03.24.2023

First Things First



A weekly eNewsletter from

The First Church in Oberlin, United Church of Christ

An open and affirming, Just Peace, Green Justice, Global Mission Congregation

No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here!

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Worship Resources

Sunday,

March 26th @ 10am

First Church - Live Stream Worship via Facebook
DONATE ONLINE
Thank you for your donations.

Souper Bowl Sunday - Thank You So Much!


In conjunction with several churches in Oberlin, we were able to raise $1,875.80! Half of this went to Oberlin Weekday Community Meals and half of this went to Oberlin Community Services. Thank you for all of your support!

Announcements and Events For.....

First Church, Its Mission, and Its Ministry

Represent First Church at our Spring Festival & The Big Parade!


 As part of First Church’s evangelism and sharing with the community, we are inviting the public to join us in a Spring Fling Open House & Festival (name TBD) on Saturday, May 6, 10:00 am-3:00 pm. There will be indoor & outdoor games, lots of music, food, activities, church tours, a scavenger hunt, representatives from the agencies we support, and anything else fun we can think of!! We will need plenty of volunteers to help that day, to supervise games, answer questions, perform, and lead tours, as well as clean up afterward. We hope to have First Church t-shirts you can order to wear on May 6 as well as April 29 during The Big Parade! We’re planning a church “float,” riding on a trailer, playing music, waving banners and flags, handing out candy and schedules for our festival, and generally being a living, visible presence in the community.


If you want to join in the fun and participate in either of these events or would like to order a t-shirt, please let Moderator Anne Sprague know ASAP. Coming soon we will have sign up sheets for 2 hour volunteer slots for the festival date, so you can enjoy the experience first-hand. Mark your calendars! 

Spring Work Day with the Facilities Committee!


There will be a Spring Work Day on Saturday, April 1st, from 10 AM - 12:00 PM. There are 2 main projects; replace storm windows with screens in the Meeting House and removing old furniture from the Rocket Room. We really need 15 people who can lift and carry. 

- Facilities Committee

The Lin Family would like to invite members of the First Church community to commemorate the life and passing of Jiann I. Lin. A memorial service will be held for him tomorrow, Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 1pm at First Church in Oberlin, with a reception to follow in Fellowship Hall. For details about Jiann and the upcoming service, please go to: https://jiannlin.com/

Do you feel passionate about the future of First Church? 


At our recent Congregational Meeting, we agreed to embark on a Visioning and Strategic Planning process to determine where we go from here. Of course, the whole congregation will need to be involved in the final plan, but for now, Executive Council is seeking a small group of members to plan how we will begin the process. If this is your calling, please email moderator Anne Sprague. Together, we can ensure that First Church remains a vital part of our community for the next 100 years. 

March 26th Adult Ed.


Please join us this Sunday, March 26th after worship for the fourth session in our Lenten series on Spiritual Practices: Prayer Beads and their use, led by Jen Bertoni. We will meet in the JFO Room. No prior experience with spiritual disciplines expected or required; all are welcome.

Camp Registration is open!


It is time to think about church camp! This year, the UCC camp at Templed Hills is partnering with Camp Christian (run by the Disciples of Christ) to bring you twice the opportunities to take a break and have some fun! Camp scholarships are available from First Church - please contact Jen by April 15th if you're interested. We hope you take the opportunity to explore the camps and what they have to offer this summer!

Click Here to See All 2023 Camps Offered

Prayer Walk on the Internet with First Church! 


Part of the resources available at Adult Ed this Sunday was a virtual prayer walk, where Google Earth is used to travel to various ministries where our Outreach and Service committee donated in the past year. We invite you to join us on the walk and pray for these important causes! 


To explore the Prayer walk, click the link below, and then click the "present" button.

Prayer Walk

Come and be our Coffee Host Buddy! 


We need people to sign up to host Coffee Hour (sign-up is across from the office). To encourage you to do this, the Fellowship Committee would like to invite everyone to work with a Committee member to see how this is done -- and how really easy it is. Afraid of the new coffee maker? Fear no more! Sign up with a Buddy and you will learn how easy it is to host coffee hour. Sarah Colson will train the first group on March 26. There will also be opportunities to train on April 2 and April 9. To sign up for any of these dates, please call Sarah and leave a message at: (440)774-2538. Please specify which date you would like to help.

We invite you to join us for Holy Week and Easter!


