Community Projects for Seniors
The UWIF (United Women in Faith) of First Church is collecting items for Community Projects for Seniors, which will benefit seniors in need. The items needed include toilet paper, rolls of paper towels, and facial tissue (boxes of all sizes). Additionally, they are accepting bar soap, kitchen dishcloths, bath washcloths, and 13-gallon trash bags. UWIF encourages other members to donate these items as well. Please bring the items to the church by May 13th. You can drop items off in the church office during the week or in the box in the Narthex labeled UWIF Spring Product Collection Drive. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.
May Second Saturday Servants
Last month, eighteen people made breakfast casseroles, which we delivered to the mission site. Unfortunately, we could only deliver 90 meals. We would like to help more people in need in May, which is why we are making May a “MORE” month, standing for May Others Receive Enough. To achieve this, we are inviting you to bring a hot casserole to the church by 7:45 AM on Saturday, May 11th. If this time does not work for you or if you will be out of town, you can bring the casserole to the church by Thursday, May 9th, and place it in the white refrigerator located in the kitchen. We will warm it up on Saturday. Thank you for your support!
Coins of Love
May’s Coins of Love will support the Ingathering at the 2024 Wisconsin Annual Conference (June 7-10). The coins will be used to purchase items for Personal Dignity Kits and Home Care Kits. Your support is appreciated.
March Coins of Love – Baskets of Hope (Heifer) $749.92
April Coins of Love – WIUM Pine Lake Church Camp $137.20
Wesleyan Congregational Care Team
You have heard the words, ‘God cares about you and so do we’. This statement is true for our congregation and especially relevant for your Wesleyan Congregational Care Team. Our team is here to help you navigate through any difficult circumstance. Our aim is to walk alongside you, listen to you, and support you with the love of Christ our Lord. If you need some one to talk to and seek support, please contact any member of our team on Sunday. You can identify us by our WCCT Listener badge or speak to Pastor Ron. You can leave a message with the office also. Laura Molleson, Chairperson.
Morning Glory Ministries
The first ministries the group worked with were United Methodist Children Services, Northcott Neighborhood House, and at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission.
“These opportunities to go out into the world really help us to grow. Of this, I am sure. Second Saturday Servants provides a meaningful way to serve God by serving those in need. Everyone is welcome to participate; you do not have to be a church member. Workers may choose from one or two projects that typically last two to four hours. You can choose from projects that will take place at the church or beyond the church walls in the area.”
-Thomas Bolton
Our Second Saturday Servants now serve in a wide variety of programs that serve the poor. Together, they are making a difference in the lives of those in need. We support the following ministries with hands, our hearts, and our pocketbooks.
Larry Under the Bridge
Learn more about Larry Under the Bridge
Divine Intervention is a collaborative ministry of over 46 intra-faith communities including First United Methodist Church of West Allis. Divine Intervention is spearheaded by Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church. We serve their Larry Under the Bridge ministry once a month.
52 Sundays a year…and now also Mondays, Larry Under The Bridge brings significant bagged dinners and basic supplies to local campers/homeless in our area.
It’s just what we do.
Larry Under the Bridge is a food and encouragement ministry to the homeless in the Bay View area. Significant bagged dinners and basic supplies are delivered to strategic locations near campsites on Sunday evenings every week and now also Mondays. Larry UTB helps 30-50 people each Sunday and Monday night of each week. Each dinner consists of:
- 2 sandwiches
- Granola/breakfast bar
- 2 pieces of fruit
- Cookies or other desert item
- Occasionally chips
- Bottled water
In the summer months juice boxes, Gatorade, and extra waters are given out. Bug spray, camouflaged tarps, and sleeping bags are some of the other items handed out when available.
In the winter months gloves, hats, and long underwear were also supplied to campers. Donated toiletries, socks, underwear, toilet paper are handed out year-round.
Through Larry Under the Bridge we are changing the world, one person at a time!
The homeless who we are coming to know as friends are changing!
Our church members and ministry are changing!
Mineral Street Programs and Services
Learn more about Mineral Street Programs and Services.
We serve once a month in Mineral Street’s Morning Glory program for the homeless.
Repairers of the Breach
Learn more about Repairers of the Breach
We provide regular support for Repairers of the Breach which provides Greater Milwaukee’s only daytime refuge and resource center for homeless adults.
Located at 1335 W. Vliet Street in Milwaukee’s central city, the Repairers of the Breach Center is open from 7AM to 4PM, Monday through Saturday.
