Announcements and Calendar for the Week of Jan. 30

WOMEN’SUNDAY will take place next Sunday, February 6, at 10 a.m. with the Rev. DaVita McCallister preaching and remaining for an inspiring Second Hour. This is an Intergenerational Service so bring the entire family to celebrate WOMEN and all they do to make our world go round!

THIS MORNING’S CHURCH SCHOOL NEWS:
To wrap up our Loaves and Fishes unit, the church school children will be making bread this morning in the downstairs area of the church. The bread will be served at next Sunday’s communion service. Be assured that we will freeze the bread in the interim, to ensure freshness!

DAILY BREAD - Our basket of fish in the Harrison Hall is filling up! Thank you! Keep those cans coming! We wish to thank our resident Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops for their generous contributions of tuna.

INTERGENERATIONAL/WOMEN’S SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE – Families will have the opportunity to worship together next Sunday. The Junior Choir will sing the anthem, This Little Light of Mine. Junior Choir members should arrive promptly at 9:15 a.m. to rehearse with the Senior Choir and five accompanists. Please be on time! Thank you so much!

JUNIOR YOUTH GROUP LOCK-IN!! “Mixing It Up With Harry Potter!” Mrs. Donahue requests the presence of all youth in grades 5 – 8 to a LOCK-IN (sleep-over) at the church on Friday, February 18th at 7:00 p.m. through Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. We will explore virtues of compassion, loyalty, courage, and friendship, present in many of the main characters of the Harry Potter series. It will be a night of games, activities, Hogwarts cuisine, discussion, midnight worship, music, laughter, and wonderful memories. You may invite a friend. ALL youth (including guests) must be registered one week prior to the event. UNregistered youth arriving the night of the event will unfortunately be unable to participate (Safe Church Policy). Please plan ahead accordingly. Mrs. Donahue requests your OWL no later than February 12th or email at bnatural@earthlink.net.

SOUPER BOWL RETURNS ON FEBRUARY 6. Did you know that Windham county has some of the highest rates of food insecurity in CT? Many families have to choose between paying medical bills, filling the oil tank, or buying nutritious food. You can help TACKLE hunger with the Souper Bowl of Caring. Simply place a donation of one dollar or more in one of the soup kettles that will be placed at church on February 6. Our gifts will help be sent to the Daily Bread Food Pantry in Putnam to help hungry families in Northeastern, CT.

SAVE THE DATE FOR THE 8TH ANNUAL ITALIAN DINNER! Our Youth Group will be serving a delicious meal on Saturday, February 26 at the Hill Church beginning at 5:30 PM. Tickets are available from Charlie Bottieri and youth group members. You may also call the Hill Church office at 860-928-7405 to make your reservation. Cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children up to age 12.

Members of our CONFIRMATION CLASS have been on retreat in New York City since Friday and are attending worship at the Riverside Church this morning. Please keep the group in your prayers as worship, study, and travel together this year. Our Confirmands are Julie Correira, Emily John, Gloria Knust, Brittany LaFleur, and Kassi Miller.


SAVE THE DATE - Saturday, February 12, 5 to 7:30 p.m. for an all-church gathering to ponder together “What It Means to be Our Church.” Supper first, shared discussion to follow, led by Rev. Mike and members of the Transition Team. R.S.V.P. to the church office or by email to Jennifer John rj3j@charter.net More info in February SHARE, or speak with any Transition Team members: Chalie Bottieri, Ellen Holley, Jeff Kimball, Jennifer John, Sam Lyman, Beth & Jeanne Foote, Bob Kirk, and Lib Putnam. Please join us!

NEW OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE BACK: A new opportunity to give back to our church is starting! We hope to improve communications within our church family and our mailing list's friends as well as the greater community at large. If this sounds like something you would like to help with or if you have some ideas how we can effectively do this, please call Susan Waldron at 860 923 2887 or email her at swaldron01@snet.net. We hope this will be a fun, short term obligation that really helps each and everyone of us!


CALENDAR OF THE WEEK
Monday
7:30 p.m. Bell Choir
7:30 p.m. AA
Wednesday
9:00 a.m. PCT
11:00 a.m. Staff Meeting
7:00 p.m. Boy Scouts
7:00 p.m. Deacons
Thursday
10:30 a.m. Bible Study
7:00 p.m. Sr. Choir
Next Sunday: “Souper” Bowl
10:00 a.m. Women’s Sunday: Rev. DaVita McCallister preaching and speaking at Second Hour

































































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LAY READER:

Announcements and Calendar for the Week of Jan. 23

FIRE AND ICE -- All youth in grades 7-12 are invited to our sledding party this afternoon. We’ll build a bonfire for hot cocoa and have some fun sliding down the big hill behind the Hebert’s house on Prospect St. BYOS (that’s “Bring Your Own Sled.”) We will meet at the East Woodstock Church at 1:00 and ride up to the Hebert’s. Speak to Debby Kirk if you would like a ride over after the annual meeting and luncheon today.

