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First Congregational Church
300 S. Minnesota Ave | Sioux Falls, SD 57104
(605)336-3072 | fcc@firstcongucc.com
Thinking Faith. Unbounded Welcome. Creative Worship. Generous Service.
| May 9, 2024 | The Good News | |
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Sunday, May 12: Mighty Middles Open House, Thrive Together (visitors), Lois Nicholas' Birthday Celebration, and Lorah Houser Jankord's Ordination Service
Friday, May 17: Out and About Baseball
Saturday, May 18: Spring Cleanup Day
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Sunday, May 19: Volunteer Appreciation Day Breakfast and Becky Pagone's Ordination Service
Thursday, May 23: Dow Rummel Visit
Friday, May 31: Pride Trivia at Spirit of Peace
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Mighty Middles Mother's Day Open House
All are welcome on May 12th, from 9:15 am - 10:15 am to tour through the Mighty Middles Sunday School Room to learn about the class and what the students have learned about Genesis in the last year. We are excited for the new Middle School students to join the Mighty Middles in the upcoming school year!
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Summer Sow 2 Grow
God is a surprise, and so are our garden bags! This Summer, all youth from the Terrific 2's through High School students are invited to take a garden bag home with them starting in May.
20 plants were given out this Sunday!
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Circle Bible Study
Circle Bible Study will meet Thursday, May 16th, in the Gerlinger Room at 10:00 am. We will be viewing Lesson 6 of our video series; "The Life of Jesus". Dr. Matt Williams
will present "Defeating the Enemy / Jesus Casts Out Demons" (Mark 1:21-28). Come join us for coffee, discussion, and fellowship. All are welcome!
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Take Me Out to The Ballgame!
Out & About will be heading to the Birdcage to watch the Canaries vs. Fargo Morehead! This is their opening game of the season with fun things in store (like fireworks)!
Details:
Hosts: Dick and Lori Menke
Date: Friday, May 17th
Time: 7:05 pm game
Address: 1001 N. West Ave. SFSD
Tickets: $13/person (food, beverages, etc. available through concessions)
IMPORTANT INFORMATON: Please contact Lori Menke directly @ 605.261.2833 if you are interested in attending. We need to have a definite number of attendees by Thursday, May 9th!! The Menke’s will meet you in front of the Birdcage to get your tickets to you. See you at the game!
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Lois Nicholas' 90th Birthday Celebration!
Celebrate Lois on Sunday, May 12, from 2:30 - 4:30 pm in the Prairie Creek Residence Dining Room. RSVP to 970-213-4533 or Sarah@jubilationranch.org
Send birthday cards to:
4400 Creekside Drive #201
Sioux Falls, SD 57106.
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Ordination Services
We are excited to announce two Ordination services happening in May!
May 12: Lorah Houser Jankord - Representatives from Oahe, Prairie Lakes and Two Rivers Associations will participate. Clergy are invited to wear red or multi-colored stoles. All are welcome to come to the worship service and the reception to follow.
May 19: Becky Pagone - The Two Rivers Association and the Tri-Conference of the United Church of Christ invites you to the Ordination and Installation of Becky Pagone. Clergy are invited to wear red or multi-colored stoles. The service will take place at 3:00 pm in the Sanctuary with a reception to follow in Jones Hall.
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Building and Grounds Spring Cleanup Day
The Building and Grounds Team is hosting a Spring Cleanup Day on May 18th, from 9:30 am - 12:00 pm, to help spruce up the Church for a fresh start to the Summer. Bring gloves, rakes, shovels, and wheelbarrows if you have them.
- Painting outside railing
- Seeding
- Distributing mulch
- Planting for the Living Quilt Garden - bring your plants (see below).
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Bring your plants on May 18th!
Work has started in the back of our church to create a meditation area featuring a Living Quilt Garden. Similar to a patchwork quilt, it symbolizes our vibrant and diverse community, which is both nurturing and filled with love. To mirror this diversity, we invite all congregation members to contribute a perennial plant or two from their gardens that bring them happiness, planting them in our Living Quilt Garden located outside near the back entrance. This area will be a peaceful spot for reflection, meditation, and prayer.