Wave palm leaves and engage in a dramatic reading of the Passion in worship on Palm/Passion Sunday, April 2nd at 10:00 AM in the Meeting House, gather for an intimate service of communion on the evening of Maundy Thursday, April 6th at 7:30 PM in Fellowship Hall, and raise the roof with brass and organ on Easter, April 9th at 10:00 AM in the Meeting House.


To all of our young friends, we will be having our Easter Egg Hunt after our Easter Sunday service on April 9th on the front lawn.


Additionally, you're cordially invited to join Christ Episcopal Church for their Annual Easter Vigil Service on Saturday, April 8th, at 7:30 PM where Reverend David Hill is preaching. All are welcome. We look forward to worshiping with you!

Good Friday Services at Christ Church

 

Christ Episcopal Church in Oberlin (162 S. Main Street) will offer two unique observances of Good Friday (April 7).


At noon, all are welcome to participate in the symbolic pilgrimage of Stations of the Cross, held in the church. During the procession around the nave, we pause fourteen times to contemplate scenes from Christ’s passion (some with a biblical basis, others from later tradition) with scripture and prayer. This service lasts roughly 30-40 minutes.


At 7:30 p.m., we gather for the Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday from The Book of Common Prayer, which includes the singing of the Passion Gospel according to John using the traditional plainsong melody, a sermon, prayers, favorite hymns, and the veneration of the cross. (Communion is not celebrated this day.)


Everyone is warmly invited to attend either or both services.

THANK YOU!



Thank you for responding so generously to the request to increase your pledges for 2023. At our Congregational Meeting in January, we wrestled with the hard realities of our congregation's current unsustainable financial situation. In addition to amending the budget before it was adopted, the Stewardship Committee was asked to urge everyone to consider increasing their pledge. To date, 29 people have responded to the challenge by raising an additional $19,600. Your very generous response will help the congregation maintain its excellent mission and ministry throughout the year while the Executive Council leads us in a process to reevaluate and redefine our most urgent and critical ministry as we prepare ourselves for our future.


Faith Studies Reading Group


The Faith Studies Reading Group invites you to join them as they dive into their next book! The group is reading The New Being, by Paul Tillich, the German-American philosopher and theologian. The next discussion will be Tuesday, March 28th, from 10-11 am, in First Church's new Reading Room. Please join us for this discussion! 

Congratulations to Gene Matthews who will receive Oberlin College's Distinguished Community Service Award at this year's Commencement (May 22). This award is conferred upon “persons from the Lorain County area who have made significant contributions to the welfare of the community and its residents.” Way to go, Gene!

One Great Hour of Sharing Collected on April 9th!


One Great Hour of Sharing is one of four special mission offerings of the United Church of Christ. This Lenten Offering supports the disaster, refugee, and development ministries of the United Church of Christ within Wider Church Ministries. This year, the special offering's theme is hunger.


In Galatians, the Apostle Paul encourages followers of Jesus to generously help and care for others. Though there is great need in the world and we can grow weary because we do not know how to help, God's Spirit energizes and re-energizes us in every season.


We can make a difference. We do make a difference. Your generosity makes all the difference. Your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing provide immediate aid and long-term support to people experiencing hunger, thirst, disaster, or crisis around the world.


“So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up…So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all.” - Galatians 6:9-10


The 2023 offering will be collected on Easter, April 9th. It is possible to contribute in one of three ways: 



  1. By mailing a check made out to The First Church in Oberlin with “OGHS” 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 “One Great Hour of Sharing” section. Alternatively, click here and it’ll bring you to the page.

 

Please see below for the Mission Moment for this week, the video for this year's offering, and intergenerational activities meant to help us think about and plan how we can share our gifts with others.


Let your gift help to put prayer into action. The need has never been greater. The opportunity is now. It’s time to share.

Intergenerational Activities
Mission Moment for This Week

Alexander Technique Classes and Lessons

at First Church!

More information about Upcoming Events in Oberlin
More information about Alexander Techniques
Contact for Registration

The Wider Church

From the Association General Minister, Nayiri Karjian

Download

The Heartland Conference Disaster Network met last Saturday to continue the work of Disaster Response & Preparedness in the Heartland Conference. We prayed with our Disaster Response trailer, before members journey’d to Home Depot in Boardman, Ohio…where they loaded 116 cases of water and delivered them to Mount Olivet UCC, North Lima, Ohio. Mount Olivet members assisted as we loaded additional cases of water into our Disaster Response trailer, and will deliver the cases to East Palestine, Ohio this week.


