Conversation V1I2

Conversation

VOLUME 1 | ISSUE 2

ADVENT 2024

Welcome to Conversation, Issue 2 SENIOR MINISTER R E V . C H R I S B R A U D A WA Y - B A U M A N

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elcome to the second issue of “Conversation,” the quarterly magazine of First Congregational UCC, Boulder. Inspired by the sculpture that sits gracefully on our Plaza, the name “Conversation” serves what we hope this new communication will foster – stronger connections, an enhanced sense of community, and the engagement of our faith in an ongoing conversation with the events of our lives and the world.

This issue offers reflections for the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany and announces activities for the months of December, January, and February.

Advent is a season of ending and beginning.

It falls at the end of the calendar year, but in the way the church tells time, Advent marks the beginning of the new year, a time when we prepare for Christ to be born anew in our lives and in the world. This year, during the season of Advent, we will lift up “Words for the Beginning,” as we reflect on several questions.

What are the words we need to hear as we stand on this threshold of a new year? What are the sacred promises of God we can rely on in this time of uncertainty and change? As we wrap around our shoulders like a warm quilt the old, old stories we know and love, what do they mean to us now?

As our Advent journey and Christmas joy unfold into Epiphany, we join the magi who followed a star to search for the Christ child and bring him gifts. Remembering their generosity, we offer our own gifts, discerning and dedicating our financial pledges to the work of the church for 2025. January is Stewardship season at First Congregational, a time to celebrate how the

coming of Christ brings us together, not only for our shared common life, but also to respond to the Spirit’s calling to do God’s work in the world.

These winters months are filled with meaningful worship and music, cherished traditions, and plans for a new year. May every gift this season brings – the yearning of Advent, the joy of Christmas, and the awe of Epiphany – fill you with wonder and give you peace.

Faithfully,

Rev. Christina Braudaway-Bauman Senior Minister

“God with us”

Words for the Beginning An Advent Devotional C H R I S B R A U D A WA Y - B A U M A N

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hese daily offerings of art, poetry, and reflections are an invitation to enter more deeply into the Scripture texts and themes of Advent and Christmas. The creative collaborators from A Sanctified Art have shaped the devotional around several important reminders we all need to hear from time to time:

you are a blessing we can’t go alone do the good that is yours to do hope is worth the risk love knows your name don’t forget to laugh the road isn’t straight.

These reminders root us in the resources of our faith. They may sound like blessings we offer our children. They are words we would also do well to revisit as adults. So, as we move through this Advent season may you hold fast to these blessings of hope. May they give you the encouragement you need to carry on and also to begin again.

A print version of Words for the Beginning: An Advent Devotional is available at church. A special e-reader version, which you can access elctronically will be linked in every issue of the Friday and Sunday morning emails through the season of Advent.

Advent Gift Bags for Children, Youth, and Families Mason jars, candles, activity cards, and a calendar.

As each day unfolds draw a card. Day by day, week by week, prayer by prayer, action by action, count down the Advent calendar days until that holy night when God slips into the world. Also in December, color in a new shape on the calendar containing a daily word to learn and use.

Words for the Beginning Small Group Series Sundays, December 8, 15, 22 at 9:15 AM Tuesdays, December 3, 10, 17 on Zoom Join us to consider the Scripture and art in our Advent devotional, reflect on the beginnings and endings experienced now and in Advents past, and to support one another in this holy season.

Contact Lianna Campos at lianna@firstcong.net.

Advent Photo a Day 2024 Facebook Group Experience the wonder of the season through photographic images by joining our Advent Photo a Day 2024 Facebook group. First Congregational Church members and friends are invited to reflect on the season by sharing photos that are prompted by a daily word drawn from our Advent devotional. Photos can be ones you take yourself or ones you find that connect to or reflect your experience with the prompt word for the day. The daily word prompts will be listed in the Facebook group; each day there will be a posting inviting your photographic contribution. You may also pick up a printed copy of the full list in the Sanctuary narthex. Join the group here... https://tinyurl.com/PhotoDayGroup

Special Worship Services and Events December

CHILDREN & YOUTH CAROLING STROLL Sunday, December 1, 10:30 AM Kids, keep your coat and mittens on when you arrive at church on Sunday so that you’re ready to bring some Christmas cheer to the Pearl Street Mall. Meet in the Link, walk to the Pearl Street Mall with Anne Martinez, and return to Plymouth for hot apple cider.

