The AUMC Missions Committee will hold their Second Tuesday dinner on June 10 at 6 p.m. The dinner, which raises funds for mission programs, will celebrate the start of summer so bring your beach hat and come on out for a fish fry, slaw, choice of Key Lime or lemon meringue pie and some nostalgic vacation music. We hope to see you there!

The June/July 2014 AUMC newsletter is now available by clicking here. Highlights include:

• From the Pastor: Taste and See
• Vacation Bible School Set for June
• AUMC Partners with Meals on Wheels
• Bake Sale Serves Up Goodness
• Youth Wrap Up Spring Activities, Look Forward to Fall
• Congratulations Graduates
• AUMC Plants Garden to Support ACCC
• Son Fun Festival Shines
• Missions Committee Continues Outreach
• Pastor Jim Accepted into Leadership Program
• Annual Conference to be Held in Greenville
• Youth Participate in Easter Egg Hunt
• Have Something to Share?

On April 17 at 7 p.m., AUMC will hold a Maundy Thursday Service to commemorate the Last Supper and observe Jesus’ commandment to love one another through Holy Communion.

At noon on April 18, AUMC will mark Good Friday with a service focusing on Jesus’ crucifixion. Communion will be served.

On Easter Sunday, April 20, AUMC will celebrate Jesus’ resurrection at a Sunrise Service at 7 a.m. A continental breakfast will follow. There will not be a 9 a.m. service, but our Easter celebrations will continue at the 11 a.m. service.

All are welcome to worship with us during this Easter season!

This spring Ayden UMC will collect new and gently used books for elementary school children as part of the Give Five Read Five program started by the NC Department of Public Instruction.

You can drop off new or gently used books in the fellowship hall in the Stroud Building.

This initiative was started to help combat summer loss, the term for the loss in literacy skills when students are out of school for the summer.

Why is this effort important?

Have you ever heard of the term summer loss? This is not a seasonal diet or exercise program, but a troubling trend in which students lose valuable literacy skills when they stop reading during their break from school.

Low-income children are especially susceptible to this problem because they often go home to an environment where there are very few books or other reading resources. As a result, by the end of fifth grade, these students are approximately 2 ½ years behind their more affluent peers in terms of reading ability, primarily because of summer loss.

Please donate and encourage others to GIVE FIVE books today to help students READ FIVE this summer so they can be more successful in the new school year.