Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025

Be sure to read to the end of this newsletter!

Here's what's included in this week's Tuesday Newsletter:

Prepare for a busy Lenten season
Write a Lenten devotion
Donate to support medical clinic in Haiti
Updates on GPUMC members
Upcoming events

Prepare for a busy Lenten season

GPUMC has a busy Lenten season ahead, with a book study, Lenten dinners, music, and several services during Holy Week.

Ash Wednesday begins the season on Wednesday, March 5. Rev. Eardley will be offering drive-through ashes and a blessing from noon to 1 pm that day. In the evening, he will lead a service at 7:30 pm.

On Sunday, March 9, we will begin our Lenten dinners and book study. Dinners will be at 5 pm in Fellowship Hall; the book discussion will follow at 6:30 pm in the Wesley Room. A children’s study will be held at 6:30 pm concurrently with the adult program.

This year’s book study will be based on Luke: Jesus and the Outsiders, Outcasts, and Outlaws by Adam Hamilton. The book explores the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus as told in the Gospel of Luke. Through Luke’s stories, we will learn about Jesus’ care and compassion for all as he welcomes sinners and outcasts. As we study Luke and see Jesus’ concern for those who were considered unimportant, we will hear a hopeful and inspiring word for our lives today. This will also be the focus of our Lent Sunday sermon series.

A limited number of books are available in the church office for $12 each, or you may buy books from your favorite book seller.

During Easter week, we will offer an agape lunch on April 15 plus services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter morning (sunrise and traditional service).

Order forms for Easter flowers will be available very soon.

Lenten dinners

March 9 – Witness Committee

March 16 – Men Not Afraid of Aprons

March 23 – UMW

March 30 – Outreach Committee

April 6 – Pot Luck

April 13 – Study only at 6:30 pm (no dinner)

Write a Lenten devotion

Now is the time to step up — or sit down! — and write a devotion for our annual Lenten devotions booklet.

Charlie van Becelaere will once again be assembling 40-some devotions to get us all through Lent.

He will distribute the final booklets in time for Ash Wednesday, which is March 5.

That means he needs your devotion no later than Feb. 17. You can email your contribution to devotions@gpumc.org or hand it to Charlie on a Sunday morning.

Donate to support medical clinic in Haiti

Jeremie Rising is a non-profit established a decade ago by two members of Birmingham First United Methodist First to provide a variety of aid to a community that is six-seven hours southwest of Port-au-Prince. Jeremie has largely avoid the gang violence that occurs in the more urban areas of Haiti, but the area still suffers from desperate poverty.

Jeremie Rising manages two orphanages and one elder care facility, conducts mobile medical events in villages, builds shelters for homeless families, and organizes tuition support for more than 140 K-12 children.

The medical and eye care clinics in Jeremie are in dire need of financial support so they can continue operations. Amazingly, the clinic can do a great deal with a limited budget of $1,300 a month.

GPUMC’s Outreach Committee has already committed $1,300 to provide a month of support for the clinic, but we are hoping to raise another $2,600 in additional support.

Pleaser consider how you can support this worthy cause and donate now via the online giving portal (see Haiti Medical Relief in the pull-down menu).

Update on GPUMC members

A memorial service for the Rev. Dr. Jack E. Giguere, who died last week in Pennsylvania, will be held in July at the Bayview Association in Petoskey, where the Gigueres lived following retirement from GPUMC in 1999. We will provide more details when they become available. A full obituary for Rev. Giguere is here.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the Jack Giguere Scholarship Fund (choose the Jack Giguere Endowed Scholarship Fund from the drop-down menu) or the Bay View Association of the United Methodist Church.

Support the food pantry

As you consider your support for Immanuel during the coming year, keep this in mind: Immanuel is providing food for individuals and families so smaller items work better than larger items. For example, a single box of pancake mix is preferable to an industrial size box, which cannot be opened and divided into smaller units.

To support the food pantry, you are always invited to:

Order from an Amazon wish list that Leslie Rutland-Tipton has put together for us. You can order food directly from her list and have it delivered to her home. She will make arrangements to get the food delivered to Immanuel.
Donate canned goods and other non-perishable items in the box in the Activity Entrance or by leaving them on the porch at 86 Willow Tree Place, GP Shores.
Make your own cash donation to Immanuel, either as a one-time donation or through a recurring payment. Follow this link to set up an account for that purpose.
Buy a gift card to Meijer or Kroger valued at $50, $100, or more. Deliver those directly to Paul or Beth Blunden.

However you choose to support this important mission, THANK YOU!

Feb 14-17 Winter retreat, Lake Louise

Feb 17 Deadline for Lenten devotions (devotions@gpumc.org)

March 2 New member class, 10:45 am, Wesley Room

March 5 Ash Wednesday. Ashes & blessing, noon-1 pm; service, 7:30 pm

March 9 Lenten dinner (5 pm, Fellowship Hall) & study (6:30 pm, Wesley Room)

March 16 Lenten dinner (5 pm, Fellowship Hall) & study (6:30 pm, Wesley Room)

March 23 Lenten dinner (5 pm, Fellowship Hall) & study (6:30 pm, Wesley Room)

March 30 Lenten dinner (5 pm, Fellowship Hall) & study (6:30 pm, Wesley Room)

April 5 Palooza, 5 pm, Great Hall

April 6 Lenten dinner (5 pm, Fellowship Hall) & study (6:30 pm, Wesley Room)

April 13 Music Sunday / Palm Sunday

Lenten study (6:30 pm, Wesley Room) (no dinner)

April 15 Agape lunch, 11:30 am

April 17 Maundy Thursday service, 7:30 pm

April 18 Good Friday service, 12:30 pm

April 20 Easter. Sonrise service, 7:30 am, Memorial Garden

Traditional service, 9:30 am, sanctuary

GPUMC hours

9 am - 2 pm Monday through Thursday

By phone 9 am - 2 pm Friday

313-886-2363

office@gpumc.org