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Volunteer Appreciation Sunday - Breakfast to be Catered on May 19th!
We are grateful to have a committed community of volunteers who help sustain our church. Join us in honoring and appreciating all our volunteers with a catered breakfast on Sunday, May 19th, from 9:15 to 10:15 am.
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South Dakota Educational Scholarships
The South Dakota Conference UCC values education, young people, and those who answer a call to ministry at any age. To support all those who God calls to serve in many professions for the work of ministry, we offer scholarships each year to high school seniors, undergraduates, graduate students, and seminarians active in their South Dakota UCC congregations. Scholarships may also be available to applicants pursuing programs not offered in South Dakota institutions. Some special funds are earmarked for those who are entering into ministry as a second career and have the challenges of family, jobs, and extra travel. The amount given varies from year to year.
https://ucctcm.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-Scholarship-Application.pdf
All applications require the following:
- General application with essay and transcript
- Pastor reference
- Educator reference
If you have any questions, please feel free to call the SD Conference office at 605.338.8738 or send an email to info@ucctcm.org.
Please note you will have to download, print and fill out the application and return it with your references to info@ucctcm.org. Applications must be submitted before May 30, 2024.
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Young Adults Tie Dye Night
Join us for a colorful and creative night to gear up for Pride with a tie dye party on Saturday, June 1, at 4:00 pm, in the Gerlinger Room. Drinks will be provided, feel free to bring a snack to share. Bring a white cotton t-shirt or any other garment you'd like to tie dye, and we'll provide all the necessary supplies. Please RSVP by May 26th so we can have enough supplies for everyone. Sign up in Fick Hall.
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2024 Mission Trip - Sign Up by June 9!
OutReach is cooking up a Mission Trip to Alamosa, CO on August 11-17, 2024! Calling all High School Students (with chaperones) and Adults for this adventure to lend a helping hand at the La Puente Home. Get ready to pick your project and dive into the journey!
- Painting, restocking, rearranging shelves at the thrift store, and performing basic maintenance tasks
- Tending to the V.E.G.I. Program Vegetable Garden
- Preparing and serving meals at the community center
- Assisting at the food bank
Those available for the trip dates and those who are interested are invited to an informational meeting on Wednesday, May 22nd, from 6:00 - 7:00 pm.
FCC will cover transportation expenses for bus travel, amounting to approximately $550 per participant. Please sign up in Fick Hall before June 9th to let us know if you can commit to going on the Mission Trip.
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Summer Singers
Want to share your love of music without the commitment to a full year of choir? You're invited to sing with our Summer Singers on the second Sunday of every month in the Summer, starting in June.
Email the Church office if you would like more information.
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ValleyFair 2024!
Wednesday June 12th
Ages: Grades 6-12
When: Wednesday June 12th All Day!
We board the bus in the morning and enjoy the park for many hours then load the bus for home in the evening. FCC covers the cost of the bus and Valleyfair ticket and water bottles so youth only need to provide/purchase their own food! We need chaperones for the trip, so plan your vacation day at ValleyFair.
