Posts by First Congregational Church Of Westminster, MA (Page 4)
Surviving and Thriving
In a season of change As we celebrate survival, and hope, we must also seek ways to thrive in this season of change for our church. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.†John 16:33 In the past year, this church experienced a huge change; for many, Pastor Ray’s departure in May clicked into focus the church’s need to reexamine who…
Messages for All Ages
Intergenerational Sundays Beginning in October, our Congregation is returning to a tradition of first Sundays, Communion Sundays, encompassing all ages (with a new name). These services will be celebratory of our church family and embracing of our neighbors. Messages for All Ages will be a little longer with the Reflection being a little shorter with the messages from each being connected and anchored in scripture. Children and teens will be invited to participate in reading, taking the collection, greeting, lighting…
Welcome back to church school!
Hi Families!Welcome back to church school! This year we are excited to start off the year similar to how we were pre-covid! We are going back to the model where children will first be attending the service with their families before being dismissed to church school with the teachers where we will then gather in the lower hall (Covenant Hall) before going to our classes. The first Sunday of the month is going to be Family Sunday.On Family Sunday the…
From The Pastor’s Pen
We are called to bless. “We are called to bless,†from the SALT Project reminds all, who are willing andinspired to click the watch button, what a blessing is. Hammers, backpacks, the cup and bread, waters of Baptism, canned goods, casseroles, pastors, mission trip participants—we ask God to bless all these. We stretch out our hands above our heads and call down the mercy and grace of God. We lift up our voices calling God to bless lands filled with…
June Generous Giving Update
How do our church pledges look? At a recent Generous Giving Ministry meeting, we discussed that it would be helpful to see how church members and pledgers make their pledges to the church. Having transparency in how folks give could help folks see how their pledges are part of this whole pie. So, we are sharing some insights into how the pledges have come in for the 2022 year. Here are some main themes: * This year, we received about…
June CE Update
Hi Families! Happy Summer! I wanted to first start off by thanking everyone who came to support our children in our annual Children’s day pageant. It was the first one we were able to hold in the last few years due to Covid and it felt so good to be back! Fun fact: The animals that the children used were all created by hand by them to use for our Christmas pageant. If you remember, the Christmas pageant had to…
Crop Walk 2022
The 42nd Annual Concord Mass. Area CROP Walk for the Hungry Will be held on Sunday, October 23, 2022, at First Parish in Concord. Registration begins at 1:30, with music by the CCHS Pep Band, and the step-off will be at 2:15 The 42nd Annual Concord Massachusetts Area Crop Walk for the Hungry will be held on Sunday, October 23, 2022, at First Parish in Concord. An in-person walk is planned, as was done in 2021. The money that is raised makes…
Children’s Sunday 2022
Hi families!I am excited that we will be having the first in-person Children’sSunday in two years on June 12. Practice for this will be taking placein church school during regular class time on May 29 and June 5.The kids have anxiously been waiting to show you their creationsthat they made for the Christmas pageant which we will beincorporating into our children’s day skit. Please join us afterwardon the side lawn for our annual ice cream social following theservice.June 12 will…
CE Update
When looking up the definition of a Pastor in the dictionary it tells us that it means “a clergyperson serving a local church or parish.â€Â When I read that line it seems like such a standard description for such an important person. A basic and even boring statement that could be used to describe anyone that has even the most basic of knowledge of the Bible or just any simpleton who can lead a group of people. However, with conviction, I…
From The Pastor’s Pen
Maintaining healthy boundaries is an important part of every minister’s vocation. Ministers are entrusted with intimate details about parishioners’ lives. Appropriate boundaries at the time of a minister’s departure are also important. It is essential for the health of the congregation that they are able to devote themselves to forming a relationship with the incoming Pastor without the shadow of the departing Pastor getting in the way. The Ethical Code for Ministers defines what healthy boundaries should be adhered to…
Church Directory Update
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Happy Spring!
Hi Families! I am happy to announce that we are officially mask-free at church school! Families have the option of doing whatever works best for their children, (either in masks or without masks) but now the masking is optional. We will still continue to keep the windows open to allow for fresh air circulation and we will still social distance whenever possible as well as sanitize all items regularly. This year we will be celebrating Palm Sunday together as a…
From The Pastor’s Pen
Jesus had a knack for never being where you would expect to find him. What could be more unexpected than a child who was conceived in the womb of a virgin? As an adult, he always seemed to be found among the people who were considered to be forsaken by God. He died on a Cross, which was the last place anyone ever expected to look for the Savior of humanity. After they took his dead body down, they laid…
One Great Hour of Sharing
One Great Hour of Sharing is one of four special offerings of the United Church of Christ. This Lenten Offering supports the disaster, refugee, and development ministries of the United Church of Christ within Wider Church Ministries. When you give to One Great Hour of Sharing, you deploy resources to people in need all around the world, and in our own communities. When man-made or natural disasters strike, love responds. Not just for the immediate future, but for the long…
Update from CE
The days are getting longer, the sun is feeling warmer and we are starting to plan for our annual Holy Week and Easter activities at church! This year we hope to be able to do the Easter egg hunt outdoors (weather permitting) and while keeping socially distant, we hope to all be able to hunt at the same time! Although we don’t know what the Easter service will look like at the time I am writing this, we are having…
From The Pastor’s Pen
In January of 2013, I was called to serve as Pastor and Teacher of this congregation. Sometime after that, a Service of Installation took place to celebrate our covenant relationship with each other and to “make it   official.†It has been a blessing and a privilege to have spent the last nine (plus) years since then as your pastor. Together, I believe we have been faithful stewards of what has been passed down to us by those generations who preceded…
A message from the Christian Outreach Committee
Re: Giving Tree 2021 Unfortunately, the Outreach Committee was faced with another year of being unable to do things “the way we used to†and we had to pivot our annual giving tree project into an online event. Fortunately, our congregation is used to pivoting at this point and our call for gifts was still answered in abundance. We used the power of Amazon to make this as smooth a process as possible, using a gift registry to share with…
Hello church families!
Hello church families! As we continue to make our way through these unchartered covid waters, I want to thank you all for bearing with us and allowing us to continue to be flexible with our programming. We are working hard in these ever-changing times to continue to provide accommodations for classes and Spiritual learning for our littlest members of the church. At this time we have decided on meeting in person. Please Continue to follow the church school Facebook page…