The Chancel Choir with commentary by Ralph helps us remember the Christmas Story presenting several lovely carols:  Gabriel's Message, The Cherry Tree Carol, Lo How a Rose, and Lord of the Dance.  The congregation joins with the choir to sing Once in Royal David's City, and the service ends with the inspiring Advent song, Awake! Awake, and Greet the New Morn!  A morning of song, and hope, and joy.

In Our Prayers:

Life Long Learning this SUNDAY December 11

9 to 9:45 am

SELF-SUFFICIENCY PROJECT

Presenter: Patricia Vickman

The basic needs to be self-sufficient are employment, housing, health care, food and child care. And yet, every day thousands – many in our own community – struggle to be self-sufficient, faced with the hard realities of low-wage work, child care problems, insufficient access to health care, food insecurity and homelessness. The Self-Sufficiency project in our area is working to try to get individuals and families to the point where they have enough income to meet these basic needs without public or private assistance. Several organizations and individuals in the area are working on this project and Patti Vickman from the Oshkosh Area School District will be here to give a presentation on this effort and what you can to do help.

December Tidings is completed and online. You can see it and print a copy of the December calendar if you  click here.  See the right hand column and click on December 2011. Below the November 2011 tidings (which is still availble on line) you will see the link for the calendar.

Day by Day Warming Shelter Donation Box for Christmas bags

Christmas Caroling for All Ages

Sunday, December 11th

After Church

Singers of all ages and abilities, join us for Christmas caroling to homebound members.  We will meet on Sunday, December 11 after church to eat a quick lunch.  Then go off and sing to folks who can’t make it to church very often.

 Help brighten the holiday season for those who no longer find it easy to get to church.    The more singers we have the better we sound and the more folks we will be able to sing to, so please join us if you are able for this fun inter-generational event

Tuesday Night Spirituality Announcement

There will be no Tuesday Night Spirituality on December 13 because of scheduling conflicts with several of our members; however we will meet on all other Tuesday nights, including the week of Christmas and New Year's. Hope to see you there!

Annual Blue Christmas

Service of Healing  ......

..........will be on Wednesday December 21st at 6:30pm at Bethany United Church of Christ, 145 W. 24th Ave. Oshkosh. 235-1631. The service is offered as a time to come together and be in the healing presence of God. It is a time look to God for healing in all the places of our lives that need healing and a time to remember all those who are no longer with us for this coming Christmas.
 

SERVAPALOOZA FEATURED!

Our Servapalooza was featured in the December issue of the Northeast Association, U.C.C. Newsletter!
You can enjoy reading the article by clicking here and then   clicking again when you get to the FCC page!

TANYA PAULSON PERFORMANCES

Some members of the congregation have expressed interest in knowing when Tanya Paulson would be performing on the piano at UW Oshkosh.  There are three recitals coming up.  Of course, many other very talented music students will also be performing:

Dec 8  Student Chamber Recital, 7:00 p.m. - Students from the studios of Eli Kalman and Klara Bahcall   (Tanya will take part in performing a Mozart piano quartet)

Dec 11  UW Oshkosh Choirs, 7:00 p.m., Carl Chapman and Eric Barnum, Conductors  (Tanya will accompany the Women's Choir)

Lee Fenedael

Lee has been attending services at First Congregational Church for about six years or so and officially joined as a member in the past year. Like so many of us, Lee found FCC through dissatisfaction or frustration with other church membership. He’d been a member of Messiah Lutheran Church in Ripon for many years. But that church had a rule which did not allow women of the congregation to vote on church matters.  When the male members of the church voted to reaffirm and uphold that rule, Lee realized that, in good conscience, he could not continue to belong there. Needless to say, that vote result was ridiculed by many outside the church, and received a lot of press coverage, including making the "News of the Truly Bizarre" on a Madison radio station.

After that, Lee discovered a UCC church in Rosendale while attending a Good Friday service there. He was amazed to see the differences between that church and what he’ d been used to for so many years. He fondly remembers the church’s Pastor Laura and the joy she had in everything she did, inspiring those around her, as well. When he left that church he hoped to find a church that was equally flexible, inclusionary and tolerant. After “church shopping” for quite some time, Lee eventually found his way to FCC.  His first Sunday here he asked Gary Wilner where the organist was because he could hear, but not see her. Lee describes Gary as being “helpful, cordial and a gentleman.”  

Since that first Sunday, Lee has found that – like his experience in Rosendale – there is a tremendous sense of joy that radiates from the pulpit to the congregation. Besides that, some of his favorite things about FCC are Ralph and Carol, the church’s closeness to the Dollar Tree, the depth of FCC’s music program and its “unique casserole of people.”

Retired and a father of two grown daughters – one in Yucca Valley, Calif. and one in Menasha – Lee enjoys spending time with his friends, family, children and grandchildren. He also enjoys driving the back roads of our great country. A talented artist and photographer, Lee is active in the Oshkosh Photography Club and Rural Rembrandt Arts Club. He collects vintage items, enjoys music – especially that of the lyric-rich Americana genre – as well as studying history, watching movies and listening to audio books.  Here at FCC, Lee puts his talents to good use, taking pictures of confirmands, new members and milestone church events. He also serves as a greeter and on the New Member Development Ministry Group.