Weekly Newsletter
Week of October 14th - October 20th
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Gilead Congregational Church, UCC |
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Meetings and Services this week:
Wednesday, October 14th:
-9:00 a.m. Hunger Action Team on Zoom
-9:30 a.m. Bible Study on Zoom
-11:30 a.m. Wednesday Morning Book Group
Thursday, October 15th:
-7:00 p.m. Council on Zoom
Saturday, October 17th:
-2:00 p.m. Memorial Service for Janet Leary in Garden of Remembrance
-6:00 p.m. Drive Through Relay for Life Luminaria Ceremony at Windham High School
Sunday, October 18th:
-10:00 a.m. Sunday Worship Service in the Garden of Remembrance and live-streamed on our Gilead Church Facebook Page with Angel Tag Kick Off
-Sunday School Program
-11:30 a.m. Stewardship Committee
-11:30 a.m. Fellowship Committee Soup Swap
Monday, October 19th:
-7:00 p.m. Board of Christian Education on Zoom
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About Us:
Pastor:
Reverend Dr. Denise Esslinger
Minister of Music:
Danielle Hoehn
Minister of Communication and Technology:
Lisa Cox
Administrative Assistant:
Sally Fritsche
Worship: 10:00 a.m. in Garden of Remembrance and on Gilead Church Facebook Page
Gathered: 1748
Meeting House: 1838
Fellowship Hall: 2008
We are an Open & Affirming Church
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Sunday Worship Live Streamed and in Garden of Remembrance
This Sunday, October 18th, we will be gathering for worship outdoors in our Garden of Remembrance at 10:00 a.m., weather permitting.
Our plan is to continue worshipping outside until the temperatures dip below 40 degrees at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Worship will then move inside. Our Deacons have prepared information and protocols for how we will be worshipping inside. They are contained in a separate block below. We invite you to review these protocols and contact Pastor Denise or any one of our Deacons with questions or suggestions.
If you plan on attending outdoor worship this Sunday, the Deacons ask you to sign up by clicking on the following link:
We ask everyone to sign up including those who will be serving as Ushers, Deacons, or in any other way for our service. We would like to have an idea of how many will be attending for spacing purposes as well as to keep a list, which hopefully will never be needed, for contact tracing purposes.
On Sunday, please enter the Garden of Remembrance via the arbor where a Deacon will welcome you and check you in. Your name will be added to the list if you didn't sign up ahead of time.
Know that live streaming of our worship services will continue for those who don't feel comfortable attending and prefer to worship with us at home. You can connect with our service on our Gilead Church Facebook page at http://tinyurl.com/GileadChurchUCC. Following the service, it will be posted to the site, so you can view it at any time.
If weather should be inclement, an email will be sent out via our weekly e-newsletter distribution list and also posted on our Church's Facebook page at least one hour prior to the service time. Worship, in this case, will be live streamed only and we invite you to join us from home.
For those wishing to attend the outdoor service, please read the below protocols established by our Deacons.
Protocols for Outdoor Worship
1) Participation will be limited to 150 people in the Garden of Remembrance.
2) All are asked to enter the Garden via the main (arbor) entrance. Those attending will be asked to sign up prior and will checked in by an usher. If you are unable to sign up prior, you will be asked to share your name and contact number with the usher prior to being seated. This is to keep an accurate record of people in attendance, if needed, for contact tracing. An usher will then walk you (at a distance) to your space to sit and will provide hand sanitizer, if desired, prior to entering the worship area.
3) Participants are asked NOT to attend if they have any of the following symptoms:
· Fever above 100.4
· Cough or respiratory distress
· Sneezing
· Headache
· Runny nose
· Diarrhea
· Nausea
· Sore Throat
· Chills
· If anyone in the house has tested positive for COVID-19
4) Participants are asked to bring your own chairs or blankets to sit on. Face masks are required for the entire service. Face masks will be provided, if needed. Participants must remain 6-10 feet apart from non-family members at all times.
5) After the service, you are asked to exit the garden via the parking lot side of the garden and maintain 6-10 feet from non-family members.
6) No singing, joining in unison prayers, Communion or offering plate will be shared or passed at the service. On Communion Sundays (first Sundays of the month), you are asked to bring your own Communion. Deacons will provide Communion packets for those who desire them. A basket will be available at the entrance to the Garden for offerings. There will also be no summer Sunday school or coffee hour.
7) The worship bulletin will be emailed prior to the service. Please feel free to print out your own copy of the service. A limited number of bulletins will be available at the service as well. These should be taken home after the service.
