Community Connections

First Church strives to reach out and interact with the community through a variety of partnerships. Our goal is that through these enriched relationships, we not only better ourselves but those around us.

Crop Walk 2010
CROP Walk

First Church in Madison, WI has many enthusiastic participants in the Annual Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty (CROP) Hunger Walk/Rock. This year's annual fund-raiser is scheduled for Sunday, October 16, beginning at 12:30 p.m. It is a fund raiser which supports non-denominational food relief programs & Dane County food pantries (including the one at First Church!) through 1.5 or 3.5-mile walks (or chair rocking). 

Church World Service is involved all over the world in ongoing relief efforts, including places like  Pakistan, Haiti and New Orleans, but 25 percent of the money raised stays here in the Dane County area to provide support to our area food pantries.

Several members of our congregation walk annually and solicit pledges to help support this relief effort. In 2010 the participants from First Church raised over $5,000 for the cause. Our goal this year was $5,500.  Sign up to participate or make a donation to our team. Won’t you join us and help us in the effort to stamp out hunger in the world? For more information visit www.cropwalkonline.org.

CSA - CSA, 2011
CSA

First Church has partnered with the Linda and Gene Farley Center for Peace, Justice and Sustainability to offer a Community Supported Agriculture program. Local farmers bring the produce to the church on Sunday mornings for easy pickup.

Our Night at the Shelter

Jesus calls us to care for the less fortunate. One of the ways in which we regularly do this is through "Our Night at the Shelter."

The second Saturday of each month, First United Methodist Church volunteers provide food, heat and transport the food, and serve a chili dinner at the Men’s Homeless Shelter, Grace Episcopal Church in Madison, WI. Chili cooks, food donors and servers are needed. This fall's scheduled dates are: Saturdays, Sept. 10, Oct. 8, Nov. 12 and Dec. 10.

For more information or to sign-up, contact Kathy Sandefur, Chairperson of the Homelessness Task Force.

Habitat for Humanity

Learn more about First Church’s partnership with Habitat for Humanity in El Salvador on Sunday, November 13.

Come learn about First Church’s work with Habitat for Humanity and other partners at the Getsemani Community in western El Salvador.  This program, sponsored by the International Ministry Team, will include reports on FUMC’s Habitat build in the Getsemani Community last April and the micro entrepreneur development efforts at the Community supported by First Church.

Would you like to travel to El Salvador? The program will also provide information on First Church’s upcoming trip and the project there. You can join the team for a discussion of ways we can support the Community and its micro entrepreneurship program in the future.

Habitat Build Group - Habitat BuildPorchlight

First Church partners with Porchlight in several ways.

  • Rooms in our lower level serve as an overflow shelter for homeless men from November 1 through April 1.
  • We serve a meal at the homeless shelter on the second Saturday of every month.
  • We have other events throughout the year in which the proceeds are directed to their programs.
Circuit Service Day
UMC Circuit Service Day

The 6th annual Madison UMC Circuit Service Day was Saturday, Oct. 8, 8:15 a.m.-1:00 p.m. The purpose of the day is to:

 

 

  • Involve the entire Madison circuit of UMCs in one day of serving the wider community,
  • Promote a sense of unity in the faith community, and
  • Make a difference in our community by meeting special needs.

You can get more information and sign up to participate by clicking . We hope that you will join us in this opportunity to show our support of those in our community who need our help.