Sunday Sign-Ups:

• Ushering
• Offering counting
• Crucifer (Cross-bearer)
• Scripture Reader/Liturgist (We need two for each Sunday)
• Acolyte (typically a child or youth)

Ann's 85th Birthday Celebration: Sunday, November 1st

11:35am | Great Hall

We invite you to share refreshments AND cake after Worship Service on Sunday, November 1, 2026 to celebrate Ann Robbins' 85th birthday.

(Hosted by: Ann Robbins/Jan Chapin families).

Lead Beyond Our Walls:

Seeking Monthly Volunteers for Thursday Soup Kitchen

Join Us at the Table!

The First Church Soup Kitchen welcomes nearly 70 neighbors every Thursday, and volunteers are essential to creating a warm, dignified experience for every guest. We’re in need of monthly, year-round volunteers to prepare and serve meals, set up the dining room, welcome guests, play music, run the dishwasher, compost and more.

Youth and adults are welcome, and no prior connection to First Church is needed. Give one Thursday a month and help nourish our community through food, hospitality and connection.

Interested? Contact Jessica Hager at jessica.e.hager@gmail.com.

Flute Recital/Fundraiser for Refugee One: Saturday, October 24th

Tommy Swanson of Harmonious Healing, LLC, will be presenting a flute recital in the sanctuary on October 24, 2026. Proceeds of ticket sales will be donated to Refugee One.

Questions? Contact Krys Juleen: krys@faithatfirst.com

Putting Faith Into Action: Immigration Justice: Sunday, October 25th

12:00-1:30pm | Dining Hall

Join us in the Dining Hall for lunch and an interactive fireside chat where Pastor Britt Cox will sit down with Claudia Marchan, Executive Director, Immigration Law and Justice of Northern Illinois, an organization rooted in the United Methodist Church that provides provides free, high-quality legal services to immigrants with low incomes, engages in education and advocacy efforts, and builds cross-cultural relationships. Claudia will discuss how current immigration policies and practices are impacting the clients they serve throughout our region and how faith communities can respond.

Co-sponsored by Mission & Outreach and Social Justice

RSVPs encouraged; please email Dan Owens at danielowens13@gmail.com

Housing/Zoning: What's Happening, Why We Care, What We Can Do: Sunday, November 8

12:00-1:30pm | Dining Hall

Please join us for lunch and a conversation on Housing and Zoning: What is Happening, Why We Care, and What We Can Do, after church from noon-1:30 on November 8 in the dining room.

Speakers include 4th Ward Council Member and longtime FUMC member, Jonathan Nieuwsma; Patrick Keenan-Devlin, Executive Director/Staff Attorney of The James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy; and others.

Questions? Contact Melissa Appelt: mmappelt@gmail.com  

Nursery Coordinator Job Posting

First Church Children's Ministry is looking for a new Nursery Coordinator! Review the job description and apply to make an impact in the lives and faith formation of our youngest disciples for years to come. Send any questions or requests for more information to Colin McDonald, Director of Children's Ministry, at colin@faithatfirst.com.

Review Job Description Here.

Bottoms Up: A Fundraiser for the Bundled Blessings Diaper Pantry: Sunday, November 15th

See this link for the full flyer.

Buy tickets here.

Nurture Within Our Church Community:

Offering Counters Needed

We’re looking for volunteers to help count Sunday offerings at First Church! We could use a few more regular counters and, especially, backup counters who can step in when someone is unavailable.

Interested in helping? Email Kim Bobo at kimberleyabobo@gmail.com to learn more or sign up. Thank you for supporting our church!

Mom's Night Out: Thursday, October 22nd

Mom's Night Out- JOIN US!

Linda Federer's home with Cohost Stephanie Peters 

RSVP if you can- Lfederer30@gmail.com 

This delightful and ever-changing group of Moms are always fun! Bring a dish to share, a friend, or just come. 

