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One Great Hour of Sharing - March 2021

3/2/2021

 
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One Great Hour of Sharing – Let Love Flow

Nobody  hungry,  nobody  thirsty,  shade  from  the  sun,  shelter  from  the  wind,  For  the  Compassionate  One  guides them, takes them to the best springs.” –  Isaiah 49:10

Every day and every week, we see our congregation giving tirelessly to reach out to meet critical needs of neighbors in our community.  Less visible to most of us, but equally important, is to work with Our Church’s Wider Mission to allow congregations and individuals to meet people at points of critical need in their lives. During the month of March, we encourage our church members to support the UCC Special Mission Offerings for One Great Hour of Sharing which provides resources to reach out in places lacking health and educational resources and/or where disaster has struck. Here are a few examples of how your support can make such a difference in peoples’ lives.

Water is life, water is love - Access to clean fresh water is vital for all of humanity, but for women in particular, water access means the difference between life and death for them and their families. The United Nations International Observance of World Water Day (March 22) reflects on the importance of water in our daily lives and remembers those who lack access to adequate drinking water supplies.  For women and girls around the world, it can be a 12 hour walk to the nearest water source to collect water to maintain basic needs and crucial hygiene practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.  With your support,100 families will benefit from the Water Well project, sponsored by the United Church of Christ in Mozambique (UCCM). When you give to One Great Hour of Sharing, you invest in the hopeful future of women and girls around the world and serve as co-workers with God to build a just world for all.

Food security – Imagine not knowing where your next meal will come from, living in constant fear of political unrest, battling climate change, farmers battling obstacles to get crops to harvest.  For many people in the world, this is their reality.  In Nicaragua, families find it harder to believe that food security can be an attainable goal. Several of the families there have lost several harvests to the effects of climate change. Farmers in their community found that when it rains too much, the crops die from disease or are washed away. When it doesn’t rain enough, they dry up. Either way, farmers lose everything. Through One Great Hour of Sharing programs, farmers and their families are finding new ways to earn a living and secure their food supply, such as raising stingless Melipona bees, which produce medicinal honey to sell or raising poultry that produce eggs, plus another 140 chickens to sell!

Your Board of Mission urges you to join in Our Church’s Wider Mission give generously to One Great Hour of Prayer which helps people in such need to imagine and attain a better life, with clean water, better sanitation, and secure food systems. 

You may  make your gift any time during the month of March by indicating "OGHS" in the memo line of your check or online gift. For more information about how to give to and through First Congregational, please click here. 


Living Room Worship - Jan. 24th, 2021

12/30/2020

 
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As we move into the new year, we invite you to join us for Living Room Worship Online! LRW is an informal experience for those who desire to connect more with each other and with God through small group discussion, prayer, and singing. While we can't yet be together in person, we hope you'll join us virtually via your own living room! For more information, you can contact Kerry Priest (kerry.priest@gmail.com). 

Sunday, January 24
7:00 pm


Zoom link: 
https://ksu.zoom.us/j/96711977572?pwd=WmlLZnllRlpVRUdYQXlEbUdDTnR5QT09
Or call 1-669-900-6833 and enter
Meeting ID: 967 1197 7572
Passcode: 364255
(Note: long-distance charges may apply when using the call-in option.)

Congregational Meeting - Jan. 24, 2021

12/9/2020

 
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Join us on Zoom at 11:45 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 24th for our January Congregational Meeting. All are welcome to attend and members will also be invited to vote. We will be approving the 2021 budget for our ministry. Documents for the meeting will be e-mailed to all members no later than Sunday, Jan. 17th. If you are a member and you have not received your documents by that date, please check your junk mail folder and then e-mail Sandy if you still cannot find the documents.

ZOOM INFORMATION FOR THE MEETING:
Zoom room opens at 11:35 a.m. Meeting begins at 11:45 a.m.
Click to Zoom or call 1-669-900-6833 and dial meeting ID 849 7636 0960# at the prompt. Meeting password is 66502. Please note: long distance charges may apply if you use the call-in option. 

The meeting will open at 11:35 a.m. Upon signing into Zoom for the meeting, you will be directed to type the names of all voting members in the chat so that we have a record of the meeting. Those members who call in will be able to state their names, which can then be entered manually into the record by a host.

Leadership Kick Off - Jan. 13, 2021

12/9/2020

 
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All members of our boards and committees are invited to attend the 2021 Leadership Kick Off on Wednesday, Jan. 13th at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. We will gather as a full group to share some tips and wisdom for the upcoming year and then break into individual boards/committees for meetings. For most boards and committees this will replace your regular January meeting. We look forward to gathering with you and if you have any questions, please reach out to Jeff Watson, 2021 Moderator, or the church office. 

Zoom information:
Click to Zoom or call 1-669-900-6833 and dial meeting ID  881 5142 0923# at the prompt. Meeting password is 66502. Note: long-distance charges may apply if you use the call-in option. 

Christmas Connections - Dec. 19, 2020

12/7/2020

 
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Put Saturday, December 19 on your calendar! On that day you can drop by the church between 10:00 a.m. and Noon to pick up any donated poinsettias as well as candles for the Christmas Eve service. You can also spread some Christmas cheer to our Second Helping friends by dropping off cookies for distribution. Linda Thurston suggests that the cookies be bagged in threes. Gayle Doll will be sitting in the lobby watching for you to come to the South lobby door and will come outside to make the exchange. You can also text her at 785-456-4903 if you would like her to come out to your car. Please wear your mask! 

