a word from pastor lisa

Discipleship Hour helps us grow in our faith. Classes are offered for both kids and adults, so there’s something for everyone. We really enjoyed the “Wired Word” classes in the summer that connected faith with current events. The Discipleship Hour also gives us opportunities to connect with other church members, learn their stories, and build relationships. It’s also a great way to help out and give back to the church, so I now teach the 2nd-4th grade class every other month.

I have worked at MCUM as a volunteer alongside my Mom for many years and then independently while I was in middle school during the COVID pandemic. I spent a lot time sorting and boxing up food and personal care items in the MCUM self-sufficiency center. I was able to help other friends learn about MCUM through food drives, cleaning/hygiene drives, other special projects and even a larger food drives with Jackson Creek Middle School, St. Mark's United Methodist and Scout Troop 100.

As for my Eagle Project, the MCUM director really wanted to see a sensory playground for all of the kids in the Compass Early Learning Center. I was excited when they approached me about working on this and I was really excited to work on this for my Eagle Scout project. MCUM received some grants, but I learned really quickly that playgrounds are very expensive and there are a large number of regulations that have to be followed. In the end, we were able to provide the kids in every playground space with sandboxes, a couple fence-mounted sensory activity boards, and painted tricycle tracks for bike riding.

As a family, we love finding ways we can serve together -- which can be a challenge with younger kids. We care deeply about teaching our children to respect and nurture our environment, so gardening and creation care are natural outpourings of that desire. We have been happy to help play a role in getting FUMCB's garden efforts off the ground this year -- we've started small as we've experimented with the beds and the space, but it's been great to deliver some produce to the food pantry. It's also been great to look at the landscaping around the church and focus on invasive species removal. There are certainly ways we can grow these efforts next year and we hope to help with gardening for food and pollinators alike in the future!