HOLY WEEK / EASTER OFFERINGS 2024
Holy Week Audio Devotions
The Spiritual Formation Council invites you to read your Lenten Devotional, written by the First UMC congregation and provides a wonderful opportunity to share Lent with family and friends. This year’s theme is Deeper Roots, Wide-spreading Branches; May Spring come to us, be in us, and recreate new life in us!
You may read/download the Devotional here.
Audio Devotions will be offered for Holy Week (March 24-31):
First UMC Lenten Devotion 2024 – Palm Sunday, March 24, written by Jerry Brown:
First UMC Lenten Devotion 2024 – March 25, written by Mary Crawford:
First UMC Lenten Devotion 2024 – March 26, written by Lindsay Dewald:
First UMC Lenten Devotion 2024 – March 27, written by JoAnne Bailey
Page in progress, more coming soon!
Palm Sunday, March 24
Sunday, MARCH 24: Palm Sunday
10 a.m. In-Person and Online Worship
The day we celebrate Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, with the waving of palms and loud Hosannas!
Sunday, MARCH 24: Palm Sunday Celebration
Brunch/Easter Bunny/Egg Hunt
Following worship, come for a Palm Sunday celebration, hosted by Children and Family Ministries. Featuring an Easter Egg hunt, brunch, games and crafts, a family photo opp, and a visit from the Easter Bunny!
Fun for all ages!
Maundy Thursday, March 28
Community Maundy Thursday Service
7 p.m. St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
958 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403
Good Friday, March 29
Walk the First UMC Labyrinth
The Labyrinth laid in the Simkins Hall floor of First UMC is a replica of the Chartres Labyrinth laid in the cathedral around 1220 CE. Walking the Labyrinth is an ancient spiritual practice, a way to quiet our minds and open our spirits to the presence of the Holy. Every step a prayer.
March 29: Good Friday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. in Simkins Hall
Prayer Vigil
The First UMC Chapel will be open all day for prayer.
March 29: Good Friday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Chapel
Community Good Friday Services
12 p.m. Good Friday – Stations of the Cross
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 958 Lincoln Blvd, SM
7 p.m. Good Friday Ecumenical Service
Join Rev. Patricia Farris, and the First UMC Choir in an ecumenical service at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 958 Lincoln Blvd, SM
Easter Worship Services:
March 31: Easter Sunrise Service
6:30 a.m. Palisades Park
Palisades Park (*Washington Ave. & Ocean Ave.) *note location – no longer at Santa Monica Blvd.
Informal outdoor service at the park, with Holy Communion. Bring fresh flowers for the cross, and a lawn chair or blankets. Hot coffee served.
March 31: Easter Celebration Worship
10 a.m. In-Person and Online Worship in the First UMC Sanctuary
Family Service, Choir, Organ, Brass Ensemble, Easter Flowers, and Alleluias!
LENT 2024 Schedule
Planting Day with Rev. Keri at the UBH FARM
Feel God’s creation in your hands and watch new life emerge by gardening with us at the Upward Bound House FARM! The UBH FARM is a full-fledged organic farm in our own neighborhood. It provides “fresh produce to homeless families in conjunction with key curriculum to support mental and physical health and wellbeing.” During our visit we will be “turning” the garden beds and planting a new round of crops. Wear your gardening clothes and hat. Plan to get dirty, enjoy community fellowship, and help reduce food insecurity in our neighborhood. No gardening experience required. If you’d like to attend, please email Rev. Keri by March 12, at: k.olsenpaget@santamonicaumc.org
For more information about the UBH Farm, visit their website at https://www.theubhfarm.org/
Saturday, March 16, 10am-1pm. Meet at the Farm (1417 Yale St. Santa Monica, CA)
Lenten Art Exhibit
Visit the Fireside Room during the Sundays in Lent and by appointment, to view the nature photographs of First UMC member Emily Payne.
Through Lent, in the Fireside Room
Lenten Food Drive
Help the 580 Cafe UCLA Students
The 580 Cafe is a ministry of the Wesley Foundation serving UCLA students. It serves as a space for students to build collective care and share food, conversation, and activism. Weekly programs and gatherings provide ways for students to create, hold and find brave space to share in collective learning, dialogue, and relaxation together. The 580 Cafe Food Cupboard provides students at UCLA the opportunity to select non-perishable food items, providing an important support to students who have limited access to healthy food options.