The Gift of a Warm Meal

12/2/2020

 
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Looking for something special to give a loved one for Christmas? A gift to Second Helping in the name of your loved one will provide hot meals for members of the Manhattan community who may be experiencing hardship and hunger. Our meals cost about $2.50 per person per night; and that includes a hot meal (to go, at this time), a bottle of water, and a lunch sack that also contains breakfast items.

You will receive a special card recognizing the gift that you can send to your loved one. A gift of $25 will provide meals for 10 people for one day (3 meals). Fifty dollars will feed 20 people for one day. And you can feed 40 people for a day with a $100 donation.

To make your donation online, click the button below to donate via PayPal. You can also mail a check with a note that includes what it's for and your name/address to 700 Poyntz, Manhattan, KS 66502. 

P.S. You could also tell others this is a gift you would like, if you happen to be asked!

Donate now

Christmas Prayer Creche

11/23/2020

 
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We have a tradition on Christmas Eve of writing down our prayers on small slips of paper and placing them in the manger in our Sanctuary. This year we’ve moved the nativity scene outdoors and are inviting anyone in the community to join us throughout December. Please stop by the church lawn anytime after December 1st and before Christmas to leave your prayer. You can come as many times as you’d like! There is a plastic box with slips of paper, writing utensils, and a small stapler. After you write your prayer, link it to the other prayers and staple it to create a prayer chain. Together, our prayers will decorate the creche as we await Christ’s arrival. A big thank you to Bert Allen for creating our gorgeous prayer station!

Star Words for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany

11/11/2020

 

What are star words?

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The use of star words, also called “star gifts,” is a prayer practice connected to Epiphany and the new year that has been growing in popularity in Protestant churches for nearly a decade now. The idea is that a list of intention words, or guiding words, are written or printed on paper stars. These paper stars are then distributed at random.  Individuals are often encouraged to place their star word somewhere they will see it regularly throughout the year to allow consistent reflection on how God has moved through, around, or in connection to that word.

If you are on our mailing list, you will receive a star word with your December newsletter in the U.S. mail. If you are not on our mailing list and would like a word assigned to you, please email the office and we'll send you one!

There Are Several Theological Statements Being Made in this Tradition:
1. The Magi followed a star, which ultimately led them to Jesus. Therefore, we too use all the resources we have available to us—including creative prayer practices and intention words for the new year—to move closer to Jesus.
2. We trust that God uses multiple ways to guide us and speak to us. Star words are one such lens that might provide us a way to look for God in our midst, both actively and in hindsight.
3. We trust that it is often easy to miss God in our daily midst. Having an intention word to consider both in present days, as well as to reflect on at the end of the year, allows for us to see God in ways we may not have seen God before. This is the greatest gift.
4. We know that the most common prayer practice for many involves speaking to God as opposed to silence or contemplation. We believe that star words invite a new prayer rhythm of reflection and review that can be a powerful new way to connect with God.
5. By receiving a star word chosen at random, we practice the spiritual task of receiving. It is not we who are in control in this moment. Instead, we trust that God is present, and we let go of our desire to cultivate or control. 

Ideas for using your star word during Advent & Christmas:

You might display your star word in your home. Use a paperclip to add it to ribbon, a tassel, or tinsel—string this on your Christmas tree, into a wreath, or along your mantle. Or, bend open a paper clip, and use it to punch a hole in your star word to transform it into a simple Christmas tree ornament and add it to your tree. Get creative—seek beautiful ways to add your star words to spaces around your home so that you will continue to see them and think about them throughout the Advent season.

Prompts for using the star words for daily prayer:
A. Look up the definition of your word, even if it is a word you know well. You may even look into the etymology of the word and how its meaning has changed throughout history. If you drew a non-English word, do as much research as you can into the meaning of the word in its original culture.
B. What does this word remind you of? Does it recall any memories or experiences? How might God be speaking to you through this word?
C. See if you can find your word—or a synonym—in the Bible. What scripture passages can you find? How is the word used in these passages? Are there other scripture passages that remind you of your word?
D. Write or speak aloud a prayer using your word. (This is a fun challenge for children using the star words.)

SOURCE FOR THE ABOVE TEXT AND IMAGES: A Sanctified Art

Join us for a special Epiphany worship service on Jan. 3

Be sure to bring your star word to worship on January 3rd. We will gather via Zoom at 10:45 a.m. for worship (NOT on our regular Facebook Live platform). You'll find the Zoom login information here on our website before January 3rd. More details to come!
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Order your 2020 Christmas Poinsettias Now!

11/10/2020

 
The Advent season brings the opportunity for you to provide poinsettias in honor of someone important to you as the church is decorated for Advent and Christmas. The cost to donate poinsettias is $10.00 per plant and we will share the dedications in worship on Dec. 13 and 20. 

The Deacons will be providing a date for you to pick up your poinsettias before Christmas so you can enjoy a bit of First Congregational in your own home this year. Or perhaps you'll want to pick up your poinsettias and share them in a porch drop with a friend!

Order your poinsettia now by clicking the button to complete the online order form OR call the church office to place your order. 
Order now
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Advent Devotionals for 2020 Available Now

11/10/2020

 
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Advent devotionals are now available for pick up! Look for the plastic box outside the double doors that go into the office area at the church building. If you'd rather have one posted in the mail, e-mail office@uccmanhattan.org to request. Our devotionals are from A Sanctified Art and include poetry, art, scripture, and space for reflection. ​

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First Congregational United Church of Christ 
700 Poyntz Ave., Manhattan, KS  66502
785-537-7006

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