NEWS IN THE PEWS
December 22, 2024
2024 DONATIONS: For you to receive credit on your 2024 taxes, your check must be dated December 31, 2024 or earlier and received in the church office by January 6, 2025.
PREPAYING 2025 PLEDGES: If you choose to pre-pay your 2025 pledge before January 1, you must indicate that your payment is for 2025. Payments are recorded as of the year they are received unless designated otherwise.
OFFICE SCHEDULE THIS WEEK: Vicki will be in the office until 1:00 PM on Monday and Friday this week.
THE BOARD OF MISSIONS AND OUTREACH is very grateful for the generous contributions toward our Christmas projects. We were able to donate Christmas Food Gift Certificates from Aldi to 6 families this year. We had only planned to provide for 4 families. The Hillside Secret Santa Project was also a great success with 40 gifts donated to Hillside's children. The Board of Missions and the recipients of your generosity thank you.
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES: Our Candlelight Christmas Eve Service of Lessons & Carols with Holy Communion will be held in our sanctuary at 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday, December 24th. All are welcome!
OUR ADVENT DEVOTIONAL BOOK STUDY meets at 11:00 A.M. today in the Snow Room . We will be reading and discussing Celebrating Abundance: Devotions for Advent by Walter Brueggemann. All are welcome!
ADVENT HOUSE is seeking donations. Their “wish list” of items can be found on the bulletin board behind the Coffee Hour table.
MORNING CIRCLE will not be meeting at Church during the winter months, December through March.
2025 FLOWER CHART is now posted in Fellowship Hall. The cost of a donation in 2024 will again be $55. When you sign up on our decorative flower chart for your Sunday floral arrangement, please print clearly both your name and your dedication, indicating if your donation is IHO (in honor of), IMO (in memory of) or ICO (in celebration of) a person or event. Also, please add the letter T or D after your name to denote if you want to take the flowers home “T” or if you wish to donate the flowers “D.” Thank you.
2025 LIGHT THE NIGHT: A special way to honor or remember a loved one is to “light the night” in their honor. A donation of $50 will keep the steeple lights burning for a month. Your kind donation and the person in whose name the donation was made will be noted in the Epistle and the church bulletin each Sunday of that month. The 2025 sign-up sheet for “Light the Night” is now posted on the rolling bulletin board in Fellowship Hall.
THE AKOMA CONCERT has been rescheduled for Saturday, February 1st at 4:00. This concert is free.
PERINTON CONGREGATIONS FOR GREATER ROCHESTER HABITAT FOR HUMANITY is looking for volunteers to help finish construction of its house at 207 Melville St. In Rochester. If you would like to help, look for the display on the wall behind the Coffee Hour tables. Choose a date(s) from the lists and print your name and phone number. Call Frank Stein at 704-4510. He will forward your information to the work coordinator. Thank you for your interest in this important work. The Board of Missions and Outreach.
KNITTING CIRCLE meets at 1:00 every Monday except the last Monday of the month. You can knit or crochet if you have that skill or learn something new knitting a hat on a circular loom. New this year is knitting a scarf on a long loom. Come join the fun and fellowship. All are welcome. We donate many of our hats to various charitable organizations. Questions: contact Irene Utter at iutter@rochester.rr.com or call 585-425-7408.
SAVE THE POP TABS to help the Rochester Ronald McDonald House. Place them in the plastic jug in Fellowship Hall.
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 current list of most needed items can be found on their website at https://perintonfoodshelf.org/#needed. SMALL SIZES ARE PREFERRED.
LIGHT THE NIGHT: Thank you to Dave Mosher for Lighting the Night in December in memory of Pat Mosher.
THIS WEEK IN THE CHURCH
Sunday:
11:00 AM Advent Devotional Book Study
Monday:
1:00 PM Knitting Club
Tuesday:
5:00 PM Christmas Eve Service
Thursday:
7:00 PM New Life AA
Friday:
1:00 PM Boy Scout Event
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
