We illuminate our community with God’s grace as we lovingly accept, listen to, and serve all in the Spirit of Jesus.

SUNDAY SERVICES TAKE PLACE IN-PERSON & ONLINE AT 9:00 AM

Worship Service airs live on our Website , YouTube  and  Facebook at 9 am.

Go to the Worship Page on our Website to find more information about future services.

OCTOBER 1, 2023

God Said It, I Believe It, That Settles It - Deuteronomy 23: 12-14. Matthew 5:17-20

We do believe that the Bible is inspired by God, but does this phrase just call us to check our brains at the doors? What about the passages in the Bible we don't follow? How exactly do we interpret scriptures to teach, guide, shape and encourage us? Join Pastor Rob Hamilton as we explore this phrase for our lives today.  

The deadline for submissions for the week's Bulletin Announcements and/or Messenger is every Wednesday at Noon. Please click here for the COMMUNICATIONS submission form -- all requests for communicating an event should be made here, including getting items on the calendar and reserving rooms for your event. This form can also be found on the sign-ups page on our website. If you cannot use the submission form please send them to communications@genevaumc.org. Information sent to this email goes to Carolyn, Lorie and Kimberley. 

Every six months this wonderful, generous faith community embarks on a week long adventure that we fondly call the RUMMAGE AND BAKE SALE.

Here’s how/when you can help:

Rummage Set Up: Monday, October 23 – 6:00 pm

• Lots of muscles are needed for this, as we get Fellowship Hall ready

Donation Drop off: Tuesday, Oct 24 & Wednesday,  Oct. 25 - 9 am- 7 pm 

• When you come to drop off your items, it would be greatly appreciated if you could stay for a bit to help unpack, sort and put items on tables. Childcare will be available on request for parents willing to help out.)

Bake Sale: drop off baked goods in the church library on Thursday, Oct 26 by Noon

Sales Days: Thursday, Oct 26 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm, Friday, Oct 27 9 am –5 pm, Saturday, Oct 28 9 am - Noon

  All hands on deck as we welcome shoppers.

Clean up: Saturday Oct 28 from 12:30 – 2:30 pm   Lots of fun to pack it up and ship it off. A job well done!

***Rummage Pick Ups – Have a bigger item to donate, but it won’t fit in your vehicle? Call Lorne Tweed at (908) 723-2617. 

Rummage Questions?

Bobbi Alderfer, (630) 272-9445

Jenean Larsen, (847) 707-6598

Nancy Tweed, (973) 216-3363

Wendy McKeehan, (630) 310-9861

Bake Sale Questions?

Joan Hansen, (630) 251-4628

All teenagers from sixth through twelfth grades are invited to a bonfire at the Pepper Valley fire circle (2105 Pepper Valley Dr, Geneva) on the evening of Sunday, October 1 from 6-8pm.

This will be an informal time for the teens in our church to get to know one another and the Director of NextGen Ministries, Greg Coates. S’mores will be provided. Bring your lawn games to share and lawn chairs.

On Sunday, October 15, Dr Greg Coates will begin a 5-week study: Christianity and Political Engagement in our Adult Sunday School Class. The aim will be to improve our understanding of the nature of church and society, the ethical obligation of Christians to engage in the political process, and the history of how Christians have thought about these questions through the centuries

NEW STUDY BEGINNING OCTOBER 15: 

 CHRISTIANITY AND POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT

LED BY DR. GREG COATES

 10:30 IN THE PARLOR

If you are interested in helping to plan the 2023 Women's Advent Services, please log on to a Zoom call on Sunday, October 1st at 1:30pm.

Pastor Becky Nicol has graciously volunteered to help lead the advent services, which will be on Monday, December 4th at 9:30am and 7:30pm. 

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 990 114 4828

Passcode: 211

 Contact Jenean Larsen if you can not attend or want more information

Office Volunteers Needed



Do you have office or computer skills and are interested in helping out at church? Consider volunteering in the office! Hours are typically either 8:30am-12:30pm or 12:30pm-4:30pm, but we are pretty flexible. Even if you can't commit long-term, but are interested in helping we would love your help. (We have a few regular volunteers that need to take some extended time off.) If you have computer skills, that is a bonus, but willingness is so appreciated.

