-- Week of May 5, 2021 -- |
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This week, Pastor Allen is preaching on the story of Jesus talking to Peter by the Sea of Galilee (Do You Love Jesus?: Feed My Sheep; John 21:15-19). The disciples were overwhelmed and unsure how to move forward after the crucifixion of their teacher and friend, so they went fishing. Jesus met them there with breakfast, a sign of his love and encouragement for his disciples and each and every one of us. I had the privilege of traveling to Israel with a group from the church in 2019, and we visited a possible location of this event. I found it incredible to think of Jesus meeting his disciples right when and where they needed him. It’s amazing to consider how the creator of the universe is always there for us, wherever we are in our lives. That hopeful message of God’s presence can certainly help us get through the day.
Thank you for your prayers for Pastor Travis’s health and our church. We will continue to move forward with the task of sharing the love of God.
Rev. Grant Palma
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Worship with us in-person or online
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*8:30 AM Traditional Service (Sanctuary; Rev. Lutes) FirstGrapevine.org/live
- 9:45 AM Sunday School time (On Zoom or Outdoors)
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*11:00 AM Contemporary Service (Sanctuary; Rev. Lutes) FirstGrapevine.org/live
- *11:00 AM Bilingual Service (Founders Chapel; Pastor Lopez-Valcarcel)
*Pre-Registration for worship is no longer required. However, pre-registration is required for kids.
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For over a year, the COVID-19 Steering Committee has kept up to date with the CDC and Tarrant County Health Department statistics and guidelines concerning safe gathering protocols. Reviewing the latest government data and considering the size of our worship facilities, the committee has recommended a "restaurant-style of masking." Those attending Sunday morning worship services are being asked to enter and exit the church facilities wearing a face mask. We will continue to observe physical distancing protocols, but you may remove your mask during the service itself if you chose. We think these are reasonable and safe guidelines to follow. We look forward to seeing you all this Sunday!
Sincerely,
The COVID-19 Steering Team
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Holy Land Tour 2022 Information Meeting
May 5 | 7 PM | Zoom
It has been said that a trip to the Holy Land is like experiencing a fifth gospel. Being in the places and experiencing the sights, sounds, smells, geography, and culture of where Jesus lived and worked is an experience of which is there is no other. On May 5 at 7 PM on Zoom, we want to invite you to learn more about the itinerary and information regarding the Holy Land Trip scheduled for January 10-20, 2022. We hope you will join us as we share about the trip and all the wonder, mystery, and presence of visiting such sacred and Holy places together in community. This will be a joint trip with members of the William C. Martin United Methodist Church led by Rev. Lara Franklin. She will be sharing more information about the trip on the Zoom meeting. That is an added bonus as we will meet and share with her church making new friends as we journey together. We hope to see you there. Feel free to email if you have questions at [email protected].
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Be Our Guest 2 Go Meal
May 18 | 5 PM | FLC Tunnel
The Be Our Guest Team will once again be hosting a Drive-Thru Meal and cooks and bakers are needed. The date is Tuesday, May18 from 5:00 - 6:30 PM in the FLC Tunnel. This month’s meal is cornbread taco bake, black bean salad, tortilla chips, and sopapilla cheesecake. We need volunteers to prepare the taco bake (recipe provided below) as well as bakers for the sopapilla cheesecake. Please use the link for Sign-Up Genius to volunteer for this.
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Pentecost Sunday
May 23 | 9:30 - 12 noon
Celebrate Pentecost Sunday with us on May 23. It will be an extraordinary and holy day in the life of our church as we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, as well as kicking off the new June sermon series, “A New Spirit.” We will have a fellowship brunch, bounce houses, games, and live music between the 8:30 AM and the 11 AM services. Then at 11:00 AM, join us for a Contemporary / Bilingual Worship Service on the Scribner St. parking lot. Invite a friend and don't forget to bring a lawn chair. We can't wait to see you there!
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Tween Texas Rangers Game
June 6 | Noon | Globe Life Park in Arlington
Can you say BASEBALL? Let's go see the Rangers while welcoming the newest Tweens and their families to Tween Club. We will watch the Rangers from great seats in the All You Can Eat section! The pandemic will be in the backseat for this outing! Tickets are $30/each. Contact Sandy if financial assistance is needed (totally confidential). We will be leaving the church on June 6, immediately following the 11 AM service. Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up. Please contact Sandy ([email protected]) with any questions. To complete payment for the game visit FirstGrapevine.org/give and select "Other" from the dropdown and designate "Tween Rangers Game" in the notes section.
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Senior Sunday
June 13 | 11 AM
Senior Sunday will take place on Sunday, June 13 in the 11:00 AM Contemporary service. This is a service dedicated to recognizing the graduating class of 2021 and will be led by seniors. If you are interested in participating in the service in any way (reading scripture, praying, being an usher, greeter, etc.), let us know. Directly following the service will be a luncheon for seniors and their families, hosted by the juniors and their families. More details about the luncheon and how to RSVP coming soon. This year’s annual youth banquet will take place on the evening of Sunday, June 27th, where seniors will be recognized. More information will go out in the Youth newsletter and Youth social media.
