First United Methodist Church of Kalamazoo

Reign of Christ Sunday
2022-11-20 10:00 - 23:00 (America/Detroit) | MI
“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him, God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things…”
Colossians 1: 19a
What does it mean to speak of the Christ who reigns or Christ the king? The Gospels will undoubtedly tell us that Jesus redefined what it meant to be king, this is his purpose in coming. The one who reigns in our lives was treated as a common criminal by an oppressive government and was executed publicly, intended to humiliate and destroy. Yet, Christ reigns. With power, he is our king that is on the ground with us. He is the reconciler that shows us the power of joy and the way out of darkness. This is the one whom we gather to worship and more importantly, follow. The one who reigns in our hearts, our lives and is our ground of being. Come, let us worship with joy!

I'll Have What He's Having
2022-11-13 10:00 - 11:00
Join us for worship on this special Second Sunday. Pastor Matt and the Second Sunday team will guide us to contemplate Jesus‘s words “I am the bread of life“ and consider what it means for Jesus to be the nourishment of our souls along with our real need to be physically nourished. Our change the world offering is an invitation for everyone to bring food items, listed below, to be presented at the altar during worship and then sorted into bags after worship and donated to Spring Valley Elementary for families in need during the Thanksgiving holiday. A cash offering will also be taken to purchase extra food items. God is Good!
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask optional practice.
Suggested donation items:
Rolls
Bag of Russet Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Cranberry Sauce
Jars/Cans of Turkey Gravy
Canned Vegetables (variety)
Stove Top Dressing Mix
Bag of Apples or Oranges
Box Cake Mix
Can of Frosting
Additional suggested donation items:
Pancake syrup
Flour
Sugar
Brown sugar
Cooking spray or cooking oil
Chicken or beef broth
Cream of mushroom, chicken, celery etc. soups
Vanilla extract
Baking soda
Taco seasoning
Condiments: Ketchup, barbecue sauce, ranch dressing, etc.
Baking mixes: brownies, cake, etc.
Honey
Breakfast cereal for kids
Hot cocoa mix
Cookie decorating items: frosting, sprinkles, sugar cookie mix
Chocolate chips
Small marshmallows

All Saints Day
2022-11-06 10:00 - 11:00
All Saints is a day of remembrance for the saints. We celebrate the communion of saints as we remember the dead and celebrate our connectedness as Christians. The Christian festival of All Saints Day comes from a conviction that there is a spiritual connection between those on heaven and on earth. It is also an opportunity to express gratitude to God for the lives and deaths of all the saints that have influenced and shaped our lives. On this Sunday we hear the prayer of the Ephesians epistle is “I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints…”
On this All Saints Day, we remember, we weep, we celebrate and we look to the promised possibilities of life beyond death and are reassured that Christ stands with God to wipe away tears and turn us in hope toward the resurrection that is possible.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask optional practice.

Sing Out Sunday
2022-10-30 10:00 - 11:00
In this final Sunday of our “Stewards of a Grace-filled Life” Stewardship Season, we turn to the story of Zacchaeus. This is a man whose encounter with Jesus led to radical life transformation manifested through generous giving to his community. On this Sunday, the congregation is invited to determine how we are each being called to respond to God’s grace at work in our lives by making financial pledges to God’s work in the world through First United Methodist Church. This will also be a music-filled Sunday with music from the chorus of First UMC AND First Congregational Church. Come and sing, come and celebrate, come and practice the grace-filled life.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask optional practice.

The Challenge of Jesus
2022-10-23 11:00 - 12:00
The teachings of Jesus are central to the Christianity, yet how much do we know about Jesus in his own time? In “The Challenge of Jesus,” John Dominic Crossan pinpoints the history and circumstances that helped Jesus’ message of nonviolent resistance to evil have such a powerful impact against Imperial Rome. Moving beyond Jesus as an abstract figure of scripture, Crossan paints us a vivid portrait of Jesus the man. John Clark will lead this video-based class in the Parlor and on Zoom.
Click here to access the Zoom link and join the class online on Sundays after worship from October 23 through November 13, 2022.

