This Week
Wednesday, December 5
  • 7:15pm Choir Rehearsal

Thursday, December 6
  • 4:30pm Women's Bible Study in Parish Hall Library
  • 7:00pm Housatonics

Friday, December 7
  • 7:45pm Men's Bible Study
  • 4:00pm Youth Group baking in kitchen
  • 6:00pm Bell Choir in Norfolk

Saturday, December 8
  • 4:00pm The Messiah Christmas Concert in Norfolk UCC Church

Sunday, December 9
  • 9:00am Mindfulness Meditation at the Scoville Memorial Library
  • 10:00am Second Sunday of Advent Worship with Baptism, Choir, Sunday School, Youth Discussion Group and Nursery Care
  • 3:00pm The Messiah Christmas Concert in The Meeting House

Monday, December 10
  • 11:30am Salisbury Duplicate Bridge Group
  • 5:30-6:30pm Bereavement Group

Tuesday, December 11
  • 5:15pm Bell Choir Rehearsal
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From Pastor Diane
Ahh, December
What a beautiful month.
Evergreens abound, bright lights shine, red ribbons bring color to the winter landscape.
Our season of anticipation begins.
Advent – a time of waiting; a time of anticipation; excitement for the possibilities ahead.
Parties, presents, concerts…much ado about something!
That something is the birth of Jesus, our Christ, our Savior. 

Click to read... The Pastor Page
Transition News
Another week closer to Christmas. Another week closer to our transition. Maybe it has to do with my daughter expecting her third child in mid- January but I had the funny image of us all awaiting a birth. Well – we are. But I’m not referring to the birth of Jesus. I am referring to our transition.

Last week our team felt sure that we were going to be getting visibly closer to our goal of finding an interim pastor. But this week we find ourselves still waiting, and breathing - deep breaths. Perhaps we are feeling labor pains? Soon. This will be happening real soon. But it hasn’t happened yet. And so we must wait.

In the meantime, the deacons are beginning to gather names of people as candidates for the settled pastor search committee. The challenge will be to put together a group with a fair representation of our church demographics. Please search your hearts to see if YOU might be just the person to represent who you are in our church. Please let us know – if you are interested, or if you want to nominate someone else.

One easy way to get us a message to us is through our brand new “Transition Box”. In the Parish Hall will be a box where you can leave notes and questions for the transition team. We will do our best to answer them/tend to them as best we can and as soon as possible.

And lastly – how about that gorilla in the room??? Diane’s last service is January 13 th . After the service we will have a comfort food pot luck and a celebration of some type. Please get this on your calendars and save the date. Cynthia LaPier is spearheading this effort. If you think of something special that we should be doing for Diane – please let Cynthia know.

2 Thess. 3:5: And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.

Waiting patiently,
Karin Noyes – for the team.


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UCC Transition Protocol: www.ucc.org/ministers_search-and-call
Don't Forget to Turn in Your Pledge Card
Please mail in your pledge card, or drop it in the offering plate during Worship.

If you need a new pledge card, you can pick one up at church or print one here:   Pledge Card

You can also pledge online! Click for our secure site:
When Giving Is All We Have
Alberto Rios, 1952
One river gives
Its journey to the next.

We give because someone gave to us.
We give because nobody gave to us.

We give because giving has changed us.
We give because giving could have changed us.

We have been better for it,
We have been wounded by it—

Giving has many faces: It is loud and quiet,
Big, though small, diamond in wood-nails.

Its story is old, the plot worn and the pages too,
But we read this book, anyway, over and again:

Giving is, first and every time, hand to hand,
Mine to yours, yours to mine.

You gave me blue and I gave you yellow.
Together we are simple green. You gave me

What you did not have, and I gave you
What I had to give—together, we made

Something greater from the difference
WORSHIP NOTES
Sermon & Readings
This Sunday, December 9, Pastor Diane's Sermon will be "I've Got Peace".

Readings:
Luke 1:68-79
Malachi 3:1-4
Luke 3:1-6
From Barbara Collins, Director of Religious Education

This Sunday, December 9, is the Second Sunday of Advent. There will be Nursery Care (birth-age 4) and Sunday School (age 4 - Grade 5). Thanks to Stephanie Tierney for helping in the Nursery and Linda Estabrook for helping in the Sunday School last week. The Youth Discussion Group will meet and prepare Coffee Hour. 
Youth Discussion Group
Erin Swett, LCSW, and Jen Surdam lead our Youth Discussion Group on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of every month. All youth grades 6-12 are invited to participate! This Sunday, December 9, our Youth Discussion Group will be preparing and offering coffee hour.
From Jack Bowman, Minister of Music
This Sunday Jennifer Oberto is singing Et exsultavit spiritus meus, the famous soprano aria from Bach’s Magnificat, In this Advent cantata, Jesus’ mother Mary sings: “My spirit rejoices; you are my inspiration.”

Return Sunday afternoon at 3:00 pm for our annual Christmas Concert. A chorus of 50 singers from our church, Norfolk and the area are joined by four faculty soloists from the Western Connecticut State University Music Department, and members of the Salisbury Sinfonietta to present the Christmas section of Handel’s most famous oratorio Messiah.
OPPORTUNITIES
Save the Date!
On Sunday, January 13, we will have a very special “Service of Farewell” Worship Service to celebrate Pastor Diane’s ministry and mark her final Worship Service with us. The Rev. Rhonda Myers will represent the Litchfield North Association as part of the service.
Immediately following Worship, we will have an all-church farewell pot-luck luncheon. 
Details of the potluck lunch will be forthcoming.
We hope you will mark your calendar for this very special service of gratitude for Pastor Diane, in honor of all she has done for our church and the many ways she has touched each of our lives.
Daily Devotionals for December
dailydevotional@ucc : daily wisdom from the United Church of Christ

http://d365.org/devotions/peace-in-the-changing : written for young people, but appropriate for all.

henrinouwen.org : a perennial favorite – words of wisdom from Henri Nouwen.

commar@goshen.edu : Advent reflections written by Goshen College students and faculty

progressiverenewal.org : Daily meditation from Cameron Trimble, Director of the Center for Progressive Renewal 
Poinsettia Dedications
If you would like to dedicate a poinsettia in honor of or in memory of your loved one, please call the church office or pick up a dedication form at church. Plants are $15 each and will decorate our sanctuary. Deadline for dedications is Friday, December 14.

