Look at the shine on the finished flooring in Hadley Hall!

As Al Lake said, the finished flooring tells the history of the church!

We also have new carpet in the foyer and in the hallway outside the bathrooms and new flooring in the women's and kid's bathrooms!

There is some finish work that will be completed over the next several weeks, but Hadley Hall is open for use!

It is time for us to reflect on our annual support for the ministries of Hampstead Congregational Church.

The Stewardship Team needs assistance with this year’s Stewardship Campaign. We have a couple of really good resources for materials, but we can use help modifying them and editing a product that is meaningful and helpful for our members. Nearly all of this work can be done via email in the span of three weeks or so.

If you would be interested in helping us this year, please contact David Chin, Debra Sawyer, or Suzanne in the office.

The Fundraising Team could use an extra team member or two.

It seems like a lot of work, but it is more about delegating than anything else. This past year we ran two very successful events including the Food Truck Festival and the Strawberry Festival, and are preparing for the upcoming Christmas Festival.

There are one or two people who spearhead each event. For example, Roxanne McGaffigan leads the Food Truck Festival. Ellen McCune and Barbara Wallack lead the two craft fairs. We have become very efficient in running each event because of lessons from our past experience, and of course the amazing support of our wonderful members.

We are on target for making $15,000 for the church, our best year yet!

We have meetings on an as needed basis, with many conducted via Zoom or through text. It is an exciting, fun, and very rewarding team that we hope you will consider joining. If you are interested, or have any questions, you can contact Ellen McCune or Barbara Wallack. We can answer any questions you may have.

We thank you for your consideration.

The Fundraising Team

Please join us in the sanctuary

or online at 10am for the

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

Coffee hour will be held in Hadley Hall after the service.

We hope you will join us.

The service will be live streamed through Facebook Live here or on 3CX here.

This Saturday, August 27th, Hampstead Congregational Church will be offering a Fiber Arts (knitting, crochet, hand work, etc.) gathering the 4th Saturday of each month from 10am-Noon in our Social Hall.

All skill levels are welcome and no commitment is needed-drop in when you can.

All are welcome to attend.

For more information, contact the church at 603-329-6985

Starting next Monday, 8/29 we will resume our normal office hours.

The office will be open from 9AM to 3PM Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

A festive feel was found inside and outside Hadley Hall for the community barbeque held Saturday, August 13.

The event was attended by over 80 people.

Thank you to all the volunteers who made this such a huge success and thank you Dave Chin for capturing such great photos!

The steeple is lit in loving memory of Nancy Goudreault, from Linda & Dave Tilden and family

The steeple will be lit in memory of Stanley Lapham

Sunday School will be held once a month on the second Sunday of the month starting in September and continuing through May.

Please check the church calendar for future dates.

Our outdoor services are being very well attended and we have been blessed with good weather each Sunday!

We will worship outside again in the back parking lot at 10am on Sunday, September 18th.

Please plan to bring a chair and join us for this special service. The service will also be live streamed.

Coffee hour will be held after the service in Hadley Hall.

Here is a great story from NPR about RIP Medical Debt - RIP Debt turns debt collection on its head, buying up unpaid medical bills

If you'd like to make a donation from the bounty of your garden, please bring produce items to Hadley Hall when you come for Sunday Service or drop them off anytime in the basket located in the foyer.

Donations for the produce you take can be placed in the offering basket (on Sunday mornings) or in the lockbox in the foyer.

All proceeds go to RIP Medical Debt to help pay off medical debt for those in need.

For every $1 you donate, $100 of medical debt is paid off!!

For more information on RIP Medical Debt, direct donations to the organization, and personal stories by those that have been helped, go to https://ripmedicaldebt.org

Here is a small – no, BIG - good news story concerning the lack of affordable housing in the country, including New Hampshire.

It is about two lawyers from St. Louis, MO that have helped build thousands of affordable houses in 30 cities by helping non-profits leverage an obscure federal tax incentive.

About 14 years ago they began the work and established a corporation, SmithNMTC, to give non-profit community development entities a toolkit for writing grant proposals for funding through New Market Tax Credits.

The story describes how this opportunity to build for-sale affordable homes in about 30 cities has been critical to generating wealth for those families that were able to purchase a home and for building communities in some run down and underutilized areas. There is no one-size-fits-all plan for using the money to build affordable housing and some of the various schemes are fascinating. They include plans from subsidizing potential buyers to paying contractors the difference between the building cost and the selling price.

We have shared this important story with two Isaiah 58 Board Members. Our hope is that this information will get out to some entity that can put it to use to help New Hampshire, particularly western Rockingham County, with the affordable housing shortage we are facing.

Please take a few moments to read the full article. Here are two sources: The Washington Post and WorldNewsEra.

Blessings,

Debra

This is a list of farmer's markets in the state this summer. We have included the whole state in case you may be travelling and want to sample some local "color." By supporting local farmers, you are keeping your food dollars local, supporting local businesses and protecting the open space we all enjoy. It is a treat to meet the people who actually grow and produce the food we eat, and you may find interesting selections not available in grocery stores. Why not make it a part of your summer routine?

Check out all the locations here.

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

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

cans of Chef Boyardee pasta, coffee, granola bars, boxes of crackers, salad dressing, and any type of cereal

Please drop off any donations in the foyer of Hadley Hall

We located a national organization that has local chapters called Project Linus (https://www.facebook.com/projectlinussouthwestnewhampshire/). This organization's mission is "to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans". Blankets are given to children in need through NH.

*We accept all sizes of blankets. We donate to children, infants through teen years, so any size is appropriate. Baby blankets are typically 36”X36” or 36”X42”, toddler-pre-teen are typically about 40”X60”, and teen blankets are at least 60"X72".

If in doubt, please call the church or send an email to pastorkathyucc@gmail.com.

Hampstead Congregational Church Website