Church Office Hours

Monday & Wednesday 9 AM – 3 PM/Friday 9am –1 PM

Office Closed on Tuesdays & Thursdays

The front door is unlocked during office hours. 

Dear Friends in Christ:

Thank you all for the wonderful send-off following worship on December 31st. Eileen and I appreciated your kind words, cards and gifts. Thank you. It was so good to journey together during your season of pastoral transition, and I am grateful for the commitment of so many church members and friends to making the interim and search such successes. You are in good hands with Rev. Eliza Tweedy - and she is in good company with all of you! Blessings on you all during the next part of your journey. Peace be with you.

Campbell Lovett

This Sunday!

Rev. Janet Heslam preaching

All Are Welcome!

Love God. Love Neighbor. Include Everyone.

A Message From the Church Office:

As our new Communications Associate Carmen Deyarmond transitions into her new role, we ask that all emails for the News Blast, Tower Tidings, or any other information intended for her be sent to churchoffice@laconiaucc.org, which will be her primary email address.

Historic Potluck Sunday

January 28th

Following the annual meeting on January 28th, we will be having a 200th Anniversary Pot Luck. We have gathered together recipes from our church cookbooks dating back to the early 1900s. We will be making and serving these recipes at the pot luck.

If you haven't already picked out your recipe, we will have them available this Sunday, Jan. 21, so you can choose a meal to prepare and bring. Just follow the recipe and bring it to church on the 28th and we will take care of the rest!

LACONIA CONFIRMATION EXPERIENCE

Sun., Jan. 21, 2:30-4:30 p.m.

Our next meeting is on Sunday, January 21^st from 2:30-4:30 p.m. We'll be doing a service project and having key Confirmation conversations! We're rescheduling the visit with Rev. Paula Gile until our next meeting on Feb. 18th.

LUNCH AND LEARN

Thurs., Jan. 25, 12-1 p.m.

Pamela Joyal will be leading a Lunch and Learn on the topic of Mental Health on January 25. As a Certified Instructor for Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), Pamela facilitates and teaches MHFA for Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine and the Tuck School of Business, area high schools, municipalities, wellness centers and more. We are very fortunate to have an expert join us to help us gain a better understanding of the mental health issues that are prevalent today.

PARISH HOUSE

RE-NAMING

When did this process get started? 

In the past few years there have been many conversations about changing the name of the Parish House in conjunction with our 200th Anniversary celebration. The plan is for the name “The Congregational Church of Laconia” to remain along with the selected name.

Why re-name the building?

“Parish House” was an appropriate name when it was built in 1959, but now it’s outdated and has no real meaning for our church members or the community members using the building. Ideally, a name will be chosen that will highlight the mission of the building when it was created in the 1950s and how it functions today. Those church leaders intended the building to serve as an outreach location for the community by offering a free space for local nonprofits to have meetings and activities. The majority of space continues to be used for the church offices, outreach space, meeting rooms, and classrooms.

What happened next?

The Church Council formed an ad-hoc Committee to be responsible for gathering suggestions for a name that is more reflective of the purpose and use of the building. We advertised in the News Blast and at church services to ask for potential names and we collected over 30 suggestions before the Nov.1^st deadline. The ad-hoc group had several meetings to determine the most common names, words, and phrases. We found that these three names stood out and best represented the submissions:

• COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
• THE MEETING PLACE
• OUTREACH CENTER

How do we choose? 

At the Annual Meeting on January 28, all members of the church will be invited to vote for the new name during the meeting (members on Zoom will also be able to vote).

• The votes will be counted immediately
• The name with the most votes will be put forward as a motion and voted on to become the new name for the Parish House!

What should you do before then? 

Think about it. Talk to your friends about it. Launch a campaign for your favorite. Decide which name you feel best represents the mission of our church building and VOTE on January 28!!

Let’s celebrate our building and highlight its mission in the local community!

Yours in Christ,

Ad-hoc Committee Members: Kathy Giovanni, Bob Harrington, Carolyn Jorgensen, Beth Shehadi, Diane Tinkham

Come and Worship

We welcome and invite you to worship with us in any of these ways. 

!!! In Person !!! at 9:30 AM, or via Livestream

●      Via livestream through YouTube Sundays starting at 9:20 AM:

Go to YouTube and search for Congregational Church of Laconia

●      On our website www.laconiaucc.org any day and any time.

●      On Public Access TV Channel 25 Sundays at 4pm and 9:30pm or Mondays at 5am.

If you are new to the church, please introduce yourself! Let the Church Office know if we can help you in any way! 603-524-0668. Seeking to be the church God desires for us to be.

Congregational Church of Laconia, UCC | 18 Veterans Square, Laconia, NH | 603.524.0668