Please read ALL of the ANNOUNCEMENTS!
Easter Egg Return for Recycle & Reuse
If you have empty easter eggs from Easter Sunday, you may return them for reuse next year. We will have a basket to collect them in worship this Sunday. Thank you! –Margaret LeWright, Children’s Ministry Team co-leader.
Sound Bath Returns!
6:45pm Friday, April 12th
After a month off in March, Sound Bath returns on Friday, April 12th. What better way to end your week than by slowing down and relaxing, surrounded by meditative vibrations and melodies? Be immersed in flowing sounds as you sit in a chair or lie on the floor with your own mat, blanket, and/or pillow.
Admittance for the church community is donation based; $20 is suggested via cash, check, or Venmo. No RSVP needed. Doors open at 6:30 pm; please arrive by 6:45. Program begins promptly at 7:00pm. Download our flyer and share to invite family and friends!
Gentle Yoga
Thursdays at noon
Gentle Yoga for body and soul is an excellent way to stretch and breathe tranquility into our mind, body, and soul. Resuming April 11th, Kathleen Bell will lead weekly classes, Thursdays at noon at Lake Merritt UMC. All are welcome.
Lake Merritt Conservancy Coalition
Friday, April 12th
The Lake Merritt Conservancy Coalition is meeting on Friday, April 12th, 7-9pm in the Laney College Auditorium. Join them as they announce a major milestone and invite other organizations to celebrate and plan next steps to protect and support Lake Merritt.
String Quartet Concert
3pm Saturday, April 27th
You are warmly invited to the first-ever concert by the Musical Chairs Quartet, an Oakland-based string quartet composed of musicians in the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony: George Han, Mark Hodgson, Laurence Lewis, and Ken Schoon.
We’re excited to perform a wide-ranging program of string quartets not commonly heard, including works by two African American composers, Florence Price and William Grant Still, and a rarely played string quartet by Felix Mendelssohn.
When: Saturday, April 27 3-4pm. Doors open at 2:45, with a reception following the concert
Where: Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, 1330 Lakeshore Ave, Oakland (use lakeside entrance)
Easter Sunday
According to the gospel of Mark, after the women disciples hear the good news of Jesus’ resurrection and are commissioned to go and tell, they utterly fail, leaving in fear and saying nothing to anyone. That is where Mark leaves the ending of his resurrection story! What’s up with that ending?
Recently, biblical scholars have begun to change their minds about Mark’s choice for an abrupt ending. They agree that his resurrection story was not a crash landing but a brilliant one. Mark leaves the ending open as an invitation for us to join in and finish writing it. Do you have an unfinished story that awaits resolution? Resurrection isn’t a conclusion, it’s an invitation.
Come and see. Come and hear! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Amen.
Join us in person or via Zoom, Facebook or YouTube Live.
Sunday service begins at 10:15AM.
To join Sunday Worship via Facebook, log onto your Facebook account and search for the ‘Lake Merritt United Methodist Church’ page or click here.
To watch the live stream of our service on YouTube, click here.
March 29, 2024 | Good Friday
3 p.m. Mass, 4:30 p.m. Ecumenical Good Friday Prayer Gathering
3pm Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes (2808 Lakeshore Ave)
4:30pm Procession to the Lake Merritt Colonnade
for Ecumenical/Interfaith Prayer Service
*
7 p.m. Tenebrae Taizé service
In-person at Lake Merritt UMC
Or join Zoom meeting:
Meeting ID: 838 0703 2679
Passcode: 257687
*
March 31, 2024 | Easter Sunday
Easter Celebration
Mark 16:1-8
Please read ALL of the ANNOUNCEMENTS!
Holy Week Reminders
Request for Freshly Cut Flowers
Are you a home gardener? We invite you to bring freshly cut flowers from your yard on Easter morning for the children to use to decorate the cross during worship.