Their daytime sanctuary is an empowering place where homeless and at-risk men and women create community and a sense of “ownership” in their center. They work together to find solutions to homelessness using our “constellation” of free resources—all in a nurturing and non-judgmental context emphasizing “homeless helping homeless.”
Northcott Neighborhood House
Learn more about the Northcott Neighborhood House
Thanksgiving Baskets Ministry
Thanksgiving is a time of celebration by sharing our resources with families in need. FUMCWA receives names of families from West Allis elementary schools and from our church members of those who are struggling financially. They are generously offered a turkey and other food needed to prepare a complete Thanksgiving Meal. Your support continues to strengthen such mission work.
Each November, we distribute Thanksgiving Baskets to marginalized families in West Allis. Each basket includes all that is needed to provide a traditional American Thanksgiving meal: 10 to 12 pound turkey or 3 pound chicken, a 10-pound bag of potatoes, dinner rolls, canned corn, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, pumpkin puree, fresh celery and carrots, stuffing, a powdered drink mix, margarine, a cake mix, sandwich cookies, whipped topping, and a donated non-perishable item.
Fill the Stocking Ministry
The Children’s and Adult Sunday School classes collect socks for the homeless during the Advent season. These socks make a missional difference and are delivered to Morning Glory Ministries, Larry Under the Bridge, and Northcott Neighborhood House. Warm socks create warm hearts. Your support continues to strengthen such mission work.
Mitten Tree and Socks for the Homeless
These programs collect winter wear for children and socks for the homeless. They are distributed through a charitable organization.
Food Pantry
Annette Intravaia would like to thank Lisa Jagodzinski for the many years she and the young adults from Irving School (since 2013) have filled the bags during the school year. We are grateful for their help. Also, Lisa was one of those involved with the Food Pantry since its beginning. She and Barb Thode purchased the food that went in the bags at that time. Jenny Rutter does this for us now, many thanks to Jenny. During COVID we will be set up in the parking lot. If inclement weather, food will be dispersed through the back doors. Thank you to all who continue to bring large handled bags, food, and personal care items. Body wash and shampoo are always needed. However, anything you bring will be accepted and appreciated! Blessings to all of you for your continued support!
Our Food Pantry is possible because of the generous donations from our church members and from the West Allis community. This helps our church connect with people in the neighborhood for the purpose of feeding them and connecting them to the love of Christ. It creates a positive presence for our church in the community. The Food Pantry is held in our church on the second and fourth Wednesdays each month. This West Allis community outreach is for people who need groceries and personal care items. Your support continues to strengthen such mission work.
Our Food Pantry is located at our church, 7520 W. Lapham St., West Allis. We are here to serve persons with an emergent food need. To be eligible for help from the pantry persons must have proof of residence in West Allis.
The Pantry hours are as follows:
Every second and fourth Wednesday of the month from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. Recipients receive 2 bags of food plus optional food and personal care items. Between 10 and 30 family units are served each time. For Pantry Information call 414-774-5500 (church phone).
Angel Tree
Every child has a story. For 2.7 million American children, that story is filled with the abandonment, loneliness, and shame that come from having a mom or dad in prison. For many, it may also include following their parents down the same destructive road to incarceration.
Angel Tree, a program of Prison Fellowship, reaches out to the children of inmates and their families with the love of Christ. This unique program gives us an opportunity to share Christ’s love by helping to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the families of prisoners. A Christmas tree is decorated with angels that have the name and pertinent information about a child of an incarcerated parent. Those who take an angel from the tree give a desired Christmas gift to the child through Prison Fellowship.
In Milwaukee and hundreds of other American cities this Christmas, forgotten victims of crime will receive gifts from people they’ve never met. These victims are the children of men and women in prison. They will benefit through Prison Fellowship Angel Tree, a program sponsored by Prison Fellowship, an interdenominational Christian outreach, and FUMC of West Allis.
Select one or more angel gift tags from the tree. The gifts need to be purchased, wrapped, and returned to church.
United Methodist Children’s Services [UMCS]
UMCS values dignity, potential, and worth of each individual and creates a nurturing environment and sense of community in which miracles do happen. Through housing, childcare, resources, and community engagement, UMCS acts as a stepping stone for families on their way towards stability. Their Family Resource Center focuses on helping families with several needs including emergency foodbank, clothing bank, hygiene products, access to food share and other resources. FUMCWA partners with the Wisconsin Annual Conference in supporting UMCS through our Apportionment giving also known as “Connectional Giving.” UMCS, Northcott Neighborhood House, and Harbor House are supported by our Apportionment. Your support continues to strengthen such mission work.