FROM THE PASTOR
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year!
Thank you for the gift of rest and vacation at the close of the year. Thank you to everyone who shared their gifts for ministry to cover the office, prepare for worship, attend to pastoral care needs and lead worship last week.
A bit of news about the office
Lori Davenport has left the position of the church’s administrative assistant. We thank her for her ministry with the church over the last few years.
I have hired Alex Gallenstein to cover the office in the interim. The new office hours will be: Monday – Thursday 9 am to 1 pm. I too will be in the office during those hours to work with Alex.
During this interim period, with Alex’s help, I will reflect on how the administrative needs of the church have changed as the church lives into being a hybrid faith community. Before
beginning the search for a new person to provide administrative support, we will work with the Leadership Council to develop a job description and desired skill set that meets the changing needs of the church.
If you have questions or concerns about this, please contact me. If you have ideas of what may be beneficial work or skills for a new person, please let me know.
DMin classes resume
I will be taking an intensive class next week for my Doctor of Ministry work at Lexington
Theological Seminary. The class is titled: Queer Theology. I will be in class Tuesday –
Thursday for parts of the morning and afternoon. If I am in class when you call, text or email, I will respond when class breaks for the mid-day break or late afternoon.
Pastor T
ONGOING: CHRISTMAS SEASON DEVOTIONAL
Thank you to Rev. Joe Michael for offering a Christmas season video devotion series during the 12 days of Christmas through his web ministry, Church as Folk. If you missed the videos, you can watch the series at: churchasfolk.org/holyfeast or by subscribing to the Church as Folk YouTube channel.
CURRENT: EPIPHANY SEASON
Epiphany Sunday is upcoming and as part of our celebration we will be having our annual Star Sunday on 01/09/2022. We’ll receive Star Words for 2022 to be our guides through the next year. Attendees are invited to bring gifts, in the same way Maji brought gifts to the Christ child, in the form of food donations for the Panorama food pantry.
Our Epiphany sermon series, titled “The Commands of Jesus”, will run from 01/16/2022—02/27/2022. The season of Epiphany is a time when Jesus reveals Himself to us as the Messiah and Son of God through His ministry and teachings. We will read scriptures from all four Gospels to hear the commands of Jesus. The commands and readings are as follows:
| COMMAND | SCRIPTURE | DATE |
| Let Your Light Shine | Matthew 5:13—16 | 01/16/2022 |
| Do Not Worry | Matthew 6:25—34 | 01/23/2022 |
| Go and Do Likewise | Luke 10:25—37 | 01/30/2022 |
| Do Not Be Afraid | Luke 5:1—11 | 02/06/2022 |
| Forgive and You Will Be Forgiven | Luke 6:37—42 | 02/13/2022 |
| Take Up Your Cross | Mark 8:27—9:1 | 02/20/2022 |
| Feed My Lambs | John 21:15—25 | 02/27/2022 |
PRAYER LIST
Char Bowling
Tim & Sandy Taylor
The Unkraut Family
Jerry Bargo
Shane Zeis
Martin Warne
Felicia Siegman
Matt Collier
Jade-lee Young
SATURDAY NIGHT DINNERS
FCC Covington will be serving the meals 1/31. We need help serving our guests. If you would like to help, please contact Sheri Jackson at sherijackson562@gmail.com or 859-240-7817.
UN-HANGING THE GREENS
Please join us to take down the decorations in the sanctuary on Wednesday, January 12th at 4:00 PM. If you have any questions, please reach out to the church office.
ONGOING: SPECIAL RECYLING EVENT
Throughout the month of January, Hildy will be collecting items to be recycled at the
Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub (CRRH). Examples of items that can be brought for
recycling include:
- Holiday lights that no longer work
- Old gift cards or other old plastic cards that no longer have value
- Prescription bottles and small over-the-counter (OTC) medicine bottles (empty, with personal information removed)
Items should be brought to the collection bin at the back of the sanctuary this month.
Here are some additional tips regarding the recycling of medicine bottles:
- Large OTC medicine and vitamin bottles can go in Rumpke curbside recycling with the lid on. Loose lids may fall through the machines and end up in the landfills.
- Small OTC medicine and vitamin bottles cannot go in Rumpke curbside recycling. They can, however, be recycled at CRRH and can be brought to the church during the month of January.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- 01-09-2022: Sunday Morning Worship, 10:45 AM
- During the service, attendees will receive ‘star words’ for 2022 to be your guide through the next year. Attendees are invited to bring gifts, in the same way Maji brought gifts to the Christ child, in the form of food donations for the Panorama food pantry.
- 01-11-2022: Tuesday Bible Study, 2:00 PM
- Please contact the church office for the Zoom link if you are interested in joining.
- 01-12-2022: Un-Hanging of the Greens, 4:00 PM
- 01-16-2022: Sunday Morning Worship, 10:45 AM
- 01-16-2022: FCC Book Club, 2:00 pm
- “The Secret Keeper of Jaipur” by Alka Joshi. Please contact the church office for the Zoom link if you are interested in joining.
- 01-18-2022: Tuesday Bible Study, 2:00 PM
- Please contact the church office for the Zoom link if you are interested in joining.
- 01-23-2022: Sunday Morning Worship, 10:45 AM
- 01-23-2022: Elder’s Meeting, immediately following the service
- Workshop for serving at the communion table presented by Rev. Joseph Michael. Please contact the church office for the Zoom link if you are unable to attend in-person.
- 01-25-2022: Tuesday Bible Study, 2:00 PM
- Please contact the church office for the Zoom link if you are interested in joining.
- 01-30-2022: Sunday Morning Worship, 10:45 AM
- 01-31-2022: Registration Deadline for the Women’s Choral Retreat
- Registration information is available in the church office or online here . Please review last week’s newsletter or contact the church office for more information regarding the retreat.
CONGREGATIONAL MEETING UPDATE
Firstly, thank you to everyone who participated in the Congregational Meeting, either in-person or by sending your votes in the mail. We appreciate all the valuable feedback that we have received! We’d also like to take this time to respond to some of the questions /
concerns we have had come across the desk in the past week.
- Question: Who is the music coordinator and what do they do?
- The position of Music Coordinator was not filled in 2021 and remains unfilled as we begin 2022. Monies are allocated in the budget for this position in the event we hire someone in 2022.
- Question: Is the money left from the capital campaign a couple years ago reflected in the budget somewhere?
- The money left from the capital campaign is not reflected in the budget. There is approximately $3,000 remaining, earmarked for the kitchen. Additional sums outside of the capital campaign have been given anonymously and designated for the kitchen update.
- Concern: There were some concerns raised regarding the 5% cost of living adjustment for staff stated in the budget.
- During the budget discussion, the Leadership Council brought up a concern that our Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) was less than the COLA being provided for Medicare recipients and may result in our staff not earning a living wage. An exploration group was created to provide feedback to the Leadership Council before a decision was made. The current 5% cost of living adjustment is a compromise that was agreed to by both the exploration group and the Leadership Council.
If there are any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the church office during our office hours.
First Christian Church 
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