One way we love to recognize our seniors is by sharing their pictures! There will be a slideshow during the service on Senior Sunday, as well as a digital bulletin and E-news game where congregation members try to match the baby picture to the senior picture. For the slideshow, we ask for a total of three photos: a baby photo, a childhood photo, and a current/senior photo. The baby photo and senior photo will be what is used for the digital bulletin and E-news. These can be sent to [email protected] no later than Wednesday, May 19.
We ask that all seniors send in a short bio with the answers to the following questions to be used in a senior booklet that everyone will receive at the senior luncheon. With permission, these bios and a senior photo will also be used for senior spotlights on our youth social media (@fmcstudents on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter). Bios can be sent to [email protected] no later than Wednesday, May 19.
- How long have you attended the First Grapevine?
- What’s your favorite memory from youth or church?
- What high school did you attend?
- What are your plans for after graduation?
We want to make sure we didn’t miss anyone, so feel free to pass along this info to any seniors who do not receive this email. Congratulations to the class of 2021! If you have any questions, feel free to let us know.
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Very Best Summer 2021
July 26 - 30
Save the date for VBS 2021, July 26-30. Registration is now open. Registration will be open to members and member families until May 15, and then will be open to the public. There will be limited space this year.
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Volunteer registration is coming soon.
Volunteer VBS Informational Meetings will be held:
May 6th at 7:00 pm via Zoom
May 8th at 10:00 am via Zoom
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To register your child for Sports Camp immediately following VBS, on Monday, July 26 - Thursday, July 29, follow this link and scroll to the First UMC Grapevine listing: http://www.triumphsports.com
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Congratulations College Graduates! |
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Last Week's Numbers & Gifts |
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Online Worship: 604
In-person Worship: 195
Sunday School: 104
YTD Baptisms: 2
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A gift has been given to the Endowment Fund in memory of George Hicks by Joe Hicks.
A gift has been given to the Endowment Fund in honor of Julia Beck’s 101st birthday on April 26!
Gifts have been given to the Endowment fund by Cathy & Craig Morris and Teresa & Wes Agler.
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Carter Blood Drive
The Carter Blood Drive held at First Grapevine on Sunday, May 2 was a little different since it was in their bus instead of the Family Life Center. I want to thank all of our faithful donors, Rev. Allen Lutes for announcing it in worship prior to the drive, Priscilla Sanchez for advertising in E-news, Jeff Mullis and Sanders for getting permission and setting up an area with equipment, our church for making the drive a priority, John Thomas, our Carter representative for his support, and especially to Rev. Grant Palma who encouraged members to donate in both Sunday worship services, which allowed us to surpass our goal! The remainder of this article came from John Thomas, the Carter representative.
“There is no doubt that the people at First Grapevine are one of the most giving and faithful people that I have the pleasure of working with. They are truly servants of God and have their priority in place. I so enjoy coming to help you in some small way just to see the many friends I have made at First Grapevine. They truly make me feel welcome.
It was another GREAT DAY at First Grapevine. You nor I thought yesterday would bring the much-needed donations to Carter, but we were hoping we could get close to our goal. Not only did you reach the goal of 25 but you exceeded it, and we had a total of 31 donations. We had 4 deferrals that could not donate for whatever reason; we also had 3 first-time donors. We had one young man that could not wait because his grandfather had to leave, but he will be back. We did not even count him in the records, because he never got on the bus. That makes a total of 36 donors with 5 not being able to donate. Now mind you, we could only host 32 certainly not 36, but we did it! In essence, you and your members were able to save up to 93 Lives. Please tell everyone, thank you for their support and their participation! Our next drive will be on Sunday, July 11.”
Sincerely,
Miriam Ward
Carter Blood Drive Coordinator
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Blankets of Hope Ministry
Last Wednesday, Grapevine’s Valley Hope Addiction Treatment Center gratefully accepted 52 Blankets of Hope to distribute to their patients last week. This is the Blankets of Hope Ministry team’s 2nd delivery of 2021 to the facility. The challenges of 2020 may have changed our ability to personally deliver the blankets and curtailed our work sessions for a while, but we have found our way these past months through the challenges. With this delivery to Valley Hope, we have depleted our inventory on hand, but we have not stopped making blankets.
In addition to the news of this latest delivery, there is additional good news. In late 2020 JoAnn’s began a first annual Handmade Heroes Program whereby awards were given to individuals and organizations who are making a difference in their communities using their hands, hearts, and minds. The Blankets of Hope Ministry was entered in the competition and our team won one of the honorable mention gift cards of $100.
Over time, JoAnn’s is planning to offer more awards of recognition to those who make a difference in their communities. The national competition was fierce this time and will no doubt be even more challenging in the future, but we’ll keep trying for a top award.
May God bless each of you for your support—prayers, donations of fleece, funds, sewing, cutting, laundering, tagging…because all those things together made warm blankets to wrap the recipient in Christian love. Thank you!
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First Grapevine, A United Methodist Church
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