Announcements

Join us on Wednesday nights for a meal at 5:30 p.m. in The Vine and classes at 6:30 p.m. led by the pastors, Big Self School, and Tim Threadgill! The Children’s Program starts at 6:15 p.m. and the Youth Program starts at 6:30 p.m.

Make sure to reserve your meal before Tuesdays at 11:00 a.m. if you and your family are eating in The Vine. You can reserve your meal and pre-pay for it online, or you can pay with cash or card when you arrive on Wednesday evening.

This comedy parodies every English mystery play ever written: but it has a decidedly American flair. Miss Maple, a dowager with a reputation for "clever" weekend parties, invites a group of detective writers to eerie Ravenswood Manor on Turkey Island where they are to impersonate their fictional characters. The hostess has arranged all sorts of amusing incidents: a mysterious voice on the radio, a menacing face at the window, a mad killer on the loose. Who is that body in the wine cellar anyway? Why do little figurines keep toppling from the mantle? Then a real murder takes place, and Miss Maple is outraged. She offers an immense reward to the "detective" who can bring the killer to justice. And what an assortment of zany would-be sleuths! When they're not busy tripping over clues, they trip over each other! Laughs collide with thrills, and the climax is a real seat-grabber as the true killer is unmasked, and almost everyone turns out to be someone else!

Starring:
• Emma Veys as Haversham
• Jamie Newberg as Rita Eyelesbarrow
• Denise Camille Frye as Miss Maple
• Carlton Thomas as Father White
• Eli Binder as Chandler Marlowe
• David Howard as Louie Fan
• Dana Rogers as Rick Carlyle
• Claire Mitchell as Laura Carlyle
• Carlos Arce as Peter Flimsey
• Kashun Parks as Charity Haze
• B.G. Myers as Mabel Dupre
• Murphy Rogers as Pharaoh Link

Join the Marriage Enrichment Ministry for the next Date Night on April 26th at 6:00 p.m. in the Oak Street Center! This month our guest speaker is Big School Self. We will learn how to understand our spouse's enneagram type and how to complement each other's traits to foster personal growth.

The enneagram helps couples gain personal insight and practical tools for better communication and more intimacy in their relationship. We explore core motivations, core fears, unconscious patterns, innate gifts and limitations. Give your partner the gift of understanding you better!

Big School Self encourages participants to take an enneagram test prior to the event. Below are two options and if you search the web you will find many others as well. We recommend writing down your results!

LIFTING UP VOICES FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE
This service is a faith-filled time to assemble with lifted hearts and hands: to give selflessly to a common cause and to be in communion with God. All are invited! The offering this year goes to UWF climate justice projects.

If you will need childcare (and pizza) please notify Brittany Eastridge in the church office by May 2.

If you want to give, but are not able to attend the service, you can give through all the usual channels. Offerings should go to Sally Richardson, UWF, for Call to Prayer and Self-Denial.

Are you a first time visitor or have been visiting for a while? Do you want to know more about First-Centenary? Are you interested in becoming a member of First-Centenary? Or, do you simply want to get to know the Senior Pastor? Then join Pastor Jason every third Sunday of the month at 9:45 a.m. in the conference room for Coffee with the Pastor!

The Mary Martha and the Chris Bowles Circles of United Women in Faith have officially merged. The Circle’s next meeting will be at 10:30 AM, on Tuesday, March 26th, in the Morgan Classroom. We will fellowship, share light refreshment and review John Wesley’s approach to Bible Study.

Chris Bowles invested her life’s energies in her relationship with Christ and in her devotion to discipling others. Our circle bears her name to honor her memory and to be our reminder of her beautiful witness as we seek to deepen our Christian discipleship and to emulate her Christian servanthood. Please come prepared to share your ideas for our future Scripture and service adventures.

A membership list is available by request.
Martha Payne: mppayne66@gmail.com, text or call 423-316-0606
Sally Richardson: cavesallyr@gmail.com, text or call 423-785-7748

Confirmation will be every Sunday until April 28th during Sunday School in the Student Center. Here is to an exciting new chapter of faith!

First-Centenary invites Families to HOMETOWN NAZARETH: WHERE JESUS WAS A KID

A summer family event called Hometown Nazareth will be hosted at First-Centenary from June 24th to the 28th. Families step back in time at Hometown Nazareth, exploring what it was like to live in the town where Jesus grew up. Kids and adults participate in a memorable Bible-times marketplace, sing catchy songs, play teamwork-building games, dig into Bible-times snacks, visit Jesus’ mom, Mary, and collect Bible Memory Makers to remind them of God’s Word. Plus, everyone learns to look for evidence of God all around them through something called God Sightings. Each day concludes at Celebration—a time of upbeat worship that gets everyone involved.

Put your talents, energy and ideas to work. You’ll find flexible opportunities for spiritual growth and ways to act for social justice, support your community, live your faith and enrich your life right here at First-Centenary United Women in Faith in our small groups/Circles.

Are you looking for a way to support the youth traveling to Romania this summer? Here's your chance to make a difference! By purchasing a stock, you'll not only invest in their mission but also become an integral part of their journey. Your support will directly contribute to aiding in covering essential expenses such as supplies, food, travel, and accommodations. Each stock purchase will serve as a vital donation towards their mission trip fund. But that's not all!

When you buy a stock, you'll receive:• An exclusive invitation to a special luncheon hosted by the youth group at the end of July.
• The opportunity to engage with the students, hear their stories firsthand, and ask any questions about their experiences in Romania.

We recommend $50 per stock, but any amount is immensely appreciated. Every dollar counts towards making this trip a success. Your support and prayers mean the world to us! Thank you for your generosity and let's make this mission to Romania an unforgettable experience for all!

