Sunday, July 28, 2013

This Sunday's Service

Okay, we've spent the previous two weeks discussing how hard it is to love strangers and those closest to us.  For this last week of consideration of how we share God's love (our purpose), we take on loving the one person that usually gets left out of the mix, ourselves.  Maybe that's because we feel giving our own selves any attention is being conceited or narcissistic.  So, how do we reconcile Jesus words to "love our neighbor as ourselves." Maybe the real catch is that it's impossible to love others until we can truly love ourselves.  Come and join in the conversation this Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

This Sunday ensemble singers will present If Ye Love Me by Thomas Tallis. Organist Gavin Craig will play Matines, Op. 58, no. 1 by Louis Vierne; Vater unser im Himmelreich, BWV 636 by Johann Sebastian Bach; and Postlude in C Minor by William T. Best.  Our congregational hymns will be Seek Ye First (SEEK YE FIRST); O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee (MARYTON); and God of Our Life, Through All the Circling Years (SANDON).

Seeker’s Invitation: Join us in August as we start a new book

We eat, but we are not a dinner group;  we read books, but we are not a book group;  we study, but we are not a class;  we  discuss, but we are not a discussion group;  we pray, but we are not a prayer group.  We are a group of spiritual seekers who share our lives with each other and are committed to be present as much as we are able.  We seek to deepen our relationship with God, and our experience of the sacred.  We seek to expand our vision of how we might contribute to peace and love in the world.

The Seekers meet on Wednesdays.  On August 7th we will be starting a new book called The Raft is Not the Shore.  It is an account of conversations about Buddhist-Christian awareness between Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist Monk, and Daniel Berrigan, a Jesuit priest.

We meet for brown-bag supper in the assembly room at 6:00, then go to the sanctuary room for the rest of our activities at 6:30, concluding about 8:00.

We rotate leadership by the week or section of the book.  Sometimes we just discuss topics.  We occasionally go on retreats.  Everyone is invited.  If you are interested and/or have questions, call Sylvia. Her number is in the church directory, or you can leave a message for her at the church office. 

Poimaino: An Opportunity to Serve a Free Lunch

Hi Everyone!

Our next Poimaino meal is Saturday, July 20th , which is the third Saturday of the month. 

 

Again we will go with our summertime menu of sandwiches.  So the cooks (or preparers in this case) will get to sleep in late again! 

Set up will start at 10:30am, and “minglers” are to arrive 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 off your donations at FCC or St. Peter, be sure to mark your boxes/bags with “Poimaino”.  The garage sale has been a big draw for us, so bring what you can.

Here are the details.

What:            Poimaino Community Meal

When:          Saturday, July 20th, 10:30am – 2:00pm

Where:         St. Peter UCC, 9022 Long Point Rd

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

Instead of bringing cornbread, those who want to contribute food might consider a chilled sandwich filler such as tuna salad, egg salad, etc. or something that compliments sandwiches (not soup!).   

If any questions, please call Burton  or me (– I’m in Nigeria this week!).  I’ll be sending out an Outlook Calendar notice as well. [Phone numbers for Burton and German are in the church directory.]

Please let me know if you can commit to volunteer this Saturday so I can get a headcount.  

Thanks,
German

Houston Pride Festival

Houston Pride Festival

 

Booth hosted by First Congregational UCC, Bethel UCC, Grace UCC, and Plymouth United Church UCC. — at LGBT Pride Houston Celebration.

Sunday July 17, 2013

This Sunday's Service

"Love, love, love" the Beatles sang, and almost every other song writer in history. We talk about love a lot, but do we really know what we are talking about? How often do we really think about "love" in a rational sense? The motto of FCC is, "where heart and mind meet." How do we, as Christians, go about exercising the intentional love that Jesus' life and ministry were all about? The purpose of FCC is "to fulfill God's vision of love for all people." How do we carry that out as a congregation and in our own lives? The sermon title is "God's Vision of Love Within Us." The Adult Sunday School class will also delve into this topic following Coffee, Tea, and Conversation starting at 11:30 a.m.

 

This Sunday special guest singers Julia Boldt Swindle, Jeff Newton, and Michael Salinas will join Interim Choir Director KeiCee Newton to sing two gospel pieces, I Will Lift My Weary Eyes and You Better Get on Board. Both of these songs were written by local composer and choir director at Northwoods Presbyterian Church, Kinley Lange. Guest pianist, Janice Fehlauer, will play Bist Du bei mir by Johann Sebastian Bach and Trumpet Voluntary by Jeremiah Clarke. Our congregational hymns will be They Asked, "Who's My Neighbor" (NEIGHBOR); O Lord, Almighty God, Thy Works (YORK); and Let Justice Flow Like Streams (ST. THOMAS).

mission trip

Youth Mission Trip

Sunday afternoon, seven youth and two adults will travel to Austin, Texas, for our summer mission trip. Working with a group called Reach Beyond Mission, we will work with several inner city agencies such as food banks and soup kitchens. As we send them off Sunday, we pray for the blessing of their hearts and their minds as they work with God's children. If you are interested, Rev. Katelin Warren will be posting pictures on Facebook© throughout the week; so check out the church Facebook page for updates!

Worth Reading

If you missed the Leonard Pitts column in Sunday's Houston Chronicle, you should take a look.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/06/3483892/leonard-pitts-a-universal-explanation.html#storylink=cpy

Here's one of my favorite lines:

“Finding is important,” said God. “But seeking is important, too. Seeking teaches patience, opens your mind, shows you your own limitations. That’s where wisdom begins.”

(Perhaps I should mention that the Seekers group meets on Wednesday evenings. Contact Sylvia for more information.)

This part made me giggle:

The kid behind the counter handed the water bottle to God, who handed it to me.
“Don’t forget to recycle,” He said. “My oceans are not garbage dumps.”

Did you look? What do you think? Leave a comment!

---Julia

Sunday, July 7, 2013

This Sunday's Service

This Sunday we consider the last of the four core values of First Congregational Church, openness. As our founding members declared in 1955, "let us build an open church." The challenge of being open to those who society has shunned has been a constant over the years at FCC. As we have opened our doors and our hearts to those of different ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations, how do we continue to practice the value of openness as a faith community in the 21st century? These are thoughts to ponder as we journey through the long days of summer! Come and share the journey and share your thoughts and perspectives on this timely question.

This Sunday Melissa Fristche will sing Love Ye the Lord (Largo) by George Frederic Händel, then she will be joined by KeiCee Newton for The Voice of My Beloved Sounds from Melodious Accord by Alice Parker. Our congregational hymns will be God of Grace and God of Laughter (SOUTH BRANCH); Blessed Be the Tie That Binds (DENNIS); and Called as Partners in Christ's Service

(BEECHER).