An Open and Affirming, Just Peace, Green Justice, Global Mission Congregation

No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here!

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First Church, Its Mission, and Its Ministry

Oberlin Community Green Group Gathering TODAY, Friday Nov. 14

This year's Oberlin Community Green Group Harvest Vegetarian Pot Luck Gathering will be Friday evening, Nov. 14, hosted by our First Church Green Team. The 5:30 dinner will be followed at 7:00 by a presentation on "Sustainable Berea," by Erika Coble, a member of the Berea City Council. "Sustainable Berea" is a volunteer group whose purpose is to address environmental issues, take action and make the city a sustainable place to live. Mark your calendars, spread the word, and, if you are able, bring some vegetarian food to share!

The concert is FREE but donations are accepted!

Adult Study this Sunday following worship in the JFO room

As the holiday season for family gatherings approaches, join us for an adult study to consider how we deal with conversations where we might fundamentally disagree with the person with whom we are in dialogue. We will view a brief 19 minute TED Talk video that presents a framework for these discussions. Then you are invited to share your reactions, ideas, and experiences regarding how this framework might apply to family gatherings, as well as gatherings throughout our lives where we might respectfully disagree with others while seeking to maintain strong relationships and being true to ourselves. If you are not familiar, a TED Talk is a short, powerful presentation about an “idea worth spreading” presented by experts and thought leaders. These curated talks, which are typically 19 minutes or less, cover a wide range of topics including technology, entertainment, design, science, and global issues. The TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) organization started as a conference in 1984 and now publishes videos of these talks online.

FINAL Wednesday Night Supper of 2025!

As the colder winter weather arrives and with Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, let’s get together on Wednesday November 19 at 5:45 for our final supper in 2025! The organizing committee will supply meat and vegetarian chili, jambalaya, and various topping favorites. We’d like 4 people to sign up to bring corn bread and 6 to bring a dessert of your choice. There are sign-up sheets in the hallway on the way to fellowship hall. Or, you can sign up electronically here.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread!

Thanksgiving is Coming - and so is the Youth's November fundraiser! We had a real winner last year - chocolate chip pumpkin bread! We used Chelsey's famous recipe from Kendal Day Care, and it was delicious! The youth will be baking on November 22nd, and loaves will be ready for pickup after church on November 23rd.

Reserve your loaf today! You can sign up at church on the sheet in the gallery, by clicking the link below, or by calling the church at 440-775-1711. Loaves are $12, and payment is due at pickup.

The funds raised will all go to buy gifts for children in the Holiday Helping Hands program at OCS. Please buy some pumpkin bread and help our youth help others! 

Nature In My Backyard

The representatives of “Nature In My Backyard,” a team of The Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland, had to postpone their visit to First Church last Sunday. They have offered to walk around our grounds to make suggestions for sustainable management of our outdoor property. They plan to reschedule soon, possibly during the Clean Up Day on Saturday, November 15. If you are interested in joining Green Team & Facilities Committee to learn how we might use best methods to care for your property or our church home, please let Martin Buck know and we will give you the date and time of the visit from Nature In My Backyard. Mbuck@oberlin.net or (440)225-7160.

Coffee Hour

The Fellowship Committee is asking for volunteers to host coffee hour after church. Don’t worry if you are not sure how to make the coffee. Training can be provided. There is a sign up sheet in Fellowship Hall hallway. If you have any questions please talk with Sandy Matthews.

Green Team Meeting

First Church GREEN TEAM will meet WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, in the Reading Room at 4:30 p.m. ALL ARE WELCOME! Plans for the NEW YEAR will be discussed (NO December meeting). Join the last 2025 Church Supper immediately following in Fellowship Hall.

2025 Advent Devotional: 

Soon and Very Soon

The Stillspeaking Writers invite you to plan your Advent observances around the theme, Soon and Very Soon, also the title of 2025's Advent Devotional. The theme acknowledges our need for radical hope, and encourages us to prepare for God's best.

The following worship resources are available as free PDF downloads:

• Advent Candle-Lighting Liturgy (on hope, peace, joy, love)
• Advent Candle-Lighting Liturgy (on the RCL texts from Matthew)
• Sermon Series ideas (3 distinct themes for Advent preaching)

Soon and Very Soon reflects the tenor of Romans 13:11-12, "Salvation is nearer to us than when we became believers. The night is far gone; the day is near."

We have several FREE copies of this book on the Welcome Table. Donations are welcomed, but not required. For those that don't get a hard copy of the book, you are also able to purchase a PDF for $3.00 and/or hardcopy version of the book for $5.00 using the link here. If purchasing the PDF version, please purchase one PDF per reader. Upon purchase, a link will be emailed to you for downloading the PDF. Any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to the office at office@firstchurchoberlin.org or (440)775-1711.

Furniture Moving Group

Our Furniture Moving Group is such a hit among our renters that we are EXPANDING the group and adding some people so no one gets burnt out! Some questions you may have before joining the group:

• What is the Furniture Moving Group? Folks who rearrange furniture on the stage in the Meeting House for various community events for the church.
• How often do you move furniture? As often as you'd like! The amount of times Miranda asks for help from the group varies in the year, but the busiest times of year are usually the late fall, early winter, and general spring time. We do ask for help in the other times, though!
• What do we ask to move? Anything that is on the stage EXCEPT THE PIANO could be moved off of the stage, and the piano can be moved around the stage.
• How will you know how to move these delicate items on this delicate stage? We will train you! There are casters on everything that you may be moving, as well! 

Please consider joining this crew because it takes a village to provide space for our community! Thank you for your consideration.

“Here I am Lord. I will be your light.”

