CHURCH TODAY

How much do you know about First Congregational Church of Winter Park?

Listed below are a number of questions that are sure to challenge your knowledge of the church's history ... past and present.  Give it a try!

QUESTIONS

1. How quickly do classes at First Congregational Church Preschool fill up?
2. What famous television personality was a member of the church until his death in 2003?
3. Name the longest serving family in the congregation, whose members have worked tirelessly in support of the church’s mission and undertaken many leadership roles for more than 120 years?
4. What is the formal name of the building which houses Fellowship Hall?
5. What is the Door of Faith?
6. Lindinhlanhla “Lindi” Mngadi, an international student from the Republic of South Africa beginning his studies at Rollins College, was welcomed into our church family on August 26, 2007. How did the church and Lindi find each other?
7. Our 150^th anniversary is closer than you think. Through a series of workshops in 2006, how did we envision our church community in the year 2034?
8. What brings nearly 1,000 people to the church on the first Friday night in December?
9. Who is the Burger King?
10. What is the Gurtler Center for Families, Youth and Children, located upstairs in Fellowship Hall?
11. I enjoy cooking, flower arranging, computer arts, pottery making, or just helping out. How can I share my time and efforts?
12. What is the Broward Liston Lecture Series?
13. Describe the architectural style of the current church sanctuary, which was built in 1923-24.
14. Who is responsible for selling Equal Exchange Coffee in Fellowship Hall after the Sunday service?
15. Why are stained glass windows embedded in the second floor of the Hooker Memorial?
16. What is the relationship between the church and The Plymouth and The Mayflower retirement centers in Winter Park?
17. As far as we know, the church has never opened the time capsule placed in the foundation of the sanctuary in 1923. Where is the capsule?
18. What is W.I.N.G.S. and, for extra points, what do the letters stand for?
19. Why are the doughnuts at Twister Donuts & Catering especially sweet to our congregation?
20. Why is it important that the preschool designs its curriculum in accordance with “Best Practices” for teaching 2-6 year-olds?
21. Liz Kitchens, who is often found behind a pottery wheel, became a commissioned minister of the arts in 2006. What does that mean?
22. What is that wonderful aroma wafting through Fellowship Hall on Wednesday evenings?

ANSWERS

1. The preschool enrollment typically is 75% complete by the end of the first day of registration, some years within the first 3 hours.
2. Fred Rogers, creator and host of Mister Roger’s Neighborhood and a graduate of Rollins College, attended the church when wintering in Winter Park. 
3. The Wards. Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Ward joined the church in 1886, the year the congregation moved into its first sanctuary, and soon began the legacy of service that continues through Mr. and Mrs. Harold A. and Libby L. Ward III. 
   
4. Hooker Memorial is the name of the building which houses Fellowship Hall. In recognition of common usage, it soon will be renamed on new signage: “Fellowship Hall in memory of Reverend Edward P. Hooker.”
5. The Door of Faith is an orphanage in an old abandoned dude ranch near La Mision, Baja, Mexico where our youth on 4 annual mission trips have helped rebuild a footbridge, build a bunkhouse, renovate buildings, and work with the children. 
6. Lindi won a scholarship to Rollins College arranged through the efforts of the church, Rollins College, Inanda Seminary in South Africa and our UCC Global Ministries missionaries Scott Couper and Susan Valiquette. 
7. Our goals for 2034 are to excel in education based on our progressive Christian values; in outreach and social justice; in the use of the arts to open people to the presence of God; in our relationship with Rollins College; in our sense of church community through fellowship and friendship; and in honest, respectful and genuine inter-faith relationships.
8. As a gift to the community, church members perform a re-enactment of life at the time of Jesus’ birth called Walk Through Bethlehem.
9. The crown has gone to Brian Rotenberger for two years running in the annual Brian-Bryan cook-off fundraiser. Expect Pastor Bryan Fulwider to demand a rematch.
10. The Gurtler Center, a project of the church, sponsors 3 programs known collectively as Jeremiah including pottery and computer arts for at-risk youth and support for families in crisis.
11. Among the church’s many volunteer opportunities are: helping prepare monthly Fresh Start dinners for men who are starting over, or weekly Family Ties dinners for families in crisis; arranging the altar flowers; and working with at-risk teens in the Jeremiah arts program. 
12. Named for the late Broward Liston, author of the church mission statement and inspiration for many, and funded initially through a generous grant arranged by Drs. Sandra and Gary Barker, the lecture series brings noted theologians, such as John Dominic Crossan, to Winter Park.
13. The church was designed in the “Old Lyme Colonial” style, a reinterpretation of colonial forms represented by the architecture of Old Lyme, Conn., and in turn-of-the-century churches throughout New England. 
14. The Equal Exchange Coffee sales is one project of our Social Justice Committee which also started a church recycling program, plans to install bike racks, helps foster children, and is helping bring the church to a vote on adopting an “Open and Affirming” designation. 
15. The colored medallions are the remains of a stained glass window that graced the original church given by then-Deacon and Mrs. S. H. Bassinger in memory of their daughter.
16. The retirement centers were developed by corporations created in the 1960s and ‘70s by (but not legally part of) the church to provide homes for older residents who want to remain in the community.
17. The time capsule is a copper box containing church, college and city newspapers, a bulletin, photos and a leaflet of poems by Rev. C. A. Vincent. The location is described as a hole in the foundation near the sanctuary, “near the northwest corner of the building, at the east part of said building.”
18. Worth Insight Nurture Goals Spirit, a.k.a. W.I.N.G.S., is the name of our youth group for 7^th through 12^th graders which meets weekly on Sunday afternoons. For 5^th and 6^th graders, Jr. W.I.N.G.S. meets monthly; and FledgeW.I.N.G.S. offers activities for families of children in 1^st through 4^th grade.
19. Twister Donuts was founded by Bryant Griffin with the help of funds donated by the congregation and matched by the Outreach Board. Formerly of New Orleans, Griffin’s family was one of 10 Hurricane Katrina refugee families adopted by the church through the Family Ties program.
20. The preschool applies the latest research on brain development and early childhood education, keeping staff current through attendance at annual national conferences.
21. A commissioned minister is a lay person who has demonstrated the faith, character and ability to perform a special ministry. Liz’s devotion to developing the Jeremiah project was recognized by the Florida UCC conference in unanimously granting her commission.
22. That’s the smell of the weekly congregation potluck supper, which is followed by choir and liturgical dance practice, adventures in the pottery room and computer lab, and discussion groups for all ages.