April 14, 2024

Bulletin

Music

Prayers of Intercession

(new names added will be in red)

To view the live-streamed 10 AM service, please use one of the links below.

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The Children's Faith Formation News and Information is updated weekly!

Sermon Talkback

Sunday at 11:15 AM in the Chapel

• What does it mean to say that someone has strong faith?

• Is doubt a sin? If not, can it ever become one?

•  When it comes to your own faith, how much of it is based on what others tell you and how much is based on what you have experienced?
• 
•  How do you experience faith - as a straight line, a circle, or something else?

Click on picture for April 2024 Church Council Minutes Summary

Professional Nursery Care to begin on Sunday, May 5



The Faith Formation Ministry Group and Church Council are pleased to announce the opening of a professionally staffed Nursery in Room 10, a refurbished and sanitary space under the sanctuary. Each Sunday, from 9:45 - 11:15 am, vetted (Safe Church and First-Aid trained) and professional nursery workers will welcome your children (from infants up to and including three-year-olds) to the First Church Nursery. 

If you have any questions about the program, please speak to Kelly Gilchrist or Vlad Santiago.

Interested in Joining First Church?

For those who are considering membership, there will be a new member orientation session on Wednesday, April 24 from 7-8:30 PM in the Chapel.

At that time, you will meet with Pastor James, Pastor Alison and members of the Membership Ministry to learn what it means to become a member of our church. Then, if you so choose, you may join our church on New Member Sunday, April 28 at the 10AM service. We generally welcome new members twice a year at the end of April and October. For more information, please contact Pastor James , Pastor Alison or Sara Buell 203-272-7785.

Church OUTSIDE Spring Cleanup: TOMORROW from 9 - NOON

Come and help make our grounds beautiful again after winter. Wear work clothes and bring your gloves, rakes, tarps, wheelbarrows, a smile, and snacks to share.  

Second Hour Program on April 21 at 11:15 AM in the Chapel 

"What it Was Like to be a Church Member 300 Years Ago." 

This is part of the 300th Anniversary offerings and will presented by church member, Dick Eppler.

Butterfly Send Off

Beginning May 12, Mother's Day, the beautifully hand decorated butterflies will be available each Sunday through June during Fellowship Hours. There will be a suggested donation per butterfly and there will also be a child's price. All proceeds will benefit Chrysalis, a nearby shelter for victims of domestic violence. 

Thank you to those who have signed up for Meals Ministry which is a great way to serve others! 

You can still sign up!

Meal scheduling is organized through Take Them a Meal. The website provides easy recipes, tips for delivering meals, and even offers the opportunity to order a meal to be delivered. You prepare a meal when it is convenient for you whether once per month or once per year – whatever you can provide is appreciated.

Signup and information sheets are available at the Welcome Desk. You can also signup through Signup Genius.



Contact: Marianne Eagleson or by cell at (203) 710-4198.

Inspirational Words of Wisdom: An Opportunity To Pay It Forward 

Thanks to the support of our Caring Ministry Group, First Church plans to publish a spiral bound booklet of readings contributed by our congregation as a source of comfort and joy.

How can you help? By sending your favorite prayers, poems, meditations, quotes, lyrics, etc.—any words of wisdom which have inspired you on your spiritual journey.

Our church community is now being presented with the opportunity of supporting each other with words which have given us that extra boost of gratitude, encouragement, and hope when we needed it. Now is an ideal time to pass these words on.

Won’t you consider helping us make this a reality by sharing words of wisdom created by you or others, so that all of us may be inspired by them?

Guidelines for our booklet and sample pages will be available on a table in Parish Hall for the next few weeks to help you decide on your selection(s). Please email your favorite reading(s) by May 18 to Mary Torello.

All Saints Scholarship

Each year the First Congregational Church awards a one-time scholarship. The applicant does not to be a member but needs to be an active participant of the life of the church. The All Saints Scholarship is intended for any educational endeavor, not limited to primary or secondary school, college or university, advanced education or special educational need.  The All Saints Scholarship is intended for any educational endeavor, not limited to primary or secondary school, college or university, advanced education or special educational need. Applications are available online or can be picked up at the church office or at the Welcome Desk. Completed applications should be received no later than May 15. Please contact Jane Brown or Emily Massimino from Caring Ministry for more information.

In 35 Weeks ….The 300th is Coming!

Our greatest current need is publicizing the great line-up of events we have planned.

• Please let us know you can help by signing up at the Welcome Desk, or on our website  

Help Ring in the Sundays to Our 300th Anniversary

Beginning May 19, each worship service will begin with the ringing of the steeple bells 10 times, each bell toll representing one year of our church's history. And each Sunday, we invite someone to ring the bells; it can be any one of any age. Please sign up for a Sunday at the Welcome Desk or be in touch with Pastor Alison. She will give you a quick lesson on the best bell ringing technique. 

Sunday Volunteer Opportunities



Every Sunday there is a need for Greeters, Worship Assistants/Lay Leaders and Ushers.

