Hanging of the Greens and Other Things!
Saturday, November 29th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., we will gather in the
Fellowship Hall for our annual Hanging of the Greens…..and the other
things? Not only will we be decorating our wreaths to adorn the sanctu-
ary, but will also offer two more activities. One will be to decorate your
own ornaments. We have some darling ones that need painting and a
good home. We hope our folks will oblige, especially our little folks.
The other opportunity is to make an Advent Wreath for your home. We
have all the supplies and invite you and your family to begin a new Ad-
vent tradition.
We will have light refreshments available to nourish our creativity!
Following our creative time together, we will share in a short worship
service to begin our spiritual journey toward Christmas.
Asking what you can bring? You might look about and see if you have
any decoration that you might want to donate to the wreaths, or perhaps
some cookies or other goodies to share. The church is providing hot ci-
der and hot chocolate. We think that cookies would be a welcome addi-
tion.
Let’s review: November 29th (yes, it is a Saturday, the day BEFORE the
beginning of Advent….time to get our hearts and minds prepared for
Christmas even though it does seem a bit early). We will meet from 6-
8pm, decorate wreaths for the sanctuary, make Advent Wreaths for
home, and have ornaments to decorate also to take home to become
family treasures. All that and worship and refreshments too!
Please know how welcome and anticipated you are on this evening. This
is a family affair, and each of us is included in our church family. If you
have any questions or thoughts, please give a call to Linda Houston,
310-329-6444 or Susan Babcock 310-326-9003.
November 20, 2008
Page 1
Disciples Women’s Ministry
AND THE BEAT GOES ON…….
That old song has been going around in my head these last few days –
and it seems appropriate this time of year as we gear up for the wonderful
days ahead with family and friends, and anticipate the celebration of our
Lord’s birth.
The Disciple’s Women have started off the season with their successful
boutique on November 8th. Chairman Jill Foster and her committee did an
amazing job, and transformed Sippel Hall into a wonderland filled with
goodies. Look for Jill’s article in this newsletter for a wrap up of the event.
It was wonderful to see familiar faces and new friends gathered around tables enjoy-
ing taco boats and warm cinnamon rolls. Those who attended the Boutique and the
unique Grandma’s Attic were sure to get a head start on their holiday shopping. Best
of all, this traditional event brings us together, and welcomes the community to our
church. It was a really feel-good day!
And the beat goes on – Our wonderful new communion table will be dedi-
cated on November 23rd, and on November 29th, we begin our Advent sea-
son with the Hanging of the Greens celebration. Christmas is really upon
us, and once again, the DWF will be producing a church Christmas card.
This provides all who wish to participate with an opportunity to wish everyone a Merry
Christmas in a booklet that will be printed and distributed to the congregation. So
you can check buying cards and stamps off your to-do list, and watch for more infor-
mation – coming soon!
It’s hard to believe, but the DWF last luncheon of 2008 is almost upon us. It will be
early in the month this time, to get everyone in the holiday spirit, and leave your cal-
endars free for the busy season ahead. Our luncheon will be held on Sunday, De-
cember 7th, at 12 noon in Sippel Hall. We have an exciting holiday program
planned by our own Ken Potter, so you can bet music will be involved! Our host-
esses for the afternoon will be the New Hope Women’s Group, and they always bring
their best to our tables. The worship will be led by Samantha Lubrani, and our ser-
vice project will be “Kids for Kids”. We have donated to this amazing program before,
and had such positive results we are going to help them again. This is truly a
“helping others to help themselves” project, and the kids are baby goats (surprise!).
We know you will want to be a part of this unusual service, so come hear all about it.
Check out their website at http://www.kidsforkids.org.uk/ for more information.
Page 2
The “Color Me” registrations are out for the Twentieth Regional Convocation of the
Women of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to be held March 7th and 8th in
Santa Ana. Give your prayerful consideration to attending this event. It is said to
be a life-changing experience for many women who seek to serve God and one an-
other.
