September 19th Weekly Word | |
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Worship This Week
Please join us
in the Sanctuary
or online at 10am for the
Eighteenth Sunday
after Pentecost
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
Reader: Rick Little
Coffee Hour Host: Janet Kliska
& Sam and Bernie Longbook
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Rev Paige's Corner: A Small Candle
I ran across this story a few years ago in a Sunday school resource:
Once there was a candle flame. It was very small.
Beside the brightness of the sun, it was tiny and she thought she wasn’t very important or very good at being a flame. "The sun is so bright,” she thought as she watched it creep up over the horizon early one morning. The candle’s flame couldn’t be seen as the day got warmer and the sun pulled itself up to the top of the sky.
“I’m not very good!” whispered the flame to herself, very sad and lonely.
And all afternoon she was sad and her wax wilted a little and she fizzed and sparked all afternoon. She was so sad that she didn’t notice the sun sliding down the sky and over the horizon.
Suddenly she was pulled out of her sadness by a voice down below the window. It was a mouse and it was saying, “Thank you”
The candle was surprised, “Why are you saying thank you to me?” she asked.
“Because it is dark and you were the only thing I could see to guide me home out of the danger of the owl.” The candle looked around her and noticed everything was shadowy and she could hardly see.
But the mouse said, “Even though you are a small flame, when the darkness comes, I can see you for miles. Thank you for helping me find my way home, little candle.”
The candle found a great big smile on her face and stood up tall and shone a little brighter knowing even though she was a small flame, even the greatest darkness couldn’t hide her.
Churches like ours often struggle like that little candle and yearn to be bigger. But I have been struck over the years by what a difference small churches can make - often holding light in the darkness, becoming places of healing and faithfulness, and offering a compassionate community for all sorts of people. I know what a differece small churches have made in my life. So while I understand the desire of these churches to grow and expand their minisries, I also wonder if we spend too much time fretting about our size instead of focussing on all the candles of hope we can light and the gift we can be to one another and to our comunity.
With blessings!
Rev Paige Besse-Rankin
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Join us for Fun, Fellowship & Food!
The Transition Team is hosting 4 parties: Thursday, Sept 26 at 6 pm; Saturday, Sept 28 at 1 pm; Sunday Sept 29 at 4pm online and Tuesday, Oct 15 at 5 pm.
Please RSVP to the office which party you would prefer and get your "surprise" - the theme and location of your party!
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Save the Date for a Transition Talk: Sunday, October 13 following Worship
Join us for pizza and discussion as we look at the scope of our pastoral position moving forward. Do we have the resources to continue with a full-time position? What are the options for part-time pastorates? Is there an update on our exploration of sharing a pastor with the Atkinson Church? These are questions that need to be resolved before a Search Committee can begin working. We want to share some information and get your input.
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Would you like to learn about church membership?
We are organizing a New Members Class for October. This is a chance to learn about what membership means, what Hampstead Congregational Church is all about, a bit about the United Church of Christ, and more. If you ae interested, please speak with the pastor, sign up in Hadley Hall, or use this link to express interest:
Click to sign up for New Member's Class!
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Book Discussion Group is back for the Fall
Join us Thursday mornings fro 10 - 11:30! We are reading "Freeing Jesus" by Dianna Butler Bass. It is available on Amazon in paperback, digital format and audible version.
"In Freeing Jesus, Bass challenges the idea that Jesus can only be understood in static, one-dimensional ways and asks us to instead consider a life where Jesus grows with us and helps us through life’s challenges in several capacities: as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence. Freeing Jesus is an invitation to leave the religious wars behind and rediscover Jesus in all his many manifestations, to experience Jesus beyond the narrow confines we have built around him. It renews our hope in faith and worship at a time when we need it most."
We will read and discuss a chapter each week. Come even if you haven't had time to do the reading. On September 19, we will discuss the introduction and the first chapter: Jesus as Friend.
