Orange Congregational Church
United Church of Christ
|
Stoddon G.N. King, Senior Minister
Lee A. Ireland, Associate Minister
Director of Christian Education (seeking)
Bryan T. Campbell, Music Director
Cynthia C. Chandler, Junior Choir Director
Beth C. Rafferty, Youth Director
|
Associate Pastor's Musings |
Time for snowballs! The fresh snow has brought new activities into our lives, hasn’t it? Many have enjoyed the chance to ski and snow tube and sled and throw snow balls. I know some who have not enjoyed the chance to shiver and dress to go out to shovel and make safe the ways to travel. But life in New England brings this wonder in surprising ways each year.
Our life at the Orange Congregational Church also has its seasons and we’re now in the thick of getting everything ready for our Annual Meeting this coming Sunday. The boards and Church Council leaders have worked hard this year: discussing the fullness and joy of activities that are happening, thanks to the talents and gifts of the members of each board, but also what is going on within our community at a time when our budget is facing some challenges as a result of the national economic crisis, and we’ve had some members moving elsewhere. I wish that each of you could’ve heard the healthy and diligent conversations that occurred at each of the meetings I’ve attended since September. The commitment and passion is very clearly there of those who are present. For that I give each of you thanks.
As we go into our annual meeting, I want to share an image that is very present to me. I want to be sure that we celebrate all that occurred during the year 2011 and the abundance of gifts that were offered and how thankful we can be that we ended the year with such a strong commitment of offerings from those who make up our congregation. As we look to 2012, let us listen to the presentation as something that is not yet complete. Each January we have a new blank canvas upon which to paint the history of our church’s story. We’ve got a wonderful start to this painting, but it’s not quite yet complete. 2011’s painting is beautiful! We’re now still in need of those who can help us by picking up the paint brushes and adding their touch with images to the current background. Can you add (in my mind) seagulls in the sky, clouds, butterflies, the blossoming of the flowers on the stems? Or a child playing in a field or --- what’s your image? If you ve not yet added your touch, we hope you’ll join us in painting a beautiful picture for 2012 as well.
Let us give thanks always for the God who is in our midst. May we give thanks for this fellowship in which to walk with one another and help share God’s love and grace and light and may it ripple out far and wide.
God’s peace and grace be with you all, Lee
|
Prayer Box |
You are invited to join the prayer line in lifting up this concern each day through the coming week. Please hold in prayer our church family.
Do you have a prayer concern for this space? Please let Tod know. You may join the regular weekly Prayer Line by calling Gail Elker or one of the ministers. AND, don't forget the prayer pads in the little brown leather folders for Sunday worship prayer concerns. |
|
New Member Orientation…Wednesday evenings, 7:30-9:00 p.m., March 7, 14, 21 in the Katherine Knight Reception room by the Chapel. Letters will be going out to those we know who might be interested, but this is an open invitation to all! This time together is an opportunity to meet new people and learn something about the ministries of the Orange Congregational Church and United Church of Christ. There is no obligation to join, but those who do will be received during the 10:00 a.m. worship service on March 25. A phone call to Judy Hongo in the church office, 203-795-9749, will help with preparation, but if the 11th hour arrives and you can join us, please do. Your Ministers and Deacons.
Stewardship Campaign Update – Thank You For Your Support! As of 1/23/12, we have received 184 pledges totaling $332,122. The good news is that the average pledge value is up 8.5% from last year -- the challenging news is we have currently 30 fewer pledges than last year. Our shortfall is $58,000 +. We are grateful to you who have pledged. If you have not yet pledged, please consider making a financial commitment to support the ministries, outreach programs, staff and buildings of our family of faith. If you are not financially able at this time, please consider investing your time and talents by offering to serve on a board, or helping with the many activities and programs our church offers, including the Strawberry Festival the first weekend in June. There are many ways to help as we continue to do the work of God. Thanks again for your support. The Stewardship Board
SUPER BAG SUNDAY will be February 5. As you prepare for your Super Bowl parties, remember those far less fortunate than we. Please fill a bag with non perishable (low salt if possible) food, and bring it to church on Feb. 5. Monetary donations are always welcome. Please make your check out to OCC with the notation of FISH at the bottom. This is your chance to make Super Bowl Sunday special for someone else. Thank you. The CS&O Board.
