Candlelight Reception
Please bring Candlelight reception items early in the day on Sunday or Sunday morning to allow for set up before the service. The doors will be unlocked.?
CANDLELIGHT AND CAROLS? (also known as Candlelight Communion.)
Join us as we gather to sing carols in the candlelight on Sunday, December 9th, at 7pm.? Take a respite from the hustle and bustle of the season, and bask in the joy of singing favorite carols, and listen to a special performance of the Children?s Chorus!? First United Church offers communion during Worship Service on the first Sunday of each month, except in December, when communion is offered at our Candlelight and Carols service.???
A TIME OF CENTERING. 9:45 ? 10:15 am Sundays- First United Church Chapel?
Come if you are seeking?
?a space for contemplative prayer in the company of others
?a respite from the pace of Advent
?a nurturing space during times of confusion or despair
?a place and time to help develop lasting spiritual practice
Each week will have different components, casting a wide net for sources of inspiration ? from the traditional to the mystics. We will have times for silent prayer and readings (both religious and secular), plus quiet music.
Join us whenever you are able??
PLAY FRIDAY: Play Friday is this week, December 14th from 5:30-8. Join us for this family night that is fun for all ages. The usual pizza dinner will be served at 6. December will continue our theme of “Give and Take”. In December we will be making cards and candle holders. We will be collecting hats, mittens/gloves, and socks for our Headstart location.? We hope to see you there! It helps with food planning if you RSVP to Hopi Stosberg at hopi@stosberg.com or on the Facebook event page at: https://www.facebook.com/events/382270395850830/?
GIFTS OF GRACE. OUTREACH OPPORTUNITY.
Gifts of Grace is an opportunity to show kindness and support to people living with HIV/AIDS served by Positive Link of Bloomington. There are envelopes on the Christmas tree labeled ?Gifts of Grace? with wish lists indicated inside. Wish lists are for gift cards, which many stores around Bloomington, such as Kroger, offer for other stores and restaurants. You decide how much to give (I suggest $20-25?Sam).
You may indicate your name and/or First United Church firstuc.org in your card. Positive Link asks that gifts be wrapped (or in an envelope) and marked clearly on the outside with the corresponding Wish List Code. Gifts should be brought to the church by December 16 so Positive Link may pick them up the next day.
FARM TO FAMILY FUND is so grateful for the support we have received from First United. We buy food at half price at the close of the Bloomington Winter Farmers? Market each Saturday, December through March, and donate it to The Rise, Community Kitchen of Monroe Co. and Mother Hubbard?s Cupboard. This past year we have also extended our program to purchasing eggs at half price all year round and donating those to Mother Hubbard?s Cupboard. Again this year, we are offering gift cards as a way to make a donation as a gift for the holidays or any special event. Because we have a 2 for 1 challenge grant for $12,000 each dollar we raise up to $6,000 will bring us $2 more. When we buy food at half price that $1 donation, with the $2 match, allows us to buy $6 worth of food. For example, a $10 donation will allow us to purchase 15 dozen eggs! Janice Lilly will have cards available at coffee hour December 16.
?REVERSE ADVENT. OUTREACH OPPORTUNITY.
Outreach invites you to observe Advent again this year with Reverse Advent. Many of you are familiar with Advent calendars where you open a window each day for a treat of some kind. For Reverse Advent you give something each day.
The theme for Reverse Advent is Cleaning and Personal Hygiene Supplies. Each day (or most days, as fits for you) from the beginning of Advent, December 2, through Christmas Eve, you add a cleaning or personal? hygiene item into a box or bag. You are invited to bring your Reverse Advent bag to Christmas Eve service (or later, if necessary) to be delivered to the Monroe County United Ministries cleaning and personal? hygiene closets.
We encourage you to shop at stores like Dollar Tree, Big Lots, Dollar General, and Aldi and notice how these stores, which people on limited incomes rely on, are different from stores you may shop at more often.
Cleaning and Personal? hygiene Supplies can be items like household cleaning solution, window cleaning solution, dish soap, laundry detergent, sponges, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, baby soap, deodorant, toothpaste, shaving supplies, etc, etc, etc.
?VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY. Farm to Family Fund buys food at half price at the close of the Bloomington Winter Farmers? Market each Saturday, December through March, and delivers it to The Rise, Community Kitchen of Monroe Co. and Mother Hubbard?s Cupboard.? We need help with delivery.? Come to Harmony School, 909 E. Second St., at 12:15 and plan to work until 2:00/2:30.? We load our cars with the food in containers we provide and drive it to the three organizations where we unload it.? We welcome children 10 years or older accompanied by a parent (one child one adult), as a parent thinks appropriate.? Only one or two people per car should come, so as to have room for the food.? Please contact Janice Lilly, janicelilly@alumni.iu.edu or 812-339-4419 to sign up or get more information.
MINISTER OF CARE FOR THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 09, IS NORM OVERLY.? A minister of care is a church volunteer who visits members in their home.
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