As we enter spring, let's bring some joy and color to our neighbors at Evergreen Senior Living (1701 Evergreen Blvd, Normal). During our time together, we will visit, enjoy snacks and create some beautiful plants for them to enjoy in their apartments.
Volunteers of all ages and abilities are encouraged to participate. We'll see you at the Evergreen Dining room on Tuesday, April 14 at 6:30 p.m. 
If you have questions or want to confirm your participation, please reach out to Erin Scott.

We saved a seat for you. Join others who are grieving the loss of a loved one. This 13 week study starts on April 7, meetings happen every Tuesday 6-8 p.m. at Calvary United Methodist Church (1700 N Towanda Ave., Normal) in room 111. Contact Sharyl Jennings for more information.

A support group to help you move through the grief process

A GriefShare support group is a safe, welcoming place where people understand the difficult emotions of grief. Through this 13-week group, you’ll discover what to expect in the days ahead and what’s “normal” in grief. Since there are no neat, orderly stages of grief, you’ll learn helpful ways of coping with grief, in all its unpredictability—and gain solid support each step of the way.

Men’s Faith and Fellowship will begin our new season of study, fellowship, and support of each other on Wednesday, April 8, 2026. We will study “Courage—Jesus and the Call to Brave Faith.” Courage is necessary for Christians to fulfill the mandates of their faith and live in ways consistent to the high calling of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are all on a journey of learning. Written by Tom Berlin, this is a six week study that will guide us to take our next step in discipleship.
We meet at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday mornings in Room 111, and begin with refreshments and coffee, share joys and concerns, have a video study, and discussion among the group. There is plenty of room or any man that would like to seek to follow Christ more fully by engaging in this study together. We benefit by gaining a deeper understanding of God’s word and what he wants us to do with our lives.
If you would like to participate, please contact Gil Dorsey or Jim Brown for us to make certain we can provide the study materials needed.

Join the fun at Kingdom Quest: An Epic Journey to God's Kingdom. Together we'll unlock who Jesus is, what he's done and who we are because of him. Come, follow the light and be transformed! Register now for Calvary's VBS taking place July 20-23 from 6-8 p.m. each evening. Children who are age 4 by Sept 1, 2026 through students exiting 5th grade are invited to participate as students. Anyone who has completed 6th grade and older are invited to volunteer.
Please register by June 18 to be guaranteed a t-shirt. Check out the VBS webpage or contact Lori Short with any questions.

The 22nd Annual Festival of Quilts will be April 10 & 11 at Cunningham Children's Home.
The festival hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 10 and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 11. A suggested donation of $10 per person is requested. No reservation is required. Youth age 12 and under are free with a purchased adult ticket.
The Festival includes:

• A quilt show with hand and machine quilted pieces including contemporary designs as well as antique quilts on loan for display and admiration

• A quilt sale featuring beautiful traditional and contemporary quilts and wall hangings

• Centerpieces and Such with unique and decorative items our supporters have decorated, enhanced and “made their own” available for purchase

• A gift shop packed with generously donated handcrafted items

• A bake sale with delicious homemade goodies and treats

• Campus tours of our Urbana campus to learn more about Cunningham's mission and ministry

Attention all High Schoolers, 8th graders and Adults interested in leading! You are invited to be part of Calvary’s Workcamp trip this year in Nashville, Tennessee from July 5–July 11, 2026.

An informational meeting to learn more will be held on Sunday, March 29 between services (approx 10:05-10:25am) in Room 113/115.

Calvary will join Group Mission Trips “Week of Hope” and experience community service opportunities such as light home repairs or yard-work, serving meals, helping to lead a day camp for kids, working with kids or adults with disabilities, or possibly sharing stories with a person in an assisted-living facility. In the evenings, we’ll have fun with games, movie night, devotions, worship and much more! Housing will be provided in a Nashville church. Workcampers get to share hope in the name of Jesus, grow themselves spiritually and develop lasting friendships with others. Join the team and get ready to serve and have a ton of fun!
The total cost for each workcamper is $400. We want anyone who is interested to be able to attend, so please don’t let cost stop you from being part of Workcamp. If cost is an issue at all, please fill out this form so Calvary can help.
For more information about this mission trip, please email Vince Rohn.
Go here for more information on Group Mission Trips.

