Join Us For Worship-Online
We welcome you to join us at your convenience on Sunday mornings. Just open your email for a link or go to our Facebook page and see it posted there! Then, at 10:00am we will join together in a Zoom meeting for "Feed the Spirit" (coffee hour/fellowship).
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Pastor Richelle shares the communal heartache that many of us are feeling if the face of racial injustice and divisiveness in our country.
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Dear Church,
This will be brief as I shared so much in the video above. One item I did not address was the question of "When will our church open?"
I wanted to let you know that a Reopening Church Task Force has been created with a variety of people with different areas of expertise. I am thankful for each one who said yes to helping Fairport UMC discern the What, How and When of reopening. We had our first meeting on Sunday and plan to meet again this coming Sunday. A few things to just highlight:
1) Our main concern is keeping everyone as safe as possible and at the same time being mindful each person's psychological/emotional/spiritual well being.
2) We will have have guidelines for small group needing to meet (currently under 10 people) both on and off church property. We realize for different people, meeting face to face will be life giving. We want people to have safe guidelines as they gather. We hope to have that by next Tuesday's email. This would be the first phase of Fairport UMC "opening" up. By no means should anyone feel forced to meet in person. It is more than OK to continue to Zoom.
3) It will still be a very long time before we gather in worship in the same way we experienced worship pre-Coronavirus.
4) Our Annual Conference has recommended that in person worship not happen until at least Phase 4 in NYS. There is a very good possibility that we still won't have in person Sunday worship at that time.
Please be patient with us as we do this complicated and difficult work! Hold the task force in your prayers. We will keep information coming to you as we have it available.
Peace,
Pastor Richelle
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This Sunday
This coming Sunday...
Peace with Justice Sunday - June 7, 2020
"Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
So God created humankind in God's image
in the image of God, God created them;
male and female, God created them.
...God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good." - Genesis 1: 26-27, 31
In the beginning, God created a world of peace and equity, balance and goodness. As we see in the news around the world, in the protests erupting on our streets, in the inequality of our community and the restlessness of our hearts, we see that we have fallen short of our God-given responsibility to live in peaceful justice. This Sunday, join us as we gather together as a community in Christ to offer our prayers that we may till the garden of peace and justice and return to our responsibilities of living in the image of God.
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Last week's Worship Info:
In case you missed last week's worship, click here to view the video.
Click here to read the bulletin/text of the service (prayer, liturgy and songs)
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Prayers for the Week
Let us all continue to hold in prayer all those affected by the coronavirus (especially health care workers and those caring for our most vulnerable sisters and brothers) and...
- We pray for our broken world: for those that suffer under the yoke of racism and prejudice, for those experiencing economic, racial, and social inequality, and for those that fear for their lives simply by existing in a world that is intolerant and unjust.
- For our community as it rebuilds itself after peaceful protests were interrupted by violence.
- We lift Bob Silver's mother, Phyllis, in prayer this week. Phyllis is experiencing a serious case of shingles.
- We pray for Sarah Joy, who will be undergoing surgery and treatment for breast cancer. We pray for grace and strength during the challenging days ahead.
- Please pray for the friends and family of Tony, a coworker of Julie Locke, who passed away after a long battle with cancer. We pray for God’s grace and love to surround the family as they begin to knit their lives together after his loss. We also ask for wisdom and strength as they prepare to handle end of life needs in this time of pandemic and social distancing.
- For those grieving the loss of loved ones.
- For those who are struggling with the isolation of social distancing.
- We continue our prayers for Bev Boynton, Herb and June Konz, Courtney Pedersen, Josh, Lois Spencer, Susan, Maura, and Lexi Despin.
To request prayer: Send an email to the office and indicate how you would like the prayer shared (public or private) with Pastor Richelle
June Birthdays
 Click here for a list of June birthdays for our church family!
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Ministry Updates!
While the building remains closed, the work of the church continues! Please click the icons below to discover what each of our Ministries is doing!
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New This Week: Check Out Our Spotlight on Ministry!
 Please click on the icon to learn about the amazing work done by Learning Links during the pandemic!
Vital Resources for FUMC regarding Race Inequality and Anti-Racism
This document is intended to serve as a resource to white people and parents to deepen our anti-racism work. If you haven’t engaged in anti-racism work in the past, start now. Feel free to circulate this document on social media and with your friends, family, and colleagues.
