ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS

The Temperature is Dropping 

 

As we await the completion of the new heating system at First Church please be sure to dress appropriately as temperatures continue to drop. The building gets a bit cooler each day and you may wish to consider an extra layer or two of clothing when attending events at First Church until the heating system is fully operational.

Totenfest - Sunday, November 24

 

Our annual observance of thanksgiving for those who have died in the past year will take place during worship on Sunday, November 24. During the service, there will be an opportunity to light candles of remembrance and to reflect upon what has been lost as well as how those now added to the "great cloud of witnesses" have influenced our lives in positive ways. All are welcome.

24 CHRISTMAS POINSETTIAS FOR THE MEETING HOUSE

 

If you would like to assist with the purchase of 24 poinsettias to decorate the Meeting House for Christmas you may make a donation in any amount and include information to make your donation in honor of or in memory of a loved one. This information will be included in the Christmas Eve bulletin.

 

Please use the form in the bulletin or in the church office. Donations may be given to Miranda in the church office.

 

The 24 Poinsettias will be available after Christmas Eve evening worship to those who have made a donation, until the poinsettias are gone.

 

Funds collected exceeding the cost of poinsettias will be donated to The UCC Christmas Fund.

Form

Thanksgiving Day and Native American Heritage Day

 

In recognition of Thanksgiving Day and Native American Heritage Day, the office will be closed on Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th. The office will be open again on Monday, December 2nd. Happy holidays!

Jen Bertoni - Approved for Ordination Pending Call

 

On November 7, Jen met with the Committee on Ministry of the Living Water Association of the Heartland Conference of the United Church of Christ. Following a worship service that she created and led (including sermon), the committee had the opportunity to thoroughly question Jen and determine if she exhibited the Marks for becoming a Faithful and Effective Authorized Minister in the United Church of Christ. The committee unanimously affirmed Jen's gifts for ministry and she was granted the status of "Approved for Ordination Pending Call" which means she can now circulate her profile (i.e., ministerial resume) and once she acquires an ordainable call (e.g., local church pastorate, chaplaincy, etc...) she can be ordained. Please join in extending our heartfelt congratulations to Jen for reaching this milestone in her journey towards ordination.

Wednesday Night Supper

 

The November Wednesday Night Supper will start at 5:45 on Wednesday, November 20. It's TACO NIGHT! Our wonderful cooks will be Maria Lorenzo Juan and Lidia Regalado Martinez, both from Guatemala. We don't want to run out of food, so be sure to sign up. Sign-up sheets are in the hallway or here. Four individuals might want to sign up to bring cake for dessert. Otherwise, you don't need to bring anything. Donations on the night of the supper are gladly accepted.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread! 

 

Thanksgiving is Coming - and so is the Youth's November fundraiser! We are experimenting with a new treat this year - chocolate chip pumpkin bread! We are using Chelsey's famous recipe from Kendal Day Care, so I'm sure it will be delicious! The youth will be baking on November 23rd, and loaves will be ready for pickup after church on November 24th.   

Reserve your loaf today! You can sign up at church on the sheet in the gallery, or by clicking the link below.  Loaves are $12, and payment is due at pickup.



The funds raised will all go to buy gifts for children in the Holiday Helping Hands program at OCS. Please buy some pumpkin bread and help our youth help others!

Link

I Have No Clue Who That Was



It's happened to all us - someone walks up to us at church and begins a conversation. They seem to know who you are and although you recognize them as a fellow parishioner you can't remember their name or have never been introduced. Wearing a name tag, whether a long-time attendee or recent visitor, helps model the extravagant welcome we proclaim and aspire to extend to one another. Be sure to stop by the name tag rack when you're up at the church or swing by the welcome table if you need to request one

Adult Ed event - November 24th after worship! 

 

Please join us November 24th after worship in the JFO Room, where Carl Jacobson will be sharing his impressions of Cuba. Refreshments will be provided. Hope to see you there! 

 

Carl writes, "In October, Deb and I visited Cuba for a week on a Road Scholar Tour. It was crammed with lectures and walks in the old squares of Havana, Cienfuegos and Trinidad (a city in Cuba) visits to arts, music, and social venues, including a senior center, a Sephardic Synagogue, and the Zapata Swamp Flora and Fauna Conservation Center. Though I thought I knew it well, I learned a lot from a visit to the Bay of Pigs Museo Giron. Claiming no expertise, I will offer some photos, observations on life and travel, thoughts on past and present US/Cuban relations, and hopes for the future."

Oberlin Ecumenical Carol-sing

 

Greetings First Church Faith Community,  

 

The Outreach Committee and Oberlin Ecumenical Carol-sing Task Force invite you to participate in the Oberlin Ecumenical Carol-Sing, this December 22. Many of those who participated last year share that they felt connected and inspired following this special celebration. We are positively anticipating that we again will be upheld, encouraged, and inspired as we gather, worship, and celebrate Christ’s coming.

