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This Sunday's Worship
in Hadley Hall
Weather allowing, Sunday worship will be held in Hadley Hall this week to make it easier to transition to our Annual Meeting.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
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Worship This Week
Please join us
in the Sanctuary
or online at 10am for the
Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany with
Sunday School
Coffee hour will be held
after the service
in Hadley Hall
The service will be live streamed
on Facebook Live here
or on 3CX here
Readers: Barry Sargent
Coffee Hour Hosts: Marge & Bob O'Brien
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Weather Concerns
With the potential for bad weather common in our area, we want to let you know what to expect in general and for the upcoming week in particular.
The decision to open or close the church building involves assessing the safety of the church parking lot and entrances. Much of our snow clearing is handled by volunteers on the Operations team and we want everyone to be safe. Also, our Interim Pastor comes a fair distance to be present.
During the week, staff will assess the situation. If schools are delayed or closed due to bad weather, it is best to call before you come to see if staff are working in the building or at home.
For Sunday Worship, the decision may be made to offer worship online only. In that event, a notice will be posted on the church Facebook page and an email blast will be sent out. We encourage folks to use the provided links to participate in worship from home. (Even if worship is offerred in person, if it is not safe for you to come or the manage snow and ice at your home, please watch from home! Your safety and health are important to us!
In the event we need to move worship online this coming Sunday, Annual Meeting will be postpone for one week and it will be held on Sunday, February 16 following worship.
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HCC Annual Report
If you would like an electronic copy of the Annual Report, please click here.
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Slate of Officers for Election at Annual Meeting
Auditor - Maura Mulhall
Clerk - Seneca Moyer
Collector - Barbara Wallack
Co-Moderators - Fred Malcolm & TJ Arndt (Siwacki)
Treasurer - Dave Chin
Thanks!
Fred Malcolm, Moderator
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HCC Receives $4,500 Grant for Insulation Project
This week we received a $4,500 grant from New Hampshire Interfaith Power and Light. Thanks to generous funding from the Katy Gerke Memorial Fund, Interfaith Power and Light offers grants for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
The grant will go towards the work that was completed over December and January to add insulation and improve air-sealing in Hadley Hall, which will improve the efficiency of our mechanical and electrical systems, reduce our annual energy costs, and make the space more comfortable for our congregation, Stepping Stones students and teachers, and the many community members who use this space each week.
The mission of NH Interfaith Power and Light is to inspire and mobilize people of faith and conscience to take bold and just action on climate change. Their campaign intends to protect the earth’s ecosystems, safeguard the health of all Creation, and ensure sufficient, sustainable energy for all.
The Katy Gerke Memorial was established to honor the memory of Dr. Katy Gerke and to help Christian congregations in New Hampshire to lower their church buildings’ carbon footprint.
You can learn more at their website: NH Interfaith Power and Light
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Valentines for Disaster Victims: Hygiene Kits Project
In an effort to do what we can do for those recently affected by the California fires and hurricanes of 2024 we are putting together Hygiene Kits – a UCC/Church World Service mission.
For the month of February, we will have hearts on a tree in Hadley Hall with items needed for the Hygiene Kits. We are hoping to put together twenty kits and will assemble them in March at our next Loaf and Ladle (date TBD). If you would like to assist, please take a heart and supply the goods on the tag. Each tag requests 4 of the same item, also there is a $2 processing fee per kit so some hearts will ask for $8, check made payable to HCC, with a note Hygiene Kit in the memo section. We will have a collection box in the Sanctuary on Sundays and in the foyer of Hadley Hall during the week.
A Hygiene Kit includes:
• Washcloth
• Toenail clipper
• Toothbrush (individually wrapped)
• Bath size bar of soap (in original packaging)
• Travel size deodorant (3.4 oz or less, non-aerosol)
• Travel size lotion (3.4 oz or less, fragrance free, new only)
• Travel size shampoo (3.4 oz or less, new only)
• Travel size toothpaste (3.4 oz or less, expiration date of 1 year)
• Sturdy wide-tough 6” comb
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Rev Paige's Corner: Partners in Christ
In the United Church of Christ, we have shifted our language around Mission and Service over the years. The old model of mission was to send missionaries - often uninvited - to far off places to "save the heathen". Besides sharing the Gospel, this often included bringing Euro-American cultural and traditions and a kind of colonization that could be disrespectful of local wisdom and tradition.
There can also be a kind of arrogance that "we know better" I heard a story about some mission workers in Africa trying to help a community that was food insecure. They decided that they were going to teach gardening. They established a big vegtable garden behind the mission house and couldn't understand why none of the local folks wanted to help. They worked hard on the garden through the growing season, but as the time for harvest approached, a pack of elephants came out of the bush and trampled the garden leaving all their effort destroyed. The local folks understood better than the helpers some of the factors in their community.
I have spent time volunteering with a program working in a Lakota community in South Dakota. In the early days, it was very important to the program leaders to follow the leader of the Lakota tribal leaders. They said early on that was needed in that community was a professional horseshoe court with lights so play could happen in the evening. One of my volunteer trips I spend a lot of time digging holes for posts and wondered with all the other struggles facing the community, this was one of the priorities. What the leaders envisioned, though, was 2 things. First they believed - correctly as time showed - that the professional level court would lead to gatherings of folks from around the reservation for tournaments and would be a source of pride. Second, they knew that it was very difficult to draw men out to the community center for events but that the men would come out to play horseshoes in the evening. This allowed for relationships and trust to be built in ways that would lead to a healthier community. In future visits to that community, I saw that court in use and knew the wisdom of the tribal leaders was right in ways that I would never have imagined if I came in from the outside to try to "fix" things.
