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The Weekly Courier
April 25, 2024
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"We seek to connect people to God, each other, and the wider community and to welcome and affirm all people" | |
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Worship this Sunday, April 28, will be
in-person at 10am, as well as live-streamed at this YouTube Link.
This week we will continue our Easter worship series "Rise Up!" where we're learning about some of the "big deal" concepts of the Christian Faith. This week, Pastor Alexa will preach on Acts 7: 55-60, Kim will lead our music, and the CommonGround Choir will bless us with an offertory.
Due to some recently reported COVID-19 cases in our congregation, First Olympia is currently in a "YELLOW" COVID protocol for our mask policy. This means that we strongly suggest masking, but will still respect everyone's individual choice.
Be sure to complete a Digital Connect Card each Sunday you attend online worship. You may also give online, using our online giving platform.
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Prepare Your Heart...
Before you hear our Song Team lead us in singing "Refiner's Fire" by Brian Doerksen, check out this beautiful recording from The Worship Project Band and the original song writer.
Click on the picture -->
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This Week's Calls to Action!
- RSVP for Anti-Racist Film Club this month
- Consider signing up to bring food to Spring Affinity Nights
- Check out our UWIF and learn more about all they do together
- Donate to the Thurston Hunger Walk to support our local food bank
For more information about all of these events and opportunities, read on below...
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Join Our United Women in Faith | |
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United Women in Faith welcomes all women to join for supportive fellowship and to work for mission projects both local and global ministries of the church.
This church has a long legacy of women’s organizations beginning in 1882 with the Ladies and Pastor’s Christian Union. It was the start of the benevolent work and “helping to bring strangers to the house of God.” Through the years the various groups worked to provide support for women and children projects through the Woman’s Home and the Foreign Missionary Societies and the Ladies Aid Society. When they united in 1938 as the Women’s Society of Christian Service (WSCS), 107 members continued missionary studies and supporting missions including USO, Red Cross and Allied activities during WW II.
“Gainfully Employed women” formed Guilds and supported the other organizations through pledges. In 1973 the Women’s Division became the organizational support to unite the WSCS and the Guilds into the United Methodist Women. Their scope was to include fellowship, study with special interest to improve the lives of women, children and youth. The reorganization in 2022 created the United Women in Faith (UWIF), a fully autonomous group within the United Methodist Church.
We invite all women to explore and join us for:
- Executive Meetings - 1st Wednesday of each month
- “Lunch and Learn” for fellowship, meal and program - 2nd Wednesday each month
- A variety of smaller Fellowships Groups - Monthly Meetings
- Fundraisers including Rummage Sale and Bazaar
- Mission U providing opportunity for study with other women in the state
Learn more at www.uwfaith.org about the national UWIF. For more information or questions, contact Carol Gruen, 360-352-9703 or gruencl1941@gmail.com.
Sandee Bloomfield
Church Historian
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Happenings At & Around First Olympia | |
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Spring Affinity Nights
Affinity Nights have started back up at First Olympia! Join us on Wednesday evenings from 6-8pm for a free potluck dinner and chance to explore the many opportunities for fun and fellowship in our community. This round of Affinity nights will run until 6/5.
Activities this week (5/1):
Bible Study with Pastor Heather, Parenting According to Bluey with Brittney, Youth SLAM curriculum for the summer mission trip, and making playdough for kids.
Affinity Nights requires helping hands to run! Please consider signing up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D4EA8A82EAA8-48893279-affinity to help
set-up/clean-up, bring a main dish, or provide a side dish. Any help is appreciated!
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Anti-Racist Film Club
Hi folks, it's time to RSVP for Anti-Racist Film Club! This month's selection for ARFC is the Pixar film Turning Red (2022).
Turning Red (2022) is the story of a Chinese-Canadian girl named Meilin Lee who suddenly learns that all the women in her family lineage have the power to turn into giant red pandas at the onset of adolescence. This bewildering discovery throws her family dynamic into chaos as she and her mother clash over what to do about her new powers (and the generational trauma they carry). Click this link to watch a full trailer.
This is an animated PG film suitable for all ages.
We'll be showing the movie in the First Olympia UMC Gathering Place this Sunday, 4/28 @12:30pm. There will be a light lunch provided before/during the screening. Our discussion will be held the next Thursday, 5/2 @7pm over Zoom.
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Support the Thurston Hunger Walk
The Thurston Hunger Walk benefits both the Community Kitchen and Thurston County Food Bank.
Here is the link for info about the May 5th, 2024 event and how to donate: https://app.99pledges.com/fund/hunger. Funds raised from this event will be split between the Food bank and Community Kitchen services.
FUMCO supplies the evening meal for the Catholic Community Services supported Community Kitchen at the Salvation Army every second Wednesday of the month.
Please give as the spirit moves you. And if you're interested in walking or participating on a FUMCO walking team, please reach out to the church office ASAP (fumco@fumcoly.org). We will try our best to get you connected with other interested walkers.
