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The bi-weekly newsletter of
Barrington Congregational Church, United Church of Christ
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Office Hours: Open Mon - Fri, 9:30 am - 1:30 pm.
Closed on Federal and State Holidays & where otherwise noted
Sun, Dec 8 Second Sunday of Advent
10 am Worship Service, Church School
Mon, Dec 9
10 - 11 am Bereavement Group meeting, Library
5 - 6:30 pm Barrington Interfaith Partners meeting, Library
Tues, Dec 10
10 am Staff meeting, Dale's office
Wed, Dec 11
7:30 pm Choir rehearsal, Vestry
Thurs, Dec 12
8:30 - 9:30 am Coffee Chat, Plant City in Barrington Center
12 pm Women of Faith Christmas Luncheon, Library
Sun, Dec 15 Third Sunday of Advent
10 am Worship Service, Church School
11:30 am - 1 pm Confirmation Class, Library
Mon, Dec 16
11 am Lay Visitation meeting, Library
6 pm Youth Group Quiet Retreat, Sanctuary
Tues, Dec 17
10 am Staff meeting, Dale's office
10:30 am Book Group, Library
6:30 pm Knitting for Others Group, Library & Zoom
Wed, Dec 18
Noon: Deadline for The Bridge newsletter
7:30 pm Choir rehearsal, Vestry
Thurs, Dec 19
8:30 - 9:30 am Coffee Chat, Plant City in Barrington Center
For the complete church calendar visit http://bccucc.view-events.com
Send calendar information to office@bccucc.org
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Upcoming Worship Services | |
If you can't be with us in person, we invite you to worship with us online!
Our Sunday morning services are livestreamed for those unable to attend in person. They can be viewed on our Facebook page or on our YouTube channel - either live or watched later. Once the service is over, a recording of the service can be found on our website.
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Sunday, December 8th
Second Sunday of Advent: Peace
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Sunday, December 15th
Third Sunday of Advent:
Love
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5 pm All-Ages Nativity Service
Come join us for this fun, family friendly Christmas celebration. This before-dinner worship service will revolve around the telling of the Christmas Story in an interactive way involving all the children of the congregation. Interspersed throughout the story will be a sing along featuring many of your favorite Christmas carols. Come smile and laugh and join with people of all ages as we celebrate the birth of Christ.
8 pm Service of Lessons and Carols
This traditional service will be held in our sanctuary and livestreamed for those unable to attend in person. It will feature special selections from our choir along with congregational singing of many of your favorite carols, each interspersed within a formal telling of the Christmas Story. It will conclude with a brief message and candlelight singing of Silent Night. All ages are welcome to attend this service, although some families with young children may find our 5:00 PM service more appealing to the little ones.
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Women of Faith Luncheon
The Women of Faith will meet on Thursday December 12th at 12:00 to enjoy their annual Christmas luncheon. Contact Jane Tonn at 289-2349 or jtonn2@cox.net if you are interested in joining them.
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'From the River's Edge' with Racquel
Don't miss the latest Pastors' blog, "Behold", by Rev. Racquel Ray. Read it here.
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Youth Group Quiet Retreat
On Monday, December 16th, the BCCUCC Youth Group will be meeting in the sanctuary at 6 pm for a Quiet Retreat. Questions? Contact Rev. Racquel Ray at racquel@bccucc.org.
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Bristol County Chorus Christmas Concert
The Bristol County Chorus will present their 43rd annual Christmas concert on Sunday, December 8th at St. Mary's Church, 330 Wood Street, Bristol, RI, at 3PM. The Chorus, accompanied by a professional chamber orchestra, will be conducted by Director of Music Nicholas Rocha. Presenting, Come All Ye Faithful, the program features festive, colorful holiday music, and a special arrangement of O Magnum Mysterium written and conducted by Mr. Rocha. Tickets are $20.00 in advance, and $25.00 at the door, and are available locally at the George Hail Library in Warren, at Paper Packaging and Panache in Bristol, and online through brownpapertickets.com. Be sure to follow and check the group's Facebook page for additional information.
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Handel's Messiah with Providence Singers Performance
Join the Rhode Island Philharmonic and the Providence Singers for the holiday performance of Handel's Messiah at The Vets on Sunday, December 15th at 3PM. For tickets or more information visit www.ProvidenceSingers.org or the Rhode Island Philharmonic website.
