This past week I was unboxing a few items that were sitting in the corner of my office, and I found a small card that I have kept in a drawer of my desk for years. Printed on the card are the words to an often-referenced prayer by Thomas Merton that I have prayed many, many times when seeking clarity and discernment from the Lord for my life and ministry. I was given this card by a mentor and encouraged to pray often the following words to gain greater perspective of the plans God has for all of us and to train myself to seek the counsel of the Holy Spirit in all circumstances. In our striving to gain spiritual strength and intimacy with God during this Easter season, I would encourage you to also pray this prayer and discover the sense of longing and discovery that God brings to your heart and life:

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”       - Thomas Merton

     On Sunday we will look at another Thomas, the disciple, who at first missed his opportunity to experience the risen Jesus in the Upper Room. But our God who never leaves us alone, returned to the room and when Thomas realized it was Jesus, he cried out in great faith, “My Lord and My God.” I look forward to seeing all of you on Sunday at Lee-Scott (worship @ 9:30am, Sunday school groups for all ages @ 10:45am) as we continue this joy-filled journey to worship, praise, and serve our Lord together. God is good!  

In Christ,

Tony

We look forward to joyfully worshiping with you this Sunday at our 9:30 service! Dr. Tony McCullough will give us a message entitled "Glory Believed" based on Scripture from John 20:19-29.

Musical highlights will be the Chorale singing the powerful and poignant anthem, "At the Name of Jesus," by Cindy Berry and one of the choir's favorite anthems, "Behold Our God," by Mary McDonald.

Come and be blessed and keep the glory of the Easter season going by joining us in worship at Lee-Scott at 9:30 this Sunday.

Beginning this Sunday, we will have new worship registration pads!

We would like our regular attendees to list their names on the left side of the pad. On the right side of the pad is a place for visitors to share their information. If the pad is on your seat, please fill it out and pass it down the row. This is a resource that you can use to know who is seated around you on Sunday morning and allows the pastors and church office to follow-up with guest who sign-in.

We would like the person at the end of each row to place the pad on the floor. The pads will be picked up after the service. We will not be passing them across the aisle as we have enough books to have one for each row within a section. In the bleachers, please pass down the row and then up to the next row. We hope this isn't too confusing. You'll get the hang of it. Thank you for your help.

Nursery (newborns – 2yo) – Room 430/Choir Room - Contacts/Teachers: Debbie Bagwell (dbagwell@charter.net) and Martha Dumas (marthadumas@yahoo.com). Volunteers teach and assist.

Preschool (3yo – 5yo) – Atrium - Contacts/Teachers: Debbie Bagwell and Martha Dumas. Volunteers teach and assist.

K – 2^nd Grade - Front of Cafetorium – Contact/Teacher: Joanna Reaves (thereaves@gmail.com). Volunteers teach and assist.

3^rd – 6^th Grade – Back of Cafetorium - Contacts/Teachers: Patti Robinson (pattiwrobinson@icloud.com) and Sara Doornbos (sara.i.doornbos@gsk.com). Volunteers teach and assist.

Youth (7^th – 12^th Grades) – Middle School Building Foyer – Contact/Teacher: Jenna Morgan (jenna.m.morgan88@gmail.com). Volunteers teach and assist.

*SAVE THE DATE*

Christ Methodist Church will have Vacation Bible School the week of July 15-18. More details to follow!

Crossroads – Library – Contact: Laura Braswell (lkbraswell@gmail.com). Adult multigenerational class, studying various Biblical topics and their application to life. Members present book studies, Biblical theme studies, or videos for discussion.

Family Essentials – Back Locker Room - Contact: Abby Adams (abbyadamsdmd@gmail.com). A group of adults who are raising children and growing in our faith as a community. We study a variety of topics including first and foremost scripture, but also Methodist theology, family development, and Bible application books and studies. Taught by Debbie and David Smalley.

Fellowship – Auxiliary Gym – Contact/Teacher: Will Mooty (wsmooty@gmail.com). Middle age and older adults, couples, and singles, studying various Biblical topics and their application to life with discussion through book studies and video series.

