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Outreach: Meets the least of any other church group but manages to get a lot done in a short amount of time. The A/HL Outreach team is made up of members from both churches. The group begins its year in March to start plans for the walk and may “spend” a few dollars left over from the year before. The Outreach Team has a Mission Walk in July that has been a great fundraiser. The sponsors get to decide where their money will go: Last summer the group raised over $1,100. A meeting after the walk to finalize the Rummage plans and they are good for the year. In late summer the team holds a Rummage and Bake Sale that raises about $800. The meeting in October is used to determine how to “spend” all but a few hundred dollars. The team helps to support the Aurora Area Food Shelf, Project Elf (local school program to buy Christmas presents for local kids in need), Range Women’s Advocates, Habitat for Humanity, Mobile Ministry, Compatible Technology, Red Bird Mission in Kentucky, Nothing but Nets, Rainbows (a grief support program for students), Harbor House, Sea Farers, and the list goes on.

Release Time: The Aurora UMC holds release time in conjunction with the Mesabi East Elementary School on Wednesdays. The children are picked up and transported to the church. A 15-20 minutes Children Worship service starts the hour; the children then are given age appropriate worksheets which are based on the message of the day. The goals are to get the children to be comfortable with finding the books of the Bible, and to learn about the Bible stories in a meaningful and creative way. There are scheduled craft activities for the children, along with special songs and a sharing of their prayer requests. This is an opportunity for the children of the Protestant Faith to be involved in a Christian learning experience.

Knitting: The Aurora members meet every Tuesday at 2:15 to knit for charity organizations. The group started with knitting for Guidepost and providing caps. The ongoing project of making sweaters for Guidepost, which is now World Vision Ministries, continues each week. This year additional caps were given to the Salvation Army, Food Shelf and Mesabi East Kids’ Closet. In addition, the group has provided helmet liners for the Seafarers out of Duluth, Minnesota. Part of the importance of this group is the fellowship, which includes coffee, tea and always freshly baked goods served after a couple hours of knitting. Discussion centers on the awareness of the Aurora History, Book Clubs, and other charity organizational gathering and workings.

United Methodist Women: The Aurora UMW consists of a small group of women from the congregation. They meet the third Thurs of each month at 10 am. The meetings are always started with a reading of a poem or some other devotional. Speakers are often part of the program—one in particular concerned bandage rolling from used clean sheets which are ripped into three-inch strips and rolled into the bandages. The bandages are then used in third world countries. One future speaker is a dog trainer for Helping Paws. The UMW helps the church with different projects and provides coffee ‘n’ fellowship after the Sunday services. They also work on funerals and give to Emma Norton, Rainbows, Project Elf, the local Food Shelf, and Missions. The UMW just recently did an English Tea to help the church with apportionments. Once a year the group cleans the kitchen and enjoys a potluck dinner after the work is done.