About Us 2 2

Dear Church,

This Sunday we celebrate Christmas in July! We remember that the gift of the Christ child is worthy to be celebrated all year long.

We gather online at 9:40 to say hello and add prayer requests. Join us at 10 am Sundays on Facebook: hopeuccmacomb or IN-PERSON.

You’ll know it’s this week’s service, because the preservice loop slides will be Purple.

YOU NO LONGER NEED A RESERVATION - JUST COME!! Please wear a mask if you have not been vaccinated.

Pastor Meg is preaching on Sunday, but she is in the office on a limited schedule. Her newest grandson arrived, and she is helping the family. Please contact the office with urgent matters.

If you enter worship through the website, you go to: hopeuccmi.com and hit CLICK HERE TO JOIN ANY OF OUR LIVESTREAMED FACEBOOK SERVICES. This will take you directly to worship. The church website is up to date! hopeuccmi.com

This week’s music is attached at the link below.

This SUNDAY: Lemonade and Cookies after Church.

The July Beacon is available.

We have seen an increase in church expenses as we reopen. Please consider giving additional gifts if you are able. Please keep our congregation and the ministry of the church in your prayers. If you haven’t tried giving online and would like to try it, click HERE to go directly to our secure giving page.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sun. 7/25 Christmas in July Service, 10 a.m.

Sun. 7/25 Shirley Brinkman memorial service, 1:30 ~ visitation 1:00

Sun. 8/1 Marge Johnston memorial service, 2 p.m. ~ visitation 1:30 (note time

change); luncheon following at Hope FH ~ call Sandy Johnston

directly if attending.

Please see the Events TAB for additional items.

We rejoice in the gift of our Savior.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a distinct and diverse community of Christians that come together as one church to join faith and action. With over 5,000 churches and nearly one million members across the U.S., the UCC serves God in the co-creation of a just and sustainable world. The UCC is a church of firsts, a church of extravagant welcome, and a church where "…they may all be one" (John 17:21).

The Church of Firsts

Since 1957, the United Church of Christ has been the church of firsts, weaving God’s message of hope and extravagant welcome with action for justice and peace. Together, we live out our faith in ways that effect change in our communities. The UCC's many "firsts" mean that we have inherited a tradition of acting upon the demands of our faith. When we read in Galatians: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus"—a demand is made upon us. And so we were the first historically white denomination to ordain an African-American, the first to ordain a woman, the first to ordain an openly gay man, and the first Christian church to affirm the right of same-gender couples to marry. We were in the forefront of the anti-slavery movement and the Civil Rights movement. Our response to the demands of our faith is woven into the history of our country.

A Church of Extravagant Welcome

Today, we continue to change lives throughout the world. We work alongside more than 200 mission partners. We labor ceaselessly to fight injustice, in the United States and abroad. We instill our vision into our youth and young adults, forging leaders who will imagine new dreams. And we sustain and develop church leaders, pastors, and our local churches to live their faith in exciting new ways. We believe in a God that is still speaking, a God that is all-loving and inclusive. We are a church that welcomes and accepts everyone as they are, where your mind is nourished as much as your soul.

We are a church where Jesus the healer meets Jesus the revolutionary, and where together, we grow a just and peaceful world.