Church Worship Groups

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Children’s Choir

First United Methodist’s Children’s Choir is a choral group for all children in Kindergarten through 5th Grade.  Due to the wide age range, we will provide extra opportunities for the older children.   No experience necessary. Please contact us with any questions. We are looking forward to working with your children!

Who Can Join?

Any child in Kindergarten through the 5th grade!  No experience or try outs are necessary.

Practice and Performance Information

Practices will be on Sundays at 5:00 and we will perform three times during the year.  We always try to clearly communicate any changes in schedule with our families.  Please contact the church office if you have any questions about our schedule.

Welcome

We know you love your children and so do we!  You are, of course, always welcome to have your children attend services with you.  As another option, we offer professional childcare in our Nursery.  Children are a precious gift from God, and we will treat your children as such. You will find that our childcare is welcoming, caring, and prepared. When visiting, you  may follow the signs directing you to the Nursery (Rooms 213 and 214) or you may ask a greeter, usher, or Welcome Center volunteer for help.  We welcome you to stay until your child is comfortable, but keep in mind that most children settle in a few minutes after your departure. You can be assured that if your child does not settle in, we will activate the pager to let you know that you are needed.  Many times Nursery is the first place that a child experiences detachment from their parents, and we encourage you to take the time that is necessary for you and your child to adjust.

We strive to provide an environment where parents feel confident leaving their children & where children feel confident coming in!

Overview

Location:

 Rooms 213 and 214

Times:  

Every Sunday at 8:00 am, 9:30 am, and 11:00 am and during Special Services

Ages:  

During our 8:00 am and 11:00 am services, Nursery is available for children ages 0-3.
During our 9:30 am service, Nursery is available for children ages 0-2.  Children ages 3 and up are welcome to attend our
.

Drop Off and Security

When you drop off your child at Nursery, you will be given a pager that will be assigned to your child.  If, for any reason, you are needed during the service, your pager will light up  and vibrate to alert you.  You must have the pager to pick up your child.  If you misplace the pager, you will be required to provide proper identification in order for us to release your child.

When you drop off, please also notify a volunteer if your child has any allergies, potty training needs, or other medical alerts.

We value an environment where children are physically and emotionally safe and secure from any kind of harm.   Besides providing  pagers, we also enforce Child Protection Policies.  All staff and volunteers who work unsupervised with children have full reference and background checks and are trained to provide the best care and Christian teachings to your child.

Accordion Content

At First United Methodist Church, professional child care staff will be caring for your child.  Every child care provider is trained in CPR, First Aid and has undergone a background check.  Our hiring process and training help ensure that we will provide your child with the best possible care in a safe and secure child-friendly environment.

Please label all personal items with your child’s first and last name before arriving at the Nursery.

  1. Two disposable diapers or pull ups. Please no cloth diapers.
  2. Pacifier, lovey, or other comfort item, as needed.
  3. A bottle or cup of milk, formula, juice or water, as needed.
  4. A change of clothing can be very helpful, but is not required.

For the protection of all of the children in Nursery, we ask that you please do not bring your child to Nursery if the child has a temperature greater than 100 degrees, a generalized body rash, diarrhea, or eye-drainage (pink eye), runny nose, persistent cough, or any other signs of possible severe illness. If we observe any of these symptoms, we will page you to come pick up your child.  We thank you, in advance, for helping us keep all of our children healthy!

Sunday School – Children

Partnering with you to build and encourage a full relationship between your child and God…

Welcome

We know you love your children and so do we!  You are, of course, always welcome to have your children attend any of our worship services with you. We also hope that your children will join in our Sunday School program.   Children are a precious gift from God, and we will treat your children as such. You will find that Sunday School is welcoming, fun, and educational.  Our Sunday School rooms are on the lower level.  When visiting, you may follow the signs directing you to the Sunday School Gathering Room  (Room 116) or you may ask a greeter, usher, or Welcome Center volunteer for help.  You are welcome to stay with your child until he or she is comfortable.  We hope you’ll join us as often as you can but want you to know that you are ALWAYS welcome to come.

