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Newsletter of Barrington Congregational Church United Church of Christ
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Be sure you get to see ALL of the eBridge.
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Office open Mon - Fri, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm & 1:30 - 4:30 pm, unless otherwise noted
Thurs, Dec 6
3 - 5 pm Community Office Hours, The Coffee Depot
6 - 7:30 pm NAMI Family Support Group, Room 6
Fri, Dec 7
Brendan on call for pastoral emergencies
Sun, Dec 9 Second Sunday of Advent
9 am Renewal Group, Library
10 am Worship Service, Church School
11:20 am - 12:30 pm SPRT meeting, Dale's Office
Mon, Dec 10
11 am Lay Visitation meeting, Library
7 pm Mindful Monday with Advent Candle Lighting at 7:50 pm, Meditation Room
Tues, Dec 11
11 am Staff meeting
7 pm Church Council, Room 6
Wed, Dec 12
7:30 -9 pm Dress Rehearsal for the Christmas Cantata, Vestry
Thurs, Dec 13
Noon - 3 pm Office Closed
(Staff Christmas Lunch)
3 - 5 pm Community Office Hours with Brendan, The Coffee Depot in Warren
Fri, Dec 14
Dale on call for pastoral emergencies
Sat, Dec 15
9:30 - 11:20 am East Bay Kids Clothes Swap, Fellowship Hall
2:45 pm BCCUCC Volunteers leave for Soup Kitchen in Pawtucket
7:30 pm Barrington High School Jazz Band Holiday Concert, Sanctuary
Sun, Dec 16 Third Sunday of Advent
BCCUCC Family Christmas Spectacular!
10 am Worship Service for All Ages, with Cantata from the choir, Nursery Care only
After Worship - Cookies, Crafts and Cocoa at Coffee Hour!
11:30 am - 1:30 pm Youth Group go Caroling then have a 'White Elephant' gift swap
Mon, Dec 17
11 am Bereavement Group, Library
7 - 8 pm Mindful Monday with Advent Candle Lighting at 7:50 pm, Meditation Room
Tues, Dec 18
11 am Staff meeting
11:30 am Book Group, The Coffee Depot in Warren
Wed, Dec 19
Deadline for eBridge
2 pm Communion Service at Atria Senior Living
7:30 - 9 pm Choir rehearsal, Vestry
Thurs, Dec 20
Noon Women's Faith Group Christmas Lunch, Trafford's Restaurant
3 - 5 pm Community Office Hours, The Coffee Depot
Fri, Dec 21
Brendan on call for pastoral emergencies
Sun, Dec 23 Fourth Sunday of Advent
UCC's Christmas Fund Offering
10 am Worship Service, Children prepare for Pageant during Church School time
11:30 am - 12:45 pm Pageant Rehearsal, Sanctuary
Mon, Dec 24 Christmas Eve
Office Closed
6 pm Family Service with Pageant, Sanctuary
10 pm Traditional Service of Lessons and Carols, Sanctuary
Tues, Dec 25 Christmas Day
Office Closed
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The deadline for information to be included in the next eBridge is
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A message from the Stewardship Team
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Thank you to the 107 households who have completed a Giving Card with their financial commitment to support BCCUCC in 2019. If you haven’t yet done so and intend to return a Giving Card for 2019, please do so a.s.a.p. Our Finance Team and Church Council are working to finalize the 2019 budget and many of their decisions are based on these financial commitments. If you need a new Giving Card they are available from the rack outside the office and from the Vestry table. Completed cards may be mailed to the church office or placed in the offering plate. You may also email our Financial Secretary, Pat Stoddard at
pat@bccucc.org
with your financial commitment for 2019, and she will confirm receipt of your email and the amount. Thank you.
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'Tis the season.... and there are some deadlines!
