This Week at FCCLW 6/12/16

Published: Thu, 06/09/16

June 12, 2016

200 Pounds of Rice Bagged!

A group gathered on June 2nd to bag up 200 pounds of rice for Christians Reaching Out to Society. Those bags will go to food pantries and distributed to families in need. Thank you to our Women’s Fellowship and Missions Committee!

The Gospel According to Billy Joel This Sunday, we continued our worship series incorporating some of the music of Billy Joel. We used "Just the Way You Are" to be reminded of one of our core values, that no matter who we are or where we are on our journey, we are fully loved and accepted by God. You can watch the service here. Next Sunday, we will hear "The Stranger" and "The Piano Man" and explore how we might find our authentic selves in God. Psalms Brunch Man and woman cannot live on scripture alone! Our Sunday morning Bible study, currently making their way through the Psalms, were hosted for brunch at Richmond Schmidt's home before summer vacations begin. A wonderful time was had by all! Food Pantry During the month of June, we will be collecting food for our pantry here at the church. Our food pantry is open on Mondays and Wednesdays. While small, it is a big help to those in our neighborhood who run short on food and assistance during the month. Your donation of canned meats, canned vegetables, pasta, pasta sauce, and peanut butter will go directly to feed those in our neighborhood. You can bring canned goods to the sanctuary lobby on Sundays. Family Movie Night Join us Friday evening as we gather to share a meal and watch the new Disney film, Zootopia. There is plenty of action for the kids, some humor for the adults, and a great message about acceptance for everyone. Bring the dish you are best at making (or buying!) to share. We will begin eating at 6:30 and start the movie at 7:00 PM. We’ll see you there! Stewardship Seminar Are you interested in learning how to sustain and grow the financial resources needed to continue to fund our practicing community of faith,mercy, and justice? On August 6th and 7th, we will welcome Rev. Patrick Rogers, former CPA and current pastor of Fort Lauderdale United Church of Christ for a seminar on church stewardship. 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.		Confirmation Begins We had a great first confirmation session this Sunday. Jada James, Michelle Ellis, Jordyn James, Pastor Jason, and Trish Fairbanks will spend the next six months learning the basics of our life in Christ together and learning tools to practice our faith. This month we talked about prayer. Together, we paraphrased The Prayer of Our Savior into language that is meaningful to us. You can read it here. Renewal Book Club All are invited to join us for a discussion of Dawn Tripp's "Georgia, A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe" on Tuesday, June 21 at 6:30 pm in the church parlor. The Reading for Renewal List for 2016 - 2017 is available in the church office. It's a great resource to begin your summer reading. Opportunity to Help Mary Ellen Bryner has recently had multiple medical issues and has not been able to work for some time. A "GoFundMe" page has been started for her to give her friends the opportunity to contribute to help her with medical bills and day-to-day expenses. You can help Mary Ellen by going to her page here. Save the Date On Friday evening, July 15th, we will hold a dinner and BINGO night fundraiser for our Community Dinner. We'll have great food, great prizes, and a great time together. Be watching for more information. Audio Visual Team Our audio visual team is continuing to grow and they need your help. If you are willing to learn our sound and/or projection system, help create worship presentations, or help run our camera on Sundays, please see Vickie Grimes. Sunday Morning Bible Study Each Sunday morning at 9:30, a Bible study is held in the parlor. This group has made it's way through half of the Psalms since the beginning of the year. You are welcome to join them! 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.