This Sunday is December 30, so most of the Christmas leftovers should be history by now, just in time to start working on the New Year's Eve/Day leftovers. Then, by Epiphany (January 6) we'll be all ready for New Year's resolutions and exercise regimens. And so it goes, or seems to, every year! So, if Christmas is here and gone, what do we have to show for it? We've had some great worship services and celebrations, but do all those things really make any difference in our lives? We will ponder those thoughts on Sunday as we prepare to enter a new year.

Rosann Naim, soprano, and Keicee Naim Newton, mezzo-soprano will sing The King of us all by Jill Galina. Organist Gavin Craig will play Où s'en vont ces gais bergers by Claude-Bénigne Balbastre; Love Came Down at Christmas by Charles V. Stanford; and Fanfare on ANTIOCH by Gerre Hancock. Our congregational hymns will be Once in royal David's city (IRBY), Love came down at Christmas (WHITNEY), and Joy to the world! (ANTIOCH).

Christmas Eve Services

A week from tomorrow is Christmas Eve. FCC will host two worship services on December 24^th as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. The 5:00 p.m. worship service will be geared toward children, with several activities which they will be invited to take part in. We will also join in Holy Communion which the children are invited to participate in, at the direction and discretion of their parents. Our 7:30 p.m. worship service will be a traditional scripture and carols service which will include Holy Communion. The Meeting House Choir will sing at the 7:30 p.m. service. Both services will close with the candlelight service. Come join us on this night of all nights, and bring a friend or neighbor.

This Sunday's Service

The Sunday before Christmas is a time of heightened expectation. We light the final candle on the Advent Wreath and settle down to wait for the Christ child. Why do we put so much emphasis on Christmas, commercial as well as religious? What is the significance of the rituals we go through each year? What inner need does Christmas satisfy for each one of us? The answers to those questions are probably as numerous as the stars in the sky on a mid winter night, but they bear consideration. The sermon title is "Why Christmas?" and the scripture reading is Luke 1:39-55.

Decibells will play Love came down at Christmas (with Of eternal love begotten), a traditional Irish melody and a 13th century plainchant, arranged by Cynthia Dobrinski, and Pat-a-Pan, a Burgundian carol, arranged by Jeffrey A. Hall. Melissa Fritsche and Laura Howey, sopranos, will sing Laudamus te from Antonio Vivaldi's Gloria. The Meeting House Choir will sing The angel Gabriel from heaven came, a Basque carol, arranged by Anthony Prower. Organist Gavin D. Craig will play Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 599, by J. S. Bach. Our congregational hymns will be O Christ, how shall I meet you (ST. THEODULPH) and many others during the Moravian Love Feast.

This Sunday our Joyful Noise Children's Choir, as well as the JNITS younger children's choir will take us on a Christmas journey entitled, "Following the Star." Join us as we learn that God's love is spoken in many languages around the world, but always has the same meaning within each human heart. Elizabeth Hale and Anne Amador direct our children's choir, Janice VanDerbur accompanies on piano, and some of our older youth help out to make this Christmas journey complete.

The Meeting House Choir will sing Lift up your heads, O ye gates by William Mathias. Organist Gavin D. Craig will play Voluntary on Winchester New by Craig Sellar Lang, and Herr Christ, der ein'ge Gottes Sohn, BWV 601 by J.S. Bach. Our congregational hymns will be People, look east (BESANÇON), and Return, my people (REPTON).

Poimaino meal, Saturday, December 15th

Our next Poimaino meal is Saturday, December 15^th , which is the third Saturday of the month.

Cooks are to arrive at 9:00am and “minglers” by 11:00am. The meal will be served at 12:00 noon with a concurrent 50-cent garage sale. Donations for the garage sale can be either:

· Dropped off at St. Peter UCC between 10am-2pm Tuesday or Wednesday

· Delivered to FCC on Sunday or during office hours.

· Brought with you Saturday morning.

If you drop of your donations at FCC or St. Peter, be sure to mark your boxes/bags with “Poimaino”.

Here are the details.

