Northwest United Methodist Church

Do you enjoy playing Euchre? Here's an opportunity to play for a good cause! We are having a fundraiser for the Mexico Mission Team on Thursday, August 15 at 6:00 p.m. at the Tremont Club. Join us for a fun evening of fellowship and friendly competition. TThe entry fee is $20 per person and we will plan to play three games with all proceeds going toward the cost of a rental van and projects during our stay. Winner(s) get bragging rights and a memorable prize. Contact the church office by Monday, August 12 at [email protected] to be added to the roster.

Have you heard that forecasters are predicting an abnormally active hurricane season this year? It already started with Hurricane Beryl in July which was the earliest category 5 storm on record. These major storms cause a lot of damage. There are many figurative storms that can create the same feelings of turbulence. Sometimes these are be societal storms we see on the news like war, disease, and natural disasters. Then there are the more personal storms of chronic illness or pain, difficult diagnoses, and grief. In the midst of the hurricanes of life, it can be difficult to find our footing. And sometimes it feels that multiple storms are hitting us at once like a category 5 hurricane. What can the scriptures teach us in preparing for the storms to come? This is what we will be looking at this August in our message series "Hurricane Season." Join us in the building or online at 9:30 or 11 a.m. or join us at Chapel in the Woods at 8:15. All are welcome!

It's the first day of August and that means a new pantry item for the NNEMAP Food Pantry. We have been told that NNEMAP has an urgent need for hygiene items so we will be collecting toothpaste and deodorant this month. Donations can be placed in the shopping cart in the Hall anytime the church is open (Sunday mornings or during office hours 9-3 Monday - Thursday and 9-12 Friday). Not local? Find a food pantry close to you to donate to! Thank you for all the ways you give!

It's almost time for STEM Camp! This camp is for children going into 4th- 6th grades. The STEM portions of the camp will be led by the Dublin Jerome STEM Friends while staff and volunteers from Northwest oversee the camp and provide lunch. Find more details and register today at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4DACAB2AA5FDC07-50338562-august

The Northwest Children's Garden continues to produce amazing results! Yesterday the kids gathered 20 pound of vegetables as they picked tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, and peppers. These will be delivered to families with Brown Bag lunches this week. Great job team!

A quick reminder: we are collecting schools supplies for the Church and Community Development For All People free store all month. 😊 Donations can be brought to the church anytime the building is open and placed in the bin in the Hall. Office hours are 9-3 Monday - Thursday and 9 - noon Friday. There is a list at nwumc.com/connect with suggested donations or you can find a paper copy on the table in the Hall. Thanks for all the ways you give! ✏️✂️🖍🖌📕

600 lunches! On Wednesday, we hit this new record for the number of lunches delivered on our Brown Bag Lunch route, and we are doing it again today. We are so grateful for all those who donate and volunteer to make this possible AND we acknowledge the reality that the need keeps growing. This is a reminder that we all need to do more to fight food insecurity. This is a justice issue; we work to meet the need and we also must work to alleviate the need.

Our new website is live at nwumc.com! 🎉🎉🎉We have reorganized so things have moved around. Let us know if you have trouble finding anything; announcements and information for Sunday mornings continue to be at nwumc.com/connect.

Northwest United Methodist Church Every Sunday we gather in worship at 8:15 a.m. in the Chapel in the Woods, at 9:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary, and at 11:00 a.m. in the Ministry Center. Both the 9:30 and 11:00 services are also online. Whether you join us outside, in the building, or online, we look forward to worshipping with you!

Happy July! As we start this new month, here are some of our giving opportunities this month:

✏️ Each July we collect school supplies for the Church for All People Free Store. Donations can be placed in the bin in the Hall. Visit the announcement at nwumc.com/connect for a specific shopping list. Donations can be placed in the bin in the Hall.

🍚 Each month we have something specific we collect for the NNEMAP Food Pantry. This month we are collecting rice and beans. Donations can be placed in the shopping cart in the Hall.

The church is open on Sunday mornings for worship and also during office hours Monday-Thursday 9-3 and Friday 9-12. Thank you for your generosity!

The VBS team gathered after worship today for final preparations for Scuba fun this week! We'd love to have your preschool (potty-trained) - 4th grade (completed) children join the adventure. Dinner is at 5:30 with programming from 6-8 p.m. More details can be found at nwumc.com/vbs and walk-ins are welcome.

A midweek update from our mission team:

Day 1 was spent at Farm Share Austin where they learned about the programming they have to teach others to farm organically. They give students a plot to practice and to grow for a year and then the purchase the produce for their farm share program so they have a guaranteed income as they get started. The students are mentored through the process and Farm Share Austin has a food share program for food distribution. The team served at the farm by spreading compost.

Day 2 They spent time at Community First! Village which is an intentional community for those coming out of homelessness. This organizations helps people get established with housing. It is subsidized so they pay rent and can choose from 3 different options of houses. The have 51 acres currently and are developing about 51 more. They currently house about 300 people. There are also services including communitiy kitchens, hair salon, market, social services, jobs, gardens and more. The team worked in the main garden weeding and cleaning.

Continue to pray for the team as they learn and work alongside these organizations doing great work in Austin!

Have you registered your kids for Vacation Bible School yet? It's only 2 weeks away! VBS is free and includes an optional dinner at 5:30. It is open to pottytrained preschoolers through those who just finished 5th grade, and the 4th-5th grade group will participate in Kids Helping Kids sessions throughout the week. Find more information at nwumc.com/VBS and sign up today!

This morning we commissioned the 2024 mission team. They are currently on their way to Austin, Texas where they will serve with Be the Neighbor in the area of food justice. Pray for the team and those that they will meet as well as for all they will learn and experience this week.

Curious about the heads on sticks? That was a fundraiser for the mission team where people made a $100 donation to the team and sent themselves or a pet on the trip with the team.

Last week we received a donation of 144 pairs of shoes from Operation Warm! We are excited to pass these out along with our coats as part of our Winter Blessings ministry this fall!

Today it begins! These pictures are from Tuesday's preparations, but today (Wednesday) this room will be filled with volunteers preparing Brown Bag Lunches which will then be delivered in our community. We will be delivering 550 lunches twice a week this summer (that's 1100 lunches per week). Donations and volunteers are always helpful so contact the church office for more information and thank you to everyone who makes this possible!

There are exciting things happening around the church building! The Music room has been painted and the carpet pulled up to be replaced. The carpet has also been pulled up in two of our Kids' classrooms where it will be replaced with laminate flooring, and we will also be creating a sensory friendly area in the kids' space. We can't wait to see it all come together!