Relay For Life raises hope, August 2-3

Once again this year, we set out to do our part to "Paint a cancer-free world" at the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life. We were so pleased when the community stopped by to assist. The end result was a beautiful painting, and not only funds raised to assist the American Cancer Society, but also hope as we continue to search for a cure.

Together, we really can make a difference in the fight against cancer.

Mission collection project part of region-wide effort

Our regional church once again made a mission collection part of this past year's Annual Meeting in April. Our church played its part, bringing used eyeglasses to help the vision of people in the developing world. Another effort was collecting children's books to donate to a women's shelter in the Pacific Grove area (where the Annual Meeting is held, at the Asilomar conference grounds). Given our own ongoing efforts to collect and distribute kids' books, this was a great project for us to take part in!

Global Holiday Faire: amazing!

The annual Global Holiday Faire - the one-of-a-kind gift faire which we host in our church fellowship hall - was held on Saturday, December 1st! Our ecumenical committee - made up of members from 6 churches in Vallejo, American Canyon, and Benicia - created another successful event for what was (amazingly!) our 10th year!

The Faire is unique among holiday gift faires because it combines elements of traditional crafts shows, church bazaars, alternative gift markets, and fair trade sales to present the community with a wide range of gift choices, with all of the money spent going to nonprofit organizations. To read more about this outstanding and fun-filled event, and see how much we raised for 15 local and national nonprofits, click here.

Christmas Collection to benefit young readers

In what is fast becoming a Christmas tradition, we will once again be collecting gifts for youngsters during the Advent season. Following on recent years' collections of baby items and stuffed animals, this year's collection will focus on young readers as we ask you to bring in donations of new books appropriate for preschoolers. So what kinds of books are we looking for? Books of nursery rhymes would be great, along with books with pictures and bright colors - whatever you think will be good to get youngsters off and running on a lifetime love of books! So keep an eye out for possibilities as you do your Christmas shopping, and then bring in your books anytime between now and Christmas. Thank you all for your continued generosity!

October is Fair Trade Month

What are you doing to support Fair Trade this month? Buying Fair Trade coffee? Or chocolate? (Fair Trade minis would be perfect for Halloween!) Have you thought to ask your local supermarket to carry Fair Trade items? Could you talk to even one person about what Fair Trade is and why it matters so much? If you need other ideas, visit the Fair Trade Resource Network to see what you can do.

Relay for Life success inspires community

Our team did a great job raising funds for the American Cancer Society's 24 hour Relay for Life for Vallejo/Benicia. We also raised awareness about colon cancer with our paint can quiz, which fit into our booth's theme "Paint a Cancer-Free World." Thank you to everyone who supported the FCC team, and all of the teams in this year's Relay for Life!


One member adds some flowery touches to our community effort to "Paint a Cancer-Free World."