Pastor Appreciated and Appreciative

On Sunday, September 22nd, you gave me one of the most beautiful, meaningful gifts I have ever received. Made from the famous church tea cups, a group of women made a beautiful mosaic of a cross. It was such a powerful reminder for me of the work we do together.

At some point in the 111 year history of our church, there was a need for hundreds of tea cups and saucers. We are no longer a church that has tea parties, much less te parties for hundreds. Are tea parties bad? Absolutely not. But we just don't have them any more. So what do we do with what's left? For the past 10 years, we have used the tea cups in various creative ways to bring a little joy to folks - as visitor gifts and as Mother's Day succulent pots, to name a couple. It has been a brilliant study and practice around the question "What do we do with what we have left?" And not just for tea cups, but for all that is left from who we were before. 

The church, including our church, is in a time of great transition. It is not what it once was. What do we keep, what do we creatively repurpose, what do we need to get rid of in order to join the still speaking, still acting God in what they are doing in the world?

Here's another example. As we were receiving new members last Sunday, a couple of folks noticed that our liturgy for receiving new members is awfully cumbersome and redundant. Rev. Nelson Stone took the time this week to do condense and simplify the wrods we use. We can do that!

Your gift, for the rest of my ministry, will be a reminder to me that we can make beautiful, purposeful things out of "what is left," even if they are broken - and even if we have to break them ourselves! Thank you.

(P.S. I am also really looking forward to the kayak trip that you gave me - thank you!)

5 Year Strategic Plan

Earlier this year, we engaged a process of assessing the interests and strengths of our congregation and the needs of our community. With those results in hand, our strategic plan writing team created a document to guide our work together over the next five years. Working with the different ministry areas within our congregation, they have identified goals and actions in each of our identified priorities. This plan has been discussed and approved by the church council and is now being presented to our congregation for their approval at our annual meeting on Sunday, November 19th following worship.

You can read the strategic plan here. If you have the opportunity to read it before out potluck lunch tomorrow and have questions or thoughts, please feel free to birng them up for discussion. After the plan is approved, the Church Council will become its steward, holding us accountable for its implementation and adjusting it as necessary.

Join us tomorrow after worship as we gather for our monthly potluck lunch. Bring what you are best at making or buying and a place setting. This week we will leave some time for discussion around soem of theing on which we will be voting at our annual meeting next week.

Our annual meeting of the congregation will be next Sunday following worship. All our invited to attend and we especially ask our members to be present so they can vote on these four important topics:

1. Approval of 2024 budget
2. Approval of 2024 committees and boards
3. Approval of name change from First Congregational Church to Lake Worth United Church of Christ
4. Approval of 5 Year Strategic Plan

We would love for everyone who is able to be there in person to do so, but realizing our annual meeting falls on a travel weekend, we understand that many cannot. You can find the live stream of the annual meeting along with instructions on voting that day at fcclw.org/annual.

This Sunday we heard a wonderful testimony from Richmond Schmidt about service and explored together "The Rise of the Servant Leader." You can watch the service here.

Thank you! You donated $578 for the Neighbors in Need offering which supports justice issues here in the US. As a church we will match that so we will be sending $1,156 to Neighbors in Need!

Changing Our Name

For the past several months, our leadership has been having a conversation regarding changing the name of our church to better identify who we are to the community. The consensus has been that if we change our name, it should be to Lake Worth United Church of Christ. This change has been approved by our church council and will be presented to the congregation to be voted on at our annual meeting on November 19th.

We Have a New Address

We have a new mailing address:

First Congregational Church

PO BOX 1253

Lake Worth Beach FL 33460

For the past 13 years our church has hosted a community meal on Tuesday evenings.  As we have been in the process of discerning how we might best serve God and God's people in the future, we feel our Communtiy Dinner is an important part of that work. In addition to a meal, we provde showers, laundry, hair cuts, toiletries, and food pantry. As we begin our dinners again in August, we need to replenish our pantry. You can help by picking up the following on your next grocery run: Pop-top Canned Fruit, Pop-top Canned Meat, Granola/Snack Bars. You can also donate funds here.

If you would like to help with this ministry by setting up, serving, or cleaning up, see Susan Peterson.

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. We have also just added a gaIlery of pictures and a section just for "Minute Messages." 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.

• 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.