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First Congregational Church of Hamilton
Exalting His Glory
Enjoying His Fellowship
Proclaiming His Name
June 2017 Newsletter |
June is here! Among other things, this means that mid-month we will transition to our summer worship service in Heritage Hall. Our 9:30 a.m. summer service begins on Sunday, June 18. It is always a joy for us all to worship together in a single service as a church family.
Before then, however, on Sunday June 11, we receive and welcome new members into our church family at the 11:00 a.m. service after which we'll enjoy fellowship at our church picnic. This year the June picnic is hosted and served by our Nassau and Portland summer mission teams. Please be sure to look at the additional information in this newsletter as to how we can assist them in reaching their financial needs for the trip.
The Lord is at work here at FCCH and it is exciting to sense His presence and guidance! Thanks for being part of this vibrant community of Christ as we follow the Lord and seek
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Photo ~ Julie Holladay
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to impact the Northshore and beyond in His name and power.
Many blessings to you all,
Pastor Dori
Dorington Little
Senior Pastor
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Summer Worship Begins June 18
Beginning June 18 through September 3 there will be one combined worship service at
9:30 a.m. held in Heritage Hall. The Crawler and Toddler nurseries will be open for children newborn through 36 months and Little People's Church for children age 3 years through those entering first grade. God's House will not meet in the summer.
Parking Reminder: The parking lot is reserved for elders and parents with young children.
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Family Promise Summer Sign-ups
Sign-ups are now live for serving with Family Promise this summer at Christ Church in Hamilton! Volunteers are needed to provide meals and help with hosting as well as for overnight stays. While no training is necessary for meal preparation, training is required for those volunteering to host and stay overnight.
A training will be held at FCCH, Saturday, June 17 at 9:00 a.m. in the Café.
Summer 2017 dates with Christ Church:
- Sunday, June 18 - Saturday, July 1
- Sunday, July 23 - Saturday, August 5
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Path Fellowships
Sign up for the next
Path Fellowship
June 4
held at Craig & Kelly Story's home in Ipswich
held at
Fred & LuBeth
Kuemmerle's home in Wenham
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Our shelves are overflowing with lots of new books this spring. The last date the library will be open is June 11 so if you want some summer reading material please come in and check out our offerings.
A gentle reminder: please return any books that you may have to the cart outside the library so others may read them. We will reopen in the fall with some exciting new displays and books from our local authors
and woodworkers!
We are looking for two more people to help in the library on Sundays in the fall. The times needed are: 9:30 to 10:00 a.m. and Noon to 12:30 p.m. If you could volunteer one or two Sunday mornings a month we would love to have you. Duties would involve helping people check out and check in books. Shelving and straightening books would also be helpful.
Thank you for prayerfully considering volunteering in the library. Please see Jane Johnson or email at
jjohnsonlibrary@gmail.com over the summer if you are interested.
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Front Porch Stories thanks Nate Williams, Sarah Kelly,
Tom Marcotte, and Bill Noble for some magical tales!
We can't wait to hear what stories will emerge from
our next group of story tellers.
The next episode is July 29 at 7:00 p.m.!
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Introducing Summer Youth Intern, Ciana Creighton!
On Sunday, May 28 we welcomed graduating Loyola University student, Ciana Creighton. Ciana grew up in New Milford, CT, but has fallen in love with the city of Baltimore, MD--so much so that she'll be returning there in the fall to pursue a Masters of Public Policy at Johns Hopkins University.
Ciana's interest in public policy was fostered in Carmichael Village as she participated in the Nassau trip four times through her high school years (she's pictured above in the village with one of our friends). While studying immigration policy and working for several different government offices throughout her college years, she continued to share valuable insight about policy in the Bahamas, shaping the understanding of teams that came after hers! While at Loyola, one of Ciana's other passions has been singing with the Gospel choir on campus.
Ciana will be involved with contact work, teaching, and ministry planning for high school and middle school students this summer. She will also help to educate our summer teams on the issues confronting refugees and stateless persons, and she'll participate as a leader on the Nassau team. Ciana's joyful expression of faith in Christ and her depth of wisdom make her a wonderful role model to many. She will be a fabulous addition to our staff this summer!
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Summer Explore for Middle Schoolers
Know a current 5th, 6th, or 7th grader who would like to join us for a week of adventure this summer? Invite him or her to sign up
for Explore: a fun-filled week exploring the North Shore and our faith! Half-day explorations include hiking, swimming, mini golf, and more! Explore runs parallel to FCC Hamilton's Vacation Bible School July 10-14, 2017. We meet at First Congregational Church of Hamilton at 8:45 a.m. each morning and return by noon (Friday's exploration will take a bit longer-we will return by 1:00 p.m.) $45 per student covers activities, transportation, and snacks for the week (and scholarships are ava
ilable). Register now to get in on the fun, and invite your friends!
