Welcome To the Home Page of First Christian Church of Denton
Hanging of the Greens Service
On December 1 at 6:00 p.m. we invite the community to join us as we sing the great old carols, decorate our sanctuary, and lift us the great promises offered to us in scripture. This is, for us, the beginning of our walk to the manger and the celebration of Christ's birthday.
After the service we will have a CHristmas dessert tasting in the Fellowship Hall. Just so you know - we have decreed that tonight all fat and calories consumed here shall not clog arteries or stick to our thighs/hips/waists.
Handel's Messiah
MESSIAH by George Frederick Handel, Sunday, Dec. 15, at 7:00 p.m.!
We still need to raise money for the instrumental music fund. Please, please help us to hire the orchestra for MESSIAH. Your donations will go directly to the musicians who will accompany this divine music, all for the greater glory of God and Christ.There’s more to say about MESSIAH than I have room for in this column. We are offering all of the Christmas section of the oratorio, plus the Hallelujah Chorus. This is about 45 minutes of music – more than we have ever offered in worship. Our soloists are incredible – our own Victoria Rodriguez and Alissa Taylor, plus our special guests Dr. Jeffrey Snider, Don O’Neal LeBlanc, Suzanne Solomon and Jendi Tarde Killberg. Our fantastic little Sanctuary Choir will be reinforced by a few guest singers from area churches, UNT and the Denton School of Music.
All of us involved in the music ministry have worked so hard preparing for this special event. We consider our presentation of Handel’s MESSIAH to be our gift to the FCC congregation and to the community at large. Get there early! We’re expecting a crowd.
Christmas Eve Services
On December 24 we will have two Christmas Eve Services to share with our community.
At 6:00 p.m. there will be a Family Friendly Christmas Eve Service in the sanctuary that will include a nativity scene, plenty of carols, communion (open to all who desire to partake) and a candle lighting service. This service lasts right at 1 hour.
At 11:00 p.m. there will be a "Victorian" Christmas Eve Service in the sanctuary that will draw heavily on the Victorian Era Christmas carols and poems. There will be plenty of carols to sing, communion (open to all who desire to partake), and a candle light service. We should conclude by or before midnight.
New Congregational Mission Statement
On Sunday, September 22, the Elders of First Christian adopted a new mission statement for First Christian Church. This statement was formulated over a two month period of discussion and debate. It was unanimously adopted and the Elders will present it at the Board's October meeting. The new congregational mission statement is:
"Disciples of Christ - Inviting All To Worship, Fellowship And Serve."
Youth Contemporary Worship Service
On September 15 the youth, with guidance from Youth Director Olivia Countryman, led the first of what we hope will be a series of contemporary worship services. The service was at 2:00 p.m. in the Chapel. It was a very personal, and thought provoking service with lots of music and a dramatic parable presented by the youth. Attendees were impressed by the amount of thought and organization the youth had put into the service! As the picture shows, communion was served to all. The next service will be held in October - please watch the newsletter for the date and time!
Congregational Core Values
On September 8 over 50 members of the congregation met in the Fellowship Hall for lunch and to explore the question, "What are our congregational core values?" The group started with a list of 34 value statements and with lots of time, sweat, and maybe a tear or two worked it down to a list of 8 core values that we believe represent who the congregation is right now. This is distinct difference from the list which might have been created if the group had focused on "what values should our church have." Here is the list of core congregational values:
- Worship
- Giving
- Youth Ministry
- Music
- Service and Outreach
- Open Communion
- Prayer
- An Educated and Ordained Clergy
Disciples Crossing
One of our church's crowned jewels is our church camp outside of Athens - "Disciples Crossing." If you click here you can see the newest edition of the camp's newsletter and find out what is going on at camp!
Youth Mission Trip Highlights
In July our youth group, led by Youth Director Olivia Countryman along with sponsors Charlotte Stephens and Marianne Burns, went on a mission trip to Christmount, a Disciples of Christ camp and conference center in the North Carolina Smokey Mountains. They and all the youth from other churches who had come worked. They worked hard! They worshiped joyfully. They made great friends. They grew in their faith. And they learned what mountains really are! It was a great adventure! The following pictures do not begin to tell the story of their trip - that is something that the youth will do if you give them the slightest opportunity!
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Disciples Crossing Needs Your Help
If you Click Here you will see a list of all the many needs that our church camp currently has. If there are individuals or groups that can come help or people who can donate materials or funds this would be a tremendous help because we feel like we are pushing a bolder up the mountain and the mountain is getting bigger every day! We need your help. Please see if there is something you can do! If so then Click Here to go to the Disciples Crossing webpage and find out how to get involved.
New Resource For Church Members, Teachers, and Bible Study Leaders
One of the untapped resources of our church is our library. There are some great resources there but people do not know what is available. To help you connect with the books you can use, Click here to see a pdf version of the more that 800 volumes so far catalogued.
Board and Cabinet Dates 2013-2014
October 20 @4:00 - Board
November 17 @3:00 - Cabinet
December 1 @12:30 - Board with a lunch provided
December 8 @ 12:15 - Congregational Meeting
January 19 @3:00 - Cabinet and 4:00 - Board
February 16 @3:00 - Board
March 16 @3:00 - Cabinet
April 27 @4:00 Board
Sunday Worship @First Christian Church
On this Sunday, September 29, 2013 - Pastor John Burton will preach on "Questions From Hell" from Luke 16: 19-31. Our church is handicapped accessible. We have paid, professional nursery staff. We serve communion every Sunday and anyone who wishes to partake will be served -- the same goes for the offering plates! Services begin at 10:50 and are usually over right at noon, plus or minus 10 minutes. We invite you to join us for worship and fellowship in Christ's name! Click Here to get pdf copies of previous sermons.
The 50 Worst Charities
As presented on CNN, the following is a list of the 50 worst charities as determined by looking at the last 10 years of available Federal tax filings and looking at how much money was spent soliciting money and how much money was actually spent on the cause that the charity exists to work for. Click here to see a pdf of the entire list. Some of them have not dispersed anything at all except for staff salaries and to pay solicitors!! Don't send you money to groups that don't do what they promise to do!!!
Organizations Supported By FCC Denton
FCC Denton supports ( $$, volunteers, materials, etc.) a wide number of organizations in Denton, in North Texas, and nationally. If you click here you will go to a "page" with an extensive list of these organizations and ministries. There are links for more detailed information on almost every organization.
Latest "Out of the Whirlwind" Postings
Click here to see all postings.
50th Anniversary of Kennedy's Death — 11/19/2013
A Few Thoughts Generated By The Murder of John F. Kennedy
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Thanksgiving Is Looming On The Horizon — 11/11/2013
Thanksgiving is coming so get started on your list of all the things you are thanful for and then figure out how you can share that list and that gratitude with others,
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Abandoning the Church Year?? — 11/05/2013
Should we adopt the retail callendar for celebrating Christmas?
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Falling Toward Christmas — 10/28/2013
Information about upcoming events
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Latest "With a Texas Drawl" Postings
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Desiderata 2000 — 09/19/2013
A riff on the old and sometimes beloved Desiderata.
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You know you are too fundamentalist when... — 06/10/2013
A bit of humor.
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Dog Proverbs — 06/03/2013
Thought provolking nuggets about dogs.
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Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark... — 05/30/2012
Maybe I should read that story again!
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