Easter Letter
March/April 2024
To the Congregation of Grace United Methodist Church,
This year Easter is early, arriving March 31st, and many people will be thinking of the Easter bunny or Easter eggs. My family always had a tradition of filling an Easter basket full of candy that we would open on Sunday morning before church. My siblings and I would try and eat as much of it as we could before we had to leave for church. The Neville children always left our Sunday School teachers shaking their heads at us for all the sugar we had so early in the morning on Easter!
But bunnies and candy is not really what Easter is all about. Before Easter is Lent, a season devoted to spiritual discipline. Some people give up meat, or chocolate, while others commit to prayer or fasting. They do this to prepare themselves for the joy and celebration of the resurrection on Easter. Our bodies suffer a little bit so the wonder of Jesus raised from the dead has an even greater impact in our lives. I invite you to consider how you might experience this wonder anew in this coming season.
This Easter season is a special one for us. We hope to have our amazing choir performing once again for us. The Living Last Supper will celebrate communion and baptism with actors recreating the Upper Room experience. We’ll also have our annual Easter Egg Hunt on March 30th, which is always a hit with the little ones. Then the Sunday after Easter we have the Reverend David Wiley preaching for us! Be sure to join us for our Holy Week services and all the other great occasions at Grace as we encounter the new life that comes from resurrection. You can see all our events at www.gumc.org.
As always, if you’d like to give a gift in support, you can use the enclosed envelopes and bring it to church. You can also go online at gumc.org/giving or mail a check to the address below. Thank you for being a part of our community and may this Easter have an even greater impact in your life.
In Christ,
Pastor Brian Neville
*Palm Sunday 10am| 3.24.24 *Holy Thursday 7:30pm | 3.28.24
Easter Egg Hunt 10am | 3.30.24
Sunrise Service 7am| 3.31.24 *Easter Sunday 10am | 3.31.24