On Ash Wednesday, I received a text message from a woman about the possibility of my placing ashes on her forehead during daylight hours instead of at our scheduled Ash Wednesday worship time. I knew that she would be reaching out. One of our church leaders had talked with me about the possibility. She is not a member of our church, lives outside of town, and no longer drives at night. We set up a time and she promptly arrived. I prepared the ashes, reminded her of their significance, and then made the sign of the cross, using them, on her forehead. It was a holy moment. She thanked me for making time for her and told me that receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday was a long-standing tradition for her. I was happy to help keep that tradition alive. 

She then said something that has stayed with me since. She said, “I’m not really a Christmas person. I like to focus on the season of Lent and Easter.” We talked a minute or two about what goes into both. She thanked me for the ashes and keeping her tradition alive, and then she left. Perhaps I will see her again next year.

What I was left with was wondering if I am more of an Advent and Christmas person or a Lent and Easter person. Before our conversation, I would have said that I preferred Advent and Christmas. There is something magical and powerful about the season. There are presents to purchase, parties to attend, trees and houses to decorate, family that gathers. There’s no better day to preach than on Christmas eve, unless it is Easter Sunday. 

The season of Advent is four-weeks long and at the end of it, a baby is born. The baby is no ordinary baby. His name is Jesus. We sing upbeat songs and light candles. We know very little about Jesus’ early years. What we do know more about are the three years of His public ministry.

The season of Lent is longer, six-weeks in length and at the very end of it is the resurrection of Jesus, the fulfillment of why He was born in the first place. Before that there are hymns that aren’t so upbeat and lessons that do not include angels and shepherds and wise men. The forty days of Lent are supposed to remind you of the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness. The scripture lessons are harder to swallow. Instead of candles being lit, we extinguish them, one every week until our service on Good Friday, when it is suddenly dark. And then there is Easter Sunday with its hallelujahs and upbeat songs again. 

My Ash Wednesday visitor made me appreciate the season of Lent more than I have in recent years. I do love Christmas with its joy and peace. I love the candles and the hymns. And I love Easter with hymns and the grand celebration that it brings. This year, because of her, I’m appreciating the journey to Jerusalem just a little bit more. I hope you will appreciate it, too. Easter is coming, but first lessons along the way. 

John Fleming 
Pastor 

Stewards:
Ben Luelf
Ruth Greer
Betty Fulton
Charleen Ahrestorff

9:00 Servers:
Tina Benton
Kaye Jarvis
Cathy Roshon

11:00 Servers
William & Karen Kimbriel
Janice Williams

CROSSROADS
February 22: The Drennin Family
March 1: Andrea King & Hollye Lee
March 8: Debby & Paula Bodenhamer
March 15: Kyra & Youth
March 22: Kelly & Karen Yeakley
March 29: Kathy Bauer

TRADITIONAL
February 22: Mark & Cindy Burgess
March 1: The Caststeel Family
March 8: Tom & Deborah Knox
March 15: The Clarke Family
March 22: Tony & Julie Dailey
March 29: The Podsiadlik Family

GOOD FRIDAY TENEBRAE SERVICE
April 3: 
Dick & Lila Karrer
TBD

Many of you know that during my growing up years, I sang in my church’s youth choir. My dad was the choir director at the church. Margaret Harrison led the youth choir. It was expected for me to be in the choir. We met on Wednesdays after school and occasionally, we sang on Sunday mornings. One of those songs was written by Natalie Sleeth. I can still sing the words. Its title is Everywhere I Go.

I thought the idea Everywhere I Go would be a great sermon series for the season of Lent. The song, the theme, along with a book I came across entitled, Ashes at the Coffee Shop, Resurrection at the Bus Stop, written by Mary Austin, combined will help us consider Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem.

Confirmation Classes start Sunday, March 1st! We will be offering a 6 week class for students in 6th-12th grades that have not already been confirmed. We would love for your student to join us from 10:00-10:45am in the youth room for learning more about faith, the church and who we are in Christ. If you have questions or would like to have your student be a part of this class please reach out to Kyra or Pastor John. 

