The First Congregational Church of Wilmot, UCC publishes a weekly newsletter. If you would like us to add your email address to our mailing, please contact us at: wilmotucc@gmail.com.
Thoughts, Prayers and Ministries from FCCW:
February 1, 2019 Edition
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Dear Friends,
I hope you can join us tonight for the Learner’s Shabbat Service at 7:00 at Temple Beth Jacob on
67 Broadway in Concord! We have been invited to attend by Rabbi
Robin Nafshi who will explain prayers and the basics of Judaism during this Shabbat service. This is open to all and the dress is casual.
As incidents of antisemitism have become more frequent in our nation, this is our opportunity, not only to learn, but also to support our Jewish brothers and sisters through our presence and participation. As we were surrounded by the love and support of so many when we were victims of hate this past summer, we hope to love and support others as well. So join us if you can!
And, please let me know ASAP if you want to carpool tonight!
Calendar of Events…
Friday, February 1 at 7:00- Learner’s Shabbat Service, Temple Beth Jacob, 67 Broadway in Concord, NH.
Sunday, February 3- New Horizons meeting after church
Tuesday, February 5 – Stewardship Committee will meet at 4 p.m.
Sunday, February 10 – FREE pancake breakfast will be served between 7:45 and 9 a.m. downstairs. Contributions will support the work of KREM. Invite your friends and neighbors and your Valentine!!
Also next Sunday – A performance of “The Snowman” will take place during worship, with Tim Goss at the piano, Paul Currier narrating, and Zeph Marean soloist. Tuesday, February 12 – Deacons meet at 10 a.m. Trustees will meet at 11:45.
Wednesday, February 20 – Parish Committee meets at 1 p.m.
Sunday, February 24- Rev. Gayle Murphy, guest preacher.
February 26-March 3 Mission trip to work with Common Cathedral in Boston. Announcements…
Kin Groups! Did you know you’re probably in a Kin Group? ‘What’s a Kin Group’, you ask? The church population of friends and members is divided up into four ‘kin groups’, each one led by one of our four Deacons. These groups take turns doing the work of the church, lighting candles, hosting coffee hour, taking the collection, etc. But, they also are a way for us to get to know one another and take care of each other in our times of need! This past week the kin groups were shuffled, giving us a chance to be with new people! Take a look at the Kin Group List at church to see who’s in your group now! Boston Mission Trip- Feb 26th – March 3rd Amber Gove will be leading a Mission Trip to Boston to work with Common Cathedral over the school vacation in February. This will be a team of 7 to 10 people, with a mix of teens and adults. The cost is $200.00 per person, which includes entry to the Museum of Science, all transportation, food and lodging. Heres a little background on what Common Cathedral is about:
common cathedral (Ecclesia Ministries, Inc.) is an outdoor congregation, housed and un-housed, sharing God’s love through community, pastoral care, creative expression, and worship on Boston Common. We are non-proselytizing and ecumenical. We welcome and support all people.
common cathedral serves as an important community for people experiencing homelessness, and for faith communities who want to be in supportive relationship with un-housed individuals and their friends. If you’re interested in going please contact Amber at amberscutabove@tds.net If you would like to support this effort, here’s some ways!
Small monetary donations- to help offset costs for those who can’t afford it. Prepare a casserole for them to take. There will be access to a kitchen. Donate some salad or deli meat. They plan on packing lunches everyday to keep costs down Also they would like to bring scarfs and hats down with them to pass out. So if our lovely knitters would like to make warm apparel they will be on the Boston Common Friday, March 1st passing these gifts out. From Our Music Director!
Hey everyone! It’s your friendly neighborhood music director! Choir is meeting every weekend! We will be performing the following pieces on the following dates:
-The Lord To Me A Shepherd Is (Sheryl Martineau) 2/17
-The Lord’s Prayer (Will Ogmundson) 2/24
-Donna Nobis Pacem (Palestrina) 3/10
Everyone is welcome! It’s always nice to see new faces in the choir, so feel free to join us at 8:30 every Sunday morning! Hope to make this year a music-filled one!
This Sunday we welcome back Fred Ogmundson! Choir will be performing Dona Nobis Pacem (hymnal version). Come at 8:45 if you want to sing!
Also in Music News…
On Sunday, February 10 during worship, Tim Goss, Paul Currier and Zeph Marean will bring us a rendition of “The Snowman“. This is the second annual performance of this lovely piece which incorporates story, song and piano to create a meaningful way to experience this season of Epiphany and winter! Come and bring your friends!
