Get Involved

Listed below are some of the many opportunities to participate in the life of the church as well as serve others in our community.

Music Ministry

YOU ARE INVITED TO SING IN CHANCEL CHOIR!!

Singing in Chancel Choir gives you a chance to cultivate your relationship with God and with one another as the people of God. Our primary focus is singing during worship. Through worship, God actively seeks a relationship with us, pardons sins, restores relationships, and changes lives. God uses worship to transform lives, heal wounded souls, renew hope, share decisions, provoke change, insire compassion, and bind people to one another. By singing in Chancel Choir you are helping to enhance our worship at Waterloo First United Methodist Church.

Share your Generosity...Sing in Chancel Choir this year!

Golden Bells perform during worship at various times throughout the year. Rehearsals are held Wednesday evenings at 6:00 p.m., September through May

Joy Singers is our children's choir, open to ages 5 through 5th grade. The Joy Singers rehearse on Wednesday evenings, September through May, at 6:00 p.m., and perform at various times during worship on Sundays. They also perform an annual Christmas Play.

Outreach

The mission of Outreach Committee is to address the concerns and conditions of people in our congregation and community so that the quality of life may be improved for all. Ministries of the Outreach Committee include:

Meals-on-Wheels
Community Meals: served once a month at Kimball Avenue United Methodist Church
NE Iowa Food Bank: Meal-a-month menus change monthly, donated goods are picked up monthly and delivered to the NE Iowa Food Bank; work nights at the Food Bank are the 5th Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm
Blood Pressure Checks: the last Sunday of every month during Fellowship Time
Habitat for Humanity
Women's Empowerment
Church Row Neighborhood Association
Adopt-a-Family at Christmas
Collection site for donations to the Back-to-School project

Workshop for Others

If you like to sew you might enjoy joining Workshop for Others. We meet mostWednesdays at 9:30 a.m. in the Wesley Room. Our objective is to sew baby blankets, kimonos, diapers, and school bags to be used in mission kits taken to the Fall In-Gathering. We are small in numbers, but mighty in deeds! Our mission statement comes from Matthew 25:36 - "I was naked and you clothedme."

Prayer Shawl Ministry

This group meets on the first Monday of every month at 10:00 am, knitting and crocheting shawls for those who have been hospitalized, are ill, or are home-bound.

Missions

First United Methodist Church supports numerous mission projects locally, nationally, and internationally. The Mission Committee is responsible for distributing mission dollars in accordance with the Iowa Annual Conference guidelines.

The Iowa Annual Conference has identified seven categories of mission giving. Each of the seven categories is represented by a color of the rainbow:

Red: World Advance - $1/member
Orange: US Advance - $1/member
Yellow: UMCOR Advance - $1/member
Green: World Hunger/Poverty - $6/member
Blue: Iowa Conference Advance - $1/member
Indigo: Parish Development - $1/member
Purple: Special Offerings - $1/member

We consistently fulfill our obligations in each of the seven categories and, because of this, we are designated a "Rainbow Covenant Church". In 2007, we went "Over the Rainbow" by contributing an additional $3/member ($2 more per member for Missionary Support and $1 more to local and institutional needs).

Some of our recent projects include providing vegetable seed packets to Nigerian farmers to help them become self-sufficient; sending sturdy blankets to people impacted by natural disasters in the US and abroad; and supplying the NE Iowa Food Bank with hundreds of pounds of food. Each year, our members assemble layette kits for needy families and back-to-school kits for low-income children.

United Methodist Men

The United Methodist Men is an organization whose purpose is to promote Christian Fellowship and to nurture the spiritual growth of its membership. Our chapter meets for breakfast and a program on the first and third Saturdays of the month, September through May. Meetings are usually held at the church at 8:00 a.m.

United Methodist Women

Membership in the UMW is voluntary and intentional. Any woman may become a member if she chooses to belong, is committed to the Purpose, and is willing to be involved in global mission through UMW. Her willingness to organize for mission through participation in the organization may take many forms, including prayer, giving (pledge ando ther special channgels), study, service, and use of special abilities.

Music Ministry

Our Chancel Choir sings during worship from the months of September through May and performs an annual Christmas Cantata and Music Sunday Worship. Rehearsal takes place Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm.

Golden Bells perform during worship at various times throughout the year. Rehearsals are held Wednesday evenings at 6:00 p.m., September through May