8) If severely inclement weather is expected, notification will be sent via email and on our Facebook page at least one hour prior to the scheduled service time.
9) All services will continue to be live-streamed on our Facebook page for those who prefer to stay home or for when there is inclement weather.
10) The church building will be closed and bathrooms will be not be available. The worship service will typically be 45-50 minutes.
If you have any questions, concerns or input to share please contact our Deacons (Amy Huhn, Jon Kimball, David Kline, Jim Ledbetter, Kate McClaine, Teresa Olio, Gary Sarra, Margot Sheehan, and Doug Stewart) or Pastor Denise. Thank you!
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2021 Budget Hearing
Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.
All members and friends of the Gilead Congregational Church are invited to a special meeting this Thursday, October 15th at 7:00 p.m. for the purpose of reviewing the proposed 2021 budget prior to our Annual Meeting, which will take place following the worship service on Sunday, November 1st. The Budget Hearing will take place on Zoom prior to the October Council meeting. Please see the below link to attend the meeting. Also, if you would like to review a copy of the proposed budget prior to the meeting, please e-mail Sally at [email protected] and she will send you a copy.
Topic: Budget Hearing & Council
Time: Oct 15, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 848 3021 5578
Passcode: 626099
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Meeting ID: 848 3021 5578
Passcode: 626099
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Relay for Life Virtual Event
Saturday, October 17, 2020
Relay for Life is still on for 2020 - but in a very different format.
Due to COVID 19 and in an effort to keep our survivors, caregivers, participants and staff and volunteers safe we are transitioning to a Drive Through Luminaria Ceremony on October 17th from 6pm-7pm. at Windham High School. We hope you will join us. The American Cancer Society needs you now more than ever.
Relay teams are being asked to sell as many Luminaria bags as possible to support the event. Gilead Congregational Church is registered on the Relay site. Please sign up to be a part of our team!
Participating in our virtual Relay For Life event is a great way to fight cancer from home while celebrating survivors and remembering loved ones.
All the funds raised by our team for the American Cancer Society will go directly to:
~ Lifesaving Cancer Research aiming to find more and better treatments, uncover factors that may cause cancer, and improve cancer patients’ quality of life
~ Reach To Recovery - a peer-to-peer breast cancer support network that is 100% phone-based
~ Cancer.org - a resource with comprehensive cancer information for prevention, treatment, and support
Thanks!
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
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Sunday School Program
Sunday, October 18, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.
On Sunday, October 18th, our Board of Christian Education will be offering a Sunday school opportunity for children and youth during our 10:00 a.m. worship service.
The program will include decorating pumpkins and the sharing of a pumpkin parable. Children are asked to wear face masks and social distancing will be practiced. Our hope is to have this outside while worship is happening in the Garden of Remembrance.
Also, young people are invited to bring a canned good, either a canned vegetable, canned soup, or macaroni & cheese, which will be donated to Hebron Interfaith Human Services in lieu of an offering.
Thank you and we hope to see you then!
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Christmas Angel Gift Tags
Sunday, October 18, 2020
This Sunday October 18th, we will kick off our 26th annual Christmas Angel Tag Mission. This mission will provide Christmas gifts for children and youth in the care of our adopted DCF (Department of Children and Families) Social Worker Jeff Brown. Gifts requested are in the price range of $20 to $25. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and in order to reduce contact, the angel tags will be spread out on a table outside the Garden of Remembrance on Sunday morning with Christmas wishes displayed. Please review visually only, choose an angel tag, and then register your tag by sharing the number on the tag, as well as your name, to Nancy Bennett or Catherine Haugh, who will be present to register your tag.
All angel tag gifts should be returned by November 22nd in a gift bag with tissue paper and with the Christmas angel tag attached (gift wrapping is prohibited by DCF security).
You may return the gift on any Sunday before November 22nd and leave it at the entrance to the Garden of Remembrance or in front of the Sanctuary (when we move to indoor worship), or you may leave gifts on the porch of the Parish House at your convenience at any time.
If there are tags that aren’t taken after worship this Sunday, we will be posting the remaining angel tag gift requests in next week's e-newsletter and invite you to contact Nancy Bennett (8602280681 or [email protected]) if you would like to take a tag and purchase a gift (please include name, angel tag number, and gift request).
Thank you for your continued support of the Christmas Angel Tag mission for the special children and youth in the DCF system especially during this Covid-19 crisis.
