Recent News
First Church will observe Bless Our Schools Sunday on September 20 during the 8:30 a.m. worship service.
Every year on the third Sunday in September, churches around the world take this special time to pray specifically for the schools, teachers, staff, and students in their congregation. As a result, many are blessed, feel bolstered in prayer and ready to stand firm in Christ for the new school year!
Bless Our Schools Sunday is sponsored by Moms in Prayer, “Moms in Prayer International impacts children and schools worldwide for Christ by gathering mothers to pray.” Visit the website at momsinprayer.org for many resources, such as prayer guides and prayer calendars to use in your personal prayer time. In addition, feel free to send prayer requests for specific schools, students, teachers and staff to Tina Eaton at adultministry@fumchurch.com. These requests will be prayed over by our Moms in Prayer group that meets on Monday evenings. See below for other local Moms in Prayer groups:
- Monday Morning Group – Meets via conference call. Time to be determined. Focus: Grandchildren.
- Monday Evening Group – Meets on zoom at 7:00 pm. Focus: Any school/any age child.
- Tuesday Morning Group – Meets via conference call at 8:15 am. Focus: College/career-aged children.
- Mechanicsburg Group – Meeting day and time to be determined. Focus: Northside, Upper Allen, MMS, MASH and Commonwealth Cyber Academy.
If you are interested in joining a local Moms in Prayer group, please contact Tina Eaton at adultministry@fumchurch.com for more details.
Adult Sunday School classes at First Church will continue or resume meeting in September.
Both online and in-person options are available. Classes begin at 10:00 a.m., following the 8:30 a.m. worship service, and last for an hour.
Participants are invited to contact the following leaders for information on specific studies, and how to get involved:
Faith in Everyday Life – Meets in-person at Memorial Park in Mechanicsburg
Focuses on fellowship and friendship. Class members share in leading reflections and discussions based on Scripture.
Contact: Jenell Paris, jparis@messiah.edu
Faithful Families – Meets Online
For parents in the child-raising stage of life. Focuses on discussion-based Bible studies.
Contact: Bob Wertz, Jr., wertzfive@gmail.com
Christian Fellowship – Meets Online
For all ages/stages of faith. Focuses on short-term Bible studies.
Contact: Wayde Leister, waydeleister@outlook.com
Growing in Christ – Meets Online
For all ages/stages of faith. Focuses on discussion-based Bible studies.
Contact: Tina Eaton, adultministry@fumchurch.com
Helping Hands – Meets Online
A group of active seniors who focus on studies that provide encouragement and instruction on faithful living.
Contact: Bob Wertz, Sr., robert_wertz@plantsitelogistics.com
Guyer Class – Independent Study
A group of elders in the church who study the United Methodist quarterly adult Bible lessons.
Contact: Tina Eaton, adultministry@fumchurch.com
All are welcome to attend! You do not have to be a member of First Church or any church to join in a class. For more information, call or email the church at 717.766.4611 or office@fumchurch.com.
A new worship opportunity is starting!
First Church will offer a fall Bible study based on the book, “Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation” by Latasha Morrison.
Led by Senior Pastor Denny Keller, the study begins on Wednesday, Sept. 23, and will run for nine weeks. The group will meet via Zoom from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
All are welcome! You do not have to be a member of First Church or of any church to join the study.
Participants are asked to purchase the book before the study begins. For more information or to receive the Zoom link, call or email Tina Eaton, Director of Adult Ministry, at 717.766.4611 or adultministry@fumchurch.com.
First Church will hold a Rejoicing Spirits worship service on Sunday, September 27 at 4:00 p.m. All are welcome! Once again, we will be worshipping via Zoom video conference. If you had ever wanted to attend, but were not able to, this is a great opportunity. The service will include music, scripture, prayer and a brief message. To join in the service, please contact Pastor John Shellenberger at pastorjohn@fumchurch.com before Sunday afternoon.
