First United Methodist Church

Service Times

9am Contemporary | 11am Traditional

Office Space Available for Licensed Therapist

The 4 Pillars Counseling & Enrichment Center is seeking independent licensed therapists with personal Christian faith and specialization in the below outlined practice areas for collaboration through a lease agreement in our Colonialtown North campus counseling center.

Available office space has been remodeled specifically for counseling purposes and includes a full-size couch, additional seating for families, plus desk or another workspace for therapists.  Safety is taken very seriously, with clients entering the building only with the clinician’s assistance.

Offices are approximately 180-200 square foot and are available for lease today! Included in the $650 monthly rent are:

  • All utilities, including Wi-Fi, and regular janitorial service
  • Free off-street parking
  • Reception area seating and conference room space available to book

Practice areas include premarital, marital, and family counseling; trauma-focused care; child and/or play therapy; addiction and/or substance abuse; and LGBTQIA+-focused.  As part of the lease agreement, clinicians are required to provide documentation certifying the following:

  • Full licensure in the state of Florida to provide counseling.
  • Malpractice and general liability insurance that includes First United Methodist Church of Winter Park as an additional insured.
  • Successful completion of a background screening.

All prospective lessees will be fully vetted (including interviewing) prior to lease agreement; however, the Church is not otherwise involved in the therapeutic process. Therapists can counsel whom they choose, while working within legal parameters of the counseling profession. There is a preschool/daycare on campus, so onsite treatment of clients who are registered sex offenders is prohibited.

If interested, please email 4pillars@fumcwp.org for more information.

Devotion: Serving with Jobs Partnership

It comes as no surprise that followers of Jesus are called into service. The example we follow is a man who lived his whole life pouring it out for others. Ours is the religion of the upside-down Kingdom, where the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. Where the lost and broken amongst us are the first to receive the invitation into God’s family. And because we live in this reality where our words, thoughts, and deeds confirm that God must become greater and we must become less – service is just a part of who we are. It isn’t about a checklist of doing good to look holy but being used by God through obedience to make holy moments happen.

If you haven’t heard yet, there have been 12 weeks of holy moments happening through our church and community through the ministry of Job’s Partnership. For years, this church has financially supported the work of Job’s Partnership, but this is the first year that we have hosted a class. It took almost a year of prayer, planning fundraising and training to make this Fall Class possible. I have to especially thank Anita Williams and Dave Olsen who have been a part of this program for many years and whose passion and selfless attitude have made this ministry a transformative one.

On Thursday, August 25th, while I was caring for my one-week old, dozens of volunteers, leaders and coaches gathered at the Reeves Campus to welcome and begin week one of Jobs Partnership. Now, 12 weeks later, there are 17 graduates that we will celebrate and send off this evening. These 17 graduates have persevered through two hurricanes, heavy rainstorms, weekly homework, personal challenges and in two cases, drove all the way from Ocala to participate in this class because we were the only Job’s Partnership that provided childcare for their kids.

Thanks be to God!

These 17 individuals now have the skills, confidence and connections to move out of the job that they had to settle for and into the careers that they are now passionate about. And you all helped make that happen.

It took the lifestyle of service to change the lives of 17 individuals for the better. I am so proud of our church, of our leaders and of the many individuals that gave of themselves by coaching, mentoring, providing a meal, watching children, praying for and encouraging these beloved people.  All of you, the body of Christ called First United Methodist Church of Winter Park, made this ministry possible. There are too many of you to name, but you know who you are. Thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus Christ through this ministry.

When I think about being good stewards of our service, I think of Job’s Partnership and the people that made it possible. Tonight, as these 17 class participates become 17 graduates, I thank God that many of you gave up a night every week to love on, encourage, teach, pray, feed and share. All of this is an act of service. Whenever we live outside of ourselves, when we put others first, when we see in them what they can’t see in themselves; we are serving. Whenever we show someone that they are in fact beloved and made in God’s image; we are serving. And whenever we come together as one body to serve, we glimpse a part of God’s Kingdom. From a practical perspective, there are now 17 more people with enough hope and acquired knowledge to better navigate the business world today. But even more importantly, 17 people now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God created them for a purpose and for holy significance and that gives me HOPE.

