This Week
Wednesday, April 24
- 9:00 a.m. Staff Meeting
- 7:15 p.m. Choir Rehearsal
Thursday, April 25
Friday, April 26
- 7:45 a.m. Men's Bible Study
Sunday, April 28
- 9:00 a.m. Mindfulness Meditation at the Scoville Memorial Library
- 10:00 a.m. Worship with Sunday School, Nursery Care, Youth Discussion Group
- 11:30 a.m. Annual Meeting
Monday, April 29
- 11:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Duplicate Bridge Club
Tuesday, April 30
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I will revere the Holy One at all times;
With words of acclaim continually in my mouth.
I rejoice in the Most High;
Let the humble hear and be glad.
Join with me,
And let us exalt the Holy One together. (Ps. 34:1-3)
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Dear Friends,
Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed: Alleluia!
In the week since Melissa sent out the last
Meeting House Times
we have remembered some of the most dramatic, awful, and magnificent parts of our faith's story. In the Tenebrae service we relived the last Passover meal that Jesus would share with his friends (even as our contemporary Jewish neighbors were entering into their Passover). On Good Friday an ecumenical service at Trinity Episcopal - Lime Rock brought together five thoughtful reflections on Jesus' last recorded words, heightened by Crescendo's haunting choral performances. And on Sunday morning the Meeting House resounded with the joyous music and uplifted spirits that reenacted the resurrection. Wow!
I am so grateful for you - deacons, ushers, musicians, readers, hospitality offerers, flower providers, building maintainers, administrators, child care providers, and worshipers - who were a part of retelling our story so powerfully.
And where will Easter lead us next? Keep on coming back, and we'll make those discoveries together.
Christlove,
Pastor John
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Call to the Annual Meeting
The 274th Annual Meeting, Part II, of the Congregational Church of Salisbury will be held following the worship service this Sunday, April 28th for the purpose of:
1. Presentation of Reports from Boards and Committees
2. The Nominating Committee’s Report
3. The Election of Officers and Committees
4. Other Business that may appropriately come before the Church
(Please note this is a revised report, incorporating a few changes from the Nominating Committee.)
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From Barbara Collins,
Director of Religious Education
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There will be Sunday School and Nursery care this Sunday, April 28
th
. The Youth Discussion Group will meet. Sunday School will remain in session until the end of the annual church meeting immediately following worship. Dismissal will probably be by 11:30-
11:45.
Save the Date!
The children will tell the story of Daniel in the lions’ den in their annual musical during morning worship on Sunday, May 19
th
.
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Erin Swett, LCSW, and Jenn Surdam lead our Youth Discussion Group on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of every month. All youth grades 6-12 are invited to participate! They will meet this Sunday, April 28.
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Music Ministry Minute
From Jack Bowman, Minister of Music
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Have you marked your calendar and made your plans to attend the Spring Oratorio Concert of Felix Mendelssohn’s
Elijah on Sunday, May 5 at 3:00 pm? The fifty-member chorus includes the Salisbury Congregational Church Choir, the Norfolk UCC Church Choir, “festival” singers from the region, five soloists including six-year old Amaya Godshall, and members of the Sinfonietta. Over 80 people are participating in this historic oratorio. Premiered in 1846 in Birmingham, England, the oratorio was written in German, translated into English for the premiere, and subsequently performed in German back in Germany. This was Mendelssohn’s final major composition, an immediate success, and has become the most beloved of his works.
Come hear Elijah bring the widow’s son back to life, hear the people calling to their god Baal to bring them water, and hear the excitement as Elijah ascends to Heaven in a chariot of fire.
The concert is free; donations are accepted to help make possible future concerts.
Soli Deo Gloria, Jack
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Ninth Annual CTUCC Youth Revival
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Sunday, May 5th at 3:00 PM, at
First Congregational Church in Bloomfield
The Rev. Trayce Potter, UCC Minister for Youth and Young Adults, will be the revival preacher. The service is a
Racial Justice Ministry
event that highlights multi-racial, multi-cultural worship. Our own Youth leader, Jennifer Surdam, plans to attend. Contact Jenn if you would like to join her:
jsurdam1002@gmail.com
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The Church grounds are ready for spring, due to many years of volunteer care, most recently by Linda Estabrook and Tom Key. Thanks to a parishioner's generosity, Noreen Driscoll of Sweethaven Farm is back for her 17
th
(!) year doing the lovely planters out front. In a new development, we welcome Denise Ralph of Precision Lawn & Maintenance, to maintain our Fellowship Hall garden. Enjoy!
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April 2019 Deacon's Message, submitted by John Estabrook
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As I stared at a blank screen, trying frantically to compose something apt, the French word “rejouissance” popped into my head. It didn’t appear in our Seven Language Dictionary so I had to Google it. It’s a noun meaning “rejoicing” or “festivities” or “merry-making.” The brief description also came with a reference to YouTube videos of performances of Handel’s Royal Fireworks Music.
It’s probably not by accident that I had spent several hours in recent weeks listening to recordings of live performances (via YouTube) and CDs of the Royal Fireworks Music. How can anyone not be uplifted (rejoice) listening to Handel? Period woodwind and brass instruments, timpani and strings, fanfares.
Joy and excitement are also emotions caused by the appearance of spring’s first flowers after a long winter. Even a black-thumb gardener rejoices in the sight of early Johnny Jump-ups (violas). All those petite flowers, with friendly little faces, in dark and light purple and yellow and white on a background of green.
Let us all rejoice in the new life of the spring season as we welcome the arrival of our transitional pastor, the Rev. Dr. John A. Nelson.
Thanks be to God.
John Estabrook, for the Deacons
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Men's Ecumenical Bible Study meets on Fridays at 7:45 a.m. All men are welcome.
Women's Bible Study will resume at a future date to be determined.
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Registration for the 2019 Summer Camp Session at Silver Lake Conference Center is open! Click to view the Summer Camp brochure, and pick your week today!
Our church’s annual budget allocates money to pay for our young people to attend Silver Lake Conferences free of charge
.
Contact Barbara Collins for more information.
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If you would like to provide flowers for a Sunday service
, please contact Linda Estabrook at
(860) 824-5896
by Wednesday of the week the flowers will be donated. You are welcome to provide flowers in memory of or in honor of a loved one.
Simple bouquets and garden flowers are encouraged - there is no need to spend a lot of money!
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Please contact the office if you would like to add a name to the prayer list, 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.
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The Coffee Hour sign up
is in the Parish Hall. If you have never served at Coffee Hour and would like to “learn the ropes,” please sign your name in the column marked “helper” and you will be paired with an experienced Coffee Hour server. If you have served before, please sign up for a Sunday or two and consider inviting someone new to join you!
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Click above to access our secure site
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Pastor John Nelson will have office hours on Tuesday - Friday. He can be reached at (860) 435-2442 ext. 101, by email (
jnelson@salisburycongregationalchurch.org), or by cell for pastoral emergencies during non-office hours (508-479-0724).
Melissa Adam, Financial and Communications Assistant, is in the office Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:00-2:00. Her email is:
sccmelissa@gmail.com
Kathy Wiggins, Administrative Assistant, is in the office Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8-3 and Thursday from 8-2.
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Please take a moment to visit our w
ebs
ite:
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Conference Calling for Committee Meetings
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We have conference calling available for those who are unable to attend a committee meeting. It is wireless and connects though your smartphone so you can "attend' from another location.
If you have any questions or would like further information please contact the office or email Kathy at: kwigginsscc@gmail.com.
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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
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