|
|
The bi-weekly newsletter of Barrington Congregational Church, United Church of Christ. |
|
|
|
|
|
Church Office is CLOSED until further notice.
There will be no in-person worship services at church until further notice and both buildings remain closed, so please do not enter.
Sat, Sept 12
9:30 am Parking Lot Prayers, Commuter Parking Lot (please arrive early)
Sun, Sept 13 Open Doors Sunday
After Worship - Zoom Coffee Hour starts up again
Mon, Sept 14
3 pm Barrington Interfaith Partners meet via Zoom
Tues, Sept 15
9:30 am Book Group meets via Zoom
11 am Staff meeting via Zoom
2 pm Worship Tech Team meeting via Zoom
3:30 pm Vision 2020 meeting via Zoom
7 pm Deacons meeting via Zoom
Wed, Sept 16
11 am Lay Visitation Group meets via Zoom
7 pm Mission and Justice Team meeting via Zoom
Sat, Sept 19
Noon Buildings and Grounds Team meet on the Terrace
Sun, Sept 20
8:30 am CEYM meeting via Zoom
After Worship Coffee Hour via Zoom
11:30 am Small, outdoor in-person coffee hour at member's home
11:30 am Confirmation Class for '19-'20 Confirmands
Mon, Sept 21
6 - 6:30 pm Meditative Taize Prayer Service, Terrace
Tues, Sept 22
11 am Staff meeting via Zoom
2 pm Worship Technology Team meet via Zoom
Wed, Sept 23
Noon Deadline for the next eBridge
7 - 8 pm Membership Team meeting via Zoom
Thurs, Sept 24
3 - 6 pm Blood Drive, Fellowship Hall
Sat, Sept 26
8:30 am - 12:30 pm SNEUCC Annual Meeting via Zoom
Sun, Sept 27 Deacons Sunday
9 am Training for Church School Volunteers via Zoom
After Worship Coffee Hour via Zoom
11:30 am Confirmation Orientation for Confirmands and their parents, Terrace
|
|
Reminder about 'Parking Lot Prayers' |
|
'Parking Lot Prayers' is Saturday - it's not too late to sign up! |
Do you miss seeing everyone? Looking for a chance to gather with your church friends in a SAFE way? On Saturday, September 12th, we are inviting the whole church family to gather for a short time of sharing and prayers in the church parking lot. Although the whole church community is invited, we can only have 40 cars in attendance. We have a good number of cars signed up, but there's room for more if you'd like to participate.
This gathering will follow RI safety guidelines. Preregistration is required through SignUpGenius or by contacting the church office (401) 246-0111 or office@bccucc.org.
Cars will park every other space. People can exit their cars but must wear a mask and remain in their parking space. We will be providing a way for those who want to be able to share some of your prayers or thoughts with those gathered - but please sign up ahead of time to do so (info in last paragraph).
The prayers will begin at 9:30 am and we ask that you please plan to arrive 10 mins early so that we can start on time. We expect to wrap up by 10 am.
We will be recording this event and plan to stream it on Facebook Live for those who cannot attend. Watch it at www.facebook.com/bccucc
Sign up and join us! If you wish to share a short prayer of gratitude, hope, or need; or you’d like to volunteer to help out, please let us know that when you sign up. Questions? Contact Abby Ashley at abbyashley01@gmail.com or 439-1700.
|
|
Sunday, September 13th & 20th |
|
It’s time to come back to worship! Every fall we hold a special service welcoming our families back to the community after a long summer of travel and leisure. Although we can’t do it in person this year, we are still holding our Open Doors Sunday in celebration of starting off another year of wonderful church activities. This Sunday, September 13th, we have a wonderful service planned and designed for all ages. Young or old, adult or child, we hope you will enjoy this time of reconnecting, even if in a different way than we might like.
This service will kick off our new sermon series focusing on our mission to be “a Christian community that worships God, embraces all people, ministers to one another, works for justice and peace, and renders loving service to God’s world.” We’ll also celebrate our kids and church school volunteers, welcome back the church choir, and dedicate our new Peace Pole. See you virtually on Sunday at 10:00 AM !!
|
|
Return to 10 am service time - online worship only |
Our online only worship service returns to 10 am this Sunday, September 13th. You can watch it live either on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/bccucc (click on the 'posts' or 'videos' link to find it) or on our website www.bccucc.org/live-stream-page/ If you miss it live, a recording can be watched later at the same links.
