-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.

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
Franklin United Methodist Church will be joining with other United Methodists in the New England Conference on a Volunteers in Mission trip to the Cookson Hills Center in Oklahoma this July. The team will depart July 17 th / 18 th and return on July 24 th.

Founded in 1948 by the United Methodist Women, the Center serves Native American people, most being of the Cherokee tribe. The Center first began as a single building medical clinic with one nurse. It is the only rural mission program in the Oklahoma area and the only mission program that is a joint effort of the Oklahoma Conference, the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, the United Methodist Women, and the General Board of Global Ministries.

Center activities include a thrift store, food pantry, craft co-op, home repair, counseling, emergency assistance for housing and employment, a Christmas store, children, youth, adult education programs, and a Health Information Center. The Center also provides an opportunity for families to plant gardens by providing seeds and assistance with planting.

Today, the Center has grown to be a Community Center with twelve buildings on 20 acres at the original site with a staff of eighteen people. More information about the Center is available at www.cooksonhillscenter.com.

The Center has several ways to support including working at the Center and engaging in construction. The construction includes fixing steps, roofing, hanging doors, building a wheel chair ramp, painting, etc. The team will have an orientation meeting with the Center on Sunday evening.. The work week is Monday – Friday, except Wednesday. Wednesday is a day of planned visitation with the Center and the team is encouraged learn about the local Native American population. We will also be cooking for ourselves using the Center’s kitchen.

Anybody who feels the call may join, they do not need to be a member of any church. The minimum age to participate is 15 years old. Parents of youth are strongly encouraged to make the trip with their children.

Most members will fly from either Boston or Providence. The closest major airport is in Tulsa, about 75 minutes away. Each team member may bring one carry-on bag, one personal bag and check one bag. We will rent minivans for the week. Cookson is a rural town at the foothills of the Ozark mountains, near Missouri and Arkansas. There is one restaurant, a gas station and a post office. The nearest Wal-Mart is 20 minutes away.

The cost of the trip is about $800 per person. We will know the final fee when the air fare is purchased in April. This fee includes air fare, local transportation, food for the week, fees due to the Center and an allowance for on-site materials and supplies. In addition, each team member will need to bring cash to cover check bag fees, dinner out a local restaurant 1 – 2 nights, souvenirs, etc.

Submit a commitment deposit of $400 to Donna D by April 1 st. This will cover the purchase of air fare. If you cannot commit by that time, let the team leader (John Chickering) know. You can still join late, but will be expected to pay any increase in air fare. Final funds are due by June 15 th. Checks should be payable to Franklin United Methodist Church. Sponsorship funding for those unable to raise the trip fee on their own may be available.

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Youth Group

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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. 

Youth Bible study is offered during the year. Last Year's Theme was Star Wars Bible study.

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