The Wednesday Email ...
... shares announcements and information with members and friends of Niantic Community Church. If you want to add your own, please contact Judy Snitkin in the church office by simply replying to this email (or calling 739-6208).
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This Week at NCC
News and Events for the Current Week
Youth Sunday 2.0 Snowstorm Nemo cancelled Youth Sunday 1.0, so March 17th is Youth Sunday 2.0! Join the NCC family in celebrating our youth, grades 6-12 as they lead both worship services, 9 and 11:15 AM. The Adult and Youth Bell Choirs will be ringing together in a multi-generational presentation, the Youth Band will be leading our hymns and music, the Youth Drama Team will bring us our message, and youth of various ages will be joyfully leading liturgy for the day. We look forward to lifting up our young people and all who are young at heart this Sunday morning. See you there!
Sunday, March 17th is Youth Sunday and OAR feels it's the perfect day for a letter writing campaign to be done. Why? Because the Boy Scouts will be reconsidering it's ban on gays in Scouting at their May annual meeting. During coffee hour on the 17th, tables will be set up in fellowship hall to enable the congregation to assist with this important campaign. Sample letters and needed supplies will be provided. All we need is you! Tidings Deadline for the April issue is March 15th. Article may be emailed to Heather Larson at tidings@nianticcommunitychurch.orgLooking for fun and meaningful ways to nurture your faith as a family? Check out the Logos Ministry's Heartfelt Newsletter, Family 'round the table, www.thelogosministry.org/familyroundthetable.html. Each month you'll find ideas for eating together, playing together, studying God's word and praying together. Enjoy! MORE Quarter Contest Drama! This has been an exciting Quarter Contest! Last week the team in last place moved to first place, and this past Sunday, thanks to almost $520 in donations, the last are now first. So are the first. Thanks to your generous support and voting in the Quarter Contest this year's team totals are: The Louts: $224.11; Ned: $224.11; Rich and Sandy: $224.11 and Russ: $224.11! Churches deal in miracles, and this one appears to be ours! All 4 teams will pay up at Coffee Hour on Palm Sunday, March 24! Click here to find out more about the Quarter Contest.
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Looking Ahead
Plenty of Opportunities for Service and Spirit
A Memorial Service will be held for Clara Ball on Wednesday, March 20th at 2pm in the Sanctuary.
A marvelous opportunity: Community Passover Seder at Temple Emanu-El, Thursday, 4 April, 6pm. RSVP to Pastor John by next Wednesday, March 20. Click here for more information!
The Tuesday Bible Breakfast is giving birth to another! We're running out of room, so starting next week we will offer Bible Breakfast studies on both Tuesday and Thursday, 7:15am at Charlie's Diner (26 W. Main Street, Niantic). For more information, contact Pastor John.
WCSA will meet Tuesday, Mar 19, at 1:00pm in the Fellowship Room. For our Health Kits, please bring bar(s) of soap (bath size in wrapper) and six (6) Band-Aids. Everyone is welcome. For questions, contact Karen Peacock (739-9996) or Carol June (739-8851).
Next Community Meal opportunity is Saturday, March 23rd. The menu is shepard's pie, green beans, salad, fruit cocktail and brownies. We'll need 6 volunteers to serve the meal between 12 - 1 on Saturday (arriving 11:30 and leaving around 1:15). For food donations well need a large tub of margarine, boxes of instant mashed potatoes and frozen corn -- and, as always, brownies! Please leave food donations in the kitchen by Wednesday, March 20th and indicate they are for the community meal. Please leave brownies in the freezer across from the scullery entrance, indicate they are for the community meal and mark with the date. Thank you. Anne 860-739-7455.
Prayer Shawl Knitting Group Tuesday, March 26th at 7pm in the Fellowship Room. Please join us for uplifting conversation and knitting/crocheting. Lessons and patterns available. Call Jane Barth (860-739-6002) with questions.
Save the Date: Rummage Sale planned for Saturday, April 20. We will be accepting donations the week of April 14. Thank you.
