Bring your friends and family to our Trunk or Treat event on Sunday, October 25th, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the church’s front parking lot. Come in costume, park your car, and pop the trunk! Volunteers are needed to host a trunk at Trunk or Treat as we welcome our community to Duluth First UMC for an afternoon of fun. We hope to have at least 35 trunks and YOU can be one! Decorate and/or have a game at your trunk for the opportunity to win the soon to be coveted Golden Pumpkin prize! Set-up time begins at 3:30 p.m. and trick-or-treating begins at 4:00 p.m.

Volunteers are also needed to help with set up, refill candy, run carnival games, and clean up. You sign can sign up to volunteer by clicking on DULUTH FIRST UMC TRUNK OR TREAT.

Candy donations (bags of individually wrapped candies) are needed for Trunk or Treat. Drop off any candy in the Trunk or Treat bins located around the church. You can help us be sure we have enough to share with our community!

Please contact Rev. Dr. AnnaKate Rawles by e-mail at arawles@duluthumc.org or call 770-476-3776, ext. 128, with any questions.

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 October is:

• Sunday, October 25th: Trunk or Treat from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the front of the church.

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.

Join us for a time of food and fellowship around the table with family and friends at our Wednesday Night Dinners from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Hinton Hall, located on the 2^nd floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center. Chef Kenny Lewis, our Food Ministry Manager, along with our very talented and dedicated Dinner Belles and Beaus volunteers, prepare excellent meals at very reasonable prices.

The menu for October 28^th is baked Chicken Alfredo, penne pasta, steamed broccoli, Italian mixed vegetables, breadsticks, and dessert. For the kids – the same.

Dinners are served from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Hinton Hall, with to-go boxes available from 6 to 6:30 p.m.

The prices for Wednesday Night Dinners are: $10.00 for adults (including seniors and from 11 years up); $7.00 for children 10 years and younger; $30.00 for family meals (nuclear family members only and their children under 18 years); $7.00 for salad bar only, which includes the salad bar, a choice of baked potato or sweet potato, dessert and a drink. Credit/debit card payments, as well as cash and checks, are accepted.

Please Note: Menus are subject to change.

The Wednesday Night Food Drive at Duluth First UMC for the Hands of Christ Duluth Co-Op is our weekly mission project, combined with the many Wednesday evening activities offered at the church. Donated food items can be left on the Food Drive table located outside of the main entrance to Hinton Hall, located on the 2nd floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center.

Items needed during the month of October are:

• October 28th: Canned Peas.

Items needed during the month of November are:

• November 4th: tuna fish;
• November 11th: canned fruit;
• November 18th: peanut butter and jelly.
  

Join us for a delicious dinner and fellowship in Hinton Hall, pick up a to-go dinner for your family, join us for any of our Wednesday evening activities, and drop off food items to help other families in need. We thank you for your support!

Join us for a time of food and fellowship around the table with family and friends at our Wednesday Night Dinners from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Hinton Hall, located on the 2^nd floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center. Chef Kenny Lewis, our Food Ministry Manager, along with our very talented and dedicated Dinner Belles and Beaus volunteers, prepare excellent meals at very reasonable prices.

The menu for November 4th is baked turkey with dressing and gravy, sweet potato casserole, buttered corn, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, rolls, and dessert. For the kids – chicken tenders and French fries.

Dinners are served from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Hinton Hall, with to-go boxes available from 6 to 6:30 p.m.

The prices for Wednesday Night Dinners are: $10.00 for adults (including seniors and from 11 years up); $7.00 for children 10 years and younger; $30.00 for family meals (nuclear family members only and their children under 18 years); $7.00 for salad bar only, which includes the salad bar, a choice of baked potato or sweet potato, dessert and a drink. Credit/debit card payments, as well as cash and checks, are accepted.

Please Note: Menus are subject to change.

