us all in common beliefs, but allow each region to organize themselves as they need to promote the Gospel. 

                REVISION is changing the language of the Book of Discipline or adding new sections as we interpret God moving through us now. This is not new; every four yeasr there are revisions to the Book of Discipline. Of particular interest would be the statements of LGBTQ+ acceptance, women’s rights, and a lessening of the prohibition against the use of alcohol. 

                REMOVAL refers to the removing restrictive language from our Social Principles, specifically the language that prohibits homosexuals from serving as pastors, and allowing pastors to perform same-sex ceremonies when requested. 

                Please note that this does NOT mean that pastors and/or churches will be REQUIRED to perform these ceremonies; only that they are allowed to should the situation arise. Pastors are still free to accept or refuse weddings if they feel that the couple is not ready.



                The other main business item that will be on the agenda is the acceptance of the next quadrennium’s budget, which has been scaled back because of the lesser number of churches within the connection. 

                All of these items can be seen in more detail at the link listed above – so please take some time to watch the videos and read the information so that you can pray for God’s Spirit to move through us!

Lay Services Ministry Coordinator to Visit

Ken Dewalt, the District Lay Servant Ministry Coordinator, is planning a visit to First UMC on April 21.  He will be available to share before worship service that day.  He invites anyone who is interested in learning more about becoming a Certified Lay Servant or anyone considering growth in ministry skills to seek him out that morning.

There are two links from the Florida Conference Lay Servant Ministry website that interested individuals may check out.  One is the Florida Conference Lay Servant Ministry website, and the other is  for online classes which are eligible for Advanced Class Certification in the SWFL District. In-person and online curriculum will be offered in both Basic and Advanced classes in our district.

https://www.flumc.org/layservantministries

https://beadisciple.com/certified-lay-ministry/

The following link will send individuals to the East Central District where Lay Servants Ministry Director Randy Nunley has created ZOOM, online only, LSM classes, including a newly authorized online basics required class for beginners.

https://florida-email.brtapp.com/files/tables/emails/3851278/files/Lay+Servant+Training++Spring+2024+Brochure.png

Hablas Espanol?

Classes are on Tuesdays at 10:00 am in the

CHURCH OFFICE and on ZOOM!

United Women in Faith

Aprons are not just about cooking!

Eleven women gathered at 3 p.m. for the April 15 meeting of the United Women in Faith in Fellowship Hall. We were delighted to have several new women join us.  The group’s monthly business meetings on the third Monday of each month focus on mission outreach and fellowship.

A highlight of this meeting was a program created by Denise Pope on the role “aprons” have played in the Bible and our personal lives.  Too often, we only think of aprons as kitchen drudgery or something only our grandmothers wore.  Several members shared stories of special aprons that have sentimental value. Denise cited 18 different Bible verses referring to aprons and the characteristics they represent, such as strong, loved, protected, forgiven, unique, empowered, redeemed, and created for purpose.  She shared a list of those Bible references. After her presentation, the group was able to write some of these messages on aprons which will now be used in our church kitchen. 

Our mission outreach at this time is gathering new shoes for the children at Bonita Springs Elementary School.  The request is for children’s  small sizes:  10-13 and 1-3. We invite the congregation to join us in purchasing a pair or two of shoes.  Please bring them to church by the end of April.  They will be sorted and displayed at church before being delivered to the school.  The Saturday before this meeting six members gathered for a morning of cleaning and organizing in the church kitchen.  

The group will also be helping with a future rummage sale and sorting clothing donations for distribution at the next Free Community Breakfast on April 27.

UWF members will also play a role in celebrating the ministry of Rev. Bill and Kim.  A special coffee hour event on June 16 will celebrate our love for them as we wish them only the best as they travel to Rev. Bill’s new church assignment.  In addition to lots of tasty food (all donations welcome), a basket for cards/gifts for the Fisackerlys will be available .

In addition to saying goodbye to our current pastoral team, the UWF has traditionally provided some basic food/household items for each new pastor.  After the busy moving process on June 25, most are not excited for a grocery store run.  We will confer with the new pastor in case there are any specific food preferences/concerns.  

The next meeting will be May 20 at 3 p.m. in Fellowship Hall.  The group holds regular business meetings September-May.  During the summer months, the group enjoys a monthly luncheon at a local restaurant.  In May after we select the dates and locations of our summer lunches, we will publish them in the newsletter.  All women of our church family are invited.

May Book Club Selection

Book Club members discussed the book We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin on April 3 during their monthly gathering at the Royal Scoop.  The group gathers on the first Wednesday of each month at 1:15 p.m. for lunch and/or ice cream and a good discussion. This was a thriller with a “truly shocking twist.”  

The book for the May 1 session will be the New York Times Bestseller Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.  Bestselling author Jodi Picoult writes that she read the novel “in a single breathless sitting.”  Another author describes it as “a comedy of manners that doubles as a social novel and reads like a thriller.” The novel is set in Shaker Heights, a progressive suburb of Cleveland, where everything is planned…from roads to colors of houses and to the successful lives its residents live.  That is until Mia Warren, an artist and single mother arrives.

This is another book club kit from the Bonita Springs Library.  The book will be available at church; see Susan Atkinson or text her at 239-405-9078 with questions.



Whether you have read this bestseller already or not, one of the best things about a book club is having someone to share your thoughts and insights with.  We don’t have to like all the same books, but we DO have to love reading!  During the summer months when some of our seasonal members are gone, you might want to check the book club out…see if it is something you’d like to try.  Besides, you will get to know others from our church family and enjoying lunch and ice cream is certainly a win-win!  Happy reading

"TOM AND PRINCESS' CORNER!"

The places we go and the things we see!

Tom, have you seen the HUGE litter box in the purr-king lot! Purr-haps it's because the litter is radi-claw.

The ladies were busy, Saturday morning! They cleaned, organized and tossed! Princess, I'm not kitten, I was afraid! I just meowed, good-meow-ing

and scatted out! If they thought they could clean me, they can fur-get about it!

The Upper Room

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