Announcements

UPDATE JUNE 2, 2020

UPDATE April 3, 2020

Emergency Food Assistance Program Announced

Effective Monday, April 5, 2020; First United Methodist Church Food Pantry will adjust criteria for Emergency Food delivery.

Individuals and families in need of Emergency Food must meet
The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) income guidelines.

Criteria for delivery of an emergency food package:

Must meet low income guidelines set forth by The Emergency Food Assistance Program, AND be at high risk of contracting COVID-19:

• Individual is ill; OR
• Member of household is ill; OR
• Individual has an underlying health condition; auto immune disorder, diabetes, heart condition, etc.; OR
• Older adults 60+ and unable to access food pantry and meal programs.

Requests may be made by calling 608-251-4407. Call backs may take up to 2-3 days, and deliveries are anticipated to be scheduled within one week.

Please contact Dane County United Way 2-1-1 to learn about how you may access community food pantries and community meal programs.

Thank you to all who are serving in community carrying out essential services while practicing safe guidelines set forth by our local Public Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

UPDATE March 30, 2020

On Monday, March 30, 2020 First United Methodist Church Food Pantry begins NEW operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Individuals and families in need of an Emergency Food Package who meet The Emergency Food Assistance Program income guidelines AND live in Madison may call our Food Pantry at 608-251-4407 to request home delivery. Deliveries outside the City of Madison within Dane County will be considered for those suffering illness/medical conditions.

Deliveries will be scheduled based on our supply of Emergency Food Packages and volunteer availability to deliver. Food Pantry clients who receive an Emergency Food Package may request subsequent deliveries, and will be placed on a waiting list until all are served. Delivery dates and times are subject to change based on availability. We are engaging high level safety protocols. Anyone interested in contributing packaged toilet paper, paper towels, laundry soap, or pet food please email Karen Andro or call 608-338-0320.

Thank you to all who are serving in community carrying out essential services while practicing safe guidelines set forth by our local Public Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). 

Karen Andro, Director of Hope's Home Ministries • 608-338-0320

UPDATE March 27, 2020

Easter Community Breakfast - Cancelled

>>Go to our Calendar for other program cancellations.

UPDATE March 18, 2020

A Faithful Response to the Community in a time of Pandemic

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the advice of the Centers for Disease Control all face-to-face worship services, programs and gatherings at First United Methodist Church are suspended for the next eight weeks.

We are also closing the building and limiting access to essential personnel and services.

These are unprecedented times. We are seeking to respond in a faithful and responsible manner. The typical structures and ways of being that normally guide us to gather in worship, prayer and fellowship as a faith community are not available to us in the face of this unfolding emergency. We must suppress the urge to volunteer in great numbers to help those in need. We are seeking to limit exposure and fulfill our ministry and mission with the healthiest response.

Here is what we are doing. We urge you to stay connected to each other and to experience the spiritual gathering of the church. Here is how:

1. We will reach out constantly through e-mail, the website, Facebook and live-stream presentations. We encourage you to experience ZOOM meetings and gatherings. If these are new technologies, please attempt to learn them. We will try to provide links through e-mail and the website so that you can access these other media.
2. We urge you to connect with each other so that the practice of social distancing does not become isolating. Call. E-mail. Check on one another. Pray for one another. Focus on the day and its blessings.
3. We will provide programming through the website on a frequent basis. There will be video programs for the children often. The Quadrilateral Quartet will join Ross with musical offerings during the week. The pastors will guide us through a variety of presentations and spiritual encouragement. On Sundays we will have one live-stream worship service at 9 am. Please join in these. The schedule will be posted on the website and e-mailed.

Please connect with us. E-mail is best. The e-mail addresses are listed on the staff page of the website. Responses may not be immediate due to seriously altered working patterns and on-going challenges to build a totally new church structure, but we will respond. We miss you. We are earnestly seeking to be the church in this new and challenging time. 

In a newsletter earlier this week, Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, said, “There are no clear or easy answers. We do not know how long we must take exceptional precautions. We do not know when the dangers will pass. What we do know is that we have God, we have each other, and we have a faith that will keep us strong through even the greatest challenges.”

Amen, and amen,

Mark

Watch a message from Mark