Join us this month for More than a Meal at 5:15 pm on Wednesdays, March 4th and 18th. This Wednesday, March 4th, we will have hamburger sliders, fries and baked beans and then a short devotional with Pastor John. You may sign up at the Welcome Desk, on the church website, by calling the church office or by using the button below.

The time has come around for our yearly quest for Easter Candy donations. Easter Extravaganza will be here before we know it and we will be needing some Easter candy to fill up our hundreds of Easter Eggs. The next time you are at the store or do a grocery pickup please grab a bag (or two) of individually wrapped candy and drop if off in the church office during the week or bring it to church with you on Sunday a morning. We greatly appreciate your donations every year.

Wondering how to grow your discipleship through service? We have a great opportunity for you to do just that! We are looking for Sound Board Operators for both Crossroads and the 11:00 Traditional service. We are hoping to get enough volunteers that, after training, you would only need to commit to once a month. Please contact Laura Pedigo or Kyra Anthony if you are interested. Once we have some new volunteers we will work with you to set up some
training.

On Thursday, March 12th   we will begin an 8 week study viewing Season 5 of “The Chosen”.  There is no book to buy, just come, view and share your impressions.  Season 5 traces Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and concludes with the Last Supper. 

Thursday Morning Joy meets Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 AM in the Seeker’s Classroom, #213.  New members are always welcome -  come anytime, listen and try us out.  We have bible study along with fun, fellowship, prayer, and coffee!  It’s a great way to spend a Thursday morning!  Call or text Sandra Bainbridge at 870-656-3950 for more information.

Did you know that we have an emergency food mission called Angel Food Pantry? This mission is solely ran off of donations from our church members, be that monetary or physical food donations. We have bags of food ready to hand out to any community member that comes in needing a little extra help in that moment. Our Hope for All volunteers organize all the food and keep us stocked up so we can help all who come in. We are also able to receive donated meat (beef, venison, pork, hot dogs) to freeze and hand out. 


Along with the Angel Food Pantry, we have our Blessing Box located under the lamp post at the East parking lot entrance (UMAC). Did you know that there are at least 6 Blessing Boxes located around Mountain Home, including ours. We are not sure who started the first box here in town to help feed our food insecure community members but as far as we can tell it was a God moment. We hope God continues to give that person many special blessings for being a pioneer in this movement. 

Our Blessing Box is filled with food from our Angel Food Pantry, church members and community members. If at anytime you drive by and notice it low on supplies or empty, you are welcome to add items as needed. Food, canned and non perishable, are always welcome but now we have seen the need of adding some non-food items. Non-food items that are wonderful include bars of soap, dishwashing liquid, laundry pods, small 4 count toilet paper, shampoo and hygiene supplies. Ollie’s and Dollar General’s $1 aisle has a great selection of these individual/manageable items to distribute. 

Something new that we are trying is having one complete meal in a bag ready to hand out in the church and put in the blessing boxes. These all inclusive meals include a printed recipe and all shelf stable items. Below is a simple recipe for those wanting to provide a meal. Printed copies will also be available in the church office and located at the welcome desk. This month’s meal is Tuna Casserole.

If you have any questions please call the church office. 

Easter Lilies are on sale now! Lilies can be purchased for $20 each. You can order by filling out a form at the church office, filling out an online form using the button below or calling the church office Monday-Thursday 8:00-4:00. Payment for lilies can be made by check to the church, online via the website at fumcmh.org/give or using the direct link provided after you have submited your order. Remember to type "Easter Lilies" in the notes/memo section. The deadline to order is Monday, March 30th by noon.

Scholarship applications for the 2026/2027 school year are now available for graduating High School seniors who plan to pursue a post secondary education. Applications are available on the church website under the youth page or use the button below. Application deadline is April 15th to be announced at the school awards night. July 1st is the final deadline to apply for the scholarship. Contact Kyra Anthony if you have any questions.

