First Congregational Church
United Church of Christ

Begin the journey through Lent on Ash Wednesday, March 1st, in one of two ways. From 11:00 am until 1:00 Dr. Donehoo will be in the chapel to serve communion, pray for you, and impose ashes (if you would like to receive them). You may come by yourself, as a couple, or as a family at any time during those hours. Then at 7 pm there will be a service of worship in the chapel. This service will include communion and the imposition of ashes (if you like). Dr. Donehoo will be preaching.

Hopefully, one of these options will meet your needs on this solemn day. See you in the chapel on March 1st.

• 11:00 until 1:00 (come any time) - Individual communion and prayer.
• 7:00 pm - Corporate worship with communion.

• John Patrick Tuit was born to parents Marilee and Paul Tuit, and grandparents Mary and Mark Hartwig, on February 16.

From March 5th through April 9th adults at First Congregational Church UCC will have these opportunities for spiritual and personal growth. Each class begins at 9:15 AM & ends at 10:00 AM. Child care will be provided.

Living with the Mind of Christ:
Lenten Study
Living with the Mind of Christ, a Lenten study written by James Harnish, includes 6 sessions, one for each Sunday in Lent through Palm Sunday. Each session features a scripture reference, a personal reading and questions for personal reflection or group discussion. Suggestions for ways to deepen the Lenten journey or a focus for the coming week are also a part of the study. Living with the Mind of Christ is based on Philippians 2:1-11 ("Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus?"). The goal is to discover what it might look like for us, in very practical ways, to live with the mind of Christ. Paperback copies of the book will be available for loan or purchase.
Facilitator: Ron Reuter

Footsteps of Peter and Paul:
An In-depth Study of the Book of Acts
We are following Paul as he travels through modern-day Turkey and on to Greece. We've met some interesting characters so far as well as some familiar ones. Come sail into these biblical waters with us. No biblical expertise is necessary, and it doesn't matter if you haven't been in the class previously. Come join us for a close examination of a church filled with less than saintly saints and not-quite-unredeemable sinners. The class is discovering we all fit into the church quite nicely.
Facilitator: Paris Donehoo

Coming in April...
Faith on Foot
Footsteps of Peter and Paul: A Study of the book of Acts (continued)

• 3/01    Hazel Smith
• 3/05    Dolores Zimmerman
• 3/05    Jerry Turnquist
• 3/05    Rachel Ruf
• 3/09    Carol Olson
• 3/12    Stacie Widder
• 3/13    Mary Lou Whetstone
• 3/13    Mary Ellen Flaks
• 3/14    David McGee
• 3/15    Sean McGee
• 3/16    Penny Donehoo
• 3/18    Roger Dieringer
• 3/18    Kris Hewitt
• 3/18    Cassie Kemmler
• 3/20    Marjorie Bye
• 3/20    Savannah Lile
• 3/21    Philip Brictson
• 3/22    Rae Ellen Gerber
• 3/23    Michael Halfpenny
• 3/25    Peter Mikulak
• 3/30    William Schmoldt
• 3/30    Janet Diaz
• 3/31    Cregen McMinn

• Doug McDonald was scheduled for surgery at Loyola Medical Center on February 24, and Mary Vickers was scheduled for surgery at Provena St. Joseph Hospital on February 22. Details were not available at press time.
• Jim Ellsworth is in Sherman Hospital for tests.
• After a brief stay at Sherman West Court for recuperation from knee surgery, Ron Whetstone is home and doing fine.
• Glenn Murphy had neck surgery and was home recuperating soon after. He has now resumed his normal schedule.

• Connie Reuter's uncle died January 26 in Monmouth, Illinois.

• Monsuke Schroff, father of Ketkis Steffen and father-in-law of Bob Steffen, is terminally ill.

Sister to Sister meets on the second Thursday night of the month at 7p.m. in the library. Our March Sister to Sister program is on being molded. Bring stories or things to share that have helped to mold you into the person that you are.

The Damaris group will meet on Thursday, March 23rd. This women's group is very informal. We meet to eat and have fellowship and discussion. All are welcome. This month we'll be gathering at 6:30 at Bennigans on Route 31.

The last FROG Friday of the year will be held on Friday, March 17th at 6p.m. We'll begin as always with a pizza supper and then have a sing-a-long, story, games, and crafts. FROG Friday is for all kindergartners - sixth graders. The junior high and high school youth serve as group leaders for this program. Come and bring a friend. It is a lot of fun! The cost is $5 for dinner and craft.