And the beat really does go on – in the hearts of each of us as we move
forward through the years and the seasons. As women of faith, we un-
derstand the commitment of service to our Lord that is the joy we share
all year long.
The Snowman Wonderland Boutique was a big success and
we brought in $4800 this year. That means that the Disciple
Women's board will have the honor of deciding who we can
help out with this money at the end of the fiscal year. A big
thank you to the women who formed our committee and took
responsibility for everything from cinnamon rolls to raffle tick-
ets. Thank you to Dori Hernandez, Gail Grove, Maureen
Estoles, Samantha Lubrani, June Perkins, Chery Carew,
Cheryl Crawford, Mary Jo Kohlmiller and Virginia Gober. I
also want to thank all the women who put their time and tal-
ent into making or baking items to sell. They were all very
beautiful and clearly made with love.
Thanks also to the women (and men) who helped set up, sell
and clean up. And last but not least, thank you to everyone
who shopped because without all of you, none of this would
be possible.
You're simply the best!
Jill Foster
Page 3
Outreach News
Dear Pastor Steve and the Congregation of First Christian Church
We want to thank you all for your contribution of several bags of clothing for men. We
really appreciate your interest in the needs of the homeless and needy. The Mission
provides a hot dinner following Chapel service each evening of the year to men,
women and children. Temporary shelter is provided to homeless men each night
(seven night stays every 60 days) and they are given showers and clothing. We are
still waiting for approval from the City to begin work on Doors of Hope Shelter for
women. Please keep praying.
Our Thanksgiving dinner will be at 7:00 p.m. on November 27. We will have three
Christmas dinners: December 24, at 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and on the 25th at
7:00 p.m. If you would like to volunteer to help with serving, please call 310-830-7063
and let us know. We appreciate any donations toward our holiday meals and gift
bags for Christmas.
Thanks again for being partners with this ministry and God bless you.
In His Service,
Judy Owens/Office Manager
Jim Overstreet/Director
Beacon Light Mission
525 N. Broad Ave.
Wilmington, California
First Christian Church is very fortunate to own a 3-octave set of Hand bells.
It’s a shame to just let them sit idly in their cases and make no music-so-
we would like to see if there is any interest in our congregation, of anyone
who would like to join in the “revival” of the Bell choir. We would like to
meet with any possible “ringers” after second service on December 21 at 12:00 p.m.
If you can read music and would be willing to spend one hour every once in a while
to practice, then we would like to have you join us. Practice times will be announced
after our meeting on December 21.
Special Thanksgiving Offering
Each year, our church participates in a number of special offerings to support the ministries of our
wider church. The emphasis for the special Thanksgiving Offering is on Higher Education. Disciples-
related colleges and universities serve nearly 27,000 students all across the nation. Chapman Univer-
sity in Orange is our closest undergraduate school. Disciples also train leaders for ministry at a num-
ber of seminaries and foundations. Pastor Steve is a product of the Disciple Seminary Foundation in
Claremont, and Pastor Ted is receiving training through the same system.
Please prayerfully consider your over-and-above gift to this important ministry.
Page 4
CHURCH FAMILY PRAYERS & CONCERNS
Hilda Corless (Sherril Wiechmann’s mother) is suffering from pneumonia
and other respiratory difficulties.
Betty Donley is doing better after a fall that aggravated a previous back injury, and has also
left her badly bruised.
Dolores Koontz is experiencing significant discomfort from possible circulatory problems.
Hilda Coleman continues to have good and bad days with vertigo, and is being tested to
discover the cause.
Paul Crossman will be having surgery towards the end of November.
Marion Casey is thankful that her son, Major Jim Casey, has returned safely from his de-
ployment in Iraq.
The Wheatley, Foster and Lubrani families give thanks for their friend Fred Davidson’s
successful surgery for a brain aneurysm. Treatment is ongoing.
