CHURCH CLEAN DAY

Members and friends gathered at the church Saturday, March 27, to perform the annual spring clean. It is usually done before Easter. Thanks everyone for being great stewards of First Congregational.

Conversations heard by the Cross WK5

Conversations heard by the cross is a series of special Lenten services written by Arden W. Mead. This ecumenical series is being presented by local churches each in turn at First Congregational Church in McGregor. A meal is served at 5:00pm in the church basement and the program is presented in the church sanctuary at 6:00pm. The church is located at 429 Main St., in McGregor.
The fourth in the series was presented Wednesday, March 24 by members of Living Faith Parish, McGregor Center with Bona Dean Feller as the worship leader, Joanne Strutt as the Service Leader and Dorothy Peterson the organist.
The program featured the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus. The first criminal who was saved while on the cross (Larry Brummel) was talking about his new belief and about going to heaven and sitting at the right hand of Jesus. The second criminal (Rev. Dennis Gilbert) was still convinced that Jesus was not the son of God and that the other criminal was not going to heaven. The soldier (Dr. Craig Strutt) who had run the sword into the side of Jesus was on guard while the two were still alive, ordered their legs broken so they could not push themselves up to help them breath. With their legs broken they would die sooner. Still it was a long and agonizing death for Jesus and the two criminals who were crucified with him.
This was the last program of the series. We want to thank all the people who were part of the programs and who served up all the delicious meals. We would especially like to thank everyone who came to join us. May God bless and keep each and everyone of you in His Loving care.
Thank you to the people of First Congregational for providing the delicious food and to the people of the McGregor Methodist Church for the program.
May GOD who has called us forth from the dust of the earth and claimed us for CHRIST in the waters of Baptism, strengthen you on this journey to new life. Almighty GOD, Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless you now and forever. Amen.

Opportunity to serve God

Everyone has an opportunity to serve God!
Lend a helping hand when we clean the Church, Saturday March 27th, 2010 at nine o'clock. Please bring a salad or dish to pass at the mid-day potluck. Pray often and breath deep. God is with you.

Conversations heard by the Cross WK4

Conversations heard by the cross is a series of special Lenten services written by Arden W. Mead. This ecumenical series is being presented by local churches each in turn at First Congregational Church in McGregor. A meal is served at 5:00pm in the church basement and the program is presented in the church sanctuary at 6:00pm. The church is located at 429 Main St., in McGregor.
The fourth in the series was presented Wednesday, March 17 by members of First Lutheran Church (Swede Ridge), with Rev. Alan Schultz as service leader and Dorothy Peterson as the organist. The conversation was between Simon of Cyrene (Bill Halverson), who was assigned to carry the cross of Jesus when they were afraid he would not live to be crucified, and the Centurian (Gary Brooks) who picked him to carry the cross. Rachel Pruett played the part of the extra who was chased out of the way. The conversation focused on the "work" Jesus was assigned to do... Both Simon and the Centurion came to the odd conclusion that Jesus' appointed work was to die for us. The example of Christ reminds us of our own work, which is to serve God and others.
Another interesting and thought provoking presentation. Thank you to the people of Living Faith Methodist Parish, McGregor Center, for providing the delicious food and to the cast from First Lutheran for the program.
The next, and final, program will be held on Mar. 24. Come join us for the performance and enjoy a delicious meal to dedicate the Lenten season. We would be privileged to have you as our guest.
May GOD who has called us forth from the dust of the earth and claimed us for CHRIST in the waters of Baptism, strengthen you on this journey to new life. Almighty GOD, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever. Amen.

CHOIR LOFT DEMOLITION BEGINS

In conjunction with the Trustees the music committee is moving forward with the choir loft demolition. Mike Sloan and Ryan Rippentrop took on the arduous task of prying loose the riser assembly which has not been in use for some time. The added space will serve the activities of the praise band by allowing them more 'floor plan' options for staging and performance. Way to go Mike and Ryan, many thanks to you.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME SUNDAY

Don't forget to set your clocks ahead one hour on Saturday night before you go to bed. Daylight savings time officially starts at 2:00am Sunday morning, March 14. Now don't forget so you won't be late for church on Sunday morning or for any other activities you have planned for the day. May God bless you and keep you safe all the time.

