FLC Weekend Announcements

Worship Times:

Saturday: 5pm

Sunday: 9:30am Worship followed by the Annual Meeting

Wednesday: 6:15pm

All Worship Services are Live Streamed on Facebook Live.

https://www.facebook.com/

FLCBlair/

Office Hours

Monday-Thursday: 8:30am-4:30pm

Fridays: 8:30am-3:00pm

Phone Number

402-426-4073

Pastor Glen's focus for his message for

this upcoming weekend:

We live in a complex and confusing world. That confusion can become danger – identity theft, gaslighting on social media, artificial intelligence are tools that can spread misinformation and falsehood. We need some authority to protect us from such harm. And we have it, but it’s not rules or worldly powers. It is the authority of grace, the power of love. Jesus casts out the demon of fear and moves us toward a truth that is new only to us. The Kingdom is here! Let us turn in hope and be saved.

Annual Meeting is this Sunday!

Sunday, January 28, 2024

Annual Meeting of the Congregation of

First Lutheran Church

9:30am—One Worship that morning in the LIFE Center

         Saturday, Jan. 27th—regular 5pm worship

will be held

The Annual Meeting will begin directly

after worship.

The Annual Meeting will be online at Google Meet.

The Link is below:

https://meet.google.com/bhu-mjeo-zev?authuser=0

This year’s annual meeting will include voting to revise ByLaws regarding the Gifts and Memorials committee. The committee will be changed from a sub-committee of the Vision Committee to a stand-alone committee, with 3 members elected by the congregation and the Vice President of the Church Council. Specific language for the changes will be in the annual report.

"Courageous Conversations"

When it was formed in 1986, the ELCA said that it would be a community where open, passionate, and respectful deliberation on challenging and controversial issues was not only expected but even encouraged. Meeting that lofty goal has not always been easy. But it is the right one. We are baptized to express the gift of our salvation in everything we say and do every day. We face hard and important questions in our daily lives. The church should be a place where we can work through those questions together. Too often we follow the ways of the world, and instead of being a community of mutual love and care the church has become torn apart by suspicion and enmity. No, talking about difficult topics does not come to us naturally. But we are the bearers of the Grace of God, filled with the Holy Spirit! Having “Courageous Conversations” well is why we exist; we need to show the world how it is done. In days defined by fear, we are the antidote to all that is wrong in the world. The health of our congregation depends on our ability to have these conversations. The depth of our faith depends on growing in understanding and love. The peace of the world awaits our example of how to live together in this complicated time.

"Courageous Conversations" are going to be after worship on Saturday, February 3rd, between services on Sunday, February 4th, and after worship on Wednesday, February 7th.

Ash Wednesday is coming up on

Wednesday, February 14th!

Ash Wednesday will be February 14th this year. We will be having a 12:15pm and 6:15pm Worship with the

 Imposition of Ashes.

FLC Youth Garage Sale 2024!!

Yes, the time has come.

We are collecting items for our garage sale. Please bring your items to the elevator. If you have a large number of items or large sized items, please contact Erika to setup

a time for dropoff.

If you need to have your items picked up, we can try to arrange for that, but our abilities are limited with our kids' schedules. We'll do our best!!



Sale Dates: June 6 - 8, 2024

FLC Giving Statements & Offering Envelopes

The 2023 First Lutheran Church Giving Statements & the 2024 Offering Envelopes are available to be picked up at the Welcome Center. The Giving Statements & the Offering Envelopes are in alphabetical order. Please stop by and pick them up. If you have any questions please contact Dawn in the Church office

at (402) 426-4073. Thank you!

In the next several months it is our goal to educate the congregation on the

activities of the Committees at First Lutheran. We will plan to highlight the

activities of one of these committees each month. In doing this we will plan two separate activities for each committee. These include:

1. A presentation by the committee chair person or representative of the

committee to the Church Council regarding the committee’s activities. This

would include the goals of the committee, who makes up the committee,

what some of the activities of committee are, and how the Church Council

could assist the committee in their work.

2. Following the presentation to the Council, a short summary of the

committee’s activities will be included in the weekly E-Blasts sent to the

congregation.

The goal of this summary again will be to highlight the activities of the committee and hopefully increase the interest in the committees by the congregation and possibly help In the recruitment of the members to the committees.

This month's report is from the Women of First Lutheran Church. Please click button below to view the Women of First Lutheran Church Report.

Social Concerns Committee:



First Lutheran Church's 13th Annual Have a Heart for Hunger campaign will begin February 1st in support of the Washington County Food Pantry. This year's theme will be focused on collecting items for "Easter Dinner". As a part of this year's event, we will be collecting food items at Family Fare on Saturday, February 10th between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon. Please consider volunteering to help with this event. A sign-up sheet is available on the welcome center. Watch for more details and a display in the narthex in the coming weeks.  

