The website for the Christian Church in Ohio (Disciples of Christ) has recently been completely revamped!  Check it out at www.CCinOH.org to see the changes.  It is much more “user friendly” and has many more resources easily accessible.

Regional Assembly Expanded By One Day!

The biennial Regional Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) will be in Columbus, Ohio October 18, 19, and 20 – one day longer than previously.  Folks will gather on Thursday night with one of the new and growing churches in the Columbus area, the New Song Community Church with pastor Yvonne Gilmore-Essig.

Buckeye Regional Newsletter Available!

If you are not familiar with The Buckeye Disciple, you should be!  This is the newsletter of the Christian Church in Ohio and is filled with important information and inspiring articles.  It comes out bimonthly and has the latest news on camp and conference programs, as well as tidbits from churches around the region.

You can receive the newsletter several ways: either go to the regional website and download it at http://www.ccinoh.com/about-us/regional-publications.aspx; you can e-mail info@ccinoh.org and request to have a .pdf copy e-mailed to you; or offer a subscription donation and ask to have it mailed to you in printed format.

There is almost always a printed copy of the latest issue hanging on the bulletin board near the Hospitality Area of the Chapel.

5K Walk & Run For The Kids

Saturday, April 7 ~ 7:30-10:30 a.m.

Please join us for our annual 5K Walk & Run for the Kids at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo! This event will include a timed 5K course that winds through the Zoo grounds. Come run, walk, roll or stroll to benefit the programs of Cleveland Christian Home.

Registration will include a light breakfast, T-shirt, goodie bag, our Family Fun Fair area with facepainting and crafts for the kids, and all day admission to the Zoo and Rainforest!

Saturday, April 7, 2012; Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (3900 Wildlife Way, Cleveland, OH 44109)

Registration: 7:30-9:00am: 5K Run: 8:45am; 5K Walk: 9:15am (completion of the 5K course is optional)

Registration Fees:

Adult Runner: $20.00 – (Ages 12 and up)

Adult Walker: $15.00 – (Ages 12 and up)

Child Runner: $10.00 – (Ages 2 – 11)

Child Walker: $5.00 – (Ages 2 – 11)

Infant: No Fees (Children under 2)

For more information: Call: 216-476-0333 or go to www.cchome.org or REGISTER NOW: http://walkandrunforthekids.kintera.org/

Boxtops For Education

Did you know that every box top clipping is worth 10 cents? This year CCH received $632.70 worth of box tops! WOW! Thank you to everyone who keeps sending them our way! They really make a difference!  The collection box for Franklin Circle Christian Church is at the back of the sanctuary on the table.

Please join us on Wednesdays and/or Sundays for
Wednesdays at 7 p.m. – Chapel Classroom Area (upstairs – Community Bldg.)
Sundays at 9:30 a.m. – Women’s Outreach Room (downstairs – Sanctuary Bldg.) 

…Linger on the hill of Calvary.

…Rub a finger on the timber and press the nail into your hand.

…Taste the tinge of cheap wine and feel the scrape of a thorn on your brow.

…Touch the velvet dirt, moist with the blood of God.

…Allow the tools of torture to tell their story.

…Listen as they tell you what God did to win your heart.

Lucado invites us to understand the symbols surrounding Christ’s crucifixion and celebrate the significance of the promises they offer. From the sign in different languages tacked to the cross (“I will speak to you in your language”) to the burial clothing (“I can turn your tragedy into triumph”), he speaks of each symbol as a “gift of grace” that reveals God’s love for humankind.

Lucado takes us to Calvary and shows us our sins nailed between the hand of Jesus and the cross. “You’ve made some bad choices in life, haven’t you,” writes Lucado. “You’ve chosen the wrong friends, maybe the wrong career, even the wrong spouse. You look back over your life and say, ‘If only I could make up for those bad choices.’ You can. One good choice for eternity offsets a thousand bad ones on earth. The choice is yours.”

Wed Feb 15 -1 – You Did This For Me?

