CHURCH SCHOOL:
During worship
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All are Welcome!
The members and friends of The First Congregational Church
extend to you a warm and sincere welcome.
Whether you have newly arrived in the area, or are a long
time resident, we invite you to share in the life of this community. Together
we strive to grow in our faith through worship, education, fellowship
and outreach.
Church News
Callers: Al & France Rouff
Saturday, February 13, 2010
7:00-8:00pm - Family Dance – all ages
Instruction provided
8:30-9:30pm -Adult Dance (4th grade & up)
$5.00/person
$10.00/family of 4
$15.00/family of 5 or more
Refreshments – Free will offering
Baked goods and
homemade candy needed!!!
Annual Candy and Bake Sale
Sunday, February 14th, Church Fellowship Hall after Church
to support Heifer International
Show off your baking talents and WOW the congregation.
Bring your home-baked goodies to the Annual Valentine's Day Candy and
Baked Goodies Sale to support Heifer International.
Please drop off all baked goods by 9am in the Fellowship
Hall. The CE Committee will then organize and prepare the goodies for
sale.
All cash donations from the Candy sale will go to Heifer
International to fund farm animals for people and families in need around
the world.
Heifer International is a nonprofit, charitable organization
dedicated to relieving global hunger and poverty. Heifer provides gifts
of livestock, plants, and education in sustainable agriculture to financially
disadvantaged families around the world.
Goats, water buffalo and camels are also known to Heifer
as the "seven M" animals. They provide milk, muscle, manure,
money, material and motivation to families in need.
Please support the children of the Church School as they
sell homemade candy and baked goodies to fund an animal for a family
in need. The children hope to be able to fund several animals this year.
With your donations, the Church School children together will decide
what type of animal to purchase.
We look forward to seeing you at the Candy Sale! Thank
you in advance for your support and generosity.
Board of Christian Education
Centering Prayer – “Hanging Out With God”
Actually to ‘hang out with God’ has something to do with the call to commune with God. “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) is the simple wisdom and invitation that is given us all through the scriptures by God. It is a call to set aside all activity, rest in silence, and come into an intimate relationship with the Beloved. This journey can transform your relationship with yourself, others, and most importantly, with God.
We will learn and practice Centering Prayer through a 5 week DVD course with Father Thomas Keating who has been one of the people who looked to ancient sources of the contemplative traditions of prayer in the Church to develop a simple method of contemplative prayer for contemporary people. This method has come to be known as Centering Prayer, a reference to Thomas Merton’s description of prayer that is “centered entirely on the presence of God.” Centering Prayer is based on the wisdom saying of Jesus in the ‘Sermon on the Mount’: ‘when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6: 6) The inner room is that place within you that is always accessible to you, wherever you are, whenever you choose to access it. The method and discipline of Centering Prayer teaches you to relax and open in this inner room. What happens in the inner room is a process of growing in “the deep knowledge of God” (Colossans 1: 11).
The cost for the course is $25. Facilitated by Rev. Deborah L. Adams. Please preregister by February 19 at 978-352-8443, First Congregational Church UCC, 7 Andover St., Georgetown, MA.
Six Week “Active Parenting” Course
(for parents of 5 to 12 year olds)
Being a parent is the most important job in the world! Active Parenting gives parents the skills and knowledge to support their children in surviving and thriving in all social and cultural settings.
Successful parenting involves more than providing food, clothing, and shelter. True success as a parent involves supporting children as they acquire high self-esteem, strong communication skills and the courage to think through and make good decisions in all social and cultural settings. This method of parenting shows parents a third way between autocratic and permissive parenting styles, the active parent. This course will use video, workbook, discussion, role play, and practice as teaching methods. The materials show real, culturally diverse families, are easy to understand, and feature child development experts.
Cost of the course is $40 person/$55 couple including the workbook. Register by February 19 at 978-352-8443. To be held at First Congregational UCC, 7 Andover St. Georgetown, MA. Class begins week of February 21. (Those registering will determine the time.) Rev. Deborah L. Adams, facilitator.
Book Club News
The Book Club of the First Congregational Church is open to everyone.
No need to call ahead to reserve a space, just show up on the night of
the meeting. Check our website for the dates and books to read and for
updates. The Club has moved their meeting night to the first Thursday
of the month. Their first meeting of the new year will be February 4th.
Check here for more information.
- February 4 - "A
TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN" by Betty Smith (JoEllen Fielding's
house)
- March 4 - "FOR
ONE MORE DAY" by Mitch Albom (no location yet)
- April 1 - "HERE
IF YOU NEED ME" by Kate Braestrup (Kirsten Davis' house)
- May 6 - "THE
PIANO TEACHER" by Janice Lee (no location yet)
- June 3 - TBA (Nancy Aberman's house)
Resolution to Reverse Climate Change
& Protect God’s Creation
(Adopted October 17, 2009 at the 210th Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts
Conference, United Church of Christ in Worcester, MA.)
To read more about this important resolution, click
here!
