The Church office will be closed on Monday, April 18 in observance of the Good Friday and Easter holiday.

The Music Ministry of First Grapevine is presenting its first-ever Noontime Organ Concert Series, taking place Wednesday, April 13, Holy Thursday, April 14, and Good Friday, April 15. Each day at Noon, a talented DFW organist will offer a 30-40 minute music presentation appropriate for Holy Week. Admission is free and open to the public, and donations will be accepted after each performance for humanitarian aid in Ukraine through UMCOR. You will not want to miss any of our amazing presenters. Mark your calendar to attend this new, annual event!  Learn More

We are approaching an extremely busy Easter Holiday season. We need volunteers to help greet, usher, serve at the welcome center, assist with before and after setting up and cleaning up, and also serve in the parking lot for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the new Family Service, and all Easter Services. We are looking for some extra hands willing to help out with the Holy Week and all Easter services!

We especially need help with the Welcome Center and Parking Lot greeters. Thank you for helping to make our guests feel welcome this Lenten season!

Be Our Guest will be an in-person event this month on Tuesday, April 19 at 6 PM. Our menu will be bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, green beans almandine, mashed potatoes, rolls, assorted coconut and lemon desserts. We invite all who wish to join us for this wonderful meal. There will also be opportunities to help prepare part of the meal and to help host and serve our guests. 

Join us in the new Family First service at 9:30 am for a special time of recognition, prayer, and blessing for the new babies in our church family. This year, our Baby Blessing Sunday is for more than just the babies born in 2021. We're still playing catch-up from COVID, so any family with a child born between 2019 and 2022 is welcome to celebrate with us! Please RSVP to [email protected] with a photo of your child and their full name for our slideshow by April 18. 

Your church is collecting items for Support Our Troops Care Packages from April 24 until May 15. Support Our Troops blue bins will be available in both foyers. Immediately following the 11 AM service on May 15, we will pack the donations for mailing in room 2013 of the Family Life Center. Everyone is invited to stay and help prepare the care packages. Some examples are socks, protein bars, and hair products. Visit our website for a full list of items requested. 

Join Dr. Cindy Ryan at the Women's book club as we consider what it means to “Be still and know that I am God.” In April, we will be discussing "Rhythms of Renewal" by Rebekah Lyons.

Whether you’ve read the whole book, or haven’t cracked it open yet, you are welcome to come for discussion, reflection, and fellowship.

Our Endowment Fund is getting ready for the Annual Legacy Society Dinner on Tuesday, May 3, at 6:30 PM. Mark Lucas-Kelly, Director of Community Relations and Celebrant Services at Lucas Funeral Homes and Cremation Services, is our keynote speaker with the message, “A Legacy of Giving.” Everyone is welcome. The dress code is business attire. Seating will be limited. Tickets are now on sale at $30/each!

Please send a baby/early childhood picture and a senior/graduation picture to us to feature that morning. These can be sent to Hayley Piske ([email protected]), and include the student's name and "Senior Sunday" in the subject line! These need to be submitted by April 29. If your senior would like to participate in the order of worship for the service please let us know as soon as possible.

Time to ride the TexRail together and tour Sundance Square on a Sunday afternoon. We will be eating lunch at and celebrating May birthdays at Buffalo Brothers in Fort Worth. We will meet at 12:30 at the Westbound Grapevine TexRail Loading Station, pick up at same spot 3:30 p.m. As always friends and guests are welcome. For additional information, contact Sandy ([email protected]).

Pastor Mike Ramsdell will be leading a free Men’s Conference on Saturday, May 21, from 9:00 AM to Noon in the Family Life Center of First Grapevine. In this interactive study from the Book of Nehemiah we will look at ways to strengthen our lives, our relationships, our church, and our community with the guidance of a Bible Book aimed clearly at anyone who wants to discover guidance for decisions and choices that lead us in the Christian life as well as lead into a new future God is always calling us into. Nehemiah was a man living a very comfortable life, already a success in many ways, who found himself in a very different place when he authentically made himself available to God.

Key verse “When I heard these things I sat down and wept!” (Nehemiah 1:4) What makes you cry?

The Youth will host their annual Main Street Fest parking lot sale fundraiser. This fundraiser benefits the First Grapevine Youth and Scouts groups. More details to come. For more information, contact James Lawrence ([email protected])

Bring your child to Vacation Bible Camp (VBC) at First Grapevine! They will enjoy 4 days of fun, laughter, and learning about Jesus. This year's VBC is called "Making Waves" because it's possible for kids and volunteers to create a ripple effect that can impact the world around them in ways they will never forget. God put you on this planet to do the same thing - to make waves. You won't want to miss our favorite week of the year!

Save the date for our Missions Dinner/Auction! This food, fun & fellowship event will take place on October 1, 2022, from 6 PM-10 PM. Not only can you bid on some really awesome packages, but you’ll also be helping our missions and ministries as you do so! We are still working on the location, but we’ll let you know as soon as we get it!

