Announcements

WORSHIP AT WILMINGTON

Join us for an uplifting worship experience!
Exciting news: Our Worship Service hours are now at 10:30 AM!
Come join us as we come together for a truly uplifting and meaningful worship experience. We look forward to sharing this special time of inspiration and connection with you.

Coffee Hour Sign-Ups
Please sign up at signupgenius.com.
If you have any questions please direct them to Christine Nally at 978-423-9671.

Altar Flowers
Share with us special moments/people in your life by requesting flowers to enhance our weekly worship service. You can email or call the church office at wilmingtonumcoffice@gmail.com (978) 658-4519 to place an order. Altar flowers are $35.00.

SUNDAY MESSAGES

Join us in worship every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM and be inspired by Pastor Peter's insightful sermons at Wilmington United Methodist Church. Pastor Peter delivers engaging messages filled with wisdom, compassion, and relevance, guiding us through meaningful reflections on faith, community, and life's journey.

Experience a welcoming community and find inspiration for your spiritual path in our Sunday services led by Pastor Peter.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL

Christian Education for Adults
Join us on Sunday mornings, at 9:15, in the Octagon room, we are hosting a new adult Sunday School class.

For our first few sessions, we will be working through the book Unbinding the Gospel, and plan to incorporate a wide range of topics and formats moving forward.

Adult Sunday School/Faith Formation Class & Discussion
During our new Adult Sunday School/Faith Formation Class & Discussion, Ginny Hipple will lead us. Looking through the eyes of the participants in the arrival of the Messiah, she'll draw from Stephen Mitchell's book The First Christmas.

Plan to join us on Sunday mornings from 9:15-10:15 am in the Octagon Room.

LIST OF EVENTS

Sunday, April 14th
9:00am - 10:00 am, Worship Tewksbury
10:00 am -10:15 am, Share, Prayer & Care
10:30 am - 11:30 am, Worship Service Wilmington UMC
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm, Pastor Clement (Worship Sunday) Sanctuary

Monday, April 15th
HOLIDAY Patriots Day (Secretary Office Closed for the Holiday)
4:30 pm, Dwelling Place Soup Kitchen
5:30 pm, Cub Scout Pack 361 Fellowship Hall
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm, Brews and Bible

Tuesday, April 16th
11:00 am Windsor Place Bible Study
6:00 pm -9:00 pm Troop 56 (Fellowship Hall)

Wednesday, April 17th
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm, Staff Meeting via Zoom
7:00 pm, Alcoholics Anonymous (Coffee Room 2-7)
7:00 pm, Ruth Circle

Thursday, April 18th
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm, Choir Rehearsal Sanctuary
6:30 pm, Gamblers Anonymous (Coffee Room 2-7)
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm, Biblical Study with Pastor Clement (Rooms 2-4/2-5)
7:00 pm, Rachel Circle

Sunday, April 21st to Sunday, May 5th
2024 Festival of God's Creation
(see details below)

Sunday, May 19th
Rise Against Hunger, Meal Packing Event
(see details below)

St. Paul's Soup Kitchen
WUMC is responsible for preparing and serving at St. Paul's Soup Kitchen.
Attendance has been consistently increasing; your Outreach Committee needs your help in meeting this need! Please click on the link below to see if you can lend us a helping hand.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094DAFAD2AA5F9C52-48612995-stpauls#/

2024 FESTIVAL OF GOD'S CREATION

Calling Artists of All Ages and Levels of Experience!
2024 Festival of God's Creation Earth Day Celebration and Art Exhibition
April 21-May 5, 2024

Submit your original artwork, poetry, or informative installation illustrating the beauty and bounty of God's gifts, and our responsibility to respect and protect them.

This year's theme: "The earth is in our hands"
Earth Day 2024 official theme: Planet vs. Plastics.

And as always, the theme of the beauty and wonder of the world around us is always welcome!

Questions? Ask a Social Concerns member or email edharriman16@gmail.com.

