Straight to the Point (STTP) Newsletter for the Week of March 18, 2026

Straight to the Point

March 18, 2026

Phyllis Nicholson Memorial Service

Will be this Saturday 3/21, at 11:00am in the sanctuary.

One Great Hour of Sharing Offering Taken This Sunday

One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) is a Special Mission Offering of the United Church of Christ that supports partners worldwide with ministries that fund health, education, and agricultural development, emergency relief, refugee ministries, and both international and domestic disaster response.

Holy Week

Here is our Holy Week schedule involving our 4 churches (First Congregational, First Unitarian, First Christian, and Mayflower) are worshipping together during Holy Week, and here is the schedule with locations:

• March 29 (11:00 a.m.) Palm Sunday at Mayflower; 1407 W. 18th St. Rev. Myers will give the message. No worship service at First Congo location on this Sunday.

• April 2 (5:30 p.m.) Maundy Thursday at First Unitarian (a meal will follow the service); 2508 Jackson St.

• April 3 (7:00 p.m.) Good Friday Service at Mayflower; 1407 West 18th Street

Easter Services will be at our own regular church locations and times.

Calendar

Going forward all scheduling of church events will need to be confirmed with the church office and are confirmed when placed on the church's google calendar which can be accessed on the church website.

Choir This Sunday at 9:45am

Easter Tree

The Easter Tree is up and eggs are ready to go. Please make your selection. Items need to be returned by Easter Sunday.

Mission of the Month

The Mission of the Month for March is the Warming Shelter. We will be delivering their check along with the last Noisy Offering.

They have also been posting that they need bus passes for their clients. If you would like to participate in that project you can send a check to the Warming Shelter and mark “bus passes” in the memo line.

Volunteers Needed to Serve as Guardians for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Mid-Step Services, Inc. is a Not For Profit dedicated to providing residential, vocational, educational, and recreational services to people with intellectual disabilities to help them reach their highest potential. We are seeking volunteers that would be willing to serve as Guardians for some of the individuals we serve. A Guardian is a court appointed substitute decision maker for a protected person: individuals who are incapable of making decisions about issues like medical care, residential placement, and other important personal matters. Family members, friends, or other supporting individuals typically serve in this role; however, some of the individuals we serve do not have friends or family that are willing or capable of assisting them as their Guardian. We’re looking for caring community members to help.

As a Guardian, a volunteer would be expected to get to know the protected person, understand their needs or problems, and seek information relevant to making informed decisions on their behalf. Once a year, the Guardian is required to provide the Court with a status report on their protected person. Serving as a protected person’s Guardian does not impose financial responsibility for the protected person or make the Guardian liable for the actions of the protected person.

All protected persons needing Guardians are currently residing with and receiving services from Mid-Step Services. MSS staff are available to assist with questions and guidance for volunteers both before and after appointment as a Guardian.

For more information on volunteering to be a Guardian or to be matched with an individual needing decision-making assistance, please visit:

https://www.midstepservices.com/volunteer-today-2/.

Moving-On Boxes

Any household donations that are given are very helpful and monetary donations are always appreciated. Thank you for helping us with this ministry.

Fellowship Hosts

The list is on the table and we need some volunteers to sign up. Thank you for doing what you can to fill up the list.

Hy-Vee Receipts

I need to turn them all in by March 29. There is a box with balloons on it outside of the office. Gas and prescription receipts are not acceptable. The proceeds of these collected receipts go to Irving School. Thank you to everyone who participated. If you have any questions, please contact me:

Donna Popp

Dpopp1980@gmail.com or

712-251-5535

Solidarity for a Better World

Meeting Monday, March 23, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.

Minister’s Musings for March 17, 2026

Greetings all,

The season of Lent is hopefully being a meaningful one for you as you reflect on how you can improve your spiritual life and serve our church and wider community.

I again invite you to read the weekly “Points to Ponder” which are published on our Facebook page as commentary on the scripture lesson for each upcoming Sunday. This is a good way to prepare for the worship experience when we gather. Feel free to bring questions and comments to talk about the “Points,” as well as the messages presented in our sacred fellowship. “Nourishment for the Journey” is often also posted after each Sunday service on our Facebook page to give you more reflection on the scripture texts and their application to our lives today. These are opportunities for personal Bible study that you can do each week.

Many of you are now aware of the passing of our faithful member, Phyllis Nickolson. Her Memorial Service will be held at our church this coming Saturday, March 21 at 11 a.m. A reception will follow in our fellowship hall. We are thankful for her life of service with us.

We will collect our One Great Hour of Sharing offering to help those in need around the world this coming Sunday, March 22nd. You may also give online to this fund that helps provide immediate relief to victims of disasters by our willingness to give in advance of the need. This offering is one of the 5 for 5 offerings that our church supports in the UCC, and also an ecumenical offering that most mainline churches support as well. Your generosity to this important offering is much appreciated!

There will be a “No Kings March and Rally” in Siouxland starting at 1700 Dakota Ave. in South Sioux City at 12:30 p.m., then marching across the bridge until we join the non-marchers at the Sioux City Public Museum somewhere around 1 p.m. or after. This nation-wide protest of policies being carried out by the current administration promises to be the largest in U.S. history. Be a part of the movement to create a more democratic and compassionate society by joining us in this event. There will be free vegan food available at the rally sponsored by our local “Food Not Bombs.” Rev. Myers will be speaking along the march route at the Pavillion stop as has become the custom.

After the Rally, our sister church Mayflower Congregational UCC is asking our church and the other two churches we have been working with to join them for a game night at their church. Here is the blurb for that:

As a first attempt to also do a social event, Mayflower is inviting the members of all 4 churches to join in the No Kings Protest on March 28 and/or afterwards to come to Mayflower at 3:30 pm for refreshments, board games, and fellowship to start to get to know each other a bit better. See also the flyer in the newsletter about this social opportunity to meet folks in our four churches.

This will be a nice introduction to our kinship congregations before we do a set of ecumenical services during Holy Week. Come join the fun!

• March 29 (11:00 a.m.) Palm Sunday at Mayflower; 1407 W. 18th St. Rev. Myers will give the message.

• April 2 (5:30 p.m.) Maundy Thursday at First Unitarian (a meal will follow the service); 2508 Jackson St.

• April 3 (7:00 p.m.) Good Friday Service at Mayflower; 1407 West 18th Street

Easter Services will be at our own regular church locations and times.

Blessings on your spiritual journey during this holy season of Lent,

Pastor Bret

The Family of Phyllis Nicholson

George Owings

If you have any prayer requests, please notify the office!

Directory

Managed by the Office

We are using Instant Church Directory. Printed versions of our directory are available in the narthex or by request. Please inform the office of any directory updates that you would like to include for yourself or your family. You can also pick up one of the directory update forms on the table outside the church office or find it on our website.

To access the directory online visit members.instantchurchdirectory.com and you should be able to create a login using the email listed in the church directory. If you need any help accessing the directory or would like a copy emailed to you, contact the church office for assistance.

FCUCC Finances for February 2026

Updates from Church Treasurer

Giving last month amounted to $5,579 from mail-in, online giving, and Sunday offerings.

You can help us stay on track by mailing in your check or setting up an automatic payment from your bank. You can also contribute through a simple app called Tithe.ly.

Tithe.ly is our online, app and web-based giving system. It's convenient because it: