First United Methodist Church of Kalamazoo

Habits of Hospitality: Offering Peace
2021-09-12 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Detroit)
“If anyone is there who shares in your peace, your peace will rest on that person.” ~Luke 10: 6a
Jesus sends more than seventy out on a mission of peace. He says, “Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” They are to offer peace, receive peace and reassure all that “The Kingdom of God has come near.” The mission and invitation are as simple as it is every time we make it: when you endeavor to love your neighbor and live in peace with each other, there’s always room for you, no matter whether you think you “fit” or not, no matter whether you’ve been coming to church a long time or not in a long time, whether you worship online or in person. Welcome home. Peace be with you. Jesus moved forward with hope and promise. And so shall we. Come, join us for “Hospitality Sunday” this Sunday and each Sunday. God loves all people. And so do we.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. You are invited to our Hospitality Sunday kick off event on Sunday, September 12 at 9:15am on the church front lawn. Learn more through this link.
Note: We will be collecting prayers of joys and concerns. If you are coming to the church to worship, please bring a written prayer with you if you would like to share. There will be a basket at the door to collect the prayers. If you are worshipping from home, you can add your prayers to the chat box on YouTube or submit them through our online form.

When John Wesley Lost His Mind
2021-09-05 10:00 - 11:00
Faith without works is dead. One of the most often quoted bible verses from one of the shortest books in the New Testament. It becomes a mantra of sorts from churches that like to get things done. And there’s nothing wrong with getting things done. Jesus calls us to do justice and so we do. But sometimes we can get so caught up doing justice that it comes at the expense of our own personal spiritual lives. Our Wesleyan tradition calls us to a balance or a praxis whereby we reflect of the love God in our lives, we respond to this love by doing justice, and in turn we reflect on the work of justice making and the love of God within the work. So may our faith be found alive, and fueled by a reflective practice of being loved by God and being the love of God.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am.
Note: It is a communion Sunday. Communion will take place right after worship outside in the picnic table yard at FUMC. For those joining us for livestream worship online, please bring bread and juice to your home worship space.

Begin Where God Begins
2021-08-29 10:00 - 11:00
John Wesley said once that “Religion if it is not to be the pious form of worldliness, if it is instead to be the response to the action of God, must begin where God begins, among the poor, the despised, the oppressed, and the marginalized.” The key words in his teaching are begin where God begins. God began by taking on the form of human flesh and living with and as one with the poor, the despised, the oppressed and the marginalized. God began by proving to the world that God is not some distant overbearing unknown figure rather that God is here, right here with us and within in, listening and being with us. God did not begin with a snap-of-the-fingers quick fix, or a financial distribution program, or a soup kitchen rather God began by simply being with. This is where God begins and so this is where we are to begin – with.

Love and Hard Things
2021-08-22 10:00 - 11:00
Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation, Spirit. All these words are packed into these final verses of the book of Ephesians. These are among the most pious and abstract words in all Christian grammar. Truth like a belt, righteousness like a breastplate, peace like a pair of shoes, faith as a shield, salvation a helmet, and the spirit a sword. Together these theological words are according to this disciple of Paul (more on that to come in the sermon) the “…full armor of God.” And why do we need the full armor of God? That we might live in the power of God. And this word – power – is the most intriguing of them all. The church has a peculiar relationship to this word, power. We embrace power and we are embarrassed of power. We leverage power and we say that power is not Christlike. We claim power in our baptism, we confront power, we deny power. This book of the Church, the book of Ephesians concludes by imploring us to embrace the power of God. Your baptism asks if you accept the power of God. So what is this power? And to what, or where does it lead us?

Live as Children of Light
2021-08-15 10:00 - 11:00
“But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light.” -Ephesians 5: 13-14a
We are called to live as children of the light and we are to shine the light on that which brings darkness. Join us for worship as we light candles in prayer, exposing and naming some of the darkness and despair that may keep us awake at night or certainly troubles our soul. Join us as we proclaim the psalms, sing hymns and make melodies to God, giving thanks and rekindling our light so that we may shine for the world and for Christ who is our center point. Let us look for the light, in the stars, in the time we share with friends or by beginning a gratitude journal and by holding onto a hope that will not let us go. As we worship, we will claim the light, cultivate the light and celebrate the Light of the World. If you are worshipping from home, bring some candles into your worship space so that you may bear witness to the Light.