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HAVE YOURSELF A MYSTICAL CHRISTMAS: A MINI-RETREAT FOR HEART AND SOUL Saturday, December 7, 9 AM – 3 PM The Incarnation of Jesus is at the core of the Christian faith. Yet, the hectic pace of the holidays often clouds the profound spiritual significance of this sacred season. In this one-day retreat, we invite you to slow down and reconnect with the mystical essence of Christmas and the birth of the Divine Word in each of us.

Retreat leaders: Rev. Elizabeth Jameson has been shaped by the Christ tradition, the mystic path and her own living communion with the Divine. She has spent 27 years as an Episcopal priest, spiritual guide and intuitive healer. The Rev. Ian Cummins is a pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA), who after serving a church in Denver for more than 20 years, is now helping others (and himself) learn to trust life, stay present and see with the eyes of the heart.

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BOULDER LIGHTS OF DECEMBER FAMILY POTLUCK AND PARADE Saturday, December 7, 4 PM, Potluck Dinner in Plymouth Hall.

5 PM dress in costume for Boulder’s Lights of December Parade.

6 PM. Join the parade with First Congregational Church’s “We take PRIDE in Christmas” Float. Contact Lianna Campos at lianna@firstcong.net.

12/7 JINGLE MINGLE Saturday, December 7, 7 PM As the Lights of December Parade winds down, we open our doors to invite the city to join us for Cookies, Cocoa, Cider and Crafts. Congregational Bells will be ringing! Everyone is welcome whether or not you go to the parade. Join us for an evening of Jingle and Mingle.

Special Worship Services and Events December

MUSIC SUNDAY Sunday, December 15

8:30 AM - Third Sunday of Advent Still, Still, Still Contemplative Prayer Worship Gather with others in the Chapel for a service of Advent Scripture and poetry readings, extended moments of silence, quiet carol singing, and gentle prayers.

10:30 AM in the Sanctuary (and on YouTube) Music Sunday Worship Our musical presentation will include Congregational Bells and the Chancel Choir, accompanied by instrumentalists, singing Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio.

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12/19 BLUE CHRISTMAS EVENING PRAYER Thursday, Dec 19, 6:00 PM Chapel To honor our heart’s truths, whether bright or blustery, gather in gentle community on this evening just before the Winter Solstice, the Longest Night. Scripture, poetry, soft carols, and candlelight surround us as we seek hope and healing.

12/22 CHRISTMAS PAGEANT REHEARSAL Sunday, Dec 22, 11:45 AM Calling all Angels, Shepherds, Magi, Faith Singers, and Joyful Noise!

As we get ready for the 4 pm Family Christmas Eve service, we’ll gather this Sunday after worship to practice the Pageant and get ready to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve Worship Services Wednesday, December 24

Family Worship with Children’s Pageant, 4:00 PM Sanctuary (and on YouTube) Mary and Joseph join angels dancing, shepherds scurrying, and magi searching to find the baby Jesus lying in a manger in a story narrated by our middle school youth. Joyful Noise and the Faith Singers will provide choral music.

Candlelight Services of Lessons and Carols Rejoice in the promise coming, the starlight guiding, the new life being born. Celebrate how God has come to be with us! In both services, our worship culminates in the soft singing of Silent Night, lighting candles, and the sounds of Joy to the World!

7:00 PM, Sanctuary (and on YouTube) Enjoy the music of the season with our Congregational Bells and Chancel Choir.

9:00 PM, Sanctuary (and on YouTube) Christmas music will be offered by our Brass Ensemble and Vocal Soloists.

