Announcements for the week of October 26, 2025

by | Oct 24, 2025 | Sunday Announcements, Uncategorized | 0 comments

QUICK LINKS

  • Sunday Morning Worship – Sundays @ 10:30am; Join Zoom Webinar here
  • Morning Café and Discussion – Tuesdays @ 10:15am; Join Zoom Meeting here
  • Scripture Reader sign up – Click here (needed 11/02)
  • Usher sign up – Click here (needed 10/26, 11/02, & 11/09)
  • Flowers sign up – Click here
  • Coffee Hour Host sign up – Click here (needed 11/02 & 11/09)
  • Communion Server sign up –Click here (needed 11/02)
  • Community Kitchen sign up – Click here
  • Donate to First United Online – Click here
  • First United YouTube Channel (sermons & more) – Click here
  • First United Vimeo Channel (full worship services) – Click here
  • 2024-2025 Annual Report – Click here
  • Accessible to All 101 Presentation – Click here

DON’T FORGET

Youth Connections

Youth in grades 6 and up will forgo our regular Sunday gathering for the month of October in favor of a visit to Fowler Pumpkin Patch! We’ll engage in these fun fall festivities this Saturday, October 25th, 3-5pm. If your youth is interested in attending and you have not already done so, please contact Pastor Jessica if you have not already done so. We will gather once again in Room 1 on Sunday, November 16th, 12-1pm, to continue considering your questions, big and small, and explore faith matters as they are relevant to your life.

Pumpkin Carving, Pumpkin/Cookie Decorating 

It’s the great pumpkin, First United! MeRC and the Board of Community & Outreach invite you to join together this Sunday, October 26th for a light lunch, pumpkin carving/painting, cookie decorating, and a small indoor Teal Pumpkin Trick-or-Treat Trail for our own kids. (The larger outdoor trail has been canceled due to lack of perceived community interest.)

We’ll eat immediately following worship, in lieu of coffee hour. Pack sandwiches (or similar individual lunch items) for your family and bring fresh or canned fruit to be combined into one scrumptious fruit salad. Chips and drinks (and PBJ makings for anyone without a lunch) will be provided. Bring your own pumpkin to carve or paint (there will be a few pumpkins available for guests or if you forget). Tools and paints will be furnished. 

If you had invited friends, family, and neighbors to the afternoon Teal Pumpkin Trail in person or on Facebook, please let them know it won’t be happening this year.

Care Not Cages Panel: Big New Jail…Really?

This Sunday, October 26th, at 3-4:30 pm, you are invited to gather in the Unitarian Universalist Congregation Meeting Room (2120 N. Fee Ln, Bloomington) for a panel hosted by Care Not Cages about the proposed new Monroe County Jail. The discussion will feature Charlotte Zietlow, former City Council and County Commissioner president, Philip A. Amerson, former president of Garret-Evangelical and Claremont School of Theology, and John Hamilton, former two-term mayor of Bloomington, and others as we examine what it would mean to invest over $300 million in increased incarceration and what we can do to work toward real justice in our community. A Q&A will follow the presentation and panel.

Ecclesiastical Council

The Southeast Association of the Indiana-Kentucky Conference UCC will host an Ecclesiastical Council for Sarah Frische-Mouri Hannigan on Sunday, October 26th, 3-5pm as she continues the process toward becoming authorized ministers in the United Church of Christ. It will be held in person (Zion UCC, 8916 E. Troy Ave., Indianapolis) and via Zoom (click here; opens at 2:30pm). If you would like to serve as a delegate on behalf of First United (we are allotted two for each), please contact Pastor Jessica and she will share the candidate’s ordination paper for you to review prior to the meeting.

NEW/UPDATED THIS WEEK

Happy Birthday!

Please remember in your prayers and give thanks for those who will be celebrating their birthdays in the week ahead: Donnelly Lane (October 29) and Jean Faris (October 30). We are blessed to have you in our lives!

Love Knows No Borders – UCC Conference Minister Witness!

