Come say hello at the First Congo PRIDE table today! http://www.oaklandpride.org/site/?page_id=1347

Praise Night Sunday, July 15, 7-8pm 

Come join us  in the sanctuary for a time of Spirit-lead worship. We will be singing and dancing to some old songs that are near and dear to the hearts of some members of our congregation: songs like "Shout to the Lord," "In the Secret," and "You are My All in All." 

All are welcome!

Holy Week

Sunday April 1, All-Congregations Joint Fellowship in Reidenbach Hall after 10:30 Palm Sunday service

Saturday April 14, "They Might Be Adults" Potluck Dinner*

Palm Sunday, April 1, Rev. Dr. D. Mark Wilson preaching

April 5, Maundy Thursday Service, 6 pm
 

Easter Morning, April 8, Jerry Peterson preaching

*"They Might Be Adults"

Saturday April 14  

We Need a Host!*    

6pm Check-ins, Bible Study and Worship

7pm Potluck Dinner

   

Please arrive promptly for the Bible Study at 6pm, or
wait to come for the potluck at 7pm.
Bring a beverage or dish to share. Thank You!

Questions? Contact Robin Kinney at robinpkinney (at) gmail.com    

July 10,  Pastor Jeanne preaching in worship. Matthew 13: 1-12.   
Sermon Title:  Secrets of the Kingdom.

July 10, Budget Meeting with Executive Committee, Finance and Ministry Council, 1:15 pm.

July 13,  Deacons meeting 6:00 pm in the Covenant Room.

July 16, Ordination of Craig Breismeister, 4 pm in the Sanctuary

July 17,  Joanne Braxton preaching in worship.

July 17,  Board of Trustees Meeting after worship, 1:15 pm.

PRIDE UPDATE:  

We are marching in Contingent 93, starting in Section H Main on BEALE St. between Mission and Howard. Meet no later than 10:30 (earlier better)

 FIRST CONGO CELEBRATES PRIDE!

As many of you know, there will be no service at First Congo this Sunday, June 26, as the congregation will be supporting our Board moderator Rev. Roland Stringfellow, one of this year's SF Pride Grand Marshals, by marching with him in the San Francisco Pride Parade.

Here are a few logistical changes...

-Our assembly time has been moved back a little to 10:30 AM (at the latest), but still feel free to get there sooner.

-We now know that the order for our various contingents is: Rev. Roland (92); the CWC (93, which includes all the congregations joining us); OASIS (94); Lutherans Concerned (95); Bay Area UUs (95); and the main Sha'ar Zahav group (96).

 -We are still looking for 5 more contingent monitors-please, please let us know if you can volunteer! The last two training sessions are tomorrow and Friday in San Francisco from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The first one is at the SF LGBTQ Community Center, 1800 Market Street and the second one (Friday) is at Bill Graham, Larkin Hall, 99 Grove Street, SF. Contact: admin@firstoakland.org or call 510-444-1190, ext. 19.



For Congregants who are not marching in the Pride Parade, there are several welcoming congregations in the East Bay to visit this coming Sunday.
Rev. Lois Mueller of nearby Plymouth United Church of Christ on Monte Vista Ave at Oakland Ave (directions) has invited everyone from FCCO who isn't marching in the Pride Parade to attend their Sunday 11 a.m. Service.



Plymouth United Church of Christ

424 Monte Vista Avenue
Oakland, CA 94611-4570
(510) 654-5300

http://www.plymouthoakland.org/

Our Prophetic Public Witness Ministry will be hosting our monthly fellowship potluck this coming Sunday,  June 5.  Please bring a dish to share. Come and break bread with your church family.  Looking forward to seeing you there!

Blessings,

Prophetic Public Witness Ministry

Marcia Lovelace (chair)

Coming up:

May 23- June 10: Pastor Jeanne on vacation.
Please Contact one of our deacons for urgent care needs by calling the church office or emailing deacons [at] firstoakland [dot] org

May 25: Lectionary Bible Study with Craig Breismeister. 6:00 PM.

May 29: Rev. Roland Stringfellow, FCCO Moderator, preaching in worship.

June 5: Rev. Thom Longino, of San Francisco Night Ministries, preaching in worship.

June 11: FCCO New Members Class in the Angel Room, 9 AM-12 PM.
email Roland Stringfellow to sign up: rstringfellow [at] clgs [dot] org

June 11: Jeff Johnson and the Jeff Johnson Band
FCCO Reggae Gospel Fundraiser and Bake Sale.
Doors open at 6:30; show at 7 pm
Call 510.712.2734 for more details

June 12: Pentecost-- Pastor Jeanne preaching in worship. Acts 2: 1-12,

Sermon Title: "Peter's journey"

June 12: Ministry Council Meeting in the Library 1:15 PM.

