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-PROGRAMS-
Bible Studies
Nurture
Outreach and Missions
Youth Group
Fellowship Opportunities
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Outreach/Mission
Franklin UMC is involved is a variety of mission work in our community, our nation, and the world. These ministries include:
Missionary to Zimbabwe
We have a new missionary--Dr Tendai Manyeza He is Administrator and Chief Medical Officer for Old Mutare Mission Hospital of the UMC in Mutare, Zimbabwe. He is also a part-time lecturer in the health sciences department at African University. "I am in the healing ministry because God has a purpose for me in that ministry. I believe I am still operating in God's plan by responding to this call to mission. I shall do my best to serve my God and all people he assigns me to serve."
Balm in Gilead Ministry of Zimbabwe (BIG). BIG is a United Methodist affiliated ministry which works among the poor of Zimbabwe providing nutrition, education, relief for victims of AIDS, and provides salary support for pastors.
Franklin Food Pantry
In addition to Thanksgiving food donations, we take a monthly special offering which goes to buy Ensure for Cancer patients which are served by the Food Pantry.
Meet the Sister You Never Knew
We have established a sister church relationship with Iglesia de Christo - Nazaret in Nandasmo, Nicaragua. Last March a delegation went to Nicaragua to help determine whether we wanted to be in a sister church relationship with a church there. We were pleased to meet the pastor and his wife from Nandasmo, and to spend a day in their community. When we returned, we voted at Church Council to join them in a covenant relationship. On Sunday morning January 30th after the worship service, we will be having an informational session for the next trip to Nicaragua. If you are interested in going, you have another opportunity this year. No date has been set, but those in attendance will be able to decide on the time of year they wish to go. Beth and George Ferguson will be providing information about how the delegations function and the details of preparing to go. Please join us as we plan for the next trip.
Outreaching Hands
is a service to the elderly, financially challenged, widows and others with yard work or small jobs (installing or removing air conditioners, bringing large purchases from car, cleaning gutters, and etc.) Please contact Donna Dunwiddie or Bill Mikesh to request help.
Mission Trip
Members of our congregation have taken a mission trip to Nicaragua and Mississippi. There will be future opportunities for others to participate in Mission Trips.
Red Bird Mission
Red Bird Mission is a United Mission in the Appalachia Mountains which services some of the poorest of our nation. Our ministry with Red Bird included an Arts and Crafts fair which gave members of the congregation and the large community an opportunity to buy crafts from Appalachia. The proceeds from the fair went directly to the makers of the crafts, providing them with much needed income to support their families.
Maine Economic Ministries
Maine Economic Ministries serves the underprivileged of Maine. We support this important ministry through an annual clothing drive, Christmas wreaths sale, vegetable seed collection and Christmas present collection.
Collections and Drives
Our congregation has periodic drives to collect needed supplies for areas suffering from natural disasters, war, or poverty.
Santa Foundation
This local origination provides Christmas gifts for less fortunate families. Each Christmas members of our congregation buy gifts and/or gift certificates for many of these families.
Nursing Home Visitation
Members of our congregations visit local nursing homes to talk with residents and lead them in singing.
Volunteers in Mission
Mission Trip
We have an opportunity in West Virginia during the week of July 23 – 30. This opportunity is at a United Methodist Camp near Berkley Springs, WV. We will be staying at the camp’s retreat center which has bunk beds, an institutional kitchen, air conditioning, etc. On average, this location is about 5 degrees cooler than Cookson, OK at the end of July. Here’s a link with a bit more information about the camp, including pictures of where we’ll stay.
http://www.bwccampsandretreats.com/HRActiveMap.html .
Here’s a link to see where we will be.
What will we do?
Basically it will be repair work around the camp (including a new roof on the family pavilion), and may extend to work in the local community. In addition, Harpers Ferry National Historic Park is about 1 hour away. Washington, D.C. is about two hours away. I’m hoping we can make visits to both work.
How will we travel?