Open Door – Sixth Grade Hall – Contact: Patsy Cotney (patsycotney@gmail.com). Middle age and older adults, couples, and singles, studying various Biblical topics and their application to life. Taught by Jeff Harte and Kevin Phelps.

Open Hands – Main Gym – Contact/Teacher: Randy Woodham (rmwoodham@yahoo.com). Middle age and older adults, couples, and singles, studying various Biblical topics and their application to life.

Sojourners – Room 441 – Contact: Judy Felkey (judy.felkey@gmail.com). Middle age and older adults, couples, and singles, studying various Biblical topics and their application to life through book studies. Taught by Philip Tyler and Bill Felkey.

The Neighborhood Gatherings begin next week with the first one on April 17!  These gatherings will be held every Monday and Wednesday night going through June. 

These gatherings are an effort to acquaint our new pastor, Dr. Tony McCullough, with all of us at Christ Methodist Church, and also for us to get to know him and his wife, Carmen. These gatherings will also be for us to learn more about our church and all that Brother Tony is envisioning for us. There will be around 30 -40  people at each gathering. Light refreshments will be served and each event will last about an hour and a half and typically begin at 6:30. 

Each host is compiling a list of people to attend a gathering they will be hosting on their specific date. We are trying our best to make sure that anyone and everyone who wants to attend a gathering gets notified of a date to attend one of these gatherings. 

If you want to attend a gathering and you have not been notified, please contact Debbie Smalley at debbiens7654@gmail.com to let her know of your availability to attend one of these informative gatherings. We will make sure you get notification of a gathering date. Thank you!

Christ Methodist Church of Auburn will host a cookout for young adults and families with children ages birth through college, at the Greystone Office and Ministry Center. Please put this on your calendar; be thinking of families to invite; and contact Susan Canaan at susan.canaan@gmail.com if you would like to help with this event.

We are planning on a time of yummy food, fun and games for all ages, live music, and fellowship for those in our church to get to know each other better, to get to know Brother Tony and his family, and to have the opportunity to invite friends and families who may be looking for a church home. 

We look forward to seeing you then!

We have offering envelopes available at the entrances to worship at LSA and at Greystone. It is not necessary to place checks in an envelope unless you prefer. Please note in the memo line of your check if you are paying for nametags or any fund other than General.

Are you giving from a QCD? It is very important that I know if you are giving from a Qualified Charitable Distribution account because the IRS requirements for acknowledgement are different than non-QCD gifts. Unfortunately, not all check remittances let me know that. If in doubt, we will contact you to double-check.

Our online giving platform is Tithe.ly at https://get.tithe.ly/download-tithe.ly-app. You can also access Tithe.ly  through our website, www.christmethodistauburn.com. Another way to donate is through text-to-give by texting the word "give" to (855)-645-3493,

For those who are giving through Tithe.ly, we encourage you to consider setting up recurring giving. It's easy to do - just follow the instructions when you login to Tithe.ly. Thank you!

Please contact Sherrie Stanyard, Financial Administrator, if you have questions, at sherrie@christmethodistauburn.com or 334-559-2229.

The amount received from April 1-7 was $35,610.85. Thank you for your faithfulness!

Our church phone number (Greystone) is 334-209-0074.

Our “open” hours are 9:00 – 4:00 Monday through Thursday and 9:00 – noon on Fridays. We will transition the volunteer shifts for the greeters to 9:00 – noon and noon – 3:00 beginning in May.

If you would like to volunteer to be a Greystone greeter, please email or call Sherrie Stanyard and she will send you an invitation through Signup Genius. Thank you so much to those who have served in this very important position. You are the face of our church!

Emails:

Dr. Tony McCullough - tony@christmethodistauburn.com

Gary Klarenbeek - gary@christmethodistauburn.com

Sherrie Stanyard - sherrie@christmethodistauburn.com

General email - info@christmethodistauburn.com

Please pray for these brothers and sisters in our family of believers.