Here is a shorter link: bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES
To take immediate action to fight for Breonna Taylor, please visit FightForBreonna.org.
Important Information Regarding the United Methodist Church
Update on from Reconciling Ministries Team: Likely Split of United Methodist Denomination
The expectation was that the May, 2020, General Conference would produce a plan for the conservative churches within the denomination to split off from the centralist/progressive churches. That split, though painful, would allow centralist/progressive churches such as FUMC to move forward, supported by fully inclusive Discipline statements regarding LGBTQ ordination and marriage. That conference has now been postponed for approximately 17 months. The link below provides access to a recent town meeting hosted by Mainstream UMC and provides an excellent update on the status and possible path forward. The town meeting update goes from time-stamp 13:28 to 35:15. If you have questions or comments, please feel free to contact Tom Deever (585-203-4184; tdeever@hotmail.com)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEluRTqrwzM
United Methodist Board of Church & Society offers online seminars:
From the Social Justice Team:
During this pandemic the inequities and social injustices of our society are increasingly difficult to ignore. This creates an opportunity for Christians to renew a prophetic call for justice, equality, and reconciliation. To be responsible heralds of that prophetic call, we must educate ourselves.
Beginning this Thursday afternoon, the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society will be hosting the first of five weekly online seminars exploring how the COVID-19 pandemic intersects with income inequality, systemic racism, food insecurity, and mass incarceration. To learn more, follow this link: https://www.umcjustice.org/news-and-stories/seminar-program-launches-virtual-series-on-covid-19-1034
Topics include:
All webinars are free and open to all. Click the links above to register for individual sessions.
“COVID-19 revealed societal injustices that already existed. This pandemic has magnified familiar societal, political, and economic disparities—now with the added urgency of a public health crisis,” said Aimee Hong, Board of Church and Society Senior Executive Director of Education and Engagement.
“We will hear from experts and learn how to take action for a long-lasting change towards a more just post-COVID-19 world. While it may be tempting to return to life pre-COVID-19, the opportunity exists for people of faith to use this unprecedented moment to prophetically redress these historical and persisting wrongs. Now is an opportunity to commit to Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Check out our New Website!
Fairport UMC has a new website! It has the same web address so you don't need to do anything different to access it. It was rebuilt with the help of Laura Nelson, Barry Bermudez, the Communications Team, staff and professional help by Sandy Squires of Capra Strategy.
https://caprastrategy.com/about-page/!
Thank you to all who helped!
Sharing Your Gifts!
Our Music Ministry is on YouTube!
Nicole has started a Fairport UMC Music Ministry YouTube Channel! Fairport UMC Music Ministry YouTube Channel! The music/photo montages are there, in addition to the special music soloists from our Sunday worship services. Check out our videos and subscribe!
Share Your Photos!
Please keep sending photos to Nicole f or her music/photo montages! The response has been amazing, and your pictures are beautiful! They provide a glimpse into our lives and the beauty of God’s creation, and it is a special way to keep us inspired, calm, and connected to each other during this time.
Please make sure that if there are people in your pictures, they are okay with being in a video. Names will not be used, except the people who have sent the photos on the title page. The video will be shared in the weekly e-mail, the church’s Facebook page, and the new Music Ministry YouTube Channel.
Share the Gift of Music!
If you would like to record a video of a piece of music for one of our Sunday worship services, please e-mail Nicole. It is wonderful that so many of our musicians are sharing their talents during our pandemic time of online worship!
Children’s Ministry Pandemic Initiative
Adopt a Grandparent
 During this time of social distancing, Children’s Ministry of Fairport UMC has implemented virtual Sunday school and related online activities in an effort to maintain Christian education for the youngest members of our congregation. This has also provided an opportunity for our children to remain connected to one another and their teachers. Children’s Ministry is now ready to expand our children’s opportunities for connections among our church family and has just initiated a new program called “Adopt a Grandparent.”
We are excited to announce that 15 of our Sunday school children in pre-K through 5th grade have volunteered to adopt a “grandparent!” Each participant has received the name of one older individual or couple from our congregation and will be sending messages, cards, artwork, etc. to help brighten the lives of those who may be feeling lonely during this challenging time.  We are particularly enthused about the opportunities this will provide for both the oldest and youngest members of our church family to connect and develop relationships.