Summer Concert Series: Hazeltree
2021-08-08 16:00 - 17:00
Hazeltree: Traditional acoustic songs and tunes from Ireland, Scotland, England and America

Hazeltree is ensemble of close harmonies, guitar, mountain dulcimer, mandolin, flute, and drum. In Irish tree lore, the hazel embodies creativity, wisdom and transformation… Find more information at https://www.facebook.com/hazeltreemusic.

Attendees are asked to enter the church through our parking lot entrance, located on Academy St. Please sign in as you enter the church and we ask all attendees to remain masked to ensure hospitality and protection for all vulnerable populations. Freewill offerings will be gratefully accepted, but admission for all summer concert series events is free.

The Fragrance of Christ
2021-08-08 10:00
On this Coffeehouse Sunday we hope to bring in the aroma of herbs from our gardens, patio boxes or even from the wild. We invite you to bring offerings of herbs with you as you come to the sanctuary or if you will be worshipping from home, add some herbs to your worship space. A life worthy of our calling means that as Christ followers our lives offer a sweet-smelling fragrance to the world that is a kindness and tenderheartedness that will not be quickly forgotten, but will be savored by those whom we encounter. Along with our herbal offering, we will also receive an anointing so that our prayer may be “Jesus, help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with your spirit and your love.” For those worshipping in the sanctuary, you will be invited to the front lawn to receive an anointing for those at home, please gather oil or lotion so that you may anoint yourself at home. We will also be collecting prayers of joys and concerns. If you are coming to the church to worship, please bring a written prayer with you if you would like to share. There will be a basket at the door to collect the prayers. If you are worshipping from home, you can add your prayers to the chat box on YouTube or email them to prayer@umc-kzo.org. May we live in love and be a fragrant offering to Christ and the world.

Youth Tribe
2021-08-01 19:30 - 22:00
Teens are invited to join our active youth ministries at FUMC! Everyone has a voice as we learn together and take time to play, too. For more information and details on upcoming events, contact Pastor Matt Weiler at mweiler@umc-kzo.org.

Summer Concert Series: The Great American Songbook and All That Jazz
2021-08-01 16:00 - 17:00
The Great American Songbook and All That Jazz with Terry Lower (piano) and Dr. Barry Ross (violin)

Pianist Terry Lower has been a fixture on the Michigan jazz scene for over 30 years. He is both a dazzling soloist and a superior accompanist. Find more information at https://terrylowermusic.com/.
Dr. Barry Ross is the Concertmaster Emeritus of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Founder of the Kalamazoo Philharmonia and a Professor of Music Emeritus at Kalamazoo College. In his over four decades of residing in Michigan, Dr. Ross has appeared as conductor, concertmaster and a concert violinist throughout the country and maintains an active performance schedule.

Attendees are asked to enter the church through our parking lot entrance, located on Academy St. Please sign in as you enter the church and we ask all attendees to remain masked to ensure hospitality and protection for all vulnerable populations. Freewill offerings will be gratefully accepted, but admission for all summer concert series events is free.

AXIOS
2021-08-01 10:00 - 11:00
“…lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called…” (Ephesians 4:1). In the book of Ephesians, the Greek word used by the author for worthy is AXIOS. Axios is a reference to a set of scales on which one would place a set of weights on one tray, and an item to be weighed on the other. When the item is equal to the weight it is worthy (AXIOS) of the weight. Live a life worthy (in AXIOS) of the calling to which you have been called. It is the question we ask of ourselves in worship today. Is the life I am living worthy of the calling to which I have been called? The rest of the passage, as does the worship, offers several bits of good news in response to the question. 1. God has called each one of us. 2. All of us in the body of Christ are called collectively. 3. By God’s grace we are forgiven and renewed again and again when our lives fall short of their calling. All of this is proclaimed and affirmed in the Bread and Cup of Communion which will we share this Sunday.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am.
Note: It is a communion Sunday. Communion will take place right after worship outside in the picnic table yard at FUMC. For those joining us for livestream worship online, please bring bread and juice to your home worship space.

