CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 9, 2005

MONDAY, OCT. 10

7:30 p.m. AA Group

TUESDAY, OCT. 11

10:30 a.m. Bible Study

7:30 p.m. Church Council

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 12

1:30 p.m. Women's Fellowship

7:30 p.m. SYG Leaders/Youth Council

THURSDAY, OCT. 13

9:30 a.m. Hill Quilters

2:30 p.m. SYG Worship Team

7:30 p. m. Sr. Choir rehearsal

FRIDAY, Oct. 14

7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Junior Youth Group

NEXT SUNDAY, Oct. 16

Regional Minister Lois Happe preaching today and leading a Second Hour

9:15 a.m. Youth Bell Choir

11:30 a.m. Confirmation Class (in library)

7:00 p.m. SYG

JUNIOR YOUTH GROUP MEETING
Please join the kick-off meeting for the junior Youth Group on Friday, October 14th. The meeting will start at 7:00 and last until 8:30. We will discuss ideas for the upcoming year while we share pizza. If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Bottieri at 974-1344 or Lisa Nowak at 974-1367. We are looking forward to a great year!

MANY THANKS to all who donated to, volunteered at, or shopped at the Women’s Fellowship Rummage Sale. All proceeds will go to Hurricane Katrina Relief. YOU did make a difference!

WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP MEETING The regular monthly Women’s Fellowship meeting will take place on October 12 at 1:30 p.m. at the Elias Child House (home of Marybeth & Tony Felice) at 50 Perrin Rd. in Woodstock. Marybeth will present a program entitled "History of the Hearth." Enjoy the fellowship and the beauty of this elegant B & B while hearing all about hearth cooking. Call Marybeth if you have questions at 974-1427.

HURRICANE RELIEF EFFORTS: Over a hundred health kits were assembled by the Senior High Youth Group and delivered to Church World Service by Bob & Kathy Packard, to be distributed to victims of Hurricane Katrina. THANK YOU to all who donated cash or supplies for this project. At this point in time, additional donations of toothpaste are needed so we can make even more kits. ALSO, thank you to everyone who donated money towards hurricane relief. Due to your generosity, so far we have collected $1,617.37!

THE PARISH CARE TEAM would like to remind you that medical supplies such as walkers, commodes, shower seats, a wheelchair, etc. are available to borrow should you or a loved one find yourself in need. These items should be signed out so that we can keep track of them. Please call Ruthie Kimball if you need more information.

PARENTS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS! Please send us the mailing address for your child who is away from home. SYG will be making care packages next week so we need the addresses before Oct. 16.

CHRISTMAS WREATHS!!! It’s that time again! This year, orders need to be in by October 31. Please complete an order form and turn it in at the office as soon as possible. Wreaths will be available for pick-up at the Christmas-on-the Hill fair.
OTHER FAIR ITEMS TO PREORDER:
RADA knives - see Kathy Packard
DRIED FRUIT AND NUT MIX, a healthy new option! Please complete an order form and return it to Bev & Earl Brazeal, or bring it to the church office. Deadline is Nov. 6th!

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Sept. 24 Planning Meeting Report

On Saturday, Sept. 24, twenty-six of our members gathered to reflect on our mission and identity as a church. The theme for the morning was--who do we understand ourselves to be, whom do we want to serve and reach in our community, and what will be our priorities for the coming year. We were skillfully led in this planning meeting by Jay Krusell, a consultant from the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ.

Jay began by inviting us to list what we perceived to be our strengths as a church. From that list of approximately 20 strengths and characteristics, participants were asked to "vote" for five, which narrowed down the list to six commonly perceived positive attributes that shape our identity. Those six strengths were: 1) our ministry of worship (which includes preaching and music), 2) our outstanding youth programs, 3) our outreach programs (the Children's Center, Community Kitchen, Covenant to Care, etc.), 4) the follow through and commitment of our core membership, 5) the generosity of our members, and 6) the sense of those present that we are a welcoming, tolerant, and friendly church.

Following that exercise Jay asked small groups to reflect on a number of passages from the New Testament that say something about what it means to be a church. From Ephesians we were reminded that we all bring our individual gifts into the body of Christ and that love holds us together. From Romans we heard the word that we are called to be a transforming presence for justice in the world, to be humble, and empathetic, learning to discern God's will through prayer. From the Gospels we are reminded to be a community of hope, and to be "salt" and "light" in the world, realizing that God has promised to provide the resources we need.

We were then asked to compare these two lists--our perceived strengths, and the biblical characteristics--to contrast and reflect on where and how God might be calling us to focus our priorities in the coming year. A common reflection was that we are pretty "comfortable" with the way things are and that, perhaps, God is calling us to be open to more risk, especially as we try to link our actions to what we say the church believes and stands for.

Following these thought provoking exercises Jay shifted gears and helped us to think about how we "market" our church--the work of evangelism, to use a familiar "church" word. Whom do we want to serve, and how would we go about doing that? The remainder of our time together was spent in small groups identifying particular "audiences" we believe we are called to serve, and their needs. Five ministry areas were identified.

1. Ministries with families and children--developing a church environment that is welcoming to parents of 6-12 year olds.
2. Ministries with families of our Children's Center kids.
3. Ministries with families and youth--drawing more young people into our youth programs.
4. Ministry with the Baby Boom Generation as they and their parents age.
5. Ministry with older adults (and empty nesters) who don't feel a sense of connection to their community, but who might welcome our care and hospitality.

