Franklin GroveUnited Methodist Church

223 W. Middle St.

P.O. Box 348

Franklin Grove, IL 61 031

phone: 81 5-456-2456

www.franklingroveumc.com

email : revkarl@gmail .com

Sunday School 9:00 a.m.

Church Service 1 0:1 5 a. .m.

F r a n k l i n G r o v e U n i t e dM e t h o d i s t C h u r c h

April 201 1

THE CROSS AND FLAME IS A CIRCLE OF THE UNITED METHODIST WOMEN DEDICATED TO PRAISE, COMMUNICATION,

SERVICE, AND FELLOWSHIP WITHIN THE CHURCH FAMILY.

The Cross & Flame

Franklin Grove

United Methodist

Church is

Gathering

Growing

Going

If your heart is where

ours is, come and

join us!

On Palm Sunday, the Sunday beforeEaster, we celebrate the triumphalentrance of Jesus into Jerusalem.When Jesus entered Jerusalem, thecrowds greeted him by waving palmbranches and laying them in his path.The crowds shouted out “Hosanna tothe Son of David! Blessed is the onewho comes in the name of the Lord!Hosanna in the highest heaven! ”

For many of us, we go from the partyon Palm Sunday to celebrating theresurrection on Easter. But when wedo this we miss out on manyimportant parts to this story. How is itthat in one week’s time, we go from

Jesus riding into Jerusalem as King to him beinghung on a cross? And by the same crowd? Thedays in between Palm Sunday and Easter are knownas Holy Week. We see Jesus preaching, teaching,presiding over the Passover supper, standing tria land being condemned to death.

This year, Journey with Christ to the Cross. Beintentional in setting time aside throughout HolyWeek. Make time to read your bible. Spend time inthe Holy Week prayer stations and in the Labyrinthupstairs at church. Attend the Good Friday worshipservice and mourn the death of Jesus. And then,after journeying with Christ to the cross, wake upSunday morning, Easter morning, ready to shout ourAl leluias and praises to the Lord. †

HolyWeek

Issue 1

Please join us Easter morning toworship and praise God. Thisyear the Community SunriseService is at the Presbyterianchurch, 106 S. Walnut St inFrankl in Grove, at 6: 30 a. m. The CommunityChoir wi l l sing and fol lowing worship you areinvited to eat breakfast downstairs. SundaySchool wi l l continue to meet at 9 a. m. , withworship at 10: 15 a. m. Hope to see you al lmorning long! †

You are invitedto stay afterchurch onMarch 17 ,

Palm Sunday, to share ina meal together. SundaySchool wi l l host the meal .There is no cost for themeal but there wi l l be abasket set out to col lectmoney for future SundaySchool events. †

"I f Jesus Christ be God and died for me,then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him." CT Studd

FlowersfortheSanctuaryThis year you areinvited to bringflowers and/orplants (of anytype) to church todecorate and

prepare the sanctuary forEaster Worship. You areencouraged to buy a plantin memory of a loved oneto share with everyone atchurch. We hope to fi l lthe sanctuary with new life,the beautiful smell offlowers and people thisEaster as we gather tohear the greatest storyever told! Please bring theflowers and plants tochurch on Palm Sunday,Apri l 1 7. We wil l use themas part of the Holy Weekprayer stations on TuesdayApri l 1 9th. You arewelcome to take themhome with you fol lowingworship on Easter. †

Celebrate the Easter Miracle!

Christ the Lord is Risen Today

Prayer Stations 6-9 p. m.

Wednesday, April 20th :

“The Lesson of the Passover”,

Dinner and study starting at

6: 30 p. m.

Friday, April 22nd:

Good Friday Morning Prayer

Stations, 5-9 a. m.

Good Friday Service @ 7 p. m.

Sunday, April 24th:

Sunrise Service 6: 30 a. m.

Sunday School : 9: 00 a. m.

Worship: 10: 15 a. m. †

Tuesday, April 19:

Palm Sunday Meal

Easter in Cricket County

Issue 1

DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE IN THE CROSS AND FLAME?

SEND YOUR SUBMISSIONS TO NANCY CATER AT garycater@yahoo.com OR DROP IT OFF AT CHURCH.

The Girl Scouts have offered to stuff the Easter eggs with candy. They would l ike to

do this at their Apri l 8th meeting. We are in need of a lot of candy, wrapped candy

please, not loose candy. Please bring candy to church by the 8th.

Also people are needed to help with the cooking, hiding eggs, props, andcharacters (4) for the stations for the 8-11 year olds. (No memorizationis required. )

Please let me know if you are able to help. Whatever amount of timeyou have would be appreciated. Patti Forrester 815. 677. 6904 or815. 561. 5512 . †

It’sAlmostHere!

