Rev Paige's Corner: Church Icebergs | |
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One of the first things they talked about in Interim Pastor training was icebergs! No, this wasn't about climate change. It was about a theory of understanding cultures - including church cultures. We were reminded that with an iceberg, only a small portion of it is visible above water. The vast majority of an iceberg is underwater and difficult to see. The theory about cultures is similar. There are things that are easily visible and one can point to it, observe it and discuss it. But there is much more below the water line to be discovered. Even those with long connections to the culture - in this case a local church - might struggle to recognize these less visible qualities of the culture.
For instance, I began working as an interim pastor for a pair of churches just before Holy Week. Anxious to honor their traditions as I was just beginning my work, I met with their worship team. I asked them to describe their worship traditions for Holy Week. They stared at me a bit blankly. Most had been life long members of the churches, but the best they could come up with was "Oh, we just do the usual things. Whatever you want is fine." Of course when I did something that wasn't consistant with their "normal" practices, I soon heard about it, but it was very difficult for them to make conscious how they did things or to articulate it.
This isn't at all unusual, but it brings up challenges not just for pastors but for church visitors or new members who just don't know how things are done. Long timers don't feel the need to communicate about familiar events because "everyone knows." But for those trying to join in, it can lead to barriers, awkwardness, and feeling unwelcome. For instance, a church I served would break into a sung Norwegian grace before events with meals. I just stood there looking stupid when that happened. When I asked where I might find or learn that grace, noone could tell me. Those who grew up in the church just knew it. The rest of us were outsiders.
As an Interim Pastor, I ask a lot of questions. Part of that is trying to bring into awareness how the church does things and what its values are in a way that will be helpful for both the search and welcoming the new settled pastor. But there is a larger concern. For churches that want to grow and to be welcoming to new comers, recognizing and overcoming this iceberg issue is really important to successfully bringing in new folks and making them part of the body of Christ!
With Blessings!
Rev Paige Besse-Rankin
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Worship This Week
Please join us
in the Sanctuary
or online at 10am for the
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Coffee hour will be held
after the service
in the Sanctuary.
The service will be live streamed
through Facebook Live here
or on 3CX here
Reader: Judy Dobson
Coffee hour host: Carolyn Currier
& Jill Gauthier
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Transition Talk!
Friends,
Our Transition Team is meeting and active. The Transition Team meets with the Rev. Paige “on a regular basis, (to) communicate and bear witness to the fact that the transition (to a new Settled Pastor) is ultimately (the) work of the congregation, and be available to hear the concerns of members of the congregation”. The team includes Rob Reeves, Barbara Wallack, Lynn D’Adamo, Rick Little working closely with Rev. Paige Besse-Rankin. Please feel free to talk with any of the team members if you have questions or concerns about the Transition period.
We are scheduling two meetings in May and June to be held after coffee and refreshments in Hadley Hall. These meetings are designed to inform you about what is happening during the Transition and to seek your input. Other meetings will be held as we move into the Summer months.
Please plan on attending our first “Transition Talk” meeting on Sunday, May 5 th . The topic of this meeting is to review the transition process and the involvement opportunities for members and friends of the congregation.
Our second “Transition Talk” session will be on Sunday, June 2 nd and will focus on the topic “Who are my neighbors?”. This will include a great deal of data about the communities in which we live and the opportunities for the church within that area.
We look forward to your active participation in this process.
Rick Little for the Transition Team
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The Food Truck Festival Needs Your Help
The vendors and the entertainment are all set for our 4th Annual Hampstead Eats Food Truck Festival on April 27th. If you can help in any way, it would be greatly appreciated.
Things you can do:
- Help with Setup starting at 9AM
- Help with Ticket Sales - multiple timeslots starting at 10:30AM-1:30PM & 1:30-4PM
- Help with Parking - multiple timeslots starting at 10:30AM-2:30PM
- Help with Cleanup starting at 4:00PM
Let’s make this event a huge success! As always, thank you for your support,
Your Fundraising Team
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Nursery Volunteers Needed!
The Discipleship team would like to offer Nursery care for children 3 and under during worship. We would like to set up a rotation of voluneers so no one needs to volunteer more than once a month. There will always be two volunteers in the nursery and they need to be screened. If you are willing to volunteer, please speak with Linda Tilden or Rev Paige. Thanks!
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Fiber Arts Canceled This Saturday
Fiber Arts will be canceled this month (April) so we can host the Hampstead Eats food truck festival on Saturday, April 27th.
It will resume in May as usual on the last Saturday of the month.
We hope you'll still stop by and enjoy some amazing food from the food trucks!
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Quarterly Statements Important Note
Quarterly statements were recently mailed or emailed. Some statements may be missing a donation made in March. Unknowingly we ran statements before a donation was completely entered into the computer system. Rather than rerun every statement we want to let you know those checks were deposited and will appear next time we run statements in July. Please call David Chin at 434-7045 if you have additional questions.
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Atkinson Congregational Hosts Youth Mental Health Day
Coming on May 14, 2024, co-hosted by SoRock Coalition, Atkinson Congregational will host a screening of “What I Wish My Parents Knew”, a film screening and discussion about Youth Mental Health. The film and discussion are to help parents better understand how to support the mental health of their children. A 45 minute film explores the inner struggle of children battling depression and anxiety in silence, and will be followed by a discussion led by local mental health professionals.
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Spring Clean-up Volunteers Needed
Operations is requesting your help to clean up the church grounds after a winter that was mild temperature-wise, but gave us periods of extreme windy weather. Debris including leaves and branches are primary targets. In addition, there are some areas inside the building such as the kitchen and under furniture that need to be addressed. If you have a rake, blower, pruners, a tarp, etc., bring them with you.