The small groups identifying these ministry areas were also asked to begin working on action plans suggesting strategies and tactics for developing those ministries. Those preliminary plans include such things as: church school parent-teacher conferences, church school newsletters, a kid's website, providing morning hospitality for Children's Center families, promoting the use of our church's website for both external and internal communications, publicizing youth activities, a support group for adult children caring for aging parents, and forming an older adults ministry team to welcome new residents in our community.

All in all, the morning was a very stimulating opportunity to gather our spirits and hearts for a new church year, and identify ways to be the church (salt and light) in northeastern Connecticut. The church council will be considering our next steps about these ministry initiatives at their October meeting, but if anyone wants to help with one of the particular focus ministries please let us know.

God's October Surprise

From Gather Heart

http://fvcommunity.org/gatherheart/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

 

God's October Surprise By Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Honorary Co-Chair At just the moment of history when religious conflict, violence, terrorism, and war  have reemerged bearing lethal dangers for our different communities and our shared planet, God has given our spiritual and religious traditions a gift of time: During October 2005, a confluence of sacred moments in many different traditions invites us to pray with or alongside each other and to work together for peace, justice, human rights, and the healing of our wounded earth. To begin with, two strands of time that are celebrated inm two communities now often at odds with one another are this fall woven together in way not seen for many decades:  The sacred Muslim lunar month of Ramadan and the sacred Jewish lunar month of Tishrei, which includes the High Holy Days and the harvest festival of Sukkot both begin October 3-4. But there is more: October 4 is the Saint's Day of St. Francis of Assisi. October 2 is Mohandas K. Gandhi's birthday. October 2 is Worldwide (Protestant) Communion Sunday. October 4 to 12 are for Hindus Navarathri (nine nights of spiritual struggle), followed on October 13 by Vijayadashami, the tenth day of spiritual victory. And for Buddhists, Vassa (the rainy season of spiritual reflection) ends on  October 18 with the full moon day, Pavarana. There is much that we could do to heal the world during this sacred season made up of sacred times: * Perhaps in groups of congregations -- a church, a synagogue, a mosque, a temple -- each congregation could host one meal for members of the others, after nightfall on any of the evenings of Ramadan. * Jews could invite Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus into the Sukkah, a leafy hut that is open to the wind and rain. Traditionally, "sacred guests" are invited in and the ancient Rabbis taught that during Sukkot, blessings are invoked upon "the seventy nations" of the world. Traditional prayers implore God to "spread the sukkah of shalom" over us. These are perfect rubrics for peacemaking among the children of Abraham and all humanity with each other and with all the earth. * Muslims could invite other communities to join in celebrating some aspects of Eid el-Fitr (the feast at the end of Ramadan), and Jews and Christians could (as in Morocco) bring food to the celebration of the end of Ramadan's fasting. It marks and underlines the month-long commitment to fast so as to offer food and life-abundance to God as a sacrifice, and to focus on devotion to God instead of to material success. * Churches could invite Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus to join in learning about and celebrating the teachings of Francis of Assisi. (He was one of the few Christians of his day who opposed the Crusades, who learned in a serious way from Muslim teachers, and who was deeply dedicated to kinship with the earth and all living creatures.) * Synagogues could invite Muslim scholars and spiritual leaders to teach on Rosh Hashanah when Jews are reading Torah passages from the saga of Abraham, Hagar, Ishmael, Sarah, and Isaac, how it is that Muslims understand that family story. Then there could be open discussion of the differences, the similarities, the wisdom held in each of the versions of the story. * Synagogues could set aside a time during Yom Kippur or the Shabbat just before, or another special time during the month, to read and discuss the Torah's story (Gen. 25: 7-11) of the joining of Isaac and Ishmael to bury their father Abraham, and then to achieve reconciliation at the Well of the Living One Who Sees Me. They could invite Muslims to join in some part of the day or in the break-fast (by Muslims called Iftar) at the end of the day. * In light of the fact that we are standing on the precipice of religious war and repression, rabbis, cantors, priests, nuns, ministers, and imams -- perhaps with their congregants -- could together take some action during the Ramadan/ Tishrei month to change public policy -- in favor of protecting human rights, healing the earth, and achieving peace in the whole region where Abraham, Hagar, and Sarah sojourned. It is also possible that as the crowning moment of  this sacred season of prayer and meditation, learning,  listening to each other, and healing action -- That from sunrise to sunset on the day that for Muslims is one of the fast days of Ramadan and for Jews is the fast day of Yom Kippur -- October 13 -- all Americans observe a Nationwide Fast for Reflection, Repentance, and Renewal. All of us could learn from the passage of Isaiah that in Jewish tradition is read on  Yom Kippur morning. God, speaking through Isaiah, says, "Do you think the fast that I demand this day is to bow down your head like a bulrush? No! The fast I demand is that you feed the poor, house the homeless, clothe the naked, and break off the handcuffs on your prisoners." So in our own generation, we could encourage those who join in this Fast to take visible steps in the world to "End the war, Feed the poor, Heal the earth." Why talk about October when we are scarcely through April? Because if we wish to do this, we need to begin to reach out to each other now. To plan now, in our own cities and neighborhoods as well as nationally and internationally. To plan with each other how to use God's October Surprise of these sacred dates to carry out God's will that we live in peace together. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Rabbi Waskow is director of The Shalom Center. The October project was initiated by The Shalom Center, with The Tent of Abraham, Hagar, and Sarah. It has been endorsed by the National Council of Churches, the Islamic Society of North America, Pax Christi, and Faith Voices for the Common Good. The Shalom Center | The Tent of Abraham, Hagar, and Sarah.