If you can help with greeting and/or assisting at worship, please use the buttons below to sign up.

If you can assist with Ushering, please contact Nancy Stover (email link on tab below) for more information.

Cheshire Community Food Pantry

"Sponsor-a-Shelf"

"Our Outreach Ministry Group approved an effort to Sponsor-A-Shelf at the Cheshire Community Food Pantry. At CCFP Exec Director Dave DeFeo’s request, our charter is to keep mayo and ketchup on the shelf at the pantry that now bears our “First Congregational Church” name. 

This is an ongoing project!

So please shop for and bring in “normal size” jars or squeeze bottles of your favorite mayo or ketchup brands and drop them off at church in the grocery cart in the parlor. From there, Bob Giddings will provide delivery to the Pantry on a regular basis.

Thanks as always for your support!" 

Chancel Choir's New Faces

Joey Ekberg

Joey Ekberg joined the awesome alto section in the fall of 2019 soon after she moved to Cheshire and Elim Park.  A retired social worker, she spent the last 40 years of her career in Chicago working in higher education and not-for-profits.  Having grown up in western Massachusetts, she loves being a New Englander again and living near family.  (Yes, Barbara Swenson is her sister.)  A perfect day is a long morning at the beach and fried clams for lunch at Lenny and Joe’s.  

Busting Through Planetary Boundaries: Climate Change, Biodiversity, and Beyond: April 22 at 7:30 PM

Internationally known climate expert Dan Esty, Director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, will speak on climate and sustainability Monday, April 22, Earth Day, at our church.  Dan’s free talk, “Busting Through Planetary Boundaries: Climate Change, Biodiversity, and Beyond,” will be at 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary.

Dan, a member of our congregation, has written or edited 14 books (including the prizewinning volumes Green to Gold and A Better Planet) and dozens of articles on climate change, environmental protection, regulatory reform, and sustainability. He formerly served as Commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and recently concluded two years of public leave from Yale, during which time he worked at the World Trade Organization, helping to develop a sustainability strategy for the global trading system.

He co-leads the Remaking Trade for a Sustainable Future Project and, with a network of leaders around the world, developed the Villars Framework for a Sustainable Trade System. His Earth Day talk is sponsored by our Eco Action Team. 

Saving Nature Right at Home

Do you want to make your yard more nature friendly but don’t know where to start? Karen Schnitzer and Anne McNulty, our EcoAction Team Co-chairs, are offering yard assessments again this year. They will walk with you on your property and discuss what’s currently there and give advice about which new native plantings would thrive and benefit wildlife more fully. They will then provide a written report and information about how to make the recommended changes. It’s free and it’s fun and it helps you do your part to preserve the earth. Contact Karen Schnitzer or Anne McNulty to schedule.

For a Cleaner Environment:

Now, before the underbrush gets too dense, is the time to clean up litter in your neighborhood and elsewhere. It’s not just an esthetic thing – although who likes to see trash by the roadside? – but an environmental thing too. Some plastic garbage, most particularly the 50-milliliter bottles known as “nips,” are swept into storm sewers and eventually make their way to our waterways and Long Island Sound. There, they disintegrate into tiny microplastics, which become part of sea creatures that humans eat and have been shown to be harmful to our health. (There are tens of thousands of nips on Cheshire streets.) So get out and clean up. As you do so, be sure to use precautions: wear gloves, and use a gripper to pick up trash; watch out for dangerous items like hypodermic needles; be extra-careful of traffic; wear tick-repellant clothes; and be sure to check yourself and your family for ticks when you get home. Make sure you go searching for roadside garbage before the weeds make a search difficult, which means in the next two or three weeks. Good hunting! 



For more information about the church's Eco Action Team, email Anne McNulty or Karen Schnitzer.

Click on Picture to purchase tickets for event

April 14 - April 21 Calendar

Sunday, April 14

10:00 am  Worship with Communion and Church School

11:00 am  Fellowship, Parish Hall, hosted by Worship Ministry

11:15 am  Sermon Talkback with Pastor James, Chapel

11:15 am  Youth Group Mission Trip Informational Meeting, Whiting House

Monday, April 15

10:00 am  Earl Kurtz, Jr. Funeral Service, Sanctuary

Tuesday, April 16

2:00 pm    Parish Care, Library

7:00 pm    Membership Ministry, Chapel

Wednesday, April 17

12:45 pm  Caring Crafts, Parlor

3:30 pm    Staff Meeting, Library

7:00 pm    Chancel Choir

7:00 pm    Finance Ministry, Chapel

Thursday, April 18

9:00 am    Yoga, Parish Hall

7:00 pm    Worship Ministry, Chapel

Sunday, April 21

10:00 am  Worship with Communion and Church School

11:00 am  Fellowship, Parish Hall, hosted by Eco Action Team

11:15 am  “What Was It Like to Live 300 Years Ago”, Chapel

5:00 pm    CAFÉ Conversations Bible Study, Chapel

5:00 pm    Stepping Stones and Youth Group, Parish Hall