Announcements and Calendar for the Week of Jan. 29, 2012

THE FLOWERS THIS MORNING are given to the glory of God and in loving memory of Jamie Wolf, by his mother Katie.

YOU ARE INVITED TO A SECOND HOUR TODAY
Over the next months, the Search Committee will provide several opportunities for you to share your concerns and hopes for the future of our church. Your first chance comes in a Second Hour discussion after worship today. As we work on our Local Church Profile, we want to hear your questions, your expectations, and your ideas for the next few decades of our church. Please plan to come on January 29th with your thoughts. We want to develop a full description of our church, one that encapsulates the values that we share, the mission that we hold, and the prayerful concerns of all.

SOUPER BOWL OF HUNGER will be held on Sunday, February 5. It’s simple! Just place one dollar (or more) in the soup kettle as you leave church. This money will go directly to the Daily Bread Food Pantry to help hungry families in Northeastern CT.

SAVE THE DATE!!! The 9th Annual SYG ITALIAN DINNER is set for Saturday, February 25. Mark your calendars, invite a friend, and purchase your tickets for this delicious meal. Dinner will be served continuously from 5:30 to 7:00 PM at the Hill Church and proceeds benefit the 2012 budget for both East Woodstock and the Hill Church. Speak to Charlie Bottieri or one of the high school students to get your tickets.

RETREAT RESCHEDULED FOR NEXT SATURDAY!!
The Spiritual Retreat that was snowed out last week will be held on Saturday, Feb. 4. In our journey toward securing a 'settled' minister, we will join together in 'holy work': centering prayer and quiet to settle ourselves for a day of introspection and prayer, getting to know each other as friends in spirit, and in meditation and listening. We will break into small groups as well as a larger discussion group. We are hoping this will be a fruitful day of inspiration, of learning, and listening to each other and to the Holy Spirit. At the end, as the Spirit moves, we will go out strengthened with a renewed sense of God's presence and leading light. We will be led The Reverend Dr. Deborah Pallatto-Fontaine. We will break for a 'working' lunch around noon and finish by 3. If you cannot stay the entire time, we welcome you when you can be there. We are so excited to be able to do this for all of our church members and friends. Hope to see you there!



SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS


The nursery is staffed today. Parents, please feel free to take your infants and toddlers downstairs.

Parents and young people, today there is no children’s message, so teachers and children will go downstairs after singing the first verse of the first hymn, following the call to worship.

Today, Sunday School will feature a special communion education event. First, we will consider the meaning of the word “communion” and explore what it means to live in communion with God and as a church, the body of Christ. Then Pastor Mike, assisted by Deacon Leslie Sweetnam, will teach on communion as a sacrament and on the meaning of the communion elements.

This is the last Sunday we are collecting canned goods for Daily Bread. Thank you for participating!

Next Sunday, Feb. 5, we will have intergenerational worship, and the Junior Choir will sing a song related to the David, The Boy unit we completed last week.

On Feb. 12, we will begin our new unit, The Man Beside the Pool. Ginny Viteri will also introduce our new mission project.

If anyone is interested in teaching Sunday School, please see Jen Beck, Karen Cloutier, Jennifer John, or Lisa Veach. The curriculum is all spelled out for you in detail, and you can choose what fun rotation (cooking, games, storytelling, art, music) you want to teach. Your help would be greatly appreciated, and the children would love to see some new faces! Men are especially welcome.

CALENDAR OF THE WEEK

Today - Second Hour right after church
11:15 a.m. Jr. Choir
7:00 p.m. SYG Crossroads meeting at EW
Monday
7:00 p.m. AA
7:30 p.m. Sr. Bells
Tuesday
3:30 p.m. Prayer Shawl Ministry
Wednesday
9:00 a.m. PCT
6:30 p.m. Deacons
7:00 p.m. Boy Scouts
Thursday
1:00 p.m. Bible Study
7:00 p.m Sr. Choir
Saturday
8:30 - 3:00 Retreat