Pastor & Church Updates

After being without a mission team for many years, we restarted our Mission & Outreach Committee this year. This committee has its work on our vision of Community, Compassion, and Commission. Our priority this year has been to track all that AFUMC is doing as well as to start some new activities that fit with our vision. This will give us an idea of where we can have the most impact. We can then increase in certain areas and start looking beyond our walls to make a greate

I have a confession to make. I am a planner. I plan everything. Whether that is how we spend our money, where and when we go on vacation, the family meals, my day, and even what I wear. Sometimes, planning has benefited me, especially when it has come to finances. And yet, often when it comes to faith, planning has rarely been helpful. After all, I had never planned to study religion, go to seminary, or become a pastor. Yet, here I am.

Greetings from the Staff-Parish Relations Committee (SPRC). The SPRC provides a connection between our staff and the congregation at Auburn First UMC. In many ways, the SPRC functions like a secular Human Resource Committee. However, we work more like an advisory personnel committee, focusing on spiritual support, ministry alignment, and work-life balance.

In the book of Genesis, God calls Abraham to leave his homeland and to go to the land God will show him. Then God says that God will bless Abraham so that he may bless others (Genesis 12:1-3). Over the last few weeks, I have been amazed by all the ways that God continues to bless us.

As a RIDE. Committee, we acknowledge that we live in a world of profound social, economic, and political inequities. So, as followers of Jesus, we commit ourselves to the pursuit of justice and pledge to stand in solidarity with all who are marginalized and oppressed.

This weekend, we will celebrate our mothers and all they have done for us. We will let them sleep in, take them out to lunch, buy them flowers, and send them cards. But the way we honor them today is not the way we have always done it. In fact, the origins of this holiday show us that the Christian values of loving our neighbor and promoting peace are central to this celebration.

The Board of Trustees at Auburn First United Methodist Church is charged with the care and stewardship of the church’s buildings and grounds. In practical terms, Trustees help ensure that our facilities are safe, functional, welcoming, and ready to support worship, fellowship, education, and outreach.

During Holy Week, we remember triumphant events, like the washing of the disciples’ feet and Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, as well as the more sorrowful moments like Jesus’ arrest, trial, and execution. Yet, in the Gospel of John, we also get the final words that Jesus shares with his disciples.

Each February, we celebrate Black History Month to honor the dignity, leadership, and spiritual witness of Black Christians whose lives and faith have shaped both the Church and the pursuit of justice. As a part of the United Methodist church, It also reflects our shared commitment to confront racism, tell the truth about our history, and actively embody Christ’s call to love, equity, and liberation for all people. Our RIDE. Committee (reconciling, inclusion, diversity, e

The events of the last week have been shocking and disturbing. Images of what is occurring in Minneapolis continue to pour in through news outlets and social media. Watching protestors face off with federal agents, knowing that some have been killed and others physically harmed, can cause all sorts of emotions to rise within us. We might feel upset, angry, frustrated, sad, hopeless, and depressed.

In just a few weeks, we will begin the Advent Season. Advent, which means ‘coming’ in Latin, is the time when we prepare ourselves to welcome Jesus into our lives once more. This year, the first Sunday of Advent is on Sunday, November 30.

You may have noticed that on Sundays when the band plays we use an updated translation of the Lord’s Prayer. For those with questions about why we do this, here are a few reasons we use a modern version.