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We need you! We have several dates available to prepare and serve meals to our neighbors at Safe Harbor for 2026:
February 6 & 20
March 6 & 20
April 3 & 17
May 1 & 15
June 5 & 19
July 17
August 1 & 14
September 4
October 2 & 16
November 6 & 20
December 4 & 18
Please contact Tammy Carlson (309) 533-6663 or tk.carlson@yahoo.com
Have you been attending Calvary for some time and feel ready to take a next step in your faith or your connection here? Have you recently joined Calvary and find that you would like to explore ways to go deeper in that connection? Pastor Vince Rohn will be leading a New Members Class on Sunday, February 1 from 5-7:30 p.m., with a light meal provided. Pastor Vince will share about the Christian faith, United Methodism, life at Calvary UMC, and what the expectations are of church members as compared to attenders and others. Feel free to contact Pastor Vince for more information at vince.rohn@connectwithcalvary.org or sign up.
Our next day to meet for the Backpack Ministry will be on January 14 at 10:45 a.m. on the lower level of the Preschool wing. We will assemble food bags for the students of Parkside Elementary School to provide food for the weekends. All ages and abilities are welcome to come and help. Please contact Brenda Leopard, leopardhouse5@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Pastor Vince Rohn and staff of Calvary visited The Bridge and prayed over the buildings and grounds along with other local churches. We learned about the ways Home Sweet Home Ministries will be breaking barriers to help those who are experiencing homelessness in ways other shelters haven’t been able to do so before. Please continue to pray over the 56 individuals who will be getting ready to move in, as well as the staff working there. Calvary is blessed to be able to support this ministry and those in our community. If you are interested in learning more about Home Sweet Home Ministries or their needs, please check out their website.
The Seekers adult class will start a new seven week series on January 4 entitled “The Way.” We will view & discuss videos with Rev. Don Long, Jr. (Larry & Carroll Bross’ son-in-law) reflecting on his 500 mile pilgrimage on Spain’s Camino de Santiago three years ago. Anyone is welcome to join us. We meet in the parlor or on Zoom Sundays at 10:30 a.m.
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.
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.
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.