The Church Bell Greetings from Greg…..........…...2 Christian Outreach IHN WB Food Pantry Board of Church Life…………….3 Sunday School News...….....…… 4 October Bell Deadline Adult Discussion Group Prayer and Praise Thank You…...………………..…...5 Birthdays Church Staff /Address...Back Page Worship and Church School at 10:00 a.m. September 1 ~ The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost The Sacrament of Holy Communion The Reverend George E. Vogel preaching September 8 ~ The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost Homecoming Sunday The Reverend Dr. Gregory W. Schmidt preaching Church School will resume. The Chancel Choir will return to the loft. A Festive Homecoming Reception follows worship in Fellowship Hall. September 15 ~ The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost The Reverend Dr. Gregory W. Schmidt preaching Chancel Ringers September 22 ~ The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost The Reverend Dr. Gregory W. Schmidt preaching Chancel Choir September 29 ~ The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost The Sacrament of Christian Baptism The Reverend Dr. Gregory W. Schmidt preaching Chancel Choir THE CHURCH BELL SEPTEMBER 2019 The First Congregational Church Newsletter A Congregation of the United Church of Christ At 26 Central Street in West Boylston online at www.fccwb.com The Lord has yet more light and truth to break forth from his holy Word.” - John Robinson, pastor to the Pilgrims INSIDE THIS ISSUE "Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” ~Proverbs 16:24 NRSV Welcome Home! Deaths Marilyn Pendleton July 19 Barbara Poland July 29 Jessica Wood August 13 Paul Barnes August 16
Transcript
The Church Bell
Greetings from Greg…..........…...2
Christian Outreach
IHN
WB Food Pantry
Board of Church Life…………….3
Sunday School News...….....…… 4
October Bell Deadline
Adult Discussion Group
Prayer and Praise
Thank You…...………………..…...5
Birthdays
Church Staff /Address...Back Page
Worship and Church School at 10:00 a.m.
September 1 ~ The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost The Sacrament of Holy Communion
The Reverend George E. Vogel preaching
September 8 ~ The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost Homecoming Sunday
The Reverend Dr. Gregory W. Schmidt preaching Church School will resume.
The Chancel Choir will return to the loft.
A Festive Homecoming Reception follows worship in Fellowship Hall.
September 15 ~ The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost The Reverend Dr. Gregory W. Schmidt preaching
Chancel Ringers
September 22 ~ The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost The Reverend Dr. Gregory W. Schmidt preaching
Chancel Choir
September 29 ~ The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost The Sacrament of Christian Baptism
The Reverend Dr. Gregory W. Schmidt preaching Chancel Choir
THE CHURCH BELL SEPTEMBER 2019
The First Congregational Church Newsletter
A Congregation of the United Church of Christ At 26 Central Street in West Boylston
online at www.fccwb.com
The Lord has yet more light and truth to break forth from his holy Word.”
- John Robinson, pastor to the Pilgrims
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
"Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” ~Proverbs 16:24 NRSV
Welcome Home!
Deaths Marilyn Pendleton
July 19 Barbara Poland
July 29 Jessica Wood
August 13 Paul Barnes August 16
The Church Bell 2
Greetings from Greg……. Dear Friends,
It never ceases to amaze me how fast the summer flies by. It seems like Memorial Day was only yesterday,
but Labor Day is really only a few days away. Before we know it we will be hanging Christmas decora-
tions. Sorry, I got a little ahead of myself there.
Our month of joint services with Park Church was well received by both churches. While our first service at
Park Church had a pretty ordinary 30 people, the first service in our building (which we held in fellowship
hall because of the stifling heat) had more than 60 people in attendance! What a pleasure to have so many of
us gathered for worship on a summer Sunday. Hopefully we can continue this partnership going for-
ward. George, Kristjon and I were also delighted by the refreshments offered during these joint coffee
hours. As the cookie monster, George was in his element! Thank you to all who hosted the gatherings.
CNS had a busy summer with an expanded summer program and some renovations to a few more
rooms. They seem to have really hit their stride and would like for the entire church to see what they have to
offer. At some point in September or October our coffee hour will be held in the CNS area so you can all see
what is happening in this portion of our church ministry. Melanie, Marisa and the rest of the staff have
worked very hard to make our Community Nursery School one of, if not THE best one in the area.
Our Sunday educational program is getting ready to begin as well. Marie Lane, Pam Doonan and all the
teachers are working hard to ensure we offer our children something spiritual, something fun, something
meaningful and something enlightening for all of our children. Come see what’s happening this year.
Our youth group is getting ready to begin their new year under new leadership. Terry and Jessica Trask are
the new leaders of this program. They are going to be helped by Abby and Ethan Borchelt. I know our youth
are going to be well served by the program and what the four leaders bring to the group. It promises to be an
exciting time for them.
It is also time for our music program to return to full force. We welcome back the chancel choir on the 8th
and the chancel ringers on the 15th (at least I think that is their premier date). As always, if you would like to
participate in either program just speak to Kristjon. There is always strength (and safety) in numbers. The
choir practices on Sunday mornings at 8:30 AM and the ringers practice Monday nights at 7.
George, as you will read elsewhere, has prepared another session of the Adult Discussion Group. This group
meets on Wednesday nights at 7 PM and anyone is welcome to join. Please speak to George if you would like
to know more.