Women's Fellowship Book Club has chosen "The Light Between Oceans" by M. L. Stedman as their next book. We will meet on April 21st at 7 pm in the Fellowship Room at NCC. Enjoy and hope to see you then.
NCC Annual Women's Retreat, April 5-7, 2013, at St. Edmund's Retreat Center, Ender's Island, Mystic, CT. Topic: "Easter Women" facilitated by Carol Croteau, founder and former executive director of the Bethsaida Community, Inc., in Norwich. Program begins with dinner at 5:30 Friday, concluding Sunday after lunch. Registration: $170 includes 2 nights lodging & 6 meals (sleeping bags not required). Partial scholarships are available - See Pastor John. Make your reservation with a down payment prior to the March 17 deadline with full payment due no later than March 24. For reservations contact: Gwen Wildes (904) 206-3470 or Ocean Pellett (860) 440-0762.
Calendar Dinner will be held on Saturday, April 27th at NCC. It's the same fun-themed dinner that we had in September 2011 and we need more table captains to fill the remaining tables along with people to participate. Each table chooses a theme and a menu to fit your theme and decorations for your table. A suggested donation for each table is $10 to cover coffee and tea. Contact Cheri Meier (739-0216) or Marion McKenzie (860-691-1868) for questions or come find us between services in the dining room.
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Children and Youth Ministries @ NCC
Mission, Learning, and Play! "Wanakee" is our annual mission trip for younger youth. 5th graders through 8th graders may go, and we fundraise so it is free. The dates are April 26-28, 2013. We go to the Wanakee United Methodist Center in Meredith, NH and work on a community farm there, helping out as farm hands, and it's a great opportunity to learn about missions and help people out in the process. Junior Youth Fellowship (Sundays, 4:30-6 PM) attendance is strongly encouraged between now and the trip, as we work together to learn and prepare for the trip. Now is the time to sign up; if interested, contact Russ Kirby, Christian Education and Youth Minister.
Junior Youth Fellowship for 5th through 8th graders will meet this Sunday, March 10th, 4:30-6:00 PM. We continue to prepare for our Wanakee mission trip; this week is about group building. Regular attendance is strongly suggested for those signed up for Wanakee or who wish to sign up!
We are gearing up for our annual Pajama Party for kids grades 1-4 on a Friday in the near future. We had a lot of fun last year, and look forward to more again this year. Any parents or other adults interested in helping out, please contact Russ Kirby, Christian Education and Youth Minister at the church. Details to come.
Vacation Bible School is scheduled for July 8-12, 2013, with the theme, "Everywhere Fun Fair: Where God's World Comes Together." Be sure to put it on your calendar!
Only one youth opening remains for this summer's Senior Youth Mission Trip to Queens, NY! It's available on a first-come, first-served basis. An $85 non-refundable deposit is required. Registration form can be downloaded HERE. For the Junior Youth (grades 6-8) calendar, click here. For the Senior Youth (grades 9-12) calendar, click here. For the full CE Calendar, including Youth, click here. |
| Other Community Events
Members and friends of NCC are involved in many worthy activities beyond our church's ministries. We're happy to share news about them. Click here to read notices.
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Worship on Sunday, March 17th
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Youth Sunday
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9:00 & 11:15am: Service of the Word
Church School during 9am service
Childcare at both services
Worship designed and led by NCC youth
10:15am: Between Hour Caf�
and Church School for Adults: Sermon Talk-back in the Fellowship Room.
For further reflection this week click here to download "Taking Faith Home." Bulletins and recent sermons available online: click here.
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"We are a community of
Christians:
learning God's ways;
sharing God's love;
extending God's peace
and
healing grace to all."
Niantic Community Church is a congregation of the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church. We are an Open, Affirming, and Reconciling congregation -- a Heritage of Faith since 1719! -- with strong commitments to outreach, to faith formation for both children and adults, and to living out Jesus' extravagant, joyful hospitality.
We welcome new friends; please join us!
For more information, visit us at www.nianticcommunitychurch.org.
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