Disaster Response members also toured East Palestine, to view the train derailment and the work currently being done in an attempt to remediate the contamination. Our hearts go out the the residents of the East Palestine area, many who are members of our area United Church of Christ churches. We continue to hold them in our prayers, and encourage others to do the same. 

Full Flyer (With More Information)
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The Wider Community

Poor Toil for Mere Pittance: The ILGWU in Cleveland, Ohio

March 28, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm |

Zoom (Registration Required)


On the morning of March 25, 1911, hundreds of garment workers, locked in on the 9th floor of the Asch Building in New York City, went about their normal day-to-day activities as a spare cigarette butt or match not fully put out began to burn in a bin of discarded fabric on the floor below. Within a half hour, the fire would kill one hundred and forty-six people, the majority being Italian and Jewish immigrant women, aged 14-23 years old. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire would be deemed the deadliest workplace disaster in New York History and have lasting repercussions for labor movements in the United States.


The International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) sought fair wages, safer working conditions, union recognition, and even sexual harassment protections for its workers. The ILGWU found its place in Cleveland, Ohio as early as 1903 and by 1911 the ILGWU was thoroughly entrenched in Cleveland garment factories. The Plain Dealer reported in 1911: “A feature peculiar to strikes in the garment trade, is the number of women involved. Of the 1,500 women on strike or out of employment because of the strike are mothers young and old, young women and girls not yet out of short dresses.”


This program about The ILGWU in Cleveland is presented for Women’s History Month by OHC's Museum Education & Tour Manager, Stephanie Bohnak, and will be available on Zoom on March 28 at 7:00 p.m. Advanced registration is required. You can register with the button below. If you have any further questions about this event, please contact us at tourinfo@oberlinheritage.org or by calling us at 440-774-1700.

Register

Screening and Panel Discussion of the Documentary Descendant

April 1, 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm |

Apollo Theater


The Africana Studies Department and the Environmental Studies Program present a screening of the documentary Descendant, to be followed by a panel discussion. Descendant tells the story of the Clotilda - the last known ship to smuggle stolen Africans to America - the unthinkable cover-up, and the impact of that crime on generations of descendants living in Africatown. Once the past is revealed, can the future be reclaimed? The following panel discussion and Q&A session will include Clotilda Descendants Ms. Joycelyn Davis and Mr. Emmitt Lewis, film co-writer and co-producer Dr. Kern Jackson, and environmental justice activist Major Joe Womack, with moderation by Dr. Charles Peterson, Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Director of the Gertrude B. Lemle Teaching Center. The screening will begin at 4:30 pm on Saturday, April 1 at the Apollo Theater. Doors will open at 4:00 pm.

Oberlin College Theater presents: Calypso

April 6, 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm |

67 N Main St


Later Repetitions:

  • April 7th, 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm
  • April 8th, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
  • April 8th, 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm
  • April 9th, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm


Oberlin College Theater presents our spring LabSeries production of “Calypso” written and directed by Jordan Muschler, April 6-9, in the Kander Theater!


Abandoned by the Gods, Calypso is stuck on an island alone and longing for more. A sudden storm strikes and brings with it a man, Odysseus, who has lived the life she wishes to lead. As the two grow closer, Calypso realizes she cannot go back to being alone.

Buy Tickets


Oberlin Easter Egg Hunt


April 8, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm |

Tappan Square, (Near West College Street)

Join us for the 2023 Easter Egg Hunt!


~ Ages 2-12 ~


~ Easter Egg Hunt Divided by Age Group ~

~ Face Painting ~

~ Games & Activities ~

~ And Meet the Easter Bunny! ~


Please bring a basket/bag to collect your eggs.

More Information
Brittany Lovett Bio
Judi Holler Bio
Tunde Oyeneyin Bio
Amy O'Dell Bio
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Additional Links & Information
City of Oberlin
Oberlin Bus. Partner.
ORSL Newsletter
Oberlin Community Services
Oberlin Heritage Center
Environ. Dashboard
United Church of Christ
Heartland Conference
Streams of Connection Newsletter: stay connected with the Living Water Association!
Living Water Association


If you are searching for ways to become more fully engaged in the life of the church, please contact Rev. David T. Hill by calling the church office at (440) 775-1711 or by sending an email to the church office.
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FIRST CHURCH BIRTHDAY CALENDAR
First Church Anti-Racism Resources
Anti-Racism Statement
Submission information:
Deadline for articles and information is Wednesday at 10 AM.
For entire list of submission requirements, click here. Thank you.
Email information to: office@firstchurchoberlin.org