FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
8th & D Streets … PO Box 248
Ramona, CA 92065
I started attending this
church as a “Young Adult” whileIwasattendingcollege. It has been a welcoming place for me to grow
in my faith. I was involved in our church’s young adult bible
study and very much valued the relationships that were created
between myself and the other young adults, one of which being my
future husband! I enjoyed fellowship with others who were dealing
with the same issues as I was in that time of my life. Since
then, we welcomed our new baby son in April of 2011. What an
incredible gift that God has blessed us with! At the time, I
wasn’t quite sure how my participation in our church’s ministries
would change, if at all. I know I felt overwhelmed with my new
role! I missed connecting with God in a way that I had known before. This past October I joined a small group, a group where we
all have something in common… we are Moms. I look forward to
connecting with this small group of special women every week.
We all love our families deeply, with a desire to assist our
children in their growing faith, to enrich our marriages with the
presence of the Holy Spirit, and to renew ourselves in His love.
We discuss effective ways we can raise our children in a loving
environment with God’s help. It is a place where we can share our
struggles and our triumphs in fulfilling this task. I didn’t know
some of these remarkable women before I joined this small group and
once again, I am thoroughly enjoying fellowship with those I have
something in common with. In fact, I was the one, when
discussing our expectations for this group, who was concerned about
how late it might run. Well… I am usually one of the last ones to
leave. Because our children’s ages range from infant to young
adult, I am gaining insight into different stages of parenting that
I have yet to face. I am only at the beginning! Being a
parent has its challenges; however, I am lifted up every week as I
realize that I am not alone in my quest to raise a family influenced
by God’s love. I am comforted in knowing that my church family
is here to support me, in whatever stage of life I am embarking on.
Blessings ~ Meredith Burch
BIBLE
STUDY CONTINUES:Join Hal Mortier and Wes Ellis through February 15that 7:00 p.m. in the Fireside Room as they lead a Bible
study entitled “Christianity for Dummies: Foundations of a Christian
Faith”.
It'll be a great conversation about the Bible, God, People,
Salvation, and The Kingdom of God. It'll be a safe place to ask
seemingly stupid questions and enjoy great fellowship and learning.
Look for a signup sheet on
the Narthex bulletin board
It’s a New Year full of new times in the life of our church.2012 promises to bring change and growth at FCC, and nowhere
will this become more apparent
than in our Adult Education arena. First, starting today and going forward, I won’t
even call it “Adult Education” anymore.I’m calling it “Small Groups”. You’ve probably heard the term
“Small Groups” mentioned here or there over the past year.In last month’s newsletter we defined small groups as regular
gatherings of 8-12 people
who connect in fellowship, grow
spiritually, and become
more like Jesus by serving others.And why do we need to be a
church of Small Groups?
There is
ample biblical and sociological evidence that leads us towards the
value of having meaningful connection in our lives.It is our mission at First Congregational Church of Ramona to
live a life of love.We
do this by guiding our members and those in the community towards
opportunities to connect with others in spiritual relationship, grow
in spiritual wisdom through the Bible and its application in our
daily lives, and become more Christ like by serving our communities.Small Groups will provide the platform for each of these
strategies, and support us in living that loving life. Our first training course for Small Group leaders will be
offered for the first time this Spring.Keep your eyes and ears open for more information about this
course as we get closer.
Our first round of leaders will help us move towards the goal of
becoming a church of small groups.If you would like to know more, please don’t hesitate to
contact me at the church office or via email at
mdrake@fccramona.org.
~
Melissa Drake
SOUPERBOWL
OF CARINGOn February 5th, our Junior High Youth will be
participating in The Souperbowl of Caring.This is a national event where students collect donations to
be given to a local organization to help alleviate hunger.Our group will be collecting cash and canned food items in
the large pots and bowls after church to be donated to the Ramona
Food & Clothes Closet.
We thank you for your help in making this event a great success.
DONUTS FOR A DONATIONThe Scholarship Committee will be selling donuts after
services on February 12th.Make a donation to the Scholarship Fund and get a yummy donut
in return.Remember –
when you buy them at church they are fat free, sugar free and
calorie free! All the money earned will go towards the scholarships
we award to our qualifying High School Seniors.Thank you for your support.
WIDOWS’ FRIENDSHIP GROUP
This month the widows’ friendship
group will be heading over to Nuevo Grill for a scrumptious lunch!We’ll meet right there at the restaurant, located in the
Albertson’s shopping center, at noon on February 14th.Call Rosemary Taylor by noon on the 13th so that
she can make a reservation.
MEN’S
FELLOWSHIP PRAYER BREAKFAST All the men in our church family are
invited to gather for our monthly breakfast on Saturday,
February 18th at 7:00 a.m. in Pilgrim Hall.Please join us for a hearty breakfast followed by devotions
and fellowship.If you
have any questions, or would be interested in leading a devotion or
preparing an upcoming breakfast, please contact Hal Mortier.