FRIENDSHIP DINNER COMING SOON!

^{It has been a couple of years since the last Friendship Dinner! We are hoping you will join us on Oct. 29, at 6 p.m., in the Great Room. We will start with some wonderful hors d'oevres and punch, then go to one of several host homes for our main course, a special ham delight, and return about 8:30 p.m. to the Great Room for sumptuous desserts.}

^{Now how does that sound? An adult evening out, price not to exceed $8.00 per person, a chance to meet new friends and renew older friendships; no dishes to wash, dry or put away, just come and enjoy.}

^{We do need about eight (8) host homes, some donations for the hors d'oevres table and find your best recipe for a dessert that will wow us all. Please sign up in the Great Room if you would like to attend.}

^{A host/hostess only has to set their table for about ten, make some coffee and have tea or fruit juice available; dinner and wine will be provided and delivered to your home, including flowers!! Does that sound too difficult?}

^{Doris Coster 928-4775, Ann Moran 928-1505, Dick Horsfield 774-5093 are all waiting for your phone calls and watching for your signatures for this great event.}

Gulf Coast Hurricane Update

This page is from the United Church of Christ website
http://www.ucc.org/disaster/u091905.htm

Sept. 15, 2005

The United Church of Christ is actively responding to the destruction and human suffering caused by Hurricane Katrina and the flooding that followed. UCC leaders announced September 6, 2005 the goal of raising $3 million from members and congregations to support long-term hurricane relief, recovery and rehabilitation phases of this disaster. A 5-10 year response is projected based on past experience and the magnitude of this catastrophe.

UCC congregations are hosting evacuees and assisting them in resettling in new communities; pastors and lay leaders of New Orleans area congregations are reaching out to one another and beginning to plan for their future; Back Bay Mission and Dillard University are working diligently to re-establish their community and educational ministries.

The major role of the church in this disaster, as in all disasters, is long-term recovery. The UCC has trained Disaster Network Coordinators and Church World Service (CWS) staff who are working with devastated communities to organize, identify and meet the "un-met" needs of their communities - to catch the folks who might otherwise fall through the cracks. The UCC promises to walk with disastered communities on the long, long road to restoration.

100% of each gift made to the Hope Shall Bloom - UCC Hurricane Recovery Fund goes to support hurricane recovery programming. This is possible because church member's gifts to Our Church's Wider Mission basic support provide for the infrastructure necessary to enable the UCC disaster response.

One Great Hour of Sharing funds ($25,000) were immediately made available to begin the UCC response. Over $400,000 has been received to date for the Hope Shall Bloom-UCC Hurricane Recovery Fund. The following disbursements have been made:

$25,000 - Church World Service, to support distribution of blankets, health kits, and deployment of Disaster Response and Recovery Liaisons

$15,000 - UCC South Central Conference to meet emergency needs; provide grants to UCC clergy families who have been displaced and lost homes & income sources

$60,000 - Community of Faith Church of Houston (UCC/Disciple) - Amistad Resettlement Project,to assist in paying resettlement cost (two months housing; food and clothing allowance for 78 evacuated families who have been identified to participate in long-term resettlement project

$15,000 - UCC Southeast Conference to meet emergency needs; feeding evacuees in Atlanta through the Hosea Williams Feeding Program (at the request of Ambassador Andrew Young)

$20,000 - UCC Back Bay Mission, Biloxi, Mississippi to re-establish mission site for emergency relief and long-term recovery and rebuilding

$5,000 - Purchase of two Iridium satellite phones and service for use by
Back Bay Mission staff as long as normal land-line and cell phone communications are disrupted

$5,000 - UCC related Dillard University, New Orleans to repair damage to campus

$10,000 - UCC National Disaster Ministries and Church World Service for research, production and dissemination of environmental hazards/protection information related to Hurricane Katrina

$(amount pending) - UCC South Central Conference, Good Shepherd UCC, Metairie, Louisiana to prepare church building to serve as site for evacuee/returnee housing/hospitality and long-term mission trip base camp

How you can help:

1. Pray for the people who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina and all disasters.

2. To help those affected by Hurricane Katrina you may send gifts payable to FCCW marked for "Hope Shall Bloom-UCC Hurricane Recovery Fund."

Update from Back Bay Mission 9/17

This message was received from Shari Prestemon, Executive Director of Back Bay Mission. Do keep Back Bay Mission in your prayers.

September 19, 2005

Dear friends:

Three weeks. It¹s been just that long since the wrath of Hurricane Katrina tore the Gulf Coast apart. It has been far too little a time for anyone here to even begin truly putting their lives back together. But it has been
just enough time that we can begin now to see tiny improvements and hints of new routines.

For many, power is back on and phone lines are back up. Water is deemed safe for drinking in more areas each day. Some schools are announcing that they will re-open in the coming weeks, and businesses are back in business, even if only for limited hours. Bit by bit, day by day, you see these glimpses of some kind of ³new normal², and for each simple thing you give God thanks.

