Announcements and Calendar for the Week of Oct. 10

MEALS on WHEELS on Monday, October 11 Youth in grades 9-12-- Put your faith in action and help out with the meal at the Community Kitchen. Meet at the Hill Church at 9:30 am. We'll prepare a hot meal, transport it to North Grosvenordale, visit with the guests, serve lunch at noon and return by 1:30 PM. Call or text Debby today at 860-377-2675 to reserve your spot.

A BIG THANK YOU to all who helped with our Giv2 (give squared) event last Sunday. Thirty three youth and adults from three area churches gathered at the People's Harvest Garden to do fall clean up. This garden has supplied over 12,000 pounds of fresh produce to 5 local soup kitchens! If you would like to get involved with this program of outreach, call Debby Kirk or come to our planning meeting on Thursday, October 14 at the Westfield Congregational Church.

Our next YOUTH GROUP GAME NIGHT will be on Sunday, October 17. All youth in grades 7-12 are invited to try out a fun, new card game. We're making apple crisp for dessert. The meeting is from 6 to 7:30 at the Hill Church and friends are welcome.

CHRISTMAS ON THE HILL, November 20, 2010
It’s not too early to think about what you can bake for the FAIR. Try an Angel Cake or a Tomato Soup Cake. How about homemade rolls or a Pecan Pie? Don’t wait to be called! Call Barbara Child, 974-3648 or Sandra Walling, 974-0470 with the list of items you will bake for the BAKE TABLE.
Women’s Fellowship Meeting, October 13, at 2 p.m. Program will be our youth reporting about R.Y.E. and summer fun at Silver Lake! Hostesses: Ruth Stevenson & Trudy Lamb, Worship: Lib Putnam


HELP!!! Silent Auction (Christmas On The Hill Fair) desperately needs items: vintage and antique pieces, glass, small furniture, art, unused kitchen and garden gadgets, etc. Unfortunately we do not take old computers or exercise equipment. Please call Barbara Wright with donations or questions regarding donations - 860-928-4068

BOARD OF OUTREACH TO SPONSOR SECOND HOUR: Save Sunday, October 17 for a Second Hour sponsored by the Board of Outreach. Donna Grant from T.E.E.G. (Thompson Ecumenical Empowerment Group) will talk with us about what her organization does to help folks from all of the surrounding towns, including Woodstock, in these hard economic times. We hope to learn what we can do to help our neighbors as well. Remember, this subject was one of the top vote getters when we surveyed the congregation last fall so plan to attend.

THE DEACONS AND CHURCH COMMUNITY would like to thank all the people who were on the Celebrations Committee. It was this group that met often to decide how best to say farewell to our beloved pastor, Jamie and his wife Martha. This committee hosted two main events, one at the Mansion at Bald Hill and the other at the coffee hour after Jamie's final church service on Sept. 26. Many more people outside of this committee were involved in the preparation for the special coffee hour. Jamie said many times throughout these two celebrations that this is the way he would have set up the celebration events if he had been in charge, so from all of us to all of you, thank you for your hard work In making these celebration parties a huge success and so beautifully done.
The following people were on the Celebrations Committee: Sam Lyman, Ellie Donahue, Sue Waldron, Jim Nowak, Cheryl Swenson, Ian Scott, Jen Beck-Ferruci, Charlie Bottieri, and John Cimochowski.
Other folks who worked hard to make the coffee hour a great success were: Ruth Stevenson, who coordinated the food for the event, Lib Putnam, Debbi Farquhar, Lisa Nowak and the servers from the Senior Youth Group.

This Morning’s Church School:
Pre-K/Kinder/Grade 1 –– Science Rotation –– Laurie Trudeau Grades 2/3/4/5 –– Art Rotation –– Kelly Bottieri/Ellie Donahue Grades 6/7/8 –– Video Rotation –– Jennifer John
Infant/Toddler Room Leader for October –– Sammi Miller

Upcoming Church School Events: October 24 –– Heifer Awareness –– Group Event October 31 –– The Pumpkin Patch Parable –– Group Event November 7th –– Bible Sunday –– 3rd graders will receive the gift of a Bible from our church family.

Daily Bread for October –– Canned Soups/Chili/Stews –– brrrrrrr…….the days are getting chilly! Can you throw a couple extra cans of soup or stew in your grocery cart this week to help a neighbor? The church school will be making a delivery to Daily Bread at the end of the month. Please leave your donations on the table nearest the library in the Jamie Harrison Fellowship Hall. Thank you!

SAVE THE DATE!! Our Interim Pastor, Mike Ader, will begin his ministry here on Monday, October 18th. His first worship service with us will be on Oct. 24, and the Deacons will host a special coffee hour afterwards. We hope as many people as possible can be here for that day so we can give him a real Hill Church welcome!!!

SPEAKING OF BEING WELCOMING....we would like to remind everyone to please wear your name tags on Sunday mornings. Especially in this time of transition when there are different ministers leading service, and with the upcoming arrival of Mike Ader, we want to make it easier for new people to get to know us. If you have lost or misplaced your name tag, please sign up in the Great Room so that another one can be made for you. THANK YOU!


THOUGHTS ABOUT COFFEE HOUR: Coffee hour is a wonderful opportunity for our church family to gather following worship; for many people it may be the only chance we get to have a few minutes to socialize and catch up with one another.
The challenge is to find hosts. We have the following suggestion. Let's agree to have very simple coffee hours. We don't want people to hesitate to host coffee hours because it is a daunting task. Coffee and tea are provided by the church. Harold Bishop and Woodstock Orchards provide cider. Beyond that, not much is necessary or called for. We can feed our spirits without feeding our bodies.
Let's encourage more people to be hosts by agreeing that we don't need lavish refreshments. We want to offer hospitality and a cup of coffee so our congregation can spend time together following worship. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to host coffee hour. -The Hospitality Committee


SPONSOR A PRAYER SHAWL! If you like te idea of our prayer shawl ministry but aren't able to knit or crochet, you can help out by sponsoring a prayer shawl. Each shawl costs between $15-20 in materials. If you would like to support this ministry of outreach and caring, you can donate the cost of a shawl, knowing this symbol of compassion will be shared by someone who needs it.
Checks can be made out to the FCCW Women's Fellowship with a notation "prayer shawl ministry" and can be turned into the church office.


OUR FIRST SOUP AD BREAD is coming up on October 31. Please sign up on the sheet which will be next to the Coffee Hour Host sign by the servery. We need 6 breads and 8 crock pots of soup. Please include recipes for the Generosity Committee to use later. Thank you all so much.


WEEKLY CALENDAR
TODAY
2:00 p.m. Margaret Mushero Memorial Service
MONDAY
9:30 a.m. Comm. Kitchen
7:30 p.m. AA Group
WEDNESDAY
10:00 a.m. Staff Meeting
2:00 p.m. Women’s Fellowship
7:30 p.m. Boy Scouts
THURSDAY
7:30 p.m. Giv2 Planning Team at Westfield

FRIDAY/SATURDAY B & B Weekend
NEXT SUNDAY
10:00 a.m. Blessings of the Confirmands
11:15 a.m. Confirmation Class
11:15 a.m. Second Hour - TEEG
6:00 p.m. Youth Group Game Night