February 16th Weekly Word
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HCC Annual Meeting this Sunday, Feb 20th, at 11am
on Zoom & Telephone & Hadley Hall
Our 269th Annual Meeting will be held this Sunday following online worship. We will hold it online and you can join the meeting here.
There is an option for you to call in if you cannot attend online by calling (929) 205-6099.
When asked, enter meeting ID: 875 7698 3296
and then passcode: 654854
If you would like to attend the meeting in Hadley Hall, we will have some seating available. Please arrive by 10:50am so we can seat everyone around the tv.
Worship this Sunday, February 20th will be online only.
On Monday, 2/7, the annual report with the proposed budget was emailed out to all members with email addresses and USPS mailed out to all other members. We have a few hard copies of the report in the foyer to Hadley Hall. Contact us if you want it emailed/mailed.
You can also access the annual report with the proposed budget here
If you have any questions that you would like to submit for the meeting, please email or call the church office prior to tomorrow, Thursday, 2/17 and they will be submitted to the appropriate team chair prior to the meeting.
We hope you can attend this celebration of the wonderful ministry we have done over the past year!
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We Need Your Help
You might remember back in October we reported in the Weekly Word that we had USPS mail missing from our Church mailbox.
We ask you to please validate all the donations we have listed on your recently emailed/mailed 2021 year-end statement, specifically around October when we had USPS mail missing.
If you notice any check #'s/donations missing from your donation statement, please contact the office as soon as possible.
Thank you!
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We had a wonderful celebration of baptism of
Zoey Ella Wallack this past Sunday!
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Ashes to Go
Ash Wednesday is quickly approaching! On Ash Wednesday, March 2, we will be offering ashes to go from 10am-11am and from 4pm-5pm.
Pull into the circular driveway in front of the church to receive ashes from Rev. Kathy to mark the beginning of our Lenten journey.
The ashes we receive will remind us of our need for God, and of the call to follow God in Lent and every season.
Please consider stopping by!
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Lenten Reflection Booklets Available For All!
Lent begins in just two weeks.
We have a wonderful daily Lenten devotional booklet available to anyone who wants one. Those who used this resource in the past have really enjoyed it.
This Living Compass devotional focuses on practicing letting go of all that gets in our way of God.
Please consider using the booklet this Lent. Copies are available in the foyer of Hadley Hall, at worship services, or contact the church office and we can send one to you.
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Lenten Discussion Groups
All are invited to join our Lenten discussion groups. We will be meeting for six weeks on Monday evenings at 6:30pm (online only) or Tuesday mornings at 10:30am (online and in person) beginning on March 7/8.
The booklet "Living Well Through Lent 2022" will guide our discussions on how to let go and let God.
No prior experience in groups is needed. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Pastor Kathy.
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Parkland Hospital receives
HCC Valentine's Baskets
Thanks to all for your donations of candy, monies for gift cards, posters, and personal cards for staff in all departments of Parkland Hospital.
The baskets were presented to the director of nursing and a nurse in the emergency room. They were overjoyed with the baskets, which they delivered to all staff caring for Covid patients.
Once again you have reached out to the community with love. Thank you again from the Discipleship Team.
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Notes From Operations
Steeple Repair & Church Painting
With the annual meeting coming up, we would like to give you a preview of one of the items that requires a vote.
As anyone who has looked up at the steeple can see, it is disappearing. Every time we have a storm or even a strong gust of wind, parts of the steeple are blowing off.
As you drive into the church parking lot, you will notice the paint falling off of the church. We need to paint the church to keep it from rotting away.
Usually, Operations quietly does the work in the background and we try not to get in front of the church. In this case, we have added an addendum to the annual budget that requires a vote of the congregation to fund the needed repairs.
The cost of repairing the steeple and painting the church comes to about $85,000. We have the funds in our accounts to cover the cost. We need your approval to spend those funds.
I have spoken in front of the church a couple times asking for help raising the money to replace the funds we use. We have also been asking for someone to lead a capital campaign to help replace the funds.
