Straight to the Point
January 5, 2021
Annual Congregational Meeting
Our annual meeting will be held on ZOOM on January 24th following the church service. The bylaws states that there needs to be 25 members attending to have a quorum.  Please plan to attend!
NEW! Community Central
Hosted by Lois Darrow
Please Join us for our new meet and check-in with eachother time! We will be hosting a Community Central Zoom Meeting each Sunday at 1:00 p.m. to check in with everyone and keep that church family connection going even though we cannot be physically present with one another right now. If you have questions please ask Tiffany in the office or Lois Darrow.
Obituaries:

We regret to inform you of the passing of a wonderful member of ours, Katherine Trautman. Please join us in keeping Dick Morgan and their family in your prayers.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Concert
Practice begins for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day concert to be held Monday, January 18. In order to stay healthy and safe, the concert will be broadcast from our sanctuary, with no audience present in the church. The broadcasting will allow us to share the concert with a broad base of the community and beyond.

Everyone is welcome to sing with the choir. Several of our congregation who sang last year are looking forward to participating again. Practices will be at 7:00 p.m. on Thursdays, January 7 and 14. The concert is at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, January 18th. Everyone will be required to be masked, and temperatures will be taken as you enter the church for practices or the concert.

We do need 1 or 2 helpers to help with registration and taking of temperatures during the practice sessions and the concert. If you want more information, please call Tiffany at the church office (712-239-3385) or Jim France (712-253-4868).
Poinsettias:
There are 10 poinsettias that were used to adorn the cross behind the pulpit for the Christmas Season. If you would like to purchase one for a family member or to enjoy after the christmas season, please send $20. to the church office and indicate it is for a poinsettia and contact us about when you would like to pick one up.
All Committees:
The office is gathering all committee's annual reports so that they can be included in our annual meeting in January. MJany have been sent in, but we are still missing some - Tiffany will be sending out emails and calls to those still missing this week. Please ensure to get these to Tiffany ASAP so we can ensure that they are included.

Also, to help encourage committees to meet every month, we would like to offer assistance in creating monthly meetings via ZOOM for each committee that needs it. Please contact Tiffany with your committee's meeting date, time, and names of those needing invites. She will help to make sure that everyone has the proper link invitation to gain access to your monthly meetings.
New: Pastoral Search Committee
We are looking for members that are willing to be on the next search committee. If you are interested, please contact Tiffany at the church office and put your name on the list. We hope to have a committee chosen and ready to begin working by February 1st.
Join Us:
We invite you to engage and strengthen your faith with these practices:
 
THE PRACTICE OF WORSHIP: Live Streamed on Facebook and recorded
 
We are now up and running to Live Stream our Sunday morning worship service via the church’s page on Facebook at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Each service is recorded and then available to play at a time that is convenient for you. If you need help in figuring out how to access the worship service via Live Streaming or to view the recorded services, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Tiffany, our church administrator. We will be happy to show you how to use this resource.
 
THE PRACTICE OF LEARNING: Zoom learning sessions each week 9:30 a.m. each Sunday.
This time of social distancing and staying well and warm indoors, is a great time to engage your mind in learning, to do some theological reflection, to ask some hard questions about God and life, and to test our embedded theology to see if that is where you are now, or where you want to be.

With Todd Siefker taking over the responsibilities of sermons on Sunday morning services and the 9:30 a.m. book study, we have temporarily suspended our Wednesday night meetings. Please see our note above for our NEW community check-in time on Sunday afternoons!
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A Closing note about ZOOM:
If you don’t have the ability or the equipment to use Zoom or Facebook to participate in the practices we have named, please call the office. We will be happy to work with you in order to find a solution that will enable you to fully participate in the life of the church during this time of pandemic We don’t want people feeling excluded or feeling isolated from our church community because of the challenges or barriers of technology.

Remember to Support FCUCC Financially During this Time!
Updates from Church Treasurer

During this COVID-19 event, having no in-person services has impacted our normal income. Thank you to those who have mailed in checks!

FCUCC Finances for December 2020

Giving in December amounted to $11,420, all from mail-in and online giving.

You can help us stay on track by mailing in your check or setting up an automatic payment from your bank. You can also contribute through a simple app called Tithe.ly. 
        Tithe.ly is our online, app and web-based giving system. Tithe.ly is convenient because it:
·        Accepts debit, credit or bank account info
·        Can be set up for a one-time payment, or automatic regular payments
·        Can be changed at any time (there are no contracts or commitments)
Go to http://get.tithe.ly to sign up online, or download the app on any iPhone/Apple or Android device.
COVID-19 NOTICE:
Due to the widespread coronavirus in our area, we have closed our building to prevent the spread of the coronavirus to our congregation. The council has voted to close the live - in church services until further notice. We will continue with the live streaming of our church service online.
 
