Featured Events
Women’s Fellowship Events
Join this friendly group of women from the church. Bring a friend if you like. No expectations. No obligations to do anything. Just visit. We gather twice per month on Fridays - once for a meal and once in church for "Stitch and Chat" when most of us just chat. Check out the entire 2025-2026 schedule here, and reach out to Peggy Gutzke with any questions or to sign up.
Fri., Sept 11, 9:30 a.m., Baked Apple Pancake House 1224 Ogden Ave Downers Grove, IL 60515
Breakfast Planning Meeting. Bring your calendar and ideas of where to go.
Week of Sept 20 - 27 Garage Sale Organizing Help is needed all week.
All time slots are open. A complete schedule will be ready in a few weeks, but put the dates on your calendar now.
Climate Hope Affiliates: Data Center Opinions
Sun., Sept. 13 & 20, 10:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Fellowship Hall, Thurs., Sept. 24, 7-9 p.m., Dowers Grove Library
If you’ve got an opinion on Data Centers, then come to the Mission and Justice Ministry’s Postcard Writing Party. Share your opinion by writing on an award-winning postcard designed by a 12-year-old environmental justice warrior. Your postcards will be personally hand-delivered to our Senators and either Rep. Sean Casten or Bill Foster.
We’ll also show a short 17-minute video about COLOSSUS—a gigantic Memphis, TN, data center built by an Elon Musk company—and the damage it has caused to that community.
Many Volunteers Needed for the Garage Sale!
Volunteers Needed Sept 18-29. And also to help spread the word about our sale!
PLEASE NOTE: We have been blessed to be overflowing with the congregation's generous donations! Unfortunately, that means due to lack of space and time we can no longer accept donations, with the exception of jewelry through noon on 9/16. Thank you for your generosity and understanding.
The garage sale team has been working hard in preparation for this year’s church garage sale! We’ll need many volunteers to help this event happen, from 9/18-9/29! Check out the openings on the Signup Genius. You can also sign up during coffee hour in Fellowship Hall.
We need help with set-up, moving boxes from 1101 (we will have a truck), sorting, displaying, pricing, cashiering, bagging, security, and take-down/cleanup. And this year, we’re looking for church members to help us sell items online through the end of October. Please take one or more shifts for this exciting fellowship and mission opportunity that benefits our many ministries! Full details are outlined here.
Fri., Sept. 25: Pre-sale from 4 - 8 p.m. for volunteers and staff, 6 - 8 p.m. for all church members
Sat, Sept. 26: Sale from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sun. Sept. 27: Half Price and $5-Bag Sale immediately following worship to 1 p.m.
If you have questions, please contact Gail Clark at gclark214@comcast.net or Jan Hibbeln at janhibbeln@gmail.com.
CROP Walk Fundraiser Sept 24. Walk is Oct. 18.
SAVE THE DATE and plan to join us on October 18th for the 2026 Crop Hunger Walk. Step off will be at 2:00 p.m., at Gloria Dei church. More info to follow closer to date.
In the meantime, you can start supporting DuPage CROP Walk this month at the Portillo’s fundraiser at 1500 Butterfield Rd., Downers Grove. You must show the paper or digital flyer for credit! So please use this link to access the flyer:
Thurs., Sept. 24, 5 to 8 PM
Portillo‘s, 1500 Butterfield Rd., Downers Grove DOWNLOAD FLYER
Support FCLC with our Do-Rite Donuts Fundraiser
Fri., Sept. 25, 7:15 - 8:30 a.m. Pickup Time. Pre-Ordering is REQUIRED
Help support our First Congregational Learning Center (FCLC) and enjoy some amazing small-batch donuts! These are some very special donuts, and you can choose exactly what you’d like when ordering online. Cost is $19.95 for a half dozen or $31.95 for a dozen. Pre-order using this link, and feel free to download and share the flyer with friends and family.
Sharing your Time, Talents, & Treasure
We encourage everyone to take time to start thinking about how you'd like to get involved in our various programs, ministries and fellowship opportunities. Learn more about the many opportunities to share your time and talents on our website and you can sign up online anytime.
Little FREE Pantry - Rally Day Report
The Mission and Justice Ministry’s second Brown Bag Collection Sunday was a GREAT success, thanks to all of you!
We collected OVER 750 pounds of food to support our Little FREE Food Pantry, serving our at risk community and those in need. Sixty shopping bags of donated food lined the chancel on Rally Sunday, August 30th! Wow!! Visit the Mission & Justice page for more photos!
Thank you for your attention bringing the items that are most frequently needed. Our Pantry is now in good shape and well stocked moving into the coming months. It was great to see such a turnout despite the rain!
We will continue to take any bread, lunch and cheese donations weekly as this year our numbers of those in need have increased quite a bit….and we thank you for your help!
Music Programming Has Begun
We’’ve started up our regular music programs again. Chancel Choir began on Weds., Sept 9 at 7 p.m. Youth Choir begins Sun., Sept 13 at 8:15 a.m and Handbell Choir begins Sun., Sept 13 at 10:45 a.m. Learn more about our various choirs and use this form to signup or request more information. Cherub Choir, for our littlest members age 3 through kindergarteners, begins on Oct. 11 with Peggy Gutzke. You can email her directly with questions.
Bible Study: Matthew's Gospel
Tuesdays, Sept. 15 - Nov. 17, 7:00 - 8:15 p.m., Hybrid
Everyone is welcome, whether you've never picked up a Bible before or you've been a lifelong reader of it. Sign up to join this 10-week hybrid study. More information will be available soon on specific weekly topics and the hybrid schedule.
Men’s Book Club
Sat., Sept. 26, 8:30 a.m. , Parlor
Please join us for a discussion of Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. All are welcome to join us! And please take note of the time change to 8:30! We realize this is the day of our Church Garage Sale and that some of you may need to cut off a little bit early for that.
For more information, please contact Tom Eisenhart..
DuPage PADS Rock & Bowl 2026
Sat., Sept. 19, 12-3 p.m., Fox Bowl, Wheaton
Grab some friends and form a bowling team to help strike out homelessness. DuPagePads is seeking teams of 5 from local faith partners to help knock down pins with a purpose during the 2026 Rock & Bowl. Learn more details and register online.
What Will Your Legacy Be?
Legacy Giving: Envisioning Tomorrow
Suns., Oct. 4 & 18, 10:30 a.m., Fellowship Hall
Join special guest speakers and members of the Stewardship Ministry on Oct. 4 to explore legacy giving. Learn about a modest donation in the 1960s which was the genesis of our current Endowment Fund. Hear more about the spiritual component of giving and generosity and the sense of joy it gives. A second presentation will be held on Sun., Oct. 18, to delve into some specific actions required to make a legacy gift.
FCC Book Club
Weds., Oct. 7, 6:30 p.m. , Library
Please join us for a discussion of Isola by Allegra Goodman. For those who have already requested one, copies have been ordered from the DG Library and should be available for pick up by September 11.
All are welcome to join us! For more information, please contact Linda Schranz..