First Christian Church (DOC) Zanesville



First Christian Church3000 Dresden Road, Zanesville, OH 43701-6477 (740) 453-3437Rev. Dawn Remster, Sr. Minister Kim Paul, Director of Christian EducationRev. Philip Hunt, Pastoral AssociateChurch Email: zvillefcc@ Website: We gather together to ask for God’s blessing, to turn to a wisdom surpassing our own; the pow’rs that oppress us now cease to distress us. O God, be present with us, and make your will known. Chalice Hymnal #276 Theodore Baker 1894The season of giving thanks is upon us and everywhere we turn health and state officials are telling us not to gather together this Thanksgiving Day in an effort to curtail further transmission of the coronavirus. A microorganism that we can’t see, and had never even heard of last November, has radically changed what we do, how we work, how we educate our children, who we spend time with and even how we worship. It makes life as we know it so much more difficult. We pray for those who suffer from this virus and for those who grieve the loss that results from its spread. We pray for those who are helping to care for the sick and those who work to keep our community safe. But how are we supposed to celebrate and be thankful in this harvest season of isolation, distancing, and fear?The virus known as COVID 19 is a new source of pandemic in our world and yet God’s children have been through challenging and uncertain times before. Previous generations have faced plagues, wars, economic hard times, natural disasters, etc. and have found ways to celebrate and give thanks. Tradition tells us that it was the pilgrims, who survived that first harsh winter in a new land, who gathered for what we know as the first Thanksgiving celebration. And in the midst of a global pandemic that is hitting our community hard this month, we too will find ways to lift our thanks and praise to our God, for life, freedom, harvest, health and each other. Our family has not been able to gather for holidays, birthdays. or summer cookouts this year. We will likely not be together for a Thanksgiving meal either. But through video chats, phone calls, texts & email we manage to stay connected. Not as we might like, but still sharing love and care. Our congregation is still gathering only on-line or in our parking lot since our county virus levels are so high, and yet we worship together on-line or in the parking lot and connect through phone calls, email, newsletters and handwritten notes to brighten a day or lighten a burden. It is not the way we would like to gather, but our faith tells us that God is present with us in our joys and in our sorrows, in our times together and our times apart. So, let’s lift up our thanks in this season for the bounty of harvest, one another and our gracious and loving God, provider of all. And may “the pow’rs that oppress us now cease to distress us. O God, be present with us, and make your will known. “Thanksgiving Blessings, DawnWe extend our heartfelt sympathy to the families to have recently lost loved ones: Bob Williamson on September 25 David Garshaw’s brother, Joseph, on September 30 Blanche Lemert’s sister, Betty Hage, on October 8 Brenda Bronkar on October 3 Donna Graves on October 19 Jim Fritz on October 20 John Power on October 20?Congratulations!Lucy Elizabeth was born on October 23rd to Hope and Johnny Graham. Grandparents are Molly and Randy Roberts.Marla Hyett’s AddressMarla is now with her daughter in Gahanna.1285 Amberlea Dr.Gahanna, OH 43230Trunk or Treat! Thank you to all who shared an afternoon of Halloween fun for the children of our church on October 25th. This socially distanced event was enjoyed by all. Thank you for Marcia Coleman for making special Halloween face masks for those who participated. Fall Bible Study –Our 8-week study of the Book of Revelation will come to an end early in November. We have had 25 participate in our Zoom Study. Watch for details on our next Zoom Bible Study. College Care Packages SentWe mailed care packages to our college students in October. Thank you for your donations that made it possible. Thank You!Thank you for the cards, notes and gifts you shared with me on Pastor Appreciation Sunday. It continues to be a blessing to share ministry with you all! Your thoughtfulness is appreciated. DawnUpcoming Dates:All Saints Sunday will be held November 1st. We will honor the veterans of our congregation on Sunday, November 8thSunday, November 22nd is Thanksgiving SundaySunday, November 29th is the First Sunday of Advent.The Church office will be closed for Thanksgiving November 26 & 27th. Advent Prayer Partners: This year when we are feeling especially distanced from one another in our church family, you are invited to deepen your relationship through prayer. We will match up prayer partners for Advent and the two of you can be in prayer for each other during the four weeks of the Advent Season. We will let you know your prayer partner just before Thanksgiving. If you would like to be an Advent prayer partner, call, email or otherwise let us know in the church office. Looking Ahead to Next Month:Advent Workshop will be held virtually this year and our first ZOOM gathering will be November 29th. December 6th : Christmas Caroling in the parking lot at 6:30 p.m. Bring the family and join us as we safely sing Christmas carols and join in some Advent fun with our church family. December 13th: Blue Christmas Service December 24th: Christmas Eve Services: Are still being planned and will depend on virus levels in our county. Watch for details to be announced over the next couple of weeks. Timothy FundA Timothy is someone raised in the church who hears the call to ministry and responds through education and training in preparation to be a pastor. The Timothy Fund of our church was established many years ago to help with the cost of a seminary education for our members. It is administrated by our Outreach Committee.Although gifts to this fund can be made at any time, each year during the month of November, we highlight this fund as a special offering. Donations given to the Timothy Fund will be used to fund the Herbert R. Hicks Scholarship Fund of First Christian Church at Lexington Theological Seminary and to assist someone who feels a call to ministry with their education. Our Timothy Fund most recently assisted Aaron Phillips, with the cost of his education at MTSO. Thank you for your help in assisting with quality education for the future leaders of the church. Fair Trade Items Make Great Gifts and are a Real Gift to Our Partners Around the GlobeWhat a year this has been for all of us! The ongoing pandemic does not just affect us here in Ohio or the United States, but effects people around the globe. It threatens the livelihood of the farmers that grow your morning coffee or tea or supply cacao for your chocolate bars. Here at First Christian Church we have partnered with Equal Exchange for over 10 years to be able to provide a living wage for farmer who produce these products but also provide our members with sustainably grown, fairly traded items that our nation does not grow for itself. We are part of the Disciple Coffee Project that sends 15% of our purchases to Week of Compassion. We sell it to our members or provide it for use here at church at cost so that everyone benefits from this arrangement. In November and December, we stock up on coffee, tea, almonds, hot cocoa mix and chocolate bars so members can have quality products for your own use or for giving as gifts. Since we are uncertain as to when we will be gathering in our building again, we want to find a way to make these products available to you and to help the farmers who produce them through this difficult time. Enclosed is an order form for your use. Equal exchange has also put together a Solidarity box that consist of their top selling items that can be purchased for $50. Information on that is included here as well. Consider a holiday purchase that will help those we depend on around the world during this difficult time we are all experiencing. If you have questions about fair trade items just ask Dawn or Janice. Thank you. Ways to keep in touch with the churchWhere do I find worship services?Our worship services are accessed through our website at . You will see a black box at the top left of the screen with instructions to click for the service information.How do I access First Christian’s Facebook Page? is our public information page that shares our general church information.Our members group is located at . This page is where we can share information of a personal nature and where Dawn’s daily message is shared.594360016319500Three options to continue your gifts to the church*Mailing your offering to the church*Setting up an auto deduction service which will electronically transfer funds from your bank account directly to your offering here at church. If you would like more information about this service, or to sign-up, please contact Janice at zvillefcc@.