Pastor's Letter

THE STEEPLE

October 2015

PASTOR'S LETTER

I exalt you, LORD, because you pulled me up; you didn't let my enemies celebrate over me. LORD, my God, I cried out to you for help, and you healed me. LORD, you brought me up from the grave, brought me back to life from among those going down to the pit. You who are faithful to the LORD, sing praises to him; give thanks to his holy name! His anger lasts for only a second, but his favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay all night, but by morning, joy! When I was comfortable, I said, "I will never stumble." Because it pleased you, LORD, you made me a strong mountain. But then you hid your presence. I was terrified. I cried out to you, LORD. I begged my Lord for mercy: "What is to be gained by my spilled blood, by my going down into the pit? Does dust thank you? Does it proclaim your faithfulness? LORD, listen and have mercy on me! LORD, be my helper!" You changed my mourning into dancing. You took off my funeral clothes and dressed me up in joy so that my whole being might sing praises to you and never stop. LORD, my God, I will give thanks to you forever. Psalm 30

Fall is here. There is beginning to be crispness to the air, although after that HOT September we had I was beginning to wonder if we would feel cooler air. The leaves are beginning to change. It is one of my favorite times of the year. If we could just stay in fall until spring would be great!! Somehow God did not create it that way. I guess we enjoy spring so much because of the struggles of the winter.

I noticed that we also see a lot of pumpkins at this time of year. It seems everywhere you go they are there. In the grocery store, on front porches of houses, and decorations in offices to name a few. We take our kids to pick out pumpkins. We draw on them, we carve them, and we cook them and if we leave them on our porch too long the squirrels eat them.

I have also heard people use the word “pumpkin” as a term of endearment. So whether we use it for decoration, or eat it, or have it be a term of endearment the pumpkin is definitely a sign of fall. The pumpkin is really just a large gourd and had a rather humble beginning and look where it is now.

Psalm 30 is like a big thank you note to God. The Lord has helped us in our time of trouble. The Lord has changed us. We are kind of like that pumpkin growing wild in the field. When we come to God we can be changed into something useful, something admired or sought after. When we take note of our lives we can see times when God has lifted us up and helped us get up and keep going.

With God in our lives we live a rich, full life. One that is filled with hope and laughter. We may go through challenging times, but with God with us we never lose our purpose.

It would be nice to stay with fall weather until spring arrives but it would interrupt the cycle of nature. The same is with us. We have our ups and downs in life. We have times when our lives seem dormant, but God is preparing us for the next phase of our life. The one constant we have in life no matter what the season is that God is with us and is active in our lives.

Pastor Ede

Vacation

Pastor Ede will be on vacation September 30 – October 8. If you have a pastoral emergency please contact Linda Merchant as arrangements for coverage have been made.

October Lectionary Scriptures

October 4
Job 1:1; 2:1-10
Psalm 26
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2;5-12
Mark 10:2-16 / October 11
Job 23:1-9; 16-17
Psalm 22;1-15
Hebrews 4:12-16
Mark 10:17-31
October 18
Job 38:1-7
Psalm 104:1-9; 24, 35c
Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 10:35-45 / October 25
Job 42:1-6; 10-17
Psalm 34:1-8
Hebrews 7:23-28
Mark 10:46-52

October Readers November Readers

10-4-15 11-1-15Abbie Merchant

10-11-15 TammiVeit11-8-15Valerie King

10-18-15 Jim Kendall11-22-15Cindy Phillips

10-25-15 JacobLongacre11-29-15John McMahan

DECEMBER

12-6-15Aurora Dziadul

12-13-15Mona Ames

12-20-15SammRacich

12-27-15Danielle Longacre

Organist

I would like to thank the members of the congregation who have welcomed me so warmly as organist/choir director. The flowers are blooming a beautiful purple! The reception you had after my first service was very thoughtful and delicious. It will take a little time for me to put names to faces, but hopefully not too long. I look forward to a long and happy time at First Church. Sincerely, Sue Curtis

New London Association

Equipping the Saints

November 1

The New London Association will be hosting the “Equipping the Saints Event.” This is a time when the churches come together, clergy and lay members, for inspiration and training. It will be held at Park Congregational Church in Norwich. More details will follow, I encourage you to join me in going to this event.

Pastor Ede

Deacons

The Deacons are busy with worship plans for the fall and Advent/Christmas Eve. We will be having our Teacher Dedication during worship on October 11.

