Administration
Thanksgiving Blessings from your FUMC Allen Staff
As Thanksgiving approaches, we wish to express our profound gratitude for each one of you who form the heart of our First United Methodist Church of Allen family. Your unwavering dedication, compassion, and commitment to serving our community resonate deeply within our congregation and beyond. In this time of reflection, we are profoundly thankful for the spirit of harmony that binds us together. Your collective efforts and prayers have fostered a sanctuary of peace, acceptance, and inclusivity. Through your open…
Mailbox Theft Alert and New Mailing Address
Intentional Mailbox Damage and Theft Recently, our church experienced intentional damage to the campus mailbox. We were made aware that the intentional damage resulted in the theft of some of the incoming mail to the church. We were able to confirm the theft as a member of our congregation reported that a check that was sent on their behalf was cashed/deposited but not into FUMC Allen’s account. We are unable at this time to confirm how many other items this…
Resources For Traumatic Times
On Saturday, May 6, 2023, a lone gunman opened fire on shoppers of the busy Premium Outlets Mall in Allen, Texas, killing eight people and seriously wounding seven. We are all traumatized and mourning this horrible tragedy in our community. As a service to you and your family, we have compiled the following online resources to help you navigate your world during the upcoming months. WADING THROUGH THE WRECKAGE PRAYERS FOR ALLEN TX WHAT NOW? NAVIGATING THE DAYS AFTER A…
FUMC Allen Welcomes New Associate Pastor
FUMC Allen’s Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) met with the Rev Josh Esparza on Thursday, May 19, and joyfully accepted his appointment as our new associate pastor. Rev Esparza is a Dallas-Ft Worth native who grew up in Frisco, Texas. Josh has spent the past four years serving as the campus pastor of Owenwood Farm and Neighbor Space, the second campus of White Rock UMC, and associate pastor at White Rock UMC. Josh began at Owenwood in 2018 with a…
SPRC Announces Staffing Update
In the United Methodist Church, pastors are appointed to serve a particular mission field and/or church for one year at a time. In 2017, Bishop Mike McKee appointed Rev. Jessica Wright to FUMC Allen as our associate pastor. This year, the Bishop and Cabinet have appointed Jessica to serve as the Associate Director of the Center for Missional Outreach of the North Texas Conference, effective July 1, 2022. This move is a wonderful opportunity for Jessica to live into her…
SPRC Announces Staffing Update
On behalf of the FUMC Allen family, the Staff-Parish Relations Committee would like to thank Susan Hale for almost 13 years of service to our church as a paid staff member. Now, God is calling Susan into a new season of life and service, which means Susan will be leaving her position as director of elementary ministry, effective May 15, 2022. Since 2010, Susan has served in several different ministry positions at FUMC Allen, including Director of Adult Discipleship and…
COVID 19 OMICRON UPDATE
As most of you know, the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly throughout our community, our state, and our country. Cases are spiking, and numbers are growing every day. According to today’s Dallas Morning News, “since the arrival of the omicron variant in North Texas in December, Allen’s active cases have increased by about 729 percent. As of Jan. 13, a total of 838 Allen residents were positive for COVID-19, up from 101 cases the week…
Our Response to New CDC Guidelines
In response to the new recommendations from the CDC, masks will be optional in worship and on the FUMC Allen campus for all persons who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 beginning this Sunday, May 16, 2021. FUMC Allen has followed the CDC’s guidelines up to this point, and that’s what we’ll be doing now as well. The CDC has indicated that the chances of a fully vaccinated person contracting COVID-19 are very low, and if they do, chances of having…
Lent/Easter Survey
Lent and Easter 2021 marked a move back toward life and worship as we once knew it. While the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic allowed us to test our creativity and try new things, our goal during this Lenten and Easter season was to give to God our best as we continue to offer those traditions that ground us as Christians and help us equip others in following Jesus. We have designed our 2021 Lenten/Easter survey to gather your perspective…
Pandemic Safety and Sanitation Protocols
Pandemic Safety and Sanitation Protocols FUMC Allen has developed the following safety and sanitation protocols to help us ease back into a regular schedule of worship, recreation, education, and small group activities as we move into a post-pandemic world. Please read through these before returning to the building. If you have any questions, please contact Church Administrator Larry Wright. Your program and worship staff have started the process of defining church activities based on a risk tolerance level, which is…
COVID-19 Update for July 7 2020
Jesus taught us that the greatest command was to love God and to love our neighbor. John Wesley’s General Rules remind us that we are to first do no harm. Taking steps to keep one another safe is a way we can live into this command and be vigilant and proactive leaders in our community, doing our part to curb the spread of the coronavirus. To this end, FUMC Allen has made the following decisions, which are effective immediately: …
COVID-19 Update: Returning to Campus
Returning to Campus: A Phased Approach In mid-May, FUMC Allen staff and leadership began planning for public worship, hoping to shift to a livestream/public worship hybrid on June 7. A Directive from Our Bishop As United Methodists, we are part of the North Central District of the North Texas Conference and under the authority of Bishop Michael McKee. On May 15, Bishop McKee sent a letter to all churches in the North Texas Conference with this directive: At this time,…