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

FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, JULY 2, 2023

 Out with the Old and in with the New? - Matthew 5:17-20

The Bible consists of two main parts - or Testaments. One we call ‘Old’ --this is the Bible for most Jewish people - including Jesus to some extent- and the second we call ‘New’ as it chronicles God’s new revolution to the world in Jesus. Join Pastor Rob as we compare and contrast the Old and New Testament to help us learn how to read the Bible for all it’s worth. 

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. 

On behalf of the Men's club organizing committee (Lorne Tweed, Jim McConnell, Steve Lillie, Dave Werman and our wives), I would like to thank all volunteers and customers for the hard work that went into preparing for and running the Swedish Days Booth.  

We had the best week we've ever had. We served over 2900 customers and our over 84 volunteers got to know each other better in the process.  And, we had a banner year for our charities. Our gross sales were over $24,515. This is an increase of 31 % over the record that we made last year.  As we've done in the past, the men's club will be meeting in the fall to designate the charities that the profits from this event and our other fundraisers support.



In past years, we've had food left over that we sold to our volunteers at cost. This year, we ran out of almost everything except ice. The steering committee has decided to donate the little food we had left over to ASP and Hesed house.  We have 20 pound bags of ice to sell for $4.00 a bag. Anybody who is interested please contact Jim McConnell or Dave Werman.

We had a wonderful week together with volunteers from all three churches filling children's minds and hearts with lessons and stories of Moses and the Red Sea, Jonah and the whale, and Jesus feeding the 5000! Thank you all for volunteering and participating in this great collaboration!

Pastor Rob will be providing two opportunities this Summer to study the Bible with him: Thursday mornings with the Early Bird Men's Fellowship starting Thursday, July 6 and Sunday mornings at Adult Bible Study at 10:30 am, starting July 9.

The Early Bird Men's Fellowship group meets at 7 am in the back room of Colonial Cafe (1625 E. Main St. in St. Charles) for coffee and discussion. At 8 am optional breakfast is ordered and casual conversation continues until folks are ready to leave.

Adult Bible Study meets Sundays after worship at 10:30 am in the parlor.

Pastor Rob will be leading a discussion of: What Is the Bible?: How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters, and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything by Rob Bell. The book is available through all major booksellers and resellers.

Help Spread the Word, Welcome a Stranger

There are still many students waiting to learn they have a host family from over 60 countries. Local schools still have openings. There are 4 students who had hoped to come last year and are still waiting. All types of individuals and families are encouraged to host, including those with and without children of any age. Information on these students can be found on a flyer on the bulletin boards.

Would you consider welcoming one of them or help spread the word about the opportunity to host with your circle of friends? For more information see Robbin Lang or www.afsusa.org.

ANNUAL STEWARDSHIP REPORT AVAILABLE

The United Methodist Foundation has provided us with several copies of their Annual Stewardship Report for 2022 to share with the congregation. Copies of the report are available in the church office. Any questions can be directed to JoAnn Cregier.

The new A/V booth has been constructed and we are waiting on the wiring and the equipment to be installed in July! We are looking for several people that are interested in helping with the A/V during our Sunday service each week. To begin, tasks will be related to helping with the graphic/text-based content during worship but can expand based on interest and training. We would need about 90 minutes of your time on the designated Sunday you volunteer. Volunteer would also periodically participate in planning meetings.

The training date with Amplio Systems is tentatively scheduled for July 29, and more details will follow.  

Contact Carolyn Burnham carolyn@genevaumc.org or 630-232-7120.

SNAP A PIC! CAPTURE A MOMENT!

We are looking for volunteers to help photograph events during the year. Fancy cameras not needed, just a willingness to take photos. We have created a Sign-Up Genius to make it easier for people to volunteer. Click here to sign up TODAY.

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.

Watch the latest episode here.