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Milestones
We formally launched our Milestones initiative in September, and corporate worship on
May 21 included both our first Milestone and our last: The
Welcome Milestone
, which culminates in infant dedication or baptism (we offer both) and the
Commission Milestone,
in which we bless our graduating seniors and send them out into the world. (If you weren't in worship and didn't get a prayer guide with our seniors' biographies, please reach out to us at
info@fcchamilton.org
and we'd be glad to send you one.) Particularly if you were in the 11:00 a.m. service, you saw the beauty of the whole Milestones initiative in a single service!
In fact, the month of May was chock full of Milestones around here!
Our 1st graders received their first reader Bibles, which were inscribed with special notes from their parents. That's the
Word Milestone.
At the beginning of the month, we introduced the 5th grade class into middle school at the 5th and 6th Grade Bash where we made pizzas, played Youth Group games, and encouraged them to spend time in God's Word each day! Then we presented them with their new student edition Bibles on a Sunday morning. Soon they'll come to youth group on Wednesday night to see what it's all about. All of that is our Invitation Milestone.
Just last week, 8th Graders were captured by the high school student leaders and welcomed into high school at the 8th Grade Ambush. (Our student leadership team plans and executes this entire night, which is a significant rite of passage in and of itself!) Soon these rising freshmen will be celebrated and encouraged by their middle school leaders at our 8th Grade Honors celebration at Middle School Youth Group June 14. That's the
Affirmation Milestone
, urging them to continue taking their faith seriously as they begin high school.
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Highlights from the Life After 50 Retreat
T
he Life After 50 (LAF) Retreat in NH was a wonderful time of fellowship as captured by the images below. John Szatkowski spoke on Psalm 139: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made.
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Important Dates in June
Thursday, June 1
VBS Prep Session,
9:00 a.m., Café
Saturday, June 3
Men's Breakfast, 8:00 a.m.
Sunday, June 4
Path Fellowships,
Topsfield & Wenham
Youth Mission Trip Meeting
12:00 p.m., Barn
Amy Ketcham/Tekle Kumera
Reception, Café,
12:15 p.m.
Sunday, June 11
New Members' Induction,
11:00 a.m.
Church Picnic, Noon,
Church Lawn
Monday, June 12
VBS Volunteer
Leader Orientation,
7:00 p.m., Café
Saturday, June 17
Family Promise Training,
9:00 a.m., Café
Sunday, June 18
Summer Worship Begins,
9:30 a.m., Heritage Hall
Family Promise
Service Weeks Begin
Wednesday, June 21
Rising 6th Grade Parents
Welcome to Youth Ministry,
7:00 p.m., Chapel
Saturday, June 24
Women's Mentor Workshop,
10:00 a.m., Heritage Hall
Wednesday, June 28
All Church Beach Nights
Begin, 6:00 p.m., Singing Beach,
Manchester by the Sea
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Children's Ministry
VBS Looking to Complete Volunteer Crew Staffing
We are still looking for many VBS volunteers: preschool, recreation, nursery, crafts, elementary, kitchen, registration, group leaders, assistants and floaters, partial or full week. High school and college students, adults and grandparents are invited to serve with us. Don't miss this exciting week!
All-VBS Volunteer Orientation-Monday June 12
Don't miss a minute of the All-VBS Orientation on Monday, June 12 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the Café. This essential training meeting will include presentations of
activities/lessons, music/crafts, rosters, daily schedule, and time to pray for the week and the children we will serve. All volunteers will be asked to complete CORI and Safe Church Policy forms, and have a photo taken. Plan to join us as we gear up for an amazing week!
Rising 6th Grade PARENT Welcome Night
Pastor Chelsea would like to officially welcome
parents of rising 6th graders to the FCCH Youth Ministry on Wednesday, June 21 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. in the Chapel. She will share some resources for parents of soon-to-be middle schoolers and answer your questions about youth group!
Summertime Nursery and LPC Begin Sunday, June 18
Our Nurseries (Crawler and Toddler Rooms) and Summertime Little People's Church (for 3 years-children entering 1st grade in the fall) grow significantly during summer months. Consider serving with us one or two Sundays beginning June 18. MS/ HS, college and seminary students are invited, as well as women, men and grandparents who regularly attend. Your time and care will be rewarded with smiles, laughter and the chance to develop new friendships. Training and screening are provided for all volunteers.
