Cleanliness is next to Godliness

While it's true that this initiative isn't derived from scripture, it embodies the spirit of community and stewardship that we cherish.

Come roll up your sleeves and join us on Friday, March 14th at 10:00 am, for an impactful cleaning day dedicated to spring cleaning our church campus! Several folks have already signed up but please just come at 10 am even if you didn’t sign up and we will put you to work!!! There’s something for everyone to do including some inside work sorting and organizing our office supplies and spaces. Our beautiful grounds hold so much potential, and with your help, we can transform those areas in need of a little extra care, as well as those that require a lighter touch. Let’s come together to create a welcoming and pristine environment for all. Your participation will make a significant difference, and together, we can showcase the love and pride we have for our beautiful church facility.

From Your Pastors

!!WARNING!!

It's important to keep our community informed and vigilant, so we want to address a concerning trend that some of you may have encountered. Recently, there have been reports of deceptive text messages and emails purporting to be from our PASTOR, often originating from GMAIL accounts and featuring the signature block of a staff member. We want to emphasize that our staff will never solicit gift card purchases or any other personal transactions, regardless of the circumstances! So, if you receive such a message, please remember that it's a scam and not a genuine request.

NEW WEBSITE

Check it out at https://fumcnaples.org or just click below. We are so grateful to Karen Bach who has spear-headed this effort to modernize our website. It is an opportunity for us to display wonderful pictures of ministries of the church and to post important information for guests seeking to learn more about our church. After you’ve had a chance to view the site and all its pages, please take a moment to thank Karen when you see her in worship or send her a note at Karen’s Email.

Click here to learn more about this amazing ministry to children and their families across out state. Residing Hope is now a diverse ministry that includes therapeutic residential care, foster care, independent living assistance, Montessori education for the community, and counseling services in multiple counties. Together let’s make a difference on Sunday March 30, 2025, as we take up a collection for this vitally important ministry in our conference. You may place your donations in the offering plate on Sunday marked for Residing Hope, donate online by clicking here GIVE ONLINE, or mail you check to the church. Thank you for your generosity in supporting this wonderful ministry.

FACILITIES UPDATE

This week work began on polishing the marble floor in our sanctuary. We believe it has been decades since this was done!! We hope you will appreciate the improvement!!

MDS Family Spaghetti Dinner

&

Art Showcase

Friday, March 28^th @ 5:30pm

Come and enjoy dinner with your friends and see the MDS children’s artwork on display.

Join us for a delightful evening dedicated to a worthwhile cause—the enhancement of the Methodist Day School! This special dinner will not only support vital projects aimed at improving the school's condition but also facilitate the acquisition of modern equipment that aligns with the standards of local kindergartens. By participating, you will play a crucial role in ensuring that our graduating VPK children are well-prepared to embark on their educational journeys with confidence and success. Together, let's invest in their bright futures!

The Methodist Day School (MDS) is excited to announce its upcoming online silent auction, a thrilling opportunity to engage our community while supporting our vibrant educational environment. In anticipation of the much-anticipated Spaghetti Dinner on March 28. We invite you to explore a diverse array of enticing items up for bid, including generous donations for three innovative smart boards. This auction not only serves as a platform for acquiring exceptional goods but also as a means to invest in the future of our students, fostering an atmosphere of creativity and learning. Join us in this inspiring event, where every bid contributes to a brighter tomorrow for our school and its students! Scan the above QR code or click the below button to access the auction site. You will need to create an account to bid. If you do not want to create an account, Alicia, our MDS diector, will have paper sheet to bid on each item at teh welcome center next Sunday.

Sermon Series!!

Conversation With God - The Heart of Prayer

This Sunday we continue with our Lenten Sermon Series, focusing on prayer. We will dive into Philippians 4:4-9, which explores how to come before God and find strength in prayer. We invite you to join us as we continue our journey in prayer, leading us toward Holy Week. We hope that these weeks will enrich our collective understanding and practice of prayer during this sacred season.

This week we welcome back the First Church Ringers to our service! Our Ringers will be performing the Prelude with a well-known hymn, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty. This hymn was written in the early 1800’s by an Anglican bishop, Reginald Heber and set to the tune Nicea, by John Dykes. Listen to the bells this time as the sound emanates from the church’s balcony!

Bookkeeper/Administrative Assistant Update

Please Join Us in Welcoming our

New Office Manager, Karen LaCorte

Karen comes to us with many years of experience in accounting and office management in the hospitality industry. She has a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Trenton State in New Jersey where she resided for many years. She has only recently moved to Naples and lives about 5 minutes from the church so she won’t need to deal with the traffic challenges many of us endure!!! Please welcome Karen and help her to get acclimated to our church! Jaimie will be continuing to train Karen for a short period of time and we hope she will be able to visit for a week of intensive training in our finances and to prepare us for our annual external audit. We are grateful to Jaimie for her years of serving our church and wish her well in her next endeavor.

Bible Study

We would like to extend a warm invitation to anyone interested in deepening their understanding of the grace of God through an engaging and thought-provoking time of study. Our Wednesday Bible study sessions present a unique opportunity to explore this profound theme as it is illustrated through the characters of the acclaimed Broadway musical, Les Misérables. It is not too late to join our remarkable group. We believe that this study will foster spiritual growth and community connection.

