NEWS IN THE PEWS
November 23, 2025
THE ANNUAL FINANCIAL MEETING will be held on Sunday, Sunday, December 14th, immediately following the worship service. The budget for 2026 will be discussed and voted on.
ORNAMENT MAKING EVENT: Come! Get in the spirit of Christmas! Make an ornament! Join our Community Christmas Ornament Event on Saturday, December 13th from 10:00 A.M. – 12 Noon!
CHRISTMAS CONCERT: Please join us on Sunday, December 21 at 3 PM for a heartwarming concert of Christmas joy, featuring Resonanz singers from the Rochester Oratorio Society! Relax for an hour amid the rush of the season to listen to familiar favorites and beautiful new music. Celebrate the true spirit of the season! The concert is free. A goodwill offering will be taken.
CHRISTMAS GIFT CARDS: The Board of Missions will be collecting monetary donations for Aldi gift cards for 4 needy families on Nov. 23 and 30, Dec 7 and 14 during our coffee hour. Three families are single moms with 4 and 5 children and one single Mom with 2 children. Checks can be made out to First Congregational UCC and write "Christmas Gift Cards" on the Memo line.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD SHOE BOX DONATIONS (Due: Sunday, November 23 - we will pack during Sunday Service time). As in years past we would love for you to bring in donations for the shoe boxes and leave them on the table in Fellowship Hall. The table is set up to receive collected items.
SHOE BOX PACKING - ALL youth are invited to help pack shoeboxes during service today. Adult support will be needed to help coordinate packing, do a final check of boxes for completeness, and deliver boxes to the designated collection location.
BRING A FRIEND TO CHOIR: Our first ever "Bring a Friend to Choir" day will occur on Sunday, December 7th. All are welcome to join the Sanctuary Choir for a 9AM rehearsal before our 10AM worship service. No experience singing in choir? Not a problem! Not a strong music-reader? That's okay! Choir is for everyone.
CHOIR CLEAN-OUT DAY will occur on Saturday, January 10th from 10AM-12PM. Any and all are invited to help organize our choir library. Treats will be provided. Open to anyone, regardless of musical expertise.
DECORATING THE SANCTUARY: Our annual decorating the sanctuary will occur on Saturday, November 29 at 10:00 a.m. This is always a fun and festive event. We appreciate everyone's participation and look forward to seeing many of you there.
ADVENT DINNER: Back by popular demand our Advent Dinner will again be at the Monroe Golf Club on Saturday, December 13 with a cash bar at 5:00 p.m. and a buffet dinner at 6:00 featuring burgundy beef and almond crusted chicken. The price is $29 per person. Guests are welcome. Sign up in fellowship hall or email Vicki at vsherry.ucc@gmail.com. If you plan to attend please sign up by Sunday, November 30 in that we have to submit a preliminary count to the club on the following day. Sign-ups will end and all money must be submitted to Vicki by Monday, December 8. The club’s dress code does not permit denim or tee shirts. If you need a ride, contact Dee Jackson at 585-354-1872. This will be an evening of excellent food, great fellowship, a string quartet for music, and wonderful Christmas revelry and merriment. We hope you all can make it.
ADVENT CANDLES: If you or your family is interested in lighting one of the Advent Candles, please sign up using the Advent Candle Lighting Sign-Up List posted on the rolling board in the Fellowship Room. Thank you.
COPING SKILLS – BOOK DISCUSSION: The 4-week discussion of the book, “Coping Skills That Work: Families Tell Their Stories” by Amy C. Baker and Deborah Aylward has been postponed until after the New Year.
FOOD SHELF IN DESPERATE NEED OF DONATIONS: During the month of November, our Church will be holding a Food Drive for the Perinton Food Shelf. The demand for food help in our community has greatly increased and the shelves are empty or low in inventory. A recent fact: For the week of October 25th, 29 families were helped out by the Food Shelf, about a 100% increase over this time last year. Please place your items in the box/table located in Fellowship Hall. At the end of November, all of the food collected will be taken to the Food Shelf. Needed items are: Coffee (1 lb. or less); Packets of hot chocolate; Canned chicken; Hamburger Helper; Tuna Helper; Suddenly Salad; Spaghetti sauce; Single rice mixes (ex: Rice-A-Roni); Cookie mixes; 16 oz. box sugar; Crackers: Ritz, oyster, club; Snacks: boxes of cookies, bags of chips, Pop Tarts, Jello, pudding, nuts; Salad dressings. Also needed is financial support to purchase items such as fresh produce, dairy or meat products. Checks can be made out to the Church with "Perinton Food Shelf" on the memo line. If you have any questions, please contact Nan/Bernie Notar, Jenny Strong or Kelly Weidman. Thank you.
MEAL MINISTRY: Bethlehem Lutheran Church is looking for volunteers to partner with them in their Second Sunday Perinton Dinner Ministry. They are looking for volunteers to help prepare the food, pack the food, or deliver the lunches to people who are in need in Fairport and Perinton. Food/lunch preparation would require a 2-3 hour commitment on Sunday mornings, packing lunches would require 1.5 hours, and delivering the lunches would require 1 hour. You do not have to volunteer for all three of these, you could pick one. Please speak to Pastor Greg if you are able to volunteer.
KNITTING CIRCLE meets every Monday in Fellowship Hall at 1pm except the last Monday of the month. You can learn to knit on a circular loom or if you have the skill bring your own project to knit or crochet. We donate hats and scarves to various charitable organizations. All are welcome. Any questions contact Irene Utter at iutter@rochester.rr.com or call 585-425-7408
FIRST CHURCH BOOK CLUB will meet on Monday, November 24th, at 1:00 p.m. We are reading The Winemaker’s Wife by Kristin Harmel. All are welcome. We will not meet in December. Any questions call Irene Utter 585-425-7408 or email iutter@rochester.rr.com.
SAVE THE POP TABS: Help Rochester Ronald McDonald House. Place them in the jug in Fellowship Hall.
IN-PERSON WORSHIP: The bulletin can be accessed via the QR code on your mobile phone or tablet. Prayer requests must be emailed to Pastor Greg at revgregrup.ucc@gmail.com by 8:00am on Sunday with the subject line Joy or Prayer Concern. You can view the Virtual Worship Service on Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/First-Congregational-United-Church-of-Christ-Fairport-NY-174043249305098/. An audio Worship Service will be uploaded to our church’s website each week, usually on Monday. Offering Plates: We do not take a collection during the service. For those wishing to donate to the church, we have two collection plates. Before the service, one of the plates is at the entrance to the sanctuary from Fellowship Hall, and the other is on a table in the Narthex at the front door of the church. After the service, the plates will be on the Communion Table for a short while.
LIGHT THE NIGHT: Thank you to Ed and Carol Johnston for “lighting the night” in November in memory of Elaine Johnston.
THIS WEEK IN THE CHURCH
Sunday:
11:15 AM Bible Study
Monday:
1:00 PM Book Club
Wednesday:
11:00 AM Bible Study
Thursday:
7:00 PM New Life AA (SR)
Thanksgiving
Saturday:
10:00 AM Decorate the Sanctuary
Rev. Gregory J. Rupright, Pastor
Rev. Dr. John N. Cedarleaf, Pastor Emeritus
Beatrice Benedict, Organist
Payton Dziekan, Director of Music
Vicki Sherry, Administrative Assistant
Christian Copyright Licensing International #2320160
Phone: 585-223-0224; Website: fairportucc.org
Office email: vsherry.ucc@gmail.com
