First United Methodist Church embraces Easter traditions
Mar 28, 2008, 08:42
Sarah Coss
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The program included theater and music, performed by about 60 members of the church’s Sunday school, mostly children. It was free and open to the public at the church. Kristy Tenbus, director of children’s ministry, organized the production.
“The play is about the Easter story,” Tenbus said. “A family comes to church on Easter and comes to understand its true meaning.”
Marge Ballew, church receptionist, attended the performance.
“There was a full crowd,” Ballew said. “It was a really fun program that spoke to the true meaning of Easter.”
Ballew said the audience seemed to be “very receptive” of the message that the production illustrated.
For Christians, Easter is a time of celebration of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The church had planned to have a resurrection trail event instead of the program, which would have been an interactive tour of the final days of Jesus’ life.
“The trail was cancelled because of space—the construction at the church didn’t allow for that space,” Tenbus said.
The Rev. Eric Schmidt, associate pastor, explained the church currently has four separate buildings and they are undergoing construction to make them more adjoined.
“It will be more cohesive, easier to navigate and more handicap-accessible,” Schmidt said.
The construction also includes renovations to the office, classrooms and sanctuary. Schmidt said that it should be completed later this year.
Tenbus said that she thinks the Easter production was a good substitute for the trail. The church got at “good response from the community” when it did a similar Christmas program.
“It (was) a good way to involve the children in the story and bring a lot of people to the church that would not ordinarily witness something like this,” she said.
Methodist First United Church
The church has fundamental Methodist beliefs, including the Trinity and the humanity and divinity of Christ. Methodists believe in two sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
“We believe that all people receive the previent grace of God,” Schmidt said.
Other beliefs the church holds are God’s commandments and God’s love. Their core values are love, service, commitment, integrity and honesty.
They have three Sunday worship services: 8:30 – 9:15 a.m., 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. and 10:45 – 11:45 a.m. Those who attend may wear their “Sunday best” or casual wear.
Additional services the church offers are a nursery and assistive listening devices.
They do a variety of community-outreach programs, including working with the Food Bank staff in August, monthly assistance feeding the homeless with the Episcopalian church, and various other programs.
For more information about the First United Methodist Church, you may visit its Web site: www.umcburg.org.
