Weekly Newsletter Week of November 6th - November 12th

View as Webpage

Gilead Congregational Church, UCC

Meetings and Services this week: Wednesday, November 6th:  -9:30 a.m. Wednesday Morning Book Group -6:00 p.m. Confirmation Class -7:00 p.m. Choir Thursday, November 7th: -7:00 p.m. Deacons  Friday, November 8th: - 3:30 p.m. Confirmation Class to Covenant Soup Kitchen  Saturday, November 9th: - 9:00 a.m. - Noon Fall Work Day Sunday, November 10th: - 8:30 a.m. Worship Service  - 10:00 a.m. Worship Service  -Sunday School  -Coffee Hour -11:30 a.m. Board of Missions Tuesday, November 12th:  -11:15 a.m. Bible Study in the Music Room -2:20 p.m. Youth Group to Colchester for Eldercare Visit -7:30 p.m. AA Meeting 

About Us: Pastor: Reverend Dr. Denise M. Esslinger    Minister of Mission and Faith Formation: Stephanie Haines    Interim Minister of Music: Carol Geyer   Administrative Assistant: Sally Fritsche Worship w/Sunday School: 10:00 AM Summer Worship:  9:00 AM  Gathered: 1748 Meeting House: 1838 Fellowship Hall: 2008   We are an Open & Affirming Church   More About Us Join Our Mailing List

Stewardship Season: A Wonder-Full Life! In the classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” a crisis of money creates vastly diverse reactions from several characters. In our stewardship season worship, during the month of November, we’ll continue to look at these characters as well as hear the words of Jesus in order to reflect on what it is that constitutes a wonderful life.  As your Stewardship Committee, we hope this time will help us to reflect on the role that money plays in our lives and will lead us to a place where we see our use of money as a spiritual practice that can lead us to greater serenity, harmony, truth, compassion, gratitude, love and joy.  On this coming Sunday, November 10th, we’ll be taking a look inward to reflect on how our faith gets lived out in our actions. We’ll reflect on how we “spend” our assets—time, energy, and money—so that we approach life with the attentiveness and intentionality to make it a “wonder-full” life.  If you’d like to watch “It’s A Wonderful Life,” copies are available on the table just outside of the Sanctuary. Please note your name on the sign out sheet. You can also get a copy by calling the Church Office (860-228-3077).  If you have any questions about our stewardship season, please feel free to speak with a member of our Stewardship Committee (Mark Bierbaum, Micheal Bierbaum, Lisa Cox (Co-Chair), Charles Daniel, Lauren Henry (Co-Chair) and Bruce Langevin).

Fall Work Day  Saturday, November 9, 2019 at 9:00 am  There will be an All Church Fall Work Day this Saturday, November 9th from 9:00 a.m. - Noon (Rain date is Saturday, November 16th). Bring a rake and help spruce up the Church grounds. Cleaning inside will also be done. Please join us! Donuts, juice and coffee will be provided.

HELO Pie Sales   It is pie season! If you would like to order a homemade apple or pumpkin pie for the holidays, please see Amy Huhn. All proceeds will benefit HELO, an orphanage in Les Cayes Haiti. The cost of pies is all donation based. Pick up dates will be Wednesday, November 27th or Monday, December 23rd in the Fellowship Hall from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. If you have any questions please contact Amy at (860)462-0919 or [email protected] 

Work Party Volunteers Needed - Karahja's New Home  November, 9, 2019 from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm November 10, 2019 from 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm  The Syrian refugee family that we helped to resettle three years ago, has purchased their first home! As you can imagine, this is quite an exciting milestone for their family. The home is in need of some extensive TLC and some hands would be deeply appreciated. Help is needed cleaning out items from the home and tossing them in a dumpster. In addition, if you have a rake, pruning shears and/or gloves there is yard work to be done or if you have cleaning supplies to share, the walls and surfaces of the home could use a good scrubbing too. As they say, many hands make light work! We are hoping to organize a large work party of volunteers on November 9 th from 10 am – 2 pm and November 10 th from 1 – 4 pm. Lunch will be provided on Saturday and snacks on Sunday. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Stephanie Haines at [email protected] along with what date and time you can be there. She will share with you the directions at that time. Thank you so much for your willingness to be a message of hope and love. 

