First Congregational Church

Monthly Newsletter

Inside this issue

Book Group ................... 2

Mobile Food Pantry………2

Bible Study……..……....…..2

Beyond Reading…………...3

Women’s Connection…..3

Financial Summary……….4

Gathered to Share

God’s Love.

What come in threes? Lately I have been trying to get in better touch with myself in a more spiritual sense and came to realize that this is nothing new. People have been focused on this for as long as mankind. The importance of balance in your life. For so long, my life has been out of balance, so it will take an effort for me to get there.

Mind, Body, Spirit. The balance of all three. So I started thinking, what oth-er matters come in threes? Well of course there is Father, Son and Holy Ghost. What else?

Unfortunately, I have trouble sleeping at night. You might wonder how this ties into this, but bear with me. I am starting to accumulate a bunch of stuff that I order online as a result of watching TV in the middle of the night and convincing myself I need the item on sale. Thus far I have some Oxyclean, an Ab-Carver, (to tone your belly) and Aqua rug which is sup-posed to be great for your shower, Tommie Copper which is a wrap you use during workouts to ease muscle pain, and a bunch of books.

My most recent trilogy then is Ab-Carver, plus insomnia equals a very sore tummy. So my efforts to find peace and a balance in my life have resulted in this. Like I said, I have work to do. Nobody said our spiritual quest was going to be easy. Maybe easier for some than others.

That got me to thinking….what else comes in threes? Below is my list. Can you add to it? Three egg omelets at the café this Sunday…..you wish. :)

Come find out. See me at the Cafe.

Wes Things that come in threes: 3 Minute Egg; 3 Great Pyramids at Giza; 3 on a Match 3 Teaspoons in a Tablespoon; 3 Trimesters in a Pregnancy 3 Monastic Vows (Poverty, Chastity and Obedience) 3 Wise Men, Casper, Melchior, Balthasar 3 Tenors (Carreras, Domingo, Pavarotti); 3 times Peter denied Christ Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil; Liberty, Equality, Fraternity 3 Coins in a Fountain; 3 Goals in a Hat Trick (hockey) 3 Sheets to the Wind; 3 Feet in a Yard; 3 Ring Circus 3 Ships of Christopher Columbus; 3 Witches in Macbeth; 3 Stooges 3 Blind Mice; 3 Cheers; 3 Strikes & You're Out; 3 Is A Crowd 3 Musketeers; 3 R's; 3rd time's a charm; 3 Sides of a triangle 3 Parts To An Atom: protons, neutrons, and electrons

June 1, 2016

Bible Study

This summer, come have lunch with a fun group. During the rest of the year, we're a Bible Study group, but now we're just open for lunch. Join us at 11 am at the following dates and locations:

June 8 Los Agaves 5304 Ave of the Cities Moline June 22 TGI Friday's 1425 River Drive Moline July 13 Gunchies 2107 4 Ave Rock Island July 27 City Limits 4514 9 Street Rock Island August 10 Rhythm City Casino 7077 Elmore Ave Davenport August 24 TPC/Deere Run 3100 Heather Knoll Silvis

Summertime Selections for Book Group

Our Book Group is continuing its reading of The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan. Written in 2006, it is a National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist. An excerpt: "The house in this book is an actual place, and the lemon tree in its yard is a real one....this is the house with two histories." Mr. Tolan did an inordi-nate amount of research to com-plete this fascinating story of "an Arab, a Jew, and the heart of the Middle East" and "told in all its beauty & sadness".

There's an open invitation to join us while we read and discuss this book. We meet each Wednesday from 12:30 to 2:30 pm in the Parlor. Bring some iced tea and your book and join us. We will finish The Lemon Tree toward the end of June and then watch the movie by the same name. The movie is excellent; however it is in Hebrew and there will be captions to read. In July will be The Boys in the Boat. More information will be coming in the July Newsletter. Happy Summertime Reading!

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On Saturday, June 25 from 10 am to 1 pm FCC will host a Mobile Food Pantry in our north parking lot. Remember the Mobile Food Pantry that the church sponsored last fall? It was an amaz-ing event that brought together over 50 congregation members from all ages and provided food baskets to nearly 150 families. The food was passed out in about two hours in a farmer’s market style of distribution all coordinated and provided by the River Bend Foodbank. There are a variety of jobs for volunteers from heavy lifting, wagon dragging, and registration, to handing out food and helping people find their way. To sign up, contact the office at 309-762-0787 or MobileFoodPantry@fccmoline.org. Hope to see you there, Outreach and Mission Board

Mobile Food Pantry

Women’s Connection

With June comes graduations, picnics, ballgames, vacations, and just generally enjoying summertime family gatherings. School activities wind down and leisure time becomes a priority as we enjoy God's outdoors at its finest.