We will continue to include on the screen all of the information needed for participating in worship each week, so there is no longer need for a bulletin each week.
|
|
Deadline for submitting prayers to be included in worship is 8 am Sunday morning. You can leave a message on the church’s answering machine (401) 246-0111 or email Dale dale@bccucc.org or Linda linda@bccucc.org. Please be sure that the person you are lifting up is comfortable with them reading your prayer to the whole community, and consider using first names only.
|
|
Amy Barkat, Steve Fodor, Joe Judge, Pat Stoddard, Carol Strakosch, Jane Tonn, Nancy Arena, and Lory McCoy. In a pastoral emergency if you cannot reach either of our ministers, please reach out to one of our deacons. |
|
On Sunday, September 13th:
One arrangement is given by Miriam and Steve Duval in memory of Miriam's father, Joseph Ryan.
The other arrangement is given by Beth and William Buckley in memory of Bill Buckley on the occasion of his birthday.
On Sunday, September 20th:
One arrangement is given by Pat Rude in celebration of the birthdays of her daughters, Laura and Tracy.
The other arrangement is given by Bernie and Sim Hawes in celebration of their 36th wedding anniversary.
|
|
Birthdays being celebrated |
The week of September 13th: Sim Hawes, Marion Willey, Carey Bowman, Moyne Cubbage, Lucy McMillan, Peggy Matteson, Charlotte McGarry, Marcus Nicholson, Bette Reid, Gabriel De La Torre, Judy Miesner, and Susan Rotblat-Walker
The week of September 20th: Renee Lemos, Lauren Bendheim, Susan Roach, Bill DeWitt, Evyy Drury, Chris Brady, John Muth, Thales Antone, Tracy Brown, Anne Danzberger, Bobby Dubel, Gloria Hwang-Forzano, and Clyde Slicker.
|
|
Congratulations to Bette on a very special birthday! |
Church member (Elizabeth) Bette Reid turns 100 years old on Wednesday, September 16th. She was born in 1920, less than two years after the end of the First World War! She joined Barrington Congregational Church on April 6th, 1950, making her a member of our church for more than 70 years - longer than any other current member. We send Bette our very best wishes. If anyone would like to mail her a birthday card, her address is:
Bette Reid, Hattie Ide Chaffee Nursing Home, 200 Wampanoag Trail, Room 44, East Providence RI 02915.
|
|
After Worship VIrtual Coffee Hour returns |
On Sunday, September 13th, we will resume hosting virtual coffee hours shortly after the ‘livestream’ worship ends. All are invited to log onto zoom and chat with your fellow church members and friends. We hope to see you there - but you'll have you bring your own coffee and snacks! Thanks to Erik Ela for hosting. For security reasons, the zoom information is not included in this version that appears on our website or Facebook page. It was included in the version that was emailed to the congregation.
|
|
A message from Church Council..... |
|
....concerning In-Person Worship Services |
The Church Council met on Tuesday, September 8th, 2020 and one of the agenda items discussed was the possibility of returning to in-person worship services.
After much discussion, the Church Council felt moving to in-person services is not right at this time and we will continue online worship services until the end of January 2021. At that time, Church Council will reassess this situation. This was not an easy decision and one we did not take lightly. We all miss our beautiful sanctuary and the fellowship of seeing each other in person. We long to be able to worship together, pray together, laugh and cry together.
There were several factors that led to this determination. As with the decision that was made in July against moving to outdoor services, oversight, compliance, and costs were the three major factors. Church Council considered questions such as who will be setting up the church to make sure social distancing can be kept? Who will clean up the church when the service is over? We currently only have one part-time custodian. Who will be overseeing that all people are in compliance? The compliance issue includes things such as making sure that all are wearing their masks, that the masks are being worn properly, and that people are 6-ft away. Cost was another factor. We would have to purchase sanitizer and wipes as well as likely hire a special cleaning service trained in Covid procedures.
Another factor in the decision to remain online only is the high quality of the online services. While the stream would continue, it would place a significant burden on our Worship Tech Team that they were not sure they could manage. We did not want to live stream a service with no choir, slide shows, etc.
Church Council grieves with you and we hope you continue to join the online Sunday services that so many work so hard to prepare on a weekly basis. We will share another update with you as we move towards February 2021.