With or without the capital campaign, we need to repair the building. The campaign will allow us to replace the funds quicker and reduce the number of times you will need to listen to me asking for money. We have some money that has been donated specifically for these building repairs, but we need your help, both with the vote for the expenditure and with your donation to fund the project.
We have met our $1,000 original match challenge and the family who matched the donations has made a challenge to others to create a new matching challenge. If interested in creating a new matching challenge, please contact Chris McCune or the church office.
Thank you to everyone who donated and to the family that matched! Even though the first match is over, please continue to make donations towards the repair of the steeple and painting of the church.
Thank you,
Chris, Chair Operations Team
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Worship This Week
Please join us online at 10am for
the Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany as we continue to reflect on Jesus' beatitudes and teachings in Luke.
What does it mean to forgive? To love our enemies? To be a Christian in today's world? Attend on Sunday to reflect on these questions and more.
The service will be live-streamed through Facebook Live here or on 3CX here.
And then please plan to attend the annual meeting at 11am!
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Sharing the Good News about HCC
The houses of worship in the greater Derry area are considering putting on a "House of Worship Fair" where folks in the surrounding communities can come to learn about our faith communities and see if they are interested in attending.
In order for HCC to be represented, we need a contact person who would be able to be on a planning team to share ideas, attend some meetings, and to help plan the event (which is tentatively planned for May 2022).
Would you consider sharing your gifts in this way?
If so, please contact Pastor Kathy at pastorkathyucc@gmail.com or let the office know.
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A Word from Peace and Justice
With spring just around the corner, the UCC is offering a webinar on Habitat Restoration that faith communities can be a part of.
Here is the information from “The Pollinator: Sharing, Connecting, Inspiring For God’s Creation” of February 3. The Webinar is at 1pm on Mar. 23. Usually if you register and cannot attend, a recording of the webinar will be sent to you.
Webinar on Habitat Restoration for Churches
Douglas Tallamy’s books have awakened thousands to the problem of wildlife decline and the solution that resides in habitat restoration. This is a solution of which you and your faith community can be a part. In a webinar entitled “Restoring Nature: What People of Faith Can Do to Heal the Earth,” Tallamy will outline the crisis faced and what we can do in response. The green teams and green thumbs of faith communities will learn not only about cultivating native plants in the landscapes around them, but also what can be done to create a transformative movement full of actions ordinary people everywhere can take.
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Upper Room Devotional
We have copies of the March/April Upper Room devotional available in the foyer to Hadley Hall.
If you need a copy mailed to you, please contact the main office.
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Bible Study
Bible Study continues on Fridays in the Davis Room.
We will start at 1:30 to 1:45 or 2:00 depending on how much yakking we do but no later than 2.
If you need help with the lift to the second floor let Jeanne Stalker know by calling her at 603-770-8515 either beforehand or when you arrive, whichever is easier for you.
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Steeple Lighting
February 20 - February 26
In loving memory of David Morris & Aunt Corene Warren
From the Morris Family
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Food Drive to Support
Saint Anne Ecumenical Food Pantry
For the next couple of months, we are going to focus on the needs of St. Anne’s Food Pantry.
The current needs are:
salad dressings
cans of coffee
flour
sugar
containers of grated cheese
ketchup
Please drop off any donations in the foyer of Hadley Hall
Thank you for all your support!
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This month we help serve on Wednesday, February 23. If you are interested in volunteering contact Jane DeRosa via email
janederosa@comcast.net.
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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.
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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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Are you on Facebook? Do you follow Hampstead Congregational Church? Please like our page to know about all the great events in the church. Liking also supports our church when people check us out. If you are already connected, share our good news!
Rev. Kathy also has a page for all who are interested to follow.
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If you are on Instagram, please follow us, and let your friends know about us by sharing our posts! Click this link
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Scam Emails
Emails 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--she'll address it to your name. She will never ask you for money/gift cards over email.
Also, any email from Pastor Kathy will always have her signature line on the bottom with her phone number/address.
If in doubt, please call the church or send an email to pastorkathyucc@gmail.com.
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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!
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Our Mailing Address:
61 Main Street
Hampstead, NH 03841
Church Office hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 9:00am to 3:00pm
See what's happening on our social sites
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Hampstead Congregational Church Website
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