First Congregational Church Parish Guide Summer Volume 78 No. 10 Summer 2016 Dear Church Family, Summer can be a time for us to be on the go, near and far. Whether your summer plans have trips to the lake, or include a destination vacation, or just time with family, this summer I'd like to invite you to take part in our "Flat Jesus Project" to remind us remember that Jesus is with us wherever we go. This project is based on the children s book Flat Stanley, written by Jeff Brown in 1965. Flat Stanley is the book s main character - who is accidentally flattened when a bulletin board falls on him. He discovers that being flat has some great advantages - he can travel to places in an envelope! In the 1990s, the Flat Stanley Project involved giving children in elementary schools their own paper cutout of Flat Stanley and asking them to write about their adventures together or to mail him off to friends and family in other parts of the world...to have them take pictures and write about the adventures of Stanley. We are featuring a laminated cutout figure of Jesus (Flat Jesus) in our communal life this summer. This is the Flat Jesus Project. Because Jesus is always present with us, wherever we may go, you are invited to take him with you this summer and send pictures back to the church so that everyone can enjoy hearing about one another s adventures. We hope to receive photos of Flat Jesus from locations near and far. Perhaps you plan to visit the ocean or go camping, or visit a Museum, a state or national park, or another state. Wherever you are traveling, we encourage you to take a photo with Flat Jesus, include your name and a comment, and send it to fccfallriver@gmail.com. Maybe your summer will include time at the lake or out for dinner with friends please remember to take a photo and send it to us or bring it to worship with you! This visible expression of faith reminds us that Jesus is with us wherever we go! Jesus does not stay in the church between Sundays, but is active outside the Church and with us everyday as we partner with God to do God s work in the world. Join us for this church wide fun activity of staying connected this summer by remembering that Jesus is with us wherever we go! Flat Jesus packets are available at the church office, if you forgot to pick yours up after worship. This year we are having a friendly church wide competition and we plan to award gift card prizes to the first, second, and third prize Flat Jesus Project winners on Rally Sunday, September 11th. We hope you will join in the fun! Blessings! Pastor Debbie
Summer Worship Schedule in Fellowship Hall Sunday, June 26 th - No Worship Thanks to all who helped with our Block Party! **Wednesday, June 29 @ 6:30 PM kicked off our Summer Worship Series based on Barbara Brown Taylor s (BBT) bestselling book titled: An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith Sermon Title: Waking Up to God Scripture: Genesis 28:10-22 Sunday, July 3 @ 10 AM Pulpit Supply Rev. Pam Viets Sunday, July 10 the 2 nd in our Summer Worship Series Sermon Title: Cultivating the Practice of Paying Attention Scripture: Exodus 3:1-12 Sunday, July 17 Pastor Debbie is on Study/Continuing Education Leave. Pulpit Supply Rev. Pam Viets Sunday, July 24 Pastor Debbie is on Study/Continuing Education Leave Pulpit Supply Rev. Pam Viets **Wednesday, July 27 @ 6:30 PM the 3 rd in our Summer Worship Series Sermon Title: Incarnation: The Practice of Wearing Skin Sunday, July 31 st No Worship Sunday, August 7 th - the 4 th in our Summer Worship Series Sermon Title: Groundedness: The Practice of Walking on the Earth Sunday, August 14 th the 5 th in our Summer Worship Series Sermon Title: Wilderness: The Practice of Getting Lost Sunday, August 21 st No Worship **Wednesday, August 24 th the 6 th in our Summer Worship Series Sermon Title: Community: The Practice of Encountering Others Sunday, August 28 th the 7 th in our Summer Worship Series Sermon Title: Vocation: The Practice of Living with Purpose Sunday, September 4 th the 8 th in our Summer Worship Series Sermon Title: Sabbath: The Practice of Saying No 2
We note with sadness the passing of our friends: Marilyn Hadley Damon April 18, 1924 - May 31, 2016 William J. Spitznagel August 5, 1947 - June 1, 2016 Brian Vautrin June 9, 2016 Volunteers Needed! We will be preparing the meal for the Fall River Community Food Pantry at the First Baptist Church on the first Tuesday of every month (next date: August 2) for the rest of the year. We need volunteers! We will start in our kitchen at FCC around 2:30pm (you may join us later if necessary) and expect to feed about 60-75 people at the First Baptist church beginning at 5:00pm. Please let Denise Ward or Pastor Debbie know if you can help. Congratulations! Parish Guide Deadline: Third Monday of the month! Weekly Bulletin Deadline: Tuesday of the week prior to the Sunday you want the information published. Nicholas Costa Nelson Rego Jocelyn Saber Alison Vautrin Nicholas Viveiros Congratulations to the following recipients of the FCC Scholarship which was presented on Sunday, June 19. Food Drive Please continue to support our ongoing food drive. There is a collection box in the Narthex and when it s full, the food is sent to the Fall River Community Food Pantry. Some much needed items are: Canned Juices Canned Tomato Sauce Extra Virgin Olive Oil Nuts Boxed Macaroni and Cheese Dried Fruits Granola Bars Graham Crackers Crackers Tuna Peanut Butter Canned Beans Canned Soups, Stews, and Chili Nutritious Breakfast Cereals Whole Wheat Pasta Brown Rice Canned Fruits Canned Vegetables
