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Woodridge United Methodist
Church
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Join
us on Sunday for worship services
at
10:00 am.
Instructions
can be found at the end below.
All are
Welcome!
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“For the
Healing of the World”
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In the next few
days we will be sharing in the solemn act of receiving
ashes and being reminded that "we were created from
dust and to dust we shall return". This act of
marking and remembering is how we embark on this season
of Lent.
This Sunday is the International Celebration of Women
Inventors and Scientists. Can you name a couple? By
Sunday, you should be able to impart that knowledge to
the girls and young women around us!!
Before we arrive at the solemn season of Lent, we
have a few more instructions to hear from Jesus.
While our scripture lessons seem miles apart, they are
reminders of the egalitarian nature of the Christian
faith and how our practice of it should really be.
From the leaders of our world to the leaders if our
worship. Are we as inclusive and representative as
we profess? Maybe we should consider how we might
better participate in "THE HEALING OF THE
WORLD" because it starts with us
right here and right now! Join us in person on
Sunday at 10:00 a.m. as we find ways to participate. If
you aren't able to be with us, join us on our Woodridge UMC
YouTube Channel.
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Friday, February 10th
Sunday, February 11th
- 10:00 am Worship Service
- 11:20 am Adult Choir
- Noon
Communion (online)
- 4:00
pm Filipino Baptist
Monday, February 12th
- 7:00
pm Den 1
- 7:00
pm Dens 2/4
- 7:00
pm Square Thrus
Tuesday, February 13th
- 9:30
am Soccer Shots
- 8:00
pm Soccer Shots
Wednesday, February 14th
- Noon
Imposition of Ashes
- 7:00
pm Ash Wednesday Service
- 7:00
pm Den 3/6
Thursday, February 15th
Saturday, February 17th
Sunday, February 18th
- 10:00 am Worship Service
- 4:00
pm Filipino Baptist
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Church Office Hours
Monday - Tuesday: 9:00 am - noon
Wednesday
- Friday: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
We ask that you call
before visiting.
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Ministry Opportunities
Pastor Danita Will Be Away
Pastor Danita will be leaving on Tuesday, February
13th to go to Ghana, Africa. She will
be gone until
Sunday, February 25th. Rev. Debbie
Fisher will be conducting Ash Wednesday services at noon and
7, as well as preaching on Sunday, February 18 and February
25th. She will also be the pastor on call for pastoral
care emergencies. Please keep Pastor Danita in your
prayers as she and others travel to Africa.
Easter
Flower Ordering Here NOW
Easter is EARLY this year and some florists already have
low stock. Easter Flower order envelopes are in the narthex
NOW. All orders are due by NEXT SUNDAY, February 18th.
Please place your orders as soon as you can, so we do not
have to make any substitutions or miss out on some really
beautiful flowers. Get a order form here.
Second Saturday Diners
Happy New Year! Happy Chinese New Year! SSD will be ring in
the new year at Gong Ho, 1338 West 75th, Downers Grove, on Saturday, February
10 at 5PM. EVERYONE is welcome to join
us for an evening of fellowship and fun. RSVP were du by
February 8 to Gwenn at 630-624-3227 or gwennedman@gmail.com.
Lenten
Study Time is Coming
For this Lenten season, we will be looking at God's covenants
and the cross through a study entitled REMEMBER by Susan
Robb. All are invited and welcome to be a part of this
time of reflection and remembrance. The study will
begin on Wednesday,
February 28, 2024. We will meet from 6:00 p.m. until
7:30 p.m. in person and via ZOOM.
If you are interested in joining us, please contact the
church office so that we can order a book for you and forward
the ZOOM link. All are welcome!
Limited
Calling Posts
For more than a year now you have received a
weekly calling post on Sunday mornings to remind you to join
us in person or on YouTube for our worship services.
For some, it was a welcomed reminder of being a part of the
gathered community. For others, it was a nuisance that
either got deleted or ignored. Whatever the case, the
fourth Sunday in January was the last of the weekly calling
post calls that you will receive. You will receive them
on special occasions when there is something going on and/or
an emergency. Please feel free to let us know how you
feel about the change, but more importantly....when the call
comes, please answer!!
