Nov/Dec 2021 Newsletter

Congregational Connections
First Congregational Church of Leicester October/November 2021 Issue

The Church Fair is Coming!
It’s almost November 13th

 

We will need all the help we can get. Here is a list of things we need:

 

• People to work the day before and the day of the fair
• Help in the kitchen
• Items for:
o Knitting room

 

o Christmas room
o Baskets made up
o Bakery items

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for anything you can contribute – big or small.

If you need more info, contact: Nancy, Cindy, June, or Marie

 

 

 

Women’s Association Meetings at the church on Oct. 6 and Nov. 3 at noon. We will be preparing for the Fair to be held November 13. You are invited to bring a brown bag lunch. Dessert will be provided.

Worcester Fellowship Lunch Providers: Oct 31
The signup sheet for donations will be in Russell Hall beginning October 10. Please see what you can donate, and then join the lunch assembly on the 31st down in Russell Hall. You are also welcome to join Pastor Doreen in bringing the lunch to the Fellowship, which meets at All Saints Episcopal Church on Irving St. in Worcester.
Monday Night Book Group
The Monday night book group will begin the study of White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism on October 17. We meet in Leicester at 7 p.m. If you can’t make the meetings but would like to read the book along with us, please let Doreen know. Doreen will purchase the books and have them available by October 10.

 

 

A Note from the Pastor

Grace and peace, dear friends. Autumn to me has always felt like new beginnings, perhaps because for so many years it was the start of school – new teacher, new friends, new learnings. My birthday is in October, so it is even a new age number for me. Autumn stirs feelings of anticipation, excitement and hope.

Anticipation, excitement and hope were stirred for me again at our church discussion held on September 26 after worship, the focus of which was the future of our church. While in a previous meeting where this topic was discussed there were expressions of worry and despair, it was a very different energy this time. I know that the Spirit was present in the way ideas were sparked, feelings were shared openly, thoughts expressed with care and respect. It was a joy to witness and experience, and reminded me again how grateful I am for this community. The turnout was greater than I dreamed of, with 17 people attending in person and one attending on Zoom.

In the last issue of the newsletter I laid out my concern about viability – what does it take to be God’s church in the world? Do we have enough energy to serve God’s purpose for us? At what point would it be clear that we have completed our purpose and it is time to let go? I also laid out some ideas for living faithfully in whatever time we have, ideas which focused on embracing an identity as a progressive church. I laid out five areas for discussion at the meeting. My colleague and friend, the Rev. Liz Magill, attended by Zoom as an observer and note taker. I offer her summaries of the five points of discussion. If you are interested in the complete notes, please e-mail me and I can send them to you.

I posted on the wall the five areas and asked people to start by marking each topic with a sticker – RED for “No, I do not think the church is called to this;” GREEN for “Yes! Let’s head in that direction / do this;” and YELLOW for “I’m not sure / would need more clarification or discussion.” The summaries include a statement on the color ratio.

1. Explore our viability and legacy. Dots: All green
SUMMARY: We want to discuss what it means to be viable, with the hope of figuring out that we have some way of being viable. We want to discuss what we want our legacy to be, what to do with our resources, and what is involved in making the decision to close.

2. Explore Community Needs. Dots: 2 yellow, 15 green
SUMMARY: There may be something the town needs that will lead us to viability. We are especially interested in how the town will adapt to buying Becker buildings and how we can offer spiritual resources for the town.

3. Study Justice Issues. Dots; 10 yellow, 7 green
SUMMARY: We don’t have agreement on this. Some feel it would be good to address these issues because at church we can do it better than it is elsewhere, others feel it will create political tension, division, shame, and blame.

4. Promote ourselves. Initial suggestion was for buttons with progressive messages, new brochure emphasizing our Open and Affirming Covenant Dots: 1 red, 8 yellow, 8 green
SUMMARY: People are in favor of marketing, but have a lot of questions of what would be the most effective give-away for doing this. Definitely not buttons. There were mixed feelings about emphasizing a progressive / ONA message

5. Proclaim our Identity with Rainbow Banner, with a Be the Church message, including different ways to “Be the Church.” Dots: 5 yellow, 12 green
SUMMARY: We have a difference of opinion on what the banner means–some people feel it will exclude some people, others feel it makes the point that everyone is welcome and that we are attending to the underserved.
We like the idea of a banner but want the language and colors evaluated to match our specific mission.

At the end of the session, I asked people to make a “pledge” to the church for taking action to support the church other than financially. I passed out a sheet of possible actions and asked people to take them home, pray on them, and then return them in the offering plate. The actions were somewhat based on the five items discussed. If you would like to take a pledge, please let me know and I can e-mail you an electronic copy of the pledge, or put a hard copy in the mailbox.
I can’t emphasize enough the positive energy that flowed at this meeting. Though differences of opinion were clear, people were curious and respectful, willing to hold loosely to individual views for the sake of the Body, the whole.
Once I collect the pledges and have a better sense where the energy is for particular action, I will contact people, perhaps form some small working groups and consider another church wide meeting for updates and new ideas. You won’t want to miss it!
Since there is not another issue of the newsletter coming out before Thanksgiving, I want to let you know that
I count you as such a blessing in my life. I am so very grateful. May you find yourself at a table laden with love,
and remember that you are part of the family of God.
Blessings,
Pastor Doreen

A Note from Stewardship:

I would like to thank all of you for making that commitment to pledge. I had one more pledge come in on September 26th changing the total pledges to 12 and the total to $23,684.00. Missions remain the same at 6 for $1,354. It’s never too late to pledge and they all are confidential. Blessings, Ellie Latham

In Our Prayers
Never underestimate the power of prayer. You are invited, as you read this, to add your prayers for those listed. Take a moment to breathe in God’s Spirit, and channel your good will and hopes to each person or situation named. You might imagine them surrounded by a healing light, or held in God’s hand. May this simple practice fill you with peace and hope.
– For the Allen family on the loss of brother Brad on September 20 and mother Betty on September 28.
– For the family of Sally Russell who died on September 27
– For all those suffering with depression

Concerts on the Common
We started the Bake Sale season on July 28th after solidifying our Food Permit since the Covid interruption. All together 5 concerts found us on the common helping to feed delighted concert goers amid the rather messy construction going on at the common this summer. All in all we had great fun and heard wonderful music… and lovely remarks… from all those who came to our table for yummy treats….. repeatedly!! They were so happy to Be there and So Glad we were bringing them such wonderful goodies!

THANK YOU — so much— to all the bakers and to those who showed up to set up, sell and clean up. You Are The Best!! Our efforts raised a total of $805.21. WONDERFUL Job Everyone!

Harvest Fair News
A wonderful, beautiful day was held at the Harvest Fair and our Apple Crisp booth did a great job in our new location – on our own church lawn! We set up a much larger tent – 10’ x 20’ – and had a bit more room to spread out and even included 2 tables for seating which were utilized most of the day. Very special THANKS to all those who worked so hard to make it happen! (Except for the bees who had a nest in one of the bushes right behind us everything went quite smoothly.) It was a wonderful way to kick off the fall weather and with help from so many we were richly rewarded for our efforts and made a profit of $680…. plus the $200 from Harvest Fair Committee for use of the church rooms upstairs and tables for Town Hall. THANK YOU everyone who helped in any way on Friday and Saturday. Bless You All.