THE BAPTISM OF KAITLYN KOZELKA

The people of First Congregational Church congratulate the Kozelka family, on the baptism of their daughter Kaitlyn. May the joy of the Lord be your strength, now and always. God bless you all.

Chance and Tyler Confirmation

First Congregational UCC celebrates with Chance Jones  and Tyler Tayek on their Confirmation Day, Sunday, June 3, 2012.  Both young men presented their Faith Statements and their thoughts on our Church Covenant.   We greet them and welcome them both.

Ash Wednesday 2012 - A Celebration?

Living Faith Parish - Giard Center

Area Ecumenical Ash Wednesday Service

Ash Wednesday Service, usually a somber occasion, was almost as much of a celebration in as much as this small church was nearly full this year, compared to recent years.  With so many people joining in the service it seemed to add something special to the service.  

There were people at the service from approximately 6 to 8 area towns and the surrounding area including Prairie du Chien.  Also, there were were approximately six area churches participating. 

Remember, the next five Wednesdays the Lenten programs will be held at First Congregational UCC in McGregor.  A meal will be served at 5:00 with a program following.  The local churches will take turns providing the meals and the programs.  Be sure to join us.

God bless.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH JOINS THE MCGREGOR TRIATHALON

First congregational church made their debut appearance in McGregor's annual Turkey Triathalon. Out of four teams participating they placed third overall in such varied events as Turkey Bowling, Bed Racing and Gloved Free Throw. To see more of the days activities click here.

MEMBER ACKNOWLEDGED FOR MILITARY HONOR

Church member, Commander David I. Scott (ret. U.S. ARMY/U.S. COAST GUARD) has been listed in the Military times. Read more here.

2011 Hanging of the Greens prep and new hymnals

FCC UCC McGregor began getting ready for Christmas by preparing for the annual Hanging of the Greens Ceremony.  Members and friends came together for a great potluck supper before getting to work on ornaments and cards to be handed out at the ceremony.  Everyone enjoyed the fellowship and the work went easy with so many hands.

As some worked on the preparations for the ceremony others were getting our new hymnals ready to be put in the pews.  FCC is getting ready for another great Christmas.

A DAY FOR HEALTH AT FCC

First Congregational Church kicked off the healthy living initiative with a free health screening and complimentary massages. Eleven volunteers turned out to begin their journey towards living healthier between the hours of 9:30 AM - 1:00 PM. 

Kathy Wessels, R.N. offered free health screenings for each while Kelli Boylen provided complimentary chair massages to interested parties. This is the first of many health offerings to come at First Congregational, we are pleased to offer this opportunity to our congregation. 

 Health Corner display table in Fellowship Hall

Kelli Boylen of Indigo Sky Massage, offers a complimentary massage to Alice Staples.

WELCH WEDDING

Member Genna, and Nathan Welch were married October 1st at First Congregational Church. The people of First Congregational congratulate Genna and Nathan as they begin their life together as husband and wife. God bless them.

THORNTON WEDDING

Susie (Larson) and Chad Thornton, were married September 17th in Prairie du Chien. The people of First Congregational congratulate Susie and Chad as they begin a new life together as husband and wife. God bless them.

Daughters, Mothers and Others Brunch

The fourth annual Daughters, Mothers and Others Brunch was held at the church fellowship hall on Saturday, May 1, at 9:30am. Yes, the food was really served by the men of the church. Some of the ladies prepared the quiche the previous afternoon and the men finished in the morning. Jim Arvidson provided the entertainment. He played his six-string guitar and a 12-string and sang. The ladies sure seemed to enjoy his performance. The brunch was sponsored by the R.E. Committee. I think the men had a good time working and fellowshipping together, too.

Crop Walk 2010 Update

The 2010 Crop Walk was held on Sun. April 18 at First Congregational Church in McGregor. There were approximately 18 walkers of varied ages. Even some quite young folks participated. Also, the director of the Iowa Crop Walk showed up to walk with the others. It was a perfectly beautiful day for the walk. The sun was shining and the temperature was perfect. God was certainly smiling on this years Clayton County Crop Walk. God bless all who walked or helped behind the scenes to support this years walk.

Baptism of Emmett Cole

The people of First Congregational Church congratulate Maegan Luster and Ben Weiss on the baptism of their son Emmett Cole. May the joy of the Lord be your strength, now and always. God bless you all.

A Crop Walk Update

The Crop Walk will start at the First Congregational Church at 1 pm on April 18Th. Refreshments will be available upon completion of the walk. Marilyn Burke has the walk packets, available for pick up. Each walker is encouraged to find some sponsors for the walk. Hope for a beautiful day! And may God help you see the beauty in every day.

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.

Crop Walk 2010

Fcc McGregor will be hosting the 2010 Crop Walk on April 18 at 1:00pm. More information will be coming soon about the local walk. Check back often so you don't miss out. Consider walking in this years event. Start finding sponsors for your walk. In the meantime go to Church World Service web site to learn about what Crop Walk is and get tips on walking for the event.