2023
Giving Statements Information
To help save on envelopes, paper, and postage costs, the
Finance Committee has approved mailing 2023 Giving Statements
to those who gave more than $100 in 2023 to WUMC. If you gave
more than $100 in 2023, you should receive your 2023 Giving
Statements by mid-February. If you gave $100 or less to WUMC
in 2023, you can still receive your Giving Statement by
e-mailing your request to Geoff Morman, Financial Secretary,
at finsec@woodridgeumc.org.
As always, we appreciate your generous contributions.
60th
Anniversary Celebration
Did you know that our church is turning 60 years old?
What were you doing when you turned 60? If you haven't
made it there yet, what are your plans for 60? We have
started a year long celebration of 60 years of ministry here
at Woodridge UMC. If you have ideas of events you would
like to see happen this year, or simply want to "be in
the room where it happens", let us know. No idea
is too ______ anything!! Look forward to
celebrating our 60 years together.
WUMC
Music Ensembles 2023-2024
Our Music Ministry offers you three ways to get involved: the
Handbell Choir, the Worship Band, and the Adult Choir. This
could be the year you take that “leap of faith” and join a
group! All ensembles are LOW commitment. We ask that you
please attend the rehearsals leading up to the service date.
It is that simple! For a full schedule see the e-News or the
handout in the narthex.
In order to plan music, please RSVP to Carrie by the dates
listed. See the full
schedule here.
Adult Choir (high school freshmen-seasoned adults). RSVP was
due by Jan. 28.
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Rehearsal
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Feb. 4
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11:30 AM-12:30 PM
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Music Room
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Rehearsal
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Feb. 11
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11:20 AM-12:30 PM
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Music Room
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Service
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Feb. 25
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10 AM
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Rehearse in the sanctuary at 8:45 AM
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There is no Choir practice next Sunday,
February 18th. Carrie is away.
Next up is Handbell Choir. Please RSVP by February 25th.
Youth
Ministry 2024
Happy 2024! We are going to have a few things happening this
semester and are totally open to other thoughts.
March
TBD - Feed My Starving Children
April
TBD - Forest Preserve Clean Up
May
TBD - End of Year Party (ice cream/mini
golf/something fun)
Let Karen know your thoughts.
Sunday
School
Activity Bags are available in the Narthex.
We use inspiring stories, creative crafts, and fun games—all
done with guidance of loving, dedicated teachers—to engage
our students.
Here’s our process: Children begin the worship
service in the sanctuary with their family. Following the
“Praying” segment, the children will be invited up to the
chancel steps for conversation with the pastors. (We call
that time “Conversing with Children.”) Following that, the
Sunday School teacher will meet the children in the Narthex
(the big room outside the sanctuary) and walk them to their
classroom. They will be in either the Trinity Room in the
main hallway or the Blue Room in the Preschool wing.
Toastmasters
Would you like to speak with more confidence in any setting?
Toastmasters can help! The Woodridge Toastmasters club meets
on the 2nd
and 4th Thursday of the month at Woodridge United Methodist
Church. Come visit us and see for yourself!
For more information contact John.
Northern
Illinois Conference
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Dec. 13, 2023
Dear Servants in ministry,
Greetings in this holy time of anticipation and promise.
At this time of year, we celebrate the coming of a child.
Christmas, Epiphany, the boy Jesus in the temple—all center
on a child.
Indeed, children should always
be in our hearts and minds. And now, people
who were abused as children need our Christian compassion
and generosity.
Repair the Harm to Children,
the Northern Illinois Conference campaign to address the
needs of people who suffered abuse in a Boy Scout troop as
children, needs our support.
Many churches, including United Methodists, have chartered
Boy Scouts of America troops or packs over the years. As
part of the settlement of a lawsuit brought by these
survivors, the United Methodist Church has agreed to
contribute $30 million to a survivors’ fund over a
three-year period. Northern Illinois Conference’s share is
$754,348.
Your church can be part of the
healing for these survivors by committing an amount equal
to 1 percent of its budget to this fund.
This amount is payable over three years. Your church will
still have 99 percent for local and church-wide ministries.
