Seasonal Worship

December 18, 5 p.m. “In the Beginning” Family worship for families with babies and young children. Interactive re-telling of the Christmas Story. Bring a special Christmas item to share with the group. Potluck dinner.

December 18, 10:30 a.m. Worship, with music by the Bell and Sanctuary Choirs.

December 24, 5:30 p.m. Family worship.

December 24, 11 p.m. Candlelight worship, Holy Communion, and Sanctuary Choir.

December 25, 7 p.m. Evensong service: an ancient worship service with ancient music.

January 1, 10:30 a.m. "For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio" in readers theatre form.

Written in 1942 when the world was at war, Auden's Oratorio merges the Biblical with the contemporary by anchoring the Christmas story in the modern world. The familiar story holds timeless and transformative truth - beneath the commercial layers of American capitalism. We invite you to join us as we explore what it means to exist “in the time being.”

Worship and Music

The key elements of our worship together at First Congregational United Church of Christ are celebration, reflection, and community. We are a progressive Christian community (www.progressivechristianity.net) which seeks to honor diversity, to encourage thoughtful reflection, and to be led by the Spirit of God. Like other congregations in the United Church of Christ, we strive to put our faith into action, to serve God and all of God’s people.

Sunday morning worship (10:30 a.m.) is the center of our life together. Elizabeth Oettinger has been our Senior Minister since 1992, and Ryan Lambert our Associate Minister since 2003. Their sermons reflect who we are as a church: A place of intelligent questioning and seeking faith, a community committed to creating a welcoming space for all who come within its reach. Whether you are young or older, single or partnered, gay or straight, certain of your faith or full of questions, everyone is welcome here. We support and nurture each other on our individual faith journeys.

From our roots in the Liberal Protestant tradition, we look to the Bible as the Word of God. We do not believe that the Bible carries God’s Word as literal, factual truth. The cultures out of which the Bible sprang carried their important truths in stories, in poetry, in seasoned reflection on past events. That was the accepted form of truth-telling for their time. Though we do not necessarily see the stories of the Bible as factually accurate, that does not diminish for us their ability to accurately carry theological truth. To understand the scripture, we study the history and context of the stories, and look to understand their theological content.

Spiritual Witness

	Sunday morning is an ever-changing blend of traditional and contemporary liturgy and music mirroring the variety of needs and preferences of our diverse congregation. The sanctuary pipe organ is a thirteen-rank tracker, designed and built for this church in 1991 by Richard L. Bond of Portland. We are also fortunate to have a wonderful Steinway piano, specifically chosen by many individuals and groups in our community to use for recitals and other performances.
	Our 40 member sanctuary choir is under the direction of Steven Zielke, who is also the Director of Choral Studies at Oregon State University. Anyone who sings with Steve will tell you what a joyous and fun experience it is. If you say to Steve, “But I don’t sing.” He will respond with, “Guess what–I teach people to sing!” The choir sings a variety of music from the classics to gospel and rehearses on Wednesday evenings at 7:15 p.m. All are welcome!
	Our bell choir is under the direction of Kim Thackray. Kim has played bells since her high school years and brings a wealth of knowledge to her position. Additionally, Kim plays in an ecumenical bell choir in Corvallis, the Carillon Revelry. Our bell choir rehearses seasonally and plays for special occasions throughout the year. During Lent, people with beginning level skills are invited to join and learn from Kim. She also works with children, kindergarten through 5th grades, to learn hand chimes.
	Our Children’s Choir currently sings for special services during the church year and consists of children, kindergarten through 5th grades. We are fortunate to have several gifted musicians who collaboratively teach, rehearse, and guide this choir.