But still there is so much to remind you that nothing will be ³normal² here for a very long time. You find yourself reading the obituaries, even if you¹ve never done so before, because there are people whose fates are still unknown to you, and still so many obituaries list August 29 as the day of death. You find yourself getting lost as you walk or drive once familiar
neighborhoods, because all your landmarks have been obliterated by the storm
surge. In Biloxi and other Gulf Coast communities, mountains of debris are
everywhere you turn, and each one represents someone¹s home, someone¹s life, someone¹s livelihood. You begin to recognize the dazed looks on worn faces,
and you hear with profound understanding the weariness in another¹s voice.

As time goes on, we begin to realize that the losses exacted by Hurricane Katrina extend farther than the most tangible losses of precious homes and property. The grief we bear has also to do with relationships that are forever changed, as loved ones displaced by the storm¹s fury choose to build a new life elsewhere, often before proper and heart-felt goodbye¹s can be said. One begins to feel uprooted, even if their home is intact, having lost that intangible sense of place, life¹s landscapes now irrevocably
different.

In the midst of this, the staff and Board of Directors of Back Bay Mission are working to regain that sense of place. Although some members of our staff are still in other distant locations, having lost their homes, six others are here and beginning again the work of Back Bay Mission. The Executive Committee of our Board has met in emergency session in Houston over the weekend, to start the process of charting our new course. Amongst us all, there is a commitment to re-birthing the ministry of Back Bay Mission. Yet we are very aware of the enormous challenges we must overcome
on the path to new lifeŠ.

Staffing: All staff remain on our payroll at this point, and other
financial relief is being provided to each staff member. In the next two weeks we will begin to discern what additional staff we may need in the next few months and beyond, either because some do not return to us or because additional skills and energy are needed for this time. The Global Sharing of Resources ministry of the United Church of Christ has also agreed to provide support for a long-term volunteer who can assist us with special needs.

Facility: We have finally received word from our flood insurer that they will send a claim adjuster this week. In addition, we will conduct a building-by-building assessment this week to ascertain the needs of our
campus. We anticipate that some buildings may be structurally sound enough to save given major repair and renovation, while others may require demolition. In any event, we are looking at a long haul of restoring, repairing, and, most probably, some new construction. In the meantime, we feel strongly that some sort of presence must be re-established on our campus. In the very immediate term, our hope is to either rent or have donated a basic construction trailer for placement on our campus, out of which two or three staff can daily operate and serve. Beyond that, we are pursuing the construction of one or two modular homes, to be placed on empty
lots on our adjacent property, which will house staff offices, client services, and a distribution center for relief aid. These will allow us to once again serve the community while repairs and other construction are taking place on the primary campus. Afterward, these buildings will provide needed housing for volunteers, interns, sabbatical residents, and small work groups.

Work groups: Many of you are eager to come, and we are frustrated with our inability to receive you. With no way to accommodate you, our workcamp program is simply at a maddening stand-still at this moment. Until we know the status of our workcamper dorms and the workcamp cottage, we are stuck.
Yet we are anxious to have work groups with us, because there is so much to be done, on our own campus and certainly in the wider community! A couple of groups that were already scheduled for this Fall have chosen to keep those dates, with the understanding that they must be entirely self-contained (lodging, food, tools) when they come. If you believe your group can do the same, be in touch with staff member Don Morgan at dmorgan@datasync.com <mailto:dmorgan@datasync.com>. In the meantime, we¹ll keep working to figure out ways we can make your presence and service with us more possible, but please continue to be patient for the moment. (By the way, if you¹re anxious to work but don¹t feel like roughing it quite that
much in Biloxi at this point, we are told that Florida still needs you to help them recover from last year¹s hurricanes! Be in touch with Florence Coppola, UCC National Disaster Ministries at coppolaf@ucc.org <mailto:coppolaf@ucc.org> for more information on these opportunities.)

In-kind donations: So many of you have felt moved to collect clothing, hygiene kits, school kits and other in-kind donations to aid in the
post-Katrina healing. As they say in the South, ³Bless your hearts!² While
we love the compassionate motivation that drives these offerings, we are
forced once again to say ³not yet². Given the flood-ravaged condition of
every one of our buildings, we simply have no way to store or safely secure
such items, nor do we presently have the capacity to distribute them properly. In order for all of us to be good stewards, the best advice is to hold off for now. We¹ll get word to you as soon as we can receive these generous gifts of concrete response.

Financial donations: We can receive them, and we certainly can use them. We have both short-term and long-term needs, some of them dealing with facility as described above, but still others that deal with our hands-on ministries in the community. Imagine, if you can, losing absolutely everything in seven very full buildings! We will need to replace everything from office equipment to workcamper beds, appliances to food pantry items.
Beyond these needs, we know the needs of our community will be enormous, and
we are working now to develop revised budgets for our emergency assistance,
outreach, community development, case management, and housing programs.
Your undesignated gifts will help us attend to the desperate needs of our
devastated communities in faithful and compassionate ways. You may send
your gifts directly to our regular address (1012 Division Street; Biloxi, MS
39530) from which we are having all mail forwarded to my home, or through
Wider Church Ministries of the United Church of Christ.

