Announcements for the week of May 18, 2013
Church Gatherings Happening Every Week
Choir Rehearsal~~ Our Choir Director Jeff Olmsted, says: “It is never too late to join our Church choir!” Rehearsals are Wednesdays at 7 PM. With questions or to contact Jeff, you can find him at: 413.586.0165, jeffolmstead@verizon.net
Fridays at Four Writing Group now meets every Friday 3:30 – 5 PM, Church Dining Room.
Announcements
As a welcoming congregation, all are encouraged to wear nametags!
FELLOWSHIP HOUR FOOD~~The following is the line-up for folks to bring goodies for Coffee Hour. The calendar goes by last name. Thank you for contributing to our famous Coffee Hour after Church each Sunday. When it is your week to bring food, you also help set up and clean up. Thank you today: L, M May 26: N, O, P, Q, R
A MESSAGE FROM ROSS BASSETT~The next class in the series “What Protestants Believe” will be held on Tuesday, May 21st. We will begin at a new time: 7:30 PM, and we will discuss the Unitarian Universalists and the Christian Scientists.
Hello Haydenville Congregational Church,
There will be a brief All Church Meeting after service TODAY to vote on a resolution which declares that the Haydenville Congregational Church should engage in approximately a year-long process of prayer, study and action:
- guided by the Peace and Justice Steering Committee, the Diaconate, and Pastor Andrea
- to discern whether or not to consciously affirm a church identity as, for example, a “justice doing and peace seeking” community of faith
- that endeavors to embody the “dream of God” (as explicated by Rev. Verna J. Dozier and others), and
- to continue to mature as a “Beloved Community” (as envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others).
As you know the Peace and Justice Steering Committee has been discussing this idea for much of the year. We see this coming year, if approved, as a year of exploration and discernment – defining for ourselves what it would mean and what language, processes and actions we would want to use. We hope you will read over the proposed resolution in the next couple weeks and ask any P&J Steering Committee member any questions you may have. Then please stay for a few minutes after church TODAY and let us know if you are behind this proposal.
Thank you!
Peace and Justice Steering Committee Members:
Jo Cannon, Jackie Cloonan, Pat James, Kathleen Kent, Karen Lowe, Karin McGowan, Joanne Morgan, Dawn Orluske, Doug Renick
The CHURCH COUNCIL will meet on May 26th after Church.
There will be a tree planting TODAY in honor of Mission 4/1 at the home of Wilson, Susan, Grace and Sarah Molano. Planting will begin at 2 pm and their home is located at 20 Black Birch Trail in Florence (this is a co-housing development). Thank you to the Molano family for hosting and being wonderful stewards of our precious earth.
News from Joanne Morgan about Youth Group~~
- The Youth Group will continue learning and discussing the Creation story, in preparation for our performance on Children’s Sunday.
- Come to our Relay for Life Flower Sale on Saturday, May 25th 9am-noon and Sunday, May 26th 11:30-1! We will have hanging plants and annuals, just in time for your Memorial Day gardening. All benefits will go toward our HCC Relay for Life team, Haydenville Christians for Hope!
New Access Key Policy~~After careful consideration the Trustees have determined that we need to change the locks on the Church doors. We anticipate that the new locks will be installed May 23rd. Once they are in place, old keys will no longer work. ! There are important reasons for this change. Of highest priority is our ongoing effort to make the building a more secure space for our church family and to limit the number of keys in circulation. Since the locks are very old many keys no longer work. Once the locks have been changed, new keys will be distributed to Trustee approved staff, committee heads, etc. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding in this important matter.
A MESSAGE FROM HEAD SHEPHERD MARY SHEEHAN~~Recently Carol Rinehart wrote a concern regarding her daughter Nora who lives in Chicago. Nora has been harassed by her co-workers, which includes her supervisor, regarding Nora’s gay lifestyle. Nora has since left her job. Let’s join together as a church community to give support to Nora. Please send an email to Carol, and Carol will forward the email to Nora. I am sure Nora will be thankful to you for helping her through this emotional time. Carol’s email: renick.rinehart@comcast.net
NEWS FROM OUR A2A COMMITTEE~~Anyone from the church community is welcome to take the Accessible to All (A2A) Survey, available online until June 2, at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HCC_A2A_Survey. Paper copies are also available in the narthex and the dining room. You may drop your completed survey in one of the boxes labeled Completed A2A Surveys; or mail to the church, IN CARE OF A2A. (or in care of Toby Davis or Kathleen Kent). The survey includes a children/youth section for parents. It is easy to complete and takes only minutes. With your participation, this survey will assist our church in becoming more accessible to all. (More details are on the survey itself.)
Exploring Membership Class #4 in the series will be held SUNDAY, JUNE 2 after Church in Children’s Church. Please call Pastor Andrea if you cannot attend.
