Alexandria United Methodist Church
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Announcements


 
Our Church's main communication comes through REMIND
Please join REMIND to stay connectional: text these digits @28kcbk to this “phone” number: 810810
Once you come to the join page, choose a "student" account.
We send out updates via REMIND that come to you in a timely, quick, brief format!
A safe, reliable app used by public schools across the state.
 
 
 
 
Worship with us on Sunday mornings at 9 a.m.
In person or online on our YouTube Channel, @AlexUMC
 
 
Sunday Coffee Fellowship
 
After our 9 a.m. service every Sunday, join us for Coffee fellowship!
 
If you are interested in providing the treats for Sunday's Coffee Fellowship, please email us at office@alexumc.org. This year's schedule can be found by clicking here. We prepare an annual sign-up in November each year so now is the time to let us know you would like to be added as a regular or a sub. Thank you in advance for your food ministry to our church!
 
Children's Sunday School programming - for ages 3-14, every Sunday, after Pr. Amy's children's message in the sanctuary, children reconvene in the Sunday School classroom. See more below about our programming!
 
Wednesday Lenten reflections through the season of Lent on YouTube: Lenten reflections will post to our YouTube Channel @AlexUMC each Wednesday afternoon. These are 2-5 minute reflections that move us through Pr. Amy's Lenten series on the theme of Growth. Under the 'Home' tab, you will our short videos in a series for our 2024 weekly Lenten reflections are under the 'Videos' tab, and each video will post on Wednesday morning:
 
All Church Spring Cleaning Day: April 27th. All are welcome and encouraged. Volunteer your time for an hour or for the full day. This is important ministry. Thank you. 
 

Committee Meeting Schedules
 
SPRC, 5pm - First Monday of every month
Administrative Council, 6:30pm - Second Monday of every month 
Trustees Meeting, 5:30pm - Second Thursday of every month
Finance Committee meeting - TBD
Mission and Social Concerns Meeting  2:00 p.m. Third Monday of every month 

 

 

Announcements/Calendar

 

Holy Week Services: Good Friday 6:30 p.m.
 
Easter Sunday: 9:00 a.m.
 

Announcements this week:

  • Easter Offering - envelopes sent out in Annual letter, Bible Project for Pakistani children
  • Thank you for your generosity for our campers. As we shared, camp is an opportunity to give youth "mountaintop moments"! If you missed your chance to give and you still want to provide for this important ministry, you still can! Our Alex UMC Campership Scholarships will be allocated the week after Easter. Be sure to identify your gift by writing "Camperships" in the memo line. If giving cash, label the envelope the same. Thank you!
  • Upcoming Congregational Life Event in Fellowship Hall, Alexandria UMC, "Minnesota Hotdish Get Together", Wednesday, April 17, 6-7:30 Enjoy a variety of hot dishes (provided by CL - not a potluck), followed by BINGO. Cost: Free will offering. Sign up sheet in Narthex for food counts. All are welcome! Bring friends just let us know your 'family' count so we can plan appropriately for the food!
  • Upcoming Congregational Life Event, Potluck at Brophy Park, Wednesday, May 8, 6-7:30 CL will provide the main course, please bring a dish of your choosing to share. Cost: Free will offering. Please watch the bulletin and calendar to stay up to date with any changes. Sign up sheet in Narthex for food counts. All are welcome! Bring friends just let us know your 'family' count so we can plan appropriately for the food!
  • Kissey Eye Clinic mission: the box in the Narthex to collect eyeglasses and cases for the Lowell and Ruth Eye Clinic/Hospital is back on the shelf. Dr Deb Risvedt (Lowell Gess’s granddaughter) was very thankful for the ones delivered to Vance Thompson Vision before Christmas. She said they really need and can use them now in Sierra Leone. Alex UMC has been collecting used glasses and cases for this mission project for many years. Your support is appreciated. Thank you.
  • March is Food Shelf month. If this mission is on your heart, please bring a donation, anytime for the Outreach Food Shelf. The basket is labeled and in the Narthex.
  • Road Ditch Cleanup. This mission work is scheduled for Saturday May 18th with a backup date of June 1st. Coffee and treats will be served at 10:00 a.m. We will head out at 10:30 a.m. to pick the ditches. If there are any youth interested in helping with the road ditch clean up, please let us know. Thank you.
  • All Church Spring Cleaning Day: April 27th. All are welcome and encouraged. Volunteer your time for an hour or for the full day. This is an important ministry and we are grateful for any time and skills you have on your heart to offer up to our congregation on this important day of fellowship, mission, and ministry.
  • Milestone sock drive. We are continuing to collect socks/underwear for Milestone in the Narthex, Milestones is a non-profit in our community. Donations will be gifted to appropriate non-profits in the area that serve children and families.  Thank you for continuing to donate to this great cause.
  • Soon and very soon the Community Wood-Fired Pizza Ministry will begin it's summer events, Wednesday evenings. To learn more about the Community Wood-Fired Oven Pizza ministry, visit us online at http://alexandriacommunitywoodfired.com/ or through the Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/UMCWoodFired.   

