A JOYFUL COMMUNITY - DIVERSE IN SPIRITUAL BACKGROUNDS & BELIEFS | | THIS WEEK AT FIRST CHURCH | | MINISTER OF MUSIC MESSAGE | | |
Let everything that has breath Praise The Lord!!
This Sunday, we’ll have one of the "high holy days" in the life of First Church - Music Sunday. At 10 a.m., the Meetinghouse will be filled with the sounds of 4 vocal and 1 handbell choir, organ, piano, bass, and drums as we celebrate the conclusion of another season of our dedicated musicians.
Each week, from September through June, they gather to rehearse music, grow both spiritually and musically, and present music in worship and in concert. We are blessed to have an outstanding group of musicians to lead us in worship throughout the year. The special work that will be shared by The Chancel Choir will be Robert Ray's Gospel Mass, complete with piano, bass, and drums.
Please join us, in person or on livestream, as we lift our voices in worship. Community Hour will be held in the Memory Garden (weather permitting) and features our traditional strawberries, blueberries, croissants, and whipped cream.
Craig
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This Sunday, we will embark on an initiative that will change the lives of an organization that we will partner with in their mission to educate black students in music. The Church Council unanimously supports this initiative from conversations in February and March, and Music Sunday is the perfect day to start this work.
Q & A ABOUT ROYALTIES FOR SPIRITUALS
Q: What is Royalties for Spirituals?
A: (From UCC Musicians Association [UCCMA] website) A nationwide movement has developed over the past several years to recognize that Negro Spirituals are the creative product of a people whose work was never compensated. The need to rectify this injustice has become apparent. The creators of a genre of American song now recognized as classic were never paid royalties for their work. We have enjoyed spirituals in our hymn books and choir arrangements and have listened to them in concerts for decades without just compensation. The time has come to recognize this injustice and to pay reparations in the form of “royalties.” Though we can no longer compensate the original composers, we can pay back our debt as close the original source as possible. (or organizations that support education/musical endeavors).
Q: Where did this concept start?
A: In 2021, the Minister of Music at United Parish (UCC) Brookline, MA presented a racial justice project entitled “The Negro Spiritual Royalty Project”. “On Sunday, October 31, 2021, the United Parish in Brookline launched a brand-new racial justice initiative centered on the musical legacy of enslaved African Americans. We will begin the practice of collecting “royalties” for the African American, or “Negro,” Spirituals we sing in worship.” (United Parish website)
Q: What can we do at First Church?
A: Since we love to sing and experience a wide variety of music from the Black church (and concert halls), this would be a racial justice project that can be easily adopted for our use here at First Church. This would be an on-going initiative that will continue to address racial injustices in this specific genre of music, but also as one prong to address systemic racial discrimination in the world.
Q: What organization will we choose to partner with?
A: That has been one of the trickier parts to this initiative. Three of us - Meg Dempsey, Karen Yancey, and Craig Symons, have been searching within our circle of colleagues for an appropriate organization to receive this support. We have identified an organization, and are starting the connection process. We will share that information as soon as things are solidified.
To support this important initiative, scan the QR code below and choose Royalties for Spirituals from the pull-down menu. Thank you for your generosity.
| | Over the last few months, there are several coats in the Meetinghouse coat room that have lost their owners! Do these coats look familiar to you or someone you know? Stop by the coat room and pick them up. If they aren't claimed by the end of May, they will be donated to the Rummage Room. | | CONGRATULATIONS, KHALEIGH!! | | |
On May 8th, our very own Khaleigh Laicher graduated from the first cohort of the Certificate in Youth Ministry Leadership Program through the Yale Youth Ministry Institute at Yale Divinity School. The program is the first of its kind, aimed at supporting youth ministry leaders through an academic and practical primer on the themes relevant to leading resilient, healthy, theologically rooted youth ministries. Designed with youth pastors, committed volunteers, part-time workers, and laypeople in mind, the group read important literature and heard from the nation’s leading scholars about three key topics: 1. Leadership Theory in Church Organizations, 2. Theological and Spiritual Care for Youth (with a focus on mental health), and 3. Empowerment, Liberation, and Justice Work with Youth.
Congratulations to Khaleigh for maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout the program, on top of all the amazing work she does for the children of our church and for the youth in our wider community! Please send her your congratulations in an email, a card, or in person!
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Nanette Laffan, winner of the Women's Fellowship Quilt!
| | TED LASSO FAITH FORMATION OPPORTUNITY | | |
CHURCH SCHOOL
ALL AGES WORSHIP
May 25 - One Room Church School
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ALL AGES WORSHIP (AAW)
AAW is a Sunday morning experience for the whole family of faith
to sing, pray, hear stories and partake in communion together!
May 18 – Music Sunday
June 8 – Confirmation Sunday
June 15 – Celebration Sunday
| | SUMMER OFFICE HOURS START SOON | | |
COMMUNITY CORNER -
HAPPENINGS IN OUR FIRST CHURCH BUILDING
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STICK YOGA: Saturday mornings, from 10.30 - 11.30am
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
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TAI CHI: We meet at the First Congregational Church of Old Greenwich 9:30am Monday or Thursday (with advance sign up). All monies go straight to First Church. Please sign-in before class. Contact Will Morrison for more information: wdmorrison@gmail.com
This week’s classes
Next week’s classes
- Monday, 9:30 - Drop-in / Fundamentals Form
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Thursday, 8:30 - Drop-in / Fundamentals Form Pls confirm your attendance in advance
New joiners:
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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!
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FIRST CHURCH OFFICE HOURS
The Church Offices are open regular hours, M to F, 9 am to 4:30 pm. Please remember to make an appointment with any member of staff you wish to meet with. Find staff contact details here.
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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!
Needs this week:
• Baby through to 8-year-old boys and girls clothing
• Jewelry
• Ladies spring/summer handbags
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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.
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SIGN UP TO READ SCRIPTURE,
CALL TO OFFERING, OR USHER
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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
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FIRST CHURCH LIVESTREAM WORSHIP SERVICE &
SUNDAY PHONE STREAMING SERVICE
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The number to call for our Sunday phone streaming service is 833-318-3375
You can call the number during the week to hear a re-play of the service.
LIVESTREAM
Every Sunday at 10:00 am | Click here
PLEASE NOTE:
You do not need a Facebook or YouTube account
to access our live-stream broadcasts. No sign-up necessary!
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Click here to link directly to the website prayer request form.
Or click here to email your concerns.
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Deadline for Friday Eblast is 12:00 PM on Wednesday.
If you have a story suggestion please let Craig know at craigs@fccog.org
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