The bi-weekly newsletter of

Barrington Congregational Church, United Church of Christ

Calendar

Office Hours: Open Mon - Fri, 9:30 am - 1:30 pm.

Closed on Federal and State Holidays & where otherwise noted

Sun, Dec 22 Fourth Sunday of Advent

10 am Worship Service, Church School *Church Fund Offering*

Tues, Dec 24 Christmas Eve (Office Closed)

5 pm All-Ages Nativity Service, Sanctuary

8 pm Service of Lessons and Carols, Sanctuary

Wed, Dec 25 Christmas Day (Office Closed)

Thurs, Dec 26 (Office Closed)

8:30 - 9:30 am Coffee Chat, Plant City in Barrington Center

Fri, Dec 27 Office Open 9:30am - 12:30pm

Sun, Dec 29 First Sunday of Christmas

10 am Worship Service, NO Church School

Mon, Dec 30 Office Open 9:30am - 12:30pm

Tues, Dec 31 New Years Eve (Office Closed)

Wed, Jan 1 New Years Day (Office Closed)

Thurs, Jan 2

8:30 - 9:30 am Coffee Chat, Plant City in Barrington Center

Office returns to normal hours (9:30am to 1:30pm)

For the complete church calendar visit http://bccucc.view-events.com

Send calendar information to office@bccucc.org

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.

Upcoming Worship Services

Sunday, December 22nd

Fourth Sunday of Advent - Joy

Join us on Sunday, December 22nd for the fourth Sunday of Advent morning worship.

At this morning worship, we will also be collecting donations for

The Christmas Fund. 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.

Donations may be made during worship on December 22^nd 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.

Christmas Eve Services

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.

Bridge News & Updates

Church Staff Christmas Lunch

All of our staff wish you, your family and your friends a joyous Christmas and a happy New Year!

Our staff were blessed to spend some time together outside of the office this week during our annual Christmas lunch.

'From the River's Edge' with Dale

Don't miss the latest Pastors' blog, "Are You Taking Care of Yourself?", by Rev. Dale Azevedo. Read it here.

Holiday Office Hours

The office will be closed December 24^th - 26^th for Christmas, and December 31^st & January 1^stfor New Years Eve and New Years Day.

The office will be open on December. 27^thand 30^th from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.

Office hours will return to normal beginning January 2^nd, 2025.

Opportunities to Give & Giving Thanks

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 29^th, 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.

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.

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.

BCCUCC Governing Board

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.

Ongoing Groups

Youth Group

The next Youth Group meetings will be on Monday, January 6th, and also on Monday, January 12th from 6 - 7 pm.

All youth in grades 5 - 9 are welcome to join us on Monday nights from 6 – 7 pm. Please email racquel@bcc.org to learn more or register. Note: There is no youth group when Barrington Public Schools have a day off.

Knitting for Others Group (Monthly)

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, January 7th 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.

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, January 13th. 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.

Women of Faith Reading Group (Biweekly)

Women of Faith Reading Group will next meet on Thursday, January 16th from 1:30 - 3 pm. The title for this month is The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi. If you would like a copy, there are a few remaining in the Barrington Library bag in the church library. Please sign your name and the number of the book you are taking on the sign out sheet.

Book Group (Monthly)

The Book Group will meet on Tuesday, January 21st, at 10:30 in the Church Library. We will be discussing The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz. For more info about the group contact Helen Schall at helenschall@hotmail.com.

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.

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!

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

Worth repeating

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, January 8th. Please send information to office@bccucc.org.

2024-2025 Church Calendar

Our church calendar can be viewed at http://bccucc.view-events.com or from the calendar page on our church website https://bccucc.org/calendar/. Please notify the office at office@bccucc.org or 246-0111 with information about meetings/events etc. so the calendar can always be kept up to date. Thank you!

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.

Don't miss out!

View our latest bulletins, announcements, video streams and more through the following channels:

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.

Connect with Us

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.