Duluth First United Methodist Church is excited to be offering a small group opportunity on Sunday nights for anyone interested in what it means to live a missional life, or is interested in mission and service in our community and beyond. This missional group will be meeting weekly on Sunday evenings from 6 to 7 p.m. in rooms F204/205, located on the 2nd floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center.  PLEASE NOTE: We will not be meeting on May 11th and May 25th.

We will gather for devotionals and small group time, and will serve somewhere in the Gwinnett County area one Saturday a month. For more information, contact Rev. David Burchett by e-mail at at dburchett@duluthumc.org.

A growing number of school children in our community rely on free and reduced priced meals at school for their main daily meals.  However, there may not be enough food to go around over the weekend.  The goal of the Happy Sacks mission outreach program is to provide healthy snacks for school children over the weekend.  We pack approximately 150 Happy Sacks each week, which are then delivered to the schools on Friday, and given out by the school counselors to the appropriate children.

For the 2023-24 school year, we packed and delivered 5,087 Happy Sacks. Since the program began in the fall of 2012, we have delivered 35,101 Happy Sacks to children in our community. The need continues to grow as does the cost of filling the bags. The Happy Sacks program is not a part of the church’s regular budget, so we depend on your donations. As we get ready to begin our thirteenth year of the Happy Sacks program, please consider picking up a few extra items the next time you’re at the store or making a financial donation to support the Happy Sacks ministry.

You can help us fill these Happy Sacks by contributing the following items:

• Cheese or peanut butter crackers
• 100% fruit juice boxes (not Capri Sun)
• Non-perishable milk boxes (white milk only)
• Fruit cups
• Applesauce cups
• Dried fruit (individual servings)
• Fruit-filled breakfast bars (Nutri-grain brand)
• Granola bars (Nature Valley Honey & Oat)
• Goldfish, Cheez-its, Combos, pretzels (individual serving bags).

PLEASE, NO CHOCOLATE INGREDIENTS, and all items should be name brands and within expiration dates. Happy Sacks collection bins can be found in the Dorothy L. Rainey Fellowship Hall and by the rear portico doors of the Sheldon Family Life Center.

If you would like to make a financial gift towards Happy Sacks, please click on FINANCIAL GIFT.

If you would like more information, or you would like to volunteer to help pack or deliver sacks, please contact Debbie Johnson by e-mail at dljohnson8957@gmail.com. Thank you for your continued support of this mission!

Duluth First UMC was one of the founding members of Hands of Christ, a Duluth Cooperative Ministry created more than 30 years ago to help with food insufficiency in the 30096 and 30097 zip codes. In order to be a supporting member and hold a voting seat on the board, a church is required to donate food, complete 50 annual service hours, and contribute $1,200 per year.

How can you help with this ministry?

• Help with the 50-hour service requirement. March is our church’s month to volunteer to work at the Hands of Christ. Volunteers stock pantry shelves, divide bulk food items into smaller packages, and fill orders. An experienced “captain” for the day guides you. Choose to work a 2-hour shift from 10 a.m. to noon, or noon to 2 p.m. on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday in March. To volunteer please contact Ramona Ricks by e-mail at ramonaricks@att.net.
• Help with food donation by donating food at our Wednesday Night Drive-Thru Dinners or take items directly to the Duluth Co-op on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 10 a.m. to noon. Items needed are listed on their website www.duluthco-op.org.
• Help with funding by donating funds to the Hands of Christ by sending a check to Duluth First UMC with Hands of Christ in the memo section, or directly to the Duluth Cooperative Ministry through their website at www.duluthco-op.org.
• Volunteer your time to help the Hands of Christ board with raising community awareness, fundraising, legal advice when needed, as well as ongoing technology assistance.

Duluth High School Care Team provides essential items for homeless high school students attending Duluth High School. Our church supports them with gift cards, personal items like shampoo, deodorant and soap that are not often available for the students in the temporary living locations.

Have you ever had to choose between paying the rent or buying food for your kids? Do you go to the laundromat every week? Do you have health insurance, but only for you not for your kids? This is some of what families who come to Rainbow Village face. Rainbow Village, a local mission ministry supported by Duluth First United Methodist Church, gives them hope and a chance to put their life back together in a positive way.