Are We Really That Different?
2022-10-23 10:00 - 11:00
Join us this Sunday in worship as we hear from our local Wesley Foundation Director, Rev. Jeremy Simpson. Jeremy is not only the Wesley Foundation Campus Minister, but he is also an accomplished organist, pianist, choir director and all-around church musician. Also in worship this Sunday our 3rd graders will be gifted with new Bibles, and we’ll hear from Molly Williams sharing about our stewardship theme: Living Grace-Filled: The Joy of Stewardship.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask optional practice.

Disability Awareness Sunday
2022-10-16 10:00 - 11:00
As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. ~John 9:1-3
Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see,” your sin remains. ~John 9:39-41
This week we celebrate Disability Awareness Sunday. Through the story of Jesus and the ‘Man Born Blind’ found in John’s Gospel, we confront commonly held ideas about disability and challenge each other to look more deeply. In doing so, we celebrate the transformational power of Jesus’ message, hear his call to challenge harmful stereotypes, and recognize the gifts of our brothers and sisters with disabilities.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask optional practice.
Art: “Sight” © John Bramblitt | www.bramblitt.com | Facebook and Instagram @bramblitt

The Dream Celebration
2022-10-09 10:00 - 11:00
Join us for this special Second Sunday worship service where we will celebrate the culmination of the Dream. The Dream Team ministry of First United Methodist Church of Kalamazoo has partnered with area organizations to address equitable housing around Kalamazoo. Come and hear their story and celebration of what God has accomplished. Enjoy the Second Sunday Worship Band and a sermon focused on the Prophet Jeremiah.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask optional practice.

Sunday Morning Class: Grace and Gratitude
2022-10-02 11:00 - 12:00
This fall’s Stewardship campaign focuses on grace and gratitude and is based on John 1:16. This new class series is designed to look more closely at the role grace and gratitude play in the life of a Christian. Carol Hodges will lead the class, but there will be several other presenters including Jennifer Clark, Michel Pierce, John Boley and Jan Schoenherr. Each week, we will hear the hymn Amazing Grace sung by various individuals and groups. The class will be offered in person in the Parlor and also online on Zoom.
Led by Carol Hodges, this week’s session will focus on grace during times of difficulty. Rev. John Boley will speak about the grace he and his wife Diane experienced when their daughter Hannah had a double lung transplant.
Click here to access the Zoom link and join the class online on Sunday, October 2 after worship.

World Communion Sunday
2022-10-02 10:00 - 11:00
This Sunday in worship we are celebrating World Communion Sunday and we are beginning our new season of Stewardship titled Living Grace-Filled: The Joy of Stewardship. The Eucharist (God’s gift of grace), otherwise known as communion, is the central act of Christian worship. In this meal we receive the grace of the living God and we are sent to go and be God’s grace in the world. Communion is our central act of worship because in the celebration of this meal we practice Christian living by receiving and responding in gratitude. Our text for the morning is about the healing of several individuals, only one of whom took the time to give thanks to Jesus. That one experienced a more holistic healing than the rest. May this time of worship and receiving of the Eucharist generate within each of us a response of gratitude to God who calls us together.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask optional practice.

Church Council
2022-09-27 18:30 - 20:30
Church Council will meet in person in Wesley Hall to move forward with session 2 of our IDI(Intercultural Development Inventory) work facilitated by Lisa Batten and Cara Weiler. This session will be focused on goal setting regarding how to more effectively navigate cultural differences and commonalities. Bring your IDI development plan with you and something to write with.
The regular Church Council business portion of the evening will take place from 8-8:30 pm. We have some brief, but important information to receive and discern. Connect to the meeting via Zoom if you are unable to attend in person HERE. Questions? Contact churchcouncil@umc-kzo.org.

Sunday Morning Class: Grace and Gratitude
2022-09-25 11:00 - 12:00
This fall’s Stewardship campaign focuses on grace and gratitude and is based on John 1:16. This new class series is designed to look more closely at the role grace and gratitude play in the life of a Christian. Carol Hodges will lead the class, but there will be several other presenters including Jennifer Clark, Michel Pierce, John Boley and Jan Schoenherr. Each week, we will hear the hymn Amazing Grace sung by various individuals and groups. The class will be offered in person in the Parlor and also online on Zoom.
This week’s class will discuss how grace is present when we deal with difficult people. Counselor Jan Schoenherr will speak about her experience in this area.
Click here to access the Zoom link and join the class online on Sunday, October 16 after worship.

