Fairmont United Methodist Church • Raleigh NC

If you ever wanted to have a blast while witnessing about Fairmont to our community, volunteer to go to "OUT RALEIGH" this summer [June 25]. I have been 2 or 3 years, and it is a joyful experience for all ages. We had banner fabric for "OUT RALEIGH" patrons to do rainbow-colored handprints as they cruised the Fayetteville Street fair in downtown Raleigh, and we gave out info about Fairmont and our welcoming role in the "Reconciling Ministries". We then enjoyed the beautiful colored banners in our sanctuary during the summer months. Seeing how many various faiths and congregations are participating gives one hope that ALL will find love and welcome in a local faith community, perhaps Fairmont!
LOVE and FUN!
James Womble

Sharing a meal is how I first came to Fairmont. It was in the mid-90s, on invitation from Pastor Steve Hickle to bring homeless men and women to the Christmas Eve service and eat a free dinner. I was the director of the Ark Shelter (now the Helen Wright Center), and this was a long tradition of service at Fairmont. It was January of 2002 when we started visiting Fairmont’s Sunday morning worship and became members.

Since that time, I have served as the co-coordinator of the bake sale at the bazaar, the cook on the work team, and the food coordinator of the Christmas Eve meal. This is my first year serving as the mission lunch coordinator, however, as Joyce Anne served in this role for literally decades!

A lot of things have changed with the lunches since the pandemic. Most are working well but we have a few rough spots to iron out. The change that has made things easiest is that we have gone to more of a SignUp Genius method, where folks can sign up for jobs big and small. Most of the jobs only take a few minutes, like carrying tables outside, or washing a few pots after lunch. Many of the jobs are done at home, like chopping vegetables and delivering them before you head into Sunday School.

Partnership in Ministry; helping with Food Insecurities
Witness: Our Experience helping at Wilson Temple food pantry: Our family really enjoyed our volunteering at Wilson Temple. It was the perfect way to serve together. We carried bags into the building, sorted food, checked dates and stocked the pantry. The Wilson Temple Pantry is such a well-organized mission, which made it easy to plug in and do our part. We love getting to meet new Wilson Temple friends, and growing deeper in relationship with our new ones at Fairmont. Thank you for organizing this opportunity for us to serve others. We look forward to the next event and encourage others to come with us!
The Rhodes Family

"For the past two years, I've attended the Fairmont Monday Book Study and I am grateful that I have. I'm reading books I wanted to read but never made a priority. Some books are challenging, some are comforting, but all of them are made better by discussing and debating with members of the Fairmont Family. We share our doubts, struggles, victories, recipes, and laughter. But most of all, we share our love for one another. There's plenty of room on Zoom so please join us!" - Ken Dulaney

Monday Book Study