First UCC Richmond

We wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the following members and friends who are celebrating their September birthdays:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the children of our church who celebrate a birthday this month:

We also wish a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to the following members whose wedding anniversary is in September:

Any change to your address, phone number or email?...

A Heartfelt Thank You

With your help we raised over $1,400 for our church’s general fund during the City-wide Yard Sale on July 28 and 29!
We easily had double the amount of items for sale this year than we did last year.

The items that were left over after the weekend sale were donated to the Salvation Army (Glen Porrett arranged to have them picked up on Tuesday, August 1). The extra books were donated to the Richmond Library.

We hope to be a part of this sale again next year. It is a lot of work, but with many hands to help, it makes it less work and more fun.

Sharlene Haws and
Kim Schrote

From K. I. D. S.

On behalf of Kids in Distress Services, I want to thank you for all the great diapers, baby sheets, towels and clothing you donated. It was all very much needed. Thank you for helping KIDS make a difference in a child’s life

In gratitude

Christie Burke

From Church World Service

Thank you for your generous gift to the CWS Blankets program. As families and communities around the world recover from emergencies and struggle in the face of challenges, you are standing with them. You are providing relief and hope

Your contribution provides hope to neighbors near and far, from migrant families facing cold and wet conditions to refugees who have just arrived in the United States to build a new future and to guests at homeless shelters. Around the world, your support of this program means vital supplies and support for those in need

Because of you, Church World Service is able to respond when disasters occur and support is needed. We thank you

May God bless you for your support

Rev. John L. McCullough
President & CEO
Church World Servic

Use Your Practical Skills to Help

Neighbors in Need!

The Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers program helps our older and disabled neighbors with such tasks so they can remain safe and independent in their own homes. If you can help weekly, monthly or even just a couple times a year, please call us today. The time you give will make a real difference in someone’s life

Call Carmen at 586-757-5551. (Learn more about our work at www.ivcinfo.org)

The Kroger Community Rewards Program has earned our church $95.89 during the months of November, December & January. Thanks to all who have participated. Through this program Kroger donates to animal shelters, community center and educational groups throughout Michigan. Lets keep this program working for us and help Kroger assist in the needs of our local communities!

If you have not already, enroll now to help benefit our church.

Kroger is committed to helping communities grow and prosper. Each year, they assist hundreds of local nonprofit organizations, schools and churches working to make the communities they share better places to live and work.

First United Church of Christ is now registered as a non-profit organization that can benefit from the Kroger Community Rewards Program.

You will still earn points toward your fuel savings as always, only now our church can benefit as well from you shopping at Kroger. First UCC will get money from Kroger based on the percentage of spending as it relates to the total spending of all participating Kroger Community Rewards organizations.

All you have to do is enroll with your Kroger Plus Card and use the church’s new NPO number: 97155

See the following notes to help you enroll and get a Kroger Plus Card if you don’t have one.

TO USE THE KROGER

COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM:

* Simply register online at krogercommunityrewards.com

* Be sure to have your Kroger Plus card handy and register your card with your organization after you sign up.

* If you do not yet have a Kroger Plus card, they are available at the customer service desk at any Kroger.

* Click on Sign In/Register

Most participants are new online customers, so you must click on SIGN UP

TODAY in the ‘New Customer?’ box.

Sign up for a Kroger Rewards Account by entering zip code, clicking on your favorite store, enter your email

address and create a password, agree to the terms and conditions.

* You will then get a message to check your email inbox and click on the link within the body of the email.

* Click on My Account and use your email address and password to proceed to the next step.

* Click on Edit Kroger Community Rewards information and input your Kroger Plus card number.

* Update or confirm your information.

Enter NPO number (97155) or name of organization,

select organization from list and click on confirm.

* To verify you are enrolled correctly, you will see your organization’s name on the right side of your information page.

REMEMBER, purchases will not count for our group until you register your card(s).

* Do you use your phone number at the register? Call 877-576-7587 to get your Kroger Plus card number.

* Members must swipe their registered Kroger Plus card or use the phone number that is related to their registered Kroger Plus card when shopping for each purchase to count.

* You must re-enroll annually for your points to count for First UCC.

Also we will schedule a special sign up day at church for those of you who need assistance with online registration.

Thank you for your support!
The Finance Committee

Our church now offers to “Text” or “Call” UCC members and friends who may not have email to receive important news from our church.

We are working on a new way to keep all our members and friends informed about important news such as the death of someone in our church family. We can continue to communicate such news by email, or we can call or send a text message to your phone.

If you would like to receive text messages regarding church news, please fill out the form below, cut it out and place it on the offering plate or mail it to the church office. Be sure to include the name of your cell phone service provider (ATT, Verizon, Sprint, etc.). If you would rather get an old fashioned phone call, fill in your home phone number and we will relay church announcements with a phone call.

If we do not have your email address, and you would like to receive our church announcements, please fill out the form below, cut and place it on the offering plate or mail it to the church office.

Equal Exchange:

Justice in every cup. Compassion in every bite.

Small Farmers! Big Change!

New products are in!!

Try some honey from Guatemala. Try the new K-cups for your Keurig coffee maker! Try the chocolate chips in your favorite recipe! Try the new chocolate raspberry bar! It is amazing. All products are in the basement of the church. Make your choices and put your money in the silver tin. If you have questions about prices, contact Shelley Champion (248-804-6915).

Equal Exchange's mission is to build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers and to demonstrate, through our success, the contribution of worker co-operatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world.

Coffee

At Equal Exchange, our longstanding relationships with coffee co-ops allow us to source the best beans from each harvest. Then we carefully bring out the finest characteristics in these amazing coffee beans with each batch we roast.

Chocolate & Cocoa

Equal Exchange chocolates and cocoas are crafted using only the purest ingredients, grown with care by small farmer co-ops. We source from these small farmer organizations because we believe they are the heart and soul of the Fair Trade movement.

Tea

Our Fair Trade and organic teas come from our small farmer partners in India, Sri Lanka and South Africa. Most teas on the shelf - even Fair Trade teas - come from plantations where tea workers have little say. Join us in supporting a tea model in which farmers control their futures.