Worship Online with Us

If you are unable to attend our Sunday morning worship services in-person, please join us online. We stream both services Sunday mornings live at 9 and 11 a.m. and both are available to watch later if you can’t watch live. We also have many previous services available to watch if you missed one. Please don’t forget to let us know you are watching with the “I’m Here” button at the top of the page.

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Pastor David’s Corner

Congregational Prayer Requests

(Please join us in lifting up the following items in prayer!)

PRAYER QUILT IN THE NARTHEX
A prayer quilt displayed in the narthex this morning is for Tom Rice. Tom is a long-time member of FUMC and the husband of Cathy Rice. We invite you to stop, tie a knot, and pray for healing, grace and comfort.

DEATHS

First Church is saddened to announce the death of Nancy Beck. The service is Friday, August 22 at 10 a.m. here at the church.

PRAYERS FOR OUR SPECIAL CARE
Brenda and Jim Unsworth, Elizabeth Vick, Bob Young, Selena Alderman, Carolyn Allen, Bill Carpenter, Ruth Clark, Mary Anne Cooper, Laura DeNinno.

PRAYERS FOR OUR CHURCHES

New Song UMC – Surprise

Prescott UMC – Prescott

Prescott Valley UMC – Prescott Valley

(Got a prayer request? Need someone to pray with? Need support? Our congregational care team is here for you! Please contact the church office to have them forward your request to the congregational care team, fill out the form on our website https://firstchurch.church/prayer-requests/, or reach out to the congregational care team directly by emailing deby@firstchurch.church.)

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Congregational Celebrations and Praises 

(Please join us in praising God for these celebrations!)

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES (Celebrating 50 or more years of marriage)

Steve and Suzanne Haehl 7/28

Dennis and Barbara Rogers 7/31

H. Barry and Lucy Holt 8/16

Bijan and Judy Mohraz 8/16

SENIOR MILESTONES (Celebrating 80+ birthdays)

Janet Kendall 8/5

Jerry Collins 8/9

John Holmes 8/10

Shirley Dawson 8/10

June Becker 8/13

Don Randall 8/13

Jim Cox 8/15

Jerry Eddy 8/17

Betty Luallin 8/17

Dora Angle 8/19

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Ron Rhode Retirement

Dear Members and Friends of First Church,

Ron Rhode is retiring from Music Ministry!

After decades of service to the local church, Ron Rhode has decided to hang up the keys and enjoy civilian life.  Ron has served several churches in the Phoenix area since he moved here in 1973, including First United Methodist Church of Gilbert, Church of the Beatitudes (and the Beatitudes Campus), and finally First United Methodist Church of Phoenix.

Ron is most well-known as a theatre organist. Having given concerts internationally, Ron has played virtually every major theatre organ in the world.  He was the Associate Organist at Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa for over 25 years, and many have heard him accompany the “Silent Sundays” film series at the Orpheum Theatre.

Ron’s final service will be Sunday, August 31^st.  There will be a casual reception after the 11 AM service, during which we can express our love and appreciation to him, and honor his service with gifts as you choose.

For the past 10 years, First Church has been blessed beyond measure by Ron’s musical talents.  We are honored to be his final post.  We will miss him dearly.

With much love and gratitude,

Joshua Ian Elder, Minister of Music

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First Church Cherubs Choir Update

First Church is thrilled to announce that Morgan Pinkerton will be our new Weekday School Cherub Choir director!

Morgan grew up at First Church, where she participated in the FirstKids Choir, First Youth Singers, and Praise Choir.  She is currently a junior at ASU studying music composition.  Morgan is very excited to begin her work with the Cherub Choir and continue her involvement in the music department here at First Church.

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First Kids Choir

First Youth Singers

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Dress Making Group Update from Peggy Ward

“The Dressmakers recently delivered 14 dresses to be placed in Operation Christmas Boxes and 15 dresses to The Willcox Community Pantry.  We sew every 4th Wednesday of the month from 10:00am to noon in the Epworth Room.  We welcome new members. Call Peggy Ward at (623) 533 – 7381 if you have any questions.” – Peggy Ward

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New Member Class – August 24th

Are you interested in becoming an official member of First Church? Join us for our next new member class on August 24th! Rev. David Rennick welcomes prospective members, answers any questions you may have, and shares expectations of membership. If you plan to attend, please call Cathy Fuentes at 602-263-5013 x100 or email cathy@firstchurch.church, so that we can prepare your new member packet.

