This Week at FCCLW 6/4/17

Published: Thu, 06/01/17

June 4, 2017

Beer and Hymns

Oh wow! We are looking forward to Friday June 9th, our last Beer and Hymns of the season as we gather for the Southern Gospel edition. Some fine area musicians will be joining us as we sing favorites and learn some new songs. Of course, there will also be the great food, soft drinks, beer and wine Aioli’s provides. This is a great opportunity to be together and to invite your friends for a great night out!

All My Days The tradition of using a string of beads or rope knots is an ancient tradition as well as being a ritual action shared by many faith traditions around the globe. The common connection is the ability to give structure to personal prayer devotion. It offers a way to remind and revisit various areas of focus and concern. Repeated rituals can be powerful as they help shape our habits. This summer, you are invited to pray “All My Days” and to make a habit of prayer wherever you are. Each Sunday in worship we will focus on one of the steps of the prayer beads but you are encouraged to pray these categories all summer long. We are looking forward to learning, praying and experiencing God together over the next several weeks. At the end of the summer you will have your own set of beads to remind you of the many aspects of prayer we will explore. Come and bring a friend! In preparation for these exciting weeks together, we are inviting you to participate in two specific ways: 1. Be thinking and praying about who you will invite to join us in this time together. 2. Consider donating $50 to cover the cost of one week’s worth of beads. You may do this in honor or memory of a loved one or event, which we will print in the bulletin. You can give online here. Tools for Comfort & Growth In the lobby of the sanctuary, we have material available to assist you on your spiritual journey. The Upper Room is a daily devotional and Care Notes each tackle a specific issue such as prayer, aging, losing a loved one, or parenting. Pick one up and consider donating so we can continue this ministry. School's Out for Summer! Sunday School will be taking a summer break the months of June, July and August. During this time we welcome our children into Intergenerational worship with us. If your child would like to assist in worship by greeting, lighting the candles or reading scripture please talk to Cathy Austen who coordinates our volunteers. You can look forward to additional opportunities for participation in the service along with the rest of the congregation. 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! 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. 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.		You're Invited! Join us in worship on Sunday June 4th as we celebrate Pentecost, the birthday of the church. We will gather just like those first followers of The Way, waiting to experience how Jesus wants to move in our midst. Wear your red and come ready to celebrate! When Do You Feel the Spirit? As we celebrate Pentecost on Sunday, we will create space for "mini-testimonies" that complete the sentence ""I feel the Spirit when..." This week be thinking of when that is true for you. We would love to hear you share! Open the Eyes of My Heart You can hear this Sunday's sermon here. CROS Ministries In May we will be collecting peanut butter and jelly for CROS Ministries. Scholarships Applications are now being accepted for scholarships for First Congregational Church college students. Applications can be picked up in the office or downloaded from our website. Applications are due by May 28th with interviews to be scheduled in June. 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!