Haircuts For The Holidays - Thanksgiving Edition

On November 16, from 10am to 3pm we will hold our 2nd Thanksgiving Haircuts for the Holidays! This event was a big success last year when we had 3 professional hair stylists, a mobile shower unit, unhoused resources, clothing giveaway, and a full Thanksgiving Luncheon! This year will look very similar!

As you can guess it is a very big task and there are several ways you can help on that day!
Sign up here to volunteer: 11/16 Volunteer Sign Up

Also needed:
-Donate tents, tarps, sleeping bags, solar chargers, solar lamps
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/EJVU4AEVDGTE?ref_=wl_share
-Donate gift cards ($5 to $10 local fast food, grocery, etc.), and bottles of water
-Donate money toward the event
-Print some fliers to post around the neighborhood
-Print (double sided) Handouts - Have some on hand in your car to give to people you may come across that could use some help

Any assistance you can give would be great! Come and be in fellowship with our church and our community on this special day!

Global Holiday Faire Coming

The 27th annual Global Holiday Faire will be here soon on Saturday, December 7th, from 9-2. This will be our third year back in person after the pandemic and we look forward to this being the biggest Faire yet! Like last year, we are back to normal with several tables and items for sale along with our traditional hotdog / chili / lumpia lunch. In addition to multiple tables with merchandise, we will have our Alternative Giving table where we will raise money for Heifer International and Arbor Day Foundation. Plus, we will have what we call the Big 4 tables with crafts, gift baskets, baked goods and regifted items raising money for 4 charities - Amador St. Hope Center, dePaul Women’s Center, Genesis House and World Central Kitchen. We will also be collecting donations at the cash table for one of our important mission partners, Vallejo Together.

There are lots of ways that you can help. We are looking for volunteers. Please think about volunteering at the Faire or setting up the night before. If you can contribute a donation for one of the Big 4 tables, it would be greatly appreciated! Start crafting now. Think about a gift basket you could put together. Think about gifts you have been given that you’ve never used, that someone might buy to regift (not looking for garage sale items). Also, please help spread the word about the actual Faire, as well as our virtual marketplace which is still open at globalholidayfaire.org. Flyers have already been emailed out, so please help us get those out to the people. Print them out or share them electronically with your friends, neighbors, coworkers or strangers on the street. If you know a place where you can post a flyer, please do so. If you can’t print them out, we will have physical copies in church soon.

The Global Holiday Faire is our biggest Mission Action effort of the year. It has been great to be back in person these last two years, and last year we did better than the year before. But, we haven’t been able to reach the amounts raised that we did before the pandemic. This year, let’s do even better! With your help volunteering, donating and spreading the word, there is no reason why this can’t be our biggest Faire ever!

Upcoming Study

For the last year, First Christian Church, Vallejo has been thinking, planning and implementing a celebration of our local history of 125 years. We feel it is time to see how we fit in the longer history of the Church. Some Biblical historians have remarked that Jesus saw himself the key to the Kingdom of God, but instead he is the key to Church. How did that happen? Why did it happen? Which players facilitated its happening? Was it always a straight line or were there directional changes? Many questions, but not always clear answers.
 

Well, a team of Biblical and history buffs among the FCCV family are planning to re-introduce us to our historical roots which were planted centuries ago and have grown into today’s FCCV.
 

Mark your calendar for the first two chapters which are scheduled Monday evenings November 11 and November 18 starting at 7:00 pm and ending no later than 9:00 pm. These will be on ZOOM. The link will be in the October bulletin. Invite your friends. No texts or manuscripts to read. Bring your curiosity and questions. The series will conclude in the spring (dates to be decided later) with a focus on the Reformation period and the birth and growth of our denomination, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). See you there.

125 Years and Still Making Noise!

Perhaps you have heard or read somewhere in the last year or so that we are about to celebrate our 125th birthday! Our two day celebration will be September 21 and 22. On Saturday, we will have an open house from 11-4. During that time, there will be will self-guided tours with special displays on our history throughout the building and outside too! This will be a great time of fellowship with current and past members, as well as friends of the church. There will be food, activities for kids and adults, and information from many of our mission partners like The Global Holiday Faire, Heifer International, Narcotics Anonymous, and Sustainable Solano. On Sunday, we will have a coffee hour at 9:30, followed by our worship service with special guest preacher, Rev. Terri Hord Owens, the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The service will be followed by a catered lunch.

As we celebrate our past, we also look to the future. We have established the 125th Future Fund to help pay for some much needed improvements to the church building. We are grateful for all donations to the fund.

If you can’t make it to the weekend and would still like to participate, please consider making a short video (under 30 seconds) greeting introducing yourself, saying hi to FCC Vallejo, and saying what the church has meant to you. These videos will be playing on a loop in one of the special displays during the open house on Saturday.We would love to hear from you (and you can make one even if you are planning on being there!). Videos should be sent to Beth Grose,

During the build to this special weekend, we have had multiple fund raisers to help pay for this great celebration. One of those fundraisers is happening at the open house itself (although you can participate already). We are having a raffle for a beautiful handmade quilt by Beth Grose: Peace Like a River. From Beth, “The raffle quilt is ready to go to its forever home! Measuring 46” wide x 56” long, it is perfect for a lap throw or wall hanging. Get your raffle tickets at the church; if you can’t come in person you can send your money to the church clearly marked for the raffle ($5 a ticket), and we will gladly add your tickets to the mix. The drawing will be held on Saturday, September 21st as part of our open house activities and you do not need to be present to win. Good luck!”

We need to know how many people are planning on attending these events. So, please RSVP: HTTPS://FORMS.GLE/QMTANDBAOZT6COC99

 
You can find all the information about the event, and links to donate or RSVP on our website: https://vallejochristian.org/125th-anniversary