Dear Folks,
Hope you are staying warm and dry on this cold and wet day!
This coming Sunday, December 7, is the Second Sunday in Advent. We will be lighting the Peace candle. The scripture is Isaiah 11:1-10. The sermon is "A Vision of Peace". The service will be live streamed on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HCCUCC and will be available for viewing on Facebook and YouTube later on Sunday.
For Advent this year, we are doing an Advent Prayer Calendar. Instead of getting little gifts, we share a prayer every day until Christmas. Advent Prayer Calendars are available in the Alcove and in the Belfry.
HCCUCC is participating in the BH Care Under the Tree program to benefit disadvantaged adults and children in the Valley. All purchased gifts need to be returned by Sunday, December 7th, OR you may donate monetarily directly to BHCare: https://www.bhcare.org/giving/donate/
Thank you in advance for your generosity.
The 2025 Christmas Fund/Veterans of The Cross Offering will be taken on December 21. The Christmas Fund has been caring for active and retired clergy and lay employees of the U.C.C. for over 100 years, with emergency grants, supplementation of small annuities, health premiums, and Christmas “Thank You” gift checks to our lower-income retirees. Envelopes will be available 12/14. You may also give via our website.
The Longest Night Service Sunday, December 21st, 6:30 P.M., on-site & live-streamed. December 21st is the longest night of the year. For many people, the lack of light is symbolic of the harsh things of life. And those harsh things become more evident in the light of the "shoulds" of Christmas time: we should be happy, we should be glad, we should be joyful. But sometimes life is not conducive to the shoulds: we lost a loved one, or a relationship, or a job, or whatever. We don't feel joyful. The Longest Night Service is a time for us to face the darkness, but also look to the Nativity for hope and light.
The Valley Food Bank at Spooner House – December’s giving focus is dessert mixes, frosting, coffee, tea, shelf-stable desserts. Please use the box in the Alcove for donations. The Blessing Box also needs to be stocked. Our Spooner House Meal is on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. Questions? See Holly or Gerry Fassbender.
Funds for Clean-up Buckets Urgently Needed – We are collecting monetary donations for Church World Service clean-up buckets. Please make checks out to HCC with “Buckets” on the memo line, then drop your donation in the bucket on Sundays, or use the on-line option on our website.
Please continue to support HCCUCC with your contributions. Now more than ever, our mission of being the beacon of love and light on the Huntington Green and beyond is vital. Contributions sent in by mail are welcome. Please consider donating at our website, www.huntingtonucc.org.
Electronic Fund Transfer giving is also available. Please email the church, hcc@snet.net if you would like a form to set that up. Any way you give is a blessing and is greatly appreciated.
Please engage on our social media. For Facebook, like and follow our HCCUCC page then like, share, and comment on our content. For YouTube, subscribe to our page and click the bell for notifications then like, share, and comment on our content. Please also visit our website. Every click helps get the word out about our church!
Let us pray. O God of Advent, this is a time of waiting for the commemoration of the birth of Jesus. Yet, truly, Jesus' presence is always here. Help us to embrace him and his hope, peace, joy, and love. Amen.
In Christ's love,
Rev. Lucille
