FORT JEFFERSON — The Fort Jefferson United Methodist Church is preparing for a number of special Easter activities. Pastor Beth Vieira is in the middle of a four-part sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer.
Members of the church are preparing to host the annual Easter egg hunt for children on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the church. This activity is held in partnership with Wayne Lakes, with the host group and location alternating each year.
Palm Sunday will be remembered during the regular worship service on Sunday, with the children as the special focus. Fort Jefferson Church will not be having special activities on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. Members are encouraged to support other area churches in their special events on those days.
Easter Sunday will be greeted by a Sunrise Service at 8 a.m., followed by the annual Easter Breakfast Buffet of pancakes, sausage and more. There is a free-will offering basket at this meal, with all proceeds going to support Camp Breakaway. The Easter worship service at 10:15 a.m. will feature special music, both instrumental and by the church choir.
The Fort Jefferson congregation, along with many individuals outside their church family, work hard to provide a summer camp for area teenagers, Camp Breakaway, held annually in late June at the Darke County Fish and Game Club on New Garden Road. This year’s dates are June 23 through June 25. For more information, call the church office at 937-548-4410.
The Fort Jefferson church family also provides a Vacation Bible School the first week in August for all children who would like to attend.
“This year we will again be spending our time in God’s Abundance Orchard, focusing on the New Testament stories,” said a spokesperson.
The Fort Jefferson United Methodist Church has a long history of mission outreach, including support for missionary couples in Peru, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. In addition, the church has shipped clothing and funds to an orphanage in Haiti for several years, and actively supported Red Bird Mission in Henderson, Kentucky, on an ongoing basis for many years. The members of the church also make donations each year to Youth for Christ, Heifer Project International, United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), and to the Gideons International for Bible placement.
In the past, they have also donated funds to the United Methodist Children’s Home in Worthington, Ohio, and provided bedding, supplements and durable medical equipment locally for the use of hospice patients. Members of the church actively support local projects such as the Grace Resurrection Community Center in Greenville, the Darke County Crop Walk, the Shelter from Violence and the Pregnancy Help Center in Greenville, the Castine Food Bank, and the Jackson (Ohio) Area Ministries garden seed project. The church has maintained an emergency food bank, and held clothing giveaways twice annually for a number of years. The members of the church have purchased and installed an emergency generator to allow the church building to be used as an emergency shelter for Neave Township in case of a local disaster situation.
The ladies of the Fort Jefferson United Methodist Church held their annual Christmas Potluck Supper and Silent Auction for Missions on Dec. 11, 2015. This is a special project of the United Methodist Women, in order to collect funds which are then disbursed to the various charities that are supported by the ladies of the church. This year’s auction was well supported, with auctioneer Charles James coaxing
