As this short Mardi Gras season comes to its liturgical close on Tuesday, the season of Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday (February 18, 2026), continues through March and into April, culminating with Easter Sunday on April 5, 2026. At the very start of Ash Wednesday, believers are invited to come through a “drive-thru imposition of ashes” beginning at 7am in the First United Methodist Preschool carline. This is an open invitation to anyone who wants to come through for the imposition of ashes to start their day.
The evening of Ash Wednesday at FUMCA begins with solemn fellowship at The Gathering (5pm) over a simple meal of soup and bread (choice of potato or tomato basil). The meal is $6 per plate for adults (only $18 max per family). Following the fellowship meal, at 6pm, a traditional worship service will be held in the church sanctuary for a formal imposition of ashes, and delivery of the first sermon in the new series “The Prayers that Changed Everything”. This is a good time for first time visitors to come worship with FUMCA and begin the Lenten season with devotion, fellowship, and contemplation.
The four Sundays of Lent will be celebrated in worship during both morning services, with Grace Life contemporary worship beginning at 8:30am, which includes Holy Communion weekly, and traditional liturgical experience at 11am, offering Holy Communion on the first Sunday of the month. Palm Sunday will offer one blended service at 10am, followed by a family day potluck and Easter egg hunt on the grounds. Later in that same week there will be evening services for Maundy Thursday (6:30pm in the Grace Life fellowship hall) and Good Friday (6:30am in the traditional sanctuary).
Easter Sunday will be celebrated on April 5th in both morning services and will include Holy Communion and confirmations.
The Prayers That Changed Everything sermon series will trace the life of Jesus through the prayers he embodies at decisive moments, showing how prayer is not escape from suffering but the means by which God’s redemptive work unfolds. The opening sermon begins with a prayer of openness and humility, inviting revelation and awakening as we acknowledge our limits before God. It then moves into the depths of human pain: Jesus’ prayer amid grief reveals divine compassion and resurrection hope; his prayer that embraces the cross teaches surrender to the Father’s will and redefines glory through sacrifice.
Mid-Lent, the focus widens. Jesus’ prayer for unity draws believers into shared mission, sanctification, and truth, while his anguished prayer in Gethsemane faces fear honestly—modeling trust and courage born of submission. From there, the series enters abandonment itself, where Jesus’ cry from the cross names forsakenness and affirms that God fully identifies with human suffering. Holy Week intensifies the story. On Palm Sunday, Jesus’ prayer of forgiveness extends radical grace to a hostile world. Maundy Thursday reveals prayer as embodied service—humility expressed through love and self-giving. Good Friday culminates in total surrender, as Jesus offers everything into the Father’s hands, holding hope even in death.
Finally, Easter Sunday proclaims the prayer that starts something new: resurrection births new life, renewed identity, and a community called to repentance, baptism, and joyful witness.
Taken together, the series presents prayer as the hidden engine of salvation history—opening hearts, carrying grief, uniting the faithful, enduring fear and abandonment, forgiving enemies, serving in love, surrendering all, and ultimately ushering in resurrection and renewal.
Previous and future 2026 sermons can be heard on Spotify at bit.ly/FUMCASpotify or on YouTube at bit.ly/FUMCAYouTube.