We wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the following members and friends who are celebrating their August birthdays:
04 - Sally McNinch
04 - David Busch
06 - Lucia Marshall
13 - Rich Weinert
17 - Bill Jones
26 - Justine Dunsmore
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the children of our church who celebrate a birthday this month:
26 - Elaina Briggs
29 - Brianna Jones
We also wish a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to the following members whose wedding anniversary is in August:
14 - Justin & Avrie Dunsmore
18 - Steve & Darlene Furtaw
21 - Glen & Diane Porrett
26 - Warren & Sue Burmann
BEST
WISHES
TO YOU
Congratulations to
This Year’s Graduates!
Adam Santo—Richmond High School
From the Building & Grounds Committee
We now have NEW letters, numbers, and symbols for our portable sign. They are sorted and alphabetized in a blue plastic box in the basement supply cupboard. If you use the sign & letters, it would be greatly appreciated that the letters you use go back in their correct slot. Thank You!
The Building & Grounds Committee is looking into getting a security camera for the back door. This is for peace of mind and not intended to be unwelcoming. “Smile you are on candid camera!”
Help Keep our Church
Lawn Beautiful…
If you can lend a hand by mowing the church lawn, please write your name on the schedule that is on the oval table in the narthex for the week or weeks that you would like to mow the lawn.
Thank you.
A Driving Need
Hundreds of older and
disabled neighbors in our community need help getting to doctor appointments, the grocery store or other essential errands. Being able to get food and medical care can make it possible for them to remain in
their own homes for as long as possible.
The Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers program is in need of volunteers who can provide transportation in the local area. We especially need drivers who are available during daytime business hours—mornings and afternoons. If you have just a couple hours a month that you can give to someone in need, you can make a huge difference in the life of a struggling
neighbor. You tell us what days, times and areas are
convenient for you and we call you with specific appointments that meet these criteria. If you are free, say yes. If you’re not, simply decline and we will call you another time. Even one more ride a year will make a big difference to the person who needs it!
Please call our office today at 586-757-5551.
[Learn more about our work at www.ivcinfo.org]
Please Support the Horseback Riding Therapy for Keith
First UCC has committed to paying for two horseback-riding therapy sessions per month for our friend, Keith Murphy. Keith has cerebral palsy as well as injuries sustained by abuse when he was a baby. Riding therapy helps him with his sense of balance and coordination. And he loves it!
You can contribute to Keith’s joy and overall well-being by contributing to his horseback-riding therapy fund. The cost of each session is $70. Some of our members have made contributions to this fund in honor of birthdays andanniversaries. Some have organized family gifts to the fund. Put your contributions in the box on the oval table in the narthex. Or include them along with your offering, clearly marked: Keith’s Riding Therapy.
Leave a Note on our White Board
Dear Church Family,
Even though the weather isn’t cooperating, it is spring and many plans are being made to keep our church in good shape inside and out. That means all of us have a responsibility to communicate with each other if we spot a problem that needs to be addressed. Please let Shelley or Helen (or me!) know. To that end we have a new white board installed in the office. Please leave any concerns written down on it. Please don’t assume because you have had a conversation at coffee hour, that the person responsible for fixing the problem knows! For instance, we had a horrible mouse infestation in the kitchen before our annual Easter Egg Hunt. It almost caused the event to be cancelled. It was only with the hours and hours of cleaning by Sharlene Haws and Rich Weinert that we were able to go forward.
Our kitchen is now clean and all the utensils saved are in closed totes. But unfortunately when I opened the fellowship hall for the Quilt Guild meeting on April 14, I found dirty dishes in the sink, greasy dish water and a few bugs. This was very disheartening after all that work.
Please, if you use the kitchen, clean up, wipe down the counter and put away your dishes and utensils. I am hoping that the building and grounds committee can come up with a plan to stop the mice from getting in, but we need your help with not leaving any bait! Thank you so much for your consideration.
Sue Weinert,
council president
Lost and Found Box
If you’ve left anything behind after worship, look in our Lost & Found Box which is in the furnace room next to the refrigerator.
Call to Care Team:
Mary Alice Busch...586-727-7009
Shelley Champion...586-255-0387
Due to a parishioner allergy:
First United Church of Christ is now a pineapple free zone.
Please refrain from lotions, gums, fruit snacks, fruit juices, perfumes, air fresheners and any other scent or flavoring with pineapple in it.
Please do not bring anything for coffee hour that contains pineapple. This is really serious. Let's all do our best to take care of each other!
Spread the Good News...
We have received $83.80 from Kroger Rewards this quarter!
Are you signed up for our Kroger Community Rewards Program? If not, here’s how to join and start earning rewards for our church:
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.
- Don’t have a Kroger Plus card? The cards are available at the customer service desk at any Kroger.
- Click on “Sign In/Register.”
- If you are a new online customer, click on “SIGN UP TODAY” in the “New Customer?” box.
- Sign up for a Kroger Rewards Account: enter zip code, click on favorite store, enter your email address, create a password and 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 your group until after you register your card.
- Do you use your phone number at the register? Call 877-576-7587 to get your Kroger Plus card number.
- You must swipe your registered Kroger Plus card or use the phone number that is related to your registered Kroger Plus card when shopping for each purchase to count.
Thank you,
The Community Programs Staff
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.
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.
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.
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.