From:                                         Woodridge United Methodist Church Communications <noreply@elexiochms.com>

Sent:                                           Friday, January 7, 2022 10:04 AM

To:                                               office@woodridgeumc.org

Subject:                                     More Than Just a Kid" - Woodridge United Methodist Church Newsletter

Attachments:                          164157134201.09.22_Worship_Guide.pdf

 

    Woodridge United Methodist Church

Join us on Sunday for worship services
at  10:00 am.

Instructions can be found below.
All are Welcome!

 

 

 

 

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

 

 

"More Than Just a Kid"

Probably all of us have had the experience of being separated from another person.  Whether one drifts away because of divided attention or other reasons, we can sometimes be separated from another person.  Even if it is only momentary, it is anxiety producing.  The searching and questioning and not knowing causes the angst.  And then the reunion becomes the source of gladness and relief.  But not for Jesus.

 

His mother thought that he was with Joseph or other relatives that they were traveling with.  After all, he was just a kid who other adults would "keep an eye" while he played with others.  And yet, this week's scripture lesson tells us differently.  Jesus was not with His family's caravan back to his home.  He instead was in the temple.  And teaching at that!!!

 

What is it like to have a  life that is so different and out of the ordinary?  How are we so different and out of the ordinary?  Let's talk about it on Sunday and hear some more of the travels of Jesus and why it is important in our lives.  Join us on Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. n-person or on YouTube on our Woodridge UMC YouTube Channel and we will see what happens.

Image: JESUS MAFA. “Jesus among the teachers”, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48280.    Original source:  http://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr
 

 

Woodridge UMC is an open and loving United Methodist community striving to:       

Welcoming to all;
Uniting in service toward greater social justice for all;
Moving forward with understanding and acceptance of all peoples;
Creating disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.       

Our purpose is to offer a safe place and community to all races, cultures, religions, genders, sexual identities, ethnicities, age groups and other beliefs.      

 

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

 

Sunday, January 9th

  • 10:00 am Worship Service
  • 11:00 am Confirmation Class (ONLINE)
  • Noon Communion (online)
  • 4:00 pm Filipino Baptist

Monday, January 10th

  • 7:00 pm Den 2

Tuesday, January 11th

  • 10:30 am Bible Study (Online)

Wednesday, January 12th

  • 11:30 am Staff Meeting
  • 6:00 pm Bible Study

Thursday, January 13th

  • 7:00 pm BSA

Sunday, January 16th

  • 10:00 am Worship Service
  • 11:00 am Confirmation/Youth Group
  • Noon Communion (online)
  • 4:00 pm Filipino Baptist

 

 

 

Worship Services

In Person

We miss you and want to see more of you for worship in person Sundays at 10:00 a.m.! No registration needed, just walk in the door! As a way to keep the most vulnerable among us safer, we request you continue to wear a mask while in the building. Here are our updated safety guidelines: 

  • Please conduct a wellness check before your arrival.  If you are not feeling well, please stay home.
  • The Sunday morning worship service will continue to be recorded “live” for YouTube.  In preparation for the service, there will be sound, voice and light checks.
  • Masks/face coverings are required in the building.
  • Please no food or drinks in the building.
  • Socially distanced seating in the sanctuary.
  • No Congregational singing.
  • Do not linger in the Narthex.

Online

Where to find the YouTube Live Stream

The worship service is live-streamed every Sunday at 10:00 a.m. on our Woodridge UMC YouTube Channel. All available worship service recordings are on our channel too.

 

The weekly worship guide is attached to this email for ease of access. 

 

OFFERING OPTIONS

There are different options for getting your offering to the church.

  • Go to the website & click on the Giving tab at the top of the page or go straight there with this link.
  • Text 630.449.7121 with the amount
  • Drop off in the gold mail slot next to the east door of the church.
  • Mail your offering to the church.

 

WORSHIP ATTENDANCE

If you watch the online service, please email the church office at office@woodridgeumc.org and let us know that you joined us for worship, so that we might record your attendance.
 


NEW LECTIONARY BEING USED
We invite you to join us on our new journey of utilizing a new "arrangement" of scripture lessons.  We are using "A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church, Year W" by Dr. Wil Gafney.  Womanist biblical scholar, the Rev. Wil Gafney, Ph.D. is the Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. She is an Episcopal priest canonically resident in the Diocese of Pennsylvania and licensed in the Diocese of North Texas, and a former Army chaplain.  This lectionary includes the traditional four-fold model of an Old Testament scripture, Psalm, Gospel and Epistle lesson each week and uses gender-expansive language.  It specifically and intentionally makes women visible in these lectionary texts.  This commitment to the visibility of women and girls is challenging for some and refreshing to others.  We are in the process of making sure all of the copyright permissions are in order for us to show the designated scripture passages on our screens for our worship settings.  As soon as they are......  In the meantime, you are welcomed to Google her, check her website and/or purchase the resource.  Join us on this journey and please do not hesitate to give us your feedback.


