What's Happening: FCCWP October 2026 Newsletter
This class is hybrid so you may attend in person (in the Conference Room) or via Zoom.
225 S. Interlachen Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789
Office: 407-647-2416
Mobile: 321-333-0092
FCCWP TREE OF LIFE
New Leaves Sprout on the FCCWP Tree of Life
Seven new leaves have been added to the FCCWP Tree of Life - the church’s display celebrating those who have joined the Legacy Society by making a bequest to the church. The Tree is on the wall in the alcove of Fellowship Hall (look up when you are getting coffee on Sundays).
The new leaves represent the following people:
1. Roger Sell
2. W.C. and Nancy Wiese
3. Libby Ward
4. John and Laurie Houck
5. Martin and Amy Wareing
6. Jim and Jeanette Schreiber
7. Ngan Ling Lung
Coming Soon! New Tree of Life Leaves for:
Harold Ward
Bob and Linda Maraio
YOU can join the FCCWP Legacy Society simply by making arrangements for a bequest and notifying the church office - no details required! Pick up the FCCWP Legacy pamphlet in the church office to learn more about the Society and how to make a bequest or a life gift to FCCWP. Your gift will endure long beyond our generation!
Staff Connections!
As we settle into a new season at FCCWP, we wanted to take a moment to reintroduce our church staff and share who you can turn to when you need a hand. And, of course, we’re happy to have Raul as part of our team! As our Sexton, Raul helps keep our building welcoming, clean, and ready for all that happens here.
If you see him around the church, be sure to say hello!
Here’s a quick guide to who can help with what:
For calendar reservations, bulletin announcements, facility scheduling, or general church office questions, please contact Megan Taylor at mtaylor@fccwp.org.
For all things financial, including giving statements, pledges, and payments, Jacki Churchill can assist you at jchurchill@fccwp.org.
Questions about children, youth, family events, Sunday School, or Faith Formation programming can be directed to Kerry Weisner at sunshineday365@aol.com.
Pastoral care, worship, spiritual support, and church leadership questions can be directed to Rev. Shawn Garvey at revgarvey@me.com.
We’re grateful for the many ways our staff supports the life of FCCWP, and we’re always glad to help connect you with the right person. Thank yo for being part of our church family as we begin another busy and meaningful season together!!
ALL AGES
FCCWP
JOIN IN THE FALL FUN!
WHAT A GREAT DAY FOR BRINGING A FRIEND SUNDAY!
Connections a group for women who have lost a spouse, living alone, caregivers or just feel like you need to connect.
Join us the 4th WEDNESDAY of each month
October 28th @ FCCWP 10am - 12pm
WALK THROUGH BETHLEHEM
Dec. 11, 2026
Save the date, sign up today for your amazing outreach to our community. Set up begins Dec. 6 right after church - all hands on deck make quick light work.
Contact Kerry Weisner for more information regarding your role in Bethlehem.
Parents
FCCWP will be offering O.W.L. beginning October 4th for grades 5th - 7th Graders.
If you missed the mandatory parent meeting and you want your youth to be part of this you must contact Kerry for an orientation for your youth to attend.
We have 10 youth signed up as of today!
RSVP with Kerry Weisner for parent info class or any other questions.
October 4 - ALL Children & Youth WILL STAY IN CHURCH FOR
COMMUNION SUNDAY - Fun bags for all.
October 4th 11:30 - 2:30 5th - 7th Grade O.W.L. begins
October 11th - 11:30 - 2:30 O.W.L.
W.I.N.G.S. Oct. 18th 5:30 - 7:30 - Cooking Competition
Oct. 25th - Pumpkinfest ~ Trunk or Treat
~ Bring a Friend Sunday
NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS
Neighborhood Groups leaders met early in September. We had already decided that Dinner “OFF” the Avenue would be an annual event. At the September meeting, we set a date! Saturday night, January 23, 2027, will be the next Dinner “OFF” the Avenue! Mark your calendar and start thinking of themes for your group!
Also…. If you need a ride to your voting place, call your Neighborhood Group leaders! They can arrange for you to get a lift!
Happy fall and happy lovely weather!
I have deleted texts and wondered if I was deleting a legitimate text. If you need something, contact me, Jane White- 407-637-1958. I’ll do my best to help.
Bring a Friend to Church on October 25
October 25 is Pumpkinfest AND Bring a Friend to Church Day! 🎃
Invite a friend, neighbor, coworker, or family member to join us at FCCWP for a fun and welcoming Sunday. We’ll have special gifts for our visitors and lots of Pumpkinfest fun!
If you’re planning to bring a friend, please let us know ahead of time so we can be ready to welcome them!
