To ensure a safe environment for our Christian Beginnings Preschool & Kindergarten students and staff, everyone is asked to use either of the Atrium entrances or the back entrance of the Sheldon Family Life Center from the rear parking lot, when coming to the church during school hours.  Christian Beginnings Preschool & Kindergarten meets Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to  2:00 p.m. This will help maintain a safe and focused environment for our students.

We appreciate your cooperation in supporting our Christian Beginnings Preschool & Kindergarten weekday ministry at Duluth First UMC.

Students in the 6th through 12th grades are invited to join us on Sunday nights for Sunday Night Gatherings from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”), located on the 1st floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center. Sunday Night Gatherings include great dinners, fun games, amazing worship, inspirational and relevant messages and life-changing small groups.

The Sunday Night Gathering schedule for May is:

• Sunday, May 10th: No Sunday Night Gathering (Mother’s Day);
• Sunday, May 17th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”);
• Sunday, May 24th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”;
• Sunday, May 31st: Adult Volunteer Appreciation Night at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”).
  

The Sunday Night Gathering schedule for June is:

• Sunday, June 7th: Gwinnett Stripers Game at 1:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. Please be on the lookout for more information and registration.
• Sunday, June 14th: No Sunday Night Gathering (Returning from the Gainesville Aid Project);
• Sunday, June 21st: No Sunday Night Gathering (Father’s Day);
• Sunday, June 28th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”).
  

The Sunday Night Gathering schedule for July is:

• Sunday, July 5th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”);
• Sunday, July 12th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”);
• Sunday, July 19th: 2026 FIFA World Cup Final Watch Party. Time TBA in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”);
• Sunday, July 26th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”).

Please click on YOUTH MINISTRY for more information.

Questions? Please contact Rev. Min Lee, Director of Youth Ministries, by e-mail at mlee@duluthumc.org.

The Library Book Club will meet on Monday, May 11th, at 10:00 a.m. in room F 145, located on the 1st floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center,  to discuss The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick. The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a historical fiction novel about four suburban housewives in 1960s Virginia who form a secret book club, inspired by Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, to discuss their dissatisfaction with the “American dream” and find empowerment through friendship and shared experiences.

Nicknamed “The Bettys,” the women—Margaret, Charlotte, Viv, and Bitsy—navigate personal crises and societal expectations, discovering their own strength and the power of sisterhood during a pivotal year. (Source: www.google.com)

Join The Road Runners on Tuesday, May 12th (please note change of date), for a flower-filled day with a guided tour at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens with lunch to follow. The group will leave the church’s back parking lot at 9:00 a.m.

The cost is $40 per person and includes entry into the gardens, tour, and transportation via a 15-person van (please see notes below). The cost of lunch will be on your own.

PLEASE NOTE:

• In order to attend you must be able to get in and out of a 15-passenger van and be healthy enough to travel several hours by car.
• We must have a minimum of 12 people to sign up in order to rent a van, otherwise travel will be via caravan.
  

To register please click on ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDENS TRIP, or contact Rev. Dr. AnnaKate Rawles by e-mail at arawles@duluthumc.org. All registrations must be received by Tuesday, April 21st.

Giving blood is one of the simplest yet most powerful ways to make a direct, life-saving impact in someone else’s life. A single donation can help multiple patients-People undergoing surgery, trauma victims, cancer patients and those with chronic illness wo depend on regular transfusions to survive. Blood cannot be manufactured; it can only come from donors, which means every contribution matter. It’s a small act that takes little time but offers immeasurable value-turning and ordinary day into an opportunity to be someone’s lifeline.

An American Red Cross Blood Drive will be held at Duluth First UMC from 3 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13th, in the Dorothy L. Rainey Fellowship Hall. Please consider donating blood as the Red Cross is experiencing the worst blood shortage in over a decade.

To schedule an appointment:

• Click on BLOOD DRIVE ONLINE REGISTRATION;
• Call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767);
• Contact Tracy Brinker by e-mail at tbrinker@duluthumc.org, or call 770-476-3776, ext. 112.
• Last, but not least, be a “walk-in” on Blood Drive Day.

Please eat a good meal and drink plenty of fluids prior to your donation. All donors will receive a $20 eGift Card, thanks to Amazon! Please go to rcblood.org/Amazon for additional information.

Please join us on Sunday, May 17th, for youth-led worship in all three worship services (8:30 a.m. Traditional, 11:00 a.m. Contemporary, and 11:00 a.m. Traditional). It will be a great morning as we get to hear messages from our students and as they lead us in various aspects of our worship services.

We will also be recognizing our graduates of 2026 at all three worship services on May 17th. Congratulations to all the graduates and their families! 

In 2025 The United Methodist Church launched a new vision statement - “To love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously.”  As a result we, as United Methodists, are recommitting ourselves to supporting clergy and United Methodists around the world. John Wesley made education a core commitment of his Methodist movement going back to its earliest days. In 1748, just a decade after his heart-warming spiritual awakening, Wesley established the still-thriving Kingswood School to provide high-quality education to the children of coal miners, as well as adults.

