Community

Welcome to Jacksonville FUMC Community page. We feel strongly about serving our community, and there are so many ways to do this. Browse the descriptions in this section to get an idea of what we're about. If you have come to our webpage looking for a place to get involved, this is a SUPER place to start!

The Serving Table

This is a free lunch  which is open to the public on the 4th Saturday of every month in our McWhorter Activitiy Center (gym). It's open from 11:00 to 12:30, and includes an entree, vegetables, dessert, and a variety of drink choices. Just a way of taking care of those in our neighborhood who might be hungry at the end of the month. Frequently, fresh produce from the Community Garden (at the corner of Francis and Spring Streets) is served here. The Serving Table is not open during November and December.

 

Community Garden

This ministry is a garden plot located at the corner of W. Francis and Spring Streets. Both spring and winter gardens are planted, and they are tended by volunteers. The harvests are usually taken to Jacksonville Christian Outreach Center, where the fresh vegetables are shared with their clients. Vegetables also go to The Serving Table and the Soup Bowl, where they help to feed our community. For more information, please talk to Mike Limerick.

Jax Snack Packs

Another way of ministering to our neighbors was developed to help feed school children. These students would receive free breakfasts and lunches at school when they went home for the weekend, they would be hungry. Volunteers pack backpacks with simple, reheatable foods and snacks to help keep these children from being hungry on the weekends.. Students are referred discreetly by their teachers from Jacksonville city schools. For more information, please talk to Mandee Brown.

 

Tutoring Program at Jacksonville Community Center

Volunteers from JFUMC and other places gather on Wednesday afternoons from 3:00 - 5:30 pm during the school term to tutor children who need help with their school work. It's one-on-one assistance, and gives these children some extra help and attention so that they can succeed academically. For more information, please talk to Anne Kimbrough.

 

Jacksonville Christian Outreach Center

JCOC is a community help agency for residents in the 36265 zip code. It is supported by 22 area churches who donate to it monthly. Located at 206 Francis Street, it shares a parking lot with JFUMC. This agency can provide one-time assistance with utility bills, groceries, prescriptions and other needs. Their phone number is 256.435.1891, and they are open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 10 am to 2 pm. For more information, please talk to Mike Limerick.

 

Community Thanksgiving Meal

Every year for many, many years, St. Luke's Episcopal Church has served a Thanksgiving meal which is open to the community. Meals are ordered for delivery on Thanksgiving Day, and more come for pickup or to eat in. Some years, more than 500 people have been fed. JFUMC now partners with St. Luke's to keep this tradition going. Volunteers donate to cover the cost of food purchases, cook hams or turkeys or desserts, serve on delivery teams, or in the serving line on Thanksgiving Day. It's a joint ecumenical effort which blesses everyone who participates, diners and volunteers alike!