News
February 8, 2025
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 QUILTS IN THE NARTHEX
A prayer quilt displayed in the Narthex is for Debbie McCoy Russell. Debbie is a sister of Jim McCoy. We invite you to stop, tie a knot, and pray for healing, grace and comfort.
DEATHS
Edward Hall 1/17
Bill Heuerman 1/21
PRAYERS FOR OUR SPECIAL CARE
Shirley Myer, Brenda North, Gerry Oliver, Jean Oliver, Mark Pettit, Mary Price, Bonnie Rhaume, Mary Lou Salyer, Darwin Schultz, Susan Secrest.
PRAYERS FOR OUR CHURCHES
Christ Community UMC – Avondale
Community Church of Buckeye – Buckeye
(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!)
WEDDINGS
Stephen Walden to Tiffany Fang 12/13
WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES (Celebrating 50 or more years of marriage)
Earl and Eleanor Warner 2/8
Buzz and Liv Stevens 2/19
SENIOR MILESTONES (Celebrating 80+ birthdays)
Denny Silk 2/9
Betsy Heuermann 2/9
Gerry Oliver 2/10
Kent Klein 2/11
Donna Moninger 2/15
Jan Dunipace 2/15
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Red Cross Presentation Event (Join in to earn free prizes!)
On Saturday February 8th at 10:00am, the Red Cross will be hosting a safety training presentation, providing overview information and training in various areas, including CPR, choking protocol, home safety, and fire prevention. This free event will take place in Asbury Hall and is open to anyone who would like to attend. Registration is not required, but is requested, just so the church will be able to get a general sense of how many people will be attending that day. If you are interested, please sign up using this link: https://sugeni.us/VMj7.
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Friendship Club Outing
The Friendship Club invites you to join us for a trip to see the show Little Women at Grand Canyon University. The cost of the event is $20, which covers admission to the show as well as lunch with our group at Subway. Please submit your payment and sandwich preference (turkey, ham, or beef) to Suzanne Haehl before February 27th if you would like to attend. If you would like to attend but need a ride, please coordinate that with Suzanne as well.
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Soup Dinner
Per usual, our Ash Wednesday service (March 5th) will be preceded by a 4:00pm soup dinner to raise money for the missions committee. Tickets are $10 dollars and will include soup, salad, cornbread, dessert, and a beverage of your choice. Tickets will be sold outside on the patio on Sundays and will also be available for purchase during the week through the church office. Please contact Mindy Smidt with any questions.
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Confirmation Camp
For any youth who have not yet been confirmed but would like to be, our church is offering funding for young people to attend Mingus Mountain’s confirmation camp from May 2-4. If you would like your child or a child you know to attend or would like to ask more about the funding, please contact Jessica Morris at jessica@firstchurch.church.
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Whole – Church Intergenerational Feed My Starving Children Trip February 15th
The deadline to register for our packing event at Feed My Starving Children was on February 4th, and we can no longer accept any new sign ups. Thank you to the 64 people who will be coming with us; it should be a very exciting day! For those attending, please remember we will be signing in at 2:15pm. As we will be standing, please wear comfortable shoes. Reach out to sammi@firstchurch.church if you have any questions.
(Please remember FMSC has fairly recently moved locations and are now in Tempe at 1100 West Grove Parkway).
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Tools of the Soul Retreat (Hosted by United Women of Faith)
On March 15th, starting at 8:30am, our church’s United Women in Faith groups will be hosting a retreat led by Mary Hollan focused around self – compassion and life balance. These important topics will be explored through music, crafting, meditation, and community. For those who are interested in signing up, registration is now open; please contact the church office to let them know you will be coming. The fee to attend is $40.
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Hearing Survey
The trustees are considering an upgrade to the Church’s assistive listening system for worship services. In order to make the best choice we need your feedback. Please answer the short survey below and drop it into the collection plate or box as you exit on Sunday. Thank you in advance for your feedback.
1) Do you have difficulties hearing the spoken word during our services? Yes or no
2) Do you currently use any of the devices (Headphones or earbuds) supplied by the church to help you hear? Yes or no
3) Would you use those devices or others like a neck loop if we purchased upgraded equipment? Yes or no
4) Do you currently use your own hearing assistance devices like hearing aids in church? Yes or no
5) If you answered yes to#4 above would you use a system that interfaces with your phone and existing hearing aids or air buds? Yes or no
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A Note From Girl Scout Troup #3462
“Senior Girl Scouts from Troop #3462 have been selling cookies and getting donations since early January. While they are still working on their goal (3,000 boxes) they have managed to get 52 boxes donated for the church’s food pantry. Shelby, Imani, Sunny, Liberty, Aria, Zoelle and Guin also spent an evening assembling hygiene kits with basic supplies for the church to give away on Fridays with food bags. Hopefully those food bags contain some Girl Scout cookies. – Stevi”
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Congratulations, Chris!
One of our young people at the church, Christ Boadu, acquired the opportunity to learn about the construction and building development industry through a connection made with another member of the congregation. Here he is with the Arizona Director of Architecture on site of a project called Harmony at the Park.
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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 March 2nd. 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.
Young Adult Small Group
This is a small group for anyone in our church 18-40 looking to dive deeper into their faith and connect with other younger people. We meet every Sunday afternoon in room 102 at 3:00pm for a time of community, Bible study, and prayer (and if anyone away at college would like to join in, contact Sammi Burkhart for a Zoom link to participate virtually). Come join us in the book of Romans.
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 $40. Email the church office for more information: info@firstchurch.church.
Afternoon Book Group
The Afternoon Book Group meets on the fourth Tuesday of most months at 1:30 p.m. in room 116. We welcome all who love to read and discuss and travel the world through books.
Join the Mission’s Committee
The Missions Committee invites you to join them, supporting and organizing mission projects to serve our community and be transformed in service to God. They meet at 6:30 p.m. on the 2nd Tuesday of the month via Zoom. If interested, please contact Tami Smith.
Business Directory (Attention Business Owners!)
Our church has a business directory for all church members to receive a complimentary listing if they are self-employed, an independent contractor, or a business owner. This will be a classified ad-style listing with one sentence about what you do, including your contact information. This will enable our members to support one another when looking for a business professional. Please email info@firstchurch.church with your information if you would like to be included.
Visit our website https://FirstChurch.church and click on the “Give” button at the top of the home page, or scan the QR code at the bottom of this message with your mobile device for a quick and easy link to the giving page. You can set up a recurring frequency or give when you want to by making a one-time gift using your checking or savings bank account.
You may also give electronically using your bank’s bill pay service.
Another way to give electronically is Text-to-Give with your debit or credit card.
- Enter (888) 303-7535 in your cell phone text messaging program and a dollar amount without including a “$” sign as the message (example: type 20 to give twenty dollars).
- You will receive a reply with a link to enter your contact and debit or credit card information.
- After you complete the registration, you will receive a verification text as well as a receipt by email.
- 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.