The CS&O Board will hold the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper on Tuesday, February 21st. We will be serving pancakes and sausage from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Tickets are $7/adult and $5/child under 12. Proceeds to benefit the House of Jacob. We hope to see you there!
Save the Date!
On March 17, 2012 the Board of Adult Christian Education and the Network of Grace (a group that has been working together since the workshop with Andrew Harvey) is hosting a day to reflect on the Environment as well as an Opportunities Fair with representatives of different agencies involved with mission projects around the state.
Jim Garrison, the President of Wisdom University, is joining us to offer a Keynote Address at 1:00 p.m. that afternoon. His presentation will discuss the challenges we are all facing with the consequences of the weather disasters: i.e., the Japanese tsunami, the tornadoes that ripped through the mid-west last summer, the heavy snowstorms in Alaska this winter. What is the earth saying to us these days?
A co-sponsor of the event is Michael Harris, President of the Earth Charter based in Deep River, CT. More information will be shared in the coming Mid-weeks. Stay tuned!
Annual Meeting will be Sunday, January 29 at 11:10 a.m. in the sanctuary. Reports are available in the church office.
Valentine’s Day PF Bake Sale – Need a dessert to bring with you to your Valentine’s Day Party or just something sweet for your sweetheart? Valentine Treats will be ready and waiting for you on Sunday, February 12 at coffee hour after the 10:00 a.m. service. Please come and support our first PF fundraiser of 2012! Thank you! (PF)
Ladies Lunch will meet on Wednesday, February 8th at 12:00 noon in the Dr. Jean Jones Library. Rev. Lee will continue her conversation on Sacred Geometry. Please bring your bag lunch and beverage. Bring a friend too!
FELLOWSHIP BREAKFAST Thursday, February 16, 7:00 a.m. at Chip’s Restaurant on the Post Road in Orange. $8 buffet breakfast. Speaker to be determined. Will be announced in church.
Offering envelopes are available for pickup in the John Ho Dining Room.
Electronic Funds Transfer opportunity for you. Several members and friends of our church are giving electronically. This opportunity was initiated by our Board of Christian Stewardship through the services of Vanco, an EFT provider. Vanco has been recommended by our national United Church of Christ and many congregations in CT are participating. Participation is simple and easy, and you may speak with Financial Secretary, Laurie Gagne, about the details. There is a “Frequently Asked Questions” sheet available to you as well as an authorization form, either at the church or on the church’s website, www.orangecongregationalchurch.org. The cost is very small and is covered by the church. $1.50 sets up the account, and 25 cents is charged for each transfer. Twelve monthly transfers would be $3.00 plus $1.50 for a total of $4.50. However, like our offering envelopes, most make the extra contribution to cover this cost. In addition, there are small green cards available in the sanctuary and chapel for those who use EFT that say “I give electronically.” You can put one into the offering plate during worship if you wish.
UCC Scholarships for UCC College Students. Scholarship assistance is available to members of UCC congregations who are under 25 years of age and are sophomore, junior or senior undergraduate students, in any discipline, attending an accredited 4-year university or college in the United States. Awards are about $500-$1,000. Applications should be downloaded from the UCC web site www.ucc.org. On the web site click on “Index” then click on “S” then click on “Scholarships for college/university.” A page will appear explaining what to do. If you need some help, speak with either Rev. King or Rev. Ireland.
