On Sunday, December 28, Calvary will have just one worship service at 9 a.m. Join us for this opportunity for the whole church community to come together in the midst of the holiday season and worship together.

As Home Sweet Home Ministries expands its work with people in need in Bloomington-Normal (including their new shelter village), Calvary UMC is blessing Home Sweet Home with a gift of $50,000! Calvary has an endowment fund that was established to help fund our Good Samaritan Fund, and the requests that we receive for assistance through that fund have not kept up with the income in that endowment fund. These funds can only be used to care for those experiencing temporary hardship and not for any of the church’s ongoing expenses, and so continue to grow beyond our ability to effectively use them for direct grants. The decision has been made then to give this gift of $50,000 to Home Sweet Home as their work also cares for people experiencing a variety of temporary hardships. More information will be shared in the near future concerning how this gift was used to care for others in the name of Jesus. Please know that in this winter season, Calvary is going above and beyond to help care for those in need in our community.

At our three Christmas Eve services (6:30 p.m. on December 23, 4 and 6 on December 24), Calvary will be receiving a special offering this year. Half of those offerings will be used to support the continuing and ongoing ministries of this church as the last several Christmas Eve offerings have done. The other half of the Christmas Eve offerings will be donated to The Bridge at Home Sweet Home Ministries, their new shelter village.
To give you an idea of what this can mean for our neighbors in need: $40 can buy a bedside table for one of the shelters, $80 a microwave, $175 all of the bedding and pillows, and $565 a bedframe and mattress. $235 can buy 50 hygiene kits for the new bathhouse in the village, and $300 can purchase 50 towel sets for the bathhouse.
In this season of giving, please consider making a special offering at our Christmas Eve services to bless Calvary’s ministries and to help us care for our neighbors in need through Home Sweet Home. 

The Staff Parish Relations Committee invites the congregation to show our appreciation for Calvary’s staff for all of the work they have done this year! 
A collection will be taken up between now and Christmas for the staff so please show them how much you care! There are a variety of ways to contribute including: give through the Calvary app, website, or write a check with ‘staff love offering’ on the memo line.
Thank you for loving on Calvary’s staff this Christmas Season!

Faith in Action is seeking volunteer drivers to transport seniors to needed medical appointments. Get behind your Community by getting behind the Wheel for Faith in Action
FIA provides access to medical care/grocery shopping for our aging neighbors without transportation. Volunteering with FIA is flexible and fulfilling. To get started, email stacey@bnfia.org or call (309) 827-7780.

Volunteer Orientations:
January 6, 2026: 1:00 - 2:30 PM
February 3, 2026: 1:00 - 2:30 PM
All orientations are held at the ARC on the 2nd floor across from the FIA Office.

Support FIA:

• Looking for ways to give back to the community this holiday season? Give Presents for Residents a try! We are a gift drive organized to fulfill the holiday gift wishes of individuals living in local senior residence facilities. 

• Crossroads Fair Trade Goods and Gifts - Shop to Donate. Mention Faith in Action at check out and FIA will receive15% of your purchase price. Crossroads is located at 428 N Main St in Bloomington.

• Mardi Gras Bingo Bonanza save the date: Thursday, February 12, 2026, 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. at Destihl Brew Hall. Tickets coming soon.

Men’s Faith and Fellowship will begin our new season of study, fellowship, and support of each other on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. We will study “A Disciple’s Path.” This invitation is to review the patterns of spiritual disciplines of Methodism as developed by John Wesley and authored by James Harnish and Justin Larosa. This is a six week study that will guide us to take our next step in discipleship.
We meet at 6:30 am on Wednesday mornings in Room 111, and begin with refreshments and coffee, share joys and concerns, have a video study, and discussion among the group. There is plenty of room for any man that would like to seek to follow Christ more fully by engaging in this study together.
If you would like to participate, please contact Gil Dorsey or Jim Brown for us to make certain we have enough study books available.

Join us for Junior and Senior High Midweek Programming on Tuesday nights! Junior High meets at from 6 to 7 p.m. and Senior High meets at 7:30 p.m. in the Hub. All are always welcome!
Students don't have to come every week to be part of the fun and fellowship. Reach out to kb.smith@connectwithcalvary.org with any questions or for more information.

47% of area students qualify for free and reduced lunch through their school. With grocery prices on the rise it is getting harder for families to afford food for meals.  Midwest Food Bank tries to fill that gap for families by providing food for students that qualify for free and reduced lunch over their weekends when students are at home and not in school. Calvary has been a partner with Parkside Elementary School for many years now and this year we will be partnering with them again to provide bags of food for the children to take home for the weekend. Each month we receive a pallet of food from Midwest Food Bank and we meet as a group and unload the truck, organize the food and pack grocery bags that are delivered to Parkside Elementary School and given to the students on Friday to take home for the weekend. We are in need of volunteers to help once a month to unload the truck, organize the food and pack the bags. We meet at 10:45 a.m. in the lower level classrooms on January 14, February 11, March 11, April 15, and May 13.
All ages and abilities are welcome to help. If you have any questions please contact Brenda Leopard.Brenda Leopard.

Do you love to hold babies and play with toddlers? A new KidVenture Nursery will be opening in October during our 9 a.m. service and those babies and toddlers need you! You can choose to serve once or twice a month (or more) but don't have to serve every week. We're also looking for volunteers for our Preschool/Kindergarten room (both worship hours) or people who are willing to be on call or a sub in any of the rooms. If interested, please contact Miranda Lanza or Lori Short.