 

Included below is the letter of description and invitation that we have sent to Oberlin Churches, Fellowships, and Communities.

 

We invite you to join us!  

If you are interested in offering a musical selection via a solo, duet, trio, small choir, a piece of art, a reading, interpretive dance, reading one of the scriptural passages, or preparing Christmas cookies, treats, etc., please contact the church at office@firstchurchoberlin.org or Becky Thompson at beckythompson139@gmail.com.

 

We hope you will join us! 

 

First Church Outreach Committee

The Oberlin Ecumenical Carol-Sing Task Force

Thank you from the Outreach and Service Committee!

 

Thanks to the overwhelming support from the congregation, we were able to provide SIX fully prepared Emergency Cleanup Buckets for various disasters, to be distributed by Church World Service! Thank you so much for all of your donations and your support – we appreciate it so much! We even received more than we were expecting – so much so that we were able to donate the extras to Oberlin Community Services! Your outpouring of love is so appreciated across the world and has a huge impact, thank you so much!

Thanks to the Hills, a time to gather for gratitude, thanksgiving and celebration at Templed Hills, will be November 16th, 10am to 4pm.  Mark your calendars today and save the date!  We will have activities all day including hiking, crafts, sing-a longs, gaga ball, archery, fishing, campfires with treats, a garage sale and silent auction of Templed Hills memorabilia, and a Closing Worship and farewell blessing of Templed Hills.

 

The event will be free.  A potluck style Thanksgiving lunch is scheduled, and the Conference will provide all the hot food. Guests are invited to bring cold or shelf stable sides, salads, and desserts to share. A free will offering will also be taken. Guests will also have the option to “rent a room/continental breakfast” to share with family or friends for Friday and/or Saturday night.  We will have the traditional camp coffee cake, fruit and other goodies for the Continental breakfast.  Saturday night dinner and evening activities are on your own. However, we will keep the campfire going weather and interest permitted.

 

Please plan to join us!  Reservations for Saturday event are highly encouraged and reservations for Friday and/or Saturday night are required. 

Learn More and Register

Do You Enjoy Singing?

 

We are looking for people who enjoy singing to join the Finney Choir. We meet Thursdays 6:45-8PM, and at 9AM on Sundays before the service. You don’t need to have a lot of experience or read music - there are many friendly people in the choir to help you out! If you just want to come for part of the year, like preparing for Advent or Easter, you’re very welcome to. You can write Tom at musicdirector@firstchurchoberlin.org if you have any questions.

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.

Rental Rates

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.

 

  1. As usual, the deadline for submissions for the upcoming First Things First is Wednesday prior to 10 AM.
  2. We will not be putting in any non-First Church job postings.
  3. 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).
  4. There is a word limit of 100 words for the text of a submission.
  5. You may insert links into the text post for more information, either by button or hyperlink in the text.
  6. 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.
  7. 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).
  8. 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!

RECURRING EVENTS:

  • Worship - Live Streamed and in the Meeting House on Sundays @ 10am
  • Children's Church (grades K - 5) 10:15 AM each Sunday. Will resume in the Fall
  • Summer Storytime - 10:15 AM each Sunday.
  • Sunday School (grades 5 - 12) 11:30am each Sunday (Hot Topic discussion on the 4th Sunday each month). Will resume in the Fall.
  • Friday Night Hangout (all grades) - first Friday each month from 7:00 PM - 7:45 PM via Zoom
  • Sunday Night Youth Group (grades 5 - 12) - last Sunday each month from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
  • Finance Committee - 3rd Monday each month
  • Facility Committee - 1st Tuesday each month
  • Stewardship - 2nd Tuesday each month
  • Office Staff Meetings - Mondays at 10:00 AM
  • Book Group  - Tuesdays at 4pm via Zoom
  • Witness and Membership - 2nd Wednesday each month
  • Christian Education Committee - 1st Thursday each month
  • Outreach and Service Committee - 1st Monday each month
  • Executive Council - 4th Tuesday each month
  • Friday Night Hangout - 1st Friday of each month
  • Green Team - 1st Wednesday of each month

Faith Formation News!

 

  • Children's Church: 10:15 AM on Sundays resuming in the Fall
  • Sunday School: 11:30am-noon on Sundays (Hot Topic on the 4th Sunday) resuming in the Fall
  • Summer Storytime is beginning! Children are invited to join us on Sundays at 10:15 AM for a story
  • Friday Night Hangouts: First Friday at 7 pm resuming in the Fall
  • Sunday Night Youth Group: Last Sunday at 6:00 PM resuming in the Fall

 

As always, call Jen or the office to get a link for any and all of these events!

CALENDAR OF EVENTS