When We Are Living: JFON Celebration
2022-09-25 10:00 - 11:00
“Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.”
~Luke 16:26
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.
~Luke 1: 1 and 52-53
This week, the parable found in the Gospel of Luke is of a world turned upside down, or rather it is a tale of right living. Luke opens his Gospel with a song of Mary that proclaims that the poor will be filled with good things and the rich will be sent way, empty handed. In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man we hear Jesus speaking of the powerful being brought down and the lowly lifted up. It is a call for justice. It is a call for holy living. It is an invitation to build the kingdom of God. As we celebrate God’s love we will hear of the work and ministry of Justice for Our Neighbors. JFON of Kalamazoo is housed in our church as we partner with them to help provide pro bono legal services to immigrants living in Michigan communities. Let us hear the call to create expanse love guided by the Holy Spirit.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask optional practice.

Sunday School
2022-09-18 11:00 - 12:30
Sunday School for 4-year-olds through 5th grade takes place most Sundays after worship (during the school year) from 11:15am to 12:15pm in room 203 on the second floor of FUMC Kalamazoo. Lessons feature a curriculum called, “Celebrate Wonder” that engages children’s natural sense of curiosity to help them understand God’s love. It creates a safe environment for kids to ask big questions—helping children explore the Bible in ways that feed their imagination and encourage creativity. Parents are welcome to have coffee and fellowship in The Arches on the 2nd floor during Sunday school. Please contact jlibrizzi@umc-kzo.org with any questions.

Anakephalaiosasthai
2022-09-18 11:00 - 12:00
Anakephalaiosasthai is a really wonderful Greek word that our Sunday School class came across in our book, Manna and Mercy. It is found in the book of Ephesians and it means that God is gathering all things into God’s Self, uniting all, bringing all together, creating harmony. Anakephalaiosasthai meets every Sunday after worship (during the Sunday school calendar year) in the Youth Center downstairs at FUMC Kalamazoo. We’ll eat donuts, hang out and learn the Bible through the Manna and Mercy curriculum. Anakephalaiosasthai is open to 6th-12th graders. Please contact Pastor Matt Weiler with any questions at mweiler@umc-kzo.org.

Sunday Morning Class: Grace and Gratitude
2022-09-18 11:00 - 12:00
This fall’s Stewardship campaign focuses on grace and gratitude and is based on John 1:16. This new class series is designed to look more closely at the role grace and gratitude play in the life of a Christian. Carol Hodges will lead the class, but there will be several other presenters including Jennifer Clark, Michel Pierce, John Boley and Jan Schoenherr. Each week, we will hear the hymn Amazing Grace sung by various individuals and groups. The class will be offered in person in the Parlor and also online on Zoom.
This week’s class, led by Jennifer Clark, will focus on the way three poets view gratitude. Each week the class will start with a rendition of Amazing Grace. This week it will be sung by Jack Hopkins, a member of the Chancel Singers.
Click here to access the Zoom link and join the class online on Sunday, September 18 after worship. (Meeting ID: 814 7426 2215 Passcode: [REDACTED]

Rooted: Kalamazoo Service Project Sunday
2022-09-18 10:00 - 11:00
Join us this Sunday in worship as we hear the story and celebrate Kalamazoo Service Project! This year, 40 youth from FUMC Kalamazoo and Portage Chapel Hill joined together along with 20+ adults from our church to serve in mission all around Kalamazoo. In worship you will see a beautiful video capturing all of the projects and hear testimony from the young people who served. We will also hold a special offering that will go towards future Youth Mission projects.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask optional practice.

Godly Play and Nursery Care
2022-09-18 10:00 - 11:00
Godly Play is both a worship and educational experience, based on a multi-sensory telling of a Bible story, a time for “wondering” about how the story connects God with our own lives. We invite children 4 and older through 3rd grade to join Ms. Julia in room 200 on the second floor following the Children’s Time in worship for a Godly Play story each week. Nursery care is also offered on the 2nd floor of First United Methodist Church of Kalamazoo for infants through 3-year-olds with fully vaccinated staff. Please contact jlibrizzi@umc-kzo.org with any questions.

Youth Group
2022-09-11 18:00 - 19:30
Youth Group is a gathering just for young people in 6th through 12th grade. The group meets most Sunday evenings in the Youth Center downstairs at First United Methodist Church of Kalamazoo. For upcoming meeting information, please contact Pastor Matt at mweiler@umc-kzo.org.

