With the first snow storm and turkey dinner of the season behind us, the holiday rush has officially started! And as we shovel, light cozy fires, and open those first windows on our Advent calendars, I pray that we all might resolve to create an atmosphere of hope, peace, joy, and love in our hearts, our homes, and in all our relationships; that we might resolve to disengage from the commercial hype and reconnect with the “true meaning of Christmas.” As I pray for this, as I work towards this… I still know that some-where around mid-December we may all find ourselves doing exactly the sort of thing we resolved not to do… buying frivolous gifts for some-one who already has everything, attending yet another Christmas party when you’d really rather stay home reading by your twinkling Christmas tree, rushing out to the store for ingredients to make yet another batch of this or that… If you are prone to get carried away with the season, please know that I’m right there with you. We are living embodiments of the Advent theme “now and not yet.” We intend to proclaim our faith in the restorative powers of God’s ways, and we are encouraged by a vision of what life (our own and others) might be like if God’s love was grounding for all our words and actions. But in spite of our highest hopes, we find ourselves in circumstances that challenge, distract and contradict our vision, don’t we? This Advent we will be leaning into the Biblical theme of “getting ready”. Romans tells us to “wake up! And be alert!” Isaiah will speak to us of the importance of building a community of peace and justice right here and right now. And the traditional passages from Matthew and Luke will remind us of the assuredness we have as Christ followers to bravely proclaim God’s love in this world. The first hearers of these stories might have understood our Advent anxieties and Christmas season chaos pretty well. May the gifts of these texts help us to take the long view of God’s ways unfolding in the world. The very fact that we recognize a gap between our intentions and our

296 Hoffman Street, PO Box 633 Saugatuck, MI 49453 Phone: 269-857-2929 Email: office@1stcongregational.net Website: www.1stcongregational.net

Office Information: Hours: Tues-Thurs 10-2 Office Manager: Doris Hicks Our Covenant We covenant with the Lord and with one another, and do bind ourselves in the presence of God, to walk together in all his ways, according as he is pleased to reveal himself unto us in his blessed word of truth. Our Goal The church exists to change lives; that’s what we’re about. It’s simple to say, harder to live. Every single week, we find a way to love God through wor-ship, one another, fellowship, and through simple acts of service in the Saugatuck/Douglas area. We don’t al-ways get it right, but we have fun try-ing.

The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive

and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. -

Isaiah 7:14

Newsletter

December

2019

From the Pastor’s Desk

Worship Opportunities

Fall Mission & Nov. remembering

Cookies & Poinsettias

Roof Update, Advent Activities

Online donations / Community Events

Volunteers, Birthdays & Anniversaries

Calendar

The Lakeshore Congregationalist

Insi de th is issue:

actions is affirmation that the Spirit is with us. Presents or gifts of presence, crowds or solitude, feasting or sim-plicity, God is here. Hallelujah! Advent draws us into serious preparations for a sacred Christmas celebration, and the Season of Christmas invites us to express ourselves and our new understandings and appreciation of what God has done in entering the worldly sphere. We pause—between greeting the arrival and moving into new action—to ponder more deep-ly the meaning of God’s taking action. Let us look for greater justice, seek out stronger bonds of community be-tween us, and thank God for a glorious sense of peace and well-being—true shalom. All together in Christ, Pastor Sarah

Grace of Douglas Worship Ser-vice & CAROLING With Pastor Sarah:

December 8th @ 2pm

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Coming Up December 1st!

During worship on December 1st, we will

all have an opportunity to decorate our

Christmas trees! During our time of

offering, we will sing carols and add lots and lots and lots of ornaments to the Christmas trees!

Candle Light Christmas Eve Worship Begins @ 7pm

On the eve of Christ’s birth you are welcome to gather at the church for a traditional twinkling evening of carols, readings and being the

awaiting body of Christ. Christmas Eve Special Offering

will replenish the Love Fund, our in-house assistant program

December 15th, in

celebration of the 3rd

Sunday in Advent, the

choir and Sunday School

children will sing.

The Saugatuck High School

Interact Club Thanksgiving

Special Offering : $165

Women of the church are invited to gather on Dec. 5th to help assemble tins for our home bound member. @ 10am

Christmas Cookies Needed By December 3rd

The Women’s Fellowship is taking cookies to fill their tins! At their December 3rd meeting the ladies will be preparing tins of cookies to take to our Home Bound Members. All are welcome to help or share.

The Farmhouse Deli in Douglas demonstration on Nov. 14th was a great success with 14 people attending! Watch you future

newsletters for more opportunities in 2020.

Poinsettia Orders begin!

Check the bulletins for Dec 1st

and Dec. 8 for order forms.