Don'tForgettoHop onOver!!

A n n u a l

AndNow for the Adults

A Request for Your Help for a Successful Easter Hunt

Breakfast with the Easter Bunnystarting at 8: 30 in the churchbasement. Del icious breakfast, somegames and then on to the hunt! Agesfor Breakfast with the Easter Bunnyare 7 years old and under.

Starting at 12 : 30 we wi l l be servinghot dogs, chips and ice cream to the 8to 11 year olds. Hunt some eggs andthen you wi l l have the chance to hearfrom some of the people involved inthe crucifixion of Jesus.

And it is al l free! Invite your cousins,your neighbors and your friends! Themore the merrier. †

Scheduledfor

Saturday, April23rd.

Issue 1

Al l youth, grades 6-12 are invited toparticipate in the 12 th Annual Youth Ral ly onFriday, April 8th and Saturday April 9th.This is put on by the Youth Outreach Group ofthe Rock River Val ley which is a non-denominational group of youth and adults.Their hope is that each youth might have achurch home and know the love of JesusChrist. Their goals are based on the lovewe have for the youth in our communitiesand in the surrounding area.

"FAITH IS TAKING THE FIRST STEP EVEN WHEN YOU DON'T SEE THE WHOLE STAIRCASE."

Retirement Service

Rev. Larry Hi lkemann, our current

DeKalb District Superintendent, wi l l be

moving to retirement fol lowing 46 years

of service in the United Methodist

Church. "Larry's leadership on the

Cabinet over the past six years has

brought renewed energy and vital i ty to

the DeKalb District evidenced in strong

cluster ministries, la ity commitment and

creative outreach to communities of the

district," said Bishop Jung. A retirement

service for Rev. Hi lkemann is planned

for June 26th at Rochel le

UMC from 2 -4 p. m.

The DeKalb District welcomes Rev.Richard Wisdom, currently serving asSenior Pastor at Rockford: ChristUMC, as the new DistrictSuperintendent. †

Registration opens at 5: 30 p. m. onFriday night, with an openingconcert at 7p. m. , and concludes onSaturday at 7 p. m. There wi l l beplenty of time this night to visitwith friends, old and new, playgames, snack (We found out howgreat the snack table was lastyear! ) , l isten to some awesomemusic and just hang out withpeople just l ike you. We wi l lexplore How to talk to God, HowGod talks to us, and How to talk toeach other.

Music this year wi l l be done by theHip Hop Artist Agape. There is amedical release form that eachyouth attending must provide. I fyou let Pastor Karl know you aregoing by Tuesday Apri l 5th, eachyouth wi l l only have to pay $2 5towards this trip. After this time,the youth wi l l be responsible forthe ful l cost of $55. †

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Issue 1

Already the flowersare starting to comeup and wi l l be inbloom soon. Please join us onWednesday, April 27th for acommunity garden workday, weatherpermitting. We wi l l be playing in thedirt after school unti l the earlyevening. You are welcome to comework in the garden anytime you haveavai lable. This year we were hopingto merge the two gardens and squarethem out. Thank you to everybodywho has kept the garden weeded andwatered. We are again looking forpeople to sign up to care for thegarden one or two weeks throughoutthe summer. Please see the signupsheet on the bul letin board at church.Happy gardening! †

Al l youth and kids are invited to join us for an

end of the year overnight trip to Chicago on

May 27th and May 28th . We wi l l meet at

church on Friday, May 2 7th at 4 p. m. for some

fun activities and dinner before leaving for

Chicago. We wi l l then have a downtown

sleepover on the floor of a condo in the Loop before heading to the

Shedd Aquarium on Saturday to spend the day with the fish. Each

kid in Sunday School has an opportunity to earn this trip to Chicago

with no outside cost by attending Sunday School . Anyone 8 and

under must be accompanied by a parent. Friends are welcome to

join us on the trip at a cost of $2 7. Please mark the date on your

calendar and plan to join us on this fun outing. I f you are not

interested in the overnight portion of this trip, you are welcome to

meet us at the Shedd Aquarium on Saturday at 10 a. m. See you in

Sunday School this week! †

"ALL THAT I HAVE SEEN TEACHES ME TO TRUST GOD FOR ALL I HAVE NOT SEEN."

Retirement Service

Swimming at Nash

April 23rdEgg Hunt

May 22ndLast Day of Sunday School

May 27th – 28thSunday SchoolTrip to Chicago

June 6th – 10thVacation Bible Schoolat Brethren Church

SundaySchoolendstheyearwithaSplash!