If you are interested in being a part of the steering committee, please contact Julie Croft ([email protected]) or Trudy Hughes ([email protected]).

We are continuing our Stories of Stewardship. This week's story from Nancy Baku shows how engaging in Sunday services can lead to friendships and a deeper commitment to serving God. 

If you feel led to make a stewardship commitment, please visit FirstGrapevine.org/commit.

Our Never Go Hungry Ministry provides food to families and individuals in need. We are currently in need of casseroles to stock our freezer. Please bring casseroles in disposable aluminum containers labeled with what is inside and cooking directions. We thank you for sharing your gifts with those in need. Casseroles can be dropped off at the church office during the week. For more information, please contact Pastor Allen ([email protected]).

Please bring your own garden and hand tools, gardening gloves, sunscreen and water bottle. For more information, please contact Linda Krimm ([email protected] or 817-430-4286). 

At Justice For Our Neighbors North Central Texas, volunteerism is a part of our charter. We are expected to extend our services with only a very small paid staff. The rest is up to the volunteers to make our organization work - to make us grow. Justice For Our Neighbors NCTx is a conference-affiliated ministry where we extend a warm welcome to our immigrant neighbors! Whether you volunteer a couple of hours a month or several hours a week, you can make a real difference! To learn more about JFON NCTx, visit www.jfondfw.org. Then contact Pastor Allen Lutes to begin making life better as we turn strangers into neighbors! If you think you have no skills that will help our immigrant neighbors, come to a clinic day and smile at people. I bet you have other talents as well. Our first clinic will be held from 10-2 on Saturday, May 7 in the FLC.

For more information, please contact Pastor Allen ([email protected]).

Save the date for Keep Grapevine Beautiful Cleanup Day. Join your Church family and neighbors to help keep Grapevine beautiful by spending a few easy hours cleaning up our Grapevine village of Shady Oaks. Stay tuned for sign up information. For more information, contact Pastor Allen ([email protected]).

First Grapevine has long been in partnership with the GCISD.  As we continue our relationship with our local schools, there are many ways that we as a church and individuals can help our students, teachers, and all involved in the education of our children. Please see below for what is needed and prayerfully consider how you can serve.

Consider being a mentor! Volunteers are asked to become a “Big” to a “Little,” which is the student/volunteer match. Bigs will spend one hour a week, two to four times a month for a full year with their Little. Mentors meet with their students on their campus and the main focus of the relationship is mentoring and positive support. Activities are based on each student's needs and could include helping with homework, talking, playing games, and eating lunch together. A Match Support Specialist will communicate regularly with the Big and Little to ensure a healthy and safe relationship is being established.

Thank you for your support of our local school.

Sincerely,

Pastor Allen Lutes

First Grapevine UMC

First Grapevine’s Palm Sunday Blood Drive was very successful! Thirty-seven donors were seen, there were several deferrals that weren’t able to give, but we still managed to exceed our goal. Thirty-two units of blood were collected which is enough to save 96 lives! Carter Care gave a $15 donation toward Ukraine relief for everyone who gave blood, totaling $555 in help for Ukrainians.

John D. Jetters, Jr., a traveling Gideon representative, attended worship at our church on Sunday. Due to the appeals made by our ministers, John decided to donate blood, making the extra effort to give at our drive just exemplifies his caring nature and those of the Gideons. He stated that they have placed Bibles in all 50 states and 62 countries.

Of course, we can attribute most of our success to our faithful members. They continue to amaze me at each drive! I cannot express the gratitude I feel for each and every one of them. Thanks, also go to Pastor Grant Palma and Pastor Carly Payne who encouraged Sunday worship attendees to go and donate. We had many walk-ins due to their efforts. Also, thanks to Carol Rigdon, who sat in for me, so I could join the choir during worship, to Priscilla Sanchez for advertising, Sanders Barton for the set-up of equipment needed, Jeff Mullins for seeking approval and adjusting the temperature required, and to our wonderful church for providing the space.

Our next drive will be on Sunday, July 17.

Miriam Ward

Blood Drive Chair

We are excited about our ministry and missional events. This is just a friendly reminder that we have some procedures to make your ministry or missional events successful. Our Media and Communication Guide lists deadlines for e-news, updates to the website, ministry spotlights, videos, and more. The First Grapevine Brand Identity Standard Guide will help to ensure that your marketing materials are in line with the church's brand standards. If you have an upcoming event, be sure to let us know by filling out the Room Request form on our website (FirstGrapevine.org/roomrequest) or by entering it into ServiceU so that our staff can help make your event possible. We couldn't do church without you. Thank you for helping others experience and share God's love!

First Grapevine, A United Methodist Church

FirstGrapevine.org | Link to E-News