December 21st Weekly Word

UPDATE: Christmas Eve Service

Moved Indoors



Our 4pm Christmas Eve Service will be held inside the sanctuary due to the cold weather forecasted. It will also be livestreamed and recorded.

We will still be singing Christmas carols beginning at 3:40, so bring your friends and family, and plan to join us then!


Masks are recommended due to the medium community risk level of COVID currently.


All offerings from the service (unless otherwise specified) will be donated to Isaiah 58 to help them to continue their housing ministry here in western Rockingham county.


artwork: Cosmic Birth Sacred Moment in Time @ Mary Southard

www.ministryofthehearts.org. Used with permission.

We wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

Click here for beautiful duet rendition of "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"

by the musicians at First Plymouth UCC in Lincoln, NE

Christmas Services This Week


Please join us at 4pm on Saturday, Dec. 24th

for an Indoor Candlelight Service

and Sunday, Christmas Day at 10am.


The services will be live streamed through

Facebook Live here


or on 3CX here for Christmas Eve

and

3CX here for Christmas Day

artwork: Radiant Presence © Mary Southard

www.ministryofthehearts.org. Used with permission.

A Successful Christmas Parade Warming Station


On December 11th HCC opened its doors to the public as a place to park, stay warm, and keep children entertained prior to the town Christmas Parade. 


Thanks to the hard work of Anna Salvo, children and adults alike were treated to a hot cocoa station, face painting, prizes, and crafts. Over 50 people attended and were delighted with our hospitality and thoughtfulness. 


Special thanks to Anna Salvo for spearheading the event and to Kari Allard for her help before, during, and after the event.  

January 1st Potluck Breakfast

& Carol Singing


In lieu of a regular worship service on New Year's Day, we will be having a potluck breakfast and carol singing held in Hadley Hall at 10am. Dress comfortably, bring a dish, and come for a festive morning of food and song!


Communion will be held on January 8th when we will celebrate Epiphany, the end of the Christmas Season.

Emerson Village Crafters Donate 15 Blankets to Project Linus


A very special thank you to Marcia Kneeland and the incredibly talented ladies from Emerson Village for donating blankets to Project Linus!


HCC Missions Team collects blankets of all types and sizes to pass on to this great ministry.


Project Linus' 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.

Pastor Kathy Vacation


Pastor Kathy will be out of the office starting on 12/26 and returning on 1/2.


If you have a pastoral need during the week Pastor Kathy is out of the office, please contact the Rev. Linda Lea Snyder, ph. 203-927-5387.

Meet Our New Members

Sam & Bernadette Longbook


Sam and Bernadette Longbook have been residents of Hampstead for 36 years.


They have 2 sons and one daughter and 4 wonderful grandsons.


They are very active in helping those in need in our community and are proud members of the Hampstead Lions Club for over 30 years.


They hope, in the future, to become active members of the Hampstead Congregational Church.

Annual Christmas Collection for Families in Need




Every year our congregation collects items to give at Christmas. This year we are collecting for the Manchester Diaper Pantry. Due to the challenging economy, what the pantry needs the most isn't gifts, but basic supplies for babies.


So--we are collecting DIAPERS, WIPES and FORMULA this year


All types of formula and diaper sizes are needed!

Please drop off in the foyer of Hadley Hall now through Christmas.


Monetary donations are also welcome--the team will buy the supplies for you.


On behalf of the Missions Team--THANK YOU!!!

Prayer Shawls & Baptismal Blankets Needed


Calling crocheters and knitters!


We are in need of some more hand made prayer shawls and baptism blankets. These are given out when people are in need of our care, and when a child is baptized at HCC.


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!

Capital Campaign Update


The Capital Campaign has received an additional $10k in donations and pledges since September, bringing our total to date to $130k or 37% towards our goal of $350k. 


The team is currently preparing an outreach campaign targeting the wider community including local businesses which is planned to start after the first of the year. 


The steeple repair planned for this year has been delayed until next year as our chosen contractor was not able to perform the repairs we had hoped.  


