Here it is--Volume 6, Issue 7 of our e-mail Newsletter!

FEATURED IN THIS NEWSLETTER

PASTORAL PONDERINGS--"Pentecost Blessings"

Worship & Music Ministry News

• Our Sunday Faith Community Celebrations in June, July, August
• Spiritual Formation News for our Children, Youth, & Families
• Meriden Community Camp & Faith Formation
• Music and Ministry Notes
• Co-Pastors' Summer Vacation: June 25 - August 18, 2023
• Horton Center Retreat: September 22-24, 2023
• Tenderly Held in our Hearts and Prayers
•  Into God’s Hands
• Births and a Wedding

Summer Worship Leadership

Welcoming and Caring Ministry

• Invitation to Join our Church Caregiving Ministry Team
• Call for Hospitality Ministers

SUMMER CALENDAR of EVENTS in the Life of our Spiritual Family

Spiritual Formation for Adults

• Restoring the Kinship WorldView Study
• Carter Heyward on "The 7 Deadly Sins of White Christian Nationalism"

GRADUATIONS

Administration & Finance News

• Report of Projects planned for 2023
• Report of the Assistant Treasurers
• COVID-19 Task Force Update

Summer Birthdays & Anniversaries

Poem of the Month--"Formed in our Mother's Womb"

Growing a Just World for All

Frederick Douglas on "The Meaning of the 4th of July for the Negro"

LISTEN Community Dinner & Claremont Soup Kitchen

Economic Justice

"Worker Collective Action" Rev. Dr. Gail Kinney, Worker Justice Minister

Conversation with Dr. Edie Rasell on "The Way of Abundance"

Support for the PRO Act

Social Justice

"Kandahar Treasure" with Rangina Hamidi

Immigrant Justice—Monthly Vigils at the ICE Building

Climate Justice

Environmental Justice for All Act

Community Power Programs

Antiracism Ministry

TED Talk by James Ford on how White Supremacy hurts us all

Continuing Black Lives Matter Vigils

  Invitation to join Windsor County NAACP

Legislator Contact Information

Revs. John & Susan Gregory-Davis,

Co-Pastors

Meriden Congregational Church

603-469-3235

j[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected] 

www.meridenucc.org

“Transforming Lives as a Compassionate Community:

Growing Spiritually as an Antiracist Church”

Summer 2023 Leadership Coverage

Points of Contact for Leadership Areas

June 25 - August 19, 2023

Administration: Kathy Wright, (Church Leadership Team)

Church email: [email protected]; church office: 469-3235; email: [email protected]; home phone: 675-5989

Sunday Worship: Shideko Terai, (Church Leadership Team)

Email: [email protected]; cell phone: 603-2527898

 Pastoral Coverage: Rev. Gail Kinney

Email: [email protected]; cell phone: 603-381-7324

Available for emergency and ongoing pastoral care needs

Kathy Wright will contact Gail as needed

If you have a pastoral care need (or know someone who does), please contact Kathy Wright—

Church email: [email protected];

Church Office: 469-3235; email: [email protected];

Home Phone: 675-5989

Building & Grounds: Shawn Rogers, (Church Leadership Team)

Email: [email protected]; cell phone: 603-790-8040           

Financial Transactions: Cindy Griffin, Church Treasurer

Church email: [email protected];

email: [email protected];

cell phone: 203-209-0922

Meriden Community Camp: Cindy Griffin, Camp Ministry Team

Church email: [email protected]; email: [email protected]; cell phone: 203-209-0922

Camp Director, Rosa Sousa ([email protected])

[email protected], 603-219-2035)

Join us for our All-Church Retreat

at Horton Center

September 22, 23 and 24, 2023!!!

Mark your Calendars Now!!!

We hope you can join us this year for our all-church Horton Center Retreat on the beautiful grounds of the New Hampshire Conference Outdoor Ministry Center--atop Pine Mountain in the White Mountains (near Gorham, New Hampshire)!

We were really encouraged last year by the enthusiastic increase in participation and hope we can keep this going! If you have not yet been on one of our Horton Center Retreats, join us! If you have not been in a while, join us! If you come every year, join us!



Everyone of all ages is warmly welcome to this special church family time when we relax and enjoy the spectacular views, lovely walks and nearby hikes in the fall foliage, fun games for the kids (tether ball, soccer, ropes course, etc.), reading in the Adirondack chairs, worship on Chapel Rock, great meals we prepare, comfortable cabin accommodations (hot showers, electricity, restrooms) and the best of company!!! You can come up to Horton Center for one night, two nights, or even just for the day! The cost (with financial assistance very readily available) is $30/person/night.

To help us plan for this fall weekend, please let us know of your interest in attending--even if tentative--by June 25th. (We understand if you don't yet know, but we would love to start the sign up process as soon as possible). And please let us know if you have any questions at all! We look forward to being with you on the mountain!

Your camping Co-Pastors, Susan and John

Stewardship Campaign

    Dear Friends, 

Many, many thanks to everyone for your continued commitment to our beloved Church as we pledge our financial support for 2023! Thus far we have raised an unprecedented 98% of our goal! What a feat and testament to the love we share for the Meriden Congregational Church. THANK YOU. Every gift is a blessing. 

Sincerely, Jill Marshall, Vice Chair for the Leadership Team

WELCOMING and CARING MINISTRY

     On June 18th (Father's Day Sunday) We will host a special Coffee Hour in Appreciation of John and Susan Gregory-Davis. This is the last Sunday they will lead us until August. Come enjoy some time with them and the fellowship of Coffee Hour.

