Home
Up

Looking to Join the Church?

            “New Members Orientation” will be held Wednesday December 5^th at 7:00 p.m.  This will be a chance for you to learn more about the church get better acquainted with the pastor and meet other new members. 

            On December 9^th during the contemporary worship service we will have a brief moment in the service where we will officially receive the new members into our congregation. 

            If you are interested in joining the church contact the church at (330)-538-3936 or email Pastor Brad at bradjagger@yahoo.com

High School Musical

On The

BIG SCREEN

                Finally, a chance to see Disney’s smash hit High School Musical on the big screen.  The First Federated Church will be hosting a 2 week long celebration leading up to the DVD premier of High School Musical 2.  On December 2^nd Pastor Brad Jagger will preach on “The Gospel According to High School Musical.”  During the 9:30 a.m. contemporary service he will even use a couple of short clips from the movie that give a strong value base message.  Then on Friday, December 7^th at 6:30 p.m. the First Federated Church will show the original High School Musical on their large drop down screen.  Since High School Musical is a made for TV movie this will be the first chance for everyone to see High School Musical on the big screen!  With the lights dim and the sound cranked up everyone is invited to join in the singing, dancing and fun!  Then just days after the DVD premier the First Federated Church will show High School Musical 2 on December 14^th at 6:30 p.m..  There is sure to be a large crowd for this exciting event so come early and find a good seat.  Beginning at 5:30 you can enjoy watching outtakes, bloopers, and music videos from the movie.  Put these dates on your calendar now because they will be events you will not want to miss! 

DO I HAVE ENOUGH MONEY

FOR STEWARDSHIP?

In the biblical world stewardship was about household management. Somebody had the task of supervising workers and taking care of the finances. Joseph had a steward, as did Abraham, and on a larger scale, the kings of Israel .   In the New Testament,  the “household” is the church.

  The overall sense of scripture is that “stewardship” concerns not only material well-being, but spiritual soundness. Stewardship is caring for the very gift of life itself, caring for each other’s abilities, talents, time, emotions and the protection of the earth and all that is in it.

 Stewardship makes the assumption that we have blessings and abundance. And that’s where we get tripped up, isn’t it? We spend so much time and energy trying to accumulate-- things, money, food, as if we are going into some perpetual winter.

  Stewardship isn’t just about giving to people in need either. It is about recognizing all that we have, helping both ourselves and others know the abundance in which we can all share right now. Jesus says in John 10:10, “…that we may have life, and have it abundantly.” God wants us to enjoy this world and the next that He created for us, and we can do that by giving back the portion He requires.

So what we need to emphasize as good stewards is that God gave the world everything it needs. We just need to learn how to share the abundance God has provided, and to do it joyously and continually.  When we give our offering each week, we are not giving the money to a church, or to a person, or to a certain demographic. We are giving back to God a portion of what He has given us, as a testament of faith and thanks. In this traditional season of Thanksgiving, let us pledge to give God what is rightfully His, and thereby truly exercise our faith.

Stewardship Committee

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

As we come to the close of another great year, we would like to thank all of the members who have given their time and energy over the past year in helping with the upkeep of our Church.

 Thank you to Jack Acri, Jay Osborne, Mike Hammond, Don Patton, and Betty Byram for their words of inspiration during the Moments for Stewardship the past few Sundays. Let us all take their message to heart as we consider how we can contribute more financially to the work of our church in 2008.

 Speaking of finances, the 2008 budget has been set and we are happy to report a projected income of $175,201.31 and expenses of $175,201.30. As you can see we have a balanced budget for next year because of the generosity of all our members. Your giving to the Church has made this possible and with the continued giving, we can broaden our goals and ambitions for our Church and

our ministries. The list of what we have accomplished by the board with your money this past year will be listed in the annual report.

 Trustees will have two vacancies for a new three-year term in 2008. Serving on a

board is a rewarding experience and we encourage anyone who is looking to help meet the Church’s maintenance and financial goals, please call Steve Ruggles at 330-793-2449.

 The Board of Trustees would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. 

CHRISTIAN ED

We have been working on our board’s budget for the coming year.  A Budget Meeting was held on October 30 and we trimmed the budget for the coming year.  Funding for our youth pastor was included in the budget for 2008.

 A group of our youth accompanied Pastor Brad on November 11 after the Traditional Worship Service to Park Vista to present the morning worship service for the residents there.  Everyone did a great job.

 We are still in need of substitute teachers for Sunday School.  Please let Kandy or Debbie know if you can help out.

