Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.

(Psalm 69:17)

This phrase is found is several Psalms of Lament…songs that were sung when God’s people were in distress. Their understanding was that when things were going well, God’s face was shining on them, but when things were not going well, God had turned God’s back toward the people.

This, to me, is bad theology. God has demonstrated over and over again, that God is patient with us, forgives us, and helps us find our way back to where we need to be. However, we were created with the ability to choose right from wrong and, because of our humanity, we often choose what is wrong. The good news is that God is ready to listen to our pleas for forgiveness, hear our cries for

mercy, and welcome us back with loving arms.

My soul is heavy this morning because of something that happened to me yesterday. I am fine but my heart is sad. On my own I am helpless to move forward. On my own I would continue to wallow in despair. On my own I would be stuck. I am not alone, however; God is always with me. God is always there to guide me. God is always there to help me move forward to restore my faith and trust in others.

On a completely different topic…congratulations, First Congregational United Church of Christ in the tremendous success of the rummage sale! Thank you to all who spent many hours sorting, displaying, and pricing the items! The love of God was shared with the refugees who were allowed to buy items at no cost! This congregation demonstrated again, the meaning of the Gospel! I am so honored to be your Bridge Pastor.

Thank you.

Jane and I will be visiting our younger son and daughter-in-law in the Nashville area and will be out of town July 5—July 12. In future edition of Straight to the Point, I will provide the information of who can be called in case of emergencies.

A huge thank you to the volunteers who helped with the setup and the sale itself. Many hours went into this project and the volunteers worked thru some exceptionally warm temperatures. Thanks also to everyone that donated items. We had a two year accumulation of items making this the largest sale we have ever done.

Total sales were $3,225.70. When we add that to the small sale we did with Randy last spring which resulted in sales of $1,478 our total rummage income was $4,703.70. This money will be divided between the agencies we support.

Due to the heat, the cleanup still needs to be done. When it cools off a bit we will once again need volunteers to pack things up.

You are~each one of you~wonderful reminders of what a blessing this church fellowship and our church family have been to us these past 18 years. Thank you so much for all the cards given and well-wishes spoken as we left to move to the Green Bay area to begin another chapter in our lives. Thank you to Missions and Moving-on-Box friends for the lovely reception given for us after church on the 12th. We're glad to have journeyed together and grown together in our faith throughout our years at FCUCC. You are missed! "Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love..." Know that you'll always find a welcome in our Wisconsin home!

Jim and Ginger France

1257 Brayden Lane # 41

De Pere, WI 54115

Hi Todd,

I just wanted to know if you would consider putting my wife, Carole, on your prayer list. Her last name is Baker. On May 11 of this year she was diagnosed with ALS. It's in its early stages, but it appears to be advancing at a greater rate than we had expected or hoped.

Some of the congregants will remember Carole from a couple of visits we made to First Congregational UCC since my retirement in 2011 and our marriage in 2015. We certainly covet the prayers of our friends in the First Cong. family.

Regards to the congregation as you greet them for us.

Al Hohl

The Sanford Center Summer Program will be our Mission for June, July, and August. We will once again be supplying cereal, snacks, juice boxes and water bottles. You can bring your donations to church and put them in the grocery cart near the front door or deliver them directly to the Geneva Street location.

   They will be operating both locations this year with 24 at Geneva Street and 12 at the Morningside location. The program started June 6 so we need to get things to them as soon as possible.

    If you would prefer to make a cash donation, make your check payable to the Sanford Center and put Summer Program in the memo line. You can mail the check directly to the Sanford Center at 1700 Geneva Street, Sioux City, IA. 51103.

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

bubble wrap (any old packaging to help wrap plates, glasses, etc)

bath towels

cake pans

can openers

3-quart saucepans

pot holders

small plastic glasses

toasters

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

Worship Leader- Ruth Holder

Live Stream- Pam Ridgway/Jerrod Kiernan

To access the directory online visit members.instantchurchdirectory.com and you should be able to create a login using the email listed in the church directory. If you need any help accessing the directory or would like a copy emailed to you, contact the church office for assistance.

Click HERE

Giving last month amounted to $5,579, 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. 

Go to http://get.tithe.ly to sign up online, or download the app on any iPhone/Apple or Android device.

Sunday 11:30am-3:30pm

Monday-Thursday 9am-1pm

Monday 9am-12pm, 1pm-4pm

Tuesday 2pm-5pm

Wednesday 2pm-5pm

Thursday 9am-12pm, 1pm-4pm