We are happy to report this year the Lenten season will begin with Ash Wednesday service on March 6th, noon at Central and the next five Wednesdays Lenten Luncheon will be held at one of the Staunton 8 UM churches with different guest speakers. Lenten observation will end on April 21st (Easter Sunday) with SonRise Service at St. Paul UMC at 6:30 am followed by hearty breakfast at St. Paul UMC prepared by Men’s group of that church.

As before, we will meet at noon to hear a message delivered by a pastor and share a lunch and fellowship around 12:30 pm. Our theme this year is “Living as the body of Christ”. See the complete schedule below:

– March 13 @ Marquis Memorial; guest speaker: Dave Rochford

– March 20 @ Central; guest speaker: Tizzy von Trapp Walker

– March 27 @ Cherryvale; guest speaker: Sarah Locke

– April 3 @ St. John’s; guest speaker: Won Un

– April 10 @ Christ; guest speaker: Sarah Payne

– April 21 Sonrise Service @ St Paul; followed by breakfast @ St. Paul’s; guest speaker: Norman Ramsey

The Drama Club has been meeting at Central throughout the school year under the direction of Lia Wallace from the American Shakespeare Center.  The Drama Club has been diligently preparing material for their performance on Sunday, April 22 at 5 PM. The performance will take place at the Blackfriars Playhouse located at 10 S. Market Street, and is part of the Shakespeare’s Birthday Party celebration hosted by the ASC. There will also be activity booths, cake, and a bouncy house. The event will run from 4:30-6 PM. Come out for an afternoon of fun for the whole family and support two of our very own Centralites, Betsy Gutshall & Kainoa Peters, as they share their performance in the Playhouse.

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the special Easter Offering. Together we collected $2,271 in total! That money will be used to support Valley Supportive Housing in the Staunton area and UMCOR relief on a global level.

Central UMC is closed today due to snow/freezing rain mix. Soup lunch will be next Sunday.

The special Easter Offering this year will go towards World Service.  This offering reminds us of Central’s position in the connectional United Methodist Church.  Through our World Service apportionment, Central can participate in the effort to improve global health and assist the poor, two of the major focus areas of the United Methodist Church in 2017.  Plus, it helps us look beyond our sheltered environment here in the Shenandoah Valley to places which are in dire need of assistance.  Please help us support World Service by being generous with your Easter offering.

-Joe Hill, Finance Chairman

A team of 13 hard workers from Central spent a week, August 15-20, rebuilding homes for victims of the February tornado which struck Waverly, VA. The team did jobs such as re-roofing, soffit repair, and siding work on two houses.

To see pictures from the trip, click below:
Mission Team 2016 Pictures