CHRISTMASTIDE BRUNCH WORSHIP Sunday, December 29, 10:30 AM Plymouth Hall A Storybook Christmas Celebration for All Ages! Come for a delicious brunch and carol singing! Pick up your Star Word to guide you through the year!

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Alternative Gift Markets

Life-giving Gifts with Global Impact S H E R RY L E AC H

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his year marks the 30th year that our congregation is supporting Alternative Gifts International (AGI); to date, our contributions have totaled more than $205,000. Alternative gift market tables will be open during Coffee Hours in Advent. A big appeal of alternative markets is the concept of “gifting” support of good causes to people you care about. What an appropriate way to observe the Christmas spirit!

And it’s green – no wrapping paper to add to the landfill and perfect gifts for those who are hard to shop for or who already have too many “things.”

When you shop at the market table, you choose greeting cards and get notes about the designated projects to give to your friends and family.

Alternative gifts provide a vehicle for supporting our brothers and sisters around the world.

Not only are these gifts that keep on giving, but their impact is also huge for the amount invested.

For example, $6 provides an anti-malarial vaccine, $37 provides penicillin in Burma, and $34 provides a safe-birthing kit in Kenya. AGI’s focus is on helping individuals, giving them the foundation of education and training, offering access to supplies and health care, and providing means for them to break the cycle of poverty.

Why do we support alternative gifts every year?

Because in Ethiopia children struggle to attain literacy, AGI funds donkey-delivered libraries to remote areas.

Because in DR Congo children with disabilities often do not attend school, AGI funds leg braces and tuition so they participate in getting an education.

Because rural Africa lacks adequate transportation, AGI supports the distribution of bikes to community-owned shops in Namibia, Tanzania, and Zambia.

Alternative gift giving is a way to invest in the ministries of our church, such as Climate Justice.

For example, deforestation contributes to poverty and endangers both plants and animals with extinction. A project in Haiti will plant 25 trees for a donation of $28. Additionally, the planting of the trees brings income to rural Haitians.

Indigenous women farmers around the globe have been devastated by global warming. A donation of $6 buys seeds or $17 buys tools and equipment for a woman farmer. Energy-efficient greenhouses and water systems are also supported. AGI points out, “This gift supports women farmers and positions them to be leaders in the climate change arena!”

The Board of Missions and Christian Social Action has also identified two projects championed by members of our congregation for targeted outreach this Advent season. These projects are included on the “shopping list” so that you can easily support them. Noor El-Salam (coordinated

by Susan Bryant and Armine Tarhini) provides schooling, supplies, and support for displaced Syrian children in Lebanon. The Kenya Education Foundation (coordinated by Jim Knopf) provides tuition and books for students in Kenya.

The gift markets will also feature sales from a local mission partner, Mindful Works. Mindful Works provides job-driven training and real employment opportunities to those in recovery from mental health challenges through the design and production of high quality, locally crafted products. The benefits of work and employment are a proven and crucial component of recovery.

If you’re looking for something beyond mass produced items for holiday gifts, Mindful Works will be selling hand-crafted poufs, pillows, socks, other home décor, and baked goods – creative gifts that make a difference in the lives of the program participants!

Fair trade items of chocolate, coffee, and tea will also be available.

Mindful Works Boho Triangles Ottoman

Music Sunday, December 15

Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio – A French Composer’s Homage to J. S. Bach KAJSA TEITELBAUM

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ach December, the Chancel Choir of First Congregational Church presents a larger choral work, often accompanied by orchestra and vocal soloists. This year we are performing Christmas Oratorio by French romantic composer Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921). Saint-Saëns was appointed organist at the Madeleine church in Paris in 1857, at age 22, and was well-known as a musical virtuoso.

After leaving the post twenty years later, he was a successful freelance pianist and composer, in demand in Europe and the Americas.

The Christmas Oratorio is written for choir, soloists, strings, organ, and harp. We are fortunate enough to have people from our congregation serve as soloists – Anne Martinez, soprano, Marjorie Fowler, alto, and Dean Fowler, tenor. In addition to this trio, you will hear Ekaterina Kotcherguina, a frequent vocalist for our congregation, as the mezzo soprano soloist, and Sebastian Schmidt as our baritone soloist. Our string ensemble will also include familiar names – Karen Connolly on viola and Rebecca Flintoft and Amy Voida on cello, and Jessica Kressin will sit on the organ bench. What a blessing to have amazing musicians right here in our congregation!

