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UPDATED COVID GUIDELINES

Location Change for THIS SUNDAY'S Worship Service

This Sunday (December 4th), we will be holding our service in Fellowship Hall. We hope to see you there!

Communion Celebrated Today

For those joining us for worship virtually on Sunday, this is a reminder to prepare your elements for communion prior to the service.

This week, we are using pretzels we're making in the service as our communion elements! If you'd also like to participate in the making of the pretzels, a pretzel recipe is linked below.

The Resources for the Different Experiences for the Virtual Crowd in This Week's Service

Discussion and Reflection Questions

1. In today's Bible reading, we are told part of Jesus' family story. We are making Jesse Trees, with ornaments to represent many of the people whose stories led up to Jesus' story. Whose stories have led up to your story? How would you represent those people and their influence on your life? 
2. In today's Bible reading, Elizabeth says, “Look what the Lord has done for me! He decided to help me. Now people will stop thinking there is something wrong with me.” Have you ever felt the weight of other people's judgements about you? Who or what has helped you believe in your own worth?
3. In today's Bible reading, Zechariah has an encounter with a messenger from God while standing in a holy place. Are there places that are holy to you? Where do you go when you need to communicate with God?
4. After Zechariah receives the message from God, he is unable to speak for a time. Have there been times in your life when silence would have been better than speech? Who are you called to quietly listen to now?

Links to theother resources

First Church, Its Mission, and Its Ministry

Family Camp 2023: The Return to Templed Hills!

(no, really - we mean it this time!) 

It's that special time of year - time to sign up for Family Camp, that is! Our annual church Winter Retreat is coming up January 13-15. We will be making our return to Templed Hills - Heartland UCC's Camp in Bellville, OH. 

Family Camp is a weekend of Fun, fellowship, and relaxation. It's a rather informal weekend full of board games, puzzles, reading, sitting by the fire, sledding, hiking, s'mores - whatever you enjoy! It's meant to be a weekend away from the craziness - an opportunity to catch your breath in a beautiful setting and catch up with your family and friends from church. 

Housing will be in either Memorial Lodge or Heritage House. Memorial has 8 dorm style rooms with bunk beds and their own bathroom and shower. Heritage has rooms that sleep up to 4 people, with bathrooms and showers off the common areas. 

Cost is $50 for anyone 12 and over, $25 for children 6-11, and free for ages 5 and younger. The deadline for registration and payment is Monday, December 19th. It is important to sign up by the deadline - otherwise, we may not have space for you! 

You can sign up via the link below, or use the sign-up sheet across from the church office. Please use one line/entry per person and fill out all the information.  Checks can be dropped off at the church, or you can pay online by going to our website and scrolling down to "Donate Online." On the next page, scroll down to "Family Camp Registration." 

If you've never experienced Family Camp, we invite you to consider coming with us this year! 

Gerwin Hoekstra Funeral - Livestream

A funeral service for former First Church organist, Gerwin Hoekstra, will be held this Saturday , December 3, 2022 at 10 a.m. in the Grote or Jacobijnerkerk in Leeuwarden. You can tune into the livestream by visiting the church's website: https://www.jacobijner.nl/ 

Please note: The Netherlands is in the Central European Time Zone (CET) which is 6 hours ahead of ours (i.e., to view the service you will need to tune in at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday).

If you would like to send a card, please send it to:

Monuta Funeral Care, attn fam T. Hoekstra,

Melissaweg 93,

9731BM Groningen

Death of former First Church Pastor Rev. Barney Kitchen

Announcement from the Missouri Mid-South Conference of the UCC

We are saddened to announce the death of William Barnes "Barney" Kitchen, retired longtime UCC minister and former Associate Conference Minister for the Western Association of the Missouri Conference, 1982-1990.

From ordination in 1971 through retirement in 2004, Barney's calls in the MMSC included Village UCC, Blue Springs, Mo. and Pilgrim Congregational Church UCC, St. Louis, Mo. Upon retiring and returning to St. Louis, he was an active member of First Congregational Church of Webster Groves UCC.

We celebrate God's image lived fully in Barney's life.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - EMPTY MUGS

We are excited to once again be hosting the annual Empty Mugs and Brass Spectacular holiday event on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 1:00 p.m. Following an hour long concert in the Meeting House featuring the Oberlin Choristers and the Conservatory's "Smokin' Brass," beautiful, hand-crafted pottery will be on sale in the Fellowship Hall. All proceeds benefit Oberlin Community Services. Many volunteers are needed to support this event. Please sign-up in the Gallery or contact the church office if you can help with the following:

• Parking Lot Greeters/Ushers (2 –3 people)     12:00 PM—1:30 PM
• Interior Greeters/Ushers (4 –6 people)                    12:00 PM—1:30 PM
• Beverage/Cookie Servers (3 –4 people)   2:00 PM—4:00 PM
• Clean Up/Take Down Crew (4 –5 people)       3:30 PM—4:30 PM

Volunteers will receive a ticket good for (1) free piece of pottery. Your support of this significant community event is much appreciated!