Sing For Your Life Tomorrow

Sing for your life tomorrow from noon to midnight.  Open to singers and non-singers alike.
 More information at Circlesing.net

Christmas Eve at First Congo

Greetings FCCO Community,

Soon the Advent season, this time of waiting and anticipation, will be coming to its end, and the birth of Christ is upon us. We plan to celebrate this joyous event here at First Congo with a Christmas Eve service. The service will be filled with music, celebration and testimony and will be followed by fellowship with refreshments.

If you are able, please bring a sweet or savory finger food dish to share for the fellowship hospitality following service.  We are looking forward to singing and celebrating with you!

WHEN:   Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24th, 2010
TIME:      7 p.m.

Have a blessed day,
Worship Planners



Update:

Our worship time together will be filled with seasonal singing, scripture, and prayers; along with music by FCCO Voices of Praise and guest soloist Tammi Brown, a funky jazz trio, a surprise guest pipe organist, and a dramatic reading of a fascinating, grace filled, story about politicians raising taxes, shepherds having a "delusional" experience, and a homeless refugee family with a newborn baby squatting in a barn.

Sweet & savory food, coffee, and fellowship (and chances to catch up with old friends and make new ones) will follow the service.

Please join us as we celebrate Jesus being born in Oakland, and in all of us on this special night!

With Blessings and Warmest Regards, Jeanne

Rev. Jeanne Loveless
Interim Senior Pastor
First Congregational Church of Oakland (United Church of Christ)
2501 Harrison St., Oakland, CA 94612

Poetry Feeds This Sunday, Dec. 12th

Poetry Feeds


A Benefit for Share First Oakland
This Sunday, December 12, 2010,
(the Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe)
6-10 pm 

"Feeding the Hungry,
Creating Cooperative Food Security Solutions for Oakland Now"

Readings by more than thirty eminent
Bay Area poets and writers
including special guests:

• Francisco X. Alarcón
• Lorna Dee Cervantes
• Lucha Corpi
• Sharon Doubiago
• Jack & Adelle Foley
• Rafael Jesús González
• Cecile Pineda
• Ishmael Reed
• Ruth Schwartz

Plus food, books, crafts,
and a "poetry wall" for auction!

Admission: $5-$50

Advent Meditation Tomorrow Night, December 1

Join us for quiet reflection and meditation this Wednesday evening [tomorrow!], December 1, from 7-8ish pm at the church as we prepare for Jesus to be born again among and within us.

We welcome you into the darkness and quiet. Feel free to pass this invitation along to others who might be interested.

Love and blessings,

Nichola Torbett
Spiritual Formation Core Team Chair and
Director, Seminary of the Street

First Congregational Church of Oakland
So, you're coming to our 150th Anniversary Expressive Arts Worship at 7pm tonight for great music, dance, mime, a craft show, and great company, right?

Okay, good. Now that we've got that straight...let the bidding begin! Our online silent auction to benefit FCCO has officially launched! You can bid on great services, fine art, gourmet food, etc. for yourself or for those on your holiday gift list, and all the proceeds will go to support your favorite multicultural, social justice oriented, arts-positive church.

To view the items, go to this link and click on the items that interest you. To bid, you will need to create an account, but don't worry. It only takes a second and asks for very minimal contact information (so that we can let you know when you've won!).

Then have at it! And if you want to guarantee that no one outbids you, click on the "buy now" option to pay the price that will reserve the item for you.

Payment will be due (cash or check made out to FCCO only) after December 10.

Please forward this to everyone you know in the Bay area! The more bidders, the more money we raise. We've set a goal of raising at least $2000 from this auction.

If you have any problems or questions, please let me know, and I'll do my best to get them resolved.



Thanks!



Nichola Torbett

Celebrate 150 Years of First Congo!

Update: advance tickets available at Brown Paper Tickets

Dear members and friends of FCCO,

We will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of First Congregational Church of Oakland with a powerful expressive arts worship, a craft fair and reception on Friday evening, November 19, starting at 7pm, and we really want you to join us in celebrating "150 Years Toward Justice." Worship will be led by some of the best choirs, singers, liturgical dancers, and mimes in the Bay area, including East Bay Anointed Voices and Sista Monica Parker. We will be reaching out to sister churches and organizations to invite them to worship with us.

For advance tickets contact Angel Starr at angeloftheeastbay@gmail.com, 510-938-4913, or Loren at lorenzini@juno.com , 510-625-1209.

Contact Angel if you want to place an ad for your business in our event program. We'll have informational packets available at the church that you can pick up with the sizes, cost, etc.

And join us for some holiday creativity on November 7th (this coming Sunday)after church in the Children, Youth and Families room. We'll be decorating salt-dough ornaments and creating other ornaments from old Christmas cards and other reused materials to sell as part of the craft fair. If you are interested in donating hand-made crafts to be sold at the craft fair, please get in touch with Dawn Raymond at (510)625-1209.

Have fun and help create community.

Blessing,
Carol Robison

Still catching up on sermons: Last Sunday's sermon: Pastor Jeanne preaching Wrestling with God; and seminarian in care Michelle Freeman preached Trusting God is the Smartest Thing to Do the week before, on August 22.

