Happy Friday, church family!

Yesterday (June 21st) was the first official day of summer–but with the temperatures we’ve been experiencing this month, it feels like summer has been around for a while!  It’s also been a busy season here at Auburn FUMC: here’s a glimpse of what we’ve been doing over the last few weeks:

• At the end of May, our youth group took a trip to Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas. While they were there, they completed the “Global Challenge” poverty simulation, and experienced first-hand the struggles that many people around the world face in developing countries.  Our kids built fires, slept on dirt floors, learned the true meaning of scarcity and hunger, and they came home fired up to make a difference in the world!

• Stephen and I attended the Great Plains Annual Conference session in Wichita—you can read more about the Conference proceedings here.  (The highlight of the Conference for us was the opening worship service, where our little Iris was baptized!)

• We’ve started incorporating mission work into our worship here at Auburn FUMC! The Sunday before Annual Conference, our congregation packed hygiene kits for UMCOR.  It was a really fun intergenerational activity, and many hands made light work: we packaged 34 kits in a matter of minutes!  Big thanks to Ginny Pippert and Kathy Grant for making this event happen, and thanks to everyone who donated and participated in this mission effort!  (Our hygiene kits were loaded onto the Great Plains UMCOR truck at Annual Conference, along with almost 4,000 others from all around Kansas and Nebraska!)

• A new sermon series is about to begin! In our new “Storybook Bible” worship series, we’ll dive into some of your favorite childhood Bible stories, and we’ll discover the timeless truths that they contain.  Join us as we explore the wisdom hidden in our Sunday School favorites—this journey will be a joy for both children and children at heart!

June 24^th: Joseph’s Dreamcoat

July 1^st: David and the Giant

July 8^th: In the Lion’s Den

July 15^th: Fish Tales

July 22^nd: My Father’s House

See you in church!

Love,

Emily