Finding God in Contemporary Issues Our “Finding God in Contemporary Issues” discussion group will resume meeting in January. We’d like to give more people the opportunity to join us, so will meet after worship on the 4th Sundays of the month. We’ll meet in one of the classrooms off of our Fellowship Hall starting around 11:30 a.m. and going until about 1:00 p.m. We’d also like to hear from you about the topics or issues that you feel are important and would like to gather to discuss and hear different points of view. You can share your thoughts by talking with John Jenkins or Margot Sheehan who co-facilitate this discussion group, or by calling (860-228-3077) or emailing ( [email protected] ) the Church office with your ideas, or you can write them down and put them in the FGICI box that is located right outside of the Sanctuary. Slips of paper and a pen for your suggestions are by the box. We look forward to hearing from you and hope you will mark your calendars and plan to join us for our first gathering on Sunday, January 26th.

Advent Celebration Sunday, December 1, 2019 at 11:30 am  Please join us Sunday, December 1 st  from 11:30-12:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall as we celebrate the beginning of the Advent season! We will enjoy homemade soups, bread, Christmas music, games and crafts for all ages! Adults and children are invited to make a precious keepsake ornament, cards, fresh evergreen swags, and much more! This event is a wonderful way to start the Advent season and is offered to you by the Board of Christian Education. We are need of crockpots of soup to be enjoyed that chilly day. If you would be willing, please sign up outside of the Sanctuary. Please contact Stephanie Haines (860) 228-3077 if you should have any further questions. Let's start the Season right!

Christmas Pageant Sunday, December 8, 2019  Please join us Sunday, December 8th during our 10:00 a.m. worship service for our wonderful Christmas Pageant. See the story of Jesus' birth come alive through the sweet voices and imaginations of our children. This year's pageant is titled "The Real Story: A Christmas Comedy". We are excited to have Joe Zuzel as our pageant director. All Sunday School children are invited to participate . We will hold a dress rehearsal on Saturday, December 7th at 9 a.m. in the Sanctuary. Instrumentalists of all ages and abilities are needed as well. If you play an instrument and would be willing to bless us with your talent, please contact Joe Zuzel at [email protected] . For questions regarding the pageant or to sign-up your child to participate, please contact Stephanie Haines at [email protected] .   

Wednesday Morning Book Discussion Wednesdays at 9:30 am  Our weekly Wednesday Morning Book Discussion Group is discussing " This Is How It Always Is" by Laurie Frankel. This is a story about a boy who grows up and says he wants to be a girl. The story focuses on how the family first "secrets" this information, but then shares and the impact on their family. The group meets on Wednesday mornings at 9:30 a.m. at the home of Judy Brown and Deena Watson (130 Charles Lane). If you have any questions about the group, please contact Sandy Hooker at 860-228-985. All are welcome!   

Advent Calendars Available  The Board of Christian Education is offering Advent Calendars outside of the Sanctuary starting on Sunday, November 24 th . There are calendars for adults and youth. May this be a season for you of growing closer to God as we celebrate Jesus' birth and the abundant gifts he offers us!

Minister of Music Search  We are in the process of interviewing candidates. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please feel free to share that the position description is posted on the home page of our Church’s web site ( www.gileadchurchucc.org ). Interested candidates can send their resume and cover letter to the church ( [email protected]  or 672 Gilead Street, Hebron, CT 06248). If you have any thoughts or questions, please feel free to speak with a member of our Search Committee: Carolyn Bennett (Chair), Renee Ellis, Brad Franzese, Ciara Franzese, Jon Kimball, Laurie Larsen, Katie McClaine, and Ken Manthorne. 

