A Note from Pastor Travis 3/18/21

Posted on Posted in A Message from Our Pastor

Dear FUMC Family and Friends,

With Easter just 3 weeks away, we are entering into a busy and blessed last few weeks of Lent. As we prepare for Holy Week and Easter, there are some important items of which to take note, so that you do not miss anything.

EASTER FLOWERS

Even though we will not be in-person for Easter worship, we are going to have flowers. We will use them when we record the Easter Sunday video and then have them available for you to pick up. When you purchase a flower, you can designate them in memory or honor of people. The list of those to whom the flowers are dedicated will be shared in the Easter worship and on the church’s social media. The lilies and tulips are $15, with the small profit made on each one going to our Haitian ministry to support schools in L’Asile Haiti. If you do not wish to purchase a flower but would like to donate the $15 to our Haiti Mission in honor or memory of someone, you may do so. Those names will be included in our remembrance on Easter. The deadline for ordering flowers is this Friday, March 19.  That is tomorrow! To order the flowers please click HERE

Lenten Study

Our Lenten Study is going well. There is still time for you to join us. We meet every Wednesday at 7:00 pm. We are using the short book Get A Life! (Experiencing the Blessings of the Beatitudes of Jesus for Today), by Ted Creen You can purchase the book at Amazon, Cokesbury, or from christianbook.com.

To buy it from Christian Book Distributors click here

Even if you don’t have a book, you are welcome to join us. Please contact Pastor Travis for the zoom link to the study.

Palms for Palm Sunday

Though we will not be worshiping in person for Palm Sunday, we will still have palms available for you to pick up. They will be available at the church from March 23-27.  You can pick them up on these dates:

March 23: 5-7 pm / March 24: 8:30 am -12:30pm / March 25: 9 am – 12 pm

March 26: 8:30 am – 12:30 pm & 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

No Knead Bread for Maundy Thursday

On Maundy Thursday, April 1, we will be holding a virtual service at 7:00pm. Part of this service will include Holy Communion. We are inviting you to make your own bread for this service. You can use your own bread recipe or use the recipe below. It is an easy recipe that doesn’t require any kneading and is a good recipe to make with children. (This recipe has a long resting period so you will need to start making it before Maundy Thursday.) We invite you take a picture of your bread and post it on social media, tagging the church and using the hashtags #fumcmelrose, #maundythursday2021, and #fumcmelrosebread.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of warm water

¼ teaspoons active dry yeast

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 cup of whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Equipment:

6-8 quart ovenproof pot with lid

Instructions:

  1. Combine water and yeast in a large bowl.
  2. Add the flours and salt.
  3. Stir until you have a sticky dough.
  4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours.
  5. Lightly cover a cutting board with flour, take dough out of bowl and sprinkle with flour.
  6. Fold it over for a few times.
  7. Rub a large bowl with olive oil, place dough in the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let it rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
  8. Put the ovenproof pot, covered with lid, turn the oven to 450 degrees, and place pot in oven.
  9. When oven reaches 450, remove the pot (be careful, it will be hot!)
  10. Place dough into bowl, cover with lid, and put it the oven to bake for 30 minutes.
  11. Remove the lid and bake for another 20 minutes.
  12. Let it cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes.

Good Friday

Good Friday will be April 2, we will be holding a virtual service at 7pm. We invite you to join us during this time of reflection as you prepare your hearts to once again receive the blessings of Easter.

May your Lenten Journey continued to be blessed,

Pastor Travis