First Connec ion Normal First United Methodist

Church January 2021

January At-A-Glance

Love thy Neighbor Worship Theme

(more information on page 2)

Wednesday Nights Zoom Classes

(note different times each week)

January 13 @ 4:30: Cooking with Julie Higgins (WW cook)

January 20 @ 6:30: Craft projects with Jess Lamberty

(Normal 1st Intern)

January 27 @ 4:30: Cooking with Julie

More information on page 3

Weekly Worship Services continue on-line,

via our website. The service is available by

Saturday afternoons at normalfirst.org.

Some in our congregation watch it at

their traditional time for worship (Saturdays

at 5:00 or Sunday mornings). But we’ve

heard of others who are “worshipping” at

other times throughout the week. Whenever

you worship, we’re glad you’re joining in.

Our Vision: To be transformed by

God and transform the world into

a just, inclusive, Christ-like

community

Our Mission: To connect all people

with the love of Christ

Core Values:

Love - Love God and all people

Service - Serve God, one another,

the community, and the world

Stewardship - Protect God’s

creation

Wisdom - Embrace lifelong

learning for spiritual and

intellectual growth

Thoughts from the Pastor

2

I understand that January is named after the

Roman God Janus. Janus was two-faced.

As the Roman god of beginnings and

endings, Janus looked backwards and

forwards at the same time. The month of

January reminds us to look back and to look

ahead.

How do you feel about looking back on the

year that just passed, 2020? It did not turn

out like we expected, did it? As you look

back, what do you see? Covid-19. A knee

on the neck of Mr. George Floyd as he said

he couldn’t breath and then called out for his

mother. Rallies, protests and riots. A very

divisive election and a very divided nation.

What do you see when you look forward?

What is the Good News you want to take

with you into this new year? What is a

Christian to do?

As a church, we want to start this new year

by going back to the basics, or the heart of

our Christian faith. What are we to do?

1. Love the Lord your God with all your

heart, with all your mind and with all your

soul.

2. Love your neighbor, as you love yourself.

Our worship theme in January will be:

Love Your Neighbor.

As you practice the spiritual disciplines that

will help you love God with all your heart,

may this lead you to reach out to a hurting

world with love for your neighbor. Like the

leader questioning Jesus, we may be

tempted to ask, “But who is my neighbor.” If

we follow Jesus, we do not get off the hook.

We do not get to exclude any groups of

people. We are to find a way to love

everyone.

These are themes for each week, with a

suggested act of kindness.

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR

JANUARY WORSHIP THEMES for 2021

Scripture: Matthew 22:36-40

JANUARY 3:

“Love Your Neighbor” Act of Kindness: For someone in your local

neighborhood

JANUARY 10:

“Love Your Neighbor and Loving the Larger

Community”

Act of Kindness: For the larger community

(support an agency, pick up trash, plant a tree, . .)

JANUARY 17:

“Love Your Neighbor: Creating a Beloved

Community”

Act of Kindness: Do something for someone of a

different race (or have a conversation)

JANUARY 24:

“Love Your Neighbor: Love Your Enemy”

Act of Kindness: Do something for someone who

thinks differently than you do.

JANUARY 31 “Love Your Neighbor: What About the Poor?”

Act of Kindness: Do something for someone

living below the poverty line.

We will offer more specific suggestions in

January. We cannot control life. We do not

know for sure what 2021 will bring.

Let us commit to respond as Christians, though.

Let us love God and love our neighbor.

We can continue to change our communities for

the better.

Pastor Kent King-Nobles

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Daily Prayers: Changes for 2021

The Daily Prayers will be a compilation of various contributors. We are

looking for people, of all ages, to submit prayers or scriptures,

meaningful quotes or hymns/songs to be included in our daily readings

for 2021. Here’s how it works:

You can submit a prayer, a scripture, a quote, or a verse from a hymn.

