The latest news in the life of Lawrenceville First Christian Church

Welcome to our weekly e-gram! Read on to discover what's happening in our church family this week and beyond. Church News SUNDAY PREVIEW: FIFTH SUNDAY SINGING This Sunday. we will celebrate the fifth Sunday of September with a special Fifth Sunday Singing worship service. Kim Peeples has planned a special experience around our Chalice Hymnal. We will explore each of the major sections of the hymnal, including songs and other worship resources. You won't want to miss this special worship. See you Sunday, in person or online! BUILDING WORKDAY WILL HAPPEN ON SEPT. 29 Good news: the furniture is scheduled to be moved back into place TODAY (Wednesday, September 25)! Next step (after several delays): putting the church back together!  We will hold an All-Church Workday immediately after worship this Sunday. Our goals are to clean off the construction dust, put things back where they belong, get reorganized, and get ready for full use of the building again. We will have a light lunch available (sandwiches, chips, and water), and will divide up tasks to make the work go more quickly. Feel free to wear your grungy work clothes that morning, or to bring them to change into after worship.  If you can bring a bucket and rag, that would also be helpful. All hands are needed!  SNACKS FOR WINDER-BARROW SCHOOLS As our neighbors in Winder cope with the aftermath of the school shooting two weeks ago, we have a concrete way to help. The teachers need their classroom supplies of snacks replenished. Please bring individually wrapped snack items that are appropriate for youth in elementary, middle, and high schools. Rev. Cheryl Cloar, the minister at First Christian Church of Winder, will distribute the snacks to the schools for us. Please bring all snack donations this Sunday, Sept. 22. BLESSING BOX THANKS We praise God for all our blessings and are thrilled to send a check for $1082.00 as our Blessing Box Offering. The check has been written and will be carried to Retreat by the ladies going this weekend. Thanks to everyone for supporting Blessing Boxes.    CUB SCOUT POPCORN SALE The Cub Scout den that meets in our church is selling popcorn to raise funds for their activities. If you'd like to contribute, talk to Frank Hawkins on Sunday mornings. Thanks for your support!    SUNFLOWER GARDEN IS GROWING! Our sunflowers are growing quickly. Come get your back to school photos and other family photos with our sunflower garden in the background. Be sure to tag Lawrenceville First Christian Church (and/or use the hashtag #LFCC) in any photos you share on social media!     PRAYER GARDEN WORK DAYS CONTINUE Calling all gardeners! Work to clear the ivy from the prayer garden will continue this Saturday morning. Thanks to all those who have helped out the past two weeks, including Dennis, Frank, and Tadd. Jeanie Morgan is planning to be there again this Saturday morning, but she can't do it all alone -- she definitely needs help to get the work done. All volunteers will be greatly appreciated. If you can help out, for an hour or the whole morning, we need you! Please bring a bottle of water to stay hydrated. Reach out to Jeanie if you have questions or need more information. CONTINUED WEEKLY PRAYER FOR OUR CHURCH As we continue sharing the Good News in Lawrenceville and beyond, and living out our call to be the church for others, we need all of our prayers to guide us forward. You are encouraged to pause for a few minutes to pray for God's guidance as we continue the work of discerning God's path for our church and following God's path on our collective journey of faith. For the next few months, we are designating Mondays at 6 pm as a weekly prayer time. You can pray wherever you are, in whatever way feels most comfortable for you. If you are not able to pause and pray Mondays at 6 pm, please set aside a different time to pray for LFCC. UPCOMING EVENTS IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER Friday, September 27 - Sunday, September 29 Disciples Women retreat at St. Simons Island Sunday, September 29 9:45 am: Choir  practice Sunday school TBD 11 am: Worship (Fifth Sunday celebration) 12 pm: All-church workday (sandwiches served) Monday, September 30 6:30 pm: Worship team meeting on Zoom Sunday, October 6 World Communion Sunday 9:45 am: Choir  practice Sunday school TBD 11 am: Worship Tuesday, October 1 11:30 am: TONTO Monday, October 7 6:30 pm: Congregational Care and Connnect team meeting on Zoom Tuesday, October 8 1 pm: CWF/DWF meeting 6:30 pm: Finance and Facilities team meeting on Zoom Sunday, October 13 9:45 am: Choir  practice Sunday school TBD 11 am: Worship Monday, October 14 6:30 pm: Outreach team meeting on Zoom Tuesday, October 15 6:30 pm: Let's Eat! Sunday, October 20 9:45 am: Choir  practice Sunday school TBD 11 am: Worship Sunday, October 27 9:45 am: Choir  practice Sunday school TBD 11 am: Worship Check the calendar of events on our church website at https://lawrencevillechristianchurch.org/calendar/ to stay updated on what's happening in our church community.  If you have events to add, go to https://lawrencevillechristianchurch.org/event-form/ and complete the form. The password is LFCC2023Event. If you have problems with the form, please contact JT Clements or Rev. Diane. THIS SUNDAY'S WORSHIP LEADERS Greeter: Libby Ballew Scripture: Anna Harrison Communion Meditation: Kim Peeples Elders: Frank Hawkins and Julie Thompson Deacons: Joey Baker and Nancy Groves Communion Preparation: Hoyt Huff *If you are interested in serving as a worship leader or greeter, please contact Rev. Diane or Rev. Teresa.   