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Mission and Justice's "Giving Tree" will be in Fellowship Hall thru Sunday, December 16th
with envelopes for your donations of various amounts to apply to gift cards to supermarkets, pharmacies, gas stations, utilities, etc. The gift cards will be given to the Women's Resource Center to help families there afford the necessities, and also allow the women to have money to purchase gifts for their families and themselves.
Donations need to be made by Sunday, December 16th
.
Contact Nancy Arena at
nancy.arena@outlook.com
or 246-0212 for more information or with questions.
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The Mitten Tree is up in the narthex to receive your donations of warm hats, gloves, scarves, and mittens etc. - both purchased and hand-made - for children, youth, and adults of all sizes. This year items on the mitten tree will be donated to Amos House and also to Loaves and Fishes RI.
Donations may be made through December 23rd.
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Chancel Fund donations requested
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Every Christmas we invite the congregation to make donations to the Chancel Fund which is used to pay for the plants that decorated the sanctuary at Christmas, as well as the plants that are delivered by the Deacons to our homebound and sick. A dedication of your choice is included in the bulletins for the Christmas Eve services.
Deadline for donations is Monday, December 17th.
More information and donation form.
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A message from Dale and Brendan…
“During the weeks of Advent you will find in the pew racks an envelope marked “Staff Christmas Gift.” We are blessed to have wonderful people working here who give more hours to our church than expected or are compensated for. We therefore invite you to join with us in giving them a gift during these holidays. Your gifts will be divided up among six different people; Christine and Pat in the office, Andrea our CE Coordinator, Marina at our organ, and Paul & John on the custodial staff. Each staff person will receive this gift according to the number of hours they work. Thank you ahead of time for your generosity.”
Checks should be made payable to 'BCCUCC' and mark the memo line 'Staff Gift'. They can be put in the offering plate or sent directly to the church office. Thank you.
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Shop thru AmazonSmile and make money for our church!
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As you do your holiday shopping don't forget that when you shop online at Amazon, if you log in thru AmazonSmile, every eligible purchase you make will raise 0.5% of the purchase price for our church, To learn more visit
http://smile.amazon.com and choose 'Barrington Congregational Church' as your charitable organization. Or
click on this link to go there directly.
Each quarter the church receives a donation from Amazon and all you have to do is start your shopping at AmazonSmile. Thanks.
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For I was hungry and you gave me food...... I was naked and you gave me clothing"
Matthew 25:35
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Soup Kitchen - extra help needed
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Membership and Finance teams are responsible for the Soup Kitchen on
Saturday, December 15th. If you are able to help by donating or helping to serve, we would appreciate it. All food donations should be marked "12/15/18 Soup Kitchen" and left in the BCC kitchen
by 2:30 pm on Sat, Dec 15th. Servers should be at BCC UCC by 2:45 pm that day to retrieve all soup kitchen foods and be at the Park Place Church by 3:15 pm. We will assemble the sandwiches and prepare the tables and plates at the Soup Kitchen. We should be finished and ready to return to BCC UCC by 4:45-5:00 pm.
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Loaves and Fishes Truck to go out the day after Christmas!
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We will be taking out the Loaves and Fishes RI truck to Trinity Methodist Church and Crossroads in Providence on
Wednesday, December 26th. Prep starts in the kitchen around 4:30 pm to prepare food and load the truck. All ages are welcome to help with food prep, but we ask that those going out on the truck be at least age 16. Donations of specific food and clothing items are requested. To volunteer to donate items, help with prep or go out on the truck visit
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050a4aacae2aa75-mobile3. Please remember to indicate the quantity of a food item you are able to donate.
For more information, questions, or if you are unable to sign up on line to donate items or help with prep etc, please contact Liz White (401-245-0285 or lizzyw2@aol.com) or Phyllis Buckley (401-742-7320 or pbuckley6@cox.net). If you are interested in helping with shopping or being a driver please contact one of them at the links above. Thank you for your continuing supporting of this important outreach ministry.
