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205 S Highway Ave • Downs IL 61736
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Interpreting the Bible as Methodists (part three)
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This article is part three in a series on Bible Interpretation. To go back and read part one, which discusses our Articles of Religion, click HERE. To read part two, which discusses John Wesley and early Methodists, click HERE. As we continue this series there is one more section of our Book of Discipline…
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Interpreting the Bible as Methodists (part two)
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This article is part two in a series on Bible Interpretation. To go back and read part one, which discusses our Articles of Religion, click HERE. In our first article we reviewed our Articles of Religion, an important series of faith statements that help explain who we are and what we believe as Methodists.…
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Interpreting the Bible as Methodists (part one)
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It’s no secret that the United Methodist Church is in the midst of difficult conversation about who we are as a church, who we are called to be in the future, and how we interpret scripture. These conversations, however challenging, do present us with a unique opportunity to return to the basics of our…
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Where to Find, and how to Read, the Christmas Story
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This is such a great season to share scripture with kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, and even just to read for ourselves. At Downs UMC we absolutely believe that God will bless your Christmas reading with wisdom, insight, comfort, and inspiration. In the Bible, Christmas is found in several places and each of these make…
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Sabbath Keeping 101
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This article is a follow-up from the 9/20/22 worship service where we promised an article on how to keep the Sabbath. You can view that service here. I’ve put this in the form of a FAQ so you can skip down to what you’re interested in. Below you’ll find scriptural teachings on the Sabbath,…
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Taking your Faith With you on Vacation
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Tis the season, as sports teams finish their schedules, and right before we head back to school, our church has many people on the road and looking forward to time off. In this brief little article, I thought I would share how my family and I take our Faith with us as we travel,…
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The Sanctity of Human Life… Why does it Matter?
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You are a unique individual, there’s nobody like you. You were created, and you are loved by a God of goodness and holiness. That God sent His Son to earth for you, and for each, and every human being, to seek and save the lost, and save through sacrifice. Your worth and value to…
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Building Update 4/19/22
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Our wonderful kitchen is taking shape and ready for use! The trustees, volunteers, and building committee have done a fantastic job installing the last fixtures. We are also thankful for a recent donation of a commercial refrigerator and freezer! Additionally, the kitchen has also passed the health department inspection, and it is ready for…
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Making the Most out of Holy Week – Special Focus on Holy Saturday
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This is the week that we remember the last 7 days of Christ’s ministry before his arrest and crucifixion. A lot happened during Holy week. Holy Week begins with Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, which we remembered on this last Palm Sunday. It also contains some very profound teachings of Jesus, which you can find…
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Building Update 4/7/22
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The sale on the old building, on Seminary street, closed yesterday afternoon. Our congregation began in 1833, and started to use that site, on seminary street in 1909. It served our church very well for many years and many renovations. We are thankful to God for the history of our congregation and our time…
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Building Update 4/6/22
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As the we get ready to close on the old property this week, we really want to thank our Trustees, UMW and Volunteers for their great work this weekend. All came together on Friday and Saturday to move the last pieces of equipment from the old location to the new, and to do final…
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A Prayer from Patrick of Ireland
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Behind all of the green rivers, leprechauns, shamrocks, and woefully inadequate tales of snakes lies the story of a man who changed the world for the cause of Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Patrick of Ireland was a real person with a real ministry. He was born in the late…
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What is Evangelism, and is it my responsibility?
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It’s an old church word, but today it can often call up images of overly preachy approaches, tactless tracts, or gimmicky types of church outreach. Against these things, if we want to truly understand evangelism, we should forget the cringeworthy ways it can go wrong, and remember what the word truly means. Evangelism is…
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Building Update 3/5/22
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Blessings to all our readers as the season of Lent Begins! We haven’t had a building update in a while but we have two great steps to celebrate. Village Zoning Approval We are very thankful for the village approval of the rezoning for the old ministry site. This is an important step toward the…
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How do we pray for the Nations?
