BG Pride Parade 2023

June is PRIDE month and while we welcome and celebrate our diversity all year, we are PROUD to participate in special activities. We are incredibly excited to again participate in the annual Buffalo Grove Pride Parade – this year’s theme is The Magic of PRIDE. Join us for this special celebration on Sunday, June 4, for a true in-person, family-centric pride parade in the suburbs.

FUMCAH is a “Friends of BG Pride” sponsor and will be marching in the parade. If you are interested in joining us, please call or text Sharon Nudo at 847-558-4248. We will meet at the church at 9am and carpool. Walkers and group members should be at the staging area by 10:30am. Step-off for the one mile parade route is at 11am.

We’d love to see you there, rain or shine. Rainbow colors and “Magical RAINBOW Explosion” attire are encouraged.

Thank you to everyone who supported the All Saints Food Pantry on Pasta Sunday (April) and Cereal Sunday (May). When I delivered the food last month, I met Bruce Ross, the mobile pantry director, and got a little tour. The need for food in our area is great and the Pantry volunteers are enthusiastically working to meet the need. Over 1,000 families are served each month.

Our "food focus" for June is canned meat and fish (tuna, salmon, etc.) and boxed macaroni and cheese. Please add one or more of these items to your cart when you shop. Bruce said that they never have enough canned protein and mac-n-cheese is always popular. Of course, most any non-perishable food is appreciated! Please bring the food with you to worship on Sunday, June 4, or drop it off during office hours on Monday-Thursday.

Volunteers are needed! Please fill out the form below.

• to help check expiration dates and deliver food to the pantry on the Thursday morning after Food Sunday.

• to help with the mobile food pantry on Tuesday afternoons, bringing food to area apartment complexes.

Many thanks to all in FUMCAH who care for those who are food insecure. Our ministries of mercy do not solve the worldwide hunger problem, but they do feed hungry people. And people do not "eat in the long run;" in many ways, we all need our daily bread.

Lynn Mikels (she, her, hers)
Pastor of Discipleship

All FUMCAH youth currently in grades 5-8 (and your friends!) are invited to the JrHi Integration Celebration. Come for dinner, fun, and games as we welcome the rising 6th graders!

Youth ministry at FUMCAH meets teenagers (6th-12th grade) where they are and invites them into diverse ways to deepen their faith, build lasting relationships, and serve others in bold and creative ways.

Meet in the ROC at FUMCAH at 5:30pm.

It's that wonderful time of year again where we swell with diverse emotions! Our seniors are graduating and moving on to the next phase of their life adventures. We are delighted to celebrate these fine young people and give them the opportunity to share with the community that has been present, prayed for, and nurtured their spiritual lives. This celebration is for anyone graduating from high school and post-secondary education. Please join us in worship at 9:30am on Sunday, May 21, and stick around for Coffee Hour as we celebrate your success! Please complete the form below by Sunday, May 14, with the following information if you'd like to be recognized:

• Full name for print in the bulletin

• School you are graduating from

• Next steps for you (e.g. school, gap year, vocational, work plans, etc.)

The FUMCAH Preschool Board will be hosting a celebration honoring the preschool's 50th anniversary. Please join us for a special worship service honoring members of the founding committee, former directors and teachers and a special children's choir. Following the service, Coffee Hour will be hosted by past preschool board chairs. Outside, there will be live music, inflatables (a 30' obstacle course and a 14' slide!) for young children, and cotton candy to enjoy. There is no cost for this event. All church members and preschool families (current and past) are invited to attend.

If your preschooler, or preschool alum through 8th grade, would like to sing in the special children's choir that morning, please attend two rehearsals led by Lindsay Johnson. They will be held in the sanctuary on Wednesdays, April 26 and May 3 at 6:00 p.m. They will last no more than 1/2 hour. We look forward to having you participate in the special day!

Cereal Sunday

"Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me."

Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink?

Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.’

Matthew 25: 31-46, selected verses

I am always in awe of the way that FUMCAH has helped feed the hungry, providing food and resources to help others survive and thrive. Whether through Care for Real, Summer Suppers, South Loop Community Table . . . . Fortunately, we do a lot, but even with all we do, the need is still great. We have recently partnered with All Saint's Food Pantry in Palatine to both provide food and get that food to people in need.

The food pantry serves people from their Palatine location but also operates a mobile food bank, serving five apartment complexes in Palatine, Arlington Heights, and Rolling Meadows. The latter is a real blessing to many people who have difficulty driving to the permanent pantry. Volunteers are needed to help with the pantries - and to join long-time volunteers Russ and Marlys Guilford in bringing food from FUMCAH to the food pantry we support. On Sunday, May 6, representatives from All Saints Food Pantry will be at FUMCAH during coffee hour to answer questions about the pantry and the ways we can serve.

Pasta Sunday in April was a success and we are praying that Cereal Sunday on Sunday, May 6 will be even better! Please bring boxes of cereal with you to worship that day or drop them off during the week.

How appropriate that First Sunday is Food Sunday. We are spiritually fed through the sacrament of Communion on the same Sunday that we help to feed others. Thanks be to God.

Lynn Mikels (she, her, hers)
Pastor of Discipleship

The 4:00pm service will include the children's choirs and be designed with children in mind. At the 8:30pm service, Pastor Melissa will preach and the Chancel Choir will sing.

(Note the change in time because of Christmas morning being on a Sunday.)

Join us as we give thanks for everyone's financial commitments to our church's ministry for 2023.