Conversations heard by the Cross WK3

Conversations heard by the cross is a series of special Lenten services written by Arden W. Mead. This ecumenical series is being presented by local churches each in turn at First Congregational Church in McGregor. A meal is served at 5:00pm in the church basement and the program is presented in the church sanctuary at 6:00pm. The church is located at 429 Main St., in McGregor.
The third in the series was presented Wednesday March 10 by members of First Congregational Church, with Rev. William Gentry II as the service leader and Dorothy Peterson as the organist. The conversation was between Pilate (Ryan Rippentrop) and his wife Procula (Gayette Grimm) with intercession by the messenger (Jacki Sloan). Procula is extremely upset that Pilate did not prevent the crucifixion of Jesus. She protested the death of a religious holy man that could have been prevented. Pilate felt he had no choice because of the attitude of the mob of Jews, who were demanding he be crucified for blasphemy and stirring up people against the Roman government. Pilate thought it would be detrimental to his job and maybe his life if he had refused to have Jesus crucified. Another interesting and thought provoking presentation.
Thank you to the people of Living Faith Methodist Parish, Giard Center, for providing the delicious food and to the cast from our own church, First Congregational Church, UCC, for the program.
The next program will be held on Mar. 17, and the last on Mar. 24. Come join us for these performances and enjoy a delicious meal to dedicate the Lenten season. We would be privileged to have you as our guest.
May GOD who has called us forth from the dust of the earth and claimed us for CHRIST in the waters of Baptism, strengthen you on this journey to new life. Almighty GOD, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever. Amen.

World Day of Prayer 2010

The World Day of Prayer service was held at First Congregational Church of McGregor Iowa on Friday, March 5th at 1:30 PM. World Day of Prayer (WDP) is a worldwide ecumenical movement of women of many faith traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer each year on the first Friday in March. Each year a different country serves as the writer of the World day of Prayer worship service. For 2010, the women of Cameroon developed the theme, Let everything that has breath praise God. WDP's motto, Informed prayer leads to prayerful action, affirms that prayer and action are inseparable and that both have immeasurable influence. Click one of the pictures to see more pictures.

Conversations heard by the Cross WK2

Conversations heard by the cross is a series of special Lenten services written by Arden W. Mead. This ecumenical series is being presented by local churches each in turn at First Congregational Church in McGregor. A meal is served at 5:00pm in the church basement and the program is presented in the church sanctuary at 6:00pm. The church is located at 429 Main St., in McGregor.
The second in the series was presented Wed. Mar. 3 with Rev. Dennis Gilbert from Giard Center of Living Faith Methodist Parish as the service leader and Margaret Schultz as the narrator. The conversation this night was between Barabbas (Bob Meyer) and Caiaphas (Ray Powers) with intercessions by the maid (Kate Trudo). The organist was Dorothy Peterson.
In this conversation Barabbas requested to talk to Caiaphas about what had just happened. He wanted to thank Caiaphas for his release, however, he was confused and wondered why he had been released and another (Jesus) had been put to death instead. After all, Barabbas was a convicted thief and murderer. He wondered what Jesus had done to deserve to be crucified. Caiaphus told him that it was a political cleansing and to just be happy, enjoy his newfound freedom and to live a better life.
Thank you to the people of First Lutheran Church, Swede Ridge, for providing the delicious food and to the people of the Giard Church for the program.
The next programs will be held on Mar. 10, Mar. 17, and the last on Mar. 24. Come join us for these performances and enjoy a delicious meal to dedicate the Lenten season. We would be privileged to have you as our guest.
May GOD who has called us forth from the dust of the earth and claimed us for CHRIST in the waters of Baptism, strengthen you on this journey to new life. Almighty GOD, Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless you now and forever. Amen.

The World Day of Prayer 2010

The World Day of Prayer service will be held at First Congregational Church of McGregor Iowa on Friday, March 5th at 1:30 PM. World Day of Prayer (WDP) is a worldwide ecumenical movement of women of many faith traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer each year on the first Friday in March. Each year a different country serves as the writer of the World day of Prayer worship service.

For 2010, the women of Cameroon developed the theme, Let everything that has breath praise God. They invite us to "Africa in miniature," a country rich in diversity, where climate and culture are widely varied, but where people are bound together by a love for music,family and faith. The worship service emphasizes the importance that the people of Cameroon place on music and celebration in their praise to God.

This year's World Day of Prayer service will begin at the first sunrise on March 5 in the Pacific region and follows the Earth's orbit, shining its light on Papua New Guinea (last year's writer country)and, in turn, the Americas, the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, the coast of West Africa (where Cameroon lies) and the rest of the world.

Cameroon's WDP planning committee included women from many Christian denominations including Presbyterian (French and English), the Union of Baptist Churches,the Native Baptist Church, Eglise Protestante Africine, Eglise Fraternelle Lutherienne, Roman Catholic, United Methodist and Eglise Evangelique Lutherienne, as well as the YWCA.

WDP's motto, Informed prayer leads to prayerful action, affirms that prayer and action are inseparable and that both have immeasurable influence. As we observe WDP 2010, millions of God's people are suffering from violence, exploitation and poverty, We encourage you to begin thinking about actions that you can take to further support the 2010 theme, which calls us to sing praise to the Lord and to bring our gifts together, ever faithful to his promise to overcome evil with good.

Please be sure to join us because this will be a wonderful event.