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.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Pastor David’s Corner

Generosity and Giving It Away

Around 1949, the daughter of Malvina Reynolds wrote the song Magic Penny for a junior high school dance. A few years later, in 1955, Malvina herself—folk and blues singer-songwriter, best known for Little Boxes—released Magic Pennywith these memorable lyrics:

Love is something if you give it away,
Give it away, give it away.
Love is something if you give it away,
You end up having more.
It’s just like a magic penny,
Hold it tight and you won’t have any.
Lend it, spend it, and you’ll have so many,
They’ll roll all over the floor.

Now that the tune is stuck in your head, let me share something dear to my heart: GENEROSITY.

This year, First Church launched an initiative focused on year-round generosity. We formed the Generosity Team to explore giving opportunities beyond the annual stewardship campaign. This isn’t just about meeting a budget—it’s about cultivating a culture of giving that reflects our faith in action through voluntary service and financial generosity.

The mission of the Generosity Team is simple but profound:
To cultivate a culture that follows Christ’s example—not just to raise money.
Wait… what? The pastor isn’t asking for money?
Well—short answer: No.
Long answer: It’s not about what we give to the church, but how we give through the church to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ. That includes our time, talents, gifts, and very selves.

A culture of generosity includes:

• CULTIVATING the identity and vision of First Church
• The FORMATION of leadership
• Nurturing ENCOURAGEMENT for youth and families
• Forming PARTNERSHIPS for community engagement and outreach
• Seeking opportunities for LOCAL AND GLOBAL MISSIONS

How do we accomplish this?
By telling stories—real stories—of how lives are being transformed through generosity. We want to connect names and faces to the grace-filled giving that’s happening every day.

Some tangible outcomes we’re working toward:

• Tracking donor engagement and loyalty
• Reconnecting with past and potential givers using relational strategies
• Building meaningful relationships by asking about people’s values, purpose, and potential

So, what are you willing to give away?
I know—it sounds sacrificial. But here’s the deeper question of the heart:
“What are you willing to gain?”

Generosity is both fun and fulfilling. It’s how we live out the gift of God’s love.
I’ve shared before the experience of paying for the meal of a total stranger—a person commemorating the anniversary of their spouse’s passing. Imagine the surprise when the server said, “Your meal has been paid in full.” That moment wasn’t about money—it was about grace.

That’s why I love generosity.
It’s an invitation to lean into Jesus’ grace and give of ourselves—not out of obligation, but out of abundance.

Love is something if you give it away.

See you in church,
Pastor David

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 John Hryhorka. John is a long-time friend of John Harapiak. We invite you to stop, tie a knot, and pray for healing, grace and comfort.

DEATHS

Hedy Cunningham 3/26

Brenda North 4/ 6

Carol Robbins 4/25

PRAYERS FOR OUR SPECIAL CARE
Laura DeNinno, Yvonne Fischer, Owen Galardi, Barbara Harvey, Judy Humbert, Barbara K. Johnson, Vickie Johnson, Ronda Klein, Betty Luallin, Terry Lutz

PRAYERS FOR OUR CHURCHES

First UMC – Yuma

Fort Yuma UMC – Yuma

Gila Mountain UMC – Yuma

(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.)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Congregational Celebrations and Praises 

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

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES (Celebrating 50 or more years of marriage)

John and Vicki Beaver 5/2

Carolyn Cooper 5/13

William and Dana Devine 5/22

SENIOR MILESTONES (Celebrating 80+ birthdays)

John Ward 4/20

John Harapiak 4/24

Al Asendorf 4/25

Maxine Perkins 4/27

Nancy Maxwell 4/27

Bijan Mohraz 5/3

Frances Sawyers 5/10

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Religious Trauma Symposium

Our church is hosting a religious trauma symposium tonight (May 2nd) at 7:00pm! This event is open to all ages, people from the church and from the community and it promises to be a really special night. Sammi and Jessica have worked together to create an amazing panel of speakers including authors, doctors, and therapists who will speak on religious trauma and religious trauma healing. The event is free and would be an amazing outreach tool, so please invite anyone you know who would be interested.

A quick note to our regular church attendees: (At our church’s staff meeting this week I was asked by Pastor David to include instructions for interacting with guests at the event. I know everyone in our congregation is usually pretty good about just being genuinely authentic and welcoming without being pushy, but especially as this event is focused around people who may not have had good experiences at churches, please be as kind and friendly as you can if you see someone you don’t know, but please do not be pushing an agenda of having someone come back to our church unless they express interest. In this case, less is more and the best outreach is just connecting on a human level without them feeling any pressure from us vs on a Sunday where we can be a bit more proactive in trying to get people to come back. I know you’ll all be wonderful as always, though, so thank you in advance for the kindness you’ll show to our guests).

________________________________________________________________________

Potluck

Change For Change Update

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

First Church Foundation – Did You Know? (Part 2)

Ms. A: That was quite a meeting I just attended.

Mr. J: Was that the First Church Foundation meeting?

Ms. A: It was. We have seven scheduled meetings a year to

stay on top of managing the Foundation’s business.

Mr. J: Only seven times a year? That doesn’t seem like a lot.

Ms. A: Well, throughout the year various committees like the investment, budget, financial development and scholarship committees meet regularly to make sure we are meeting our goals and honoring those who made (and make) the Foundation possible.

Mr. J: How many people are involved?

Ms. A: There is a board of 24 church members plus the chairs of each of the church’s administrative committees and the senior pastor. It’s a large group and an important commitment.

Mr. J: I think I might like to be part of that some day.

Ms. A: We’d love to have you! It’s a great place to serve First Church. Just let any Foundation board member or the pastor know you’re interested.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Bringing Faith Home Updates From Jessica

Bible Sunday

📖 Bible Sunday is Coming Up!: On Sunday, May 4th, we’ll be celebrating Bible Sunday by presenting Bibles to all 2nd graders moving into 3rd grade and 3rd graders moving into 4th grade. Parents—keep an eye out for an email from Julie and/or myself with more details. We can’t wait to celebrate our amazing kids and this special milestone in their faith journey!

Bringing church Home:

🏠 Bring Church Home – Thank You! A big thank you to all the families who participated in Bring Church Home throughout April! If you joined in, we’d love to hear from you—please send any comments or feedback to Jessica via email at Jessica@firstchurch.church The next set of materials will be available on Sunday, May 4th for the month of May. We’ll be taking a break in June and July and will return with new content in August. Thanks for being part of this journey! 💛

First Church Kids Crafts

🎨 Coming Soon: First Church Kids Crafts! Starting in August, we’re launching First Church Kids Crafts—a fun new program for kids who aren’t in choir and for parents who’d like to attend Sunday School. It will run between services from 10:00–11:00 AM.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Youth Promotion, Graduation & Scholarship Celebration!

Join us on May 18th from 5:30–7:00 PM as we celebrate our amazing First Church Youth—including 8th grade promotions, high school graduates, and scholarship recipients!

This special event is open to all youth and their immediate families. Dinner will be provided, and we’d love for you to bring a sweet treat or a drink to share!

Please use the link below to RSVP with the number of people attending (including kids) and let us know which graduate(s) you’ll be celebrating.

We can’t wait to celebrate together! 🎉

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

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.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Giving Report

(Photo Description since it’s hard to read- Actual: $227414, Budget: $245140, Variance: $17726, Variance Percentage: 7.2%)

Here is our most recent giving report. Thank you to everyone for your continued support.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

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 May 4th hosted by Staff Parish. 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.

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 27. The book for May is The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa.

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.