9:30am: Sunday Worship
10:30am: Hot Chocolate Bar with special toppings

Can you imagine a world where the value of something is based on how many times it's been given away? Can you imagine an economy founded on trust and reciprocity?

Join us for a new sermon series, God’s Great Gift Economy.

Our kickoff event on October 23 will feature Didier's apple cider donuts.

Learn about protecting and celebrating the earth with this all-ages event featuring a recycling drive, live music, art projects, and interactive talks on composting, native plants, solar panels, bees, butterflies, and more!

Visit fumcah.com/earthfest for complete information.

Join us for an outdoor worship service the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, September 4. We'll gather at our usual time, 9:30am, under the trees. Bring a chair or a blanket. In the case of inclement weather we'll gather inside.

If you'd like to know a bit more about what's happening the life of the church, come to a Newcomer Gathering led by Pastor Melissa. You will meet others who are new to the church, as well as people who have been a part of FUMCAH for a number of years.

Are you new to FUMCAH? Would you like to learn more about our church? Would you like to find ways to meet people, serve the community, and get involved? Come to an upcoming Newcomer Gathering led by Pastor Melissa. You will meet others who are new to the church, as well as people who have been a part of FUMCAH for a number of years. It's just an hour on Zoom. Signing up is appreciated, but not required. If this date doesn't work, we'll have additional Newcomer Gatherings on Tuesday, May 17, 7:00pm (Zoom) and Sunday, June 5, 10:45am (in-person).

On Easter morning, the women went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body and they found the tomb empty. Though there is room for doubt and fear, they chose to trust the good news that Jesus was raised from the dead. On Easter, we will celebrate with them that Jesus lives, that God’s love cannot be contained or constrained by death. Join us for this festival service that includes the choir cantata, “Crown Him with Alleluias.”

There will be two services, at 9:30am and 11:15am.

In John’s account of Jesus’ death, Jesus’ final words are: “I am thirsty…it is finished”. He is offered a jar full of sour wine as he takes his final breaths. And yet, even here, God’s love is full, poured out, self-emptied. In this simple service of scripture, song, and silence we will sit in the fullness of this cup of sorrow.

In a room full to the brim with emotion, Jesus offers a tender, loving, and humble goodbye, stooping low to wash and caress his disciples’ feet. Like the water splashing within the washbasin, his actions ripple out: “Go and do likewise. Just as I have loved you, love one another.” He also shares a meal with his disciples, making the shared food a symbol of his life given for them. This scene offers us a poignant and powerful image of discipleship.

In our service, you will have the opportunity to participate in a foot washing, to remove the protective layers that keep you from God’s love while you remove your shoes. Instead of foot washing, you may participate in handwashing. We will also celebrate Communion.

Music from our Chancel Choir, the always inspiring setting of our Sanctuary, and the imposition of ashes will herald the beginning of Lent at our Ash Wednesday worship. This service and the ashes symbolize the start of this holy season, traditionally a time for reflection and renewal. Childcare will be available.

This service is hybrid. You may come to the Sanctuary or watch online at fumcah.com/worship.

Julian Davis Reid will lead us in “Notes of Rest,” a Christian spiritual mini-retreat. This worship-based retreat places meditations from the Bible on a bed of music, cultivating rest, contemplation and creativity in all who will hear Jesus' call.

Julian is an artist-theologian who creates beauty with music and words to amplify Jesus’ sound. His solo project Rest Assured is out on all streaming platforms. In addition, he stewards The JuJu Exchange (jazz-fusion group). Julian studied theology and the arts at Candler School of Theology and philosophy at Yale College. He and his wife Carmen are based in his beloved hometown of Chicago.

Join us for a book discussion of House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. Linus Baker, a case worker for the Department for the Care of Magical Youth, is given a special assignment by Very Upper Management to check on the welfare of six magical and "dangerous" children and determine if they really could destroy the world. From the dust jacket: "An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place - and realizing that family is yours."

The book discussion will be hybrid. You may come to the Wesley Room or connect to the Zoom meeting by clicking here or use the Zoom Meeting ID 828 8787 8027 and passcode houseinsea.

Let your love shine at the second annual Pride Parade in Lights. Let’s make God’s love in us light up our neighborhood and share our ministry of radical hospitality and inclusion of LGBTQ persons. To let your love and welcome shine, come to our church parking lot between 4:45 and 5:00pm on Saturday, January 22 for a foot parade around our church and Methodist Park. Wear battery-powered-lights, sparkles, sequins, and glow-in-the-dark colors. Carry candles, glow sticks, and anything you have that can light the night.

"Yes, it is a little crazy to have a parade in January! But sometimes loving boldly is a little bit crazy."

It's time to deck out those trunks with your spirited themed scenes for Trunk or Treat! Wear your costumes to church on October 31, and stay after worship for a romp around the parking lot – collecting candy and playing some silly/spooky games. Vote for your favorite trunk, and see if you can guess how many candy corns are in the giant jar. Invite your friends and neighbors, for there will be prizes and there will be fun!

If you are interested in decorating your trunk, please reach out to Sharon Nudo at sharon@nudo.net or 847-558-4248.

Join the Generosity Team after worship as we celebrate fall and the start of FUMCAH's annual stewardship campaign with a festive outdoor event. Bring a sweater and camp chair and join around the fire pits to toast s'mores and sip a cup of apple cider. Please fill out the RSVP form by October 18 so we know you'll be there!