Messenger - July 19, 2024 | |
We illuminate our community with God’s grace as we lovingly accept, listen to, and serve all in the Spirit of Jesus. | |
Five Questions to Shape 2025 | Many of you know that I take a week at the end of summer with a preacher friend or two and head off to the Wet Mountain Valley. We use a cabin that is off-the-grid and in the trees where I can quietly pray and prepare for the coming year. | | | |
UPCOMING WORSHIP SERVICES | |
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SUNDAY SERVICES TAKE PLACE IN-PERSON & ONLINE AT 9:00 AM
Worship Service airs live on our Website , YouTube and Facebook at 9 am.
Go to the Worship Page on our Website to find more information about future services.
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Sunday, July 21, 2024
ASP Sunday
Join us as we hear from our teens and adults of how they illumined Charleston, West Virginia with acts of service with Appalachia Service Project. We’ll hear some great testimonials and sing some of the songs of the region.
This week's Bulletin can be found in the Document Center.
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EVENTS AND SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS | |
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SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLE OR EVENT INFORMATION
Submit information inclusion in Messenger and/or Bulletin Announcements by Wednesday at 12 Noon. Please use button below or click here for the COMMUNICATIONS submission form -- all requests for communicating an event should be made via this form, including getting items on the calendar and reserving rooms for your event. This form can also be found on the sign-ups page on our website. If you cannot use the submission form please email communications@genevaumc.org. Information sent to this email goes to Carolyn, Lorie and Kimberley, as does the submission form.
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GOOD AND BAD MOMENTS FOR THE CHURCH THIS WEEK | |
TRUSTEES ARE ALWAYS WORKING FOR US
We are sorry to report that one of the stained glass windows in Fellowship Hall suffered severe damage Sunday night during the first of our severe storms in Geneva this week.
We were able to immediately get a crew in to remove the broken section and collected as much glass as we could do aid in the repair work. We were so fortunate to get this taken care of before the Monday night storms rolled through! Thanks to our great trustees for being on top of things!
| On a much more positive note, our trustees also arranged to have many landscape improvements done at the Pepper Valley parsonage. See photos below: | |
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FREE SALT!
We have a salt tank in the basement for a water softener that is no longer in use. The trustees have scooped out the salt and have put them in take-home bags for anyone that wants them. They can be picked up in the Donation Station downstairs. Take whatever you want!
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GEARING UP FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL: SAVE THE DATE(S) | |
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If you pre-ordered tickets and parking passes for the Cougars game on August 2 you can pick them up in the office these next two weeks.
See you there!
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- Our next meeting is Tuesday, July 23 at 7 p.m.
- As always, our Council meetings are hybrid, and all are welcome to attend in person or on zoom.
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Click here to join via Zoom: Meeting ID: 835 6262 6225 Passcode: 876867
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DO YOU HAVE PHOTOS OF CHILDREN AT UMCG OVER THE YEARS? BRING THEM TO THE OFFICE AND WE WILL SCAN THEM FOR YOU!
This is craft time at church in 1959!
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Can you remember when Scott Stevenson started as our organist? Do you know how many years he has been playing the organ at UMCG? | |
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Do you have some information to share about a part of our church history? Do you have a story to share?
Were you a part of a Rummage Sale, Pancake Breakfast, Swedish Buffet, Swedish Days Food Booth, Committee, Couples Club, Talent Show, Road Runners, Leisure League, Sunday School, VBS, Third Tuesday Supper, Mission Trip or Outing, ASP, Youth Group, Small Group or Bible Study, Church Building Project, Gardening Group, Choir or Music Group or another activity we didn't include on this list? We would love to record you talking about your experience both recent and and in the past to create an oral history of the church to present during our Anniversary Celebration and for the future.
We will be conducting interviews mostly in July and August. Please contact Carolyn Burnham, Chuck Howlett or Christine Donovan if you would like to participate, or click on image to sign up!
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Do you know someone who would like to work with our youngest children in the nursery on Sunday mornings?
We have a paid position of Nursery Assistant available to manage the nursery care during worship. We anticipate the time commitment to be about 2.5 hrs. every Sunday, and the pay will be minimum wage. This will provide great childcare experience and the ability to develop leadership skills. Talk to Pastor Rob if you or someone you know is interested.
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We are currently looking to hire someone to assist with our livestream a couple of times each month. For a complete job description click here. Please share this with anyone with tech skills that could spare 10-15 hours to help each month.
We are also having difficulty finding volunteers. The job we need help with isn't too complicated. It is just for the Sunday morning service. This person turns on and off microphones (if needed), adjusts microphone volume, and clicks on the slides to advance them during the worship service.
