Mission Activities

The Bridge Board at First United Methodist Church is a partner with Bridge Communities, a non-profit organization with offices in Glen Ellyn whose mission is to:

• Inspire and effect change by advocating for homeless families.
• Provide services and opportunities that connect families to a better future.
• Collaborate with faith-based partners, community groups and businesses to leverage resources and create long-term solutions.
• Lead by example through our innovative programs and grassroots involvement.

Bridge Communities was founded in 1988 by two community volunteers, Mark Milligan and Bob Wahlgren, and has grown to become the largest transitional housing program in DuPage County. The majority of families served are single parents with children, many who are survivors of domestic violence. Through the mentoring program, Bridge provides families with the necessary life skills to function successfully in their community. The two-year program often provides additional training or academic opportunities to increase income and reduce debt.

Bridge Communities depends on partnering with local faith and community groups who sponsor families in housing and provide volunteer mentors to work directly with each family to foster positive change. Additional resources, including employment counseling, case management, and tutoring for children and adults in the program, are provided by the Glen Ellyn Bridge staff.

Missions Work Area received one percent of your contribution to our Growing Together pledge drive. Those funds, $20,000, along with $5,000 of your Easter Offering, have been sent to build an entire school in South Sudan! The school is in Jombo, Yei County. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has conveyed the following to us from the ground in Sudan:

"The Jombo people can not thank you enough for this gesture. This world is full of happy people - and you have contributed to their joy at Jombo. The building and community training you are providing through your gift will reach many generations."

What are the lives of our neighbors like that share the same hemisphere? What do we have in common? How are we different? In an effort to understand the lives of the Guatemalan people, and they of ours, DGFUMC has sent several teams to live with members of the Unidas Para Viver Mejor (UPAVIM) Christian community in the impoverished outskirts of Guatemala City. UPAVIM is a group of 66 women from marginalized areas. Some are widows, some were abandoned by their husbands, and some are dealing with alcoholism in their families. Many are sole providers of economic support for their families. They began helping themselves and their community in 1988 with a Healthy Baby program, then decided to create products to sell to generate funds. They are now working in a number of ways to achieve better housing, clean water, better education and health care for their people.

We travel not to build buildings, but to build a long-term relationship. As Christians, we are charged with reaching out in understanding. In the Beatitudes we are told to put ourselves in "the other person’s shoes." Because our world is so diverse, we need greater understanding of cultural traditions, religious practices, trade, sharing resources, reducing pollution, and peaceful ways of resolving conflict. And, as Christians, we need to stand in solidarity alongside one another in the problems we face.

This ministry is coordinated by Sister Parish, which has the goal of fostering mutual understanding and commitment to peace and justice among people in the United States and Central America.

Since January 2008, our congregation has partnered with the People's Resource Center and its food pantry.  It is located at 649 Blackhawk Drive in Westmont. We are responsible for staffing the pantry the 2nd and 4th Thursday evenings of each month from 5 to 8 pm.   If you are interested in helping, please contact Julie Stone.

If daytimes are better for you, volunteers are also needed Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 8:00 to noon. Joyful workers are needed to stock shelves, assist clients, pick up donations, unload trucks and register clients. If you are interested in working during the mornings, please fill out a volunteer application at the People's Resource Center website.

Whether you are looking for a way to use your existing caring and listening skills to serve the community or you would love to further develop your communication and relationship lifeskills, Stephen Ministry training is the place for you. Stephen Ministry is a caring lay ministry that offers the support of presence to individuals who are facing trying times. If your skills or experience have called you to reach out to people in times of trouble, our congregation's Stephen Ministry program may be one great way to practice your love of neighbor.

Stephen Ministry training prepares you to be a useful and caring presence with 50 hours of lifeskills training. Training classes usually begin in the middle of September and new Stephen Ministers are commissioned in the spring. Please contact the church office for more information.