Sun. Feb. 19 – 2 – I Will Bear Your Dark Side
(God’s Promise in the Soldier’s Spit)

Wed Feb 22 – 7 p.m. Ash Wednesday Service

Sun. Feb. 26 – 3 – I Loved You Enough to Become One of You
(God’s Promise in the Crown of Thorns)

Wed. Feb. 29 4 – I Forgive You
(God’s Promise in the Nails)

Sun. Mar 4 – 5 – I Will Speak to You in Your Language
(God’s Promise Through the Sign)

Wed. Mar. 7 – 6 – I Will Let You Choose
(God’s Promise Through the Two Crosses)

Sun. Mar. 11 – 7 – I Will Not Abandon You
(God’s Promise in the Path)

Wed. Mar 14 8 – I Will Give You My Robe
(God’s Promise in the Garment)

Sun. Mar. 18 – 9 – I Invite You Into My Presence
(God’s Promise Through the Torn Flesh)

Wed. Mar. 21 – 10 – I Understand Your Pain
(…in the Wine-Soaked Sponge)

Sun. Mar. 25 – 11 – I Have Redeemed You, I Will Keep You
(…in the Blood and Water)

Wed. Mar. 28 – 12 – I Will Love You Forever
(…in the Cross)

Sun. Apr. 1 (Palm Sunday) – 13 – I Can Turn Your Tragedy into Triumph (…in the Burial Clothing)

Wed. Apr. 4 – 14 – I Have Won the Victory
(…in the Empty Tomb)

Thurs. Apr. 5 7 p.m. Maundy Thursday Service
Fri Apr 6 7 p.m. Good Friday Service

Sun Apr 8 Easter Sunday – 15 – What will You Leave at the Cross?

Brian Saxe

We are pleased to welcome Brian Saxe as guest preacher on Sunday, February 12 as part of our month-long celebration of the 170th Anniversary of Franklin Circle Christian Church.

Brian is a life long member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Church), married to a Disciples of Christ minister, on the Ohio Regional Board, and is an officer for Advance Conference. He is currently under the care of the Commission on Ministry and attempting to gain standing as a minister within the Christian Church in Ohio. He has a BA in Political Science from Bethany College (WV) and an MA in Theology from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Brian and his wife, Debbie, are new parents, welcoming Corwin into the family in the fall of 2011.

Brian is ―almost thirty,… enjoys thinking and wonders why so many people are scared of it. Especially since Jesus seemed to love it so much.‖ It will be a delight to have this fresh voice speak to our congregation!

Franklin  Circle  Christian  Church  has  historically  participated  in  the  Union  Services,  which  are   joint  worship  services  of  congregations  of  the  Christian  Church  (Disciples  of  Christ)  in  the  Cleveland   area  and  occur  every  time  there  is  a  fifth  Sunday  in  a  month.

All  events  are  in  the  afternoon   and  usually  begin  at  3  or  4  p.m.    All  Union  Services,  except  for  the  July  one,  are  in  Cleveland.    More   details  to  follow.      Please  plan  now  to  attend  one  of  these  exciting  and  faithful  worship  services.

January  29  -­  Central  Christian  Church

April  29  -­  Dunham  Ave.  Christian  Church

July  29  -­  Faith  United  Christian  Church  (Canton)

September  30  -­  Fellowship  Christian  Church

December  30  -­  Fifth  Christian  Church

Our prices are the same as the last two years. Italian subs are $6.00 and Veggie subs are $5.00. We will again have available the meal combos, for an additional $2.00 you can add homemade soup & a drink, or chips, coleslaw & a drink. A great value! Your support of the youth group and the camp programs are most appreciated. This would not be possible without our church family. Thank you!

Orders will be available for pick up in the gym, after church on February 5^th from 12:00 to 1:00 pm. Feel free to dine in and bring extra money for the bake sale.

For an order form in .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) format, click here:  SubSandwichOrderForm2012

or download and print off the form using the .jpg form below!

