Weekly Newsletter
Week of June 5th - June 11th
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Gilead Congregational Church, UCC
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Meetings and Services this week:
Thursday, June 6th:
-7:00 p.m. Deacons
Sunday, June 9th:
-8:30 a.m. Youth Group Grinder Prep
-9:15 a.m. Children's Sunday Rehearsal
-10:00 a.m. Children's Sunday & Pentecost Worship Service
-No Sunday School
-Children's Sunday Picnic
Tuesday, June 11th:
-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
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About Us:
Pastor:
Reverend Dr. Denise M. Esslinger
Minister of Mission and Faith Formation:
Stephanie Haines
Minister of Music:
Bruce Gale
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
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Upcoming Sunday Worship and Office Schedule
Sunday, June 9th - Children's Sunday and Pentecost:
One service at 10:00 a.m.
(wear something red!)
Sunday, June 16th - Father's Day:
One service at 9:00 a.m.
Following June 16th, our 9 a.m. worship service time will continue throughout the summer through and including Sunday, September 8th.
Starting the week of June 9th, Sally Fritsche, our Administrative Assistant, will be in on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday from 8 a.m. to noon. Summer office hours will continue through and including Labor Day. Stephanie Haines, our Minister of Mission on Faith Formation, will be off for the summer starting on Monday, June 17th and returning Saturday, August 24th.
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Father's Day Cards
This Sunday, June 9th,
Father's Day Cards will be available following worship. Cards feature beautiful photos of fathers around the world and are $5. All proceeds will benefit Church World Service and their Tool Kits Program that helps support families in need with emergency assistance and sustainable development. If you should have any questions please contact Stephanie Haines at (860) 228-3077.
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Youth Group "Holy Cow" Grinders
P
re-ordered grinders will be available for pick up this Sunday, June 9th. If you haven't ordered your grinder yet, it's not too late. Please contact Karen Cohen at 860-228-5188 or [email protected] to place your order by Friday, June 7th. There may also be some extras to purchase on Sunday. We hope you will to plan to stay following worship and enjoy a picnic lunch with your grinders on Children's Sunday, June 9th.
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Children's Sunday & Pentecost - "Precious In God's Sight!"
Sunday, June 9, 2019 at 10:00 am
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This Sunday, June 9th, please join us in celebrating our Sunday School and the fact that we are all children of God, wonderfully made, dearly loved and precious in God’s sight! The children will lead the worship service, entertain you with song, share their mission efforts, reflect on their past year at the Gilead Congregational Church. In addition, young people would like to take the opportunity to recognize their super Sunday School teachers and Youth Group leaders. Please wear red to celebrate Pentecost!
We hope you will join us after service and stay for a picnic on the patio. You can bring your own picnic from home or consider purchasing grinders from our Youth Group with proceeds supporting their mission work. A special sweet treat will be provided by the Board of Christian Education! Please contact Karen Risley at
[email protected]
or Sandy Waldo at
[email protected]
if you should have any questions.
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Ladies Evening of Relaxation & Companionship
Friday, June 14, 2019 at 7:00 pm
On
behalf of the Fellowship Committee, we are inviting all GCC women to an evening of relaxation and companionship on Friday, June 14th, 7:00 -10:00 p.m., at the home of Penny Besmond (246 Old Colchester Road, Amston). Please bring a beverage of your choice and a small plate to share, either savory or sweet. Please consider car-pooling, due to parking limitations. To RSVP, call Penny at 860-228-4282 and leave a message.
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Confirmation Class Mission Project
Pictured below is this year's Confirmation Class. On Friday, May 31st, they placed magnets on the lockers of all RHAM Middle School students. The magnets were designed by the class and contain a message encouraging people to stay away from drugs.
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Bible Study
Our Bible Study will continue meeting through and including Tuesday, June 25th. The group meets at 11:15 a.m. in the Music Room. The group will then take a summer break and resume meeting on Tuesday mornings in late August or early September. More info to come. Thanks to Rev. Bob Woodward for leading this study.
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Wednesday Morning Book Discussion Group
The Wednesday Morning Book Discussion Group is taking a break for summer.