Thanks to Selden Lord, Shawn Rogers, Ed Cousineau, and Bill Chappelle, John and Susan Gregory-Davis, and Kathy Wright, who provided food for Coffee Hour. We will need more volunteers in over the summer. Some people who attend the church service on zoom even come over to in-person Coffee Hour for the refreshments and fellowship. You are invited!

   For our services in the Church we need ushers. Thanks to Donna and Steve Beaupre, Ed Cousineau, and Bill Chappelle for ushering in May. I may be contacting you to help. Please say yes. It takes many people to build the community and to make our fellowship strong. If you would like to help with any of this please contact Kathy Wright at (603) 469-3235 or at home at (603) 675-5989.

HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US THIS SUMMER

Kathy Wright, Coordinator of the Welcoming and Caring Ministry

Do you find a deep sense of 

joy and gratification

in reaching out and helping others? 

If so, Please join our

Church Caregivers Team!

Even if you have only a few minutes a month to write a short "thinking of you" or "get well" card, your loving care will be so appreciated by members of our church community. If you would rather make occasional phone calls or in-person home visits, there is a place for you on the Caregivers Team, too!!! Everyone is welcome to offer gifts of care with no effort ever too small! Our Team meets quarterly with the loving guidance of our Chair, Kathy Wright. If you are interested in joining or talking further, please contact Kathy at [email protected] or Susan ([email protected]). We warmly welcome you to join in the very meaningful ministry of this small group with a BIG HEART! 

Music and Ministry 2023

The Summer Line-Up of Services Is Stellar!

Not only do we have Revs. John and Susan Gregory-Davis, Rev. Gail Kinney and Rev. Greg Marshall this summer, but we also hear from several individuals from the Congregation as well--Ed and Laura Cousineau, Kathy Wright, Lee and Evan Oxenham and also Bill Chappelle. It is a riches of opportunity to think deeply and to share. And there will be music from Carol Hartman.

We will enjoy the Church Sanctuary for three more Sundays with its large screen and interactive internet connection before we begin to meet in the Parish House for our Summer Services. We will have a zoom connection during the summer, but we will not have a webmaster to monitor our interactions.

Join us to wish John and Susan well on their summer adventures on June 18th (Father's Day) when we will have a gala coffee hour in their honor.

(Kathy Wright for Cindy Marx-Wood)

for Music and Ministry

Martin Toe from Granite State Organizing Project 4-16-23 at Meriden Congregational Church

Tenderly Held  in our Hearts and Prayers

        As we journey throughout these Summer months, we give joyous thanks for the all that makes our faith community such a welcome home for all of us.  So too do we celebrate with all those bearing new life, and pray with those yet hoping to conceive, or seeking to adopt a beloved child of God, even as we also pray for our friends in Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Zambia, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, and Zimbabwe, and all those living in such troubled lands as Ukraine, Haiti, Myanmar, Peru, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Pakistan, North Korea, Yemen, South Sudan, and the Congo. We pray for all immigrants & refugees seeking sanctuary & welcome throughout our world, that we may be among those who offer an oasis of hospitality & compassion within the kin-dom of God’s heart. And we pray too for our BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) friends and neighbors, seeking to build with them a world wherein “Black Lives Matter!”

          Likewise do we pray for Carol Hartman’s grand-nephew, Jack; Penny Arcone’s son, Anthony; Emma Greenough’s friend, Laura; Larry Burch’s aunt, Tine; Kathy Wright’s sister, Carolyn; Rosemary Mills; Angie Hinton’s friend, Margaret Maxham; Dr. Jim Bell; Connie Kousman’s grand-nephew, Graham; Steve Taylor; Verna Svensen, mother of Cindy Griffin & Susan Borchert; Larry Wolkin; Gina Marzilli-Ericson’s mother, Paula; Amy Lappin’s mother, Sheila Spence; Co-Pastor Susan’s mom, Betty Davis; Robyn & Bob Carpenter; Karen Sutton’s husband, Robert Sutton, as well as Karen’s friend, Amber Howard; Laine Gillespie’s friends, Josh & Perry;  Eric Heaton; Betty Walker; Penny Arcone’s friend, Dick Slubin; Connie Kousman’s sister, Joyce and her husband, Dick; Beth Kopp’s father, Jim Kane; Allyson Wendt; Linda Perkins; Jody Schubert’s brother, Rick; Jim Schubert’s sister, Martha; Joan Burch; Suzanne Lenz; Carol Hartman’s daughter-in-law, Michelle; Judy Croitoru; Chris Dye; Linda Perkins’ friends, Dorothy, Barbara, Albert, & Doug; Caren Saunders’ father, William Homeyer; Rod & Barb Wendt’s granddaughter, Ada Jane; Susan Turner’s cousin, Buddy Stevenson, and Sue’s friend, Barbara Zenker; and Odile Clavier’s mother, Marie-Claire, as well as Odile’s niece, Amelie Marie.

So too do we pray for these members and friends of our faith community currently receiving treatment for cancer: Amaia Leach (18 month old daughter of Abraham & Maria); Cindy Marx-Wood;  Angie Hinton’s friend, Mickey LaHaye; Martha Zoerheide’s neighbor, John; Vicki Ramos-Glew’s mother, Carole Spencer; Juliette Hampton’s teacher, Melissa Thaxton; Bill & Laine’s neighbor, Barbara Gifford; Becky Luce; Shideko Terai’s Uncle, Ted De Luca; Laura Cousineau’s brother-in-law, Eric; Cecilia Hampton’s best friend Victoria’s mother, Bev; Sue Turner’s brother, Kurt, as well as Sue’s sister-in-law Bev, and Bev’s step-daughter, Sarah; Connie Kousman; Gail Kinney’s brothers, Charles & David; Linda Perkins’ friend, Linda Stone; Bailey Sibert; Ed Foltyn; Jo Evarts, as well as Jo’s sister, Jingles; Robert Bryant; Jeff McNamara; Lauryn Moeller’s daughter-in-law, Lisa Rae Moeller; and  Kevin Ramos-Glew’s nephew, Duncan.