Sunday Morning Class: Grace and Gratitude
2022-09-11 11:00 - 12:00
This fall’s Stewardship campaign focuses on grace and gratitude and is based on John 1:16. This new class series is designed to look more closely at the role grace and gratitude play in the life of a Christian. Carol Hodges will lead the class, but there will be several other presenters including Jennifer Clark, Michel Pierce, John Boley and Jan Schoenherr. Each week, we will hear the hymn Amazing Grace sung by various individuals and groups. The class will be offered in person in the Parlor and also online on Zoom.
Led by Carol Hodges, this week’s session will begin with a recording of country artist Josh Turner singing Amazing Grace. We will discuss the life story of John Newton, the writer of the song’s lyrics, as well as look at how the various images in the hymn relate to the concept of grace.
Click here to access the Zoom link and join the class online on Sunday, September 25 after worship.

Rejoice Sunday
2022-09-11 10:00 - 11:00
“Rejoice with me, for I found that which was lost.” Luke 15: 6a
Seeking, finding, and rejoicing! Jesus teaches through two parables in the Gospel lesson, this message of the ways of God and a rhythm of faith that is seeking, finding, and rejoicing. As we welcome this season of fall that finds us engaging more fully in ministries for all ages we do rejoice. God is ever seeking us and desiring to be in relationship that brings restoration, renewal and at-one-ment that brings joy. Come and join us for Rejoice Sunday!
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask optional practice.
Featured art: La drachme perdue (The Lost Drachma) by James Tissot. (1836 – 1902) Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray woven paper.

Why Can't We Get Along Without Hurting Others?
2022-09-04 10:00 - 11:00
In this third and final week of our series “Questions of Faith,” we look today to a very present and relevant question: How do we get along without hurting one another? In recent years, the experience of family division and church divisions over political and theological ideals has become all too painfully common. We’ll look to the Gospel of Mark and Jesus’s own life’s patterns for guidance to stop hurting one another when we disagree. However, where our instincts may compel us to retreat, or to push back, Jesus offers a third way of living into our faith convictions while maintaining a posture of embrace towards those with whom we disagree. We’ll also share in the celebration of the Eucharist, remembering the way in which Christ has embraced each one of us.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask required practice.

What is Heaven?
2022-08-28 10:00 - 11:00
Jesus was no stranger to questions. He was asked questions repeatedly in his ministry and he also asked many questions himself. “Do you love me?” “What are you looking for?” “Do you believe this?” These are just a few of the over 300 questions that Jesus asked in the Gospels. If Jesus had this many questions and used them to explore faith, it seems good and natural for us to wrestle with questions as well. Nicodemus asked Jesus, “How can these things be?” as he visits him in the dark wondering if Jesus has come from God. Jesus hears Nicodemus’ questions, leans into his doubts and Jesus, and provokes him to consider the mystery of God’s reign on earth and in heaven. As we lean into the question of the existence of heaven, we consider how this mystery has affected the ways in which we work for God’s reign on earth now. Heaven is somehow not just a future hope, but a current reality. As we worship, may our questions, our prayers and praise move us closer to God.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask required practice.

Church Council
2022-08-23 18:30 - 20:00
Members of the congregation are welcome and encouraged to attend the next Church Council meeting, which will take place online on Zoom on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 from 6:30 to 8pm. The Church Council membership is comprised of Church leaders from ministry teams and administrative committees, clergy, directors and other lay members holding leadership positions. Any member of the congregation may have a voice, but only Church Council members may vote on decision items. If you need the Zoom information to access the meeting, please let us know at churchcouncil@umc-kzo.org.

Why are We Christian?
2022-08-21 10:00 - 11:00
For this first in our brief series in “Questions of Faith” we will wrestle with the question of “Why are we Christian?” using two New Testament texts. The first, from Philippians is thought to be among the earliest of Christian Hymns, serving the dual purpose of singing, and as a statement of faith. It is the Apostle Paul’s effort to answer both the WHY and and HOW of being a follower of Jesus Christ. The second text is a parable spoken by Jesus when his authority was questioned by religious elites. It is a parable challenging traditional assumptions about WHO will enter the Kingdom of God. In this sermon I will ask another question: It is one thing to confess and to believe in Jesus, but do we believe in the things that Jesus believed in? How we answer this question may be the answer to WHY we are Christian.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask required practice.