Sign up at this link for ValleyFair or in Fick Hall: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd31QI5RY5IJBg54eWeydM4lebhjeXne2nhmXfYVk9UxAk26Q/viewform
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Sunday - 05/12/2024
Worship Service - 8:30 am
Breakfast - 9:15 am
Thrive Together (visitors) - 9:15 am
Mighty Middles Open House - 9:15 - 10:15 am
Sunday School - 9:45 am
Worship Service - 10:30 am
Fellowship Time - 11:30 am
Thrive Together (visitors) - 9:15 am
Ordination - Lorah Houser Jankord - 3:00 pm
Monday - 05/13/2024
Contemplative Prayer - 6:00 pm
Tuesday - 05/14/2024
Staff Meeting - 10:00 am
Church Ladies' Lunch - 11:30 am
Stewardship Meeting - 5:00 pm
Tuesday Night Yoga - 6:00 pm
Wednesday - 05/15/2024
Chancel Choir Rehearsal - 7:30 pm
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Thursday - 05/16/2024
Gentle Yoga - 9:00 am
Fumble Through Bible Study - 10:30 am
Al-Anon Meeting - 5:30 pm
Friday - 05/17/2024
Out and About Baseball - 7:00 pm
Saturday - 05/18/2024
Spring Cleanup Day - 9:00 am
Sunday - 05/19/2024
Worship Service - 8:30 am
Breakfast - 9:15 am
Sunday School - 9:45 am
Worship Service - 10:30 am
Fellowship Time - 11:30 am
Ordination - Becky Pagone - 3:00 pm
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Church Council
- Discussed an advertisement that falls outside of the communications policy
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Approved recommendation letter for Janel Fillingsness Bak's ordination interview
- Introduced new Church Council Members
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Remember in Prayer
Search Committee | Our Future pastor, still unknown to us
Family and Friends of Kristin Hughes (Karri Wiederrich’s sister) | Fred Sprenger | Family and Friends of Randi Van Der Sloot | Quentin Ambort | Tara Obner (Sister of Pam Oberembt) | Lisa Wilson (Ann Wilson’s Sister-in-Law) and Family | Janet Hallstrom | Tom Leesch | Judy Roddel | Pauline Norquist | Michael Joseph | Leif Haegeland | Gary Palmer
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Need Prayer or Support?
The FCC Staff and congregation is available to provide support for you and your family when hard times come. If you would like prayer, you can write prayer requests on your Prayer and Offering bulletin insert on Sunday Mornings, you can reply to this email newsletter, or you can email Becky Pagone for direct support: BPagone@firstcongucc.com
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Weekly Lectionary Scripture
John 17:6-19
"I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.
Next week's Scripture: John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
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Thank you to the 27 FCC volunteers who helped serve the 151 households at Food to You on May 2nd! Each family received 39-45 pounds of food!
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Ways to Give
We want everyone to have the accessibility to give, serve, and be a part of this faith community, so here are a few ways that you can consider giving:
- Cash
- Check/ACH Withdrawal
- PayPal Recurring Gifts
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NEW! Venmo (https://www.venmo.com/u/fccsiouxfalls)
- Volunteering with OutReach Opportunities
- Volunteering for serving breakfast, offering childcare, teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, building and grounds projects, and more!
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The Behavioral Covenant
First Congregational Church adopted our Behavioral Covenant in 2023. You can find the document on our website:
https://www.firstcongucc.com/behavioral-covenant
If you would like a printed copy and do not have access to a printer, please contact the Church Office for a printout.
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The mission of First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ is:
To create a Christian community based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth by growing in our relationships with God, each other, and our neighbors through a thinking faith, unbounded welcome, creative worship, and generous service.
Whoever you are, wherever you are on life’s journey,
you are welcome here.
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Ministers - All the People
Church Staff - Times listed that staff will be available in the office
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Becky Pagone, Designated Transitional Minister
Sundays: 8:00 am - 1:00 pm
Tuesdays: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Wednesdays: 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Thursdays: 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Email: BPagone@firstcongucc.com
Lisa Hastings, Finance Administrator
Monday - Thursday: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Friday: by appointment only
Email: Finance@firstcongucc.com
Rev. Samantha Houser, Theologian in Residence
Amanda Carlson, Church Music Intern
Frederick Matthews, Choir Director
Rev. Kathryn J. Timpany, Pastor Emerita
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Sara Sublette,
Office and Communications Coordinator
Monday - Friday: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Email: FCC@firstcongucc.com
John Pagone, Director of Christian Education
Sundays: 8:00 am - 1:00 pm
Monday - Thursday: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Email: JPagone@firstcongucc.com
Cameron Sublette, Facilities Manager
Sunday - Thursday: 7:00 am - 3:00 pm
Email: FacilitiesManager@firstcongucc.com
Church Office Hours:
Monday - Thursday
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Friday: By appointment only
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www.firstcongucc.com | 605-336-3072 | 300 S Minnesota Ave , Sioux Falls, SD 57104 | | | | |
