Birmingham United Methodist Church

Christmas Tree Lighting Concert
2023-12-03 17:00 - 18:30 (America/New_York) | Birmingham UMC, 15770 Birmingham Highway, Milton, GA, 30004, United States
Come and be a part of a special community celebration for Milton and all of our community with a concert led by the Sanctuary Worship Band. All activities will be outside so dress appropriately!

Kids activities begin at 5 p.m.
Concert starts at 5:30 p.m.
Tree Lighting at 6:30 p.m.

All are welcome to ring in the Christmas spirit this first Sunday of Advent. The concert will be performed by the Sanctuary Worship Band with special guests.

Advent Wreath Making Workshop
2023-12-03 11:00 - 12:00
Immediately following the Hanging of the Greens service is our annual advent wreath making workshop led by Bruce and Denise Baird. All are invited to stay and make a wreath for your family to use at your house throughout the season. Supplies are provided.

Hanging of the Greens Worship Service
2023-12-03 10:00 - 11:00
Come for this fun, interactive worship service as we sing, decorate and learn about the holiday season. Children will remain in worship with their families (but don’t worry, there will be plenty to keep their attention and keep them busy)! Nursery is available for our littlest church goers. A special thanks to Jan Eaton and our choir for putting this annual service together each year!
ONLINE
You can join us online either through our website OR our Facebook page.

BUMC Youth Bonfire
2023-11-19 17:00 - 19:00
Friendsgiving youth style! All middle and high school students will gather at the Student Center from 5 to 7 p.m. on November 19. We’ll have a roaring bonfire with hot dogs, s’mores and games for all. Wear your favorite flannel!

Men's Grill and Charge Conference
2023-11-16 18:30 - 20:00
Men’s Grill but the one where everyone is invited!
All are welcome to Men’s Grill on Thursday, November 16. Dinner will start at 6:30 p.m. And following dinner, we will put the Central North Charge Conference that we are participating in on the big screen for all the see. Don’t know a charge conference is? We’ll show you all about and you’ll learn some things about the behind-the-scenes functioning of the church, our district, and North Georgia Conference.

Exhale November Meeting
2023-11-14 09:30 - 11:30
Tuesday, November 14 from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
RSVP and Reserve Childcare
Special Guest Speaker, Sam Brinson of Hugs for Harrison
Our family experienced the tragic loss of our second born, our son, Harrison Bryan Brinson, who was born prematurely due to placental abruption at just 20 weeks gestation on January 29, 2017. In that traumatic moment, our hearts and our dreams, were completely shattered leaving us feeling confused, shocked, angry, and embarking on a journey with grief.
Yet in the darkness and sorrow, we never lost hope in who we knew our Heavenly Father to be. We trusted that even in this, He is good. That even in our brokenness, He is whole. We chose to trust each of our emotions to Him, laying them all at His feet, and rather than hiding from the pain, we chose to confront it and allow it to be felt and endured.

All Saints Candlelight Service
2023-11-05 17:30 - 18:30
A special worship service for those grieving a loss with Rev. Judy Wolfe preaching, special Scripture readings and music throughout. All are welcome to attend.

Lunch on the Grounds: Stewardship Celebration
2023-10-29 11:00 - 13:00
Immediately following worship on Sunday, October 29 we will gather in the Fellowship Hall for Lunch on the Grounds. The church will provide chicken, rolls and beverages. We are asking members of the congregation to bring sides and desserts. Please sign up with the link below and let us know what you are bringing!
A special thank you to the Congregational Connection Committee for spearheading this event.
SIGN UP FOR SIDES AND DESSERTS

Fall Festival
2023-10-22 16:00 - 18:00
A fun, free family event for all in the Milton area.
Activities include:

hayride
s’mores
face painting
bounce houses
games
pumpkin painting & more!

Men's Grill: October Meeting
2023-10-19 18:30 - 20:00
It’s Guy’s Night Out this month with Men’s Grill. All men in our congregation and community are invited to come hang out with friends, eat yummy food and watch some sports!

Exhale Monthly Meeting
2023-10-17 09:30 - 11:30
Titania Jordan, co-author of Parenting in a High Tech World & Chief Parent Officer at Bark Technologies, will be joining us as we navigate parenting in today’s world!