The Justice of God: Peacemakers & Persecuted
2022-08-14 10:00 - 11:00
“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.” ~The Message
“Blessed are we when we treasure the wisdom of the earth, receiving survival strategies whispered underground by bristlecone pine and sequoia, returning the praise songs of nuthatch and titmouse, flocking together with the murmuration maps of bees and bats and butterflies, and pollinating possibilities for living in these beautiful ruins.” ~Enfleshed
On this Second Sunday, our worship will be a celebration that includes thankfulness for all that God has given in the wonder and beauty of creation. We celebrate God’s gracious work as Creator of the earth and all its amazing biological life. Second Sunday worship finds us seeking ways to be interactive so that the Spirit may move, restore, and engage us in expanded ways. As we acknowledge the persecution of the earth and the most vulnerable of the earth, we respond to the mandate that humans care for the creation. As we honor the gift of creation, let us look for ways to recommit ourselves to the proper care and stewardship of the earth and those who vulnerable in our midst. Our Change the World offering will be given to our Helping Our Neighbors ministry that weekly helps people to stay in their homes by helping with utility costs. Blessed are we when we experience, celebrate, and share God’s love.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask required practice.

EPS/Styrofoam Recycling Collection
2022-08-14 10:00 - 11:00
Since just five FUMC households filled the large bag pictured with EPS foam during our April recycling event, the Outreach team will offer collection of EPS (expanded polystyrene foam or, styrofoam) on the second Sunday of each month. Styrofoam collected will be delivered to Mayor’s Riverfront Park where it is picked up by recycling award winning company, Dart Manufacturers, out of Mason, Michigan. Dart grinds the EPS and distributes it to manufacturers of picture frames, interior molding, pens, rulers and other items.
We invite you to bring your foam items to church on Sunday, August 14 when a member of the Outreach team will be available at the collection box. Please note that only foam labeled 6, rinsed and wiped clean food containers, and items that break when bent are accepted. Thank you for joining us in another effort to make every day Earth Day!

The Justice of God: The Peacemakers
2022-08-07 10:00 - 11:00
In the Beatitudes, Jesus stands our world on its head. We believe in personal pride; Jesus blesses poverty of spirit. We seek pleasure; Jesus blesses those who mourn. We see the prosperity of aggressive people; Jesus blesses the meek. We love good food and drink; Jesus blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. As we continue to move through our summer series, we begin to explore the justice of God in the remaining Beatitudes. The first four beatitudes describe the heart of the person who is rightly related to God. The remaining beatitudes describes how such a person relates to other people. Jesus exemplifies the characteristics belonging to kingdom people. He is a peacemaker. On many occasions, he calls us to the work of making peace. As we worship this week, let us answer courageously and be agents of peace.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask required practice.

The Goodness of God: The Pure in Heart
2022-07-31 10:00 - 11:00
This Sunday our series in The Beatitudes continues with the Goodness of God as we consider Jesus’s blessings for the Pure in Heart. What does it mean to be pure in heart? In “The Cost of Discipleship,” Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that the pure in heart are “Only those who have surrendered their hearts completely to Jesus that Jesus may reign in them alone…their hearts are not ruled by their conscience, but by the will of Jesus.” While this seems to be a lofty ideal we can look to, Bonhoeffer himself whose desire to be ruled only by the will of Jesus led him to be a martyr during the Second World War for his role in the confessing movement, and as part of the resistance to Hitler. While the pure in heart may sound like comforting beatitude, it may mean costly discipleship. In our worship we will explore the depths of this blessing, the will of God, and the cost of a heart attuned fully to Jesus.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask required practice.

The Goodness of God: Righteousness & Mercy
2022-07-24 10:00 - 11:00
This Sunday our series in The Beatitudes moves us from the Compassion of God to the Goodness of God as we consider Jesus’s blessings for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and those who are merciful. To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to find oneself so captivated by the love of God they have an insatiable need to live into that love through personal devotion and outward action. The merciful are those who at their very core see the suffering of others and their hearts break with compassion until they cannot help but go and insert mercy into a merciless situation. They know the goodness of God and they want to be like Jesus. This Sunday in worship will explore the inward and outward movements of lives thirsting for righteousness, and mercy.
Join us in person or online for worship on Sundays at 10am. Before you join us for in person worship, please review our updated mask required practice.
