With the rapid increase of vaccinations and the drop in cases and hospitalizations in Marion County, Church Council approved the resumption of indoor worship in the Sanctuary and Family Life Center beginning Sunday, March 14. We are excited about this next step in reconnecting with our church family!

Responsible precautions will be in place to allow as many people as possible to feel comfortable gathering indoors. 

All other church ministries and small groups are invited to resume meeting indoors with the responsible precautions in place (masks and social distancing).

We are renting an open-air tent for the Courtyard for Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday. The additional covered outdoor space will allow us to provide more worship opportunities for Holy Week and Easter, including our Good Friday Stations of the Cross, our Sunrise Service, and the Easter Brunch. 

Preliminary Schedule (many more details to come!)

During the Season of Lent, we are sharing stories of our church family in a variety of ways. Some are even being invited to record their stories to share during worship each week.

Have a story to share?

Contact Betsy Bledsoe - [email protected]

Our weekly picnics have been great fun! The picnics will begin at 5:00 pm beginning Sunday, March 14 (when Daylight Savings Time begins). And we hope all will make a special effort to attend our grand finale picnic on March 28 with fun for the whole family!

During the Season of Lent, our theme - “Begin Again: Renewing the Promises” – reminds us that while our lives are full of ups and downs, God’s promises remain. The same is true for our church. As our community begins to emerge slowly from the worst of the pandemic, our congregation has the opportunity to renew our faith and fellowship. We want to reconnect with all of our members. And we want to invite each of you to recommit to our church’s mission and ministries.

In the coming days, you will be receiving a letter outlining our steps towards renewal and how you can help.

Members of our Finance Committee and Stewardship Team are making phone calls and connecting with many folks in our church family. We hope every member of our congregation will make a financial pledge to our operating fund for 2021, if they have not already done so. As always, we remember our membership vows to support Ocala First United Methodist Church with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness. 

You can also give by check payable to "FUMC" with "PACE" in the memo line.

Donations of the Monthly Mission Item can be dropped off at the church office.

Each week we send out a newsletter from Treehouse Kids and Treehouse Kids Jr. If you would like to receive the weekly news from our Family Ministries' Team, contact Shannon Vianello. (352.622.3244) or [email protected].

This week for Youth Group, we're having our own “Drive-In” Movie Night! Join us outside the Youth Building from 6:30-8:30 PM to watch The Prince of Egypt! Please bring your mask! 

COMING UP AT YOUTH GROUP

3/7 - Movie Night - 6:30-8:30 PM

3/14 - NO YOUTH GROUP (Happy Spring Break!)

3/21 - Youth Group - 7-8 PM

3/28 - Palm Sunday Church Picnic - 4-6 PM

Check out the latest news from Rooted Youth Ministry online!

You can stay up to date with what's happening at Youth Group by opting in for our text updates! Text @rootedymm for Middle School or @rootedymh for High School to 81010 to get our Remind alerts!⁠

If you need prayer or need to speak with our pastors or a member of our Care Team, please call the church office.