So it makes sense that as the people called Methodist “spread scriptural holiness over the land,” they planted not only churches but also schools for all ages. Those campuses eventually came to include United Methodist seminaries and theological schools to educate clergy around the globe. But ensuring would-be pastors can pay for their education has long been a challenge — especially in Africa, the Philippines and parts of Europe. While 71% of United Methodist clergy in the U.S. have a master’s degree or higher in theology, less than 5% of clergy in Africa, Europe and the Philippines can say the same.

That’s where Miracle Sunday comes in. The one-time offering is scheduled to take place in the denomination’s more than 30,000 congregations on Sunday, May 17th, the final Sunday of this year’s Easter season. The offering will raise funds for the Endowment for Theological Education in Africa, Europe and the Philippines. We will take this offering during worship on May 17th and invite you to participate in this important mission of The United Methodist Church. This offering is in addition to your giving to the general fund.

The summer is too long to go without seeing our friends! Preschool-aged children, their siblings, and their grown-ups are invited to come play at the church on Mondays, June 8th and July 13th from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. We will have popsicles for the kids and iced coffee for the grownups!

Join us on the playground if the weather is nice, and if it is raining or way too hot, we will be in the Dorothy L. Rainey Fellowship Hall. If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Dr. AnnaKate Rawles, Associate Pastor, by e-mail at arawles@duluthumc.org.

Be on the look out for other meet up opportunities this summer by following us on:

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DuluthFirstUMC;
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/duluthfirstumc.

Senior Adults are invited to join us once a month this summer for a time of coffee, conversations, and fellowship. Bring a game, something you want to discuss, or just show up to enjoy time together!

We will meet on Wednesdays, June 10th, July 15th, and August 12th, at 9:30 a.m. in the cul-da-sac area outside of the offices on the 1st floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center. If you have any questions, please contact Rev. AnnaKate Rawles, Associate Pastor, by e-mail at arawles@duluthumc.org. We look forward to seeing you there!

Mark your calendars and save the date for “Rainforest Falls: Exploring the Nature of God” Vacation Bible School. Registration is underway for the 2026 Vacation Bible School, being held Monday, June 22nd through Friday, June 26th, at Duluth First United Methodist Church. Vacation Bible School, held from 9 a.m. to noon each day, is for kids going into pre-Kindergarten (age 4 as of September 1st) through rising 6th graders. The cost is $30 per child with a maximum of $70 per family. Each day participants will participate in Bible story time, sing songs, play games, make crafts, and eat snacks.

In addition to registering participants, we are also registering adult and youth volunteers. We especially need shepherds, who are adult volunteers in charge of a group of 6-10 kids. Shepherds do not need to prepare anything in advance. They lead their group to the various activities where other volunteers are in charge. If you would like to help but are only available one or two days that week, you can put your available dates on your registration. We often need substitute shepherds. Also, the Childcare Corner is available for the children of volunteers if you have a child who is not old enough to be a participant.

Everyone who registers by May 24th is guaranteed a VBS t-shirt and copy of the music. All Vacation Bible School participant registration forms, as well as volunteer forms, are available by clicking on VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL 2026.

For more information, please contact Leslie Yokeley, Director of Children’s Ministries, by e-mail at lyokeley@duluthumc.org, or call 770-476-3776, ext. 138.

Please consider making a donation of items on our Amazon wish list for this summer’s Vacation Bible School - “Rainforest Falls: Exploring the Nature of God.” The wish list includes items needed for crafts, as well as snacks.

If you would like to donate an item or items, please click on VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL DONATIONS. Thank you for your support of “Rainforest Falls, Exploring the Nature of God.”

We are actively recruiting new members to the Flowers Ministry, a fun ministry which creates beautiful floral arrangements used to adorn the worship spaces in the Sanctuary and Hinton Hall for Sunday morning worship services. A training workshop will be held in April where you will have the opportunity learn how to make beautiful arrangements that will be placed in the Sanctuary and Hinton Hall to add beauty to our worship spaces.

If you are interested in being part of our Flowers Ministry, please contact Verena Lucía Anders, Minister of Music & Worship Arts, by e-mail at vanders@duluthumc.org or speak with James Dykes.

It is time for summer camp registration at Glisson Camp and Retreat Center! Registration for Summer 2026 is open for members of North Georgia United Methodist churches and returning families of Summer 2025 campers.

Glisson Camp and Retreat Center offers Summer Camp in the forests surrounding Cane Creek Falls near Dahlonega, GA. Since 1925, this place has become holy ground as thousands have had their faith strengthened through God’s presence there in creation and Christian community. Glisson Camp and Retreat Center is part of the North Georgia Camp & Retreat Ministries of the United Methodist Church’s North Georgia Conference. To see the schedule and/or register, as well as view promotional materials/videos, please go to https://glisson.org.