Shirley Crawford (Doug’s mother) is undergoing tests to determine the cause of continued
nausea; she is also suffering from osteoporosis.
Terry Thomas’s nephew, Adam Steemack, has stabilized in his recovery from a severe
head injury.
Anne and John Beecher are in New Zealand to celebrate Anne’s mums’ 80th Birthday.
Then they will go to Melbourne, Australia, to be with her brother’s family to witness and
celebrate a nephew as he is commissioned as a Captain in the Salvation Army. Praise God!
They will be returning on December 2, and no they will not be bringing any of those cute ,
cuddly Koala bears back for anyone. Please pray for a safe return because Anne does not
like to fly.
David Eldik is continues to make good progress on a number of basic preemie issues. His
family still awaits word on treatment for possible hip dysplasia.
Prayers are asked on behalf of a number of loved ones with cancer: Duane Johnson is un-
dergoing chemotherapy for skin cancer; tests show that he is internally cancer-free; Karen
Jackson’s brother-in-law, Nick Fiamengo, is receiving radiation, and is in good spirits; Lois
Stead, Doreen Jackson’s sister, is starting a five-week radiation regimen for uterine cancer.
Torrence Police Officer Steve Kroesen is the subject of a stem-cell drive in his struggle
against Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. We continue in prayer for others battling cancer: Renee
Crane, Fahed Dahdah, Manuel Escobar, Toni Steele, and Mark Robertson.
Prayers are requested on behalf of all those who will be traveling during this holiday sea-
son.
Page 5
December 2008
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursd
WORSHIP SERVICES
8:30 and 10:30 am
Sunday School 9:30 am
1 2 3
Bible Study 10:00
Amazing Gray’s 1:00
Worship Meeting 7:00 New Hope
Trustees 7:00
Education Meeting 7:00
7 8 9 10
Christmas Program
Bible Study 10:00
Youth Adventure Disciple Women’s
Choir
Christmas Party 12:00 Newsletter Board
Board Meeting 7:00 7:00 p.m
CYF 12:00 7:00
Women’s Lunch 12:00
14 15 16 17
Cantata 10:30
Love Group 9:30 a.m. Bible Study 10:00 a.m.
Christmas Party Choir
Faith Group 1:30 p.m.
Sleigh Ride 7:00 p.m
Elders 7:00 p.m.
5:30-9:00
21 22 23 24
His Hands 12:00
Christmas Eve.
Bell Choir Meeting
Worship
12:00
28 29 30 31
New Years Eve
Page 6
day Friday Saturday
December Birthday’s
Dorothy Rind (1)
Mark Faaita (2)
Arlene Zingery (2)
Stacy Martinez (2)
Tommy Wood (4)
4 5 6 Dylan Rogers (4)
Mike Mine (5)
Betty Fenton (5)
e 7:00 Jean Steenson (6)
Laura Duncan(8)
Roger Grove (9)
11 12 13 Donis Johns (10)
Ruthie Totes (10)
Janie Oden (12)
Kristi Marvin (13)
r Courtney Colston (14)
m. Eric Johns (15)
Lynn Jonas (18)
Jun Pagdilao (18)
Nduka Ibe (18)
18 19 20 Helene Strayer (19)
Jose Gonzalez (19)
Grant Galyardt (24)
. Carrie Fontaine (25)
r Ellen McCune (26)
m. Phyllis King (27)
Roy Houston (28)
Melissa Woodman (28)
25 26 27 Nora Wiehe (28)
Judy Musser (30)
Church Office Closed
ANNIVERSARIES
Bill & Carol Rimmey (4)
Joe & Debbie Gonzalez (16)
Bernard & Jean Steenson (21)
Bill & Janet Wysong (27)
Page 7
Education Notes & News
International Dinner hosted by FCC Torrance Youth
Who: Everyone! Friends, family, neighbors
What: A fundraiser dinner with an international twist
When: November 23, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Fellowship Hall
Why: To raise money for the church's annual hayride and youth groups
Menu: Greek Salad, Korean BBQ with grilled onions, Fried and White rice, Dessert
Price: $8 for adults and $6 for children
Silent auction from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Bid on church youth to assist around your home.