Holy Week is the week leading up to Easter from Palm Sunday until Easter Sunday.  At FUMC the week is full of impactful events to enrich your experience leading up to Easter Sunday. Each year, we start the week with a palm processional by our children at both services on Palm Sunday! It's great to see the young people of our church remembering and celebrating Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem! This year the children will also be singing on Palm Sunday! Thursday we will have our Maundy Thursday Service as we remember Jesus' time with the disciples in the upper room as he broke bread with them. Then on Friday we will have our Tenebrae service. This is a solemn and powerful service. The gradual extinguishing of candles symbolizes the approaching darkness of Jesus' death and the hopelessness in the world without God. The service concludes in darkness. We leave in silence to ponder the impact of Christ's death and await the Resurrection. Saturday is our Easter Extravaganza Family Event, Easter Expedition! It has always been important to this church to provide an Easter event for children that focuses on Jesus and the true meaning of Easter. Then comes Easter Sunday! He is risen, we proclaim as we celebrate and rejoice in the resurrection! 

Too often most of our culture wants to go from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, and they don't want to encounter the pain and suffering that Christ went through in order for us to get to where we are today. The difficult days leading up to Easter Sunday are so very important. Yes it’s dark, but the days like Good Friday are there to remind us of our brokenness, our humanness, and our need to encounter the cross today. Experiencing all the days of Holy Week really helps us to understand and feel the immense joy of Easter Morning! For this reason, we encourage you to try to attend as many of these events as you can.

This Easter, let’s consider the wonder of God's power and His love for us. He made the ultimate selfless sacrifice for us that we may live forever. He did this because He loves us. He knows us. He knows what we have done. He knows what we are going to do. But He loves us regardless. God doesn't need our praise or our service to Him; He desires it. It’s not what we do for God that gets us into heaven and gives us a right relationship with Him. It is only by faith in Jesus Christ that we are able to experience these things.

March 29: Palm Sunday Services 9:00am & 11:00am

April 2: Maundy Thursday Service 6:30pm

April 3: Good Friday • Tenebrae Service 6:30pm

April 4: Easter Extravaganza Family Event 11:00am - 1:00pm

April 5: Easter Sunday Services 9:00am & 11:00am

Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and begins the series of observances focusing on the events of Holy Week. This Sunday is also often referred to as Passion Sunday, marking the beginning of the passion or suffering of Jesus leading to and including the crucifixion.  The Children and Youth will process with palm branches at both services and the children will sing at both services.

Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper when Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples in the upper room on the night before he was crucified. This service is solemn, marked by the shadow of Jesus’ betrayal. The service will include Holy Communion and the stripping of the altar in preparation for Good Friday & Easter Sunday.

A Tenebrae Service, sometimes referred to as a Service of Shadows, includes the gradual diminishing of light through the extinguishing of candles to symbolize the approaching darkness of Jesus' death and hopelessness in the world without God. The service concludes in darkness. We leave in silence to ponder the impact of Christ's death and await the Resurrection.

This year for our Easter Extravaganza Family Event on the Saturday before Easter, we will be taking Families on an Easter Expedition! Families will embark on an adventure to hear the Easter Story as they travel through stations from the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem through the Crucifixion and Resurrection discovering artifacts along the way that will help them understand and remember the amazing story of Easter! Of course the event will end with our annual egg hunt. As always, we need many volunteers to make this event a success!  If you can help please contact Laura Pedigo or call the church office!

Easter Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ! His resurrection marks the triumph of good over evil, sin and death. By laying down his life, Jesus paid the full penalty for sin, a perfect, spotless sacrifice. By raising from the dead, Jesus defeated the power of sin and death and purchased, for all who believe in him, eternal life! 

HE IS RISEN!

Hello Families!

Can you believe it's March already? 

Thank you for your patience the last 2 weeks while we were temporarily displaced due to voting. We will be back down at the UMAC begining next Wednesday, March 4th. Our 6-week Lent curriculum seems to be going well. After Easter, we will resume our DIGIN The life of Jesus curiculum. Mark your calendars because we have some events coming up!