So… despite the need for physical social distancing at this time, God is at work helping us to find ways to stay close and supportive of one another!
Ways to Serve Our Local Community
We are called as faithful followers of Jesus to serve those who are in need. During this time of global crisis, the needs of our community are growing daily. Please read below for ways that FUMC is asking for your help to serve the most in need:
Outreach to St. Joe's House of Hospitality
St Joseph’s House of Hospitality is a Rochester Catholic Worker community which provides food, clothing, shelter and spiritually-centered care for the homeless and marginalized people in the city of Rochester. We have been partnering with them on outreach projects for several years. In addition to providing bagged lunches, they are starting to do grocery bags of food for the migrant workers and their families who come to the area every year to assist the local farmers. Our efforts will begin shifting to this important work.
Mark Renfro does a drop-off every Friday of the items they are most in need of (as well as lunch supplies). If you want to help support the effort by donating items, you can drop them off on the front porch of Mark Renfro’s house – 50 South Ave, on the corner of South Ave and George St at the opposite end of the block that our church is on. This past week they requested and we supplied them with:
Ziploc Sandwich bags
Cookies
Sandwich Bread
Bags of White Rice
Boxed Pasta
Jarred Pasta Sauce
The Face Mask Task Force
The Face Mask Task Force of the Fairport United Methodist Church remains committed in their efforts to supply cloth face masks to three shelters in Rochester – Sanctuary House for women and children, St. Francis Shelter for men and St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality. To date, we have supplied 260 masks to these three shelters according to each shelter’s specific needs. Many, many thanks to all the sewers devoted to this cause!! This task force now includes Karen Felgenhour and her production assistant, Jerry, Ellie Robinson, Brenda Deever, Judy Darrer and Judy Bermudez.
We realize that the need at shelters for both adult and children’s face masks will continue for months to come. For that reason, we are inviting any sewers within Fairport UMC to join in the important work of this team. Please be aware that we are willing to travel to your house to pick up masks from your front porch to be delivered to the shelters. If you are interested in becoming a part of this effort, please contact Judy Bermudez.
Perinton Food Shelf
Check out the Perinton Food Shelf website for information regarding donations needed.
Spring has Sprung! Mowing the Lawn at Church
Volunteers are needed to help with lawn mowing at the Fairport United Methodist Church. Please click this link to view the online sign up sheet. We have all the tools needed for the job. Your time to mow at church and the little house are greatly appreciated. If someone doesn't have internet access they can contact Ken Fischer (585-216-7611) or Ed Caskey (585-738-2043) to check dates and sign up. Thank you!
Online Devotionals
Many members of our congregation find The Upper Room daily devotional a helpful guide to deepening their spirituality and look forward to the latest copy in the Parlor. While the church is closed, the Upper Room publishers have offered the May/June publication as a digital download for you to enjoy anywhere. Click here to download your copy, as well as pocket prayer books for prayers of comfort, courage, hope, and grace in times of sickness.
Other devotional materials and apps:
- Sign up for Daily meditations from Fr. Richard Rohr
- d356 Daily Devotional
- Common Prayer: A liturgy for ordinary radicals (available as an app)
- YouVersion Bible (available as an app, see more information here)
- Our Daily Bread app (available as an app)
Pastoral/Congregational Care
If you are in need of any pastoral care during this time please contact Pastor Richelle. You can text her, email her or call her! If you need her phone number please call the church office or email her directly. She is available to have a Zoom at request. The staff, church members and Caring Ministries Team is in the process of reaching out to the whole congregation. We are also paying special attention to our elderly and home bound/nursing home members. Thank you to all those who are helping care for the congregation.
One Year in the Bible
The whole church is invited to join the Children's Ministry Team in taking time this year to explore the bible! You can read about key events and people in the Bible. You’ll get an overview of what happened…and why it matter so much! You can pick up a reading plan (purple paper) from the Parlor. Happy reading – our prayer is that you and your family grow closer to each other and to God as you embark on your journey through the Bible. Questions? Ask Joy Leinenbach,
The reading for this week is the Shepherd’s Story: Luke 2:1-20
The church building is closed for the time being. If you are in need please email at:
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