serve our community
we are a church beyond walls
At First Church, we seek to be a church beyond walls, meaning our focus is beyond just the members and what happens within the walls of our church. Instead, we continually ask God how we can be used to impact the lives of those in our community.
community dinner
Assist in the preparation and serving of our Community Dinner on one or multiple Thursdays a month. Community Dinner is open to anyone who is in need of a hot meal each Thursday from 5-6pm.
To sign up to serve in 2023, click the button below.
For serving opportunities, please contact our Food Ministries Director, Sapedia Myers, at smyers@fumcstw.org
our daily bread
Our Daily Bread Food and Resource Center (ODB) is Stillwater’s community food pantry. We continue First Church’s long tradition of combating food scarcity by volunteering once a month at ODB’s Food distribution. Volunteers assist with intake, aid guests as they select their food and load it into their cars, and help with keeping the shelves stocked. If you would like to volunteer with other First Church members on the 4th Tuesday of the month please contact Pastor Cindy at crriedel@fumcstw.org. If you are interested in finding other opportunities to serve at Our Daily Bread throughout the week visit their website at https://www.ourdailybreadstillwater.org
Shower ministry
We welcome those seeking an opportunity to shower and clean up. Free showers are available to anyone who is in need of facilities and water to do so on Thursdays from
2–4pm. We have an onsite male and female volunteer each week who greets our guests who arrive for a shower, hand them a clean towel, washcloth, personal toiletry items, and a clean T-shirt, pair of underwear, and socks. Guests often, then, return outdoors to wait until doors are unlocked for the weekly Free Thursday Community Dinner. To sign up to serve as a Shower Ministry host or hostess, please contact Beth Buchanan at pbethfb@aol.com or 405-743-0832.
weekend food sacks for children
The Weekend Food Sacks for Children project provides a small bag of easy to prepare foods for hungry, school-age children to take home on Fridays to help feed them during the weekend. Volunteers meet once a month to help with packaging of the sacks while other volunteers deliver filled sacks to area schools on Thursday mornings. To assist with the packaging, please contact Linda Blum at lkblum55@gmail.com or to assist with Thursday morning deliveries please contact Karen Hinton at bkhinton@brightok.net.
the hope house
The Hope House is a resource center for foster families offering many items needed by families upon receiving foster children into their home—clothing, shoes, toys, books, baby items, high chairs, strollers, cribs, car seats, welcome baskets, etc. While the Hope house is a ministry of First Church it is made possible by volunteers and donations from throughout the Stillwater community and beyond.
To Donate: Donated items can be left in the Donation Box inside the SW entrance. If you have a large donation please call the Hope House phone at (405) 385-2475 or email at stwhopehouse@gmail.com to schedule a donation time. All donated items must be in very good shape and free of stains, tears, missing buttons, etc. It is important for these children to feel good about the clothes they wear and the items they receive. Monetary donations are also accepted and are used to purchase car seats, cribs, supplies/fixtures, etc. Checks may be made out to “FUMC” with “Hope House” in the memo line and turned in to the church office, or through our online giving portal and designating “Hope House” in the notes section.
To Volunteer: There are two workdays a month, one Thursday morning from 10 a.m.—Noon and one Sunday afternoon from 2:00 p.m.—5:00 p.m. Special workdays are also set up for volunteer groups. Additionally volunteers assist on the 2nd Saturday of the month from 10 a.m.—Noon while foster parents shop for needed clothing and items. To volunteer for an upcoming workday, click here to visit the SignUp Genius. Also, if you would like to be added to the Hope House e-mail group, to be notified of upcoming work days and special needs, please send your name and e-mail address to stwhopehouse@gmail.com.
For more information please call the Hope House phone at (405) 385-2475 or e-mail stwhopehouse@gmail.com.