You could submit one or many. One idea would be to send in 7 for an

entire week. It can be an original prayer or one that someone else wrote and was

meaningful to you. Make sure to include the author. You can submit a writing that fits for a

particular day (i.e. MLK holiday) or one that fits for any day. Be mindful of the length of the

writing. What works best is no more than a short paragraph.

*Contact Pastor Kathy for more information or to think through this with you. We’re hoping to have

lots of different people over the year get involved in this project.

*You can send your prayers/writings directly to Molly in the office (mburke@normalfirst.org)

Many thanks to Mary Foster for creating the Daily Prayers that have been nourishing us these past few years.

They have been and continue to be a source of inspiration, hope, and re-assurance throughout these days!

Thanks, Mary, for your gift of love and faith to all of us.

Winter Activities to Boost Your Spirits Cooking with Julie: The weather outside is frightful! Homemade food is so delightful! Join us on

Wednesday, January 13 and/or Wednesday, January 27 for a cooking class brought straight to your

kitchen by our very own Wonderful Wednesday chef, Julie Higgins! During each class, you will

prepare a tried and true, fan favorite meal from Julie’s top-secret recipe book. We will be preparing

a mouthwatering Cheesy Potato Soup on Wednesday, January 13 and a delicious Pasta Bake on

Wednesday, January 27. The Zoom meet will start at 4:30pm, with cooking beginning at 4:45pm. The

meal should be ready to eat around 6:15! An ingredient list will be sent to you approximately 1

week before the class so you can have all the supplies you need. Optional substitutions will be

available to make the meal gluten free, vegetarian, and/or vegan.

You are welcome to join one or both nights!

Prayerful painting with Jess (January 20 @ 6:30): Hello, Normal First! Are you looking for something to

do with the whole family or to take your mind off things and focus on God? We have just the thing

for you! You’re invited to join our intern Jessica Lamberty for a fun, interactive prayerful painting

session. No art experience required! This step-by-step session will take place in the comfort of your

own home with minimal supplies. Prayerful painting connects us with the Lord in a unique way that

helps us express our hopes, thoughts, and prayers into artwork. It is a great way to relax and praise

God for the blessings he has given us or ask him for guidance during a difficult time. Feel free to use

your own paint supplies, but if you need to purchase some, watercolors are cheap and available at

most craft stores.

To RSVP for any of the zoom classes, visit https://www.signupgenius.com/

go/10c0d4bafaf2ba1fcc25-january, or contact the church office

4

Many thanks to all who made the Advent and Christmas seasons so very special.

And… Happy New Year from Music Ministries!

Music Connections

Children and Families Ministries Happy New Year Normal First Families!

Drive-Through Noisy Offering benefitting The Baby Fold will resume January 30th

and continue every Saturday of the month from 10-11a until we are safely back

in the sanctuary. Families, we need your help! This event is a fun way to give back to the

community AND see a few church friends. We need cheerleaders, coin collectors, high kickers,

hand clappers, big smilers, sign makers, Life App Home Kit passer outers, and love givers.

Sign up will go out a few weeks before each Saturday Drive Through. January Life App: Rules for Life: Play well. Finish strong.

Responsibility is showing you can be trusted with what is expected of you.

Normal First Kids Book Drive

During the past few months, we have been busy cleaning and upgrading our

children’s classrooms. We find it important to have a wide range of books

depicting diversity displayed in each classroom. Please consider looking at our

Amazon Wish List to see if there is one or a few you would like to donate. These

books will be available for check out The books also will remain in the classrooms to use during

their time there.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2E77UKDPRXZMW?ref_=wl_share

Church Family Updates Welcome to our new members, The Marinello

Family. We are so happy you are here!

