Welcome Interim Pastor

Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin!

The Worship Team is excited to introduce our Interim Pastor! She will be leading worship February 18th.

.

Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin has served as a pastor in the United Church of Christ for over 30 years in both settled and interim positions. She has served churches in Fishers Island, NY, Milford, CT, Goshen, CT, Sinai, SD, Lake Campbell, SD, Yankton, SD, and Dover, NH.  

Paige has particular passion for creative worship – trying to find ways to bring scripture to life and to connect with wisdom of scripture with our everyday lives. She is also deeply committed to Outdoor Ministry as church camp was an important part of her own faith story. Other professional interests have included stewardship, racial justice and healing, mission trips, partnerships, and faith formation for all ages.  

Paige is a graduate of Emmanual College with a degree in Music Therapy and has an MDiv from Andover Newton Theological School. She also is credentialed by the Interim Ministry Network.

Paige is married to Rev. Gordon Rankin (who happens to be our Conference Minister). They have a daughter, Emily, who is graduating Piedmont University this spring.  Paige loves finding ways to be creative with arts and crafts and usually has a number of different projects going at home. If pushed, Paige will admit to being a national park nut, a Star Trek fan, and a Disney-phile.  

Paige can be reached at pastorpaigebr@gmail.com She will be serving full-time and will be taking Mondays off as well as either Tuesday or Friday depending on the church meeting schedule.  

Worship This Week

Please join us

in the Sanctuary

or online at 10am for the

First Sunday of Lent



Coffee hour will be held

after the service

in the Sanctuary.

The service will be live streamed

through Facebook Live here

or on 3CX here

Reader: Debra Sawyer

Coffee hour host: Joann Klawitter

Annual Meeting Highlights

Thanks to all who prepared for and participated in our 271st Annual Meeting!

Reviewing accomplishments for the past year is always encouraging - as a church we have accomplished so much!

Looking ahead to the balance of this year is exciting - God has many new ministries and adventures in store!

The Annual Meeting elected the following slate of officers:

Auditor: Maura Mulhall

Clerk: Seneca Moyer

Treasurer: Dave Chin

Collector: Barbara Wallack

Moderator: Fred Malcolm

Also approved was a deficit budget amended to support the salary requirements of an interim minister. 

Please ask any member of the Ministry Oversight Team of church leadership for more detail or how you can help out in the coming year!

New Electric Rate Savings

Eversource has reduced its supplier electricity rates for the winter period (February 1st to July 31st) to 8.295 cents per Kilowatt. Many of us changed to Direct Energy when their last winter rate was over 22 cents per Kilowatt. It is now time to look at the rate you have

with Direct Energy and go back to Eversource. This will save you on your electricity bills for the next 6 months.

The process is quite easy. All you need to do is call Eversource and say you want to

return to them as your electricity provider. They will take care of the change and you do

not have to contact Direct Energy. The customer service telephone number is 800-662-

7764. It is located at the front of your latest bill.

If you want to talk to me about this my telephone number is 603-571-3434.

Happy Savings;

Al Lake

Lenten Discussion Group

Begins Next Thursday 2/22

A new Lenten Study, "Living Well Through Lent" will begin on February 22nd and will be held in the library off of Hadley Hall.

It will meet every Thursday during Lent starting at 10am. Booklets are available in the foyer entrance of Hadley Hall. Please read the dates 2/14 to 2/22 for the first study. 

We look forward to seeing you there!

2023 Year-End Statements

The Q4 year-end donations statements for 2023 have been sent out via email or snail mail.

If you don't get your statement, please contact the office and we will work on getting your copy to you.

Steeple Lighting

Steeple Lit

in loving memory of

George T. Brenza

Forever in our hearts.  

We miss you.

A Word from Peace & Justice

The average age of people experiencing homelessness has risen from 30 years old to 50 in the last 20 years, bringing special challenges to those who provide them services. Here is an article from NPR about why so many older folks are homeless. Then it turns to the challenges they face in shelters and how a veteran’s program could be a model for services for an older homeless population 

Listen to full story (3:56 min.)

Music Corner by Herb Tardiff

Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (1665-1729)

Here is an example of a child prodigy who is one of the greatest female composers and musicians of all time. 

The daughter of an organ builder, Élisabeth Jacquet (de la Guerre was added to her name when she married the organist Marin de la Guerre) showed phenomenal gifts from an early age, gaining public recognition by the age of six. At ten years old, she was hailed as ‘a wonder’ by the journal Mecure galant: ‘She sings at sight the most difficult music. She accompanies herself, and others who wish to sing, at the harpsichord, when she plays in an inimitable manner. She composes pieces and plays them in all the keys asked of her.

So impressed was Louis XIV that he placed her in the care of his then mistress, Mme. de Montespan, and consistently encouraged her career. Several manuscripts 

of her works from the 1690s, including of solo and trio sonatas, have survived; and one of her surviving operas, Cephale et Procris, originally performed in Paris at the Académie Royale de Musique in 1694, was revived with huge success in 1989.

Her name stands proud with any of her greatest contemporary French composers, and deserves to be better known today

New Hampshire Conference UCC Weekly News

We thought you might enjoy reading the NH Conference UCC weekly newsletter. You can read it with this link.

2/13/2024 Newsletter

Each week, we will update this section of our Weekly Word with the new link

for the current newsletter.

St. Anne's Food Pantry

The pantry is currently in need of the following:

• Coffee
• Large bottles of juice
• Spam
• Salad dressings
• Sugar free items
• Cereal
• All Condiments

Please drop off any donations in the foyer of Hadley Hall

Please, no expired items.

Thank you for all your support!