Please join us on Sunday, May 17th, for youth-led worship in all three worship services (8:30 a.m. Traditional, 11:00 a.m. Contemporary, and 11:00 a.m. Traditional). It will be a great morning as we get to hear messages from our students and as they lead us in various aspects of our worship services.

We will also be recognizing our graduates of 2026 at all three worship services on May 17th. Congratulations to all the graduates and their families! 

In 2025 The United Methodist Church launched a new vision statement - “To love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously.”  As a result we, as United Methodists, are recommitting ourselves to supporting clergy and United Methodists around the world. John Wesley made education a core commitment of his Methodist movement going back to its earliest days. In 1748, just a decade after his heart-warming spiritual awakening, Wesley established the still-thriving Kingswood School to provide high-quality education to the children of coal miners, as well as adults.

So it makes sense that as the people called Methodist “spread scriptural holiness over the land,” they planted not only churches but also schools for all ages. Those campuses eventually came to include United Methodist seminaries and theological schools to educate clergy around the globe. But ensuring would-be pastors can pay for their education has long been a challenge — especially in Africa, the Philippines and parts of Europe. While 71% of United Methodist clergy in the U.S. have a master’s degree or higher in theology, less than 5% of clergy in Africa, Europe and the Philippines can say the same.

That’s where Miracle Sunday comes in. The one-time offering is scheduled to take place in the denomination’s more than 30,000 congregations on Sunday, May 17th, the final Sunday of this year’s Easter season. The offering will raise funds for the Endowment for Theological Education in Africa, Europe and the Philippines. We will take this offering during worship on May 17th and invite you to participate in this important mission of The United Methodist Church. This offering is in addition to your giving to the general fund.

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.

The Sunday Night Gathering schedule for May is:

• Sunday, May 17th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”);
• Sunday, May 24th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”;
• Sunday, May 31st: Adult Volunteer Appreciation Night at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”).
  

The Sunday Night Gathering schedule for June is:

• Sunday, June 7th: Gwinnett Stripers Game at 1:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. Additional information and registration is located below.
• Sunday, June 14th: No Sunday Night Gathering (Returning from the Gainesville Aid Project);
• Sunday, June 21st: No Sunday Night Gathering (Father’s Day);
• Sunday, June 28th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”).
  

The Sunday Night Gathering schedule for July is:

• Sunday, July 5th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”);
• Sunday, July 12th: Sunday Night Gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”);
• Sunday, July 19th: 2026 FIFA World Cup Final Watch Party. Time TBA in the Youth Center (“The Fish Tank”);
• Sunday, July 26th: 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.

We invite everyone to join us as we watch the Gwinnett Stripers play at home against the Norfolk Tides on Sunday, June 7th! This will be a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon with family and friends. Students, we encourage you to invite your friends to this event!

The game will begin at 1:05 p.m. at Coolray Field, located at 2500 Buford Dr. in Lawrenceville. The cost is $15 per ticket, plus personal spending money for food, merchandise, etc. PLEASE NOTE: We will meet at Coolray Field, and pick-up will also take place there. We will keep you updated on the pick-up time.

Please sign up for this event by Sunday, May 31st, so that we can purchase enough tickets for everyone. You can sign up by clicking on YOUTH GWINNETT STRIPERS BASEBALL GAME. If you have any questions regarding this event, please feel free to contact Rev. Min Lee by email at mlee@duluthumc.org, or at 818-903-0054. We look forward to a great afternoon together!

The summer is too long to go without seeing our friends! Preschool-aged children, their siblings, and their grown-ups are invited to come play at the church on Mondays, June 8th and July 13th from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. We will have popsicles for the kids and iced coffee for the grownups!

Join us on the playground if the weather is nice, and if it is raining or way too hot, we will be in the Dorothy L. Rainey Fellowship Hall. If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Dr. AnnaKate Rawles, Associate Pastor, by e-mail at arawles@duluthumc.org.

Be on the look out for other meet up opportunities this summer by following us on:

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DuluthFirstUMC;
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/duluthfirstumc.

Senior Adults are invited to join us once a month this summer for a time of coffee, conversations, and fellowship. Bring a game, something you want to discuss, or just show up to enjoy time together!

We will meet on Wednesdays, June 10th, July 15th, and August 12th, at 9:30 a.m. in the cul-da-sac area outside of the offices on the 1st floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center. If you have any questions, please contact Rev. AnnaKate Rawles, Associate Pastor, by e-mail at arawles@duluthumc.org. We look forward to seeing you there!

Mark your calendars and save the date for “Rainforest Falls: Exploring the Nature of God” Vacation Bible School. Registration is underway for the 2026 Vacation Bible School, being held Monday, June 22nd through Friday, June 26th, at Duluth First United Methodist Church. Vacation Bible School, held from 9 a.m. to noon each day, is for kids going into pre-Kindergarten (age 4 as of September 1st) through rising 6th graders. The cost is $30 per child with a maximum of $70 per family. Each day participants will participate in Bible story time, sing songs, play games, make crafts, and eat snacks.

In addition to registering participants, we are also registering adult and youth volunteers. We especially need shepherds, who are adult volunteers in charge of a group of 6-10 kids. Shepherds do not need to prepare anything in advance. They lead their group to the various activities where other volunteers are in charge. If you would like to help but are only available one or two days that week, you can put your available dates on your registration. We often need substitute shepherds. Also, the Childcare Corner is available for the children of volunteers if you have a child who is not old enough to be a participant.

Everyone who registers by May 24th is guaranteed a VBS t-shirt and copy of the music. All Vacation Bible School participant registration forms, as well as volunteer forms, are available by clicking on VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL 2026.

For more information, please contact Leslie Yokeley, Director of Children’s Ministries, by e-mail at lyokeley@duluthumc.org, or call 770-476-3776, ext. 138.

Please consider making a donation of items on our Amazon wish list for this summer’s Vacation Bible School - “Rainforest Falls: Exploring the Nature of God.” The wish list includes items needed for crafts, as well as snacks.

If you would like to donate an item or items, please click on VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL DONATIONS. Thank you for your support of “Rainforest Falls, Exploring the Nature of God.”

We are actively recruiting new members to the Flowers Ministry, a fun ministry which creates beautiful floral arrangements used to adorn the worship spaces in the Sanctuary and Hinton Hall for Sunday morning worship services. A training workshop will be held in April where you will have the opportunity learn how to make beautiful arrangements that will be placed in the Sanctuary and Hinton Hall to add beauty to our worship spaces.

If you are interested in being part of our Flowers Ministry, please contact Verena Lucía Anders, Minister of Music & Worship Arts, by e-mail at vanders@duluthumc.org or speak with James Dykes.

It is time for summer camp registration at Glisson Camp and Retreat Center! Registration for Summer 2026 is open for members of North Georgia United Methodist churches and returning families of Summer 2025 campers.

Glisson Camp and Retreat Center offers Summer Camp in the forests surrounding Cane Creek Falls near Dahlonega, GA. Since 1925, this place has become holy ground as thousands have had their faith strengthened through God’s presence there in creation and Christian community. Glisson Camp and Retreat Center is part of the North Georgia Camp & Retreat Ministries of the United Methodist Church’s North Georgia Conference. To see the schedule and/or register, as well as view promotional materials/videos, please go to https://glisson.org.