             If you or someone you know would like a name to be added to our Prayer List, please let us know. In an effort to keep it as up-to-date as possible, please also let us know when you would like a name removed. 

  Into God's Hands

As the new life of spring turns into the fullness of summer, we are especially mindful of both the wonder and the fragility of life, as we mourn the loss of dearly beloved friends and relatives of our faith community!!

        Our hearts ache with Suzanne Lenz, as she mourns the loss of her brother, Bill, on Thursday—May 25^th, 2023, following his courageous battle with leukemia.

          As each of these dearly departed ones has returned to the source of Love from which all life comes, may their families and loved ones be comforted with Love’s healing embrace in the midst of this time of sorrow.

New Children of God!!

     We celebrate with Shawn & Erin Rogers the birth of their first grandchild, John “Jack” Richard Morton! Born on their anniversary, Saturday--April 22nd at 7:09 PM, baby “Jack” weighed in at 8 pounds, 15 ounces, and measured 21.5 inches long.  In joyful company with his delighted parents, Kaylee Rogers and Josh Morton, and his proud grandparents, we enthusiastically proclaim,

 WELCOME to our World,

“Jack” Richard!

   We celebrate with Jim & Susan Borchert  the birth of their grandson, Owen James Powell!  Born on Sunday--May 21st at 7:11 PM, baby Owen weighed in at 7 pounds, 5 ounces, and measured 21 inches long. In joyful company with Owen's Mama, Lily (Borchert) & Papa, Austin Powell, as well as her delighted grandparents, we enthusiastically proclaim,

WELCOME to our World,

Owen James!

Joined Together in God's Love!!

We celebrate with 

Annie Pullen & Nick Tourville

their marriage on Saturday—May 20th, 2023!

(Annie is the daughter of

Susan and Richard Pullen)

Congratulations  Annie & Nick!!

We wish you deep joy and all God’s blessings

          throughout your life together!! 

SUMMER WORSHIP SCHEDULE

DURING OUR CO-PASTORS’ VACATION

Our Co-Pastors will be away on vacation from June 25th through August 18th. During this time, Sunday service leadership will be provided by numerous volunteers from among us, as well as one Sunday by our Minister Emeritus, the Rev. Gregory Marshal, and 4 Sundays by our Worker Justice Minister, the Rev. Dr. Gail Kinney, who will also be providing pastoral coverage as needed. Please do not hesitate to contact either the church office (603-469-3235), or Gail directly (603-381-7324) if you or someone you know has a pastoral need while our Co-Pastors are away.

Sunday services during the summer at our church offer a special time to gather, often more intimately. All summer services through August 27^th will be in-person and held in the Parish House (with the possibility of an occasional outdoor services). Please check your email for the weekly communication from Kathy Wright that will give all the details about the upcoming service. 

Services held in the parish house will also be available on Zoom (Kathy will provide the recurring Zoom link—the same one as always) but please note that this will be much less sophisticated than the Hybrid services we can provide in the church. It should be possible to see and hear the service leader, as well as to hear others present in the Parish House, though being able to see them is less likely. We hope that this simplified Zoom connection will still provide some accessibility for those wishing to worship with us from their homes. Also, please note that Communion will not be offered during the summer months of July & August, but will resume upon the return of our Co-Pastors in September.

Clergy on Call:    Rev. Gail Kinney (603-381-7324)

Service Leaders/Preachers:

 July   2^nd  Interdependence Sunday with Kathy Wright

(Live, in Parish House, with zoom option)

July  9^th                Rev. Dr. Gail Kinney  

(Live, in Parish House, with zoom option)

July 16^th              Rev. Dr. Gail Kinney  

(Live, in Parish House, with zoom option)

July 23^rd               Rev. Dr. Gail Kinney  

(Live, in Parish House, with zoom option)

July 30^th                Rev. Dr. Gail Kinney  

(Live, in Parish House, with zoom option)

August 6^th           Lee & Evan Oxenham  

(Live, in Parish House, with zoom option)

August 13^th          Rev. Gregory Marshall 

(Live, in Parish House, with zoom option)

August 20^th          Co-Pastors Susan & John 

(Live, in Parish House, with zoom option)

August 27^th              Bill Chappelle       

(Live, in Parish House, with zoom option)

Congratulations to our Graduates!!

EIGHTH GRADE

Lucas Rodriguez

HIGH SCHOOL

Juliette Hampton

Finn Kopp

Tinashe Muhlauri

Anya Rendahl

COLLEGE

Kuda Muhlauri, Endicott College

Owen Johnstone, Ithaca College

Kelsey Walker, American University

Tucker Williams, Duke University

Anna Wolke, St. Lawrence University

Ethan Wright, Southern New Hampshire University

GRADUATE SCHOOL

Erin Gregory-Davis, BSN, Mt. Sinai School of Nursing

Lindsay Pullen, DNP, University of Minnesota

If we have missed any other graduates among us, please leave a message on the church phone (469-3235) accordingly, and we will look forward to recognizing you or your family member as well! Our sincerest apologies for anyone who has been inadvertently omitted!  

Faith Odyssey for Adults!!

