FALL
October/November
2020
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Newsletter of
First Congregational Church
of Holden
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Welcome to the fall. Someone on Facebook quipped, by "fall" do you mean "autumn" or the "fall of civilization"; haha, but it sure feels like that sometimes doesn't it. These are uncertain and unsettling times. I hope you are doing ok. Even though "church as normal", like "life as normal", has been temporarily suspended, the church seems more relevant and essential than ever. We need our God to guard, guide and ground us and we need each other to see this through.
Psalm 46:1-3 declares,
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
These words ring true in my heart and mind and provide such comfort and courage. In a world that seems so uncertain; in the midst of this scary and deadly pandemic; in the midst of all these restrictions and isolation and the upheaval of daily life and the loss of income and livelihood for many, in the midst of an increasingly polarized and unsettled America where it is hard to know if anyone is telling the truth anymore and where everyone seems angry all the time... GOD IS OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH! Thank God! How does anyone survive without him! Let's burrow into his embrace and find the rest and renewal we so desperately need.
As you read through this newsletter, I encourage you to take advantage of some of the creative opportunities, programs and ideas offered to help keep yourself connected and grounded in your faith - participate in worship, join a small group, read, meditate and pray; encourage your children and teens to be involved. Is something missing here that you would like to see, maybe that's your calling, but please let us know and lets see what we can do.
Let's continue to stay connected to one another even while distant, taking advantage of all the wonderful technology God has given us. And while we all have our normal circle of friends, even at church, let me challenge you to expand your circle and reach out to 2-3 people that you normally might not; if we all do that small thing what a huge difference it could make.
If we cling to Jesus' great command to love - to dwell in God's love, to love him in return and to love one another - we will not only get through this season but we will thrive in the midst.
Your church is here for you and so am I, please reach out if you have any need, even just to chat.
Together in Christ's love,
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From Your Assistant Pastor
of Youth & Family Ministry
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Dear Friends,
Our young people are continuing to demonstrate incredible resilience, courage, and resolve as they walk through an isolating, challenging, and unprecedented season; and our prayer is that as they move forward they would not walk alone, but with Christ.
Here at FCCH, we want to create the kind of safe, inclusive, and Christ-centered spaces in which our youth can thrive spiritually and personally. We want our kids to know they matter to Jesus and His body here on 1180 Main St. And in the midst of their own unique trials, frustrations, and needs, we want our teens to turn to their savior in faith, and know the comfort, peace, and love of the Lord.
To this end, we’re putting in the time, effort, and energy to make sure they have safe opportunities to be together, in an age when they can feel so apart. Soul Fuel, Regroup, and Donut Club make up these opportunities for the month of October, and moving forward our plan is to continue to create physical and digital spaces where young people can hear God’s Word, feel God’s love, and experience the joy of God’s fellowship together.
In addition, we want to give our teens something they can anticipate, get excited about, and look forward to; and we’ll be planning our Missions Trip for 2021 as early as next week! Your prayers for the Lord’s direction, leading, and moving in the hearts of our youth are invaluable, as we plan and prepare to see them serve and love others in the name of Jesus.
We may not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. And we couldn’t be more excited for the ways in which Christ is going to guide, lead, and transform the lives of our young people as we move forward with Him together.
Love in Christ,
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We are making plans to move back inside for worship. As of this writing (and things are constantly changing) we are limited to very small gatherings inside. Our plan is to hold a few small worship gatherings per week limited to 25 people at each. You will have to make reservations to attend these indoor services, sit in designated pews and wear masks (why? because we love you and want you to be safe :-). The services will be a little shorter (50-60 mins.) with a little less singing and fewer extra elements but still meaningful and worshipful.
Outdoor Worship is working well for many of our members. In September we had 50-70 people per week gather on the back lawn for worship with a bigger gathering of 120 or so on September 27th for Confirmation Sunday. Since the outdoor gatherings also allow us to accommodate significantly more people than inside, we are going to continue worshiping outside a little longer until it's too cold to do so. We are extending outdoor worship through Sunday November 1st but we will also start holding some indoor services at other times starting mid-October. Here's the current plan:
Outdoor Sunday Morning Worship 10am continues through Nov. 1
Think being outside for fall sports, bundle up, bring a warm beverage and a mask :-). It can actually be quite comfortable and pleasant in the sun with the cool air; far better than in the heat of summer. In November Sunday Morning worship will move inside.