Youth Group for Jr. and Sr. High

Come and join us at FROG Friday and then plan to stay for our St. Patrick's Day scavenger hunt. We'll divide up into teams and travel all over town in search of "green" things. Come for a fun evening and invite your friends to join us.

• 3-05    A. J. Mitchell & Eric Turnquist
• 3-12    Maggie Powers & Tianna Louaillier
• 3-19    Alex Halfpenny & Taylor Powers
• 3-26    Samantha Kottmeier & Taylor Powers

Paris and Penny will be hosting a meeting at FCC on March 5 for all those who are interested in the trip. There will be tips for packing and traveling in Greece and Turkey, questions answered, suggested reading, and a few slides of places we will be visiting. The deadline is looming! Deposits must be paid by March 10, so if you want to take the trip of a lifetime, now is the time to sign up. You will walk the places where the apostle Paul once trod and visit some other sites important to the early church. Athens, Corinth, Philippi, and more - you will see them all. You will cruise the Aegean Sea and stop at places like Patmos (where John wrote the Book of Revelation), then it's on to Ephesus, Antalya, and other sites in Turkey, ending your tour in Istanbul; i.e., ancient Constantinople. Tour price of $3749.00 includes round trip air, 3 day cruise, overnights at 3 & 4 star hotels, entrance to all sites, fully qualified guides, air-conditioned motorcoaches, and many meals. The trip of a lifetime! See Paris or Penny for details and to sign up.

Save the date and time of April 2 at 5:00. Different faith communities from all over Elgin will be gathering at Congregation Kneseth Israel for an interfaith Passover Seder to raise awareness about the plight of the homeless as well as funds for PADS. The basic outline of the Passover service will be followed but modified to include all faiths represented in the group. This is a unique opportunity you will not want to miss! Details will follow in next month's newsletter as well as Sunday bulletins.

Reid Voght has accepted a one-year assignment in Iraq with Halliburton Corp. He will be living on a military base - location to be disclosed later.

We invite anyone interested to join the Confirmation Class and their mentors for the viewing of the movie Jesus on Sunday afternoon March 19th. This 90 minute movie uses the words of the Gospel of Luke as it tells the life of Jesus. It is a great movie. We will begin with a pizza lunch at about 12 noon and conclude about 2:30. Please let Lois know if you'd like to join the group, so we order enough pizza.

Why are the people up in the sanctuary?
Have you noticed the border of painted people who are encircling the sanctuary? February 17 - 18th youth and adults participated in a 30 Hour Famine to raise awareness of hunger in our world. As part of the experience participants stamped with paint the 1,208 paper dolls to represent the 1,208 children who die each hour of hunger. We have wrapped them around our sanctuary as a reminder of our need to do what we can to make a difference. Donations are still be accepted for world hunger relief. Tax deductible checks may be made out to the church or to World Vision.

Sunday School's One Great Hour of Sharing Offering
The Sunday School children will be receiving fish banks on Sunday, March 5th. These banks are to collect their offerings for One Great Hour of Sharing. One Great Hour of Sharing is a disaster relief offering. Whenever and wherever there is a need OGHS money goes to help with the problem both here in the U.S. and world-wide. Children are encouraged to "Feed" their fish with loose coins and bring them back on Palm Sunday, April 9th (yes, this a different date than the offering of the congregation).

The One Great Hour of Sharing special offering will be taken during worship on March 19 or can be sent in to the church office with the envelope that has been provided in this newsletter.

The mission trip group is sponsoring a dinner and evening of entertainment on Saturday, March 11th. The dinner will be salad, spaghetti, bread and dessert. We are excited to be offering a variety of entertainment including the Cross I'd Players doing a skit, Pastor Prime (Paris) on the guitar, and the ChristCare group called Key of Life performing some musical selections. The cost for the evening is $8.00 for adults and $5.00 for children 10 and under. Please complete the order form in this issue of Church Life to reserve your seats for this event.

Church Women United will be sponsoring a World Day of Prayer celebration in our chapel on Friday, March 3rd, at 1:00. This will be right after the first Lenten Organ concert. World Day of Prayer is a worldwide movement of Christian women of many traditions who welcome all people to observe a common day of prayer on the first Friday of March. It is an ecumenical movement that brings together women of various races, cultures and traditions, All are invited to join in this service of prayer and worship.