We don't invite people to pledge because they participated
in the harm. We invite you to give because you care about
the welfare of children and want to help those who were
hurt as children to experience healing.
The Repair the Harm to Children
campaign is not only about financial compensation for the
survivors. We also commit to listening to
survivors, if they request it, with compassion. We will
also redouble our efforts to keep our churches safe for
children and vulnerable adults.
Our conference has received, as of this date, donations and
pledges from 28 churches and several individuals. We have
received commitments for $136,770, 18 percent of our goal.
So far, pledging churches have contributed $54,036.69. We look ahead with confidence that we Northern
Illinois United Methodists will achieve our goal.
Steps Toward Participation
- Your church identifies the amount
of its pledge.
- Visit umcnic.org/RepairtheHarm
and complete the Pledge Form linked from that page.
- When your church is ready to
begin fulfilling its pledge, visit the Make a Payment
link on that page. Remember, your church can fulfill
its pledge over three years.
This site also contains many resources
to help interpret the importance of this commitment. People
in your church who have participated in Scouts as young
people or leaders and those who care deeply about
children’s wellbeing can serve as ambassadors for this
opportunity to help others.
Please remember that Boy
Scouts, Girl Scouts, and other youth organizations support
children’s faith formation and are worth hosting in our
churches. The BSA commits itself to
strengthened protections for participants. Adding your
church’s vigilant observations of Safe Sanctuaries
practices, Scout troops and packs can be a safe and
enriching experience.
Knowing about NIC churches’ and individuals’ generosity, I
look forward to our receiving your pledges and gifts.
It is good to be in ministry with you.
Peace
Dan Schwerin, Bishop
Northern Illinois Conference
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If you would like more information, you can
visit the FAQ page here.
Bishop's
Days on the District
Please join Bishop Dan Schwerin for a day of reflection and
conversation on your district in February. Prairie
Central - Tuesday, February 13th – Laity Event:
Lombard: First UMC at 6:30 pm.
No registration needed. Other dates are available if
you cannot make the one for your district. See the
flyer in the narthex.
Prairie
Central Informal Gatherings with the District Superintendent
Informational
gatherings will be held on the second Thursday of the
month.
Zoom Links (The links will stay the same for all meetings,
though clergy links and lay links will be different)
Clergy Gathering 9:00 am link.
Lay Gathering 7:00 pm link.
Lay persons: This is NOT for Lay Leaders only. It
is intended for all lay persons who want to know more about
what is going on and be connected.
Prairie
Central Lay Academy
2:00
- 5:00 pm
5
SUNDAYS: FEBRUARY 18 & 25, MARCH 3, 10 & 17
All
class times must be attended to receive course credit.
PLAINFIELD UMC, 15114 ILLINOIS ST., PLAINFIELD, IL
COST:
$40 INCLUDES ALL NEEDED MATERIALS
Online
registration here.
CLASS
OPTIONS: (ONE COURSE PER ACADEMY)
Basic Course: This course is foundational for all
courses in Lay Servant Ministries. Participants are
encouraged to discover personal spiritual gifts and to
consider the importance of servant leadership.
Instructor: Roger Curless
Called to Preach: This class is designed for those who
have not had any formal preaching training. It will help
those who are occasionally called upon to share the Word.
Instructor: Rev. Becky Nicol
Leading Bible Study/Experiential Bible Study: This
class will not only discuss the basics of biblical
interpretation, but also engage the participants in an
experiential bible study.
Instructor: Rev. Jeffry Bross
Ministry with the Forgotten: Dementia Through a Spiritual
Lens: This class is designed to help laity and clergy
deepen their understanding of persons living with dementia
and help them maintain their identity as beloved children of
God.
Instructor: Rev. Norval Brown
See flyer here.
QUESTIONS?
Mary Mecker (630) 709-3953, mary.mecker@gmail.com
Northern
Illinois Conference
Find out
about upcoming events in the Northern Illinois
Conference of the United Methodist Church by clicking
this link
Outreach
Opportunities
February Outreach Offering
The Black College Fund
One of the most significant ways The United
Methodist Church helps make quality education accessible to
all is through The Black College Fund. In 1972, The UMC
established The Black College Fund to provide a constant,
reliable approach to support United Methodist historically
Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) related to the
church. The fund supports eleven HBCUs—the largest number of
Black colleges and universities receiving funding from any
church body in the United States.
