December 2017 Christ with Us. Minister: Rev. Josh Fitterling Music Director: Leela Koilpillai

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1 MEETING HOUSE CHIMES First Congregational Church, PO Box 350, Wiscasset, ME (207) Minister: Rev. Josh Fitterling Music Director: Leela Koilpillai Church School Teacher & Coordinator: Colleen Crowley Sexton: Mary McKinney Office Administrator/Editor: Janet Leonard December 2017 Christ with Us For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 I have always considered the Advent and Christmas season to be one of the most beautiful in the church year. We get to sing the familiar carols, retell the story of the nativity one more time, smell the fresh greens, see trees and homes lit up with Christmas lights, and so much more! It may bring back wonderful memories for you from Christmases past (I still can taste my grandmother s special iced sugar cookies that would emerge every year at this time!). This season may also hold its own challenges and sorrows as we miss those who used to celebrate this time by our side. So many feelings are truly found in this season! And still, the most beautiful part of Christmas is that no matter what we are holding this season, the one whose birth we celebrate is surely with us. If you are filled with joy and praise, our Mighty God is there. If you feel lost or in need, our Wonderful Counselor will guide you. If you are longing for comfort, lean on our Everlasting Father. If you are simply content or in need of contentment, trust in our Prince of Peace. If you long for an outpouring of hope, peace, joy, and love, the Son, Jesus Christ, is there with you. For when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we remember the beautiful gift found in him: a Savior who is with us always! Through all that this Advent and Christmas season holds, may you feel the Savior with you as we join in celebration of his birth! In Advent Anticipation, Josh Rev. Josh Fitterling

2 Advent Craft Workshop! MAKE YOUR OWN. Christmas cards, gingerbread houses, tree ornaments & table decorations! Enjoy making and eating holiday hors d œuvres and decorating cookies! SUNDAY DECEMBER 3rd, NOON - 2 PM at FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH WISCASSET (WHITE CHURCH NEXT TO LINCOLN COUNTY COURTHOUSE) Admission is FREE! For more info call: Families & All Ages Welcome!

3 Fellowship Tree As the church begins to be adorned with signs of the season, a tree will soon grace the Fellowship Hall, donated by Ron Sanchez and Tom Cramer. Beginning on Sunday, December 3 rd, everyone is invited to bring an ornament from their home and place it on the Christmas Tree in Fellowship Hall, creating our very own Fellowship Tree. This tree will represent the many hearts of our community that celebrate this Christmas season together! Ornaments can be taken home after the December 31 st Service of Lessons & Carols. December Cookie Sale The date for the Organ Society s Annual Cookie Sale will be a few weeks later than usual due to other activities on the church calendar. So please plan to buy your delicious Christmas cookies in Fellowship Hall, on Sunday, December 17. To make this year s sale as successful as past years, we need your help. Please bring your donation of cookies to the church by 9:30 AM on Saturday, December 16 th. That day a group of Organ Society ladies will package the goodies for easy distribution on Sunday. Hope you will include these delicious treats at your holiday gatherings! Thank you in advance for your help. Please call Joan Shea, , with any questions. Advent Bible Study Sunday Nights in Advent (December 3rd, 10th, & 17th) 6:30-7:30pm, Church Parlor As we approach the celebration of Christ's birth, we will spend time reading, studying, and discussing together the 4 gospel accounts of Christmas! Join us for one week...join us every week! Come as you are! Any questions, please reach out to Rev. Josh at or joshfitterling@myfairpoint.net.

4 December 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Advent Bible Study Dec. 3, 10, 17, at 6:30pm 3 Advent 1 Hanging of Greens Communion & Family Sunday Advent Workshop 12-2 pm 10 Advent 2 Worship & Church School 10am Christmas Fund Offering Family wish gifts due 17 Advent 3 Worship & Church School Program Organ Society cookie sale Diaconate 4 pm 24 Advent 4 Worship 10 am Christmas Eve Candlelight 7 pm Special Needs Offering 31 Lessons and Carols Worship 10 am No Church School Noisy Offering 4 Garden Club Bd Mtg 1:30 (parlor) SunCats window insulation Game Night 6 pm 11 Game Night 6 pm 18 Church & Society 4 pm Trustees 5 pm Game Night 6pm 25 Merry Christmas! The Birth of Jesus! 5 SunCats window insulation Poinsettia deadline 12 Pastoral Relations 4 pm 6 Organ Society 9:30 am (parlor) SunCats window insulation 13 Organ Society Potluck Holiday Luncheon Communications Mtg 11 am No Organ Society Council Mtg 7 pm No Organ Society 7 Garden Club Holiday Baskets 9-12 Marketfest Crafter Setup 4:00 pm Choir 4:00 pm SunCats upstairs 14 Poinsettia delivery Choir 4:00 pm 21 Choir 4:00 pm 28 Choir 4:00 pm Marketfest Craft Fair 10am-4pm SunCats window insulation upstairs 15 Children s Program Rehearsal 6 pm Church Decorating 10 am Town Tree Lighting 4:30 pm Feed our Scholars at Ames 7:30-1:30 9 Marketfest Craft Fair 10am-4pm SunCats window insulation upstairs 16 Organ Society cookie sale set up Special Christmas Choir Rehearsal 10am-12noon