Thanks, Pastor Allen

It doesn’t take reading a newspaper or even reading an online news site to know that the Near West Side of Cleveland is “all the buzz.”  Something has been happening in our neighborhood that has caught the attention of a lot of people.  Several of the trends taking root in Ohio City even have a national and worldwide following, like the local foods and the shop local movements.

Renovation Of Market Square Park Winter 2011-2012

Here is just a sampling of what’s been happening in the last year or two: Ohio City Farm (one of the largest urban farms in the country), formation of the Market Square District to celebrate the 100^th Anniversary of the West Side Market; the Redesign and recreation of the Market Square Park at Lorain & W. 25^th St.; New Restaurants: BonBon, Market Garden Brewery, SoHo, Crop, Orale Mexican Food, Palookaville Chili, and the expansion of the Great Lakes Brewing Co.; New Stores: Room Service, Campbell’s Sweets Factory, Salty Not Sweet, Urban Orchid, Penzeys Spices, Joy Machines Bike Shop; completion of the Breen Center for Performing Arts at St. Ignatius High School; and the reorganization of Ohio City Near West (OCNW) Development Corp. into Ohio City Inc., and the branding campaign “Ohio City: Cleveland’s Artisan Neighborhood.”

And this list is not exhaustive, except to those who try to keep track of urban trends like me!  And I haven’t even begun to list what is happening not a mile or two away in downtown Cleveland!

The question for us, as a congregation, is how are we going to respond to this great whirlwind of activity in our neighborhood?  I keep using the phrase “our neighborhood” even while I know the majority of our congregation does not live in Ohio

Room Service Local Store W. 25th (south of Lorain)

City/the Near West Side, because these movements/trends/developments affect our church where we worship, learn, and serve, and therefore affect us.  Furthermore, many of these changes reflect what is happening in our city, our region, and our world.  We could choose to ignore what is happening around us, saying that these are all “worldly” or “secular” movements that do not and should not affect our faith or the church, which are “unchanging.”  We could, but so many churches who have chosen that route are closed and serve God nevermore.

BonBon Coffee & Cafe

I would rather look to scripture which reminds us that change can be a good thing, if we are prepared for it and seek to shape it according to what we believe is God’s will for humankind.  In Isaiah 43:19 we hear God say, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”  So, is Franklin Circle Christian Church prepared to learn and think about, strategize and plan for, make real decisions in light of what is happening, or will we “let the chips fall” where they will?  Is every single Board, Team, and leader willing to be part of this critical dialogue?  The time is upon us for “now it springs forth.”

Your Pastor,

Allen

Two Near West Side Events In 2012:

West Side Market Centennial

The West Side Market Centennial in Fall of 2012 provides an opportunity to raise the regional and national awareness of one of Cleveland’s most significant cultural treasures. The Market is not only a special place in Cleveland but to the region and the nation. As the “Best Food Lovers Market” according to the Food Network in 2010 and being named “10 Great Public Spaces” by the American Planning Association in 2008, Ohio City is proud to be anchored by such a significant cultural institution.

International Public Markets Conference

Cleveland has been selected to host the 8th International Public Markets Conference.  The 3-day event, planned for September or October of 2012, will bring together over 300 participants including noted planners and designers, accomplished market managers, and visionary leaders in a unique opportunity to focus together on the past, present and future of markets worldwide.

On Wednesday, December 21 during the 6 p.m. potluck, Neil will share with us the meaning and traditions of Chanukkah!

Bring a dish to share.  Dress is quite casual.

The music program will still start at 6 p.m.

Thursday, December 15, 7:00 p.m., (Reception Following) at Franklin Circle Christian Church, 1688 Fulton Rd., Cleveland.

Come experience the wonder of the holidays with the Franklin Circle Christian Church Choir under the direction of Jake Pruitt and Tracy Evans, the Lake Catholic High School Band and Choruses, under the direction of Scott Posey, along with our own organist, Jim Robinson.  Audience members will have a chance to sing-along on some of the favorite carols and songs of the season.

Members and friends of the congregation are invited

For more information, call 216-781-8232 or go to www.FranklinCircleChurch.org