• Laura Braswell - Cardiac catheterization, April 15 in Fairhope to determine reason for some of her recent test results.  
• Hudson Early, 6-month-old great grandson of Sandra Fisher – Infantile cancer, under care of St. Jude and responding well.  
• Christopher Wyatt, relative of Judith Gibson – Waiting for a liver transplant.
• David Smalley – Recovering from hip surgery at home.  
• Wally J Cruz, 11-year-old son of Jackie and Wally Cruz is home and doing well.  
• Cecil Spears – Health Concerns.  Had a setback but is hoping to be moved to Arbor Springs very soon.  
• Jerry Parker – Continuing to recover at home.  
• Robin Kirkley – Surgery has been postponed and she will begin chemotherapy instead.  
• Sherwood and Betty Thomas – Mrs. Betty has memory issues.
• Jim Carroll – Pray for healing.
• Rita Tuck – Pray for continued healing and recovery.
• Bess Lord – Continuing to recover from hip replacement.
• Sherri Guenther – Eye Condition.
• Harry Gill – Breathing Difficulties.  
• Katherine Hill, Lisa Leonard’s mother – Health Concerns.
• Chuck Dupree, friend of Beverly Webster and Sue Daniel – Recovering from back surgery.
• Tim Boosinger – Undergoing chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer.  
• Dan Pope, Dannelle Fogal’s father –   Had an angioplasty and it seems to be helping.   
• Matthew Hood – LSA junior who was severely injured in a car accident is home from UAB.  Please continue to pray for rehabilitation and recovery.  
• April Coulter – Colon cancer treatments. 
• Max Bush, Craig and Lisa Leonard’s grandson – Seizures are under control with medication.  Max will have a day long evaluation on April 15 with the cardiologist at Children’s at UAB to determine what the next step will be.   
• Stephanie Philpott, Gayla Sellers’ daughter – Stage 4 kidney disease, daily dialysis, medications.  Please pray for comfort and peace.   
• Ray Porterfield, Nancy Flurry’s son – He is now proceeding to get on the transplant list at UAB.  He has begun to process.    
• Alan Hampton, Rick Hampton’s brother – Undergoing chemotherapy for lymphoma in Augusta Georgia.
• Please continue to remember the family of Erik Chavez Lopez, the 3^rdgrader at WMR who passed away.  Lakeview Baptist has set up a Go Fund Me page if you feel lead to help.   
• Please keep our legal team in your prayers as they continue their work.   

The Congregational Care Team is adding another way for us to help serve the needs of our people. The Transportation Team will be a group of folks who can be called on to bring and take home those in our congregation who have no way to get to church services on Sunday mornings. If you would like to be a part of the Transportation Team please contact us.

Also, if you are aware of someone who needs this transportation help on Sunday mornings, please let us know.

*We have a new email address where you can send prayer requests and other needs:

prayer@christmethodistauburn.com

Please click the button link below to access this email.

Prayer Motion is an innovative program that incorporates prayer gestures with movement and music. By connecting intentional prayer gestures with music and movement, Prayer Motion provides a sense of calmness that will leave you feeling renewed and energized. It is medically proven that the brain releases a calming chemical called Serotonin when one engages in deep breathing and gentle movement with soft music in a prayerful way. 

Come and join us as Sherry Roby leads us in Prayer Motion at Greystone on Thursday, April 11 and April 25, from 2 to 3 PM. For more information email her at cjroby49@yahoo.com or check the Connect Cart in the lobby on Sunday mornings for a sign-up list.

The first batch of name tags has arrived for the ones who ordered early. Another order is being prepared and it’s not too late to order yours. To order, email sherrie@christmethodistauburn.com, call 334-559-2229, or stop by Greystone. She will also have a sign-up sheet with her Sunday at church. The cost is $15.00 per tag. Offering envelopes are available at the entrances to worship for your payment. Please designate "nametag" on the front if paying by cash.

Sunday Schedule