Core Value
Spiritual Growth
We minister to the whole person to nurture a faith that works in real life through worship, education,fellowship, service and justice. We walk with each other on our journeys with God and in following the way of Jesus.
Spiritual Growth Opportunities
Sunday Worship
9:00 AM First Service
11:00 AM Second Service
11:00 AM Second Service is livestreamed on the EGUMC Facebook page
Weekly worship includes congregational singing of heritage and contemporary hymns, scripture reading, sermon, children’s time, and prayer. During the sermon children 6th grade and younger are invited to attend the children’s story time in a room at the back of the sanctuary or are welcome to stay in worship.
Communion is provided the first Sunday of every month at both services. Fruit juice is served in place of wine and all are welcome to partake in Communion. Communuion bread is Gluten free.
We also offer anointing and prayers of healing on Communion Sundays.
Seasonal Worship Opportunities
Advent Services
A quiet evening of worship and music on Thursday nights at 7:00 PM featuring favorite Christmas stories, held during the three weeks before Christmas.
All Saint’s Day
During church services on the first Sunday of November (or the last Sunday of October), we celebrate, thank, and give praise to all those “saints” that have been in our lives. There will be an opportunity to add the names of departed “saints” to our memorial bell banner prior to All Saint’s Sunday.
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. We have an evening service to receive ashes on our foreheads as a sign of our mortality and a worship service to begin our Lenten journey.
Blessing of the Animals
An outdoor service near St. Francis of Assisi’s birthday which is September 26. St. Francis is considered the patron saint of animals. The community is invited to bring their pet(s) for a blessing. We have a short worship service and each pet is blessed individually. Pet and people refreshments are served!
Children’s Musical Workshop
Summer workshop for children (grades 1 – 6). Children learn the elements of producing a musical including: singing, staging, dancing, lighting, and sets. The musical performance is presented during Sunday service.
Christmas Eve Services
We have two candlelight services on Christmas Eve at which we celebrate the birth of Jesus. The 5:30 service offers all an opportunity to participate in our our “no-rehearsal” Christmas pageant as we act out the story of the birth of Jesus. The 9:00 PM service offers a homily and special Christmas Music. Christmas Carols are sang at both services. In between the services we have a soup supper for all who would like to join us.
Epiphany
Epiphany is the twelfth and final day of Christmas–January 6. In Spanish-speaking countries it is called El Dia de los Reyes (The Day of the Kings). We celebrate the arrival of the Magi who brought gifts (Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh) to give to the child Jesus and his family. The star which guided the Magi or Wise Ones is a symbol of the season which focuses on the spread of the gospel to the four corners of the earth. Our church celebrates Epiphany with a brief outdoor service. We sing Christmas and Epiphany carols, read the Epiphany scripture from the Gospel of Matthew, share in prayers which focus on the light and then have a great bonfire in which we burn our Christmas trees! The service is followed by a hotdog potluck supper. An inspiring event for all ages!
Good Friday
Good Friday falls on the Friday before Easter. We have an evening service in which we remember the last days of Jesus’ life through music, liturgy and drama.
Lenten Services
A quiet evening of worship and music, held during the Lenten season. Services are intended to enrich our life together and to feel God’s spirit during the Lenten journey toward the Cross.
Prayer Vigil
We offer quarterly prayer vigils. The community is invited to come to the sanctuary and pray. Each vigil has a theme dealing with time of year or special concerns in our society. Prayer programs help guide participants.
Childcare – Infants to Toddlers (0-5yrs old)
9:00am to 12:30pm – in the Nursery
Child Care is provided on Sundays from first service to the end of second service. Child Care Staff provide warm and engaging care for children in a fun play setting.
Pre-K to 3rd Grade Sunday school
Sundays @ 10:15am
3 year old to Kindergarten: Meet in the Outreach Room
1st – 3rd Grade: Meet in the Community Room
Our goal in Sunday School is to teach children the stories of the Bible and about God’s unconditional love. It is a space where we read stories, share and discuss what we learned, sing and pray, and engage in fun and exciting activities together.
