April---Showers of a busy season!

Well, most of us have now experienced the first major rain of the Spring Season. And I do believe that it has come right on time. With Easter around the corner, we need the rain so that we are promised the greenest grass and lilies...pretty enough to make you want to dive back into your childhood and have an Easter egg hunt.

With Easter just in front of us, there will be many activities going on everywhere, but make sure to leave time to celebrate in the new life given through Christ's resurrection.

To help with that, we have many activities going on here at MCCPB during Holy Week.

First, with our Better Together Groups coming to an end for this season, we will be honoring Passover. Each group will be participating in a Seder meal. If you've never participated in the Seder, this is the opportunity that you don't want to neglect. Everyone is invited to participate. The Lake Park group will host their meal on Wednesday, April 8th. The Jupiter and Lake Worth/Boynton Beach groups will host their meals on Thursday, April 9th. All meals to begin respectively at 7pm.

Then, on Good Friday, April 10th, at 7pm, here at the church, we will offer a Tenebrae Service. This dramatic remembrance of the death of Christ, will be emotionally moving and compelling. It's important to remember that before we can celebrate in the resurrection on Easter, we must first experience the events that led to the death, which made the resurrection possible.

On Easter Sunday, April 12th, our Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Marion Harrison, has invited you to attend a Sunrise Service, which he will be participating in, at Kelsey Park on US 1, followed by a $5 Pancake Breakfast, sponsored by St. John Evang. Lutheran Church. For more information on the worship or breakfast tickets, please see Pastor Marion.

Then, our morning worship service will move to 10:30am through September, as we celebrate in the knowledge that Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Our choir will be performing the musical presentation Worthy! The Song of Ages as well as an exciting Easter sermon by Rev. Paul. Also, we will be taking up a special offering on Easter for the MCC's Global Outreach Fund.

Next, as it is the second Sunday of the month, we will offer our Contemporary Worship service at 6:37pm, where the theme will be New Life.

Also, this week will be your last opportunity to give donations towards the purchase of Easter Lilies, for Easter morning.

Since it is April, we know that Rainbow Ball is rapidly approaching. This year, as Rainbow Ball celebrates its 8th anniversary, Rainbow Ball Goes Hollywood. If you haven't done so just yet, mark your calendars for Saturday, April 25th at 7pm. This fundraising event, held at the beautifully renovated Crowne Plaza Hotel, will be the hottest show in town. The evening will include an elegant dinner, silent auction, live Oscar model, red carpet walk, dancing and entertainment by National Recording Artist Shawn Thomas (www.shawnthomasonline.com). Tickets for this event are $115 per person and can be purchased following worship service or by visiting the Rainbow Ball website at www.rainbowball.com. Also, we are still looking for sponsors for this event!

We realize that not everyone can afford the ticket price for this event, but, thanks to some of the members there may be purchased tickets that can be made available to those unable to pay the full price. You can visit the Rainbow Ball table after worship to learn more about this.

To help raise money for more of these tickets, Sandi MacManus will be having a yard sale this Saturday, April 4th at her house. If you have any items that you would like to donate for this cause, you can call Sandi at 561-358-2552 and arrange for drop off. Also, if you don't have items, she said she will accept cash donations!!!

Two more things and I'll let you go! On Saturday, April 4th, from 10am-2pm, we will be offering a seminar on Homosexuality and the Bible. Everyone is invited to attend, but there will be a $5 lunch fee, as it will be provided. Even if you have attended a similar class before, this will be done in a different way, and you can always take something new from it!

Lastly, MCCPB now has an online store! If you go to www.cafepress.com/mccpb, you can order from a variety of items including T-Shirts, Ball Caps, Tote Bags, and many more...each having the MCCPB logo! This is your chance to promote your church family!

Until next time, remember you are welcome at MCC of the Palm Beaches!