God is a creative God— He created the whole world! Join us as we honor Him by getting creative in our worship.

Creative Worship is back on a monthly basis— the fourth Wednesday of each month, join us to explore a verse together, make art connected to it, and sing a worship song. Next Wednesday, Sept 25th from 6-7pm in Fellowship Hall, we are going to make collages with photos of things that bring us joy inspired by Nehemiah 8:10– “The Joy of the Lord is Our Strength.” Everyone is invited, no matter what age or level of artistic talent you have!

Let’s worship together!

Our monthly Last Thursday Lunch is this Thursday, Sept.26 at The Dairy Market at 11:30am.

This is open to ALL women! Be sure to bring a friend. No need to RSVP, just meet us there for good food and fellowship.

A service of resurrection celebrating the life of Jack Easton will be held at Charlottesville First UMC on Thursday, Sept. 26th. Visitation will be from 12:30-1:30 and the funeral will start at 1:30. 

You can see the obituary here.

In this time of growing animosities, political “othering,” public media geared to exploiting our differences, and with threats of violence in the air, it is more important than ever for us to spiritually center ourselves in Christ’s peace.

Begin in Worship! Beginning with a short worship service this Friday evening, September 27, at 5:30 PM in the Chapel, and continuing with “40 Days of Peacebuilding: A Personal Journal,” Charlottesville First will be counting down the 40 days from September 27 to Election Day with prayer, reflection and
worship. Come worship with us this Friday and, if you haven’t already, pick up your copy of “40 Days of Peacebuilding: A Personal Journal" or download it here.

Take the Peace on Purpose Pledge! The Western North Carolina UMC Conference through its Purple Church initiative has created the “Peace on Purpose
Pledge.” The pledge is simple—to act in various ways that will work towards peace in the community. You can find a copy of the “Peace on Purpose Pledge” in
our “40 Days of Peacebuilding: A Personal Journal” or online here.

Stay Tuned as we mark our peacebuilding days until November 5 with weekly devotions from the “40 Days of Peacebuilding Journal” and with additional opportunities for worship with the Charlottesville community.

On September 28th, join us at the Loop de’Ville Festival at Charlottesville High School. We will be volunteering beginning at 8:30am, and afterwards, we will hike the Rivanna Trail. 

Use the QR code to sign up for more information.

Stephen Ministry is coming back to Charlottesville First UMC! Stephen Ministry is a laity-based ministry that provides high-quality, one-to-one, Christ centered care to people in our church family and the surrounding community that are experiencing life's difficulties.  

Stephen Ministry offers a proven and effective way to offer emotional and spiritual care for folks dealing with a wide range of issues. Stephen Ministers are congregation members who receive extensive training from Stephen Leaders to offer Christ's presence to people who are hurting. Stephen Ministers have one care receiver at a time and meet with their care receiver once a week for about an hour.

Want to learn more about being a Stephen Minister? Then come to our informational session on Saturday. September 28, at 10am in room 308 where you will be able to meet and talk with those who have been trained as Stephen Ministers.  

Questions or more information? johnconway@vaumc.org, or carolynmcgee@cvillefirstumc.org

"A Very Special Night" Children's & Youth Music Program

Sundays after Worship

Children and Youth are invited to join Kevin White and Lara Upton from 11:30am-11:45am on Sundays to practice 4 new songs that will be performed on Sunday, Dec 8th at 10 am and Tuesday, Dec 24th at 5 pm.

Contact Lara Upton at children@cvillefirstumc.org for more information.

Living As God's People

Sundays Throughout the Fall

This fall we will be following a theme each week during our children's time and Sunday School. 

This Sunday our curriculum will focus on A New Creation and we will read Revelation 21:1-7; 22:1-5, 16-17.

We welcome you to join us throughout the fall as we continue to Live as God's People. 

The One Thing Ministry for the month of September is for the Ivy Creek School.

This month we will be collecting chips, Cheezits, popcorn, pretzels, etc. (Big bags are fine!) for the Ivy Creek School which is a therapeutic, separate day school that serves students in kindergarten through 12th grade whose emotional and behavioral needs require smaller classes, increased teacher to student ratio, and counseling services.

