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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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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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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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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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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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Monday Night Prayer
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As another way for us to pray together as a church we are reviving Monday nights this fall. Over the last several years we have used Monday night for both worship and prayer services and we’re returning to Monday night during this difficult Pandemic season. May it be a time of prayer and coming…
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Building Update 7/20/20
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Members of the building committee visited the site this morning to take a look at siding and windows, and while we were there we took some great new shots of the exterior.
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Phase 4 on-site Worship Services
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Are you considering joining us for on-site worship during phase 4 of Illinois re-opening plan? This post is designed to give you a clear picture of what worship at the church on Sunday morning will look like, so that you can make your own best decision about whether to join us or to wait.…
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Online Worship Services
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The link for the worship service is below, as is a chance for you to download the church bulletin. We put the song lyrics in the bulletin in the hopes that you’d sing along. Thanks so much for joining us for worship this morning. Our church is praying for you and we look forward…
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List of Downs UMC Program Updates 4/1/2020
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All church programming is postponed until further notice. Adult Sunday School: Will return when we begin to have worship in the building again. We pray that will be soon. Confirmation Class: Is going to offer an at-home lesson as a trial, watch your email in the upcoming week. Coffee with the Pastor: Is postponed…
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A Healthy Church
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With the large amounts of fear and worry surrounding the rough flu season, and the reports of corona virus this year, we thought we would take a few moments to let you know what Downs UMC is doing in response. Short Version: We are still having church on Sunday, but absolutely understand and respect…
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New Ministry: Grief Share
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UPDATE: The start date for this ministry has been moved back one week, it is now Sunday March 1st, at the same time (4:00 PM) Downs United Methodist is adding a new dimension to pastoral care for those experiencing grief and loss. Beginning on Sunday March 1st we will be offering a grief recovery…
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Evangelica great Success!
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Sunday evening January 26th we had a fantastic night of Fellowship and learning of the behind the scene activities taking place as well as the areas we will be working on this year. The teams are listed below and there is still time to join a group. Just contact the office at 378-2651 and…
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United Methodism in 2020
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You may have noticed we’ve been featured in a few of the major news outlets recently. As the pastor of Downs UMC I have read several of the articles and found them to be a bit incomplete. I wanted to make sure you have access to all of the information from a United Methodist…