Adult Sunday School Classes
We have several Sunday School Classes geared toward adults. Open to all, these classes offer lively discussions about a wide range of study materials. They are also places to build friendships through study, prayer, and fellowship. These classes meet on Sunday mornings at 10:15 a.m. following our worship service.
Ambassadors / Seekers Class
The Ambassadors / Seekers Adult Sunday School class welcomes everyone to join us for warm and lively discussions every Sunday morning. We are a diverse group of members from many walks of life, with ages from empty-nesters to great grandparents. Study materials are chosen as a class, and everyone has a voice. It is that diversity of voices, thoughts and ideas which helps us to value each other and all of our life experiences.
We have prayer partners who are rotated monthly, so we pray for each other's needs, concerns, joys and praises, as well as get to know each other as friends. Half of the money we contribute each Sunday is used to support Centenary and its mission, and the other half is donated to worthy causes such as Cunningham Children's Home, and needs in our community.
Becomers / Travelers Sunday School Class
The Becomers / Travelers class is all about keeping ourselves open to change; change of minds, change of ideas. Through our studies of the works of authors like Max Lucado and Adam Hamilton, we look at issues facing our faith from all angles. We "become" someone willing to "travel" to new places, new insights, and new ideas. All ages are welcome around our table every Sunday morning.
Christophers Sunday School Class
We are a lively class, full of widely varying opinions, and we are always welcoming to a new way of looking at things. We welcome everyone who is not afraid to speak their mind. "Christopher" means Bearer of Christ. How can we be true bearers of Christ and NOT speak our minds? We study many different topics, from books of the Bible, to books about the Bible. We try to look at every story, every parable, every lesson, as closely as we can. You are welcomed to boldly speak your mind, or you can just sit and listen. No one is ever put on the spot.
Centenary Quilters
We are a group of volunteers who come together every Monday because of our love of Quilting. Using a large room full of equipment and supplies, we spend our Mondays between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. making quilts. We are a not-for-profit that has been awarded grants from Effingham's prestigious Koboldt Trust for many years. While many of the quilts we make are for sale in the church lobby, from which the funds raised are donated to support the church and its mission, we also donate our quilts and other items directly to such worthy organizations as:
- The Effingham County Health Department;
- The American Red Cross;
- The FISH Christmas Store;
- The Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House in East St. Louis;
- The Cunningham Children's Home in Urbana; and
- SWAN of Effingham.
We also take custom quilt orders. The funds raised from those are also donated back to support Centenary's Mission. We are always looking for people with a hand and an eye for quilting to join us. Our doors are always open and we'd love to meet you.
United Methodist Women
The Great Commission, Jesus' command to his disciples, has inspired Christians for generations. And the call isn't limited to people professionally trained for mission work; it is for all Christians.
In response to Jesus' call, eight women founded the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Boston in 1869. Later, this became the United Methodist Women (UMW), and today UMW continues mission work in the United States and Worldwide.
Locally, Centenary's UMW unit provides scholarship funds for Centenary's youth to attend UMC camps and retreats, has supported CASA, the Crisis Nursery, SWAN, and the Effingham County Health Department. Here in Illinois, our UMW unit responds annually to requests from the Cunningham Children's Home, the Lessie Bates Neighborhood House, and Our Conference, Our Kids. Our reach has also extended worldwide through the donation of funds and supplies to the Midwest Distribution Center, and funds for Africa University.
Centenary's UMW welcomes all women to our meetings on the first Wednesday of the month, March through December, at 1:00 p.m. We'd love to see you there.