Some words on the oratorio itself: about 40 minutes in length, it is considered a miniature oratorio, but it has all the necessary elements – instrumental movements, recitatives to bring the story forward, solo arias, and choir sections. In the introductory movement of the Oratorio, it already becomes clear that Saint-Saëns pays homage to J. S. Bach through several musical elements. The first movement, an instrumental piece, strongly resembles characters of Bach’s own Sinfonia, the work that starts Bach’s own Christmas Oratorio.

Another style present in the oratorio that one often sees in Bach’s music is the homophonic style of composing music, with harmonies presented in chords stacked on top of each other instead of

independent melodies.

Through the work Saint-Saëns gradually increases the performing forces: solo to duet, trio, quartet, quintet, then full chorus to close with a chorale-like composition (very much like what J. S. Bach would often do). It is a quiet and lyrical work at a time of year when everything can be overstated. This composition was written in less than two weeks, and received its premiere on Christmas 1858.

We invite you to save December 15th in your calendar and come join us that morning for a musical experience that, we hope, will bring you closer to Christmas.

We pray that it will be an invitation to meditate upon the miracle of Jesus’ birth, and God’s gift to us all.

Singing in the Chancel Choir Why Do We Do It? KEITH LANCE

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’ve sung in chancel choirs since age 12 – so, now, for more than 58 years.

giving us extra time together. Spending as much time together as we do, we get to know each other fairly well. Each rehearsal includes a short break during which we enjoy refreshments and have a chance to visit with each other. And each rehearsal ends with our sharing of joys and concerns and praying about them together.

When I came to First Cong in August 2008, I knew there were several things I was looking for: a progressive “open and affirming” congregation – also part of an Open and Affirming denomination, a church large enough to be a real presence in the community, a beautiful historic sanctuary with a substantial pipe organ and someone who knows how to play it well, and – of course – a chancel choir. I found all of those things here, and, as difficult as changing churches was after more than two decades, I knew from the moment I walked in the door that it was the right decision. (It didn’t hurt to also meet John Bisceglia who was serving as liturgist that summer Sunday.)

Our choir is blessed with gifted leaders in Kajsa and Jessica as well as all of those who have backed them up over the years. We are also fortunate to have in the choir several superbly talented singers for whom it has been a vocation or avocation for decades. Like the organ’s accompaniment on hymns, those stronger voices embolden the rest of us and help us when learning more challenging selections.

Of the many small groups to choose from here, doubtless singing in the choir is one of the most demanding. We rehearse for two hours on Thursday evenings from September to May. We have extra rehearsals, usually on Saturday mornings, ahead of Christmas and Easter services.

Why do we do it? Community is a big part of it.

Some of us carpool to and from rehearsals,

One of the things I most appreciate about our music program is how thoughtfully what we sing is chosen. It’s no accident that the theme of the choir’s offertory anthem almost always lines up perfectly with the theme of that Sunday’s sermon.

Kajsa and our ministers plan ahead for weeks and months to ensure that what we sing is integral to each service.

I’ve been a choir member for so long that it’s a big adjustment for me, every June, when the choir’s three-month break begins – sitting “alone” in the congregation without the camaraderie and shared purpose of the choir. Of course, I always sit with friends – which is a treat of a different kind – yet I always greet the arrival of the new church year and the choir’s return with special joy.

If you enjoy singing, consider joining us. While we sing most Sundays during the September to May church program year, you don’t have to commit to being with us every week, and you can always count on being welcomed back warmly when you return.

Special Worship Services and Events January

EPIPHANY EVE WORSHIP Sunday, January 5 4:30 to 7:00 PM

4:30 PM Crown Making Standish Room

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5:00 PM Worship Chapel and Sanctuary

BOARD AND COMMITTEE FAIR Sunday, January 12 11:45 AM - Plymouth Hall Representatives from our five Boards – Community Life, Faith Formation, Spiritual Life, Faith Formation, Management, and Mission and Christian Social Action –as well as many of our Committees will be present to talk with you about the work they do on behalf of all of us.