The date is Saturday, May 11, 9am-12pm. Please see the task list if you cannot make it Saturday.
Many hands make light work.
Thank you,
Operations Team
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New UPPER ROOM Devotionals
We have copies of the
May/June 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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A Message for Plant Enthusiasts
Despite the recent weather, it is spring, and the young perennials are popping up in the gardens. Consider dividing your perennials now and potting up a portion of them for sale at the Strawberry Festival. Right now, the tops are small, and the roots are strong. Potting them now and caring for them will give us full, beautiful, unstressed plants for the sale. Please label your plants with any information you can: type, variety, color, anything is helpful.
Houseplants are also popular now. Do you have something from which you could take cuttings and start new little plants? Succulent type plants like Christmas Cactus, should be cut, then let to air dry and callus over for a few days before sticking them into a well-drained soil. If you know the name or color of your plant, please label it. If you have questions about propagating, feel free to ask me. Kariallard1@msn.com
Maybe you have more houseplants than you need these days. Consider donating healthy plants that are taking up too much room, or of which you have duplicates. All donations of healthy plants are appreciated.
Many thanks in advance from the Strawberry Festival Plant Table Team!
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Steeple Lighting
Steeple lit the week of
April 22nd - 28th
In Memory of
Rob Letoile
from Hampstead Friends
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Steeple Lighting
Steeple lit the week of
April 29th - May 13th
In Loving Memory of
Gilman Paul Perry
We love & miss you!
Love, Your Perry Family
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Peace & Justice
Two related articles concerning homeless encampments were in the news this past week. The first was in New Hampshire Patch about the state moving in to clear an encampment in Concord. The camp is on Storrs Street and Sexton Avenue. A Massachusetts hazmat company has been hired to clean up the sites where there have been several fires and other issues. The state owns two parcels and the city owns an adjacent parcel. The property was posted with “no trespassing” signs and campers were warned to vacate the land in February. During the last two weeks Concord police have been at the site as New England Trauma Service, a Massachusetts cleanup company worked. The property has a value of $1.1 million.
The other article was about a case that came before the US Supreme Court on Monday. The case involves the town of Grants Pass, OR and its ordinances banning camping on public property by people who are homeless. The town of about 40,000 fines people who camp or sleep in public – including in cars. In 2014 the City Council members discussed how to make it “uncomfortable enough in our city so they will want to move on down the road.” The area has a severe housing shortage and they do not provide a shelter for people experiencing homelessness. There is one overnight shelter for adults, the Gospel Rescue Mission, but rules including attendance at daily Christian services and no pets make it unattractive.
The court ruling will have implications across the country as so many are coping with how to assist their homeless populations.
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Music Corner by Herb Tardiff
The most expensive pianos in the world:
More than 300 years ago, Italian inventor Bartolomeo Cristofori, working as the Keeper of the Instruments for the Medicis, built the first piano. He named it ‘un cimbalo di cipresso di piano e forte’ (A soft and loud cypress keyboard), which evolved to the pianoforte, fortepiano, and later, simply – the piano
Till today, pianos of all brands have been sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. Mordents Magazine created a list of shockingly priced (and sold!!) pianos.
11.The piano from Casablanca movie — $3,410,000
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Dooley Wilson
The piano behind Ingrid Bergman’s famous “Play again it, Sam” phrase in Casablanca, was auctioned for $3.4 million in 2014.
This iconic instrument played a major role in the classic 1942 film, standing at the center of Rick’s Café and serving as a hiding place for Humphrey Bogart’s “transit letters”. According to the auction announcement, the lid of the piano had been modified so that Bogart could easily hide the papers under it.
Painted with Moroccan motifs, the piano is a beautiful piece of film history – although we never had a chance to listen to its sound. Actor Dooley Wilson, who played Sam, didn’t know how to play the instrument, so he mimicked the hand movements on the keyboard while a real pianist played offscreen.
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Save the Date! Look what is coming and mark your calendars!
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| April 27 | Hampstead Eats/Food Truck Rally | | May 5 | Transition Talk following Worship | | May 12 | Mother's Day Diaper Drive | | June 1 | Strawberry Festival | | June 2 | Transition Talk following Worship | | |
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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.
4/23/2024 Newsletter
Each week, we will update this section of our Weekly Word with the new link
for the current newsletter.
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New AMAZON Wish List for
Saint Anne's Food Pantry
St. Anne's Pantry is seeing an increase in the number of families who shop with them. They've almost doubled the amount of families who shop weekly since this time last year. They try to keep their shelves stocked as much as they can.
They are reaching out for some help...donations are needed. They thought they would try an Amazon Wish List in addition to listing items here.
Thank you in advance for any donations.
Please no expired items and non-perishable items only please.
Drop off in the foyer of Hadley Hall.
Looking for the following: cereal(no oatmeal), coffee, tea, Ritz Crackers, Saltines, granola bars, Nutrigrain bars, cheese and crackers, peanut butter and crackers, canned Chef Boy r Dee, condiments, salad dressing, brownie/cake mix, Coffee/K-Cups, Quickbread/Muffin mixes, Easter Candy, Ensure, Scalloped/Au gratin potatoes.
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To sign up for the next volunteer opportunity click here. If you are interested in volunteering contact Jane DeRosa via email at janederosa@comcast.net. | |
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. | | |
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!
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Help Us Continue Our Mission at HCC | |
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 Summer Office hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 9:00am to Noon
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Hampstead Congregational Church Website
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