Spirited Giving
When you make a gift to First United Methodist Church, you are supporting our ministry, helping us continue our work to teach the word of Christ, to spread his gospel out into the community; you help us educate our community about important social issues like justice, equality, and Christ’s teachings of compassion, empathy, peace and love. You help us provide services to various groups in our community who may need help—those that are challenged with addiction, mental illness, hunger and homelessness; and you also help us maintain and improve our place of worship, to provide safety and sanctuary for those in need.
Supporting Our Community
Our church is part of the architectural ecology of the city of Burlington VT. We are gothic (kind of cool, actually). Burlington is old, moving through contemporary and well into post modern. We have an “Old North End Ramble”, a “South End Art Hop”, and lots of painting, writing, sculpting, dancing, music-making in the middle. You are as apt to find the poets in City Hall Park and Starbucks as you are in church. Our city vibrates with creative life and we love being in its midst.
We are believers in place – loving the God who is everywhere, serving the Christ in our neighbors here. One of Jesus’ promises was that he would be present – “I’m with you, even to the end of the age.” Grace and creative energy flow in and through our community. We see the beauty and creativity of Jesus’ promise bubbling up and bursting forth around the corner of every Burlington street. As this is where we are, we seek to be a ministry that both draws from and gives life to the community in which we find ourselves.
Our Neighborhood
Our youth have worked over at the Intervale Farm and walked for COTS. We’ve “Run for JUMP” and jumped in Lake Champlain in the middle of winter to raise money with our neighbors for Special Olympics. We serve Soup and Sandwiches on Sunday evenings from 5 – 6 PM. Members of our parish work at Community Action and Spectrum, in health care and education. We serve meals at the Salvation Army and the Burlington Emergency Shelter (now “Anew Place”). We volunteer at JUMP and staff our own Every Monday Thrift Shop each week. Every week our building is host to dozens of 12-step groups, whose meetings see over 500 people come through our doors as they do their faithful work together. We like to do what we can; we like to serve our neighbors with our neighbors. We believe in ministry in the Neighborhood, by the Neighborhood, for the Neighborhood, with our Neighbors.
Join Our Community
First United Methodist Church is a community joined in the worship of Christ. If you are interested in becoming a member of our community, let us know. Fill out the form below and one of us will contact you!