To sign the Interfaith Call for 350 and share it with other communities
of faith - visit www.350.org/interfaithcall
(click here).
Visit the 'BellRinging350' photo album (click
here) for photos of church members ringing the Church bell 350 times
in support of this call.
 The
new Church Cookbook
is now on sale!
Just $15.00!
A Great Gift Idea!
You may purchase the books at Coffee Hour after services,
by contacting Kirsten Davis, Karen LeBlanc, Peggy Smith or Susan Stead,
or by downloading and following the directions on the Cookbook Order
Form (click
here).
Questions?? - email the FCC Cookbook Hotline (click
here)!!
We must have payment (made out to the First Congregational
Church) at the time of ordering.
Georgetown’s food pantries are supporting our communities
(from The Georgetown Record - April 15, 2009)
Georgetown - In the process of pulling together an
event for the Georgetown Democratic Town Committee, I spent time looking
into what pantry type services might exist to help individuals and families
in the Georgetown area who had needs they cannot meet by themselves. I
had donated to the First Congregational Church of Georgetown, UUC pantry
before and became aware that the New Life Community Church had a pantry
from an article in the Georgetown Record. These churches support The Pantry
and The Abundant Pantry, respectively. I contacted each of these organizations
to see how the Georgetown Democratic Town Committee could work most effectively
with them. Reaction was very positive from both churches on publicizing
the pantries and ensuring our citizens understood how they could participate
in these efforts — whether it was donating to, or receiving from
the pantries.
The Abundant Pantry at 186 East Main St. is open Tuesday
mornings and the First Congregational Church’s The Pantry on Andover
Street is open Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon.
From subsequent conversations with Michelle Brock
at the First Congregational Church and Trish Howell from New Life we learned
that their pantries are currently providing services to individuals and
families. Howell indicated she has worked with approximately 11 families
over the last month. At the First Congregational Church, their church
leaders and their minister have built many community connections to assist
those in need. Their pantry has confidentially served individuals and
families for many years. They have been very glad to be able to provide
this service in the community. The families in need have come from Georgetown
and surrounding areas, including Boxford. We must all realize that, given
the current economic meltdown, there are now many hardworking individuals
and families who now find they need some level of temporary assistance.
To help out both pantries the Georgetown Democratic
Town Committee will be hosting an event concurrently with Town Meeting
in May. For those of you that will be attending the Town Meeting, please
bring whatever you can to help out your neighbors. If you will not be
attending the Town Meeting, please consider dropping off items at either
of the pantries.
For more information, call Trish Howell at 978-352-3133 at New Life or
Michelle Brock at 978-352-8443 at First Congregational for information.
Some suggestions in donating or using the pantries
are: Staple foods are preferred over the more exotic items; High protein
items such as peanut butter and tuna are great items to donate; The Pantry
can handle frozen items as they have a freezer, but The Abundant Pantry
cannot.
Items preferred by kids, such as Spaghetti-O type
items and stews are in demand, for obvious reasons; Paper products, such
as towels, facial tissues and toilet paper; Home medicines such as aspirin,
Tylenol type products, Advil type products and any other general home
medicines must be sealed and in unused condition; Most all baby items,
especially diapers.
Checks are also welcome (to purchase gift certificates
to Market Basket and Crosby’s) and should be made out to either the
First Congregational Church or the New Life Community Church.
Paul Nelson is the chair of the Georgetown Democratic
Town Committee. For more information visit www.georgetowndems.com.
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Webster named new education director at First Congregational
For 17 years she has been teaching children about God’s work.
And a month ago, she joined the flock in Georgetown to lead Christian
education at the First Congregational Church.
Gloria Webster has been named director of Christian education,
a new position at the United Church of Christ-based church.
She spent 13 years as director at the First Congregational in Swampscott
... (click
here for more) |
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Please welcome Rev. Deborah L. Adams,
Intentional Interim Minister
Deborah was born and raised in NH. After graduating from UMaine
in 1978 in Environmental Studies/Education(B.S.) and Andover Newton
Theological School in 1983 (M.Div.), she served churches in NH,
Maine, and Washington states. She has also had the opportunity to
serve in specialized ministries as hospital community chaplain,
prison chaplain, campus minister, and outdoor ministries chaplain.
Deborah is married to Brian J.W. Christensen and they have two
adult children, Hans, age 24, and Kate, age 19. Two weeks ago Hans
was married to Renee which makes Deborah a new mother-in-law! Kate
is engaged to US Marine, Jordan Finlay, who is being deployed to
Afghanistan in the new year. Jordan is in North Carolina. Brian,
Kate, Hans & Renee all live in the Seattle area. Deborah's mother,
retired UCC minister, Rev. Pat Adams, and her brother and sister,
Steve and Rusty, all live in southern Maine.
The whole family is in on this new adventure of discovering how
to be a 'bicoastal' family. |
Check It Out!
Our Website Now Has Photo Albums!
'Photo Albums'
are now available on our website!
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