NEXT MNO- 

Tues Nov 17th at Cherie Asante's with Chris Nieuwsma cohost 

December - TBA - Julie Womack with ?? Cohost -  

January - NEW YEAR -  need hosts!   

Craft Day: Saturday, October 24th

10:00am-12:00pm | Dining Room

Join us for a fun and creative time together. Bring any project you would like to work on, including quilting, crochet, knitting, sewing, beading, jewelry, painting and more. All projects are welcome.

We will meet in the dining room, so there will be plenty of space to spread out. Please bring your sewing machine if sewing.

Beginners are welcome. All ages and skill levels are invited to join.



Please email Courtney Zirkle or Glynis Doyle if you need a building access code or ride.

Social Justice Intersections Class: A Climate Change Update: Sunday, October 25th

9:15-10:15am | Dining Hall

Hear the good news and the bad and discuss what we all can do to protect God’s creation. The session will be led by church members Ann Sinclair, a PhD Candidate in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Northwestern University, and Scott Fosdick, who recently attended three days of training at Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project in Nashville.

Questions? Contact Kathryn Calkins: kathryn.calkins@gmail.com

Visitor Tour: Sunday, October 25th



11:35am-12:20pm | Glenna Hall

Curious to further explore First Church? 

Visitors and others new and not-so-new to First Church are invited to stay after 10:30am worship on DATE lfor a quick bite and tour of the church building where “the magic happens”. For example, we’ll see the kitchen, choir room, nursery, diaper bank, and overnight shelter space. Information on the Inquirers Class will be available for those who are curious to learn more about First Church.

Please sign up here.

Questions? Please contact Mary Taylor-Johnson, Director of Membership and Engagement, at mary@faithafirst.com or 847-864-6182.

Children in Action: Sunday, October 25th

12:00-1:00pm | Kitchen

Children in grades 1-6 are invited to team up and jump into games, fellowship, and various, hands-on service projects, all in the name of putting faith into action. With lunch provided! Register and learn more about this month's activity. 

Spooky Story Night: Wednesday, October 28th

5:30-7:00pm | Memorial Garden & Dining Hall

Come in costume for family-friendly, faith-affirming spooky stories, scary fun activities, and trick-or-treating with friends from Youth Ministry! Because you can't spell book without... BOO! 

Dare to register here.

Children's Ministry Volunteer Education Session: Sunday, November 1st

12:00-1:00pm | Room 34

First Church’s Children’s Ministry program is enriched and made possible by a dedicated network of lay volunteer leaders. Signing up for one hour, one Sunday a month is all it takes to make an enduring impact in the spiritual lives of our children and church. But how can we equip ourselves as adults, not only to teach or assist, but to grow in faith beside children? 

In this session, new and seasoned volunteers will gain resources for better managing classrooms and nurturing connections, while maintaining safe and welcoming spaces at church for children and families alike. 

Are you being called to serve (and play!) with First Church’s Children’s Ministry? Join the conversation, and learn to lead with confidence, curiosity, and heart. Send any questions or requests for more information to Colin McDonald, Director of Children's Ministry, at colin@faithatfirst.com.

First Wednesday Potluck: Wednesday, November 4th

6:00-7:00pm | Dining Hall

First Wednesday Potluck invites you to bring a side or dessert to share and join your church family for good food, fellowship, and seasonal activities for all ages. Kindly register at the link. 

First Church Women's Retreat: Friday, November 13th and Saturday November 14th at St. Mary's of the Lake

Spiritual Identity: Finding Deeper Connection with God through Identity and Spiritual Practice

Do you find yourself longing for a deeper spiritual life in the days between Sundays? Do you feel that you don’t have any time to squeeze more into your daily life? Are you bored with the spiritual practices that you currently employ? Do you find that you are in a different stage of life, and what you used to practice no longer resonates for you?

This retreat is open to any woman who can relate to any or all of these questions. We will use our understanding of our true selves, and the stage of life we are in, to help us discern what spiritual practices will have the most meaning for us, and how we can work these practices into our daily lives.

