Upcoming Events @ CUMC

• 11/23 Community Food Bank Thanksgiving Turkey Drive 10:00 am to 2:00pm. Middle School Driveway off Main St.
• 11/24 Decorate Sanctuary for Advent/Xmas 11:15 am
• 11/26 Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township 7:30 pm
• 12/1 Advent Small Groups begin meeting
• 12/5 Suburban Music Study Club - Sanctuary 10:30 am
• 12/14 Blue Christmas Service 3:00 pm

Prayers Lifted on Sunday, November 10th

• For the family of Ron Whalin who passed away on Friday - keep Bert and family in your prayers - NC
• Of healing for for Kate's mom Terri, starting chemo in a few weeks - Rob
• Of Concern for my cousin whose husband passed away suddenly. Please pray for their family - Grace A
• Of concern for April who may lose her job.
• Of concern for Sue who is struggling with her health.
• For the children and families of Gaza and Ukraine as they suffer the ravages of war. Ron
• For Linda Y who faces heavy chemo in Iowa

Sunday, November 24th’s 10:00 a.m. service will feature The Wesley Ringers ringing Be Thou My Vision with Mike Maguire, keyboard and The Covenant Choir singing Thy Kingdom Come by Karen Marrolli. Join us!

The first Suburban Music Study Club to be hosted in Chatham UMC’s sanctuary will be Music For The Holidays on Thursday morning of December 5th at 10:30 AM The festive program will feature Anne Matlack, organ, Carolyn Enger, piano and Carol Walker, dulcimer. This free recital is open to all; refreshments will be served following the program!

Living Well is available as an e-book on Amazon, and in various digital and print formats at LivingCompass.org. All the formats are free or at a very low cost. Free print copies will also be available in the church office beginning Sunday November 24

For more information or to receive the Zoom invitation contact Pastor Sharon Yarger at the church office or at scyarger@optonline.net

You’re Invited!

Monday Evening Bible Study

Until the end of November Pastor Sharon will continue leading a weekly Bible Study on Mondays from 7:00 – 8:15 pm on Zoom. Each session can stand alone, so if you can attend one, some, or all, you’re welcome! Whether you’re brand-new to the Bible or know it inside and out, you’re welcome! The group is exploring and discussing the book of the prophet Isaiah.

To receive the Zoom information, or if you have any questions contact Associate Pastor Rev. Sharon Yarger at scyarger@optonline.net.

Hope to see you there!

Each day for the past two weeks, our church has hosted about 500 students, grades 3 to 5 from Lafayette School, for a project to teach kids about food insecurity in our community. Before arriving, each student decorated a lunch bag and placed non-perishable lunch items and a bottle of water into each bag. Next the students walked down Lafayette Ave, with police stopping traffic at cross walks, arriving at Chatham UMC for a tour. They were welcomed to CUMC at the front door by Food Distribution volunteers who graciously offered to run the project, thanked for their time and donation, and briefly learned a little bit about hunger and what food insecurity means. Students learned that this program is established and functioning at this church, but that all denominations and people in Chatham support this program financially through monetary donations, food donations and by sending volunteers, who give countless hours each week to run the program. Next, we walked down to the choir room past shelves of food, where we learned about some important food distribution words like ‘perishable,’ ‘nonperishable’ and ‘expiration dates!’ We went outside and tried to imagine the car line that each week wraps around our church and down Main St. with 50+ cars/families and some walkers. We had the students imagine the tables and the items that are offered to each family each week: personal products, bread, two dessert selections, extra items from the school lunches, produce and dairy. We mentioned the local establishments who so generously donate on a weekly basis: Fleur de Sel, Panera Bread, Gabe's bagels, Woodland Bakery, Trader Joes and Table of Hope in Morristown. We also mentioned various places like Sunnywoods, Mary Kay, Key Club, Scouts, sports teams and businesses who make generous donations at various times throughout the year. Finally, we walked down to the 24/7 food pantry shed and explained its function and how it is stocked and maintained. And we explained how at the end of the food line each week the families are met by a member of the clergy who offers a pastoral conversation and or prayer for those who wish, and offers help or resources before the families drive off. 

We ended each session by answering some really great questions from the students before they walked back to Lafayette.  

Sunday Morning Faith Formation

Whirl Kids (4^th grade and younger) meets the second and fourth Sundays of each month during part of the 10:00 am worship service. Children leave the worship service after the scripture reading and are led down the hallway to Classroom 6. Parents and other adults from our congregation lead the group in singing, Bible reading, a fun video and activities related to the day’s scripture reading. Parents/caregivers pick their children up at the conclusion of the worship service.

Middle School (grades 5-8) meets each Sunday at 11:15 am in the Library. Under the leadership of Matthew Beland, this group explores the day’s scripture reading through conversation and activities designed for growing together in our faith

High School (grades 9-12) meets each Sunday at 11:15 am in the Wesley Room. Under the leadership of Pastor Sharon Yarger, the group gathers for conversation around the day’s scripture reading and current event topics, as we seek to grow together in our faith

Questions? Interested in getting involved? Contact Pastor Sharon Yarger at scyarger@optonine.net or at the church office.

Chatham United Methodist Church

460 Main Street

Chatham, NJ 07928

(973) 635-7740

Email: info@chathamumc.org