More about Food Shelf and the month of March

During the month of March, we will be receiving donations for the Outreach Food Shelf.  The need is ongoing, and the number of people being served by the Alexandria Outreach Food Shelf continues to increase.  Food donations can be placed in the "Food Shelf" basket in the narthex.  If you wish to make a monetary donation, make your check payable to Alexandria UMC and note Food Shelf on the memo section of your check.  All donations need to be received by Sunday, March 31st.  The king will say....I was hungry, and you gave me food....they will answer him, Lord, when was it we saw you hungry and gave you food....And the king will answer them.  Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.  Mathew 25:34-40 (paraphrased).  Missions / Social Concerns Committee.

 

Town Hall Meetings - Minnesota Annual Conference

If you are interested in attending one of the Town Hall Zoom meetings led by Bishop Plambeck and her Cabinet, click here and follow this link to register.

 

If the link above doesn't work, copy and paste this URL into your preferred web browser:

https://www.minnesotaumc.org/newsdetail/town-hall-meetings-18304122

 

You must register to receive the Zoom link. In the Town Hall, much will be presented and discussed, including:

  • Redistricting
  • Organizational restructuring
  • Zero-based budget

Once you navigate to the Conference page, there is also a link to register for the Zoom meeting that will take place to discuss the results of our racial audit that included a demographic analysis, a survey of constituents, a landscape assessment through interviews with churches in each district, and meetings with our affinity groups composed of BIPOC persons.

 

Alex UMC was one of many of the churches that participated in the audit.

 

If you are interested in hearing the findings and the planned equity initiatives to address our gaps, please also register for this Zoom meeting, which is scheduled for April 6, (scheduled time of day not yet published).

 

 

Youth Group - Upcoming Wednesday nights
 
About Sunday School with Alexandria UMC
Pr. Amy leads an interactive children's message during worship every Sunday!

Ages 4 - Grade 8, October-May
Theme verse Psalm 86:10
Because You are awesome and a wonder-worker, You are God. Just You.

Each week, please consult the weekly calendar in the bulletin for any special updates from the teachers regarding programming and schedule.
Children's Sunday School Ministry for this spring as follows:

3/24 No SS, Palm Sunday
3/31 No SS, Easter

4/7 Connie Springman
4/14 Amy Rieke
4/21 Ashley Rabehl
4/28 Connie Springman

5/5 Amy Rieke
5/12 Connie Springman (Mother's Day)
5/19 Ashley Rabehl - last day of SS for the spring/summer season

 
Most Sundays, the children will head for Sunday school after Pastor's message and return during the tithes and offerings. Once a month, the children will do noisy offering and might share something with us after the offertory prayer that they are learning about in Sunday School. We are already working on plans for a Christmas program should we have children that would like to participate.
 
Each unit of the Celebrate Wonder curriculum has a "faith word". The Unit 1 faith word, which takes us through the fall season, is "creativity". For the next four weeks, our scripture study comes from Genesis, verses 1:1-19; 1:20-25; 1:26-2:4; and 2:10-23.
 
We specifically purchased a curriculum kit that serves the "one room school house" model where all ages can learn and grow together.
 
We welcome your questions and we open wide our hearts and doors to invite our children for an amazing year together in Christ's steps!
Sincerely,
The Sunshine Team
 
 
 
Christian Education with Alex UMC
 
Ecumenical Bible Study - Currently cancelled due to high covid-case numbers
10:30 - 11:15 a.m. on Mondays, Windmill Pond Chapel (2nd floor)
Address715 Victor St, Alexandria, MN 56308,
All are welcome and encouraged to join us! We meet for 45 minutes or so and Pr. Amy and Sue Helgeson lead the group in sharing, prayer, Bible-based discussions and often a hymn or two! No homework - just come as you are!

Social Creed and UMC Principles Study - Please consult the weekly calendar for updates on the meeting schedule.
 
