Dear APUMC Family,
I am excited for today’s “Mystics of Ashland Place” preschool Mardi Gras parade! It is always great fun to see the neighborhood come together and enjoy this display of wide-eyed wonder. We are also thrilled to welcome the Excelsior Band today at 12:00. Can you imagine how busy these guys are this time of year? The even better news is that they will be back with us in worship for our joint service celebrating Transfiguration Sunday on February 15 at 10:00. Make plans to join us for breakfast at 8:30! And bring a friend!
If Mardi Gras is officially here in Mobile, then we also recognize that Lent is on the way.
Our theme for Lent this year will be Seeking: Honest Questions for Deeper Faith. Beginning with Ash Wednesday on February 18, we will explore different encounters with Jesus in the gospels in which each person seeks a new beginning, a different life, and a deeper faith.
To help us prepare for this spiritual journey, I'm sharing this announcement a little early so you can begin planning now:
On Good Friday, April 3, 2026, I invite you to join me, Rev. Jennifer, DS Rev. Sheila Bates, and Ms. Clara Ester for a special congregational pilgrimage to the Legacy Museum and memorial sites in Montgomery, Alabama. This will be a full day away together–a time of shared reflection, silence, and conversation–and a unique way to deepen our understanding of faith, justice, history, and reconciliation.
Montgomery’s Legacy Sites, created by the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), are powerful places of truth-telling and remembrance. The Legacy Museum explores the history of slavery, racial terror, and injustice in America and draws connections across generations to our present day. Nearby, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice honors the thousands of African Americans killed in racial terror lynchings in this country and invites visitors into contemplative remembrance. The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, reached by a brief boat ride on the Alabama River, offers an immersive outdoor space that honors those who endured slavery and commemorates more than 122,000 formerly enslaved people, preserving their legacy in landscape, art, and story.
This journey is more than a field trip — it is a pilgrimage of faith, a chance to walk together as a community, to confront hard truths, and to open our spirits to transformation. For more information, go to www.eji.org. Our planned itinerary will include:
● Early morning departure by charter bus (7:00 am)
● Guided visit to the Legacy Museum in the morning
● Lunch at a local Montgomery restaurant
● Visit to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice
● 20-minute boat ride to the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park
● Dinner and times of reflection at First United Methodist Church
● Good Friday Worship Service at 7:00 pm, led by Dr. Jay Cooper
● Return home (approximately 10:30)
This will be a full day culminating in worship, prayer, dialogue, silence, and sacred space for reflection — a journey that invites each of us to open our hearts to the Spirit’s work in our lives and our world.
As we prepare for this pilgrimage, we invite you to mark your calendar, begin praying about your participation, and start considering how this journey may shape your walk with Christ this Lent.
Details about logistics — including departure time, cost, lunch options, and transportation home from APUMC for those who prefer not to drive in the dark — will be shared in the weeks ahead. For now, please save the date — April 3, 2026 — and prepare your hearts for this remarkable opportunity to travel together in faith.
There is more to come!
With Joy,
Darren