This Week at FCCLW 3/13/16

Published: Thu, 03/10/16

March 13, 2016

Nehemiah Action 2016

On Monday, March 14th at 7:00 PM we will gather with 2,900 people of faith from 22 other churches all over Palm Beach County to hold our public officials responsible for the problem of homelessness in our county. Specifically, we will ask our Palm Beach County Commission to support increasing the funding stream to support Housing First and Rapid-Rehousing initiatives, programs that have effectively ended homelessness in several cities, including Denver, and the state of Utah.

At First Congregational United Church of Christ, we practice faith, mercy, and justice in community. One of the ways we practice justice is by, once a year, coming together to exercise the power that we have in our number to make positive changes in our community.

Our goal this year is to turn out 90 people (our average worship attendance). You should be invited by one of our Justice Ministry Network Members. If you need a ride, we will be car pooling from the church.

We are looking forward to doing justice together!

Gifts of the Dark Wood: Lenten Journey This Sunday, we continued our Lenten journey through the dark woods by exploring the "Gift of Being Lost" and sharing communion together. Next Sunday, in worship we will engage "The Gift of Temptation," and the following Wednesday, we will continue discussing the subject of temptation with teachers Parker Palmer and Eric Elnes. You can see the schedule of gatherings and topics for Lent here. Maundy Thursday Service For details, click here. Easter Sunrise Service For details, click here. 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. Spaghetti Dinner Click here for more information. Facebook 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.		PrideFest 2016 We will once again have a table at PrideFest of the Palm Beaches, reminding the LGBT community in Palm Beach County that we stand with them, that God loves them unconditionally, and that there is a church that accepts them for who God has created them to be. This year we will be following up Pride weekend by inviting those we meet to a spaghetti dinner on April 3rd after worship. If you would like to take a shift at our table, see Barry Nicholson. Church in Society Talk Join us in the parlor this Sunday afternoon to hear Dr. Harry Targ, Director of Peace Studies at Purdue University, who will give a talk on U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle Eastern Wars. There will be a light lunch from 11:40 am to 12:40 pm followed by Dr. Targ's talk and Q&A. Dr. Harry Targ is a professor of political science at Purdue University, specializing in foreign policy, US/Latin American relations, international political economy and working class studies. His books include Strategy of an Empire in Decline: Cold War II; and Challenging Late Capitalism, Neo-Liberal Globalization and Militarism: Building a Progressive Majority. Click here to read his blog. Beach Cleanup We will be participating in a beach clean-up on Saturday, March 26th. Stay tuned or see Janet, Gary, Mary Ellen, or Betty for more information. 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! Hey, Thanks! You're sharing this newsletter with your friends! More people read (or at least opened) our newsletter than we send out. If there is something here that interests you, it may interest someone else. If a friend sent this to you and you would like to receive it regularly, you can subscribe on our website.