Welcome
God, as known to us in Jesus Christ, welcomes all.
We welcome people of any race, national origin, ethnicity, 
gender, sexual orientation, age, social or economic status, employment status, or life situation;
including people with physical or mental illness or disability.
We practice loving acceptance of each person and respectful discussion of our differences.
Lend A Hand!
Church-Wide Day of Service
Church and Society, Missions, and Environmental Stewardship Work Areas invite everyone to join in a church-wide Day of Service 8 to noon, Saturday, September 11th, at one of four sites.
- People's Resource Center
- At People's Resource Center in Westmont, volunteers will serve as "personal shoppers" for PRC clients, guiding them through the food pantry. Others will stock shelves, help clients find parking, or push carts to and from cars. Children 10 and up are welcome if accompanied by an adult. Contact Julie Stone for more information.
(12 Volunteers needed)
- Downers Grove Park District
- Help improve our local natural resources! From 9 to noon, at a site to be announced the week before, volunteers can help tidy up a local park. Families welcome! Youths 9 to 18 years old are welcome with an adult. All workers should bring gardening gloves, and will need to sign a waiver. Volunteers under 18 must have a parent or guardian sign the waiver. Contact Tom Roose with questions.
(15 volunteers needed)
- Friendship letter writing
- Volunteers will write letters to FUMC members who cannot make it to church, reminding them that they are with us, and we are with them. If your child is a budding artist, this is an event for them! 9 to noon in the parlor.
(7 adults + children needed)
- Child Serv
- Lend a hand with Fall lawn and garden cleanup and spring bulb planting! Please bring garden gloves and hand tools. Volunteers at this site, a youth home on Highland Ave. in DG, near the Tivoli Theater, must be at least 18 years old.
(6 volunteers needed)
Sign-up sheets will be available before and after services. Please lend a hand in community service!
Rally Day
On Rally Day, we celebrate the return to the Fall, Winter, and Spring schedule of three services at 8:15am, 9:30am, and 11:00am, and the resumption of regular Sunday School at the two later services.
Sunday School
On September 12th, we will be starting a new year of Sunday School. Every child is welcome to attend and we encourage all parents to come and register their children on Rally Day.
Work Area Fair
At 10:30am and noon, there will be a fair in the Gym so that you can see what your church work areas are doing!
Rally Day Lunch
At noon, everyone is invited to come to the Gym to enjoy lunch together. The menu will be hot dogs, fries, fruit, cookies and lemonade. The cost will be $4/adult and $2/child (12 and under). Please sign up in the Parlor or by calling the Church Office by September 5th.
Rally Day Movie
We will finish the day with a movie at the Tivoli. Everyone that attends church and/or Sunday school on Rally Day will receive a free ticket to the movie How to Train Your Dragon that will be shown at 1:30pm. Each child (12 and under) will also receive a coupon for a kid pack (box with popcorn and drink). The concession stand will also be open for anyone wanting to purchase snacks. The doors open at the Tivoli at 1:00pm.
A new season of the Sunday School for adults, Foundations, will start on September 12 at 9:30am in Room 213. We are hoping that it will be "a place to share, explore and inspire."
- Sept. 12: Religion and Culture in American Society
- Led by Fred Conger, who served as Senior Pastor at FUMC for 20 years.
- Sept. 19: Language as a Social Justice Issue
- Led by Donna Adler, who pursues both public interest and for-profit legal work in the areas of immigration and nationality law, labor and employment law, and combines her theological interests with her legal background in the arena of social justice. She received her B.A. in Linguistics in 1981, her J.D. in 1984, her M.A. in Divinity in 1993, her M.A. in Philosophical and Systematic Theology in 1997, and her Ph.D. in Philosophical and Systematic Theology in 2002.
- Sept. 26: Understanding the Dark Side of Capitalism
- Led by Dr. Adler.
- Oct. 3: Stages of Social Development: Cultural Dynamics
- Led by John Gillham, who received his divinity degree from Yale in 1961 and served as a Pastor until he retired in 2001.
Pakistan Floods
All of us have seen the news reports showing the devastation caused by heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan. It is estimated that over 14 million people have been affected with over 1600 deaths. As the floods have spread southwards down the Indus River, a population already afflicted by poverty and ravaged by conflict is now battling homelessness and water-borne disease.
Please consider supporting the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) who are on the ground providing clean drinking water, food, temporary shelter, and medical aid. They are working in conjunction with the Church of Pakistan, Church World Service, and GlobalMedic.
Beyond flood and natural catastrophe,
we ask for peace and daily bread
for the impoverished people of the Swat Valley
— people who again are without homes,
who again face the future with empty hands,
so soon after last year's war, bloodshed.
A prayer of petition offered by the German NGO Bread for the World, translation by Jim Dwyer
| Donate to UMCOR Pakistan Emergency Relief |
On Your Behalf
- What is it?
- How does it work?
- How can I serve others with prayer?
On Your Behalf is a group of church members who lift others up in prayer. There are no meetings! All praying is done at your convenience. Requests for prayer are provided to us each week and are kept confidential.
If you would be interested in joining us or need more information about serving others with prayer please call the church office at 968-7120.
When your reaction to yours or another's misfortune is "Oh, my God!", turn it into a gentle prayer.
Daily Update
RSS News Feeds
RSS news feeds provide a way of keeping track of the rapidly-changing content available on the internet. At First United, we are using this relatively new web technology in two ways:
- As a way of identifying newly added web content concerning the programs and events in the church life.
- As a way of alerting the congregation to late-breaking news, such as weather cancellations or urgent appeals for help.
The news feed is now maintained by the church office and will be updated as soon as the information is available. Although it is meant to be read by special news readers, the feed is also published on the web as the Daily Update page. Add this page to your favorites to keep abreast of the latest news as it breaks.
Find out how you can use RSS to keep up to date with the latest news and events in the life of First United Methodist Church.
|RSS News Feeds|