Join us for a time of food and fellowship around the table with family and friends at our Wednesday Night Dinners from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Hinton Hall, located on the 2^nd floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center. Chef Kenny Lewis, our Food Ministry Manager, along with our very talented and dedicated Dinner Belles and Beaus volunteers, prepare excellent meals at very reasonable prices.

The menu for November 11th is Salisbury steak with gravy, buttered egg noodles, buttered peas, glazed carrots, rolls, and dessert. For the kids – hamburgers and French fries.

Dinners are served from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Hinton Hall, with to-go boxes available from 6 to 6:30 p.m.

The prices for Wednesday Night Dinners are: $10.00 for adults (including seniors and from 11 years up); $7.00 for children 10 years and younger; $30.00 for family meals (nuclear family members only and their children under 18 years); $7.00 for salad bar only, which includes the salad bar, a choice of baked potato or sweet potato, dessert and a drink. Credit/debit card payments, as well as cash and checks, are accepted.

Please Note: Menus are subject to change.

Crafters, potters, artists, and bakers of all kinds – your talents will be needed in November! Our annual missions fundraiser, Bundle Up for Buffalo, will be on Saturday, November 14th, and Sunday, November 15th. All proceeds from the Bundle Up for Buffalo fundraiser help our sister church, Seneca Street United Methodist Church in Buffalo, NY, keep the heat on their facility during the winter months which fall from October 2026 through April 2027. Last year, we raised enough money to designate this church to be a warming center, where people could come into the building and get a bite to eat if their own heat had been turned off or was not working. This was major – YOU helped do this!

Volunteers are needed on Friday, November 13th, at 2:30 p.m. to help set up the tables and sale items in the Dorothy L. Rainey Fellowship Hall. If you can help with the set up, or have items you would like to donate to the sale, please contact Beth Intondi by e-mail at Beth.intondi@outlook.com. You have been so faithful in prayer for this “pocket of poverty” in the North for many years. Please consider what you can make, and something that others would enjoy purchasing. Thank you for your support!

The Duluth First UMC Library Book Club will meet on Monday, November 16th, discuss The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride, a novel by Joe Siple. The Library Book Club will meet at 10 a.m. in room F145, located on the 1st floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center.

The international bestselling novel is about Murray McBride, a lonely 100-year-old man who’s outlived just about everyone he's ever loved. With all his family and friends gone except an estranged grandson, retired Major League ballplayer Murray is looking for a reason to live. But when he meets a boy awaiting a heart transplant, Murray may learn something about finding meaning in life again.

He finds it in Jason Cashman, a spirited 10-year-old boy with a terminal heart defect and a list of five things he wants to do before he dies. Murray is determined to help Jason fulfill his dreams. Together, they race against the limited time each has left, ticking off Jason’s wishes one by one. Along the way, Murray remembers what it’s like to be young, and Jason fights for the opportunity to grow old. But when tragedy strikes, their worlds are turned upside-down, and an unexpected gift is the only thing that can make Jason's final wish come true.

Join us for a time of food and fellowship around the table with family and friends at our Wednesday Night Dinners from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Hinton Hall, located on the 2^nd floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center. Chef Kenny Lewis, our Food Ministry Manager, along with our very talented and dedicated Dinner Belles and Beaus volunteers, prepare excellent meals at very reasonable prices.

The menu for November 18th is roast pork loin, macaroni and cheese, steamed broccoli, southern green beans, rolls, and dessert. For the kids – hot dogs and French fries.

Dinners are served from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Hinton Hall, with to-go boxes available from 6 to 6:30 p.m.

The prices for Wednesday Night Dinners are: $10.00 for adults (including seniors and from 11 years up); $7.00 for children 10 years and younger; $30.00 for family meals (nuclear family members only and their children under 18 years); $7.00 for salad bar only, which includes the salad bar, a choice of baked potato or sweet potato, dessert and a drink. Credit/debit card payments, as well as cash and checks, are accepted.

Please Note: Menus are subject to change.