SOUPER BOWL RETURNS ON FEBRUARY 6. It started as a response to prayer at a Youth Group meeting in 1990: “Lord, as we enjoy the Super Bowl Football game, help us to be mindful of those who are without even a bowl of soup to eat.” Since then, the Souper Bowl of Caring has grown to include over 14,000 churches and has generated more than $70 million to help the hungry. Our Senior High Youth Group will be participating in this national event for the 10th straight year. It’s easy—just put a dollar (or more!) in one of the soup kettles that are placed at church on February 6. Our gifts will be sent to the Daily Bread Food Pantry in Putnam to help hungry families in Northeastern, CT.

SAVE THE DATE FOR THE 8TH ANNUAL ITALIAN DINNER! Our Youth Group will be serving a delicious meal on Saturday, February 26 here at the Hill Church. Tickets go on sale this week so see one or our youth group members, Charlie Bottieri, or call the church office at 860-928-7405 to get your tickets. Cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children up to age 12.

NIGHTWATCH: Please keep our Confirmands in your prayers next weekend. The group will be attending the Nightwatch Program at the Cathedral of St John the Divine.

PROGRESSIVE DINNER: Thanks to everyone who has volunteered to Host our Progressive Dinner on March 12th. We had an overwhelming response. Look for a sign up table to participate in the dinner starting Feb 6th.

WOMEN’S SUNDAY: This year, WOMEN’S SUNDAY will be celebrated on Sunday, February 6. Our guest preacher will be The Rev. DaVita McCallister, Conference Minister for Youth & Young Adults for the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ. Day will stay for an exciting Second Hour so plan to join us for her thought provoking comments/insights on the subject of this National UCC Celebration of Women: RESTORING BEAUTY!

THIS MORNING’S CHURCH SCHOOL
PreK/Kinder/Grades 1 & 2 –– Ginny Viteri –– Art Rotation Grades 3/4/5 ––Jennifer John –– Cooking Rotation Grades 6/7/8 –– Ellie Donahue - Science Rotation Rotation Assistant –– Ellen Boylan

BREAD MAKING NEXT SUNDAY –– The church school will wrap up the Loaves and Fishes rotation by making bread for the February 6th intergenerational communion service.

SILVER LAKE Summer Camp Sign-Ups Begin! The brochures are in! Please visit the kiosk or see Mrs. Donahue to find out information about the program. We will also be talking about it in church school each week. The program is open to youth in fourth grade through high school. Many, many campers from our church have experienced these camps in the past. Will your turn be this summer? We hope so! They are life-changing! Scholarship money is available.

CALENDAR OF THE WEEK
Today:
11:15 a.m. Annual Meeting and Luncheon
1:00 p.m. Youth Group Fire and Ice event (meet at EW)
Monday
7:30 p.m. Bell Choir
7:30 p.m. AA
Tuesday
3:30 p.m. Prayer Shawl Ministry
Wednesday
7:00 p.m. Boy Scouts
7:30 p.m. Giv2 Planning Team
Thursday
7:00 p.m. Sr. Choir
Friday
2:00 p.m. Confirmation Class to NYC
5:00 p.m. Daisy Scouts

COUNCIL MEETING POSTPONED DUE TO STORM!

Tonight's Council meeting has been postponed til Thursday due to today's ice storm!!!

Announcements and Calendar for the Week of Jan. 9

THE CHURCH SCHOOL will be starting a new unit this morning entitled, “The Boy’s Lunch.” We will be exploring the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand (John 6:1-14). To end our unit on January 30th, we will be baking bread for the following Sunday’s intergenerational communion service.
THIS MORNING’S CHURCH SCHOOL PreK/Kinder/Grades 1 & 2 –– Ellie Donahue - Science Rotation Grades 3/4/5 –– Ginny Viteri –– Art Rotation Grades 6/7/8 –– Jennifer John –– Cooking Rotation
DAILY BREAD –– In conjunction with our loaves and fishes story, the church school will be collecting cans of TUNA FISH for Daily Bread. Please help us fill our “basket of fish” located on a table in the Harrison Hall. Thank you so much.

WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP NEWS:
-Monthly Meeting: Women’s Fellowship wants to try something different in January. We are planning an INTERGENERATIONAL EVENT for women and younger women ( all ages) to get to learn about each other & have some fun together. The date is Saturday, January 15, the time is 10:30 a.m,. the place is the church! This is a wonderful opportunity for working women to bring their daughters & sons & participate in a fun & educational way. Call Ruth Stevenson, 860- 928-7822 if you have any questions. Refreshments will be served by Linda Chaser, Diane Gioco & Lynn Singleton. Bring your grand daughters & friends if you don’t have a daughter available?
-Service News: It is almost time for us to assemble our Health Kits for Church World Service. Remember, we have been collecting items all year for the kits which are sent to people after a disaster hits, in our country & around the world. We still need the following:
18 Hand Towels, 16” X 28”
34 Nail Clippers
6 Boxes of regular Size Band-aids
40 Individually Wrapped Bath Size Bars of Soap
41 Full size Combs
Please place your donations in the CWS basket in the Harrison Room, now. Many thanks from us & those who are served.

PROGRESSIVE DINNER! Turn an acquaintance into a friend! Keep these dates in mind for an evening of fun, fellowship and fantastic food. The Deacons are supporting a Progressive Dinner on March 5th or 12th. (The details of the date are still being worked on.)

We meet at the church for appetizers and time to visit with everyone at 5:30. When its time for dinner, people are assigned a host home by luck of the draw and off you will go for a more intimate dining experience. The evening will last as long as your hosts can stay awake! Enjoy getting to know people in the church better. This event has always had rave reviews. There is a $10 per person cost to help defray the expense of the meal payable that night. It is important to know ahead of time how many guests will be participating.
The definite date and more details will be forthcoming soon, as well as a sign up sheet for you to add your name to the list. We are asking that you pay for your spot ahead of time. You don’t want to miss out on all the fun!
We are also on the look out for people willing to host people in their homes. Each host will be asked to provide coffee and dessert. Dinner will be delivered to your house the afternoon of the event.
Questions???? Speak to one of your Deacons.


BIBLE STUDY: After the first Easter, our Christian faith began to spread in the world. The Book of Acts recounts this extraordinary progress in a hostile world. Using Anthony Robinson’s, “Called to Be Church,” we will explore our early church’s progress with an eye on studying our own congregation in Woodstock.
This study will begin on Wednesday, January 19 from 10:30-12:00. (Please note day change for this one week due to a schedule conflict: the other sessions will be held on Tuesday mornings). You may purchase your own copy of the book on line (Amazon’s prices range from $16 new to 4.99 used) or in most bookstores. Rev. Mike will place one order for those interested by Jan. 11.


CALL TO THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
The Annual meeting of the First Congregational Church of Woodstock is called for Sunday January 23, 2011, in the meetinghouse of the church with roll call at 11:15am and the following agenda;
T1.o accept the reports of the Pastor, Clerk, Boards and Committees and the Treasurer for the year 2010;
To act upon the Report of the Nominating Committee; 1.To receive and act upon Budgets for Local and Wider for 2011
T2.o remember those of our membership who have died since our last annual meeting;
T3.o amend the by-laws Section 2. Boards A. A Board of Deacons, also known as the Diaconate, the term of office to be four (4) years (two persons be elected each year). now reads (one man and one woman)
T4.o discuss having an American flag on display on the church premises
T5.o update the New Century and other investment funds
T6.o hear the report of the Church Historian
T7.o act upon any other business proper to come before the meeting.
The Order of the Day: at 12:30p.m. there will be a dinner in the Fellowship Hall. Following dinner, unfinished business will be completed.
Diane Miller, Clerk

OFFERING ENVELOPES FOR 2011 are available in the Narthex for those who have requested them,. Please pick up yours today!

WEATHER CLOSINGS: For information on church closings or delayed worship services due to severe weather conditions, please tune to WINY Radio in Putnam which is 1350 am, or to the NBC Connecticut Weather Center channel. Our deacons will also send out an e-mail, letting you know if there will be a closing, delay or any other special information pertaining to weather conditions.


WEEKLY CALENDAR
TODAY
11:15 a.m. Confirmation Class
MONDAY - Community Kitchen
7:30 p.m. AA Group
WEDNESDAY
7:00 p.m. Boy Scouts
THURSDAY
7:00 p.m. Sr. Choir
SATURDAY
10:30 a.m. Women’s Fellowship Intergenerational Event
NEXT SUNDAY
10:00 a.m. SYG Breakfast Club - EW
11:15 a.m. Conf. Class

Please note: The Youth Ministry Team Meeting is postponed until Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 7:00 p.m., and the Giv2 Planning Team Meeting is postponed until Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 7:30