News
June 30th
8:00 am Traditional Worship in the Sanctuary
9 am - 9:45 am Fellowship Class in the Social Hall
10:00 am Blended Worship in the Sanctuary (Live on YouTube Channel here)
Passionate Worship Opportunities
Live Streamed Blended Worship
The 10:00 am Worship Service is live-streamed every week. It is also recorded, so you may watch it later at your convenience. Please visit the First UMC YouTube channel here to view the current week’s service as well as all past services.
Summer Nursery
The nursery will be open for parents to use but will not be staffed.
Sermon Series for June and July - The Lord’s Prayer St. Augustine says, “Pray as if everything depends on God, and work as if everything depends on you.” When Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray with what we call The Lord’s Prayer, he invites us to learn what it means to depend on God and work out God’s will in our lives. Come learn, relearn, or be refreshed by the power of this prayer led by Pastor Jenn.
Radical Hospitality Offerings
Weekly Notes of Encouragement
We invite you to help bring encouragement to our church family members who are homebound or in residential care. Just a simple note saying “thinking of you” or “praying for you” will bring so much joy! This week let’s remember:
Phil Cake, 92 W. Cypress Road, Lakeworth, FL 33467
Next Week We Will Be Focusing On Our Young Campers! Emerson Krawiec, Arthur Krawiec, Ezra Krawiec, Chris Emig, Taylor Emig, Crosby McCachren, Grace McCachren, Hadlee Goode, and Abby Darr will be attending Camp Penn the week of July 7-12. Just think how exciting it will be for each of these campers to get mail during the week! Please add your note to the cards in the Narthex on Sunday! If you'd like to send an individual note, please mail to:
Camp Penn, PO Box 511, 8005 Old Forge Rd, Waynesboro, PA 17268.
Intentional Faith Development
God, Land, Faith - Fellowship Class Summer Session 2024
In the Bible, the people of faith experience God through their experiences of the land. Pastor Lew, with help from others, will lead an exploration into the many connections between the promise of land and faith as taught in Scripture and experienced in daily life. We will look at such themes as yearning for a promised land, the good steward, the farming parables of Jesus, the changing seasons, God revealed in trees, and more. In this season when many of us get closer to the land (mowing, gardening, camping), why not grow closer to the Lord through a study of one of the Bible’s major themes? We meet in Fellowship Hall, from 9:00 am to 9:45 am. Zoom participation is welcome using this address: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87567814044?pwd=NFlwQ2Y5RFVLdVBWeC90VTQrOEJiQT09
Upcoming Youth Events
July 10th - noon - Pizza and VBS preparation - Contact
July 17th – noon - Pizza and VBS preparation
July 24-27th - Impact is the BIG thing! See Ellen!
July 28th-Aug 1st - 5:30-8:40 pm - Vacation Bible School Volunteers Contact
August 7th - 5:00-7:30 pm - Pool Party at the Noland’s
August 10th - 5:45-10:00 pm (Saturday) Bethesda Mobile Mission with the Greenes
August 11th or 18th (Sunday) - TUBING in the Swatty (depending on weather and water levels)
Scuba VBS–July 28th-August 1st
A summer kids’ event called Scuba VBS will be hosted at First United Methodist Church from July 28th to August 1st. At Scuba, kids explore what it means to have a friendship with God! Kids participate in memorable Bible-learning activities, sing catchy songs, play teamwork-building games, devour yummy treats, experience one-of-a-kind Bible adventures, collect Bible Memory Buddies to remind them of God’s love, and test out “sciency”-fun experiments that get imagination bubbling. Plus, kids will learn to look for evidence of God all around them through something called God Sightings. Each day concludes with a Fin-tastic Finale that gets everyone involved in living what they’ve learned. Scuba is for kids from age 3 years old to 5th grade and will run from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm each day. Contact
with any questions and Register here to join us for this fun week!
Seriously Methodist Book Club: Tuesday, September 17, 7:00 – 8:30 PM Augustus Waldo Drury, The Life of Rev. Philip William Otterbein. Amazon Kindle ($7.95); Paperback ($24) Suggested Day Trip: Isaac Long Barn, 1001 Jake Landis Road, Lititz, PA 17543. (A working farm but you can view it at a distance). This time the action isn’t in faraway places like Bristol, England, or Kentucky, but in places like Lancaster, Tulpehocken, Frederick, York, and Baltimore. Otterbein founded the United Brethren Church which merged with the United Methodist Church in 1968. Hershey First was formerly United Brethren (UB).