TIDBITS FROM CHURCH COUNCIL By Denise Ward, Moderator Wondering what happens at church council on a monthly basis? Now we can stop your wondering we hope that our sharing of information will keep you posted on what your lay leaders are doing each month. At our June meeting the following events will be happening in the upcoming months so MARK YOUR CALENDARS **Search Committee Selection process please check out the criteria needed to be a participant in this committee there is a form to fill-out to make a nomination for this project DEADLINE is August 17 th noon time. ( either send to Rev. Debbie in a sealed envelope, or email your selection to her) **JULY 21 ST AHA night with our Director of Music as the Star performer so show up at 5PM for her concert in Fellowship Hall **AUGUST 2 ND Soup Kitchen at First Baptist Church BBQ chicken is on the menu **AUGUST 14 TH after worship service we will be hosting a community wide COOK OUT from 11:30 to 2:00 PM. We will have hot dogs and hamburgers, chips, watermelon, beverages for lunch have some carnival style games for children to play and win prizes and maybe have some live music to entertain us. (a Bicentennial Celebration event) **CHURCH COUNCIL MEETINGS August 17 th and September 21 st **SEPTEMBER 11 TH Welcome Back Breakfast in conjunction with Rally Day for Sunday School brunch catered by White s **SEPTEMBER 17 th Saturday Family Game Night 6:30 PM we will be playing old fashioned board games and having some light refreshments ( Bicentennial Celebration event) **SEPTEMBER 18 th Pastor Don Remick will be preaching and then hosting a lunch with our leadership teams (Council, Executive, and Pastoral Relation committees) We re Moving! Beginning with June 29th worship service we began meeting downstairs in Fellowship Hall where we have the benefit of air conditioning. We will move back up to the Sanctuary on Rally Day, Sunday, September 11, 2016. There will be a Summer program for Sunday School children (beginning at 10:00am on Sundays and 6:30pm during the Wednesday worship services). Looking forward to seeing you here! Summer Schedule Sunday, July 17: Worship Service - 10:00am - Fellowship Hall Sunday, July 24: Worship Service - 10:00am - Fellowship Hall Wednesday, July 27: Worship Service - 6:30pm - Fellowship Hall Sunday, July 31: No Worship Service Sunday, August 7: Worship Service - 10:00am - Fellowship Hall Sunday, August 14: Worship Service - 10:00am - Fellowship Hall Sunday, August 21: No Worship Service Wednesday, August 24: Worship Service - 6:30pm - Fellowship Hall Sunday, August 28: Worship Service - 10:00am - Fellowship Hall Sunday, September 4: Worship Service - 10:00am - Fellowship Hall Sunday, September 11: Worship Service - 10:00am - Sanctuary Welcome Back Breakfast - 11:15am - Fellowship Hall
Sunday School News by Bonnie Braga, Church School Superintendent Our Summer Sunday School continues to meet during the worship services. We begin at 10:00am on Sundays and 6:30pm on Wednesdays (see below for Summer Worship Schedule.) Be sure to join us for Rally Day and our Welcome Back Breakfast on Sunday, September 11, 2016 at 10:00am Flat Jesus has been spotted at soup kitchens, on the T in Boston, at the beach, and at the Fall River Pride Parade. Where will you take him? 6
Congratulations and Best Wishes We know these lists may be incomplete, so we ask that anyone whose name is not included be sure to call the Church Office with the necessary information. Anniversaries 1 2 10 13 18 22 26 Judy & Jim Mulrooney Denise and Ken Ward Jennifer & Manny Rezendes John & Fonda McKnight Jodi & Seth Hockert-Lotz Amy & Arsenio Uhrig Christine & Ray Deslauriers Cliff & Cindy Moniz Birthdays 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Nancy Costa Ethan Correia John Viveiros Amalia Rego Maria Pavao Ken Ward Lisa Blanchette Julian Nieves Bette Johnson Samuel Blanchette Sarah Farinha Robert Lawrence Bill Raposa Jake Aguiar Joan Twaddle Dennis Correia Carroll Lown Kayla Pacheco Luke Donovan Jake Palmer 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 22 25 27 28 29 30 31 Lily Dumaine Sumner Waring Christine Waring Allison Smith Craig Palmer Richard Cookson Kaylee Moniz Ruth Farias Henry Bettencourt Alexander Bishop Sharon Palmer Destiny Aguiar Barry Simister Stephen Nicolan Colin Donovan Christopher Furtado Nathan Bettencourt Leigha Eaton Melanie Santos 7
First Congregational Church 21 June Street Fall River, MA 02720 Prepared especially for 2016 Moving??? Please don t forget to notify the church office... If you no longer wish to receive the Parish Guide, please let Jennifer in the Church Office know by calling her at (508) 672-5862 or via email at fccfallriver@verizon.net This Parish Guide is printed on paper that is at least 30 percent post-consumer content. Please recycle it when you are finished. First Congregational Church Sunday Worship and Church School 10:00 a.m. Telephone: Fax: Email Address: Website Address: Facebook: Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube: Office Hours: (508) 672-5862 (508) 672-2341 fccfallriver@gmail.com www.fccfallriver.org www.facebook.com/fccfallriver fccfallriver Monday Thursday 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. Sunday 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. The Staff Rev. Debbie L. Cipolletti, Interim Senior Minister Bonnie Braga, Church School Superintendent Judith Conrad, Music Minister Cheryl Foley, Bookkeeper Jennifer Rego, Secretary Doris Thornton, Health Minister