In Memoriam - Jeanne Cooke
We are sad to share the news that our friend and long-time member, Jeanne Cooke, passed away on Tuesday, October 12, after a very brief illness. We are so grateful for her life and celebrate her blessed memory.
Calling hours will be held this Friday, October 15, 2021, from 4:00pm to 5:30pm at the Peabody Funeral Homes & Crematorium, 15 Birch Street, Derry, NH. A service will follow at 5:30pm led by Rev. Kathy. A private burial will be held at a later date at the West Hampstead Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to HCC in lieu of flowers.
You can read Jeanne's obituary here.
May Jeanne rest in peace, and may her family and all who love her be comforted.
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Why Aren't We Singing at Worship?
You may have noticed that our worship services have been shortened in recent weeks. Due to the continuing high positivity rates of Covid in Rockingham County, we are doing the best we can to continue worship in person in our sanctuary while trying to keep everyone as safe as possible.
We cannot ensure that everyone will follow safety protocols, and rather than issuing requirements to do so, we have adapted the worship service. Singing and congregational responses are high-risk activities for indoor worship, so we have temporarily suspended them. We plan to resume them once the positivity rate stays below 3% (which is the NH UCC Conference threshold for holding indoor worship). This is a challenge for all of us. As a community, we seek to remain connected even when we have conflicting ideas and opinions. We eagerly await the day when we can all gather together in our sanctuary for a full worship service.
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A Future With Hope - A note from Your Stewardship Team
Our message last week was to think about being Intentional, having a plan, in deciding how much to pledge for the upcoming year. This week we will ask you to include Generous and Proportional.
The decision to pledge and how much to give can be difficult, demanding and even unsettling to some. It may seem to test our faith, but remember our giving is because of our faith, not because we need money to maintain our church building and pay staff salaries. As disciples or followers of Christ, our spiritual health helps guide us to Generosity. Therefore, as Stewards we manage the abundance God has given us. In return we can be Generous in our giving.
Proportional giving or percentage giving levels the playing field between those considered wealthy and those with limited resources. A small pledge could be someone’s tithing, but another person’s hourly wage. A giver might consider determining their pledge based on a percentage of one’s income. If one’s income changes year to year it is easy to recalculate the annual pledge.
Stewardship is intended to help you grow your relationship with Jesus Christ. The traits we are highlighting are meant to help us increase spiritual growth with our giving, and so they become values in how we determine our giving. Luke 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
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Showing Our Support
In February we shared that Olivia Nolan had joined the US Marine Corps and had just completed her first week of Boot Camp.
In August, Olivia was home for a visit prior to shipping out to Okinawa Japan for 3 years.
Becky and Doug have shared Olivia's address so that people can send letters of support.
Olivia's address is:
PFC Olivia Nolan
3D Recon BN
Unit 36180
FPO AP 96389-6180
Since this is a military mailing address, the USPS site says that a standard first-class stamp is all that is needed for a letter to be mailed to Olivia.
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A Word from Peace & Justice
Help Monarch butterflies and support other wildlife in New Hampshire!
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
- Only collect the pods when they are dry and grey/brown. If the center seam pops with gentle pressure, they can be harvested.
- Store the pods in paper bags; plastic bags will collect unwanted moisture.
- Write the date and county collected on the bag.
- Keep the pods in a cool, dry place until you deliver them to the collection site.
- Leave some pods (25%) on the plants to also allow for natural dispersal.
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.
We are gathering bags at HCC and the Peace & Justice Group will drive them to Brentwood. A collection basket is conveniently located in Hadley Hall.
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
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Video Montage and Pictures of Pastor Kathy's Installation
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
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Clothing Drive to Support
Epilepsy Foundation and HCC
Now Thru The End Of November
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--
Fundraising Team and Mission Team
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Ad-hoc Team Forming for Building Capital Campaign
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.
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Current Food Pantry Needs:
- muffin mix/quick bread mix
- cereal
- boxes of crackers
- grated cheese
- ketchup
- barbecue sauce
- canned ravioli
- beefaroni
- jelly - any flavor other than grape
- laundry detergent
- vegetable oil
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Food Drive to Support
Saint Anne Ecumenical Food Pantry
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Thank you ALL for your generous donations to our continuous drives!!
For October we are going to focus on the needs of St. Anne’s Food Pantry.
Thank you again for all your support!
Please drop off any donations in the foyer of Hadley Hall
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This month we help serve on Wednesday, October 27 . If you are interested in volunteering this month, please contact Jane DeRosa at 603-382-0931.
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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.
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Blankets for Project Linus
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For those of you who have been busy sewing, quilting, knitting, or crocheting, we have an new opportunity to donate those handmade items!
We located a national organization that has local chapters called Project Linus (https://www.facebook.com/projectlinussouthwestnewhampshire/). This organization's mission is "to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans". Blankets are given to children in need through NH.
*We welcome all styles of blankets made in child-friendly colors/prints.
*Crocheted, knitted, quilted (100% cotton or flannel), fleece….you don’t have to be an expert!
*Blankets must be NEW, HANDMADE and WASHABLE.
*Fabric blankets can be quilted by machine, hand or tied. If you are tying the blanket make sure the ends are trimmed to 1” and the knots are secure.
*Please do not add any embellishments to the blankets such as buttons that could be swallowed by a child.
*If you are using a no-sew fleece pattern, please be sure to trim off both selvages FIRST. Not sure what selvages are? Ask the clerk who is cutting your fleece to please show you, they’re those odd looking edges at the top and bottom of the piece you have, sort of raggy looking.
*We accept all sizes of blankets. We donate to children, infants through teen years, so any size is appropriate. Baby blankets are typically 36”X36” or 36”X42”, toddler-pre-teen are typically about 40”X60”, and teen blankets are at least 60"X72".
Blankets can be dropped off in the entry way of Hadley Hall.
Thank you for your support of this project!
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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!
Rev. Kathy also has a page for all who are interested to follow.
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If you are on Instagram, please follow us, and let your friends know about us by sharing our posts! Click this link
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Scam Emails
Emails are often sent, saying they are from Pastor Kathy or another staff member. She (or the HCC staff) will never send out a generic email--she'll address it to your name. She will never ask you for money/gift cards over email.
Also, any email from Pastor Kathy will always have her signature line on the bottom with her phone number/address.
If in doubt, please call the church or send an email to pastorkathyucc@gmail.com.
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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
See what's happening on our social sites
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Hampstead Congregational Church Website
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