Registration & Payment:
To register, please fill out this Registration Form by Monday, Apr 27, 2026
After completing the Registration Form, the confirmation email you receive will include a link to a form for Group Mission Trips. Please complete that as soon as possible.
If you have already registered and want to make another payment go to this form.

We are going to assemble rice packs that will be distributed by Midwest Food Bank in Calvary's gym on April 7. At 5:30, there will be a light dinner served and at 6:00, the work begins! We've always had a lot of fun in the past (while providing nutritious meals for so many people)! Come join us!
If you plan to join for the meal beforehand, please be sure to sign up so we have enough food for everyone! 

We will be adding a youth choir to our 9 a.m. service on Palm Sunday! Any student preschool through high school is welcome. This ensemble will be singing an Introit (beginning of the service) with the adult choir. If you have a student who is interested please contact Leah Megli, Leslie Gully, or Lori Short so we can have an accurate number count. Practice materials are available here and we will have one rehearsal between services on Sunday, March 22. Hope to see you there!

Join us for Holy Week!

March 29 at 9 or 10:30 a.m. for Palm Sunday Services
April 2 at 6:30 p.m. for Maundy Thursday Service
April 3 at 6:30 p.m. for Good Friday Service
April 5 at 9 or 10:30 a.m. for Easter Sunday Services

The United Methodist Church recognizes that all Christians have a role in the work of the Church. Lay Servant ministries is one way to do that as a United Methodist Church. If you are interested in serving in this way, here is some information about how you can start that journey: About Lay Servant Ministries.

This Wednesday morning Bible Study is led by Sharyl Jennings in room 111 from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays, starting February 25. You can purchase your own copy of the book on Amazon or Christian Books. Reach out to Sharyl if you have any questions. Everyone is welcome!
About the study:
Lysa TerKeurst knows what it’s like to consider God just another thing on her to-do list. For years she went through the motions of a Christian life: Go to church. Pray. Be nice. She longed for a deeper connection between what she knew in her head and her everyday reality, and she wanted to personally experience God’s presence. Drawing from her own remarkable story of step-by-step faith, Lysa invites you to uncover the spiritually exciting life for which we all yearn.

From Pastor Vince

The end of 2025 brought a couple of reminders of the generosity of those who call Calvary UMC our church home. In early December, I shared an email that the church was running behind our expected financial goals and was likely to end 2025 with a significant financial deficit. Many people responded to that call, the spirit of generosity that is common at the holidays, and traditional end of the year giving; and I am pleased to say that we ended the 2025 at a virtual breakeven point from a financial perspective. Our year-end financial report shows a loss of $2,132 for 2025, but given the size of our budget and expenses that loss is less than .02% of our expenses. Thank you to all who responded so faithfully, and as we move into 2026 please remember that Calvary UMC continues to have financial needs if we are going to fully live into the call of God and live out all of the ministries that we can in Jesus's name. I remain convinced that there is no better place to invest our giving than in the life changing work of God through Calvary UMC.

I also want to share that our Christmas Eve offering at our three services totaled $11,883. We had pledged half of that offering to go to Home Sweet Home Ministries to support their Bridge project to help provide shelter to our unhoused neighbors. We have sent that check, and the Bridge will be welcoming its first residents anytime now.

We need your help to prepare and serve meals at Safe Harbor! Please contact Tammy Carlson (309) 533-6663 or tk.carlson@yahoo.com

We have several opportunities available to serve our neighbors for 2026:

• May 1 & 15

• June 5

• July 17

• August 1 & 14

• September 4

• October 2 & 16

• November 6 & 20

• December 18

Pastor Vince Rohn and staff of Calvary visited The Bridge and prayed over the buildings and grounds along with other local churches. We learned about the ways Home Sweet Home Ministries will be breaking barriers to help those who are experiencing homelessness in ways other shelters haven’t been able to do so before. Please continue to pray over the 56 individuals who have moved in, as well as the staff working there. Calvary is blessed to be able to support this ministry and those in our community. If you are interested in learning more about Home Sweet Home Ministries or their needs, please check out their website.