The Orange Congregational Church Memorial Garden is a haven where those we wish to remember are memorialized with dignity in a quiet, familiar place easily available to friends and family. It is an area on the church grounds designated for the interment of ashes and is intended as a place where our loved ones are remembered. The name and the lifespan of the person being memorialized is cast on a bronze plaque which is affixed to the Monument in the Garden. Our Memorial Garden has a spiritual setting, “sanctified” by our own church and watched over by our own family of faith. It is caringly landscaped so as to appear pleasant, but apart. The church created its Memorial Garden for those members and their immediate families who have expressed their desire for a place in which to inter the ashes of and establish a memorial to a loved one. Memorial Gardens represent an alternative to traditional cemetery burial grounds (usually casket burials). You are welcome to visit the Memorial Garden at any time to experience its peace and quiet. It is a place for pleasant memories. A reservation in the Memorial Garden requires payment of a modest fee and the completion of a “Subscription Form” available at the Church Office.
Addresses! Has your college student changed an address? Does your son or daughter have a different APO or FPO address in the military? Newly married addresses, etc.? Please let the church office know so we can update our Midweek and other mailing lists. We want to keep in touch with your loved ones & ours!
OCC Nursery School is accepting applications for 2012-2013. Enrollment forms may be picked up in the church office or nursery school.
CHURCH CLOSINGS FOR STORMS...watch WTNH-TV Channel 8 for our church. Also, you may call the office (203-795-9749) and listen to the answering machine or check our website www.orangecongregationalchurch.org.
Hospitals. Each Tuesday and Thursday Judy in the church office calls the area hospitals to see if anyone from the congregation is there. However, if a patient doesn't register and give the name of our church, they won't be listed and we won't know. ALSO, please call the church office if you or someone you know from the church, or your family, is hospitalized or has gone to a nursing home. Often, this is the only way we know, and Tod and Lee and the deacons want to know so we can respond. You are a vital part of the caring communication circle!
REGULAR MIDWEEK PUBLICATION DEADLINES are the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month. The next Midweek deadline is February 13. ALSO, you may receive the Midweek by going to our website at www.orangecongregationalchurch.org.
The CS&O Board is collecting wrapped paper towels and toilet paper on an ongoing basis to help cover the cost for those living in transition at the Beth El Center. If you can help, please bring them to the church. A collection box is set up in the hall across from Lee's office. Thank you!!
BE A LITURGIST! Sign up on the table outside the sanctuary door in the hall. The liturgist leads our congregation in the call to worship and prayer of gathering at the 10:00 a.m. service. There is also a list in the hall outside the chapel for worship at 8:00 a.m. The Deacons.
Sign-up sheet for the Columbus House dinner on Monday, February 13 is on the bulletin board in the hall outside the church office. Servers, drivers and donations of food are needed! Your continued help is appreciated.
Anyone who would like to donate Sunday flowers for the chapel and /or sanctuary in memory of, or in honor of, a loved one please call Sue Yamaguchi at 464-1994. |
Lectionary Readings |
February 5: Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-11,20c; I Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39.
February 12: II Kings 5:1-14; Psalm 30; I Corinthians 9:24-27; Mark 1:40-45.
February 19: II Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6; II Corinthians 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9.
February 26: Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-10; I Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:9-15. |
Church School |
Church School Reminders:
February 5th is Super Soup Sunday and chapel for the children! Please have your child come to chapel at 9:50 with a canned food or nonperishable food item.
The CE Board will be hosting a special family technology information day on February 5th after church. Coffee and snacks will be served right after church where we will begin to discuss new technologies that are available and being used by today’s young people.
February 10th is family night! Come enjoy dinner and fellowship sponsored by the CE Board. |
Youth Ministry |
Sr High Discussion Group – Beth Rafferty will lead a discussion group on the 2nd & 4th Sundays of the month during worship from 10:15-11:00 a.m. for students in grades 10-12. Using current events as background, the group will discuss how we, as members of a family of faith, can or should relate to these events. There is no set curriculum, students are asked to bring an open mind & an expectation of lively discussion. The next meeting is February 12.
