Highlights
Nov. 24 — Fourth Sunday Offering: Beyond Hunger
Nov. 24 — Community of Congregations Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, 7 p.m.
Nov. 27, 28, and 29 — Church office closed for Thanksgiving holiday
Advent Sundays — Adult Ed: Stories of Calling, 9:30 a.m.
Dec. 1 — First Sunday of Advent
Dec. 8 —Second Sunday of Advent; Hanging of the Greens
Evotional
Our Whole Lives (OWL)
— Alicia Reese
Calendar
Oct. 22-Nov. 19 — 1619 Project Discussion Group, 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesdays
Nov. 24 — Alternative Christmas Store pre-sale, before and after worship
Nov. 24 — Orders due for Christmas cookies baked by Senior Highs
Advent Sundays — Alternative Christmas Store, before and after worship
Dec. 4 — Alternative Christmas Store private shopping event, 6-8 p.m.
Dec. 7 — Midpoint Christmas party, 7:30 p.m.
Sermons
So Great a Cloud of Witnesses
Hebrews 11, 12 - selected verses
This means that there has not been a single generation of humanity, not a single generation of humanity that has been spared the pain of grief. Not even Adam and Eve were spared the pain of grief. To live is to know grief. It has been for every generation ever to live.
— John Edgerton
About Us & Registration Forms
Messenger Bell
Weekly Bulletins
Church School Registration
Youth Group Registration
Online Giving
First United Mission Partners
First United Nursery School
First United Strategic Plan
Centennial booklet
Chapel window booklet
Poetry booklet
Mission Calendar
2018 Annual Report
Information for newcomers
What’s Happening
The 1619 Project, a special issue of The New York Times Magazine, marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to Jamestown, Virginia. The series of essays, images, stories, and poems will challenge readers to reframe their understanding of U.S. history by considering 1619 as the foundational beginning of our nation's story. The 1619 Project Discussion Group will meet from 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesdays from Oct. 22 through Nov. 19. Hard copies of the articles are available in the Church Lounge. Contact Katharine Thurman for more information. The online link below will give you a PDF of all articles.
Just like winter, the Alternative Christmas Store is coming
Rethink gift giving by shopping to help others on Advent Sundays at First United's Alternative Christmas Store. Find beautiful items from around the world, from small ornaments to scarves. Consumable favorites include dry ingredients for soup, fair trade chocolate and coffee, and Palestinian olive oil. Among the groups that benefit are Church World Service, SERVV International, and the church’s Mission Partners.
The Alternative Christmas Store will have items on display in the Church Lounge on Sundays in Advent, starting on Dec. 1. In addition, a private shopping event to benefit our Mission Partners will be 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, at Ten Thousand Villages in Oak Park — 15 percent of your purchases will be donated, and you can sip wine and nibble on cheese while you shop. If you really want to get a head start, there will be a pre-sale in the Church Lounge on Nov. 24. And in the spirit of the season, let's keep it green — bring your own shopping bags if possible.
Interested in helping out? The Alternative Christmas Store is looking for some new volunteers on Sunday mornings! For more information or to offer your services, contact Teri Omert or Mary Sue Voth.