The theme of Advent this year is “Waiting for the Savior.” Pastor Ede’s sermon series is:

November 29 – Waiting for the Savior: The Lord of Our Righteousness

December 6 - Waiting for the Savior: The Messenger of the Covenant

December 13 - Waiting for the Savior: The Baptizer by Spirit and Fire

December 20 – Waiting for the Savior: The Good Shepherd

December 24 – The Savior is Here!

Pastor Ede and the Deacons continue to take Home Communion to the Homebound. If you know of someone who is homebound and is not receiving Home Communion and would like to please contact Pastor Ede.

Trustees Report

The trustees have been busy maintaining the grounds and preparing for the fall church activities. A window has been added to the downstairs youth classroom to accommodate the safe church guidelines. Also, we are running a dehumidifier in the craft room to reduce mold. Upcoming projects include replacing ceiling tiles in the youth group area, fixing a leaking pipe, and repairing a light in the Sunday school area.

We join the church in celebrating the service of Priscilla Stetson, our retiring organist and welcoming Sue Curtis, our new organist. Also, thank you to the Hoddy family for the donation of furniture for the youth classroom.

Sincerely,

The Trustees (Scott, Steve, Steve, Bob, Paul, and Liz)

The theme for the Connecticut Conference of the UCC’s Annual Meeting is Leadership. Our churches are blessed with faith filled, committed and capable leaders who offer freely of their time and talents to enable the work and mission of the church.First Church is no exception. Our church is blessed with many leaders and leaders-to-be. A common statement when asked to take a leadership role is “Who, Me?” God equips and calls all of us to lead in a way that fits our gifts. The Conference has asked that each church submit a name of a leader in the church whom they would like to recognize. The council has chosen to lift up Andrea Charron as our valuable lay leader. She will be recognized at the Annual Meeting. Andrea has helped in many areas of the church. This is not only an opportunity to thank Andrea for what she has done for First Church, but it is also a time to lift up First Church. We are an active participant in our conference and it is good to be recognized. Thank you to all who give tirelessly to First Church.

Thank You! Thank You!

I wanted to thank all who helped make our Oasis stop for the Braking Aids ride such a success. The food was wonderful. Thank you all for having a welcoming and gracious spirit. Everyone who came through our doors that day felt such an overwhelming sense of God’s grace and love which was shown through each volunteer that was here. We all were truly blessed by having the riders stop at our church. Put September 23, 2016 on your calendar for next year’s ride!!!

Pastor Ede

Memorial Fund

Donations can be made at any timeto the First Church Memorial Fund in honor of someone, in memory of a loved one, or to celebrate an occasion. These monies are put into a savings account and ultimately into a high yield investment account. At that time only the interest is used by the church where there is a need.

Thank you for your past donations and any future gifts.

Ellen M. Kendall

Memorial Fund Chairperson

Stewardship

Our October mission is Neighbors in Need.

What is Neighbors in Need?

Through the Neighbors in Need offering, the church expresses a common commitment to justice and compassion throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. One-third of the offering under-girds the work of the Council for American Indian Ministry, including much-needed financial support for 20 American Indian congregations in the UCC. Two-thirds of the offering supports justice advocacy and direct service projects such as just-peace programs and community grants.

There will be inserts in your bulletins this month. Please read them over and consider giving a donation to this wonderful mission.

Thank you,

The Stewardship Committee

TREASURER'S

AUGUST FINANCIAL REPORT

8/1/2015 -8/31/2015 Accrual Basis

Category Description 8/1/2015-8/31/2015

INCOME______

Memorial Gifts890.00

Dividend Income 208.07

Financial Secretary7,168.02

Fundraising 250.00

Interest Income 31.14

TOTAL INCOME 8,547.23

EXPENSES______

Church Utilities 292.68

Christian Education295.75

Deacons Expense 25.90

Dues 1,184.00

Maintenance & Improvement 48.17

Our Missions 340.25

Organist 400.00

Salary-Minister 4,595.35

Scholarship 50.00

Supplies357.03

TOMemorial Gifts (passbook)890.00

TOTAL EXPENSES 8,479.13

OVERALL TOTAL68.10

Pachaug Ladies Fellowship

Ladies come and join us as we fellowship together Tuesday, October 20th. We will have a quick business meeting followed by a “Game night”, at 7:00, at the church. Come and enjoy some fun and Christian fellowship.