Nellie Berlin, daughter of Keith & Erin Berlin,

granddaughter of Jan & Richard Berlin, was baptized

on December 14th

In Memory of Betty Stappenbeck

(July 23, 1932– December 3, 2020)

5

With the passing of a most bizarre semester, Merge is gearing up for Spring

2021! Our new Leadership Team is attending a virtual retreat to dream

about the future of Merge and plan the upcoming semester. We are

thrilled to say that even with the difficulties brought on by this time and all

virtual worship, we have had some deeply meaningful services, intellectual

Bible Studies, community building small groups, and powerful one on one pastoral care

conversations. The future of Merge is bright as we continue to make plans and contingency

plans while ensuring students’ safety. This spring, as always, we are excited for meeting new

students, creating impactful worship experiences, and growing in faith and community

together.

If you are interested in supporting Merge, a financial gift can be given online at

isumerge.org/how-to-contribute. Thank you for your continued prayers for this community of

college students!

Night In A Car: Supporting Home Sweet Home Ministries

February 5, 2021, 7:00 pm – 7:00 am

Teams will be sleeping in their cars to support the programs of Home Sweet Home. Some

teams will be at Trinity Lutheran Church. Others will be at home in their own driveway. And

still others will be in a different city or state, supporting HSHM. The Design Team is hoping to

have a team in all 50 states.

Ways to support this fundraiser:

Organize your own team and enlist sponsors

Support the Normal 1st teams (Pastors Kent and Kathy have signed up. And there may be

more to come.) Donations can be sent to the church for NIAC or done on-line

(https://nightinacar.org/support-our-participants/profile/normal-1st-pastors

Pray for the event!

Thank you, Normal 1st, for your continued support of Home Sweet Home Ministries

Youth Ministries had a blast during the virtual Bob Ross painting class!

Stay tuned for updates on more events to come.

Green Team Happy New Year, Normal FUMC!

A New Year can mean a new focus, a new project, new energy, a fresh start!

Our church is taking a fresh look at religion, nature, and climate change.

Please help us to achieve more than 100 responses to make the data retrieved more

meaningful by returning this survey.

Results will help us focus our priorities on sustainability and creation care. We appreciate your

help. Please complete your survey by January 15. Here is the link you can use to access the survey:

Religion, Nature, and Climate Survey

6

STUDY THE PROPHETS WITH PASTOR KENT The Slow & Steady Bible Study led by Pastor Kent will begin a new study on January 14. We will

be looking at two Old Testament Prophets: Amos and Micah. We will especially be interested

in what these prophetic books say to us today. No previous knowledge is necessary. All

studies will be on Zoom at this time, from noon to 1:00 p.m. each Thursday. Contact the

church office or Pastor Kent, or visit the FUMC website calendar for the link or for more

information.

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN We are grateful for the response to our Stewardship Campaign. We have received 215

estimate of giving cards, totaling $631,508. If you have not had an opportunity to complete a

card, it is not too late. You can contact Leta Buhrmann (452-2096 or

business@normalfirst.org), or you can complete a card by clicking the Give Online tab on the

church website. Thank you again for all your financial support.

Thank you to Erika, Kathy and Kent for coming to rake my yard, and

thank you to the congregation for your continued prayers.

-Stanna Breen

Movie Discussion Group: Watching “Social Dilemma”

January 28th @ 2 pm

This documentary-drama hybrid ex-

plores the dangerous human impact

of social networking, with tech experts

sounding the alarm on their creations.

(Netflix). Every parent, teen-ager,

grandparent, caring adult .should

watch this movie.

Link to join the discussion on calendar

page normalfirst.org or by contacting

the church office.

Caregivers Support Group January 4th @ 10:30 am

Contact Molly Burke for the Zoom

link for the meeting: secre-

tary@normalfirst.org, or visit the

Normal FUMC website calendar

Contact Judy Poultney

(452-7665) to learn more about

the group.

7

Mercy Circle Mercy CIrcle will meet

Wednesday, January

20 at 9:30. We will have

our annual pledge

service. Our program is

“The Boys and Girls

Club”. We hope to see

you on zoom.

Vesper Circle Vesper Circle will hold

an informal Zoom

meeting at 1:30 on

Tuesday, January 19,

to visit and discuss

possible 2021

programs.

