Church Updates: September 17, 2026
Here is what's happening at First Church!
9/17/20262 min read
United Women In Faith: Fall Bazaar
We are accepting donations from October 1 to October 20: knick-knacks, regift-ables, and Christmas decorations. You can drop your items off at the church.
The Best Bazaar Ever will be October 24 from 9:00am to 2:00pm.
Youth United: September 20
Youth groups from United Methodist Churches in the area will meet once a month on Sunday evenings for fun, fellowship, and missions. This is a great way for our teenagers to meet and grow in their spiritual walk with one another. Please be in prayer for our youth this school year, and if you are ever interested in volunteering or donating snack items reach out to Hannah O'Donnell.
Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
We are sure that neither death nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth
nor anything else in all creation,
Will be able to separate us from the love of God
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Affirmation from Romans 8:35, 37-39, United Methodist Hymnal 887)
The United Methodist Church encourages our pastors and members to preach, teach, and talk about suicide and the factors and mental health issues that lead to it. We seek to provide care for those who are at risk, survivors, families, and others who have lost someone to suicide, “seeking to remove the oppressive stigma around suicide.”
Depression, pain, suffering, and thoughts of suicide are felt by many, but often remain unspoken. If you have struggled with any of these issues, others will benefit from hearing your story. When you become aware of someone who is at risk for suicide, courageously tell the story of your pain and how you were able to survive.
Finally, help those contemplating suicide find the resources they need to “have life, and have it to the full.” Tell your pastor. Call a counselor. Seek help.
Belle Fourche is sponsoring an “Out of the Darkness Walk” on Saturday, September 19 at 8:45 am in Hermann Park.
In the U.S., the suicide prevention hotline is 988
https://www.resourceumc.org/en/content/what-united-methodists-can-do-about-suicide
Mission of the Month
Our September mission of the month is Cornerstone Women's and Children's Shelter, which is a non-profit organization here in Rapid City.
The Women's and Children's Home opened in March of 2005. The home provides a safe place for women and children. Families are the fastest growing segment of homelessness. The shortage of affordable housing and an increase in poverty are two reasons we are seeing such a demand for rooms in the home.
Many of these mothers have three or four children under the age of 5. According to Claretian Publications, in no state does a full-time minimum-wage job cover the cost of a one-bedroom unit at fair market rent.
The Mission provides shelter and assistance to an average of 350-400 women and children annually and provides a yearly average of 9,500 overnight stays to our guests.
The home allows these women and children a chance for stability and healing while becoming self-sufficient and independent.