SundaySchoolEventsMax's Garden

April 10th

Issue 1

Our thoughts and prayers are with the fami ly of HerthaMcCracken. Hertha passed away on February 2 6, 2 011 at theage of 104. May her fami ly find peace and comfort knowingthat Hertha was blessed with a long l ife and a large fami lywith 3 chi ldren, 17 grandchi ldren, 30 great-grandchi ldren and12 great-great-grandchi ldren. We celebrate Hertha’s 104years and know that she is in a better place now. †

The Midwest Distribution Center has received the cal l to help sendrel ief to Japan. The first shipment goal is 17,000 health kits and weneed your help! We are looking for suppl ies and/or monetarydonations to help reach that goal . I f you choose to send amonetary donation, please indicate health kit/Japan rel ief on yourcheck. What goes into a health kit you may ask? Please refer to

the below l ist. Al l i tems can be wrapped in the hand towel and then placed in anew, one gal lon plastic zip closure bag. Please make sure al l i tems are correct sizes.I f they are not the correct size, they are unusable.

ALL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CROSS AND FLAME ARE DUE ON THE SECOND TO LAST WEDNESDAY OF EACH MONTH

(THOUGH PREFERABLY MUCH SOONER).

Congratulations to Sarah Fisher for making thefal l Deans List at Northern I l l inois University. †

As we get closer to the end of theschool year, we look forward to sharingcongratulations with al l of our 2 011Graduates. I f you know of anyonegraduating this year, please pass on theinformation to Nancy Cater atgarycater@yahoo. com. We do notwant to leave anyone out. †

2011 Graduates

Congratulations

Health Kits for Japan

With Sincere Sympathy

1 hand towel (15” x 2 5” up to 17” x 2 7”, no kitchen towels1 washcloth1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket size or pic)1 Nai l fi le or fingernai l cl ipper (no emery boards or toenai l cl ippers)1 Bath-size bar of soap ( 3 oz. or larger in original wrapper)1 Toothbrush (single brushes only, in original wrapper, no chi ld-sized brushes, nomultiple packs, no dentist name or phone number)1 Tube of Toothpaste (6. 4 oz. or larger. Check expiration dates – must be at leastONE YEAR ahead. You may leave out and send $1. 00)6 Adhesive Plastic Strip Steri le Bandages (regular size wrapped in a rubber band)

Date: Saturday Apri l 9thTime: 12 p. m.Place: 1765 Frankl in Rd.

Hostess - Susie ArnoltsConsultant - Lynda Bevan

Come enjoy the springgardens and great product!

Franklin Grove UMC

Calendar

Recurring Each Week:

Sundays - 9:00am Sunday School 10:15am Worship 11:30am Coffee Hour

Mondays -

5:30pm Piano Lessons 6:00pm Guitar Lessons

Wednesdays - 10:30am Meadows Bible Study

Friday, April 1 Jeremy Coy's Birthday Sunday, April 3 5:00pm Youth Group 6:00pm Lent Supper 6:30pm Lent Bible Study Wednesday, April 6 LeVaun Risdon's Birthday 6:00pm Community Worship at Brethren Church Thursday, April 7 Cindy Tilsy's Birthday 6:30pm Trustees Friday, April 8 Youth Rally Saturday, April 9 Curt and Kathy Fair's anniversary Sunday, April 10 Dave Summer's Birthday 5:00pm Youth Group 6:00pm Lent Supper 6:30pm Lent Bible Study Tuesday, April 12 Julie Balder's Birthday Wednesday, April 13 6:00pm Community Worship at the Brethren Church Thursday, April 14 Missy Dewey's Birthday Saturday, April 16 8:00am Interfaith bus tour Sunday, April 17 Carolyn Heckert's Birthday 10:15am Palm Sunday

11:30am Sunday School sponsored Meal 5:00pm Youth Group 6:00pm Lent Supper 6:30pm Lent Bible Study Tuesday, April 19 Grace Thomas's Birthday 7:00am HUB CLUSTER 6:00pm Prayer Stations Wednesday, April 20 6:30pm Dinner and Bible Study Thursday, April 21 7:00pm Church Council Friday, April 22 5:00am Prayer Stations Saturday, April 23 8:30am Breakfast with the Bunny 12:30pm Easter Egg Hunt Sunday, April 24 6:30am Sunrise Service at Presbyterian Church 10:15am Easter! Monday, April 25 7:15pm Community Church Council Tuesday, April 26 Deb Mead's Birthday Katie Cahill's Birthday Wednesday, April 27 3:00pm Gardening Day Thursday, April 28 Mary Spangler's Birthday Friday, April 29 Confirmation Camp Saturday, April 30 Confirmation Camp