Ruth & Hope Circles are currently on hiatus.

Follow their Facebook

pages for any current

news. Please contact

Claire Brucker if you

have any questions at

309-662-3451.

A message from Jess Lamberty, our IGRC Intern:

n addition to being the intern for Normal FUMC, I spent this past summer serving an internship for Life

Builders Ministries International. This organization is near and dear to my heart as I have sponsored an

orphan through their program with my family for the past decade. What started as a childhood pen

pal in Nigeria quickly turned into a life changing opportunity for me to grow in my faith with God and

see his love being shared all around the globe.

Life Builders is based in Lagos, Nigeria and focuses on sharing God's love through ministry, education,

and health services by sponsoring orphans impacted by the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa and providing

them with food, shelter, and quality education. Not only does this organization aid the most vulnera-

ble of people, it allows for those who are more fortunate to lend a helping hand and show God's

grace to transform a life!

As we begin a new chapter of our lives this year, please consider donating to Life Builders and spon-

soring one of our orphans in need. This is a great opportunity for the whole family to grow in God's

grace and serve Him this year. For more information and to see our orphans in desperate need of

sponsors, visit http://www.lbuilders.org/ or email Jess at jessicalifebuildersministries@gmail.com.

United Methodist Women

Finding Peace in an Anxious World

United Methodist Women are sponsoring this Spiritual Growth study at 7 pm on Thursday evenings in

January on Zoom. It is open to any interested persons. The study is based on the commonly known

short version of The Serenity Prayer

God, Grant me the Serenity

To accept the things I cannot change

Courage to change the things I can

And the Wisdom to know the difference!

Videos on Serenity, Acceptance, Courage and Wisdom presented by Dr. Rev. Devon Herrell from the

Michigan UMC may be viewed in advance. These videos are located at

www.umwmichiganconference.org . The study uses passages from Proverbs and the Gospels.

Additional helpful information may be found at Finding Peace in an AnxiousWorldUMW.org including

how to order the book by Erin James Brown. Register with Ginny Riggins, (825-7942,

ginnyriggins@comcast.net ). If you have additional questions be in touch with Karleen Dude (452-3838,

karleendude@yahoo.com)

First Connection is a monthly publication of

First United Methodist Church of Normal.

(USPS 414120)

Periodicals Postage Paid at Normal, IL

POSTMASTER send address change to

First Connection, 211 N. School St., Normal, IL

61761

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Normal, IL

We commit ourselves to be in ministry for and with all persons.

(Social Principles of The United Methodist Church) First United Methodist Church in Normal has committed itself to provide a Christian community and ministry

without reference to any boundaries including age, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, economic condition, physical or mental ability. We strive to be an open and accepting

community in line with our understanding of what the Gospel of Jesus Christ expects of us.

Office Hours, Mon-Fri, 8-12, 1-4pm

309-452-2096

normalfirst.org

Co-Pastor

Rev. Dr. Kent King-Nobles

pastorkent@normalfirst.org

Co-Pastor

Rev. Kathy King-Nobles

pastorkathy@normalfirst.org

Director of Student Ministries

Rev. Kim Burke

kburke@normalfirst.org

Finance Manager

Leta Buhrmann

business@normalfirst.org

Office Manager

Molly Burke

mburke@normalfirst.org

Director of Music

Janna Peterson

jpeterson@normalfirst.org

Worship Music Director

Tiffany Ogdon Smith

Director of Children & Family

Ministries

Jill McNiff

children@normalfirst.org

Director of Buildings/Grounds

Amy Fuller

afuller@normalfirst.org

Congregational Care

Coordinator

Erika Cheeseman

echeeseman@normalfirst.org

Organist

Dr. Dennis Gotkowski

djgotkowski@gmail.com

Contact Information

211 N. School St.

Normal, IL. 61761

Phone: 309-452-2096

Office Hours

8-12 pm

1-4 pm

Monday-Friday

Website: http://normalfumc.org/

Instagram@normalfirst