All of us at Back Bay Mission want to thank you for your abundant caring.
We remain deeply moved by your emails, your phone calls, your letters, and
your gifts. I¹ve recently reflected again on the familiar verses of I
Corinthians 13: ³Šand now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the
greatest of these is love.² Surely faith remains among us, and tiny sparks
of hope now begin to burn. But the outpouring love of Back Bay Mission¹s
incredible extended family in the United Church of Christ has been a
blessing of the greatest proportions. Thank you, from the bottom of our
hearts.

Grace and peace,

Rev. Shari Prestemon
Executive Director, Back Bay Mission
Biloxi, Mississippi

"The Deer's Cry"

I arise today

Through the strength of Heaven

Light of sun

Radiance of moon

Splendor of fire

Speed of lightning

Swiftness of wind

Depth of the sea

Stability of earth

Firmness of rock

I arise today

Through God's strength to pilot me

God's eye to look before me

God's wisdom to guide me

God's way to lie before me

God's shield to protect me

From all who shall wish me ill

Afar and anear

Alone and in a multitude

Against every cruel

Merciless power

That may oppose my body and soul.

Christ with me, Christ before me

Christ behind me, Christ in me

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,

Christ when I arise, Christ to shield me

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me.

I arise today.

The Deer's Cry, Anon. 8th Century

Transalted from Old Irish, Kuno Meyer

Often referred to as St. Patrick's Breastplate

The 'Hope Shall Bloom' Covenant of Compassion

Responding to Hurricane Katrina, thousands of UCC members are agreeing to a "Covenant of Compassion" by making promises to help now - and in the future.

Read the Collegium's letter of introduction about the Covenant of Compassion here.

Because my faith and conscience call me to respond with prayer and action on behalf of hurricane survivors and others impacted by disaster, I offer my personal promise – in partnership with thousands of United Church of Christ members – to take the following five steps during the next three years to alleviate suffering.

1. I promise to pray for victims and survivors of Hurricane Katrina, for those still recovering from other disasters and for victims and survivors from natural and human-caused disasters that will occur in the future.

2. I promise to contribute to the UCC's One Great Hour of Sharing special mission offering, especially its "Hope Shall Bloom" hurricane recovery initiative as well as other One Great Hour of Sharing special appeals created to respond to the needs of survivors.

3. I promise to participate in and/or support locally based efforts to temporarily house survivors of Hurricane Katrina or other disasters, support an initiative to assist in resettlement of Hurricane Katrina evacuees which is being pursued by Church World Service, and participate in the UCC's ongoing refugee resettlement program for those fleeing civil war, famine, or ethnic violence around the world.

4. I promise to participate in and/or support mission trips now available through the Florida UCC Disaster Response Ministry or available in the future for Hurricane Katrina recovery or other disasters, as well as involvement through service in my local community, UCC Mission Trip Opportunities and/or Global Ministries' People-to-People Pilgrimages.

5. I promise to support the UCC's Neighbors in Need special mission offering and other justice initiatives that work to ensure that our government adequately serves all people, including the most vulnerable, the disabled, the poor and the elderly.

Holy God, bless and confirm my commitment to join with others in a deepened spiritual discipline of compassion. Help me to serve my brothers and sisters affected by disasters, both nearby and far away. Fill me with the urgency to aid those devastated by Hurricane Katrina, but instill in me a commitment to serve all affected by natural/human disaster. By making this covenant, may our collective effort sustain a long-term Christian commitment to relief, recovery and rehabilitation. AMEN.

Click here to add your name to the "Hope Shall Bloom" Covenant of Compassion.

THANK YOU, WOMEN'S FELLOWSHIP

At their first meeting of the year, on Sept. 14, the Women's Fellowship of our church voted to assign all of the upcoming Rummage Sale receipts to Katrina relief!  That sale will be held this fall on the weekend of October 7-8.  Ordinarily the income from the event exceeds $1,000.  So, we thank the women of our church for being leaders in our efforts to come to the assistance of those whose lives have been devastated by hurricane Katrina.  Please plan to donate gently-used and clean  clothing and houses wares to the sale, and stop by to do some shopping.  If you would like to help with the sale, please speak to Mary Larson Seney, 928-4057.

John Bell Coming to Boston Week of Sept. 18

If you are interested in traveling to Boston on Wednesday evening with a group from our church to attend this event, please speak to Debby Kirk--974-2463. It will be well worth the drive. I was able to experience John Bell's musical gifts the year I went to the Iona Community for Holy Week and Easter. He's truly a remarkable song leader. (Jamie Harrison)

An evening with John Bell
of the Iona Community, Scotland
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
John Bell is an ordained minister in the Church of Scotland and a music leader of the Iona Community in Glasgow. His ecumenical and inclusive approach to music for worship is only half of the reason for his success as a church music leader. The other half is his remarkable power as a leader of song. John Bell transforms an ambiguous gathering of people and shapes them into one body, one voice, one song. More information...

Can't Ignore Poverty and Class in Slow Katrina Response-or in Meaningful Recovery, Says Church World Service Head

Article from Church World Service:

NEW YORK--As the country continues to question to what degree race and class were reflected in slow federal response to Katrina's desperate and dying victims in New Orleans, the Executive Director of humanitarian agency Church World Service claims race and poverty both were factors, decries blaming of the victims, and says poverty and class must be considered in "meaningful long-range recovery."

Appearing on MSNBC's "Countdown" with Keith Olbermann on Sunday (Sept 11), humanitarian agency Church World Service Executive Director Rev. John L. McCullough stated, "No doubt race is an important factor in the Gulf Coast . . . but class is also a critical factor.