“Restoring the Kinship Worldview:

“Indigenous Voice Introduce 28 Precepts

 for Rebalancing Life on Planet Earth”

• Wahinkpe Topa (Four Arrows) & Darcia Narvaez

Continuing on Thursday—June 8 & 22, 2023

at 1:30 PM at the home of Selden & Jan Lord

27 Serenity Drive, Cornish, NH

And on zoom here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84792111522

          Contending that Indigenous worldviews, and the knowledge they confer, are critical for human survival and the wellbeing of future generations, Editors Wahinkpe Topa (Four Arrows) and Darcia Narvaez emphasize our deep need to move away from the dominant Western paradigm--one that dictates we live without strong social purpose, fails to honor the earth as sacred, leads with the head while ignoring the heart, and places individual “rights” over collective responsibility. Restoring the Kinship Worldview invites readers into a world-sense that expands beyond perceiving and conceiving to experiencing and being, rooted in an Indigenous vision and strong social purpose that sees all life forms as sacred and sentient--that honors the wisdom of the heart, and grants equal standing to rights and responsibilities.

Report from Buildings and Grounds of MCC Administration

The following news was taken from the Annual Report of Administration and Finance

Projects Completed and Planned

A) 2022 was a year for John and Susan to have their sabbatical. As a result of

them not being at the parsonage for the summer, it triggered a discussion

around security. We determined it made sense to install wireless security

cameras the end of June.

B) Dane Gautreau was hired to do a few painting projects over the summer. All

the church windows and window trim were newly painted that were

accessible with a standard ladder. The cathedral style windows on the front

are left to be done this summer 2023. Dan also painted the exterior of the

doors and the two entrance roof trims and some of the ceilings before the

cold weather arrived.

C) We were hoping to get the slate roof repairs started. The slate roof

contractor Leon Shabbott was working locally in Enfield at the Shaker

Museum and was hoping to take advantage of having his hydraulic man lift in

the area and do a beginning portion of the repairs that will need to be done

in the next year or two. In the end, we were not able to get enough days

available for him to do that early portion of the proposed repair. We are on

his list for early spring. We expect the total repair to be around $ 20,000 this

year.

D) The concrete entrance steps to the Parrish House were able to be temporarily

repaired to get us through the winter. We have agreed to hire Paul Sousa

(mason) from Cornish to do the permanent repair – rebuilding in April 2023.

E) A privacy door was installed in late summer at the top of the stairs going

from level 1 to level 2 of the Parrish House as requested by John and Susan.

A pane of glass needs to be installed and the new walls and trims still need to

be painted. That work is scheduled to be done in February

Shawn Rogers

Co-Chair of Administration and Finance

REPORT OF THE ASSISTANT TREASURERS

Considering what we have received in this month as of May 30th we have received $6,015 in Pledge payments. We have also received $973 in Plate payments. The total this month is $6,988.

So far this year our total of pledge payments is $66,915. Our total of plate payments is $2,800. So our Grand Total of payments thus far is $69,715. Often people pay all their pledge at the beginning of the year which accounts for this total.

 Some other funds which may have been contributed through stocks may not be noted here.

Kathy Wright

Shawn Rogers

Notes from the COVID Task Force

Pack something extra in that picnic basket

Covid summer 2020 -- Can’t quite remember. Was that really a summer?

Covid summer 2021 -- Seem to remember some of it.

Covid summer 2022 -- Ah, yes, now that was better!

Summer’s finally back in 2023 after a three year lapse and running ahead at full speed. The MCC summer camp is set to open in June/July. Summer Sunday worship will be held in the parish house. Picnics are back.

We don’t need to worry, or do we?

Well, we’ve learned a lot since the advent of Covid-19. The threat of Covid today is nowhere near as grave as three years ago. We’ve been vaxed and boosted and perhaps even “bivalent-ed” once or twice. We’ve had some low grade break- through infections. And a few of us may have long lingering symptoms, mementos of a “novel” infection that keeps on giving.

Although the WHO and the US have recently downgraded the public health emergency levels, more than 1,300 individuals in the US were still being admitted to hospitals with Covid each day in mid-May 2023. It’s just hanging around. Those with pre-existing health complications continue to have risks of more serious illnesses and fatal outcomes.

The clear message here is “ENJOY THE SUMMER.” Enjoy too the WISDOM that we have learned over these three hard summers. Our beloved MCC community is returning to a state resembling near normal: All our shared communities and families have begun to resemble the “normal” of before—but we have gotten so much wiser now when facing the future!

So grab your hats, water bottles, sun block, insect repellant, first aid kit and consider adding a face mask or two for good measure. Pack some extra caution in that picnic basket.

Summer 2023—the WISDOM SUMMER—is about to begin. Hurray!



