The past few weeks have been super exciting at First UMC. Last Sunday, May 17, we celebrated the baptism Carson Clapp, and welcomed the Clapp Family into membership. On May 3, we welcomed the Domnick Family into membership. On April 26, we welcomed Regina Fenderson into membership.
(photos are in order of names listed above)

As summer approaches, Hope House has wrapped up another wonderfully busy month. Our families were able to shop for summer clothing, shoes, and swimsuits - items that help kids get ready for the summer season. Hope House is always grateful for donations of gently used clothing in sizes newborn through teen, and our Amazon Wish List remains an easy way to support our mission from anywhere, you can view this by CLICKING HERE
 
Thank you for your continued generosity, we truly could not do this without you!

The Children’s Weekend Food Sack Program has completed providing weekend food sacks for the 2025/2026 school year. This year we distributed 22,352 food sacks to the 12 schools in Stillwater. The help from an amazing group of volunteers who packed food sacks once a month and the group that delivered to the schools every Thursday made this all possible. The number of sacks needed to meet the needs of the food insecure children increased 1,152 over last years total. We appreciate all those that donated to this program. Karen Hinton, Nancy Allford, and Linda Blum will continue to work over the summer to secure funding for the 2026/2027 school year. Our monthly costs have averaged $20,000.   Any donations can be made to FUMC and note Weekend Food sacks.

The United Women in Faith will host a pot luck supper at 6:00pm on June 2 in the Social Hall. The program will be presented by three women from the Bolivia mission team. All women are invited to attend the meeting. 

After a busy Sunday morning celebrating our graduating seniors, we were honored to host Stillwater High School's Baccalaureate last Sunday evening!  73 graduating seniors and their families flooded the multi-purpose room to honor God with scripture, prayer, and song.  Collaborating with Life Church and Sunnybrook, students led the service.  Thank you Pastor Corey, Garett Reding, Gabe Lane, Barnes family, Hook family and FUMC youth for your contributions in making it a special evening! 

What an incredible morning we had last Sunday celebrating 18 of our graduating seniors! They opened their hearts to us through their video message, helped lead worship, and reminded us of what it looks like to share our gifts and step up boldly for God’s glory. We are so proud of each one of them and excited to see where God leads them next!
Thank you Seniors for your leadership, heart, and willingness to serve. Also, thank you FUMC for the love and support shown to these young people throughout the years!

CONGRATULATIONS SENIOR CLASS OF 2026!

Our Church Council met last evening, May 21, for our regular meeting. Our first item of business was approval of our July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027 budget. Total projected expenditures ($1,752,471) exceed projected revenue ($1,742,064) by $11,047. This is a small overage (less than 1%) and will be taken from reserves, if necessary. We approved this budget as balanced.

Our 26/27 budget included raises for our staff. Our district superintendent, Rev. Valerie Steele, was on hand for the Charge Conference portion of our meeting. She presided over the vote to give both pastors a 3% raise, effective Jan. 1.

We also approved the 26/27 budget for our Early Childhood Center (ECC). We approved a plan to create an online church directory later this summer, available by early fall. We received and approved three requests for Foundation grants. And, we approved a covenant naming our intent to live boldly into a more loving and welcoming Body of Christ. Our delegates to Annual Conference will hand carry this signed covenant to our state-wide meeting next week in Oklahoma City.

If you would like details on any of these items or would like a copy of any of the materials that came before us last evening, please reach out to Daniel Guthrie or Pastor Charla Gwartney.

Volunteers are needed for our Thursday Community Dinner! We are looking for individuals willing to serve just one Thursday a month from 4:30-6:00 p.m. Help is needed with serving food, hospitality, setup, and cleanup as we continue providing meals and care for our community each week. If you are able to help, please sign up by CLICKING HERE! 

Get ready for an unforgettable adventure! Registration is now open for our VBS, Epic Quest, happening June 28th-July 1st. Kids will embark on an exciting journey filled with fun activities, meaningful lessons, music, and new friendships they won’t forget!

Don’t miss out on this epic experience - CLICK HERE to sign-up and invite friends to join the quest! 

Have you ever wanted to learn to read music, improve your singing, or pick up a new instrument? As your Director of Worship and Music, I am excited to offer free, 30-minute private music lessons exclusively for adults in our church family!

Whether you are starting from scratch or looking to build on existing skills, you can benefit from tailored, one-on-one instruction. As an experienced choral conductor and university instructor, I am thrilled to share my passion for music with our community.

Areas of Instruction Include:
Private Voice Lessons, Beginner Piano, Beginner Guitar, Music Theory Fundamentals, Beginning Conducting, Handbell Techniques, How to Read Music

Lessons are limited to adults (18 yrs or older) at this time. I have two days available for lessons: Thursdays (10:00 AM – 1:00 PM) & Sundays (1:30 PM – 4:00 PM) Length of lesson: 30 minutes. Space is limited! I am currently only taking 3 to 4 students per week, and all lessons must be scheduled in advance. If you are interested in claiming one of these weekly spots, please reach out to me, Keegan Rose, at krose@fumcstw.org or by phone at (405)-246-8419 to schedule your time. I hope to see you for a lesson soon. 

Our office will be closed Monday, May 25, in observance of Memorial Day. All activities at the church will be cancelled for that day as well. 

Articles & submissions for our weekly E-news, service bulletins, and social media posts are reviewed at staff meeting each Tuesday afternoon. Preferred weekly deadline for all submissions is noon on Tuesday. Submissions can be received as late as Wednesday noon for the bulletin and Thursday noon for E-news. Since all submissions not received by noon on Tuesday require approval by one of the pastors, inclusion for submissions not received by this deadline cannot be guaranteed. Thanks for your assistance in helping us meet our production deadlines by submitting items for publication by noon on Tuesday.