A JOYFUL COMMUNITY

DIVERSE IN SPIRITUAL BACKGROUNDS & BELIEFS

AUGUST 15 - AUGUST 22

IN THIS WEEK'S EDITION

Senior Pastor's Message
Annual Meeting Slideshow
Choose Your Own Adventure Sundays
Final Beach Service
Final Women's Fellowship Summer Social
New Rummage Room History
Summer Office Hours
Upcoming Events
Community Corner
Regular Weekly Happenings

THIS WEEKEND

FINAL 8 A.M. BEACH SERVICE AT GREENWICH POINT UNTIL 2026!

CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR SUNDAY'S BULLETIN

SENIOR PASTOR'S MESSAGE

Greetings Friends,

We conclude our summer journey through the Book of Revelation with a vision of a new heaven and a new earth.

For some, this imagery serves as a prediction of the world’s end. For others, it’s a letter of resistance and hope, written to inspire the early church to stand firm and trust in God’s power to renew all things.

Which vision shapes how we live today? Join us as we explore what it means to live as people of hope, tending seeds of God’s new creation here and now.

Grace and Peace,

Patrick

Annual Meeting Slideshow

See the Annual Meeting 2025 slideshow, now on our website, created by Daniel Lepoutre, our Livestream Director!

Click on this LINK to view the video or click on the picture below.

Choose Your Own Adventure Sundays

Choose Your Own Adventure Sundays: August 24 and 31

What do you want to hear a sermon about? On these two special Sundays, Patrick and Cydney are inviting you to help shape the message. Submit a topic, theme, or scripture you would love to hear explored in worship.

Whether it’s a burning question, a favorite passage, or something you’ve always wondered about, send in your idea. It just might be selected for one of these interactive Sundays. Please email your suggestions to patrickc@fccog.org or cydneyv@fccog.org by August 17.

We’ll also have “shout out your favorite hymn” on those Sundays. Jot down your favorite hymn number and come prepared for a great morning of new adventures!

FINAL Beach Service

FINAL Women's Fellowship Summer Social

Our final Women's Fellowship Summer Social is Monday, August 25 (rain date following evening) from 5:30 pm on at the Sue Baker Pavilion at Greenwich Point. The rain date is the following evening. We bring our own food/drinks and meet for an informal gathering. Feel free to bring a friend/neighbor.

If you don't have a current Greenwich beach pass, we can arrange a ride from the church parking lot if you let Car Westbrook know. Questions? Contact Car Westbrook at carwestbrook@optimum.net.

New Rummage Room History

A newly discovered history article about the Rummage Room plus newspaper articles and photos of both the rummage sales at the church (before the Rummage Room was created) and of the fashion shows we used to have give extra insight into how critical the Rummage Room was and how difficult it was to have periodic rummage sales at the church. Click HERE to see the Rummage Room webpage with the "NEW!" link on it below the map.

Pat Larrabee, church historian

Summer Office Hours

- COMMUNITY CORNER -

HAPPENINGS IN OUR FIRST CHURCH BUILDING

STICK YOGA: Saturday mornings, from 10.30 - 11.30 am

FREE TRIAL CLASS for members of First Church and after that $20 per class.

Bamboo stick yoga is a captivating fun way to explore stretching, balancing, conscious breathing and coordination, using a long light (bamboo) stick. It improves spatial awareness, posture, mobility and a mind-body connection, releasing stress. Supporting flexibility, stability and ease in our bodies, appropriate for any age. Some movements come from a Qigong method.

Please bring a yoga mat, and a yoga stick. You can purchase one online (e.g. the Karma Heart Yoga Stick), or make one, or use a broomstick. The stick should be approximately as tall as you. It could also be helpful to have a blanket if you like support for your head or knees. Email teacher Herma Hale for more information: hermahale@hotmail.com

TAI CHI: Monday or Thursday (with advance sign up). All monies go directly to First Church. Please sign-in before class.

Contact Will Morrison for more information: wdmorrison@gmail.com

Classes

Monday, 9:30 - Drop-in / Fundamentals Form

Thursday, 8:30 - Drop-in / Fundamentals Form

Please confirm your attendance in advance

New joiners:

Where: 108 Sound Beach Ave, Old Greenwich. Enter the church’s parking lot from Forest Avenue and park anywhere. Please give the parents dropping off their children lots of room.
Which entrance: Enter through the door labelled Church Offices noted by the arrow. Once inside, go up the stairs immediately to your left which lead directly to the Auditorium, where we will be playing.

REGULAR WEEKLY HAPPENINGS

Bring your little ones to church -

we completely EMBRACE them.

At First Church, we believe the way we welcome children in worship directly affects the way they respond to God, to the church, and to one another.

To welcome children as they are in worship, we have our PrayGround, located in the Chapel (front right side of the Meetinghouse), where children and others of all ages can engage in worship through movement, sensory materials, and prayerful play.

The presence of all God’s children is a gift to the church, which offers hope for all. Scan the QR code to access PrayGround FAQs and Helpful Tips.

GET YOUR FAMILY WEEKLY CHURCH SCHOOL &

RYM (REGIONAL YOUTH MINISTRY) NEWSLETTER

Using your smartphone camera, scan the QR code here to sign up for our weekly Family Ministry newsletter. You can read about Church School, Regional Youth Ministry, and more!

FCCOG VOLUNTEER SIGNUP CENTER -

One location for all volunteer sign ups!

We have consolidated all volunteer signups for all Committees and events at FCCOG. This will help Committees fill volunteer needs and will help volunteers easily signup for projects and events of interest.

There is a link on the FCCOG website homepage titled

FCCOG VOLUNTEER SIGN UP CENTER

This link will also be publicized in every Friday e-blast and the Sunday Bulletin. You can also access the Volunteer Signup Center by scanning this QR Code. Thank you so much for the time you give volunteering for First Church!

THE RUMMAGE ROOM

The Rummage Room is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 11 am to 3 p.m., for shopping and to receive donations. Come and see us!

BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENING

Parish Nurse Sue Asselin, RN will be available for blood pressure screenings and health consultations following Sunday’s worship service. If Community Hour is held outside, Sue will be in the Memory Garden. If held inside, Sue will be in her office, to the right of the Auditorium stage. During the week, she is available by appointment, which can be made by calling extension 821 or emailing susana@fccog.org.

NEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBOR DONATIONS

Every donation directly helps those in need.

This basket is in the Meetinghouse near the front door, and donations can be dropped to the Church Office. Most needed items include canned meat, cereal, canned fruit, canned vegetables, and shelf-stable milk.

We have a sign-up-page to read scripture, usher, or read a call to offering. All of the previous individual pages are now combined in one, with tabs at the top of the page to flip between each signup.

Simply click on each to navigate to the appropriate signup. To access that signup, click here