More happenings at Alex UMC!
 
 
Pizza Ministry at the Alexandria Community Wood-fired Oven
Wednesday nights, June-August: 4:30-7pm
See schedule here: https://alexandriacommunitywoodfired.com/index.php/entertainment/
 
 
FAMILY CAMP on the shores of Lake Andrew!

Join Pr. Amy VanValkenburg and Pr. Christa Forsythe as they embark on their fourth year together offering Family Camp on the shores of Lake Andrew (Spicer)! More details will be released when we get closer to the 2024 date!
 
 
Sponsoring a youth camper!
Youth camping - many dates and programs from which to choose - Northern Pines (Park Rapids) and Koronis Ministries (Paynesville) has camping for youth starting at age 6. Our congregation is encouraged to sponsor a youth to attend camp for a week of their own choosing. Depending on which week a camper chooses, costs vary, see pamphlet on bulletin board or go online to www.campminnesota.org .
 
 
Confirmation and our Youth programming with Alex UMC

The Faithful Five:
Prayers - we visited various stations that led us in different ways to pray
Presence - we listened to a presentation on noticing how our attention to our faith life is vital for our formation as Christians
Gifts - we took an 80 question assessment that revealed spiritual talents that we are using every day even if we aren’t consciously thinking about it
Service - we created a skit about a service project we might do in our congregation. Our group did a skit about starting a ‘kindness campaign'
Witness - we heard testimony from one of our group leaders about his own faith journey

"I am excited and curious about all that we can do together, and most importantly, I am interested in endeavoring to grow in faith alongside the youth of Alexandria UMC."
-Pr. Amy
 
About Youth Group
The tenants of my curriculum and theology around youth programming is first and foremost about relationships and building connection. My vision for healthy programming is to have opportunities for youth of all ages - it is the intersectionality of interesting, fun, and engaging programming that informs and supports the faith life of our youth...and as a church, we should be making those offerings to all youth!

Ultimately, I would love to see two youth groups. That is my goal as your appointed pastor.
MS Youth Group, Grade 6-8
HS Youth Group, Grade 9-12

We are in the midst of building these so for now, I am using the one-room school house model where all of us are together for this program year, Grades 6-12.

Four Units for the 2023 - 2024 Liturgical Year
Unit 1: The Geography, life and times of ancient peoples (November Field Trip)
Unit 2: Work, Money, and the Bible (January Field Trip)
Unit 3: World Religions (May Field Trip)
Unit 4: Our Methodist expression of the Christian faith (Youth Event with Conference Field Trip, TBD)

When does the Youth Group meet?
**Wednesday evenings, 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
October 2023 - May 2024, with one Congregational Life (CL) event a month, 6-7:30 p.m.

We also have four field trips scheduled for this liturgical year. Please see the schedule for both Wednesday evenings and our field trips.

May 8 will be our final Wednesday night together for the liturgical year but not our final event of the year. *On May 8, we join CL and host the dinner and game night for the church, 6-7:30 p.m.

Our field trip to Duluth takes place May 31, and is overnight. There is no school for District 206 on April 1st. We will need additional chaperones. If you are interested, please let me know. My contact information is below.

2024 Youth Group Calendar
by month/day/time



February
7, 14, 21* (no Youth Group 2/28, Pr. Amy at Seminary)
*February 21, we join CL and host the dinner and game night for the church, 6-7:30 p.m.

March
6, 13*, 20 (no Youth Group 3/27, Pr. Amy at Seminary)
*March 13, we join CL and host the dinner and game night for the church, 6-7:30 p.m.

April
3, 10, 17* (No Youth Group 4/24, Pr. Amy and her family will be traveling to the Holy Land, April 15-24, 2024)
*April 17, we join CL and host the dinner and game night for the church, 6-7:30 p.m.

May
1, 8*
*May 8 will be our final Wednesday night together for the liturgical year, however, our field trip to Duluth takes place May 31, and is overnight. There is no school for District 206 on April 1st. We will need additional chaperones. If you are interested, please let me know. My contact information is below.
*On May 8, we join CL and host the dinner and game night for the church, 6-7:30 p.m.

**be sure to join REMIND for updates to our schedule

Four field trips (dates are tentative)
Each field trip has a “thinking theologically” pathway as we continue to discover together what it means to be a Christian in the 21st Century. See page four (4) for details.

The field trips are in harmony with our units, Units 1-4, and are spaced appropriately with the School District's calendar (District 206).

Unit 1: November - Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post, Day trip, Saturday, November 11, 2023.

Thinking Theologically:
As we explore the lives of the ancients in Israel, we will also be unpacking the lives of the peoples that inhabited North America all those 1000s of years ago. Part of this exploration will be to talk about culture and history; conversations will include discovery of our own ancestors and our own family tree.

Unit 2: January - Minnesota State Capital and Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, Day trip, Wednesday, January 15, 2023 (there is no School for District 206 on this day). We will return from St. Paul and join the CL night for dinner at the church at 6pm.

Thinking Theologically:
As we explore our values as 21st Century Christians, we will also be unpacking the politics of ancient Israel during Jesus’ time. We will be asking questions like, “How might building the Kingdom of God be the same or different from Kingdom-building empire/government in ancient times and now-times?” Taking a grip to our own state capital endeavors to understand why laws are both important and complicated.

Unit 3: April/May - Glensheen Mansion and the Peace Bell, Overnight trip, leaving from the church on Sunday, May 31, 2pm - returning Monday, April 1, 5:30 p.m. (there is no School for District 206 on this day)

Thinking Theologically:
Exploring family systems and cultural systems - love, money, work, death, war, deceit, murder, and more…just like the Bible! We will visit the Glensheen Mansion and make our way to the peace bell (a replica from World War II), installed at Enger Park.

Unit 4: Youth Event with the Conference (TBD)
Thinking Theologically:
The Conference Youth Ministry offers a once-a-year program that anchors the expression of our denomination - Methodism - in Christian faith. This is where our youth will further explore Methodist social principles, polity, and doctrine. A date has not yet been set for this event. Stay tuned!

About Confirmation

What Confirmation is NOT:
Confirmation is not a program.
Confirmation is not a youth group.
Confirmation is not ‘graduation from church’.
Confirmation is not the end to something you did.
Confirmation is not a sacrament.
Confirmation is not something we do because “my parents” said I had to.
Confirmation is not a test.
And, Confirmation does not always end in a service of Confirmation.

What Confirmation IS:
Confirmation is a covenant.
Confirmation, not being something you do, but something you live out - a lifestyle.
Confirmation is fun!
Confirmation is a time to explore, learn, grow, and discern God’s calling for you in your life
Confirmation is learning about what it means to be an adult in the Methodist expression of the Christian faith.
Confirmation is a time to think theologically about the values and Christian ethics that created the Methodist movement in the United States.
A movement that began in the home of Susanna Wesley, the first founder of Methodism, and then brought more fully into form by her sons, John and Charles Wesley, two Anglican priests.

Confirmation requirements for Confirmation in the Alexandria UMC
Should you decide to make the covenant official by a service of Confirmation during a worship service with our church family, these are the expectations:
10 Sermon Notes (in-person or YouTube), written format
Community Service, 75-hour requirement
Completed Units:
Methodism - history, polity, and doctrine
Methodism - our social principles and social creed
Methodism - the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism
Final deliverables regarding the units
1) Sharing your call story with Pr. Amy in the format of your choosing: orally, written, video, …I am very flexible on this.
2) In-person meeting with Pr. Amy, your parents, and a sponsor, to share what you would like to share about your faith journey and how you would like us to support you as you continue on your faith journey as a Methodist!


If you have a youth interested in our weekly programming or in our Confirmation programming, please contact her at pastor@alexum.org. If you are an adult interested in learning more about Confirmation and/or helping with our youth programming, please contact Pr. Amy and schedule an appointment. Pastor's office hours are posted in the weekly bulletin or call Ginger at 320-763-4624.

 


 
Looking Ahead - Stay tuned for timely updates regarding this pilgrimage. Praying for peace in Israel and Palestine.
 
Pr. Amy and Thomas are planning travel to the Holy Land with the tour, "The Holy Land - The Women in Jesus' Life"
 
Are you interested? This travel is currently postponed due to the conflict in the Middle East.
 
 
 
 
Our Contact information
Rev. Amy VanValkenburg, LLP Email: pastor@alexumc.org, Pastor's mobile: 320-309-5574/320-460-0776
Ginger Mayer, Admin. Assistant, Phone: 320-763-4624   Email: office@alexumc.org,
Office Hours: 9am - 1pm, Church Address: 2210 Sixth Avenue E, Alexandria, MN 56308

 
 


Whoever you are, however you are, just as you are, you are welcome at
Alexandria United Methodist Church.