Jesus taught his disciples in John 13:15, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." He said this to them in the last week of His life as he washed their feet. He had given the example to follow, not just what they observed that night, but every day they had walked with Him. He was the example. They did not have to wonder what to do; they just had to follow. Friedrich Nietzsche called this daily choice of surrender, a "long obedience in the same direction". As we walk through this Lenten season together, may we embrace this life of daily surrender and follow the examples that Jesus gave us. 

Even though we missed having Brother Bill Kierce preach for us this past Sunday, we were blessed to be able to celebrate God's goodness and faithfulness and to be reminded of His promises and blessings. 

We look forward to joyfully worshiping with you this Sunday. We are thrilled to welcome back to our 9:30 service Dr. Lester Spencer. Brother Lester will bring us a sermon entitled, "I Am the Resurrection" based on Scripture from John 11:25-26.

Brother Lester began his start in ministry with us as an Associate Pastor just a few years ago! Following his retirement as the Senior Pastor at St. James Methodist Church in Montgomery, Reverend Spencer became the President Pro Tem of the Alabama Emerald Coast Conference of the Global Methodist Church.

Come and be blessed and let's give Brother Lester a big  Christ Methodist Church welcome back!

In case you haven't heard yet - we at Christ Methodist Church have a Senior Pastor!! We are beyond thrilled, excited, and blessed to be able to welcome Dr. Tony McCullough to our church family as our pastor and shepherd. Brother Tony's first day with us will be March 25, the Monday of Holy Week. He will be with us for our Maunday Thursday and Good Friday services at Lee-Scott and his first Sunday will be Easter Sunday. The following is the letter that was sent to everyone from Bob Dumas, Chairman of the Pastor Search Team:

"On behalf of the pastor search team, we are thrilled and honored to introduce our new senior pastor. The pastor search team worked diligently and cohesively to bring forward the best senior pastor for our church. We are immensely blessed to announce Dr. Tony McCullough as our new senior pastor.

This afternoon, the leadership team received the recommendation from the pastor search team and unanimously affirmed Dr. Tony McCullough as our senior pastor. 

As the senior pastor at Christ Methodist Church of Auburn, Tony will lead worship, preach and teach. He will also provide pastoral care and help lead the congregation in outreach, mission and ministry. He will have full sacramental authority and will provide leadership in ordering the life of the church.

Tony graduated from Auburn University with a B.S. in civil engineering. He completed seminary at Candler School of Theology at Emory University, and he earned his Doctor of Ministry degree in church leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington D.C. 

Tony is married to the former Carmen Stegall of Montgomery, and they have three children – Arden, a senior at Auburn University, and daughter Adeline and son, Holt, who are in the 10th and 8th grade at Trinity Presbyterian School in Montgomery. Currently serving as Senior Pastor at Prattville First Methodist Church, Tony is an ordained elder in the Global Methodist Church."

We are so very grateful to our Pastor Search Team for their tireless and selfless effort and for the great amount of time and energy they put into this process. We want to name them for you one more time so that you can thank them when you next see them. They are: Kate Ham, Cissy Yarbrough, Liz Kenemer, Pete Miller, Bill Dyas, Gary Klarenbeek, and Bob Dumas. Thank you so very much!

Since we were not able to compile and print a Lenten devotional for Lent, we are recommending that you subscribe to “Wake Up Call” from Seedbed Publishing for your daily devotional during Lent. Simply click on the link provided, scroll down to “Wake Up Call”, and submit your email to get this daily devotional in your inbox every morning.

https://seedbed.com

Come join us for our first Easter!  We are doing some amazing things for Holy Week, Palm Sunday, and Easter!  All are welcome!  Please consider sharing your God-given gifts this Lenten and Easter Season.  Together, we can make this the most incredible and inspiring Easter Season ever!  Contact Gary Klarenbeek at 334-703-7777 or musicbeek@aol.com for more information.  You will be blessed and so will our congregation!  We also have openings for handbell ringers.  If you can read music, we'll teach you the rest.  It's fun, only an hour rehearsal each week, and great fellowship!  Come join us!!

Preschool music program, "Jesus, Music, and Me" is in full swing at Greystone Mansion led by our own, Jacquie Cruz.  What a blessing to see and hear these precious children, ages 18 months to three years old, learn about music, rhythm, and most of all JESUS! For further information about upcoming classes contact Gary!

We have many special dates to get on your calendars for the upcoming Lenten and Easter Season.

