Opportunities/Events
Sunday, Feb. 6th:
Confirmation and High School Youth Group are
back in person at 11:00AM in the Youth Room!
Unless something drastically changes, we will be
in person at 11:00AM for all of February (and beyond!).
Looking ahead:
Wednesday, March 2nd, 7:00PM: Confirmation Class and High School Youth Group
leads Ash Wednesday worship for the whole congregation.
The Bible for Curious People
This study is
open to all and meets Tuesday mornings at 10:30am. For now we
are meeting on Zoom only. During February we are diving into
the oft-ignored little book of Song of Songs (aka Song of
Solomon).
Reading
Assignment for Tuesday, February 8th:
Song of Songs
chapters 3 & 4, plus any notes your bible provides.
Questions
to consider:
—Chapter 3 is from the female protagonist, while
chapter 4 is from the male protagonist. What is the mood of
each chapter? How do they differ?
— One commentary suggests Jewish men were
discouraged from reading chapter 4 until they were 30 years
old. What makes content involving sexuality and sensuality
appropriate or inappropriate?
—Why do you suppose we, as a culture, are so
much more concerned with shielding adolescents from sexual
content than we are with shielding them from violent content?
—What do you think of “my sister, my bride” in
chapter 4?
Wednesday
Bible Study
Our Wednesday
Bible study meets from 6:00
p.m. to 7:30 p.m. For a few more weeks
(until it's time to begin our Lenten study), we will continue
to look at the lectionary scriptures that will be used in the
following Sunday's worship service as the main resource for
our time together. As you may recall, we are using the
resource entitled
"A WOMAN'S LECTIONARY FOR THE WHOLE CHURCH"
by Dr. Wilda Gafney. Our class will continue to meet
via ZOOM through the month of February. If you are
interested in joining the Wednesday class, please contact Pastor
Danita or the church office.
WUMC Music Ensembles Upcoming Dates
As we look ahead to Lent, Easter, and beyond, we
would like to incorporate some of our music ensembles into
our services. In our continuing efforts to be mindful of
people’s health and safety, we are delaying the return of the
Chancel Choir. The handbells successfully played at a service
in December, so we are planning to have them play again on
Easter Sunday. Since the Praise Band has only two singers, we
will plan to have them play at a few services, as well.
Due to a limited amount of rehearsal time, we are asking that
participants commit to all
rehearsals prior to playing at a given service. If one
“cycle” does not fit your schedule, please consider joining
in a different “cycle.” In order to plan ahead, please notify
Carrie Marcotte by the deadlines below to confirm your
participation for each cycle.
Her email address is: carriemarcotte.chorus@gmail.com
Please list “Praise Band”
or “Bell
Choir” in the subject line of your email.
Here is the schedule for rehearsals and services:
Praise
Band: Please
RSVP
by Feb. 20
Mandatory rehearsals (11:30 am-12:30 pm) after the Sunday
services on
March 6
March 13
Play at the 10 am service on Mar. 20
Bell
Choir: Please
RSVP
by March 6
Mandatory rehearsals (11:30 am-1 pm) after the Sunday
services on
March
20
April 3
March
27
April 10
Play at the Easter Sunday service on Apr 17.
Praise
Band: Please
RSVP
by April 10
Mandatory rehearsals (11:30 am-12:30 pm) after the Sunday
services on
April 24
May 1
Play at the service on May
8 (Mother’s Day).
If you have further questions or need clarification, please
reach out to Carrie at the email address above. Carrie thanks
you, all, and is looking forward to making music with you.
LOVE
Christian Clearinghouse
Love
In the Name of Christ (Love INC) is a Christian ministry
helping churches help people. For 36 years, Christian
churches from all denominations have been working together to
transform lives and communities.
Volunteers are needed from your church to serve on the phone
- connecting people with local resources, or with light
office work in the Westmont Clearinghouse call center.
On-the-job training is provided.To learn more about this
service opportunity call 630-512-8669.
Volunteer instructors and support staff are needed for the
moving forward together! Ministry, offering personal growth
and life skill classes on Thursday nights in Lombard.
Volunteers attend an orientation session period to learn more
about this service opportunity call 630-512-8673.
Employment Opportunities
Intervarsity Press
Intervarsity Press of Westmont has several
job openings. There are six full-time positions
available, and two part-time positions available. Below are
links for position descriptions for job openings now
available at InterVarsity Press. The IVP Careers web
page where all these positions are posted is: www.ivpress.com/jobs-and-internships.
The job openings are:
Full-time
Openings
Part-time
Openings
Outreach Opportunities
Suits for Success Donation
Suits for
Success has been selected by Pulse Financial services as
their 1st quarter "Give back to the Community"
which means that they are making a donation to SFS. The
donation depends on how many people click on the Green Thumbs Up. No follow up is done in the form of a
solicitation. Here is the link Pulse Financial Services .
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.
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).
February Outreach Offering
Black College
Fund
Between 1866 and 1882, following the Civil War,
the former Methodist Episcopal Church organized the Freedmen’s
Aid Society to help educate black people newly freed from
slavery. Between 1866 and 1882, the society established more
than 70 schools in the U.S. South and Southwest.
In 1972, The United Methodist Church established the Black
College Fund to provide a constant reliable way to support
United Methodist-related historically Black colleges. Today
we support more historically Black colleges and universities
than any other religious denomination.
One of the 7 General Apportionment Funds that would have
previously been funded through the churches general
apportionments payments, this fund supports the programs
and ministries of 11 historically black colleges and
universities, including one medical school. These gifts
reflect the value our Church has on education, especially
those who have been historically excluded.
The Black College Fund is raising up the leaders who are
impacting lives and shaping communities.
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
February
4, 2022, Volume 12, Edition 5
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