*Scan the QR code at the right of this page.Thank you for your continued gifts!Fair Trade Order FormHelp small farmers and Week of Compassion by purchase Fair TradeCoffee (ground) ($7.00)___ Love Buzz___ Mind, Body, & Soul___ Hazelnut Cream___ Decaf ($7.50)___ Hot Chocolate Mix (12 oz. $6.00)Chocolate Bars___ Dark Chocolate Almond___ Milk Chocolate Caramel Crunch___ Mint Chocolate CrunchOrganic Tea ($3.50/box of 20 bags)___ English Breakfast Tea___ Green Tea with Ginger___ Green Mint Tea___ Peppermint (Herbal)Other___ Chocolate Chips ($4.00 10 oz.)___ Roasted Almonds (8 oz $7.00)___ Solidarity Box ($50.00)Total $________________Name ___________________________________________Phone ___________________________________________Return this form to the church by Sunday, November 15th. If we place one group order we will not be charged shipping. Items will be ready for pick up within 10 days.Thank you for your support of family farms and Week of Compassion.Angel Tree Project: FCC has committed to supporting 40 Angels this Christmas through Prison Fellowship. Outreach will contact local families of incarcerated parents identified through Prison Fellowship to learn needs/desires. Once the Angel Tree is ready, church members can take an Angel and shop for that child ($10-15 total), wrap the gift and return it to church. We will deliver those gifts, along with a personal message of love to the children on behalf of their parent in prison. If you would like to shop for an Angel but cannot come to the church, we can mail you an Angel or call or email with the information, and an Outreach member can pick the gift(s) up from you. Look for more information soon! CROP Walk: Although the traditional CROP Walk could not be held this year, our Youth Group held a prayer walk on Sunday October 18 downtown to raise money for CROP. Together, we raised over $600.00. Thank you for your generous donations to CROP to fight hunger.SOUPer Bowl: COVID-19 prevented the SOUPer Bowl from being held this year, but through Bill Factor’s leadership, we helped raise $11,000. Twenty five percent of monies raised will stay in our area supporting local food banks, pantries, and other hunger-fighting initiatives. Thank you for your contributions!Eastside: If you have nonperishable food donations for Eastside, please place them in the shopping cart outside the church on Sundays.??Serving at Christ’s Table: We will serve next at Christ’s Table on Saturday, November 28. If you can help, please contact Kris Hawk at (740) 624-0810 or the church office.Christ's Table Coordinators Needed:? We still need more coordinators for our service at Christ's Table. We serve every other month (January, March, May, July, September, November).?If you would like to be a coordinator, you will receive training.? If you have any questions or are interested, please contact the church office.Worship During the Month of November:During the month of November we will continue to offer worship online beginning at 8:30 a.m. each Sunday if our county is at yellow or orange on the Ohio Advisory level we invite folks to worship with us in our sanctuary (limited to 50 household units) at 8:30 a.m.?? Our 10:30 drive in service will be held in our parking lot and once our county is no longer Red on the virus level map, we will make a plan to move worship into our building.? We will continue to make? worship available in our parking lot drive-in service with the worship service transmitted via your FM radio. We appreciate your patience in our efforts to provide a safe worship space for all our members.? We also will offer our 1:00 p.m. Wednesday worship service in our sanctuary once we are at yellow or orange level.? If you have any questions about our services, please ask. ??What’s Happening in Youth Groups?JC and Kingdom Kids3452813180975-4762517145000The JC and Kingdom Kids spent a fun Friday evening in October together at Pigeon Roost Farm.Chi Rho and CYFThe Chi Rho and CYF youth have had a lot of fun together this month. They started the month off with an outdoor movie and s’mores over the firepit at Spangler Memorial. Recently they visited McDonald’s Greenhouse and Corn Maze where they enjoyed more s’mores, picked pumpkins, explored the Enchanted Forest and played Gaga Ball. They will conclude the month of October with a virtual Murder Mystery Party. During regular meetings they are studying the book of Matthew and learning strategies for how to approach reading scripture. They also led a prayer walk downtown in support of CROP. They prayed at John McIntire Library, Muskingum County Agencies Building, The Board of Elections, Christ’s Table, Salvation Army, Restoration Park, the City Jail and the Courthouse. Thank you to our church family who sponsored