Summer Concert Series: Bernie Foulk and Jacqueline Stilger
2021-07-25 16:00 - 17:00
Organist Bernie Foulk with Jacqueline Stilger featuring the Letourneau organ of First United Methodist Church of Kalamazoo

Bernie Foulk joined the staff of First United Methodist Church in 2007 as organist. He holds a bachelor’s degree in trumpet performance as well as master’s degrees in library science and organ performance.
Jacqueline Stilger has been the Minister of Music at First United Methodist Church since 2009. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance from the University of Louisville, where she studied with Melvin Dickenson, and a Master of Music degree in Organ and Church Music from Indiana University, studying with Dr. Marilyn Keiser.
The Letourneau Organ: The concert will feature the three manuel, 54 rank Letourneau pipe organ, Opus 52, installed in the church in 2000. The music will span the centuries with pieces from the renaissance period through contemporary.

Attendees are asked to enter the church through our parking lot entrance, located on Academy St. Please sign in as you enter the church and we ask all attendees to remain masked to ensure hospitality and protection for all vulnerable populations. Freewill offerings will be gratefully accepted, but admission for all summer concert series events is free.

Doing Justice as Prayer
2021-07-25 10:00 - 11:00 | MI, United States
For this final sermon in our summer preaching series The Renewing Work of God, we turn to the work of Doing Justice as Prayer. Throughout this series we have been encouraged to set the intention of prayer while doing everyday ordinary things such as planting seeds, going for walks, making music and art and eating. Today we turn our attention to the act of doing justice and wonder how the work of justice itself can be prayer. The late congressman John Lewis who marched across the bridge to Selma in March of 1965 was known for likening that walk to prayer. “When you pray move your feet” he would say. Sometimes the work of doing justice can be met with terrible violence as Lewis experienced on that bridge. Sometimes justice making can happen quietly and almost unnoticed. Either way, the work of doing justice is a participation in God’s ongoing plan to mend our broken universe to wholeness. Setting the intention of prayer while doing justice is intentionally tapping into God’s ongoing work. It brings rest to our weariness, peace to the chaos surrounding us, and the assurance that this is God’s work and not ours alone. Doing Justice is Doing Prayer.

Beyond Doing
2021-07-18 10:00 - 11:00
“Be still and know that I am God.”
As we pray, we are seeking love, we are drawn into God because we are called by love, we come out of prayer filled by love and ready to impart that love. Throughout this series we have explored the many adventurous ways to pray. Yet, it is love that centers us and at times stills us, so that we may be filled with God. It is good to do prayer and it is also worthwhile to be still so that we may be filled with God. When God is our home place, we will be filled and we become prayer in our living and breathing. Let us experience God’s love as we worship.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am.

Sunday Morning Class: Short Stories by Jesus
2021-07-11 11:00 - 12:00
Join us for Sunday Morning Class after worship at 11:15am: In person in the Parlor at First United Methodist Church of Kalamazoo or online on Zoom
Short Stories by Jesus: Led by John Clark
Jesus knew how to tell a story. He knew that in order to get his message across he needed to relate to the people who gathered to listen—first century Jews—who lived in a very different world than the one in which we live today. In the video-based “Short Stories by Jesus,” New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine takes us back in time and explains how original audiences understood Jesus’ parables. We’ll learn how new interpretations of the parables continue to challenge and provoke contemporary readers two thousand years later.
Need the Zoom link? Email KalamazooFUMC@umc-kzo.org.