Stop and think of someone you really admire. Think of the
qualities about them that you value.This is probably someone you are glad that you have in your
life.When we show
someone how much we admire and value them, we are really showing
them honor. Looking at it from that perspective, have you ever
thought about how every person on
Earth was created by God in
His image.We all have value because God made us
in his likeness.So it is our job
to show honor to each person we come across. This month our kids will be learning about honor, and the
many ways in which the Bible teaches us to honor others.The Ten Commandments teach us to honor our mother and father.
Jesus shows us how to honor others by spending time with them.And we honor God when we make Him the priority in our life
and share that priority with others.Our curriculum defines honor as “letting someone know you see
how valuable they really are”.The curriculum calls this month’s theme “The Ultimate
Challenge”.I
think it’s a challenge we can all embrace.
SHROVE
TUESDAY PANCAKE DINNER
Join us on Tuesday February 21st at 6:00 p.m. as we come
together for our annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner.We will have an amazingly good pancake dinner. Fun things to
do with your food and Wes Ellis will lead us as we
share a Lenten devotional time together.Put it on your Calendar and sign up
to join us.
Our
church is healthy and growing.Looking into this New Year I am excited to see two full
worship services, a vibrant youth ministry, a loving and growing
Sunday School program, a new Small Group ministry on the horizon, an
increase in our financialpledges, and perhaps most importantly of all, the stories I
regularly hear from our members about how God is making a real
difference in their lives through this church.What makes for a healthy, growing congregation?I was recently sifting through some new findings from a large
North American study of vibrant churches that identifies some of the
following key factors:
(1)
Location is important.
Congregations located in the downtown or central city neighborhoods
are more likely to grow.
(2)
Youth is a key factor.Churches that are
intentional about raising up the next generation of Christians are
more likely to be vibrant and growing.
(3)
What the clergy leader spends time on.Outreach and recruitment of new members as well as developing
and promoting a vision for the congregation are the key activities.
(4)
An alternative style of worship.There is a strong correlation between church vitality and
congregations that either integrate or launch an alternative worship
form including guitars, drums, audio/visual equipment and
“innovative” approaches to worship.
(5)
A clear sense of mission.This is “one of the strongest correlates of growth.”
I am excited
about the good things we are already doing to nurture the health of
our congregation.And I
am excited in this New Year for new things to come – including a
clearer sense of mission and a new alternative worship service in
the fall – that will help us to continue being the Body of Christ
for many years to come. Blessings, Rev. David Auten
INTRODUCING OUR NEW BENEVOLENCE FUND
Our church acknowledges its role in providing for those in the
community who have not only spiritual needs, but financial and
material needs as well (Luke 10:25-37). In light of this
acknowledgement, a new benevolence fund has been budgeted from the
church within the Board of Missions to assist those with these types
of needs. This is an open account, which means that you can
contribute to it any time you feel so moved by the Spirit.
Please make sure that “benevolence” is clearly written in the memo
line of the check. Checks can be dropped in the offering plate
on Sundays or given to the church office.
4th
ANNUAL MEN’S RETREATIt’s early in the year, but April is coming soon.Be sure to mark April 27th – 29th on
your calendar for our 4th annual Men’s Retreat at Pilgrim
Pines Conference Center in the San Bernardino Mountains.Kevin Boer will be our speaker this year, giving an encore
performance.Kevin is
the Leadership Training Coordinator for the National Network of
Youth Ministries.Plan
to come and join with the men of our church in a weekend of Biblical
learning, good fellowship and plentiful food.Please let Phil Harding or Hal Mortier know of your interest.
2012 FLOWER CHART IS UP!
You can now sign up to dedicate flowers on the Altar or Sanctuary
table.The first person
to sign up for a particular date will be called to place flowers on
the Altar, subsequent people will be asked to place flowers on the
sanctuary table or the piano.We would be happy to order the
flowers for you,
the cost will remain at $40.00 this
year.
The office will call or e-mail you to ask for your
color scheme or theme, find out how you’d like your dedication to
read in the bulletin and ask if you’ll be taking your flowers home
or leaving them to be delivered by the Care Ministry Board to those
who are homebound, in the hospital or recovering from illness.Thank you!
CANTATA
RECORDINGS AVAILABLEIf you would like a copy of the 2011 Christmas Cantata,
“Glorious Joy”, please contact the church office and we’ll have one
made just for you!!!
Church E-mail Address:
Church Office= office@fccramona.org
| Sunday Schedule
9:00 A.M. Worship Service
10:15 A.M. Worship Service
10:15 A.M. Sunday School
…Child care is provided
…a fellowship time follows the morning services.
BIBLE
STUDY CONTINUES:
MEN’S
FELLOWSHIP PRAYER BREAKFAST
SHROVE
TUESDAY PANCAKE DINNER