This Week at FCCLW 2/5/17

Published: Thu, 02/02/17

February 5, 2017

Souper Bowl of Caring

Join us Sunday, February 5th after the worship service for our annual tailgate party sponsored by our Men's Fellowship. We will also be collecting your spare change and bills for CROS ministries in the national Souper Bowl of Caring. This year, we will also be having a chili cook off. If you would like to enter your best recipe, see Christopher Lepard. Tickets will be available for purchase to vote for your favorite!

Red and White Ball You are invited to attend our annual Valentine’s Day banquet on Friday evening, February 10th at 6:00 PM. There will be a delicious catered dinner, dancing, and a great time with a great group of people. Proceeds from this event will help fund our kitchen renovation fund. Tickets are available Sundays after worship. Gleaning Mark your calendars for a Family Gleaning Day on March 18th. See our website for more information. Re-Imagined Realm The Beatitudes – the blessed and the not so blessed. In these verses Jesus asks us to re-think, to re-imagine, what the world has taught us about the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots, the powerful and the powerless. No small feat given the way we see the wealthy and the powerful portrayed in today’s society where we measure being “blessed” by what we accumulate and acquire. And it’s up to us to be sure that Jesus’ teachings are realized in the here and now. It’s our job to be the liberators for those oppressed by society’s notions of “blessed.” You can watch Sunday's sermon here or watch the whole service on our Facebook page. This week, look closely at the way the media and pop culture portray the “blessed” in today’s world. For every news item you read about society’s blessed find a story about Jesus’ blessed. Pastor's Blog Are you looking for a practical way to let go of some of the emotions that weigh you down? Pastor Jason writes about the "Welcoming Prayer" this week on his blog. Book Discussion Group Richmond Schmidt will be leading a three-week discussion group on the book *Three Days in Damascus* by Kim Schultz. While traveling to Jordan, Lebanon and Syria to interview Iraqi refugees and hear their stories, Kim never expected to fall in love. But that is exactly what happened. This book is the story of an American woman and an Iraqi man set against the backdrop of the Iraqi refugee crisis and the brewing Syrian civil war. The group will begin on Sunday February 12th and will be held for three weeks at 9:30 in the parlor. The author herself will join us at our last session on Sunday, February 26th. Facebook Live As much as we love gathering together on Sunday mornings, there are times when we are out of town or otherwise unable to be there in person. You can now watch our worship service live on Facebook right on your computer, tablet, or smart phone. At 10:30 on Sunday just head over to our Facebook page and join us!		Youth Outing On Saturday, February 18th, our kids will be going to Gumbo Limbo nature center and park. We will meet at the church at 10:00 AM. Bring a sack lunch. See Marilyn Stone if you would be able to drive. Men's Movie Night Next week, we will go as a group to see the movie "Moonlight," a coming-of-age story being called one of the best movies of the year. If you are interested in going, email Pastor Jason. We will pick the best time for all of us to go. Children's Choir Our kids will be singing in our worship service on February 19th. They will be rehearsing during Sunday School for the next few weeks. See Heidi DaCunha or Meredith Button for more information. Year-End Statements Year-end Contribution Statements were mailed this week. If you did not receive yours or have a question regarding the content, please contact Janet Lisle. 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. Facebook 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. If you are on Facebook, you can keep up with what is happening "between Sundays" on our Facebook page.