SACRAMENT OF COMMUNION 1ST SUNDAYS
We will be celebrating the Sacrament of Communion in person on the first Sunday of each month immediately following the livestream of our worship service. We will need a few moments to set up our ZOOM link for those who are not able to be with us in person.  Please remain seated following the postlude on the Sundays that we are serving communion.  Please remember that communion is available every Sunday via ZOOM.  Please contact the church office or Pastor Danita for the ZOOM link.
 

PRAYER REQUESTS FOR WORSHIP

If you want a prayer request shared during worship, please email the Pastor Danita at pastordanita@woodridgeumc.org by 8:00 am on Sundays.

(There have been requests that we include full names and/or more detailed information for people on our list of Joys & Concerns.  Please remember our services are broadcast on YouTube and are available to anyone who has internet access. Details are shared with our Prayer Ministry Team on Monday mornings.  You are invited to join them in prayer and share in this information by contacting the church office).

 

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS

Church Office Hours:   Monday & Tuesday 9:00 a.m. - noon.
                                       Wednesday – Friday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

We ask that you call before visiting.

 

 

 

Announcements
Commitment Forms
If you have not turned in your financial commitment form for 2022, please do so as soon as possible.  Your commitment helps our Finance Team determine our spending guideline for 2022.  Your commitment to Woodridge UMC has been unparalleled in the past and we want to go into 2022 with that same attitude!  Let's do this!!!!!  Any questions, assistance or details needed, please contact our financial secretary, Walt Read, or the church office.


Thank Yous

THANK YOU to all who donated grocery gift cards for our sister church, Trinity UMC in Joliet. We sent just over $1500! Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

 

THANK YOU to all who supported Woodridge UMC’s Youth Ministry through the Gift Card Sale. Thanks to your amazing generosity this fall and winter, we raised just over $1000! You all truly are the best!


Opportunities/Events 

Youth Ministry 2021-2022

Youth Ministries at WUMC in January & beyond:

Sunday, Jan.9th: Confirmation will meet on Zoom at the regular time to discuss plans for January.  Youth Group will not meet this week.

 

The Bible for Curious People 
Our Tuesday study group is on Christmas break. The Bible for Curious People will return Tuesday, January 11th at 10:30 a.m.


Wednesday Bible Study
Our Wednesday Bible study starts back up this week from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.  We meet via ZOOM (for the month of January).  Please join us.


United Methodist Women Mission U
January 21 - 23 at Rockford: Christ UMC
February 4-5 at Hinsdale UMC
“There’s Far More Than Meets the Eye." Mission U is presented by United Methodist Women for all (children, youth, men and women). Organizers will offer several adult classes, hybrid (in person & online). Fees are $45 for an in-person adult (lunch included), $15 for each virtual adult, $5 for each child or youth with a maximum of $15 for children and youth per family. Another session will be held Feb. 4 -5 at Hinsdale UMC. For details and registration, visit 
umwnic.org.  Different topics are available at each date but cover the 2021 studies:

  • Bearing Witness in the Kin-dom: Living Into the Church’s Moral Witness through Radical Discipleship (January)
  • Pushout: Becoming Peacemakers in a Culture of Violence (January)
  • Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools” (February)
  • Finding Peace in an Anxious World (February)
  • Children’s Study (ages 5-11) – Responding to Violence (February)



Outreach Opportunities

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

As you have probably heard from neighbors and news media sources, the tenants of Woodridge Country Club Condos have had to vacate their homes because of extensive building repairs.  Mayor Cunningham and her offices have been working diligently to relocate these families.  However, there are some very serious needs for the families in their temporary spaces at nearby hotels. The immediate needs are as follows:

1.)  Cases of water;

2.)  Personal care toiletries (such as full sized body wash, shampoo and conditioners, lotions, etc.);

3.)  Children's activities/games, hot cocoa, snacks, family-sized cereal;

4.)  Monetary donations (addressed to Woodridge Neighbors Helping Neighbors).

Please feel free to assist where you can.  We will coordinate our efforts through the Outreach Committee and make a more concerted, church-wide effort in January.  However, you are invited to respond more immediately if you so desire.  Please watch our E-news for updates and details in the coming weeks.