Come learn more about these volunteer opportunities and how you too can serve our congregation.

Join the magi following the star in a Candlelight Procession and Baptism Renewal. This service is a great time for older kids and adults to be baptized, if they haven’t already. Contact Chris if you might be interested at chris@firstcong.net.

5:45 PM Potluck Dinner Plymouth Hall

1/5 MARTIN LUTHER KING SUNDAY Sunday, January 19 Contemplative Prayer Worship, 8:30 AM -Chapel Gather with others in the Chapel for a service of readings by Martin Luther King, Jr., extended moments of silence, African American Spirituals, and songs of the Civil Rights Movement.

Service of Justice and Peace, 10:30 AM - Sanctuary (and on YouTube) Hear from Pilgrims who traveled to the sites of the Sand Creek Massacre, the Koshare Museum of Native American Art, Fort Bent, and Amache, the WWII Japanese American Internment Camp.

Together we will explore what we learned and what we as a community are being called to as we continue in our work for Racial Justice.

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Special Worship Services and Events January

FORUM STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE Sunday, January 12 9:15 to 10:15 AM Standish Room

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1/26 FORUM RACIAL JUSTICE MINISTRY Sunday, January 19 9:15 to 10:15 AM Standish Room

1/19 FORUM MINISTRY OF LAST THINGS Sunday, January 26 9:15 to 10:15 AM Standish Room

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STEWARDSHIP CONSECRATION Sunday, January 26 8:30 AM - Chapel 10:30 AM -Sanctuary (and on YouTube) During Sunday worship we dedicate our financial pledges and renew our commitment to our life together as First Congregational United Church of Christ of Boulder for the coming year.

A festive coffee hour follows the 10:30 AM service.

MacKenzie Lecture 2025 The Future Church S T E WA R T H O O V E R

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nly a few decades ago, a clear majority of Americans attended church regularly, and thought religion was central to American life. How things have changed. Not only has there been a steady decline in the proportion who attend church, synagogue, or mosque regularly, fewer and fewer center religion in their lives. On recent surveys, “none” has been the fastest growing category of religion, now nearly twenty-five percent of the population.

Local communities and local congregations have also seen great change. Places of worship are closing. Attendance is down across the board. Even movements like Evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, and the Mormon Church are facing declining interest, with younger people in particular “tuning out.” Non-denominational, “multi-site,” and “mega-church” congregations continue to proliferate. There are not much recent data on this but as of about ten years ago, more people here in Boulder County identified with a specific religious tradition (from traditional to spiritual, to “world” religions) than in conservative El Paso County. We all know this has changed. Boulder’s current demographics are dominated by a younger, more mobile population that views religion and religious congregations very differently than their elders.

What does this mean for First Congregational Church? Many congregations are engaged in soul searching about how the familiar and comfortable might need to be re-thought. If change is in the offing, what kind of change and how extensive should it be?

Add to this the major challenges we’ve faced which have tested how we think about our mission and what we want our witness and ministry to be. First, is the political upheaval we’ve been living through since 2015. Much of what we once took for granted about faith, reason, citizenship, and witness has been shaken by a political environment which has thrown everything “up in the air.” Second, and perhaps more important, the global pandemic of 2020-22 upended so much in our personal, familial, social, and congregational

lives. Third, the very local, but very searing, experience of the Marshall Fire, cost some of us so much personally, but also spread costs across our community, many of which are still being felt.

Of these, the pandemic perhaps had the greatest impact on our congregational life. Think about it. Within a few short months, we transitioned to hybrid worship, ministries, and mission. Rather than stepping back, we actually engaged change head-on and learned ways that we as a church could evolve. And we haven’t looked back. Our online presence is a great accomplishment.