What: Poimaino Community Meal

When: Saturday, December 15th, 9:00am – 2:00pm

Where: St. Peter UCC, 9022 Long Point Rd

Who: Volunteers needed for cooking, set-up, garage sale, cleaning and mingling with our guests

This Sunday at the 10:00 a.m. service, The Meeting House Choir will present the cantata "Gaudete" by Anders Ohrwall. Written for the Swedish Radio Youth Choir, the ten songs included in this choral suite are drawn from Sweden's oldest songbook for schools (Piae Cantiones, 1582). The Choir will be accompanied by an instrumental ensemble including flute, oboe, and bassoon. Please invite your family and friends to this musical service to celebrate the Advent/Christmas season.

The Meeting House Choir will sing Gaudete, a work compiled from the Piae Cantiones, the oldest Swedish song book for schools published in 1582. It is arranged by Anders Öhrwall. Organist Gavin D. Craig will play Es ist ein Ros' by Johannes Brahms, Improvisation on "Gaudete" by Gavin D. Craig, and Psalm 42 by J.G. Walther. Our congregational hymns will be Comfort, comfort ye my people (PSALM 42), and Watchman, tell us of the night (ABERYSTWYTH).

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent as we journey toward the celebration of Christmas. As a part of our Advent journey we will observe the lighting of the first candle in the Advent Wreath, the candle of Hope. Christmas is a time of hope, a time of longing for those things we believe will make give our lives fulfillment. The commercialization of the Christmas holiday has somehow led us to believe that material things will somehow fill that void of longing, but you don't have to live for too long to know that there is something beyond "stuff" that our hearts truly seek. Let us join together on the journey to Bethlehem, wherever that may be in our lives. Let us find the hope that can only be filled by God's love.

The Meeting House Choir will sing Keep your lamps!, an African-American spiritual arranged by Andre Thomas, and Thou shalt know him by Mark Sirett. Organist Gavin Craig will play To thee, O Lord, I lift my soul by Georges Robert, Gott, durch deine Güte by J.S. Bach, and Venez, divin Messie by César Franck. Our congregational hymns will be O come, O come, Emmanuel (VENI EMMANUEL), Steal away (STEAL AWAY), and Come, thou long-expected Jesus (STUTTGART).

This Sunday is known as Christ the King in the church year calendar. It is the last Sunday of the church year and so we prepare to enter the season of Advent on December 2. But, before we rush too quickly into Christmas anticipation, let's come together this Sunday to ponder what it means to "abide in God." Our guest preacher is Rev. Dan Danford, pastoral care director for Houston Hospice.

The Meeting House Choir will sing Laudate Dominum by Gordon Young and At the name of Jesus by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Tenor Tracy Jacob Shirk will sing Ride on, King Jesus arranged by Hall Johnson. Organist Gavin Craig will play DIADEMATA by Jeffrey N. Blersch and Acclamations (from Suite Médiévale) by Jean Langlais. Our congregational hymns will be When morning gilds the skies (LAUDES DOMINI), O Morning Star, how fair and bright (WIE SCHÖN LEUCHTET), and Crown him with many crowns (DIADEMATA).

Our success continues to build!

Attendance at the monthly (third Saturday) Poimaino Community Meal continues to increase. Largely due to the concurrent 50 cent garage sale, 50 people were fed including 20 from the community, 17 members of the board of the South Central Conference of the United Church of Christ, and 11 volunteers from First Congregational Church, and 2 volunteers from St. Peter United Church of Christ.

Volunteering for the meal is proving inspirational and transformative for many. Also, church members are developing deeper relationships with each other. The next meal with concurrent 50 cent garage sale will be Saturday, December 15. Cooks arrive at 9 a.m. and minglers arrive by 11 a.m. The meal is served at 12 noon. Clean up is usually complete by 2 p.m. Come join us!

Beginning Tuesday, December 4, please bring garage sale items to St. Peter United Church of Christ between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Donations may also be left at First Congregational Church on Sundays or during office hours. Please mark all boxes/bags "Poimaino." This ministry is organized by your Board of Missions.