With the end of our journey for this wonderful year...Thank You

To the entire Tiny Tulip Luncheon Team for a job well done! The lunch was scrumptious thanks to Pam Wendt and Dixie Duckett along with their super servers - Mike Dyer, Jim Gale, George Jamieson, Bill Keller, Alan Larsen, Jim Moorhusen, Paul Renaud, Steve Satterthwaite, Steve Schippers, Ron Smith and Dave Swanson. A huge thank you also goes to Ellie Klingbiel for a fascinating and informative program on Miniatures, and for sharing her works of art as this year’s centerpieces. What a treat! This annual event is always the pinnacle of the spring season with a lot of work done before, during, and after. Thank you to ALL involved! AND To Nancy Keller for coordinating this year’s record breaking Silent Auction at the Tulip Luncheon. This event is the only true fundraiser for the Women's Connection and Nancy beautifully sorts and labels all donated items prior to the luncheon and then manages the sales. Thank you, Nancy!

To Becca Peterson, the Family Ministry team, and especially France Mahar Driscal for making the “Art by You” painting class a complete success. May 18 was definitely the Place to Be as artists of all ages participated in this fun and creative adventure after a light supper. Great job!

To Linda Shearer and all those who set-up, baked, or served for Charlotte Scott’s funeral luncheon on May 9 and Jack Barnard’s funeral luncheon on May 13. It was two luncheons in one week and this ministry team quietly worked to make a very difficult time personal for those families and friends.

During the long days of summer, the Women's Connection Board under Carole Smith’s leadership will be quietly working to plan activities and ministries for all women of First Congregational Church, no matter their age. Our journey together will resume in the fall and continue to follow the lantern as it lights our path together in friendship.

Leanne Satterthwaite, Chairman along with Board Members -Jeanne Gale, Nancy Keller, Susie King, Ginny Larsen, Mary Mahar, Ann Millman and new members – Marcia Renaud and Carole Smith.

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The Wednesday afternoon Book Group has met at the church weekly for several years enjoying lively discussions and friendship. This spring in response to feeling grateful for this opportunity "to seek" we decided to add "to serve" to our plans. Recently the group along with a few other church members had a great time participating in the trivia night fundraiser for Christian Care in Rock Island. We learned more about CC and their impact in the community as well as what we did not know about mil-itary and sports. We hope to do service events in the community on a regular basis as we continue to be Book Group and More.

Book Group: Beyond Reading

April pledge income was $19,024 over budget. Pledge income year to date is $23,742 over budget! Total receipts for the year are over budget by $19,549. Budgets are created based on trends from the previous 2-3 years. This is how I came up with the

Pledge Income and Total Receipts budgets for 2016. Members are fulfilling pledges earlier in the year this year resulting in the great over budget numbers.

Keep those pledges coming in during the summer months so that we can see this trend continue! The majority of the expenses were right in line with where we expect them to be or under budget

for the year. Repairs and maintenance was over budget due to some boiler work that needed to be done, some

roof repair, and the removal and replacement of the grease trap in the kitchen. Overall, expenses are $20,253 under budget. And year to date we have a net income of $29,735. Submitted by: Sara Otta, Financial Manager, sarao@fccmoline.org

Financial Summary—April 2016

Worship Services

Sunday School 9 am

Worship 10 am

Fellowship 11 am

Phone: 309-762-0787

E-mail:

fccmoline@fccmoline.org

APRIL APRIL

BUDGET

YEAR TO DATE BUDGET TO DATE

Pledge Income $43,437 $24,413 $117,424 $93,682

Offerings 922 1,200 5,799 6,290

Other Income 16,057 17,687 66,023 69,725

TOTAL RECEIPTS $60,416 $43,300 $189,246 $169,697

TOTAL EXPENSES -$41,227 -$44,271 -$159,511 -$179,764

NET INCOME/LOSS $19,189 -$971 $29,735 -$10,067

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