We will set up training so volunteers comfortable working in the booth. Even if you can only help 4-6 times a year, that would be a great help.
Contact Carolyn Burnham for more information.
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SUMMER ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL: "THE REST OF THE STORY," BEGINNING JULY 28
The late Paul Harvey hosted a radio program titled "The Rest of the Story." We're borrowing his title for Summer Adult Sunday School.
When we attend worship, our pastor or guest speaker shares a message with us that's been inspired by the Holy Spirit, carefully researched, prepared and prayed over. After that --for the rest of the summer -- in Adult Sunday School we'll discuss what the speaker shared and what might come of it in our lives. How is it going to make a difference in our lives on Monday and beyond? What are our takeaways? We embrace the message and then, we embody the rest of the story.
Join us for all or any of the remaining Sundays this summer from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Help us discover the rest of the story! Note: Special Guest Pastor Becky will join the class on 7/28 and 8/4 after preaching to help us discover the rest of the story.
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NEW STUDY:“BAD GIRLS OF THE BIBLE: EXPLORING WOMEN OF QUESTIONABLE VIRTUE,” BY BARBARA J. ESSEX, BEGINS AUGUST 1
“…WHAT WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT, INSPIRATION, AND REDEMPTION COULD I GLEAN FROM EVE, WHO WAS CAST DUT OF PARADISE? OR POTIPHAR'S WIFE, WHO FALSELY CRIED RAPE? OR LOT'S WIFE, WHO WAS REDUCED TO A LUMP OF SALT? OR JEZEBEL, WHO WAS THROWN FROM A WINDOW AND DEVOURED BY DOGS? OR SAPPHIRA, WHO WAS STRUCK DEAD FOR STEALING AND LYING? • • • ONCE I BEGAN TO DIG A LITTLE DEEPER, I FOUND SOME NUGGETS OF PURE GOLD."
—FROM THE INTRODUCTION
Early Bird Men’s Fellowship will begin a new study of “Bad Girls of the Bible” by Barbara J. Essex. The study will begin Thursday, August 1 and the book is available through Amazon, Abe Books(used), and others.
EBMF meets each Thursday at 7:00 a.m. at the Colonial Café in St. Charles at Tyler and East Main Street (Rt. 64). After discussion, breakfast is ordered and they finish about 8:30. Please contact either Bob Weick or Jim McConnell for further information. Join them for fellowship, discussion, and food!
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Plastic Free July
American household consumption of plastic has tripled from 1980 to 2019. Plastic breaks down into micro and nanoplastics that are showing up everywhere: in soil, food, crops, drinking water and even human bodies.
Plastic Free July was started in 2011 by the Plastic Free Foundation to raise awareness about reducing an individual's reliance on single-use plastics and to encourage spreading the word. "Small steps, Big differences" is this year's slogan, encouraging each person to make small changes towards a bigger difference.
Some small changes we can make include: always bringing bags when shopping, buying fruit and vegetables at farmers markets or stores that don't package them, using washable containers for lunch and carry out, using shampoo bars instead of bottles, and filtering water to use in a reusable water bottle. Sharing what we do on social media is also very helpful. Check out the website plasticfreejuly.org for other ideas and to take their quiz.
The Creation Care team
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MISSIONS/CHURCH IN SOCIETY | |
Kane County Local Events | Kane County Chronicle | JULY 26 AT MARMION ABBEY CHURCH, 7:30 PM-- FEATURING 12 ORGANISTS IN CONCERT! | | | |
NEWS FROM THE UMC COMMUNITY | |
Bishop Dan Schwerin Assigned to Northern Illinois-Wisconsin Episcopal Area as of Sept. 1 - Northern Illinois Annual Conference | The North Central Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church, meeting July 10-13 in Sioux Falls, S.D., celebrated the assignment of Bishop Dan Schwerin to the Northern Illinois-Wisconsin Episcopal Area, effective Sept. 1, 2024. The NCJ Committee on Episcopacy, which determines the bishops' assignments, announced them on July 13. | | | |
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Prairie Central eNews is here.
The NIC weekly eNews is here.
Download the NIC Reporter here.
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ACCESS THE UMCG DOCUMENT CENTER | |
UMCG has a hidden page on the website for our church family to access called the Document Center. This includes our committee roster, communications submission forms and in the future, our committee agendas, reports and minutes. | |
211 Hamilton Street
Geneva, IL 60134
Phone: (630) 232-7120
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Connect with us on Social Media | | | | |