Tropical Storm Nicole

Updated: November 11, 8:30am

Campus Update

Our campus is OPEN for all activities and Sunday morning services. 

Relief Efforts

Our hearts go out to those affected by recent and upcoming storms in our community. Know your church family is here for you! 
 
Please contact Victoria Vaden at victoriav@fumcwp.org for storm-related needs or offers of assistance.
 
Click the button below to give to our Relief Fund (use the drop-down arrow in the Fund section to select “Relief Fund”).

United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)

UMCOR is the humanitarian relief and development arm of The United Methodist Church. Please prayerfully consider donating to UMCOR’s U.S. Disaster Response, where 100% of your gift goes directly to disaster relief.

UMCOR Cleaning Kits

Help those affected by floods, hurricanes and tornadoes to begin the overwhelming job of cleaning up. Click the link below to receive step-by-step instructions on how to assemble cleaning kits.

Human Resources Update Pastor David & Erin Corbelli

Watch today’s update to hear from Pastor David and Erin Corbelli regarding our Human Resources and Health Care Insurance.

Devotion: Sharing Is Caring

“But, Emmaline, Sharing is Caring!!!” This has become a favorite phrase of Charlie over these last few months. He hears it at school and he reminds every member of his family daily of this golden rule. In the midst of our current reality, I like to agree with him but add in the caveat, “Sharing is Caring, unless it is COVID!”

And so what does it mean to share? What does it mean to be generous of heart?

On Sunday, Pastor David shared the third of the Stewardship Sermons this time on Gifts. He suggested that how we approach money is a litmus test for our discipleship. I agree, Jesus was clear about this over and over again in the Gospels and as we heard Sunday, Jesus talked more about money than any other topic in His teachings. While generosity is seen most poignantly in money, generosity is also seen in the sharing of our time and talent as well. 

How do you share your time? How do you share your talents? In this stage of my life, time is money. Time is an actual commodity for me in a season where there is not enough time in my day to do all that I need to do. But part of the way I care for God’s people and my own little tribe is giving them my time and attention. For instance, I give of my time and attention by really listening when they have a story to share, a prayer that needs to be lifted up, a question they need answered. I choose patience in the busyness by sharing my focus and attention even if I feel there is something else I should be spending my time on. I share my authentic self in my relationships even if it means I am vulnerable and left exposed. I share my heart in situations that need softening because sometimes you are the one that can bring a new perspective to a tense situation.

I say that I do these things, but not all the time and certainly not perfectly. Sharing is Caring when I am grounded in who I am in Christ and when I am present to the Spirit of God in my midst.

Which invites me to ask an important question. If Sharing is Caring, who is most cared for when we are generous?

Pastor David shared on Sunday that we are on the right path with how we approach money when it makes us more aware, not less aware of Christ’s presence with us. This generosity begets a sense of maturity when we begin to realize that we are dependent on Christ.  Because as I live out my day and try to share my attention, my talents, as well as my gifts, I am cared for and filled back up as I am poured out. As I pour myself out in the care and love of others, I meet Jesus over and over again. The care is reciprocal because this is what we were created to do. We were created to give and receive. We were created to share and be generous. When we do, we are more in touch with the belovedness we were created to live out. As we are generous with all that God has created us to be, we see more of Christ in the other person, in the situation, in the conflict, in the relationship around us. When we get outside ourselves by sharing more than our gifts, but our time and talent as well, our soul is cared for. Our relationship within God’s Kingdom widens and we begin to see ourselves as an integral part of the transformation that God is up to here on earth. We share our gifts because our whole selves need one another to be cared for and nourished.

And so, I leave you with this question.

Aside from the sharing of your financial gifts in this season of stewardship, what can you do to share more of something else? Is it your patience, or attention, or time or friendship with someone else. And how might God begin to care for your soul in the process?

AMEN

Click the link below to learn more about our Stewardship Series and to submit your online pledge.

Staff Parish Update on the COO Position!

Watch today’s update from Pastor David & Pat Albert to learn more about our new Chief Operations Officer, Debra Rogers! Here you will have a first look at the hiring process and what stood out to our Staff Parish Relations team during the search.

Devotion: The Presence of God

Learn more about our Stewardship Sermon Series and pledge online at the link below!

Church Conference Update from Pastor David

Visit the link below to view the Church Conference information on our Events Page.