Sunday, March 17 - 9:30 Worship Service -Join us for a very special musical presentation as our Christ Methodist Chorale and full orchestra present a moving Lenten musical entitled, "My Savior's Love" composed by Mary McDonald.  For Christians, there are no more significant events than those of Holy Week.  Reflecting on the life, death, and miraculous resurrection of Jeus Christ is overwhelming but true!  Them significance of a final meal with his disciples, the painful thorns and subsequent crucifixion, the promise of eternal life for those who accept and believe these difficult truths, all encompass the amazing journey to the cross. 

Sunday, March 24 - 9:30 Worship Service - Palm Sunday with the Christ Methodist Chorale, Genesis Children's Choir, brass and percussion. You don't want to miss "The Holy City"!

Thursday, March 28 - Maundy Thursday Communion Service - 6:30 PM at Lee-Scott

Friday, March 29 - Good Friday - 6:30 PM at Lee-Scott. Join us for this moving service as we retrace Christ's footsteps to the cross. Special music will be presented by the Chorale and guest cellist, Michael Knowles, performing Heather Sorenson’s, "Tenebrae." You'll be moved in a powerful way!

Sunday, March 31 - Don't miss our first Easter Celebration of Worship at 9:30 at Lee-Scott featuring triumphant music by the Christ Methodist Chorale, Brass and percussion with musical highlights including the "Hallelujah Chorus" and the Widor "Toccata.” Also, we'll have glorious floral displays by Stanley Sistrunk and the Flower Store. Bring your family and friends for this service of triumph!

Please join us as a family of faith to celebrate the joy of our first Easter together as Christ Methodist Church. We'll be welcoming Dr. Tony McCullough and his family on Easter as part of this joyous celebration. The gymnasium at Lee-Scott will be transformed in a Cathedral filled with the glory of Spring flowers by the artistry of Stanley Sistrunk of The Flower Store. You can contribute by honoring someone special or remembering a loved one. A special booklet of gratitude will be prepared listing all those being honored and remembered. Following the Easter worship service there will be time and photographers available to have family pictures in front of the flower cross that will be decorated. After pictures, those who have contributed the flowers are welcome to take home a selection of flowers to enjoy. Orders are due by Palm Sunday, March 24th. Each order ($30.00/each) will be billed by the The Flower Store. If you would like to do multiple orders, please use a separate for for each order.

Beginning this Sunday, the order forms will be inserted into the worship bulletin. You may complete the form and place it in the offering plate or a basket at the entrances to the gym. 

Saturday, March 30 - 3:00 p.m. - Greystone

First ever Easter Egg Hunt for our Christ Methodist Church Children! Mark your calendars! More details will follow! 

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, March 7 and 21 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.

Opportunites for Giving

Please make checks payable to Christ Methodist Church, Christ Methodist Church of Auburn, or CMCA. I am still able to deposit MFMC ones, but we are trying to transition away from that at the bank.

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, I will contact you to double-check.

Our online giving platform is Tithe.ly at https://get.tithe.ly/download-tithe.ly-app

Or you can text-to-give. Text the word "give" to (855)-645-3493

If you set up recurring giving on Tithe.ly in 2023 and wish to continue in 2024, please check that it is still active. There was a glitch in their system, and I believe the recurring giving was deleted and has to be re-entered. 

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

The giving amount from  Feb. 19 - Feb. 25 is $25,267.50.

Our published office hours (for now) will be 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Monday–Thursday, which is when we would like to have volunteers greet visitors and answer phones downstairs. We are proposing two shifts each day:  9:00 am – 11:30 am and 11:30 am – 2:00 pm. (if you can work all five hours, sign up for two shifts, please). You may contact Sherrie Stanyard at sherriestanyard@charter.net, phone 334-559-2229, or use the sign-up genius.

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

Facebook – Christ Methodist Church of Auburn

YouTube – Christ Methodist Church of Auburn

https://www.youtube.com/@ChristMethodistChurchAuburn

*The link for the YouTube channel is on our new Facebook page. All you have to do is click and it will take you to the channel. Please hit the subscribe button. 

Website – christmethodistauburn.org 

App – Download the app from the App Store (either iphone or android). Search for Church App- Tithe.ly. Once you down load it, it will ask you for the church name. It is Christ Methodist Church of Auburn.  You can switch to our logo as your icon.

We hope these will be wonderful ways to stay in touch, communicate and share with others. 

If you have any questions or would like some information included email dbagwell@charter.net

*High schoolers Needed*

The media team is looking for teenagers that don’t view technology as a foreign language. Friends are welcome to apply. Great addition to college or job applications!