In the six-week Lenten study The Grace of Les Misérables, author and pastor Matt Rawle dives into six ideals found in the story—grace, justice, poverty, revolution, love, and hope—each represented by a character in Hugo’s story. As these imperfect and relatable characters interact, we can see how these ideals work together (perhaps even in spite of each other) out in the world.

Come join us in our new location, Barton Hall, due to our amazing attendance, as we continue this amazing study.

UPDATE FROM MDS

Ms. Pam & Mr. John came in to the MDS as very special❤️ visitors and gave a wonderful presentation. Mr. John started off singing🎶 some fun songs. Everyone had fun singing together. Then, Ms. Pam read a beautiful story, written by a dear friend of hers, "The Lemon Tree." She brought in real🍋 lemons for the children to smell and touch. After the story, Ms. Pam surprised the children with a sweet lemon treat that was enjoyed by all. Ms. Pam & Mr. John also brought a very talented 🎩magician who did several magic tricks where the children got to be special helpers. The performance was very entertaining and the children loved Mr. Houdini's magic tricks!  

Update on Cuba

Just as we are sprucing up our facility, our sister church in Bíran, Cuba, received their first delivery of supplies for building their new temple. There is great excitement there as they anticipate being able to worship in a new space with walls!

They also celebrated International Women’s Day and offered blessings for the women of our church too!  This is a big deal in Cuba. 

We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Midge Thomas (with a helping hand from Eileen Hung) for delivering the altar flowers to Station 1, Naples Fire Department. They were given to this worthwhile organizations in recognition of the contributions they make to our community.

Every week, you can donate altar flowers for our Sunday worship and dedicate them to the memory of someone who was special to you or to honor someone who presently needs to be recognized! The cost is $40. Purchase and dedication can be arranged by signing up in the church lobby or by sending an email the church at admin@fumcnaples.org. Then you can either pick up your flowers after church or donate them for us to take to organizations in our community, bringing a ray of sunshine to workers and volunteers.

Food Packing Update

Jyl, Jay, Judy and Leo pack bags of food.

Gail, Jyl, Jay, Judy, and Leo are all smiles!

Gail, Jyl, Jay, and Judy pack bags while Ali and Tom get them ready for distribution!

We invite you to be a part of a truly rewarding experience as we gather to pack meals for families in our community through the Meals of Hope ministry. Each volunteer session is not just an opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of those in need, but also a chance to connect with fellow community members in a spirit of joy and camaraderie. Following our fulfilling work, we embrace the Methodist tradition of fellowship by enjoying a meal together at a local restaurant, deepening our bonds and sharing stories. Your participation would mean the world to us, and we would love for you to join this heartwarming mission. For further details, please do not hesitate to reach out to Wendy McKee via the email provided below. Together, we can create hope and nourishment for families in our area.

The next packing date contact Wendy if you would like to volunteer!

Please be sure to let us know if you or a loved one are in the hospital so Pastors Sara or Scott can come visit and pray with you and your family.

We are always in prayer for our church family, those around the world living in poverty, our leaders, and our country. Please join us in prayer.

Prayer Requests

From our FUMC Church Family



Intercessory prayer is a blessing that God has given us to pray on behalf of others. If you have a prayer request for someone that we can pray for specifically or even if you have a private prayer that you do not want published below, just email us and we will pray for that person and that need privately: pastor@fumcnaples.org

• Family of Jeff Currier (bereavement)
• Kevin Lee (cousin of Tom Bach)
• Sandy Barrett (sister of Pam O'Brien)
• Thelma Johnson (member)
• Julia Wayne (daughter of Lawrence & Jane Crouch)
• Julianna Thomas (Gail Jaworsky Granddaughter)
• Danielle (friend of MDS)
• Theresa Shaw (friend of Al & Thelma Johnson)
• Ted and Ann Baker (attenders)
• Jean Humphries (member)
• John Schloendorn (Church electrician and friend)
• Michael DiGaetono (friend of John Riccio)
• Jen Wolf
• Gary Matter
• Gail Couch
• Chris and Christine Grimshaw (members)
• Evelyn Johnson (sister-in-law of Al Johnson)
• Rev. Flo Scott (attender)
• LeeAnne Merrifield (daughter of Jim Merrifield)
• Baby Abby Joy and parents (family of Lisa Passeri)
• Family of Valya Staruchin, Januk, Orysia and family, Irina and family (three families of the Jaworsky's in Ukraine)
• Rosa Fogle (family of Thelma and Al Johnson)
• All the many unspoken requests and needs of our congregation and their loved ones.

Need to Reach Us? Here’s How!



We are available to you! Our church office is open Tuesday-Friday, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. After hours, for pastoral emergencies, call the office and you will hear how to contact Pastor Scott who will respond to all pastoral emergencies. 

Call the church office: (239) 262-1033

Email us: admin@fumcnaples.org  or

Mail contributions to:

First United Methodist Church, 388 First Ave S, Naples FL 34102