4th Grade to 6th Grade Sunday School
Sundays @ 10:15am
Our 4th– 6th graders use Cokesbury: Celebrate Wonder which is a curriculum with activities designed to inspire curiousity and wonder in the bible. It connects children to the Bible so they become closer to their peers, to their families, and to God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It Speaks to children’s lives today and helps them apply their faith every day.
Friday Bible Study
Meets at 10am on Fridays on Zoom
Join this group as they deep dive into a book of the Bible. Once they finish one book, they choose the next to study together. If you are interested in join, email the office to get the Zoom login info.
Sunday Bible Study
Meets at 10am in Bartholomew Hall
As United Methodists we come to know God in four ways through the scripture, Christian tradition, personal experience and our ability to reason or think. We United Methodists call this the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, after our founder, John Wesley.
Scripture or Bible study may be the most difficult part of this equation. In his book, Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith, Rob Bell writes: I continue to find the Bible the most mysterious book—the more insight I gain, the more I realize how much I don’t know. It inspires and encourages, and it also frustrates and provokes. The Bible is a difficult book.
Indeed the Bible is a difficult, challenging and wonderful book. Bible studies at Elk Grove United Methodist Church use a variety of methods and resources including recent archeological discoveries, word studies, historical discoveries, literary criticism, language studies, and historical context when we study the Bible. We understand the Bible to be a living document that aids us in understanding our faith journey. Our Bible studies invite wonder, discussion, new understanding, new ways of relating to God, and a renewed commitment to studying the Bible and following the way of Jesus.
Current Studies – Genesis to Revelation Journey
Bible study that is broken into 13 week segments. The study helps participants: explore “What does the Bible say?”, understand the meaning of the passage by considering such aspects as ancient customs, location of places and the meaning of words; and connect the meaning of the scripture to their own lives.
Retreats
Women’s Retreat
Enjoy a weekend of relaxation, spiritual renewal, fellowship with other women and of course, fun.
A guest facilitator leads us in a weekend of prayer, study, spiritual exploration and worship. Although there are scheduled sessions throughout the weekend, there is ample time for rest, connecting with God and getting to know other women in our church.
Men’s Retreat
A time for reflection, rejuvenation, and no cooking or dishes! That’s what the annual Elk Grove United Methodist Church Men’s Retreat brings to the guys in our congregation.
The retreat is a time for the guys to gather under the leadership of an outside facilitator who develops a theme for the weekend program, usually after offering the men a few different themes from which to choose. Our studies may be biblically-based, tackle personal and family challenges, or help us find balance in our work lives. We gather for the program time in an informal, casual and confidential setting with as much interaction as comfortable for the individual attendees.
The side benefit is that we all have a chance to get to know each other better, with plenty of free-time built into the weekend as well.
All men are invited to join us at the next men’s retreat. It’s a great way to recharge the batteries, refresh your soul and connect with the other men in our congregation.
Couples Retreat
Elk Grove United Methodist Church offers an annual couples retreat at the Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center on Lake Tahoe. It’s a wonderful weekend in October–usually the fall colors are vivid, the air is crisp and during the day the sun is warm (unless it rains or snows!).
The retreat is designed for committed or married couples and is for both the straight and LGBTQ community.
It’s a time to strengthen, renew, nurture, and enjoy your relationship with your partner as well as a time for you to connect with God as individuals and as a couple.
The program includes worship, singing, group discussion, couple interaction as well as some individual time. The retreat begins Friday evening with get acquainted games such as “Truly Wed” (a takeoff on the Newly Wed Game) and an introduction to the program. Saturday includes a facilitated (or maybe structured) program as well as afternoon free time. Sunday morning there is a closing program, worship and lunch together before heading down the mountain.
Past topics have included: Time Starved Marriages: How to Stay Connected at the Speed of life; Understanding Your Partners Love Language; Appreciating our Differences (using the Myers Briggs Personality resources); and 10 Great Dates.
