There won't be bible study on Thursday, 1/26, nor Thursday, 2/2.

Pastor Robert will be away from Wednesday, 1/25 to Friday, 2/3. 

Harold Miller passed on 1/8.  Harold and Anna Miller were devoted friends of Faith UCC for many years.

A Funeral Service for Harold Miller will be held on Friday, January 13, at 11 a.m. at the Curlew Hills Funeral Home.  (On north side of Curlew Road going west from Belcher but before CR1)

Sea Us Grow experienced a plumbing disaster (there's no other word for it!) over the Christmas holiday.  A toilet was left running over the weekend and two classrooms were flooded!  The two classrooms are now in quarantine and cannot be used until the regulatory agencies give the okay because it was toilet overflow.  The preschool has insurance to cover this with a deductible of $1000.  That's not the real concern, however.  The school lost many books in the four-year-old range.  I'm hoping that we can put our collective shoulders to the wheel and replace the books.  They need not be new; used books would be welcome.  According to Dawn, they should be in the following categories:
 
Nature
Math
Diversity
Multi-cultural
Disabilities
 
BUT no Disney books, please.  Apparently they are frowned upon!
 
Thanks for any help you can give!
 
Mollie

Reading Luke 1 and 2 and talking together about the traditions of Jesus' birth, Christ's beginnings, the Meaning/Purpose of Christmas then and now. 

Yup: Thursday morning, 12/29, 10:30 - Noon.  See you.

Pastor Robert

A Jefferson Airplane concert is being held this Friday night to benefit FAST. The concert will begin on December 9th at 8 pm, doors open at 7:30. There will be a bus coming back and forth from Blessed Trinity on 54th Ave South in St. Pete but the concert will be held at Andrea Wood and Stuart Mellish's home. Their address is:  6316 Bahama Shores Drive South, St. Petersburg. Light hors d'oeurves and beverages will be served.  

Andrea has recently become involved in FAST and wanted to put together an event to benefit a local organization and so chose FAST. The suggested donation for the event is $20. 

Feel free to invite friends and other FAST folks.

Interested in a fresh approach to reading the Bible and basic teachings of Jesus?  Pastor would like an idea of how many books to order:  Jim Forest, Making Friends of Enemies:  Reflections on the Teachings of Jesus.  It’s short, powerful and great for down-to-earth conversation.

Wednesdays: Nov. 16, Nov. 23, and Nov. 30, from 10:30-Noon in the meeting room at church.
Session 1:  Introduction to Bible Basics:  How do we read and understand scripture.
Session 2:  Some basic passages of Scriptures approached in 3 ways:  Opening up texts.
Session 3:  Making Friends of Enemies–examples of teachings of Jesus

Format:  short presentation of material, group participation, conversation about implications for our lives, our church, our community.
If interested I would continue during Advent:  Dec. 7 and 14.

Thank you,
Pastor Robert

Faith Church has been on a journey for the past three years that would test the mettle of any congregation. Last year, because of escalating costs, we were forced to sell home of over fifty years in order to continue the missions in our community that are such an important part of our identity. We subsequently rented space from another church and continued our spiritual lives together and our commitments to those in need without the burden of debt.

We were comfortable in our new surroundings, but it didn’t take long when feelings of being disenfranchised began to set in. We slowly came to realize that there is no substitute for having your own place of worship. Despite wonderful landlords, it still was not “ours,” and there was a feeling of being “guests” that was palpable.

If anyone doubts the power of divine intervention, perhaps we are proof positive that it can happen! A small church nearby went on the market and proved to be perfect for us. It needed some work, but the potential was obvious. A few hardy souls worked hard to make the necessary renovations, and we are now ready to move back to our very own place once more.

On Sunday, August 28th at 10:30 a.m., we will hold our very first service in our new home at 1650 Pinehurst Road in Dunedin. We invite everyone to COME AND SHARE OUR JOY as we start on a new journey together.

Well, the long-awaited date is just around the corner now! We will hold our first service in our new home at 1650 Pinehurst Road on August 28th. Take it from me, the little church has taken on a new life thanks to alot of hard work on the part of a few!

Now, it’s our turn! We will need help to move our belongings from Union Street to Pinehurst Road on the weekend of 8/21. We also need folks who are willing to come by and help clean up our new home now that most of the construction/renovations are complete.

SO! Please contact me or Debbie Atchia if you can help us move into an exciting future in our very own new home! We will have sign-up sheets available on Sunday.