The Soup Kettle served 4,918 individuals in 2005. This surpassed our previous high of 4,549 in 1994. On 13 Wednesdays we served over 100 individuals. While the President likes to talk about job creation and a healthy economy, the numbers we see on Wednesday don't support that claim.

We continue to enjoy our participation in the Red Lobster food program. Once a month our clients enjoy a scrumptious seafood dinner. Super Target in South Elgin provides us with a wide array of breads and desserts every Wednesday. These two businesses are worthy of your support. Elgin Cooperative Ministry continues to reimburse us for food expenses as well as providing us with needed paper products.

We are thankful for all the wonderful volunteers who help out on Wednesday preparing and serving a nutritious meal.

Carl Flaks, Director of Resource Procurement
James Lewis, Head Chef

The Cross I'd Players and the Youth Group will be sponsoring and participating in a late winter dinner and entertainment extravaganza on March 11. Get ready for this - there will be a mystery comedy, music, comedy acts, and more for this evening. Proceeds will go to the Mission Trip. Anyone who would like to participate can contact John Kauffman or any of the Cross I'd Players - email at jksts@aol.com

Peace,
John Kauffman

The Opening Doors ChristCare group is looking for a few good members to join us in an in-depth study of Paul's letter to the Romans beginning in March. We will be using the Kerygma (Good News) curriculum in our studies, and study guides are available for purchase. The group meets twice a month at the McDonald home in South Elgin. For more information, contact Roger Dieringer.

Neither wind, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail, nor thunder nor lightening could keep our faithful couriers from delivering meals to shut-ins during February. Those hardy souls who participated are:

Provena-St Joseph

• Carl and Mary Ellen Flaks
• Janet Aldred
• Tom Powell
• Larry Rothlisberger
• AJ and Beth Mitchell
• Chuck and Dolores Zimmerman

Sherman Hospital

• Kay Durham
• Lee Ellsworth
• Chuck and Dolores Zimmerman
 

Many thanks to all who made life better for others.
Dolores Zimmerman

The Quiet Moments Christ Care Group which originally planned to meet on Wednesday evenings during Lent is post-poned at this time. However, there will be an opportunity to deepen one's spiritual journey by participating in "Tuesdays with Jesus." See meeting information about "Tuesdays with Jesus" elsewhere in the newsletter.

The Music Ministry of the First Congregational Church of Elgin and Jon Warfel, organist and music director at the church, present the 29th annual series of Jane Chipman Memorial Lenten Organ Recitals starting promptly at noon March 3rd. This half hour concert is free and open to the public. The idea of the series was conceived by the late Jane Chipman. She invited organists from around the Fox Valley to come to FCC and present their talents for the enjoyment of the community. This will be the first series performed since the death of Mrs. Chipman last year. The church's current Music Director and Organist, Jon Warfel, plans and directs the Lenten programs. Jon=s background includes being involved with several area churches and organizations including the Director of Music at Fox Valley Presbyterian Church in Geneva and Organist at Community Congregational church in Batavia. He has been the Director of Choral Activities at Waubonsee Community College since 1977. In addition since 2000 Jon has directed the Naperville Chamber Singers. He performs regularly with the "Buffalo Shufflers, a Roaring Twenties Show Band." In 1992 Mr. Warfel was chosen the outstanding Young Alumni of Northern Illinois University and in 1995 he received the Faculty of the Year Award from Waubonsee Community College. Jon has been a featured artist with the Orchestra of Illinois, The Illinois Chamber Symphony and the Fox Valley Symphony. The Lenten Organ series starts on March 3rd and runs through Good Friday. All concerts are held at the First Congregational Church at 256 E. Chicago St. Elgin. The church office can be reached at 847-741-4045.

This year's schedule is following.

2006 Jane Hampton Chipman Memorial Lenten Organ Recital

• 3-03    Charles Sega, Director of Music/Organist, St. David=s Episcopal Church Glenview
• 3-10    Richard Spantikow, Organist/Choirmaster, All Saints Episcopal Church, Western Springs
• 3-17    Jon Warfel, Music Director/Organist, First Congregational Church, Elgin
• 3-24    Howard Bakken - Formerly Director of Music/Organist, First Congregational Church, Elgin
• 3-31    Deborah Ayotte
• 4-7    John Kevin Linker - Director of Music/Organist, Church of the Good Shepherd, Lexington, KY
• 4-14    Requiem in d minor, by Joseph Rheinberger, Chancel Choir of First Congregational Church Elgin