Volunteers are Needed for Recycling Effort at Recycling Center. First Lutheran Church volunteers should mark on their calendars Saturday, February 24th as the date to help at the Washington County Recycling Center. Volunteers can sign-up for two hours from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. or from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Or, they may work for the entire four hours. In the past, volunteers have found it to be a lot of fun plus provide a needed service to the recycling effort here in Washington County. A sign-up sheet will be soon available at the Welcome Center. 

Safety Note from Pastor Glen:

Safety is an act of love! As COVID remains a threat in our community, and as flu, RSV, and other infectious diseases are on the move let us resolve again to use safe practices for the sake of one another. There is hand sanitizer available at the various entrances to our building and we would ask that you use it every time you enter the church. We will also make masks available for anyone who would choose to use them. At this point we will maintain our current worship and fellowship practices, but please know that we will continuously review them as is necessary to fulfill our responsibility to each other. Thank you for your

sense of grace and mutual respect.

-Pastor Glen

Help FLC Kids with a Service Project!!



We will be gifting new/gently used books with homemade bookmarks to children at Open Door Mission, the Bridge, and more. Please drop your book donations in the church office no later than FEB 11th.

Thank you for helping our kids share love with our neighbors!!

In the last few months, we have noticed that some supplies around the church are being used up more quickly than usual, such as toilet paper, soap, ice melt, and the like. If you use these items, please let the office know so that we can make sure that we are fully stocked when needed and not be surprised when we run out. 

Thank you for helping us be good stewards of our supplies

at the church.

Reminder:

It is the policy of First Lutheran Church that if the Blair Community Schools is closed due to bad weather, then First Lutheran Church will also be closed.

Thank you! 

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS

 ATTENTION High School Seniors and College Students: The Christian Growth Board is accepting scholarship applications for the 2024-2025 school year for post-secondary education. Any member of FLC that is currently a high school senior or college student may apply. Applications are available on the church website or by the Welcome Center. If you have any questions please call the church office at (402) 426-4073.

The deadline to submit an application is

April 14, 2024.

Monday morning Bible study

Anything but dull, was the time of Luther and the beginning of the Reformation. Politics. Peasant revolts. Wars. The Catholic church was the only church, and was determined to keep it that way. How dare this upstart Luther try to change the church by quoting scripture!  

Pastor Glen will be leading our study of the Reformation and the Augsburg Confession. He has experience in leading classes on the Reformation and with his depth of knowledge it will be interesting.   

Monday morning Bible study, for men and women, meets at 9:00 in the library. After Christmas break the first class is January 8. Contact Glen Andersen,

402-237-9775, Pastor Glen, or just show up on Jan 8.

Do you participate in our online worship services?

If you watch our services on Facebook or other sites, please like the post or leave a comment each time. This will help us improve our accuracy in attendance numbers at First Lutheran.

W.O.W. Meal is back on Wednesdays!

Rushed on Wednesdays? 

Let us do the cooking!

Join us for the W.O.W. Meal

in the Fellowship Hall from 5:30 pm – 6:15 pm

prior to Worship Lab.

** Free-will offering **

  Come at 5:30 to fuel your body and then

stay for Worship Lab at 6:15

to feed your soul.

WE NEED COOKIES/BARS

FOR FEBRUARY!

We are needing cookies for February!

Please help if you can!

The Mid Week Meal needs your help.

We serve 240 people EACH WEEK.  That's 20 dozen cookies/bars EACH WEEK.

Please sign up to provide a treat for these folks!! We are especially in need in February.

Signup here or call Erika

(402-533-0918):  https://signup.com/go/hfewWuF

Choir News

Could the Spirit be calling you to add your voice to the choir?

If so, we can promise with great certainty:

You will feel welcome, comfortable, and involved 

The choir began rehearsals on Tuesday, September 5th at 6:30 pm in the choir room (take the elevator to the second floor and turn left).

Regular attendance is encouraged but don't be discouraged if you can't make it each week.

You are welcome to join as often as you can.

For more information and questions, contact Vince at VKrysl@firstlutheranblair.org

Come, join us in making a joyful noise!

Women's Bible Study

The Friday Morning Women’s Bible Study will begin Season 2 of the series “The Chosen”. This study will combine the movie with eight sessions in a study guide. This Bible study meets on Friday mornings from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. in the Ark, which is in the lower level of First Lutheran. If interested in coming to this Bible study, contact Susie Pinquoch at (402) 426-8182 or spinquoch@gpcom.net.

Pastor Glen's contact information

Pastor Glen's email is pastorglen@firstlutheranblair.org and his cell phone number is (402) 740-6395

if you need to contact him. 

Wednesday, January

31st, 2024

We will be serving French Toast Casserole, fruit, and dessert.

WE REMEMBER IN OUR PRAYERS

Please keep these people in your thoughts and prayers