December 26, 2019
Greetings!

Notice of Congregational Meeting and Annual Report
Our Congregational Meeting will be held January 19th following worship. The full Annual Report will be available for download in the first week of January. Watch the Sunday bulletins, your email, and your mailbox for more information. The last day to make 2019 pledges and contributions is December 30th. All requests for reimbursements for Ministry expenses are due December 30th.
 
At the Congregational Meeting on January 19th, the Church Council will bring forth a request to amend the Church Constitution. The proposed amendment would allow the Clerk to be a voting member of the Council. In order for the proposed amendment to pass there needs to be a majority approval at the Congregational meeting. The proposed amendment would be to delete the words "who shall serve as a non-voting member" from Section 5(b) of Article IX of the Constitution of the First Congregational Church of La Grange.

Week at a Glance: December 27 to January 5
Friday (December 27)
9 am: Overeaters Anonymous
7:30 pm: Alanon
Saturday (December 28)
8 am: Kindermusik
8 am: Saturday Meals Program
Sunday (December 29)
10 am: Worship
11:15 am: Fellowship Hour
7 pm: Overeaters Anonymous
Monday (December 30)
7:30 pm: Alcoholics Anonymous
Wednesday (January 1 )
Office closed for holiday
4 pm: Be Still and Know 12 Step Meeting
Friday (January 3)
9 am: Overeaters Anonymous
7:30 pm: Alanon
Saturday (January 4)
8 am: Saturday Meals Program
Sunday (January 5)
8 am: Adult Ed - The Screwtape Letters
10 am: Worship
11:15 am: Fellowship Hour
7 pm: Overeaters Anonymous

Christmas Fund for the Veterans of the Cross and the Emergency Fund
The 2019 theme of the Christmas Fund is The Light Shines in the Darkness -to help support these ministries of light and love. The recipients of these gifts have faithfully served the church and are now in need. We invite you to shepherd God’s light and help support this year’s offering.
         The funds we collect enable the UCC Board for Ministerial Assistance to provide supplements of Small Annuities, Retiree Health Premium supplementation, Emergency Grants, and ‘Thank You’ gifts to retired individuals and families in need. These funds provide direct financial assistance to individual UCC clergy and lay church employees-these funds do not support programs or institutions, only people! So please give generously to those who have given generously to the church.
     You may remit your gift anytime until December 31-put a note in the memo of your check “Christmas Fund” so it will go to the Christmas Fund collection. Thank you for your generosity as it is appreciated by those who have served us throughout the years!
FCCLG Shirts
The office is selling shirts with the FCCLG logo. We have a variety of sizes and colors. Get one for that special someone this Christmas! Shirts are $15 each. Stop by the office to purchase.
Adult Sunday School
Join us in discussing the C. S. Lewis classic The Screwtape Letters in the Drawing Room on Sundays at 8 a.m. beginning January 5. This satirical piece addresses temptation and resistance in a vivid, humorous, and powerful way. We'll have lively discussion over coffee and doughnuts. See Susan Steinmiller if you have questions.
Book club - new date
The next book club meeting will be January 9th, not the 16th. We will discuss The Girl with Seven Names: Escape from North Korea by Hyeonseo Lee. In 1997 the author, aged 17, inadvertently escaped North Korea for China. Her mother's first words over the telephone to her daughter were "don't come back". The reprisals for all of them would have been lethal. This eloquent book offers a credible first-hand account of life in North Korea and gives an extraordinary insight into the life under one of the world's most ruthless and secretive dictatorships and the dangerous journey to freedom. Copies are available through the library. Please join us in the Chapel Family Room at 7:30 pm. Light refreshments are served.
Green Team News
Drop off old Brita (name brand only) filters, pitchers, bottles, faucet mounts, and other accessories for School & Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education (SCARCE) in the labeled box in the Styrofoam/cork closet.

Learn how to recycle Amazon packaging at Amazon Second Chance .
 
Now through January 12 th , you can drop off unwanted holiday lights for recycling in receptacles located in the La Grange and La Grange Park Village Halls, La Grange Parking Garage, La Grange and La Grange Park Public Libraries, La Grange Road and Stone Avenue Train Stations.
Youth Group Meetings
The youth group meets twice a month. The youth group is for everyone in 6-12 th grade. We will meet on the 2 nd and 4 th Sundays of every month from 6:30-8 pm, except in April and May when we will meet on the first and third Sundays to avoid holidays. Our next meeting is January 12 th at 6:30 pm.
FCCLG: 140 Years and Counting!
March 2021 marks our 140th anniversary and we'll start planning the celebration in October . If you'd like to help commemorate this momentous occasion, raise your hand! Better yet: Sign up in the church office.
  Prayer is at the heart of our relationship with God. Please lift these friends, family, and members in your prayers.
Emil Balz at Meadowbrook La Grange.
Charlotte Doerfert, Kim Bart’s mother, who is recovering from pneumonia.
Diane Biegert.
The family and friends of Rev. Biegert.
The family and friends of Lyle Brumley.
Jim and Vi Clayton.
Ron Kloss at Plymouth Place.
Stephanie McCollough.
Margaret Melkonian.
Carol Svendsen, Fred Weiss’ daughter, who is recovering at home.
Bob Taylor, who is fighting stage IV liver cancer that has spread.
Christina Thomas, Joy Palomo-Clark’s cousin, a young mother dealing with cancer.
Dick Tobin, who is at Brookdale, Burr Ridge.
Peter and Kendra Van Kempen’s son John, being cared for in the PICU at Lurie Hospital.
The friends and family of Paul Watts.
Sarah Carr’s cousins, the Wilson family, with Liam, who was born 13 weeks early.
Those killed, the injured, and their families in acts of violence.
Those at the border.
Those living in fear and without hope, and those who use fear to control others.


To send your thoughts / prayers to someone listed above, place a completed Touch Card (they're in your pew) in the offering plate and the office will address and mail it. Let us know if you or someone you know is hospitalized or receiving medical treatment because HIPAA privacy laws prohibit doctors and hospitals from contacting us. If you know someone who'd like a visit from the Called to Care Ministry team, contact Called to Care Ministry Leader Jennifer Burney by calling the church office at 708-352-0800.
C an’t Get To Church?   Join Us in Virtual Worship
Click here at 10 a.m. on Sunday to watch the service or follow these instructions to watch through your Roku Device. Made possible by the estate of Ginny Palansky and maintained by your gifts, offerings, and pledges, our Livestream viewership is much appreciated by members and families who can't attend in person. Contact the church office to have the bulletin emailed to you on Thursdays.