Sr PF & Confirmands – We are doing the “Freeze-out” Fundraiser Event to raise money for Youth United/Habitat for Humanity on January 28-29, 2012. It will start at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday January 28 & end around 8:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. This will entail a Shanty Town of cardboard boxes out in front of the church, where we will rotate every hour the experience of living outside on a cold January night. The purpose is to raise money for Habitat for Humanity, both in Bridgeport, CT and on the Eastern Shore of VA. We hope to raise at least $2,000 from this event. Each teen who participates will need to get friends and family members to sponsor them to stay out in the cold and raise a minimum of $30. The sponsor sheets will be available in the church office or by contacting Beth Rafferty. It’s not too late to sign-up!
Sr PF – We have another Youth United Habitat for Humanity Workday on Saturday, February 11th from 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Please wear old clothes, gloves, work boots and bring a bag lunch. Please call Beth at 203-430-2145 if you plan to come to the workday, so we have enough drivers.
ALL PF – The PF is having a Valentine’s Day Bake Sale Sunday, February 12th during coffee hour. This is our first PF fundraiser for the year, so we need everyone to bring in baked goods and help sell them. All the baked goods should be brought to the John Ho Dining Room before the 10:00 a.m. service and all PF members should come to the dining room immediately after the service to help out. Please contact Beth via email or at 203-430-2145 if you can donate some baked goods and help out with the bake sale.
Jr PF – We are baking & decorating Valentine Cookies for the residents of Orange Health Care on Sunday, February 12 from 2:30-4:30 p.m. in the downstairs kitchen at the church. If you are not away on vacation please come help make some cookies, have some fun and show the residents of Orange Health Care Center how much we care about them. If you can join us, please contact Beth Rafferty at 203-430-2145. |
Parish Notes |
Edith Stahl has moved to Crosby Commons. Her new address is: Crosby Commons, Apt. 5, 580 Long Hill Ave., Shelton, CT 06484. Phone: 203-225-5156.
Hospitalized: Bill Maxwell, St. Raphael’s.
Recovering: Nina Judd at home.
Homebound: Jeanette Marsted. We know Jeanette would love to hear from friends. Her address is 401 E. Linton Blvd., Apt. 605, Delray Beach, FL 33483. Phone: 561-278-9636. Marjorie Atkinson. Bill Dietz isn’t strictly homebound, but it is difficult for Bill to go out.
Nursing Home: Doris Whittum, Sweet Brook Care Center in Williamstown, MA. Jane Bickford, Carriage Green in Milford. Harry Jones, Golden Hill in Milford.
Fellowship Hours: January 29 – No Coffee Hour, Annual Meeting; February 5 – CS&O Board; February 12 – Board of Deacons. |
|
|
|
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Services, Gatherings & Ministries January 25-February 19, 2012
Worship Services
