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

A new pope was elected this week, American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost to become Pope Leo XIV. Cardinal Prevost has been known for advocating that all Christians are missionaries before world called to care and love all people. A heart for social justice, the least, the last, and the lost are before us around the world and hold a special place in the arms of God. We are too called to do the same. An integral mission of the Pope is to be a voice of goodness, reconciliation, and peace with an interaction of many world leaders. As United Methodists, we share common values with the Catholic tradition such as fairness and kindness. Although not without flaw, each tradition seeks forgiveness from God and neighbor and with repentant hearts. In the days and years ahead, we’ll learn much more about Pope Leo XIV and the leadership he brings to the world stage. Praying for the universal church world-wide.

See you in church!

Pastor David

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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 Peggy Hansen. Peggy is a neighbor of a friend of Susan Sneathen. 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
Ray McFarland, Shirley Myer, Gerry Oliver, Jean Oliver, Mark Pettit, Mary Price, Bonnie Rheaume, Mary Lou Salyer, Susan Secrest, Buzz and Liv Stevans

 

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.)

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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)

John and Vicki Beaver 5/2

Carolyn Cooper 5/13

William and Dana Devine 5/22

 

SENIOR MILESTONES (Celebrating 80+ birthdays)

Nancy Maxwell 4/27

Bijan Mohraz 5/3

Frances Sawyers 5/10

Merle Wessel 5/12

Jack Sneathen 5/16

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Missions Trip Prayer Calendar Available

This month please grab a prayer calendar from the Narthex or the church office to join our church in praying over our June missions trip group. Our group will be heading to the Navajo Native American reservation in New Mexico to meet felt needs of the people there. The organization leading the trip is called Adventures in Missions. Adventures in Missions has been in operation over 30 years helping to connect groups with mission opportunities and help missions trip participants grow in their faith while serving.

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Youth Event: Gross and Messy Night

Our youth are invited to a super fun end of the school year event called Gross and Messy Night! As the title of the name suggests, all the games will be either gross, messy, or both! This is a just – for – fun event to run around, have some laughs, get messy, and blow off some finals – season steam. Please wear or bring clothes and shoes you are okay to get a little dirty (and a towel to sit on while driving home from the event isn’t a bad idea either to avoid messing up any car interiors.) This event is on May 15th at 5:30pm.

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Mostly – Music Sunday

Join us for a day of musical celebrations!
9 AM – Follow U: a light-hearted musical presented by the FirstKids Choir and First Youth Singers.
11 AM – Best of the Year: a musical exploration of the church calendar, featuring Chancel Choir and Rejoicing Handbells.

Change For Change Update

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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.

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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.

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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! 🎉

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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

(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.

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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 June 1. We look forward to seeing you!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.