Many congregations were not able to make this transition, and COVID actually led to a great “shake out” of smaller and weaker churches, synagogues, and mosques. Many have not survived. We have not only survived, but thrived.

But is it enough? We are clearly facing a turning point as we think about how we want to be as a congregation. How have we responded to these challenges and how might we respond going forward? How do we get ahead of the forces that are defining the place of our congregation in the world today?

The 2025 MacKenzie lecture and workshop will center on these questions. Our lecturer will be Dr. Nancy Ammerman, a world-renowned sociologist of religion. Across her long career, Dr. Ammerman has become a leading expert on congregations and congregational life, having conducted major research projects and written countless articles, reports, and books. She is excited to be able to help us think through how we should move forward into an uncertain future with faith and boldness. For the workshop, she will be joined by Dr. Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi of Denver, who is the regional director for a national project researching the effects of the pandemic on congregations.

Our congregation is one of the participating sites for that study, so she will speak from a base of knowledge about us and our situation.

MacKenzie Lectureship

Saturday, Sunday, February 7 - 9 Keynote Address | Friday, February 7, 7:00 PM Sanctuary Workshop Saturday | February 8, 9 AM, Plymouth Hall Sunday Worship | Sunday, February 9, 10:30 AM (Sanctuary and on YouTube)

The MacKenzie Lectureship was established in 2000 in honor of the Rev. Bruce MacKenzie and his wife Jeanette upon Bruce’s retirement as Senior Minister of First Congregational Church and in thanksgiving for their extraordinary service to the Boulder community. After serving our church for 27 years from 1970 to 1997, Bruce then was our minister emeritus and an active member of this congregation until his death in 2017. The MacKenzie Lectureship, made possible through an endowed fund of First Congregational Church, serves as an enduring legacy of the spirit of intellectual and theological inquiry which were so much a part of Bruce MacKenzie’s vision and ministry.

Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi is the Assistant Professor of Leadership and Formation at Iliff School of Theology in Denver and the faculty director of its Office of Professional Formation. She oversees contextual education and co-directs the Doctor of Ministry in Prophetic Leadership. She is the author of Unraveling Religious Leadership: Power, Authority, and Decoloniality and co-editor of the book Explore: Vocational Discovery in Ministry.

She also serves as regional advisor for the Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations (EPIC) National Research Project.

Nancy T. Ammerman is Professor Emerita of Sociology of Religion, having served as Chair of the Department (2007-2013) and Associate Dean for the Social Sciences (2015-2018) at Boston University’s College of Arts and Science. Her most recent research – published in her edited 2006 book Everyday Religion: Observing Modern Religious Lives (Oxford University Press) and her 2013 book, Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes: Finding Religion in Everyday Life (Oxford University Press) – explores the ways religion and spirituality are part of the everyday world of work, home, health, and public life. Following on that research, she has articulated an invitation to “rethink religion” based on sociological theories of practice and a body of research on “lived religion.”

Pulling all of this together is her book Studying Lived Religion: Contexts and Practices.

Men and Friends Retreat March 7-9, 2025

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or 40 years the men of First Congregational Church have been gathering to intentionally share the journey together.

This year’s Men and Friends Retreat will be March 7 – 9, 2025, at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park in the Hyde-Barclay Cabin.

We gather on Friday evening at 6 PM to eat, get to know each other as a whole group, welcome first-time attendees, and introduce the theme for the weekend. On Saturday we have four large group discussions that break into smaller groups, enabling us to build deeper relationships with one another. Saturday also includes additional time for recreation, conversation, or napping. We worship together on Sunday morning, before reentering the real world strengthened in our faith through new and deepened relationships. The retreat ends at 11 AM Sunday.

Join us for a weekend of eating meals, sharing our journey, and laughing a lot.

Watch for info in the bulletin or Weekly Email or contact Peter Oakes (peteroakes44@gmail.com) or Linda Kowatch (linda@firstcong.net).

Please join us!

