Lent is almost here!  What is Lent?  It is the season in our church calendar that helps us to prepare to celebrate Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This year, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5th, and continues until Easter Sunday on April 20th. Since the fourth century AD, these forty days (which don’t include Sundays) have been used for prayer, fasting, and the reading of scriptures and devotions. There are several ways that you can participate in Lent here at Ringgold UMC:

• Attend our evening worship on Ash Wednesday or come to our morning Drive Thru Ashes.
• Read through the entire Gospel of Luke in 40 days. The reading schedule will be available on the church app and on a handy bookmark that can be picked up from the connections corner.
• Help create a Gospel of Luke manuscript. We are hand-writing the entire Book of Luke during Lent, one verse at a time, and everyone is invited to help.
• Join our Wednesday afternoon Bible Study as we read “24 Hours That Changed the World” by Rev. Adam Hamilton.
• Pick your personal observance, abstaining from something, or adding a personal discipline for these forty days.

For more information or to sign up for these activities, check out our church app. If you have never participated in a Lenten observance, try it this year. You will find that Easter morning can mean so much more than flowered baskets and chocolate eggs when you have spent a season preparing your heart, mind, and spirit. 

UMCOR Sunday seeks to increase awareness and support for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Gifts given on UMCOR Sunday play a vital role in enhancing the church’s global humanitarian response because these funds cover UMCOR’s administrative costs. This support ensures that 100% of any other donations given to UMCOR throughout the year can be directed toward on-the-ground relief and recovery efforts, allowing UMCOR to effectively respond to crises and provide assistance where it’s needed most.

By investing in UMCOR’s operations, we empower the church to mobilize resources quickly and efficiently, making a meaningful impact in communities affected by disaster and hardship around the world. This ministry is achieved exclusively through your generosity. Last year, your generosity helped to deliver almost 2 million dollars in support of UMCOR’s work to alleviate human suffering and advance hope and healing.

Please consider helping with any amount to this great connectional mission of the United Methodist Church by acting locally and thinking globally.

If you wish to give to this special offering on March 30th, above your normal tithe, please mark your extra check or digital offering “UMCOR” and thank you in advance.

A new goal our church has is to have more of a focus on Family Ministries. We would like for RUMC to be the church where everyone feels like a part of the family and has meaningful connection with each other regardless of age or demographic. Everyone should feel like they belong. In order to do this, we need to shift from silos to integrated events and studies that are engaging for everyone. Some ideas Jamie and I have discussed to accomplish this are collective Bible or video studies with age appropriate break outs, having the children or youth take over events, one-off intergenerational events that encourage learning through creativity, and mission opportunities that everyone can participate in. In order for this to work, we need YOU to participate, volunteer, and take the time to interact with someone different from you!

March 30 is UMCOR Sunday, and we will be having a combined service with a big church family meal afterwards. We think one great way to get everyone interacting with each other after we eat is by serving together, so we will pack flood buckets for UMCOR! These flood buckets help people begin the overwhelming job of cleaning up after a flood, hurricane, or tornado. To prepare, we will collect the items for this up until Wednesday, March 26. Please bring any items you would like to donate to the multipurpose room! Our goal is to pack about 10 buckets.

Here is a list of the items needed for a bucket:

• 32-64 oz. bottle liquid laundry detergent
• 16-40 oz. bottle liquid concentrate household cleaner (no spray bottles)
• 16-34 oz. bottle dish soap
• 4-8 oz. pump spray air freshener (liquid, not gel)
• 6-14 oz. pump spray insect repellent (pack of 10-20 wipes also acceptable, spray bottles must have protective covers)
• Scrub brush, with or without handle
• 18 reusable cleaning wipes (no terrycloth, microfiber, or paper towels, remove from packaging)
• 5 scouring pads (no stainless-steel pads with soap in them, remove from packaging)
• 36-50 clothespins
• 50-100 ft clothesline (cotton or plastic)
• 24 roll of heavy duty trash bags (33-45 gallon sizes, remove from packaging)
• 5 N95 particulate respirator dust masks (1-3 mm thickness, no surgical masks)
• 2 pairs kitchen gloves (durable for multiple uses, remove from packaging)
• Work gloves (cotton with leather palm or all leather)

We want to thank the congregation and community for the donations made in the Fall to the NCIC peanut butter drive. The church donated over 500 jars, which were included in the December weekend sack snacks. In May, for the last weekend snack sacks of the year, we will again include a jar of peanut butter. We include these jars before the Christmas break and at the end of the school year so that students have a protein that is more than one serving. Our new drive begins March 2nd. You can drop off your jar in the lobby. RUMC is such an integral part of this community and is always willing to serve, and I am thankful to part of this church. Together we can make a difference for the children in our community!

Sunday night, March 2, will be another great night of food and fellowship. Supper with Sally will be taking place at 5 pm in the gym.  Child care will be provided and our men will be at Dinner with Dudes so there is no reason not to come! This time, our Partners in Education (PIE) team will be providing our meal as we enjoy breakfast for supper! We will be having an auction during Supper with all proceeds going to help provide breakfast for the teachers/employees at our three Partner schools as well as our church Preschool. Donations for the auction are needed, so if you have something to contribute, that would be great! This was a lot of fun last year and everyone seemed to go home with something new that she was excited to have!  So, please plan to join us and bring your friends, your auction donations, and your checkbook! If you have any questions, please contact Sally at 423-605-6061.

Daylight Savings begins in March and 49er’s will return to our warm month’s schedule of meeting the second Tuesday of each month at 6pm in the RUMC Gym beginning March 11th. Make plans to join friends for laughs, good conversation, and of course, food. Chicken will be provided. Bring a side dish or a dessert.

We will welcome the girl’s Volleyball  team that practice in our gym as our special guest for the evening. Our church provides meeting space for several local organizations and special interest groups. It is a privilege to serve our community with open doors and we want show our support for these girls.

RSVP to Kay Harrell at 423-504-2737 or through the church app.  

Supper with Sally and Dinner with Dudes
Sunday, March 2nd • 5-7pm
In the Gym (Women) and Front Lobby (Men)

Drive Thru Ashes
Wednesday, March 5th • 7-8:15am
By the Bell Tower

Ash Wednesday Worship
Wednesday, March 5th • 6:30pm
Sanctuary and Online

March 49ers
Tuesday, March 11th • 6pm
In the Gym

General Budget
Full Year Budget: $583,833
Budgeted in January: $48,653
Received in January: $41,260
Spent in January: $53,435
Budgeted January YTD: $48,653
Received January YTD: $41,260
Spent January YTD: $53,435

In Person :
9 AM: 65
11 AM: 52
 
Online:
9AM: 30
11 AM: 12

Benevolence
In Memory of Sharon Teams
by William Tallon

Ringgold United Methodist Church
706-935-4777 | www.ringgoldumc.org
7484 Nashville St
Ringgold, GA 30736

David Cott, Senior Pastor
Sally Ensley, Minister of Care
Kirsten Lankford, Director of Children’s Ministry
Michael Arnold, Worship Band Leader
Kodi Lowry, Director of Preschool
Taylor Lankford, Executive Director of Worship and the Arts
Marty McGee, Coordinator of Senior Adult Ministries
Pam Blaylock, Office Administrator
Drew Sherrill, Communications and Technical Director
Jamie Smith, Director of Youth Ministry
Carolyn Turner, Organist
Ann McMillen, Pianist