The Sesquicentennial History of Duluth First United Methodist Church is a new book written by our church historian, Pete Fleming. Beginning Wednesday, September 22nd, Pete is offering an 11-week class that will discuss a different chapter of the book each week. The class will meet from 6 to 7 p.m. in rooms F-145/146, located on the 1st floor of the Family Life Center. Be sure to order your copy of the book and join us for this insightful look into our history.

Our church’s Missions Ministry will be hosting Drive-Up Food Drives for the Hands of Christ Duluth Co-op, a local missions ministry, on every-other Thursday. The next Food Drive will be held on Thursday, September 23rd, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The food drives were hugely successful when Wednesday Night Drive-Thru Dinners were offered, and we are excited to continue to offer a meaningful and safe way for your family to serve our community. We will be collecting a variety of goods at a donation station set up underneath the portico in the back of the Family Life Center.

Critically needed food items for Thursday, September 23rd, are canned fruit, chunky soups, peanut butter, jelly (plastic jars please), and oatmeal.

To learn more about the Duluth Co-op, please click on https://duluthco-op.org.

The Prayers & Squares Prayer Quilt Ministry at Duluth First UMC has continued in spite of COVID! During the past year prayer quilts have been given out to those with serious health concerns. Quilts are now being hung as requested outside of Hinton Hall or in the Gathering Room. Be sure to note when a quilt is there to take time to pray and tie a knot.

If you would like to request a prayer quilt for someone, click on Prayer Quilt Request Form to download a request form. You may also e-mail the information to Liz Staley at lizstaley@yahoo.com.

Our next Prayers & Squares Prayer Quilt Ministry workshop will be held on Thursday, September 23rd, from 5 to 9 p.m. Dinner will be provided. Please come if you are interested in becoming involved in the Prayers & Squares Ministry!

A Photo History of the Duluth UMC Music Ministry 1871-2021, created in celebration of our church’s Sesquicentennial and in recognition of the role that the Music Ministry has played in the life of the church, is an 11”x 14” hardcover book, compiled by members of the Music Ministry, which includes 41 pages and over 140 photos representing the ministry’s history. Copies of the books are on display in the church leading up to the celebration on September 19th.

If you would like to purchase a copy of the book, all orders must be received pre-paid by Sunday, September 26th, with delivery expected by the end of October. The cost is $70 per book and you will be contacted when books are available for pickup. This is not a fundraiser, as the price of the book is what it costs us. There are no plans to place another order at a later time, and no extra books will be ordered.

You may order a book in one of two ways:

• Place your completed MUSIC MINISTRY PHOTO HISTORY BOOK ORDER FORM, along with your cash or check (payable to Duluth First UMC with Music Ministry Book in the memo section) payment, in a sealed envelope. Write “Music Photo History Book” on the envelope and drop it in the Staff Box in the Atrium.
• On September 19th bring your completed order form with you or pick one up in the Fellowship Hall. Cashiers will be available on that day to accept cash, check, or credit card payments. September 19th is the only time that credit card payments will be accepted.
  

Please remember that all orders must be submitted by Sunday, September 26th. If you have questions, please contact Jan Jones by e-mail at jjones@duluthumc.org, or call 770-476-3776, ext. 113.

Join us for Wednesday Night Dinners in Hinton Hall, as the Dinner Belles and Beaus prepare excellent meals at very reasonable prices. Enjoy fellowship around the table with family and friends. The menu for September 29th is tacos (chicken or beef) with flour tortillas, choice of refried beans or black beans, yellow rice, lettuce, tomato, cheese, salsa, chips, guacamole, and dessert, and dessert. For the kids – the same.

Dinner service hours are 5 to 6:30 p.m., with to-go boxes available from 6 to 6:30 p.m.

If you have been to the grocery store, out to eat, or purchased any items lately you have seen firsthand that everything is costing more these days. In order to be good stewards of the church, we have to slightly raise the prices of the Wednesday Night Dinner meals. The last time we raised prices on Wednesday Night Dinners was in 2012!