If you have any questions call Lois Darrow at 712-490-5969 or the church office.
Directory
Managed by Tiffany Watts, Church Administrator

We are going back to using Instant Church Directory and printed versions of our directory are available by request. Please contact Tiffany in the office if you need help gaining access to our directory or wish to receive a printed version.

Please inform the office of any directory updates that you would like to include for yourself or your family. You can also pick up one of the directory update forms on the table outside the church office or find it on our website.
Time to Save Receipts
Submitted by Ginger France

Please save:
*HyVee grocery receipts (dated Aug 23 and after)
*Boxtops for Education
There’s a collection box wrapped in balloon paper in the narthex near the office.
Thank you~These will be donated to a local school and shared with Mayflower Congregational’s preschool.
Sanford Center
Submitted by Jan Nowlen

The after school program at the Sanford Center could use donations of the following items:
Chicken Nuggets
Hot dogs and buns
Individual packaged servings of chips,
Treats (no peanuts),
Fruit cups
Juice boxes
Large cans of Nacho Cheese
6 pack boxes of macaroni
  (These two items can be purchased at Sam’s Club)
Large cans of chicken noodle soup

You can drop your donations off at church or at the Sanford Center. If you would prefer to send a monetary donation, please send it directly to the Sanford Center and mark it after school meals. Thank you!
Dick Morgan and family
Randy Peters
Steve Lundberg
LaDonna Peters
Family of Donna Goetknecht 
Laura Traum
Ty Quade
Audrey Ercolini's Family
Madison Darrow
Jan Nowlen
All Teachers and Students
Thank You, Volunteers!

A big "thank you" goes out to our volunteers who have helped with Sunday Services this week. These were:

Fill-in Minister - Todd Siefker
Worship Leader - Eileen Helvig
Live Stream - Jim France
Sound/Lighting - Leon Koster
Screen - Jerrod Kiernan
Moving-On Box Ministry
Submitted by Ginger France

MOB Needs:
Dishes/Bowls
Glasses (plastic, if possible)
Cookie Sheets
Toasters
Frypans
The Warming Shelter
The Warming Shelter is one of the local agencies that we try to support. If you would like to donate to them, their currents needs list is below:

Cash to pay utilities and security staffing
Granola bars of any kind,
Tube Socks,
Brown Jersey Gloves (inexpensive ones 10/$10)
Men’s and Women’s underwear( Medium and large sizes).
The Soup Kitchen
Updates from Jan Nowlen

The Soup Kitchen has been hit hard with the expanded need of families and individuals needing food assistance during COVID-19. They have been serving well over 3000 meals per month and are runing critically low on some items and are completely out of others.

Current Needs:
Stick Butter
Bread
Hamburger Buns
Lunch Meat for Sandwiches
Egg Noodles
Sandwich Bags
Dishwasher Soap Pods
Face Masks

Erik's Closet:
Hats
Gloves
Jeans
Underwear
Tennis Shoes
Shampoo
Conditioner
Lotion
Deodorant
Toothpaste
Kleenex
(Travel Sized Toiletried Preferred)

You can drop donations and gift cards off at the Soup Kitchen or Mail them to:

717 W. 7th Street
Suoix City, Iowa 51103

They also have Venmo and Paypal for those who would like to donate through that method. Here is the info from them:

If you are wanting to make a donation please use the following:
Venmo : @siouxland-soupkitchen
PayPal : siouxlandsoupkitchen@gmail.com
All donations can be issued a receipt for tax purposes.
Rummage Sale
Updates from Jan Nowlen

At this time we have postponed the Rummage Sale, however, those of you who are cleaning and de-cluttering your home during this time, there is plenty of room to store things you wish to get rid of. 
Church Office Hours
While the church is currently closed due to COVID-19, our church administrator has been keeping the office going.

Church Staff:

Tiffany Watts, Church Administrator

Todd Siefker, Intergenerational Coordinator

Jim McCrory, Custodian

Rick Darrow, Organist

Jessica Orr, Nursery Coordinator
Church Contact Information

(712) 239-3385
office@firstcongregational.net
www.firstcongregational.net


office@firstcongregational.net

tsiefker@gmail.com

building@firstcongregational.net

darrowpipe@aol.com

jessica.orr@hotmail.com
4600 Hamilton Boulevard
Sioux City, IA 51104
(712) 239-3385