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

Join us for this FREE event Comemmorating Juneteenth

Sunday, June 18, 2023 – 10:30 am-12 Noon – First United Methodist Church of Elmhurst, 232 S York St, Elmhurst

We will have music, soul food, guest speakers, education, and activities for people of all ages.

This event will take place outside but will moved inside if the weather is bad. Restrooms will be available during the event.

Youth Group Service Retreat

June 2-4, 2023

During the weekend the youth will serve at DuPage Habitat for Humanity, The Northern Illinois Food Bank, and The Night Ministry in Chicago. In addition, we will travel to the DuSable Museum of African American History to see the virtual reality exhibit “Step Into History, The March”.

For fun, we will go to an escape room and will have a lock-in at the church on Saturday, June 3.

Cost for the retreat is $25 each for Friday or Saturday, $50 if attending both days. All food, supplies, and admissions are included in the cost.

Click HERE to register.

Birding with Pastor Joe

York Woods, September 11, 2022; 7 am-8 am; overcast and rain.

Hermit Thrush Photo courtesy of Cornell’s All About Birds

Four people took a chance today to go birding with Pastor Joe. We learned that DuPage County is home to 268 observed species and that York Woods was the first forest preseve of DuPage County. Woodpeckers were the most abundant bird family represented so we learned how to identify male and female wood peckers.

We heard many hermit thrushes and were rewarded with one on the path flitting its wings.

We recorded 14 species:

3 mourning dove

1 great blue heron

6 red bellied woodpecker

3 downy woodpecker

1 hairy woodpecker

1 eastern wood peewee

1 great crested flycatcher

10 blue jay

1 black capped chickadee

3 white breasted nut hatch

2 European starting

4 hermit thrush

10 American robin

6 common grackle

1 northern cardinal

Experiencing God’s Grace

This series explores the sacraments of holy communion and baptism.  In preparation for this, consider watching the 1987 movie Babette’s Feast (available for rent  on Amazon and Apple tv for $3.99 or free to checkout at Elmhurst Public Library).  Additionally, the library is hosting a series of events called  Common Connection: Around the Table that uses lectures, discussion and critical thinking to identify topics that influence the world today.  Pastor Joe would love to hear about your experiences.  You can leave him a comment by clicking this form.

Juneteenth Rally Against Racism

Join us as we continue to wrestle with racism and work toward meaningful change through a celebration of Black culture. We will share music, stories, creative activities, education, and a voter registration table. For more information click HERE

June 19, 2022 – 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Elmhurst First United Methodist Church – 232 S. York St

Safari Adventure Pictures

Thank you to all who came out for the Safari Adventure on April 23rd. We had a great time exploring the wild with you! Check back here for more events like this in the future.

Take a look at the rest of the photos here.