Pastor Danita's Vestment
Many people have asked about the purple vestment
that Pastor Danita wears during the season of
Lent. It was a gift from her friend, Reverend J.
Jeannette Cooper, retired clergywoman in South Carolina,
which Pastor Danita wore as a part of Reverend Cooper's
wedding ceremony. It was handmade in Ghana, Africa
and the symbol on the sleeve Means "believe in
God". There are only 12 of these vestments
which were made exclusively for Reverend Cooper's Sisters in
Spirit (S.O.S.) who served communion at the wedding ceremony.
Memorial Page Added
Please check the church's website to view a new
page in memory of our beloved Jorie Manderfield. Jorie
was such an intricate part of the life of this church, we
thought it only fitting to have a tribute to her life on our
church's website. You can also donate to the memorial
fund set up in Jorie's memory on that same page. The
family will decide at a later date how the funds will be
used.
Do You
Know UMCOR?
UMCOR stands
for United Methodist Committee on Relief and will be the
focal point of a Special Sunday Service in March. When
watching disaster unfold around the globe, many of us feel
the call to help but are at a loss as to what we can actually
do to help. UMCOR Sunday is the day for congregations around
the globe to help.
Your donations to UMCOR on this Special Sunday help:
● Refugees in Clarkston, GA earn a living wage and get job
training.
● Deliver food, water, shelter, and long-term recovery
assistance to help many of the 68.5 million people displaced
by war, persecution, and natural disaster.
● Distribute relief kits to those in need following the U.S.
hurricanes of 2017.
The UMCOR Special Sunday is on March 28th,
and we want to remind you that even though writing a check or
putting cash in the offering doesn’t feel exciting, you
really ARE making a difference.
Your gifts on UMCOR Special Sunday underwrite UMCOR’s “costs
of doing business.” This helps UMCOR keep the promise that
100% of any gift to a specific project will go toward that
mission, not administrative costs. If you want to learn more
about UMCOR visit: www.umcgiving.org/UMCOR
This is such
an important gift and one that we can do together. Let’s make
a difference, together.
Bible
Study - Via Zoom
THE BIBLE FOR
CURIOUS PEOPLE
Join us Tuesday mornings at 10:30am on Zoom as
we explore the Gospel of Mark.
Reading
Assignment for Tuesday, March 30th
Chapter 15-16 of the book of Mark, plus any notes
your bible provides.
Questions
to consider:
—Who do you find more sympathetic: Pilate for
following the crowd despite knowing it was wrong? Or the
crowd for choosing the violent revolutionary Barabbas over
Jesus?
—More faithful women present when most of the men had run
away. How did the church go from this to fully embracing
patriarchy?
—Why do you think Mark ended his gospel as he did in verse 8?
—Why do you think others added the additional material of
v9-20?
—What would you say is Mark’s thesis? Does he succeed in
making the case for that thesis?
Due to the
pandemic, this class is meeting online through Zoom on
Tuesday mornings at 10:30AM. Please contact Pastor Dave (pastordave@woodridgeumc.org) to join the conversation. It is a great way to
stay connected and all are welcome.
No prior bible reading or knowledge or expertise needed. No
question is dumb and no one is forced to read the bible in
one particular way. We will all learn as we go along
exploring what the text says, what it leaves unsaid, what
history and tradition tell us about the text, and how our own
experience influences our reading.
WEDNESDAY
BIBLE STUDY ON ZOOM
This year our Wednesday Lenten study will be SAVIOR: What
the Bible Says About the Cross by Magrey
Devega. Please join us on Wednesday nights at 6:00 p.m..
The book is available at Cokesbury.com and Amazon in hard
copy or Kindle/e-reader versions. Please join us on
ZOOM for the study.
Employment Opportunity
Small Miracles Preschool Open Director
Position
Woodridge
United Methodist Church's Small Miracles Preschool is seeking
a Preschool Director to start immediately in preparation for
the 2021-2022 school year. The Director is responsible for
maintaining the daily operations of Small Miracles Preschool,
a warm and friendly environment, and a quality
Christian-based, child-centered program. The Director must
meet and maintain the minimum State Licensing Requirements of
Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) for the
State of Illinois, and lead and support the staff through
teamwork and mutual respect to achieve individual and
classroom goals. The Director reports to the Small Miracles
Preschool Board of Directors with day-to-day accountability
to the Lead Pastor of Woodridge United Methodist Church. You
can find the requirements and how to apply at https://www.woodridgeumc.org/small-miracles-preschool/.
Opportunities/Events
Youth Ministry Winter/Spring of 2021
Youth Group on Zoom returns this Sunday, March 28th
at 1:30pm.
While the pandemic means we are unable to hold a
traditional mission trip this summer, we are working on
alternative opportunities. Stay tuned!
Vaccine Buddy Program
Seniors who need help navigating the technology
necessary to book an appointment to receive the COVID-19
vaccine can call Jim Hill at (630) 640-0804 to be paired up
with a Vaccination Buddy through a new program offered by
Naperville and Lisle Townships TRIAD and the Naperville
Senior Task Force. This buddy will schedule the senior for a
vaccination appointment and also can provide transportation
to the appointment if needed.
Billy
Elton Benefit Concert Cancelled
It is with
much disappointment that we have officially decided to cancel
the Billy Elton benefit concert that was originally scheduled
for Friday, March 13, 2020 at the Neuqua Valley
Auditorium. We had held out hope that we would be able
to announce a rescheduled date for sometime during the
2020-2021 school year. It has become clear that, while
things are beginning to trend in the right direction, it will
not be possible to hold a large-scale concert at an indoor
venue during the next couple of months.