 If you are interested contact Carolyn Burnham at carolyn@genevaumc.org 

Click here for the Zoom link for Barbie discussion

Meeting ID: 812 5070 4494

Passcode: 020488

One of the many outstanding programs that our church supports is The Neighbor Project, based in Aurora. The Neighbor Project is dedicated to helping working-class families save and work their way out of poverty in a responsible and dignified manner. In close collaboration with their partner organizations, qualified families are selected and subsequently given the opportunity to live in one of their apartments for 18 months. Families pay market rate rent just as they would anywhere else, but by leveraging a variety of created and existing resources, an entire year’s rent is channeled into each family’s savings account. This provides a down payment on their first home in Aurora, eliminating the primary and often sole barrier to homeownership-the ability to save a down payment.

What motivates the agency? Neighbor Project research indicates that “when families use their savings to purchase homes in Aurora they become a central and driving force to bring stability to their own community. Increased rates of homeownership benefit individual families by allowing families to build equity, improving graduation rates, increasing access to higher education, and reducing mobility, allowing children to stay in the same neighborhoods and schools four times longer than renters.”



Our church has long supported The Neighbor Project both financially and through the provision of maintenance partners. Maintenance partners work alongside the family with whom they’ve been matched, sharing skills they’ve acquired through their own experience with purchasing/owning a home. Maintenance Partners help their families learn about and practice the necessary home up-keep and maintenance tasks required for owning a home.

REPRESENT UMCG AT THEIR FUNDRAISER!

On October 21st, The Neighbor Project is holding a fun-filled evening at The Venue in Aurora to raise funds necessary to continue their vital work. The Committee on Church in Society has purchased a table at the event, and is inviting 7 of our members to attend free of charge, have fun, and learn more about The Neighbor Project’s call to care for the poor, the oppressed, the alien, and the stranger among us. If you are interested in attending this event or becoming a maintenance partner, please contact Nancie Lillie, at 231-845-6097, or Carolyn Sprawka, at 630-222-4150.

LAZARUS HOUSE NEEDS INCREASED AMOUNT OF DINNERS ON 1ST AND 3RD TUESDAYS

In response to email from Lazarus House, (see below) we are increasing the meals we deliver to Lazarus House from 2 casserole-sized meals to 4 casserole-sized meals the first and third Tuesdays of each month.

• Please click here to volunteer. Specific instructions can be found on the sign-up page. Homemade, store-bought, or restaurant meals are all appreciated.
• Please email Gwen Powell or call (479) 899-1779 with questions.
• Thank you to all who have helped this ministry with meals and prayers. If you would like a tour of Lazarus House, feel free to contact Megan.

_________________________________

Hello,

I hope you are doing well!

Thank you for all your help with meals each month, we couldn’t do all we do at Lazarus House without the help of you, your church and all your parishioners.

I wanted to reach out to let you know at Lazarus House we are growing in the amount of guests we serve, currently we are up to 50 guests.

If you could share that we are looking for more help with meals, lunches, breakfast items, it would be a huge blessing.

Dinners, Lunches, and breakfast items (cereal, milk, juice) Anything extra is wonderful!

If you would like for me to come share information about Lazarus House, our programs and our needs with others, I would be happy to do that. Or if anyone would like to come here for a tour, I would be happy to do that as well!

Feel free to call me with any questions!

Thank you for all you do!

Megan Lopez

Volunteer Coordinator

Lazarus House

214 Walnut Street, St. Charles, IL 60174

630.587.2144

Prairie Central eNews is here.

The NIC weekly eNews is here.

Download the NIC Reporter here.

United Methodist Communications has created a video series The Recap to help us gain a better understanding of what is going on in The United Methodist Church, find inspiration in stories of ministry, and learn how our denomination is transforming the world.

Find All of the Episodes Here