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Warm clothing needed for Loaves and Fishes RI
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Our church will be sponsoring another Loaves and Fishes RI truck run on December 26th (see above). In preparation we are collecting warm clothing to give out to those in need and so are seeking donations of new or gently used items for adult men and women. These includes hats, gloves, scarves, socks, sweatshirts, sweatpants etc. There is a collection bin on the stage in Fellowship Hall for your donations. Thank you.
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'From the River's Edge' - The Pastors' Blog
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O, Worship the Migrant!
by Rev. Dale Azevedo, Sr. Minister - December 1, 2018 "Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod...
Read more
www.bccucc.org
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If you missed reading any earlier posts you can find them all on the church website
at this link. There are also links to the most recent ones from the homepage of our church website
www.bccucc.org
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BCCUCC Family Christmas Spectacular!
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BCCUCC Family Christmas Spectacular!
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On Sunday, December 16th, the Barrington Congregational Church, UCC, will host its Family Christmas Spectacular!
The festivities begin with a special service at
10:00 AM, where the BCCUCC choir, along with special musical guests, will present
Joy! A Gospel Christmas
, by Joel Raney. This upbeat and powerful telling of the Christmas story delights audiences with Christmas carols like you’ve never heard before interspersed with scripture readings on the theme of joy. People of all ages are welcome to stay in worship and enjoy the production, but childcare and special children’s activities are available for those who need to get their wiggles out.
At
11:00 AM, everyone is invited to retire to our Fellowship Hall for
cookies, crafts, and hot cocoa! Listen to your favorite carols, enjoy the Christmas decorations, and nibble on holiday favorites while making family crafts that you can take home!
The whole community is welcome to share in this special day to help get us all in the Christmas spirit.
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Candle Lighters and Readers needed
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Advent Candle Lighters needed
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Volunteers are needed to read the short liturgy and light the Advent Candles on
Sundays, December 16th and 23rd at the 10 am service, and on
Christmas Eve at the 6 pm and 10 pm services. Volunteers should contact Rev. Dale Azevedo at (401) 246-0111 x 103 or
dale@bccucc.org Individuals, couples or families are invited to do this.
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Readers needed for Christmas Eve 10 pm service
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Volunteers are needed to read scripture at the 10 pm Christmas Eve Service of Lessons and Carols. If interested, contact Rev. Dale Azevedo at (401) 246-0111 x 103 or
dale@bccucc.org
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Pageant at 6 pm Christmas Eve Service
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Volunteers needed - Casting Call and Rehearsal Schedule!
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19 volunteers are needed to make the pageant come to life! Those with experience are especially encouraged to return. If you’re interested in either operating a puppet or having a speaking role, please contact Brendan
by Monday, December 10th at
brendan@bccucc.org
For the full list of parts (and age requirements)
click here.
A full rehearsal with the puppets and other cast members will take place after church on
Sunday, December 23rd
from 11:30-12:45. All those operating a puppet along with participants with speaking/singing roles need to be able to attend this rehearsal and will also need to come to a final run through of the pageant beginning
promptly at 5 pm on Christmas Eve.
Children participating in the pageant will rehearse a song and make a craft
during church school on Sunday, December 23rd. These children should be at church with their families
by 5:45 pm on Christmas Eve.
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Christmas Eve 6 pm service - please come in costume!
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We again want to include the whole congregation in this year's pageant. Adults and children of all ages who plan to attend the 6 pm Christmas Eve service have the option to come dressed as their favorite nativity character. Would you like to be Mary or Joseph? Maybe a donkey or sheep? Or perhaps an angel, a shepherd or a wise man? Please make a costume during advent then wear it to the pageant to be part of our living nativity with the puppets!
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There's lots happening at BCCUCC!
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NAMI RI Family Support Group
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NAMI RI (
National Alliance on Mental Illness
) holds a monthly support group at our church for family members of people with mental illness. Open to anyone in the community the next meeting is
Thursday, December 6th
from 6 – 7:30 pm in Room 6. For more info contact
info@namirhodeisland.org
or call (401) 331-3060.