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With the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the many and varied responses of our country and others across the world it’s a worthwhile time to refresh ourselves on the best ways to pray for situations like these. When anxiety or compassion rises in our hearts for events on the world-stage, that is…
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2021 Christmas Eve Survey
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This year we are committed to offering the best Christmas Eve service that we can, and for us that means a worship service that includes a telling of the Christmas Story, special music, singing of carols, and a candle lit closing. All of the blessings of our traditions for Christmas. We will be hosting…
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Building Update Nov 4, 2021
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Something old… Something new… As we get ready to have our first communion service in the new building this Sunday it’s a good time to take a look at some of the ways we are preserving our history! Communion is a sacrament the church has been keeping for 2000 years, and to host that…
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Building Update 10/29/21
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Consecration Service is THIS SUNDAY! The time has finally come to dedicate the new building. Please join us for a very special worship service that begins at 102 S Seminary, and finishes at 205 S Highway Avenue this Sunday at 9:30 AM Also, for any who are interested in helping, we have a great…
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Building Update 10/19/21
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We have had our third big move of equipment from the old location to the new. Our High School youth group, and a team of great volunteers all pitched in last knight and moved a trailer full of equipment, boxes and furniture to the new location! Our first trip of moving ministry equipment over…
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Consecration Service
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It’s finally time! We would like to cordially invite you to a very special worship service on October 31st at 9:30 AM. We will begin at the old location (102 S Seminary) with a service of liturgy, song, and scripture as we thankfully take leave of the old location and then travel (carrying the…
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Building Update 10/13/21
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As we near the finish line, we want to thank our great volunteers from yesterday, who poured the last piece of concrete that was needed for us to open! The next Step for all is THIS SATURDAY. It is a very important work day, as we will be finishing the last pieces of the…
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Building Update 10/5/21
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The wood is up for the cross on the entryway. It’s one of the Pastor’s favorite features of the new building. All enter through the sign of the cross, for it is Christ who brought us together, Christ’s sacrifice that saves us, and Christ’s example that inspires us to ministry! The sound equipment is…
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Building Update 9/18/21
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Great work done this week by our volunteers! Some more important parts of the concrete work have been finished now, including the entryway! There is some important drying/curing time for this work and then we move on to parking lot grading and last minute work before final building inspections. We hope it is exciting…
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Building Update 9/13/21
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We have had some great progress on the concrete today. The south front sidewalk, the entry to the building, and the patch under the awning are all finished. If the weather holds this week you should see even more concrete finished! Additionally we have some cleanup work that individuals and ministries can participate in…
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Online Worship Survey
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Thank you for taking this brief survey. The goal is to gather some information and improve our online worship service offering at Downs UMC. We are most interested in your comments on the live stream which began in May and is the current format we are using. We have had a steep learning curve…
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Building Update 8/19/21
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And MORE Concrete! This particular piece of concrete is very important for setting our opening day! The entryway off of State Route 150 has to be poured in two sections (so we can still drive in if needed) and each section has to have a good curing time before it’s usable. Very exciting to…
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Building Update 8/18/2021
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Some great concrete work going on this week! And back at the old location we’re busy packing up the offices and the church supplies in the basement and kitchen. The back lighting is being finished for the sanctuary stained glass and the Ad Board is busy discussing some really exciting worship questions like which…
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Building Update 8/8/21
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Our attention has been focused lately on Vacation Bible School which was a fantastic success. We were able to host an excited crew of kids this week (often around 50) and we were able to do so safely, with many portions of VBS happening outside due to the great weather! Thanks to our many…
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Building Update 7/17/21
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Rain, rain go away. Come again another day! What a large amount of water we have been experiencing lately! With our concrete pours being the next big step, we are very much experiencing a rain delay on any outside work. The inside however has a few new finishes that we’d love to share. The…
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Sunday School Survey
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The class has spanned many years with a diverse approach to include studies of Books of the Bible, Christian-based books and videos, and structured lessons from commercially available resources. What are adults seeking for an Adult Sunday School Class? As we move into the new building, we must understand that the building is brick…