8:00 a.m. Chapel Service10:00 a.m. Sanctuary Service Wednesday, January 25 Thursday, January 26 10:00 a.m. Book Discussion - Reception Room6:30 p.m. Bell Choir - Sanctuary7:30 p.m. Senior Choir - SanctuaryFriday, January 27 Saturday, January 28 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Women's Retreat - Mercy Center 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. New Haven Chorale - Sanctuary 6:00 p.m. Senior PF Freeze-out6:00-9:00 p.m. Romanian Congregation - Chapel/Reception RoomSunday, January 29 8:00 a.m. Worship - Chapel 8:15 a.m. GIST, Contemporary Bible Study - Library 8:45 a.m. Coffee & Fellowship - Reception Room10:00 a.m. Worship - Sanctuary; Church School11:10 a.m. Annual Meeting - Sanctuary 11:15 a.m. Junior Choir and parents - Council Room/Education Board Room6:00-8:00 p.m. Romanian congregation - Chapel/Reception Room7:00-8:30 p.m.Junior PF - Games Night, PF RoomMonday, January 30 12:00-6:00 p.m. Red Cross Blood Drive - Dining Room7:00 p.m. Lectionary Bible Study - LibraryTuesday, January 31 Wednesday, February 1 Thursday, February 2 10:00 a.m. Book Discussion - Reception Room 6:30 p.m. Bell Choir - Sanctuary7:30 p.m. Senior Choir - Sanctuary7:30 p.m. Board of Christian Education - Education Board RoomFriday, February 3 Saturday, February 4 6:00-9:00 p.m. Romanian congregation - Chapel/Reception Room Sunday, February 5 - Super Bag Sunday 8:00 a.m. Worship - Chapel8:15 a.m. GIST, Contemporary Bible Study - Library8:45 a.m. Coffee & Fellowship - Reception Room9:50 a.m. Church School Chapel 10:00 a.m. Worship - Sanctuary10:15 a.m. Senior PF discussion group - Turkey Pen11:00 a.m. Coffee & Fellowship - Dining Room; PF Superbowl of Caring11:00 a.m. Family Information Technology Day - Dining Room11:15 a.m. Junior Choir and parents - Council Room/Education Board Room6:00-8:00 p.m. Romanian Congregation - Chapel/Reception RoomMonday, February 6 7:00 p.m. Lectionary Bible Study - Library 7:15 p.m. Stewardship Board - Council RoomTuesday, February 7 7:00 p.m. CS&O Board - Education Board RoomWednesday, February 8 12:00 noon Ladies Lunch - Library Thursday, February 9 10:00 a.m. Book Discussion - Reception Room6:30 p.m. Bell Choir - Sanctuary7:30 p.m. Senior Choir - Sanctuary Friday, February 10 6:00 p.m. Family Night - Dining Room Saturday, February 11 7:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Senior PF - Habitat Workday6:00-9:00 p.m. Romanian congregation - Chapel/Reception Room Sunday, February 12 - Laity Sunday 8:00 a.m. Worship - Chapel 8:15 a.m. GIST, Contemporary Bible Study - Library8:45 a.m. Coffee & Fellowship - Reception Room10:00 a.m. Worship - Sanctuary; Church School10:15 a.m. Senior PF discussion group - Turkey Pen11:00 a.m. Coffee & Fellowship and PF Bake Sale - Dining Room11:15 a.m. Junior Choir and parents - Council Room/Education Board Room11:30 a.m. Adult Confirmation Class - Library 2:00-4:00 p.m. Junior PF - making cookies for Orange Health Care6:00-8:00 p.m. Confirmation Class - Library 6:00-8:00 p.m. Romanian congregation - Chapel/Reception Room Monday, February 13 9:00 a.m. Midweek deadline4:30 p.m. Columbus House dinner7:00 p.m. Lectionary Bible Study - Library 7:30 p.m. Board of Trustees - Council RoomTuesday, February 147:15 p.m. Church Council - Council Room Wednesday, February 15Thursday, February 16 7:00 a.m. Fellowship Breakfast - Chips10:00 a.m. Book Discussion - Reception Room10:00 a.m. Foster/Adoptive Care - Dining Room6:30 p.m. Bell Choir - Sanctuary7:30 p.m. Senior Choir - Sanctuary Friday, February 17 Saturday, February 18 6:00-9:00 p.m. Romanian congregation - Chapel/Reception RoomSunday, February 19 - Family Sunday 8:00 a.m. Worship - Chapel8:15 a.m. GIST, Contemporary Bible Study - Library8:45 a.m. Coffee & Fellowship - Reception Room10:00 a.m. Worship - Sanctuary11:00 a.m. Coffee & Fellowship - Dining Room11:15 a.m. Junior Choir & parents - Council Room/Education Board Room6:00-8:00 p.m. Romanian congregation - Chapel/Reception Room
|