5 Church World Service Feed Our Scholars will be holding a Bake Sale at Ames on Saturday, December 2 nd from 7:30 am to 1:30 pm. We would appreciate any baked goods that you could contribute. For more information or to arrange pick-up, please contact Nancy Roby at Thank you. Feed Our Scholars is also collecting mittens to distribute in December to the FOS children at the Elementary School. These would be appreciated as well. St. Philip s Help Yourself Shelf has again been chosen for the Boothbay Hannaford s Cause Bag Program for the month of December. If you shop there during December and purchase a Fight Hunger bag, the Food Pantry will receive 25 cents per bag. Every 25 cents = 1 meal! So take a ride down to beautiful Boothbay, shop at Hannaford s and buy a (or more) Fight Hunger bag. The CWS committee contributed $ to the Food Pantry to be used to purchase Thanksgiving turkeys. The Town of Wiscasset will not be doing the Christmas Family Wishes program this year, so a group in the community will be holding a similar program for Wiscasset families with children that come to the Food Pantry. The tags will be on a tree in Fellowship Hall on Sunday, November 26 th and the unwrapped gifts should be returned to the box in Fellowship Hall by Sunday, December 10 th. The Church World Service committee would like to thank the Summerfest committee for donating to our committee so that we can continue our mission of outreach. We DEEPLY appreciate your support. And a big THANK YOU to our wonderful congregation who continues to support all these programs and projects!!!! Hear ye hear ye! An Announcement about Announcements! Do you have an announcement for a church-related event or activity that you want included in the weekly worship bulletin? Send it to the church office (fccw@myfairpoint.net) each week by the end of the day Tuesday to be included for the following Sunday. Thank you!

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7 Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine Community-Based Mentoring Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine has been making a difference in the lives of many children by matching them with trained volunteers in fun and rewarding relationships for over 30 years. Community-Based Mentors (Bigs) spend time doing a variety of low or no cost activities in the community with a youth ages 5-14 (Littles). Bigs and Littles are matched according to their various characters, interests, and personality traits and meet one day a week for a couple of hours, for at least one year. For more information: info@bbbsmidmaine.org Phone Website: Opportunities to Sing on Christmas Eve Christmas Music Program December 24, 10 am During this service of special music, the choir will sing the Hodie, Christus Natus Est by Jan Pieterzoon Sweelinck. This beautiful piece, punctuated by cries of Alleluia, will guide us as we worship our newborn King. If you would like to learn more or express your interest in joining us for this piece, please contact Leela Koilpillai at or lkoilpillai@gmail.com. Christmas Eve Candlelight Service Choir Want to try out being a part of the choir? Do you love Christmas carols? Come and join our 7 pm Christmas Eve Choir, where we will offer a choral arrangement of a familiar carol and help lead our congregation in worship on that holy night! This special choir will meet on Saturday, December 16 th, at 11:15 am for rehearsal. Please contact Leela (see above) for more information or to express your interest!

8 Poinsettia Order Form Deadline: Tuesday, Dec. 5 With Christmas on the way, it s time to think about decorating our sanctuary with red, white, and pink poinsettias! This year s price for a 6.5 foiled pot is $12.00 each, and they will be displayed in the sanctuary on Dec. 17, 24, and 31. You are welcome to take them home after the service of Lessons and Carols on Dec. 31. Any remaining flowers will be delivered to individuals who serve our community, home-bound members of the congregation or anyone else in need of some Christmas cheer. Orders may be placed in the Offering Plate during Sunday worship or delivered to the church office. Checks made payable to First Congregational Church with memo poinsettias. Name Total $ Color: # Red # White # Pink In Memory of In Honor of

9 David Sieracki Lincoln Vannah Michelle Peele Jon McKinney Art Ballard Chris Sieracki Cindy Wright Emily Adler Carol Bradford Town Wide Wiscasset Holiday Marketfest (Thursday, December 7 th Sunday, December 10 th ) This weekend of festivities, fun, and shopping in town, planned by the Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce, is a great way to support our local shops and vendors and enjoy some Christmas cheer together! For more information about this 4- day, town wide event, check out How FCCW is Participating On Friday, December 8 th and Saturday, December 9 th, the church will be hosting, in Fellowship Hall, a pop-up craft show as part of the Chamber of Commerce event. In addition to other Maine crafters, the Ladies Organ Society will have a table and the church will be selling muffins, sandwiches, chili, cookies, and more as a revenue raiser. We are still in need of people to sign up for shifts to help prepare and sell the food! If you have any question or would like to sign up to participate in this revenue raiser, please contact Beth Maxwell at or at emaxwell@myfairpoint.net. Stewardship Update Sunday November 19 th was Dedication Sunday, the day we set aside to honor the many ways in which we offer our stewardship to the Church. We had a very strong turnout and participation in the returning of offerings. As of November 26 th, we have received $73,126 of our goal of $105,000. With another five weeks left in the year there is still plenty of time to consider a pledge of time, talent and treasure to our ongoing mission. We are optimistic about reaching our goal! There are still pledge cards in the pews and available in the office. Thanks, for your support. The Stewardship Committee.

10 Meeting House Chimes First Congregational Church, U.C.C. P.O. Box 350, 28 High Street Wiscasset, ME December 2017 First Congregational Church United Church of Christ 28 High Street, PO Box 350 Wiscasset, Maine We welcome you to the First Congregational Church of Wiscasset. We are an open and affirming congregation and are open theologically, growing spiritually, and concerned socially.