Ed Cousineau

For the MCC Covid-19 Task Force

JUNE

BIRTHDAY

6/2         Dalton Winslow

6/3         Daffodil Mumuli

6/3         Beth Kopp

6/3         Linda Wilkinson

6/4         Estyn Elkouh

6/4         Rick Hildebrant

6/4         Rob Johnstone

6/5         Gwen Fuller

6/6         Annie Pullen

6/6         Jeff Cook

6/6         Amy Lappin

6/7         Garrett Wilkinson

6/7         Owen Warren

6/8         Emma Greenough

6/10       Karen Heaton

6/11       Kaitlyn Elliot

6/12       Jeff McGlone

6/12       Luke Bradley

6/13      Odile Clavier

6/13        Brenda Caswell

6/13       Larry Burch

6/13       Steve Taylor

6/13       Cora Wedgwood Finch

6/14       Jean Strong

6/14       Lauren Anikis

6/14       Sheila Cragg-Elkou

6/15      Ben Griffin

6/15       Liam Moynihan

6/15      Betsey Pensgen

6/15       Don Parsons

6/16       Rob Grabill

6/17       Charlie Houmard

6/17       Dylan McGraw

6/18       David Seabolt

6/19       Charles Muhlari

6/19       Owen Johnstone

6/19       Betty Walker

6/21       Michael O’Leary

6/22       Alison Moynihan

6/23       Connnie Kousman

6/24       Cynthia Winters

6/24       Angie Hinton

6/24       Doug Ditzel

6/25       Bette Stockwell

6/25       Bob Phelps

6/26       Taylor Sheehan

6/26       Otto Hildebrant

6/26       Cindy Svensen Griffin

6/26       Bob Carpenter

6/27       Jon Schafer

6/28       Ed Cousineau

JULY BIRTHDAYS

7/2         Heather Hildebrant

7/2         Donna Beaupre’

7/2         Tess Fairbanks Woods

7/3         Christine Brooks

7/3         Erin Gregory-Davis

7/3        Jan Kilfeather-Mackey

7/4         Lion Herfort

7/4         Becky Van Dolah

7/4         Eveline Georgia Wood

7/5         Nancy Chapman Elliot

7/6        Robin Kilfeather-Mackey

7/6         Finn Kopp

7/6        Mahlon Ward

7/7         Lea Castell

7/7         Galen Moynihan

7/8         Jane Fielder

7/9         Sarah Calderone

7/9         Greg Hardy

7/9         Alex Jameson

7/10       Kayla Sneiderman

7/10       Deb Lewis

7/11       Sierra Rogers

7/12       Sawyer Grace Kells

7/12       Lee Walker Oxenham

7/14       Ben Cherington

7/15       Emily Dewey

7/15       Meredith Finch

7/16       Sadie Lappin

7/16       Alex Arcone

7/16      Gianna Marzilli-Ericson

7/18       Wally Caswell

7/19       Nicole Guaraldi

7/19       Jenny Lenz

7/19       Adara Greenstein

7/20       Allen Winslow

7/21       Aaron Luce

7/21      Conor Zuberi LaVoie

7/22       Elaine Calderone

7/22      Jaine Perotti

7/22       Laura Franklin

7/23       Jeff Robbins

7/23       Ethan Wright

7/23       Sarah (Pensgen) Sirlin

7/24       Rex Miller

7/24       Sophia Filiault

7/25       Sarah Stender

7/25       Carla Bucklin

7/26       Andrew Taylor

7/26       Thom Wolke

7/27       Laura Borchert

7/27       John Borchert

7/27       Rosemary Mills

7/27       Kelsey Hardy MacNamee

7/28       Conor Beaupre’

7/28       Mike Jaeger

7/29       Matthew Taylor

7/29       Laine Gillespie

7/30       Bill Clerkin

7/30       Jayden Foster

7/31       Denise Thorburn

August Birthdays

8/1         Brendan Fadden

8/1        Emma Healy

8/1         Kevin Marshall

8/4         Peter Elder

8/5         Shideko Terai

8/6         Nathaniel Custer

8/8         Kurt Filiault

8/9         Dawn Forbes

8/9         Vicki Ramos-Glew

8/10       Brandon Feid

8/13       Allan Reetz

8/13       Tori Constantine

8/13       Larry Wolkin

8/17       Juliette Hampton

8/18       Sandy Ouellette

8/18      Jack Chamley

8/18       Sean Evarts

8/20       Charles Hildebrant

8/20       Heather Hinson

8/21       Connie Bosley

8/22       Abigail Saunders

8/24       Jill Marshall

8/24       Eric Russman

8/24       Jeff Sraeel

8/25       Samantha Harding

8/27       Matthew Mills

8/28       Terri Crane

8/30      Phineas Custer

8/31      Cecilia Hampton

8/31      Becca Cattabriga  

JUNE Anniversaries

6/2/99      Naomi & Tim Goodwin

6/14/69   Barbara & Rodney Wendt

6/15/19   Ryan & Chentel McGraw

6/16/62   Donna & Steve Beaupre’

6/16/13    Phelan Brady & Jennifer Doyl

 6/21       Lisa & Bruce Elder

6/21          Andrea & Rangi Keen

6/22       Nancy & Jess Kilgore

6/25/94   Amy & Darrell Beaupre’

6/28/97   Katy & Steve Sheehan

JULY ANNIVERSARIES

7/4/82          Steve & Sharon Zuckerman

7/5/86       Debbie & Jim Griffiths

7/6           Dale & Bob Cunningham

7/6/13          Natalie Ruppertsberger & Noah Lynd

7/7/07          Robin & Jan Kilfeather-Mackey

7/9/05        Keith & Gianna Marzilli-Ericson

7/10/04        Mike & Becky Van Dolah

7/11/98        Beth and Brian Garfield

7/15/95     Pam & Bob Annis

7/15/95     Susan Turner & Richard Atkinson

7/21/18        John Custer & Pam Miller

7/20/91     Liz & Bill Taylor

7/22/61     Gwen & Rob Fuller

7/25/86     Jan & Keith Timmons

7/25/20     Olivia Fauver & Jeff Nicholson

7/27/91     Glen & Christine Greenough

AUGUST ANNIVERSARIES

8/2/03       Catherine Garfield & Peter Legare

8/4/12          Garret Heaton & Brinker Ferguson

8/4/84       Linda & Jeffrey Wilkinson

8/12/89     Susan & Jim Borchert

8/15          Karen & Allen Rogers

8/17              Eric & Yesenia Mesen

8/19              Joan & Larry Burch

8/20/22     Scot Zens & Vanessa Rule

8/23/14         Nick Custer & Kate Walrath

8/28              Amber & Greg Castell

8/28/71     Jody & Jim Schubert

8/28/93        Amy & Cory Healy

8/29/81     Shideko Terai & Bill Cable

8/29/15        Lily (Borchert) & Austin Powell

MCC Poetry Page

“The Fate of the Poet is to fall in Love with Life”