MEAL PACKING EVENT

The Wilmington United Methodist Church invites you to a Meal Packing Event on Sunday, May 19, 2024, through Rise Against Hunger, an international hunger relief organization that distributes food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable, mobilizing the necessary resources to end hunger by 2030.

WUMC held a food packing event in 2017, where 300 volunteers packaged 20,088 meals in two hours. These events have the potential of offering a service opportunity, as well as an educational opportunity for our congregation.

This year, we are looking for 50-80 volunteers from the congregation to sign up for any of the following slots:

• Load-in and Event Prep - 12:00 - 2:00 pm (must be able to lift/move 50 lbs.)
• Meal Packing Shift 1 - 2:00-3:00 pm
• Meal Packing Shift 2 - 3:00-4:00 pm
• Load-out and Event Break Down - 4:00- 6:00 pm, or until done (must be able to lift/move 50 lbs.)

Please use this link to sign up and grab a spot!

The Rise Against Hunger events provide a fun, engaging way for groups to lend a hand to people facing hunger across the globe. They combine the assembly-line process with an educational experience for all ages and make an impact on both the world, and the lives of the volunteers.

Please join us for the 25th Anniversary of Rise Against Hunger and help meet their annual goal of 35 MILLION meals available to those in need! We would love for you to be a part of this wonderful day!

Sincerely,
Outreach Committee
Wilmington United Methodist Church

BREWS & BIBLES

This new ministry is progressing nicely. It is helping to bring the Wilmington and Tewksbury congregations together. Danielle and Church Helms from the TUMC have committed to this ministry, and their leadership is appreciated. Each week, we meet new people in search of a spiritual connection. I appreciate your support of this endeavor. If you want to join us, please do; we will gather at 7:30 at Tavern on The Square in Burlington, MA.

TRAILBLAZERS HIKING MINISTRY

Discover a New Dimension of Faith Exploration through WUMC's Trailblazers Hiking Ministry! Join us for invigorating outings that start with a brief, uplifting moment of inspiration lasting around 5 minutes, followed by engaging discussions lasting 10-15 minutes.

Our Trailblazers group usually gathers monthly for these inspiring adventures. For more information and specific event details, check out our Meetup.com page.

A MUSICAL MOMENT

Hello Friends!

This week's hymn is I Am Your Mother.

The Christian community desperately needs to sing this hymn. "I am your mother," subtitled "Earth Prayer", is one of the most articulate and poignant hymns on ecology in this generation. A lament on humanity's abuse of the earth, this hymn reflects the growing awareness of mutual interdependence and reliance on God's creation for our survival. As amazing as the overall construction of the hymn is, the final line, however, sets this hymn apart from earlier hymns on this theme. Classic hymns in stanza structures usually wrap up the theme of the hymn in some fairly conclusive way. Shirley Murray defies traditional hymn structures to make her point.

CONFIRMATION CLASS

We have some exciting plans in store for Confirmation Class this year! We are inviting all 7th and 8th graders to join in this exciting and important point in many young people's faith journey! Confirmation will be meeting on Sunday afternoons, on the first and third Sunday of each month. It will be a time of fun, food, and learning. If you have any questions, please reach out to Jamison Rudd.

SEWING GROUP

Your WUMC Sewing Group meets the last Saturday of every month from 9:30 a.m. til noontime. Our projects include Little Dresses for Africa, sanitary items for girls also sent to areas in need, and tied fleece blankets distributed to The Wish Project in Chelmsford serving the Merrimack Valley area and The Mission of Deeds in Reading. You don't sew; not a problem! There is something for everyone; cutting dress patterns, ruffles, pockets, bias tape, or cutting fabrics needed for sanitary items or cutting and tying fleece blankets. So, bring your machine (if you want to sew) or a pair of sharp scissors and ruler for cutting; however, most importantly bring your willingness to help others less fortunate than ourselves.

We gather in Fellowship Hall or an alternate location if needed; any location change will be posted on the downstairs entrance doorway. If you have any questions, please contact Betsy Peterson at (978) 657-0355 or email bpeter62@comcast.net.

Come join us!