Upcoming Events in Detail

Now – Monday Dec 24-Advent Season

Advent is a time for preparing, waiting and longing in advance of Christmas. Join First United for Preparation of the Heart this Advent season.

How do we get through difficult times? Can we find the Hope, Peace, Joy & Love we’re given by the God who came in human form to be with us? Pastor Karin Kilpatric will preach on “Singing Our Way Home” at the 10am Sunday Worship services of Advent. We’ll sing a new congregational Advent song Patty Painter-Wakefield has written specifically for First United, called “Sing of Your Dawn.”

Here are some highlights of the season:
–Dec 2 (10am): Candle of Hope, Holy Communion, Celebration! Choir Sings with percussion accompaniment
–Dec 9 (10am): Candle of Peace, Decorate the Sanctuary Tree, small group provides music
–Dec 16 (10am): Candle of Joy, Interactive Christmas Drama for All Ages with Christmas hymn singing
–Dec 23 (10am): Candle of Love, Celebration! Choir sings Christmas Cantata “Tapestry of Light: A Celtic Christmas Celebration”
–Dec 24 (5:30pm): Christ Candle, Candlelight Service with Live Nativity, Peals of Praise Bell Choir plays, Celebration! Choir sings

Sunday Dec 16, 10am–Interactive Christmas Story for all ages

If you missed last year’s “No Fuss Christmas Pageant” we hope you can be here this year! All who want to participate as we tell the story, simply walk forward at the appropriate time, taking up an item that denotes who you are. (Mary, Joseph, and animal, an angel, a wise person, etc.) There can be many of each character, and we simply hear a poetic version of the Christmas story and sing Christmas songs together. All of this happens during the worship service on Dec 16. No rehearsal necessary (except for a few youth readers we’ll look for ahead of time.)

Sunday Dec 23, 10am-Choir Cantata

First United’s Celebration! Choir sings the Cantata “Tapestry of Light: A Celtic Christmas Celebration” by Joseph M. Martin during the 10am Worship Service on Sunday December 23. Please join us for music with narration of the Christmas story.

Monday Dec 24, 5:30pm-Christmas Eve Candlelight Service with Live Nativity

It’s become a tradition for First United to bring in animals from a nearby farm to participate with our people volunteers in the live nativity in front of our church on Christmas Eve. First, we celebrate with an indoor service of stories, candles and music, starting at 5:30. (The animals arrive around 5:45pm.) Near the end of the service, we journey outdoors with candles to surround the live nativity singing “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World” together. Then we enjoy cookies and apple cider. Please join us!

How is Stewardship related to the church budget?

Pledges brought in during the stewardship campaign in November determine the church budget for the coming year.  The pledges are tallied, the boards look at their budgets, then Council (which includes representatives from the boards) hold a budget meeting near the beginning January to work out finer details of the new year’s budget. After the Council agrees on a budget for the new year, it’s presented to the larger congregation as part of the Annual Meeting at the end of January, where we also have written reports from the boards that take a look at what the church has done over the last year.

Pledges for 2019 are still being taken. $2 a week, $10 a week, $500 a month…all amounts help keep the church doing its work in the community. Here’s a pledge card to fill out and put in the offering plate on a Sunday morning, or turn into the church office.

Common Earth Community Garden News

For more information or to volunteer…email CommonEarthCommGarden@gmail.com . Or simply check the website!

Mission: Common Earth Community Garden is established to grow and distribute vegetables, provide a source of wholesome food to local food banks, provide nutritional and cultural education for youth, a place of fellowship for multi-generational families, and outreach to our diverse neighbors on this shared common earth.

Keep up with First United on Facebook

Sure, you can click the Facebook icon on any page of this website, but we just thought we’d point out what you can have delivered to your news feed when you “Like” us: Pictures and videos of what we’ve been doing, interesting articles, reminders about upcoming events…First United Facebook Page.