Email Debbie Bagwell at dbagwell@charter.net

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

• Cathy Dozier – At home recovering from pulmonary embolism.
• Pat Wingfield – Recovering from lung infection.
• Sherwood and Betty Thomas – Mrs. Betty has memory issues.
• Sally Stroberg – Recovering from surgery.
• Jim Carroll – Pray for healing.
• Rita Tuck – Recovering from surgery and rehabbing her leg.
• Mary Sue Lindsey – Recovering from knee replacement surgery.
• Ann Varner – Health Concerns.
• Bess Lord – Hip replacement surgery went well and Miss Bess is recovering at home.
• Ed Crum – Recovering from Achilles and shoulder surgeries.
• Sherri Guenther – Eye Condition.
• Harry Gill – Breathing Difficulties.
• Sheila Tidwell, Wanda Ptomey’s sister – Recovering from surgery.
• Katherine Hill, Lisa Leonard’s mother - Recovering from surgery.
• Beverly Marshall’s mother - Urgent health concerns in Mississippi.
• 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 – Recovering from a fall with head and back injuries. Short term memory issues continue.  
• Sara Gullet, Ann Martin’s mother – In Hospice Care at Arbor Springs.
• Eleanor Adams, friend of Monteigne Mathison’s cousin – Healing and rehabilitation from cycling accident.
• Matthew Hood – LSA junior who was severely injured in a car accident in December.
• April Coulter – Colon cancer treatments.
• Max Bush, Craig and Lisa Leonard’s grandson – The first round of medication for Max’s seizures was not successful. They will tweak his medication.  Please pray for effectiveness and limited side effects  
• Stephanie Philpott, Gayla Sellers’ daughter – Stage 4 kidney disease, daily dialysis, medications. Please pray for comfort and peace.   
• Ray Porterfield, Nancy Flurry’s son – Emory has slowed kidney transplant process due to medical reasons. More testing.
• Alan Hampton, Rick Hampton’s brother – Undergoing chemotherapy for lymphoma in Augusta Georgia.
• Congratulations to David and Emma McCaghren on the birth of their son Dalton Frank. Proud grandparents are Doug and Wanda McCaghren .
• Our deepest sympathies to family and friends of Carol Davis, who passed away recently.
• Our deepest sympathies to the family of Bill Dyas, as his son-in-law, Dr. Geoffrey Hancy’s father, Dr. Steve Hancy, passed away suddenly this past week.
• Please keep our legal team in your prayers as they continue their work.  

The Congregation 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.

You may email Melanie Flynt at memflynt@iclou.com or Laura Braswell at lkbraswell@gmail.com

Those who wish to order a permanent plastic nametag (with magnetic clip), may email sherriestanyard@charter.net or call 334-559-2229. She will also have a sign-up sheet available this Sunday at church. The cost is $15.00 per tag and can be paid by cash or check. Offering envelopes will be available beginning Sunday. Please designate "nametag" on the front if paying by cash. These will be slightly larger than the sample that you may have seen Sherrie wearing.

This Sunday we will begin a NEW SCHEDULE!

We will begin gathering in the lobby for coffee, water and doughnut holes at 9:00.

Please be in your seats by 9:25 for announcements to begin.

The service will start with the prelude at 9:30.

There will be no Sunday School on Easter Sunday. Instead, we will have a Meet and Greet time after the service. This will be held in the cafetorium and there will be light refreshments. This will be a time for our church family and visitors to mingle and mix together and for everyone to get to welcome our first pastor and his family. 

There will be no Children's Sunday School this Sunday, March 3 and next Sunday, March 10, due to Spring Break.

***We are in the process of gathering names and street addresses of those in our congregation who do not receive our Weekly Updates by email. We would like to begin mailing them a copy of our email. If you know of someone who would like the Weekly Update mailed to them, please let us know.

*Don’t forget to wear your name tags! And let’s continue our habit of checking the Connect Cart in the front and back lobbies as you enter for volunteer forms, devotionals, and other handouts. 

*As you arrive at Lee-Scott on Sunday mornings, we encourage you to be aware of marked parking spaces in the back entrance and to make sure you park in a marked space. Please be aware that the trailer used to transport our equipment will be parked at the back entrance and does not need to be blocked so that it can be moved or it can be opened in the rear area. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter!

*** Please start making it a habit to check our website on a regular basis for updates and events at www.christmethodistauburn.org

We are so grateful for each and every one of you and for your commitment and faithfulness to serve our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Please continue to pray, and pray some more for our body of believers as we move forward together and seek God’s guidance in the days to come. You are all so loved and appreciated!

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13