Faithfully,
Tom Strolla,
BCCUCC Moderator, on behalf of Church Council
|
|
Church School and Youth Group |
|
Start of Church School postponed |
The Church School volunteer training scheduled for September 13th at 11:30 am has been postponed until Sunday, September 27th at 9 am.
The start of Church School is also postponed until October 4th so that families can ease into both the new academic and Church School year.
Please keep an eye and ear out for more information from Andrea Bullard, our Christian Education Coordinator, as these dates draw nearer.
|
|
Help Needed for Youth Group |
We are working to come up with creative ways to engage our youth and we need your help! We know our congregation is very creative and has already developed some creative and fun ways for us to come together safely during this time. Now we’re looking for ideas specifically focused on programs and activities for our youth. Do you have some awesome ideas? Can you share your time and talent to help make a youth group a reality? Together we know we can do amazing things, but we do need you. If you have ideas for fun activities for our youth and/or you have an interest in being part of this new adventure, I would like to hear from you. Reach out to me at linda@bccucc.org or call 401-246-0111, ext. 104. Let’s start a new adventure!
|
|
The Book Group will meet virtually via Zoom on Tuesday, September 15th at 9:30 am. They will discuss The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83¼ years old by Hendrik Groen: “Delightful and moving, Groen's novel shares a full year of the eponymous octogenarian's journal entries, detailing his day-to-day observations, humorous inner monologues, and overall zest for life within a nursing home in Amsterdam.” F or more information about the group, contact Helen Schall at helenschall@hotmail.com or 245-4724. All are welcome to participate.
For security reasons, the zoom information is not included in this version that appears on our website or Facebook page. It was included in the version that was emailed to the congregation.
|
|
"Children and Youth Speak: Your Vote Matters" - a UCC Webinar |
With the climate crisis and the struggle against inequality, the younger generations have served as today's prophets in provoking a global reckoning of the dire situation faced. As the November 3rd elections approach, children and youth are raising their voices again with a moral urgency as they awaken us to how much is at stake. This webinar will present children and youth from ages 10 to 18 who have a message and perspective that needs to be heard before those older than them vote.
The webinar is on Saturday, September 19th at 3 pm EST. However if you can't attend at that time, if you register they'll send you a recording of it.
|
|
More small, in-person coffee hours on September 20th |
As a part of our ‘Building Relationships during the Pandemic’ program, we will be hosting more of the small, outdoor in-person “Coffee hours”. The next are scheduled for Sunday, September 20th, at 11:30 am after the online church service. Members of the congregation are hosting these outdoor gatherings with a maximum of fifteen people at each home. Participants are required to wear masks and to bring their own beverage and chair if they wish. To take advantage of this opportunity to connect with church friends, please sign up at the SignUpGenius or contact Helen Schall (401 245-4724 or helenschall@hotmail.com) before 3 pm on Saturday, September 19th. The hosts will let you know later on Saturday where your assigned coffee hour will be held. Laura Ward, Helen Schall, and Trinki Brueckner.
|
|
Meditative Taize Prayer Service |
A meditative Taizé prayer service will be held on Monday, September 21st from 6 - 6:30 pm on the terrace and lawn behind Fellowship Hall. Attendance is limited to 15 people so please sign up. Please bring your own lawn or beach chair, a flashlight, and wear a mask. There will be recorded music and individual prayer bulletins.
|
|
Thursday, September 24th
from 3 - 6 pm in Fellowship Hall.
Sponsor code 1562.
(Walk-ins only accepted if safe spacing permits at time of arrival.)
Be sure to eat and hydrate ahead of time, and bring identification with you.
|
|
Looking ahead to early October |
|
Knitting for Others group |
No longer able to get together in person, this group of knitters has been meeting virtually each month. Their next get-together is scheduled for Tuesday, October 6th at 7 pm via Zoom. All knitters and crocheters are invited and new faces are very welcome – so do join in!