E-GRAM DEADLINE Thanks for all your contributions to the e-gram. Please email any information for next week's e-gram to Rev. Diane (diane@lawrencevillechristianchurch.org) no later than Tuesday at 5 pm. If at all possible, please send e-gram information by email rather than text; it may get lost in incoming text messages.  LECTIONARY SCRIPTURES FOR SEPT. 29 AND OCT. 6 The Revised Common Lectionary is a three-year cycle of weekly readings used by many mainline Protestant churches in Canada and the United States. The lectionary readings will shape much of our preaching, and may be helpful in your own Bible study and devotional life.   Sunday, September 29 Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 Psalm 124 Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29 Psalm 19:7-14 James 5:13-20 Mark 9:38-50 Sunday, October 6 Job 1:1, 2:1-10 Psalm 26 Genesis 2:18-24 Psalm 8 Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12 Mark 10:2-16 ZOOM LINK FOR WORSHIP AND CHURCH MEETINGS   For Sunday worship and other online meetings, use this link:  https://zoom.us/j/6284633067?pwd=YzVMN0EwQUVrb0FRM1phVkZEUjZFQT09 For those who DIAL IN, Call (646) 558-8656 Zoom Meeting ID: 628 463 3067 Password: 1234 Community News THE LAWRENCEVILLE CO-OP NEEDS GREEN BEANS! As always, the Lawrenceville Co-op needs our donations of money, food items, and personal care items to help those in need in Dacula and Lawrenceville. In an effort to fill their empty shelves, they have asked supporting churches to collect a specific item. LFCC's job is to bring canned green beans to restock the food pantry. Thank you for your generous donations that help keep this vital ministry running.   Most Needed Food Items The co-op's food source has been out of food for several days. All non-perishable items are needed but these are the most critical items: Rice Mac & cheese Applesauce Canned pasta Oatmeal Peanut butter & jelly Canned green beans Canned corn Canned beans  Canned mixed vegetables Canned tuna Canned fruit Canned chicken Canned soup Dry pasta Pasta sauce Instant potatoes Cereal Most Needed Personal Care Items The co-op has asked that we prioritize the food items above. If you want to donate personal care items too, these are most needed: Size 3 and up diapers Feminine pads Adult diapers size S-XL Learn more about the work of the co-op at https://lawrencevilleco-op.org/. DISCIPLES OF CHRIST REGIONAL AND GENERAL CHURCH NEWS Keep up with the latest news going on in our region and our general church. Click the links below to find the latest news within the Disciples!   Georgia Region: https://www.gadisciples.org/news General Church: https://disciples.org/ Prayers and Concerns Celebrations Congratulations and best wishes ) to Elizabeth and JT, who were married this past Saturday! Mary Jo Alvord's birthday is TODAY (Wednesday, Sept. 25) Willis Ramirez has a birthday on Thursday, Sept. 26 Rev. Teresa Bensch's birthday is Friday, Sept. 27 Al Taylor's birthday is Saturday, Sept. 28 Hyejin Yoon's birthday is Saturday, Sept. 28 Weekly Prayers For all those attending the Disciples Women retreat this weekend For our co-ministers, Rev. Teresa Bensch and Rev. Diane Bales For the upcoming events this fall, including Fifth Sunday worship, World Communion Sunday, Trunk-or-Treat, and more!  For the success of our "put-back" day this Sunday For the Regional Minister Search Committee and their prayerful work Immediate Needs (names in bold are newly added or updated) Eva Krahwinkel (home after hospital stay) Larry Roberts (brother-in-law of Kim Peeples, Sanford Thompson, and Marilyn Parks; hospitalized again) Faculty, staff, and students at Apalachee High School First Christian Church of Winder, as they minister to the Winder community in the wake of the school shooting at Apalachee Rev. Teresa Bensch (recovering after redo of left knee replacement) Dorrie Toth (recovering from eye surgery) Tom Toth (recovering from pacemaker surgery) Ongoing Needs  Our country and our world Our members and friends at home, including Odessa Adams, Gen Ashby, Barbara Bagwell, David Chamberlain, Bessie Kirby, Bill Phyfer, Bob Powell, and Patricia Saturday Our family and friends with ongoing health challenges Students/teachers/administration of Gwinnett County Public Schools and Winder-Barrow Public School Karen Jensen (recovery from broken ankle) Andrew Jensen (caring for Karen during her recovery) Rev. Theresa Bailey (LFCC supply preacher in 2023; multiple health concerns) Brenda Sizemore (widow of Disciples minister Rev. Roger Sizemore; health concerns) Ada Mullinax (dealing with health challenges and upcoming medical tests) Linda Kellman and Ann Kellman (Ada Mullinax's sister and sister-in-law) Chris Klimshuk and her sister Veronica (Veronica is recovering from heart surgery) David Chamberlain (long-term hospital stay) Betty Higdon Beth Thompson Grace Aguwa Neva Maffett Peg Morgan Carrie Toth (Dorrie Toth's daughter) Suzy Santoro (Anna Harrison's daughter) Sue Ragsdale (Jeanie Morgan's friend) Connie Worrel's sister Pat Jeanie Morgan's sister, Judy Rev. Peggy Edge (Anna Harrison's sister) Sadie Severt (Harrison family friend) If you have an update to the prayers and concerns, please let Rev. Diane know (diane@lawrencevillechristianchurch.org).  That's all we have for this week! Please be in prayer for the church and everyone in it, that we continue to do what the Lord has called us to do. God bless you all!  First Christian Church of Lawrenceville (Disciples of Christ) 3495 Sugarloaf Parkway Lawrenceville, GA 30044 Rev. Dr. Diane Bales, Co-Minister Rev. Teresa Bensch, Co-Minister Kim Peeples, Music Director J.T. Clements, Communications Coordinator