March 27th, 2026 | Rev. Dr. Mark Charles

Dear Grace-filled Family,

Can you believe we are already standing on the threshold of Holy Week? It feels like just yesterday we were marking the start of Lent, and now the journey to the Cross is right before us.

This is the most sacred week of our church year, and we have so many great opportunities to observe it well.

We kick things off tomorrow, Saturday, March 28th, with our annual Community Easter Festival from 10:00AM until 1:00PM. We are blessed to partner once again with our neighbors at First Presbyterian Church to offer this gift to Fernandina Beach.

I want to ask you to do two things: First, spread the word! Invite your friends and neighbors to come along with you or take a moment right now to share the event from our social media pages. Second, please pray. Pray that this would be a safe, fun, family event, and that through our hospitality, we would share the story of Jesus well with every person who walks onto N. 6^th Street to join us.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday, and it is going to be a morning full of music and movement. Our Chancel Choir will present the Palm Sunday Cantata "From Silence to Song" during our 8:00AM and 11:00AM services. In between those, we will have an abbreviated 9:30AM service to allow us all time to make our way down to the Courthouse on Centre Street for the ecumenical Palm Sunday Processional. It is always a powerful witness to see the churches of our community walking together!

As we move into the heart of Holy Week, we invite you to two deeply moving services on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, both at 6:00PM in the Sanctuary. 

And, during the day on Good Friday, between 10:00AM and 4:00PM, the Sanctuary will also be open for anyone wishing to spend time in quiet prayer with the Stations of the Cross. We are so grateful to have these beautiful pieces on loan to us from First UMC of Baton Rouge, LA. For those who cannot make it to the church that day, we will also be releasing a Good Friday digital devotional so you can journey with us from wherever you are.

Finally, we celebrate the glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday morning! We’ll begin at 6:45AM for the ecumenical sunrise service on the green space at Main Beach (remember to bring your own chair!). Then, we’ll head back to Memorial for our three Easter worship services:

• 8:00AM in the Sanctuary

• 9:30AM in Maxwell Hall

• 11:00AM in the Sanctuary

  
  

Friends, I want to encourage you to truly lean into this week. Let’s observe a sacred Holy Week together so that our Easter celebration is all the more joyous. I also want to encourage you to be bold—invite a friend, a neighbor, or a family member to experience the hope of Christ’s resurrection with us.

Blessings,

Pastor Charlie