As parents, we often feel pressure to conform to the world’s idea of parenting. From technology to sports, to clothes, and the list goes on… the world has an opinion for everything, but the only opinion that will result in a full and satisfying life for our children, is God’s!

Let’s embrace Romans 12:2 and live unconformed as we navigate technology and parenting today!
RSVP AND RESERVE CHILDCARE

Soup & Sisterhood
2023-10-15 18:30 - 20:00
Soup and Sisterhood is back! All women in our church and community are welcome to enjoy delicious soups and desserts on Sunday, October 15 starting at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $15 per person. Online registration has closed but you can still pay with cash or check at the door.
We will also be collecting canned soup for MUST Ministries. Please bring a can or two if you are able.
The theme is Holiday Tables on a White Plate. Learn how to decorate a tablescape for the upcoming holidays just using a simple white plate or any dishes you already have at home.

Youth Mixer: Sky Zone
2023-09-17 16:30 - 19:30
Jump through September with your youth pals! All middle and high school students are welcome. Meet at the Student Center at 4:30 p.m. We will load up the vans and head to Sky Zone Roswell. Youth will jump from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and then head back to the Student Center for pizza. Plan to pick up your youth at 7:30 p.m.
The cost is $32 and includes jump time, socks, transportation and dinner!
REGISTER HERE

Wood Harvesting
2023-09-09 07:30 - 12:00
We need about 10-12 people to meet at the church to help cut, split, and stack wood for the cloister fires. We are harvesting the wood from trees taken down recently on our property. We all love a good Cloister fire in the fall and winter, and with your help, we’ll have plenty of wood prepared to make them!
Donuts and coffee will be available to sweeten the deal. Contact Jeff Johnson if interested at (404)312-9984 or jajohnsn@comcast.net.

August WOW Book Club
2023-08-24 19:00 - 20:00
WOW’s last summer book choice is The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.
Thursday, August 24 at 7 p.m.
At the home of Jodi Christensen (call the office if you need the address)
Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable contribution in modern fiction: a new perspective of female life in biblical society. It is a vast and stirring work described as what the Bible might have been had it been written by God’s daughters instead of sons. Far beyond the traditional women-of-the-Bible sagas in both impact and vigor, The Red Tent is based upon a mention in Genesis of Jacob’s only female offspring – his daughter, Dinah.
Author Anita Diamant, in the voice of Dinah, gives an insider’s look at the details of women’s lives in biblical times and a chronicle of their earthy stories and long-ignored histories. The red tent of the title is the place where women were sequestered during their cycles of birthing, menses, and illness. It is here that Dinah hears the whispered stories of her four mothers – Jacob’s wives Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah – and tells their tales to us in remarkable and thought-provoking oratories.
Familiar passages from the Bible take on new life as Dinah fills in what the Bible has left out – the lives of women. Dinah tells us of her initiation into the religious and sexual practices of the tribe; Jacob’s courtship with Rachel and Leah; the ancient world of caravans, farmers, midwives, and slaves; her ill-fated sojourn in the city of Sechem; her years in Canaan; and her half-brother Joseph’s rise in Egypt.
Skillfully interweaving biblical tales with characters of her own invention, the author re-creates the life of Dinah providing an illuminating portrait of a courageous woman and the life she might have lived. A new view of the panorama of life in biblical times emerges from the female perspective, and the red tent itself becomes a symbol of womanly strength, love, and wisdom.

Members Matter
2023-08-20 10:30 - 12:00
During worship at 10 a.m. many people will be joining the church and pledging their prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness to our BUMC community. Interested? You can fill out the membership form online or reach out to Pastor Sam or Pastor Mike with any questions.
After service, we will all gather for a cook out! Everyone is invited!