For more information, email our Youth Director, Tori Crook, at tcrook@firstcentenary.com. Donations can also be given to Tori in-person.

It is time to refresh the Memorial Garden at First-Centenary UMC. This will allow it to continue to be a place of quiet contemplation and meditation, as well as a beautiful place to hold meaningful services.

The Memorial Garden was created in 2001 after previously serving as a meditation garden. Since then, 71 families have chosen this area to lay their loved ones to rest. There are currently 325 designated spots as well as an area where ashes can be scattered. The Garden Mission Team currently maintains the Memorial Garden.
Over the years the garden has thrived, but both freezing winters and time have taken their toll. It is time to refresh it to ensure it lasts many more years. A landscape designer has created a beautiful plan for us, and we have a landscaper to install it.

Most of the plantings will be removed and the watering system replaced. We will add trees, shrubbery, plants with seasonal color, new hardscape, and a new water feature. Each phase of the project will be conducted with care and respect, and ensure that interred ashes are undisturbed. The cost of this project is $30,000. The largest cost is labor to remove the current vegetation because it will have to be carried out by hand.

We need your help to keep the Memorial Garden looking beautiful. We invite you to consider donating to this worthy project. The upgrade will begin this month so your immediate consideration is appreciated. You can give by writing a check to First-Centenary UMC and putting “Memorial Garden Refresh” on the memo line. You can also go to the church’s website, click on either “Give,” enter the dollar amount and select “Memorial Garden Refresh.”

Your consideration is greatly appreciated.

Each year we ask families of the church to donate money towards our Sunday & Wednesday meals. This is a lot easier than asking parents to sign up to bring breakfasts and dinners and it is cheaper as well.

If 36 of our youth's families donate $150 then we will have enough money to pay for ALL of our meals for the entire school year. Give the full amount or give part of the amount monthly or in whatever way you would like. Some choose to give $50 per month for 3 months or $25 a month for six months. Any amount is helpful. We currently need donations for our kickoff to fall!

To give, you can click the link below or simply write a check, write "Free Meals Campaign" or "Youth Meals" in the memo line and drop it in the offering plate on Sunday or send it with your child on Wednesday night.

Our Sunday night service has continued to grow and with that, we have had a lot more children join in on Sunday nights. What started out as two or three children and the sweet kitchen ladies starting to teach them Bible stories has become fifteen regular children and the children’s ministry stepping up to help on Sunday nights. There are 1 in 5 children who live in food insecure homes in our country and the majority of the children on Sunday nights come from low income households and face hardships many of us never have to worry about. In order to make life a little easier and enjoyable in their young lives, we have worked together with the children’s ministry to put together snack bags for the children to take home with them on Sunday nights after church. These bags include non perishable things they can snack on during the week, use as a breakfast item, or take to school for lunch. Most of our children do not get the luxury of picking and choosing a snack or something they might enjoy for lunch and often times our children have to just go without. Please keep in mind that this happens year round, not just during the holidays. This ministry plans to continue indefinitely as children need food all year long and not just around the holidays.

If you feel led to donate to this specific snack bag ministry, here is a list of items we could use that will help these kids throughout the week:
• Individually wrapped muffins or muffin bites
• Fruit cups
• Fruit snacks
• Ramen noodles
• Microwavable mac and cheese
• Fruit or apple sauce cups or pouches (Gogo Squeez)
• Pop tarts
• Instant oatmeal
• Individually wrapped danishes or pastries
• Chewy granola bars
• Vienna Sausages
• Individual trail mix of packets of mixed nuts
• Multi pack single serve cereal
• Slim Jims
• Nutri-grain bars

If you prefer to make a monetary donation you can do so by check to Mustard Tree Ministry or First Centenary UMC just write “MTM Loaves and Fishes” in the “for” line or you can find us on Venmo @MustardTreeMin.

We're looking for someone to join our First Kids' team! Email Beth at bspears@firstcentenary.com if you have any questions. Click below to apply!

Want to... Make a positive difference in the life of a child? Encourage literacy? Gain valuable job experience leading groups of students? Use your creativity to encourage young minds? Apply to join our team and help students grow into resilient and capable leaders of our city. Since 1967 The Centenary has been providing academic support, physical education, life skills development, and avenues for spiritual expression to students from across Chattanooga.

First-Centenary United Methodist Church in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee is seeking a full-time Assistant Youth Director/College Minister. First-Centenary is a large membership church with a thriving student ministries program from birth to college. A qualified applicant should have a college degree, previous youth ministry experience, be technologically savvy, have a passion for connecting with and developing youth and college students into strong young adult Christians, the emotional and relational maturity to relate to youth, parents, college students, and adult volunteers, and possess (or be willing to learn/teach) a Wesleyan/Methodist theological approach to youth ministry and theology. We are located next to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and are looking to rebuild our college ministry.

The youth group at First-Centenary has students from 15 to 20 different schools in the Chattanooga area. Because First-Centenary is a downtown church, there is not one school that most of our youth come from. This allows the youth group to reach an eclectic mix of students. The students at First-Centenary are accustomed to intellectual curriculum that is based in Wesleyan Theology. Students are encouraged to ask questions and explore their doubt in a welcoming and understanding environment.

We aim for our college minister to reflect this as well and be a place where college aged students can continue to grow in their faith and develop as leaders. Because of our close proximity to the campus and the natural articulation of college students we believe that it is time to revive a campus ministry that paused during COVID years. An ideal candidate would have a passion for campus ministry, a start up mentality, and a relational approach to ministry.

If you are interested in applying please send your resume and references to the Youth Director Tori Crook, at tcrook@firstcentenary.com by April 1,2024. If you have questions about the timeline, application process, or the church, please feel free to email Tori or call the church at 423-756-2021.