The Children's Sabbath is coming up on October 16th! Contact Katie if your kid/youth wishes to participate, either in person or to contribute to our video project for the 16th! We will be doing some prep on October 9th during FIRSTKids time, and then hopefully meet at the church on the 16th by 10 am to practice and finalize plans!

A reminder that Pastor Katie's installation ceremony is coming up! Her installation will be held Sunday, October 23rd.  Rev. John Thomas will be at First Central to preach for her service. More information will be coming soon!

A reminder that we have some exciting things in the works: A Fall Family Movie Night fundraiser is coming up on October 23rd from 6-8:30pm where we will show Hocus Pocus in the courtyard! There will be a free will donation as well as a youth-sponsored concession stand! 

A reminder that the Thanksgiving Dinner Job Fair begins Sunday, October 9^th, and will go until all jobs are filled.   Visit us in the Parlor after Church to sign up to help.  Each task has been broken out to maximize volunteerism and minimize stress on just a small group of people.  There are tasks available even if you can’t attend the Dinner! More information HERE.

All women of the church are invited to join Eves on Monday, October 10th at 7pm at the home of Sara Sharpe (4415 William St). It's time for Oktoberfest! We will celebrate by holding our third annual beer-tasting. Bring a snack to share, and your favorite brew - or a beer you've been wanting to try. Prost!

Join us for First Forum this Sunday, October 9 at 9:15am as Fred Nielsen of the UNO History Department discusses The Grimke Sisters. 

FIRSTKids discusses "Access Sunday" this week. God made us all unique, but with that uniqueness comes challenges we have to face.

Book Club: The book for October is Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis, by J.D. Vance. We will meet October 13th at 7pm at the home of Scott Burger and Barbara Person (8565 Woolworth Ave)

A reminder that we are looking for photos that reflect this autumn's worship theme of Who We Are. They will be displayed in the narthex and parlor from now until November 30th. Drop off any photos at the church office or post them  yourself on one of the bulletin boards.

Sometimes our bodies are difficult--through age, illness, injury, or disability.  And society can make it even more difficult to navigate the world with a difficult body.  Yet, God knows us and has, through Jesus, experienced the pain and difficulty of a broken body.Through our encounter with the "disabled God" our brokenness becomes a source of power and strength.  Join us this week for Access Sunday.

Wolves and Lambs, the 2016 Advent Devotional from the UCC Stillspeaking Writers' Group is now available.

Heavy rain that started in mid-September and the resulting flooding are causing tremendous damage in Iowa. More than 30 inches of rain in two weeks have caused several rivers to overflow their banks, beginning in the northeast and rolling south toward Cedar Rapids and other cities. United Church of Christ Disaster Ministries has just awarded a $3,000 solidarity grant to Immanuel United Church of Christ in Clarksville, which has been helping its affected members and neighbors from the very first hours of the flood emergency.

Our Church's Wider Mission gifts help to support Global Ministries.  Here's an excerpt from the latest report: The Theology, Family Life and Gender Justice Department of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) led by Rev. Dr. Lydia Mwaniki organized a three-day workshop on “Women and Entrepreneurship.” The workshop held from the 23rd to the 25th August 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya, was attended by 30 women leaders from 15 African countries.  Read more.