Donations for Epic Quest VBS are now being collected! You can select a donation item by picking up a paper slip from the board in the Tower Room or FLC. You can also CLICK HERE for our Amazon Wishlist. Please bring your donations to the church office by June 21. Items on the Wishlist will be shipped directly to the church.
Thank you for your generosity and support of our VBS ministry!

Our 2026 team included 9 members of the FUMC family; Kay Cheaney, Ellen Domnick, Tyrrell Conway, Jim Seward, Roger Gose, Rex Largent, Cal Underwood, Rosemary Van Orden and Doug Valley. Also joining our team were Mickey Chapman from Enid, and Dana Carter from Malvern, Iowa. We left the church parking lot at 4:30am on Monday, April 13 and arrived in Santa Cruz Bolivia about 3:15am local time on Tuesday. Our host, Froilan Quisbert was there to greet us and get us to the hotel.

Late in the afternoon we went to the American Institute, the Methodist school in Santa Cruz, where we were welcomed by Bishop Medardo Vedia and the students of the school. There were the usual speeches, gifts exchanged, and performances of indigenous dancing by the students. We were served a buffet of traditional Bolivian foods which were described and explained by the students.

On Wednesday we travelled to San Pedro. On arrival we checked in to our hotel and then headed to main street where we were again the honored guests of a parade led by the Methodist High School marching band from the city of Montero, and ended up at El Exodo Methodist church for a welcoming ceremony and lunch.

On Thursday our tasks began. Several of us went to the local hospital to provide a free medical clinic in conjunction with the local hospital staff and the Methodist Health services doctors and nurses. Ellen and Kay staffed the pharmacy; Rose worked with Bolivian doctor Alvin screening patients for diabetes and providing nutritional counselling. Dana, Mickey and I worked at fitting eyeglasses to 280 patients. We fitted 188 pair of reading glasses, 39 adjustable distance-vision glasses, and 120 pair of sunglasses. The doctors saw 397 patients for medical evaluation and treated 639 patients for parasitical prevention, all in the 4 days we held the clinic.

Our construction team of Roger Gose, Rex Largent, Tyrrell Conway, Jim Seward, and Cal Underwood spent those same 4 days working on the next building in the El Exodo church complex. The work team shoveled and wheelbarrowed sand, mixed cement, lifted buckets of cement up to be poured into the column forms and carried bricks for the masons. The foundations were finished and some of the walls were started. Morning, noon and night we all joined together at the completed next-door building that we worked on last year for our meals and evening devotions. Local cooks prepared delicious traditional Bolivian food.

We were blessed to share in several worship services with our Bolivian friends. El Exodo is a beautiful church with some 70 members. This was very heartwarming to share these sacred rites with new friends and we were honored that Bishop Vedia personally travelled to San Pedro for the welcoming festivities and came back again for the closing ceremonies.

Tuesday the 21st we returned to Santa Cruz to spend a day and a half exploring the city and purchasing souvenirs and mementos, and on Thursday we travelled to Guembe Ecological Park, which is helping to preserve the native flora and fauna. There were monkeys, tortoises, parrots, macaws and many other animals and birds. We had a terrific lunch on the park grounds and then returned to our hotel in Santa Cruz to prepare for our return to Oklahoma. By 10pm we were on the way to the airport for our 1 am flight. We arrived back in Tulsa Friday afternoon right on time.

This was another great trip to share with our South American brothers and sisters and we are looking forward to doing it again next year. For those of you who may be interested in joining our next Bolivia Mission team we found the area around Santa Cruz to be much easier physically than the high country around La Paz. Over my many trips to Bolivia I have slept on many church and clinic floors, and occasionally an actual bed, but in these past two years we have been accommodated in air-conditioned hotels with good beds and individual bathrooms with showers. So, if the spartan conditions we have experienced in the past have kept you from signing up, contact me for more information.

- Doug Valley

Our congregation has been blessed to receive 31 members into our congregation so far in 2026. Three adults received their baptisms as they came to join us in membership - what a celebration! As we welcome several new members, it is a good time to revisit the membership vows of the United Methodist Church: prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. Every time someone takes these vows, the rest of us renew our vows as a reminder that none of us can be faithful by ourselves. We need each other; we need our church. In the coming weeks, our pastors will be preaching about the meaning of these vows and how they deepen our life of faith, both individually and together. These really are vows worth living.

What if…? This year, our Annual Conference answered that question. What if…love? What if love were the answer? This was our theme. Six delegates from our church attended, along with three retired pastors. Our lay delegates (Monty Karns, Martha McMillian, Rachel Weaver) reflected on these days of connection with United Methodists from across the state.

Rachel was selected to serve Communion with our District Superintendent, Rev. Valerie Steele, at the opening worship service. “There is something really special and beautiful about humbling ourselves and taking communion with fellow believers,” Rachel said. Both Monty and Martha said the most meaningful experience this year was the teaching sessions with Dr. Ashley Boggan, the General Secretary for the General Commission on Archives and History.

Dr. Boggan brought to life stories from our founder, John Wesley. Our delegates appreciated learning more about how Wesley challenged the established church of his day. Martha said, “I learned more about John Wesley and his thoughts and beliefs than I’ve learned in my lifetime, and I loved what I learned. He was more liberal than I ever knew, and that makes me proud to be a Methodist!”

At the closing worship service on Saturday, our lay delegates brought forward a covenant ratified by our Church Council and put it on the altar table at Church of the Servant. Our commitment to love boldly was shared by their response. We are excited about asking the question, “What if?” and giving the answer, “Love.” Enjoy some of the photos from last week!

Volunteers are needed for our Thursday Community Dinner! We are looking for individuals willing to serve just one Thursday a month from 4:30pm to 6:00pm. 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

Roll up your sleeve and make a lifesaving difference at the Red, White & True Blood Drive at First United Methodist Church in Stillwater! Join us Sunday, June 14 from 8:30am to 12:30pm in the Family Life Center and celebrate your donation with an exclusive T-shirt and two tickets to Frontier City, Hurricane Harbor, or Magic Springs while supplies last. Give blood, support your community, and kick off summer with a purpose!

CLICK HERE to sign-up or CLICK HERE to watch a short video from some of the recipients!

The UWF Women’s Bible Study will begin on June 2 and all women are invited to participate. This will be a wonderful opportunity for fellowship, encouragement, and growing together in faith. They will be studying the book, The Holy Spirit: God's Presence and Power At Work In Us by Adam Hamilton. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Velda Lorenz at (405) 269-8287.

We are launching a NEW small group, tailored for young professionals! If you are under 35ish years old and do not consider college as your full-time focus, this just might be the group for you. This group is meeting for the first time THURSDAY, JUNE 11 @ 7PM IN THE SANCTUARY. If you have questions or are interested, please contact Pastor Corey by email at cshirey@fumcstw.org

Articles & submissions for our weekly E-news, service bulletins, and social media posts are reviewed at staff meeting each Tuesday afternoon. Please send all E-News and flyer requests to Garett (greding@fumcstw.org) and all Bulletin requests to MacKenzie (churchoffice@fumcstw.org) 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.