Vancouver First United Methodist Church

09/08/2026

Another Session of Thursdays with Melody starts September 24th!

09/02/2026

Season of Creation, 9/1-10/4, 3-Part Challenge: 1) Be curious, observe the natural world and all its created beings and look for God; 2) Share your God encounters (journal, conversation, in comment below, etc.); 3) Pray for God’s Creation.

Yesterday, I almost walked by a long black feather. But it was beautiful, so I went back and picked it up. It was perfect. The apostle Paul does not list beauty as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. But hey, a lot of us have some issues with Paul (in my opinion, some earned and some a little unfair from an academic perspective), and leaving beauty off the list of “fruits” is one of my issues. I’m also not pleased that the arts aren’t listed as spiritual gifts. How did he miss that? Anyway, I digress. Back to the feather.

I’d been shopping at a vintage store, and was carrying a box of cool treasures. I popped the feather into the cardboard coffer, where it eventually made its way to the kitchen counter. Soon after, Parsley, our infamous cat who is very cute and often a jerk, claimed the feather for herself. She’s been carrying it around the house and playing with it for about 12 hours now. She has trashed my pretty feather, and it is totally worth it. The feather brings her joy, and that brings me joy. (Also, relief - she’s not hunting ME.) How often do we save something that can bring joy if we actually use it?

The beauty of a feather, the joy of play, the love for our furry, feathery and scaly family members. God is in all of that.

Creator God, thank you for the birds of the sky, and their gorgeous feathers. Thank you for the companionship of pets who share our homes. Please help us to do better, as our carelessness and greed have led to drastically lower bird populations across the planet, with many on the brink of extinction. And so many animals are without safe places; pets who’ve ended up on the street, domestic animals in kill shelters, wild animals who’ve lost their habitats, and people who’ve lost their homes. God, we know you created enough of everything, in perfect balance, for us to share with all living beings. Please help us to restore that balance. Help us to learn how to live in harmony and make the changes needed to partner with you in the restoration of your beautiful creation. Amen.

08/31/2026

Online workshop opportunity! The Intersection of Food Justice and Climate Justice! See details/registration in graphic. It's open to anyone who is interested.

08/27/2026

Pastor Eilidh is preparing for Creation in Christ Sunday with these tools as Sarah will be preaching this week!

08/25/2026

Adult Education Opportunities this fall at Van First. All classes begin the week of Sept 13 unless otherwise indicated. Sunday School and Bible Study are on going year round.

08/20/2026

Every worship service is special at Vancouver First UMC, and 8/30 is going to be especially special. Join us as we celebrate the new addition to the lectionary: The Feast of Christ in Creation. Stay after worship for a blessing of the solar panels, snacks, and a chance to learn about the work of our Earth Advocates (formerly the Climate Team).

Attending worship on 8/30 does not give you a pass to miss worship this Sunday, 8/23. 🙂

08/18/2026

The moment when you realize you are trapped in an elevator with your pastor and a free fridge while your spouse, who you assumed was on the other side helping, has disappeared. Thanks Brian for helping with another one of Pastor Eilidh’s wild schemes.

08/17/2026

Did you know the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement holds a monthly online cafe? This Zoom meeting, third Wednesdays at 10Am PST, is always a wonderful opportunity to learn about environmental stewardship from a Methodist perspective. This month's topic is how churches across the connection are finding ways to serve as resilience hubs in responding to extreme weather events. Join us this Wednesday, 8/19, by registering at this link:

August 2026 Movement Café: Building Resilience for Extreme Weather by umcjnews | Jul 24, 2026 | Movement Café August 2026 Movement CaféBuilding Resilience for Extreme WeatherAugust 19, 20269am AK / 10am PT / 11am MT / 12pm CT / 1pm ETSponsored by the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, th...

08/02/2026

We have no power this morning so won’t be broadcasting today..