These days, the United Church of Christ has established Global Partership relationships and sends no mission workers without an invitation from a local host organization. We want to be helpful, but we follow the lead of the people we are seeking to support and we honor that they often have gifts to offer us.
I think the lessons of the Global Partnership model are important for us in the local church. Although we celebrate the freedom of our congregation to makes its own decisions in our form of congregational polity, we are also in covenant partnership with other settings of the church and with other mission partners. I want to celebrate all of our mission partners and to live them up in prayer in these days.
Blessings and Peace!
Rev Paige Besse-Rankin
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Lenten Mosaic Project
Our theme for Lent this year is going to be around the imagery of God's mosaics and the way that God takes the broken pieces of our lives and transforms them into art.
As part of this, we are going to create our own mosaic as a community art piece. There will be a workshop to learn about mosaic and to work on our project on Sunday, February 23 following worship. All are welcome to come and learn about how to make mosaics and to help us create our own art.
If you have old ceramic pieces that are broken (like plates) that you would like to have included in our community art piece, please drop them in the office during the week prior to Feb 23.
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Save the Dates! Upcoming Events
Feb 9 - Annual Meeting (snow date - Feb 16)
Feb 9 to March 16 - Health Kit collection for Disaster Victims
February 22 - Prepared to Serve event by NH Conference
February 23 - Mosaic Workshop following worship.
2 pm - Chicken Around the World Supper
March 2 - Transition Talk - "Asset Mapping"
March 5 - Ash Wednesday Worship at 7 pm
March 16 - Loaf & Ladle Mission Meal
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Grow Your Faith at Horton Center and Prepared to Serve!
There are two amazing opportunities offered through the NH Conference UCC to grow and learn!
Coming on February 22 is “Prepared to Serve” – an event with all sorts of workshops, worship, displays, and fellowship. You can see all the workshops and get more information here: https://www.nhcucc.org/events/pts-2025 (Let Rev Paige know if you are going and we will see if we can set up a carpool! It is a great day with something for everyone!) https://www.nhcucc.org/events/pts-2025
Horton Center Summer registration is open now! (Yes it is hard to think about warm days on the mountain with snow on the ground, but it is worth the effort!) Ready, Set, Summer Camp! Sign yourself and your loved ones up for an amazing camp experience at Horton Center this summer. With expanded offerings for all ages and stages, everyone is sure to find something to thrill or chill - whatever you're searching for! Check out the summer schedule here: www.hortoncenter.org/sessions Summer staff and volunteers are also being recruited if you or someone you know is interested.
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Peace & Justice
There have been several stories recently about private equity investing in housing and hospitals and other medical services providers. The stories are generally sharing negative outcomes for the purchased entities and their clients.
The articles in the links below tell the story of an apartment complex and physician medical practices that were bought by private equity firms. In both cases the firm brought in a team to manage the acquisitions with an eye toward maximizing profit as the overarching goal. In both cases prices went up and quality went down.
Certainly in a capitalist economy the goal is to make a profit, but these PE firms frequently do that by bleeding the acquisition dry, selling the pieces, and moving on. It seems to me that ownership of some things, like housing and medical care providers, should require more care for the clients than is currently provided by private equity firms. These firms are simply a means of taking large investment dollars from insurance companies and large investment firms to make investments of any kind so long as high returns result. The third link is an explanation of how private equity firms work.
Private Equity in housing
Private Equity in hospitals and medical practices
What is Private Equity?
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Music Corner by Herb Tardiff
5 Best Spring Songs That Will Make All of
Your Days Bright and Fun
We're not saying that we have a favorite season, we're just saying that toward the end of winter, all we can think of is spring! The season immediately brightens the world with its sunny skies and colorful flowers. Plus, the minute we can break out those spring clothes has us feeling like we can conquer the world! The only thing we need to complete the experience is a playlist full of the best spring songs. There's nothing like the power of music to help enhance the mood and make everything better!
"I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash
"Spring Vacation" by The Beach Boys
"Up With the Birds" by Coldplay
"It Might as Well Be Spring" by Frank Sinatra
"April Showers" by Bing Crosby
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Saint Anne's Food Pantry
It's a new year and the food pantry has new needs: Au Gratin potatoes, coffee/tea, tuna fish, mayo, cereal (no oatmeal), Hamburger Helper, crackers (Saltines, Ritz, Triscuits), maple syrup, rice pilaf, strawberry jam, pancake mix, Chef Boyardee items, spices, salad dressings and English muffins.
Thank you to everyone who helped out during the holiday season and thank you in advance for any donations.
They are reaching out for some help...donations are needed. They thought they would try an Amazon Wish List in addition to listing items here.
Please no expired items. Non-perishable items only.
Drop off is in the foyer of Hadley Hall.
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New Hampshire Conference UCC
Weekly News
We thought you might enjoy reading the NH Conference UCC weekly newsletter. You can read it with this link.
2/6/2025 Newsletter
Each week, we will update this section of our Weekly Word with the new link
for the current newsletter.
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Are you on Facebook? Do you follow Hampstead Congregational Church? Please like our page to know about all the great events in the church. Liking also supports our church when people check us out. If you are already connected, share our good news!
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Help Us Continue Our Mission at HCC | |
Want to get the word out about what’s happening at HCC? If you want to publicize your event or remind the congregation about something, please email the office (hcc1752@gmail.com) by Wednesday at noon so that your information can be included in that week’s Weekly Word. Feel free to send in information up to three weeks in advance of an upcoming event. We want all of the congregation (not just the Team leaders) to be empowered to get the word out about all the activities that are happening at Hampstead Congregational Church!
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Our Mailing address:
61 Main Street
Hampstead, NH 03841
Church Office hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 9:00am to 2 pm
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Hampstead Congregational Church Website
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