How you can help: Your donations of the following food items supports the 580 Cafe in their efforts to end physical and spiritual hunger on campus. Donations will be accepted throughout the Lenten season.
Peanut-butter (small jars)
Lentils
White Rice (short and long grain)
Pasta
Pasta Sauce (small jars or cans)
Snack Bars (individually wrapped)
Snack crackers (individuals package)
Popcorn (microwave)
Pretzels (individual packs)
Ramen (spicy)
Grocery cards (Ralphs, Target, Whole Foods, Sprouts)
Food Drive runs from Sunday, February 18 – Sunday March 31 (donation bins in the Narthex and at Welcome Table)
Lenten Bible Studies
First UMC offers two Lenten Zoom studies for the season. You may join at any time!
Rev. Keri Olsen Paget will be leading a study of the book Grounded: Finding God in the World, A Spiritual Revolution by Diana Butler Bass. We will explore the book and our own experiences of “finding God-with-us” in the natural habitat and our human geography. Join us for four sessions of discussion and prayer via Zoom for the Tuesdays in Lent from 7 – 8 p.m. To purchase the book and read along click here. Don’t have time to read the book? Join us anyway, there will be a short introduction to discussion topics at the beginning of each session. To join, or if you have any questions please contact Rev. Keri at k.olsenpaget@santamonicaumc.org.
February 20, March 5, March 12, March 26, 7 p.m. via Zoom
Rev. Larry Young will be offering a 6-week Lenten study on Zoom, using Amy-Jill Levine’s new book on The Gospel of Mark. Dr. Levine brings a unique Jewish perspective on this Gospel as we would expect, having done another of her studies in 2022. She will introduce each session with a video, to be followed with a study based on her student book, available from Cokesbury.com.
The class will begin on February 21/22, with duplicate sessions on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Thursday at 2 p.m. To sign up, email Rev. Young at lyoung@ljyoung.net
Wednesday at 7 p.m. classes: Feb 21, Feb 28, Mar 6, Mar 13, Mar 20, Mar 27
Thursday at 2 p.m. classes: Feb 22, Feb 29, Mar 7, Mar 14 Mar 21, Mar 28
Walking Meditation in Palisades Park with Rev. Keri Olsen Paget
Engage your senses, listen for God, and join members of our community for a walking meditation along Palisades Park with Rev. Keri. Gather in the park at Washington Ave. and Ocean Ave. at 11 a.m. on March 7. Enjoy an independent walking meditation for 25 min (about .4 mi). Rev. Keri will provide a printed meditation /prayer guide. You are welcome to use your own practice, if you prefer. Then, gather at the picnic tables (Palisades Ave. and Ocean Ave.) to reflect on your practice and hear about others’ experiences. Can’t attend, but interested in walking meditation? Pick up a walking meditation guide (one for kids too!) from the welcome table or download here:
Thursday, March 7, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.,
meet at Washington Ave and Ocean Ave
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent – a time of introspection and self-examination of our lives and relationship with God. The ritual of the ashes represent a visual reminder of the day as we pause to remember our physical limits in contrast to the infinity of God. Here at First UMC, we offer two Ash Wednesday services in the Chapel (in-person only). The ashes used for the services come from the burned palms of last year’s Palm Sunday Service. We invite you to this intimate and reflective service that marks the beginning of the Lenten season.
February 14, 12 p.m. & 7 p.m., in the Chapel
From the UMC: What is Lent and why does it last forty days?
Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, meaning “lengthen” and refers to the lengthening days of spring. The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry.
Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by new converts and then became a time of penance by all Christians. Today, Christians focus on relationship with God, growing as disciples and extending ourselves, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of ourselves for others.
Sundays in Lent are not counted in the forty days because each Sunday represents a “mini-Easter.” This is why you will see the designation “Sunday in Lent” rather than “Sunday of Lent” in the naming of these Sundays. On each Lord’s Day in Lent, while Lenten fasts continue, the reverent spirit of Lent is tempered with joyful anticipation of the Resurrection.