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Mindful Mondays with Advent Candle lighting
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During Advent Brendan is incorporating the lighting of Advent candles into “Mindful Mondays.”
Every Monday
at 7:50 pm we will read an Advent scripture, a psalm, and light a candle on the Advent wreath in Room 8 (the Meditation Room.) You are welcome to come for the full hour (7 – 8 pm) or if you’d simply like to join in for the lighting of the candles you are welcome to do so at 7:50 pm. Please respect the quiet, contemplative space as the intention is to hold space to honor the sacred and find a moment of peace together amidst the busyness of the season.
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Community Office Hours are held every
Thursday afternoon
from
3–5 pm
at
The Coffee Depot
, 501 Main Street, Warren. Anyone from the church or community is welcome to stop by and chat with Brendan in this more informal setting.
All are welcome.
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East Bay Kids Clothing Swap
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Held on the 3rd Saturday of each month, the next one is
Saturday, December 15th
from 9:30 - 11:30 am in Fellowship Hall. The swap is a place to trade in clean (non-stained) clothes and shoes, and get clothes the next size up for newborn to age 12 years old. Open to the community, there’s a $3-$5 donation at the door but no one will be turned away. Learn more at
https://www.facebook.com/EastBayKidsClothesSwap
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The Barrington High School Jazz Band will give a concert of holiday music in our sanctuary on
Saturday, December 15th at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $5 and are available at the door. All proceeds support the BHS Jazz Band and the 2019 BCCUCC Youth Service Trip. Come listen to some great music from a group of very talented young musicians, while supporting our youth.
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BCCUCC's Family Christmas Spectacular!
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On
Sunday, December 16th at 10 am come hear the choir, together with several guest musicians, sing an upbeat cantata during the service, then go to Fellowship Hall for cookies, crafts and cocoa! All are invited.
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Youth Group Caroling and Christmas Party
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The youth group (for anyone in Grades 6-12) will meet on
Sunday, December 16th
after church, following the “Family Christmas Spectacular” (see above). After refreshments they will gather in Room 9 and depart for caroling at 12 pm to a couple of nursing homes in the area. When they return from caroling they'll have their own party with a “white elephant” gift exchange where everyone brings a repurposed gift to swap. Maybe you were given a gift in the past that you would like to re-gift. Maybe you have something you like but would be willing to offer to someone else as a Christmas gift. Come celebrate the Christmas season together! Christmas cookies will be provided!
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The group next meets on
Monday, December 17th
at 11 am in the library. The group is open to anyone who has lost a loved one at any time, and is open to the community. For more info, contact the f
acilitator, Betsy Brenner at
jsbeeb@aol.com
or 245-8031.
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Next meets at the Coffee Depot, 501 Main Street, Warren, on
Tuesday, December 18th
at 11:30 am, to discuss
Best Cook in the World
by Rick Bragg:
Heartfelt, often hilarious stories from an Alabama kitchen, a place from which issue wondrous remembrances and wondrous foods alike.
For more information about the group contact Helen Schall
helenschall@hotmail.com
or
245-4724. All are welcome!
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Women's Faith Group Christmas Lunch
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The group next meets on
Thursday, December 20th
at Noon at Trafford's restaurant in Warren for their Annual Christmas Lunch. Those wishing to attend should RSVP to Jane Tonn at
289-2349 or
jtonn2@cox.net, or to the church office at 246-0111 or
office@bccucc.org
by Tuesday, December 18th.
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Christmas Eve Worship Services
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Christmas Eve services will be held in the sanctuary at
6 pm and
10 pm. The 6 pm service will be a Family Service that includes a Pageant. The 10 pm service will be a traditional service of Lessons and Carols with music from the choir and handbells. We hope you can join us.