First off, as always, the kids will be processing with palm branches and singing on Palm Sunday, March 29. We will do this at both sthe 9:00 and 11:00 services and would love it if you can have your kids here for both.  The kids will process and sing near the beginning of the 11:00 service, so if you have already attended the early service you can leave after children's moments at the 11:00 service.  We do have Sunday School for kids during the 10:00 hour so all the kids are welcome to stay for that after the first service. 

We hope that you will bring your kids to the holy week services as well.  The Maudy Thursday service will include communion and is on Thursday, April 2nd at 6:30pm.  Then comback Friday night, April 3rd at 6:30pm for the Good Friday Tennebrae service.  This is a powerful service that includes the gradual extinguishing of light as we walk through the Passion of Jesus Christ.

Then, mark you calendars for Easter Extravaganza! This year we will be taking Families on an Easter Expedition! On Saturday, April 4th from 11:00am to 1:00pm Families will embark on an adventure to hear the Easter Story as they travel through stations from the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem through the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus discovering artifacts along the way that will help them understand and remember the amazing story of Easter! Of course, the event will end with our annual egg hunt so bring your Easter Baskets! As always, we need many volunteers to make this event a success! If you can help please contact Laura Pedigo or call the church office! 

As usual, I'd like to share The Family Easter Devotional from Lifeway. This guide includes devotions, prayer times, and activities to lead the whole family through the triumphal entry, the last supper, and the death and resurrection of Jesus. If you would like to do this with your family, you can access it with the button below.

Have a blessed March and a Happy St. Patricks Day! Of course, coming from an Irish heritage, I will be wearing green and making my corned beef and cabbage that day!

Laura Pedigo

605 Students, Friends, and Families, 
 
We are already to March! I cannot believe how fast this school year seems to be going. While some days seem long and weeks may never end, the time simultaneously is flying by. I feel so lucky to get to experience as much as we do together as a youth group, a ministry, and a church family. 
 
This past month we spent time together playing games, doing bible study, had an AMAZING Chili Cook-Off and Dessert Auction, enjoyed some basketball, cheered on bowlers at state, watched our wrestlers excel in their sport, enjoyed choir concerts, and so much more! We love watching all of the things that our students are doing out in the community!
 
March is gearing up for another wonderful and full month. Please let me know what your student(s) is up to so we can get to as many activities as possible. We also have some awesome things planned so here is the highlights and our full calendar. 
 
New Series in March: In Repair When we look at the world—or even our own lives—it’s easy to see what’s broken. Maybe a friendship feels beyond repair, or we’ve made mistakes we don’t know how to fix. Maybe we scroll through the news and feel overwhelmed by injustice and pain. When we notice all this brokenness, it can feel hopeless. But the good news is, with Jesus, broken things don’t have to stay broken. In this 4-week series from the New Testament, we’ll hear how Jesus came to repair our relationship with God, and how Jesus helps us repair our relationships with others. We’ll see how Jesus teaches us how to repair the harm we’ve done, and that we can help repair the world’s brokenness.
 
March 1- Confirmation Classes start! We will be offering a 6 week class for students in 6th-12th grades that have not already been confirmed. We would love for your student to join us from 10:00-10:45Am in the youth room for learning more about faith, the church and who we are in Christ. If you have questions or would like to have your student be a part of this class please reach out to Kyra or Pastor John. 
 
March 14th- Dig Deeper! Students in 9th-12th grades are invited to join us at 9:00AM at Jamie’s! We will be having breakfast together and sharing some time of Bible Study. 
 
March 15th- Students in 9th-12th grades are meeting at 3:45PM for a movie at Sun Valley Cinema. We will be there for the 4:00PM showing of the movie that is picked. If your student could bring cash for their ticket that would be greatly helpful. If not students will be covered by the church. 
 
March 22nd- March 28th- Spring Break! There will be no youth activities this week with school being out. There will be no confirmation class or life group on Sunday the 22nd or youth on Wednesday the 25th. 
 
March 27th-29th- Young Christians Weekend! Details are still being worked out for this trip but if your student is interested in attending this weekend please make sure to mark it off on your calendars! Registration and the trip turn around will happen quickly! 
 