Drop Off and Security

When you drop off your child in Sunday School for Preschool through 5th Grade, you will be given a pager that will be assigned to your child.  If, for any reason, you are needed during the service, your pager will light up  and vibrate to alert you.  You must have the pager to pick up your child.  If you misplace the pager, you will be required to provide proper identification in order for us to release your child.

When you drop off, please also notify a volunteer if your child has any allergies, potty training needs, or other medical alerts.

We value an environment where children are physically and emotionally safe and secure from any kind of harm.   Besides providing  pagers, we also enforce Child Protection Policies.  All staff and volunteers who work unsupervised with children have full reference and background checks and are trained to provide the best care and Christian teachings to your child.

We strive to provide an environment where parents feel confident leaving their children & where children feel confident coming in!

Overview

Location:
Preschool (ages 3-4)……..Room 102
Jr. High.…………………..Room 115
 
All other age groups begin in our meeting room.…………….Room 116
And then proceed to their classrooms:
Pre-K & Kindergarten….Room 111
1
st Grade…………………Room 113
2nd & 3rd Grade………….Room 112
4th & 5th
Grade…………..Room 117

Time: 

Every Sunday from 9:30 am – 10:30 am
Ages:  
Pre-K (age 3) through Grade 8
 

Curriculum

Preschool

  • Stand alone lessons each week
  • Play time
  • Snack time
  • Activity or Craft

Pre-K—5th Grade

  • 4 Week Topical Curriculum
  • Allows for deeper understanding of topic & a rotation of learning activities that include:
    • Drama
    • Music
    • Games
    • Cooking
    • Crafts
    • Science
Jr. High
  • This class and it’s facilitators develop their own lessons to meet the needs and interests of the youth in the class

Event Information

We host monthly activities during the school year that include bowing, planetarium visits, movie days, and game nights.

We also have three parties throughout the year. We have a kick-off party in early September. This is a time to play together, learn each other’s names, and create some friendships. Our second party is the Happy Birthday Jesus party. We celebrate Christ’s birth with cake, ice cream, and games! The final party takes place after the Children’s Sabbath in May. We again take time to play games and celebrate all the amazing things they have learned and an excellent job during the Children’s Sabbath.

Volunteer Opportunity

We would love to have you join our Children’s Ministry team.  There are so many different ways you can help.  To volunteer to teach, substitute teach, help with activities or special events, please contact us.  It’s fun, you get to make new friends, get to know the kids and show God’s love to our little ones!   Training and curriculum are provided.

Accordion Content

For grades K-5, we begin with an introduction or review of the current topic. We then have a time for offering.  This is to encourage a cheerful heart in giving to the Lord and model an aspect of a normal church service. Following the offering, the children are given the opportunity to say any of the memorizations they have been working on. We then complete this time with a prayer led by one of the children. Then the children are dismissed to their age appropriate classrooms to learn more about the topic at hand.

For our preschoolers, we begin with a half hour of free play time. The children then eat a snack while the lesson is presented. Finally, they participate in a craft or activity based on the lesson.

For grades K-5, the same topic is studied for approximately 4 weeks. This allows for a deeper understanding of the topics and the ability to adapt to various learning modalities. The curriculum used is a rotation style curriculum which provides activities on each topic in a variety of different areas: such a drama, arts, music, games, cooking, crafts, and science.

In addition to the provided curriculum, we have created a program called Footprints to encourage participation in and out of the classroom as they learn to “Walk with God”. The children can earn points for doing a variety of tasks which include: leading a prayer, ushering, bringing a friend, bringing their bibles (Which are provided when a child enters this program), attending for an entire month, reading their bibles every day for 5 minutes, reading a book from the Sunday School library and filling out a small book report sheet, or memorizing scriptures. Twice during the school year, the children are allowed to spend the points they earned in the Sunday School Store. A challenge has been issued as well, that if any child is able to memorize all of the memory verses during a single school year, they will be able to throw a pie in Mrs. Kimi’s face during a church service to celebrate the wonderful accomplishment.

Please note that our summer curriculum is different in order to give our regular Sunday School teachers a break.  Jr. High Sunday School does not meet during the summer.