Thanks for all you're doing to help those in need. We are truly working to be the hands and feet of Christ here on Earth.

Grace and Peace,

Burton

Pilgrim Festival

Saturday, November 17, from 10 AM - 4 PM

Please join us for a day of fun, frivolity, and food on Saturday, November 17th, for the 18th Annual Pilgrim Festival. There will be pony rides, face painting, craft sales, lots of good food, and a plethora of vendors.

This Sunday is the wrap up of our 2013 Stewardship program. We invite all members to bring their pledge cards for 2013 to worship and make your intentional commitment of Time, Talent and Treasure. Our scripture reading is Mark 12:38-44 which contains the account of Jesus' comparison of the temple officials to the poor widow. How do we as a church measure up? We like to compare ourselves to the poor widow, but does that really play itself out in our lives? As a part of our worship service we will also celebrate the baptism of Wesley and Charlotte.

The Meeting House Choir will sing Praise ye the name of the Lord by Gordon Young and Giver of every perfect gift by K. Lee Scott. Tenor Tracy Jacob Shirk will sing Take my life by Craig Courtney. Guest Organist Stephen Roddy will play Now thank we all our God by Johann Sebastian Bach and I sing the mighty power of God, Gesangbuch, Wittenberg 1784, arranged by Stephen Roddy (ELLACOMBE). Our congregational hymns will be What gift can we bring (ANNIVERSARY SONG), Lord, make us servants of your peace (ROCHESTER), and I'm gonna live so God can use me (I'M GONNA LIVE).

Hi Again Everyone,

The plan for our Poimaino Community Meal is to hold the event every third Saturday of the month. So our next scheduled meal is Saturday, November 17^th. This is the same date as the FCC Pilgrim Festival (10:00am – 4:00pm), but the decision has been taken to go ahead with the Community Meal if we can muster enough volunteers.

Most of you may be aware that in order to draw more guests to the Poimaino event we will be adding a garage sale to the activities. The garage sale will be held 11:30am – 1:00pm, with the meal being served around noon. So the overall need for volunteers is still 9:00am – 2:00pm, with cooks and those setting up to arrive at 9:00am. Greeters and those assisting with the garage sale can show up around 11:00am.

Please let me know if you can commit to volunteer at the Community meal so we can confirm we have the critical mass to proceed. Here are the details.

What: Poimaino Community Meal

When: Saturday, November 17^th, 9:00am – 2:00pm

Where: St. Peter UCC, 9022 Long Point Rd

Who: Volunteers needed for cooking, set-up, garage sale, cleaning and mingling with our guests

We’ll need a collection of stuff to sell at the garage sale, so please look through your closets to see what you can donate! Either Burton or I will send out information on where and when to drop off the garage sale items. Or you can bring the items with you that Saturday

Thanks, German Amador 

 

Please contact German or Burton to respond or you can comment here.           

This Sunday's Service

 

The scripture reading for this Sunday is Mark 12:28-34. The reading finds Jesus being questioned by a temple scribe who asks the question "which commandment is the first of all?" The man is seeking to test Jesus wisdom about what is truly important in our relationship with God. The two men acknowledge each other and Jesus ends by saying "you are not far from the kingdom of God." Where are we on our journey in life? Are we near to the place of God's love, or are we wandering around trying to find concrete answers to human questions?

The Meeting House Choir will sing Now let us all praise God and sing by Gordon Young, and Cantate Domino canticum novum by Hans Leo Hassler. Organist Gavin Craig will play Prelude in G Minor andFugue in G Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach and Allegro marziale e ben marcato by Frank Bridge. Our congregational hymns will be As the sun doth daily rise (INNOCENTS), For the fruit of all creation (AR HYD Y NOS), and Rise up, O saints of God! (FESTAL SONG).

Take some time to view the replica of the Mayflower in the Meeting House before the Pilgrim Festival. It was made by Don Shedd's father.

Welcome to the official blog page of First Congregational Church of Houston. We are pleased to introduce our new website to everyone and hope that you will take the time to look it over and let us know what you think, about the website and about FCC, in general.