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Soup Swap
Sunday, October 18, 2020
This Sunday, October 18th, the Fellowship Committee invites members to stop by after church to pick up a home-made container of soup to warm the soul. Those not attending church in person can enjoy a drive through pick-up option between 11:30 and 12:15 p.m. Soup will be delivered to your car. Please wear a mask and indicate any food sensitivities. If you have any questions, please contact Annette Langevin (860-228-1313).
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CROP Walk Results
Thanks to everyone who supported this year's CROP Walk! In these unusual times, we were able to raise $2,130 which will go to support Church World Service as well as Hebron Interfaith Human Services. It isn't too late to make a donation. You can donate at www.crophungerwalk.org/columbiact . Donations can also be mailed to the church or dropped off at the Parish House (please make checks out to CWS/CROP). Contact Phyllis Kurz (860-228-2469) or Bob Owens (860-228-9541) for more info. Thank you!
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Bible Study on Zoom
Our weekly Bible study, led be Rev. Bob Woodward, meets on Wednesday mornings at 9:30 a.m. on Zoom. The group is currently exploring and discussing the book of Exodus. The book of Exodus, the second book in the Bible, is about the people of God’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt, their wandering in the wilderness on their way to the promised land, and God’s presence with them. It is a relevant and appropriate book for the times we are living in, which can sometimes feel like wilderness times. All are invited and welcome to join this discussion and study. Come when you can! To join, click on the this link at 10 a.m. on Wednesday mornings:
If you have any questions or need assistance connecting with Zoom, please contact our Church Office ([email protected] or 860-228-3077).
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Protocols for Indoor Worship
As autumn brings cooler or inclement weather, our Deacons have been working with Pastor Denise on ways to resume Sunday worship indoors in our Sanctuary. We believe that following these guidelines will allow a meaningful worship experience while doing what we can to ensure safety from the COVID-19 virus. We’ll begin conducting services indoors on Sundays when the temperature is forecasted to be below 40 degrees at the time of the service, or when inclement weather threatens. All services will continue to be live-streamed on our Facebook page for those who prefer to stay home.
1) Participation and pre-registering. Participation will be limited to 50 people in the sanctuary. Those attending will be asked to sign up prior to the service and will be checked in by a Deacon. If you are unable to sign up in advance, we ask that you share your name and contact number with the Deacon prior to being seated. This is to keep an accurate record of people in attendance, if needed, for contact tracing. When it is needed, we’ll make plans to conduct a second service.
2) Please enter the church via the parking lot entrance. An usher will then walk you (at a distance) to your space to sit and will provide hand sanitizer, if desired, prior to entering the worship area.
3) Participants are asked NOT to attend if they have any of the following symptoms:
· Fever above 100.4
· Cough or respiratory distress
· Sneezing
· Headache
· Runny nose
· Diarrhea
· Nausea
· Sore Throat
· Chills
· If anyone in the household has tested positive for COVID-19
4) Face masks are required for the entire service. Face masks will be provided, if needed. Participants must remain 6-10 feet apart from non-family members at all times. Deacons have marked pews with areas available for seating. The remaining seating should remain unused to comply with the 6-10 foot spacing requirement.
5) After the service, ushers will dismiss people by pew to avoid any congestion at the door or in the hallways. At the end of service parishioners can use either the front or back door. There will be no coffee hour.
6) No singing, joining aloud in unison prayers, Communion or offering plates are to be shared or passed during the service. On Communion Sundays (first Sundays of the month), you will be asked to bring your own Communion. Deacons will provide Communion packets for those who desire them. A basket will be available at the entrance to the Sanctuary for offerings.
7) Our Board of Christian Education will offer a Sunday school program on one Sunday a month for children and youth. Safety protocols will be followed and more information including dates and program offerings will be in the weekly e-newsletter and included during announcements at the beginning of worship. On other Sundays, children and youth are invited to remain with their families during the service. There will be no nursery.
8) The worship bulletin will be emailed prior to the service. Please feel free to print out your own copy of the service. A limited number of bulletins will be available at the service as well. Please take it home after the service.
9) We request that you refrain from use of the bathrooms. The worship service will typically last 45-50 minutes.
If you have any questions, concerns or input to share please contact our Deacons (Amy Huhn, Jon Kimball, David Kline, Jim Ledbetter, Kate McClaine, Teresa Olio, Gary Sarra, Margot Sheehan, and Doug Stewart) or Pastor Denise. Thank you!
