Please remember them when you are next out shopping for food; one or two extra items that you can purchase and donate each week can truly make a big difference for these families. The RED WAGON is located in the hallway across from the office. The other RED WAGON is stationed at the vestibule on Sunday mornings.

We know how generous our community is, and the members of the Mission and Outreach group are so fortunate to be a part of this congregation, spreading the love you share across the community. Thank you all so much.

Most needed list for Woburn Social Concern.

Please send your extra reusable grocery bags with your items.

• Proteins: White tuna, SPAM, corned beef hash, and canned or jarred meats.
• Canned Goods & Vegetables: Canned spinach, beets, asparagus, and general canned vegetables/fruits.
• Soups & Meals: Tomato soup, cream of mushroom soup, Chef Boyardee meals, and canned pastas.
• Breakfast Items: Cold cereals (all varieties except Cheerios), oatmeal, pancake mix, and syrup.
• Staples & Pasta: Lasagna noodles, pasta, peanut butter, and jelly.
• Snacks & Extras: Crackers (Ritz, Saltines, Cheez-Its, Triscuits), cookies, fruit cups, large cans of baked beans, mixed nuts, chips, and dried fruit.

Also, as we get closer to Thanksgiving these holiday items are very appreciated too.

• Fruit juice (apple, cranberry, or grape)
• Large boxes of instant mashed potatoes
• Stuffing mixes
• Rice and rice preparation mixes
• Canned peas, corn, fruit, and cranberry sauce
• Turkey and chicken gravy
• Chicken broth
• Bread, cake, and brownie mixes
• Jell-O and pudding
• Cookies, nuts, and crackers
• Coffee, tea, and hot chocolate
• $10.00, $20.00, or $30.00 GIFT CARDS TO A LOCAL SUPERMARKET

We hope that you have all received your Just Peace Letter in the mail by now and have had chance to read and or hear of the plight of the legal Haitian Immigrants who had their Temporary Protected Status revoked by the Administration in July. The Haitian Support Center in Springfield, Ohio is an essential hub for legal information and financial support in these very fraught times for the Haitian Community. If you haven’t already, please consider donating any amount to support our brothers and sisters in this dark and uncertain time. To donate, text JUSTPEACE to 707070 or visit https://www.pledge.to/just-peace-2026-haitian-support-center

To contribute, please note “Haitian Support Center” in the memo line of your check or with your Venmo or electronic donation. For more information on this organization, please visit their website: https://haitiansupportcenter.org.

We would also like to remind everyone about our RED WAGON program. All the food gifts you donate so generously go to Council of Social Concern’s food Pantry in Woburn. With SNAP benefits being cut back even further again recently, the need for food is constantly growing.

Please remember them when you are next out shopping for food; one or two extra items that you can purchase and donate each week can truly make a big difference for these families. The RED WAGON is located in the hallway across from the office. The other RED WAGON is stationed at the entrance on Sunday mornings.

We know how generous our community is, and the members of the Mission and Outreach group are so fortunate to be a part of this congregation, spreading the love you share across the community. Thank you all so much.

Karen Bellacosa, Rev. Will Burhans, Carrie Ehrbar, John Keeley, Marisa Lafferty, Petra Sansom & Jenny Uzdavinis

Most needed list for Woburn Social Concern. Please send your extra reusable grocery bags with your items.

• Proteins: White tuna, SPAM, corned beef hash, and canned or jarred meats.
• Canned Goods & Vegetables: Canned spinach, beets, asparagus, and general canned vegetables/fruits.
• Soups & Meals: Tomato soup, cream of mushroom soup, Chef Boyardee meals, and canned pastas.
• Breakfast Items: Cold cereals (all varieties except Cheerios), oatmeal, pancake mix, and syrup.
• Staples & Pasta: Lasagna noodles, pasta, peanut butter, and jelly.
• Snacks & Extras: Crackers (Ritz, Saltines, Cheez-Its, Triscuits), cookies, fruit cups, large cans of baked beans, mixed nuts, chips, and dried fruit.