The service is specially designed and adapted for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and their families.
Rejoicing Spirits services are held on the fourth Sunday of each month. To view the Disability Awareness Sunday/Rejoicing Spirits service, click here.
The September Spotify Playlist is here! Click here or copy and paste this URL into your browser: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5rbHEYEfHei97cUI8rjwNJ?si=AAumRDWASuGsr6-31f7FpQ.
We will be sharing a new playlist the first Wednesday of each month. For Spotify users, search for the user First UMC of Mechanicsburg, and click on the playlist titled “Where Words Fail, Music Speaks”.
If you don’t have a Spotify account, you can easily create one for free. Enjoy!
The Third Friday Food Trucks return on Friday, September 18! The trucks will serve in the church parking lot from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Food will be take-out only and guests are asked to follow physical distancing and face covering guidelines.
We will be welcoming the following trucks: Mad Dash, Get Smok’d, Potato Coop, 717 Taco, Sweet Spot and Doggie Delights (dog treats).
The last Food Truck event for 2020 will be held on October 16.
Please Like our Facebook page at First United Methodist Church of Mechanicsburg, Pa. for updates and future events
First Church will observe Holy Communion on Sunday, September 6. Please join us for worship and communion in-person or on our website on Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. Our worship services are now live-streamed, starting at 8:30 a.m. or you can watch anytime after 9:45 a.m. Pre-filled communion cups will be used for in-person worship. If you are worshiping with us at home, use your own crackers or bread and fruit juice while our pastors provide instructions for Holy Communion. All are welcome!
Wandering through the wilderness is a difficult journey at the best of times. Other times, it can seem impossible.
We are living in unprecedented times. Most of us have never lived through a pandemic. Add to that the natural disasters and political and racial unrest, and we are in a time unlike anything we’ve experienced before. Except that we have. We’ve been here before. We call it wilderness.
The pastors of First Church will present “Through the Wilderness”, a new sermon series, beginning Sept. 6. In this series, we will look to our ancestors in the book of Exodus to help us find our way through the wilderness of this time. The stories of those who trusted and obeyed God long ago can guide us through the challenges and opportunities that we face today.
All are welcome and encouraged to attend First Church’s Sunday morning worship service at 8:30 a.m., or view online through our website. For more information about attending in-person worship, go to www.fumchurch.com or call the church office at 717.766.4611. Find the Daily Bible Reading Plan here!
| Sept. 6 | Exodus 12:1-14 | Never Forget
(Holy Communion) |
| Sept. 13 | Exodus 14:19-31 | Into the Sea |
| Sept. 20 | Exodus 16:2-15 | What Is It? |
| Sept. 27 | Exodus 17:1-7 | Strike the Rock |
| Oct. 4 | Exodus 20:1-20 | Always in Awe
(World Communion Sunday) |
First Church will hold the Gathering, an outdoor worship experience, on Sunday evenings this fall.
Beginning Sept. 13 through October 25, the Gathering will offer a time of praise and worship in a casual, “come as you are” experience for all ages. Worship will be held from 6:00 to 6:45 p.m. in the church parking lot.
Rest assured in the knowledge that all appropriate safety measures will be observed:
- Physical distancing at least 6 feet apart (unless you are with members of your family/daily social circle).
- Mask wearing any time physical distancing is difficult or as you are walking around (masks will not be required once you are seated).
- Children will remain with their parents (and a fun activity will be provided!)
- Greeters will be on hand to welcome all, take attendance and assist with spacing.
- Singing will be allowed in this outdoor venue! (proper physical distancing required)
- A clean restroom will be made available for anyone in need.
Worshipers are asked to bring a mask and lawn chair, and to arrive early to allow for physical distancing. Dress for the weather, but we will move indoors in the event of a storm. See more information about the service here.
All are welcome and encouraged to attend! For more information, contact Lisa Aronson at uthrock@fumchurch.com.