The new prices for Wednesday Night Dinners are:

• $8.00 for adults;
• $7.00 for seniors;
• $5.00 for children under 11 years of age;
• $23.00 for family meals (immediate family members only);
• $5.00 for salad bar only, which includes the salad bar, a choice of baked potato or sweet potato, dessert and a drink.

BSA Troop 419 will hold their 5th Annual "Cars for Campouts" fundraiser car show on Saturday, October 2nd, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the church’s parking lot. If you have a special vehicle – muscle cars, classics, resto-mods, exotics, bikes, and one-offs – please bring it and participate. Preregistration is $10, and registration the day of the show is $15. Register at https://tinyurl.com/cars4campouts2021. Sixty participant-judged awards will be presented. If you just want to see some cool vehicles, feel free to attend as admission for spectators is free. Food and beverages will be available.

If you would like to get involved and support BSA Troop 419, we are looking for businesses or individuals who would like to sponsor us with cash, merchandise or prizes for our car show entrants. We have several levels of participation available and we really need your support because we have lost many previous sponsors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For specifics, please contact Mike Ringham at 770-815-4206 or by e-mail at mikeringham419@gmail.com. Proceeds from the event help make our BSA Troop 419’s program one of the best in the council and with your support, will continue to do so.

Everyone knows that “the small group experience” is a rewarding and vital component of our individual faith journey and spiritual growth. Duluth First United Methodist Church wants to provide as many options as possible for you to achieve that benefit, regardless of your current circumstances or ability to attend in person. 

A new, online-only adult Sunday School class is forming now, with the first meeting scheduled for Sunday October 3rd, and you are invited! 

The Abundant Life class will meet via Zoom during the normal Sunday School hour. Using “tried and true” study materials and discussion formats long pioneered in the SOS Class, the group will focus on the three pillars of Prayer, Bible Study, and Christian Fellowship.

If you are interested in “getting in on the ground floor”, please contact Beth Shugart by e-mail at bshugart@duluthumc.org or Jim Woods by e-mail at jim.p.woods@gmail.com for more information.

Do friends often come to you to share their feelings and confide in you? Are you an encourager with a tender heart for helping people who are hurting or struggling with life’s challenges? If you answered yes, you may be a great candidate to train and serve as a Stephen Minister.

Duluth First UMC is looking for men and women Stephen Minister candidates with a desire to serve God by providing confidential one-to-one Christian care and emotional support to those in our church and community who are going through difficult times.

The role of the Stephen Minister is to journey alongside the care receiver for as long as needed, providing support, encouragement and prayers for him or her every step of the way. Stephen Ministers are not problem solvers; they focus on providing Christian care and look to God to provide the healing.

The training for Stephen Ministers is excellent (50 hrs) and equips Stephen Ministers to provide emotional and spiritual care for people in the midst of a crisis or struggling with life challenges. The training for new Stephen Ministers will begin in October. Applications can be found in the Atrium or can be downloaded from the church website - just click on STEPHEN MINISTER APPLICATION PACKET. Completed applications should be submitted in a sealed envelope addressed to Ann Fleming and placed in the Staff Drop Box in the Atrium. The application deadline in Sept. 26th.

For more information about Stephen Ministry, contact one of the Stephen Leaders: Ann Fleming at 678-644-9108, Herb Ricks at 678-491-7368, Cindy Bennett at 770-654-5633, or Brenda Bridges at 770-313-6002.

Based on the latest guidelines from the CDC, Duluth First UMC’s COVID protocol is as follows. This applies to worship and all other church events and to all areas of the campus:

• For those who have been fully vaccinated, masks and social distancing are not required.
• For those who have not been fully vaccinated, masks are required and social distancing is encouraged.
• The church will continue to make masks available for all who want or need them.

Many thanks to everyone for working together so graciously to be the church during this pandemic--from the time we went to online only on March 15, 2020, through our re-opening on June 28, and into this next phase starting right now and including this Sunday, May 23, 2021, and going forward.

Your cooperation in loving your neighbor as yourself is helping us to help people follow Jesus.

Terry Tippens,
Senior Pastor