Events and Celebrations – First United Methodist Church Schenectady

World Communion Sunday: Honoring the Plight of Refugees

October 8, 2019October 8, 2019
by Administrator

This year’s World Communion Sunday focused on the plight of refugees. The desert table is God’s table extended to refugees and displaced persons.

Altar Decoration for World Communion Sunday

Carl Lecture: John Dominic Crossan

September 24, 2017October 12, 2018
by James Sprenger

Today was the conclusion of one of the most amazing, thrilling, and edifying forty eight hours I’ve experienced. The church I attend, First United Methodist of Schenectady, hosted one of the outstanding theologians and biblical scholars of our time, John Dominic Crossan. On Saturday he gave two lectures on the general topic of violence and the Christian bible with the first lecture on God and violence and the second on Jesus and violence. This morning he gave the sermon in our service on the topic ‘Justice and Love.’
For those who may not know who he is, he is a co-founder of the group of biblical scholars known as The Jesus Seminar and is a leading scholar of the historical Jesus, the historical Paul, and the Early Church. He is the author of many books and has spoken and taught all over the world.
One of the biggest thrills for me is that I was the one who met him at Albany airport and drove him to Schenectady. I also drove him back to the airport today. Those two car trips were certainly two of the most un-boring and stimulating car trips of my life.
He is one of the most personable and easy going people I’ve met. He insisted we simply call him ‘Dom’ and that is how he introduced himself to people. Several of us also had a wonderful time hosting him to dinner at one of the areas restaurants.
His two most recent books are God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now, and How to Read the Bible & Still Be a Christian: Struggling with Divine Violence from Genesis Through Revelation. Needless to say I brought my copies of those books for him to sign.
A truly wonderful weekend.

Rudy Dehn turns 98

August 12, 2017May 7, 2018
by Administrator

Rudy Dehn Turned 98 on August 12, 2017. Celebrated with Birthday Cake on August 6, after the Worship Service.

World Communion Sunday

January 31, 2017May 7, 2018
by Administrator

This display (created and set up by Rev. Eileen Deming and Alice Nash) was used during the service by Pastor Sara to remind us of our connections with others around the world serving communion with many different kinds of bread.

Sunday, January 31, 2017 Imam Genghis Kahn, was featured at the Second Hour program. He spoke about Islam, it’s history, and how the Koran is the basis of it. He answered many questions and was an outstanding guest speaker. He is an engineer at the General Electric and had been the president of Schenectady Human Rights Commission.

SICM Volunteer of the Year Award

December 3, 2016May 7, 2018
by Administrator

This year, James McFarland, a member of FUMC, was presented with this award on Wednesday, December 3. James is the Chief Cook and creator of the Sunday Breakfast Program at FUMC. The Breakfast Program serves 125 to 200 community members every Sunday at 8:30 am.