Monday night youth gatherings are back!Youth please join us on the dates below at The Open Door from 5:30-8:00pm for dinner, Bible study , games and hanging out with friends.
June 13
June 20
Please mark your calendars for the Church Wide Day of Service to be help on September 10, 2011. This is a wonderful time for families and people of all ages. Activities will include home clean up for the elderly, phoning or writing those on the prayer list, visiting the children at Almost Home, SOS, and helping out PRC. There will be 3 stations located here at church for scarf making, letter writing, and soup preparation. Lunch will follow at church afterwards.
All the children going into 1st grade through 6th grade this coming fall are encouraged to attend a special Summer Sunday school program called "What's In The Bible?" Starting this Sunday, June 5th, the 1st-6th graders will go with me to room 217 following the children's sermon in worship. "What's In The Bible?" is a 12 week program where children will explore many important questions such as:
Wacky Wednesdays Are Back!
In September, Andrew Newberg, M.D., will be leading a two-day workshop at First United, exploring the fascinating link between religious experience and the biology of the brain. He will be using the latest advances in neuroscience to help us understand what is happening in our brains when we experience the transcendent as tangibly real. This is not a reductionist exercise designed to discredit religious faith. Newberg does not believe that neuroscience can say whether God exists or not, but he does believe that God seems to be hard-wired into the human brain, finding "echoes of the infinite buried within its convoluted folds."
To help us prepare for this stimulating workshop, all members of the church are invited to participate in reading and discussing two books by Andrew Newberg that explore in depth his neurological studies of religious experience and his ideas concerning the biological importance of religious belief in healing our bodies and minds. There will be two sets of discussions in June and August. Books can be purchased online or in bookstores. Contact the church office by June 3 if you want the church to order a copy for you.
Why God Won't Go AwayWednesday, June 15, 10:00am (led by Pastor Greta McDonald)
Wednesday, June 15, 6:30pm (led by Pastor Jim McDonald)
Sunday, June 26, 9:00am (led by Carol Lysne)
Why We Believe What We BelieveSunday, August 28, 9:00am (led by Carol Lysne)
Wednesday, August 31, 10:00am (led by Pastor Greta McDonald)
Wednesday, August 31, 6:30pm (led by Pastor Jim McDonald)
College students and High School graduates may apply for The First United Methodist Church of Downers Grove Scholarships. Each applicant must be a member of the choir or youth program. You may pick up an application in the church office. All applications are due by July 1, 2011.
The Environmental Stewardship Work Area is conducting a recycling fundraiser. There’s nothing to buy. We are simply asking you to protect the environment by donating your used cell phones and small consumer electronics. Your used item(s) may be tax deductible and will be recycled in accordance with EPA regulations. 100% of the proceeds will help fund the First United Methodist Church’s change over to more environmentally friendly and economical light fixtures and lighting.
There will be decorated sugar cookies for sale in the Parlor on Sunday, June 5, to benefit Bridge Communities. They are individually wrapped, so you can
take one for the road or eat it on site. Please stop by the Garden Walk ticket sales table and treat yourself for a good cause!
If you’d like to pre-order 6 or more, please contact Julie Stone.
In the Parlor on Sunday, May 22, please take the time to look at the Lost and Found tables. There are many items that need to return home including a key to a car!
Home stays with host families have always been an important part of Chapel Choir tours. It has also allowed us to keep tour fees reasonable and for our youth to interact with members of other congregations. Now it's our turn. On Tuesday, June 14, our church will host the Revelation Choir from Custer Road UMC in Plano, TX. We need help with dinner preparation, housing and attendance for their concert.
Children around the world have benefited from the generosity of the FUMC congregation. Through your Easter gifts in 2010, we have also supported the following project and mission:
Lee Memorial Girl’s Dormitory, India—a residential school for girls in an area where girls are largely overlooked for education. Nurturing and educating the orphaned and destitute, this school makes it possible for girls to learn not only basic education, but also skills for a brighter future as empowered women.
Thanks to all who have generously contributed to the fund, instigated by Judy Koptik, to send every 2012 General Conference delegate a copy of the book On Thundering Wings: Homosexuality, Love and the Church on Trial. The fund has now grown to over $4,000. Judy believes that hearts and minds will be changed by reading this account of The Rev.