Questions? Contact Carolyn McGee carolynmcgee@cvillefirstumc.org

On Sunday, October 27^th at 1:00pm the Alzheimer’s Association will be holding a one mile Walk to End Alzheimer’s at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital at 400 Martha Jefferson Drive Charlottesville, VA 22911.

At the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s, we’re fighting for a different future. For families facing the disease today. For more time. For treatments. We’re closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer’s.

But to get there, we need you. Join us for the world’s largest fundraiser to fight the disease. This event is a great way for our church members to show their support for the Charlottesville Community.  

If you wish to organize a church team, join an already registered team or donate click this link.

Join us for an afternoon of fun in the Charlottesville First UMC parking lot! Please reserve your parking spot on our signup genius if you’d like to decorate your trunk and pass out treats. Invite your friends! All ages are welcome!!

Contact connect@cvillefirstumc.org if you have any questions. 

Our upcoming mission trip to Haiti is fast approaching, scheduled for October 30 to November 7. During this trip, we will be traveling to Fort Liberté to install a roof on the school pavilion. We welcome any donations, which will be used to cover the cost of hiring local Haitian labor, as well as purchasing a generator and other essential supplies. Please note that all participants will be responsible for covering their own travel expenses. 

If you have any questions or if you are interested in traveling with us contact Dave Wheatley at wheat1506@gmail.com or Andy Guertler at andyguertler@gmail.com.

If you “won” a cake at the RISE Against Hunger and it came in a reusable container, please return it to the church so we can get it back to the baker!

This ministry gives CFUMC a chance to reach out to congregants who may have mobility or immunity issues or may be living elsewhere or possibly traveling and not able to attend and faithfully worship with us on line.  CFUMC wants to connect and get to know on line worshipers just as we get to know our neighbor sitting next to us.

We envision offering a virtual Portico via zoom meetings during the Portico time 11:00-11:30am where remote worshipers log into a zoom meeting to get to know each other. However, this requires the online worshiper to send us their email, strictly for conveying the zoom link, unless they want other announcements as well.  Congregants can also click on the QR code at the beginning/end of our service to get the zoom link.

What is needed to help this ministry continue?  

A volunteer from our live congregation is needed to host the meeting each week. If you are interested, you will be trained (easy-peasy!) Ideally we need 4 to 5 volunteers to host, which would mean the volunteer would only have to man the computer once a month. (We have 3 volunteer hosts so far!)  There is no agenda, just a chance to make new friends!

We’re having a movie night that is so much more!
Rachel’s Haven began as a dream to provide supportive housing for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

It’s also a dream to build a supportive community for individuals and their families.
The first event in building this dream is a free showing of the movie  Despicable Me with pizza and snacks provided.

If you’re interested in participating contact Paige Lindblom for more information about how you can help.

Welcome to Candida Franklin, our current artist to exhibit in the CFUMC Gallery.

In speaking with Candida, I learned that she likes to get to the heart of things and is most at home communicating in the abstract. She prefers artistic content that depends on intrinsic form rather than realism and believes that we are at our most perceptive when we use our heads and our hearts. She is inspired by the colors and forms in nature and by other artists working outside of the lines.

Candida is originally from Philadelphia, PA and her Grandmother was a great painter! Candida is an abstract expressionist. She says, there are no limitations, there are no rules, but her art is always personal. 

Come see this beautiful exhibit and meet Candida! More info, candidafranklin@gmail.com

Are you getting ‘invalid credentials’ on your device when you try to login to Realm?

You can use this document to help troubleshoot the issue. There are directions for both Android and iOS/Apple.

Sorry for any inconveniences you may be experiencing. You can always use www.onrealm.org from your phone’s browser or a computer browser.  If you are having other access issues, please send an email to financialsect@cvillefirstumc.org.

The solar project construction has progressed over the summer. Although we had initially hoped for a September 1st completion, it seems we still have a few weeks to go. We appreciate your understanding as we continue to navigate the parking situation. 

Thanks to Fred Schneider for the signs!

