Worship Notes for June 21, 10 AM Worship Fifth Sunday after Pentecost – New Members Received
Worship Leader: Pastor Laura Ymker
Scripture: Psalm 19:1-4, Luke 11:1-2
Sermon: “When You Pray, Say”
Lay Reader: Liz Lee; Ushers: Carol Davidson, Carolyn Dowdy; Accompanist/Music Director: Melissa Gilbert; Nursery: May Harris, Lily Yelvington; Coffee Fellowship: Dennis & Sue Turton; Treats: Rosemary Neilsen, Marilyn Sheffels; UCC Tellers: Kristine Berntsen, Ed Venetz; Christ UMC Tellers: Rosemary Neilsen, Jeanne Nobbs
The service will be live-streamed on both church Facebook pages and a recording of the livestream will be available on YouTube later in the day and on the UCC website.
NOTE – Each week’s complete Worship Bulletin is also available on this web page – both on the front page and in the Posts.
Christian Education News
On June 28, children aged 6 and up will attend worship with their families. Nursery care will be provided for children through age 5. Materials for children to use during worship are found in Christ’s Kids Bags and at the Pray Ground. If your children like to use the Pray Ground, please sit nearby to provide any necessary supervision. The Christian Education Board hopes these resources are helpful for your children.
*Please note: the nursery will NOT be staffed on July 5*
“Fun in the Sun” Summer Water Party July 11 – Plan now to attend Fun in the Sun on Saturday, July 11 from 2:00 P.M.-5:30 P.M. on the church’s front lawn. This free event is an annual tradition! Water fun for the kids! Shade and conversation for the adults! Pizza, popsicles, and watermelon for everyone! Bring a lawn chair, a sun hat, sun screen and a towel if you plan to play in the water. Food and drinks will be provided by the Christian Education Board.
Read With the Pastor – This summer I will be reading A Hidden Wholeness by Parker Palmer to inspire my own faith and spiritual growth. Palmer is a popular Quaker writer, and there is much to learn from his thinking. We’ll get together sometime in early September to discuss the author’s vision for a journey toward wholeness and how we can incorporate what we learned into our own faith. In the meantime, feel free to begin mini-discussions about this topic (or anything else) when you see me around. Happy reading!
Christian Service
The greatest gift you can give someone is your TIME. Because when you give your time, you are giving a portion of your life that you will never get back.
A big thank you to Linda Larson and Lois Baker (and Pastor Laura!) for transforming the narthex and sanctuary into a prayerful space. The artwork displayed on the altar is loaned to us from Louise Toole, whose daughter, Kim Launer, took the photograph. If you’d like to help decorate or share artwork equivalent to the size and beauty of what is currently displayed, please contact Pastor Laura.
Requesting Plastic Grocery Bags – Two of our local food ministries, the Sack Lunch Ministry at First United Methodist Church and Helping Hands at the former First English Lutheran Church, need plastic grocery bags. If you have bags to spare, please bring them to the church office and we’ll get them delivered!
Stewardship
A Reflection from your Stewardship Board
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. – Robert Louis Stevenson
Announcements and Upcoming Meetings
Reminder – Newsletter items should be received by 12:00 P.M. on Tuesdays of the week you wish to have your information printed.
Donations – Church leadership is in the beginning process of legalizing our new name. In the meantime, to avoid any delays, please continue making your contributions out to either Christ UMC or FCUCC.
Summer Time = Vacation Time – With summer in full swing, staff may start scheduling time off. We’ll do our best to keep you informed of office hours. If you plan on stopping by, please call ahead of time to make sure the doors are unlocked and the office is open. Thank you!
Pray With the Pastor Kicks Off This Week – During the worship series on prayer, Pastor Laura will be praying in the sanctuary beginning next week on Monday evenings from 5:30-6:00 P.M., Wednesday noon hours from 12:30-1:00 P.M., and Thursday mornings from 8:00-8:30 A.M. You are welcome to join her. This is meant to be a quiet time during which conversation is directed toward God not each other. There will be a basket in the narthex during this worship series to put prayer requests in that Pastor Laura will pray for throughout the weekend. Please provide feedback on the times of the prayer sessions if shifting the time by 15 minutes or half an hour would allow you to come.
You are invited to the Installation Service of Pastor Laura Ymker as the called minister of First Congregational United Church of Christ/Christ United Methodist Church. This service will be held in our sanctuary on Saturday, June 27, 2026 at 2:00 P.M. with a pie social to follow in Fellowship Hall. Please sign up to bring a pie! A sign- up sheet is on the table in the narthex.
If you have the gift of music to share with the congregation, and would like to be part of Pastor Laura’s Installation Service, please let her know so that a variety of music and musicians can be incorporated.
Prayer Circle Hiatus – The monthly Prayer Circle is taking a break this summer from meeting in person. This doesn’t mean the prayers stop! The prayer chain will still go out and there is the opportunity to pray in the sanctuary during the week with Pastor Laura. To share prayers of gratitude, healing, sympathy, or whatever you may need, please let Janet Koostra know, or place a request in the basket in the narthex.
Coming Up
Thursday, June 25
8:00 A.M. Pray with the Pastor, Sanctuary
Saturday, June 27
2:00 P.M. Installation Service for Pastor Laura – pie social to follow
Sunday, June 28
10:00 A.M. Worship Service with Receiving of New Members
11:00 A.M. Coffee Fellowship
11:15 A.M. Worship Board Meeting, Parlor
Monday, June 29
5:30 P.M. Pray with the Pastor, Sanctuary
Wednesday, July 1
12:30 P.M. Pray with the Pastor, Sanctuary
1:30 P.M. Pinochle, Fellowship Hall
Thursday, July 2
8:00 A.M. Pray with the Pastor, Sanctuary
12:00 P.M. Facilities Committee, Fellowship Hall
