August 21, 2025

Dear Friends,

What a great week! The turn-out of United Methodist Churches for the Pride Parade was wonderful—so many from the greater Charlotte Metro area! Hillary captured some wonderful pictures. A grateful shout-out to Jeremy Peach, Kim Burns, Rich Arminio, Larry Adams, Carl Arrington, Jackie Tillman, Jean Sperow, Jim Sanders, Carmen Curti, Ingrid James, Gabe James, Ann Huskey, Jeff Burdick, and many others who worked so hard to plan, communicate, set-up and take down!  

That Sunday began with by far the biggest crowd we have ever seen gathering for Muffin Ministry—maybe 400 guests! We had an extra crew making sandwiches to distribute; milk ran out so guests were eating their cereal dry until that ran out, too. Eggs and biscuits, pastries, bagels, and OJ ran out. 

We think perhaps the criminalization and removal of unhoused persons from the DC area led to buses dropping off folks in Charlotte. This is just a theory, but it makes sense. The ramifications of both the relocation of unhoused persons and the decreased funding for social supports means that in the short run it will fall to average folks to fill in the gaps—until we can vote the changes in! 

Muffin Ministry—which supplies a full breakfast—has ongoing needs. If you know of sources for loaf bread, sliced cheese, lunchmeat, cereal, fruit, pastries, eggs, etc., please let us know! These and paper products (napkins, cereal bowls, small plates, juice cups) are always needed. Thank you for your support of this vital signature ministry of the church. 

DATES COMING UP:

  • August 24,11am and immediately after church: Blessing of the Back Packs and Ice Cream Social.

  • August 28, 6:30-8:30pm: Public Forum on The Meck County Transit Plan; sponsored by Red, Wine and Blue. Event is in the sanctuary. 

  • September 7: Back to Church Sunday! Bring a friend. Let’s kick off the new semester well!  Also—a great time to join the choir, too. Rehearsal will be Sept. 4 at 7:00pm in the education building.  

  • September 8,10 am: Race, Racism, and Related Issues Zoom Book Group reconvenes. We will read Birding to Change the World by Trish O’Kane to begin the semester. Please let me know if you’d like to join—val@charlottefirst.org.

  • September 14, following the 11am service: Lunch and Learn with Tom Hanchett, who will be discussing the history of affordable/unaffordable housing in Charlotte, which he details in his new book Affordable Housing in Charlotte: What One City's History Tells Us About America's Pressing Problem. Lunch served in the small dining room. 

Blessings,
Val

August 14, 2025

Dear Friends,

So many of our financial safety nets are broken due to rescissions and cuts in spending. Many of the agencies you help finance every year are struggling with difficult decisions around staff and services. The church office is also receiving more and more requests for financial assistance from folks who simply cannot make ends meet.

Most of our guests need help with rent, which we know is so high that many people making low wages cannot afford it, yet they have no choice. Often people need help with their utility bills. The desperation shows in their eyes.

The church has two accounts—Crisis Assistance and Pastor's Discretionary—from which we can draw for financial assistance. This aid is given directly to the utility company or rental office. Those funds have been depleted.

If anyone would like to designate a "second-mile gift"—a gift in addition to your regular pledge or offering—please make a note in the memo line of your check or online giving.

We are working in conjunction with other congregations to address this upsurge in need.

Thank you for your ongoing support! And thank you to those who have recently donated!

Blessings, Val

July 10, 2025 

Dear Friends,

We’re midway through the summer—in the dog days for sure—and it seems like the needs of our community are also turned on high. We receive numerous requests daily for assistance with rent and utilities, and most of these we turn away. Our own funds deplete rapidly, and I know that funds in Crisis Assistance and Nourish Up and Roof Above are also low. We’re all holding our breath (and I can sometimes feel myself literally doing just that) to see what new budget cuts and natural disasters will befall us.
 
Monday Jim and I attended the monthly Uptown Pastors’ Meeting on Homelessness. We gather at First Presbyterian, which is the site of one of the Nourish Up pantries. They are open 3 days a week. Rev. Lucy Crain reported record numbers of persons seeking assistance, and record numbers of households that have expanded to 8 or 10 or 12 persons as families move-in together.
 
Joe Hamby from Roof Above reported on growing numbers of unhoused individuals, even though the organization continues to move more and more people into housing. He noted there was a growing need for congregational support for Room in the Inn—they lost several congregations last year even as the need has grown. Our program is one of the few they could offer to men needing shelter—and these were only to disabled and elderly men. They usually could only shelter women and children through the regular congregations every night.
 
First UMC continues to provide assistance to all of these groups and needs. We also continue to provide extensive support to our refugee families. These folks new to the country are experiencing the fears of employers who are threatened and pressured from the administration. Our refugees have an additional layer of fear and uncertainty to carry with them always. We’ve been able to provide needed furniture to the Al-Ksabra extended family that we helped come to the country.
 
If you are able, please consider a donation to our refugee ministries, crisis assistance and pastor discretionary funds, and funds that could go towards the purchase of food. The First Presbyterian Pantry has plenty of peanut butter, canned meat, and soup. They really need rice, diapers, milk (including milk that doesn’t need refrigeration), and fruit. Staples like coffee, sugar, flour, corn meal, oil, and grits are always appreciated, as are items like cake and frosting mixes (and birthday candles). They can be placed in the bin in the narthex.
 
I’m so appreciative of the ways First UMC has stepped up and continued to be a leader in these and so many other ministries with those who are most vulnerable. I’m also so appreciative of the many friends of the congregation working to implement policy changes and to advocate for those who have little voice of their own.
 
Blessings on us, one and all!
Val