Southport UMC Newsletter

Dear Friends, This is Holy Week.   This is the week that we remember the last events of Jesus’ life.   We have already celebrated Palm Sunday, and now we are approaching Maundy Thursday.   Maundy Thursday is the remembrance of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples and the beginning of Jesus’ suffering.   Good Friday is when we remember the death of Jesus.    Then, of course, we celebrate the glorious resurrection of Jesus in our four Easter celebrations. Following is the schedule of services for Holy Week and Easter: Thursday, April 2, Easter celebration at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 2, Maundy Thursday service at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 3, Good Friday service at 7:00 p.m. Sunday, April 5, Easter celebrations at 8:15, 9:45, and 11:15 a.m. I encourage each of you to participate in these services as fully as you can.   If you are able to attend Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter, you will have a more meaningful experience of Jesus’ last week before his death and a deepe

I hope you have enjoyed continuing your journey of discipleship by being part of the study of The God Who Speaks.   I want to thank Pastors Mark and Chris for the time they spent preparing and leading the study.   That study has ended, but that doesn’t mean that God has stopped speaking.   In fact, God continues to speak to each of us today. Most of the time, God speaking to us is not heard in an audible voice (but surely, that can be the way that some of us hear God speaking).   But God uses His Word and He uses others to speak to us.   So how can we continue to hear God speak to us?   God speaks through your individual studies and also through small groups of individuals who gather to continue their discipleship journey together. We will be forming Journey Groups for the summer starting in May.   If you would like to lead a group, please contact the church office.   If you are ready to continue your journey with others through a Journey Group, be watching for more info

Children’s Ministries would like to inform you of the exciting options we are exploring to reach out into the community through Vacation Bible School and family experiences in the future. Please plan to attend a Town Hall Meeting either Wednesday, April 15, at 6:30 p.m. or Thursday, April 23, at 7:00 p.m.    Hope to see you there!

The Boy Scouts from Troop 39 and Pack 134 are joining SUMC in our effort to feed the hungry. Food donations will be delivered weekly to Fletcher Place Community Center near downtown Indianapolis and distributed from their food pantry. Through our outreach efforts we demonstrate Jesus’ love and present another opportunity to make new disciples and transform the community in which we live. You are invited to write a short note which will be included in the food bags.  Blank note cards are available at the Food Drive sign in the Gathering Place along with lists of suggested food item.  Food Items Needed Beans and Rice                                 Canned Tuna                                                      Pasta and Spaghetti Sauce               Mac & Cheese Peanut Butter and Jelly                   Toilet Paper                                                           15 Bean Soup bag                           Old Fashioned Oats Fresh Apples (p

Most of us are able to go home at the end of the day to a warm and secure home. We have food ready to eat. We relax by watching TV, playing video games, or reading a good book. When we get into bed, it is the same bed that we are used to, and it provides rest for the next day. Imagine if we had all of this taken away for whatever reason. This is how being homeless would feel, and it affects the entire family. Through Family Promise’s Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN), homeless families find safe places to stay while they recover from their current condition. Congregations throughout the city open their doors to serve families offering that warm, safe environment. Beginning Sunday, April 12, we become the people these families can count on. During their two-week stay, we provide transportation to and from the IHN Day Center. We prepare family dinners and join our guests in eating together. At the end of the day, we stay overnight so that the families know someone is ava

Collection dates: Sunday, April 19, through Sunday April 26 WHAT: gently used clothing for children and adults, all sizes              (Sorry, no shoes or household items please) How it works: Collect gently used clothing and place in white kitchen trash bags. Bring bags of clothing to church from April 19-26. Monday, April 27, collected bags will be delivered to the Day Center. Goodwill Industries picks up the bags from the Day Center and based on the number of bags received, donates clothing vouchers for IHN and Aftercare Families to choose the clothing sizes they need. Please place your bagged clothing donations under the hallway coat racks. THANK YOU!

We are involved in outreach ministry and responding in specific ways to Christ’s call to take the message of His gospel into the community and world. Since the beginning of 2015, your generous giving to Faith Promise has allowed us to share Jesus’ love in these ways:  ·   Bibles were presented to the families of Perry Township Religious Education children ·   Meals were prepared and served to families staying at the Ronald McDonald House and at     Riley Hospital. ·   At Fletcher Place Community Center, individuals and families were served warm meals by God’s Will Breakfast ministry. ·   Annual support of Interfaith Hospitality Network provides families in homeless situations hope for a better future. What we do and why we do it are not about the shopping, the preparing, the serving, the cleaning up, or the variety of other tasks that are done. What matters most is for us to express the care and love we have for others, demonstrating the love Jesus has for all.   You a

Our next Blood Drive is Sunday, April 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Gathering Place.   Please note your calendar and when giving time comes, invite neighbors, co-workers, and family to join you at church to worship and share the gift of life so others may live.