Weekly E-News from First UMC
Our primary calling as church in this time is to keep our congregation safe and
connected to God, to one another and to the people & communities we serve. There is
great love to be made known in this time – for friend and neighbor alike.
ONLINE WORSHIP CONTINUES WITH PRERECORDED SERVICES ON FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE, AND THIS WEBSITE HOME PAGE.
CHURCH HAS LEFT THE BUILDING
• United Methodist Women have been busy making cloth masks for any in need.
• Prayer Shawl Ministries has made prayer squares to be distributed to ER staff, support staff and first responders.
• Outreach/Meals Ministry sponsored a delicious chicken dinner on April 20 for the Advocate Lutheran General Hospital Emergency Dept and Peds ED Staff.
• Over 50 handmade cards of caring support were sent to Avenues to Independence friends.
The body of Christ that is the church is alive, out in the world and in faithful ministry in this troubling time. If you would like more information on how to get involved with these ministries listed above, please be in contact with our church office or Pastor David Aslesen. pastordavid@parkridgeumc.org
VIEWING ONLINE WORSHIP
Online worship can be viewed several ways. FACEBOOK: 1) LIKE the church’s Facebook page, 2) scroll to EVENTS, 3) click the SERVICE as “Going” (a reminder will be added to your personal feed), 4) view as a pre-scheduled “PREMIERE” on Sunday morning at 9:30 am. On Sunday morning, once on the church’s Facebook page you may need to scroll to the LiveFeed. If you miss the PREMIERE, the service is available for later viewing, too, on the church’s Facebook Videos. If you don’t have Facebook, you can view a YouTube video of the current service embedded on the home page of this website.
We also upload the weekly service on YouTube directly for posting at 8:00 AM on Sundays on our YouTube channel. There you will also find services archived from previous Sundays.
PRAYERS FROM THE PARSONAGE WITH PASTOR DAVID
Every Tuesday evening at 7:30 pm our pastor, the Rev. David Aslesen, is LIVE on the church’s Facebook (First UMC of Park Ridge) offering a 15-30 minute time of evening prayer. Log on and let us be a people of prayer together.
OUTREACH AND WITNESS AND ADVOCACY
Purchase food and gift cards for our neighbors in need. Mail or drop them off to the church and we will make them available to the City of Park Ridge Police Department’s social worker for distribution.
New Hope Community Food Pantry welcomes our food and toiletries donations. Please drop off your donations to the church; use the coolers outside of the Grant Place entrance. Monetary donations can be sent directly to the pantry at www.newhopefoodpantry.com/donate.
CHILDREN’S AND YOUTH MINISTRIES ONLINE
CELEBRATE WONDER is the new children’s curriculum set for debut in September.
Sunday school children and families continue to be resourced by Maureen Koziol. Check out Sunday morning children’s messages via the church’s Facebook page posted early Sunday morning. They are great! Message her at children@parkridgeumc.org.
FAITH IN AN ANXIOUS WORLD is the new youth curriculum set to start in September.
Brooke DeJong continues to provide online social activities on Sunday evenings and care to our youth throughout the week. Middle & High school aged youth are invited to be in the Sunday evening Zoom group with Brooke; send a text or email her if you are not already in the group. youth@parkridgeumc.org
NURTURE AND CONGREGATIONAL CARE
Our church’s Good Samaritan Fund is ready to assist any church members who are experiencing personal or household emergencies due to unemployment or health or other conditions. Please be in contact with Pastor David if you are in need. Donations to the Good Samaritan Fund are always appreciated.
Several members are now serving as volunteers to run errands, grocery shop, pick up prescriptions for those who are isolating themselves due to age, mental or physical health concerns or mobility. If you are in need of assistance, please call me at 708.441.5179 and I will link you to our coordinators: Janelle Wendling and Jim Lane. No need is too small. Let us help you.
KEEPING IN TOUCH
In this time as a church community, while we cannot physically be together, we can continue to keep in touch with friends at FUMC. On Wednesday, April 15, our “Keeping in Touch” Directory Project was emailed out to active members. How are you doing with your part of the project? Be in touch with Nurture Ministries chairperson Janelle Wendling at jswendling@msn.com for additional information or assistance.