First Church of God

December 2022
7968 U.S. 23, Risingsun, OH 43457
Website: www.risingsunfcog.org
Church email: fcogrisingsun@gmail.com
Phone: 419-457-3971

F I R S T C H U R C H O F G O D
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Pastor’s Meditation December 2022
 Pastor Paul’s
Meditation
Sunday, November 27, is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is the
 Yacht Club beginning of the church’s trek towards Christmas.
 Safety Team

 Youth Group A large part of life centers around anticipation. Part of the excitement of
life is found in waiting for something to happen. Something wonderful,
 Shoe boxes
something stressful, something exciting. We anticipate things that we’ve
 Men’s & Women’s spent a lot of time planning for. We anticipate seeing the fruits of our
breakfast
labor pay off. We anticipate weddings, graduations, final exams, we
 Christmas Eve and anticipate some relief from whatever troubles & difficulties we face.
Christ Day services

 Keep Watch Prayer

Walkers Christmas is a time full of anticipation, and many times, it’s not good
anticipation. It’s all the stress we face. The stress of getting all our
 Toys for Tots
shopping done, and with the economy the way it is, it may be the stress of
 Birthday Party for where do I get the money to do the shopping. The stress of getting the
Jesus
house cleaned up for the family get together, getting gifts wrapped,
 KFC Family night getting to the grocery store to buy all the food, then prepare all the food.
The stress of driving many miles to celebrate, the stress of trying to cram
 Help needed
in as much as we can in a week.
 Shared Bounty Thrift
Shop

 From the Elder Board

As we enter into this advent season 2022, it’s my prayer that as we
anticipate lots of things, the thing that we will anticipate the most is that
 Christmas Hymn Sing
we can enjoy Christ this Christmas season. Through all of the activity,
 Drive Through through the schedules and deadlines, we have a full sense of the
Nativity presence of God, and we find peace and blessing in that presence.
 Luminous Ministries