Sign up here: Bring a Friend SignUpGenius
Who will you bring? We can’t wait to welcome them!
Spread God’s Love on Saturday, October 17th
Ways to Volunteer
Sign up as a parade walker (throw swag/candy, smile/wave, dance if the mood strikes you)
Sign up to bring candy. There is never enough candy to throw out to the crowd. Donate Skittles, Dum/Dums, and/or Tootsie Pops (or whatever other candy you want that has a rainbow theme and does not melt). Drop it off in the church office before October 11 (or before/during church on October 11)
10,000 Meals packed & donated to United Against Poverty for local families in need
More Ways To Help
We always need volunteers to help prepare and deliver meals to the homeless families staying at Family Promise. For more details, contact Cara Dobrev, cmhallmon@gmail.com
On September 13, we officially launched our 2027 Stewardship Giving Campaign: Growing Possibilities Together! We are excited about the year ahead and all that is possible when our FCCWP family comes together.
Our theme is built around five simple words:
FIND • CONNECT • CREATE • WELCOME • POSSIBILITIES
Over the course of the campaign, five members of our church family will share their own stories and reflections on these words and what they mean to them. Each story is a reminder that there are so many ways to be part of the life of FCCWP—through our worship, our relationships, our service, our time and talents, and through our financial giving.
Our goal: $575,000
Each year, FCCWP conducts a Stewardship Giving Campaign because we are responsible for raising the funds needed to support our church and its ministries. We don't have a larger “mother ship” providing the money to operate our church. Together, we make possible the worship, programs, outreach, fellowship, service, and welcoming atmosphere that make FCCWP the special community it is.
You should have received a mailed pledge card along with information about this year's campaign. If you haven't had a chance to complete yours, we invite you to take a moment to prayerfully consider what you would like to give in 2027.
No pledge is too small. Every pledge matters.
Our hope this year is to reach 100% participation from our church family. That means we hope everyone will make or renew a pledge—even if you aren't sure what the year ahead will look like. You can begin with a faith-filled commitment and give more as the year unfolds. Whether your pledge is large or small, your participation helps us grow the possibilities together.
And there's more to come!
Throughout the fall, we'll have opportunities to experience stewardship not just through giving, but through connecting, serving, celebrating, and being together.
❤️ Church-wide Service Project at Family Promise — October 10
🎵 Music Bingo Night — November 11
✨ Christmas in the Park with the Bach Choir and Tiffany Windows — December 3
These gatherings are part of the fun of Growing Possibilities Together—because stewardship is about more than a financial pledge. It is about the time, talents, resources, and hearts that each of us brings to our church and what we then take out to the greater community.
We are grateful for every person who makes FCCWP what it is, and we can't wait to see what we can accomplish together.
Growing possibilities. Growing faith. Growing community. Growing together.
With gratitude,
Your Stewardship Giving 2027 Committee
Hi We hope you’ll join us for a little Holiday Cheer with Come Alive! at the Winter Park Playhouse! 🎄🎭
A Christmas Survival Guide
Saturday, December 5th at 2:00 PM
Winter Park Playhouse
Tickets: $46
Synopsis: Do the holidays stress you out?! This light-hearted musical comedy is designed to de-stress and refresh us all with plenty of holiday cheer!
Armed with a copy of A Christmas Survival Guide, the characters head into the holiday season searching for the true meaning of the season. With well-loved songs, mashups of old classics, and hilarious and heartwarming original comedy, this show promises to be a fun way to kick off the Christmas season together.
We’d love to have you join us!
Please use the link below to sign up and let us know you’re coming:
We hope to see you there for an afternoon of laughter, music, friendship, and a little holiday magic! ❤️🎄
Lisa & Kathryn
Come Alive!
Lil' Dab
FCCWP supports Ward Chapel and its food pantry which helps to feed our neighborhood families. Your donations to our Lil' Dab Box are sorely needed, especially while school is back in session. Please consider bringing in non-perishable food items and placing them in the box in Fellowship Hall. Don't forget that BOGOs at your favorite grocery store are perfect opportunities to stretch your donation dollars! Thank you!
Please no perishables.
Please check and make sure all food items are in date! (no expired food items, please)
THE CARING COOKS
The Caring Cooks: Serving with Love in Times of Loss
The Caring Cooks is a compassionate ministry dedicated to supporting families during one of life’s most difficult times—the loss of a loved one. This faithful team lovingly prepares, serves, and cleans up after receptions following church member funerals, offering hospitality and comfort at no cost to the family.
To help continue this important ministry, we invite you to support The Caring Cooks by donating toward supplies such as food, tablecloths, plates, cutlery, and more. Your gift ensures that we can keep showing up with love, warmth, and a good meal when it’s needed most.
Want to join the team?
