There will be a special offering on Pentecost Sunday, May 15. It is the day UCC traditionally celebrates the birth of the church. Your gifts for this offering are going to be used to awaken new ideas in existing churches and develop spiritual life in our youth and young adults. The offerings are directed to our church's conference, the local Church Ministries, and The Stillspeaking Ministry to accomplish these purposes. Please give generously to Strengthen our Church!

• Understanding terminology  
• Using age-appropriate language 
• Identifying resources

Call, or visit the Evenbrite website.

Join us as we knit and crochet for charity. Beginners are welcome - we will be glad to give instruction. We meet every Monday except the first Monday of the month in the Family Room off the Chapel at 7pm.  

BOOK CLUB

Evening book club will meet on Thursday, June 2nd to discuss The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes. This work of fiction entwines two love stories set ninety years apart. All are invited to the chapel conference room at 7:30 for discussion and light snacks. And yes, we really do discuss our reading selections!

 

A STEWARDSHIP MOMENT:
Electronic Giving is an Awesome Option

In the 1950's, churches had to decide whether or not to accept paper checks in the offering plate. Up to that time, tithes and offerings were received by cash only. Today, we are going through another transition as more and more people handle their finances electronically through on line banking, cell phone apps, and electronic fund transfers.

To date this year, we've received roughly 33% of our member giving through the giving portal on our website or through EFTs arranged through the office. There are a number of advantages for the church and for members in this method of giving.

• Paper checks, while still in use, are becoming obsolete. Airlines, Amazon, and many businesses have stopped accepting checks, and the paper coupons once called "food stamps" have become a thing of the past. The Federal Reserve anticipates that within 10 years, paper checks will be eliminated; they replaced paper checks with electronic images of the checks we write in 2011.
• Electronic giving ensures your tithes get to the church even when you are on vacation. This is particularly helpful in the summer months when the church's cash flow suffers as many people get away to summer places over the weekends.
• Electronic giving costs the church less to process than cash or paper checks. It takes staff and volunteer time to open envelopes, record giving, reconcile the deposit ticket, take it to the bank, and return with the deposit slip. While there is a small fee for the processing of electronic gifts, they are automatically recorded in each member's giving record, and electronically deposited. This cuts down on errors as well.
• Electronic giving, especially when set up through the member login on the church's website, ensures that your gifts go exactly where you want them to go; the funds are automatically deposited into the fund of your choosing without room for error or misinterpretation.
• Members can give anytime, 24/7/365.

As you consider your summer plans, please consider moving your gift to FCCLG to the electronic option. You can sign up on line, through the office, or through your bank's payment options.  

   

                   

THIS  WEEK IN OUR CHURCH

  Click here for the calendar!  

Are You A Caring Person?

Is Caring about others your passion? Do you enjoy visiting with others? Called To Care is a program that will enhance the skills for and ministries of caring by church members. It will be offered over four Tuesday evening events in May. They will begin at 7 p.m. and will finish before or by 9 p.m. each week. The sessions will build upon one another.

May 10: Entering into the Space of Others. Caring is a selfless act. How do we set our own agendas, feelings, opinions, issues aside and enter into someone else's space?

May 17: Communicating and Nurturing. Once we've learned to put our own "stuff" aside and enter into someone else's space, how do we listen? How do we show our caring? How might we let them see the Christ in us without being a pushy televangelist?

May 24: Care Giving Situations. What might we encounter in caring for others? How might we prepare ourselves? How do we help in unusual situations? How do we maintain healthy boundaries?

May 31: Faith in Action. Ministry is an authentic extension of our very selves. How might the skills, gifts, and graces we've explored be expressed within and outside of our own congregation? What are the needs, gaps, opportunities, and challenges within our community of faith? How are you being sent?

These sessions are designed to be very practical and will offer practice in the skills we are learning. There is no obligation on the part of participants to any specific role within the congregation; so if you'd like to come and learn, you are most welcome.

There are two methods of signing up for Called to Care training: On the church website, or in the office.

USED CLOTHING COLLECTION 

San Lucas Church in Humbolt Park is in need of gently used, laundered clothing for their community closet - specifically for adult and teen males. Let's clean our closets and help men in need of clothes for work or play. Please drop off bags in the closet by the entrance of the Chapel by May 15th.

Please join us on May 22nd, 2016 when the Ministry of Missions will sponsor Conversation Circles*. Immediately after the church service and coffee hour, the World Café format will be used to explore any local community concerns which our participants wish to discuss. Topics may include but are not limited to subjects such as youth and young adult substance abuse, racial and ethnic educational inequalities, or issues of the homeless. The format is a very flexible way of identifying and discussing problems. There will be a group welcome and explanation of the process. Afterwards we will break into three to four separate tables with facilitators for the discussions. The groups will regather to determine how we want to move forward to create solutions for a chosen issue. The entire process will last 60 to 90 minutes. We hope to invite other area churches to work with us on a chosen issue later in the year. This is a wonderful opportunity to make our community a better place to live!

 

*Please note that this is not the same as a Peace Circle.