Easter Activities for Children
Please join us on Easter Sunday! The great surprise will be revealed during the children’s moment, and we will decorate the cross with flowers. Pre-school children will have their usual Godly Play-style storytime in the nursery. Elementary-age children will stay in the sanctuary where activity packets will be provided. Middle school helpers will hide Easter eggs during the service for our Easter egg hunt. Families don’t need to bring anything. The eggs are filled and bags will be provided. Just come on out to the courtyard right after church. See you on the 31st. –Margaret LeWright, Children’s Ministry Team co-leader.
Holy Week Worship Services
Friday, March 29
3pm Mass, 4:30 p.m. Ecumenical Good Friday Prayer Gathering
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church (2808 Lakeshore Ave) invites Oakland congregations (Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, Lakeshore Baptist Church, Montclair Presbyterian Church, Park Boulevard Presbyterian Church, St. John’s Episcopal Church, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, and Corpus Christi Catholic Church) to attend their afternoon mass at 3pm. At 4:30pm, we will gather and process together to the Colonnade Plaza for a prayer service for our city and world. Public officials have been invited to attend.
7 p.m. Tenebrae and Taizé Service
Through the reading of scripture and the successive extinguishing of light in the Sanctuary, we are invited to enter into the dramatic narrative of Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion. Join us for a service of music, scriptures, shadows, darkness, and silence, reflecting the solemn mood of this day.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83807032679
Meeting ID: 838 0703 2679
Passcode: 257687
Sunday, March 31st
10:15 a.m. Easter Celebration
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Join us for a service filled with guest musicians, choir voices, spoken words, songs, and prayers. Please bring fresh-cut flowers for the children to decorate the Easter Cross, and plan to stay for fellowship after Worship. Your Easter offering will help support our children and youth ministries.
Sound Bath Returns!
6:45pm Friday, April 12th
After a month off in March, Sound Bath returns on Friday, April 12th. What better way to end your week than by slowing down and relaxing, surrounded by meditative vibrations and melodies? Be immersed in flowing sounds as you sit in a chair or lie on the floor with your own mat, blanket, and/or pillow.
Admittance for the church community is donation based; $20 is suggested via cash, check, or Venmo. No RSVP needed. Doors open at 6:30 pm; please arrive by 6:45. Program begins promptly at 7:00pm.
“The Allies”
In this Palm/Passion Sunday, I will be exploring the inevitability of Jesus’ march to the cross. Resurrection will always be an unprecedented shock that interrupts every normal expectation. We, like Nicodemus and Joseph, are called to make our own contributions to the story of the shocking victory of God in Christ. –Pastor Dale
Join us in person or via Zoom, Facebook or YouTube Live.
Sunday service begins at 10:15AM.
To join Sunday Worship via Facebook, log onto your Facebook account and search for the ‘Lake Merritt United Methodist Church’ page or click here.
To watch the live stream of our service on YouTube, click here.
2024 Lent Worship Series
Witness at the Cross
March 24, 2024 | Palm / Passion Sunday
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus
Mark 15:42-46
*
March 29, 2024 | Good Friday
7 p.m. Tenebrae Taizé service
*
March 31, 2024 | Easter Sunday
Easter and Membership Celebration
Mark 16:1-8
“The Women”
We continue our Lenten journey at the cross reflecting the witnesses’ stories at Jesus’ crucifixion. Are you there?
Did you know that there were many named and unnamed women following Jesus from Galilee, and they had been with the mission the entire time? They were there when other male disciples fled. They were there. Some gospel writers do not even give these women a voice in their witnessing, but they were there. They were there because they found in Jesus a new brother, a new son, a new father, and a new family.
Come, friends! Let us hear these women’s witnesses.
Join us in person or via Zoom, Facebook or YouTube Live.
Sunday service begins at 10:15AM.
To join Sunday Worship via Facebook, log onto your Facebook account and search for the ‘Lake Merritt United Methodist Church’ page or click here.
To watch the live stream of our service on YouTube, click here.
2024 Lent Worship Series
Witness at the Cross
March 24, 2024 | Palm / Passion Sunday
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus
Mark 15:42-46
*
March 29, 2024 | Good Friday
7 p.m. Tenebrae Taizé service
*
March 31, 2024 | Easter Sunday
Easter and Membership Celebration
Mark 16:1-8