Below is the volunteer flyer hanging up on the bulletin boards.

Upcoming Youth Events!

We raised $360 with our Pumpkin Roll Fundraiser - hooray! Thanks to all who made rolls - and all who bought them! Now it's time to shop for gifts! We'll be shopping and wrapping presents for the Holiday Helping Hands Drive TODAY, Friday, December 2nd, from 6-8:30 pm. Meet at the church and we'll head out to Wal-Mart from there! 

Read Theology with us on Tuesdays!

A Faith Studies Reading Group will be starting up this December. Meetings are Tuesdays from 10-11 am. Our goal is to help each other through theologically interesting texts. Our first meeting will be Tuesday, December 6th, at 10 am, and we'll be discussing Making a Way Out of No Way, by womanist theologian Monica A Coleman. Copies are available in the church's Reading Room. We will be meeting in a group member's home - and all are welcome! If you'd like more information (including the address) please contact the office. 

Get ready for the Christmas pageant!

Our Christmas pageant will take place during worship on Sunday, December 18th, and all children who wish to participate are invited to do so! We will have a rehearsal after church on December 11th which will last until noon. We will also have a dress rehearsal on Saturday, December 17th, from 10 am until noon. If you’d like to be part of the pageant, please let Jen know, so she knows to create a part for you!  

Stewardship Campaign

Thanks to everyone who has turned in their pledge for 2023. If you haven’t turned yours in yet, please do so as soon as possible. Remember 20% of all pledges turned in by December 31, 2022 will be budgeted for Outreach projects. If you need a replacement pledge card, a digital version is provided in this eNews. Thank you for your faithful support of First Church with your time, your talent, and your treasure. 

Honoring and Commemorating Loved Ones this Christmas

The Worship Committee, responding to the increased needs in our community, is offering two ways to honor or memorialize loved ones this Advent/Christmas season. We will be ordering 30 Poinsettia plants, but will also have a “Giving Tree” where members and friends may make a $12.00 (or greater) gift and each gift will be represented by a red bow on a tree in the Meeting House. These gifts will be forwarded to the Outreach Committee for distribution to those agencies providing direct aid within the community. A digital form is provided below, please return the form to the church. The last day to order poinsettias and red bows is Sunday, December 4th.

Advent-Christmastide Devotional - What's Left of the Night

An attentive sentinel of the night can see that darkness harbors much more life and renewal than many presume. Certain plants and animals only come to life during the nocturnal hours. Seeds of insight are planted when daylight disappears. Hope blossoms when the morning star is not seen.

All of us who yearn for brighter days could benefit from more appreciation of how life is sustained, fortified, and renewed in the dark.

Once again in 2022, the Stillspeaking Writers Group and contributors offer a daily devotional to guide us through the days of Advent and Christmastide, to the celebration of Epiphany.

We have 34 FREE copies of this book on the Welcome Table. Donations are welcomed, but not required. 

For those that don't get a hard copy of the book, you are also able to purchase a PDF version of the book for $3.00 here, they do not have any physical copies available at this point, so a digital copy (the PDF version) is the only available purchasing option. Please purchase one PDF per reader. Upon purchase, a link will be emailed to you for downloading the PDF.

Any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to the office at office@firstchurchoberlin.org or our phone number, (440)775-1711. 

The Christmas Fund on December 24th

The Christmas Fund has been caring for active and retired clergy and lay employees of the United Church of Christ for over 100 years, providing emergency grants, supplementation of small annuities and health premiums, and Christmas “Thank You” gift checks each December to our lower-income retirees.

United Church of Christ congregations and members have blessed the Christmas Fund with their generosity for many years. This year, your care and compassion will be especially appreciated by those servants of the church who are facing a time of need, as reflected in the theme of this year: Overwhelmed with Joy! This year’s offering will be collected on December 24th, but donations may be given at any point before Christmas Eve.

Overwhelmed with joy!

- Matthew 2:10

It is possible to contribute in one of three ways: 

1. By mailing a check made out to The First Church in Oberlin with “Christmas Fund” in the memo line to the church office, 
2. By using the offering envelopes on the Welcome Table and depositing your donation in the wooden donation box in the Narthex at the top of the steps leading to the Gallery, 
3. Or by going to our First Church website, scrolling down and clicking on "Donate Online" and then going to the “Christmas Fund” section. Alternatively, click here and it’ll bring you to the page.

See the attachments below for more information on this special offering. More information can also be found on the Pension Board website. Let your gift help those who have given so much for our communities.

WE WANT YOUR INPUT!

Do you want to have a rain garden on the First Church property? Have you wondered if the playground will be rebuilt? Where should we put the Peace Pole? Are you happy with grassy, green space? We would like to know what shared outdoor spaces are important to you, and where you might like to see them placed.