Full March Calendar: 
 
March 1- Veritas 
March 1- No Life Group 
March 1- Confirmation Class 10:00-10:45AM 
March 2- Lunch at Pinkston 
March 4- Youth Group 
March 8- Life Group 
March 8- Confirmation Class 10:00-10:45AM
March 9- Lunch at High School 
March 11- Youth Group 
March 12- Lunch at High School 
March 14- Dig Deeper 9:00AM @ Jamies 
March 15- Life Group 
March 15- Confirmation Class 10:00-10:45AM 
March 15- High School Hangout 3:45PM @ Sun Valley Cinema 
March 18- Youth Group 
March 22- No Life Group 
March 22- No Confirmation Class 
March 25- NO Youth Group 
March 27-29- Young Christians Weekend 
March 29- Life Group 
March 29- Confirmation Class 10:00-10:45AM 

Kyra Anthony

Concerns:
Dominic Podsiadlik (02/25/26)
(Robert Podsiadlik’s Brother) 
Jeff Allen Monninger (02/23/26)
(Tom Frase)
Angie VanDolah (02/15/26)
Melissa Morgan (02/09/26)
Cindy Shepardson (02/08/26)
Morgan Sellers (02/01/26)
Teresa White (02/01/26)
(Eileen Howe)
Mary Margaret Pearson (01/27/26)
Jody Horne (01/21/26)
(Brenda Knight)
Carole Freitag (01/18/26)
Krew Hudson (01/18/26)
(Classmate of Emma Jones))
Vicki Kauth (01/18/26)
Hunter Williams (01/12/26)
(Bella Chance’s Cousin)
Ruth Clark (01/08/26)
Bob McKuin (12/29/25)
(Vicki Garner)
Kim Freitag (12/28/25)
(Carole Freitag)
Rexene Watson (12/28/25)
(Tom Yoder’s Sister-in-Law)
Barb White (12/28/25)
(Debby Bodenhamer)
Nick Suntken (12/22/25)
(Linda Vornheder’s grandson) 
James Lough (12/21/25)
(Mike Densmore)
Rachel Goostree (12/16/25)
Jennifer Thogmartin (12/14/25)
(Paula Bodenhamer)
Tim Wallace (12/14/25)
(Vanessa Ford)
James Davids (12/07/25)
(Greg Freitag)
David Callahan (12/03/25)
(Ruth Greer)
Tommy Gracy (12/03/25)
Katie Ammon (11/30/25)
(Vicki Kauth’s Sister-in-Law))
Patty Shay (11/30/25)
(Terre Ware)
Helen Brown (10/19/25)
(Libby Seftar)
Tara Gomez (10/05/25)
(Christine Rohr)
Jonathan Edington (09/28/25)
(Teresa Kenyon)
Vickie Martin (09/24/25)
(Tim Nelson’s Aunt)
Virginia Cornett (09/16/25)
(Lucy Monger)
Wyatt Sitzberger (09/15/25)
(Freddie Garner’s Great Grandson)
Kathleen Carr (08/24/25)
(Sue Storm)
Chris Holm (08/05/25)
David Francis (07/22/25)
(Denny Francis’ Brother)
Lois Nichols (07/20/25)
(Joyce Holsted)
Bill Wagner (06/29/25)
Bruce Burr (06/15/25)
Jaymeson Miller (06/08/25)
Lisa Dennis (06/08/25)
(Mike Densmore’s Niece)
Jack Chance (05/06/25)
Mona Brewer (04/22/25)
Teresa Kenyon (04/01/25)
Bryan Tomlinson (03/17/25)
(Gail House)
Natalie Tyson (03/13/25)
(Mary Margaret Pearson)
Mike Thompson (02/25/25)
(Bev Thompson’s Son)
Genie Widerstrom (02/18/25)
(Rebecca Williams)
Nancy Cox (02/16/25)
(Christine & Cleo Holm)
Bonnie Benham (01/19/25)
Kate Melnik (01/13/25)
(Tom Yoder)
Wesley Werner (1/7/25)