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United Women in Faith Celebration
Join with United Women in Faith on May 8th at 11:30 a.m. for fellowship and a luncheon for the success we had with our 2023 Bazaar and our 2024 Rummage Sale.
Come and see who were able to support with our Mission Giving Funds from these events. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED. There will be a sign up in the narthex starting on April 14th or you can email Carol Gruen at gruencl1941@gmail.com and sign up that way.
If you would like to find out how you can help with these fund-raising events that benefit those who need extra help, please join us on May 8th. There were over 60 individuals who gave of their talent, time and support to help United Women in Faith be successful.
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May-June Upper Rooms
May-June issues of the Upper Room are ready for pick-up for $1.00!
You may get yours on a Sunday morning, before or after worship. Or swing by the church Monday-Thursday, 10am-2pm.
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Come Join a Choir
Our Common Ground Choir meets on Thursdays @6:45pm in the Gathering Place.
The Jeffords Memorial Handbell Choir meets on Wednesdays @5:30 in the Choir Room. Please come join us!
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Want a Health Check?
The Health Team will do blood pressure checks every first Sunday after worship. Stop by for this important wellness check!
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Annual Conference Update
As Methodists we’re not just part of our individual church, but in the greater United Methodist Church. Every year, Marcy LaViollette and Jim Odiorne attend our Pacific NW’s annual conference (PNWAC), which is our legislative and budgetary body for all of Washington state and Northern Idaho. Our General Conference lay delegate is Skylar Marston-Bihl (Ruth's wife). The next meeting is June 13-16. Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth is currently appointed to supervise and preside over this body which is split evenly between clergy and lay people (non-clergy).
Fun fact: Members of AC are not delegates representing local churches, but rather are instructed to rely on the Spirit for discernment on how to vote on matters before the PNWAC. Marcy and Jim, as our lay members of Annual Conference, also sit on the Church Council to help communicate information between the two groups. Typically after the conference you’ll see an article in the Courier as well as a post-church presentation from us to help you know what took place.
Our Conference also elects lay and clergy folks to attend the Western Jurisdiction (all the western states, who elect our Bishops) and a delegation to the General Conference (worldwide, typically every four years). This is a General Conference year and our delegation who were elected way back in 2018, before the pandemic, will be in North Carolina from April 23-May 3. Please keep them in your prayers as they discern how to update our Book of Discipline after 25% of U.S. United Methodist churches disaffiliated from our Church over disagreements on the topic of “human sexuality." It’s an exciting time in the United Methodist Church!
If you ever have questions about legislation before our Conference, or how to propose legislation yourself, please reach out to us!
Marcy LaViollette and Jim Odiorne
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General Conference Article 3
The General Conference of The United Methodist Church will gather April 29-May 3rd.
In addition to offering our prayers for all the delegates, especially those representing us in the Western Jurisdiction, we are sharing a series of 3 articles written by Seattle-area United Methodist Pastor Rev. Jeremy Smith on his blog 'Hacking Christianity,' over the course of three weeks. The articles are entitled: The State of The United Methodist Church in 2024. Today's topic (3 of 3): What Future Awaits Us: Avoiding the Fundamentalist Future Trap
Click here to read the article.
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Life of the Church
Last Thursday, April 18, our FUMCOP Gleaners were out at the Calliope Farm Food Bank Garden in West Olympia. For information about upcoming Gleaners work days, please contact Rob Harper at rbh25@comcast.net.
And check out our awesome South Sound Co-op Youth Group who spent last Saturday working at Shelton UMC as part of fundraising for their SLAM mission trip this Summer.
You can find more photos from these event (and many more) on our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/FUMCOLY.
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Scam Alert!
We have been made aware that there is an email being sent widely to congregants of First Olympia and the other co-op churches, seemingly from Pastor Heather, that expressed the need for an urgent meeting with her.
We will never ask you to give to the church in this way.
If you receive the spam email asking for immediate response or gift card purchases, please report it as spam, if you can, and we encourage you to block the sender as well. Again, we are so sorry this is happening. Thank you for being alert and letting us know when you receive messages like these.
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We Remember...
Mark Bunda, our beloved friend and song leader, who passed away last Monday morning. The Memorial Service is scheduled for this Saturday, April 27 at 2 pm. Kristi asks that you wear Hawaiian shirts and/or leis to honor Mark's heritage and spirit.
The service will also be live-streamed to the First UMC Olympia YouTube Page here:
https://youtube.com/live/DnsvnzsJWj8?feature=share.
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Our Welcoming Statement
First United Methodist Church of Olympia welcomes people of all ages, all abilities,
all sexual orientations and gender identities, all nationalities and ethnicities,
the poor and the rich, single people and the many forms of family.
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Contact us ...
by phone: 360-943-2661 by email: fumco@fumcoly.org
OFFICE HOURS: Sunday 9am-noon | Monday-Thursday 10am-2pm
The Weekly Courier editor: Lauren Fontanilla
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