Matthew Fox

This month's poem comes to us from Gerado Oberman of Argentina, and is inspired by Psalm 139. Although written years ago in response to the Pulse Nightclub brutality, this reflection still speaks a clear and critically important word in the face of anti LGBTQIA+ violence throughout our world, both here in our own nation, and most recently in Uganda as well. As we journey through this LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, we give thanks for this beautiful affirmation that God’s love surrounds and enfolds all of God’s people regardless of their gender identity and sexual orientation.

“You formed me in my mother’s womb…” (psalm 139:13)

I’ve been told many times that I’m an imperfect creation, that I’m not normal,

that I’ve turned away from the good path, that I live in perversion,

that I’m an abomination in your eyes, o God my creator.

I have been hurt by those words

and many others that I don’t dare to tell you about.

They have hurt me with insults, put-downs,

mistreatment, punches, denials, humilliations…

Once, ten times, a hundred times they’ve killed me.

And every time, thousands applaud and thousands more remain silent,

even those that call themselves your children.

They have hated me and they hate me for trying to live my sexuality

freely, honestly and openly.



In your name they have condemned me, in your name they have expelled me,

in your name they have discriminated against me.

And in your name they have committed all kinds of atrocities

against those of us who don’t want them to enclose us in any closet.

But I know, maternal God, that you formed me

in the womb of the one who gave me life.

You made me marvelously and in your heart you dreamed me up gay.

You made me in your image: lesbian, gay, homosexual.

There is no sin in living according to your loving design,

according to your perfect work in me.

Those who hate me and condemn me hate you and condemn you;

those who hurt me and kill me hurt you and kill you;

those who see me and mock me and insult me mock you and insult you.

I give you thanks, O God of the diverse,

because you thought me up and you made me just as I am,

in your own image.

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works, that I know very well.” (Psalm 139:14) 

―Gerado Oberman

All poets among us, of all ages and abilities, are likewise invited to share your poems with us so that we may in turn publish one each month as a way of helping all of us to fall ever more deeply in love with life in all its wonder, pathos, and beauty!

Outreach News

“The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro"

Excerpts from speech by Frederick Douglas in 1852

Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?

         Would to God, both for your sakes and ours, that an affirmative answer could be truthfully returned to these questions! But such is not the state of the case. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to God, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.  There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour. 

Outreach, Peace, and Justice Ministry Teams

News for Summer 2023 

"The way to heal the soul of the nation is to pass policies that heal the body of the nation. It’s the just thing to do. That’s how we as a nation can move forward together" ~Rev. Dr. William J. Barber 

OUTREACH

Listen Community Dinners Meriden Congregational Church has offered the commitment to prepare and serve dinners the FIRST Thursdays of the odd-numbered months. The next dates are: July 6, Sept 7, Nov 2. If you know of anyone, including the broader community, who would be interested, please text, phone or email Shideko Terai. 603-252-7898 The director, Larry Lowndes has discontinued the use of the volunteer hub; therefore, Shideko will send out a notice a week beforehand to seek volunteers. Many thanks to Ed Cousineau, Anne Cragin, Martha Zoerheide, and Linda Leone for volunteering in March. 

Claremont Soup Kitchen Bill Chapelle continues to lead volunteer participation at the Claremont Soup Kitchen on the fourth Saturday of every month and this slot covers the hours 2-5:30 PM. No cooking experience necessary. June 24th is the next opportunity. Then July 29th and August 26th. “We always have a lot of fun. Your Saturday night begins with a good feeling that you have given nice people a delicious meal.” ~Bill Chapelle

JUSTICE

Economic Justice 

Please read Rev. Dr. Gail Kinney’s article below. And plan to join us on Sunday evening--June 11th from 5:00 to 6:30 for a conversation here in our Parish House with the Rev. Dr. Edie Rasell about her new book, "The Way of Abundance!" (see flier below)

Social Justice 

Legislative advocacy continues for bills that protect the freedom to vote and oppose bills that pick apart voting procedures which have proven records that there is no voter fraud in NH; oppose bills that threaten women’s reproductive rights, threaten trans rights, threaten the unhoused, and tear apart laws that protect the environment and seek climate justice. Rev. Dr. Gail Kinney publishes actions to be taken. Also check AFSC, Kent Street Coalition, and League of Women Voters NH. 

See below for announcement about Rangina Hamidi speaking here at our church on Saturday afternoon--June 10th, from 3:00 to 4:30, about "Kandahar Treasure," a transformative women's artisan group in Afghanistan.



"There are millions of poor people in this country who have very little, or even nothing, to lose. If they can be helped to take action together, they...will be a new and unsettling force..." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Immigrant Justice

The first Tuesday of each month NH Immigrant Solidarity Network (NH ISN) meets. MCC s a member of NHISN. Organizations include GSOP, AFSC, and clergy. It is interfaith and non-partisan. Please contact John if you would like to get involved.  

Climate Justice

Lee Oxenham has been alerting you about informative events and presentations connecting us to how we can become more engaged in climate justice. To learn more about and take action on the "Environmental Justice for All Act, go to: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QPkK3f-ZWElsgpW-vUOpVl0UVaTlcJ3a/view. Please contact Lee to learn about additional ways to be involved.