Displayed in the Fellowship Hall is a property map of the First Church grounds. Also included are stickers and a key to what those stickers represent. Please place the appropriately colored stickers in the places you would like to see any of the following:

Playground – orange dot

Rain garden – yellow dot

Prairie garden – green dot

Meditation space – pink dot

Peace pole – star sticker

There are also nearby comment sheets so you can make additional comments or suggestions.

Thanks for your input!

Koinonia Farms

Gifts from Koinonia Farm in Georgia make perfect holiday presents. Their pecans, whether halves, pieces, or in chocolate products, are simply the best. Browse their Holiday Gift Guide and place your order directly through Koinonia Farm! Linda Slocum will not be ordering in bulk and offering products after the Sunday service this year.

For decades First Church members have supported the mission of Koinonia Farm, founded in 1942 by Clarence and Florence Jordan and Martin and Mabel England as a “demonstration plot for the Kingdom of God.” The farm in Americus, Georgia, is an intentional community of believers sharing their lives and resources, following the example of the first Christian communities. They have sustained their community through the years by selling products, many made from the exceptionally delicious pecans they harvest annually.

Oberlin Community Services Needs Our Help!

OCS is low on food this month! Some things they would appreciate being donated are:

• Macaroni
• Stuffing
• French Fried Onions
• Gravy
• Pasta
• Rice
• Peanut Butter
• Toiletries

If you can donate any of these, please contact OCS! Their contact information and drop off information are detailed in the flyer below. Thank you for any help you can provide!

Rural Response Network: Access to Services (Oberlin and Wellington) Questionnaire

This questionnaire asks your opinion about alcohol and/or drug problems (substance use disorders), mental health, and barriers people might face in knowing if, how and where to get help.

It is intended for people ages 18 or older who live and/or work in Oberlin, Wellington and surrounding rural townships. Participation is voluntary and anonymous. All results will be added together and summarized.

This information will be used by The LCADA Way and the Rural Response Network consortium to help direct prevention/education, outreach, linkage, treatment, and recovery support efforts.

There are also physical copies of this survey available in the church office.

Walkin' In a Winter OBERLIN

December 3, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm | Downtown Oberlin

 Kick off the holidays in Downtown Oberlin! Holiday Tree Lighting - Santa Comes to Town - Holiday Lights Parade - Horse Drawn Sleigh Rides - Musical Performances - And More! Free & Everyone is Welcome!

For more information, including a map of activities and performance times, visit www.CityofOberlin.com/Winter-Oberlin

Oberlin Needs Our Input!

The City of Oberlin has commissioned Retail Strategies and specifically the Downtown Strategies group to develop a 5-year strategic plan for Oberlin's downtown as a part of the Community Action Plan. They are asking for the community to complete a survey so they can understand what the current situation is and what people would like to see in a strategic plan.

THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO OFFER YOUR OPINIONS - we at OBP hope you will participate in the survey and let your opinion be known - it is the best way to allow your voice to make a difference.

This survey is due TODAY!

Warehouse Sales

Saturday, December 10 and Sunday, December 11

Saturday: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. and

Sunday: Noon -4 p.m.



17876 St Clair Ave, Cleveland

Hospice of the Western Reserve’s Warehouse Sales feature gently used furniture, antiques, decorations, jewelry and more. Whether it's sprucing up a home, staging a property, locating a "like new" desk for a student, or finding a dining room table large enough for holiday gatherings, our sales are the place to be. In addition to furniture and decor, the selection often includes matching sets of fine china, glassware, jewelry, antiques, collectibles and one-of-a-kind treasures.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR HOSPICE OF THE WESTERN RESERVE

Are you looking for a way to help individuals in your community? Consider becoming a Hospice of the Western Reserve Volunteer. Volunteers are needed to serve patients at the Hospice Houses, in their own homes, and area nursing homes/assisted living facilities. There are also many virtual and face-to-face opportunities at the newly reopened Medina Inpatient Unit and at Life’s Treasures Thrift Shop. Other opportunities include Veterans Serving Veterans, Attorney, Notary and Licensed Hairdresser. Virtual training series are held every month for new volunteers. Prospective volunteers may register for training once prerequisites are met. For more information, contact us at 216-255-9090 or fill out an online application at hospicewr.org/volunteer.

DONATIONS NEEDED FOR HOSPICE OF THE WESTERN RESERVE WAREHOUSE SALES

Hospice of the Western Reserve holds Warehouse Sales throughout the year. We are looking for additional items to be donated for our next sale. Items needed include furniture, housewares, domestics, collectables, framed artwork, seasonal items, and fine & costume jewelry. Items are accepted up until two weeks before a sale. The sales are held at Hospice of the Western Reserve Headquarters, 17876 St. Clair Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44110. Proceeds support patients and families of Hospice of the Western Reserve. For more information on making a donation, please contact us at 216-255-9090. And mark December 10-11, 2022 on your calendars if you would like to attend the next sale.