First Church

CONFIRMATION
13 June 2010

‘Rooted and Grounded in Love.’
from Ephesians

All are invited to our All-Church Picnic on the Church Lawn which will immediately follow worship.  (If inclement weather we’ll picnic in Fellowship Hall.)  Please join us!

Deaconess for June is Catherine Gilbert (203-453-0758.)  Please make her aware of new births, adoptions, or anyone who needs a note of encouragement or sympathy.  CDs of worship services are available to sign out in Spencer House and sermon recordings are on our website: wwwfirstchurchguilford.org .  Please call Mary Norris (203-457-9483) for information about our Prayer Shawl Ministry.

Deacon for June is Pamela Dear (203-458-6040).  If you have questions, concerns or compliments, please speak with her.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Dear First Church Members:

For good Congregational transparency, I want to let you know that this week I organized a Financial Summit with members from the Board of Finance, Stewardship, Finance Council, Trustees, present and former Chairs of Church Council and a few invited guests to begin addressing the issues around our remaining debt on God’s Acre (the 19 Church Street property.)  We had a very fruitful, pragmatic and spirit-inspired discussion.  We will meet again in September.  Once ideas are crystallized and proposals are up for consideration, all this information will be shared with the entire congregation for discussion and action.  If you have any questions or ideas you would like to share, please do not hesitate to call me at 203-453-5249.

Kendrick

Summer Sunday School resumes next Sunday - Children in Pre-K through Gr. 4 are invited to participate in a mixed-age program on June 20th & 27th meeting in the Grade 1 classroom (1st floor, Church School Building.)

Pilgrim Fellowship Director Sought: The First Congregational Church, Guilford, is seeking a dedicated individual to serve as Director of its high school youth group, the Pilgrim Fellowship. The mission of PF is to create a broad-based and close-knit fellowship, provide an atmosphere where the moral and faith issues of the day can be explored, give opportunity for youthful exuberance and the joy of life to be fully expressed, and to serve those in need. In collaboration with a team of well-seasoned adult volunteers, the Director will plan and lead regular Sunday evening meetings (academic year) of approximately 60-100 teens, organize local service projects, and retain relevant speakers as necessary.  In addition the PF director will coordinate fundraising efforts, and organize, supervise and participate in an annual mission trip during April school vacation, in concert with a team of adult advisors.  September through June. $17,000. For more information please contact Kurt Linske at (203)453-6838 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . We desire to fill this position by the beginning of August, but applications will be accepted until the position is filled.  A detailed job description is available upon request.

Bookkeeper needed: Our church bookkeeper is leaving this month.  If you know of anyone who is interested in the job, please call Debbie Peluse at 203-453-5517.  The yearly budget for this job is $2,600.  It entails about 2 hours of work each week.  Hours are very flexible.

Alpha Club Annual Picnic is Tuesday, June 15th at 5:30pm at Benton’s Beach. Members should bring a salad or dessert.  Hamburgers and hot dogs will be provided.  If you wish to carpool, please meet in the church parking lot at 5:15pm.  All are welcome!

Harvest Fair Crafts: In preparation for this fall's Harvest Fair, the Crafts Group will meet Wednesday, June 16 at 6 p.m. in Room 9 (2nd floor of the Church School Bldg.)  No special skills are needed and everyone is welcome!  If you cannot attend workshops but would be willing to assemble some small items at home, please let us know.   If you have ideas, instructions, or patterns for craft items appropriate to sell at our table we would love to hear about them!  Please call Mary Norris (203-457-9483) or Yvette Howard (203-453-9953).  

Summer Nursery Volunteers Needed! Our regular care-givers need a break, so we are looking for volunteers to staff the nursery during the 10:00am service for the months of July and August. For ‘Safe Church’ policies, we ask that two unrelated people sign up to provide this service to our little people together.  Have a Sunday or two this summer? Sign up on the sheet in the Narthex or contact Lisa Horst (203) 453-3324 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Thanks!

Big Y, Bishop’s Orchards, & Stop & Shop Cards: Gift cards are available to purchase Sunday after worship for $100 each in cash or with a check made payable to First Congregational Church.  The church receives a percentage of each card sold.  

Children: Her Legacy. Dr. Pauline E. King believed simply that all children deserved the best opportunity to succeed in life. In support of this vision, she founded the Mudhiyor Balar Kudumba Frama Pannai (MBKG) Family Village Farm in 1969 to provide a family life environment for many of India’s destitute orphans, deserted/widowed women and the aged. While she died at age 82 in the year 2000, her dream continues to live on and her farm continues to thrive as a strong Global Ministries partner through the Child Sponsorship Program. (From the UCC Calendar of Prayer for June 8, 2010)

Coffee: A Wake-up Call: Only 11 cents of every dollar spent on the purchase of coffee beans actually makes its way back to the coffee grower! The UCC Jubilee Justice Task Force investigated this injustice and found in their visit to Chiapas, Mexico that Fair Trade and coffee cooperatives can make a real difference in the lives and livelihoods of the small farmers. You can visit the UCC Coffee Project on the UCC website www.ucc.org . Let us, as a congregation, support Fair Trade and Equal Exchange coffee growers. (From the UCC Calendar of Prayer for June 15, 2010  by the Board of Community and World Concerns)

CHURCH CALENDAR

Sunday, June 13:    
10:00am  Confirmation/Nursery care
11:15am  All-Church Picnic
3:30pm  Pilgrim Fellowship Presentation & Picnic

Monday, June 14:     
7:30pm  Welcoming & Inclusion Comm.– Minear Lib

Tuesday, June 15:      
5:30pm  Alpha Club Picnic – Benton’s Beach
7:00pm  Human Resources-Minear Library

Wednesday, June 16: 
6:00pm  Harvest Fair Crafters – Griswold Hall
7:00pm  Service of Prayer & Healing - Sanctuary

Thursday, June 17:  
10:00am  Prison Prayer Meeting- Minear Library
7:30pm  Peace, Affirmation & Justice  – Minear Lib

Sunday, June 20:  Kendrick preaching
8:30am  Worship – Chapel
10:00am  Worship/Nursery/Summer Sunday Schl
11:15am  Lemonade & Fellowship

12-Step Meetings at First Church This Week:
AA:  Sun., 7:15am – GH             Alanon:  Tues., 7:30pm – Chapel
Tues., 7:30pm – FH                             Wed., 10:00am – FH
Wed., 7:30pm – GH             Alateen:  Tues., 7:30pm-CSB#9
Fri., Noon & 7:30pm  – FH         NA:  Sun., 1:00pm – GH
Sat., 7:30am – GH