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Ed Long - Ordination Anniversary Reflection

As part of our worship service last week, we celebrated the 75th ordination anniversary of Ed Long.

Reflecting on his years of service as an ordained minister, Ed provided a brief memoir.

Hard copies are available for pick up on the Welcome Table, and you can also read the full document via the button below.

Join Us in Singing this Sunday!

Everyone is welcome to join the Finney Choir and Oberlin alumni, including anyone from the congregation and community, to sing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah this Sunday. We will meet at 9AM before the service to rehearse. Looking forward to getting a big group together!

First Church, Its Mission, and Its Ministry

Summer Childcare Positions

Our childcare workers, Sydney Paunan and Ariana Daney, are leaving for their summer break from college. We wish them well!

In related news, we have two childcare positions available for the summer starting May 7th. Work is from 9:30-11:30 on summer Sundays, and workers are paid $15 an hour. Applicants should be 18 years of age or over. For a job description, please see the link below. Please share this information with anyone you think might be interested! 

Save the date!

All new and returning committee members are encouraged to join together for dessert and an opportunity to learn more about how their committee functions. Come learn about the role of a liaison, where your committee minutes go, and how to accomplish your committee's goals with a small group. Join us at 7pm Wednesday, May 24 for dessert and discussion.

Can you spare 15 minutes here and there?

As programming and use of the church has begun to increase, we've realized that there's a need for a team of people who are willing to do occasional room set-up for various events. The work is not terribly strenuous, and typically lasts 15-20 minutes - but we need a group of people to be on call for moments where furniture needs to be moved. Would you be willing to join this group? Please contact the church office at 440-775-1711 to put yourself on our call list for these moments. Thanks so much for your willingness to help! 

The children of the church need you!

Our Summer Storytime program starts this week, and we need READERS! Can you help? You will only need to miss about 15 minutes of worship on a summer Sunday, to read a story to the children and hang out with them in the playrooms until the sermon is over. 

Most weeks, Jen will be with the reader the whole time to help manage behavior issues, etc. We can provide the story, or you can bring one of your own if you'd prefer. At present we need folks to read in July and August. There's a sign-up sheet in the hallway leading to Fellowship Hall. We hope you take this opportunity to get to know the incredibly awesome children of the church! 

Office Closed for Memorial Day

The office will be closed on Monday, May 29th for Memorial Day. We will be back in the office on Tuesday, May 30th.

Lost and Found

Have you lost anything in the last year? Come check out our lost and found before we empty it! 

Bulletin Board Switch!

The organization of which events go on which bulletin boards have recently changed - take some time to wander around the hallways to discover the new organization!

Strengthen the Church Offering Collected on THIS SUNDAY, May 21st!

The Strengthen the Church (STC) Offering is one of four special mission offerings of the United Church of Christ. This offering reflects the shared commitment of people across the United Church of Christ to cooperatively build up the UCC. Conferences and the national setting equally share the gifts given by members and friends through their local congregations. The funds raised support leadership development, new churches, youth ministry, and innovation in existing congregations. By your generosity to this offering, you build up the Body of Christ. This year, the theme is Holy Ground.

This week, our bulletin insert is a poem focusing on strengthening the church from Holy Ground. Click the button below to check it out!

Additionally, a letter by Rev. John Dorhauer on his experience of “Holy Ground” in his ministry can be accessed via the other button below.

The offering will be collected on THIS SUNDAY. It is possible to contribute in one of three ways:

1. By mailing a check made out to The First Church in Oberlin with “STC” in the memo line to the church office,
2. By using the offering envelopes on the Welcome Table and depositing your donation in the wooden donation box in the Narthex at the top of the steps leading to the Gallery,
3. Or, by going to our First Church website, scrolling down and clicking on "Donate Online" and then going to the “Strengthen the Church” section. Alternatively, click here to send you to the site.

More information about Strengthen the Church can be found on our website, in the bulletin, or on the UCC website.

“Thank you for your prayerful consideration of a gift to sustain this work of our churches. Thank you for helping us create the kind of sacred spaces where holy ground trans­forms despair into hope, fear into self-con­fidence, anger into compassion, judgment into hospitality, and disdain into love.”

– Rev. John Dorhauer, UCC President

Get fresh, local fruits and veggies from City Fresh at First Church in Oberlin this summer! 

Did you know we are a City Fresh farm box pickup? City Fresh offers week-to-week ordering, tiered pricing based on income, and accepts SNAP/EBT. It’s a convenient way to get affordable, fresh produce and eat nutritious foods all season long! 

