Fourth Sunday in Lent

Worship Service 8:00 a.m., Walker Chapel

Worship Service 10:00 a.m., Meetinghouse

The Rev. Bill Keane preaching
Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10 & John 3:14-21

Don't Forget To Turn Your Clock Forward One Hour Saturday Night!

Lenten Meditation

During this Lenten season I am trying to spend some time in reading and reflecting early each morning - before I start the day with its phone calls, email messages, the dishwasher needing to be emptied, and the newspaper reciting the troubles of the world. I have been using a little book called Inviting God In by Joyce Rupp. It’s not the kind of stuff you read in seminary or in theological research, but it speaks to life as it is lived by ordinary normal people like you and me. So I am happy to pass on to you, assuming that you are normal too, the reflection, A Wholehearted Return, written by this insightful woman:

Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart….Joel 2:12
Each Lent I hear the phrase”return with all your heart” – and I gulp. Surrendering one’s whole being to God is quite a challenge. Every Lent I look again into my heart to discover those places that have not yet returned to the One who calls me. This is the wisdom behind having a Lenten journey each year. Knowing that I will be re-invited to return to God keeps me from being discouraged as I struggle to give more of my whole self to this loving Creator.
What does it mean to “return”? Re-turning indicates that I have been there, that I am making a shift, turning around and heading there again. I cannot re-turn to a place where I have not already been. I find this thought very comforting because I know that if I go to the very depths of my being, I belong totally to God. Some places of my heart have strayed and lost their way, but I know they can return to God. Lent is a time to go looking for these places. Lent is also a time to remember that God’s invitation stands forever. Always God waits for us to return with all our heart (p.71).

Now I admit starting the morning meditating on where I have strayed and drifted off the path is a little off-putting, but the assurance that I am not permanently lost inspires me to start another day hoping to have part of me (if not all of me) live and love in a more generous faith-filled way. It’s never too late. God is still waiting, or waiting again – for me and you too.

Peace and blessing during these days of Lent,

Susan PT
Susan Power Trucksess

2018 Lenten Series

Join us for this week’s Lenten series focusing on

“Loving the Other in Church”

“The church is where you come to be enlisted by God into responsibility, concern for others. If this is true, what must we do?”

We will be coming together for a soup supper on Wednesday, March 14th, from 6:00-6:30pm and then the program will be from 6:30-7:30pm.

This year, UCC churches across the US and Canada will be receiving the annual One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) offering this Sunday, March 11th. The theme is “More than we can imagine”, based on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 3:20;

“Now to God be the glory, who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can imagine.”

This offering provides funds for mission work in places lacking health and educational resources and/or where disaster has struck. In our generosity, we recognize that we are all part of God’s family. We imagine a world with enough food, water, resources, education, justice, laughter and freedom for all people.

As Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, “We are the agents of transformation that God uses to transfigure the world.”

Please give what you can on Sunday, March 11, 2018. Make checks payable to FCCB with OGHS on the memo line.

Thank you.
Mission Board

Scholarship Program

The purpose of the First Congregational Church of Branford Scholarship program is to provide some financial aid to needy and worthy young men and women who are members or are children or grandchildren of members of The First Congregational Church of Branford (FCCB). Applicants for a scholarship grant must be a senior at a private or public secondary school, who are planning to attend a post-secondary school. Scholarship grants are given to the recipients for use during their first year of postsecondary education and are paid in two halves. The first half of the grant is paid to a recipient after confirmation of the school the recipient will be attending. The second half is paid to a recipient after the recipient provides to the Scholarship Committee a copy of their first semester transcript, showing they have achieved at least a “C” average. Applications are available in the office. The deadline is April 1, 2018.

Easter Lily Order Form

 
IN MEMORY OF:

……………………………………………………………………………………
IN HONOR OF:

……………………………………………………………………………………

BY………………………………………………………………………………
 
(PLEASE INDICATE NAME(S) AS YOU WISH TO APPEAR IN BULLETIN)
 
CONTACT NAME…………………………………………………………………………..

TELEPHONE………………………………………………………………………………………

PLEASE CHECK ONE:
 Deliver my plant to a homebound person
 I will take my plant home after 11:00 a.m. service on Easter Sunday
Cost $12.00 each plant

Please drop this form in the collection plate or at the Church office or you can mail to:

FCC Branford, 1009 Main St, Branford, CT. 06405

 If you would like to remember or honor a loved one with an Easter lily, return this form to the Church office by Sunday, March 25th.

Please make checks payable to:

First Congregational Church.
Mark Easter Lily on the memo line.

