nnouncements and Calerndar for the Week of Mar. 4, 2012

CHURCH NOTES

REMINDER! ANNUAL MEETING ADJOURNED TO MARCH 11, 2012, 11:15 am The regular Annual Meeting of the First Congregational Church of Woodstock held on January 22, 2012 was adjourned to March 11, 2012. The Order of the Day for the Adjourned Meeting is:
1. To act upon the proposed budget for calendar year 2012 based upon the results of the 2012 Stewardship Campaign and the activities of the Ways and Means Committee.

THANK YOU to all who supported the recent SYG Italian Dinner. The Youth Group raised ~$1500 to be applied to the 2012 budget for both churches. This was a team effort that involved 40 volunteers! Hats off to our wonderful chefs, Charlie Bottieri and Jim Nowak who have organized this event for the past 9 years.
MORNING WATCH -- 7:00 to 7:30 am on Tuesday mornings during Lent. RENEW your prayer life ~ REFRESH your spirit ~ RECONNECT with God. Give yourself a gift of thirty minutes peace before you begin the work or school day. Invite God into your day with scripture, silent meditation, and prayer. MORNING WATCH is open to adults and high school students in the community. We will meet at the Hill Church for the convenience of WA Students.
DIVE INTO SERVICE WITH GIV2—— Youth who have pre-registered to help at the Special Olympics Swim Meet should meet at EWCC at 7:30 am to carpool to Windham High School. Lunch is provided but you may want to bring a little money for the snack bar. We need one more adult to drive one way; please speak to Andy Perry or Debby Kirk if you can help.
COMPASSION CAMP REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! Camp dates are set for July 23-27, 2012 and forms are posted outside Deb’’s office door. CIT/Counselor applications are also available. All youth currently in grade 6 and up are invited to attend our week-long program of fun and service work in the local community. Register before March 31 and receive an Early Bird Discount!

WE NEED SOUP AND BREAD for our Lenten program on Wednesday evening. Please see Lib Putnam at Coffee Hour if you can help.

SAVE THE DATE! DEACON’S BREAKFAST: Sunday, March 18th. The deacons will host another before-church-breakfast, downstairs at 8:30, for a time of informal fellowship. We’ll have REAL (and decaf) coffee. All are welcome. If you could, please sign up at the kiosk or call Bev Brazeal at (860) 963-0288, so we have a general count of how many to expect (but we’ll plan extra, so please, if you don’t call, come anyway).



SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS

The children are concluding the “Man Beside the Pool” rotation this week. They learned about God at work, God’s healing powers, and the Sabbath. A very special thank you to our teachers this rotation: Meg Bishop, Felix Klee, Eva Hulme, and Maria Sangiolo. We are so grateful to you sharing your talents and time!

Next week, the children will begin a new Sunday school rotation called “Easter: Go and Tell.” This is a wonderful seasonal topic the children are sure to enjoy!

Parents- send us pictures of your children’s Lenten Gardens! We know they are growing and are anxious to see them!

Thank you children and parents for the overwhelming response to our mission this rotation. It is wonderful to see the children bring in their offerings. We believe they are really benefiting from this exercise! Since it is tangible, they are seeing the baskets downstairs fill up, and are gaining an appreciation for giving! Next week, the children are asked to bring in soap and/ or deodorant. We can’t wait to put together our hygiene kits on Palm Sunday.

We are looking for a volunteer to cover the nursery on March 11, 2012. If you would like to volunteer, please contact the CE team. Thank you!


CALENDAR OF THE WEEK
Today
11:15 a.m. Junior Choir (downstairs)
11:30 a.m. NYE Meeting at EW
Monday
7:30 p.m. AA (library)
7:30 p.m. Sr. Bells (downstairs)
Tuesday
7:00 a.m. Morning Watch
Wednesday
9:00 a.m. PCT
6:00 p.m. Lenten Program (Hill Church)
7:00 p.m. Boy Scouts
Thursday
10:30 a.m. Bible Study
6:30 p.m. Deacons
Friday John Family using downstairs area all evening
Saturday
7:30 a.m. Giv2 Trip to Special Olympics (meet at EW)
10:00 a.m. Cemetery Association (library)
all day Democratic Convention Soup Dinner
Next Sunday
9:15 a.m. Bell Choir warm up 11:15 a.m. Continuation of Annual Meeting 3:00 p.m. Heifer Benefit Concert at EWCC