IN BRIEF: First Baptist-Gainesville hosting Palm Sunday service

Mar. 30—First Baptist-Gainesville's Pastor Jeff's Palm Sunday sermon will be "Wise" from Matthew 25:14-30. The early first contemporary service is in the Summit from 9-10 a.m., with donuts and coffee prior to the service. The traditional service is 11 a.m.-noon in the sanctuary.

There will be Sunday School from 10-11 a.m. with a variety of classes for adults being offered. The youth meet 10-11 a.m. for Sunday School in the Summit building, led by Youth Pastor Travis Tudor. Children's classes are held in the Fellowship Hall area for ages up through fifth grade. Youth Sunday School is for grades 6-12.

USDA offers more financial help for farmers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide approximately $123 million in financial assistance for qualified farmers facing financial risk. The offers builds on financial assistance offered to borrowers through the same program in October 2022, when the department provided on $800 in loan assistance.

In October 2022, USDA provided approximately $800 million in initial IRA assistance to more than 11,000 delinquent direct and guaranteed borrowers and approximately 2,100 borrowers who had their farms liquidated and still had remaining debt. USDA shared that it would conduct case-by-case reviews of about 1,600 complex cases for potential initial relief payments, including cases of borrowers in foreclosure or bankruptcy. The new round of relief starts in April.

Borrowers who are within two months of their next installment may seek a cashflow analysis from FSA using a recent balance sheet and operating plan to determine their eligibility.

To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

First Presbyterian hosts Good Friday service

First Presbyterian Church of Gainesville will host Palm Sunday worship service at 10:30 a.m.

Choir practice is at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

Bible Study with Dr. Vivian Thomlinson is at 10 a.m. and Good Friday will be celebrated with "Journey to the Cross" activity from 2-4 p.m. on Friday. Several stations with have information and objects from the life of Jesus and the Bible.

The church is located at Denton and Church streets in downtown Gainesville. For more information, leave a message at 940-665-5153 or email fpcgaines@sbcglobal.net.

Cooke Co. Library closed Easter weekend

The Cooke County Library will be closed on Friday, April 7, and Saturday, April 8, for the Easter Holiday. The library will open at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, April 10, with regular hours.

Patrons can still access our eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, magazines and music.

Find all of these products by visiting the Cooke County Library website (http://cookecountylibrary.org/), click the "eLibrary" tab, and then click on the eBooks, Downloadable Audiobooks, eMagazines, Languages and Music headers to learn more details on each of these services.

St. Faustia service at Sacred Heart

There will be a Divine Mercy Sunday Service April 16 at Sacred Heart Church in Muenster.

There will be no Mass, but a special blessed image of Jesus, The Lord of Divine Mercy and First Class

relic of St. Faustina will be present for veneration. Confessions will be heard from 2-2:45p.m.

The service begins at 3 p.m. at the church, located at 714 N. Main St.

Mountain Springs Community Center opens 2023 season

The market season has kicked off at the Mountain Springs Community Center, 173 Mountain Springs Ln. in Valley View. The schedule is as follows:

April 15 — MSCC Spaghetti Supper Dinner & Silent Auction 6 p.m.

May 6 — Market, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

June 10 — Market and communitywide picnic Meet & Greet (sign up for different events — time and details TBD)

July 1 — Early Bird / Rise & Shine Market, 7 a.m.-noon

Aug. 5 — Early Bird / Rise & Shine Market, 7 a.m.-noon; Ice Cream Social, a night to recognize the Mellowdrama Memory Night Gather Pictures, videos Caricature Drawing, 6 p.m.

Sept. 2 — Early Bird / Rise & Shine Market, 7 a.m.-noon

Oct. 14 — Fall Festival, Lester Haynie Music Festival

Nov. 4 — Holiday Market

Dec. 9 — Festival of Light Program and memorial

Any vendor interested in participating in market events should contact Kim Comeau at mountainspringstx@gmail.com.

Cooke Co. Library event at zoo April 29

"Zooper Reads" combines the love of reading and visiting the Frank Buck Zoo. This special early literacy event will take place on Saturday, April 29, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Frank Buck Zoo in Leonard Park in Gainesville. Both children and adults are welcome to attend.

Thanks to a PenTex Energy Charitable Foundation grant, admission will be paid for all who enter during the program. Each child that enters will be able to select their own book from a variety of titles and then read it to their favorite zoo animals. The book selected will become the child's to take home for their personal library. The idea behind this collaborated event is to combine the love of reading and animals.

"I am thrilled the library and Frank Buck Zoo get to give the kids in our community such a unique reading experience." says Cooke County Library's Children's Coordinator, Kimberly Reiter. "It will be fun for kids and grown-ups too!"

This event is sponsored by a PenTex Energy Charitable Foundation grant. For more info, call 940-668-5530.

Lions golf outing May 27

The Gainesville Lions Club will host its annual golf tourney May 27 at the Gainesville Municipal Golf Course. It will be a four-person scramble, with registration at 7 a.m. and a shotgun start at 8 a.m.

The entry fee is $75 per person/$300 per team, which includes lunch, drinks, door prizes, longest drive and closest to the pin prizes, and a hole-in-one prize — a 2023 Chevrolet Silverado Z71 presented by Glenn Polk Auto Group.

Hole sponsors are $100 each. Call 940-634-1234 or email bkp1406@att.net for sponsorship information.

Proceeds will benefit local causes, including VISTO, Cooke County 4-H and Camp Sweeney, as well as Lions programs to support the blind and sight-impaired.

Send payments to Gainesville Lions Club, c/o Brian Pearson, 323 N. Howeth St., Gainesville, TX 76240-4452 or call 816-516-1538 for more information.

The Lions meet each Wednesday at the Neu Ranch House in Gainesville. People start gathering for fellowship and to eat lunch at 11:30 a.m., with the meeting beginning at noon, with a speaker and program each week. Visitors are always welcome.

For more information, call 816-516-1538.

Tax help at Cooke County Library

Clients may come to the Cooke County Library and pick up an AARP in-take packet that contains instructions on how to prepare their 2022 taxes. Clients will need to fill out the booklet and then contact AARP as per the instructions attached with it.

Clients will need to make appointments this year. Instructions on how to make appointments will be attached with the AARP paperwork. Appointments will be from 1-4 p.m. on Tuesdays only and run through April 18.

Library staff has no involvement with this service. AARP Tax Aides are volunteers who try their best to provide this free service to Gainesville and Cooke County residents.

For any general questions, call 940-668-5530 or visit the library at 200 S. Weaver St. in Gainesville.