On Wednesday, October 29th, Indiana-Kentucky Conference Minister Rev. Dr. Chad Abbot will join with 20+ UCC Conference Ministers in Washington, DC for a time of shared advocacy, witness, and truth-telling regarding the state of immigration and its intersecting injustices in our country. Rev. Dr. Abbott invites you to join him in bearing witness by sharing your stories, your wisdom, your concerns, and your deep desires for a more just and compassionate world; click here to get involved. While immigration is not the only issue they will address and while they know our concerns expand to many different issues, they will gather under the theme, “Love Knows No Borders” as they carry with them the many messages and stories they’ve heard from UCC congregations and members. Rev. Dr. Abbott will take with him the stories shared regarding the many ways so many within the IKC are experiencing the impact of federal policies and/or witnessing how these policies are impacting your neighbors and share them with policymakers directly.

Daylight Saving Time Ends – Fall Back

A reminder that Daylight Saving Time ends next Sunday, November 2nd at 2am, so remember to set your clocks back one hour before you head to bed on Saturday night and get an extra hour of snoozing time, or you may end up at the church an hour earlier than intended!

All Saints’ Sunday

Join us next Sunday, November 2nd as in reverence and remembrance we light candles and toll a bell in honor of the life of congregants who have died in the past year. As part of our observance, we invite you to bring candles to light in remembrance of deceased loved ones and display them on a table on the side of the sanctuary. These can be for family members and friends or other influential individuals; there will also be an opportunity to share the names of these beloved. Those who choose to bring candles should take them with them at the end of the service.

Special Offering Thank You

Because of your generosity offered through the special offering we received during worship on Sunday, October 19th, we raised $1,147 to support our First United Love Fund! Thank you for supporting this impactful work in our wider community!

Pizza & Play

Members and friends of First United of all ages and family configurations (and your friends and family) are encouraged to gather for Pizza & Play on Friday, November 7th, 5:30-7:30pm. We’ll enjoy a time of informal, unprogrammed fun and fellowship in Fellowship Hall. As the name implies, pizza, drinks, and dessert will be provided. If you’re planning to attend, please let Pastor Jessica know by Wednesday, November 5th so she can be sure to have enough food for all and account for any dietary needs.

Feminist Women’s Book Club

Our feminist women’s book club meets after worship on the second Sunday of the month in Roger Williams Hall and via Zoom. We are women who have a lively discussion starting at 12noon, for about an hour. We read recent fiction “by women, for women or about women.” Members are equally split among women from our church and the community. Feminist women of all ages are invited to join us. Our pick for November 9th is“Assistant to the Villain” by Hannah Nicole Maehrer—a spooky sci-fi novel. Evie Sage has an ailing family to support, and her job isn’t just important, it’s vital. When a mishap occurs, an infamous villain makes her a job offer―and she must say yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop an attraction to your terrifying and temperamental boss. Think dungeons, spooks and more by a new female author. Something rotten is happening and someone wants to take on the villain. Now Evie must work to figure out who is sabotaging her boss’s work and keep her job. After all, a good job is hard to find! Check out our book club’s Pinterest listing here. For Zoom information or more information about the book club contact facilitator Cindy Stone, stonec@iu.edu.

Fall Workday

Join the Board of Building and Grounds on Saturday, November 15th, 8-11am, for a workday to help us keep the grounds looking good. We will be raking, weeding the courtyard, cleaning leaves from the gutters, and doing other chores. We have some rakes and snips, but more would be welcome. Hope to see you then; it will be a good time!

UPCOMING WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Sunday Morning Hybrid Worship

Join us for worship each Sunday morning at 10:30am. This Sunday’s service will serve as the culmination of our month-long focus on Accessibility to All (A2A). Rev. Jessica Petersen-Mutai will lead us in worship, and she and Vickey Allen will invite us to consider how we will continue forward on our A2A journey. Lisa Kwong will present the day’s scripture and serve as our congregational lead. Kim Yaussy Albright will highlight some of the many ways we are invited to engage in the life of the church and our wider community. Ryan Block and Hyeyeon Ahn will lead us in song, and the First United Vocal Choir will offer special music. Dave Meyer will offer a warm welcome to those who will gather in the sanctuary; click hereto help. And, Kyle Hetrick and Martin Mutai will welcome all who join via Zoom as they ensure the audio/visual pieces run as smoothly as possible. Finally, be sure to join us for a light lunch and pumpkin decorating.

Join the Zoom Webinar by clicking here

Dial-in number: (312) 626-6799; Webinar ID: 828 3681 0281

The service will be posted on Monday afternoon on First United’s Vimeo channel (where you can access all of our previous worship services).

