First Christian Church

Well, it’s that time of year again!  The choir is starting to rehearse for our Palm Sunday cantata.  If you would like to sing with us this Easter please join us Wednesday evenings starting at 7:30 pm.  This year is our 11th Easter cantata and we have decided to emphasize Palm Sunday. We will be singing the Palm Sunday selections from the nine cantatas preceding last year’s ending with a new piece depicting Christ’s journey through Holy week.  We are excited about our Easter music this year and would love to invite anyone who enjoys singing to join us in this endeavor.

Every Wednesday night during Lent we will have the opportunity to gather in the Family Life Center at 5:45 pm for supper. The cost will be: Adults- $5.00, children under 10- $3.00, and children 3 and under are free. Following the meal at 6:30 pm, we will have a thirty-minute Lenten Worship Service in the Farkas Room. The service will focus on the passion of Jesus through the senses of sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste.

The schedule for each worship service is as follows:

Wednesday, Feb. 24: Seeing – “Watching the Walk to Calvary”

Wednesday, March 3: Hearing – “Sounds Heard On the way to the Cross”

Wednesday, March 17: Touch - “The Feel of the Cross”

Wednesday, March 24: Taste – “Jesus Tastes the Approach of Death”

Reservations for the meal can be made using the envelope in back of the pews.

If you can’t come for the meal, please attend the Lenten Worship Service at 6:30 pm.

Childcare will be provided for both the meal and the worship service.

Every Tuesday morning at 10:00 twenty women have been gathering to search for personal guidance and life application use of the Bible. They are studying the book of James.

This is the beginning of the fourth week. So far they have made it up to James 1:12. Obviously their objective is not to just get through the book so they can start another.

They are seeking the leading of the Holy Spirit for more ways to apply the Bible in a meaningful way to their lives.

The pastor’s class for Holy Baptism meets at 4:30 pm in the Fireside Room. The class is for all children, youth and young adults who are considering baptism. The class meets every Sunday until Palm Sunday, March 28, with baptism on Easter Sunday, April 4, during worship. Please contact Edd or Mary Pat if you are interested.

Edd and Mary Pat will share a series of sermons during Lent on some of the miracles of Jesus. These miracles transform lives from darkness and suffering to light and wholeness. This theme of darkness to light is the symbolic meaning of Lent and Easter. The miracle sermons for Lent are:

Facilitator-led, dialogue encouraged Bible Study for women. Beginning Tuesday, February 16th at 10:00 am in The Gandy Room (formerly Genesis Room). We will begin with a study of James. James could be considered a “how-to” book on Christian living. He wrote to Christians living in hostile surroundings. They were tempted to let intellectual agreement pass for true faith. James encourages us to put our faith into action. He says it is easy to say we have faith, but true faith will produce loving action toward others. In the modern vernacular, “Put your money where your mouth is”. So ladies… bring your personal translation of the Bible and join us Tuesdays at 10:00 am beginning February 16th.   Judy Dudley

The Pastor’s Class for Holy Baptism begins Sunday, February 28 at 4:30 pm in the Fireside Room. Baptism will be on Easter Sunday, April 4. The class is for all children, youth and adults who are considering baptism. Contact Edd or Mary Pat.

We have a trip planned for us on February 23rd. We will travel in the bus to Dale's Southern Restaurant in Hoover for a dutch treat, and then head downtown to the Civil Rights Museum. This will be a treat for all of us that have been there and for you that can visit for a first time experience. Sign up as soon as you can for this fun trip (no thrift shop buying, sorry). We will leave the church at 11:00 Tuesday February 23rd.   (Our shopping trip was COOL! Just ask Ginny White what bargains she found and Edd!)  

Steve Pasky will, as always, be providing some great food. If you have never been to a men's gathering, this would be a great time to start. After the meal, George Dudley will be sharing experiences from his recent mission trip to Honduras as part of a delegation from the Alabama / Northwest Florida Region of our church. There is an exciting work in progress which will provide numerous opportunities to work with Honduran Christians in a Partnership or Covenant relationship. This is a somewhat new way of doing mission. You can get involved, so come and get excited about this unique opportunity.

Please make your reservations by signing on the list in the narthex.

Lent is the season of forty days which begins on Ash Wednesday in preparation for celebrating Easter on Sunday, April 4.

The following is a schedule of our worship service for Lent:

Wednesday, Feb. 17 – Ash Wednesday Worship at 6:30 pm

                        during all Sundays of Lent

Wednesday, Feb. 24 and March 3, 10, 17, 24

                        Lenten Dinners at 5:45 followed by

                        Lenten Worship at 6:30 pm

Palm Sunday, March 28 – Easter Songs of the Palms and Easter Special Offering

Thursday, April 1 – Maundy Thursday – Holy Communion at 7:00 pm

Thursday, April 1 – Friday, April 2 from 9:00 pm-9:00 pm our 24-Hour Prayer Vigil

Sunday, April 4 – Easter Sunrise Service at Hargis at 6:30 am and Easter Morning Worship at                10:00 am with Holy Baptism.