It is our hope that we can encourage additional pledges and/or additional donations over the next two years. Your Capital Campaign Team also encourages anyone to consider donations before the end of this year that might provide potential tax savings. If interested, you have a few weeks before December 31 to contact your tax or financial advisor.

Upper Room Devotional


We have copies of the January/February Upper Room devotional available in the foyer to Hadley Hall.


If you need a copy mailed to you, please contact the main office.

Steeple Lighting


The steeple will be lit

December 18th-24th


in loving memory of

Joshua Janvrin

from his family.

A Word from Peace & Justice


For our final 2022 Weekly Word I'm sharing an article by Nicole Cardoza from Anti-Racist Daily, ARD, on how to have difficult conversations at holiday gatherings without being confrontational.


I have seen these same strategies in teacher professional development workshops.


See the article here. Blessings to you as we move into 2023!

Debra

The Music Corner by Herb Tardiff


The “Twelve Days of Christmas” song has been the subject of many interpretations throughout the religious and secular communities. Even the often- quoted interpretation by a Catholic Priest was discredited by the priest himself.


TheTwelve Days of Christmas is the celebration of Christmas day through January 5th. January 6th is called Epiphany, actually the 13th day after Christmas. Some say that January 5th is the twelfth night. In any event, the Catholic church has always celebrated Christmas on December 25th with celebrations each day thereafter.

Hampstead Public Library Holiday Screening of Boston Baroque's Performance of Handel's Messiah


Friday, December 23 from12:30—3:30 PM in Meeting Room 9.


Join Boston Baroque for its annual Messiah performance, featuring soloists Heidi Stober, Ann McMahon Quintero, Thomas Cooley, and Sidney Outlaw, in his Boston Baroque debut. Martin Pearlman’s GRAMMY®-nominated interpretation of Handel’s beloved oratorio shines, telling a timeless story of redemption.


We will stream their Saturday, December 3rd 2022 7:30pm performance which took place at GBH’s Calderwood Studio. This performance features a local Hampstead resident in the first chair oboe. Runtime is 2 hours and 55 minutes (with intermission).

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.


12/20/22 Newsletter


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

Missions Opportunities:

Food Drive to Support

Saint Anne Ecumenical Food Pantry


Holiday Needs





 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!

Next volunteer opportunity will be Wednesday, December 28th. If you are interested in volunteering contact Jane DeRosa via email at janederosa@comcast.net.

Volunteer @ Soup Kitchen

The Sonshine Soup Kitchen needs volunteers to prepare and package the food for "To Go Meals." We partner with Atkinson Congregational Church once a month on the 4th Wednesday of the month to help out from 3-6pm.


Blankets for Project Linus

For those of you who have been busy sewing, quilting, knitting, or crocheting, we have an new opportunity to donate those handmade items!

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 welcome all styles of blankets made in child-friendly colors/prints.
*Crocheted, knitted, quilted (100% cotton or flannel), fleece….you don’t have to be an expert!
*Blankets must be NEW, HANDMADE and WASHABLE.
*Fabric blankets can be quilted by machine, hand or tied. If you are tying the blanket make sure the ends are trimmed to 1” and the knots are secure.
*Please do not add any embellishments to the blankets such as buttons that could be swallowed by a child.
*If you are using a no-sew fleece pattern, please be sure to trim off both selvages FIRST. Not sure what selvages are? Ask the clerk who is cutting your fleece to please show you, they’re those odd looking edges at the top and bottom of the piece you have, sort of raggy looking.
*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".

Blankets can be dropped off in the entry way of Hadley Hall.

Thank you for your support of this project!
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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.

Want to get the word out about what’s happening at HCC? If you want to publicize your event or remind the congregation about something, please email the office (hcc1752@gmail.com) by Wednesday at noon so that your information can be included in that week’s Weekly Word. Feel free to send in information up to three weeks in advance of an upcoming event. We want all of the congregation (not just the Team leaders) to be empowered to get the word out about all the activities that are happening at Hampstead Congregational Church!
Our Mailing Address:
61 Main Street
Hampstead, NH 03841
Church Summer Office hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 9:00am to Noon
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