Worship at 9 and 11 a.m.

Sunday, April 21, 2024.

Join us on Sunday as Rev. Angela Wells-Bean will be preaching her sermon titled Leaving a Legacy, based on Luke Job 12: 7-10.

Join in person or online!

If you are a full or associate member of NUCC, please make plans to attend a Special Meeting of the membership this Sunday, April 21, 2024, at 12:15 p.m., immediately after the second service in the Sanctuary.  The membership will be voting to authorize NUCC to enter into a long-term lease of that portion of the church campus formerly used for the operation of Precious Cargo Academy to a third-party tenant for the purposes of operating a child daycare and/or preschool.

A letter was sent to the membership by email on April 2 with more specifics and with a Zoom webinar link for those members unable to attend in person.  We must have a quorum to approve this important action for the church.  If you are unable to attend in person or by Zoom, please fill out the proxy form which was sent with the April 2 email and turn it into the church office before Sunday, April 21.  The Deacons will also have proxy forms available on Sunday morning and will take your completed proxy before the second service.

Naples UCC Membership and Growth Committee has launched our new website. While our web address will remain the same, NaplesUCC.org, there are many new user-friendly features we invite you to explore.

But why stop there?

Invite your friends and neighbors to know about all the exciting events and programs underway here at NUCC! Simply suggest they visit us online! It’s an easy way to be “Intentionally invitational and Welcoming”. We thank you for your user patience as our technical team continues to roll-out updates.

Nursery childcare for infants through 4 years old is available each Sunday morning beginning at 8:30 a.m. in Nelson Hall room 203 (the building across the Gathering Place). Please sign in with our nursery staff. Our current space located next to the sanctuary is still available to you as a Wiggle Room. Feel free to utilize that space if you wish to stay with your child. 

Rev. Jim Antal is a renowned pastor, theologian, and climate activist. He wrote the book Climate Church, Climate World. Rev. Antal will join us on Tuesday, April 23 at 12:30 p.m. for a conversation about the unique calling churches have to help protect our planet. Rev. Antal will join us via Zoom, and

we will gather in N-207. Email Pastor Angela if you have any questions at Angela@NaplesUCC.org. 

Caregiver's Support Group is meeting TODAY Friday, April 19 at 2 p.m. in N-101.

At our following meeting, we will celebrate our 9th year of having a Caregivers’ Support Group at NUCC!! Come and join us for cake. We will have our regular support meeting also. Our Caregivers Support Group will meet on Friday, May 3 at 2 p.m. in N-101. All are welcome! For more information, please reach out Joan Millon at joanmillon6@gmail.com. We hope to see you there. 

We have numerous roof repairs which will be ongoing for the next few weeks. These were much needed and will help protect our buildings during the rainy season. We are so grateful for the generous gifts that were able to make these repairs possible.

Sunday, April 28, Between Services, N-207

Intersections, led by Rich Kirschner will be held in Nelson Hall Room 207, following the 9 a.m. Service. We hope to see you there!

Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m., N-101 and Zoom

All men are invited to be part of the weekly men’s ministry group here at NUCC. This Wednesday, they’re beginning a new book Jesus and the Powers by N.T. Wright. Come for coffee, donuts, and stimulating conversation. The group is organized by Rich Kirschner, please email him at rdkirschner@gmail.com for the Zoom link. 

On Sunday, April 28 at 11 a.m. we will have Joining Sunday, a wonderful opportunity for those interested in becoming a member of NUCC. You may join as a full member or associate member (for those who wish to maintain their membership in a northern church). You may join in a private ceremony or publicly during the Sunday services.

If you are interested in joining or have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Membership Coordinator, Chelsea Godwin, at

Chelsea@NaplesUCC.org or by calling our church office at (239)261-5469.

You may also sign up Sunday in the Gathering Place following either service.

Monday, April 22 at 2 p.m., N-104 and Zoom

The Naples UCC Book Club will discuss Tom Lake, a novel by Ann Patchett. Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. It is a gentle read, sharing the joy and extraordinary in the ordinary of being together on a family cherry farm in Michigan. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. This novel is about storytelling at its best, reminding the reader that everyone has a story to share, as ordinary as their life may seem. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety. Ann Patchett has had a life-long fascination with the play Our Town, by Thornton Wilder and while not necessary to read the play in advance of this book, you’ll certainly want to afterward if you haven’t already. The discussion of Tom Lake will be facilitated by Heather English. Newcomers are always welcome, even if you haven’t read the book!