August Kickoff Sunday
2023-08-06 10:00 - 12:30
Back to school, back to church! Below is a list of all the events happening on Sunday, August 6 as we kick off new youth programming and our children are promoted to their new classrooms. New to BUMC or thinking of trying us out for the first time? There are some common FAQ’s here.
BACKPACK BLESSINGS
All children can bring their backpacks to church! We will pray over the children, their backpacks, and give them a little something to remind them how much they are loved by God and BUMC!
TREEHOUSE PROMOTION
Following Backpack Blessings, children will head downstairs to the Treehouse to their NEW Sunday School classrooms. We’re so excited to move these kids up and continue their journey walking with Jesus. Learn more about the Treehouse children’s ministry here.
CHILDREN’S CHOIR
This is a *BRAND NEW* program for children first through fifth grades to explore and worship through music! Children’s Choir will be led by Jennifer Marietta and we are so excited to offer this program at BUMC. Looking for something to do while your kids participate? We have several Sunday School classes that might be a good fit! Reach out to the office if you need help finding your spot.
SIXTH GRADE WALK UP
At the end of the 10a.m. worship service, we will prayer over the youth and new sixth graders. Afterward, they will walk up to the Student Center for a fun, special BUMC Youth Sunday Morning program.
BUMC YOUTH NIGHT
All middle and high schoolers meet at church at 4:55 p.m. They will split into teams and go on a scavenger hunt around town. Pick up is at 7 p.m. Learn more about youth programs here.

BUMC Youth: Pool Party
2023-07-30 17:00 - 19:00
Contact Austin Lerner-Gay, Director of Student Ministries at austin@birminghamumc.org for the pool address. A last hooray before school starts back!

WOW July Book Club
2023-07-27 19:00 - 21:00
July 27 at 7 p.m.
Home of Jodi Christensen: call the front office for the address
July’s book club pick is a historical fiction novel — “Before We Were Yours” by Lisa Wingate. It is based on a real-life scandal in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country.
About “Before We Were Yours”
Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.
Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.
Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.

BUMC Youth: Kickball
2023-07-23 17:00 - 19:00
Wear your best baseball outfit and come out for kickball on the baseball field! This event is open to all youth – rising sixth graders through graduated seniors.

BUMC Youth: Destination Unknown
2023-07-16 17:00 - 19:00
All BUMC Youth (including rising 6th graders) are invited to a fun off-campus trip. Parents will pick up and drop off at the Student Center (chapel by Birmingham Highway). Questions? Reach out to Austin Lerner-Gay, Director of Student Ministries at austin@birminghamumc.org.

Summer Book Club with WOW
2023-06-22 19:00 - 20:00
JUNE Book Club:
Date: Thursday, June 22
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Home of Jodi Christensen (please call the office for the address is needed)
“From the womb, we must repeat with regularity that to love ourselves is to survive. I believe that is what my father wanted for me and knew I would so desperately need: a tool for survival, the truth of my dignity named like a mercy new each morning.”
So writes Cole Arthur Riley in her unforgettable book of stories and reflections on discovering the sacred in her skin. In these deeply transporting pages, Arthur Riley reflects on the stories of her grandmother and father, and how they revealed to her an embodied, dignity-affirming spirituality, not only in what they believed but in the act of living itself. Writing memorably of her own childhood and coming to self, Arthur Riley boldly explores some of the most urgent questions of life and faith: How can spirituality not silence the body, but instead allow it to come alive? How do we honor, lament, and heal from the stories we inherit? How can we find peace in a world overtaken with dislocation, noise, and unrest? In this indelible work of contemplative storytelling, Arthur Riley invites us to descend into our own stories, examine our capacity to rest, wonder, joy, rage, and repair, and find that our humanity is not an enemy to faith but evidence of it.
At once a compelling spiritual meditation, a powerful intergenerational account, and a tender coming-of-age narrative, This Here Flesh speaks potently to anyone who suspects that our stories might have something to say to us.

Serve at Meals By Grace
2023-06-17 12:30 - 15:00
We are partnering with Meals by Grace for Vacation Bible School and Middle School Mission Camp this year. But no matter your age, we want YOU to help! Meals by Grace is a no-cost food program to feed families in Forsyth and Dawson Counties struggling with food insecurity. Our congregation is going to help deliver food on Saturday, June 17. We will meet at Midway United Methodist Church (5025 Atlanta Highway, Alpharetta, GA 30004).
YOU MUST REGISTER HERE.
Who can help?
Even little kids can help by making “blessing cards” that will be included in each box.
What will I be doing?
By registering, you will be able to pick your serving team:

Breads and desserts
Dry/canned goods
Kitchen (13 yrs + unless it’s Kids in the Kitchen day)
Fruit (10 yrs + with permission & supervision)
Dish washing (10+)
Making laundry detergent & filling bottles
Special projects

What is the day’s schedule?
Here is how the day will progress:

Arrive at the gym at about 12:30 pm.
Grab your name tag (or stop to register at the welcome table).
Meet us at the front of the gymnasium for a discussion of safety rules & instructions.
Find your assigned team lead to gather with your team and have fun!
Pack family food boxes.
Receive final instructions in our meeting area.
Deliver to thankful families.