Did you know that Rainbow Village, located at 3427 Duluth Highway 120 in Duluth (just down the street from our church) is planning to add 36 new apartments to their facility soon? That will bring the total to 66 families who can be housed at Rainbow Village. Families can stay in the Aspire program for 2 years while they work on financial stability and becoming independent. While there, they must have a job, a car, and start saving. They work with a success coach to reach their goals, and once they leave, they can become part of the Thrive program if they wish.

Rainbow Village offers an after-school program that is evolving into giving the children exposure to the arts, music and presentation, and stem activities to name a few. Volunteers are needed to help with those activities. Rainbow Village no longer has a daycare program. Three times a month the parents have classes to attend, and volunteers are needed to provide dinner and possibly childcare.

Rainbow Village’s community center is amazing - it’s bright, cheerful and welcoming! The apartments are very nice with either 2 or 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a kitchen, and washer/dryer, with all basic amenities included. Rainbow Village does have a wish list on Amazon. Please note - Rainbow Village does not accept clothing or furniture as they have no place to store it.

For more information about Rainbow Village, please visit their website at rainbowvillage.org. Stay tuned for more opportunities to volunteer or give!

Sue French,

President, United Women in Faith (UWF)

Click on VIRTUAL TOUR take a virtual tour of the Rainbow Village campus.

Family Promise of Gwinnett County program offers temporary housing for the homeless in Gwinnett county. A circle of churches supports the effort by providing a place each week for up to four families to live. The church provides meals and social time each evening.

Sheltering Arms is a daycare in Gwinnett county providing excellent childcare for lower income families. We support them with funds, gifts for the children at Christmas and other outreach like diaper drives.

Good Samaritan Health Centers of Gwinnett demonstrate the love of Christ by providing quality and affordable healthcare and dental services to residents of Gwinnett County. It is designed to serve the poor and uninsured to make certain they have access to healthcare when needed.

Friends of Refugees is located in the Clarkston area to support the community of diverse refugees that arrive in the Atlanta Area. They support new arrivals with finding homes and jobs along with understanding new customs and living in the United States. Many of them have escaped from very dangerous conditions and find a place of peace and hope here.

Wellroot Family Services (formerly called The United Methodist Children’s Home) is a United Methodist Church agency that helps to provide a safe loving environment for children and young adults in the foster care system. They assist in locating foster parents, providing transitional and independent living and family housing for homelessness with a safety net of skills to attain self-sufficiency.

As the humanitarian relief and development arm of The United Methodist Church, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) provides humanitarian relief and disaster response in the United States and internationally. UMCOR has been onsite of locations recently affected by Hurricane Ian. UMCOR comes alongside those who suffer from natural or human-caused disasters – be it famine, hurricane, war, flood, fire or other events—to alleviate suffering and to be a source of help and hope for those left most vulnerable.

UMCOR’s efforts are targeted in places where natural disasters, war, or conflict have done so much damage that communities are unable to recover on their own. In addition, UMCOR helps communities in the United States and abroad prepare for emergencies and to reduce the risk of disasters through a roster of training programs.

UMCOR is also involved in global development work. Specific programs address issues of health, sanitation, poverty, sustainable agriculture, nutrition, and food security. Many development problems are interrelated, so UMCOR uses integrated solutions to address their root causes. UMCOR seeks to empower local hospitals, schools, churches, and other stakeholders by enhancing their capacity to address these issues.

100% of your donation goes directly to UMCOR! The proceeds from our recent Ministry of Music & Worship Arts “Oh Happy Day” Concerts went to UMCOR. For more information about UMCOR or to make an online donation, please click on UMCOR.

Seneca Street United Methodist Church is located in Buffalo, NY.  We have supported this church since 2005 with a variety of means to help the children of the Seneca-Babcock neighborhood.  An adult mission team travels there during the summer to help with the first week of reading camp that includes providing book bags for each child filled with school supplies.  Additionally, a youth team travels to lead vacation Bible school and in the fall the church raises funds to help with heating bills through the Bundle Up for Buffalo craft fair.

Ray and Lydia Zirkel are missionaries in Costa Rica. We have supported them for over fifteen years in the efforts to help children in the orphanage and the Christian school. They do a lot with a little in Costa Rica and truly appreciate our support. We hope to send a team there soon to help with their new construction. Follow their ministry at www.zirkelministrycostarica.com.