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Isaiah 58 Fundraising Gala
Isaiah 58 NH:
*Provides the opportunity for individuals and families to experience formative change. By
addressing basic needs for food, clothing and shelter, including affordable housing, life skills
training, educational and personalized case management support, Isaiah 58 NH helps its
participants reach their potential.
*Mentors and supports individuals through not only the services we can provide but connections
with outside agencies that can provide additional assistance programs to help them find stability
and housing.
*Provides food, clothing, furniture, case management and budgeting assistance to families and individuals in need.
*Advocates for clients to receive the assistance needed to succeed.
Isaiah 58 NH is holding their Tenth Annual Charity Benefit on Thursday, October 3 at the Atkinson Country Club from 5 pm – 10 pm. This year Isaiah 58 NH’s Founder, Rev. David Yasenka will be the recipient of The Sheriff Michael Downing Humanitarian Award for Community Service. The late High Sherriff Michael Downing was a founding board member of Isaiah 58 NH. This annual humanitarian service award was established in Sheriff Downing’s name. Sponsor/ticket information is below.
$10,000 Premier Sponsor
Special 10th Anniversary Mission Sponsorship In honor of Isaiah 58 New Hampshire’s 10th year and our founder and Downing Award Recipient, Reverend David Yasenka. The Board of Directors would be grateful to accept a 10th Anniversary Mission Sponsorship of $10,000 To include publicity in local news outlets, prominent signage as well as premier table seating and 10 tickets.
$5000 Premier Sponsor
Limited to 4 sponsorships. Premier table seating and 10 tickets.
$2500 Platinum Sponsor - Reserved table seating and 8 tickets.
$1000 Gold Sponsor - 6 tickets.
$500 Silver Sponsor - 4 tickets.
$300 Bronze Sponsor - 2 tickets.
Please contact Isaiah 58 NH directly (603 952-8000) if you are interested in sponsorship.
Individual tickets are $90.00 and includes dinner and dessert. We will also have a silent auction with amazing items to bid on! Most importantly, you will be helping to support our mission to end homelessness in Western Rockingham County. Tickets can be purchased with cash/check
/Venmo @ Isaiah58maggie/PayPal Link.
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New Association structure being proposed for NH UCC
The United Church of Christ is organized into 4 settings: The national setting overseen by General Synod; Conferences (in our case the NH Conference); Associations (in our case the Rockingham Association) and local congregations. This is not a hierarchical structure, and no setting has authority over any others. Instead, it is a set of covenantal relationships where we support one another in our ministries.
In New Hampshire, our Associations of Churches are fairly small in terms of geography and number of churches. Remember that many were organized before automobiles where people would have to travel on foot or horse and carriage to participate in meetings. Among other things, Associations are where decisions are made about who to ordain and authorize for ministry.
But in recent years, many of our Associations in NH have struggled to stay active, to get volunteers and to stay active. This has led to challenges. So, a Task Force has been working over the last 2 years to look at our model, to learn what is happening other parts of the country, to organized listening sessions, and to propose a new structure.
The proposal coming the fall for consideration involves combining all Associations who want to join into one statewide association. Would you like to learn more? There is now a web page with information and there are listening sessions coming later this month. Check here for more information: Association Task Force materials
There are two listening sessions this week: Thursday, September 19th at 7:00pm on Zoom and Saturday, September 21st at 10am on Zoom. (Find the zoom links using the link above.)
Our Association will hold their fall meeting at First Parish Congregational in East Derry, NH on Sunday October 6th at 1:30 PM.
We will need delegates for participate in listening sessions and in our association meeting later this fall to vote as representatives of our congregation. If you would be interested, please speak with Fred Malcolm or Rev Paige.
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Exploring Our Faith Program for 2024/25
We are organizing a program for youth and adults to explore the basics of Christian Faith through discussion, activities, and experiences. This will function like a Confirmation Class for those who have never confirmed their baptism vows. But it will also be open to those who took Confirmation years ago and would like to explore again or for those considering becoming a Christian. It will be a place to ask big questions.