 On December 2 Pastor Brad’s sermon will be “The Gospel According to High School Musical” (both services).  The 4th, 5th, and 6th graders will be allowed to stay in church that day for the service.   The younger kids will attend Sunday School as usual.  We will not have Sunday School this year on the Sunday that falls between Christmas and New Year’s.

 Our board has set three goals for the coming year:   1. Strengthen our Sunday School     program; 2.  Sponsor several family/tween events and support the church in other events held throughout the year; and 3.  Support the youth in their efforts to take a mission trip this year.

 Watch for our next fundraiser.   We will be selling raffle tickets for a beautiful Christmas Wreath for three Sundays and then on December 16 we will have the drawing for the winner of the wreath.  Please support our youth and purchase tickets for this drawing.

BENEVOLENCE BOARD

There were six members present at our meeting.

 Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard served 23 families (47 people) for October, 2007.

 We had to make a correction to our 2008 budget.  Rev. Tom and Kim Roof were not counted in our budget and should have been, so we made some adjustments and they are now included in our 2008 budget.

 We had a very successful Crop Walk this year.  We collected $445.00.  Thank you to all who participated and helped support our walkers.

 It was so nice to have Tami Snowden and her daughter Tabi with us last month.  Her message touched our hearts.  Through the generosity of our congregation, we collected $1370.00 for the Love Offering. Thanks for all of the thoughtful donations.

 We received a thank-you from Hospice of the Valley for $625.00 and from Eastern Ohio Association, United Church of Christ for $500.00, and Rev. Tom and Kim Roof for our $325.00 contribution.

 We reviewed our correspondence and closed our meeting with prayer.

RAFFLE

The Christian Ed. Board is raffling off a beautiful Christmas Wreath.  Tickets are 6 for $5 or 1 for $1.  The drawing will be Sunday December 16 right after the contemporary service.  Thank you for your support.

Finance Team

Financial Report – General Fund

YTD thru November 26, 2007:

Income                     $142,636.14

Expense                   $122,562.93

Credit                                  $  20,073.21

Offering Envelopes

Offering envelopes are mailed out bi-monthly for your convenience. Please let us know if you are new and would like to receive offering envelopes. This system allows the finance team to enter contributions easily and send annual statements to our members for their tax records.

Spiritual Life Board  

We would like the Christmas Eve offering to go towards a mission trip of the Church.

 The Choir robes have been cleaned. 

 If you would like to remember someone in a special way, with flowers at the front of the church, please let the Secretary know the date and it can be arranged.  The cost is $50.00 for the two arrangements.

Nametags in Worship

In order to help newer members and visitors to place faces with names, preprinted name badges are available in the main hallway. Please take yours and wear it in worship. If you don't see your badge, let the church office know so that we can make one for you. The nametags will be used in taking worship attendance to keep better track of how many visitors/members worship in either service.  Please return your badge after the service to the basket provided outside the exits. The badges will then be logged in attendance records and placed back in the hallway for the next Sunday.

OUR PRAYERS IN NOVEMBER…..

Tom & Cheryl Caldwell, Sandy Clark,  Eileen Cryzter, Carol Gardner, Betty Girton, Jessica Kuminsky, Jay Osborne, Terry Raeburn, 

MOTHER HUBBARD’S CUPBOARD

The 4^th Sunday of each month is Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard Sunday.  Everyone is reminded to bring items to help replenish the Cupboard. Items that are needed: paper towels, toilet paper, tissues, tea bags, canned fruit, applesauce, jello, vegetables, pork & beans, pasta, spaghetti, sauce, laundry detergent, dish detergents, toothpaste, soap.

SERVICE TIMES

Our Contemporary Service begins at 9:30 A.M., and our Traditional Service begins at 11:00 A.M.  Child care is provided at both services if needed.

 THANK YOU’S

Jay Osborne would like to thank everyone for the Love and Prayers during his recent surgery.  All went well, and he will be back to work after Thanksgiving.  All Praise to God the Father.

 Janet Donaldson would like to thank her many friends for the words and acts of care at the time of my brother's death.  Also, a big thank you to Pastor Brad for his message at the funeral.

 Nancy Kimpton would like to thank everyone that sent cards, called and visited her in support of loosing her father Harold Smith.

 BULLETINS

If you have news to put in the bulletin or the newsletter please contact the office at 330-538-3936.  You can also email me at ffcsecretary@neo.rr.com.

Information for the Bulletin should be in by noon on Wednesdays every week.

[ Home ] [ Up ]

Send mail to ffcsecretary@neo.rr.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: September 20, 2008