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 June is:

• Sunday, June 7th: Gwinnett Stripers Game at 1:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. Preregistration was required.
• 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.

Over the next few weeks, the church’s parking lots will be undergoing asphalt repair and resealing/restriping projects. These will not impact access to the church’s parking lots on Sunday mornings, but may impact access to certain parts of the parking lots during the weekdays of the next few weeks.

We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause, but our parking lots will look fresh and amazing once these projects are completed. Please remember that we are able to do these types of necessary maintenance projects due to your generous and faithful giving to the church’s Long-Term Facilities Maintenance 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!

Over the last six years it has been a joy for our congregation to be part of the Summer Reading Camp at Seneca Street UMC in Buffalo, NY, by packing backpacks here in Duluth with school supplies for the children in Buffalo. After being shipped to Buffalo, backpacks are distributed to children at the end of the two-week camp for use in the upcoming school year. A portion of the backpacks will be processed as we have done in the past, while for the rest of the backpacks we will buy and collect school supplies and have a “packing party” for filling them with collected school supplies.

If you would like to pack a backpack with school supplies:

• Kindergarten and grades 9 – 12: Beginning Sunday, June 21st, select an empty backpack which will include a school supplies list and note on the return process. Shop for school supplies to fill it with and return completed backpacks no later than Sunday, July 12th.
• Grades 1 – 8: Beginning on Sunday, June 14th, select one or more school supply cards to be used to buy supplies with. Please return all school supplies by Sunday, July 5th. The “packing party” will be held on Saturday, July 11th, beginning at 10 a.m. in Hinton Hall, where you can come and fill backpacks with collected school supplies.
  

This approach was very successful last year as it allowed a greater number of our members to participate in the ministry. Backpacks and school supplies can be left in the collection areas located on the Dorothy L. Rainey Fellowship Hall stage, and outside of room F145, located on the 1st floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center.

If you have any questions, please contact Charlie Doerlich by e-mail at chaz3d@gmail.com or 678-662-2215.  Thank you for your continued support of this important ministry.

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.

Thanks to all who have contributed to the Amazon wish list for decorations and other supplies! As we prepare to create an exciting rainforest environment around the theme of our upcoming Vacation Bible School, Rainforest Falls: Exploring the Nature of God, we are also requesting donation or loan of:

• Green, leafy potted plants (preferably artificial, but all welcomed);
• Tropical- and jungle-themed stuffed animals (monkeys, tigers, sloths, birds, reptiles, etc.).

We’ll be glad to care for,  label, and return any loaned items after Vacation Bible School. If you have questions, please contact Bryan Taylor by e-mail at bryantaylor44@gmail.com.

The Library Book Club will meet on Monday, June 22nd, at 10:00 a.m. in room F145, located on the 1st floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center, to discuss The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict (writing as Heather Terrell) and Victoria Christopher Murray.

The Personal Librarian is a historical novel about Belle da Costa Greene, J.P. Morgan's personal librarian, who was a Black woman passing as white to succeed in the early 20th-century art world. The book explores her secret identity, her rise as a powerful figure in the art and book world, and the constant struggle to protect her family and legacy in a racist society. It's a story of ambition, identity, and the lengths one must go to for success and survival.

A new small group class, utilizing Bart Ehrman’s New Insights into the New Testament Seminar for 2025, will be offered at the church on Tuesday mornings and Wednesday evenings beginning July 7th and 8th. This class, led by Pete Fleming, features videos of ten New Testament scholars’ lectures on various aspects of the Historical Jesus Quest. Classes will meet twice weekly for ten weeks beginning July 7th and 8th:

• Tuesdays from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.;
• Wednesdays from 5:45 to 7:15 p.m.

Participants may attend either class.

Video presenters include Amy-Jill Levine, Dale Allison, Elaine Pagels, Paula Fredriksen and others. Each class will view one 40-minute lecture, followed by a time of discussion. Participants are encouraged to read E.P. Sanders’s book, The Historical Figure of Jesus, which presents the basic outlines of the Historical Jesus scholarship. The book can be purchased for under $10.

Please contact Pete Fleming by e-mail at lfleming3832@att.net or Rev. Dr. AnnaKate Rawles by e-mail at arawles@duluthumc.org to register and also letting them know which day you will attend. Once the size of each class has been determined, participants will be notified of the classroom location.

The Library Book Club will meet on Monday, July 20th, at 10:00 a.m. in room F145, located on the 1st floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center, to discuss The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a WWII historical fiction novel about a young woman, Yona, who was kidnapped as a child and raised in the forests of Eastern Europe, learning to survive off the land. After her kidnapper dies, she encounters Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis and uses her wilderness skills to help them survive, while they teach her about love and community, all while she grapples with her past and identity. The story is inspired by true accounts of Jewish partisans and survival groups during the war.

The Library Book Club will meet on Monday, August 17th, at 10:00 a.m. in room F145, located on the 1st floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center, to discuss The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom.

The Kitchen House is a historical fiction novel set on a Virginia plantation before the Civil War, following orphaned Irish girl Lavinia who becomes an indentured servant and is raised by the plantation's enslaved people, particularly Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter. The story explores themes of race, class, family, and loyalty as Lavinia straddles the worlds of the kitchen and the big house, leading to tragic events that expose the harsh realities of slavery and the bonds between the characters.

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.