The Prayer of Planting
2021-07-11 10:00 - 11:00
“Blow upon my garden that its fragrance may be wafted abroad.”
Have you ever planted a garden and even though you know what you put into the ground, still you marvel at the way in which those seeds magically produce beans and squash and tomatoes and peppers and…all the amazing things? Of course it isn’t magic–it is God’s handiwork doing what it is supposed to do. This is how planting, be it in a giant outdoor garden, or a shoot of basil in your kitchen window, can be prayer because planting seeds is tapping into the ancient and holy and sacred work of God that stems back to God’s first acts of creation. In worship today, we hear a parable of a sower whose work of planting was done with a kind of joyful reckless abandon. The sower scattered seeds in all kinds of soils and rocks trusting that God could make anything grow anywhere at any time. We also celebrate Kathryn Sappington’s two years of ministry with us as a Global Mission Fellow, celebrate and acknowledge the seeds she has planting among us, and send her off to grow in her new adventure in seminary. Join us this Sunday online and in person for this special Coffeehouse Worship Experience.

Holy Food
2021-07-04 10:00 - 11:00
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.”
Today, we gather around the table of grace to receive the bread of life and the cup that overflows with blessing and love. It is a holy feast. What if by way of doing prayer we made every meal an extension of the Communion table? From “Beyond Words” the author writes, “Consuming food becomes a sacred activity, one that combines intention, gratitude, and celebration as the main courses.” The Eucharist is the centerpiece of our faith. Jesus called us to a table of remembrance, all of us, from the faithful to the one that is betraying and invites us to eat and drink, remembering that grace is food for the soul. As ways of doing prayer, let us establish tables of grace each time we settle in to eat and drink, sharing the love of God through one of the most basic of human needs. Come, receive from the table of grace.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am.
Note: It is a communion Sunday. Communion will take place right after worship outside in the picnic table yard at FUMC. For those joining us for livestream worship online, please bring bread and juice to your home worship space.

Sacred Healing
2021-06-27 10:00 - 11:00
“Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!”
I spent a week at Wesley Woods High School Camp recently with a large group of teenagers and every morning and evening we sang. (Don’t worry, we were outside and a strong majority were vaccinated!) We sang contemporary worship songs by the fire with guitars and we sang “Amazing Grace” a cappella. One of our staff members shared with me that he was not much of a singer, but for some reason, the singing drove him to tears (he’s also not much of a crier). A most memorable moment of singing came on the Friday Night after party. We strung lights and lit up balloons by the lake front at midnight and had a Par-ty! And when a certain Taylor Swift tune came on, every kid on the shore belted it out word for word. These were all acts of prayer. I don’t know if they all consciously knew they were acts of prayer, but I am clear that God was there in those moments. It was prayer. It was also prayer when we stopped and listened to the bullfrogs in the evening when the sun went down and then again when we covered a slip-n-slide with shaving cream (yes…). Prayer is singing and prayer is listening, as author Kristen Johnson Ingram reminds us. This week in worship we will look at moments when scripture points us to this truth, and examine how we can set an intention of prayer in our singing, our listening and in our playing.

Making Art
2021-06-20 10:00 - 11:00
We worship a creating God who calls us into this same creative, spiritual energy. Creativity comes from God and is expressed in a myriad of ways and means. Children have this distinctive sense that they are creative and will find ways to express themselves. The trouble is that as we age, we are often not encouraged to continue to be creative without having to become an expert. Let the children lead us into re-discovering our imagination. Author Kristen Johnson Ingram writes, “When you long to create something visual and tangible, I think that impulse comes straight from the Holy Spirit, who fills us with life and expectation and invention. Art doesn’t require expensive materials or a background in painting or sculpture. Art as prayer demands only two things: intention, of course, and the belief that God gives you the ability to create.” Let us begin the work, knowing and trusting that God will be with us. Let us worship our creating God.

Walking Prayers
2021-06-13 10:00 - 11:00
You’re invited to join us for Coffeehouse Worship!
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new.
Our theme for worship is this week is “Doing Prayer” with an emphasis on “Walking Prayer.” This is not praying while walking, rather, setting the intention of our walking in and of itself being an act of prayer. This means paying attention to the holiness around us while walking, and being open to an encounter with the living God while walking. In accordance with our text for the day is being open to the newness of God, or walking into the newness of God at work around us. Join us and learn how to turn your walking into prayer. We also celebrate and bless our graduates this Sunday and we celebrate Pride Month.

