First United Methodist Church, Melrose, MA
Thursday, February 23, 2012
As a people called by God, our vision is to be a servant people striving for peace and love in an imperfect world.

Christian Education

 
 
From the Christian Education Director 


Dear Church Family,

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday full of good family fellowship and time to relax. I am excited to start off the new year with all of you.

First of all, we have some exciting news. Calissa Kummer has joined the church staff as our new Youth and Young Adult Coordinator! I am so glad to have her on board and am looking forward to the programming she will be leading this spring. This is a wonderful opportunity for our church to solidify our youth program and start some young adult programming. Look for articles in a future Gleam for all the details.

January will be a much more relaxed month for Sunday School. January 1st will be the church Love Feast without Sunday School, but the rest of the month will be a normal Sunday School schedule for everyone. The Junior and Senior High will be joining together in January for Green Church: a study on environmentalism and Christianity.

New Adult Education opportunities will be available in February. Pay attention to your email and Sunday morning announcements as dates and classes times are decided.

There are a few important dates to know for upcoming fellowship opportunities. On January 14th is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, and our church is planning a project through Stop Hunger Now. There will be jobs for people of every ages, so plan on stopping by for an hour or two. Also, remember to bring in the folders that were sent home with the kids so that the money can be donated to Stop Hunger Now. I would love to see a great turnout from our Sunday School kids. Check out the Mission update for more details.

On January 22nd there will be a Church Family Mini-Golf Fellowship after church at 3pm. Open to all ages, come join your church family for a fun afternoon of Monster Mini Golf. We will also take advantage of the winter weather with a Skating Fellowship opportunity. After the 10:30 service on February 5th we will have a fellowship lunch and then head off for skating.

Dates to remember:

January 1st – Love Feast – No Sunday School

January 14th – MLK Service Day – 11am-4pm

January 22nd – Family Mini-Golf Fellowship – 3pm

February 5th – Fellowship Lunch & Skating – noon

 
Blessings, Anne 
 
 
A friendly place to learn about God's promises to all his children.  We provide nursery care for the 10:30am Sunday worship services. Church School meets during the 10: 30 a.m. service.  Classes are for preschool through grade 12. Monthly, the entire School meets to sing, discuss service projects, and celebrate individual and group accomplishments.
 
 
 
The church provides youths opportunities for United Methodist summer retreats or short-term mission experiences.  Children and youths may need to apply for these opportunities.

 
Our church young people gather on Sunday afternoons and evenings for youth group activities. Our church’s commitment is to help our youth understand how God is present in their lives. Our young people participate in a number of activities throughout the life of the church, including education, music, fellowship, and helping ministries.
 
 
Junior High Youth Group meets on Sunday afternoons while Senior High Youth Group meets on Sunday evenings.  
 
 
 
There are some excellent summer camp and summer mission opportunities available to our youth.   FUMC Board of Trustees provides "campership" scholarships for our youth and adults to attend these enrichment programs.
 
 
 
 
Hello Everyone,

As I'm sure you are aware, we are in the process of developing new Adult Education opportunities and have been collecting responses to a survey to get your input on the process.  I greatly appreciate all of the completed surveys I have already received, but wanted to make it 
even easier for you to share your thoughts.

Below is a link to the survey that you can fill out online.  It won't take very long to fill out, under 5 minutes, so please take a moment to click on the link (or copy and paste into your browser).  The more responses we receive, the better we are able to provide adult education opportunities to fit your needs and interests.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MPN3Z35
 
We support opportunities for adults to grow in their understanding of discipleship, and we offer our adults ways to explore with other Christians how faith changes our perception of world events and guides our daily living.  Our congregation has been participating in several christian studies over the past seasons.  We are currently implementing ideas from our year long study of "The Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations"
, which has brought our congregation closer together for our common goal of implementing Christ's work in the world.    
 
 In addition, we sponsor the Great Decisions study group, using materials published by the Council on Foreign Relations
. This group is an opportunity for fellowship and discussion about current events and politics.