Church Office Closed

The church office will be closed this week 5/23-5/26 as Michael will be out of town.

Pastor Del will be keeping his usual office hours.

Attention Choir Members!

Choir will perform this Sunday May 28th. We will meet at 9:30 for rehearsal. After May we will take our usual summer break and resume in mid-September. Please let Michael know if you (or someone you know) are interested in singing a solo over the summer!

The Day of Pentecost

“Jesus Ascends to the Father.”

When the day of Pentecost came, [the apostles] were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them, ability. (Acts 2:1-4)

This begins the reading assigned for the Day of Pentecost. In the Jewish calendar, it is a festival which takes place fifty days after Passover. It is also called the Feast of Weeks, and originally celebrated the wheat harvest. That the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit is a fulfillment of Jesus’ promised in Mark 16:17. “And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues.”

Several Christian denominations place much emphasis on “speaking in tongues.” A classmate of mine at Fuller Seminary described her prayer life as including words that she didn’t understand, but needed to have someone with her so they could interpret them for her. My understanding of this passage is very different: to me it is clear that the apostles were given the gift of speaking in foreign languages so that the good news of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus could be spread throughout the entire world. 

The message continues to be spread through the written word in the Bible which has now been translated into 2846 languages in 157 countries!

Reading the message is only one way the word is spread. The old adage, “actions speak louder than words” comes into play. May God continue to bless us as we continue to lovingly share our time, money, and other resources with our neighbors and continue to spread God’s word as we await the day when Christ will come again. Amen!

The liturgical color of the day for Pentecost is red recalling the fiery tongues that descended upon the Apostles when they received the Holy Spirit. If you have a potted red geranium or other potted plant with red blossoms that you'd like to loan to the church for the day, please bring it with you on Sunday and we will place it in front of the pulpit. Thank you.

Tia Iddings would like some help.

Please call Tia at (712) 333-6919 if you are willing to mow her lawn for her. She would greatly appreciate it. 

Also, she requests our prayers that her health would improve and that she could keep her house and her cats.

Summer schedules include vacations. We will pick up our monthly Bible studies at Caribou Coffee in September.

Summer projects at First Congregational UCC. Summer allows for projects that didn’t get done in the spring. This includes removing a couple signs and planting Easter lilies in out perennial garden. 

Do you have questions or concerns about how things are going at First Congregational UCC?

Included in my duties as your Bridge Pastor is listening to those questions and concerns and doing what I can to answer the questions and/or to facilitate a resolution to the concerns.

If you are not able to visit me during my regular office hours, please call my cell phone and we can arrange a time and location that works best for you. Thank you. (712) 490-6510.

If you are someone you know would benefit from a pastoral visit, please call the office, and let Michael or me know.

In Christ,

Pastor Del

Mission of the Month: Sanford Center

   Our summer months Mission will once again be the Summer Program at the Sanford Center. We will be supplying cereal, snacks, juice boxes, water bottles, etc.  We need to get an early start on this as the program starts June 3. You can drop your donation off at the Sanford Center or bring it to church and we will see it gets delivered.

Rummage Sale

The rummage sale has been set for October 13 and 14. We will start the Wednesday work nights on August 23. Please mark your calendar.

We have room to store items you may have for the October rummage sale. Items may be brought church and will be stored in the northernmost room across from the former Perry Creek Pre-School room (now housing Support Siouxland Soldiers) on the second floor.

Moving-On Box Ministry

In supporting the 'gift' of moving on, we fill lives with hope and household essentials for those leaving transitional housing at Safe Place.

Current MOB Needs:

Toilet paper - Urgent Need!

Small plastic glasses

Dish rags and towels

Dish soap

Laundry soap

All-purpose cleaners

Plastic wrap

Toilet cleaner and brush

Kleenex/tissue paper

Plastic totes

Trash Bins

Bob Nicholson 

Pam Ridgway 

Harper Searcy

Tia Iddings

 If you have any prayer requests, please notify the office!

Thank You, Volunteers!

A big "thank you" goes out to our volunteers who helped with services this week.

Fill in Minister-Todd Siefker

Worship Leaders -  Ruth Holder

Ushers - Simon/Zack

Live Stream - Pam Ridgway/Jerrod Kiernan

Sound/Lighting - John Kiernan

 Screen - Jerrod Kiernan

FCUCC Finances for April 2023

Updates from Church Treasurer

Giving last month amounted to $8,779 from mail-in, online giving, and Sunday offerings.

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. It's 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.



Remember to Support FCUCC Financially During this Time!