The on-site church representative is Keith Davis. Please direct questions or comments through Keith. If he is not available,contact Dave Wheatley, Bill Owens or Guy Moffat. Any directions or questions for the contractors should be directed to one of these CFUMC representatives.

The clothes closet is currently still operating out at 750 Hinton Ave, lower level off parking lot, every Tuesday from 10am-1pm. Donations accepted during these hours of operation.

We are currently in need of clean/gently worn summer apparel:  ladies/women's shorts, jeans, underwear, socks; men's shorts, jeans, short sleeve shirts, t-shirts, underwear, socks; and infant/girl/boys clothing.  We need all of these items in a variety of sizes.   We also accept household items such as sheets, blankets, towels, kitchen items (dishes, pots/pans, utensils, small appliances).

If any questions on the above, please contact karenlapps@yahoo.com or seek me out after Sunday church services.

If you or someone you know can no longer attend services but would like to receive Communion in your home please contact Carolyn McGee at carolynmcgee@cvillefumc.org. or
DeAnn Posey at 757-208-6998 or dsposey2426@gmail.com

After rent and utilities, the most requested need is for furniture.  Love INC Cville is desperately looking for volunteers with vehicles to pick up and deliver furniture that has been donated to Love INC for distribution to our neighbors in need. Without the ability to deliver the furniture, large amounts end up in the dump instead of going to those who desperately need it.

To inquire about how to help, message Raymond Klein, Executive Director of Love INC at raymond@loveinccville.org .

Did you take photos at a recent church event?

Did you get together with friends and snap a selfie?

Do you have an upcoming event that you want to invite others to?

Please consider sharing your snaps and events with me (Erica Gregory) so I can post to our social media pages! We have so many amazing things going on, and this is a fun way to spread the word. 

Just email coms@cvillefirstumc.org with a little blurb about the photo or event.

And be sure to "Like" us on Facebook to follow along!

CFUMC will be hosting our unhoused neighbors in partnership with PACEM February 8 - 21, 2025.  

Please mark your calendars and contact Jon Scheumann for more information please contact jonscheumann@gmail.com or 434-422-1749.

• 2,908 total households
  • That is an average of 161 households receiving groceries on each of the 18 distribution days in August.
• 11,226 individuals:   
  • 36% aged 0-18; 53% aged 19-59; 11% aged 60+  
• Roughly 8% of households last month were first-time visitors, and approximately 37% of our clients visited us twice in the month. 

Redemptive Compassion Class

Thursday, October 3 at 7:00pm

Working with people in need is one of the great challenges before the Church. If you find the following questions unsettling, the Redemptive Compassion class is for you:

• Why do so many of the commonly-used methods seem so ineffective in reducing or alleviating on-going need?
• Why have good intentions to help others produced such devastating results?
• Is the crippling lifestyle in which thousands find themselves trapped all that God desires for them? 

Redemptive Compassion is a biblical exploration of how God has called us to wholistically love and serve our neighbors in need.  It is a 7-week in-person course that uses a book and videos. This course is a great resource to help us change how we address need, as we learn how to build resources within people, not just give resources to people.

Our teacher is Jeff Cale from Love In the Name of Christ (Love INC). He is a graduate of Bridgewater College and Liberty University and has been the Transformation Coordinator for Love INC for the last three years.

Monday Grad Chats

Mondays from 12-1pm

Are you looking for a space to connect with other graduate students who are a part of UVA's Progressive Christian Community?

Join us every Monday starting September 2nd from noon to 1pm for a free lunch at Wesley at UVA and a discussion on a topic of interest.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Faith Explorers

Sundays at 11:15 am in Room 208

• “The History of Christian Nationalism”
• “Is America a Christian Nation?”
• “Understanding the Challenge of Public Theology”
• “Facing Reality and the Call to Community” and
• “Political Theology Between the Pragmatic and Prophetic”

Clothes Closet

Prayer Quilt Ministry

Contact Teri Guertler if you need a prayer quilt for someone going through a difficult time, or if you would like to help in the creation of the prayer quilts. No experience necessary.