News

Blast!

January 12, 2024

Congregational Church of Laconia, UCC

Church Office Hours

Monday & Wednesday 9 AM – 3 PM/Friday 9am –1 PM

Office Closed on Tuesdays & Thursdays

The front door is unlocked during office hours. 

This Sunday will be an opportunity to help build up the life of our church by participating in worship - online or in-person. A special guest preacher will lead worship with great back-up by our Chancel Choir, readers, greeters and ushers. 9:30 is the start time. See you in church!!


Love God. Love Neighbor. Include Everyone.

Rev. Louise Bastille preaching

All Are Welcome!

Women's Breakfast - January 17 - 8:30 a.m.

Water Street Café

Please RSVP to Betty Bergstrom

bettobergstrom@gmail.com

Faith Formation

This Sunday, January 13, we’ll be having

Faith Formation!! Get the New year started

with a trip to Church!!

LACONIA CONFIRMATION EXPERIENCE - Update!

Sun., Jan. 21, 2:30-4:30 p.m.

Our next meeting is on Sunday, January 21st from 2:30-4:30 p.m. We'll be doing a service project and having key Confirmation conversations! We're rescheduling the visit with Rev. Paula Gile until our next meeting on Feb. 18th.

LUNCH AND LEARN

Thurs., Jan. 25, 12-1 p.m.

Pamela Joyal will be leading a Lunch and Learn on the topic of Mental Health on January 25. In December 2019, Pam completed her Master’s Degree in Health Communication from Boston University and built upon that accomplishment by launching her own communications consulting firm, Satori Communications Group (SCG). As a Certified Instructor for Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), Pamela facilitates and teaches MHFA for Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine and the Tuck School of Business, area high schools, municipalities, wellness centers and more. We are very fortunate to have an expert join us to help us gain a better understanding of the mental health issues that are prevalent today.

HORTON CENTER - It's time to sign up for camp!

Go to the Horton Center website https://www.hortoncenter.org/ and look at options for people of all ages. Imagine the fun your child/teen/grandchild will have and make plans. We have scholarships from the Campership Fund to make dreams come true! If you have any questions contact Diane Tinkham, tinkhams@metrocast.net.


PARISH HOUSE

RE-NAMING


When did this process get started? 

In the past few years there have been many conversations about changing the name of the Parish House in conjunction with our 200th Anniversary celebration. The plan is for the name “The Congregational Church of Laconia” to remain along with the selected name.


Why re-name the building?

“Parish House” was an appropriate name when it was built in 1959, but now it’s outdated and has no real meaning for our church members or the community members using the building. Ideally, a name will be chosen that will highlight the mission of the building when it was created in the 1950s and how it functions today. Those church leaders intended the building to serve as an outreach location for the community by offering a free space for local nonprofits to have meetings and activities. The majority of space continues to be used for the church offices, outreach space, meeting rooms, and classrooms.


What happened next?

The Church Council formed an ad-hoc Committee to be responsible for gathering suggestions for a name that is more reflective of the purpose and use of the building. We advertised in the News Blast and at church services to ask for potential names and we collected over 30 suggestions before the Nov.1st deadline. The ad-hoc group had several meetings to determine the most common names, words, and phrases. We found that these three names stood out and best represented the submissions:

  • COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
  • THE MEETING PLACE
  • OUTREACH CENTER


How do we choose? 

At the Annual Meeting on January 28, all members of the church will be invited to vote for the new name during the meeting (members on Zoom will also be able to vote).

  • The votes will be counted immediately
  • The name with the most votes will be put forward as a motion and voted on to become the new name for the Parish House!


What should you do before then? 

Think about it. Talk to your friends about it. Launch a campaign for your favorite. Decide which name you feel best represents the mission of our church building and VOTE on January 28!!

                               

Let’s celebrate our building and highlight its mission in the local community!

 

Yours in Christ,

Ad-hoc Committee Members: Kathy Giovanni, Bob Harrington, Carolyn Jorgensen, Beth Shehadi, Diane Tinkham



Come and Worship

We welcome and invite you to worship with us in any of these ways. 

!!! In Person !!! at 9:30 AM, or via Livestream

●      Via livestream through YouTube Sundays starting at 9:20 AM:

Go to YouTube and search for Congregational Church of Laconia

●      On our website www.laconiaucc.org any day and any time.

●      On Public Access TV Channel 25 Sundays at 4pm and 9:30pm or Mondays at 5am.

If you are new to the church, please introduce yourself! Let the Church Office know if we can help you in any way! 603-524-0668. Seeking to be the church God desires for us to be.

Visit our website

Congregational Church of Laconia, UCC | 18 Veterans Square, Laconia, NH | 603.524.0668