Tickets purchased online through Brown Paper Tickets will
automatically be refunded to the purchaser. For anybody
who purchased physical tickets, please contact Reid Spears at
rspears711@aol.com to arrange for your refund. If you choose
not to obtain a refund, your ticket purchase will still be
donated to the causes affiliated with this event.
The good news is that we are fully planning to do another
benefit concert in spring of 2022! If you choose not to
get a refund on your physical tickets at this time, all
physical tickets from the original 2020 date will be honored
at the door. Please keep an eye out for the
announcement of the official date, which will be coming
later.
We are proud of the over $20,000 that we have raised over
previous concerts to support the memorial funds of some very
fondly remembered Neuqua Valley teachers. We sincerely
thank you for your support of the benefit concerts, and we
eagerly look forward to returning to the Neuqua Valley
Auditorium stage in 2022! In the meantime, keep an eye out
for info coming soon on Billy-Elton.com for the announcement of
our outdoor season!
Birthdays
April Birthdays
4
Rachel Sprague
11 Sarah Jeske
13 Tom Balamut
Kevin
Morman
Joseph
Shubert
Matt
Swick
14 Alex Todd
15 Rachel Grosch
16 Henry Tolentino
26 Lesley Balamut
27 Karl Borgehammar
Patrick Cash
Outreach
Opportunities
March
Outreach Offering: UMCOR
The
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the
humanitarian relief and development arm of The United
Methodist Church, operated under the auspices of the General
Board of Global Ministries.
Vision:
As the humanitarian relief and development arm of The United
Methodist Church, UMCOR strengthens and transforms
people and communities.
Mission:
Compelled by Christ to be a voice of conscience on behalf of
the people called Methodist, UMCOR works globally to
alleviate human suffering and advance hope and healing.
UMCOR’s work can be categorized into three major areas
1) Humanitarian Relief / Disaster Response
2) Sustainable Development
3) Global Health (in collaboration with Global Ministries)
UMCOR’s
MANDATE
The United Methodist Committee on Relief exists to assist
United Methodists and churches to become involved globally in
direct ministry to persons in need through programs of
relief, rehabilitation, and service, including issues of
displaced persons, hunger and poverty, disaster response, and
disaster risk reduction; and to assist organizations,
institutions, and programs related to annual conferences and
other units of The United Methodist Church in their
involvement in direct service to such persons in need.
DUPAGE PADS
Due to the
continuing pandemic, DuPage Pads will not be using Downers
Grove FUMC or any church to house Pads guests until late
2021. They will continue to hotel guests at the
guidance of the DuPage Health Department for both the Pads
guests and the volunteers’ safety.
DuPage Pads has enough funds to house 70 hotel rooms through
March 31, 2021. Their goal is 115 hotel rooms
(approximately 150 guests) per night. Each hotel room
is approximately $45 a night which requires them to raise
approximately $450,000. Additional federal government
funding is uncertain at the moment.
Cold weather has arrived, and people are still very much in
need. There are several ways you can help:
- Food
and Toiletry Donations: Please consider
donating essential items
using this link using curbside drop off boxes
located in the DuPage PADS parking lot of 703 W. Liberty
Wheaton, IL 60187. Drop off hours are Monday-Friday
8:00am-8:00pm and Saturday-Sunday 8:00am-4:00pm. Please
do not leave donations outside of the scheduled times,
especially food items overnight.
- Monetary
Donations: A special fund has been set up for
this purpose. PADS is working hard to maintain and add
additional housing in hotels for guests, as well as
provide them with food. This requires significant
financial resources to sustain this long term.
Visit the PADS website here and look at the very top for the
link to donate.
- Bring
Food or Monetary Donations to DGFUMC: First United
Methodist in Downers Grove is collecting microwave meals
to bring to PADS guests starting November 5th.
Microwave meals may be brought to the church Monday thru
Friday 10am-1pm and monetary donations can be made on
the church website dgfumc.org using the Giving tab. The
church is located at 1032 Maple Avenue in Downers Grove.
Please
call or email Larry
Cash with questions at
630-808-8713.
Northern Illinois Conference
Bishop
John Hopkins Lenten Video
In a
new 6-minute video, Bishop Hopkins greets all NIC churches
while reflecting on the meaning of the Lenten season. Click here to view the
video.
A transcript of the
video is also available.
Get to Know
Interim Bishop John Hopkins
With
the new year, we welcome retired Bishop John L. Hopkins, who
is serving as the interim bishop for the Northern Illinois
Conference through 2021.
Typically we would host a meet-and-greet event or a formal
welcome, but because COVID-19 prevents us from gathering we
are introducing him through a Zoom interview.
Did you know Bishop Hopkins served in campus ministries? NIC
Dir. of Communications Anne Marie Gerhardt "sat
down" with Bishop Hopkins to ask a few questions about
his background and ministry to help all of us get to know him
a little better.
Watch this video.
Monthly Aurora District Lay Leader Virtual
Meetings
There will be monthly Aurora District Lay Leader
meetings on the Third Thursday of every month at 7 pm
through May. "See" you there! If you are a lay
leader and cannot make a meeting, invite another lay person
from your church to attend. These meetings are not just for
official lay leaders but any lay person who is a leader in a
church! Your Zoom video conferencing invitation will be sent
by Leola Tucker (ltucker@umcnic.org). Contact Leola if you would like to join.
New
District Boundaries Set
The new names
of the districts, which go into effect July 2021, are Lake North, Lake
South, Prairie Central, Prairie North, and Prairie South.
Click here to read the list of churches in each district.
Amazon
Smile
Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible
purchases to Woodridge United Methodist Church whenever you
shop on
AmazonSmile.
AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same
prices, same service. Support WUMC by starting your
shopping here.
Ways to Connect
March
26th, 2021, Volume 12, Edition 13
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