Also, as we get closer to Thanksgiving these holiday items are very appreciated too.

• Fruit juice (apple, cranberry, or grape)
• Large boxes of instant mashed potatoes
• Stuffing mixes
• Rice and rice preparation mixes
• Canned peas, corn, fruit, and cranberry sauce
• Turkey and chicken gravy
• Chicken broth
• Bread, cake, and brownie mixes
• Jell-O and pudding
• Cookies, nuts, and crackers
• Coffee, tea, and hot chocolate

You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love them as yourself.  Leviticus 19:34

Dear Members and Friends of First Congregational Church,

The Mission & Outreach Ministry is announcing the first of our three annual special offerings, with 100% of your donations going directly to a nonprofit organization. This year’s Just Peace offering will support the Haitian Support Center in Springfield, Ohio.

The Haitian Support Center was established in 2023 to help refugees and immigrants, particularly Haitian nationals, build new lives in Springfield, Ohio. The Center helps newcomers with housing applications, employment opportunities, legal matters, and language barriers, supporting them, as they become self-sufficient members of the community. For many, the Center is more than just a building. It is a vital piece of civic infrastructure, created by and for Haitian immigrants and other refugees at a time when public institutions often struggle to keep pace with community needs. When public systems become strained or unpredictable, trusted grassroots, immigrant-led organizations help hold communities together and become the place people turn to for support, guidance, and stability.

Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, more than 300,000 Haitians were granted Temporary Protected Status. When approximately 12,000 to 15,000 Haitians settled in Springfield, Ohio, the city was experiencing decades of population decline. They helped fill critical labor shortages in manufacturing, warehousing, and service industries. They opened grocery stores and restaurants, renovated buildings, and contributed to the local and state tax base, helping to revitalize the local economy. However, the current administration revoked Temporary Protected Status for Haitians living in the U.S. in July of this year. “The Supreme Court decision is not just a tragedy for Haitians; it’s a tragedy for Springfield, Ohio,” said Rev. Carl Ruby, pastor of Central Christian Church. “We went from being one of the fastest-shrinking cities to one of the fastest-growing cities in America. This undoes all that progress.”

In response, the Haitian Support Center must help community members navigate rapidly changing immigration policies as families increasingly turn to it for guidance and support. The Center also requires additional funding as it works alongside local faith-based and advocacy organizations to provide rent assistance, food and meal deliveries, transportation, and medical support for community members who have lost income and, in many cases, are afraid to leave their homes. At the same time, many residents have stepped forward to support their Haitian neighbors. Some are making plans to care for U.S. born children whose parents may face detention or deportation. In contrast, others have offered shelter and assistance to immigrants who remain in the community.

Our goal is to reach $8,000 to help sustain their urgent work. To contribute, please note “Haitian Support Center” in the memo line of your check or with your Venmo or electronic donation. You may also use the “JUST PEACE” envelopes available in the pews during church services or scan this QR code to donate through Pledgeling. For more information on this organization, please visit their website: https://haitiansupportcenter.org.

Thank you for your generosity and responding to the Gospel’s summons to help and care for strangers among us in such a tangible way. Your contribution is deeply appreciated.

In faith and solidarity, The Mission & Outreach team:  Karen Bellacosa, Rev. Will Burhans, Carrie Ehrbar, John Keeley, Marisa Lafferty, Petra Sansom & Jenny Uzdavinis.

Come together with friends and church family for the annual fall church picnic, Sunday, September 13th! Enjoy laughter, connection, and a bouncy house for the kiddos! The church will provide sandwiches, salads, and water but we are asking folks to bring chips, watermelon, dessert or drinks to share. Not a cook? Consider signing up to help with setup, serving or cleanup instead! Sign Up to Help Here!

Summer Repair Café
Saturday, August 29 , 2026
9:00 AM-12:00 PM in Chidley Hall

Signups are open for our next Repair Café on August 29.