WFC BAZAAR

The Women's Fellowship Christmas Bazaar was a resounding success this year! We ended up with 7

venders in addition to our craft table, baked goods table, and luncheon. Special thanks to Betty White, Phyllis Yff,

and Cindy Raue for their craft donations, others for donations of gently used items, and to Ralph Birkholz for

his generous donation of signs to advertise the event. Thanks to their efforts and to the support of the

community we raised approximately $1,471. Thanks to all who supported us to make this year's bazaar a success!

Pastoral Care

Pastor Sarah makes pastoral calls at home and hospitals by need and request. Feel free to

contact her if you or someone you know would appreciate a visit: 989-640-1487.or rev.sarahgladstone@gmail.com

Please be aware that hospitals and care facili-ties will not contact clergy if someone is being admitted. Our Shepherds are also happy to help coordinate meal deliveries.

GROOVE! Dance Class Fridays @ 10am; Cost: $7 Instructor: Heather Winia EveryBODY is welcome

YEAR-TO-DATE TOTALS

Total Funds Raised: $39,374.60

Lego Church: $1217 Bake Sale: $3034 Parking: $6752.81

Next Fundraising Event

will be early 2020

Let's raise this roof—$8800 to go!

Soup & Bread Fellowship returns

for Advent

Wednesdays, 6 pm Dec. 4, 11,18

Bring your lunch! Lectio Divina continues into the new year every Tuesday at 12:30.

There will be no meetings during the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Lectio At Lunch Time

Advent Book Study

Join us as we trace the Christmas narrative through the stories of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary, the journey to Bethlehem, and the visit from the Magi. These stories open conversations around connections of the Gospel stories to the Old Testament, the role of women in first-century Jewish culture, the importance of Mary’s visitation and the revolutionary implications of Mary’s Magnificat, the census and the stable, and the star of Bethlehem and the flight to Egypt.

Books are $13.00

MCCC Annual Meeting Report Cathy Brockington, Delegate

On October 18 & 19 I attended the 2019 Michigan Association of Congregational Christian Churches Annual Meeting in Central Lake, MI. I bring you greetings from our Michigan Congregational Sisters and Brothers. 28 churches were represented including the newest NA member church in Crystal, MI.

We did the usual business things: budget; elected officers, representatives and committee members and installed them; received reports from each region and all the commissions (Camp, Youth, Church & Pastoral). I continue to serve as the At Large Lay Representative for the Western Michigan Association and Pastor Sarah serves on the Camp Committee.

Each of the Regions reported on their own annual meetings and highlighted events and News from their Pews. Some important highlights of news are:

• 6 churches are searching for new pastors

• 7 pastors have been installed in new pulpits

• 1 pastor was ordained with a vicinage council

In the Western Association:

• Allegan Congregational has withdrawn from the NA and became affiliated with the Conservative Congregational Christian Churches.

• Wallen Congregational Church in Grand Rapids voted to close and gave their building to the Sudanese Grace Episcopal Church

• Trinity Congregational Church in Grand Rapids has withdrawn from the NACCC and the WMACCC

• Four pastors retired last year.

Three interesting presenters were part of the meeting: church renewal and a pilot project that the NA has adopted (you will learn more about this project as we begin our journey); Jesus’ style of leadership and how we can use that to be leaders ourselves; and a nurse from Central Lake Congregational Church who travels with a group each year to bring their own medical supplies to Mission of Hope Bolivia and perform surgeries for the most needy people there.

The sun was shining and the fall colors were radiant. It is fun to meet all the wonderful congregational people who attend the regional and state meetings. Discussions are enlightening and invigorating. I encourage you all to consider attending the WMACCC meeting in September or the Michigan Association of CCC in October next year.

Sunday School Update

The Sunday school class has been learning the story of Creation, Noah and the Ark, Joseph, and now Moses. Our burning Bush craft was a big hit!

We will be learning the story of Christmas and are practicing a song for the upcoming Christmas season along with the choir.

Please pray for our children that they will learn to love God and others, now and always!

Thank you!

Karen

Sunday School Needs for the class:

Mason jars and lids

Flipchart paper

Tissue paper: any color

Items for treasure box examples: candy, (without nuts) toys, books, etc.

Acrylic paint and paint brushes

Thank you, Karen

Subscribe to the church’s YouTube Channel.

Just search “First Congregational Church of

Saugatuck” . Watch Sunday’s mes-sage again and share it with a friend!

There is a collec-tion box for Box Tops For Education clip-pings in our

Donation area by the handicap entrance.

Keep your Family Fare Receipts!!!

On the bottom of your receipts from Family Fare there are points listed that can be redeemed by food pantries and non-profits. These are points outside of your regular valued customer points for personal savings that Christian Neighbors can use to purchase food for the pantry!