If you're here in Naples for the season and are part of a church "up north" as well, we'd love to have you become an associate member of Naples UCC. You can be a member of Naples UCC and your church up north. In fact, as an associate member, you will have the same voting and participation privileges as any other member of our church family. To become an associate member, sign up today in the Gathering Place.

Join members and friends for fellowship, prayer, and walking in nature. The Walk and Wonder group eagerly welcomes family members, friends, and especially newcomers to the NUCC community. On Wednesday, April 24, enjoy a walk along Seagate Beach and the boardwalk that leads to the Naples Grande. Meet in the church parking lot at 8:30 a.m. Anticipate our return to church by 10:00 a.m. Contact Merrill Noble at mwnoble56@gmail.com

if you have questions, plan to attend for the first time.

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 20 at 1 p.m., Webinar

The UCC’s second annual Earth Day Summit webinar is on Apr 20, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. The summit will feature celebrated author and activist Bill McKibben delivering the Jim Antal Keynote Lecture with the title, “Energy from Heaven or Energy from Hell?” Additionally, a panel of award-winning activists will speak about the multi-national struggle against the pollution of Formosa Plastics, one of the world’s largest plastics producers. It is free to attend, here is the link to register: tinyurl.com/EarthDaySummit Even if one cannot make the event at its scheduled time, all those who register will receive a link to a recording of the event. 

After the HUGE success of our post-pandemic reboot of NUCC Baby Boomer’s Potluck, we decided we gotta do it again! Please join us TODAY, Friday, April 19 at 5 p.m.



Fun, Food, and Fellowship; including music and trivia.

Our hosts this month are Carolyn & Dennis Kois. Please RSVP to Carolyn at (608) 219-0812 or johnsonkois@icloud.com. You are invited to bring a dish to share & BYOB.

PARKSHORE LANDINGS

305 Parkshore Dr. Pool House 

Sunday, April 28 • 9 and 11 a.m.

Rev. Dr. Mark Williams, preaching

"Known by Our Fruit"

Beth Larsen, flute

Dr. Alexandra Carlson, piano

Sanctuary Choir

View the online calendar for NUCC here.

The Bargain Box will be holding a focused donation drive on the last Sunday of every month. This month it will be on Sunday, April 28 and we are looking for gently used purses, wallets and totes. A table will be set up under the portico and donations should be dropped off before and after both services. You may reach out to Mary Robinson at (239) 298-3496 if you have any questions. Thank you for your support of the Bargain Box!

With funds provided by Bargain Box revenues, a grant was given to the STARability Foundation by the Board of Mission and Outreach. STARability works to transform the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through social, vocational and educational community connections. With the help of their Vocational Services team, participants learn job skills, explore career opportunities and find employment with businesses that believe in their abilities. Our grant will be used to expand their Vocational Services. Meet Judith Irigoyen, Development Director, on Sunday, May 5 and learn more about their work. Additional information will be available in the Gathering Place between services, and you may visit their website: www.starability.org

Come and meet up with old friends...or make new ones!!

We are excited to share that we will have a Social Soirée on Monday, April 29 at 4:30 p.m. at Giuseppe and the Lion (formerly Noodles Cafe, 1585 Pine Ridge Rd). Join us for an evening of fun, fellowship, and live music (beginning at 6:00 p.m.). Please sign up in the Gathering Place or by contacting the church office. If you have any questions or updates to your attendance, please contact Susan Melick at (239) 293-8446. We hope to see you there!

A HUGE thank you to all of the people who have so joyously donated their time and talents to the Habitat for Humanity communities!! Jobs well done!! We will hold our FINAL (!) season Build Day on Saturday, May 4 from 8 a.m. to noon. Our team will be working on homes in the Whitaker Woods Project, directly across from Youth Haven, at 5825 Whitaker Road, Naples. There is a variety of work for all levels of ability...painting, caulking, hanging doors, installing windows, and framing for those with more advanced skills! We like to arrive around 7:50 and then wrap it up at noon. If you are interested, please sign up in the Gathering Place after the service. If you are a first-timer, please register with Habitat at: tinyurl.com/NUCCbuild.

All registrants will receive confirmation on site location and additional helpful safety information and will avoid needing to complete a release form at the job site. If

you have any questions please contact judyvarty@gmail.com. Join us for a fun day of service! 

Thank you to our volunteers, who graciously donated their time

to the Food Pantry last week. We are grateful to you!

Play Mahjong or want to learn? Join Mahjong on Mondays from 1 - 3 p.m. in N-101. Free and all are welcome!

Mission Statement: To love God and all our neighbors as God loves us.

Open and Affirming • Mission-Driven • Powerful Worship • Continuing Generosity

Caring Ministry• Hospitable Fellowship