And to fill you with good food before this musical event you can come to the…
Free Valentine Pancake Breakfast Sunday, Feb. 10 7:45-9:15 Donations for Kearsarge Regional Ecumenical Ministries (KREM) Pancakes, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, real maple syrup, coffee, tea, & juice. Bring the ones you love! To volunteer to help, contact Marie or Allan MacDonald, 763-2884.
Rev. Gayle Murphy to Preach February, 24!
Rev. Murphy, a UCC pastor, is beginning an exciting new ministry and will tell us about it on Sunday, February 24, with a Q&A session after worship. Here’s a summary…
“We live in an age of change and challenge to all kind of institutions, and particularly the church. It is scary because the way we have done things is no longer effective for the vast majority of our neighbors. But it is exciting because it causes us to think creatively and come up with new ways of being with God.
My call to ministry is to serve those who don’t go to church. I came to this call realizing that NH is the least churched state in the country, with 7 out of 10 people (Pew Research Poll) having nothing to do with the church. This same poll also showed that less than 5% of those people are atheists or agnostics, which I understand to mean that too many people are no longer trusting the church with their spiritual life.
It used to be enough to enough to serve and share our faith through our actions, using words as needed. But we now are in a world where 40-60% of the people in the US won’t go into a church, no matter what good things are going on. (New Expressions of Church by Travis Collins). So, we now need to use words to describe the God we love to help others overcome their resistance and lack of experience with God.
God wants to be in relationship with us and we believe we cannot be outside of God’s love and presence. So this brings us good news that there could be new ways to connect people with God and help them deepen their spiritual life. This is the territory to which I am called. Some of the things that I have done is help the Wakefield Church begin a Lakes Ministry, set up a class in the NH Conference to give churches the leadership skills to meet these new challenges, and I am working with those connected to the Substance Use Disorder community to provide funerals for those who have died of overdoses.
The questions that I am constantly asking – and I challenge you to ask – are: How can I share the meaning I gain from my relationship with God? Who are the people who need to hear God’s word of hope and love? How can I connect with a community which is not represented in our churches? How can we make God understandable in their language and framework? What is God calling me to do today? How can my words and deeds challenge the negative assumptions people have of the church?”
“Precious Mt. Silinda”
We are excited to announce that the book “Precious Mt. Silinda” is available for purchase at church! The cost is $20 and all proceeds (100%) from this sale will go to helping our partner Eastlea Church in Zimbabwe fund education for two students they are sponsoring.
Here’s a short description of the book…
“Almost all of the books one finds concerning the history of mission work in Africa have been written from the perspective of missionaries or western observers. The voices of indigenous Africans, who were in almost all cases the most effective agents of Christian mission, are seldom heard. With the release of Precious Mt. Silinda by Mrs. Kate E. Sukuta and her son, Dr. Sydney Sukuta, this void is beginning to be filled.
KEEPING IN TOUCH
is an important part of being a community, and one way our church does this is through our mailing list, with friends’ and members’ names and contact information on it. Mailing lists are available in paper copy at church or via email. To receive the list or if you have any changes in your listing – new cell phone, address, etc. – please email Janet Howe at jwhowe1@tds.net.
Mailing list updates: It was suggested that the church’s contact information also be included in the recent mailing list, so you might add the following:
First Congregational Church, U.C.C.
Mailing address: P.O.Box 204, Wilmot, NH 0328
Phone: 526-7715 http://www.wilmotucc.org
Change Tom and Judy Hargis phone to 603-727-9696
Change Ed and Linda Weaver’s address to 33 Pedrick Rd. How to help local hungry students:
Each Friday, the middle school health office staff packs 12 backpacks with nutritious, easy to prepare foods for a student over the weekend, since they will not have access to the free breakfast & lunch program at school. This is a lot of work and expense with which we can help. There is a list of useful food items below and in hard copy at the back of the sanctuary. If you purchase some of these (say, if you are shopping at BJ’s or Sam’s), just get them to Marie MacDonald and she will deliver them to the school nurse’s office. This will be MUCH APPRECIATED.
FOOD SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDENTS’ BACKPACKS Breakfast bars Canned beef stew Canned soups Canned pasta sauce Cereal Jelly (in plastic containers) Milk (Shelf stable) Pizza mix and sauce Popcorn Ramen Noodles Salad Dressing Sloppy Joe mix Spaghettios Fun snacks are always a hit! Community Food Pantry
request for February is for canned soup (not chicken noodle)
Copies of the Annual Report, Mailing List and Kin Group List, are all available on the back table in the sanctuary and in fellowship hall. |