Donate online by clicking here

Music Ministry

All those interested in music and making a joyful noise are invited to join our Bell and Vocal Choirs. The Bell Choir rehearses weekly on Thursdays in Room 4 from 6:15-7:15pm, and the Vocal Choir rehearses weekly on Thursdays from 7:30-9pm in the Choir Room. If you are interested in joining either or both of the choirs, please reach out to Ryan Block (blockryfuc@gmail.com). No prior experience is required to join either group! If you love music and want a way to express that love through fellowship, the First United Church Music Ministry is the place for you!

Time to Order Holiday Poinsettias 

Brighten the church sanctuary with Holiday Poinsettias and support the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra by ordering poinsettias through the BSO’s Annual Poinsettia Sale. To order poinsettias to decorate the chancel during Advent and take home afterward, bring your check (made out to “BSO Poinsettia 2025”) to the church office or place it in the offering plate no later than Monday, November 13th; write “poinsettias” in the memo line. Each plant costs $15.00, beautifies the church, and supports the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra. Your poinsettias may be picked up outside Fellowship Hall on Monday, December 15th, if you would like to take them home. Please let Lisa in the church office know if you would like to order one.

COMMUNITY CARE

Keeping Up with Our Congregation

One of the gifts of being part of a community of faith is that we don’t face the ups and downs and middles of life alone. We invite you to share what is going on in your lives by contacting Lisa Stanger and/or Pastor Jessica so we can appropriately share information (with your permission) with our wider community of care that we might offer our support whatever you may be facing.

You are encouraged to offer your prayers and actions of support for:

  •     Barb Clark
  •     Phyllis Perkins
  •     Geoffery Franklin
  •     Frank Ivey (father of Sara Ivey Lucas)
  •     Jean Peters
  •     Gwen Staggs
  • Elizabeth Hanson
  • Jen Lane
  • Jean-Paul & Kathy Etienne
  • Lisa Young and family (friends of Sara Ivey Lucas)
  • Sara Cole
  • Sam Troxal

New Members Joining!

Our faith community continues to develop and transform as we will welcome new members Sunday, November 30th during worship. While all those who participate in the life of First United are welcome and encouraged to engage in the full range of our congregational life together, becoming a member is one way of publicly displaying that commitment between the individual and community, and, don’t forget, it comes with the ability to vote in meetings! 😊 All are encouraged to join us for worship on November 30th to celebrate the growth of our community as we (re)commit to engage in mutual ministry with one another. If you are interested in becoming a member of First United, please contact Pastor Jessica.

Winter Clothing Drive

First United Church is participating in a winter clothing drive organized and directed by Trinity Episcopal Church, other individual churches, and the Bloomington Multi-Faith Alliance. You are invited to donate winter coats, winter hats, gloves, sweaters, hoodies, scarves, socks, and thermal underwear in all sizes. The clothing can be new or used but must be clean and in good condition. It must also be utilitarian, not necessarily stylish. We will receive items now through Sunday, November 2nd. Items may be placed in the large, labeled box in the Narthex during office hours Monday-Friday and on Sunday. The clothing will be distributed from Trinity Episcopal (111 S Grant St) on Saturday, November 8th, 8am-1pm.

Volunteers are needed to help sort, fold, and hang clothing at the distribution site on November 5th, 6th, and 7th, 6:30pm-8:30pm. Additional volunteers are needed to oversee the distribution of the clothing on November 8th (7:30am-10am or 10am-12:30pm); this will involve helping people find clothing, helping with bagging clothing, and loading leftover clothing for future distribution.

First Sunday Food Drive

The Board of Community & Outreach invites you to offer food donations on the first Sunday of each month on at table in the narthex. On Sunday, November 2nd, we encourage you to bring donations of non-perishable food items for our community members in need. As always, all of the collected food and cleaning/hygiene items will go to Pathways (formally Monroe County United Ministries, MCUM), and pet food will go to Area 10 Agency on Aging. Updated food items needed for Pathways include children’s snacks and cereals given that the recipients of the food are families that are in Pathways rather than general food distribution. More specifically, children request sugarcoated cereal like Fruit Loops and individual snacks in small packages. Helper meat boxes such as hamburger helper and tuna helper continue to be needed. A total of 111 pounds was delivered by Keith Gerber from the September 16th and October 14th donations.