Some technical issues still being worked out getting the more recent sermons uploaded:

Pastor Jeanne's July 4th sermon: Are We There Yet? is here

Music Ministry survey

Please take a few minutes to complete a Music Ministry survey. What blesses you about the music at First Congo? What do you want to see more of?

The Roundabout Way

Our Interim Pastor, Rev. Jeanne Loveless preaches her first sermon at First Congo this Sunday (Pride Sunday), June 27. It's called The Roundabout Way. Don't miss it!

Update: Listen to it here

We have an Interim Pastor!

Announcing our new Interim Pastor

 

As you all know, the Board, through an Interim Search Committee, has been looking for an Interim Pastor to help us through this transition time. The role of an Interim is very specific: they are to not only provide us with preaching, pastoral care, and management, but also help us as a congregation to learn who we are, and where we are going, and help us find the right permanent Senior Pastor to call. In addition, we have looked for someone who can help us find ways toward financial sustainability. For FCCO, an interim is likely to serve from 12 to 18 months.

Because of the specific nature of this position, and the short duration, the hiring decision for this was made by the Board. There was congregational input at varied points along the way - input at congregational meetings into what qualities we were looking for in an interim, 2 at-large congregational members on the search committee, as well as congregational members at the board meeting when the recommendation of the search committee was brought to the board.  This is distinctly different than the process for the permanent Senior Pastor, which will be a longer, more drawn out process, with a final vote by the congregation.

The search committee interviewed two candidates. The board is pleased and excited to announce that we have chosen to hire Sara Jean Loveless (she goes as Jeanne) as our new Interim Pastor. Here are some things that the search committee found in its selection process, from her profile, interview and references:

Jeanne:

· Is authentic and spirit-led

· Has a warm, calm, grounded presence

· Laughs easily and gracefully

· Is articulate and candid

Jeanne is called to the special ministry that is being an Interim Pastor, and she has had special training for Interim Pastors. She is a strong, animated preacher, articulate and skillful. She is a strategic thinker who can help us implement effective systems. She has had experience in cultivating wise financial decisions that lead to a balanced budget. She will work collaboratively with lay leaders to promote a healthy church with effective boundaries, clear communication, minimal drama and manageable conflicts.

She is familiar with, and comfortable in intercultural settings. She understands issues of white privilege, and she actively engaged her communities (congregation, denomination) on Proposition 8, at some personal cost.

We are thankful that God has led her to us - the search committee felt that Jeanne was a great fit for First Congo, and the Board agreed. Her exact start date with us is still being determined.
Jeanne will worship with us on Sunday June 6th, and be present to meet the congregation after the service and at the potluck.

Peace,
Michelle Murrain, FCCO Moderator

Tomorrow after the Worship Service

Sunday, January 10
1:15-3:15pm
Children, Youth, and Families Room for our first communal discernment event in the Visioning and Restructuring Process

What are our priorities as a faith community? Who are we called to be, as a part of the Body of Christ?

According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus appears after his resurrection to the remaining eleven disciples and gives them a commission that is commonly understood to be the mission of the church: "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation" (Mark 16: 15). The good news is that the "reign of God is at hand," that the long-anticipated, loving, compassionate, just rule of God has now broken through into human history. Although that reign has not yet come in its fullness (and we don't know when it will), it has begun to begin, so to speak, and the church is charged with making that known.

How do we at First Congregational Church of Oakland carry out this commission? How do we proclaim the good news of the in-breaking realm of God to Oakland and beyond?

Prior to her sabbatical, Pastor Lynice shared with the board of trustees her sense that we, as a congregation, have not yet gotten clear on our answer to that question. She also shared her longing for us to focus more intently on answering it.

In response to this urging, the board commissioned a Visioning and Restructuring Committee to design and initiate a congregational conversation and discernment process regarding our vision for ministry and the organizational structures that will best support that vision, including the role of the pastor.

The committee will also be charged with refining the ideas that emerge from that process and making suggestions for their implementation. During the course of this discernment process, the outcomes of the congregational processes and the Committee's refinement of them will go to the Board and Pastor for consideration of feasibility, fiscal and legal issues, etc. Any revisions by the Pastor and/or Board will be presented to the congregation to inform its continuing discernment.

The committee will develop a variety of mechanisms through which you can have input into this process. The first will take place in a congregational conversation on Sunday, January 10 from 1:15-3:15. Please mark your calendars now so that you'll be sure to be available for this conversation.

Members of the Visioning and Restructuring committee include the chairs of each ministry area (Grant Kinney in community care; Allison Kenny in Children, Youth, and Families; Nichola Torbett in spiritual formation; Kirsten Swenson in administration; Webb Mealy in worship; Monica Parker in music; and Marcia Lovelace in prophetic public witness); members of the Board of Trustees (Soo Hyun Han, Tony Lewis, and Lolita Ratchford), and three additional members of the congregation (Suzette Duncan, Carol Robison, and Roland Stringfellow).

Please direct any questions or concerns to the committee via its chair, Carol Robison. She can be reached at mango916@comcast.net.