Selma and Montgomery

Pilgrimage for Racial Justice 2025 R AC I A L J U S T I C E M I N I S T RY

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he Racial Justice Ministry invites you to join us on a pilgrimage to Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, on March 17-21, 2025, to reexamine American History and begin to collectively imagine what we as individuals and as a church are called to nurture – the beloved community. We will start in Selma by hearing from foot soldiers who brought about and participated in the marches that are credited with being a final push towards the passage of the Voting Rights Act. We will follow the path of the marchers to Montgomery, a city significant for this march but which also served as a hub of the slave trade. The Capital of the Confederacy and home of Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, Montgomery is now the home of the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

“On the site of a cotton warehouse where enslaved Black people were forced to labor in bondage, The Legacy Museum tells the story of slavery in America and its legacy . . . from the slave trade, to the era of Jim Crow and racial terror lynchings, to our current mass incarceration crisis—and find inspiration in our soaring Reflection Space and world-class art gallery.”

“On a hilltop overlooking Montgomery, The Memorial for Peace and Justice, is the nation’s first comprehensive memorial dedicated to the legacy of Black Americans who were enslaved, terrorized by lynching, humiliated by racial segregation, and presumed guilty and dangerous.

More than 4,400 Black people killed in racial terror lynchings between 1877 and 1950 are remembered here.”

“Overlooking the Alabama River, breathtaking art and original artifacts of The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park honor the lives and memories of the 10 million Black people who were enslaved in America and celebrates their courage and resilience.”

Sign up to join the Pilgrimage by December 15.

Contact Linda Kowatch (linda@firstcong.net).

Volunteer Opportunities

And Christmas Memorial Flowers

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here are many ways that you can volunteer at First Congregational Church. We have weekly needs to help prepare for Worship Services and we have other needs for serving our community.

Please see the volunteer opportunities below:

Ushering Our Ushers serve the vital role of creating our sense of welcome at First Congregational Church.

From the Usher who greets them at the door, and the Usher who helps them find a seat and gives them a bulletin, to the Usher who collects their offering or guides them forward for communion, our members, friends and visitors experience the FCC inclusive welcome from the Usher Corps each Sunday. If you would like to join us in this vital calling or have questions, sign up here or contact Tom Woods (tnwoods@comcast.net).

Community Table Every Friday 4 – 6 PM Plymouth Hall First Cong partners with Bridge House, Community Table, and other Pine Street churches to provide weekday evening meals to Boulder’s unhoused community. Each Friday evening 4:30 – 5:30 PM dinner is served in Plymouth Hall.

Bridge House provides set up, the hot meal, and completes clean-up. FCC provides a host from 4 – 6 PM each Friday night. Please sign up here to be trained to host. For more info contact Linda Kowatch (linda@firstcong.net).

Christmas Eve Service Readers For our special services on Christmas Eve, we’re looking for volunteers who will read Scripture and light candles during the services. If you are interested in finding out more, please contact Chris Braudaway-Bauman (chris@firstcong.net).

Communion Servers The first Sunday of each month and at other special services the congregation celebrates communion. Volunteers provide, prepare, and serve the elements, the bread and the cup.

Members of the Board of Spiritual Life will help train you to participate in worship in this way. If you have questions or would like to join this team, contact Dan Raessler (draessler@yahoo.com) or Deborah Raessler (dcraessler@yahoo.com).

Soup Kitchen We need your help! Soup Kitchen is the 4th Sunday of each month, and we need volunteers to work each shift. We will train you on the spot.

The first shift is 9:00-11:30 AM and you will help prepare food and serve it. The second shift is 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM and you will serve food and clean up. Sign up here as an individual, family or small group. If you have questions about Soup Kitchen contact Soo Rhee soo.rhee@colorado.edu.

Christmas Memorial Flower Fund: Poinsettias Support the Memorial Flower Fund with donations in your loved one’s name. The Fund provides a table arrangement for the first three Sundays of Advent and poinsettias for the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve as well as flowers for the chancel on other Sundays, and potted plants at Easter. The minimum suggested donation is $20. Names of those being remembered or honored this Advent will be printed in the bulletin on Sunday, December 22. The deadline to receive donations is Monday, December 16. Check your Friday and Sunday weekly emails to give,or put a memo for Flower Fund on your check.

