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HEALING PRAYERS AT 11:30 AM
ON COMMUNION
SUNDAYS
This Sunday, September 2, at 11:30 am and on
every Communion Sunday (the first Sunday of each month), Pastor Jean will be
available in the sanctuary to wrap you in a prayer shawl, hear your private
prayers, anoint you with oil, and lay hands on you.
If you are in need of any kind of physical,
emotional, or spiritual healing, or wish to pray for someone who is... If you
are need of reconciliation with someone or wish to make a confession to God...
If you need to share your concerns, your fears, your troubles with someone
else...
If you simply need to know
that God cares... please come.
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Please Welcome
New
Student Pastor
Diane
Anderson
Please get ready to welcome our new Student Pastor, Diane Anderson,
who will be joining us beginning Sunday, September 2. Diane is a student at
Andover Newton Theological School and will be with us through May, 2013,
learning "hands on" parish ministry.
Diane submitted the following "bio" to introduce herself to
us.
Diane Anderson grew up in Chappaqua, NY and has been living in
Weston, Massachusetts for the last nine years with her husband, Tom, and two
teenagers, Katherine and Will.
Her original career was in education - she was a third grade teacher.
When Diane's children were little she stayed home and did volunteer work in her
community. Her favorite place to volunteer was at her church. Diane's church
involvement eventually led her to apply to seminary.
She has been attending Andover Newton Theological School part time
for the past four years and hopes to earn her Masters of Divinity degree in
2014. In addition to her passion for worship and church communities, Diane has
particular interests in prison ministry, interfaith relationships and spiritual
practices such as lectio divina and centering prayer. She also loves to curl up
with a good book, walk her dogs in the woods and cook vegetarian meals for her
family. Diane is very excited about spending the next year with the members of
The First Congregational Church of Stoughton!!
Please extend Diane a gracious welcome!
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Regular CHURCH OFFICE
HOURS
resume on Sept. 3:
Monday Closed
Tuesday through Friday 8:30
am-12:30 pm
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HOMECOMING SUNDAY, September 9
We invite you to join us as
we begin our new church year with Worship and Sunday School and kick off our
new "Bible Top 40"
program.
9:00 am Enjoy a continental
breakfast while seeing old friends and
new! Register
for Sunday School. Learn more
about our ministries, programs and activites.
9:15 am Prayer
Group
10:00
am Morning
Worship; Bible Top 40 focus: Genesis 1, Creation
11:00 am Coffee
Fellowship
11:30 am Bible Top 40
Discussion for adults and youth (will wrap up
no later than
1 pm); free child care for children up to Gr. 5.
5:00 pm Faith4Life
Kick-off Cookout
We hope you will join us and
also invite your family, and friends!
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Changes in Christian
Education
Christian Education announces several changes for our 2012-2013
Program Year:
- There will be NO registration fee for Sunday School or any
other activity (although donations are always gladly accepted).
- Sunday School will be
covering PreK to Grade 5 (previously PreK to Grade 8).
- Faith4Life, our youth program
for Grades 6 to 12, will now be meeting weekly on Sunday
evenings.
Pastor Jean will be running a
Bible Top 40 class for middle school through adults immediately following
worship every Sunday.
Importantly, childcare will be available for children from nursery age through
Grade 5 during Bible Top 40 class so parents do not have to
worry.
Homecoming Sunday Breakfast and
Christian Education Registration
At 9:00 am
on Homecoming Sunday (Sept. 9), all are invited to come out for a special
continental breakfast hosted by Christian Education.
At this
time, we will also begin regristration for Sunday School (PreK to Grade 5) and
Faith4Life (Grades 6 to 12). There is NO fee required to register buyt
donations are gladly accepted. Please stop by and ask about all of oyr
Christian Eduacation programs--if you have any questions, we are happy to
answer! Volunteers are always welcom, and no experience is necessary. If you
are able to bring a breakfast itme on Homecoming Sunday, please contact Sally
Monahan at sal_kev@yahoo.com, or call (781) 752-7276.
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Introducing "Bible Top 40"
Starting Sunday, September 9,
we are introducing a new integrated bible program we have named "Bible Top 40."
Between Homecoming Sunday, September 9, and Father's Day, June 16, we will cover
40 of the most well-known stories in the Bible.
These will include Adam and
Eve... Noah and the Ark... the Tower of Babel... Joseph and his coat of many
colors... Jonah and the whale... David and Goliath... Daniel in the lion's
den... the boy Jesus in the Temple... the wedding at Cana... Zacchaeus up in the
tree... and the road to Emmaus. To some, these stories have been told to us from
childhood; to others, they may be unfamiliar.