We’re always looking for more helping hands! If you’d like to be part of this meaningful ministry, please contact Barb Brostrom at bjbrostrom@cfl.rr.com.
Thank you for helping us care through cooking.
Wuz Happenin’ with the Spirit Keepers?
Football is back, the kids are back in school, and somehow summer disappeared faster than a plate of hot wings at a Spirit Keepers gathering!
In September, we fired up our Triple T at The Imperial on Park. Drew hooked us up with our own backroom clubhouse, and the food, fellowship, and fun were outstanding. Good food, good brothers, and plenty of laughs — that’s a winning combination!
But October means it’s time to shift gears from fun and fellowship to fun and philanthropy!
Our October Service Project
We’ll be rolling up our sleeves and spending a few hours helping out with Family Promise.
Saturday, October 10
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Family Promise Offices
Snacks and water will be provided — because apparently even Spirit Keepers need fuel for service!
Sign up here: Spirit Keepers Family Promise Sign-Up
Come join your fellow Spirit Keepers as we serve, fellowship, have a few laughs, and make a difference!
We’d love to see your smiling—or slightly hangry—face at the next TRIPLE T!
If you’re not receiving our monthly invitations and would like to join the fun, just send me a note at w.martinwareing@gmail.com or text
407-383-0190.
Life is Sweet at FCCWP!
See y’all soon!
Strength and Courage to Carry the Light,
Marty Wareing
Elizabeth Hooker Book Club
Elizabeth Hooker Book Club-September 2026 Update:
Elizabeth Hooker Book Club-October 2026 Update:
Happy Fall Y’all! We are finally moving into a new, cooler season and ready for football games, chili, Halloween and fun times!
We gathered in September to discuss “Frozen River” with Jayne Pratt leading the discussion and it was fascinating! Thank you to all who attended.
We also gathered for a “meet & greet” of the authors of “Happy Wife” (Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores). Kendall used to attend our church, and several book club members knew her. It was a fun evening, and we look forward to reading their new one “Perfect Life”.
We are moving the October book to Jan. 2027, “Theo of Golden” because there was a conflict with the leader and I wanted to be sure to re-schedule on a date that works. This leaves October open. We will talk about whether to discuss a new book or an open discussion about our favorite books…stay tuned! Please be thinking of a month and book for us in 2027 so we can fill up our schedule .
All are welcome to attend our meetings, and regular attendance is not required. We meet in the Parlor on the fourth Sunday at 6:30 pm every month (except June/July summer break and December holidays). Please call (407) 832-0348 or e-mail:
abwareing@gmail.com to be added to our list. I hope to see you there!
Please come and join us in this wonderful ministry of caring. We extend a welcome to everyone to be a part of our Prayer Shawl Ministry.
We meet on the 3rd Monday of the month from 6:00-7:30 p.m. in the church Parlor.
Our upcoming meeting dates:
October 19, November 16
Mark your calendar and come join us.
In our ministry, we knit and crochet prayer shawls to give to individuals who need our warm prayers and hugs of compassion due to illness, death of a loved one, or other difficult circumstance happening in their lives. We also create and give baby shawls to infants when they are baptized at our church.
Members in our group can help teach you how to knit and crochet if you are new to this craft. We also have yarn and shawl patterns to help get you started. Just bring your own knitting needles or crochet hooks.
Questions: contact donnaborko@gmail.com
Donna Borko, Prayer Shawl Ministry Coordinator
The Visitation Committee
Visitation Committee: Reaching Out with Love and Care
At the heart of our church is a deep commitment to caring for one another. The Visitation Committee lovingly connects with members who may be going through difficult times—whether they’re in the hospital, grieving, or unable to attend church.
If you know someone who could use a visit, a call, or a kind word of encouragement, please let Megan (mtaylor@fccwp.com), or Sally Schott, Chair of the Visitation Committee (sarahpschott@yahoo.com), know.
Together, we can make sure every member of our church family feels seen, supported, and surrounded by love.
2 Corinthians 1:3–4
"Praise be to the God… who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."
Ways to Volunteer: Click Here
What more can you do?
I will do more than belong – I will participate.
I will do more than care – I will help.
I will do more than believe – I will trust.
I will do more than dream – I will work.
I will do more than teach – I will inspire.
I will do more than earn – I will enrich.
I will do more than give – I will serve.
I will do more than live – I will grow.
I will do more than be friendly – I will be a friend.
I will do more than talk – I will listen.
I will do more.
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Acolyte Ministry
Please sign up for Acolyte service. You can Call Jenni Franz at 407-810-2261 or:
All active FCCWP Members are invited to join the Facebook page titled Member Group of the First Congregational (UCC) of Winter Park.
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