Sunday Morning Class: French or Foe? Cultural Competence for Christians
2021-06-06 11:00 - 12:00
Join us on Sunday mornings in June at 11:15am! Class is available in person in the parlor or online via Zoom.
We want to be a welcoming congregation, and we’re pretty good at welcoming people like us. How do we extend the idea of Christ-like hospitality to people who aren’t like us? Cultural competence means appreciating and effectively interacting with people of backgrounds different than our own. The class will focus on a different culture each week that is represented in the Kalamazoo community. How do we reach out to those in our midst who see the world differently? Carol Hodges will lead this four week class. For the Zoom link, please click here to contact Carol.

Worship at FUMC
2021-06-06 10:00 - 11:00
You are invited to join us on Sunday mornings at 10am for worship in the sanctuary. We ask that those who join us wear a mask and arrive at least a few minutes early to sign in at the doors off the parking lot. Please keep space from one another in the sanctuary and, as you exit, please use the Park Street doors and visit in the yard or parking lot. Ms. Julia, Grandma Joyce or other approved adults will be on the playground for families who would like to bring their children for the fellowship of play. Children are welcome in the sanctuary as well.

Doing Prayer
2021-06-06 10:00 - 11:00
This Sunday we explore living by a spirit that calls us to adventure beyond the spoken prayer and embrace that every moment has potential to be holy as we become prayer. Doing prayer means we are desiring to find the place that we are most ourselves and God is fully present. Doing prayer can be intentional or spontaneous and should be approached with delight and expectation. As we explore doing prayer, let us be led by the Spirit of God and discover ways that our prayers might be more intentional and consecrated. Even our mission statement proclaims doing prayer by experiencing, celebrating and sharing God’s love. Join us for worship! Note: It is a communion Sunday, please bring juice and bread to your worship space if you are able.
On Sunday, June 6, we will also offer communion in the picnic table yard after Worship and Watch concludes and until 11:45am. Please join us in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup, remembering that we are the bread and the love freely poured out in the world in the name of the Christ who redeems.

Trinity Sunday: An Economy of Freedom and Love
2021-05-30 10:00 - 11:00
We are members of a divine economy of freedom and love. In this economy there is abundance, there is shared power, there is mutuality and creativity, and most importantly, there is a sharing of life with the very source of our creation. Every year on the Sunday after Pentecost we celebrate Trinity Sunday, the Sunday in which we acknowledge, celebrate and attempt to make sense of the God is wholly three in one and one in three. What is challenging, is that Christians have been trying to make sense of it for 2,000 years and at some point we have to just raise our hands, stop trying to make sense of it and simply live into it…live into creation’s constant renewal and newness, live into love’s triumph over evil, live into grace poured out on an infant’s head. The Trinity is a divine economy – alternative to the world’s economy. A mystery, yet so good.

Dawn Patrol
2021-05-26 07:30 - 09:00
Dawn Patrol is an intentionally diverse group of men who meet each Wednesday at 9am on Zoom. Books that stimulate the sharing of stories are chosen. Our goal is growing in an understanding about, not only what it means to be a follower of Jesus in a divided world, but also what Christians are called to do to help bring an end to systemic racism that still harms so many People of Color. Contact Pastor Matt Weiler at mweiler@umc-kzo.org for more information and the Zoom link.

Pentecost: When the Spirit Moves
2021-05-23 10:00 - 11:00
Pentecost has arrived. It is the fiftieth day or the seventh Sunday from Easter Sunday. As modern Christians we observe Pentecost as a holiday, not to celebrate a wheat harvest, but to remember when the Holy Spirit invaded the church as the story is told in the second chapter of Acts. The Spirit is alive and moves among us as it did in the early church. We are a church that can proclaim resurrection hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. As the spirit is poured out, the body of Christ moves and shifts and brings an amazing beauty to the world around us. Pentecost is an invitation to take flight and soar on the winds of hope and promise, through the Spirit of Christ we can bring together a broken world. As we worship, let us connect with others who seek to fly into a kin-dom way of living.