 December calendar Remember the words of the psalmist in Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may
If you have an item to endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” We all face tough
put in the newsletter,
please submit it to Susie
times, we all have stress, but we have a savior from all of that. We have a
Hoffman by the 3rd.
Sunday of the month.
savior whose birth we celebrate. Let the joy of celebration win out over
Susie’s email address is the stresses of life.
fcogrisingsun@gmail.com
P ag e 1
 Yacht Club
The next men's breakfast will be on
Saturday, January 14th at 8:30am
at Tim James' house. The beginning
of the new year is a great time to
join in on the men's group stuff if you've never been
and a delicious breakfast is the best way to start.
We'll be talking about and scheduling all of our
activities for the upcoming year. Cornhole
tournament, Chili cook off, Ladies appreciation
dinner, Work Days, Retreat Etc.........
Safety Team
Service schedules for the first 3 months of
2023 have been sent out and are posted in
the team locker.
If there is a conflict please try to work out a
trade with another team member. If you can't find a
trade let Tim know.
PLEASE let Tim know if you can provide a security
presence for Wednesday night KFC. Beginning in
February there are open slots in the KFC schedule
that need to be filled.
Mandatory annual training will be on Sunday
February 26 from 12-4pm. Lunch will be provided.
A sign up sheet has been put on the clipboard for
anyone that may want to join the safety team
ministry. If we can get at least 3 people a trading
class will be scheduled.
Sunday, December 11, Youth Group
Progressive Dinner. We'll leave the church
at 12:45pm. Come prepared to eat.
Operation Christmas Child
A BIG Thank you to all who brought in
shoe boxes. We collected 130 boxes
this year! Please continue to pray for
each child that will receive a shoe box this year.
The Women's Breakfast Club and the
Men's Yacht Club are once again
celebrating Christmas with a joint
breakfast Saturday, December 10,
9:00am at the church. This is going to
be Pot-Luck style so bring your favorite
breakfast dish to share. This is always a great time
of fellowship.
Christmas Eve Services:
7pm & 10pm
This year, Christmas and New Year's Day is on
Sunday. Due to the holidays, we'll have one service
on December 25 and January 1, 9am. No SS, as
people will want to be with their families.
Keep Watch Prayer Walkers are promoting an
encouragement shower for the staff at Lakota. If
you would like to participate please contact Pat
Harrison at 419-722-5421 email
pkharrison@gtoast.net
Toys for Tots NEW, UNWRAPPED
TOYS ONLY, will be collected in boxes
in our Lobby, through December 8th.
Supports local families and children.
Birthday Party for Jesus
Sunday, December 18, 9:30-10:30am
Birthday party for Jesus during the
Sunday school hour. Enjoy cake, ice
cream and fun fellowship!
KFC Family NIGHT
December 14,2022 Parents, join your sons and
daughters for a fun evening of food, fellowship and
fun for our KFC Christmas Family Night at FCOG.
There will be great activities, an object lesson,
games, coloring pages, photo booth and topped off
with a scavenger hunt! Dinner will be served at 5:30
pm and the evening will end by 7 pm. Hope to see
you there!
* Bus transportation will not be available for this
event.
Wanted: Bus Drivers
Requirements: ~ 25 years of age ~ A good driving
record ~ Willingness to obtain a CDL and help out!
The process takes a few weeks, and the church will
cover all costs involved. Contact David Crawford
with questions or to volunteer at
davidcrawford761@gmail.com or by phone at
419-208-6780.
Help Wanted
We are in need of someone to do the media in the
first service. If interested, please talk
to Pastor Paul. P ag e 2
Shared Bounty Thrift Shop Ministry team located at
St. John's Lutheran Church, 5520 Fremont Pike,
Stony Ridge, Ohio, would like you to spread the word
about our ministry. This ministry takes place on the
1st Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. - noon. We
take in donations of gently used clothing of all sizes
(baby-adult), as well as small household items, which
we then offer to "shoppers" free of cost. Our hope is
that we can help ease the burden for those in need. If
you feel that you might have members that could
benefit from our ministry, by either shopping for their
families, or by donating items please send them our
way. If you have any questions please contact Tiffany
@ 419-265-4262.
From the Elder Board
“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on
earth to those with whom God is pleased.” NLT
Merry Christmas! The Elders are sincerely grateful
and humbled for the opportunity to serve God and
our church family. We have had so many blessings
to thank God for in our church and community. God
is honored by all those who have given their time,
talents and service.
We appreciate that we have a pastor who
preachers the truth through God’s Word and the
Holy Spirit. We found through our Ministerial Review
that many feel that Pastor Paul is doing a great job
as the Shepherd of our church.
Many prayers have been answered throughout the
year. There is healing taking place over many who
have been afflicted by illnesses. Church attendance
is gradually increasing since COVID. Great effort has
been extended to see our new Sunday School
classes and overall attendance has increased. We
are grateful to see “Kids For Christ” with 26-30
children attending and volunteers of about 20 to
teach, cook and chaperone in this outreach.
It is a great privilege to help with 10% of our Church
offering to assist families in time of need. In 2022
alone, we gave out over $10,000 for gas, food,
medical expenses, camp fees and special
programs, such as Overtime, Food Pantry, Tabitha’s
Heart donations. Our church is compassionate and
generous when a need arises. God has been so
good to us!
Michele Stevenson has graciously been leading the
Elders and the Monday night Congregation Prayer
participants through the book entitled “The Battle
Plan for Prayer”. It has opened our eyes to the ways
we can focus fully on God during pray as we draw
close to Him. We continue to meet for prayer every
Monday evening at 6:30. Anyone is welcome to
attend.
Our Elders also appreciate the safe feeling we
receive by having a willing and ready Safety Team
to protect us. What a blessing it truly is to our
church.
How blessed we are to have a beautiful, clean
facility, thanks to all who clean and maintain our
House of God.
Thanks for a great year to serve and love in Christ’s
name. May God’s peace, joy and love be present
during this season and the coming New Year.
Your friends in Christ,
The Elders: Treva Betts (Life Elder), Shirley Smith,
Randy Edinger, Dave Hoiles, and Judy Dieter.
Community Christmas Hymn Sing
Sunday, December 11, 3-5pm at Scott Trinity, 6076
CR 11, Risingsun. Refreshments to follow.
Gibsonburg Churches Present A Drive-Thru Nativity
Come view this free presentation of the Biblical
Christmas story as it “comes to life” in 9 scenes
portrayed by individuals from the community. Drive
past slowly in the safety and comfort of your own
vehicle to view each scene as you listen to a recording
from the Gospels reminding us of the Good News that
Jesus was born for everyone. December 3, and 4,
5:30-7pm in the parking lot of Zion Lutheran Church,
500 South Brentwood, Gibsonburg
Luminous Ministries—Joyful Preparation
Wednesday, December 7, 7pm at Zion Lutheran
Church, 500 South Brentwood Luminous Ministries
Presents- Joyful Preparation. A live and quiet and
introspective performance of the story of Mary, the
young women chosen by God to be the mother of
Jesus. She rejoiced in the understanding that her
Messiah was coming and that He would be a gift of
indescribable blessing to the world. For Tickets call
419-680-4112 Adults $10 Students $5 (age
appropriate 12-18)
P a g e 3
 First Church of God December 2022

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

12-4 TJ & Scott Pam & Greg 1 2 8:30-9:30 walking 3 8:30-12pm

group hall rental
12-11 Brad & Chris Tim W. & Justin
12-18 Dean & Susan Jeff & John
12-24 Tim J. & TJ Tim J. & TJ
12-25 Tim J. & Jim D. Randy & Sandy

4 8:15am Worship 5 8:30-9:30 walking 6 7 8:30-9:30 walking 8 9 8:30-9:30 walking 10 9am combined
9:30am donuts/coffee group group group Men’s and Women’s
9:45am Sunday school breakfast
10:45am Worship 6:30pm Congregational 5:30-7pm KFC
prayer
12:30pm hall rental

11 8:15am Worship 12 8:30-9:30 walking 13 14 8:30-9:30 walking 15 16 8:30-9:30 walking 17 Hall rental
9:30am donuts/coffee group group group
9:45am Sunday school
10:45am Worship 6:30pm Council 5:30-7pm KFC
meeting Family night

18 8:15am Worship 19 8:30-9:30 walking 20 21 8:30-9:30 walking 22 23 8:30-9:30 walking 24 7pm

9:30am donuts/coffee group group group Candle Light service
9:45am Sunday school
10:45am Worship 6:30pm Congregational 10 pm
prayer Candle Light service

25 9am Worship 26 8:30-9:30 walking 27 28 8:30-9:30 walking 29 30 8:30-9:30 walking 31

No Sunday school group group group

Merry Christmas! 6:30pm Congregational

prayer