These eleven institutions, including one medical school, play
an essential role in shaping diverse young leaders for the
church and the world. UM-related HBCUs offer a chance to
everyone with a dream and a commitment to excel—regardless of
race, class, gender or ethnic heritage.
You can watch a video to learn more about the Black College
Fund here:
Black College Fund Celebrates its 50th
Anniversary (youtube.com).
Ways
to donate to the February Outreach Offering:
- Check or cash in an Outreach
Offering envelope placed in the offering plate in the
- Narthex (the room outside the
sanctuary) or in the gold-plated mail slot at the
church’s east door.
- Online via our website. Select
“Current Month Outreach” in the drop down menu.
- Text the amount you want to give to
630-449-7121 and select “Current Month Outreach” in the
drop down menu.
Ongoing
Opportunities
Suits for Success
Please be aware that after many years, Suits for Success has
closed its doors and is no longer accepting clothing
donations.
"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.
West Suburban Food Pantry
There is a shopping cart that is waiting
for donations. It sits in the narthex, usually near the
sanctuary doors. The food pantry serves many
households and always welcomes
donations!!! We are all one bad month, week, or day
away from needing emergency food services. The
pantry strives to provide their customers with
nutritious meals like we would our own families.
Used Eyeglasses
There is a
basket also in the narthex for collecting
used eyeglasses. Kendra Manderfield Moore makes
sure that they are recycled to the Lions Club and Gift
of Sight groups. (Prescription eyeglasses only).
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Wellness Guidelines
WUMC considers the good health and well-being of not
only our members, but also our community, an act of Christian
stewardship. We continue to seek to avoid harm and do good as we
attend to the practices that help us grow in the love of God. As
a result of guideline changes from the Illinois Department of
Public Health and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention,
we have updated our COVID Safety Guidelines:
- We recommend each group consult with each other
on how to do good and avoid harm as a group in consideration
of each other's needs and desires.
- We will continue to practice COVID-19 safety
best practices throughout our building including cleaning
protocols and air circulation.
If you are feeling sick, please stay home and join
us via livestream on YouTube. If community transmission spikes in
our area, we may return to mask requirements for all
activities. We follow the CDC guidelines.
Online Worship
Where to find the YouTube Live Stream
The worship service is live-streamed every Sunday at
10:00 a.m. on our Woodridge UMC YouTube Channel. All available worship service recordings are on
our channel too.
Sacrament of Communion 1st Sundays
We will be celebrating the
Sacrament of Communion in person on the first Sunday of each
month immediately following the livestream of our worship
service. We will need a few moments to set up our ZOOM link for
those who are not able to be with us in person. Please
remain seated following the postlude on the Sundays that we are
serving communion. Please remember that communion is
available every Sunday via ZOOM. Please contact the church
office or Pastor Danita for the ZOOM link.
Worship Attendance
If you watch the online service, please email the
church office at office@woodridgeumc.org and let us know that you joined us for
worship, so that we might record your attendance.
Prayer Requests for Worship
Our joys and concerns are
announced during worship service and printed and placed on the
table in the narthex as you come into the sanctuary. We
will continue to do this going forward. Therefore, all joys
and concerns must be emailed to Pastor Danita (PastorDanita@woodridgeumc.org) no
later than 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. If joys
and concerns are received after that, they will be sent on Monday
to the Prayer Ministry Team. Thank you for your flexibility
as we make updates to our worship services.
(There have been
requests that we include full names and/or more detailed
information for people on our list of Joys & Concerns.
Please remember our services are broadcast on YouTube and are
available to anyone who has internet access. Details are shared
with our Prayer Ministry Team on Monday mornings. You are
invited to join them in prayer and share in this information by
contacting the church office).
Offering
Options
There are different options for getting your
offering to the church.
- Go to the website & click on the Giving
tab at the top of the page or go straight there with this link.
- Text 630.449.7121 with the amount
- Drop off in the gold mail slot next to the east
door of the church.
- Mail your offering to the church.
February 9th, 2024, Volume 14, Edition 6
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