Looking Ahead

• March 21 | Orange Park Chorale Concert
• March 28 | Church Work Day

Help Us Spread the Word About Easter!

This year we’re offering Easter yard signs to help invite our community to worship with us. These signs are a simple way to share the message of Easter and let people know they are welcome at our church.

The signs are $30 each and are designed to be generic so they can be used year after year. Each sign will direct people to our church website, where they can find the most up-to-date information about our Easter service times and locations.

If you would like to place a sign in your yard or neighborhood, please be sure to place your order by March 29.

By placing a sign in your yard, you’re helping us extend an invitation to neighbors and our community to celebrate Easter together. Thank you for helping us share the good news! Register here.

March 22 | Mandarin Food Bank This Sunday

We have a wonderful opportunity to serve our community by supporting the Mandarin Food Bank on an additional collection week. We invite all members of our church to donate non-perishable food items to help families in need.

Suggested items include: canned vegetables, canned meats, soup, pasta, rice, peanut butter, cereal, and other shelf-stable foods. Laundry detergent, dish liquid, and general cleaning supplies along with toilet paper, shampoos, and toothpaste are also needed.

Every donation, big or small, will make a meaningful difference for those who are struggling. Please bring your food donations to the church on Sunday, March 15. You may drop off your bags of donated items at the drop-off zone at the main entrance driveway.  A second drop-off area is located at the circular guest drop off near the front entrance of the Sanctuary.

Thank you for your generosity and for helping us show Christ’s love through caring for our neighbors.

March 26 | Easter Lilies & Hydrangeas 

As we prepare for Easter, we invite you to help us decorate our Worship Center, Sanctuary, and Longleaf Church with beautiful flowers. You may purchase and dedicate an Easter lily for $15 or a Hydrangea for $20 in honor or memory of someone special. The lilies will have four to five blooms and the hydrangeas come in 2-gallon containers. Flowers may be taken home after the Easter service. Orders may be placed through REALM or by submitting an order form with cash or check in the offering plate. Please write “Easter Flowers” on the memo line of your check. Deadline to order is March 26. Thank you for helping make our Easter celebration special. Order here. 

March 28 | Church Work Day 

We need men and women to help us get the campus cleaned up for spring and our Easter event. Please come and help us on Saturday, March 28, from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM. There are all kinds of tasks available for you to help beautify our campus such as cleaning windows, working in the gardens, trimming trees and bushes, cleaning the sanctuary etc. Any help is appreciated by David Spottswood and his team. Come for as much time as you have available. We appreciate all the help! Please sign up on Realm to let us know you’re coming to help. 

Holy Week Schedule

March 29 – Palm Sunday » 9:00 AM (Longleaf) 9:00 AM + 11:00 AM (Mandarin)

April 3 – Good Friday » 6:30 PM in the sanctuary

In this service, we will move from Light to Darkness as we hear the Scripture as Jesus approaches his death on the cross.

April 5:

• 7:00 AM – Sunrise Service » Chapel in the Woods
• 7:45 AM – Continental Breakfast » Wesley Hall
• 9:00 AM – Connection Easter Service » Worship Center
• 9:00 AM – Longleaf Easter Celebration
• 10:00 AM – Easter Breakfast » Wesley Hall
• 11:00 AM – Traditional Easter Service » Sanctuary

Loopers for Hoopers Fundraiser Update 

The March 9 “Loopers for Hoopers” event was a success with a showing of “Loopers: The Caddie’s Long Walk,” a talk from Ward Clayton, and yummy egg salad and pimento cheese sandwiches and homemade cookies. Through this event and other outreach, MUMC has raised approximately $5,000 with all proceeds going to the gym renovation. 

Great thanks go to the kitchen staff that purchased and put together the sandwiches, the UM Men, our technical staff (led by David Spottswood), our ministry leaders who welcomed everyone, and Elizabeth and Will Clayton for preparing silent auction items and cookies.

Those who contributed financially are helping make the gym even more sustainable in the coming years. The Worship Center screening also allows us to use this space for future movie nights and presentations. 

Those who won silent auction items will be contacted and can pick up their Masters gear in the church office the week of March 23. 

Donations are still being accepted to support renovations of this busy space, which is used for basketball, youth events, pickleball, and the Fall Craft Festival, among other activities. You can donate here to further establish our gym as a safe and welcoming space for all.  Select "Other Income" > and put "Gym Floor" in the memo. Thank you!

Summer Camp – VBS, Basketball, & Weekly Camp

We are super excited to offer 8 weeks of Summer Camp. The first week is split with Vacation Bible School in the mornings and Basketball Camp or Summer Camp in the afternoons. Weeks 2-8 offer full day Summer Camp. If you are looking for a camp that includes Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art, and Music (STREAM), we have you covered. Our Kindergarten to 7th grade students will enjoy STREAM learning plus indoor/outdoor sports, Praise Time along with making new friends.   

• Kindergarten-4th grade    
• 5th-7th Grade – includes special events, activities on and off campus  
• 8th-11th Grade – SALT (Students Acquiring Leadership Training) 

We are also excited to offer Music Camp July 20-24. Sign up for Music Camp is included in the Summer Camp Registration. We are looking forward to another great summer. To learn more or to register for any of our summer camps or to Volunteer. Learn more here.