"As we looked at Katrina," McCullough said, "we were concerned about people of color," but McCullough said the debate now should be focused "more broadly on poverty and class."

McCullough, an African American, said New Orleanian survivors were "people victimized by the authorities" who had failed to "use the resources at their disposal."

He said the way governmental responses have unfolded "give us an opportunity to see whether the government acts as a safety net," which McCullough said should be the case but didn't happen quickly enough with Katrina.

McCullough said, however, that the disaster has "reopened to discussion the issues of race and poverty in a positive way. This should help us as Americans to look at the responsibility of one for the other," he said, and "our expectations of government."

Today, McCullough says, "It's absolutely necessary that we as a nation pay attention to the issues of class, of poverty, in how we now turn to the long-term recovery of the Gulf Coast region and Katrina's survivors.

"The way we assist Katrina's most vulnerable survivors in rebuilding their lives over the long haul will be a litmus test--and can be a model--of how we must proceed as a nation in closing the gaping divide in this country.

"The world is watching us," he said. McCullough visited Louisiana days after Katrina struck and after the flooding of New Orleans, performing early assessment for CWS's response and to rescue members of his own family who had been in New Orleans.

McCullough says CWS is focusing on long-term recovery for the Gulf Coast and now bringing the agency's experience in international refugee resettlement to bear to assist those hurricane evacuees who want to or have resettled elsewhere, "to help make sure that these doubly traumatized citizens are not forgotten as a class."

CWS is the only agency responding to the Katrina disaster that has both an international and domestic emergency response unit and a refugee and resettlement unit.

Global CWS's expanded efforts for this unprecedented U.S. disaster include responding to meet immediate needs, organizing for long-term recovery at multiple faith community levels, and addressing assistance to relocated individuals across the country.

The agency's particular focus is on long-term recovery assistance for vulnerable populations.

OUR CHURCH'S PLAN FOR HURRICANE DISASTER RESPONSE

At the church council meeting on September 13, it was decided to present to our membership a multifaceted plan to respond to the human, ecological, social, and economic disaster of hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Recognizing that the recovery period will take a very long time and be drawn out over many months and years, the first part of our response will be A SPECIAL OFFERING FOR HURRICANE RELIEF on every communion Sunday (the first Sunday of the month) starting October 2. Each communion Sunday will feature a particular way the United Church of Christ is assisting with relief, development, and other caring ministries throughout the region devastated by this disaster, and you will be asked to give to support those efforts. Envelopes for this on-going Communion Sunday Special Offering will be provided. At this point in time responding to this disaster with gifts of money is probably the wisest course of action.

But, additionally, as relief efforts begin to make an impact in the region, there may be more "hands-on" ways of responding as well. One possibility could be a work camp trip to a place like the Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi. Back Bay Mission is a community mission of the United Church of Christ which was founded in the 1920's to put into action the social concerns of our denomination. A small staff provides direct services to poor families in South Mississippi and also creates new programs to serve their needs such as legal aid assistance, outpatient health care, early childhood development assistance, family counseling, housing, and domestic violence prevention programs. BBM is also a major supporter of the South Mississippi AIDS Task Force. Because the facilities of BBM have been almost completely destroyed they will be unable to host work groups for many months. I the interim, however, we would like to begin to educate our congregation about this ministry. Information about BBM is available at http://www.ucc.org/.

Another way of offering our assistance might also involve becoming a partner with the Central Congregational Church of New Orleans as they rebuild their church community and reach out to the people of their neighborhood. In this way we could assist a local church respond to the needs around them in ways that would be most appropriate for their community. The Board of Director of our conference has already initiated this relationship and we will be hearing more about it in the coming months.

The council also strongly recommended that our church become seriously involved in responding to poverty and racism in our own state and community. Hartford, for instance, is the fourth-poorest medium-sized community in the U.S. The natural disaster we know as "Katrina" has also brought the human disasters of racism and poverty to our attention as well. Perhaps partnering with urban churches in our own state would also be an appropriate response.

Finally, we would also like to leave the door open to the possibility of becoming a host church for a "refugee/survivor" family if that response is requested of us. Because we have experience in refugee resettlement we already know how to do that.

On Sunday, October 2, following church, we will discuss all these responses and offer suggestions about how to become involved. If you have questions or comments, please speak to Cecile Gilson (974-1750) or Jamie Harrison (928-7405). Also, continue to check our website for hurricane relief updates.

Church Events--Week of September 25, 2005

CALENDAR FOR WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 25, 2005

Today

8:45 a.m. Sr. Bells warm-up

11:30 a.m. Second Hour

11:30 a.m. Jr. Choir/Bells

11:30 a.m. Confirmation Class

Monday

7:30 p.m. AA

7:30 p.m. Senior Bells

Tuesday

10:30 a.m. Bible Study

Wednesday

5:30 p.m. CC Board

Friday

2:45 p.m. SYG leaves for retreat

7:30 p.m. Wedding rehearsal

SYG CAR WASH/BAKE SALE REPORT: This annual event raised $395.65 to help pay for our retreat on Sept. 30. Thank you everyone who bought the delicious baked goods and had their car washed by enthusiastic youth group members. It was a beautiful day for it and the SYG greatly appreciates the donation.