August Financial Report

Devotion: The Orchard & God’s Kingdom

Throughout this Maternity Leave, I have spent a lot of quality time with Ellie, caring for, loving on and getting to know her and it has been a real blessing. But I have also had opportunities to spend more quality time with my “big kids” as well. We have had adventures together and this weekend was no exception. We took our first road trip together as a family of five up to see two of our dear seminary friends get married. We drove up to Atlanta and saw friends from our years at Emory, had a seminary reunion at their wedding, visited family that live up in Georgia and ended our time picking apples in the North Georgia mountains. It was a fun-filled (and might I add, exhausting) five days.

Our big kids were most excited about the apple picking part of the trip, although for some strange reason they also really like the “staying in a hotel” part of the adventure. But Monday morning we found ourselves in Ellijay, in an orchard, picking 20 pounds of apples. Ryan did most of the work as I was wearing baby Ellie, but the excitement on their little faces when they found a red or green apple without spots or bruises was memorable. They were so proud of their find as one by one, apples would fill up their bags. Sure, we snacked on a few, tasting Arkansas Blacks, Crimson Crisp, Golden Delicious and Granny Smiths along the way, but mostly the apples ended up in their bags. And the picking wasn’t easy. Apparently, the apple festival had just happened, and so all of the good apples had been picked. There was no “low-hanging fruit” if you catch my drift and Emmaline and Charlie can’t reach very far, so they spent a lot of time on Ryan’s shoulders, but happy to do so.

And the scene got me thinking.

Jesus used a lot of farming metaphors in His teachings. He would often talk about the landowner, the Sower, the farmer or the fields. Many of his parables had an agricultural flare because those were the metaphors that made the most sense to the listeners in the Ancient Near East. And so it got me thinking, if Jesus were speaking in parables once again today, how the orchard might teach us about God’s Kingdom.

The first thing I thought about was the diversity of the orchard. The one we visited had 7 types of apples in season that month, not to mention the other kinds that ripened earlier or later in the season. In other words, we live in a diverse world, with all types and flavors of people. In God’s Kingdom, it is an orchard big enough and fertile enough for every different kind of tree; every different kind of apple. We worship a Creative Creator who made a diverse world and called it good. And we, the people who love God and love others are invited into this Orchard to both pick and enjoy the fruit of the harvest.

The second thing I noticed was the low-hanging fruit; those apples low enough and ripe enough for even children to grab. In church words, we call those Seekers, people for whom the Holy Spirit is already working on who may eagerly show up to worship or join a small group or sacrificially serve and suddenly their lives begin to change from the inside out.  We get excited by these types of people because the change is more apparent and more immediate. Often people labeled “Seekers” come to where we already exist and they are not out of reach. Those apples still need to be picked, but what about the ones higher up in the tree? What about the ripe and ready apples that are just out of our reach? This is where our Good and Gracious Father offers us a ride on His shoulders; a different view from higher up. These apples still need our attention, still are asking to be picked and used and enjoyed; but our perspective must change, off the steadiness of the solid ground and in a riskier place on our Father’s shoulders, where we can see more from this vantage point because this work is important too.

The last point I think Jesus would have made if He taught a parable on an Orchard would be this: don’t disregard so many apples. It is true that some have spots, some have bruises, and some are still ripening; but this could be said about all of us. Most of the apples grown on an orchard can be picked and used and enjoyed, but when we were there we noticed so many more on the ground then in bags going home with people. It was wasteful and a sad sight to behold. Which made me think about the people that I have written off; people that I may have overlooked or disregarded because of their spots or bruises or lack of maturity. Have I missed a chance for a relationship and a way to build God’s Kingdom because I haven’t seen the fruitfulness in others as I should?

Maybe you can relate. Maybe today you needed a reminder about the wideness of God’s love and the beautiful diversity of God’s Kingdom Orchard. Or could it be that you needed to be challenged to climb onto God’s shoulders and look for those hard-to-reach people in your life? Or maybe instead you needed to remember and seek forgiveness for the ways you have disregarded people that God has put in your path. Whatever the Holy Spirit might be stirring up in you this today, I pray that you listen and respond. And then give thanks!

May God add God’s blessing to the hearing and receiving of this word today.

AMEN

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