Risk Taking Missions & Service Opportunities
VBS Help Needed
We need some VBS help for July 28th-August 1st from 5:30-8:30 pm. We need some crew leaders to lead groups of 5 children from station to station. If you can help, contact Cassie at
.
Special Event: Maintaining HOPE during War in Ukraine
All are invited to hear missionaries Archana and Ruslan Tkachuk discuss the current conditions in war-torn Ukraine. They will share slides and videos of how they provide humanitarian relief and other help through their non-profit, “Raising Hope Ukraine”. There will be a time of question & answer, fellowship, and light refreshments following the presentation. This event will take place in the Social Room on the ground floor. Thursday, July 25, 2024 - 7:00 pm.
Red Bird Mission 2024 Work Camp
Red Bird Mission Work Camp this Fall of 2024 will be postponed until 2025. Please be in prayer for Red Bird and its many ministries. We hope to try to form a team for 2025. If you have any questions, feel free to discuss this with Jenny Greene.
Counting Team Volunteers Needed
The counting team is currently in need of a few more volunteers to assist in counting the weekly offering. Teams of three rotate turns and meet on Sunday after the 10 am service or on Monday mornings in the office. Several of our team members are out for the summer. Please contact Barbara Shumar if you are interested in assisting at .
Extravagant Generosity Offerings
Hershey Food Bank
The food bank would greatly appreciate donations of the following items: toothpaste, canned spinach, canned mushrooms, 1-, 2- or 3-pound bags of rice, canned asparagus, and/or canned artichokes. Donated items can be placed in the shopping cart located in the Narthex.
After-School Matching Pledge Challenge
Currently, we have an extravagant generosity pledge to match the pledges donated by the church for the After School Program. Our goal is $50,000 total. Pledge cards are at the Welcome Center. For any questions about the program contact Cassie McCachren and Nicole Gearhart at
After-School Gift Card Fundraiser
Need an easy gift or go shopping? Grab some gift cards from Raise Right and support our After After-School Program! Sign up https://www.raiseright.com/enroll?enrollCode=1Y99DASZA1WL and buy gift cards right from your computer or phone! You can also order through the order forms on the Raise Right table in the Narthex. Order forms can be turned into the office with a check.
Love INC of Greater Hershey Lace Up with Love INC Sneaker Drive and Distribution
For the 11th year in a row, Love INC’s network of twenty-one area churches, alongside caring members of our community, are coming together to offer school-aged students in need a brand-new pair of name-brand sneakers. We project a need for 300+ pairs of newly purchased sneakers to outfit both girls and boys in sizes ranging from Youth 11 to Adult 17. Sneakers will be distributed August 1-3. Look for the box in the Narthex to place your sneakers. Monetary gifts are also welcome and can be sent directly to Love INC. Volunteers are needed! Sign up at https://loveincgreaterhershey.org/sign-up-links/
General Announcements
New Church Office Hours
The church office hours are now Monday through Thursday 9 am-1 pm. The church office will be closed on Fridays.
New Deadline for Weekly News
If you have any church or community-related announcements that you would like to be considered for our Weekly News, all submissions must be received by Wednesday at 9 am. Please email to:
for consideration. Thank you.
Renovation Committee Update
Last April 21st, in response to assorted conversations about the care and improvement of 64 W. Chocolate Avenue, the Church Council authorized the formation of a Renovation Committee. The forming of this committee was an act of faith in the future of this congregation as an agent of God’s presence and transformation from the town square of Hershey. The committee held its first meeting this past Tuesday, June 18th. Our final goal is to offer the congregation recommendations for improvements to our largest tool for ministry–the existing building. We hope to celebrate the completion of those improvements in time for the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the building in November 2028. It is a long journey with many steps. One of the first and most important steps is to seek your input. In the coming weeks, you will be receiving various invitations to share your thoughts, concerns, and aspirations with the committee. Committee members: Greg Holsinger (chair), Anita Meiser (secretary), Ron Louder, Tom Moffett, Meghan Carpenter, Pastor Jenn, Chris Darr, Brian Grubb, Sara Zentmeyer, Lisa Ginder, and Pastor Lew.