All Church Retreat
WHAT: The All Church Retreat at Lodestar is a weekend full of fun, fellowship, relaxation, and a great opportunity to connect with God and with each other in the serene beauty of the Sierra Foothills. It’s the best all-family event of the year! This year’s theme: TBA. Explore the ways in which we can give our burdens to God to live a more peace-filled life.
WHEN: Early June.
WHO: YOU! Singles, families with young children, couples, teens, empty-nesters, seniors – all are welcome, especially those who are new to the Church.
AMENITIES: Olympic size swimming pool, Air Conditioned main lodge, Campfire Pit, quiet natural surroundings, all mostly wheelchair accessible.
FUN GALORE! Activities for the whole family like tie-dye, making ice cream, ping-pong, domino, Mexican Train dominos and corn hole tournaments, a minute to win it games, ropes course, campfire with songs and s’mores, Get Smart (evening outdoor game for all ages), guided nature walk, meditation, informative stargazing in the meadow, basketball, Lodestar Olympics , games, puzzles, outdoor worship, children & adult crafts, swimming and, age level programs on the theme & more!
WHERE: Lodestar Retreat Facility, 100 min from E.G. (45 min. east of Jackson)
HOUSING: Private or group accommodations are available for individuals, couples, families and small groups with easy access to hot showers and flush toilets. All meals are provided by great cooks on the Lodestar staff. Youth going into 7th grade through graduating from 12th grade have their own cabins!
United Methodist Membership
For United Methodists, membership requires our active participation in a local congregation. When we become members, we profess our faith in God, our desire to live as disciples of Jesus Christ, and commit to join with our church community to keep the vows made at baptism. The vows we make include promises to faithfully participate in the life and ministries of our local congregation through our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness.
The meaning of membership is also deeply rooted in our Methodist heritage. John Wesley was clear that Christianity is a social religion, and that our growth in holiness of heart and life is deeply dependent on being in face-to-face community with others who are watching over us (and we over them) in love. It is through these face-to-face relationships that we experience what it means to be the body of Christ in the world.
Throughout our life, as we pray, study the scriptures, worship and share in fellowship with other Christians, we deepen our knowledge of and love for God. As we respond with compassion to human need and work for justice in our communities, we strengthen our capacity to love our neighbors. We confess and repent of our sins, ways in which we fall short of God’s way. In this way, our inner thoughts and motives, as well as our outer actions and behavior, are aligned with God’s will and testify to our union with God.
If you are interested in participating in the Membership Class, please email the Church Office and you will be connected to our Pastor to learn more about becoming a member. To learn more about what it means to be a member of the United Methodist Church, you can also visit the UMC website: What does it mean to be a member?
Baptism
In the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, “we are initiated into Christ’s holy church, … incorporated into God’s mighty acts of salvation and given new birth through water and the Spirit,” the Introduction to the Baptismal Covenant says. “All this is God’s gift, offered to us without price.”
We offer baptism to people of all ages who have not previously received Christian baptism in any form. We do not rebaptize those who have already received Christian baptism in any form. Even when the people being baptized are believing adults and are ready to profess their faith, our first emphasis is upon the gracious action of God who establishes the covenant of baptism with us rather than upon the individual’s decision.
If you are interested in learning more about baptism or would like to be baptized you can contact our pastor.
To learn more about baptism in the United Methodist Church, you can go to the websites: Renewing waters: How United Methodists Understand Baptism and FAQs about Baptism, Membership, and Salvation
First Service
9:00am – Sanctuary
Join us for worship on Sundays for the early service.
Second Service
11:00am – Sanctuary
Join us for worship on Sundays in the later serivce. This worship service is also livestreamed on Facebook for viewing at home.
Sermons
You can watch the worship service weekly live via our Facebook page. If you wish to view past worship services, you can also access them on the EGUMC Facebook page.
