Dr. David Daniel, our Minister of Music & Worship Arts, will be retiring at the end of May. A reception in his honor will be held on Sunday, May 18th, so that our congregation will have the opportunity to formally say goodbye and thank him for his 18 years of ministry here at Duluth First UMC.  The reception will be held in the Dorothy L. Rainey Fellowship Hall immediately following the 11:00 a.m. worship services that day. A love offering will be taken. You can give by:

• Check made payable to Duluth First UMC with Dr. David Daniel Love Offering in the memo section;
• Online by going to the ONLINE GIVING page of the church’s website. Select Miscellaneous Gift and enter “Dr. David Daniel Love Offering” in the “Donation Made To” box.

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.

Our schedule for the month of May is:

• Sunday, May 18th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”);
• Sunday, May 25th: Hang out at the Duluth Town Green. Meet at LR Burger for dinner at 5:30 p.m. Please bring $20 for dinner and dessert. Pick up time will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Green.
  

Our schedule for the month of June is:

• Sunday, June 1st: Youth Ministry Volunteer Appreciation Night at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”);
• Sunday, June 8th: No Sunday Night Gathering (returning from the Gainesville Aid Project);
• Sunday, June 15th: No Sunday Night Gathering (Father’s Day);
• Sunday, June 22nd: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”);
• Sunday, June 29th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”).
  

Our schedule for the month of July is:

• Sunday, July 6th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”);
• Sunday, July 13th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”);
• Sunday, July 20th: Gwinnett Stripers Baseball game at 1:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. Please be on the lookout for more information;
• Sunday, July 27th: 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.

Rev. Beth Brown Shugart invites you to read Say Yes to What’s Next by Duluth First UMC member Lori Allen, and then join Beth and Lori on Monday, June 2nd, for a discussion of the book. Women today are facing so much uncertainty—about life and the future. For Lori Allen, business owner, breast cancer survivor, and star of TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, her advice stems from the ups and downs of her personal life: from building one of the biggest and busiest bridal mega-salons in the country to navigating her position in the sandwich generation and caring for a husband battling cancer during her own breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

We will meet from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in room F145, located on the 1st floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center to discuss the book. Please contact Beth by e-mail at bshugart@duluthumc.org, or call 770-476-3776, ext. 128, if you have any questions.

Register now for True North: Trusting Jesus in a Wild World, the 2025 Vacation Bible School (VBS) at Duluth First United Methodist Church. Registration is underway and True North VBS will be held Monday, June 16th, through Friday, June 20th. 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. These are adult volunteers who are 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, as substitute shepherds are often needed. Also, childcare in 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 Sunday, May 25th, 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 online by clicking on vbspro.events/p/005420.

For any of you who enjoy crafting, decorating and have creative ideas, we would love to have you join us! Decorating plans are already underway and if you would like to be involved with this fun project, please contact Leslie Yokeley by e-mail at lyokeley@duluthumc.org.

The planning team for the True North: Trusting Jesus in a Wild World Vacation Bible School (VBS) needs your help! We are collecting toilet paper rolls for a craft the students will be making during VBS in June. Please save your empty rolls and drop them off in the bin labeled “VBS Donations” on the Dorothy L. Rainey Fellowship Hall stage.

Please also consider making a donation of items on our Amazon Wish List. The Wish List items include items needed for crafts, as well as some snacks items. You can go to the wish list by clicking on VBS 2025 WISH LIST. Thank you for your support of True North: Trusting Jesus in a Wild World Vacation Bible School!

Reverend Beth Brown Shugart has announced her retirement for the end of June. A retirement reception in her honor will be held on Sunday, June 22nd, in the Dorothy L. Rainey Fellowship Hall immediately following the 11:00 a.m. worship services that day.  Please plan to stop by to thank Beth for her 11 years in ministry with our congregation. A love offering will be taken. You can give by:

• Check made payable to Duluth First UMC with Rev. Beth Brown Shugart Love Offering in the memo section;
• Online by going to ONLINE GIVING page of the church’s website. Select Miscellaneous Gift and enter “Rev. Beth Brown Shugart Love Offering” in the “Donation Made To” box.