All Church Christmas Party and Sleigh Ride
Make sure you plan on joining us on December 14Th at 5:30 pm. We will be dining
on our famous taco boats and hot dogs. Our horse drawn carriage will pull us
through the neighborhood so we can sing the songs of the season to our Torrance
neighbors. Put on your scarf, grab some hot cocoa and we’ll be off! There will be a ginger-
bread holiday project as well as some other fun crafts for the kids. We heard there might even
be a visit from our favorite man from the North Pole! Have you been naughty or nice?
Make sure you plan to be in church on December 7th for our Children’s Christmas
Program. Our Sunday School classes are busy planning how they will be sharing with us
about the meaning of Christmas.
November-December Youth Calendar:
November 23rd:
rd th
4:00 All youth (3 -12 grades) plan to be at church to get ready for the fundraiser dinner
6:00 International Fundraiser and Youth Auction
Page 8
November 30th:
No youth groups.
December 7th:
12:00 Youth Adventure (grades 3-5) YA Christmas Party- -bring a wrapped gender
neutral $10 gift for the exchange game. Light lunch provided.
12:00 CYF (grades 9-12)
December 14th:
5:30 All Church Christmas Party and Sleigh Ride.
What am I going to tell you about the Workshop Rotation Model this week? Actually I
don’t want to tell you anything, I want to ask you something. How can you help? We
really think this will be a much needed shot in the arm for our morning Sunday School
program and would love for you to be a part of it. Please prayerfully consider how you
might take part because we need all hands on deck to get this program off and running.
We are looking for people who would be able to:
• Help us design creative classroom space.
• Help us paint backdrops, build sets, sew curtains or whatever else we need
to transform the classrooms.
• Use your gifts to be part of the rotation team for one or more of our rota-
tions to lead art, storytelling, drama, cooking, gardening, games, or what-
ever might be your gift to our children.
• Pray for the education committee, our teachers and those planning this pro-
gram.
As always, don’t forget to join us for our current Sunday School program for all ages on
Sunday mornings from 9:30-10:15 a.m.
Congratulations!
The Daily Breeze reports that Shirley Woodman received a YMCA Service
Award for Outstanding Adult Volunteer leader. She’s one there too!
We won’t say how well Samantha Lubrani did as a contestant on Jeopardy! but everyone
will want to watch on January 13th to find out!
Page 9
Upcoming Sermons
November 23 – “Work of Faith & Labor of Love” (Psalm 100; 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3)
The 11th Disciple Principle of Identity states: “We give thanks that each congregation,
where Christ is present through faith, is truly the church, affirming as well that God’s
church and God’s mission stretch from our doorsteps to the ends of the earth.” We will use
this principle to celebrate Thanksgiving Sunday, and to finish and summarize the Disciples
of Identity series.
November 30 – “Shaking the Family Tree” (Matthew 1:1—16)
For this First Sunday of Advent, we will take an irreverent look at Jesus’ genealogy—so as
to point up just how wondrously God works, and what God can do with even us.
December 7 – “One Dumbfounded Shepherd” (Isaiah 9:1-6)
A story sermon about a reluctant player in a children’s program who comes to see things in
a different light. (This message will be offered in the 8:30 service only, as we’ll all be eager
to experience our own Children’s Christmas Program at 10:30 worship.)
December 14 – “The Musical According to Luke” (Luke 1:39-55)
The first chapter of Luke is a kind of ancient musical – and Mary’s song is a real show-
stopper! It also has a powerful message for us now. (This message will be offered in the
contemporary service only – we’ll be enjoying our choir’s Christmas Cantata at the tradi-
tional service.)
