During the month of June, we are celebrating Pride with a new worship series, Out in Faith Together. We will look to scripture for examples of encountering the sacred other and hear from local leaders about how we can stand together with the LGBTQ community as powerful allies. This is a great opportunity to invite those you know and love who have not experienced the love of an open and affirming faith community. 

So far, we have spent time Rev. Dr. Kristina Roseboro-Marsh, executive director of the ONA Coalition of the United Church of Christ and Adrienne Percival, director of outreach for Compass LGBTQ Community Center. Next Sunday we will hear from Dr. Alejandro Diaz, board certified pediatric endocrinologist (and Grace Lipman's son in law) about work he had, until recently done with children experiencing gender dysphoria. 

This Sunday, we dug into ancient Hebrew scripture to ponder the relationship between David and Jonathan. You can watch the services from the series so far on our website. Next Sunday, we will wrap up our series by exploring the non-binary nature of God and creation. You can join us at 10:30 Sunday in person at 1415 North K ST in Lake Worth Beach, FL or online at fcclw.org.

Digging Deeper 

Sojourners Magazine included a great article this month summarizing scriptures that "that emphasize the value of love over the law, the God-belovedness of all people, and the special affirmation of those who have been historically rejected as unclean or unholy." You can read the article, "10 Bible Passages That Teach a Christian Perspective on Homosexuality" here.

The Women’s Fellowship and the Florida UCC Women’s Organization would like to thank you for the items you donated for the people of Ukraine. We took them to our May Women’s Conference and they were added to what the other ladies brought. We were able to send 10 boxes once they were put together to ship. You are so generous and they will be a great help to the people of Ukraine. Submitted by Carolyn Ludwig, Mission Study Leader for the FL UCC Women’s Organization

Sunday, July 9th, after worship we will gather for a potluck lunch. We will gather in the parlor for good food anf un fellowship!

Bruce is helping us learn some of our worship music for our Pride series. You can hear him sing "Draw the Circle Wide" here. He sings "Pour Out Your Spirit" here.

The Women’s Fellowship is taking the months of July and August off. We will resume our meeting again on the first Thursday in September on the 7th at 12pm. The Reading for Renewal book list is out and this would be a good time to start your reading. I just finished “Revival Season” It was easy to read. The story made me think about my faith and ask myself questions like: “How strong is my Faith?” Don’t take my word for it. Check it out for yourself. Feel free to send reviews to me of the books you read from the list to share with the other ladies. The reviews may help you decide which books from the list to read. If you need a Reading for Renewal book list, let me know and we will be glad to one to you. Submitted by Carolyn Ludwig.

Thank you to our Missions Committee for leading us in our support of Dare 2 Care, a shower and laundry ministry right here in Lake Worth. It is a privilege to join them in their mission to "to bring dignity and reverence to the homeless in our community." We are also excited that our Tuesday night Community Dinner is once again a site for their ministry. Guests that join us for dinner can get a shower and wash their clothes. 

We are looking for a team of people who would like to assist in planning our worship. We will learn and work together as we plan meaningful liturgy, inspiring music, and imagery that draws us closer to God and one another. If you are interested in becoming involved, contact Pastor Jason

Practicing Faith, Mercy, and Justice in Community? 

There's an App for That!

Our new church app has been released in the Apple App and Google Play stores just for our church. You can stream our worship services, keep in touch with friends, keep up with events, and financially support First Congregational Church all in one place. If you are an iphone user, you can download the app in the App Store, if you have an Android phone, you can download from Google Play.

Along with this platform change, our online giving platform will be changing. If you have a regular giving plan set up with us, you should have received an email with instructions on how to switch that over to our new platform. You can find those instructions here.

April Financials

April:

Budgeted Income $11,083

Actual Income $9,987.36

YTD:

Budgeted Income $44,333.32

Actual Income $46,863.32

Budgeted Expenses: $76,633.00

Actual Expenses: $53,657.03

You can find the April 2023 financial summary memo here.

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!

• Grocery Bags
• Peanut Butter
• Pouches of Tuna and/or chicken
• Canned Vegetables (tab top and/or single serve sizes are best)
• Ravioli, Spaghetti, Beefaroni (tab top)
• Canned Soups/Stews (tab top)
• Single serve ready to eat meals

We are in desperate need of the following mens' clothing items: 

• T-Shirts sizes L & XL
• Socks
• Boxer Briefs sizes L & XL
• Athletic shorts sizes L & XL
• Backpacks 

Dan Hecker, Mark Stanford, Barbara Forsyth, Harvey Littlefield, Gary Sitler,  
Terry Ralston, Victor Stanley, Brigitte Ermansons, Barbara Derryberry,  Bob Lily
 

Thursday Morning Chat & Fellowship

Join us on Thursday mornings at 10:00 for virtual chat and fellowship in our “virtual parlor.” 

You can join us by clicking here. The password, if you need it, is fcclw. If you join us by computer, clicking the link will download the necessary software and take you right into the “parlor.” If you are joining on your smart phone or pad, you will need to download the Zoom app from the Apple App Store or Google Play. You can also call 646-558-8656 and enter Meeting ID: 718 419 400 and then Passcode: 839769.