First Christian Church

Some things can’t wait, spring yard clean up time is upon us! What to do, what to plant, what to trim, what not to, which chemical will get rid of those pesky weeds? Where can I get some good advice (for a price)? How about free, one evening only.    

Our own Charlie Thigpen will be sharing with us Monday evening, March 29, all that you need to know to get started. So bring your shovel, rake, or whatever and let’s get going.

Just so you know, Charlie & Cindy have recently opened their own garden center: “The Gardener’s Gallery, located at 2805 2nd Ave. South S#300. For those of you not familiar with Pepper Place, that is the location. If you haven’t been there yet to see what they’ve got going on, you’re missing a treat. See ya Monday the 29th.   

Bud Flora

Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter are just around the corner; less than two weeks away.  The Chancel Choir would like to invite you to participate in these special services with us.  We are singing a special selection of Palm Sunday music during our worship service on March 28th at 10am in the sanctuary.  We call this special music “Sing Hosanna”.

It is a wonderful and majestic compilation of Palm Sunday music from nine of our last ten Easter cantatas. 

David Brasher will be accompanying us on the piano.  This music will lift your soul and touch your spirit in its simplicity and complexity; it is written by some of the most widely recognized and enjoyed Christian composers of our times. 

The choir will also be singing a beautiful selection during the Maundy Thursday Service on Thursday evening and will finish Holy Week with the story of Christ’s Holy Week journey in music on Easter Sunday morning at the 10am worship service, April 4th. 

We would encourage you to take this uplifting and spiritual journey with us over the next few weeks.  We feel God has given us a gift and we would like to share our gift with you.

Students are praying, every day. They need you to pray with them and for them.

The last Friday of March has been proclaimed by the Governor as a Day of Prayer Over Students in Alabama. 

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.

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:

We need help......we are sharing Easter fun with our adults in the CARE group on Saturday, March 20th. These friends with disabilities are coming from 9:00 until 1:00 to share Crafts, Singing, Lunch and Fellowship. Can you help us "Reach Out" for Outreach? They would enjoy your smiles and hugs.

Also, help is needed preparing lunch for everyone present. John Jones, from Canaan Baptist Church, and a member of the Bessemer Gideons, will be with us to present our friends with Bibles. You can call the church office to sign up or email me at sao2crna@bellsouth.net so we know how many lunches to serve.

Your time and love is very important to them, please share! Don't miss George and Judy Dudley..."pickin and grinnin".

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.

All men are invited to the Christian Men’s Retreat for men in the Christian Church Disciples of Christ in Alabama and Northwest Florida. The retreat begins with dinner at 6:00 pm on Friday, March 12 and ends after lunch on Saturday, March 13 at 2:30 pm.

The theme is “God First – Spirit, Mind and Body.” The resource leader is Rev. Eugene Fisher, Director of Membership for the Pension Fund.

Registration cost is $75 per person.

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.

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