First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Disciples serving Middletown since 1912.
Beginning Sunday April 12th, we are offering a special Sunday School Class session for our 3rd – 5th grade children. Class time will begin after the Children’s Sermon (10:20) and go through the end of Sunday Worship (11:15). We will continue this session until May 31. The class will be led by Lora Schueller.
Our tentative plan is to have six-week sessions of classes and take a break for a few weeks and resume class again. Hope to see all of our awesome kids there!!
Date: Tuesday, May 5, 2015 Time: 6-8 p.m. Doors open at 5:15
A fun evening is in store as we raise money for our children to attend church camp. If you have never attended a Quarter Auction, here’s the gist: It is like an auction…and like bingo! If you wish to bid, you will donate $1 for a numbered paddle. A matching numbered disc will be placed into a bin. Each item up for bid will be displayed for all guests to see. Guests will give their bid (raffle tickets worth a quarter purchased upon arrival) and hold up their numbered paddle. When all bids are collected, the auctioneer will draw a numbered chip from the container to determine the winner. Once we have a winner, all chips will be placed back into the container and go to the next item to be auctioned. Still confused? – See our committee chairs: Charlotte Steele, Ginger Alley, and Karen Powers.
How can you help?
1. Donate items for the concession stand. Sign up on the sheet in the narthex.
2. Donate a new item to be auctioned: theme basket, bath and body products, home or kitchen items, etc. A list of possible items will soon be on an insert in your worship bulletin.
3. Attend the auction and participate! IT IS FUN!
I’m still basking in the afterglow of Holy Week and Easter. Our journey together throughout this powerful week was a blessing to my spirit.
It all began on Palm Sunday with the waving of Palms. The choir anthems with our combined Youth and Chancel Choirs was a highlight!
Thank you to our Elders who participated in sharing Luke’s passion narrative with us on Maundy Thursday: Mike Cockerham, Dave Lombard, Linda Lombard, Helen Morgan, Dorice Perkins, Mike Simpson, Betty Stacy, Marilyn Strong, Cliff Thompson. Thanks to Rachel Eve Davis for filling in at the last minute and for accompanying worship. Also, thanks to Larry Steele for providing our sound support.
Easter morning heralded Christ’s triumph over death with joy and delight. We began with our sunrise service followed by breakfast – thanks to Dave Schueller, Lora Schueller, Collin Roe and Mark Roe for preparing our Easter morning feast. The cold weather forced our annual egg hunt to be in the sanctuary, but that did not dampen the spirits of the children hunting for candy-filled eggs. Our Easter Worship Celebration was a GRAND examples of the light, love and spirit that pulse through our faith community. Thank you to our Chancel Choir along with Tyler Hendricks on trumpet for an uplifting anthem. I also extend a special thank you to I thank all of you who were here – your active participation in worshipping and celebrating our Risen Lord elevated the day to pure jubilation!
Easter is not over. It is not a one day event. We celebrate Easter each and every Sunday. We are an Easter people. I look forward to continuing the celebration and blooming with you in the coming weeks!
with love, Laureen 🙂
Sunday, March 1 we will celebrate Scout Sunday during our time of worship. We encourage anyone involved in Boy Scouts or Girls Scouts to wear your uniforms. Connor Thompson is working with scouts in our congregation and his local scout troop to lead us in worship that morning. See him if you would like to participate. Cliff Thompson will bring the morning message.
Human beings are creatures of order. We like to have a place for everything, and everything in its place. As children we play with toys that help us determine where objects should go. When we get older we ‘straighten up’ before company comes. We comb our hair in the morning so we don’t look like ragamuffins. We need order, and we do everything we can to order our world. We create clocks so that we can all be at a certain place at a certain time. We pass laws to keep us on the same side of the road while we’re driving. Bottom line… we like order.
When there is not order in our lives feelings of uncertainty, despair and fear can consume us. As we watch the chaos in the Ukraine, hear news of chaos on the streets of our nation, witness lives in chaos of addiction on the streets of Middletown; there is a tendency to bury our heads in the sand, ignore what is going on in the world. We do this so we can maintain order in our own lives. And, while this is a natural response, we need to remember that we are God’s light in the chaos. We need to cry out to God and ask that God bring order to the chaos.
In the beginning, God brought order to the chaos. God’s spirit hovered over the waters and brought order to the chaos even before the beginning of time. We have to trust in God, call out to God, and go out and represent God in the chaos. Those who serve with SHALOM are going out and sharing God’s light with others whose lives are in the midst of chaos. They are helping to bring order to others. They have provided meals, given their time as hosts, and spent the night caring for the homeless. During worship on Sunday, February 22, they will share their experiences. We will collect a special offering to support the valuable ministries of SHALOM. Thank you to all who have served this year: Linda Poynter, Diane Kirwen, Charlotte Steele, Sue Tarbox, Dave Lombard, Linda Lombard, Cliff Thompson, Karen Powers, Tim Powers, Zola McClish, Ginger Alley, Angie Otis, Marilyn Chamberlain, Jeremy Andress, Sarah Andress, Mary Helen Shetter, SuAnne Farkas, Brenda Milburn, Leigha Blevins, Debbie Wells, Jerry Hall and Betty Stacy. Each of you are Christ’s LIGHT and LOVE.
with love, Laureen 🙂
We are accepting used printer cartridges again, beginning immediately. Office staff will collect them and take them to Staples for recycling. We will get $2.00 for each cartridge and that money will be used to purchase office supplies at Staples. Look for a box under the coat rack by the restrooms. Thanks for doing your part to recycle and help the church with the cost of supplies.
February 20 – March 1, Kaitlin T. will be traveling with the Christian Church in Ohio along with juniors and seniors from all Ohio to New York City and Washington, D.C. The youth will worship at the National City Christian Church; visit the Holocaust Museum, the Washington Cathedral; tour the White House and Capitol Building; meet with local Senators; tour and sit-in on briefings at the United Nations in NYC; plus much more. During the trip the youth will discuss issues related to faith and politics. Kaitlin will share her experience with the congregation when she returns. Please keep all going on the UN Seminar in your prayers.
March 13 – 15, our CYF youth will be traveling to Camp Christian for the CYF State Youth Convention. Youth from all over Ohio will be gathering for a weekend of faith building, worship, and fellowship. Theme for the weekend is Ministry… Me? Cost for the weekend is $65. Applications can be found at www.ccinoh.org. Mark Roe will be going as a counselor. See him if you have any questions.
Youth Sunday will be April 26. The children and youth of our congregation will lead us in worship on this special day. Please make sure your children/grandchildren (ages 5 years old through 12th grade) are at church in the coming weeks as we begin to plan and learn music and parts. We will have a special Lock-in April 10-11 to learn about what it means to worship and to work through all the pieces of Youth Sunday. Of course, there will be fun and games during the Lock-in as well. Our final rehearsal for Youth Sunday will be on Saturday April 25, 10AM-12N. Please mark these dates on your calendar.
The Disciples Men’s Fellowship Rally is on Sunday, March 1 at Central Christian Church in Kettering, Ohio. The event begins at 3PM. Cost for this year’s Rally is $5.00 per person paid at the door. Please let Matt Lyons know by February 22 if you plan to attend (they need a count for dinner). In the event of snow/icy weather on the day of the Rally and a call is made to postpone, the Rally will be held on March 22.
