First United Methodist Church of Evanston, IL

Christmas Eve Family Service
2023-12-24 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Sanctuary
Nursery care beginning at 3:45 pm.

Chancel Choir Rehearsal
2023-12-24 18:00 - 18:30 UTC | Sanctuary

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service with Choir, Handbells, Strings, & Organ
2023-12-24 19:00 - 20:00 UTC | Sanctuary

Music Rehearsal
2023-12-24 22:30 - 23:00 UTC | Sanctuary

Christmas Eve Candleight Service With Communion, Soloist, & Organ
2023-12-24 23:00 - 2023-12-25 00:00 UTC | Sanctuary

Adult Connection
2023-12-31 09:15 - 22:15 UTC | Glenna Hall
All adults welcome for coffee and conversation with First Church friends!

First Reads Book Group
2024-01-02 19:00 - 21:00 UTC
The January book is Herland by Charlotte Gilman Perkins.
This book group is open to all. Contact Janet Lutz for zoom information and book calendar.

Compline Night Prayer Service
2024-01-02 20:30 - 21:00 UTC
On Tuesdays beginning January 2nd, you are invited to a thirty minute Night Prayer Service to end your day in community and peace. These services from 8:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., available via Zoom, are patterned after the ancient monastic tradition of Compline (meaning completion)–the final prayer of the day. We will follow a simple liturgical format for this service of quietness and reflection before rest. Persons of all ages are encouraged to give this spiritual practice a try. The zoom format invites participation from anywhere! We are enriched when family & friends in many locations join in. The services, sponsored by the Faith Formation Council, will continue through Lent, concluding on March 19th. Participants may attend as schedules allow. Contact Tom Scott (tom.scott.goblue@msn.com) to sign up or with questions.

Wednesday Morning Bible Study
2024-01-03 10:00 - 11:30 UTC
On 1/3/2024 we will begin the 10 week study of Eve Isn’t Evil by Julie Faith Parker. It is available through Cokesbury.com or from Amazon.
Contact Janet Lutz to be added to email list.

Inquirers Class
2024-01-07 09:15 - 10:15 UTC | Glenna Hall
In the Inquirers Class participants will explore:

First Church, its people and ministries;
Methodist theology and the United Methodist denomination
Their individual faith journey: How did this journey start for me? Where am I now, and what questions am I wrestling with? What I do I need to nourish me as I continue on this journey?

The goal of Inquirers is to offer church visitors and friends an up close look at this faith community so that Inquirers participants can discern whether they want to take membership vows at First Church.
Since the church community is such an important piece of discerning whether one feels a sense of belonging in a church, the class includes interactive elements and opportunities to build community and serve together outside of Sunday mornings. Additional details are available here.
Interested in participating? Want to talk further about this opportunity? Please contact Mary Taylor-Johnson at mary@faithatfirst.com .

Walk For Warmth
2024-01-15 10:50 - 12:30 UTC | Sanctuary
Join the 5th Annual Interfaith Action Walk for Warmth!
https://interfaithactionofevanston.networkforgood.com/events/62092-5th-annual-walk-for-warmth
The family-friendly Walk for Warmth on January 15, 2024 is hosted in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day of Service. Join us in the fight against homelessness in our community. There is no charge to register for the walk, but advance registration is required. The 2-mile walk through central Evanston starts at 11 AM at First United Methodist Church.
10:50am – A short kickoff program in the sanctuary. Sanctuary doors (on Hinman) open at 10:30 am.
12:30pm – The Walk concludes at First United Methodist Church.
Note that you need not complete the full 2 mile walk. Feel free to walk as long as you can.
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” — Martin Luther King Jr. You can respond to Dr. King’s call to action by supporting the Walk for Warmth in the following ways:
1. Walk with us! Gather in the First Church sanctuary and then follow the Walk route together past eight of the faith communities that host Interfaith Action’s winter shelter in rotation. Free parking is available at the public garage on Church St. just east of Chicago Ave. For everyone’s safety, please leave your dog at home.
2. Make a monetary donation. All donations support Interfaith Action of Evanston and help provide safe and warm spaces for our unhoused neighbors to sleep during the cold weather season. You may donate online or by check to Interfaith Action of Evanston, PO Box 1414, Evanston, IL 60204. Write “Walk for Warmth” in the memo line on the check.
Let’s carry on Dr. King’s legacy and continue his fight for economic, social and racial justice, and make sure no one has to sleep outside in the cold!

