Hello, Missions & Community Justice Teams!

Our Finish Strong campaign is coming to a close in just a few weeks, and before it wraps up, we’re hoping for 100% participation from our faith community. That means everyone, no matter the size of the gift, joining in to help us finish strong.

If you haven’t had a chance yet, would you consider making a gift? It could be big or small—what matters most is that we all take part. Every gift helps lower our debt and keeps our ministries moving forward, positioning us for a strong and exciting future of next chapters!

You can give online here or drop off a check with “Finish Strong” in the memo line.

Thanks for being such an important part of the Missions & Community Justice teams, and for all the ways you show up for First Community!

Rev. John Girard (he/him), Executive Minister / Minister of Mission & Justice

No August Meeting

Reminder that we will not have a regular monthly Mission & Justice meeting in August.

In place of the regular meeting, I am leading an in-person Darkness to Light session. Adult volunteers are required to complete this sexual abuse prevention training before working with or in close proximity to minors and vulnerable adults. If you have not yet completed this training, this is your opportunity to do so at no cost! Registration is required and closes Monday, August 18.

Tuesday, August 19, 6 - 8:30 pm, FC North

Led by John Girard, Executive Minister / Minister of Mission & Justice

If you are unable to complete a free in-person training, please complete it online for $16 from Darkness to Light. Once the course has been completed, forward your certificate of completion to us at mission@fcchurch.com to be recorded.

September 16 Meeting

In September, we return to FC North for our regular monthly meeting!

Our September guest speakers will be our own Tami and Dan Langen, from the Community Justice ministry team. Tami and Dan came to me recently with a desire to start a new justice ministry at First Community, focused on advocacy and action, called a Good Trouble ministry team. Some of you are familiar with the scope and goals of this new ministry idea, which is entirely grounded in, and guided by faith, scripture, clergy, and core beliefs of First Community. Good Trouble work focuses on what we believe and support, not what or who we are against. I hope you’ll join us on September 16 to learn more about this newest justice ministry, and opportunities to get involved.  

Mission & Justice Teams, please continue working on a 1-2 line mission statement for your ministry team. Your ministry team’s mission statement should answer the question, “why does this team exist?" or "what is our purpose?” 

Submit these statements to John by September 1, and bring it with you to the September all teams meeting. Once every team has submitted their 1-2 line mission statement, we will use all of them to craft an new and updated Mission & Community Justice mission statement as we launch the 2025-2026 program year.

Examples:

• Heart to Heart provides food, resources, and compassionate services to neighbors in need.
• The Tri-Village Trading Post thrift strives to be welcoming, conscientious, and financially supportive to First Community missions.
• The Mission Grants Team is tasked with oversight and distribution of mission contributions to support mission activities locally, nationally, and internationally. 

Meeting Agendas

Everyone involved or interested in the work of our Missions and Community Justice teams is invited to join us for these monthly meetings. You do not need to RSVP or commit to future attendance. If you have a suggestion for a guest speaker, a topic you'd like to cover, or an item to add to the agenda, please contact Rev. John Girard ahead of the next meeting.

Please review the schedule of upcoming meetings below, and mark your calendar accordingly. As a reminder, the 2025 Missions & Community Justice quarterly meeting agenda rotation is as follows:

• First Month: (January, April, July, October) All teams share updates, then meet individually for team meetings.
• Second Month: (February, May, August, November) Darkness to Light training for Missions & Community volunteers who work with or in close proximity of children, youth, and vulnerable adults. 
• Third Month: (March, June, September) Guest speaker(s) and team meetings. There is no meeting in December

Mark your calendar and plan to attend the next meeting on October 21, during which we will hear updates from each small group.

Each ministry team should identify a team leader to offer occasional updates at Mission & Justice meetings. Updates should not exceed a maximum of two minutes on behalf of the team. Updates should include information regarding the team's current activities, future events, and recap any recent efforts. Those in attendance at the meetigns will have the opportunity to ask brief, clarifying questions regarding the shared updates. The information shared should be applicable to everyone in the room, rather than just your individual team. If you have questions about what should be shared, please contact Rev. John Girard.

Updated Newsletter Coming Soon!

Beginning in September, we will combine all news from Community Justice and Missions ministry teams into a single monthly newsletter! In part, this is an effort to reduce both overflowing inboxes, and the sheer magnitude of words we read each day. To that end, the new format will include more abbreviated ministry updates.

All those sending me regular submissions will get an email regarding the update. If you are not receiving monthly newsletter submission reminders from me, but plan to submit to the newsletter in the future, please let me know.

You won't miss any information! Small groups will continue to receive emails directly from me or John, with information that is directly relevant to that team.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Amy Caskie (she/her), Director of Missions