NEWS IN THE PEWS
November 26, 2023
STEWARDSHIP: The Council meeting to decide our 2024 budget is on Tuesday, Nov 28. If you have sent your pledge, thank you! If not, please try to get it to us by Tuesday so we can have the best financial picture when making the budget decisions. Let me or Vicki know if you need a pledge card. ~Steve Smith - Stewardship
A SERVICE FOR HEALING & WHOLENESS will be held today at 10:45 A.M. in the Snow Room.
THE ANNUAL FINANCIAL MEETING will be held on Sunday December 10 immediately following the Sunday service. The primary purpose of this meeting will be to review and vote on the 2024 budget. Please plan on attending.
DECORATING THE SANCTUARY: We will be decorating the sanctuary on Saturday, December 2 at 10 AM. We encourage any and all to participate. We experience a wonderful Christmas spirit at this event. Not only does robust participation enhance the fellowship of the occasion, but it also makes the decorating proceed more quickly. Hope to see many of you there.
ADVENT DINNER: The Board of Deacons will be hosting the Advent dinner on Sunday, December 3 at 5:00 pm. Ham, pizza, beverages, and dessert will be provided. Please bring your own place settings and a dish to pass. Please let us know if you and your family are coming by using the Advent Dinner Sign-Up List posted on the rolling board in Fellowship Hall. This year’s Advent Dinner is the “kick-off” of our yearlong 200th Anniversary Celebration. We hope you will join us!
THE ADVENT DEVOTIONAL STUDY begins on Sunday, December 3rd & Wednesday, December 6th. Each Sunday and Wednesday during the season of Advent ending with Christmas, we will meet at 11:00 A.M. in the Snow Room for a devotion followed by a discussion. We are reading Apocalyptic Advent: Embracing Hope in the Second Coming of Christ by Teri McDowell Ott. For more detailed information, please read The Epistle newsletter. You will find copies of this Advent Devotional Study in Fellowship Hall. All are welcome!
ADVENT CANDLES: If you or your family would like to share in the lighting of the Advent Candles of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, please sign-up on the rolling bulletin board in Fellowship Hall.
CHRISTMAS EVE READERS: If you would like to read one of the lessons at the 5:00 P.M. Candlelight Christmas Eve Service of Lessons & Carols, please sign-up on the rolling board in Fellowship Hall.
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES: A Family Christmas Eve Service will be held in our sanctuary at 9:30 A.M. on Sunday, December 24th. A Candlelight Christmas Eve Service of Lessons & Carols with Holy Communion will be held in our sanctuary at 5:00 P.M. on Sunday, December 24th.
BLUE CHRISTMAS: There will be a Blue Christmas Service on Saturday, December 16 at 7:00 P.M. in the sanctuary. This is a Worship Service that names and holds space for the sadness that accompanies the holidays, especially for those who have lost loved ones or friends over the past year. A Blue Christ Service is an invitation for anyone who wants to come and set their burden down, for a community to hold pain collectively.
FOOD BASKETS: Again this year, our Christmas food baskets are in the form of gift cards due to people’s food allergies and preferences. The Board of Missions will be collecting money Nov. 19th, Nov. 26th, Dec. 3rd, and Dec. 10th during the coffee hour after church. Checks may be made out to the First Congregational UCC with “Christmas Food Basket” written on the memo line.
HILLSIDE SPECIAL SANTA: The Hillside Christmas Tree is up in the Fellowship Hall! Our annual project to support Hillside's Special Santa Project starts on Sunday, Nov. 19th and ends on Sunday, Dec. 3. You can participate by taking a bell and tag with a child's Christmas wish written on it. At the nearby table, please be sure to sign the space on the red or green sheet that corresponds to the tag you take. There are only 2 weeks this year to return the gift you choose to donate. Please check your name off of the red or green list when you leave your gift under the tree. Thank you for helping to make a child's Christmas special this year! Wrapping paper and ribbon donations are appreciated. Questions - Paula Dickson or Irene Utter
200 YEAR ANNIVERSARY: As we prepare to celebrate the 200th anniversary of our church we would like to collect some photos of our memories over the years. If you have a few photos that you would like to share as part of our celebration, we have three ways to collect them: (1) Send a digital file of the photos to Vicki. Please be selective. No more than 25 per family. (2) Bring a thumb drive containing the photos into the office in an envelope with your name on it so we can return it to you. (3) We can also scan a FEW old-style photographs. Again, please put them in an envelope with your name so that they can be returned. Think of photos of mission trips, Christmas musicals, Advent dinners, musical events, picnics, old friends, rummage sales, antique shows, etc. These will be displayed in the tv in Fellowship Hall.
FIRST CHURCH BOOK CLUB meets at 1:00 on Monday November 27 to discuss All the Children Are Home by Patry Francis. All are welcome. Any questions ask Irene Utter.
IN-PERSON WORSHIP: The bulletin can be accessed via the QR code on your mobile phone or tablet. Prayer requests must be emailed to Pastor Greg at revgregrup.ucc@gmail.com by 8:00am on Sunday with the subject line Joy or Prayer Concern. You can view the Virtual Worship Service on Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/First-Congregational-United-Church-of-Christ-Fairport-NY-174043249305098/. An audio Worship Service will be uploaded to our church’s website each week, usually on Monday.
PERINTON FOOD SHELF needs include coffee, tea, juice boxes, soup, crackers, canned pasta, canned meats/seafood, stew, chili, hash, canned & dry beans, peanut butter & jelly, canned vegetables & fruit, boxed potatoes, ketchup, mustard, mayo, oil, salad dressing, pasta & sauce, tomato products, mac & cheese, suddenly salad, hamburger/tuna helper, pancake mix & syrup, rice, baking mixes, stuffing, sugar, salt, gravy, cereal, boxed cookies, chips, & granola bars, bags of chips/pretzels, Jell-O, pudding, dried fruit, shampoo, bar soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, paper products, laundry soap, dish soap. Smaller sizes are preferred.
LIGHT THE NIGHT: Thank you to David and Janice Coon for lighting the steeple through November in honor of Julia Coon.
THIS WEEK IN THE CHURCH
Monday:
1:00 PM Book Club
Tuesday:
7:00 PM Church Council
Thursday:
7:00 PM New Life AA
Saturday:
10:00 AM Decorating the Sanctuary
Rev. Gregory J. Rupright, Pastor
Rev. Dr. John N. Cedarleaf, Pastor Emeritus
Beatrice Benedict, Organist
Heather Watras, Director of Music Ministries
Vicki Sherry, Administrative Assistant
Christian Copyright Licensing International #2320160
Phone: 585-223-0224; Website: fairportucc.org
Office email: vsherry.ucc@gmail.com