I think our plan would be to drive there. If we can arrange to drive our own minivans / SUVs with five people per vehicle, we can get down and back (figure 8 – 9 hours each way from Hopkinton, MA) for much less than the cost of airfare (and the camp is a 2 hour drive from either Dulles or BWI).
So how much is this going to cost?
My first guess is $500 per person. This covers gas for the vans, food and lodging while we’re at the camp, and building materials. As usual, costs for personal purchases (e.g., if we make it into Harpers Ferry or Washington) are not included.
I would appreciate an expression of interest (via e-mail) as soon as possible. Feel free to write or call John Chickering if you have questions or the FUMC office franklinumc@verizon.net or 508-528-1092
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Youth Group
Fair Trade Coffee/ UMCOR Coffee Project
The Youth Group will be selling coffee as an on-going fund-raiser for our activities this year. Fair trade products provide a much larger proportion of the cost of a product to the growers or producers. For the average pound of coffee, only 2% is returned to the growers and 64% to the processors. UMCOR has joined with a distributor called Equal Exchange to bring coffee to be sold so that 1/3 of the cost returns to the grower and 1/3 to a cooperative which provides infrastructure support to the growers’ community. Five percent of the Equal Exchange portion will be donated to UMCOR. We will buy the coffee at wholesale prices and sell it (ground or whole bean) at a small profit. We plan to sell during the fellowship hour on the third Sunday of each month. You may buy what we have available or place an order for a specific type of coffee. In addition to coffee, Equal Exchange sells tea, hot chocolate, baking cocoa and chocolate bars. They also sell snack products like pecans, dried cranberries and almonds. Stop by the table and pick up a brochure, try a sample cup of the coffee, and decide whether you would like to buy a pound.
The General Conference 2004 passed a resolution regarding denomination wide purchase of coffee through Equal Exchange. An excerpt of that resolution follows.
“…..Therefore, be it resolved that, in seeking an authentic Christian response to the plight of developing world small individual coffee farmers, their families, and their communities, the General Conference of the United Methodist church urges all agencies of the church, local congregations and their affiliated organizations that use coffee to purchase coffee for corporate and personal use through the fair trade partner, Equal Exchange or through another fair trade organization. “
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Nurture
The Nurture Committee is dedicated to helping build community in the congregation. Through this process members of the congregation build relationships and provide support with each others. This committee also provides an opportunity for members to enjoy fellowship together.
Prayer Chain
Upon request prayer concerns or joys are shared with a group of volunteers who hold these needs in prayer.
Helping hands
Volunteers provide a variety of services including, meals of the ill and their families, get well cards, and transportation to doctor appointments.
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Fellowship Opportunities
A wide variety of fellowship time is planned each year including, whale watch, community diners, game nights.
Relay for Life
Each spring the Nurture Committee sponsors a Relay for Life team made up of congregation members. This team raises money for Cancer research.
Men’s Group
The Men’s Group in our church provides a way for the men of the church to join in fellowship and provide service to the church and the community. The group meets every other month on the first Saturday of the month, beginning in October, at 8 AM. The meeting usually consists of a “Manly” breakfast, a short business meeting, often a speaker will give a short 10-15 minute talk and lots of good communion with the other men of the church.
The Men’s Group is in charge of the 4th of July Booth on the common, the Valentine’s Day “Sweetheart” dinner and Rally Day. The 4th of July celebration in Franklin is a piece of Americana that deserves to be put in a Norman Rockwell painting. The town puts together this annual celebration and provides booths for the various organizations within the town to sell food to go along with the parade, fireworks, stage shows and rides. The 4th of July Booth draws the families of the church together in a project that allows members of all ages to work and laugh together while raising much needed funds for projects throughout the church. We usually sell cold drinks, pretzels and kielbasa, but most importantly we have a wonderful opportunity to get to know one another.