FRIENDSHIP DINNER COMING SOON! It has been a couple of years since the last Friendship Dinner! We are hoping you will join us on Oct. 29, at 6 p.m., in the Great Room. We will start with some wonderful hors d'oevres and punch, then go to one of several host homes for our main course, a special ham delight, and return about 8:30 p.m. to the Great Room for sumptuous desserts.
Now how does that sound? An adult evening out, price not to exceed $8.00 per person, a chance to meet new friends and renew older friendships; no dishes to wash, dry or put away, just come and enjoy.
We do need about eight (8) host homes with seating of 8 - 10 people, some donations for the hors d'oevres table and find your best recipe for a dessert that will wow us all. We will be calling for some hosts, but please sign up in the Great Room, on the kiosk Member Care, for whichever you would like to do, as well as, please, if you would like to attend.
A host/hostess only has to set their table for about ten, make some coffee and have tea or fruit juice available; dinner and wine will be provided and delivered to your home, including flowers!! Does that sound too difficult?
Doris Coster 928-4775, Ann Moran 928-1505, Dick Horsfield 774-5093 are all waiting for your phone calls and watching for your signatures for this great event. If you didn't check "helping with progressive (Friendship) dinner", please do so this week. We could use a few more in the kitchen.
Check your calendars, sign up on the sheets, and we will have a wonderful time!! See you there.

COMMUNITY KITCHEN is in need of the following items: Tomato sauce, tomato paste, canned diced tomatoes, green beans, fruit cocktail, and cash to buy the meat. Your generosity makes the Community Kitchen possible, and your donations are very much appreciated.

THIRD AND FINAL ROMEO’S OLD FASHIONED CHURCH SUPPER for 2005!
As you know, we needed to help balance the church’s budget for the year by having additional fund raisers. The men’s group, the Romeos, decided to have three church suppers during the year. The first 2 of these suppers were terrific! The meals were excellent, the support from our church members and friends and families were beyond our expectations and the fun and fellowship that resulted was exceptional!
In addition to making higher than expected profits because of donations from a number of church members, we were given a very special gift of support from Mary Roberts of $2000.00 for each of the past two suppers. As you can imagine, this has been a great help in making up our budget shortfall!
The third supper will take place on Saturday, October 8th at 6:00 p.m. at the church. This will be a spaghetti supper, served family style. Once again, our chefs will be Charlie Bottieri and Jim Nowak, chefs extraordinaire! Servers will be from our SYG.
Please plan to come on October 8th! We need your support and in return we promise a very good meal, good fellowship, and maybe even some special entertainment after supper.
Most of the men of the church have tickets for sale, and there are tickets at the church office. Adults are $8.00, and children under 12 are $5.00. Thank you from all the Romeos!

CHRISTMAS IS COMING, CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!! November 19th from 10 - 2!!! December 25 is 90 days away, but in 54 days, CHRISTMAS ON THE HILL will be here!
There are many opportunities for you to donate items to the Fair. As you have read, the Silent Auction will take any items that might draw some bidding competition. Just this week, a doll house, an anchor & a boat sling have come into our possession. Call Barbara Wright (928-4068) if you have an item or want to ask her advise about your donation.
The Unique Boutique will take new items too small for the auction. Potpourri, a wallet, an alarm clock or a new stuffed animal would all be of interest to Diane Bradley, (923-6923) the Chair of Unique Boutique.
Are you tired of that costume jewelry or has your favorite necklace just gone out of style? Sherrill Cyr (963-2228)will gladly sell it at the Jewelry Table.
If your company would consider a donation of a Gift Certificate for services, such as dinner at a local restaurant, a few sessions at Doggie School or a gift basket, contact Gerd Lossius, (963-1063) Chair of the Penny Social.
Are you, your spouse or your children "crafty?" The General Store, managed by Jan Arcand (928-4563) or the newest booth, Fur & Feathers will accept your craft items. F & F, chaired by Bill Kimball (974-3164) naturally is for animal & pet items & the GS will take jams, pickles, honey & that afghan you are knitting each night while you watch T.V.
All of the above mentioned items or donations for the tables take preparation, time to create or time to locate in your home. So, please start now to see what you can donate/live without or can purchase to help make the Fair a huge success!
Speaking of the Fair, Kathy Packard, our Rada Cutlery Chairperson, is now taking orders, which will be available at the Fair. Please call her at 928-9397 if you would like to place an order.
And new this year, we will be selling dried fruit and nut mixes as a fund raiser, chaired by Bev and Earl Brazeal. Watch for more details, and an order form in the October SHARE as well as in the bulletins in October!
General questions about the Fair can be directed to Susan Waldron, 923-2887.

For Coffee Hour today and next Sunday, Kristen Bentley will be serving the coffees that are being offered for the Children’s Center Coffee Sale. Come try, and buy!

CONFERENCE BOARD ACTS TO CREATE PARTNERSHIP WITH NEW ORLEANS CHURCH

A letter from our Conference Minister--

September 8, 2005
Colleagues:

We had an exciting, albeit sobering, meeting last night with about 200 people present from all across the Conference. People came from Greenwich and from Putnam, from Mystic and from Norfolk, from small churches and large. We decided on several focal points for our work, and we will be posting updates periodically to our www.ctucc.org website as we are able to move forward organizationally.

