The Church of Jesus Christ has never existed for its own sake, and all the worst abuses of the church have come during times when she forgot that. At First Wausau UMC, we take seriously our commitment to serve others and through those acts of love transform the lives of others. Most of this service takes place person to person, neighbor to neighbor, but as a church we also offer specific opportunities for our members (and anyone else) to grow in faith by giving to others.

 

First Presbyterian Church, half a block away from us, hosts a Sunday evening community meal, open and free to anyone. We have been a partner in this meal from the beginning and currently serve it on every 5th Sunday.

 

Since 2010, our church has sponsored a Personal Needs Closet – something like a food pantry, but offering instead the household and hygiene supplies that are not available through most food pantries or with food stamps. Though we are open only two times a month, we have helped thousands of families stretch their budget since we opened. The PNC is supported entirely by donations, and run entirely by volunteers – more than 60 different members have served there. We occasionally get calls in the office from people asking, “Are you the Toilet Paper Church?” Yes, we are. Open second Tuesdays, 1:00-3:00 pm, and fourth Saturdays, 9:00-11:00am.
 

We are excited to announce a new ministry that honors the legacy of Claire Hornby and her love for animals! Claire’s Critter Closet will help supply dog and cat food and supplies (litter, leashes, treats, etc.) for people who are going through financial difficulties. When a job or health is lost, people sometimes have to make a hard choice between feeding themselves or their pet. It usually results in either a person going hungry or an animal being sadly surrendered to a shelter. Claire’s Critter Closet will help keep people and their pets together and fed during hard times. We envision it will work in conjunction with the Personal Needs Closet. The confirmation students will be developing and running this ministry with the help of all other people who would like to join in. Please contact Pastor Rebecca if you’re interested.
 

Since 2012, First UMC has partnered with the Housing and Homelessness Coalition of the United Way for a semi-annual outreach to people in Wausau and Marathon County without permanent homes. On the final Wednesday night of every January and July, volunteers from the community gather at First then disperse to do an overnight count of the homeless (the “Point-In-Time” count). The next morning, at 7:00am, our church serves breakfast to anyone who has been found during the night as well as to all the volunteers, while representatives from every agency and program that serves the homeless gather in our Fellowship Hall to meet with our guests (“Project Connect”).

 

To be honest, this one isn’t even something we started as a church, though one of its founders is a member here and serves on our Missions Team. But so many of our members have gotten involved in this ministry to build wheelchair ramps – making it possible for people to remain longer in their beloved homes – that it feels as if it’s one of ours. At any rate, we can connect you.

 

As rewarding as person-to-person service in the community is, we try to remember the wider world as well, through partnerships with various programs and ministries. Among these are:

 

Africa Education and Leadership Initiative. A school in South Sudan, founded shortly after that nation first became independent as a girl’s school – because girls have traditionally not had the opportunity for education in that area. The Africa ELI school has proven so effective that they’ve had to open up their classrooms to boys as well. A planned 2014 mission trip to South Sudan had to be postoned because of the civil war there, but we continue to support the work with financial pledges and prayers.

Mission Guatemala. A ministry in the mountains of Guatemala that offers medical care, food, child care, and education to the Mayan people. Members of our church are going on a mission trip there in November of 2015.

Philip & Timothy Staines Memorial Children’s Home. A school and regional education project based in Madurai, South India. Several of our members have gone on mission trips to serve there, and further ways to support this ministry to the tribal people of Tamil Nadu are planned.