We have started our school year with some new changes. Our Sunday school is now separated into 3 Study Groups: Kids, Senior High, and Adult. Come and See what we have in store for you! The Kid's Group isexploring "theLord's Prayer". Ms. Fuentes, Mrs. Heidi, andMrs. King are planning each sentence of the prayer as a weekly theme for kids 3-13. The Senior High Group is meeting in the back room of the lower level or the church. Their meeting space is so welcoming! Mrs. Longacre and Mrs. Diane Phillips are leading this group,andareexcitedtoexplorethe BookofActswithyou.Adultstudyisalwaysagreatoptionforadults.No matter who you are, you are welcome here. (Parents, what a nice way to enjoy the time your child is engaged elsewhere. Coffee, tea, andfellowship. )

Did youknow?

Signing in your child helps us to know who is in the building in case of an emergency. When you sign in, you just write your child's name on the sheet. When you sign out, sign your name. Easy Peasy!

Missions:

We willbecollectingmoneyandfooddonationstohelpwiththeThanksgivingBasketsthatourDeaconswill put together just before Thanksgiving. We encourage the kids to be active participants in this by asking that 'earn' their gifts by helping family by doing some extra things they might not normally do. By giving up their time, they are learning a bit about sacrifice and what itmeans.

Pastor'sParty:

This year our Pastor's Party will be intergenerational. They will be held on 11/29 and 2/14. In November, we will be doing Advent related activities. In February, we will explore Lent. We ask that if you plan to stay, that you come and join in the fun. Chatter around the room can be distracting for both leaders andparticipants.

Newthisyear:

Kids'Connection,a programdesignedtogivechildrenages3-9toawaytosharefellowshipandfunandfaith outside of Sunday School. This activity time isplanned to be held3 times during the school year. If it is successful,wemightaddextradates.©OurfirsteventwillbeOctober8th,5:30-7PM.Ourthemeis"God's PumpkinPatch",andpastawillbeserved.

JuniorandSeniorYouthGroup:SeeMrs.JenniferNormanofMrs.ErikaRogersformoredetailsaboutourfun activity time for youth 10- 18. They have already had a beach party, and a gathering by the river with candle litservice. There is more fun in the works.

By the way, Kid's Connection will give youth, ages 14-18, a chance to be volunteer staff. We know that thereis a need for our youth to be involved in community service, and this is one more way we can help them to develop leadershipskills.

October 2015

SUNDAY / MONDAY / TUESDAY / WEDNESDAY / THURSDAY / FRIDAY / SATURDAY
October 1
7:00pm Choir / October 2 / October 3
October 4
9:00 Sunday School
10:00 Worship
With communion / October 5
9 am Prayer Group / October 6 / October 7 / October 8
7:00pm Choir / October 9
5:30 Kid's Connection / October 10
October 11
9:00 Sunday School
10:00 Worship / October 12
9 am Prayer Group / October 13
6:30 pm Deacons / October 14
6 pm C.E. / October 15
7:00pm Choir / October 16 / October 17
October 18
9:00 Sunday School
10:00 Worship
NIN Offering / October 19
9 am Prayer Group / October 20
6 pm Stewardship
7 pm PLF Game Night / October 21 / October 22
7:00pm Choir / October 23 / October 24
Beer & Wine Tasting Event
6:00-8:00 pm
@ Griswold Fish & Game Club
October 25
9:00 Sunday School
10:00 Worship / October 26
9 am Prayer Group / October 27 / October28
7:00 pm Council / October29
7:00pm Choir / October 30 / October 31

PACHAUG PRESENTS

November 14, 2014

"The 4th Annual "Pachaug Presents" Craft Fair will be held on Saturday, November 14, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.at the Pachaug Town Hall and at the Fire House. If you have a craft you would like to donate to the Church Craft table, pleasecontactHarriet Bromley(860-376-3262). There will also be a Church Bake Table, so we'll be looking for some extra specialdesserts for that.

Don't forget to stop in for a hearty bowl of soup forlunch, which will beprepared by the Ladiesand Gentlemen of the Church. The lunch will be served in the"dining" space at the back of the Fire House.You won't want to miss that!

Fundraising :

2nd Annual Wine and Beer Tasting

October 24, 2015

6 – 8 pm

Location: Griswold Fish and Game Club

330 Bethel Road, Griswold, CT

Cost: $20 per person(must be 21 or over to purchase tickets)

10 + Distributers & Vineyards will be offering samples of old and new wines and beers.