If you ha
ve any questions about this group, please contact Sandy Hooker (860-228-9856). The group will resume meeting in the fall. More details to come!
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2018 - 2019 Confirmation Class
We welcome and congratulate the following young people who received the Rite of Confirmation this past Sunday, June 2nd. We wish them God's blessings as they continue their journeys of faith!
Tommy Biggs
Parents: Beth and Mark Biggs
Mentor: Bruce Langevin
Ciara Franzese
Parents: Brad and Heather Franzese
Mentor: Annette Langevin
James Lukow
Parents: Kate and Ryan Price
Grandparents: Kathy and Terry Lukow
Mentor: Tim Fellman
Jackson McKinley
Parents: Jaime and Jason McKinley
Mentor: Doug Stewart
Amy Nilsson
Parents: Heidi and Kent Nilsson
Mentor: Karen Cohen
Ben Risley
Parent: Karen Risley
Mentor: Jon Kimball
Sydney Summerer
Parents: Heather and Scott Summerer
Mentor: Jaime McKinley
Julianna Weir
Parents: Allegra and Steve Weir
Mentor: Karen Risley
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Gilead Helping Hands (GHH)
Our next project is to rebuild a handicapped access ramp in Colchester on June 29th & 30th. If you can help, please go to Signup.com.
GHH is now using
Signup.com
to aid in informing volunteers about upcoming projects and allow online signup to help with projects. Our GHH Group page is located:
Please take a look and volunteer if you find something that inspires you.
If you need information please contact Les Kurz 860-416-7884.
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Willing Weeders for Church Grounds & Garden of Remembrance
Our Trustees are looking for folks who are willing to help weed around the church during the upcoming summer months to keep our church grounds looking great. Also, the Garden of Remembrance Committee is looking for folks to help with weeding in the garden. There are sign up sheets underneath the name tags for both opportunities. Weeding in each area takes about an hour. Please consider signing up for a week or two. If you have any questions, please speak with Terry Lukow, chairperson of our Board of Trustees, or Diane Desruisseaux, member of the Garden of Remembrance Committee. Thank you!
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Parking Lot Improvements
Our Trustees are moving ahead with improvements to the back parking lot (behind the stone wall). The work to be done includes taking out top soil, installing stabilization fabric, and adding gravel. Lines to identify parking spaces will also be added. The changes will not only add additional spaces, but will also allow people to park there without the possibility of getting stuck in the mud during the spring and fall. The work will likely be done over the summer months. If you have any thoughts or concerns that you would like to share, please contact Terry Lukow (
[email protected]
or 860-228-3435) who is Chairperson of our Board of Trustees.
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"PEACE" T-Shirts!
The theme for the Sunday School 2019-2020 Program will be “
Peace I Give To You
”. We invite you to join us in the spirit of
“Peace”
and think of ways you might seek to have more peace in your own life as well as promote peace in our world.
We are also offering the congregation an opportunity to purchase a fabulous “
PEACE
”
t-shirt. There is a sign up table outside the Sanctuary. Deadline for t-shirt orders is August 1st. The cost for the Hanes tag-less, heavy cotton t-shirt is $15. Children 8
th
grade and below as well as Sunday School teachers will receive complimentary shirts. Please indicate the size you or your child needs on the sign-up sheet! Proceeds from the t-shirt sales will help to support the children’s peace promoting mission efforts. Checks can be made payable to GCC with “
Peace T-Shirt
” indicated in the memo line and will be collected when you pick-up your shirt during our Sunday School Kick-Off on Sunday, September 15
th
.
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Summer Potluck & Prayer Gatherings
Please plan to join us on Wednesday evenings July 10th, July 24th, August 7th, and 21st for our summer Potluck and Prayer gatherings. We'll meet on the Gathering Terrace at 6 p.m. Our Deacons will grill up hamburgers and hot dogs and have lemonade and ice tea to share. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share. After dinner, we'll close our evening with a brief time of worship and prayer. All are welcome!