For Our Prayers This Week

We give thanks for......
The Rev. Bill Keane sharing his gifts of preaching with our congregation
The great success of the potluck meal last Sunday sponsored by the
Refugee Welcome Committee
Continued opportunities to learn more about ourselves through our ongoing Lenten series

We pray for.....
All those in the U.S. and Canada who are participating in the OGHS, that they give with a generous heart
Our brothers and sisters around the world whose lives continue to be affected by war
and violence; we pray that peace gains the upper hand

We grieve with…..
The Giordano family at the death of Mike and Janet’s nephew Lucas Giordano

Ongoing prayers for…
Betsy & Peter Boynton, Daria Carlson, Barbara Colley, Edward DeFrancesco, John Paul Dineen, Dormer Family, Eleanor Eadie (Emily Fielding’s sister), Rowena Gatta, Robert & Margaret Gehm (parents of Nancy Gehm), Mary Gundersen (Lynda Barker’s mother), Alison Hobbie (Betsy Gay’s daughter), Frank Malinconico, Ethel Marchesseault (Linda’s mother), Joe Mele (Jen McCaughtry’s uncle), Maria & Adam Melillo, Mary, Kirsten & Rosabelle (Sharon Reynolds’ niece and family), Barbara Mehring, Rose & Tom Moore (mother & brother of Sharon Reynolds), Sylvia O’Brien, Debbie Pearl (friend of Lil Sakai), George Spear, and Janet Young.

Church Calendar

Sunday, March 11 –Daylight Savings
8:00 am Worship Service Walker Chapel
10:00 am Worship Service Meetinghouse
11:15 am Music Board Meeting Room 25
6:00 pm High School Youth Group Pilgrim Hall

Monday, March 12
9:30 am CDC – Music Pilgrim Hall
10:00 am Branford Transition Program All Purpose Room

Tuesday, March 13
10:00 am Staff Meeting Russel Room
4:30 pm Youth Bells Sanctuary
5:15 pm Family Group Night Pilgrim Hall
7:00 pm Mission Board Meeting All Purpose Room
7:00 pm Diaconate Board Meeting Russel Room
7:00 pm Adult Bell Rehearsal Sanctuary

Wednesday, March 14
8:30 pm WIC All Purpose Room
11:00 am Evergreen Woods Bible Study Evergreen Woods
6:00 pm Lenten Program Pilgrim Hall

Thursday, March 15
8:30 am WIC All Purpose Room
10:30 am CDC – Happy Feet Pilgrim Hall
6:00 pm KPDC Registration Kick-Off Pilgrim Hall
7:00 pm Choir Rehearsal Sanctuary

Friday, March 16
10:00 am Branford Transition Program All Purpose Room

Saturday, March 17

Sunday, March 18
8:00 am Worship Service Walker Chapel
10:00 am Worship Service Meetinghouse
12:30 pm Cooking Class with Youth Pilgrim Hall/Kitchen
5:30 Youth Cooking Class Dinner Pilgrim Hall

Practicing Joy Together program has been cancelled for March because of Lenten program*

Sanctuary Flowers

The 2018 Sanctuary Flower chart has now been placed on the bulletin board where the board minutes used to be located, outside of the Russel Room.

Please come and fill in the dates!

A $35 donation to the flower fund is suggested.

Check Out The Church Facebook Page

This is a public page for everyone to be able to see everything going on at OUR church.

Please be reminded that this page is open to the public and therefore no pictures should be shared of children unless the parents are asked specifically. The FCCB Youth Ministries CLOSED GROUP is where pictures including children can be posted.

Click the link below to be brought right to the page and like it! And be sure to share with your friends.

https://www.facebook.com/FirstCongregationalBranford/

Information Regarding The eSpire

• The deadline for an article to be published in the weekly e-spire is 12pm on Tuesdays.
• There is no longer a monthly paper spire. Those who have requested a paper copy now receive a copy of the weekly e-spire in the mail.
• The e-spire is only mailed out weekly if it can be done in a timely fashion.

Are You Connected?

Make sure you get all emails and updates from First Congregational Church. It’s easy and automatic to sign up for our email list – just go to www.firstcongregationalbranford.org and there is a sign-up form. Don’t miss another issue!

The eSpire is now available on our website at http://www.firstcongregationalbranford.org/newsletters.html

Grocery Cards

Grocery cards are on sale Sundays after service or in the church office,
Monday-Thursday 9:00-3:00 pm.

 Big Y  Stop and Shop  Shop Rite 