Dear Ocala First Church Family,
We have some wonderful opportunities to connect and contribute as a church family over the next few weeks.
1 - Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 12:00 pm, get online and share in
a panel discussion on "
Grief and Covid-19
." Led by
Jessica McCune of Hospice of Marion County and Steve Tweedle of Hiers-Baxley (along with Pastor Anne), the discussion will focus on how our community
is grieving over isolation, missed family events, and the loss of a loved one due to COVID-19.
2 - Also on Wednesday, at 7:00 pm, we invite you to worship with us for our short mid-week time of singing and prayer:
Evensong.
3 - This coming Sunday is Mother's Day and we are planning a special tribute video to all our mothers. See the graphic below about how you can participate!
4 - On Sunday, May 17, will will celebrate graduation Sunday with a special video tribute to all our seniors.
5 - Also on Sunday, May 17, we are holding a "Diaper Drive" for Interfaith. Volunteers will be waiting for you at the portico on the east side of the Family Life Center for your drop-off between 1 - 3 pm.
A few other notes:
- Our Church's Pandemic Survey will close on Thursday at 12:00 pm. CLICK HERE to offer your feedback today.
- The Florida Conference has formed a task force to work on guidelines for how to safely reopen and re-launch United Methodist churches in Florida. As you know the Bishop’s current guidelines are to have no public worship through May 15th and they anticipate offering another update this week. The task force wants to get some input from you (not sure when the survey closes). CLICK HERE to offer your feedback to the Conference-Wide Task Force.
- Our Church Council is meeting this coming Thursday evening to discuss how and when to begin opening our campus back up again for in-person ministries. We will likely form our own task force to put together recommendations in response to the guidance we receive from the Annual Conference. We appreciate your continued prayers and patience as we move deliberately and cautiously through a complex set of discussions, guidelines and decisions.
We love you! We miss you! If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to reach out to us!
Blessings!
Pastors Anne and David Fuquay