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Summer Picnics at the Hebron Douglas Library
Please join us for complimentary "Summer Picnics" at the Douglas Library in Hebron, 22 Main Street. Enjoy a delicious lunch at 12:30 p.m. in the library community room along with a surprise visit from a guest "Mystery Reader" for children of all ages. The dates are as follows:
July 9th
, picnic provided by Big Y Market,
July 16th
, picnic provided by Wicked Slice,
July 23rd
, picnic provided by Gina Marie's Restaurant,
July 30th
, picnic provided by Something Simple Café, and
August 6th
, picnic provided by FennAgain's Restaurant. All are welcome to enjoy!
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A Girl’s Retreat
Saturday, August 24, 2019
3 – 7 pm
Poolside @ the Fournier’s
35 Warner Pond Lane, Hebron
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Girls, 6th grade and up, are invited to share an evening connecting with friends, exploring their faith and considering how dearly loved and precious they are in God’s sight. Enjoy creating art, yoga, fun activities, dinner and swimming.
Facilitated by the Board of Christian Education
Please sign-up outside of the Sanctuary by July 28th.
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Summer Music
During the summer, our Choir is off. If you are willing to share a musical gift during one of our summer services, please contact Bruce Gale, our Minister of Music (
[email protected]
).
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Summer Sunday Morning Greeters
We are in need of Greeters to greet everyone as they come to worship on Sunday mornings for our summer 9:00 a.m. service. Simply arrive at 8:45 a.m., stand at the end of the hallway as you enter from the parking lot, and welcome everyone as they arrive. If you would like to be a greeter, please sign up on the sheet under the name tags. Thank you!
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Ready, Set, Plant!
Our garden swap gets into full swing in late June and July, but the earth is ready to produce things right now. Consider a container with an early lettuce crop or a row of rainbow Swiss chard in a garden plot. The rewards of gardening are many and it’s really fun to share the bounty with others. An added benefit is that any excess is delivered to the HIHS food bank! Please consider sharing any extra pots, seeds, plants or garden tools in the Fellowship Hall on Sunday and talk with Bruce Langevin or Paul Miller if you have questions or suggestions.
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Silver Lake Summer Camp
Silver Lake has announced its offerings for the summer 2019 conference season. Brochures are available underneath the name tags and one is hanging on the bulletin board. Details and registration are also available at
www.silverlakect.org
along with downloads of the forms needed for registration. Also, our Women's Fellowship has once again agreed to pay the $150 deposit for any young person from our congregation who would like to attend Silver Lake. Please speak with Karen Voghel (860-508-3326) if you would like to take our Women's Fellowship up on their offer.
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Thank You
Dear Denise
,
Thank you so much for the lovely and meaningful memorial service you prepared for my mom, Patricia Johnson. Mom was a quiet and outwardly simple woman but not simplistic, and under your leadership I felt that the service honored and memorialized her in a very fitting way. Thank you for the grace and hospitality with which we were all welcomed into your worship space. The luncheon afterwards was so delicious and well appreciated.
I am grateful for the time, love, and care you put into making this memory of the end of mom's life one of grace and peace for all of us. I will long remember your kindness to us.
Susan Johnson
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Upcoming Sunday Worship Servers
Ushers for this Sunday: Douglas Fellman, Jordan Summerer, Meredith Weir and Ryan Woods
Ushers for next Sunday: Jan Andrews and Janet Leary
Deacon of the Day for this Sunday: Jon Kimball
Deacon of the Day for next Sunday: Jim Ledbetter
Coffee Hour Hosts for this Sunday:
Board of Christian Education
Coffee Hour Hosts for next Sunday: Renee Ellis and Elaine Aubin
Greeters for this Sunday: Nate Biggs and Rachel Cook
Greeter for next Sunday: Janet Leary
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Scripture Reading and Prayer for the Week
Psalm 139: 1-14a
On Pentecost, O God, we pray that the spirit of your presence would be with us. Help us to be a community of love and forgiveness, that we may all grow in our trust of you, and be found faithful in our service to others. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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Contact Info
Sally Fritsche
Administrative Assistant
672 Gilead St
Hebron, Ct 06248
860-228-3077
Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. until noon (Parish House)
Summer Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. until noon (Parish House)
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