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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 activities.
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 but donations
are gladly accepted. Please stop by and ask about all of our Christian
Eduacation programs--if you have any questions, we are happy to answer!
Volunteers are always welcome, and no experience is necessary.
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OUR FAITH-4-LIFE YOUTH
MINISTRY
 KICKS OFF WITH A COOK-OUT THIS SUNDAY
EVENING, SEPT
9TH
We will kick off our new year with a cook out
at Dana's house at 5:00 PM. Parents are
welcome to join us to hear about the plans we have made for the upcoming year.
Please bring either a beverage or dessert to share
with the group.
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Please Welcome
New Student Pastor
Diane
Anderson
Please welcome our new Student Pastor, Diane Anderson. 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!!
If you did not get a chance to meet Diane last weekend, please
introduce yourself this weekend!
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Introducing "Bible Top 40"
Starting this 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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Blessed Children's
Nursery is open Homecoming Sunday
Blessed Children's Nursery is open this Sunday and every Sunday
morning, beginning Homecoming Sunday (even when Sunday School is not in session)
from 9:45 am - 11:15 am during worship and Sunday School Classes for children up
to age 3.
For parents of children who will be attending the Bible Top 40
Program, child care is also available following worship for children ranging
from nursery ages through Grade 5 until 1:00 pm. Age appropriate activities will
be provided during the Bible Top 40 Program. It is staffed with two adults at
all times. Please welcome our new Childcare Coordinators, Lisa Antonius-El Kary
and Rosemary Amadeo.
Our nursery room is located on the lower level; take a left after the
church office, it is the first room on your right. You can drop off your
children through age 3, prior to worship, get them settled, and come up to
church OR you can bring them down at anytime during the service. After worship,
children up through Grade 5 are welcome, if parents are attending the Bible Top
40 Program.
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 We extend our prayers of Christian love and sympathy to
the family and friends of David P.
Rudis, who passed away suddenly
on July 7, 2012. He was the son of Edward Rudis and the late Patricia Rudis and
brother of Mark and Debbie.
His graveside service will
be conducted by Rev. Lenk at Evergreen Cemetery on Tuesday, September 11 at
11:00 am.
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NEW DEFIBRILLATOR
INSTALLED IN THE NARTHEX
Thank you to the McGarvey Family
who generously donated the new
defibrillator that is now installed in the Narthex, in honor of the
Stoughton Fire and Police Departments.
We now need to train approximately 4 people in the procedure of how
to use this equipment. Please contact either Jean Lenk or Nancy Sullivan, with
your interest in training as well as your availability for training.
We will have the Stoughton Fire Department come in to train the
individuals involved. This is a life saving device, so this training is for
individuals 18 or older. We sincerely appreciate your efforts to volunteer for
this training.
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5th Annual South Shore CROP* Hunger Walk
Team Meeting
*Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty
This fall, CROP* Hunger Walks across the United States will bring
passionate people out in droves to help raise funds to fight hunger locally and
globally - and you can be part of it!
First Congregational Church
of Stoughton and Christ Congregational Church in Brockton will once again
be partnering to put on the
Fifth Annual South Shore CROP* Hunger Walk and we are looking forward to another
successful walk!
If you are interested in forming a team, come to our "Why We Walk" Orientation
on Sunday, September 16 beginning at 7 pm at the Christ Church in
Brockton.
We need all of you to help out with this important effort so we can
ensure another successful walk!
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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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