The Stewardship Committee was inspired, as I think we all were, with Consecration Sunday morning worship. The thoughtful sermon was on point with our theme, as was the beautiful music, and the "Exchanging Blessings" ceremony was particularly meaningful to many worshipers who expressed their thanks to us after the service.

Stewardship giving continues! If you haven't had the joy of sending in your pledge, pledges will continue to be received through the end of the year (and typically beyond that). The Committee will pass on updates on pledging to you as they become available.

In the meantime, continue talking about the message of answering God's call to be God's "light" in the world. I'm sure that you have or know of a story about our theme. If you would like to share a story, I think I can speak for the Stewardship Committee, that we would like to hear from you. As you remember from the stories contributed by Barb Blodgett, Bill Long and myself, they can be short and make some spiritual or soulful connection to being generous or in sharing God's light with others.

I am not speaking for the rest of the Committee, but if you have a story to share, write it down and email it to me at, cycologistrt69@gmail.com, and I will find a way to circulate it to others.

Blessings!!

Ralph Thompson

Volunteer Opportunity with Oberlin Weekday Community Meals

First Church supports the longstanding tradition of the Oberlin Weekday Community Meals (OWCM) program. OWCM has been serving regular hot meals in our community for over 30 years out of the Christ Episcopal Church Parish Hall kitchen. Following the Covid pandemic OWCM currently provides meals 4 days a week with dine-in meals on Mondays and Thursdays from 5-5:45PM and take-out on Tuesdays and Fridays 5-5:45PM. Paid staff does most of the food prep, however opportunities exist for regular and periodic/substitute volunteers to provide plating, serving and clean-up. It can be a very enriching experience to share a good nutritious meal with members of our community that you may not normally have the opportunity to commune with. To volunteer, contact them at chef@christchurchoberlin.org.

Thank You Letter

CATSS wrote us a lovely thank you letter, click the button below to check it out.

Food Collection Box

OCS - Oberlin Community Services needs shelf-stable items for its FOOD PANTRY to help Lorain County residents.

We anticipate demand for food will skyrocket in November when SNAP benefits will stop for about 34,000 Lorain County residents and many federal government employees are also without a paycheck. 

In addition to the Thanksgiving Food Drive at our Oberlin Walmart, OCS always needs staples such as rice and beans, canned meat & tuna, meal kits that do not require extra ingredients, canned fruit & vegetables. 

Please bring your donations to the Outreach & Service Box in the Gallery. O&S members will take the food to Oberlin Community Services. You can also drop off your food donations to the box in front of the OCS Cooper Service Center at 500 E. Lorain Street in Oberlin. 

Empty egg cartons of any kind are also needed to pack fresh egg donations!

We, the members of the Outreach and Service Committee, are inviting you to join us and other members of Oberlin’s Ecumenical community as we go caroling in Oberlin’s downtown shops and restaurants on December 14th from 3:00 - 4:15 PM. Anne Schaum will be our energized and experienced song leader. Caroling song booklets will be provided. 

We will then will move to our church Fellowship Hall and savor hot chocolate, apple cider, Christmas cookies, and each other’s company!     

We will gather in the First Church Fellowship Hall from 4:30 – 5:30 P.M.

The First Church’s parking lot, in back of the church, will be available during this time.

Please use the rear doors as you enter the First Church building. 

Signs will be posted inside the church’s entrance that will guide us to the Fellowship Hall.   

The First Church is wheelchair accessible as are the Fellowship Hall and the Bathrooms. 

You are invited to bring cookies or other Christmas snacks if you desire to the church on Sunday morning. At the same time, you do not need to bring anything besides yourselves.

Your presence will be a gift to us.

We hope you can come! We look forward to seeing you!

Liturgist Coordinator

Are you looking for a way to support worship at First Church without taking on a monthly committee meeting? The First Church worship committee is looking for a new Liturgist Coordinator. This important volunteer is responsible for lining up a liturgist each Sunday. Don't worry, there is no shortage of potential liturgists! Becky Thompson has built a strong cadre of liturgist volunteers over the years she has served so successfully in this role. She will turn a well-tuned process over to her successor. If you are interested, please contact Peter Thomas (pjthomasmathbio@gmail.com).

The Wider Church

Dear Friend:

On October 28th, Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, one of the most powerful and destructive Category 5 storms on record in the Caribbean. Its devastation also impacted Haiti and Cuba.

Presently, 13,000 people in Jamaica remain in shelters and 34 fatalities have been reported – a number that is expected to rise as search and rescue efforts continue. Authorities in Haiti report 25 fatalities, with that number also expected to rise in the coming days.

At this time, we are issuing an appeal to help immediate and long-term recovery efforts in these Caribbean countries. The primary needs at this recovery stage are shelter, safe drinking water, sanitation, healthcare and food. Please consider making a donation to support our recovery efforts. Your generous support will be used by our partners in the areas of greatest need.

• Through ACT Alliance and Church World Service, the UCC is working to get resources for those who need them.
• Through Global Ministries, we are also in contact with our partners in Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti and are working quickly to accompany and support their response efforts.

The UCC has posted a prayer and a short statement in response to the hurricane.

Please consider making a gift today. Thank you for your past support of disaster relief efforts that have rebuilt communities around the world. We do this work through your generosity.

Sincerely,



Michelle Carver

Philanthropy Director

The Wider Community

Rev. David T. Hill, Pastor

If you are searching for ways to become more fully engaged in the life of the church, please contact Rev. David T. Hill by calling the church office at (440) 775-1711 or by sending an email to the church office.

Songs and music reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-711734. All rights reserved.