Vacation Bible School & Basketball Camp Volunteers 

We are excited to open our volunteer sign up for Vacation Bible School and Basketball Camp.  

• VBS | 8:45 AM - 12:15 PM
• We need lots of hands and feet to be a part of this fun week. You can sign up to be a Crew leader (8th grade & up (this school year)) or Station Leader (adults only).
• Training – June 3, 6:30 PM
• Basketball Camp | 12:15 - 5:00 PM
• 7th grade (this school year) to adults.
• Must email Chris Rogers first to get approval.

March 25 | Women's Tea & Conversation 

Join us this Wednesday, March 25 at 9:30 AM in the gathering space. This session we will explore the topic of the many names of God.

April 2 | Young at Heart 

We invite you to join us for Young at Heart, our 55+ group, for a meaningful and informative gathering. Following our potluck luncheon at 11:30 AM, Pastor Missy will present a program on caregiving for adults. We'll see you there!

April 9 + 10 | True Beauty Book Club

The True Beauty book club will meet in April after having read the book Before Bethlehem by James Flerlage for a discussion. Upon registration, the location will be emailed to you the week of the meeting. Meeting dates will be:

• Longleaf (St. Johns County) – Thursday, April 12, 12:00 PM
• Mandarin – Thursday, April 12, 6:00 PM
• Mandarin – Friday, April 13, 12:00 PM

Upcoming Ways to Serve + Get Involved

• March 23 | Teacher Treats at CPE  
• March 28 | Saturday Service: Cup of Love

March 22 | Partner Schools

During the month of March, we are collecting test day snacks for students at Crown Point Elementary. Snacks should be store-bought, individually wrapped and contain no nuts. Please place items at the Missions Table or Welcome Table by March 22. 

March 29 | United Methodist Men’s BBQ Social 

On Sunday, March 29, at 5:30 PM in the field behind the gym, the United Methodist Men are having a free BBQ Social. The BBQ includes hamburgers and hot dogs with all the trimmings, baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw, dessert, and a beverage. This is a casual event for the men of our church to meet new members, visit with friends and have a great time of food and fellowship. The BBQ is free, please sign up on Realm, by March 26, so we will know how much food to prepare for the event. We hope to see you there!

Upcoming Summer Dates – Warren Willis Date Moved

May 31 - June 7 | VBS Set up

June 8 - June 12 | SC Wk 1 + Vacation Bible School and Basketball Camp

June 15 - June 19 | Summer Camp Wk 2 + Youth Mission Trip

June 22 - June 26 | Summer Camp Wk 3 + Warren Willis 

June 29 - July 3 | Summer Camp Wk 4

July 6 - July 10 | Summer Camp Wk 5

July 13 - July 17 | Summer Camp Wk 6 + Passion Camp for Youth

July 20 - July 24 | SC Wk 7 + Music Camp (2nd - 6th grade)

July 27 - July 31 | Summer Camp Wk 8

Registration has started for campers and volunteers for week 1. Click here.

Enrolling Now – Warren Willis  

We will be taking current 3rd-12th grade students to Warren Willis Summer Camp again. This is a wonderful Monday-Saturday sleepover camp. We are going to camp June 22-27. Check out their site for more information Summer Camp – Overnight Camps.

If your child/youth is going to WWSC this summer, after you register them at Warren Willis Summer Camp link above, remember to register them with us.

Upcoming Youth Dates

• Mar 20 | Youth Lock-In
• Mar 27 | Friday Night Hang – Volleyball + Pizza                      
• Mar 29 | Parent Connect » 5:00 PM
• Mar 29 | Youth Takeover » 6:30 PM
• Apr 10-11 | Middle School Sea World Trip
• July 13-17 | Passion Camp 

March 20 | Spring Break Lock-In

Join us Friday, March 20, from 7:00 PM-7:00 AM for our Spring Break Lock-in! We will play games, watch a movie, go offsite to a destination unknown, and have a late night worship. We will serve spaghetti and salad for dinner, so bring an appetite! Drop off is at 6:00 PM and pick up is at 6:00 AM. The cost will be $40.The deadline to sign up is Wednesday, March 18. Sign up here.

April 10-11 | Middle School Sea World Trip

Join us for SeaWorld overnight! The cost is $225 which includes Friday and Saturday dinner, Saturday park ticket, and transportation. Youth will need spending money for Saturday lunch in the park. 9th graders are welcome to join and older high school can reach out to Paula if interested in attending as a student leader. We will meet at 4:30 PM on Friday and return by 10:00 PM on Saturday night.

We need at least 16 youth to sign up by Wednesday, March 18 to make this trip happen. Sign up here.

Confirmation

Confirmation has started and our class is for youth 7th –12th grade. 

Class dates are: March 29, April 19, April 26, May 3, and May 6 (Wednesday from 6:30-8:30 PM) 



Confirmation Sunday will be May 17, at Longleaf and May 24, at Mandarin. 

Please sign up if you plan to participate in this year's confirmation class.

July 13-17 | Passion Camp

Our first deposit is due for the summer of 2026 of $100. Passion Camp is a fan favorite and our group has gotten so much out of this camp these past four years. It is not too late to sign up! Click here.