Meet Our Childcare Attendants In The Church Nursery

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hildcare for infants and toddlers is provided by experienced care givers on Sunday mornings and by request for other church programs. We’re delighted to welcome this rotating team of sitters who shower our youngest children with love and attention.

Abbey B. Hi, I am Abbey Baldwin and I am from Westport, CT. I grew up sailing and skiing with my family, and now I am a sailing instructor in the summer. I’ve come to Colorado to study Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

You can find me outdoors, doing arts & crafts, and walking my dogs.

Raya P. Hi! My name is Raya Patel and I am a senior at the University of Colorado Boulder studying sociology and ethnic studies. I love to ski, run, hike, and do anything outdoors in my free time! I have over 8 years of experience working with kiddos, and love working with them. I look forward to seeing you around!

Jess R. My name is Jess, and I am from Centennial, Colorado.

I am a senior at CU Boulder majoring in speech pathology and minoring in leadership studies and sociology. I love hanging out with friends, hiking, camping, and skiing during my free time! Very excited to be a part of the congregation!

Andie W. Hi, my name is Andie Wilkerson. I am currently a sophomore at Monarch High School. Some of my favorite things to do in my free time are skateboarding and playing multiple instruments!

I have about a year’s experience in working with kids and I love doing it!

Children and Youth 2025 Arts Camp and Mission Trip

A beloved tradition of First Congregational, ARTS Camp returns June 1-7, 2025! We will be at Highlands Camp and Retreat Center in Allenspark, Colorado. This is a residential camp where we explore our God-given creativity in all of its different facets to create a musical theater production! This is open to elementary and middle school campers who have completed grades 2-8.

For more information, contact...

Lianna Campos, Minister of Faith Formation, at lianna@firstcong.net Registration opens on January 1st, 2025.

Feast Pray Love Sunday, February 2, 5:00 PM Plymouth Hall Feast, Pray, Love returns! This summer, our high schoolers are going on a mission trip, and we have a beautiful opportunity to support their endeavor.

Join us for a catered dinner and lively auction with fun and festivities all around. Keep an eye on the weekly email news and Sunday bulletins for announcements and information about registering for the dinner.

We are also looking for auction items! In years past, you have been incredibly big-hearted in providing these items. Thoughtful gift baskets, weekends at a vacation home, handyperson services, or anything else your creative and generous minds can think of will be auctioned off to help provide funds to support our high school mission trip. Please contact Lianna Campos (lianna@firstcong.net) if you are interested in donating to this endeavor.

Money Matters Together, We Rise

Give While You Live is an opportunity for you to consider a year-end gift to FCC’s Endowments.

If you have a bit (or a lot!) extra this year and you would like to put your donation to work as a lasting legacy for the benefit of the church - this is for you! Find out more about the Endowments at firstcong.net: click on Give > Legacy Giving. People often ask the Committee where their gift is needed most. This year, we suggest that the gift be given to the Endowment and be left undesignated so that the Committee can weigh the goals and options of the various funds. You can make a gift of cash (check) or assets. Julie (churchoffice@firstcong.net) can help you get this done.

Feel free to contact Dean Fowler for questions, (dean@deanfowler.com), Committee chair.

RISE to the occasion! Stewardship 2025 will be here in no time. We will kick off Stewardship on Sunday, January 5. Don’t miss a rousing game of BINGO on January 12 before church - brought to you by your fun-seeking Stewardship team (including a very special prize for the top 4 winners). We will consecrate our gifts on Sunday, January 26. In the meantime, think about all the ways the church raises you up; and all the ways you raise up the church.

The Good That Is Yours

by Lisle Gwynn Garrity Inspired by Luke 3:7-16 Ink dyes and gold resist on silk, with digital collage Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity Lisle Gwynn Garrity (she/her) is a Pastorist (pastor + artist) and creative entrepreneur seeking to fill the church with more color, paint, mystery, and creativity. Her faith is rooted in creative practices that help her break free from perfectionism and control and participate in creating a more whole, just world.

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