Village Nursery School

Farewell to VNS Director Beth McCool

First Church wishes to express its heartfelt gratitude to Beth McCool for her years of dedicated service as a teacher and director of Village Nursery School. Beth has accepted a counseling position in a local school system. We are thankful for the positive impact she has had on the VNS children and families. Her exemplary organization is highly commendable, and we are especially grateful for the grace and wisdom she has brought to managing Village Read more…

FUMC Foundation Scholarship

FUMC Foundation Offering Two Scholarship Opportunities

The FUMC Foundation is offering two scholarships opportunities for the 2023-2024 school year. Applications are due July 31, 2023 to the FUMC office. Applications are reviewed by the scholarship committee of the FUMC Foundation. Robert E. Straszheim Scholarship Fund The Robert E. Straszheim Scholarship Fund, established by the family of the late Robert E. Straszheim, proposes to assist worthy protestant students, in training for full-time Christian work.   Download Scholarship Application >> D.H. Patterson Memorial Scholarship Read more…

Adult Education

All Church Freedom Sunday School Experience

During the Sundays of June and July, Purdue Freedom School Executive Director, Professor Breanya Hogue and her Purdue College of Education colleague Professor Amber Neal-Stanley will lead a Sunday School Conversation at First Church called “Freedom Sunday School.” This will take place in the Activities Center from 10 AM to 11 AM. Amber M. Neal-Stanley, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum Studies in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Purdue University. Her research Read more…

Eggs Over Easy with Bacon, Please

Whenever we take a road trip, Max and I enjoy stopping at local diners for at least one meal in the places where we stay overnight or longer.  If you want to truly experience the local color of a place, look no farther than a local diner. No two are alike, and that is one of their joys. It is late morning when we arrive at Pearl’s Diner after our first night in Hocking Hills, a Read more…

Youth Ministry Wraps a Great Year with Passionate Leaders

At First Church, we hold dear the value and significance of children and their spiritual growth. We believe that investing in youth ministry is a critical component of building a strong and healthy church. Moreover, we are committed to investing in the future of our congregants. That is why we partner with Purdue University students who are pursuing or have an interest in early education or youth ministry to lead our children’s ministries. This year, Read more…

Klondike Kids Club Report 2022-2023 Report

This year KKC served 15 families with a total of 23 children enrolled. Three of those children deal with learning difficulties requiring one-on-one tutoring. For the first time, children who began the program in kindergarten are now fifth graders preparing to enter middle school in the fall. Several of these children were learning English as well as their ABC’s and NUMBERS when they began. They are now confident fluent readers and spellers.  The success of these Read more…

Living Our Hope

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1st Peter 1: 3-5) Read more…

Adult Education

Adult Education: Sharing Our Faith Journeys

First Church will launch a new Adult Education series, Sharing Our Faith Journeys, beginning Sunday, April 30. The series focuses on getting to know other members of the congregations through the sharing of faith stories each week. Each week, two members will share their journeys from questions such as: Tell us about your involvement with church growing up. What was meaningful to you? When did you get involved in church as an adult? What encouraged Read more…

Easter: Seeking Beyond Where the Sidewalk Ends

On the north wall of our Sanctuary space (which we call the Christian Life Center or “CLC”) the worship team has mounted a display of interactive visual elements. Our Lenten conversations have explored questions that emerge from the stories in our weekly Gospel texts. These questions are sometimes curious and hopeful—“How do we begin again?” Sometimes they invite restoration—“Can these bones live?” Most often they are challenging—“Who will we listen to?” We are seeking beyond Read more…

fortune cookie

Don’t Listen to a Fortune Cookie

By Diana Hoke ‘Tis the season we pay our share of earnings to the government. Income tax time! Completing all the forms is unlikely to be an enjoyable experience, especially if you do it yourself, which is akin to pulling your hair out one strand at a time over the course of numerous dreadful hours of tax revelations. For many taxpayers, it’s a grim time. Money is the root of all evil, they say. But Read more…