This Week at FCCLW 2/14/16
Published: Thu, 02/11/16
February 14, 2016
 Gifts of the Dark Wood: A Lenten Journey
 Beginning Sunday, February 14th, we will enter the season of Lent in our Sunday morning worship. This year we will spending Lent exploring the Gifts of the Dark Wood. Though commonly understood as a place to be feared and avoided, the Dark Wood is the surest place to meet God. It is a place where you may feel uncertain, empty, lost, tempted, and alone. Yet these feelings—these gifts of the Dark Wood—can be your greatest assets on your journey because they invite you to probe, question, and discover. According to the ancients, you don’t need to be a saint or spiritual master to experience profound awakening. You don’t even have to be “above average.” All you really need to be is struggling. You will notice some changes in our order of worship during Lent. In planning our worship, we always try to keep a balance between the traditions that bring us comfort and security in our faith journey and fresh expressions of how we approach the Divine to remind us that we are engaging a Still Speaking God. You are encouraged to be open to a new experience. Of course, if there is something that you don't understand or that makes you uncomfortable, Pastor Jason is always willing to discuss it with you. |
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Ecclesia
 This week we wrapped up our series exploring and imagining who we are as church. You can see the final sermon, Community, here. You can also go back and see all the Sundays of the series (except Faith) on our website. Psalm Forum  First Congregational United Church of Christ is going to read through the Psalms in 2016! You are invited to join us in reading through the song book of the Bible. Our Psalms Forum meets every Sunday at 9:30 AM with insightful conversation among those gathered. You can see an outline of what was discussed and participate virtually by sharing your questions and observations on our website. Thank You
We are so fortunate to have so many in our midst that facilitate our life together as First Congregational United Church of Christ: CROS Food Pantry The month of February is one of the two opportunities we have each year to collect food for the CROS Food Pantry. Our goal this month is 100 bags of food. Some great items to bring are peanut butter, canned meats, canned vegetables, 1 pound bags of rice and beans, pasts, and macaroni and cheese. Let's help CROS help us in fulfilling our ministry of mercy to the less fortunate in Palm Beach County! . If you are on Facebook, you can keep up with what is happening "between Sundays" on our Facebook page. First, go to our page and "Like" us. However, just liking us does not mean that you will see everything we post. Each of our Facebook posts only goes to
about 2% of the people who like our page. To make sure you see everything, after you like us, go to the pull-down menu on the "Like" button and click "Get Notifications." This way everything that we post will show up on your own Facebook wall. |
Project Linus
 Project Linus meets Sunday, February 14th, after worship. The mission of Project Linus is to provide love, a sense of security, warmth, and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized or otherwise in need, through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans lovingly created by volunteers. Our volunteers knit, crochet, quilt or make blankets of hand-tied fleece. In addition, some of our members are involved with making prayer shawls, caps for premies, and scarves for children that are sent overseas to dental clinics. We would love to have anyone who is interested, come and join us. We will meet next Sunday, Nov. 8, after church in the Parlor. If you need help getting started, we have members who can teach you how to crochet or knit. It you’d like any additional information, call Betty Rigdon at 964-5926. Women of the Church Retreat The women's retreat has been cancelled due to conflicting schedules. Online Giving Have you explored the opportunity of electronic giving? You can choose to have a set amount taken from your bank account on a regular basis or you can make a one (or more) time gift by checking account or credit card on our website. Your regular electronic giving means that your gift is available for ministry even when you are away (or forgot your checkbook!). Thank you for your continued support of the ministry of
First Congregational Church!
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