We have been selected yet again by the Town of Burlington to operate the concession stand at Malerbo field on Saturday mornings during the Spring and Fall 2016 BJSA soccer seasons.

The Spring season kicked off on April 23. There are games every Saturday (except for Memorial Day weekend) through June 11 with June 18 as a rain date. 

As Tricia Twomey, Director, Parks and Recreation & Senior Citizen Services for the Town of Burlington said, "As always we are grateful for the valuable service the Fundraising Committee of the Congregational Church offers to our residents".

 

Memorial Day Parade - May 30th

 

Like last year, Fundraising will ask for donations of cold drinks and packaged snacks to sell at the parade, including Popcorn using our popcorn machine!

The Fundraising Committee also would like to purchase small American flags to give to parade viewers to show our support of our country and all who have served it.  Monetary and supply donations will be asked for to keep the expense of this fundraiser at $0.

 

Clothing Drive - October TBD 

As we have in years past, we will conduct a clothing drive on the same day as our October Can & Bottle Drive.  Unfortunately, the owner of the company we have used in the past had an illness late last year that caused him to close his business.

However, he has put his clients in touch with a NJ clothing drive company, Fashion Republic, Inc. whom I have contacted already.  They service CT and will send a truck the the day of the drive.

And they take TOYS and other items like pillows and sometimes even BIKES, as well as what we have always collected - clothes, linens, belts, shoes, pocketbooks.  They pay by the pound too!

For more detailed information, please visit their website for more information on what we can collect.  So, start to put aside all those unwanted clothes, toys and other items and ask friends and relatives to save theirs too for us!

This has the potential to make us thousands of dollars given the extra items this company collects. Please start spreading the word NOW so people can be aware of this and hold onto their items until October.

The Business Committee is asking any available member and friends of the Church to please join us in sprucing up the grounds around the church, the labyrinth and shed areas.

We would like to extend another grateful and HUGE THANK YOU to Supreme Forest Products for offering to generously donate 7 cubic yards of mulch!  It looks great every year!

If you need yard mulch or soil, please shop this generous business and be sure to tell them you are from the Church!

Wear comfortable yard work clothing and some work gloves.  If you can, bring a wheelbarrow, a shovel, a pitchfork, a rake, clippers or anything else you can think of.  It will be put to good use, but be sure to put your name on it!

Plan on beginning at 9 am on Saturday, May 14th and we should be done around 12 noon.  The rain date is the following week, May 21st.

The 5th grade Odyssey of the Mind Team at Har-Bur Middle School won 2nd place at the Connecticut State Competition a couple of weeks ago!

With the win comes the opportunity to compete in the World Odyssey of the Mind Competition in Ames, Iowa at the University of Iowa at the end of May.

While the team, coaches and parents are really excited for this opportunity, they are finding that getting 6 kids, 2 coaches and some parents to Iowa is a bit expensive.

They have reached out to the local community for help by asking those that are inspired by these kids to help out by making any donation, large or small. It all adds up and they really appreciate your help! 

This will be an amazing opportunity for our kids to mix and mingle with children from all around the globe!

If you are interested, go to their GoFundMe page to learn a lot more about this competition, how rare this is for any team and to celebrate educational achievement.  Thanks for any support or shares you can give!

 

We have been awarded $13,000!!!  We applied for $15,000 for "Part 1" of our painting project.  Due to how the grant program works, we will be submitting 3 grant applications (including this one) in total over the course of the next year, requesting grants of 50% of our total cost.

Our total project cost is $80,000, but for the CT Trust grant program we have 3 specific projects:

• Part 1 - Steeple Restoration ($30,000)
• Part 2 - Exterior Repair & Painting ($30,000)
• Part 3 - Chapel Room ceiling painting and window repair ($20,000).

The CT Trust M&R Grant program is a historic preservation technical assistance program of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, in partnership with and funding from, the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office, Department of Economic and Community Development, through the Community Investment Act.

Our state representative, John Piscopo, authored a letter, in conjunction with our Senator Beth Bye, in support of our application (click here to see it).  Rep. Piscopo's office has also drafted a press release announcing our award and expressing his support of our Church and preservation efforts.

 

Ann Jurkiewicz is also working on an article for the Valley Press publicizing our award and our efforts to repair and preserve our precious church!

 

We are currently waiting for the next grant period to open, which is expected sometime this Spring, and  the next grant period after that is expected in the Fall.

Be sure to check out the Our Church Family  page on our website for even more details on today's CCB news of importance:

• Save the Date - October 1st - The Music Committee will be holding their 2nd Church Organ Fundraiser!  It was so much fun last time, we're doing it again at the New England Carousel Museum with The Chaparrals once again headlining!  Stay tuned for more information.
• Throughout the year, there are many people in our Congregation or community who need assistance.  If you have wanted to help prepare a meal or fulfill a task, but don't know who or how to help, then drop an email to our Deacons and they will be in touch when the need arises.