Events

First Church Trivia Contest

A drawback with Trivia Contests is that they imply a sense of “certainty” and confidence that the setter knows the “correct answer."

I thought that a simple question asking how many rows of pews were in the center section of the meeting house before 1928 would have a simple answer. Here are three:

If you look at the photograph I hinted at in the Archives and try to count the rows shown, I’m pretty sure you come up with 16. I’d appreciate it if one of our members with younger eyes would go up to the Archives and either confirm or deny this.
If you look at the numbers on the remaining pews, you will see that the center right pews are numbered 30, 28 … This strongly suggests that there were 15 rows at the time the numbers were assigned.
If you talk to members who remember the 2020 renovations, there was at the time consideration given to removing up to 3 rows to make space for that stage at the front where the piano sits. In the event, there is a blueprint in the archives that makes it clear that only 1 row was removed in 2020. Together with the pew (donated back to the church I believe by Kristen Peterson) removed in 1928, this would also suggest that 15 is the “correct” answer to Trivia Contest #3.

So, three winners this week:

Anne Conway who saw 14 rows in the 1928 photo; Karla Sanderson who, like me, thought there were 16, and Pete Richards who thought of looking at the numbers on the sides of the pews.

All three receive the prize of a bucket of ammunition to shoot from the cannons at Hillcrest Orchard this Sunday.

Please feel free to contact me with any more information related to the number of pews; I have a feeling this trivia question is far from settled.

Trivia Contest #4: There is a pew on the main floor of the church buildings that is not in the meeting house itself.

a. Where is it?

b. What number(s) do you see on the sides?

c. What is different about this one that distinguishes it from all the other pews on this floor?

Text your answers to 703-945-8916 with your name by noon on Tuesday October 20.

FALL HARVEST SUPPER

Wednesday, October 21 @ 5:45 PM

Skip cooking tonight and join us for a delicious taste of autumn!

What’s Cooking: Roast Pork & Savory Vegetarian; Squash & Sweet Potato Casseroles; Fresh Vegetable; Quick Breads; Homemade Applesauce & Freshly Baked Pies.

You don't need to cook anything this month—everything is provided. Just bring yourself and enjoy! If you can come early (at 5:00pm) to help set up or stay late to clean up, please indicate when you sign up for the supper.

2026 Stewardship Campaign:

Rooted in Faith, Growing in Generosity; Sowing Seeds of Hope

Mission is how faith moves from words into action, guiding us to serve others generously with love and compassion. As people rooted in faith, we are called not only to believe, but to respond. Mission invites us to look beyond ourselves, notice the needs around us, and offer our time, gifts, and presence in ways that reflect God’s love.

Through mission, our church becomes part of something larger than ourselves. Whether we are repairing homes, feeding neighbors, supporting community partners, caring for one another, or praying for those in need, each act of service becomes a visible expression of faith. These moments remind us that generosity is not simply about what we give, but about how we live.

This week, as we reflect on mission, may we be open to the ways God is calling us to serve. When we offer ourselves with open hearts, we help sow seeds of hope in our church, our community, and the world.

The Ministry of Hospitality

Being able to host the After-worship Coffee Clatch is something to be proud of, for sure. It is a ministry that allows those in the congregation who want to spend time together after worship to be present with one another while, enjoying juice, coffee or water, store-bought cookies or homemade ones. If everyone volunteered... this delightful after worship time would be a time we could all count on and enjoy.

There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in the hall into Fellowship Hall. Please sign up a couple of times over the course of a year.

Offerings can be as simple as juice or water. Cookies are nice but optional. The Fellowship Committee provides essentials like compostable plates, napkins, and cups, half and half, sugar, and juice. We keep some Gluten free cookies in the freezer, to be used during this time, as needed. If you feel like doing something more special, have at it. But, all offerings are much appreciated.

There are very clear written instructions in the kitchen and there’s no way you can make a mistake! We promise!

If you want assistance, or have a question, speak with any member of Fellowship Committee and one of us can assist you. We are Denise Capers, Rhys Price Jones, Alana Kelley, Anne McCormick, Karla Sanderson and Lori Taylor.

First Church building rental opportunities

The First Church buildings offer numerous opportunities for meetings, rehearsals, concerts, weddings, and family events. After long study, a reasonable rental fee schedule has been worked out to offer fair use of the facility to our members and our neighbors. Large rooms (the Meeting House, Fellowship Hall, or JFO Room) and small rooms (upstairs classrooms, Room 4, Reading Room) can be reserved by the hour or by the half day. Discounted rates for church members and community partners may be available. The city of Oberlin has limited spaces available for events, and we are happy to offer our facility to help fill that need for our neighbors.

There Are Requirements for Making Submissions to our First Things First eNews!

In an effort to make our eNews more readable and shorten the length, we have created new guidelines for submitting posts! The guidelines are as follows.

As usual, the deadline for submissions for the upcoming First Things First is Wednesday prior to 10 AM.
We will not be putting in any non-First Church job postings.
We will not be putting in any full flyers as the submission (however, we will put in a button that links to a PDF of the flyer).
There is a word limit of 100 words for the text of a submission.
You may insert links into the text post for more information, either by button or hyperlink in the text.
You may insert PDFs (accessible by buttons) for more information, a flyer, or anything else that would be helpful for the post, but the document must be in PDF format. Any other document format will not be included in your submission.
You may send one picture that you have the rights to use (i.e. a picture that is not subject to copyright, we suggest using the site pexels.com).
The submission will run for a maximum of 2 weeks in the eNews. These 2 weeks do not have to be consecutive.

When sending in your submission, you must have

The title of the post
The text of the post (maximum of 100 words)
Which 2 weeks you'd like for your submission to run

When sending in your submission, you could have

If you'd like, one picture
If you'd like, PDFs (and what you'd want the title of the button that links to it to be)
If you'd like, the links for spots in the text post (and which word(s) you'd like to be the hyperlink or what you'd want the title of the button to be)

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we try to make our eNews experience more manageable for our readers!

Worship - Live Streamed and in the Meeting House on Sundays @ 10am
Children's Church (grades K - 5) 10:15 AM each Sunday during the school year
Summer Storytime - 10:15 AM during the summer
Finance Committee - 2nd Monday each month
Facility Committee - 1st Tuesday each month
Stewardship - 2nd Tuesday each month
Office Staff Meetings - Mondays at 2:00 PM
Book Group - Tuesdays at 4pm via Zoom
Witness and Membership - 2nd Wednesday each month
Christian Education Committee - As necessary
Outreach and Service Committee - 1st Monday each month
Executive Council - 4th Tuesday each month
Green Team - 3rd Wednesday of each month