Check-in begins at 4pm and dinner at 6:15pm. Please arrive when you can with programming to begin at 7:30pm.

Cost: $180 (meals, housing, and supplies). Please contact Pastor Britt if you are interested in a scholarship to cover the cost.

Coordinators: Mari Leonard, Britt Cox, Sydney Harkrider

Sign-up here.

Registration deadline is Sunday, October 25th.

Steward:

Website Update

First Church website and logo update

As shared in April, First Church is updating our website and logo as part of our 2025-2030 Strategic Plan. The new website will help support all four pillars of the plan and the new logo will update our visual mark while keeping our identity intact. 

Updates on this project:

The new logo and brand colors for First Church have been finalized! This stage of the project was completed last month with input from staff and lay leadership, and is now guiding the web development team as they begin the design phase of the website project. (We are still determining the launch timing for the logo, stay tuned!)

Now, we are actively working on content pages for the new site, guided by direction and input from staff, lay leaders and subject matter experts in the congregation. 

The Ministry Brands web development team has started to build out the new First Church site framework. Select staff and lay leaders will have the opportunity to review the site at key stages and give feedback to the developer. 

Review and revisions of this initial phase of development will wrap at the end of November. We are planning for a V1 website launch in early December!

Huge thanks to everyone who has participated in the focus groups, provided content, given input and offered feedback throughout this process. We appreciate you! 

Questions? Please contact Lindsay Theile or Marianne Griebler. 

Stewardship 2027

The Stewardship Committee invites our congregation to come together across the four Sundays of October under a theme of “Practicing Hope” to share our faithful commitments that power the ministry and mission of First Church. This theme reminds us that even when we can’t see it, God and the spirit are at work among us.

As our First Church community enters a new chapter together we are called to strengthen the annual resources that maintain our building as a beacon of welcome to all, sustain our pastors and staff who teach us the ways of God’s love and honor our commitment to our United Methodist brothers and sisters with the apportionment funds that allow us to bring God’s light and love the places that need it most. This witness of our church and its people signals who we are and what we are called to do in this moment. You're invited to enter your 2027 estimate of giving online today.

Celebrate:

Festival Choir Concert: Friday, November 20th

7:30-8:30pm | Sanctuary

On Friday, November 20th, our Festival Choir presents a concert titled “Sacred Choral Music in America” in observance of the 250th anniversary of our nation. The program includes Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms,” a work composed in 1965 which sets the texts of several psalms in Hebrew. The other works on the program present a variety of choral anthems by American composers including spirituals, works by composers with links to Evanston, and Randall Thompson’s “Alleluia.”

The 7:30pm concert is free and open to the public.

Questions? Contact Brian Schoettler: brian@faithatfirst.com

Naming Our Saints on All Saints Sunday

As we prepare to observe All Saints Sunday, we invite members and friends of First Church to submit the names of loved ones who have died and whom you would like remembered in the church bulletin.

Please submit names by Thursday, October 29 at 5:00 p.m. to ensure they are included.

At the conclusion of worship on All Saints Sunday, we will gather in the Memorial Garden, where there will also be an opportunity to speak aloud the names of saints we carry in our hearts.

Together, we will remember their lives, give thanks for the ways they have shaped us, and entrust them once more to God’s eternal love.

Click here to submit names.

Calendar at a Glance:

Check out the church calendar for details and a complete listing of events.

Need to reserve a room or request publicity for your church event? Please submit event information and room reservations via the Communications and Calendar Request.

This webpage is only accessible via the link in the weekly E-News or by using the search bar on the website.

FUMC Merch:

Want to rep FUMC? Click here to browse our merch!

Items are made to order, so you’ll get your gear fast. Click here to shop.

Stay Connected!

First United Methodist Church

516 Church St.

Evanston IL 60201

847-864-6181

www.faithatfirst.org

First United Methodist Church

is a community of Christians

inviting all people

to grow in their relationship with God

and to live their faith in the world.