our walk with over $500 donations to fight hunger globally and around the world.1141368Sunday SchoolPreschool children are meeting on Wednesday mornings at 10 am on Zoom and Elementary children are meeting on Sunday mornings at 9 am on Zoom. Even if your children are not able to participate in Zoom meetings, we still have you covered! There are new videos posted each week for your child to watch, as well as parent resources for follow up. Just check out these links, and let Kim know if you have any questions. k5 and Worship and WonderA new Worship and Wonder story is posted each week at, . Be sure to have your child join us for their own unique worship experience!Anniversary Christmas Ornaments will be available for sale this fall. The Anniversary Committee arranged to have Christmas ornaments celebrating our 150th Anniversary made by Hartstone Pottery. They are round ceramic ornaments that have our anniversary dates and the chalice. (We tried to include a drawing of the church building, but it did not fit well.) They are for sale for $10 and would make great gifts. They are available from the church office. Details for the At Home Advent WorkshopCraft ProjectsThe week of November 22nd registered participants will pick up their bag of crafts. You can pick your bag up at the conclusion of the 10:30 service or sometime during the week.The craft bag will have four different craft projects in it, one for each week of advent, plus a couple of bonus activities for those that are really excited! All the materials you need will be provided in your bag. The first week your family will make their own Advent Wreath.Your family will pick a time during the week that is convenient for you to complete the project together. When you are ready to do your project, you will be able to watch the YouTube video that the Christian Education Committee has made for directions on how to complete the project, or you can follow the written directions provided.Zoom MeetingsZoom Meetings will be on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. each week during Advent.Each week we will have a fun Christmas game or activity that everyone will enjoy! Tune in to find out whether we will play Christmas Carol Charades, Christmas Bingo, Christmas Scattergories, or go on a Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt!Our meeting will conclude with a devotion and prayer and the lighting of your family’s Advent Wreath.Do we have to participate in both the crafts and the Zoom meetings?No. You may participate in either or both parts of our at-home Advent experience. Is it too late to participate?No, but if you want a craft bag, please let Kim know ASAP. We already have a large group who have registered and are preparing a limited number of extra bags. If you would like a craft bag, you will need to let Kim know before all the extras have been claimed!Weekly Worship:Sunday 8:30 & 10:30 amSunday School 9:30 amWednesday 1:00 pmSunMonTueWedThuFriSat1Daylight Savings EndsAll Saints’ Day234Bible Study57 pm Property678Veterans honored91011127 pm Board Meeting1314151617181920218 am Men’s Breakfast via Zoom22Thanksgiving Sunday23242526Happy Thanksgiving27Church office closed28Christ’s Table29Advent Week 16:30 p.m. Advent Workshop via Zoom30Happy Birthday to:Bertha GlosserNovember 1Mirem Rose BuzzaNovember 2Isabelle NearNovember 2Dawn RemsterNovember 3Lilly ApplebyNovember 4Peggy GordonNovember 4Cheryl BeightNovember 5Lynne LeasureNovember 6Jim McPhersonNovember 6Barbara AginNovember 10Sandy McGeeNovember 10Barbara PhillipsNovember 10Gavin SowersNovember 10Jo KronenbitterNovember 13Jonathan PerryNovember 15Coulton WaiteNovember 15Robert WiseNovember 15Jared RobisonNovember 20Brooklyn MoonNovember 22Deidra AllenNovember 23Jean DentonNovember 23Logan BakerNovember 28Chloe BuchananNovember 28Charlie HuizengaNovember 28Ellis HuizengaNovember 28Carolyn ScottNovember 28Karen BarnettNovember 29Beth FineranNovember 29Sandy JonesNovember 30Michael RobinsonNovember 30Happy Anniversary to:Jim & Beth FineranNovember 3David & Betsy DevollNovember 19Special Events this month:Mirem Rose Buzza celebrates her 85th birthday.Her address is 232 Gray St., Zanesville, OH 43701Jean Denton celebrates her 90th birthday.Her address is 1114 Wilson Ave., Zanesville, OH 43701Your Special DayWe typically list special birthdays as 80, 85, 90, and each year thereafter. We list anniversaries at 50, 60, 70, etc. However, we are happy to share your special day whenever it is; just let us know.Sunday, November 1st ................
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