For now, let me tell you that I have reached the Rev. Wilmer Brown, pastor of Central Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in New Orleans, who is temporarily living with his sister in Texas, along with his wife, Hulen. Central Congregational Church was founded in 1872 by the American Missionary Association that grew out of the Amistad Committee with its roots right here in Connecticut. I have also talked with Rev. Bill Royster, Conference Minister for the South Central Conference.

Tonight our Board of Directors has voted to approve our together, as the Connecticut Conference, entering into a partnership with Central Congregational Church to:
* hold the church, its pastor and members in prayer;
* assist the church with its rebuilding;
* support the pastor who is currently without income and benefits as a result of the flood;
* help the members of the church rebuild their lives and homes;
* and continue in a longterm partnership that we trust will be mutually enriching and deeply shared.

Our Board also voted tonight to recommend to the Conference the inclusion of a goal of $1,000,000 for Back Bay Mission in Biloxi and its rebuilding as a part of our proposed capital campaign that will come to the Annual Meeting for a vote in October. The campaign had been planned to focus solely on Silver Lake and its updating and renovation, but in light of the disastrous effects of the hurricane, it was unanimously agreed that we must move with urgency to help BBM rebuild. We will work out a means of both speeding the dollars to BBM and also encouraging all donors to contribute to all aspects of the campaign so that we all share in the responsibilities for both.

More later, but I wanted you to know about these as soon as possible.

Rev. Dr. Davida Foy Crabtree
Conference Minister
Connecticut Conference, United Church of Christ

CT CONFERENCE GATHERS TO PLAN KATRINA RELIEF

HARTFORD--Attendees filled Asylum Hill Congregational Church's Dean Room on Wednesday, September 7th, as they met to consider ideas for a united effort by the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ to aid the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States last week. During the two hour meeting, the participants heard presentations about conditions in the affected area and some existing effective relief strategies. They shared word of ministries in which their local congregations had already engaged, and suggested additional resources and service agencies.

At the end of the evening, the group identified six focus areas for Conference attention:

• Support for Back Bay Mission, whose ministry to the poorest of the poor in Biloxi, Mississippi, suffered a severe blow with damage to its buildings and the loss of its support infrastructure;
• Work on Housing and Shelter issues, which may include welcome of survivors to Connecticut as well as support for housing projects as they rebuild in the Gulf region;
• Establishing a relationship with a Partner Church or churches in the affected area and supporting their ministries;
• Coordination of Work Teams to help the rebuilding--these teams will initially work in areas affected by earlier disasters, such as last year's hurricanes in Florida, and will work on the Gulf coast when they are ready for it;
• Advocacy for the poorest of the poor, those who need the most help and so seldom receive it;
• Fundraising: As the wealthiest state per capita in the nation, Connecticut has a special ability and opportunity to provide the most efficient help available: hard cash.

Attendees were able to identify the areas in which they might best contribute. The Conference will continue to solicit volunteers; watch this web site for further information about how to volunteer. For now, notify Associate Conference Minister for Wider Church Ministries Jim Morgan at jimm@ctucc.org.

Worship began the evening, including a stirring performance by Hurricane Andrew survivor Steven Mitchell, Asylum Hill Church's Minister of the Arts. Senior Minister Gary Miller prayed powerfully with the trumpet, playing two familiar hymns with the bittersweet sadness of New Orleans jazz. Conference Minister Davida Foy Crabtree closed the evening with a powerful prayer for all those who suffer and all those who serve.

UCC ups fundraising goal to $3 million for hurricane relief

UCC leaders announced today (Sept. 6) that its members and congregations will need to raise at least $3 million to support longterm hurricane relief and recovery.

"As this tragedy continues to unfold, we see the need for resources for longterm recovery," said Susan Sanders, the UCC's minister for the global sharing of resources. "Knowing the generosity of UCC members and friends, we are confident that we will meet our goal."

As of Sept. 5, online contributions to the UCC's "Hope Shall Bloom" hurricane recovery initiative had surpassed the $100,000 mark.

"As of yesterday evening, we had received a total of $100,434 in online contributions for relief efforts related to Hurricane Katrina," reported the Rev. George Graham of the UCC's financial development ministry. Graham and others worked over the Labor Day weekend to process church members' web-based gifts.

However, Graham expects the number of online gifts to grow even more significantly in coming days as UCC members and congregations begin to grasp the enormity of the disaster and contemplate how best to offer their support.

In addition to the one-week tally of online fundraising, Sanders reported that on Sept. 6, the hurricane relief fund received $12,240 from contributions sent to the UCC's national offices in Cleveland through the U.S. postal service.

Already, according to Sanders, the UCC has made significant pledges of financial support to:

• Church World Service, which is leading hands-on emergency relief and rescue.
  
• Slumber Falls Camp, the South Central Conference's outdoor ministry in New Braunfels, Texas, which is housing evacuated residents of the Gulf Coast Region.
  
• The UCC's Southeast Conference, at the request of the Rev. Andrew Young, which is providing food to evacuees in Atlanta through the Hosea Williams Feeding Program.
  
• The Amistad Resettlement Project of the Community of Faith Church (UCC/Disciples of Christ) in Houston, which is working to resettle 50-100 families.
  
• UCC-related Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Miss., which was devastated by the storm and remains standing in 5-feet of water.

The UCC's national setting is also wiring a portion of the donated funds directly to the UCC's Southeast and South Central Conferences so that money will be available immediately as local needs arise, Sanders said.