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Knitting for Others Group
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The group next meets on
Tuesday, January 8th
from 7-9 pm at the home of Marion Fodor, 12 Katie Drive, Warren.
The group meets monthly, makes a variety of different items to be given away (prayer shawls, preemie hats, etc), and can provide patterns and help. All knitters/crocheters are welcome, especially new faces!
Please RSVP to Marion to let her know if you'll be attending at
smfodor@cox.net
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To learn more about the group, c
ontact Mary Lou Slicker at 245-0085 or
rislick@fullchannel.net.
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The RIUCC Haitian Task Force is planning a trip to Haiti from J
anuary 9th – 15th, 2019
. Suzanne Swanson will be both coordinating and going. She emailed that the cost of flights has gone down. She will make reservations at the Auberge Hotel. Anyone interested can call Trish Sylvester at (401) 297-0390 or email Suzanne at
suzanneswanson12@yahoo.com
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Temple Habonim thanks us for the hearts
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Following the murders at a synagogue in Pittsburgh on October 27th, the BCCUCC congregation was invited to decorate hearts with messages of support for our local synagoue, Temple Habonim, with whom we've had a long friendship. The congregation responded and 100 hearts were taken to the Temple and displayed on a wall there. An article about this was on the
front page of their latest bulletin. Many thanks to everyone who decorated a heart - it meant a lot to our Jewish neighbors.
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Many thanks to the members of the Membership Team and the Women's Faith Group who hosted the 2018 Senior Luncheon held earlier this week. Thanks also to Blounts Fine Foods for donating the soups. After the meal there was a sing-a-long of Christmas songs and carols to get everyone in the holiday spirit!
See photos
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Deadline for 2018 Reimbursable Expenses
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The end of our fiscal period is December 31st. If you have any invoices or expenses that you need to be reimbursed for, please fill out vouchers (which must be signed by the leader of your ministry team) and send them to the church office, with receipts attached,
by Friday, December 14th
. Vouchers are available from a folder on Pat’s desk in the church office,
or at this link
. Expenses turned in after the deadline will be charged to next year’s budget.
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Giving reminder for tax purposes
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Please note that if you wish any contribution to be recorded as being received by the church in 2018, it
must be in the hands of the office by December 31st, or postmarked by that date.
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Wearing a nametag helps everyone get to know each other, and is also welcoming to newcomers. Please wear your nametag for worship and coffee hour on Sundays. If you need a nametag you can sign up for one in the vestry hallway or at the Welcome Table in Fellowship Hall or
email
the church office. Newly made nametags are placed in the specially labeled basket on the sideboard in the vestry hallway for you to pick up on a Sunday morning.
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Church Calendar is available anytime on-line.
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The church calendar is kept up to date and you can find it at
http://bccucc.view-events.com If you have any meetings or activities planned, please send them to
office@bccucc.org so that they can be added to the calendar. Also please notify the office or any errors or changes. Thank you.
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Sermons available on line
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If you miss church on Sunday or want to hear the sermon again, you can do so at the following link
Sermon Archive.
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Follow the church on Social Media
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On Instagram at
BarringtonUCC
On Facebook at
www.facebook.co/bccucc. Please 'Like' our page as well as 'Like' our individual posts so that our posts continue to be visible both to you and to the wider community. Thank you.
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Help us stay visible on Facebook by 'Liking' our posts
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Hopefully you’ve already ‘Liked’ our church’s Facebook page and see our posts in your newsfeed – if not, you can find us at
www.facebook.com/bccucc
. The way Facebook works, for our page to keep showing up in your newsfeed and for it also to be seen by the wider community, you also need to ‘Like’ individual posts from the church that you see. So please help us keep getting our message out about who we are and what’s happening at BCCUCC by hitting that ‘Like’ button for the posts that you see and like. Thank you.
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Feedback wanted:
We hope you enjoy reading the eBridge and find it informative. Your feedback/comments/suggestions (good and bad!) are always welcome.
Email them to Christine
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