Newsletter Feb/March 2022

Congregational Connections

 

Feb/March 2022 Issue

All Church Meeting

Sunday, February 13 after worship
Please join us for an informational / discussion meeting
regarding the church’s finances (see Pastor’s note for more
information). If you would like to participate on-line rather than
in person, please let Pastor Doreen know and she will send a
Zoom link. Bring your questions, ideas and inspiration. Our
future is in God’s hands, but God may be trying to speak through
YOU!


Ash Wednesday
March 2

The Sanctuary will be open for distribution of ashes from 3-7:30
p.m., with a brief closing service beginning approximately 7:25.
Drop by any time for ashes, a prayer or blessing, and/or to visit
with Pastor Doreen. Sit and enjoy the peace of the Sanctuary
and reflect on the Lenten journey ahead.

Daylight Savings
March 13th – Spring Forward

Be sure to turn your clock one hour AHEAD before
going to bed on Saturday, March 12, for distribution
of ashes. Drop by any time for ashes, a prayer or
blessing, and/or to visit with Pastor Doreen. Closing
prayers at 7:30.

Have a Heart Blanket Month

February is “Have a Heart-Give a Blanket’ Month.

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This annual fund raiser for Church World Service has been a tradition at FCC for over 30 years.
The $10 blankets bring warmth and shelter to those suffering from disasters and
poverty both at home and around the world. Donations may be made to FFC
Leicester with a notation “Blanket Fund”.

Funds for Food Collection

The season of Lent will soon be upon us. It
begins with Ash Wednesday on March 2nd and
goes right through Easter Sunday, April 17th.

Some may remember filling quarter folders as
a Lenten practice and, in more recent years, a
Lenten offering envelope was included with
your monthly newsletter. This year, the
Council decided to support the Leicester Food
Pantry at St Joseph’s Church by hosting a Funds
for Food Collection.

Rather than collect non-perishables, we invite
you to consider a monetary amount to donate
each week during Lent. If you decide to mail in
a check, please make it payable to First
Congregational Church of Leicester. All funds
will be held through Easter Sunday then
brought to the food pantry as our Lenten gift
to support the community.

Our numbers may be small as we gather on
Sunday for worship, but our hearts are huge
when it comes to helping our neighbors in
need. Looking forward to growing the Funds
for Food Collection with you all this Lenten
season.

Thank you from your church council members.

A Note from the Pastor

Grace and peace, dear friends. I hope you all had a holiday season that was meaningful, joyful and
safe. It was wonderful to have about two dozen people worship with us Christmas Eve, and so special
to be back in the Sanctuary for in-person worship after last year’s remote service. Thanks to our
wonderful choir, organist Brooks Milgate and all the readers who made the service so special.

The challenges of church in this time continue into the new year. We recently received notice that
Sprint/Team Mobile is terminating their lease with us, with the last payment made in March. You
may or may not know that for many years we have received significant income from the lease of our
bell tower to two cell phone companies, Team Mobile being the highest paying. Our other tenant,
AT&T is looking to renegotiate the lease agreement to a lower rate. The loss of the Team Mobile
contract means the loss of over $50,000 per year, which is about a third of our spending budget.
Other sources of income are pledges and donations, building rentals, investment growth and interest
income, and fundraising activities.

We anticipate that we will be able to meet our budgeted expenses through the program year that
ends on May 31, but will need to make some decisions as we plan for the 2022-23 program year. Is
there a way to increase our income in other areas? Do we want to consider cost-cutting measures?
Do we want to draw from our savings / investment money? In addition to these practical
considerations, we must address the emotional impact of this challenge to our viability. It is
important to come together to share and support one another in our fears and hopes and grief.

We already began to discuss our future viability in terms of membership, leadership, mission and
relevancy in the community. The challenge to our financial viability makes our work a little more
urgent, but we were already facing hard challenges. I believe that with God’s guidance and our
willingness to listen for the movement of the Spirit, explore options and new ideas, and work
together, we will meet the challenges faithfully. The long-term outcome may not be what we imagine
or hope for, but can we trust that God is using us as bearers of the Good News? I think that we can,
and that our best hope is in building and keeping strong relationships with each other and with our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Please come to the all-church meeting on Sunday, Feb. 13 after worship
to join in the initial discussion. Zoom link is available for those not comfortable gathering in-person.

How apropos that the timing of this challenge overlaps with the season of Lent. We will be entering
the wilderness, but we do not enter alone. Jesus led the way, and we travel together, one body. May
it be so.
Pastor Doreen

Super Saturday (on-line)

Join hundreds of delegates, pastors and lay leaders from all over Connecticut,
Massachusetts and Rhode Island for a day of VIRTUAL worship and workshops.
Saturday, March 19 from 9 – 3. The theme is: A Future With Hope: Relevant,
Prophetic and Transformative and the keynote speaker is Rev. Sarah Drummond,writer of several books on ministerial leadership.

See the Southern New England Conference website (www.sneucc.org) for information about workshops offered and
to register, or contact Pastor Doreen for a flyer. You can sign for as few as 1 and as
many as 3 workshops. There is money in the budget to pay the way for your
participation. Registration deadline March 13.

Coping with Loss Group

Meets the first and third Tuesday each month at 7 p.m.

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It is an on-going, open group, which means people can come any
time with no commitment required. There is no fee for the group. We meet in the Pastor’s study. If you are interested or
know someone who might be, please contact Pastor Doreen at 978-846-6498 or pastorfccleicester@verizon.net

Fair Update

A heart felt Thank You to All who worked so hard to make the 2021 Strawberry Hill
Fair such a Huge success. For the first time in over a decade our Day of Fair
proceeds were over $4000 and our Grand Total is $5278.50

 

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Woman’s Association

• The Woman’s Association will be meeting on February 2 at 12 noon in Russell Hall. Following the business
meeting there will be a pound auction.
• The March meeting will be on March 2 and in addition to our business meeting a tour of the Swan Tavern is
planned.

In Our Prayers

Never underestimate the power of prayer.

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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 those lost to Covid, those that grieve, and those recuperating as we enter our third year of pandemic
– For the Church and our church as so many face downsizing or other significant and difficult changes.