Dear Members and Friends of the Hills Church,
We’ve rounded the clubhouse turn and are in the home stretch on our way to 2022, which cannot come soon enough for some people! But looking on the bright side, the pumpkins came back, to the delight of us all, and the weather was uncharacteristically mild this autumn, facilitating outdoor gatherings. In a few short weeks, Thanksgiving will remind us of everything we have to be thankful for, family, community, health, vaccines. The list is long for many of us! And what better way to enter the Christmas season but with a feeling of being blessed. God has opened his arms to us; let’s do that for one another!
Clergy Reports
Jill and Rick Edens reported that in addition to their usual pastoral duties, they have also been meeting with the Transition Committee which is preparing the Church Profile which will be used to inform applicants for the Senior Minister position about the church (report below).
Judy Swahnberg noted that we had a busy month for special services including four funerals or memorial services, two baptisms and, joyfully, welcoming four new members to the church!
Anne Marie Holloway had her hands full with the Pumpkin Patch (more below!). She also told us that they have used money given to our church school by the Grace Knight Babson Fund to replace the Christmas lights in the giant Blue Spruce near the Chapel.
The clergy and staff have already begun planning for the Advent and Christmas season. This year we are planning to have two family services on Christmas Eve at 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. as well as two candlelight services of Lessons and Carols at 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Yes, you read that right! The number and timing of the services has been planned with the intent of more evenly distributing the numbers attending and facilitating distancing.
Support Board and Other Reports
Faith Formation Support Board - Tina Andersson reported that the board participated in service fair after church, created a video for Participation and Involvement, and shared a witness moment in church. Co-Chairs, Suzanne Bossert and Mary Canavan led a wonderful "Nature as Cathedral" program on Zoom and at the Broadmoor Sanctuary. The Faith & Fun Ministry will be hosting a Christmas Cookie Exchange on Dec 12th after church, and is also organizing a wreath decorating activity for the Advent kickoff event on Nov 28th. The decorated wreaths will be donated to families supported by A Place To Turn in Natick
Spiritual Care Support Board/Deacons - Laurie Otten reported that the Board has begun to assemble a Search and Call Committee for the new, settled Senior Minister. See below for the report from the Transition Committee.
Christian Service Support Board – Doug Eisenhart reported that CSSB has reviewed and approved the applications for 2021 outreach of seven organizations and made tentative recommendations concerning the amount of funding for each: African-Indian Alliance, City Mission Society, Cooperative Metro Ministries, Family Promise, Friends of Boston Homeless, Habitat for Humanity, and Honduras Hope.
Stewardship Support Board/Financial Report – Tia Pinney reported that the process of developing the 2022 budget is underway with the intent of having a preliminary budget for review by Council at its December meeting.
Stewardship Campaign – Julie Safaii, co-chair of the 2022 Stewardship Campaign along with her husband David, told us about some of the highlights of this year’s campaign, ‘Coming Together to Laugh and Sing.’ This year, in addition to the weekly stewardship witnessing statements during the church services, we are sending out a series of videos featuring messages about stewardship, what activities our pledge dollars support, and what the donation of money, time, and talent, means to a totally self-supported church. The emphasis this year will be on receiving pledges from people who have not pledged before, or have not done so in a while. To encourage these new pledges, the Stewards have obtained funds from two generous donors which will be used to match new pledges, dollar for dollar, up to $30,000! The message here is that what is most important is participation, in whatever way or at whatever level! We’re all in this together!
Re-Opening Task Force – Chris Stowell reported that this task force has continued to meet regularly and track the public health data and recommendations from the MA DPH and the CDC. As the September Covid surge has been waning, we have been gradually relaxing some of the safety restrictions that have been in place during the pandemic. At this point we are gathering again in the Sanctuary and other spaces in the church, masked and distanced, and are once again singing and praying together. Community Hour is being held outdoors (with refreshments) when the weather permits, or indoors (without refreshments) when it is cold or wet.
In October we had two possible Covid exposure events, involving an adult in the Church School and a guest at a memorial service. In both cases, the individuals were found to test positive for Covid shortly after the event. We immediately informed the staff, volunteers and parents of the Church School children, and all of the guests and participants in the memorial service and reception. Of all the people who were tested for Covid, including all of the Church School staff and volunteers, and many of the family members of the deceased, none tested positive, which was very good news indeed.
Transition Committee – Chris also reported that this committee, which was assembled in October, has begun work on the Church Profile, a standardized but extensive document which is posted by the UCC for the purpose of informing potential applicants for the Senior Minister position. The Profile provides basic information about the church and our community, but it also is a chance for us to tell candidates who we are as a church and who we aspire to become. In order to answer these last two questions, the Transition Committee is distributing a survey to all the members of our church community which can be filled out on-line or in hardcopy form. It is vital to the committee that as many people as possible fil it out; they really want to hear from you! This committee is chaired by Susie Alexander and Debbie Karlsson, and also includes Dana Brennan, Jennifer Cassettari, Mimi D’Angelo, P.O. Davidson, Dwight Garland, Jason Kranker and Chris Stowell.
Website Upgrade – Jack Morgan reported that a small task force consisting of him, Anne Marie Holloway, Sarah Pedersen, Chris Stowell, and Myralee Wilson has looked at a number of church websites and held five zoom interviews with three firms that specialize in website development and communications. Based on the criteria of the ease of use and appearance of the websites, their experience with churches, the proposed timeline, and cost, the group unanimously recommended to the Council that we retain Johnny Flash Productions, a firm in Northern Virginia that specializes in church websites. Council and the Stewards Support Board both voted to approve the expenditure of up to $25,000 for this project.
Strengthening Church Governance Implementation Task Force – Doug Eisenhart presented the ‘Governance Guidelines’ document which the task force has been working on since last Spring. This document is intended to make the operations and procedures of church governance more transparent. It is based on the By-Laws but further amplifies and clarifies them to describe how our governance structure works. As such, it is a "how-to" manual for church operations. Doug thanked all those who took the time to read and provide numerous comments on an earlier draft. In addition to making this document available to all church members, the Task Force is also developing a communications plan, so the congregation will be hearing more about this in the near future. Council voted to adopt these guidelines and thanked Doug and his fellow Task Force members, Laurie Otten (co-chair), Sarah Pedersen, Rich Sweeting, and Becky Williams, with additional advice and important contributions from Rick and Jill Edens and graphic designer, Noreen Young.
Pumpkin Patch – Anne Marie reported that the Pumpkin Patch was a great success! The pumpkins were out in force to greet the runners in the Boston Marathon, one of whom apparently carried her pumpkin to the finish line! Overall, we raised more than $29,000, 60% of which will go to the Mother Patch to support the work of the Navajo Farming Communities in New Mexico. The remainder has been designated by the Youth and the Christian Service Support Board to support the work of Global H.O.P.E. and their continued efforts in providing emergency relief to the people of Haiti.