Everyone - we need volunteers! If you are interested in helping our community reach out to our liaison Jan Kibler.
Volunteer orientations are the first Tuesday of the month at 2:30 p.m. at the ARC Community Room. Sign up to volunteer here. 
 FIA is seeking volunteers drivers to transport seniors to needed medical appointments. Get behind your community by getting behind the wheel for Faith in Action! We currently have a wait list for care receivers (except cancer and dialysis patients).

Updates & Events:
20 Over 60 Honoree Awards Reception will be April 15 at Rob Dob’s Restaurant. Tickets are available on the FIA website.
$717 was donated through Fannie May during the Shop to Donate to FIA.
The Spring Bus Trip to Mackinaw Island scheduled for May 18-22, 2026 is currently full.
The Fall Bus Trip to Boston, Salem & the North Shore scheduled for September 22-30, 2026 is currently full.
A Volunteer Blessing and Dinner will be held at St. John’s Lutheran Church on April 30, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Please R.S.V.P. to Jan Kibler by April 17.
The fundraising Take Action luncheon is scheduled for August 27.

Our next day to meet for the Backpack Ministry is April 15 at 10:45 a.m. on the lower level of the Preschool wing.  We will assemble food bags for the students of Parkside Elementary School to provide food for the weekends.  All ages and abilities are welcome to come and help. Please contact Brenda Leopard, leopardhouse5@gmail.com if you have any questions.

47% of area students qualify for free and reduced lunch through their school. With grocery prices on the rise it is getting harder for families to afford food for meals.  Midwest Food Bank tries to fill that gap for families by providing food for students that qualify for free and reduced lunch over their weekends when students are at home and not in school. Calvary has been a partner with Parkside Elementary School for many years now and this year we will be partnering with them again to provide bags of food for the children to take home for the weekend. Each month we receive a pallet of food from Midwest Food Bank and we meet as a group and unload the truck, organize the food and pack grocery bags that are delivered to Parkside Elementary School and given to the students on Friday to take home for the weekend. We are in need of volunteers to help once a month to unload the truck, organize the food and pack the bags. We meet at 10:45 a.m. in the lower level (North wing of church basement) classrooms on April 15, and May 13.
All ages and abilities are welcome to help. If you have any questions please contact Brenda Leopard.

It’s Habitat for Humanity Season! 
Calvary is proud to announce our sponsorship of the Faith House for the 2025–2026 building season — Habitat for Humanity of McLean County's 201st house!
Build Dates: Third Saturday of each month
Location: 701 West Market Street, Bloomington
Time: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Who Can Volunteer: No experience required! Volunteers must be 16 years or older
Snacks Needed: Calvary is also looking for people to provide snacks for volunteers
If you're looking for a meaningful way to give back, Habitat for Humanity volunteering is a great place to be. Let’s make this another incredible season of service and community!

In Matthew 25:35, Jesus says, “For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger, and you invited me in.” This verse captures the heart of our mission. Through the distribution of food and drinks, Midwest Food Bank supplies partner agencies with the resources they need to reach the lost, lonely, and hungry in our community. 
As food insecurity continues to rise, so does the need for dedicated volunteers to help distribute these vital supplies. We’re reaching out to local churches to come together in faith and service—living out Matthew 25:35 in a tangible, impactful way. 
Our greatest volunteer need is during our Distribution days, when partner agencies pick up food to share with their clients. Volunteers help load cases of food onto carts and into vehicles. If you can lift 30 pounds, you can be a part of this important work! 
To support this effort, we’re forming a Servant Squad—a group of volunteers willing to step in when extra hands are needed. Servant Squad members will receive an email with a sign-up link and can choose the dates and times that work best for them. It’s simple, flexible, and incredibly meaningful. 
Anyone interested in joining the Servant Squad just needs to fill out the sign-up form to get started. 

Do you have college students in your household? Let Calvary college care send your students encouraging inspirations and blessings by mail, email or text. It will be a reminder that their Calvary family will continue to pray for them and continue to be an important part of their faith journey. Click on this link to sign up. In order for us to have the current information, the form needs to be completed each year.