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Desert Southwest Conference Mission Project Update

You may recall that the Desert Southwest Conference set a mission’s project goal of raising $30,000 dollars in order to help combat hunger in the Las Vegas area, admitting it felt like a lofty goal. But they are pleased to announce that $32,596 have been raised and donated to seven different food pantries in the area to help tackle the issue of hunger head on. Thank you to anyone from our church who helped support their project.

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New Christmas Decorations Donation Link

As many of you heard on Sunday, our church is raising money for new Christmas decorations for the sanctuary. If you are interested in donating, you can do so using this donation link https://secure.myvanco.com/L-Z2EJ/campaign/C-15ZY4 or however you’d typically donate to the church. (Just make sure you indicate the donation is for the Christmas decorations if using other means). Thank you for your generosity in supporting this project, and we can’t wait to see what the sanctuary looks like with the beautiful new decor.

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UMOM Drive Update

We appreciate everyone who supported our sock, underwear, and diaper drive for UMOM. Thanks to your generosity we were able to collect 1895 diapers, 39 packs of socks, and 55 packs of kids’ underwear. 

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 Youth Bowling Night

Hey, Jr. & Sr. High students — and parents too!

Back to school is almost here, so let’s kick off our first youth group meeting of the year with a night of fun, fellowship, and bowling on Sunday, August 17!

📍 Meet at the church at 5:30 PM

🎳 Bowling from 6:00PM – 8:00 PM

🚗 Parent pick-up at the church at 8:30 PM

Cost: $20 per student — bring it with you or get it to Jessica beforehand.

Friends are absolutely welcome, so invite someone new to come along!

👉 Please sign up using the SignUpGenius link below so we can plan transportation and reserve lanes:

🔗 https://www.signupgenius.com/go/YouthBowling2025

Let’s roll into the new school year together! 🎉

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Blood Drive

Our church will be hosting another blood drive on August 17th from 8:00am-noon. It is recommended to make an appointment if there’s a specific timeslot you’d like. (Please visit vitalant.org and use Blood Drive Code “firstunited”). All who donate blood will automatically be entered for a chance to win a 2025 Volkswagon Taos S. If you have any questions, please call (602)284-1258.

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First Church Business Directory Updates

Business Directory July 2025

Here is an updated first church business directory.

Food Pantry Updates

The shelves of our food assistance pantry are in need of the following items: cases of bottled water, Vienna sausage, packaged or canned tuna, canned soup, small jars of jelly and peanut butter (plastic jars please), fruit cups, apple sauce, granola bars, hard or chewable candy. For all canned goods, please provide only pop top cans. If you are able to help with any of these items, please drop them off to the church office.

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Giving Report

Here is an updated giving report from Carrick Sears. Thank you to everyone for your continued support.

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Sunday Social Hour

Please join us for our First Sunday Social Hour Gathering every first Sunday of the month between services at 10 a.m. in Wesley Lounge. The next one will be September 7. We look forward to seeing you!

Axios Unaltered (LGBTQ+ Small Group)

Axios Unaltered is our resident queer small group that meets every week here at the church for a time of discussion, Bible study, and prayer, as well as service projects to support the community. If you are LGBTQ+, please join us on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. to connect with other like-minded individuals and grow in your faith. Contact Sammi Burkhart, visit axiosunaltered.com, or search @axiosunaltered on social media for more information.

Community Yoga Classes

First Church offers two weekly yoga classes to our community. Classes meet Tuesdays, 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., and Thursdays, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. The cost is $12 per class or four classes for $40. Email the church office for more information: info@firstchurch.church.

Afternoon Book Group

The Afternoon Book Group meets on the fourth Tuesday of most months at 1:30 p.m. in room 116. We welcome all who love to read and discuss and travel the world through books.

The next meeting is scheduled for August 26th. The book for August is Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.

Visit our website https://FirstChurch.church and click on the “Give” button at the top of the home page, or scan the QR code at the bottom of this message with your mobile device for a quick and easy link to the giving page. You can set up a recurring frequency or give when you want to by making a one-time gift using your checking or savings bank account.

You may also give electronically using your bank’s bill pay service.

Another way to give electronically is Text-to-Give with your debit or credit card.

1. Enter (888) 303-7535 in your cell phone text messaging program and a dollar amount without including a “$” sign as the message (example: type 20 to give twenty dollars).
2. You will receive a reply with a link to enter your contact and debit or credit card information.
3. After you complete the registration, you will receive a verification text as well as a receipt by email.
4. For future giving, simply send a text message with the amount you wish to give. That’s it!

Check Your Spam and Junk

Sometimes email from our Church’s domain, “.church” isn’t recognized by all email providers. Please check your spam and junk mail folders periodically to see if something from First Church or other senders to your address might be filtered out of your inbox.