Christine
Christine Hendrickson
Early Childhood Director
Kathy Lindsay
Elementary Children's Director
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Men's Ministry
Men's Breakfast June 3
Our next Men's Ministry Potluck Breakfast is scheduled for Saturday, June 3 at 8:00 a.m. Our speaker will be Dan Szatkowski, a pastor in Cambridge and brother of John Szatkowski. Dan will also be our speaker at our Fall Men's Retreat. Come and get to know him!
Sign up here
Sign up now: Men's Fall Retreat
Our annual Fall Men's Retreat is scheduled for September 22-24, 2017 at the Alton Bay Christian Conference Center in New Hampshire. Pastor Dan Szatkowski will be speaking on
What is Man?
Dan will focus on four big topics from a biblical perspective:
Man's Design, Man's Demise, Man's Deliverance and Man's Destiny.
It will be a great time of worship, fellowship, teaching and relaxing. You won't want to miss it! Sign up here or contact Dave Rox for a brochure, david.rox@gordon.edu
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Missions
Reception for Amy Ketcham and her husband Tekle Kumera!
Amy Ketcham continues to faithfully serve with Rafiki in Ethiopia as one of the program's directors. Last summer, she married Tekle Kumera and on Sunday, June 4, you will have a chance to see them here at church! Please join the Missions Committee in welcoming them following the 11:00 a.m. service at a reception in the Café. Come hear an update on their work with Rafiki and have a chance to get to know Tekle as this is his first visit to our church. Refreshments will be served.
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Women's Ministry
Women's Mentor Workshop "Life-Giving Relationships for Women: A Brain to Pick, a Shoulder to Cry On, and a Kick in the Pants"
Saturday, June 24
10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
FCCH Ministry Center
Cost: $40 before June 5 or $45
$20 high school, college and seminary students
Come join us as Sharon Carlson leads us in a day-long workshop bringing women of all ages together to consider how organic mentoring can help foster life-giving relationships in our church and broader communities. Women will develop an understanding of how mentoring relationships develop, what they entail, and how they are uniquely able to share their lives with other women in real and practical ways. The workshop will be a combination of content presentation, personal reflection, creative activities, discussion, and opportunities for women to connect and get to know each other better. We will also have a time of worship with music provided by the Chick Band.
Fun times at our "Chat and Chew" Salad Supper
On Thursday, May 18 we gathered in Heritage Hall for a fun evening with great food and thought provoking questions to get acquainted with one another. The women from the choir even came at the beginning and the end of this event. Thanks to all who attended and brought so many wonderful dishes.
Summer Something Video Series
For six Tuesday evenings, at 7:00 p.m. beginning July 18, we encourage you to join the discussion as we explore how God takes flawed and imperfect sinners, redeems us, and makes us useful in His kingdom. We will watch
Ann Voskamp's, The Broken Way, DVD series each evening and be led in discussion on the content wth l
eaders
Cece Gough,
Krisie Brown, and
Julie Holladay. You do not need to purchase the book or come every week to enjoy this summer study. We will be meeting in the Chapel behind the sanctuary in the church building.
July 18: How Do We Live This One Broken Life?
July 25: Living Cruciform
August 1: Learning to Receive
August 8: Real Koinonia
August 15: Embracing Inconvenience
August 22: Who We Serve
Contact:
Krisie Brown
Margot Rox
Director of Women's Ministry
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Youth Ministry
2017 Student Mission Trips Dates and Deadlines:
Sunday, June 4 - Trips Meeting (students and leaders)
Sunday, June 11 - Nassau and Portland teams to serve at church picnic
Rising 6th Graders PARENT Welcome Night
Parents of rising 6th graders, join us for coffee and tea in the Chapel on Wednesday,
June 21 from 7:00-8:30 p.m.! We will share some resources for parents of soon-to-be middle schoolers and answer your questions about youth group!
Middle School Explore Sign-ups are now live!
Join us this summer for a fun-filled week exploring the North Shore and our faith! Half-day explorations include hiking, swimming, mini golf, and more! Explore runs parallel to FCC Hamilton's Vacation Bible School July 10-14, 2017. We meet at First Congregational Church of Hamilton at 8:45 each morning and return by noon (Friday's exploration will take a bit longer-we will return by 1:00 p.m.) $45 per student covers activities, transportation, and snacks for the week (and scholarships are available). Register now to get in on the fun, and invite your friends!
Because of Christ,
Youth Pastor
Follow FCCH Youth!
FCCH Youth is on social media! Follow us on Instagram and Twitter at FCCH_Youth for event updates and more!
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This FCCH Newsletter is e-mailed on a monthly basis. If you would like to submit information for inclusion in the next edition, please e-mail Cece Gough at cmgough@fcchamilton.org. |
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