Indoor Sunday Evening Worship 5pm starting October 18th
This service inside the sanctuary will be identical (same bulletin, songs, scripture, sermon) to the Sunday morning outdoor service. Limit of 25. Reservation Required.
Indoor Wednesday Communion Worship 7pm starting October 21st
This service inside the sanctuary will be different from Sunday and will include communion each week. Limit of 25. Reservation Required.
Reservations are Required for Indoor Services. There is a limit of 25 people at each service. Please choose one service (not both) for now, to give everyone an opportunity. Make a reservation online by clicking here.
Live-streaming is here to stay and we will continue to live-stream and post to YouTube Sunday morning services indefinitely, even when we move inside.
Down the road. When we do move inside on Sunday mornings in November we plan to hold 2 services at 9:00am and 10:30am limited to 25 with reservations required as above. Children and youth of course are welcome and encouraged to come to worship. We are working on plans for some sort of indoor children's program at some point, but we will continue online offerings as well; same for our youth ministry. Christmas Eve? We are considering holding our main service outside at 5pm bundled up with candles, fires and a luminary (bags with candles inside) lighting up the front lawn of the church around the manger scene, telling the Christmas story and singing Christmas carols, making it a very unique and special Christmas :-) We plan to have a couple small indoor Christmas Eve services as well.
Most likely this will be how it all plays out, but it all could change at any time, welcome to 2020 :-) We will keep you informed as best we can. Thank you for your patience and perseverance as we move through this unsettling and adventurous year.
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Thank You for your continued
Generous Giving
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Thank you for continuing to give generously to the church! Your offerings, first to God, allow us to continue our ministry, pay our bills and take care of our staff during this difficult season. We are collecting offerings on Sundays during outdoor worship or feel free to mail your offering envelopes to the church or stop by during office hours. You can also give online using Tithe.ly. However you do so, thank you! |
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You may not remember (and who would blame you), but back pre-pandemic earlier this year, we voted to allocate funds to fix our historic 1876 bell which we discovered needing serious repair when we installed the digital chimes system a couple years ago. We are pleased to say the bell is now officially repaired and operational. |
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Many thanks to Curt Wickman, Neal Hooper and the Property Resource Team for following through and getting this done! We plan to ring and rededicate our historic bell Sunday October 11th at 10:00am as our call to worship which has always been its main purpose. |
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All your church updates and resources in one place online!
Just click the picture of the church
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Stay connected with your church family, share how you are coping, ideas and encouraging faith filled messages. |
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Check out our full youth ministry news on our website
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Weekly Youth Group
Sundays, 1-2:30pm
Middle & High School Students
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"FUEL UP" FOR THE WEEK WITH GAMES, FRIENDS, AND FELLOWSHIP! |
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Thursdays, 4-5pm
Junior & Senior High
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ReGroup is an intentional effort on part of our church to provide our older high school students (juniors and seniors) with an inclusive space just for them. A chance to show up, have fun, and freely explore the Christian faith as it relates to the real-world issues they encounter each day.
We'll play games, check-in, and ask the hard questions as we dig into the Word of God together!
Whether students have finished confirmation, are curious about the Christian faith, or have never been in a church before, there is a place for them at ReGroup!
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FOR OUR YOUTH EARLY RISERS!
Sunday mornings - 8:00am
Pastor Josh cordially invites you to enjoy donuts* and devotions (outside), bright and early at 8am before church every Sunday morning in October!
Games will be played following our "Devos"!
*if no one is in attendance Pastor Josh reserves the right to consume all donuts present at Donut Club
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Mission Trip Planning
October 11, 7:00pm
via Zoom
Watch your email for more info or
for the link.
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This fall we have two exciting Bible study offerings on The Parables of Jesus and The Armor of God. While we still can't meet in person just yet, you can participate in these studies on your own independently or with others in an online discussion group or a hybrid combination of both. |
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The Parables of Jesus
Jesus often taught using parables, such as The Sower & The Seed, The Good Samaritan, The Prodigal Son, etc. For the rest of the year, over the next 3 months, Sunday sermons will focus on 13 of Jesus' parables. There is a simple study guide available for those of you who would like to go a little deeper. You can pick one up at church or buy one electronically for your Kindle. You can work on it individually and/or join in our online Bible Study discussion anytime.