Bible Study Tuesdays at 11:15 am  Our weekly Bible Study meets on Tuesday mornings from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the Music Room. Rev. Bob Woodward leads the study. Please bring your own Bible. All are welcome!   

Homeless Awareness Night This past Saturday, November 2nd, the Youth Group held their Annual Homeless Awareness Night! During the night our Women's Fellowship provided a light supper and they heard a speaker on human trafficking. They also collected 5 turkeys and $260 for Foodshare and 8 gently used coats, 20 hats, 4 scarves, and 23 pairs of gloves for Integrated Refugee Immigrant Services (IRIS). The group also made apple pies for Hebron Interfaith Human Services' (HIHS) Thanksgiving baskets and assembled their annual fundraising mailing.

Coffee Hour Hosts Needed  Members of the Fellowship Committee are asking members and friends to sign up for co-hosting coffee hour on Sunday mornings following our 10 a.m. worship service. You can sign up to host a coffee hour on the sign up underneath the name tags. We are also specifically looking for coffee hour hosts on Sunday, December 8th. If you have any questions, please contact Annette Langevin at 860-228-1313.

Confirmation Class Serves at Soup Kitchen  On Friday, November 1st, four of our Confirmands served dinner at the Covenant Soup Kitchen in Willimantic with their Mentors. Pictured below are: Brian Byrne, Jon Kimball, Fernando Martins, Allegra Weir, Allison Aston, Alec Byrne, Ryan Woods and Tim Fellman.

Hebron's Got Talent Friday, February 7, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.  Applications are being accepted for the 7th annual Hebron’s Got Talent showcase which will take place on Friday, February 7, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. at the RHAM High School Auditorium. Ten acts will be chosen to compete for the $250 grand prize! Talent could include singing, dancing, musicians, comedy, magic or something surprising! You do not need to be a Hebron resident to apply. Local celebrity judges will provide their feedback on each act but ultimately, the winner is selected by audience applause! Applications can be picked up at Ted’s IGA Supermarket, AHM Youth and Family Services or the Gilead Congregational Church. Applications must be submitted by November 15th. All proceeds benefit the children’s scholarship programs of Hebron Parks & Recreation and AHM Youth & Family Services because every child should have the opportunity to explore and grow their own talents and abilities! Snow date is Friday, February 28th. Please contact the Gilead Congregational Church at 860-228-3077 with any questions.

Thank You  Dear Members and Friends of the Gilead Church, The other day when I arrived home from therapy there was a message on my answering machine suggesting I check my front door. To my surprise and delight a beautiful flower arrangement greeted me. Thank you for thinking of me and making my day so much brighter. Bea Stokes 

Upcoming Sunday Worship Servers    Ushers for this Sunday:  Katie McClaine and Harvey Desruisseaux Ushers for next Sunday: Karen and Tim Fellman Deacon of the Day for this Sunday:  Margot Sheehan Deacon of the Day for next Sunday: Gary Sarra Liturgist: Steve Petro Call to Worship: Tucker Haines Coffee Hour Hosts for this Sunday:  Lynn Lukach, Nancy Thorpe and Barbara Van Achterberg Coffee Hour Hosts for next Sunday: Phyllis Kurz and Brenda Houghton Greeter for this Sunday:    Margaret Gibbs Greeter for next Sunday:  Joe Sheehan 

Scripture Reading and Prayer for the Week Matthew 6: 19-24 Holy and Living God, transform our fears into awe-inspired wonder. Open us to your light, and to the rich possibilities that it brings us for a “wonder-full” life.  We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ, in whom name we pray. Amen.

Contact Info Sally Fritsche Administrative Assistant 672 Gilead St Hebron, Ct  06248 860-228-3077 [email protected]    Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. until noon (Parish House)

COMPANY NAME | [Website]

‌ ‌ ‌ ‌