This Week at First Congregational UCC

Published: Thu, 08/08/13

August 18, 2013

Looking for a Great Church?

In Sunday worship, we have been taking time to explore what makes a great church. Our thesis has been "A great commitment to the Great Commandments and the Great Commission, with great compassion, will grow a great church."

For the past two weeks we have been laying the foundation with the Great Commandments, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39) So far we have talked about loving God and loving ourselves.

If you missed Sunday's service, including the great song Mark Stanford shared with us, you can watch here.

Next Sunday, we will engage the topic of "loving others," and imaging the church as a gym where we can practice doing just that. We will also be hearing music from Nikki LaBonte, who has just returned from Europe playing french horn in the National Youth Orchestra (you can read about her adventures here.) It should be a great time of worship. Hope to see you there!

On Sunday September 15 after the worship service our SpiritKidz and their families will be heading down the street to South Olive Park to play in the playground and splash park and have lunch together to celebrate the start of the new school year. Pizza and drinks will be provided. We would love to see you there. See Janet Lisle or Trish Fairbanks for more information. October may seem a long way away, but it is right around the corner. So be planning now to become involved in one of our Life Groups. A Life Group is an opportunity to become involved for a limited period of time with a small group of people to learn together and experience a particular topic. Some of the opportunities offered will be Dave Ramseyâ€^(TM)s Financial Peace University, Eating for a Better World, Your Dreams Are Alive! and Animate: Faith. Be watching for more details in the coming weeks. We're On Facebook! If you are on Facebook, head over to our Facebook page and "Like" us to keep up with what is going on at First Congregational United Church of Christ "between Sundays."		Thank you to everyone who brought in school supplies over the past several weeks. We were able to take several bags over to North Grade Elementary School where they were greatly appreciated! Thank you to Marty Delarosa, Rosemary Von Wald, and Ruth Sells for pruning the fountain garden last week. Thank you Trish Fairbanks for laying out the church directory and Helen Greene for writing the 100-year history article. It turned out great! 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! Don't Keep It a Secret! Did a friend come to mind when you were reading something in this email? Do you know someone who is looking for a community of people who are practicing loving God, loving others, and serving the world? Why don't you forward this email to them? If a friend forwarded this email to you, first of all, thank them! Then subscribe for yourself at our website.