HCC Book Group will not meet in May due to scheduling issues. Our next meeting will be Sat., June 8 in the Church Dining Room from 10AM- Noon. In conjunction with our church focus on the Earth, we will have a two-part meeting in June on this theme. The first hour will be a discussion of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. This seminal work is thought to have been instrumental in starting the environmental movement and had its 50th anniversary in 2012. The second half of our meeting will be devoted to poems celebrating the Earth (so please bring some to share!) and finally we will spend some time at the end discussing Fall Book Group directions and selections. Hope you can come. Questions…please call Jennifer Miller-Antill at 268.3189.
History Book Group~~Last week, Fred Goodhue and Jeff Luekens began their series facilitating a discussion of the book God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution by Baylor University historian Thomas Kidd. The discussions begin at 6 PM. The next meeting is on May 23rd and will cover Chapters 9-12.
Robert H. Life Scholarship~~The Rev. Robert H. Life was the pastor of the Haydenville Church from 1904 -1934. He was a man of firm faith and was an inspiration to his congregation. In his will Rev. Life set up a trust fund to assist the members of his beloved church. The income from this trust fund is used to provide scholarship support for any Williamsburg resident who is furthering his or her education and who is an active member or child of an active member. Applications for the 2013-2014 year are available from Anne Harrison by calling 413.253.7959, texting 413.219.8772, or emailing harrisona@elms.edu. If leaving a message, please give your name, relation to the church, and address where the application form should be sent. Applications are due by Sunday, May 26th, with scholarships to be announced in June.
Adult Sunday School~~has resumed and will continue through all of May and June. Every Sunday, 8:45 to 9:45 AM in the Church Dining Room. There is always a children’s table with coloring, juice and snacks. All are welcome, join us! PLEASE NOTE NEW TIME!
Our Melissa Brown is pregnant, due in October. We are putting out an early call for things she will need when the baby arrives. Do you have any of these items that you no longer need and could give or loan to Melissa? We would be so grateful! We will start collecting these items during the summer (storage before then is a problem). Questions? Please see Pastor Andrea.
Items needed: crib, stroller, car seat, diapers. Thank you in advance for your help!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW! The All-Church Picnic will be held at Jil, Christine and Sayla’s home in Haydenville again this year…on June 30th after our worship service. THANK YOU JIL, SAYLA AND CHRISTINE! We LOVE our All-Church Picnics at your house! NEWS FLASH: THE PICNIC WILL FEATURE A STORY TOLD BY TOM McCABE!!!
Additional New Flash! Organizing the All-Church Picnic is a big undertaking and we need a committee of folks who will roll up their sleeves and work hard to make this picnic happen. The good news is that Andrew Geery and Linda Ziegenbein, amazing organizers and worker bees, are co-chairing the PICNIC COMMITTEE. Can you help? We need people! Please see Linda or Andrew! Thank you!
This July, our Church will be closed (as usual) as we do special maintenance projects and super-clean our beloved building. We will be closed July 7, 14 and 21 and open again for worship on July 28th at 10:00 AM.
POSTPONED!!!!!!! The all-Church Fire Drill scheduled for TODAY has been postponed until June! We will keep you posted about when it is rescheduled.
A Church member and her son are looking for an inexpensive room to rent in the Northampton area. They would like to move out of their current living situation immediately. Anyone with a room to spare, please talk to Pastor Andrea.
Welcome Visitors! If you are new to us, we would love to have you fill out the colorful “strippy thing” tucked in your Bulletin to let us know you were here! (These can be given to Pastor Andrea, placed in the Offering plate or be given to an Usher.) IF you are NOT a newcomer, please recycle your strippy thing by placing it in the basket by the door to the Dining Room.
Church Members and Friends: Would you like to be a Greeter some Sunday? Please contact Kim Waddell (413.727.8606). Like to be an Usher? Please contact Darien Gardner (413.586.7697). Like toRead Scripture? Please contact Annie Harrison (413.253.7959). We welcome your leadership! Also if you need to schedule the use of the Church Dining Room/Kitchen or Sanctuary, please contact Church Scheduler Sue Carbin (413.584.3314).
Pantry in Dining Room by Back Door~~Food in the pantry shelves by the back door is there for ANYONE to take home. You do not need to be a Church member or even a regular attender to help yourself to food on those shelves. Everyone is welcome…please fill a bag!
We need more Prayer Shawls. Our Church sent 6 Prayer Shawls to the Newtown, CT to share in their community. We now need more Prayer Shawls. We like the triangle shaped shawls for people to be wrapped in AND also the long rectangle ones that Pastor Andrea often drapes across beds in hospitals and nursing homes. Please if you knit or crochet, we need more Prayer Shawls!
The Hidden Danger of Fragrances~~Please know that our Church is continuing to work on our commitment to reduce fragrances in our Church so that we can be a safe, welcoming place to those with chemical sensitivities. We have literature about why this is important (on the welcome table in the Dining Room) and members of the A2A Committee (Accessible to All) would be happy to discuss this with you…See Kathleen Kent. Thank you!
A CHURCH TRANSFORMED~~Our former Yale Divinity School Intern Jeannine Oakes made a film of our church called “A Church Transformed.” We have DVDs of the film for you to borrow. If you would like to “sign out” a copy to watch at home, please see Pastor Andrea.