For security reasons, the zoom information is not included in this version that appears on our website or Facebook page. It was included in the version that was emailed to the congregation.
|
|
Keeping yourself and others safe |
|
Altar flowers donors needed |
A donor is needed to pay for one arrangement of altar flowers on September 27th. Each arrangement costs $30 and flowers can be given in memory, celebration or honor of a person or special event. If interested, please contact Bethia Rosner at bethiarosner@gmail.com or (401) 383-5538. Thank you.
|
|
Chicks N Eggs is a new branch of the One Egg Haiti program run by the RI Conference, UCC, that has been providing hard boiled eggs to children in Haiti since November 2013. Chicks N Eggs is a non-profit nutrition program that is managed by Marie-Alan Aladin who orders and pays for the eggs from Haiti Broilers and the Haiti farms. Suzanne Swanson and Shirley Hardison monitor the account and the program with Marie-Alan. The one egg program continues to be vital as food scarcity in Haiti is significantly higher due to COVID 19. Many people are out of work and are finding it more difficult to feed their families. Funding and donations have dropped during the pandemic, so the need is greater than ever as orphanages and schools ask to be added to the program.
The Barrington Congregational Church has been contributing to the One Egg Haiti program for several years and the RI Haiti Task Force continues to receive donations that supply a daily hard-boiled egg to many children. (Checks clearly marked “One Egg Haiti Nutrition Program” can be sent to the church office.)
Now there are two other ways to provide support:
• Checks can be made out to our new tax deductible, non-profit “Chicks N Eggs” PO Box 515 Ghent, NY 12075. These donations are received by Marie-Alan who sends the money to the farms and delivery personnel that are part of the program.
• Add “Chicks N Eggs” as your charity of choice on Amazon Smile so that a percentage of any of your purchases will go to support the egg program in Haiti.
If you have questions, please call Suzanne Swanson (323-6588) or Trish Sylvester (297-0390). Please be generous. The daily egg is such an important source of protein for so many Haitian children.
|
|
We need your help to build and maintain connections |
Now it's your turn! The meeting participants want to gather more input from the congregation.
- Are you willing to take ownership of one of the unassigned ideas?
- Do you have other creative ideas not expressed on the list?
- What are your talents?
- Do you have an interest in reaching a specific demographic in our congregation, e.g. families with young children or elderly residents in congregant care?
- Do you feel a call to serve other members of the congregation or the broader community?
- How can you help?
- What would you lead?
Building connections requires all of our collective talents and resources. If you answered yes to any of the questions listed above, please contact the church office at (401) 246-0111 or office@bccucc.org to express your interest and commitment. We look forward to hearing from you. |
|
From your Mission and Justice Team |
|
'The UN as an Instrument of World Peace' - Talk with George Kassis |
75 years after its founding, let us take a critical look at the UN as an instrument of world peace, what it does and at what cost. Let us examine the role played by the US at the UN and the extent that we as a nation capitalize on this global forum to meet our needs as a country and most powerful world power. Presently retired and living in Portsmouth, Mr. Kassis has taught courses on understanding the Middle East and the Arab Israeli conflict at the Circle of Scholars program, Salve Regina University in Newport. This program will be held virtually via Zoom. Registration
This talk is sponsored by the East Bay Citizens for Peace, the East Providence Library, and the Mission and Justice Ministry of the Barrington Congregational Church.
|
|
Making Peace Flags in the time of a pandemic |
Usually the Mission and Justice Team is making peace flags with you during coffee hour as we approach the International Day of Peace on September 21st. Since we can't do that, we want to bring you a Peace Flag Kit sometime during the next three weeks. We'll be contacting families to let you know we're coming with the kits with information on what to do with them.
The following is a statement from the United Nations: The 2020 International Day of Peace Theme is "Shaping Peace Together." Celebrate the day by spreading compassion, kindness and hope in the face of the pandemic. Stand together with the UN against attempts to use the coronavirus to promote discrimination or hatred. Join so that we can shape peace together.
