The church offices will be closed on Thursday, November 27th, and Friday, November 28th, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. The offices will re-open on Monday, December 1st. Have a blessed and safe Thanksgiving holiday!

The Worship Committee invites you to join with them on Saturday, November 29th, at 9:00 a.m. in the Dorothy L. Rainey Fellowship Hall and in Hinton Hall as they come together to prepare the church’s Advent and Christmas decorations and decorate for the holiday season.

The stars will once again adorn the front lawn of the church during the Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany seasons. The stars will go up on the front lawn on Saturday, November 29th, at 9:00 a.m. If you would like to help install them, please simply show up to help!

The wonderful volunteers of our church library, The Louise McDaniel Memorial Library, have put together an Advent Devotional Calendar for everyone to use during their journey this Advent season. The Advent Devotional Calendar will be available:

• In worship handouts on Sundays, November 30th and December 7th;
• For download by clicking on ADVENT DEVOTIONAL CALENDAR;
  
• At the Information tables located in the Narthex (the main entrance to the Sanctuary) and in the back of Hinton Hall on Sunday mornings.

Students in the 6th through 12th grades are invited to join us on Sunday nights for Sunday Night Gatherings from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”), located on the 1st floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center. Sunday Night Gatherings include great dinners, fun games, amazing worship, inspirational and relevant messages and life-changing small groups.

Our schedule for the month of November is:

• Sunday, November 30th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”).

Please click on YOUTH MINISTRY for more information.

Questions? Please contact Rev. Min Lee, Director of Youth Ministries, by e-mail at mlee@duluthumc.org.

Would you like to help make a difference in a child’s life this Christmas? Duluth First UMC will be partnering with the Hands of Christ Duluth Co-Op this year in a toy drive to help stock the Hands of Christ Christmas Shop. The Christmas Shop will help families in need provide gifts for their children this Christmas.

If you would like to help us provide Christmas for all of these children in our community, your generosity can make sure that happens. Beginning Sunday, November 23rd, you can bring in unwrapped toys and place them under the Christmas tree in the Veterans Memorial Gathering Room, or under the Christmas tree in the back of Hinton Hall. We will be accepting toy donations from Sunday, November 23rd, through Wednesday, December 18th.

We hope that you will prayerfully consider helping to make Christmas a joyous day for all the families that Hands of Christ assists every day and every year. Thank for your generosity and your faithfulness!

The Worship Committee invites you to remember or honor a loved one with a poinsettia this Christmas season. The poinsettias will be used to adorn the Sanctuary and Hinton Hall on Sunday, December 21st, and on Christmas Eve. The cost per poinsettia plant is $20. You may pick up your poinsettia/poinsettias following the worship services on Christmas Eve. Printed copies of the poinsettia Remembrance/Honor listings will be available at the worship services on Sunday, December 21st, and at the three worship services on Christmas Eve.

All proceeds go to Seeds of Hope, whose funds are used to help meet the needs of God’s people living in Duluth and Suwanee--often strangers, widows, orphans, homeless, those who are lost, and those who are without hope--who come to Duluth First United Methodist Church seeking assistance. In 2025 the number of assistance requests has been much higher than in the past. If you would like to contribute extra above/beyond the cost of your poinsettia(s), we thank you for your additional support of Seeds of Hope.

You can place your order for poinsettias with

• Credit or debit cards – please click on POINSETTIA ONLINE ORDER FORM;
• Check or cash – please click on POINSETTIA ORDER FORM to download an order form.

NOTE: All orders must be received by Sunday, December 14th, by 5 p.m.

Our Food Ministry staff, along with our amazing Dinner Belles and Beaus volunteers, prepare excellent meals at very reasonable prices. Enjoy fellowship around the table with family and friends.

The menu for Wednesday, December 3rd, is Chicken Parmesan, spaghetti noodles, sautéed zucchini, Brussels sprouts, garlic bread, and dessert. For the kids – pizza.

Dinner service hours are 5 to 6:30 p.m., with to-go boxes available from 6 to 6:30 p.m.

The prices for Wednesday Night Dinners are:

• $10.00 for adults (including seniors and from 11 years up);
• $7.00 for children 10 years and younger;
• $30.00 for family meals (nuclear family members only – husband, wife, their children under 18 years);
• $7.00 for salad bar only, which includes the salad bar, a choice of baked potato or sweet potato, dessert and a drink.

Credit/debit card payments, as well as cash and checks, are accepted.

Join us Wednesday, December 3rd, in Hinton Hall, located on the 2nd floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center, as we come together for a Christmas Trivia Game Night. The game will begin at 5:45 p.m. We hope that you join us for Wednesday Night Dinner beforehand.

The Wednesday Night Food Drives at Duluth First UMC for the Hands of Christ Duluth Co-op are our weekly mission project, combined with the many Wednesday evening activities offered at the church.

Do you participate in Sunday School, Small Groups, or Fellowship Groups at Duluth First UMC? Please let us know more about them and what other types of studies you would like to participate in! Don’t participate in any groups? Let us know a topic or type of group you would be interested in participating in.

Please take a moment to fill out the survey by clicking on ADULT SMALL GROUP SURVEY. Print outs of the survey can be found on the 1st floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center. If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Dr. AnnaKate Rawles, Associate Pastor, by e-mail at arawles@duluthumc.org.

Our Food Ministry staff, along with our amazing Dinner Belles and Beaus volunteers, prepare excellent meals at very reasonable prices. Enjoy fellowship around the table with family and friends.

The menu for Wednesday, December 3rd, is Chef Juan’s special fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn medley, biscuits, and dessert. For the kids – the same.

Dinner service hours are 5 to 6:30 p.m., with to-go boxes available from 6 to 6:30 p.m.

The prices for Wednesday Night Dinners are:

• $10.00 for adults (including seniors and from 11 years up);
• $7.00 for children 10 years and younger;
• $30.00 for family meals (nuclear family members only – husband, wife, their children under 18 years);
• $7.00 for salad bar only, which includes the salad bar, a choice of baked potato or sweet potato, dessert and a drink.

Credit/debit card payments, as well as cash and checks, are accepted.

PLEASE NOTE: The Wednesday Night Dinner on December 10th will be the final one for the 2025 season. Wednesday Night Dinners in Hinton Hall will resume on January 7, 2026. Have a blessed and safe Christmas and New Years holiday!

Join us Wednesday, December 10th, in Hinton Hall, located on the 2nd floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center, as members of our Music & Worship Arts Ministry lead us in a Christmas Carol Sing-Along. Caroling will begin at 5:45 p.m. and will feature favorite sacred and secular songs. We hope that you join us for Wednesday Night Dinner beforehand. Dinner service begins at 5:00 p.m.

All are invited to attend our Christian Beginnings Preschool & Kindergarten’s Christmas Program on Thursday, December 18th, beginning at 11:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary. Church members are invited to join our students’ families to come and see each grade put on a holiday show. We look forward to seeing you there!