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Opportunities to Give & Give Thanks | |
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BCCUCC Giving Cards and Gift of Time & Talents
Thank you to everyone who has returned an Estimate of Giving card or Gift of Time and Talents card for 2024!
For anyone who may need a card or a copy of the current Ministry teams to see how you can give (financially or with your time and talents), please contact the office at office@bccucc.org or 401-246-0111.
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2024 Giving Tree
The BCCUCC Local Outreach Team is hoping to bring holiday joy to as many families as possible with our annual Giving Tree to benefit the Women’s Resource Center. All monies raised, both before and after the first week in December, through December 29th, will be given to the Women's Resource Center to support the survivors of domestic violence and their families. Donations should be given to the church office as cash, check, or online through Tithe.ly on the church website. Checks should be made out to "BCCUCC" with "Women’s Resource Center" written in the memo line. Contact Nancy Arena at (401) 246-0212 or nancy.arena@outlook.com.
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Christmas Fund
"And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them..." —Luke 2:9
The Christmas Fund is the second special mission offering collected by United Church of Christ congregations across the nation. This year's theme is "be the light." The Christmas Fund has been caring for active and retired clergy and lay employees of the United Church of Christ for over 100 years, providing emergency grants, supplementation of small annuities and health premiums, and Christmas “Thank You” gift checks each December to our lower-income retirees.
The Christmas Fund will be collected at BCCUCC on Sunday, December 22nd. Donations may be made during worship on December 22 or at your convenience - by check payable to ‘BCCUCC’ with ‘UCC Christmas Fund’ in the memo line; by cash using the special offering envelope in the 12/22 bulletin; or online at our website donation page https://bccucc.org/donation/ using Tithe.ly and designating it for the ‘UCC Christmas Fund’ in the drop down menu. Bulletin inserts will be included on Sunday, December 15th and Sunday, December 22nd .
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2024 Mitten Tree
The Mission & Justice Team is sponsoring a Mitten Tree to receive donations of warm hats, gloves, scarves, and mittens etc. - both purchased and handmade - for children, youth, and adults of all sizes. Again this year we have a live tree upstairs in the sanctuary to receive donations through the end of December. Please place your donated items on or under the tree before or after the worship service. All items will be given to organizations serving those in need. If anyone wishes to make a donation, but is not currently attending in-person worship, please contact Nancy Arena at (401) 246-0212 or nancy.arena@outlook.com to arrange for pick-up.
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Staff End of Year / Christmas Gift
A message from Dale and Racquel “During advent you will find an envelope in the bulletin marked “Staff Christmas Gift.” We are blessed to have wonderful people working here who give more hours to our church than expected or are compensated for. We therefore invite you to join with us in giving them a gift during these holidays. Your gifts will be divided up among several different people; Sara and Pat in the office, Andrea who works with our children, Matthew at the keyboard, and Barbara and Frank on the custodial staff. Each staff person will receive this gift according to the number of hours they work. Thank you ahead of time for your generosity.” Please make checks payable to 'BCCUCC' and mark the memo line 'Staff Gift'. They can be put in the offering plate or sent to the office. If you would like to donate online, use the use Tithe.ly on our church website’s donation page and choose ‘Staff Christmas Gift’ in the drop-down menu. We thank you for your generous support!
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Governing Board Updates
The BCCUCC Governing Board continues to meet regularly, usually once per month. We are charged with implementing the new BCCUCC governance structure as defined by the new By-laws adopted by the Congregation in January 2024. One of our duties has been to draft policies that supplement our By-laws. The first was the Congregation Policy approved by the Congregation last June. Most recently we have written and approved our own Governing Board Policy. This is now available for your review by clicking here to visiting https://bccucc.org/wp-content/uploads/Governing-Board-Policy-11-12-24.pdf . Our next task is to work with the Finance Coordinator to finalize the 2025 budget. This will be presented to the Congregation at our budget meeting in late January. Please contact Governing Board Chair Laura Ward if you have any questions or concerns: Lnakshian@gmail.com.
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Bereavement Group (Monthly)
This support group is open to anyone (not just church members) who has lost a loved one at any time and new members are always welcome. The group meets once a month from 10 - 11 am in the church library and will meet again on Monday, December 9th. For more information contact one of the facilitators, Betsy Brenner at betsybrenner3@gmail.com or 245-8031, or Aubrey Atwater at aubreyfolk@aol.com or (401) 392-1909, or Rev. Racquel Ray at racquel@bccucc.org (401) 246 0111 x 104.