Wednesday Parables Bible Study
10-11am via Zoom starts Oct. 7th.
Watch your email for Zoom and study links.
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The Armor of God
This 7 week video series and discussion features Bible teacher Priscilla Shirer teaching on The Armor of God passage from Ephesians 6:10-19. Priscilla is a dynamic speaker and while each video lesson is approximately 45 mins. you won't be bored and it will go by fast! You can watch the videos online at your convenience or you can join us via Zoom as we watch them together, audio files (mp3) for each session are also available for you to download and listen to on your phone, in your car, or on the go anywhere. There is a very nice, very rich in-depth study guide to go along with the study which you can pick up at the church for $15 if you so desire, it is not required but may be a nice companion to the study for many of you. You can do the whole thing as an independent study or join in our Thursday night discussion.
Thursday Armor of God Bible Study
via Zoom starts Oct. 8 - Nov. 19
6:30-7:15pm Video (watch video session together over Zoom)
7:15-8:15pm Discussion (jump in here if you already watched/listened to video). Watch your email for Zoom and study links.
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Men's Fellowship
Saturdays, 8:00am via Zoom
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Our new study is entitled "'get your life back" - Everyday Practices For A World Gone Mad". It is written by author John Eldredge and was just published in February. This study has six sessions, Oct. 1 - Nov.7, and we will watch the accompanying video for each session over Zoom before a time of discussion.
If you have yet to join us in a Zoom session, but would like to, just email me at cwjw79@yahoo.com, and I will get you added to the weekly email list for the link to Zoom. |
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Kids Corner
Sunday School Online and So Much More....
Watch your inbox or check out our Childrens page on our website for all things kids.
click here for Children's Ministry Fall newsletter
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We will continue to send lessons representative of our Fall curriculum. Watch your email, check out our website or Facebook page. If you are not receiving a weekly Sunday school lesson just let the church office know. churchoffice@fccholden.org
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This Fall we want our kids to "Leaf" for Jesus and be all the more involved with their church. Find out more about how. (psst, prizes too!)
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Also find a few of our famous
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Crop Walk for Hunger 2020
Holden’s Crop Hunger Walk on Sunday, October 18th will be going virtual. As it stands now, we will have a send off Via Zoom at 1:00pm. After that walkers can walk wherever they choose. If you want to walk in a small group with friends, that's OK.
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Pre-Walk Fundraiser
Pizza to Go!
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Papa Gino's Night
Wednesday, October 14th
5:00 to 8:30 PM.
takeout and delivery only
No flyers, Just mention Holden Crop Walk at time of order
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I would like to thank everyone for all you have done for me when Nancy passed and beyond. The thoughts, prayers and help were and have been greatly appreciated. There will be a service for Nancy in the spring when hopefully family from far away may travel to participate.
Gratefully,
Bob Ferguson
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Thank you to all for your thoughts, prayers, cards, virtual hugs and more on the passing of my father. I felt each one.
Linda Cole
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First Congregational Church Nursery School |
Thank you for the ongoing support from the church and the community.
We can’t wait to see everyone in January!
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Planning to open in January 2021 as state regulations allow.
children 2.9 - 4 years:
Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:00 - 12:30am
Children 3.9 - 5 years:
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 9:00 - 12:30pm
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Corner Shop
Your Neighborhood Thrift Store
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The doors are open wide
Oh, the treasures you'll find inside
"Bring a mask" they cried
we're full to busting and cannot hide
The Corner Shop hours when we re-open are :
Tuesdays 10-4p.m.
Thursdays 10-4p.m. & 7-9p.m
3rd Saturday 9-11:30am
508/829-9270
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Sunday Morning Worship
Every Sunday at 10:00am on the back lawn or "livestream" online
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or fccholden.org/worship
Watch on Holden TV Channel 191
They broadcast the previous week's service
Sundays at 10:00am
Wednesdays at
2:30 & 7:00pm
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Contact
First Congregational Church of Holden
1180 Main Street
Holden, MA 01520
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508-829-5411
www.fccholden.org
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