Author: Joseph Johnson

Posted on

Holy Week and Easter

HOLY WEEK AT UMC ELMHURST

Palm Sunday begins Holy Week and is about the celebration and acknowledgement of the one who comes in the name of the Lord. It is a time for declaration of faith and reaffirmation and recommitment to discipleship as we follow Christ with our whole lives

1 .  Join us in worshipping together as we rediscover Jesus, his arrival in Jerusalem, his death, and his resurrection.

Palm Sunday, April 13 th , 9:30 am, Worship at 9:30 am begins with the processional of palm branches

Good Friday, April 18 th , 7:00 pm, at First United Methodist Church in Elmhurst, Worship with members from the Salt Creek Cluster as we contemplate the 7 Last Words of Jesus.

Easter Sunday, April 20 th , 9:30 am, Celebrate the Risen Christ! The morning begins with a Worship Service including the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Following the service, our Fellowship Committee invites you to a delicious brunch, complete with an Egg Hunt and fun Easter Activities for the whole family.

Posted on

Meals with Jesus: a worship series

Jesus did a lot of ministry during meals that he ate with a wide variety of people: religious officials, government officials, friends and strangers. Through these meals he shared God’s grace, community and mission.

Join Christ UMC Elmhurst and First as Pastors Jim and Joe explore Jesus’ meal ministry. Two of these services will be “breakfast church”. Breakfast church will include breakfast, a Jesus story and table discussion about the story. June 2 will be the first breakfast church at First UMC Elmhurst. June 30 will be breakfast church at Christ UMC

Worshippers will be invited to consider if they would like to host a dinner church in the community later this summer.

Come and experience Grace, Community and Mission!

DateScriptureChurch Address
June 2Luke 5:27-32First
June 9Luke 7:36-50Christ
June 16Luke 14:1-24First
June 23Mark 1:37-39First
June 30Luke 9:10-17Christ
July 7Luke 10:38-42Christ
July 14Luke 11:37-44First
July 21John 21:1-17Christ
Posted on

A New Creation Sermon Series

In the coming weeks, First Church will be having conversations about faith and caring for the earth.  The Christian scriptures are rich resources for this conversation.

The conversations that we will consider at 9:30 am Sunday Worship:

April 14 A Special Responsibility (Genesis)

April 21 Facing Creation’s Brokenness (Romans)

April 28 A New Creation (2 Corinthians)

In addition, join us for two activities that will aid us in this conversation.

April 14               7 am – 8 am       Birdwatching at Churchill Woods.  Join Pastor Joe, an amateur birder, will help us experience some of our avian kin.  Churchill is a DuPage County birding hotspot because of its diverse habitats.  We’ll meet at the picnic shelter entrance parking lot.  Bring binoculars if you have them.  Possible species include: woodpeckers, warblers, water fowl and wading birds.  Please sign up here.

April 27               9 am – Noon       In honor of Earth Day, the Illinois Prairie Path corporation, in cooperation with the Friends of the Great Western Trails, several municipalities, DuPage County and other partner organizations, has scheduled its annual cleanup for Saturday, April 27 at 9am. Please note that exact time and date are set by each site coordinator.  We will probably be cleaning up in Berkeley, Bellwood or Maywood as that is where volunteers are needed.  Please sign up here.

Posted on

BOOK STUDY

We will study Rev. Dr. John Elford’s book, Our Hearts Were Strangely Lukewarm: The American Methodist Church and the Struggle with White Supremacy.  Participants will need a copy of the book for this study.  Dr. Elford will join us via zoom for our last session.  Don’t miss this amazing opportunity.  This study will last for 7 weeks.  (April 17-May 29)

Register!

Posted on

Lent at First Church

Worship (Available on Facebook)

February 14 6 pm                              Ash Wednesday Dinner and Service (Wesley Hall and Sanctuary)

February 18-March 17, 9:30 am              Sunday Morning Worship (Sanctuary)

March 24       9:30 am                       Palm Sunday Worship (Sanctuary)

March 28       7 pm                              Maunday Thursday Worship (Sanctuary and Prayer Stations)

March 29        7 pm                              Salt Creek Cluster Good Friday Service (Prince of Peace UMC, Elk Grove Village)

March 31      9:30 am                        Easter Worship (Sanctuary)

                           10:30 am                     Scavenger Egg Hunt and Brunch (Wesley Hall)

Small Group

Wednesday    10 am                            Small group discussion on the scriptures with devotional booklet. Devotional Book available from church office for $3. (Feb. 21-March 27; Aldersgate Room)

Prayer

Six prayer stations will be located on the first floor (Narthex, Quiet Room, Aldersgate) for personal prayer throughout the Lenten season.  Each station is self-guided.

Service

Feed My Starving Children              March 23, 2pm                       

Schaumburg Packing Facility         740 Wiley Farm Court

Posted on

Fall 2023 Christian Education Offerings

September/October

One Day I Wrote Back: Interacting with Scripture through Creative Writing by Jane Herring


Sundays, Sept. 24-Oct. 29; 9:15am – 10:15

Herring leads you to talk back to those scripture passages you don’t understand. Ask questions, explore your life, plead, praise and ponder.
She provides reflection questions and simple practical exercises to encourage writing.

November

Sundays in November 9:15 am

We will kick off this observation by learning about the Papal Bull
Romanus Pontifix, of 1452 that declared war on the non-Christian world and gave Spain and Portugal rights to conquest.

We’ll watch a 45-minute video for this first session.
We will explore our denominational teaching about Christianity and Native Americans the next three weeks by reading United Methodist Resolutions 6025, 3321 and 3334.

December

Advent 2023

Wednesdays, Nov. 29- Dec.20; 10 am- 11am
Sundays, December 3-24; 9:15 am -10:15 am

With the help of Bishop Willimon, we will explore the Incarnation of Jesus with his new book, Heaven and Earth.


“It’s not within our own power to make afresh start. If we’re to have a future different from the past, it must come as a gift, something not of our devising. What we need is a God who refuses to be trapped in eternity, a God who not only cares about us but is willing to show up among us and do something with us, here, now.”

Posted on

ASIAN HISTORY & CULTURE

THURSDAY, MAY 25

Over 15 people gathered in Wesley Hall to participate in the Northern Illinois Conference’s Second Quarter Film Series highlighting Asian American and Pacific Islander History and Culture.  Participants watched Pew Research Center’s Being Asian in America.

We gathered over a meal catered by Ming Chef and heard a brief history of AAPI in North America by Dr. Dr. WOOHEE ANNE JOH.  She also facilitated four panelists reflecting on their experiences of living in the United States and the church.  You may watch this presentation by clicking this link.

The next film series is

PRIVILEGE, POWER AND RACE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION

Thursday, September 21, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Different locations across the conference

Posted on

AI Sermon Series

June 4 and 11 at 10:30 am

What is it?  How is it affecting us?  Human technology offers opportunities to enhance the created order and destroy it.  When the newspaper was introduced in the 1600s, many feared it would stop all human social interactions.  It didn’t.  AI does not have to be feared, only understood.

Join Pastor Joe for this two-part series that will explore these questions and look at how our spiritual practices can help us navigate these waters.