Racial Justice /Antiracism

    A few years ago our church formed a Racial Justice Ministry Team that has been guiding us in learning about the ways in which systemic racism and white supremacy undergird so much of our history and identity. Now, in keeping with the call of our denomination, the United Church of Christ, to become an antiracist church, our Racial Justice ministry team has evolved our name to become the Antiracism Ministry Team. 

For a compelling argument as to why and how White Supremacy is a persistent and growing threat in our current socio-political culture, view this talk by James Ford, an award-winning educator and consultant on issues of equity in education: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ckQB0Zy2o

    Our weekly BLACK LIVES MATTER Vigils continue on Wednesday afternoons, from 4:30 to 5:00 PM, and all are welcome to join us anytime.

In solidarity and hope, 

Shideko Terai (she/her), Outreach, Peace & Justice Coordinator

text or phone 603-252-7898, email [email protected]

Workers Are Drawn to Collective Action for Reasons

of Fairness, Decent Treatment & Respect

by Gail Kinney, Worker Justice Minister

         There appears to be an explosion of collective worker action at Dartmouth College these days. First, the undergraduate dining services student workers -- mostly students from low income families, including many students of color and from other countries -- undertook a textbook unionization campaign (with visible support from members of our congregation) and now have an important collective voice and a $21/hour wage to show for it.

              As the undergrads were successfully challenging seemingly calcified management negotiators, Dartmouth's talented and invaluable graduate teaching and research assistants were forming their own union. In a mid-April election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, 89% of the voting grad student workers said "Union Yes." Despite the overwhelming grad student support for a union, again the administration's response was what I consider to be shameful as it challenged the rights of over 50% of the graduate student workforce to be part of the union because they weren't really "workers." 

In a recent news article, journalist (and activist) Arnie Alpert captured the sentiments of a graduate student union leader who recently has been in the news for his research on the nexus between baseball and climate change. Arnie wrote: "Chris Callahan, one of the union’s principal organizers, [commented that not only is he a worker but his work matters to Dartmouth.] He made national news recently for research demonstrating a link between climate change and home runs in Major League Baseball. The college’s news bureau put out a news release on the story. 'I made headlines for Dartmouth, and they told me I wasn’t a worker,' Callahan said." (See https://indepthnh.org/2023/04/13/dartmouth-grad-students-win-union-vote/ and https://www.thedartmouth.com/article/2023/04/abbott-graduate-students-protest-revised-union-voter-list.)

     As the graduate teaching and research assistants were taking collective action, Dartmouth's librarians announced their own unionization effort! "All labor has dignity," said the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ALL labor has value and deserves respect. All labor, whether momentous or unseen, contributes in some way to the fabric of beloved community. There is a reason so many Dartmouth workers (and many others throughout the state -- from Starbucks workers to NH Public Radio "content creators") are seeking to come together collectively to form unions and exercise a unified voice on the job. When workers feel undervalued or disrespected or unheard, the importance of coming together to create a strong and effective voice is magnified.

         Not long ago, I stumbled over the writing of a "management type" who was trying to explain why workers organize. He said, in part: "A labor union is an organization of workers that bargains with employers over wages, hours, and working conditions. Workers join labor unions for many reasons. Some workers join unions because they want to have a voice in their workplace. They may feel that their employer does not listen to them or that their employer is not treating them fairly. Other workers join unions because they want to make sure that they are paid a fair wage. Still other workers join unions because they want to have better working conditions, such as safer working conditions or more paid vacation days. Whatever the reason, workers who join unions are more likely to have a voice in their workplace and to receive better wages and benefits than workers who do not join unions." As good an explanation as any!

         May our congregation continue to stand in faith-filled solidarity with all workers in our communities in their quest for dignity, respect and fair treatment.

Rangina Hamidi, former acting Minister of Afghanistan, will be visiting the Upper Valley June 9th and 10th, 2023. She is the founder and driving force behind the successful women’s artisan group in Kandahar, Afghanistan, KANDAHAR TREASURE (https://kandahartreasure.com). She will be speaking about her plans to expand the project to include a school to teach business courses to women and girls, a marketplace for women to do business and a shelter for widowed and at-risk women.

Join us to hear this inspiring woman at:

The Kilton Library,

W. Lebanon, NH,

June 9^th, 2023 from 6:30-8:00 PM

 or

Meriden Congregational Church,

Meriden, NH,

June 10^th, 2023, from 3:00-4:30 PM.

For more information,

contact:

Ilsa Pinkson-Burke, [email protected]

Ros Seidel, [email protected]; 603-675-2710

 Rangina Hamidi is an Afghan American writer, educator, social entrepreneur, and politician who served as Afghanistan’s acting minister of education until August 2021. She was the first cabinet-level, female minister of education to hold that position in thirty years. Ms. Hamidi works tirelessly to advocate for women’s rights by empowering girls and women through social entrepreneurship and other initiatives to build their lives.

Born in Afghanistan, Ms. Hamidi emigrated with her family to Pakistan in 1981 and then to the United States. In 1988, her family settled in Virginia near Washington D.C. She earned a bachelor’s degree with a double major in religious studies and gender studies at the University of Virginia. She later completed a Master of Arts in Global Affairs and Management at Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University.

Returning to Afghanistan in 2003, Ms. Hamidi devoted herself to improving the lives of Afghans through development projects, advocacy, and, most importantly, education. Ms. Hamidi’s accomplishments include the founding of Kandahar Treasure, a full-value chain social enterprise that has lifted countless women through the production of their distinguished, traditional hand-crafted textiles. The collective’s products have been sold in Afghanistan, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. 