Operation Christmas Child, our annual participation in Samaritan’s Purse’s mission for God’s children around the world, is underway. In 2025, Samaritan’s Purse delivered over 12.2 million shoeboxes to 170 countries and territories. Since the inception of the program in 1993, over 244 million shoeboxes have been delivered to children around the world.

By filling shoeboxes with toys, school supplies and hygiene items, you not only give to children in need the only gift they will likely receive for Christmas, but also help deliver hope, joy and the gospel of Jesus Christ to them and their families. Many children who receive these shoeboxes gifts will also enroll in The Greatest Journey, Operation Christmas Child’s 12-lesson discipleship program. Since 2009, over 52 million children have participated in this program, teaching them about God’s amazing love and guiding them through what it means to faithfully follow Jesus Christ.

Empty shoe boxes will be available in the Veterans Memorial Gathering Room, in the hallway by the entrance to Hinton Hall, and by the cul-de-sac are located on the 1st floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center. Inside each box you will find ideas on how to pack a shoebox gift, what not to include, and the adhesive box label. There is a $10 processing donation which supports the in-country ministry training and materials for The Greatest Journey activities, as well processing and shipping the shoebox. Using the adhesive labels allow you to register your shoebox(s), make your donation, and track your shoebox online.

Duluth First UMC has a special web site for you to use to complete your shoebox online, and our goal is 80 online shoeboxes by December 19th. The web page is active - just click on OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD ONLINE.

Please return your completed boxes to the Veterans Memorial Gathering Room, the Dorothy L. Rainey Fellowship Hall stage, inside Hinton Hall, or outside room F145 (located on the 1st floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center) no later than Sunday, November 15th.

This is a worthwhile and fun project for our Sunday School classes, Women’s Circles, our Youth group, and families with their children to undertake. For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Charlie Doerlich by e-mail at chaz3d@gmail.com or call 678-662-2115. Thank you for your support!

The Hugs for Soldiers Ministry is collecting care package donations for service members serving overseas – mostly in the Middle East where many of our troops are facing long deployments. Over 200 Georgia Army National Guard soldiers have asked for support during their deployment. They are working long hours, exhausting days, missing precious moments with their loved ones. Help us spread some holiday joy to troops who can’t be home during the holidays.

Items that can be donated for the Christmas care packages include:
Christmas cards: deployed troops would love to receive a handcrafted or signed card from you with holiday wishes. PLEASE…NO GLITTER on cards or any other product that could come loose during the two-week shipment overseas.

Snack Items:

• Individual packets of hot chocolate, apple cider;
• Cereal/granola/energy bars, trail mix, nuts, fruit snacks;
• Holiday candy;
• Slim Jims or Beef Jerky;
• Cookies (small individual packs).

Other Items:

• Puzzle books (crosswords, Sudoku, Word Find);
• A new pair of socks;
• Small holiday-themed items (Dollar Tree is a good source).
  

The deadline for donations is Friday, November 20th. Donation boxes will be located inside the back entrance to the Sheldon Family Life Center and on the stage in The Dorothy L. Rainey Fellowship Hall. If you would like help pack the care packages, join us on Saturday, December 5th, at 10:00 a.m. at the Scout Hut, located at the back corner of the church’s property.

Monetary donations are always appreciated to help purchase items not received and for postage.  Checks are made payable to Duluth First UMC with Hugs for Soldiers written in the memo section, or go to the ONLINE GIVING page on the church’s website – duluthumc.org – click on MISCELLANEOUS GIFT and specify “Support Our Troops/Hugs for Soldiers.”

For further information, please contact: Angie Doerlich by e-mail at hugsforsoldiers@gmail.com or call 404-316-8183. Thank you for your support!

Mark you calendars, save the date, and invite your family and friends to Sweets with Santa on Saturday, December 5th, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. in the Dorothy L. Rainey Fellowship Hall. This will be a great time for pastries, crafts, fellowship with others, and the chance to meet Santa!

Additional information will be available closer to the date of the event.

Senior adults are invited to join 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 Wednesday, December 16th, 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. Coffee is provided by Break Coffee Roasters. 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!

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.