Finally, the search committee has worked all summer and is ready to begin to start reading about candidates
and reaching out to them. While I am sure you all want to be caught up on the action and with whom they are
speaking, they can not tell you that. Please be sure they are working diligently for the good of this church and
the glory of God and as soon as they have chosen a suitable candidate to be your next pastor they will invite
you to meet that person. When might that be? We don’t know yet. It might be as early as January, or as late
as next June. At this point we simply have to trust that the Holy Spirit is at work in the process and we are
now on God’s time, not ours.
On behalf of the staff, I am excited to welcome you back to our full worship and educational experience on
September 8th. We look forward to seeing you then.
Sincerely,
Greg
The Church Bell 3
CHRISTIAN OUTREACH BOARD NEWS
Upcoming Events…
JOHN STREET SOUP KITCHEN
Our next opportunity to volunteer at the John Street
or by phone (text or call 508-335-1007), or see the
sign up sheet after church on Sundays in Fellowship
Hall.
WB FOOD PANTRY
First Congregational Church
partners with Oakdale United Methodist and Our Lady of Good
Council churches in West Boylston
to host a Food Pantry. It is open from 1-3 p.m. on
the 3rd Tuesday of every month. Donations of food
and money are always welcome.
Current Pantry Needs include: Toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, napkins, bottled water, and personal hygiene items.
Please check all items for expiration dates as we have to discard any items that have expired.
Donations may be left in the blue bins in the
ramp entrance. Thanks so much for your
generosity.
The Board of Church Life welcomes everyone back to church and we hope that everyone en-joyed their summer and returns renewed and re-freshed as we now begin to settle into our fall schedule of activities. First, we'd like to thank everyone who has assist-ed our board's monthly coordinators and has served as ushers, greeters, lay readers, and cof-fee servers for our Sunday services. As you know, our schedule of servers is always posted on the BOCL bulletin board in Fellowship Hall near the side door exit. You will find both the current month and the following month there. Our BOCL monthly coordinators certainly appreciate all those who come forward and volunteer to serve in one of these positions for our Sunday services. Each month, one of our board members serves as a coordinator to reach out to our congregation asking for help with these duties. For the month of September, our BOCL coordinator is Marsha Saunders. If you are willing to serve as an usher, greeter, lay reader, or coffee server on a Sunday in September, please write your name on the schedule, and confirm it with Marsha @ 774-437-3234 or email @ [email protected]. Our annual Homecoming Reception will be held on September 8th right after church in Fellowship Hall. While the members of the Board of Church Life coordinate the reception for all church members and friends, we are also ask-ing for about 6-8 members to volunteer to bake or bring an apple themed dessert for the recep-tion that day. If you are willing to bake or bring a dish, please contact Matt to confirm and let us know what it would be. Thanks! The next BOCL meeting is Tuesday, September 3rd at 7:00 pm in the chapel. Again, thanks to all of you who serve our church in this way! We appreciate your help!" Blessings, Matt Rogers 508-963-0275 [email protected]
After the August 11th morning service we were delighted
to have a short visit from Jan Sioui. She brought a most
beautiful arrangement which brightened our home for
many days! The flowers were many varieties and lovely
colors which we truly enjoyed. Along with them came
your thoughts and wishes for which we are deeply appre-
ciating to this day.
May God bless the community of faith & love within our
church family.
Shirley and Jim Patch
Prayer and Praise All those with health concerns: Steven Small Sophia Landeo Tony-Sharon Seale’s brother-in-law Bob Akins-Marsha Saunder’s brother Valerie-friend of the Poland family Lori Rotti-Carol Rotti’s daughter-in-law Danielle Akins-Marsha Saunders’ niece Janet Friberg-Carol Rotti’s cousin Charlotte-Carol Rotti's toddler relative who has contract-ed a rare neurological disorder Philip Helle Marjorie-Bill and Arlette Peterson’s friend Brian Novak-friend of the Second Chance Thrift Shop Nancy-Peter Borge’s sister Dawn Ringquist a faithful worker in our Second Chance Thrift Shop Carol Ann Hamilton Clark family-friends of Esther Bryant Franklin Daigneau Sandy Flynn Richard Whitney Robert Comeau-Nancy White’s son Gibbons family-family concerns Nick Person Janice Gillis-Jeanne Borge’s sister-in-law Sue-Arlette Peterson’s friend Dan-Sue Coviello’s nephew Bowen-Sue Coviello’s nephew George Vogel’s sister-in-law
In sympathy: The Rogers family. Kelly’s father passed away on August 16th.
Wider concerns: Thanksgiving for all who come through our doors.
Our service men and women around the world and their families. Those who are unemployed among us and around the country.
Hello from the Adult Discussion Group….
Well, this has been a very hot summer and
we hope that through all the summer heat
everyone was able to get some rest and relaxation!
When our group left for our summer break we were in the
midst of a ten part study on the Psalms. We will complete
the study when we return on Wednesday September 18th.
The book of Psalms has and will continue to be a great
source of guidance and insight. Many Psalms devote
themselves to ancient temple worship including their
hymns which typically focus on God as ruler. Many other
Psalms are Laments. Laments usually talk about the dis-
tress of the community and while trusting God ask for
God’s help. All of these ancient community challenges
and concerns are relevant to our lives and challenges of
our community today. They serve as guidance to us today
and are the reason that Psalms are included in our wor-
ship services today.
Also, we know that schedules are busy. Come each week,
or come when you can. No heavy homework! And we are
a very friendly bunch .
Please come and join us to learn more about Psalms and
other great studies. We invite you to be with our group on
