Prepared to Serve 2023

Registration is now Open!

Prepared to Serve 2023, our conference's day of workshops to help us be a better church, will return to an in-person gathering at Pembroke Academy on February 25th, 2023 with the theme Connecting & Reconnecting.

There are a slate of workshops that will provide training and sharing on the topics most commonly asked for in this time of emergence.  

If you are interested in attending, please let Pastor Kathy know. Those who have attended in the past have found it engaging and helpful, and a great opportunity to connect with people across the state.

To register and for more information, click here.

Worship This Week

Please join us at 10am on Sunday for the Third Sunday After the Epiphany

Coffee hour will be held in Hadley Hall

after the service. 

We hope you will join us in person or online.

The service will be live streamed through Facebook Live here

or on 3CX here.

artwork: "Cathedral Morning" © Mary Southard

www.ministryofthehearts.org. Used with permission.

In Memoriam

We are sad to share the news that long-time congregant Priscilla Lindquist passed into eternal life this past Thursday.

Calling hours will be tonight, Wednesday, January 18th from 5-7pm. at the Peabody Funeral Home,

15 Birch St., Derry.

A memorial service will be held at Hampstead Congregational Church tomorrow, Thursday,

January 19th at 11am. Her obituary can be found here.

May Priscilla rest in peace and may her memory be a blessing.

This offering cares for active and retired clergy and lay employees of the UCC by providing emergency grants and other help to those struggling.

Please watch the video above to see how important this offering can be.

HCC will be receiving donations for this UCC Special Offering from January 18th through January 31st.

Please send or drop off donations and earmark them for this purpose.

Thank you, as always, for your generosity for these important mission opportunities.

Looking for a New Clerk

Are you looking for a way to serve the church in the new year?

Our congregation is looking for someone to fill the position of clerk. The main responsibilities of the role are to take notes and participate at the month Ministry Oversight meetings and at the annual congregational meeting. Membership in the congregation is required for this position.

The position will begin in early February before our congregational meeting. If you are interested or would like to learn more, please contact the church office.

Please consider if you could help our church by filling this vital role.

Annual Meeting Coming Soon

Our 270th Annual Meeting will be held in Hadley Hall on

February 12, 2023, following worship.

Please plan to attend this special event in the life of our congregation. Stay tuned for the annual report and more information.

New HCC Member & Friends

Directory Coming Soon

We are getting ready to print our HCC Members and Friends directory.

If you do not want your information published in this printing, please contact the office ASAP.

If you have a new picture that you would like to add to your profile,

please email it to hcc1752@gmail.com

A Word from Peace & Justice

Reflection on the service of Celebration and Remembrance of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at St. Christopher’s. Several of our members attended the service which was led by Fr. Zac, Rev. Kathy, and Rev. Jim of Atkinson Congregational. I also read an excerpt from Rev. Dr. King’s “The Quest for Peace and Justice” which was a Nobel lecture given on Dec. 12, 1964. The keynote speaker was Terry Robinson from The Black Heritage Trail New Hampshire. Mr. Robinson’s message focused on how Martin Luther King was committed to righting the wrong done to black and poor people by segregation and denial of constitutional rights guaranteed to all citizens. He said that this commitment was the focus of his adult life and that he knew that the work would be dangerous. He was a servant leader in the Civil Rights movement.

He was also committed to nonviolence in the work, as his Nobel lecture affirmed. He said in that excerpt that the “demand for dignity, equality, jobs, and citizenship will not be abandoned or diluted or postponed. If that means resistance and conflict we shall not flinch. We shall not be cowed. We are no longer afraid.” He continued by saying, “The word that symbolizes the spirit and the outward form of our encounter in nonviolence, and it is doubtless that factor which made it seem appropriate to award a peace prize to one identified with struggle. Nonviolence … has meant not relying on arms and weapons

of struggle. It has meant noncooperation with customs and laws which are institutional aspects of a regime of discrimination and enslavement.”

Mr. Robinson’s main point was that Martin Luther King led with love while seeking justice and truth. He elaborated on how difficult it was for the establishment of the time to hear and truth because the truth was not what the majority white population thought it was. It is challenging and a little scary for people to encounter this kind of truth. On this point of truth-telling, Mr. Robinson said that is the mission of Black Heritage Trail. They seek to tell the stories of black people from the beginning of the Portsmouth settlement to the present. I had no idea about a lot of the history of black people in New Hampshire until I started participating in the Trail activities and articles.

What moved me the most was actually in the excerpt I read because it spoke to how Dr. King envisioned the mission focus of all civil rights movements. It is definitely a reminder to all of us in the Black Lives Matter era. “Nonviolence has also meant that my people in the agonizing struggles of recent years have taken suffering upon themselves instead of inflicting it on others. … it has meant that we do not want to instill fear in others or into the society of which was are a part. The movement does not seek to liberate Negros at the expense of the humiliation and enslavement of whites. It seeks no victory over anyone. It

seeks to liberate American society and to share in the self-liberation of all the people.”

The Music Corner by Herb Tardiff

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736)

Many composers died young and yet still composed a vast amount of music. Pergolesi was no exception, for he composed several operas and instrumental works. Even though his operas were on the racy side, “The Servant Turned Mistress”, he also wrote many religious works with the “Stabat Mater” being his best known and often performed sacred motet.

Pergolesi also was an accomplished violinist and wrote many works that are performed today. Imagine if he had lived to old age?

Prayer Shawls Needed

Calling crocheters and knitters!

We are in need of some more handmade prayer shawls. These are given out when people are in need of our care.

We have given out over 40 prayers shawls and baptismal blankets in the past few years, and folks really appreciate this ministry.

Drop them off in the office or give them to Pastor Kathy. Thanks in advance!

Project Linus Thank You

"Thank you so much for the donation of yarn in November and the wonderful assortment of blankets, hats, mittens, etc. that you donated in December. We have shared the yarn with other "blanketeers" and the blankets and other knit and crocheted items have gone out in various deliveries to warm and comfort children in need.

Thank you for your generosity and thoughtfulness!"

Robyn, Project Linus

January Birthdays

Lee C. 01/03

Thomas M. 01/04

Matthew K. 01/07

Dale C. 01/10

Nancy M. 01/12

Brendan M. 01/20

If you would like your birthday recognized, please call the office to make sure we have it in

our records!

New Hampshire Conference UCC Weekly News

We thought you might enjoy reading the NH Conference UCC weekly newsletter. You can read it with this link.

1/17/23 Newsletter

Each week, we will update this section of our Weekly Word with the new link for the current newsletter.

Food Drive to Support

Saint Anne Ecumenical

Food Pantry



 Grated cheese, salad dressing, pasta sauce, quick bread/muffin mix,

hearty/meaty soups (Chunky, Progresso), boxed crackers, hot cocoa,

cereal (Cheerios & Multigrain Cheerios).



Please drop off any donations in the foyer of Hadley Hall

Please, no expired items.

Thank you for all your support!

Scam Emails & Texts

Emails and Texts are often sent, saying they are from Pastor Kathy or another staff member. She (or the HCC staff) will never send out a generic email/text--she'll address it to your name. She will never ask you for money/gift cards over email nor via a text.

Also, any email from Pastor Kathy will always have her signature line on the bottom with her phone number/address.

If in doubt, please contact the church office or Pastor Kathy.