Men's Grill May Meeting
2023-05-18 18:30 - 20:30
Thursday, May 18 at 6:30 p.m.
Food and fellowship followed by guest speaker Jhazzmyn Joiner from Alzheimer’s Association!
We are pleased to welcome Jhazzmyn Joiner from the Alzheimer’s Association to Men’s Grill in May. She will be giving a community outreach presentation because we know many people in our community are struggling with loved ones in a direct or indirect way. There are more than 5 million individuals living with Alzheimer’s and 16 million are serving as their unpaid caregivers. Our goal is to bring everyone up to speed, so we can be more compassionate and helpful to those around us.

Exhale May Meeting
2023-05-09 09:30 - 11:30
Last monthly meeting for Exhale this year! RSVP and request childcare here.

VBS Lunch and Learn
2023-05-07 11:15 - 12:30
Pop over to the Fellowship Hall after worship this Sunday around 11:15 a.m. for a VBS Lunch and Learn for volunteers. We’ll discuss this year’s VBS themes, stories and what you need to know as well as review Safe Sanctuaries training.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Page Timmerman at page@birminghamumc.org.

Men's Grill April Meeting
2023-04-27 18:30 - 20:00
All men in our congregation and community are invited to the monthly Men’s Grill meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 27. As always there will be food and fellowship.
This month’s speaker is Mathew Pinson, President and CEO of the Georgia United Methodist Foundation since July 1, 2021. The purpose of the Georgia United Methodist Foundation is to partner with congregations, organizations, and individuals in direct support of the ministries and mission of the church. In this way, the GUMF is a ministry partner that lives out its mission to provide faith-based financial solutions for investing, training and planned giving.
At BUMC, we work have worked directly with GUMF on our loan, and we think you’ll be interested to know all they can do to serve us as a congregation and individuals.

Exhale: April Meeting
2023-04-18 09:30 - 11:30
Topic: Together We Can!
We can make a HUGE difference mommas! Not just in the lives of our own families, but also in the lives of those around us! We are excited to meet on Tuesday, April 18th to close out our themed gatherings and take space to just exhale together. We have a sweet meeting planned full of space to recharge, process, exhale and live out being Better Together!
RSVP and Reserve Childcare Here

Easter Services
2023-04-09 06:30 - 12:00
6:30 a.m. Outdoor Sunrise Service
Due to weather concerns, the Sunrise Service will be moved to the Cloister so we can keep you dry and warm! Experience the wonder of Easter as the sun rises throughout the service. Pastor Sam Halverson will be preaching with music by the Sanctuary Worship Band. Make sure to bring your own camping chair!
9 a.m. & 11 a.m. Indoor Worship Services
We will have two festive services in the Sanctuary with special music from the choir and bell choir along with the Sanctuary Worship Band. Pastor Mike Morgan will be preaching. We will be livestreaming the 9 a.m. service.

NURSERY IS AVAILABLE FOR THE 9 a.m. & 11 a.m. SERVICE. Preschool children and under are welcome to the lower level of the Education Building (aka the Treehouse area) where they will be cared for by paid staff and volunteers. There are worship bags for elementary-aged kids to keep them entertained throughout the service.
NO YOUTH PROGRAMMING. Families are encouraged to worship together.
Youth are encouraged to worship with their families at 10 a.m. There is youth programming in the Student Center at 11:15 a.m.
ONLINE
You can join us online either through our website OR our Facebook page for the 9 a.m. service.

Good Friday: Mercy Tree
2023-04-07 19:00 - 20:00
On a hill in Calvary, there stands an endless Mercy Tree.
Every broken weary soul, find your rest and be made whole.
The Good Friday service is written by Jan Eaton and performed by the Birmingham UMC Choir.
Watch online here.