First Steps to Faith
2024-01-21 09:30 - 10:00 UTC
Children ages 0-3 and their parents or caregivers gather one Sunday a month in the nursery for seasonal stories, songs, and activities for young families.

Chili Cook-Off
2024-01-21 11:30 - 12:30 UTC | Great Hall
Stick around after worship on Sunday, January 21, for the annual Chili Cookoff, our favorite winter favorite event! Join the fun as a taster and judge (no sign up needed for that), or you can enter your chili or cornbread for this friendly competition.

Friendly competition with winners chosen by popular vote.
Bring your own crockpot or heat your chili on the kitchen stove before the event.
Winners will be named in four categories: Best Chili (veg & meat), Best Cornbread, and Best Child/Youth Entry
Entry deadline: January 18
Additional details and entry form

Mom's Night Out
2024-01-25 18:30 - 20:30 UTC
Join other moms from church for a night of fellowship and fun. Our January host is Caroline Wagner with Meg Lanz co-hosting. Please RSVP with Caroline at carolinehwagner@gmail.com

Personal experience sharing on Palestine and Israel
2024-01-28 09:15 - 10:15 UTC
Miryam Rashid, Palestian-American and Lesley Williams, from Jewish Voices for Peace in Chicago, will share their experience of living and being in Palestine.

Music Ministry
2024-01-28 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | Sanctuary

Inquirers Morning of Service
2024-02-03 10:30 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | Dining Room
Our Inquirers Class will gather to learn about and experience Bundled Blessings diaper bank. Diaper packing in the morning will be followed by lunch in the dining room.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Pledge Covenant Group
2024-02-04 09:15 - 10:15 UTC | Room K
MLK Pledge Covenant Group
Meets Sundays, Feb. 4, 11, 18 & 25, at 9:15am in Room K.
Register Online now
Through this covenant group we will support one another as we explore the application of King’s Commandments for the Nonviolent Movement. Members of this covenant group will apply these commandments (see below) in their daily lives and engage in weekly group reflection. Each week we will take on 2 or 3; one week, for instance, participants may employ the following over the course of one week: (1) “Seek to perform regular service for others and for the world;” and (2) “Refrain from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart.” The focus of this group is on application, reflection, and mutual support.
This covenant group, facilitated by Jim Johnson, will be limited to12 participants. Registration will occur on a first-come, first-serve basis. The first two commandments in which the covenant group will engage are:
– Meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus.
– Remember always that the non-violent movement seeks justice and reconciliation, not victory.
King Pledge Commandments (summary)
I hereby pledge myself—my person and body—to the nonviolent movement. Therefore, I will keep the following 10 commandments:
1. Meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus.
2. Remember always that the non-violent movement seeks justice and reconciliation, not victory.
3. Walk and talk in the manner of love, for God is love.
4. Pray daily to be used by God in order that all men and women might be free.
5. Sacrifice personal wishes in order that all men and women might be free.
6. Observe with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy.
7. Seek to perform regular service for others and for the world.
8. Refrain from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart.
9. Strive to be in good spiritual body and health.
10. Follow the directions of the movement.

Earth Care Committee Monthly Meeting
2024-02-04 11:30 - 13:00 UTC | Glenna Hall

Progessive Christianity Reading Group
2024-02-08 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
First Church’s Progressive Christianity Reading Group will read/discuss William Sloane Coffin’s small collection of essays, “The Heart Is a Little to the Left”, written 25 years ago, still “a powerful antidote to the religious right with a clarion call to passive intellectuals and dispirited liberals to reenter the fray, based on an unabashedly Christian view of social justice.” Coffin served as chaplain of Yale University for 18 years, Senior Pastor of Riverside Church, NY., and President of SANE/FREEZE: Campaign for Global Security. Jailed as a civil rights “Freedom Rider”, indicted by the government in the Benjamin Spock conspiracy trial, he attained popular notoriety as Reverend Sloan in the Doonesbury comic strip.
We will cover the 81-page collection in two sessions, Feb. 8th and 15th during 1pm ZOOM meeting. Buy used on-line. New participants are welcome to join us. Contact Bonnie Beckonchrist for info at bbeckonchrist@gmail.com

