August 3, 2025 Worship

Worship for: August 3
8th Sunday after Pentecost

August 3, 2025
10:30 am

In-Person Worship
and
Find our online Worship:
on Facebook
and on YouTube

Quirky Stories from Scripture

“Permission to Sleep in Church”
Pastor Paul Arnold

Scripture: Acts 20:7-12

Message Preview: Are we permitted to sleep in church? Is it recommended? Come this week to hear the story of Eutychus, a believer in the early church, who fell asleep during a very lengthy discourse from the Apostle Paul. The story will be part one of the August sermon series, "The Quirkiest Stories in Scripture." 

WORSHIP HELPS-click the links below

BULLETIN

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Brainstorming Session on August 17

♥ STAY CONNECTED ♥

PLEASE REGISTER your attendance by commenting on our Facebook page during the worship service. We'd love it if you would fill out a connection card!

PLEASE EXPLORE OUR WEBSITE: champaignfumc.org

NEWCOMERS If you are new to our community of faith, Pastor Paul would like to have a conversation with you and get to know you better. He wants to be your pastor and he hopes FUMC will be your church home. Please fill out the CONNECTION CARD found on our website. https://www.champaignfumc.org/connection-sheet

SIGN UP FOR MORE! If you would like to receive weekly letters from the pastor and church news, please go to our website and fill out our CONNECTION CARD!

DONATE ONLINE through Vanco or Paypal, on our website!

PRAYER REQUESTS If you would like us to pray for you or your loved ones, email your prayer request to: info@champaignfumc.org OR fill out the prayer request form on our website.

FUMC Musical Ensembles Resume their Regular Schedules soon! All interested musicians are welcome to join!

Come to the Downbeat – your God-given gifts are needed!

Calling ALL musicians! We mean it! Opera singers, shower singers, happy birthday singers, bell ringers, ding-a-lings and musicians in training!  All humans from 3 years to 110 years are invited to give music @ FUMC a try.

Rehearsals for FUMC musical ensembles resume their regular schedules soon.  All interested musicians (and wanna-be musicians!) are welcome to join.  The rumor that you have to be an exceptional musician to join is NOT TRUE!  Invite your friends to join us.  If you miss the first rehearsal, come to another!  Contact Barbara Zachow for more information at 217‑356‑9078 or bzachow@comcast.net.

 First Regular Rehearsal:

·    Chancel Choir – Wednesday, August 20, 7:00 – 8:15 pm - Choir Room
o   Youth and adults of any age
o   Provide choral music in a variety of styles for worship services

·    Perceptions Praise Team - Thursday, August 28, 6:00 – 7:30 pm, Sanctuary
o   Youth and adults of any age
o   Keyboard, guitar, drum set, vocalists, other instruments

·    Chancel Ringers – Tuesday, September 2, 6:00 – 7:00 pm - Bell Tables
o   Youth and Adults of any age
o   Intermediate or Advanced handbell experience
o   Provide music in a variety of styles for periodic worship services

·    Angel Choir - Sunday, September 7, 4:00 – 5:00 pm - Room J
o   3 years old through 5th graders
o   Singing, tone chimes, beginning bells, Orff and rhythm instruments, foundational music reading skills

·    Youth Music – Sunday, September 7, 5:00 – 6:00 pm - Choir Room
o   6th through 12th graders
o   Singing, intermediate bells, instruments, other artistic talents

 ·   FUMC also hosts Choral Union – Monday, September 8, 7:00 – 9:00 pm, Choir Room
o   Adults with willingness to sing in and contribute to the community chorus, the ability to match pitch, and the ability to produce a pleasing vocal sound
o   Give periodic concerts throughout the community

July 27, 2025 Worship

Worship for: July 27
7th Sunday after Pentecost

July 27, 2025
10:30 am

In-Person Worship
and
Find our online Worship:
on Facebook
and on YouTube

July Sermon Series: "Do You Believe in Miracles?" 

Part Four: “Two for One Special"
Pastor Paul Arnold

Scripture: Luke 8:40-56

     Many of us were taught that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. But then we discover that there are times when the straight line doesn’t exist. Even in the life of the Lord Jesus, there were detours and interruptions. When things happen in your life that are not part of your plan, rest assured that the fully human Jesus knows how you feel.

       This week we will examine the events of a fateful day in which Jesus was interrupted while on his way to save a life. 

WORSHIP HELPS-click the links below

 BULLETIN

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Evening Perceptions this Sunday, July 27

♥ STAY CONNECTED ♥

PLEASE REGISTER your attendance by commenting on our Facebook page during the worship service. We'd love it if you would fill out a connection card!

PLEASE EXPLORE OUR WEBSITE: champaignfumc.org

NEWCOMERS If you are new to our community of faith, Pastor Paul would like to have a conversation with you and get to know you better. He wants to be your pastor and he hopes FUMC will be your church home. Please fill out the CONNECTION CARD found on our website. https://www.champaignfumc.org/connection-sheet

SIGN UP FOR MORE! If you would like to receive weekly letters from the pastor and church news, please go to our website and fill out our CONNECTION CARD!

DONATE ONLINE through Vanco or Paypal, on our website!

PRAYER REQUESTS If you would like us to pray for you or your loved ones, email your prayer request to: info@champaignfumc.org OR fill out the prayer request form on our website.

July 20, 2025 Worship

Worship for: July 20
6th Sunday after Pentecost

July 20, 2025
10:30 am

In-Person Worship
and
Find our online Worship:
on Facebook
and on YouTube

July Sermon Series: "Do You Believe in Miracles?" 