To provide the most flexibility for those with busy schedules and the most chance to personalize exploration to participants own interests, this program will gather monthly for an overview of the theme of the month. Then small groups will have the chance to select and schedule activities around that theme that most interest them and to work together on those activities.
There will also be the opportunity for a mission trip and a retreat as the group has interest. There will be an informational/organizational meeting in early September. This program is open to those in high school and older.
If you are interested in more information, please sign up in the book in Hadley Hall or use this link to register: Faith Journey sign up form
Please see Rev Paige if you have questions!
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Visitation Team being Organized!
One of the challenges of pastoral transition time is that long-time members who are homebound can get lost in the shuffle. It can take a while for a new pastor to get to know folks. And even when a pastor has been settled for a while, 1 person is often not enough to keep folks who are homebound feeling closely connected. A Visitation team can make a big difference with visits, cards, and regular check ins. While this has been happening informally in some cases, we want to organize it just a bit so we can make sure everyone is supported and connected. If you would be interested in volunteering for a visitation team or just learning more about what would be involved, please sign up in the sign-up book in Hadley Hall or contact the office. We plan to have an organizational meeting in early September.
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Peace & Justice
With permission from a 9-12-24 post on Laurie Anderson Warnock’s Facebook page:
“I chair the Board of Trustees for the Alexander Eastman Foundation, which is a $10M+ endowment created when HCA bought the former nonprofit hospital to establish Parkland Medical Center.
Last night, one [of] our grantees, Heaven’s Kitchen at St. Anne’s hosted us for a tour and dinner for our quarterly meeting. We visited the community garden, the food pantry itself (housed in a donated former Central School trailer) and the kitchen. We also got a look inside the HK food truck that served lunch to hundreds of local kids this summer and will be offering hot meals to kids and seniors this fall and winter. Our dinner was prepared and served by HK staff which includes two local 8th grade student interns who are hoping to pursue careers in the culinary field.
The dinner was a hearty portion of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, squash and apple cobbler, a demonstration of the type of meal the program is able to provide for just under $4, through supplies from NH Food Bank, Shaws, Hannaford, the USDA and community donations. Board members were impressed with the operation, but I dare say, startled to hear the numbers of people served. We don’t know what we don’t know when it comes to who goes hungry in pretty little towns like ours. That agencies like Heaven’s Kitchen and the Food Pantry are able to do this important work of feeding people with dignity and compassion made us proud to be a funding source.
I share this because I wanted you to know about the people in your community who are doing good, meaningful, vital work in supporting others and to remind us all of their need for our support. Heaven’s Kitchen has a Facebook page and an Amazon ‘wish list’ if you are able to support them.”
This was written in response to an article from InDepthNH that tells of a continued increase in food insecurity across the country and in NH. This is one way that Hampstead is meeting some of the needs of its food insecure residents.
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New AMAZON Wish List for
Saint Anne's Food Pantry
St. Anne's Pantry is seeing an increase in the number of families who shop with them. They've almost doubled the amount of families who shop weekly since this time last year. They try to keep their shelves stocked as much as they can.
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.
Thank you in advance for any donations.
Please no expired items and non-perishable items only please.
Drop off in the foyer of Hadley Hall.
Looking for the following: Bottles of apple juice, cranberry juice, juice boxes, cereal…no oatmeal please, salad dressings, coffee, tea, Chunky and Progresso soups, brownie & muffin mixes, Ensue, spices.
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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.
9/17/2024 Newsletter
Each week, we will update this section of our Weekly Word with the new link
for the current newsletter.
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To sign up for the next volunteer opportunity click here. If you are interested in volunteering contact Jane DeRosa via email at janederosa@comcast.net. | |
The Sonshine Soup Kitchen needs volunteers to prepare and package the food for "To Go Meals." We partner with Atkinson Congregational Church once a month on the 4th Wednesday of the month to help out from 3-6pm. | | |
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 Summer Office hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 9:00am to Noon
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Hampstead Congregational Church Website
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