Special Meeting of the Congregation

There will be a special meeting of the congregation on September 27 immediately following worship.

The purpose of the meeting is to act on proposals for the kitchen renovation, and for the installation of a new church sign.

A quorum of fifty members is required, so please plan to attend.

Announcement from Faith Formation!

Last Sunday was Faith Formation Sunday. As part of the service, the two Oberlin College students who work with the First Church children/youth shared a little about themselves and their plans for this school year. 

Elizabeth Huettig is a fourth year neuroscience and global health major. She has been working with the youngest children for a little over a year and says she loves her job. This year she will focus on introducing the youngest children to Bible stories and giving the older children an idea of where those stories come from, who wrote them, and what they might mean.

Carisma Jones is studying politics, history, and law. She has worked with the youth group for a year and looks forward to new curriculum development for the upcoming school year. The curriculum aims to not only educate the youth about aspects of the Bible and Christianity, but to also develop their understanding of their faith, spirituality and, by extension, themselves. Every session will have a theme, a "check-in," an activity, and introspection on Bible verses that relate to each theme. In addition to youth group meetings after church, the youth will plan purely fun, social events throughout the year. Carisma welcomes any teens you know who would like to be involved.

Exciting News About Our Church Kitchen

At its August meeting, the Executive Council officially approved a kitchen renovation plan and preliminary project budget.

For over a year, our kitchen planning team has been collaborating with architect Ron Cocco to design a functional, welcoming space that serves us all. Now, we want you to get a first look and share your thoughts.

Here is how you can check out the designs and get involved:

• On Sunday, September 20, there will be another question and answer presentation following the morning worship service.

FIRST CHURCH GOES TO THE THEATER

On Saturday, October 3rd at 7:30 p.m. First Church’s own Cecil Eastman will be performing in the play, Angel Street (Gaslight) at Clague Playhouse, 1371 Clague Rd, Westlake, OH 44145.

The Fellowship Committee is recommending that we purchase tickets for that date - and if that doesn’t work for you, there are other options including Sunday matinees!

You may purchase your tickets online or by calling the theater. They are $25.00 each, $24.00 for Seniors. Cecil recommends purchasing middle of theater tickets as soon as possible. (Avoid A1:1-5, A2:1-5) As we have learned, seats are selling very fast! 

We’ll plan to meet for dinner somewhere before the show, for those interested! More information to follow. For ticket information check the Clague Playhouse website or call the theater Box Office at 440-331-0403 Wed. through Sat. from 1-6PM with any questions or to order tickets.

Questions: Alana Kelley or Lori Taylor.

First Church Goes to the Theater - UPDATE!

A number of people have tickets for Angel Street at Clague Theater, and in fact, some have seen the show already and recommend it highly!

If you plan to attend the Oct 3 show at 7:30:

Those of us who are driving will meet at the church by 4:45 and we can arrange car-pooling for those needing rides. If you plan to drive directly to the Restaurant, Mitchell’s Tavern, 24282 Center Ridge Rd. Westlake, Ohio, is about 35 mins from Oberlin, we plan to be there by 5:30 p.m. The theater is a 3 min drive from the restaurant. They begin the show promptly at 7:30 pm. Mitchell's is not too far from the theater.

Folk and Bluegrass Song Circle

Fourth Wednesday of each month, this month on September 23, 6:30-8:00 p.m.

Folk, Bluegrass, and Gospel music in the JFO, Fellowship Hall, or Cooper Terrace depending on number of attendees and weather.

Come prepared to play, sing, or just enjoy.

All ages and skill levels are welcome. 

2026 Stewardship Campaign: Rooted in Community

When we are rooted in community, we are well-equipped to reach out to others in need. This Sunday we will bring fresh produce from our gardens or shelf-stable meals or ingredients to share with Oberlin Community Services.

Please place them in the Gallery on your way to the Meeting House. During the worship service, Margie Flood will speak to us about the programs provided by Oberlin Community Services, where many members of First Church in Oberlin volunteer.

Shirley Erena Murray has written a hymn text which uses the metaphor of God’s loom being used to knit us into one beautiful fabric: “Spirit of love, you move within creation, drawing the threads to color and design: Life into life, you knit our true salvation, come, work with us, and weave us into one. Though we have frayed the fabric of your making, tearing away from all that you intend, Yet, to be whole, humanity is aching – come, work with us, and weave us into one. Great loom of God, where history is woven, you are the frame that holds unto the truth; Christ is the theme, the pattern you have given – come, work with us, and weave us into one.” (New Century Hymnal # 58, Words copyright 1992, Hope Publishing Company)

SAVE THE DATE!

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2 - 3:30 pm in the JFO Room - “GOOD PLANTS GONE BAD and Some Alternatives,” by Jennifer Windus of Ohio Invasive Species Council. Co-sponsored by Oberlin Native Plants Club & First Church Green Team.

Neighbors in Need Offering on October 4th!

The Neighbors in Need offering, which we will receive on October 4, supports the UCC’s ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States. Two-thirds of the offering is used by the UCC’s Justice and Witness Ministries to fund a wide array of local and national justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, and direct service projects. One-third of the offering supports the UCC’s Council for American Indian Ministries (CAIM). CAIM is an invaluable resource for more than 1,000 individuals from dozens of other tribes and nations who are members of other UCC congregations in the U.S.

In 2026, the Neighbors in Need offering focuses on advocating for change. With your generous support, the United Church of Christ (through the Neighbors in Need special offering) helps its members live out their beliefs via acts of service. Please see the attachments for more information on this special offering and mental health justice.

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us."

-Ephesians 5:1-2

It is possible to contribute in one of three ways: 

1. By mailing a check made out to The First Church in Oberlin with “NIN” in the memo line to the church office, 
2. By using the offering envelopes on the Welcome Table and depositing your donation in the donation boxes in the Meeting House by the doors exiting the room, 
3. Or, by going to our First Church website, scrolling down and clicking on "Donate Online" and then going to the “Neighbors in Need” section. Alternatively, click here and it’ll bring you to the page.



Please see the bulletin insert, for more information on this special offering. More information can also be found on the UCC website.

Let your gift help to put prayer into action.

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.

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!