Donation area by the handicapped entrance.

Sing up to Donate Online for 2020—Automatic

weekly or monthly donations make giving a

breeze

Step 1 Go to https://get.tithe.ly/ , Sign Up Free, Give To Church.

Step 2 Choose to give on line or download the app on the Apple Store.

Step 3 Create an account.

Step 4 Find a church: 1st Congregational Church of Saugatuck.

Step 5 Enter your bank account or credit card information.

Step 6 Choose a one time donation or monthly/weekly recurring and designate where your money is to be applied (General Fund, Building, or Missions).

Mini Nativity will be at

FellInLove Farm on two

weekends: Dec. 14, 15 and

Dec . 21, 22

Shout Outs Thank Yous!

Myrna Dornan for helping clear out

our garden beds!

The Crafters/Venders and Bakers

who contributed to the Christmas

Bazaar!

Phyllis Yff, Cindy Raue, and Kirk

Raue for wrangling our fall leaves

Our Board of Ministry for all the

planning work, preparing us for

2020!

Becky & Julie from All-In-One who

took care of our lawn and keeping

the church spick and span!

Claire Van Grouw 12/05

Alison Van Grouw 12/06

Kimberley DeBoer 12/06

Jon Van Raalte 12/7

Ty Van Raalte 12/9

Don Brake 12/23

Lelaina Boyce 12/28

Tom Schippa 12/28

Joan Lamb 12/28

McKenzie Boyce 12/29

Sue Bohlander 12/29

Samantha Van Raalte 12/31

Frank & Joan Lamb 12/02

Barry & Kathy Johnson 12/22

Fellowship Hosts

12/01 – The Birkholz Family 12/08 – Dotty Houser, Joanne Schippa 12/15 – Choir 12/22 – Board of Ministry 12/29 – Women’s Fellowship

Scripture Readers 12/01 – Myrna Dornan 12/08 – Cathy Brockington 12/15 – 12/22 – 12/29 – Linda Escott

Welcome Team 12/01 – Myrna Dornan 12/08 – 12/15 – Linda Kinnaman 12/22 – 12/29 – Linda Escott

Upcoming Meetings: Board of Ministry Meeting, Monday, 12/09 @ 6:30pm

Chancel Choir 12/08 and 12/10—Practice 9 am

12/15—Practice 9 am SING with

Sunday School & Congregation

12/22 and 12/29—No Practice

COFFEE HOUR 2020 A word from Linda Escott

The new year is fast approaching and with it comes changes and renewals! One upcoming change will begin in January on the 5th.

In years past we have had a Coffee Hour list generated by the Fellowship Deacon---now the Community Life Captain. This person not only did the Coffee Hour list, but kept our kitchen stocked, among other duties. At this writing, that position is unfilled on the Board of Ministry so…

...for the month of January, Coffee Hour will be hosted by whomever signs up to cover that Sunday. In mid-December a sign up sheet will be available for volunteering. Our fellowship time is important, so any Sunday where no one is able to host, please know there will be coffee, tea, juice and water in the Fellowship Hall after the service. Thank you for your support.

P.S. If interested in becoming the Community Life Captain or either of the other available positions (Building/Grounds or Congregational Care), please contact Phyllis Yff or Pastor Sarah. Descriptions of duties are available in the last Annual Report, posted on the website www.1stcongregational.net or from the office.

December 2019 First Congregational Church Activity Calendar

Sunday Worship Services – 10:00am (Nursery Provided) Communion 1st Sunday of the month

Sunday School – Restarts in September 8th Fellowship after Worship – 11:00am

Office Hours: Tues, Wed, Thurs – 10:00-2:00

Sunday 1 ***** COMMUNION

Monday 2

Tuesday

3 WFC 10:00 assemble tins Lectio at Lunch 12:30 pm

Wednesday 4 Soup & Bread Fellowship 6 pm

Thursday 5

Friday 6 Groove 10

Saturday 7

8

Grace of Douglas Carol Sing 2pm

9

Board Meeting 6:30 on

AA Dist.3-7pm

10

Lectio at Lunch 12:30 pm

11 Soup & Bread Fellowship 6 pm

12

13 Groove 10

14

15

Choir & Sunday School Sing

16 17

Lectio at Lunch 12:30 pm

18 Soup & Bread Fellowship 6 pm

19

Longest Night Prayer 7 pm

20 Groove 10

21

22

23 24

7pm

25

26 27 Groove 10

28

29

CHALKING THE DOORWAYS

30 31 2 3 Groove 10

4

*****First Sunday of Advent: Decking the Halls (ornaments), Carol Sing, kids decorate cookies!

*** Poinsettia orders will be due December 9th.