Over the course of the 2012-13
church program year, we will be hearing these passages in worship as the
scripture lesson and sermon focus. Then at 11:30 (after you have had a chance to
get some goodies at coffee fellowship), adults and middle/high school youth are
invited to gather in the Fireplace Room until 1:00 pm (at the latest) for
further discussion. Free child care will be available each Sunday until 1:00 pm
on the lower level for children up to grade 5. Please feel free to come to these
discussions every Sunday, once in a while, or whenever you can!
Each week, along with your
worship bulletin, you will receive a special handout with commentary on that
particular Sunday's passage, a prayer, and questions to ponder during worship
and at the discussion. At the end of each service, you will also be able to pick
up next week's handout in order to get a "head start" on the following Sunday;
handouts from previous Sundays will also be available should you miss a week. We
will also provide folders in which you can put each week's handout so that, by
the end of the year, you will have a complete set of "Bible Top 40" notes,
prayers, and comments to which you can refer in the future.
In scripture, 40 is the number
of transformation, and we hope that "Bible Top 40" becomes a transformative
experience for the congregation as a whole and for you as an individual.
If you have any questions,
please see Pastor Jean.
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If you would like to sponsor Altar Flowers, please contact Gale
DiBeneditto at 781-344-4728, or leave your information with the church office,
781-344-2371.
Please give specific information as to when you would like the
flowers placed on the altar and if it is in celebration, remembrance or in honor
of someone and a telephone number where we can contact you. The cost to sponsor
a standard arrangement is $25.00. Checks for flowers can be made out to "Nancy
Sullivan."
If you have any questions you can contact Nancy Sullivan at the
church office @ 781-344-2371 or Gale DeBeneditto @ 781-344-4728.
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Cleaning out your closet, garage, attic?
Ready to get rid of "stuff"
you'll never use again?
From now until the end of
October, we will be collecting items for our church's annual Holiday Fair.
We will be accepting the
following items in good condition:
White
elephant/ attic treasures, dishes, small working
electronics, small furniture or home décor items, fiction books, CDs, DVDs,
Holiday decorations, children's books and toys
PLEASE: NO
COMPUTERS, NO TVs or VCR recorders,
NO clothing,
textbooks, magazines, exercise equipment
or large
items of any kind.
(If
you think it has value, call Marcia Olson first
before bringing it
over)
Drop items by the church on
Sunday mornings or during regular church hours (mostly mornings before noon), or
contact Marcia and make arrangements to have them picked up.
While we are so thankful for
your donations, it takes a lot of work to organize and clean items for sale at
Attic Treasures. We appreciate your consideration in making sure your
"treasures" have all their parts and are in clean, good working
order.
We are also seeking donations
for our Silent Auction - if you are able to make a donation of a gift certificate, tickets
to a play or sporting event, sports memorabilia, or some other item, we would be
most grateful.
For pick-up or
questions contact Marcia Olson,
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TREASURE HUNT!
We are
collecting jewelry early this year to give us more time to sort, clean and
prepare your donations for sale at our annual church fair in November. If you, a
neighbor, relative, friend or co-worker have jewelry (old treasures) to part
with, this is a perfect place to donate your cast-offs and benefit our
church.
We accept estate jewelry, fine jewelry, and costume jewelry of any
style or type. Just put your pieces in a clear plastic bag and leave them in the
church office, or contact: Elaine Henriksen -781-344-0789; eshenriksen@verizon.net, or Dee Hayes - 508-238-1296.
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Fall is coming and we could
use your help t o make it a banner year for the Church Fair.
If you are looking for yarn
to make items for the hand-knit table, please contact Maurine Upton.
We are looking for people to make hand made items such as children's
sweaters, baby items, afghans, towels, pot holders, mittens, hats, scarfs plus
any new suggestions for the table.
Please call Maurine Upton at
781-344-4609. Thank you.
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  AREA RUGS AVAILABLE
FOR SALE:
We received a generous donation of several
area rugs of varying sizes for Attic Treasures. Rather than store them till next fall, we wanted to offer
them for sale now.
The rugs are currently in the open area
outside the music room with prices ranging from $15-60. Three have already been
sold.
If you are interested, please
contact
Nancy Sullivan in the church
office(781-344-2371).
Many thanks to Bill and Laura Murphy, friends
of Russ and Stephanie Clough, for this donation as well as many others
throughout the years.
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First Congregational Church
of Stoughton
United Church of
Christ
An
Open and Affirming Congregation
Our Vision
We are called
together
to embrace God's
transformation
of our lives and our
world
by becoming and
serving
as Christ's
disciples.
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Quick Links...
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