Into the Light

     The first time I drove into New York City left a lasting impression on me. On previous trips to Manhattan I had watched the mishmash of yellow cabs, city buses, and endless pedestrians create what seemed to be an impossible system to navigate. So my mood as I approached the Holland Tunnel was one of anxiety and foreboding, a feeling only heightened by the darkness of the tunnel. Then we came out the other side and our eyes immediately rose to the skyscrapers shimmering in the morning sunlight. I told my passenger, “The first parking lot you see, we’re stopping.”

     For some weeks now, we’ve been traveling though the season of Lent with its emphasis on repentance, sacrifice, and death. The prospect of Easter on the other side is exciting but also a little scary. The resurrection by definition is unpredictable. What new call from God will we hear? How will new life break into our closed worlds and challenge our perspectives? Will we be able to navigate the streets flooded with intersecting agendas and values?

     According to Mark’s account, the women on that first Easter morning discovered a tomb empty except for a young man who told them that Christ was risen and went ahead of them into Galilee. They left, terrified. That’s all Mark will tell us. We’re left to wonder: Did the women go find the risen Christ? Did they retreat to their old worlds or did they risk going into the unknown future? How will we respond?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work Nights at the Church

 

The Trustees are planning work evenings for the first Wednesday evenings of April and May (April 5 and May 3). A brief meal will be served at 6:00 p.m. and we will work until around 9:00 p.m. on spring cleaning and small fix-it items that need attention.  Everyone is welcome, so wear your work clothes and please join us.

 

Crown Heights Café

 

Come all to the Fellowship Hall on April 26 & May 31 between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. Relax, eat a delicious meal prepared by those who lovingly share their gifts of hospitality, and enjoy fellowship along with your church family in a "kid friendly" place. Meals are served "hot and ready" at $3.00 - $4.00 for adults, $2.00 for children 3-11 & children under 3 are free.

 

 

Children’s Ministry

by Jenifer Thompson

 

April Calendar

 

Palm Sunday – April 9

11:00 a.m. - Children’s Choir Sings

 

 

Acolytes

 

	2	Mitchel Williams & Carus Newman
	9	Zach Armstrong & Sam Endicott
	16	Johnathan Higgins & Jacob Wallace
	23	Jordan Rice & Mitchel Williams
	30	Sam Endicott & Zach Armstrong

 

 

	Children’s Moment		Nursery Volunteers
	2	Rod Newman	2	Janet Kingsolver
	9	Choir Sings	9	Betty Langer
	16	Jan Zisman	16	Stormi Rice
	23	Jenifer Thompson	23	Janet Kingsolver
	30	Lee Endicott	30	Michelle Adkins

 

Please bring candy to the

Children’s Department

for our Easter Egg hunt on April 16.

 

 

 

 

This Month in Worship

 

We complete our Lenten journey by reflecting on finding healing through our brokenness. Then we turn to our celebration of Easter with Mark’s account of the first Easter and John guiding us in exploring the reality of new life in Christ.

 

Sermon Titles & Texts

 

     April 2   The Wounded Healer                    

                      Hebrews 4:14-5:9

                      Fifth Sunday of Lent

 

       April 9   The ABC’s of Sin

                     Ephesians 2:1-10

                     Palm Sunday

 

     April 16    From the Top…Once Again

                      Mark 16:1-8

                      Easter Sunday

 

  April 23    Teeming With Life

                   John 15:1-8

                      Second Sunday of Easter

 

     April 30    The First One Picked

                     John 15:9-17

                     Third Sunday of Easter

 

Music Ministry

by George Massey

 

Palm Sunday Service

 

Our Palm Sunday musical presentation of John Rutter's Requiem will be a very special service for our Chancel Choir and orchestral ensemble. We will also present six of our youth and children along with Rev. Newman as candle stewards. They will represent our church and its past, present, and future during this Requiem and will extinguish a candle at the conclusion of each selection. Robert Trobaugh will serve as our narrator.

 

Please invite friends and family for this special service that will include all of our children in the palm processional.   

 

Chancel Choir Rehearsals for

Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday

 

Chancel Choir, please note one change from the card you received recently. Our dress rehearsal on Saturday, April 8, will end at 12:15 p.m., and we will meet on Sunday, April 9, ready to warm up, at 10:00 a.m., not 10:15 a.m. On Easter Sunday, please be

robed at 8:00 a.m. in the choir room where we will have a short rehearsal with our woodwind ensemble prior to moving to the Sanctuary for our service at 8:30 a.m. (Many thanks for your diligent work for our Lenten Services!)

 

Missions

 

Your Chance to be in Mission this Spring

 

Saturday, April 22, is the day set aside by several churches in the area to say to our neighbors that WE ARE NOT ALONE. It is the hope that 80% of all the members in each congregation will be involved in some way in this mission. You don’t even have to be available that day to be involved.

 

·     Some will be baking pies and cakes beforehand,

·     Some will buy blanket material for the Infant Crisis Center,

·     Some others will be selling the cakes and making the blankets.

·     Some will be cleaning around homes and on the streets,

·     Some will build wheelchair ramps and work on repairing a home.

·     Some will be working at a Health Fair and Carnival for our Whiz Kids’ school at Putnam Heights.

·     Some will be praying,

·     Some fixing lunches for other workers,

·     Some caring for workers’ children

·     Some will work with the older children who will visit a nursing home.

 

Everyone can have a part in the day.

 

Please look over the sign-up sheet in worship or on the website (www.crownheightsumc.org), call Bruce Pitts at 843-7684, or Janet Kingsolver at 524-3895, or the church office to let us know how you can be in mission this spring. Also, be in prayer for the people who will be working and the ones we contact in the neighborhood with the message that WE ARE NOT ALONE. God is at work in the area of 37th & Western.

 

Whiz Kids Have a Special 2 Weeks

 

What happens when 19 Whiz Kids and their tutors have 2 weeks of very different, wonderful activities? Lots of smiles, giggles, and conversation are what happen. The Whiz Kids and their tutors had a visit from the Cat in the Hat and Dog (the one who hates green eggs & ham but doesn’t have a real name) on March 9. After enjoying an interactive reading of Green Eggs & Ham, each Whiz Kid received a back pack and book (courtesy of OEA) then spent the rest of their afternoon reading with their tutors wearing their own special Cat in the Hat hats.

 

Then on March 16, after an extraordinary snack from Julie Armstrong’s kitchen, they got on a metro bus for a trip to the downtown library. Once there, they took a tour, heard a story, and explored the beautiful children’s section before returning on the bus.

 

We are now back to normal tutoring times for the next 6 weeks, but in May we’ll be ready for our big Spring Fling at Crystal Lake with the other 500 Whiz Kids from around the city area. It has been a great year for Whiz Kids. We are still adding Whiz Kids to our group as new tutors come to work with us. You can be a Whiz Kids tutor and make a huge difference in a child’s life. Call Janet Kingsolver at 524-3895 to find out how.