ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS
Regular Meeting of the Congregation
Our Constitution directs us to have a regular meeting of the congregation to elect officers and committee members, as reported by the Nominating Committee.
We have scheduled this meeting to occur in person immediately after the close of Sunday morning worship on April 27th.
A full narrative report in hard copy will be available for pickup and in the eNews prior to the meeting.
A 50 person quorum is required to pass any motions, so please plan to attend the meeting that day.
Save the dates and Join the fun at the First Church Spring Festival & the Big Parade!
This is an invitation to join the fun for TWO RELATED EVENTS!
First, the Big Parade will be on May 3rd, where First Church members will march or ride with banners and flags, noise makers, and of course candy to hand out. (Do you have a pick-up truck or trailer we can ride on?)
On Saturday May 10, we will have our third First Church Spring Festival! We are inviting the entire community to this event to highlight the exciting, interesting, and generous activities we enjoy here at First Church. There will be information tables featuring agencies we support, musical groups, an art market, kittens, a dog trainer, games on the front lawn, popcorn, home baked cookies, and Lorenzo’s pizza, and anything else fun that you can think of!
Please join in sharing the wonderful things we do with our community neighbors. Your participation in these events will be both fun and essential. Look for the sign-up sheet for volunteers on the bulletin board!
Spam Emails
We have gotten multiple alerts that people are receiving emails from a person impersonating David Hill. Please beware. Before responding, clicking on any links, or giving away any information, please look at the sender’s email. David will only email you from his work email, “pastor@firstchurchoberlin.org.” Furthermore, do not respond to suspicious messages until you can confirm that it originates from a known email associated with the church. If you have any concerns, please contact the church office.
Office Closed
The office will be on April 21st in recognition of Easter Monday. It will reopen on Tuesday, April 22nd.
The First Church GREEN TEAM invites you to participate in decorating the "Faith in Action for the Earth" Tree during Lent and Easter.
You will see the tree in the Welcome Table area with cards, markers, and clothespins to attach the cards to the tree. Please tell us what you and your family are doing to support our Earth, its Environment, and Creation. You can sign your name or be anonymous. We will read these cards on Creation Sunday, April 27. Look for suggestions of what you can do each week in First Things First and the Sunday bulletin. Please feel free to make suggestions, too! Contact Kathleen at kjbradley123@gmail.com for those good ideas.
This Week's Suggestion: Eating more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, and less meat and dairy, can significantly lower your environmental impact. Producing plant-based foods generally results in fewer greenhouse gas emissions and requires less energy, land, and water. Shifting from a mixed to a vegetarian diet can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 500 kilograms of CO2e per year (or up to 900 kilograms for a vegan diet). Learn more about the connections between food and climate change.
Dinner and Conversation
The Fellowship Committee is sponsoring an evening at Bella Luna’s on Sunday, April 27th at 4:00 p.m. We will have the restaurant to ourselves! The meal will include a salad, main entrée and dessert. Beverages are included. The cost will be $30.00 person, to be paid in advance, plus the gratuity the night of the event. You can make your check out to First Church with “Bella Luna” on the memo line.
Your choice of entrees will be: Short Ribs, Salmon, Scampi and Pasta Bella.
We need to Bella Luna a total number of people attending by April 22nd. A sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall hallway.
Join us for an evening of good food and fellowship!!
Closet Clean Out
Stop by the tables near the name tags. If you would like something please take it. If you would like to give a donation we say “Thank you."
Something New:
The First Church Diversity Library
Diversity is God’s creation. Equity is God’s justice. Inclusion is God’s family. In today's world, these have become ideas to be excluded from our schools, libraries and homes. With book-banning on the rise (though, thankfully, not yet here), now is the time to make sure these ideas remain available to all. Do you have a favorite book for young people about diversity in any form? Consider sharing it by donating a new or gently used copy to our growing First Church Diversity Library. Books can be brought to the church office. If you have questions, contact Anne Conway or leave a message with the Office Manager.
Do You Own Any Banned Books?
As you may be aware, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently banned 381 books from the US Naval Academy's library. Among the banned books was White Too Long, our book study book from 2020. Interested in what else made the list? A copy is on the green table in the church gallery. Take a peek, and perhaps plan to read a banned book this Easter season!
General Synod Delegate
Congratulations to Laura Bandy, who has been chosen as a youth delegate to the UCC's General Synod! First Church will be helping to defray Laura's expenses as she travels to Kansas City, Missouri this July. (Contributions from our friends would also be gladly accepted! Talk to Miranda or Anne Sprague if you have any questions.) Please make sure you congratulate Laura, and pray for her as she prepares to experience this gathering of the wider church!
Every two years, General Synod brings together thousands of faithful members of the United Church of Christ for inspirational worship, conducting the business of the church, formal church witness, and fellowship with friends. The theme of the gathering is “Into the Deep,” based on Luke 5:4, which says, “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’”
General Synod is always an extraordinary event in the life of the United Church of Christ. Delegates and visitors will experience dynamic workshops, generative plenary sessions, inspirational worship, engaging youth activities, and special dining events. Delegates will conduct the business of the denomination and set priorities for our ministries. The Keynote speaker, Rev. Jennifer Butler, founder of Faith in Public Life and Faith in Democracy, will offer illumination and insight into the challenges facing our congregations and communities. And delegates and visitors will stand up for issues that demand a faithful witness, and will worship together.
This church is on fire!!
Not literally, but would you know what to do if it were? Immediately following worship on Sunday, May 4, there will be a fire drill so that we have the opportunity to know what to do and where to go in case of an emergency. Members of the Oberlin Fire Department will be there to help critique our performance and learn what we can do better.
Please plan to stay a few minutes after the service for this important safety exercise.
We are in need of bread bakers for Communion Sundays!
If we get enough people, this would be a commitment for 2 or 3 times a year. If you are interested, please contact Karla Sanderson at kwsanderson@oberlin.net or (440) 935-5812.
One Great Hour of Sharing,
Collected on Easter, April 20th!
One Great Hour of Sharing is one of four special mission offerings of the United Church of Christ. This Lenten Offering supports the disaster, refugee, and development ministries of the United Church of Christ within Wider Church Ministries. This year, the special offering's theme is being the light!
We can make a difference. We do make a difference. Your generosity makes all the difference. Your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing provide immediate aid and long-term support to people experiencing hunger, thirst, disaster, or crisis around the world.
"You’re here to be the light, bringing out the God-colors in the world."
-Matthew 5:14
The 2025 offering will be collected on Easter, April 20th. It is possible to contribute in one of three ways:
Please see below for the Mission Moment for this week, the bulletin insert for this year's offering, and an intergenerational activity meant to help us think about and plan how we can share our gifts with others. More information can also be found on the UCC website.
Let your gift help to put prayer into action. The need has never been greater. The opportunity is now. It’s time to share.
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.
When sending in your submission, you must have
When sending in your submission, you could have
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we try to make our eNews experience more manageable for our readers!
RECURRING EVENTS:
Faith Formation News!
As always, call Jen or the office to get a link for any and all of these events!