|
|
Our Faith, Our Vote, Our Voices |
In an effort to learn more about the issues that we had on our survey last February, the Mission and Justice Team encourages you to read or participate in the following opportunities:
Inequality: Several members of the Mission and Justice Team have signed up for a free virtual learning opportunity offered by the The Rhode Island Foundation available to the public. The Groundwater presentation series will be provided by the Racial Equity Institute, an alliance of trainers, organizers, and institutional leaders devoted to creating racially equitable organizations and systems. To learn more, go to https://rifoundation.org/impact-insights/capacity-building-for-nonprofits/racial-equity-trainings
Climate Change:The Barrington Public Library invites the community to a free virtual screening and discussion of the new documentary The Story of Plastic. This is a film by Deia Schlosberg which exposes the local and global environmental, climate justice and health impacts of the plastic industry. The discussion will also feature members of Barrington's environmental action group Change for the Better and the Narragansett
Immigration:
Angels Unaware: The Border is Everywhere
Join Rev. Randy Mayer, a pastor/activist who works along the U.S./Mexico border, in a conversation about the current immigration issues and how the United States is at a turning point in its history. Will we laud the values of Emma Lazarus’ poem, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” or will we turn our backs on them and cling to walls and closed doors, missing out on the angels unaware? https://www.sneucc.org/files/sneucc/general+documents/angels+unaware+edit.pdf
|
|
Southern New England Conference, UCC |
|
Executive Conference Minister Candidate Announced |
The Rev. Darrell Goodwin – a pastor with experience in higher education and in varied ministry settings of the United Church of Christ – will be presented to Annual Meeting voters as the candidate to serve as the Southern New England Conference’s first Executive Conference Minister. Read more
|
|
First official Annual Meeting of SNEUCC to be held virtually |
Due to the extended State of Emergency in Massachusetts, the Sat, Sept 26th online Conference gathering will be the first official Annual Meeting of the Southern New England Conference, which was formally incorporated on Jan. 1, 2020.
The Meeting will be woven through with vibrant worship, will include small group break-out sessions focused on shared ministry interests, and will include the election of the Conference's first Executive Conference Minister.
The Meeting will also include pre-recorded Speakouts, in which delegates have 60 seconds to address the meeting on the topic of their choice.
Visit the Annual Meeting page at sneucc.org/2020AM for details, delegate materials and online registration.
|
|
What's happening at the Conference level? |
The Southern New England Conference, UCC (SNEUCC), publishes several newsletters - one of which comes out weekly and is titled '5 Things to Know and Share'. Read the latest edition at this link and sign up to subscribe and get it sent to your inbox.
Click on this link to see the archive of all of the different SNEUCC newsletters - and subscribe to any that are of interest to you.
|
|
Beginning Monday, August 31st, Rev. Linda Hartley will be taking Mondays as her weekly day off. Rev. Dale Azevedo will continue to take Fridays off. This means that there is no longer a need to list a minister on call each Friday in the calendar. |
|
Upgrading? Donate your old iPad! |
The church would be glad to repurpose your old iPad for someone who’d like to be more active in our church-online community but may not have the equipment they need. Contact the office office@bccucc.org to arrange a donation. Thank you.
|
|
A reminder that the church buildings remain closed until further notice. If you need to drop something off, or have asked to pick something up, the items can be deposited or retrieved from the white wooden “Church Mailbox” that’s located at the top of the stairs by the office entrance, next to the boiler room door. We ask that people not enter the building. Thank you. |
|
Stay connected with each other - and call the ministers if needed |
During this time of separation, we are all encouraged to keep in touch with each other. If there’s someone in the church you’d like to reach out to - maybe someone living alone - but you don’t have their contact information, please call the church office and leave a message (401 246-0111 x 101) or email office@bccucc.org Christine will then get their contact information to you.
If you’re in the hospital, a nursing home or rehab, or you’re simply staying home, but would like a visit with a minister, please don’t hesitate to call them and they’ll be happy to visit with you over the phone. Their numbers are Dale (401) 246-0111 x 103; Linda (401) 246-0111 x 104. Leave a message and they'll get back to you. (Note: Linda will be on vacation from Aug 17-23).
|
|
Ways to watch our live-streams |
We are doing our live-streams using Zoom and 'Facebook Live' and there are two places to watch it online:
- On the church’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/bccucc
- On the church's webpage www.bccucc.org at the 'BCCUCC live-stream' link from the home page, where the feed will be embedded.
For Facebook live, simply go to www.facebook.com/bccucc to watch. You don't need a Facebook account to see it. If you do have an account, search for the church's Facebook Page which is 'Barrington Congregational Church UCC'. If you 'Like' our page you should then get our news feeds, and also be able to comment on our posts and the live feeds. Once on the church's Facebook page, you will need to click on 'posts' or 'videos' to find the live feed, or watch the recording later.
If you're not able to watch live, you can watch a recording later, on the live-stream page of our website.
|
|
The office is closed but you can still reach us |
|
Until further notice, the church office will remain closed. However you can still be in touch with the ministers and staff. You can either send an email or leave a message on the answering machine at the person's extension. Both emails and voice mail messages will be checked regularly. Our contact information is:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