On Sunday, March 30th, Duluth First United Methodist Church celebrated the commissioning of its two newest Stephen Ministers, Sally Southerland and Randy Yokeley. Stephen Ministers are committed Christian people who express God’s care through their lives to others. They receive 50 hours of initial training in important caring ministry skills and concepts; are commissioned as Stephen Ministers after completing their initial training; visit another person regularly and dependably and offer Christian support and care; participate in regular support and supervision under the guidance of trained Stephen Leaders; are committed to preserving the confidential nature of the caring relationship; serve for at least two years; receive continuing education and skill building throughout their years of service.

For more information or to request the support and care of a Stephen Minister, contact Rev. Dr. C. Kay Fuino by e-mail at ckfuino@duluthumc.org or call Stephen Leader Ann Fleming at 678-644-9108.

Stop by the church’s Louise McDaniel Memorial Library, located on the 2nd floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center, and check out one of our many new titles for your Spring reading. New titles include:

• The Women by Kristin Hannah (New York Times Bestseller Adult Fiction);
• The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home by Heath Hardage Lee (Companion Book to The Women Adult Fiction);
• The Enneagram Guide to Waking Up: Find Your Path, Face Your Shadow, Discover Your True Self by Beatrice Chestnut (Adult Non-Fiction);
• The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (Juvenile Fiction);
• Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss (Kid Fiction).
  

If the church is open, the library is open! You can also go online an access the library’s online catalog by going to https://dfum.scoolaid.net/bin/home#0. If you have any questions, please contact the library’s volunteers by e-mail at library@duluthumc.org.

How does God’s “small, still voice” break through the noise, busyness, chaos, and overstimulation filling our daily lives? With so many digital media “mining” the attention of our congregation, especially our children and youth, it can be difficult to compete.

So at Glisson Camp & Retreat Center in the forests surrounding Cane Creek Falls near Dahlonega, GA we don’t. Instead, we offer people a peaceful place and a “creative dislocation”, during which the distractions found elsewhere don’t exist. (That's right – cell phone-free!) Then we combine the absence of distraction with the safety and belonging created by our small group camping model, and we find our summer campers have a quieter mind that’s much less guarded, and more available to the presence of God’s Spirit.

That’s why for 100 years folks have said you can feel God’s presence at Camp Glisson like nowhere else. Your family of camp and retreat ministries is your partner in helping children, youth, and young adults hear God’s small, still voice. Each summer we hire and train an outstanding, committed staff of young adults who want nothing less than for the campers they guide to experience God’s love and to discover and remember that they are gifted and called by God.

When campers spend a week immersed in God's creation...practicing Christian community and servant leadership together...amazing things happen.  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. Camp Glisson is part of the North Georgia Camp & Retreat Ministries of the United Methodist Church’s North Georgia Conference.

Camp ministry isn't just fun – it’s transformational:

"My daughter came home a new person. She experienced Christ in a very real, tangible way in addition to having loads of fun. When she told me of her experiences and all she learned as well as the friends she made and the fun she had, I had tears in my eyes. This experience was everything I could have hoped for her and more." 2024 Camp Glisson Parent

There are many spots still available for joining in on the faith-forming fun at Camp Glisson this summer – opportunities for growth and transformation for the kids in your church and your neighborhood. Several years ago one UM congregation recruited neighborhood kids to come to Camp Glisson, partnering with us to pay their way, and helping them get to camp. It was a transformative experience for everybody!

You’ll also want to know about the following financial resources that are available so that kids can access camp more easily:

• The Campership Fund: Camp Glisson works hard not to turn campers away because families can’t afford the cost of camp. Due to the of the generosity of Camp Glisson donors, financial help is available to families who are unable to pay any or all of the camp fee.
• The First Camper Fund: For many, summer camp was never a part of their family tradition. Some of those families experienced additional structural barriers to participating in camp. As a way of lowering one barrier for families trying summer camp for the first time, Camp Glisson is working with North Georgia Conference partners to help underwrite camp fees for new campers.
• The PK Fund: New this year! Thanks to a generous donation from a retired clergy member, Camp Glisson has limited funds available to assist young clergy families, for whom the cost of camp makes attending impossible, with half the cost of a camp week.

Click on SUMMER 2025 to see Camp Glisson's Summer 2025 schedule. Registration is open to everyone. For questions or additional information, To see the schedule and/or register, please go to https://glisson.org.