Rally Day is annually the first Sunday after Labor Day and the kickoff to the new church year. We usually work with the Nurture Committee and invite everyone in the church to join together for a picnic. This is usually at a member’s home, the past few years we have enjoyed pool and yard of the Ferguson’s up on Oakland Parkway. This is a day when we celebrate who we are and what we hope to be in the coming year as we cook up hot dogs and hamburgers, share home made food, swim, talk, laugh, eat, and maybe cheer on the Patriots or cry with the Red Sox. It is always a fun time for all.
The money the Men’s Group raises goes back to the church in many ways. In recent years we have paid to have new offices built in the back of the church, provided scholarships to kids going to camp, supported those that brought material aid to Nicaragua, bought new vases for the alter, and had a new shelf installed in the Choir Room. We have also worked as a group to provide service in many other ways to the church as needed.
The Men’s Group today is a vibrant, important and active part of our church community and I hope that every man within the church will join us on at our next meeting.
The Lunch Bunch
The LUNCH BUNCH has been started by Donna D to give the women of our church family an opportunity to have lunch together once a month on the 3rd Wednesday at different restaurants in Franklin. We meet at 12:30 and see that it is possible for any who are on their lunch hour from work to join us. It is a great way to get to know each other while enjoying excellent food. This group is open to all and a good way to get to know your church family. Please contact Donna D by 10 AM on the Wednesday of the lunch. Detailed info can be found on the home page of the FUMC website or in the weekly bulletin distributed during Sunday services
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Bible Study
A variety short and long-term studies are offered throughout the year lead by the pastor and members of the congregation.
Currently...
Basic Bible study
Pastor Dianne will be running a basic level Bible study on Sundays at 9 am before church beginning July 3rd
Really Bad Girls of the Bible
We will be starting a new Thursday morning Bible study on May 12 - Really Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis. The author uses examples of women in the Bible who were less than perfect and can help those of us who are human and less than perfect to see God’s grace in our lives. We will meet at 11 AM at Donna’s home. Anyone who is interested in joining us should let Beth Ferguson know so we can have enough books for everyone.
In the past...
Adult Education
A number of adult education opportunities are available at FUMC beginning this fall. The following are a few of the offerings :
• Study of the Bible (led by Pastor Dianne)
o For those who like a general study of the Bible, this opportunity progresses through scripture offering wonderful opportunities for discussion as we seek to know Gods Word in an ever deeper and more significant way.
• Experiencing God (12-14 weeks)
o This foundational class is focused on Knowing and Doing the Will of God. This study has been around for 20 years and has been translated into 45 languages, selling over 7 million copies.
• Created to be Gods Friend (12-14 weeks)
o As a follow on to the Experiencing God class, this study looks deeply into scripture regarding the life and faith walk of Abram/Abraham, the only person in the Bible to be called, by God, “friend”. A challenging study, this class helps us learn to recognize spiritual growth opportunities in our own lives and consider how God has shaped us and is shaping us throughout the course of our lives into what He would have us be, for His good purpose.
• In Pursuit of Holiness (6 weeks)
o This study addresses the challenges of living in right relationship with God, how reason and emotion influence our will; the impact of habits and personal discipline; and more. Although not essential, having taken the Experiencing God class (see above) is a great precursor to this class.
• The Sermon on the Mount (6 weeks)
o This study is focused on arguably the most challenging, of sermons delivered by Jesus. Scripturally based and supplemented by study materials from multiple authors, the class will explore the significance and transformational message of this sermon and the impact of the revealed truth on our lives.
• The Purpose Driven Life (6 weeks)
o The Purpose Driven. Life Small Group Curriculum is a six-week, video-based small group study of The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. The six video lessons are taught by Rick, and are supplemented by small group discussion material in the accompanying study guide. When combined with the reading of The Purpose Driven Life, this study will give your small group the opportunity to discuss the implications and applications of these life-changing truths. You'll see the big picture of what life is all about and begin to live the life God created you to live.
Youth Bible study is offered during the year. Last Year's Theme was Star Wars Bible study.
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