During the summer, the program changes a little as the normal teachers are given a chance to rest and rejuvenate.  For the months of June, July, and August, we use a weekly stand-alone curriculum and invite the parents to take a class for a week to teach. The lessons are user friendly and all materials are provided so it requires little to no preparation.

Junior High takes the summers off to give the children the opportunity to go to church with their families and to rest and rejuvenate our teachers.

We are always looking for substitute teachers and regular teachers (this can be done biweekly as a team!) for our Sunday School classes.  We keep the same teachers for each class, in order to foster a stronger relationship between the child and his or her teacher.

We would love to have you join our Children’s Ministry team.  There are so many different ways you can help.  To volunteer to teach, substitute teach, help with activities or special events, please contact us.  It’s fun, you get to make new friends, get to know the kids and show God’s love to our little ones!

You’re invited to  Vacation Bible School (VBS)  — a fun-filled summer week of music, Bible stories, crafts, games, snacks, and friendship.  Adult and teen crew leaders join in on the fun and enjoy this time with the kids learning, creating, and serving.  Preschool children through 5th Grade are invited to participate each summer!  Please also check out our other Children’s Ministries !

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How to Usher:

Thank you for considering joining the Usher Team at FUMC.   As an Usher, you will play an essential role in making worshippers feel welcome in our church.  You will be one of the first persons to greet any person who comes to our church and will have the opportunity to make them feel wanted and welcome in God’s house.  It is our hope that you find your usher position fulfilling and challenging.  If you have any questions or problems, we encourage you to speak to your Lead Usher or any member of the church staff.

Organization of Ushers

There are two distinct roles within the Usher Team: 

  1. Lead Usher
    1. Responsible for scheduling and providing resources to ushers and for leading ushers at one service.
  2. Usher
    1. Responsible for performing the duties of ushering during a service.

The lead usher has overall responsibility for ensuring that the service they serve has enough ushers scheduled, and for resolving issues that affect all ushers.  The lead usher is responsible for recruiting and training new ushers when required, and for ensuring that all ushers understand the usher guidelines.

The lead usher will:

  • Arrive at church at least 30 minutes before the service.
  • Ensure that the correct bulletins are taken out of the usher’s closet and available at the table and from ushers.
  • Ensure that the collection plates and hearing assistance devices are obtained.
  • Prop open the second set of glass entryway doors until the service starts.
  • Assign ushers to each sanctuary entrance door.
    1. At least one at each door.
    2. Perhaps two at center doors.
  • Ensure that complete attendance is taken and recorded.
  • Communicate all special needs or circumstances for that service to all ushers.
  • Assume overall control in case of emergency or special circumstances in the narthex.
  • Recruit and train new ushers when required.
  • Make sure the thermostat in the sanctuary is adjusted as necessary. The custodian is able to demonstrate the proper use of the thermostat.
  • Inform the Pastors and Worship Committee chairperson of problems and issues that affect ushers.
  • Arrange to reserve any seats needed for special occasions (e.g., baptisms).
  • Direct ushers to their locations for the collection. Lead the ushers into the sanctuary for the collection, at the appropriate time.
  • Designate one usher to take the collected offering to the finance committee representative in the office. This same usher should take any one-stop sheets, or other sheets from the bulletin that have been filled out by the congregation, to the office and place them in the wire frame box on the counter.
  • On communion Sundays, direct the other ushers in controlling the flow of people as they approach the communion table, and return to their pews.

After the Service:

  • Oversee and participate in cleanup of sanctuary.
    1. Pick up leftover bulletins, trash, or personal items left behind.
    2. Straighten up the pew bibles and hymnals.
    3. Leave the attendance books on the pew in the narthex so that they can be replenished during the week.
  • Return collection plates, tapers, hearing assistance devices, and other appropriate items to the sacristy. Clean the hearing assistance devices with alcohol swabs, if used.