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Hebron Interfaith Human Services Food Drive
Hebron Interfaith Human Services has asked for our help with collecting specific canned goods they are in need of. Needed are:
- canned vegetables (any variety)
- macaroni & cheese
- canned soup (any variety
We will be collecting these items through the end of October. A bin is available outside of the double door Church entrance for you to drop off your donations at any time. Thank you!
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Gilead Church Lending Library
"Planting Seeds of Hope"
Our Little Lending Library (LLL) has an excellent selection of books to borrow. Please come and borrow as many as you'd like and keep them for as long as you'd like. This week we are highlighting:
"We Are Together"
by
Britta Teckentrup
This wonderful story celebrates the power of love and friendship. Each of us is special and we can chase our dreams. But something amazing happens when we join our voices with others. The illustrations in this book are very beautiful. We see the sea, sky, woods and mountain tops.As we travel through this story we learn how important our words and actions are. There is a fun dimension to this book that will be a surprise when you read it.
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There still remains a tub near the Lending Library for books when they are “returned." When books are “returned," they will be sanitized and put back into the Lending Library. There will also be sanitizing wipes available by the tubs for you to use.
If you have any questions, please feel free to speak with Lynn Lukach, Margot Sheehan or Pastor Denise.
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Lord's Bounty II Cookbooks
Our Women's Fellowship continues to sell copies of their Gilead Church Lord's Bounty II Cookbooks. If you'd like a copy, please contact Margaret Gibbs at 860-384-4327. She will deliver! Cook books are only $10 each and make a wonderful gift. Checks can made payable to Gilead Church Women’s Fellowship.
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Foodshare's Drive-Thru Food Distribution - Volunteers Needed!
Foodshare has an immediate need for Volunteers! Each Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday in October they could use up to 30 volunteers at Foodshare’s Drive-Thru Food Distribution at Rentschler Field, East Hartford.
At Rentschler, the volunteer’s day begins at 8:00 am and goes through 12:30 pm. Social distancing will be enforced. Every volunteer will be expected to wear a mask, and wear sturdy, comfortable closed-toe shoes. Gloves will be provided. Don't forget your sun screen lotion! As an additional screening tool, volunteers' temperatures will be taken on site. Children ages 12-15 must volunteer with an adult/guardian; ages 16 and over can come on their own. Must be able to lift 20 pounds consistently during the 4.5 hour shift. Water and break times are provided.
Register to Volunteer at Rentschler Field:
Individuals – can sign up online at Foodshare’s VolunteerHub – listed as Produce Sorting – (Pop-Up Produce) - E. Hartford
VolunteerHub will list the number of volunteer slots that remain open on a specific day, if filled, please check another date.
Corporate Groups – are welcome, please call Edna Bailey at 860-856-4326
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Church Office Hours and Protocols
Sally, our Church’s Administrative Assistant, is in the Church Office on Monday and Wednesday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon. She will continue to work from home on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon. If you need assistance from Sally, the best way to reach her is to contact her via email or phone ([email protected] or 860-228-3077). If you need to come to the Church Office, we ask that you make every effort to contact Sally ahead of time to let her know you are coming. Face masks are required to enter the building and when you arrive, please come to the Parish House side door and knock. Sally will let you in. If you are having any symptoms (e.g. fever, sore throat, coughing, etc.) or not feeling well, we ask that you do not come. We will be happy to make other arrangements to conduct any Church business that you need. Denise will generally be in the Church Office on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings although her schedule varies with meetings and visits. Please feel free to call or email her at the Church Office if you’d like to set up a meeting.
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Thank You
A big thank-you to all members who sent birthday cards, Doug Stewart who delivered a bouquet, a big thank-you for making my day!
Maralyn Porter
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Scripture Reading and Prayer for the Week
Matthew 22: 15-22
Living God, move among us and awaken us to your loving presence. When we lose our way and put our confidence in our possessions and our wisdom, call us back to you. Remind us that our very identity is dependent on your abiding mercy. Show us how to walk with steadfast faithfulness, following the path of justice and goodness in our daily lives. May our days be filled with joy and hope as we share the good news of abundant life that comes from following Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Contact Info
Sally Fritsche
Administrative Assistant
672 Gilead St
Hebron, Ct 06248
860-228-3077
Office Hours: Our Administrative Assistant, Sally Fritsche, will be in the Parish House Office on Monday and Wednesday mornings from 8:00 a.m. - Noon. She will be working from home on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8:00 a.m. - noon.. She is available for assistance via email ([email protected]).
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