A Church on Deborah Road with a Long Reach into Yamhill County
Newberg First United Methodist Church sits on Deborah Road on the south side of Newberg, Oregon, in the heart of Yamhill County wine country. From that single campus, a congregation of Methodists reaches well past the building's parking lot, running a vegetable garden, a Tiny Pantry at the edge of the driveway, a Sunday bus that picks up riders, a year-round nursery, and one of the most ambitious affordable housing projects to come out of an Oregon United Methodist church in recent years. Visitors who arrive on a Sunday morning find a building that is warm and busy, with coffee in the fellowship hall afterward and a Reconciling welcome on the front door.
Sunday Morning at 9:30: Traditional Hymns, Contemporary Songs, and Communion Once a Month
The Sunday service begins at 9:30 a.m. and runs to about 10:45 a.m. Worship blends traditional Methodist hymns with contemporary music, along with scripture reading, a sermon, prayer, and giving. Children are folded in through a Young Disciples message before heading out to Sunday School, and Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month. After the service, the congregation gathers in the Fellowship Hall for Coffee & Connection. There is plenty of parking, including ADA spots and a few spaces reserved for first-time guests. Hearing-assistance devices are available from the greeters, and a church bus will pick up anyone from Newberg's retirement communities who needs a ride.
Those who cannot come in person can worship online. The service is livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, going live between 9:20 and 9:30 a.m. Pacific time, and recordings stay available afterward. On Communion Sundays, worshipping at home is welcome, with bread or crackers and a drink; the words "The body and blood of Christ, given for you" are suggested for serving one another. Anyone who is ill or has been exposed to Covid is asked to worship from home, and masks are welcome for anyone who is immunocompromised or simply more comfortable wearing one.
An Open Door: The Reconciling Ministries Commitment
Newberg FUMC is a Reconciling church and a member of the Reconciling Ministries Network, one of a number of United Methodist congregations actively working to welcome and affirm LGBTQ+ people. A standing congregational statement declares that Newberg First United Methodist Church celebrates God's gift of diversity and values the wholeness made possible in community equally shared and shepherded by all, welcoming and affirming people of every gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, of every age, race, ethnicity, ability, education, and family structure, and of every economic, immigration, marital, and social status. The church commits itself to the pursuit of justice and to standing in solidarity with all who are marginalized and oppressed.
A dedicated Reconciling Ministries Team of laity organizes learning opportunities and community presence. In April 2025, a PFLAG representative gave a presentation on the history and evolution of various Pride flags, and in July 2025 the team walked in the Newberg Old Fashioned Parade with signs, bubbles, and the new Reconciling Ministries Network logo displayed on the church bus. The team is now building a small library of resources for the congregation and the wider Newberg community.
Children, Youth, and a New Playground in the Courtyard
Children are a steady presence at Newberg FUMC. The Nursery is open year-round for infants through 1st graders during the Sunday service, with drop-off beginning at 9:15 a.m. and music, Bible stories, crafts, and play as the morning's rhythm. Elementary students start in worship with their families, are dismissed after the Young Disciples message, and head to Sunday School from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. (September through June), where they begin with music alongside the Nursery kids before splitting into two age groups. On Communion Sundays, children return to the sanctuary to share the sacrament with their families.
The Youth program gathers Sunday nights from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. for dinner and a full program in the revamped Community Room. A commercial-grade playground for 2-to-5-year-olds was installed in the courtyard in the summer of 2025 and consecrated with a ribbon-cutting on August 3rd, with each child present getting their own pair of scissors and ribbon. The purchase was made possible by a grant from Cascadia Grants & Loans, the extension society supporting United Methodist Churches in the Cascadia District, and was paired with the hiring of a Nursery Teacher and Sunday School Teacher in fall 2024. Summer camp is part of the offering too, with scholarships available for Camp Tilikum (just outside Newberg) and Camp Magruder (on the Oregon coast between Garibaldi and Rockaway Beach).
Music That Spans Generations
Music is woven through the life of the church. The Chancel Choir sings in worship weekly from September to June and rehearses on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. New singers are always welcome. Jubilant Bells, the handbell choir, rehearses on Wednesday evenings at 5:45 p.m. and rings in worship once a month. Choir Director Brenda Longton, who has spent decades teaching music and drama in private and public schools, leads the program, supported by Accompanist Breeanna Theilacker, a music composition graduate of California Baptist University who also directs the Centennial High School band in Gresham. Janelle Bolt directs the handbells and leads Worship Visuals.
Small Groups, New Member Class, and the Joyful News Letter
Small-group ministry at Newberg FUMC grew out of the COVID-19 crisis and remains a core part of the church's week. Growing Together meets on Fridays at 10:30 a.m. in the Church Community Room to work through a curated list of Christian books, and Sojourners meets on Tuesdays from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Church Conference Room. Seasonal short-term studies are offered during Lent and Advent. Anyone interested in joining the church or learning more can take a four-week "United Methodism 101" class with Pastor Casey Banks that covers Methodist history, music, beliefs about grace, and the sacraments of communion and baptism. The church's Joyful News weekly newsletter and a calendar on Google keep members connected between Sundays.