Reconciling Sunday Celebration
2024-02-11
First United Methodist Church of Evanston, 516 Church St., will mark a decade as a Reconciling Congregation at worship Sunday, February 11th at 10:30 featuring Bishop Cedrick D. Bridgeforth, preacher. Bishop Bridgeforth is the first openly gay African American man and second out LGBTQ+ person to serve as Bishop in the United Methodist Church. Elected at the Western Jurisdictional Conference in 2022 he is assigned to serve the Greater Western Episcopal Area.
Bishop Bridgeforth served in the United States Air Force for four years before attending Stamford University ( B.A. in Religion 1997), Claremont School of Theology ( M.Div. 2000) and Pepperdine University ( Ed.D. 2006). He is author of Alabama Grandson: A Black, Gay Minister’s Passage Out of Hiding and several other books on Prayer and Leadership. Bishop Bridgeforth is married to Christopher Hucks – Ortiz.

Planning meeting of Chairs of Adult Education and Faith Formation Councils and Social Justice Committee
2024-02-11 11:30 - 13:00 UTC | Glenna Hall

Ash Wednesday Potluck and Lenten Workshop
2024-02-14 18:00 - 19:00 UTC | Dining Room
The 40 days of Lent are a time to extend ourselves inside and out in rhythm with the lengthening days and life of Christ. Embrace and observe this holy season as we bake pretzels, create prayer journals, and join together for good food and conversation before Ash Wednesday service at 7:00 p.m.
Bring a side or dessert to share and please register in advance.

Ash Wednesday Service
2024-02-14 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Tittle Chapel
View the livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/isOIGJ7n1HQ?si=5LJetzRr24un_sgV

Progessive Christianity Reading Group
2024-02-15 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
FUMC’S Progressive Christians Reading Group will read/discuss William Sloane Coffin’s small collection of essays, “The Heart Is a Little to the Left”, written 25 years ago, still “a powerful antidote to the religious right with a clarion call to passive intellectuals and dispirited liberals to reenter the fray, based on an unabashedly Christian view of social justice.” Coffin served as chaplain of Yale University for 18 years, Senior Pastor of Riverside Church, NY., and President of SANE/FREEZE: Campaign for Global Security. Jailed as a civil rights “Freedom Rider”, indicted by the government in the Benjamin Spock conspiracy trial, he attained popular notoriety as Reverend Sloan in the Doonesbury comic strip.
We will cover the 81-page collection in two sessions, Feb. 8th and 15th during 1pm ZOOM meeting. Buy used on-line. New participants are welcome to join us. Contact Bonnie Beckonchrist for info at bbeckonchrist@gmail.com

Church Office Closed
2024-02-16

Couples Salon Gathering
2024-02-17 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago)
Come join Couples Salon for an evening of good food and fellowship on Saturday, February 17, at the Baileys’ home in Evanston. This fun evening co-hosted by Karen and Dexter Bailey and Lisa Schilling and Brad Woodman will begin at 6:30 pm.
Please RSVP to Lisa at lschilling329@gmail.com to let her know you are coming, and whether you are bringing an appetizer, side dish or dessert to share.

First Steps to Faith
2024-02-18 09:30 - 10:00 UTC
Nursery age families, join us for a new year of First Steps to Faith from 9:30-10:00 a.m. in the Nursery. Featuring stories, songs, snacks and play, this a special time for parents and caregivers to connect and catch a glimpse of God’s work in our youngest disciples. Advance registration appreciated but not necessary. Register here: https://onrealm.org/faithatfirst/PublicRegistrations/Event?linkString=NTJkYTI5NGYtZWM5MC00ZGQ0LWE4YWItYjEwMTAxMDViNDIw

Church Conference
2024-02-18 11:30 - 13:00 UTC | Dining Room

Mom's Night Out
2024-02-21 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago)
Please Join us for warmth, friendship, and conversation!
Bring a friend! We welcome Moms of every age!
Sue Hagedorn (host) and Susan Prout (cohost) – 6:30-8:30 pm
RSVP to: shagedorn123@aol.com
You can bring something to share IF you want (no guilt!)