• sewing & knitting repairs
• knives or scissors sharpening
• electronics and lamp repair
• furniture fixing
• We also repair childrens toys including stuffies

Signup for a Repair Here

Halfway through our week here, we have already experienced extraordinary grace, beauty, suffering, and compassion.

The reservation — The Rez — is a hard place, by design. Centuries of genocide, oppression, and deprivation have made sure it is so, and continue to this day. This is one of the poorest places in the United States, where many people live without running water, heat, electric power, or adequate — let alone healthy — food. The people here are suffering economically, physically, mentally, and spiritually. There is every form of injustice. And yet we are hearing from our Lakota relatives that there is a renaissance unfolding. People are re-learning their heritage: their language, traditions, songs and ceremonies and prayers. As we offer our labor to build and deliver beds, safety ramps, and outhouses — outhouses! — they generously reciprocate with their life stories, both trauma and hope. It feels important to contribute, as Nancy put it, concrete interventions to problems that go way beyond the concrete. And it feels equally important to gratefully embrace our Lakota relatives as beloved family, to join with them in heartfelt prayer for peace, justice, and an end to White Supremacy.

As hard as it is, The Rez is also a profoundly beautiful and sacred place, as Branda captured in her poem, and as you can see in some of the numerous photographs we have taken. In our nightly closing session, we have reflected on how each day’s experiences have kindled our spirits with gratitude and wonder. There is so much more to share with you, much of which will take us time and discernment to fully process.

Thank you for sending us here with your love and support. Please continue to pray that God will work through all of us — those of us here in Pine Ridge this week and all of you at home — to re-member creation, to heal and make whole that which humans have broken.

In love —

Julianne, on behalf of Andrew, Branda, Henry, Jodie, Maggie, Michaela, Nancy, Petra, Sonia, and Rev. Will

Badlands by Branda Wilhoite

Painted desert,

desiccated to fading,

Crumbly underfoot,

Framed by wide, blue skies.

A ribbon of green, swaying grasses

Swathed at its feet

A dry creek bed- the memory of a river-

A trickle, a shrinking puddle,

In the hot afternoon sun.

Rock spindles stand like tall sentries

Guarding “The Bowl”

Unlikely life- sage, paintbrush, and thistle,

Breathe hope into this desolate,

Beautiful place.

Re-Member

To make whole that which is broken.

As an open and affirming congregation, we celebrate and include people of all identities and life journeys into the full life and ministry of our church. This commitment to radical hospitality is lived out not only in worship, but in the everyday spaces we create together.

Whether neighbors stopping to chat, families gathering after services, or passersby taking a quiet moment, these chairs are a simple, visible sign to all who pass by that there is a place for them at FCCW.

Join us in creating a space of welcome, connection, and belonging for all by sponsoring a $220 chair or buddying up with a friend to sponsor a chair.

Dear Fellow Congregants, the annual Summer Picnic is just around the corner on June 14^th, and the Justice Ministry want to make it another delicious celebration this year. We are hoping that some of you would be willing to help contribute to the feast; we have the basics covered, but we’d love it if you would be help fill in the gaps with snacks, drinks and yummy desserts.

Please sign-up here to bring more scrumptiousness to Picnic Day.

We hope to see you there, bring blankets and a good appetite.

-Your friends from the Justice Ministry.

Our ministers play a central role in shaping the spiritual life, care, and community that make our church such a special place. We are deeply grateful for their dedication and service, and we also believe that thoughtful feedback helps all of us continue to grow and serve more effectively.

The survey is designed to help us better understand:

• what our ministers are doing especially well,
• where their gifts are having the greatest impact, and
• whether there are areas where we can support continued growth and improvement.

Your honest and constructive feedback is incredibly valuable. We encourage everyone to take a few minutes to complete the survey. Responses will help us strengthen our ministry and ensure that our church continues to be a welcoming, vibrant, and spiritually enriching community for all.

Thank you in advance for your participation and for the care you show for our church and its leadership.

The survey can be accessed using the link here: https://forms.gle/vGbBLHRNYtMqeHDaA

or by using the QR code provided here:

-Christian Ehrbar

Personnel Ministry Chair