Wednesday Evening Outdoor Prayer Service
2021-05-19 19:00 - 20:00
You are invited to join us for the return of our Wednesday evening prayer services on our picnic table yard. We ask that you bring your own lawn chair or blanket. These times of worship will give us the opportunity to raise our joys and concerns, participate in a simple liturgy and sing together! Yes, we will sing together because we will be outside. Masks are optional for this outdoor service, but we will continue to physically distance.
This prayer service is one step toward finding our way back to gathering with one another. We are all yearning for community and to create opportunities to be with our church community in person. We hope you will join us for this simple time of worship that allows us to experience, celebrate and share God’s love.
This will be a short prayer service of 30-45 minutes. We will not be using the church building, only the lawn. This will mean that bathrooms will not be available (unless it’s an emergency). As we did with our 2020 outdoor services, we will update through email and social media if services need to be cancelled due to inclement weather. We look forward to sharing this special time with you!

Seventh Sunday of Easter: Imagine the Joy. Imagine the Power.
2021-05-16 10:00 - 11:00
Jesus is praying for us! What an amazing thing. And Jesus is leaving, but Jesus is with us. It is Ascension Sunday. Jesus takes his place at the right hand of God, returns to the circle of the Trinity, but at the same time continues to be present with us. This final Sunday of Eastertide is a celebration of living the Resurrection with the Resurrected one at our side. We are reminded that we are not alone, that we continue to journey with the one who calls us and the one who saves us; even as we look forward to the one who will empower us to continue the work of building toward the kin-dom of God. May our hearts ascend with the Resurrected one as we worship together.

Sixth Sunday of Easter: No Greater Love
2021-05-09 10:00 - 11:00
You’re invited to join us for Coffeehouse Worship!
We are called this day to celebrate the love that has been poured out on us and then to strive to exemplify this love in our lives. How do we shape a life of loving in a difficult world? We embrace the idea of “no greater love” found in the person of Christ and the life he lived and gift he gave. We also celebrate love that is nurturing, caring, supportive and that we have been blessed with mothers, motherly figures, and motherly love role modeled in many human beings who have walked among us. We are blessed and can be a blessing as we offer the world a love that desires to sustain and is bound up in the well-being of all. Note: You are encouraged as we gather to worship to have a writing utensil and paper. We will also be anointing ourselves for the work of love and service to the world, please bring some lotion for the anointing of your hands. Let us experience, celebrate and share God’s love.

Fifth Sunday of Easter: Abide in Me
2021-05-02 10:00 - 11:00
Abiding in the presence of Christ is our call this week. How do we abide? More importantly, what does abide mean? Let’s spend some time abiding in Christ. Silence, music and Scripture can lead us to the ways of abiding. We are practicing this abiding in Christ as we worship together with the hope that it will continue after the benediction is pronounced and the postlude ends. Cultivating habits for lifelong worship is a part of what we do when we gather for worship, even as we gather “together” in our own homes. Let us worship steadfast hearts that seek to abide with the One who calls us to life. Note: It is a communion Sunday, please bring juice and bread to your worship space if you are able.
On Sunday, May 2, we will also offer communion in the parking lot from 12:30-1:30pm. We will use both driveways as entrance ways. Pastor Julie Kline and Pastor Matt Weiler will be at one of the driveways to offer you communion. Please stay in your cars, with masks on and they will serve you in your vehicle. Please join us in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup, remembering that we are the bread and the love freely poured out in the world in the name of the Christ who redeems.

Fourth Sunday of Easter: Listen to My Voice
2021-04-25 10:00 - 11:00
We continue the sensory journey through Eastertide and come to hearing this week. In Jesus’ parable of the good shepherd, he says that the sheep listen to his voice. He is speaking of those in front of him and those of other folds. Who are these others? We don’t really know. There is lots of speculation about who these other folds might represent. But the truth is, we don’t know. Jesus often hints that determining who is in and who is out is not really our job. We are to invite and include as widely as possible. We also celebrate the Festival of God’s Creation. April 22 is Earth Day, and we can hear the voice of God through the natural world. If we are to take seriously hearing God through the world around us, then we have to take seriously the care of the planet. Let us worship with ears to listen.