Rangina remains committed to supporting Kandahar Treasure through sharing the women’s stories and products globally, fundraising for a permanent center for the women of Kandahar, and speaking about Afghan women and Afghanistan on global platforms.

Plainfield Community Power is Coming to Plainfield at the end of April!

Plainfield is one of four towns in the Upper Valley and one of ten towns in New

Hampshire that will be launching Community Power at the end of April.



What is Community Power?

Community Power, authorized under NH RSA 53-E, democratizes energy governance by empowering towns, cities and counties to choose where their electricity comes from on behalf of their residents and businesses, work with utilities on local energy infrastructure upgrades, and provide electricity supply rates and services to all customers participating in the program.

Community Power programs serve as the default electricity supplier within the municipality and are self-funded through the revenues received by participating customers.

Local electric distribution utilities continue to own and operate the "poles and wires", and deliver electricity to all customers in the municipality.

Community Power programs may also offer innovative services and rates for customers on an "opt-in" or "opt-up" basis, such as 100% renewable premium products, time-varying-rates and Net Energy Metering generation credits for customers with solar photovoltaics. Unfortunately, this will not be possible at the launch of Community Power as the utilities still need to upgrade their systems to support these services as required by the PUC rules governing Community Power.

Expanding Customer Choice

Prior to launch of a Community Power program, all eligible customers are mailed notifications and provided the opportunity to opt-out or opt-in to the program, depending on whether they currently take service from a Competitive Electric Power Supplier or are on default service provided by local electric distribution utilities:

• Customers currently on utility-provided default service will be notified, providing the opportunity to decline participation, and transferred to Community Power if they do not "opt-out". These customer notifications will include the initial fixed rate for the program’s default service compared with the utility default service rate, be mailed to customers at least 30 days in advance of program launch, and provide instructions for customers to decline participation (for example, by return postcard, calling a phone number or using a web portal). 
• Customers who previously chose to take service from a Competitive Electric Power Supplier will be notified and may request to "opt-in" to the program. Before choosing to opt-in these customers must ensure that their contract term with the Competitive Electric Power Supplier has ended.

Any new customers that move into the municipality in future will be automatically eligible to receive default service from the Community Power program and will be sent a notification in the mail.

All customers supplied with electricity from Community Power programs are free to switch back to the utility-provided default service, or to take service from a Competitive Electric Power Supplier, by opting-out of the program and switching suppliers in advance of their next billing cycle.



The Power of Joint Action

By joining together, Members of the Coalition create economies of scale and innovation in procuring services and managing power procurement risks, gain administrative efficiencies in terms of expert staff oversight, and strengthen their voice at the Legislature and Public Utilities Commission — all while maintaining local control and community values.

Evan Oxenham

America has a history of banning Black studies. We can learn from that past (Derecka Purnell, The Guardian) - “This history is important because it helps us realize that today’s book banning efforts belong to a broader political backlash to the current Black liberation movement that started with the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012. The ideas and demands that Black people, and all people, deserve freedom from police violence, deserve quality housing, deserve universal healthcare, deserve a world that has different problems from what Dr. King identified as the triple evils of racism, capitalism and militarism. It is no accident that these ideas are found in the very same books that prisons ban, including mine. Prison officials, politicians and rightwing pundits target knowledge found in critical race theory because they know that theory leads to action for people who care about love, liberty and justice. They want to stop people from being inspired to fight for better lives.”

Steve Beaupre' faithfully rings our church bell

each Wednesday afternoon at 4:30 PM as a clarion call to

our Community BLACK LIVES MATTER Vigil

Thank you, Steve!!

 We are continuing our Showing Up for Racial Justice BLACK LIVES MATTER Vigils each Wednesday afternoon, now happening from 4:30 to 5:00 PM (note later time due to longer days) on the SouthWest corner of the intersection of Rte 120 & Main Street (at the blinking traffic light). We have “BLACK LIVES MATTER” signs available for folk to hold, but please feel free to make and/or bring your own signs.

  Come join us in “showing up for racial justice,” and Standing for  LOVE, and AGAINST racism, white supremacy, hatred, and violence, here in our community and beyond!  Together, let us publicly declare that we will NOT be complicit in white terror, and let us call our friends and neighbors to rise up with us in our resolute affirmation of the inherent and sacred value of us all within Beloved Community. 

Invitation to join the 

Windsor County NAACP

          A group of residents in Windsor County are working to form a Windsor County NAACP Branch. For certification as an NAACP Branch we need to enroll 100 new NAACP members on our Membership forms. Members may be from any geographical location. All members 18 and older will be voting members of the Branch with only Windsor County residents eligible for elected leadership positions (as defined in Constitution). 

        The NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, established in 1909 is our oldest and largest civil rights organization. It was started in New York by white and black activists partially in response to violence against African Americans, particularly lynching. Today it has over 2000 Branches and half a million members worldwide.

           According to the NAACP Constitution it was founded on the beliefs embodied in the Constitution of the United States of America.... (its) vision and mission (are) to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights and there is no racial hatred or racial discrimination and to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.

       To become a member contact [email protected]; for more information contact [email protected].

STATE

Rep. Margaret Drye

1136 Rt. 12A

Plainfield, NH 03781

Phone: 603-675-9159

Email: margaret.dry@leg.state.nh.us

Rep. Bill Palmer

603-675-2117

Email [email protected]

Sen. Suzanne Prentiss

Legislative Office Building, Room 102

33 State Street

Concord, NH 03301

Phone: 603-271-3092

Email: [email protected]