Calendar

All ages worship together today. (Nursery provided.)

Worship concludes about 11:00AM. This week, the congregational meeting follows.

Today:

• The Beatitudes
• Celebration Choir sings
• Congregational Meeting & Potluck follow worship

The Annual Congregational Meeting of the First United Church of Arvada will be held Sunday, January 29, 2017, in the sanctuary immediately following worship.  The purpose of the meeting is to adopt the 2017 Budget, and to approve the Nominating Committee Report, as well as any other matters that shall properly come before the congregation.  The 2016 Annual Report will be presented at the Meeting.  It will be sent to all those with e-mail when it’s finished.  Hard copies will be available on January 22.

Respectfully, Robbie Martin, Clerk

Bring a dish to share. We’ll eat as soon as the Annual congregational meeting is over.

Steering Committee of the Common Earth Community Garden meets to discuss findings for build-out of garden due to $10,000 grant from Colo. Garden Foundation.

A HOPEFUL EARTH:  FAITH, SCIENCE, AND THE MESSAGE OF JESUS is a study of the “creation crisis” as addressed by a Methodist Bishop and her scientific niece.  It provides specific information about our endangered earth as well as Biblical understanding of Jesus message, thereby bringing a spiritual meaning to our understanding of the crisis of planet earth as well as our response.  This Adult Study begins Sunday, January , 8:30 AM. Everybody is invited and welcome.  Study books are available:  see Robbie Martin.

Children (elementary age) & youth (middle & high school) stay for the first 20 minutes or so, then are dismissed to Worship & Wonder and Youth Sunday School. (Nursery provided.)

Worship concludes about 11:00AM, with coffee and fellowship afterward.

Today:

• Rev. Leigh-Ann Collett preaches on “Living a Salty Life”
• Matthew 5:13-16
• Souper Bowl of Caring collection, where there’s a “noisy” collection of change (and dollars) by the kids. The money will go to the Denver Inner City Parish, which assists Denver’s working poor families in breaking the vicious cycle of poverty prevalent within their communities.

A HOPEFUL EARTH:  FAITH, SCIENCE, AND THE MESSAGE OF JESUS is a study of the “creation crisis” as addressed by a Methodist Bishop and her scientific niece.  It provides specific information about our endangered earth as well as Biblical understanding of Jesus message, thereby bringing a spiritual meaning to our understanding of the crisis of planet earth as well as our response.  This Adult Study begins Sunday, January , 8:30 AM. Everybody is invited and welcome.  Study books are available:  see Robbie Martin.

Children (elementary age) & youth (middle & high school) stay for the first 20 minutes or so, then are dismissed to Worship & Wonder and Youth Sunday School. (Nursery provided.)

Worship concludes about 11:00AM, with coffee and fellowship afterward.

Today:

• Holy Communion
• Racial Justice Sunday
• Matthew 5:38-48
• Celebration Choir sings
• Bee Program & Valentine Making after Worship

BEE our guest on Sunday, FEBRUARY 12th. The Fisher Board in collaboration with Common Earth Community Garden is presenting a short program on BEES and the important role they play in our lives. After the BEE program, we will gather to create VALENTINES for our shut-ins, and for your own family and friends. The event will be held at the church right after the worship service. A light lunch will be served. Please sign-up at Welcome Table by front door. You won’t BEE disappointed.

“Myanmar (Burma) – Brimming with Optimism” Program, beginning with a Potluck lunch
What is life like in an ancient culture just emerging from decades of brutal military dictatorship? Jill and Byron Flateland wanted to find out, so they spent six weeks in Myanmar late last year. They will share highlights of their trip and other interesting information about this little-known country starting with a potluck lunch at 12:00 noon, followed by a talk in the sanctuary with many photographs of life in Myanmar. Byron will also provide a sampling of Myanmar cuisine as part of the pot luck.

Jill & Byron’s travels took them to several major sites as well as many out of the way places where life is still lived as it has been for centuries. There are still thousands of temples and pagodas that are more than 1000 years old, many of which they explored firsthand. Most magnificent of these are the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, more than 300 feet tall and gilded in more than 27 tons of pure gold. Other sites included Bagan with its 2,200 venerable structures and Inle Lake whose farmers raise vegetables on miles and miles of floating gardens; Inle’s fishermen are famous for rowing with one leg which leaves their hands free for casting their nets.

Other forays took them farther afield to see more remote parts of the country. These included taking the “slow boat” down the Irrawaddy River from Mandalay to Bagan, taking a seven-day boat trip up the Chindwin River northwest toward the border with India, making a day-long journey by narrow-gauge railroad across one of the world’s tallest railway trestles, visiting a camp for elephants retired from working in the timber industry, trekking to small villages, and meeting interesting characters all along the way.

Join us to experience the beauty and heritage of Myanmar through photographs and to hear about a friendly, spiritual people, ancient temples, age-old farming practices, cottage industries still being practiced, and lifestyles that are slowly disappearing as the country is on the cusp of modernizing.

This presentation is part of the the church’s 2017 Adult Education series on “Cultures.”