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Women of Faith Reading Group (Biweekly)
The Women of Faith will meet on Thursday, December 12th at 12:00 to enjoy their annual Christmas luncheon. Contact Jane Tonn at (401) 289-2349 or jtonn2@cox.net if interested in joining.
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Youth Group
On December 16th Youth Group will have a "Quiet Retreat" in the Church from 6 - 7 pm.
All youth in grades 5 - 9 are welcome to join us on Monday nights from 6 – 7 pm. We’re looking forward to Games and Crafts nights, Youth Group Soup, a trip to La Salette, a Quiet Retreat, community service work, and exploring a mission trip. Please email racquel@bcc.org to learn more or register. Note: There is no youth group when Barrington Public Schools have a day off.
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Book Group (Monthly)
The Book Group next meets on Tuesday, December 17th at 10:30 am in the Church Library to discuss Clear by Carys Davies. For more info about the group contact Helen Schall at helenschall@hotmail.com.
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Knitting for Others Group (Monthly)
*December Date Change*
The Knitting for Others Group will meet both in person and via zoom on the first Tuesday of each month. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, December 17th from 6:30 - 9 pm. Feel free to stop into the library or join the call at any time and stay as long as you like. All knitters and crocheters are invited to participate and new faces are very welcome. For more information on the group or the Zoom login info to participate, contact Nancy Arena at (401) 246-0212 or nancy.arena@outlook.com.
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Veterans Coffee & Conversation at Atria (Monthly)
Rev. Racquel invites you to join her for coffee and donuts with the Veterans at Atria Bay Spring Village. We meet once per month for coffee and conversation - and donuts. The stories and living history are profoundly sacred. Please email or call Rev. Racquel to sign up at racquel@bccucc.org or (401) 246-0111 x 104.
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Choir Rehearsals (Weekly)
If you enjoy singing, why not join the church choir - no audition needed! Rehearsals are on Wednesday evenings from 7:30 pm in the Vestry for an hour or so. To learn more, speak with our music director Matthew Marion after church or at (401) 954-7107 or mmarion1811@gmail.com. Or speak with any choir member - they'd love to welcome some new faces and voices! Come make a joyful noise to the Lord!
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Coffee Chat (Weekly)
The Thursday Morning Coffee Chat meets at Plant City in the Barrington Shopping Center (188 County Road). Please join Rev. Racquel and others on Thursday mornings 8:30 - 9:30 am for conversation and companionship. Contact Rev. Racquel with any questions racquel@bccucc.org
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Deadlines for Announcements and The Bridge
The deadline for receiving information for inclusion in The Bridge and the Sunday Announcements is Noon on the Wednesday prior to publication. Deadline for the next Bridge newsletter is Wednesday, December 18th. Please send information to office@bccucc.org.
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Do you need a name tag?
If you would like a nametag please contact the church office at office@bccucc.org or call (401) 246-0111 and let us know what name you’d like on the nametag plus your preference for a clip, pin or string holder. Nametags are stored on the rack in the vestry hallway, or you can keep it in your car or purse where you can easily find it on a Sunday morning.
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Don't miss out!
View our latest bulletins, announcements, video streams and more through the following channels:
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News from the Conference & National UCC | |
Keep up to date with our Conference - SNEUCC
The Southern New England Conference, UCC (SNEUCC), publishes several newsletters - one of which normally comes out weekly and is titled '5 Things to Know and Share'. Read the latest edition at this link and sign up to subscribe and get it sent to your inbox.
Click on this link to see the archive of all of the different SNEUCC newsletters - and subscribe to any that are of interest to you.
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Rev. Dale Azevedo Senior Minister dale@bccucc.org (401) 246-0111 x 103
Rev. Racquel Ray Associate Minister for Congregational Life racquel@bccucc.org (401) 246-0111 x 104
Sara Bagwell Office Administrator office@bccucc.org (401) 246-0111 x 101 (or stay on the line)
Pat Stoddard Financial Secretary pat@bccucc.org (401) 246-0111 x 102
Andrea Bullard Faith Formation Director andrea@bccucc.org (401) 246-0111 x 107
Matthew Marion Music Director mmarion1811@gmail.com Music Director
Church Office Hours: Open Monday – Friday, 9:30 am – 1:30 pm.
Closed on Federal and State holidays.
Building Security: The Education building remains locked at all times, even when the office is open. Please ring the bell for entry and we'll be happy to let you in - or use the code on the keypad if you have it.
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