Pickups begin on June 14th and run weekly on Wednesdays from 5-7 PM. Learn more and sign up at cityfresh.org. 

Did You Know?

Because the presence of a person suffering from opioid overdose is within the realm of possibility for groups and people everywhere, one kind person has provided NARCAN (naloxone, an opioid overdose medication) for use in emergency. Please see the document attached below for its location and what you need to know during and after using NARCAN. 

Additionally, this document is laminated and hanging near our First Aid kit and AED machine.

Dear Friends of the Heartland Conference,

As May is Mental Health Month, members of the Heartland Conference Mental Health and Accessibility Network are offering their voices and experience to raise awareness regarding a variety of mental health concerns. Each Wednesday their voices will be shared via short videos that you can share with your congregations. Mental health concerns are among the leading health concerns in our country and the world. I hope you will be inspired by their testimony and that your church community will consider how it might be an oasis of welcome, inspiration, support, and engagement (WISE). Please click on the video below to hear their words of wisdom and experience.

Blessings on the WISE journey,

Pastor Dave

OCSD Drama Club Spring Show: High School Musical Jr.

May 19, 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm |

Oberlin Senior High School, Auditorium

Later Repetitions:

• May 20th, 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm

The Oberlin City School Drama Club presents "High School Musical Jr."

Cast includes both LMS and OHS students!

Cost is $10 for adults and $8 for students/senior citizens.

Oberlin Farmers Market: Opening Day

May 20, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM |

Oberlin Farmers Market, Parking Lot

Later Repetitions:

Every Saturday from May 20 through October 14, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Opening Day for the outdoor Oberlin Famers Market is May 20.

The Oberlin Farmers Market provides locally grown, seasonal, fresh, high quality produce and farm fresh products. Open rain or shine, featuring a wide variety fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, cheese, honey, baked goods, and more.

Location: Rain or Shine Find us in downtown Oberlin, Ohio, in the parking lot between the Oberlin Public Library and Police station.

Westwood Cemetery Grave Site Location Service

May 27, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm |

Westwood Cemetery

Later Repetitions:

• May 28th, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
• May 29th, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm

On Memorial Day weekend, the Friends of Westwood Cemetery and Oberlin Heritage Center will be hosting a table to assist cemetery visitors on locating gravesites. The table will be located inside the Entrance Gate of Westwood Cemetery. It will be available May 27th, 28th, and 29th from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm…weather permitting.

Memorial Day Ceremony

May 29, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm |

Wright Memorial Park

Oberlin Veterans organizations cordially invite the public to the 2023 Memorial Day Ceremony

The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Monday, May 29, 2023 at Wright Memorial Park, 17 West Vine Street, Oberlin. In the event of inclement weather, the event will be held inside Oberlin Elementary School, 210 North Park Street, Oberlin. The event will feature speakers, musical selections and other honors for veterans.

Stone Cleaning at Westwood Cemetery

June 3, 9:30 am to 11:55 am | Westwood Cemetery

The Friends of Westwood Cemetery are scheduling several sessions this summer for cleaning grave stones. The cleaning of the stones is usually quite easy. We use a solution D/2 which is just sprayed on the stone and left to do its work over time. Typically, minimal scrubbing and scrapping is required, as well as debris clean-up from around the stones. PLEASE BRING ANY SMALL GARDENING TOOLS, GLOVES, AND/OR BROOMS TO HELP REMOVE DEBRIS. Please note that all participants will need to fill out a volunteer form, which will be provided once you arrive at the cemetery.

Frank Lloyd Wright Open House

June 4, 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm | Weltzheimer/Johnson House -

Frank Lloyd Wright

Later Repetitions:

• July 2nd, 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
• August 6th, 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
• September 3rd, 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
• October 1st, 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
• November 5th, 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Weltzheimer/Johnson House is the first Usonian house in Ohio, and one of the few in the nation open to the public. Situated a mile and a half from the art museum at 534 Morgan Street in Oberlin, the house is open to the public the first Sunday of the month from April to November with a docent presentation offered on the hour at noon, 1, 2, 3, and 4 p.m. Advance registration is required. Admission to the house is $10 per adult, free for OC college students with ID and anyone under 18. Please note: If you have students or youths in your party, please do not purchase tickets for them. Instead, complete the form at the link below by noon on the Friday before your visit. For parking information and other details, see amam.oberlin.edu/flw.