You can dedicate a poinsettia using our secure online donation site: SCC Donations/Dedications or you may also print a form here: Dedicate a Poinsettia
From the Deacons

A Christmas Carol : A Message of Christian Responsibility and
Good Cheer, submitted by Mary B. O’Neill
One of my longstanding Christmas traditions each holiday season is to read Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol or watch one of its various television versions. My favorites? Gotta be Patrick Stewart or Mr. Magoo as Scrooge.
I love the tale’s theme of how we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper. We are responsible for each other—and not just at Christmastime, but the whole year long. On his nighttime visit to Scrooge, the melancholy ghost of Jacob Marley states,
“Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”
Despite the current rhetoric of divisiveness, there is more that unites us than divides us, and Christmastime is the perfect time of year to remember that. The Christmas spirit is so necessary these days and we must make it intentional and pervasive. Scrooge’s nephew Fred states it perfectly:
I have always thought of Christmastime… as a good time: a kind forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.
It’s easy to see the difference and make the case why we’re so special. It’s harder to see how alike we are. We all share the need for love, safety, acceptance, and freedom from want. Take advantage of the gift of giving of ourselves—now and throughout the year. By giving to others and of ourselves we can embrace their humanity, and ours.
If you’re looking for a way to feel connected to others and open your hearts, our very own Christian Action Committee has thoughtfully created opportunities to connect those in need, those fellow passengers to the grave.
And God bless us, Everyone.
Read more about A Christmas Carol:
Collection for the Astor House
Christian Action is already looking ahead to Christmas! In addition to the Giving Trees which will be set up in the sanctuary December 2 nd, this year we will be assisting the Astor House in Millerton. Astor Services for Children & Families is a community based, non-profit organization that provides children’s mental health services, child welfare services, and early childhood development programs. Astor provides support for pre-schoolers, children with behavioral and emotional health problems, children at risk of placement in foster care and families that need assistance in developing the skills necessary to raise their children in an environment filled with increasing challenges. Currently, they serve 33 families.
Astor has told us that the most needed and appreciated items for their clients are very basic: toilet paper, paper towel, bar soap, feminine products, diapers, xmas wrapping paper. So Christian Action will be collecting such donations beginning immediately, to deliver to Astor House in time for their Christmas Open Collection evening where clients come and are able to choose their own necessary items.
Please bring donations to the Church hallway and place in the painted bench. Deadline for Donations is December 16.
Giving Tree
The Christian Action committee has set up the Giving Tree to support Women’s Support Services in Sharon, CT. The tree will be up in the sanctuary from December 1-16 th. Ornaments will be for various gift cards and the like for the WSS staff to be able to lend additional client support in times of individual need.  Ornaments should be returned with the donations and placed in the box by the tree – DEADLINE DECEMBER 16 TH .
Bible Study
Men's Ecumenical Bible Study meets on   Fridays 7:45am. All men are welcome.

Women's Bible Study meets on Thursdays at 4:30pm in the Parish Hall Library. They are studying scripture associated with Handel's Messiah. All women are welcome, no previous experience necessary.
The Corner Food Pantry
We have an ongoing collection for The Corner Food Pantry. Please place your donations in the bins located in the vestibule or the Library Street hallway.

Beginning in January, we will have a quarterly collection during Worship.
STAYING IN TOUCH
Church Office Hours
Pastor Diane's office hours are Monday -Thursday 9:00-5:00 or by appointment.

Kathy Wiggins, Administrative Assistant, is in the office Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30-3:30.

Melissa Adam, Financial and Communications Assistant, is in the office Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:00-2:00.
Please contact the office if you would like to add a name to the prayer list. Names may be added at any time by calling the office 860-435-2442 or emailing kwigginsscc@gmail.com . Please make sure you have permission from someone to add their name to this public list.


Please take a moment to visit our website:
IN THE COMMUNITY
Support for Hispañola Health Partners
Every time you buy something at Amazon, go to  smile.com  (no need to reregister your information) and sign up Hispañola Health Partners as your designated charity.  We will receive .5% of the purchase price.... 
In Remembrance of Sandy Hook
There will be a community gathering and candlelight vigil at 6:00pm on Saturday, December 15 in Salisbury. All are welcome. Click here for flyer
Reflection by the Reverend Dr. Michael Piazza
Liberating Word: Developing a Thick Skin

"America's Housing Crisis" Presentation
Chris Estes (son of Duane Estes) will speak on "America's Housing Crisis" On Friday, December 7, 2018 at 7:30pm at the Hotchkiss School. This event is sponsored by The Salisbury Forum. Click here to learn more
⭐️  You can  VOLUNTEER  at the  Simply Smiles Home for Children in  Oaxaca, Mexico!   ⭐️
Next week-long volunteer opportunities available:
  • January 12-19, 2019
  • January 19-26, 2019
The Congregational Church of Salisbury, United Church of Christ
125 Main Street, PO Box 392, Salisbury, CT 06068
 Phone (860) 435-2442 
 email: salisburyucc@gmail.com