Part Three: “A Question That Begs for an Answer”
Pastor Paul Arnold

Scripture: John 5:1-9

     It is almost never God's will for us to get "stuck." Nonetheless, many Christians have had this experience. This Sunday, we will consider the fascinating story of a man who was stuck in place for 38 years. We will probe the disturbing possibility that the man was complicit in his own predicament. And we will examine one of the most hard-nosed questions that Jesus ever uttered. "Do you want to get well?"  

School Backpacks for empty tomb Kids

♥ STAY CONNECTED ♥

PLEASE REGISTER your attendance by commenting on our Facebook page during the worship service. We'd love it if you would fill out a connection card!

PLEASE EXPLORE OUR WEBSITE: champaignfumc.org

NEWCOMERS If you are new to our community of faith, Pastor Paul would like to have a conversation with you and get to know you better. He wants to be your pastor and he hopes FUMC will be your church home. Please fill out the CONNECTION CARD found on our website. https://www.champaignfumc.org/connection-sheet

SIGN UP FOR MORE! If you would like to receive weekly letters from the pastor and church news, please go to our website and fill out our CONNECTION CARD!

DONATE ONLINE through Vanco or Paypal, on our website!

PRAYER REQUESTS If you would like us to pray for you or your loved ones, email your prayer request to: info@champaignfumc.org OR fill out the prayer request form on our website.

July 13, 2025 Worship

Worship for: July 13
5th Sunday after Pentecost

July 13, 2025
10:30 am

In-Person Worship
and
Find our online Worship:
on Facebook
and on YouTube

July Sermon Series: "Do You Believe in Miracles?" 

Part Two: "Wedding Season" 
Reverend Paul Arnold

Scripture: John 2:1-11

  This week we consider an unusual and uplifting story in which Jesus appeared to change his mind. Join us on Sunday as we probe the occasion when Jesus saved a wedding party. What truths can we glean from the Son of God’s intervention in a situation that was decidedly not a matter of life and death? How might this strange story influence our understanding of Jesus and his concern for every corner of our lives? 

WORSHIP HELPS-click the links below

 BULLETIN

ANNOUNCEMENTS

School Backpacks for empty tomb Kids

♥ STAY CONNECTED ♥

PLEASE REGISTER your attendance by commenting on our Facebook page during the worship service. We'd love it if you would fill out a connection card!

PLEASE EXPLORE OUR WEBSITE: champaignfumc.org

NEWCOMERS If you are new to our community of faith, our pastor would like to have a conversation with you and get to know you better. She wants to be your pastor and she hopes FUMC will be your church home. Please fill out the CONNECTION CARD found on our website. https://www.champaignfumc.org/connection-sheet

SIGN UP FOR MORE! If you would like to receive weekly letters from the pastor and church news, please go to our website and fill out our CONNECTION CARD!

DONATE ONLINE through Vanco or Paypal, on our website!

PRAYER REQUESTS If you would like us to pray for you or your loved ones, email your prayer request to: info@champaignfumc.org OR fill out the prayer request form on our website.

July 6, 2025 Worship

Worship for: July 6
4th Sunday after Pentecost
Welcome Reception for
Pastor Paul and His Wife Mary

July 6, 2025
10:30 am

In-Person Worship
and
Find our online Worship:
on Facebook
and on YouTube

July Sermon Series: "Do You Believe in Miracles?" 

Part One: "Crazy Love" 
Reverend Paul Arnold

Scripture: Mark 2:1-12

This week we will consider the story of a man who was flat on his back. He might have stayed that way. Often in life, we cannot pull ourselves "up by the bootstraps." In most cases, recovery is not a solitary endeavor. This Sunday, come and hear the story of a man whose life was transformed when the crazy love and mighty faith of good friends put him in touch with the power of Jesus.  

 WORSHIP HELPS-click the links below

BULLETIN

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Meet Pastor Paul and Mary Arnold

Pastor Paul Arnold begins his ministry at First United Methodist Church (FUMC) in Champaign effective July 1, 2025. His first worship service will be on Sunday, July 6, 2025. Please wear your name tags this summer so that Pastor Paul can begin to put names to faces. Stick on name tags will be available at the check in desk on Sundays through July and August. 

 There will be a welcome reception for Pastor Paul and his wife Mary immediately after the worship service in Friendship Center. Coffee will be available prior to worship and treats will be available at reception. Please come by and meet Paul and Mary Arnold. There will be a basket if you wish to leave a welcome card for them.

 Consider welcoming Pastor Paul by having a small group gathering at your home for 6-8 members of the congregation. Just an hour or so in the evening with a light dessert. This can be opportunities for the congregation and Pastor Paul to get to know each other. Please contact Pastor Paul directly regarding his availability after he and Mary get settled in the parsonage later in July or August. 

 Love First, Barb Cicone and the Staff-Parish Relations Committee

♥ STAY CONNECTED ♥

PLEASE REGISTER your attendance by commenting on our Facebook page during the worship service. We'd love it if you would fill out a connection card!

PLEASE EXPLORE OUR WEBSITE: champaignfumc.org

NEWCOMERS If you are new to our community of faith, our pastor would like to have a conversation with you and get to know you better. She wants to be your pastor and she hopes FUMC will be your church home. Please fill out the CONNECTION CARD found on our website. https://www.champaignfumc.org/connection-sheet

SIGN UP FOR MORE! If you would like to receive weekly letters from the pastor and church news, please go to our website and fill out our CONNECTION CARD!

DONATE ONLINE through Vanco or Paypal, on our website!

PRAYER REQUESTS If you would like us to pray for you or your loved ones, email your prayer request to: info@champaignfumc.org OR fill out the prayer request form on our website.

Where Connecting, Growing and Serving are a Way of Life