Hunger Relief: A 19-Year-Old Garden, a Tiny Pantry, and PB&J Packs
Hunger relief is one of three named priorities at Newberg FUMC, alongside housing and hospitality. The church vegetable garden on the southwest corner of the campus has been growing food for 19 years under the leadership of Tom Lutz and a team of twelve volunteers. In 2024 the garden produced 2,388 pounds of corn, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, potatoes, and more, along with zinnias that were sent to FISH. Most of the harvest goes to the local FISH food pantry; the rest is offered to church members on a donation basis, with proceeds also supporting FISH. A John Deere tractor, funded by donations, helps with cultivation, and a small shed called "The John," built in memory of one of the garden founders, stores tools and irrigation supplies.
At the start of the church driveway sits a Tiny Pantry stocked with shelf-stable, ready-to-eat meals and snacks for any neighbor who needs a meal. During the school year, volunteers assemble about thirty Mabel Rush PB&J Packs each week for students at neighboring Mabel Rush Elementary, with two loaves of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and a jar of jelly in each pack, delivered on Fridays. Pumpkins from the garden are shared with neighborhood children each October at the church's Harvest Party.
Mission Ambassadors and a Covenant with El Salvador
The Mission Ambassadors coordinate the church's wider relief and partnership work, meeting the second Friday of every month at 9:30 a.m. The group supports the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and maintains a covenant relationship with Methodist missionary Ellyn Dubberly, who teaches English and coordinates children's Sunday School curriculum for thirteen Methodist churches in El Salvador. NFUMC financially supports a breakfast ministry Ellyn has launched alongside the Sunday School program. Special Sundays throughout the year - Human Relations Day, UMCOR Sunday, Native American Ministries Sunday, Peace with Justice Sunday, World Communion Sunday, and United Methodist Student Day - deepen the connection between the local church and global ministries, supporting scholarships, social justice, and disaster relief.
Dundee Commons: Affordable Housing in the Next Town Over
The largest project on the church's horizon is Dundee Commons, an affordable housing development in nearby Dundee. The project is a partnership with Newberg Habitat for Humanity and other community organizations and grew out of a 2021 task force report. As part of the same effort, early learning classrooms are being added to the development, with a $750,000 grant awarded in 2024 to help fund those facilities. Pastor Casey Banks, who also serves on Newberg's Affordable Housing Commission, has written that Newberg FUMC is working to find "homes for all," an extension of the same instinct that put a commercial playground in the church courtyard. A 2022 vote by the congregation adopted a Simplified, Accountable Structure (SAS) under Paragraph 247.2 of the United Methodist Book of Discipline to free the church for more flexible, missional ministry in the 21st century.
Anti-Racism as a Sustained Focus
Since 2021, Newberg FUMC has treated anti-racism as an ongoing area of study rather than a one-time program. The Church Council read Ijeoma Oluo's So You Want to Talk About Race together, and the church has run several small-group cohorts built around the General Commission on Religion and Race's online courses, including "You Are Here: First Steps for White Christians on Race and Racism" and "Anti-Racism 101." Past films and discussions have included True Colors, the documentary Pushout, and An American Ascent. A recommended-reading list includes Robin DiAngelo's White Fragility, Archbishop Desmond Tutu's God's Dream for young children, and Tiffany Jewell's This Book is Anti-Racist for teens.
Methodist Men, the Bus, and the Life of the Congregation
United Methodist Men gather on the first Sunday of each month at 8:00 a.m. for breakfast, fellowship, and service-project planning. The group runs an annual golf tournament (in 2026 at Chehalem Glenn, with eighteen holes, a box lunch, and a buffet dinner), holds a February retreat for spiritual growth, provides labor for the church garden, assists trustees with building maintenance, supplies coffee for the after-worship hour, hosts an annual breakfast for the local fire department on the first Sunday of Advent, and volunteers at the FISH food pantry. The church's bus ministry picks up riders for Sunday worship and other church activities - including the Newberg Old Fashioned Parade, where the Reconciling Ministries logo now rides along. The Catalyst Cafe, a community gathering space, is part of the campus life as well.
Pastor Casey Banks and a Connectional Church
Newberg FUMC is part of the Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Methodist Church. As a connectional church, it gifts almost 11 percent of its income to support United Methodist ministries at the district, conference, jurisdictional, and general levels. The Rev. Casey Banks has served as pastor since July 2020. An ordained Elder in the Pacific Northwest Conference, she graduated from Duke Divinity School in 2016 with a Master of Divinity, and her work in Newberg has focused on church revitalization, justice ministries with LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC neighbors, and practical solutions to the local housing crisis. Laveda Weirich, a George Fox graduate who joined the staff in January 2022, serves as Office Administrator and Bookkeeper, keeping the busy calendar and many hands-on ministries running from week to week.