Annual Harvest Ingathering is drawing near!

While the Board of Community and Outreach regularly invites you to offer food donations for Pathways on the first Sunday of each month, in November, we encourage you to bring a donation every Sunday leading up to our Annual Harvest Ingathering on Sunday, November 23rd. Please bring non-perishable food, cleaning, and personal hygiene items anytime and every time you come to the church throughout the week. This helps meet a critical need for the families of Pathways. Donations of pet food will go to Area 10 Agency on Aging. Click here to for a list of Pathways ongoing needs. Thank you for your generosity!

Task of the Month for Earth Care

All within our congregation are encouraged to participate in Earth Care Indiana’s task of the month, a tangible and manageable way you can get involved in caring for creation. Rebecca Keith will be making periodic announcements and encouraging participation at coffee hour. Check out this Task of the Month website to learn about the tasks that are scheduled. Even small things can make a difference.

People’s Market

First United houses the People’s Cooperative Market (PCM) in Fellowship Hall on Saturdays, 9:30am-1:30pm, offering fresh, locally grown produce through CSAs to be picked up or delivered.The PCM also operates the high tunnel greenhouse to the south of the church playground, which includes a community garden and produces food that is given out at no cost to members of our wider community seeking local, nutritious fresh food. First United members and friends are always welcome and encouraged to attend the Saturday market! Market members are more than happy to answer questions and guide folks through the growing space. Additionally, you may reach out via email (peoplesmarketmanager@gmail.com) to learn more or to volunteer with the market.

The Joy of Hosting

Our Member Relations Committee continues to offer support to weekly coffee hour hosts and encourage everyone to sign up to host—it’s easy, fun, and a great way to serve your church family with a one-time commitment. Sign up as buddies or families, invite someone you’ve been wanting to get to know, use the occasion to showcase a family recipe or try out a new one. Sign up to host by clicking here.

EDUCATIONAL OFFERINGS 

Tuesday Morning Café and Discussion

Join us in Roger Williams Hall or via Zoom (click here) Tuesdays at 10:15am-11:30am (notice new starting time) as we gather for a time of informal conversation followed by thought-provoking theological study and discussion. October 14th, we started a new 12-session study on “Science and Religion” presented by Dr. Lawrence M. Principe as we explore how science and religion are two crucial forces that helped shape Western civilization and continue to interact in our daily lives. Learn more here. Previous participation and perfect attendance are not required.

Children’s Learning Time

Each Sunday morning, children in kindergarten and up will begin in the Sanctuary with their families and proceed to Room 2 with their adult leads for Children’s Learning Time (CLT) following Children’s Time. Many thanks to Jessica McIntosh and Brishna Arman for leading CLT this Sunday.

You are invited to consider whether you might be able to join our teaching rotation to enrich the program for the kids and gain so much from the experience yourself! Lesson materials and supplies are provided, and we have seasoned leaders to help get newer volunteers acclimated. If you are interested or have questions, please reach out to Megan Merrick, Pastor Jessica, or any member of the Board of Faith Formation.

Nursery Care

Our youngest children are welcome to spend time from 10-11:45am playing in the nursery or on the playground, weather permitting. Brishna Arman and Jessica McIntosh will ensure our little ones are safe and engaged in fun activities during worship this Sunday. We are always looking for additional volunteer assistants to help in the nursery occasionally. Contact Jessica McIntosh if you are interested and with any questions.

CONGREGATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS

Basketball Goal

First United now has a new strong basketball goal! Thank you to our Board of Building & Grounds and special thanks to Ted Wininger, Lewis Williams, Enrico Lunghi, Keith Gerber, Du Huynh, and Jim True for your help in installing the hoop. You can find the goal in the back parking lot. 

Announcements Deadline

If you have information to include in our weekly announcements email, please send your item to Lisa Stanger by noon on the Monday before.

2025 Offering Envelopes and Direct Deposit

We are using leftover offering envelope boxes for 2025. This year, your number box will not be the same; please contact Lisa Stanger if you would like envelopes! Alternatively, if you would like to give to the church through direct deposit, please contact Lisa in the office to make sure she knows you would like to give in this convenient way and has your updated information.

Contact Information

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