Tommy Bastian put together a wonderful video montage and took many pictures of the Service and celebration for Pastor Kathy's Installation.

Thank you Tommy for sharing your gifts with us in making this beautiful video.

Click here to watch the video

Click here to see all the pictures

By now most of you have received a letter from Your Stewardship Team announcing the beginning of our Stewardship Campaign for 2022. And, if you were at church last Sunday, you heard David Chin speak to the beginning of this annual campaign.

This year we have centered our campaign around "A Future With Hope."

At HCC that is who we are: a waystation of hope along life's way. It's the same reason God chose to be born with us as Jesus of Nazareth, to help build bridges of connection and companionship. And, even when this pandemic is a distant memory, the world will still be full of needs.

Remembering these needs, we ask each of you to be INTENTIONAL in your giving. This means that you develop a plan for your annual giving to the church and then follow through. If you are a new member or friend of HCC, you may not realize that this is an important part of being a church member or a friend.

In October of every calendar year, each of us decides how much we will pledge for the upcoming year. Each of us then can decide if we want to give a portion of that amount each week, each month or yearly. This helps each steward be intentional in their giving for the coming year.

Thank you, Your Stewardship Team

There was an article from UNH Cooperative Extension and NH Fish and Game calling for New Hampshire residents to collect the seed pods of the common milkweed plant. Collected seeds will be spread by the NH Dept of Transportation along the highways in designated conservation corridors. These are areas where native perennials have been planted to support pollinators. Milkweed is important because it supports a variety of pollinators and wildlife in addition to being the exclusive host for Monarch butterflies to lay eggs and for the caterpillars to feed. Milkweed has been disappearing for the last 20 years resulting in an 80% decrease in the eastern Monarch population. Individuals can help the state increase the volume of milkweed plants by collecting seed pods. This would be a great project for families and schools.

The collection period is going on now through October 30. The pods in my yard are not quite ready yet and I will keep watching them until they get to the dry grey/brown stage.

Collecting Milkweed Pods - taken directly from the UNH website

There are several collection sites throughout NH with the closest site at the UNH Extension Rockingham County Office, 113 North Road in Brentwood. A collection bin is located outside the front entrance.

If you decide to participate, consider sharing a photo of you harvesting and delivering your pods so we can include it in our Weekly Word.

Unsure of what milkweed pods and seeds look like? See the entire UNH article here:

story submitted by Debra Sawyer

We have some missing USPS mail from this past weekend.

If you mailed us something last week, please call the church office at 603.329.6985 to confirm we received it.

Thank you for your help in this matter!

The service will be live-streamed through Facebook Live here or on 3CX here.

Following the service, all are invited to an outdoor coffee hour! "Goodies" will be on a table outside of Hadley Hall. There will be chairs available for those who would like to sit.

We are also looking for volunteers to read scripture at worship, and/or to help with coffee hour prep and cleanup. If you can help, please contact the Church Office or sign up after service.

Did you know that this Sunday, October 10th, is National Clergy Appreciation Day.

Yes, it is a real thing and is celebrated every year on the second Sunday of October - check out the history of this day here.

From a small Toy Poodle all the way up to a Great Dane, Pastor Kathy blessed approximately 20 animals this past Sunday. Several dogs along with their humans, showed up for the initial short service of thanksgiving at 1PM and then later, people showed up for a drive-thru blessing of their pets.

Pastor Kathy even blessed a horse and a cat via their pictures.

Every animal blessed went home with a special prayer card commemorating the event.

If you would like a pet blessing card, please contact or stop by the office.

The Fundraising and Missions Teams have joined together to host a Clothing Drive Fundraiser to support Epilepsy Foundation New England (EFNE) and also raise funds for our church.

Simply clean out your closet and ask your friends, family, and neighbors to do the same. You will be decluttering, recycling, and doing good all at the same time!

Clothing drives account for more than 50% of the EFNE budget so they can really use our help. We in turn get paid for every pound of clothes we collect!

Wondering how much can be raised through used clothing? Global Goods Foundation raised $650 for community-based projects. Weare Middle School raised a whopping $6,700 for their 8th grade class trip. And thanks to Barbara Dennis, we already have 191 pounds of clothing donated to us from the Hampstead Library Thrift Store.

What are we looking for? First and foremost, all items must be clean and in good condition. They include the following:

  • Clothing

  • Outerwear

  • Footwear (shoes, boots, heels, etc.)

  • Accessories (belts, socks, ties, scarves, hats, etc.

  • Backpacks and handbags

  • Costumes & dress-up clothes

  • Household fabrics (bedding, sofa covers, tablecloths, towels, etc.)

Please place items in trash bags and leave them in the foyer of Hadley Hall at your convenience now thru the end of November. If you have a large quantity of bags, contact Barbara Wallack at 603-548-8326, and she will do her best to pick them up.

As always, we thank you for your support--

We are looking for some people who love our church and would be willing to help with a capital campaign to raise funds for renovation of the steeple and other building projects. Perhaps you have skills in marketing or fundraising, or are interested in historic preservation, or in making connections within our local community. Perhaps you simply love our church community and want it to thrive for decades to come! To learn more, to volunteer, or to share ideas, please contact Fred Malcolm (603-661-2418), fmalcolm2001@yahoo.com, or Pastor Kathy. 

If in doubt, please call the church or send an email to pastorkathyucc@gmail.com.