United Methodists Respond After Deadly Twisters
United Methodists in Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and neighboring states are coming to terms with the devastation of a string of tornadoes Dec. 10-11, while also mobilizing quickly to provide food, emergency shelter and other relief.
The storm system that struck on Friday evening into Saturday morning — including one tornado that caused destruction across some 240 miles — is blamed for nearly 90 deaths. 

A tornado collapsed the roof and walls of an 
Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Ill., killing six people. The storm also caused damage to homes, silos and an FS Plant in several downstate towns. Illinois Great Rivers Disaster Response leaders are assessing needs at this time. Twisters sheared roofs and shattered windows at some United Methodist churches and parsonages, as well as badly damaging congregation members’ homes and local businesses in Kentucky and Tennessee. Read more.

How to help

Donations also can be made directly to the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference’s Disaster Response Fund, the Missouri Conference disaster response, the Arkansas Tornado Fund or the Illinois Great Rivers Conference Disaster Response Ministry.


DuPage Pads: Did You Know?

DuPagePads operates a Street Outreach call line for anyone who observes someone unsheltered or in need of services. Please notify our Street Outreach team at 630-682-3846, option 2, or email streetoutreach@dupagepads.org with the following information: 

Your name and contact information (for possible follow-up) 

  • Individual’s/Family’s Name (if known) 
  • Location (last seen) 
  • General Description

 


ONGOING OPPORTUNITIES


Suits for Success

There are donation boxes in the hallway by the coat rack just outside the narthex for both men and women's clothing.  The clothes are picked up, dry cleaned and then taken to area men and women's prisons for people being released.  NO belts, shoes, underwear or ties.

 

"Goin' Green" Shoes & Clothes Recycling Box

Located in the northeast corner of our parking lot, this receptacle is a convenient place to recycle any shoes and your clothes that are at or near the end of their usefulness.

Did you know discarded clothes account for more total landfill space than any other waste item? The “Goin’ Green” Box helps us reduce our waste.

How is this different from our “Suits for Success” ministry?

The big difference is that “Suits for Success” cannot accept shoes of any kind, nor can they accept belts, ties, or underwear. “Goin’ Green” accepts all shoes and clothes.

In summary: Keep bringing your gently used clothing donations to the “Suits for Success” collection boxes in the hallway.

For all shoes and any other clothes, instead of throwing them in the trash, put them in the “Goin’ Green” receptacle in the northeast corner of the parking lot.
 


West Suburban Food Pantry

We have a basket that we "inherited" from the Faith, Lisle church that is waiting for donations.  It sits in the narthex, usually near the sanctuary doors.  They did not stop operating during the pandemic and there is pending legislation in our state and nation that might cut their corporate donations in large amounts.  Let's replenish our basket!!!

 

Used Eyeglasses
There is a basket also in the narthex for collecting used eyeglasses.  Jorie would see that her sister, Kendra, got the eyeglasses and that they are recycled to the Lions Club and Gift of Sight groups.  Kendra is continuing this important mission. (Prescription eyeglasses only).
 

January Outreach Offering

Family Crisis Fund


The Pastors of our church use our Family Crisis Fund to assist persons who come to our doors through the week needing help with food, utilities, prescription medicine(s), gas, emergency rental payments, and similar. The Family Crisis Fund is also available to church members in their time of need for the same types of assistance (food, utilities, etc.) In addition to your monetary donations, we can also utilize gift cards from grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations. These are also very helpful. The Pastors are grateful for your faithful support in helping the church do the work of Christ on a daily basis. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

 

Northern Illinois Conference
Prairie Central District
The new names of the districts, which went into effect July 2021, are Lake North, Lake South, Prairie Central, Prairie North, and Prairie South. We will be in the Prairie Central district.  Click here to read the list of churches in each district. Find the new district webpage here.


Prairie Central Monthly Lay Meetings
Please join our District Superintendent, Jeffrey Bross and your lay colleagues in the PCD every SECOND Thursday of the month beginning on September 9 and ending on May 12 at 7pm.  We will share news, have some prayer and devotion, hear the call story of a colleague and laugh with your friends.  We try to keep it to an hour but if something is really important and we need some extra time, we can do so.  This is a no-stress way to stay connected and get lifted up and know you are not alone.  
 
Please note that ALL lay persons who are in leadership at their churches are invited. This is not just for designated "lay leaders" but anyone who has an interest in the church and gathering with other lay persons.  
 
Hope to see you there.  Contact the church office for the link.
 

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

Northern Illinois Conference
Find out about upcoming events in the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church by clicking this link  

      
January 7, 2022, Volume 12, Edition 1

 

 

 

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