Adult Sunday School
As he was the president who suggested the date we use to celebrate
Thanksgiving, and in light of the upcoming bicentennial of his birth, Steve
Fietz will lead a class on “The Faith of Abraham Lincoln” on November 23, the Sun-
day before Thanksgiving,
Entitled “Christmas in the Amazon (.com),” Jeff Wood will be starting a four-week
Advent series on November 30.
Unless Sippel Hall is being used for something else, the Adult Class is there each
Sunday at 9:30 a.m. If the hall is busy, we meet in Room 7.
Grief Support Group During the Holidays
For those who have suffered significant loss, the holidays can amplify their
sense of grief. On Monday, November 24, our new Grief Support Group will
gather to offer support and insight for the upcoming season. We are together
from 7:00 – 8:30 pm. For more information, give Steve a call: 310-328-2820 or
310-212-5950.
Page 10
Footnotes
“A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord!’” (Isaiah 40:3)
It’s hard to turn on a TV or radio, or to go online, without hearing or seeing something
about the increasing financial crises faced by our nation and the world. Another round
of lay-offs, another industry threatened, more haggling over how to help. Oh, and
“Happy Holidays!”
While we certainly hold in our prayers those whose livelihood is threatened by cut-
backs and slow-downs, perhaps all this financial turmoil presents an opportunity as to
how we celebrate the season. Can we be honest for a moment? If you’re like me, you
spend too much money this time of year, often for the wrong reasons. Right? Too of-
ten, we give because we’ll feel guilty if we don’t. Too often we give a little more be-
cause we just like shopping so much—and oh, another sale! Too often, we go into
holiday debt because…well, why exactly do we?
So what if we took the pressure off? If I may be so bold, what if we used this financial
crisis as an excuse to spend less? Decorate, certainly. Enjoy, of course. Celebrate,
absolutely! But what if, for example, we made a deal with our extended families that,
while we trim the tree, we’ll trim the excesses as well? What if we take a prayerful
moment to figure out how to give in a way where it really is “the thought that counts”?
And what if, in the wilderness space and the desert time that suddenly stand clear of
trendy-spendy preparations for Christmas, we find a way to prepare a place for Christ?
Shalom, Steve
Wednesday Morning Bible Study
Our Wednesday morning Bible Study will be finishing our overview of
the gospels on November 26, then leaving in our Bible Overview series
for an Advent Bible Study in December. We’ll return to an overview of
the epistles in January. Bible Study is in Sippel Hall every Wednesday morning from
10:00 to 11:30 a.m.
**Our last Newsletter articles for 2008 need to be at the church office by
12/8/08.
Page 11
FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
NON PROFIT ORG.
(Disciples of Christ)
PERMIT NO. 109
TORRANCE, CA
2930 El Dorado Street
Torrance, CA 90503
(310) 328-2820 Fax 310 328-2929
E-mail -
[email protected] Web address - fcctorrance.org
Sunday Schedule
8:30 a.m. - Worship - Informal
9:30 a.m. - Church School for all ages
10:30 a.m. - Worship - Traditional
Children’s Worship - Ages Pre-school through
2nd Grade
(During the Traditional Worship Service)
Nursery Provided
For birth through age 3 during Sunday School
and the Traditional Service
Office Hours
Monday - Friday
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Staff
Steven Fietz, Senior Pastor
Ted Oden-Minister of Contemporary Worship
Administrative Assistant– Camelia Olloque
Choir Director - Ken Potter
Nursery Attendant - Sherril Wiechmann
The Christian Messenger
Officers
Chair - Doug Crawford
TIME VALUE DATA
Vice Chair - Don Zukas
2930 El Dorado Street
DO NOT DELAY
First Christian Church
Torrance, CA 90503
Treasurer– Bill Wysong
EXPEDITE
Financial Secretary - Moggy Emmen
Clerk– Chery Carew
Page 12