Ushers’ General Responsibilities

Ushers are responsible for greeting, assisting and meeting the worship needs of all worshippers.  These tasks include the ordinary services of providing bulletins, helping people find seats, encouraging quiet and appropriate behavior during worship, collecting tithes/offerings, and assisting and participating in worship.  Ushers also provide for special needs; such as hearing assistance, large print materials, materials for children, assisting people (as needed) getting in the building, etc.  Remember to treat each person as you would want to be treated and your ministry will touch many lives.

Before the service

We have three Sunday morning services:  8:00 a.m. Traditional, 9:30 am Contemporary and 11:00 am Traditional.  You will be placed on a team of ushers for a specific service and will be able to serve as often as your schedule and the team needs coincide. 

Should you be unavailable to attend a service that you have been scheduled to usher, it will be your responsibility to find a replacement.  You will be provided with a list of ushers and contact information to help you do this.

You should arrive at the church approximately 25 minutes before your scheduled service.  Once you arrive, please check in with your Lead Usher to assist with any pre-service.  You should also take this time to review the bulletin for special events in the service, familiarize yourself with what’s going on in our community and put on your usher name tag.  Should you wish to prepare ahead of time, the bulletin is placed on our website the Friday before each service.

Pre-service greeting tips

At the doors of the sanctuary, please greet each person as they approach you to enter the sanctuary.  Whatever invites warmth, hospitality, and friendliness is the key to what an usher should do.  Ushers must be good at reading people’s reactions and body language so that they do not force people into an uncomfortable encounter, yet don’t miss an opportunity to be actively welcoming.  In general, a friendly greeting and handshake should be appropriate.  As you get to know the regular attendees of your service, greeting them by name is a wonderful opportunity to make them feel at home. 

We have a bulletin for each worship service.  You will find these in the usher’s closet.  The bulletin is the same for each Sunday morning service.  A bulletin should be offered to each person, not just one per couple or per family.  Pay attention to reactions though, we are not trying to force it on anyone and you will learn that many refuse it.  Age appropriate Children’s Bulletins are provided for each service, as well.  Please offer one to every child within the proper age range.

As needed, you should direct people to seats.  If the service is full, this may include encouraging other worshippers to move down in a pew to make room for others.  You should also politely discourage small groups of people from blocking the entrance doors to the sanctuary.  Approximately 3-5 minutes before the start of services, politely request that everyone in the Narthex begin entering the sanctuary or move to fellowship hall so that the worship service may begin.

During the service

Please seat latecomers, as needed.  Close the doors between the Narthex and Memorial Hall and politely request that people in the Narthex be as quiet as possible ~ we understand that children may make noise but would like people who might be having conversations to move into another area during worship services.

You should open and close sanctuary doors/windows as appropriate.  This is often a judgment call and is a tradeoff between temperature in the sanctuary and the noise level in the narthex.

Offering

Please participate in the collection of offerings as directed by your Lead Usher.  You may also collect prayer cards, bulletin inserts, or other notes with the offerings.

Communion

On Communion Sundays (the first Sunday of each month), please follow the directions of your Lead Usher in directing the flow of people as they approach the Communion table and return to their seats.  Assist those who require help in receiving the sacraments and inform communion servers if there is anyone that needs to be served at their seat.

Special Presentations

On Sundays when special presentations occur during the service, please assist as needed in moving chairs, stands, etc.

Communion Services

On Communion Sunday the ushers will bring the communion elements forward during the first hymn. (Hopefully the Pastor will remember to be there to receive them).

After the service

Please assist in a quick cleanup of the sanctuary.  Pick up leftover bulletins, trash, and left behind personal items (which can be placed in the Lost & Found located in the usher’s closet.)  Straighten Bibles and hymnals and assist, as appropriate, with the storage of equipment.  Attendance books. After the 11:00 service, please assist the lead usher in shutting off lights and shutting down the building.

Emergency Procedures

Medical Emergencies

In the unfortunate event of a medical emergency during a service, please keep these points in mind:

  • Phones are located: in the church office and kitchen adjacent to the fellowship hall. Medical personnel should enter through the front door as there are no steps.
  • Ushers are encouraged to attend our trainings on CPR and AED use. The AED is located in the usher’s closet.
  • Inform the Pastors of any problem immediately.

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Thank You For Joining Us Today

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