This Week November 29

Dear Folk,

I hope you all had a very blessed Thanksgiving Day!

BIG thank you to the Deacons and to Soren and Merle for decorating the sanctuary for Christmas.  You rock!!

This Advent, we will be doing something a little different with the lighting of the Advent candles.  If anyone would like to assist, please let me know.

The scripture for this Sunday is Isaiah 2:1-5.  The sermon is "Mistletoe and Evergreens".

There will be a meeting for all members of the Huntington Congregational Church, UCC immediately following the worship service THIS SUNDAY, December 4, 2016 for the purpose of presenting a draft budget for 2017.

Holly and Gerry Fassbender will be in the alcove after service this Sunday to collect money for food for the Spooner House Christmas meal, as well as gifts for the children. Please give generously.

There are 3 tags remaining on the Christmas tree in the Alcove for BHCare's "Under the Tree" gift project.  Please pick one up if you have not already done so.  All gifts are due back on December 11.  Thank you for your generosity!

Poinsettia order forms can be found in the alcove on the shelf. Orders are due December 11th.

Women’s Fellowship is offering Keep Christ in Christmas magnets for $4.00 located on the table under the coat rack. Please give your money to Sue Lindley or Karen in the church office.

Join us for a 45 minute interactive walking drama, "Journey to Bethlehem", telling the story of Jesus’ birth THIS SUNDAY, December 4^th, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.  Everyone is invited to bring dinner and meet at 4:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. We will eat together and then drive to High Acres Church in Ansonia. C.E. will provide hot apple cider and drinks. Please RSVP to Kirsten Keith so she can plan on how many drinks are needed. Hope to see you there to kick off the true meaning of Christmas!

HCCUCC has a workday scheduled for Habitat for Humanity on Saturday, December 10^th from 9am – 2:30pm, or any amount of time you can give. The work is fun, rewarding, and does not require any experience. Please consider helping for all or some of these hours. There is a signup sheet in the alcove or contact Bob Moseley.

Let us pray.  As the days deepen further into Advent, may your Spirit, O God, deepen into our hearts, instilling in us hope, peace, joy, and love.  Amen.

In Christ's love,

Rev. Lucille

This Week November 22

Dear Folks,

A heart felt thanks to all who helped out and attended our Pumpkin and Holly Fair this weekend.  It was a great success!

The Shelton Clergy Thanksgiving Ecumenical Service will be held TONIGHT, Tuesday, November 22^nd, 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. I will be preaching. Following the service will be a time of refreshment featuring pumpkin desserts. A donation of non-perishable goods will be collected for the Valley Food Bank. Monetary donations will benefit I.R.I.S, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services.

This Sunday, November 27, is the First Sunday of Advent. We will be doing something a little different with the lighting of the Advent candles.  If anyone would like to assist, please let me know.

The scripture for Sunday is Isaiah 2:1-5.  The sermon is "Mistletoe and Evergreens".

Holly and Gerry Fassbender will be in the alcove after service this Sunday to collect money for food for the Spooner House Christmas meal, as well as gifts for the children. Please give generously.

Everyone is invited to help decorate the sanctuary for Christmas following worship on Sunday. As the proverb says, “Many hands make light work”!

Pizza and Scenery hosted by the Christian Education Committee is this Thursday, December 1.  Everyone is invited at 6 p.m. to help get ready for the Christmas Pageant!

There will be a meeting for all members of the Huntington Congregational Church, UCC

immediately following the worship service on Sunday, December 4, 2016 for the purpose of presenting a draft budget for 2017.

Join us for a 45 minute interactive walking drama, "Journey to Bethlehem", telling the story of Jesus’ birth. The Christian Education Committee will be attending on Sunday, December 4^th, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.  Everyone is invited to bring dinner and meet at 4:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. We will eat together and then drive to High Acres Church in Ansonia. C.E. will provide hot apple cider and drinks. Please RSVP to Kirsten Keith at andrew.keith@sbcglobal.net so she can plan on how many drinks are needed. Hope to see you there to kick off the true meaning of Christmas!

Poinsettia order forms can be found in the alcove on the shelf. Orders are due December 11th.

May you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving.  We have so much for which to be grateful! God is good, all the time! 

Let us pray. O God, words are never enough to show our gratitude to you for all we have and all we are.  Help us not only to give thanks, but to live thanks.  May everything we say and do be a reflection of our thanks to you.  Amen.

In Christ's love,

Rev. Lucille

This Week November 15

Dear Folks,

I hope you all will take time this weekend to stop in at our Pumpkin & Holly Fair, Friday from 5:30 P.M. to 8:00 P.M., Saturday from 9:30 A.M. to 2:30 P.M.  Great food, wonderful crafts, and Santa's Attic!!  Something for everyone!

My prayer day is this Thursday, November 17.  If you have a prayer concern or joy you would like me to raise up, please let me know.

This coming Sunday, November 20, is Christ the King Sunday and Thanksgiving Sunday.  The scripture reading is Psalm 147: 1-12.  The sermon is "Thanks".  The sermon will be interactive, so please think about the things for which you are thankful.

This Sunday, we will be taking an offering for Master’s Table following worship. Master's Table Community Meals, Inc. provides a safe, clean, uplifting environment for individuals in need. They offer their guests hope for a better future. Every person who comes for assistance is welcomed regardless of race, sex, age, color, national origin, religious preference, social needs, disability, or income. Master's Table serves the poor, hungry, and the lonely by providing healthy nutritious and appetizing meals to all who come. Free meals are served at the Assumption Church in Ansonia.

The Shelton Clergy Thanksgiving Ecumenical Service will be held on Tuesday, November 22^nd, 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. I will be preaching. Following the service will be a time of refreshment featuring pumpkin desserts. A donation of non-perishable goods will be collected for the Valley Food Bank. Monetary donations will benefit I.R.I.S, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services.

Let pray.  O God, no matter what, may we continue to be your love and light to whomever we encounter.  Amen.

In Christ's love,

Rev. Lucille

"No Matter Who You Are..."

Dear Folks,

Huntington Congregational Church United Church of Christ is a faith community that encompasses folks of many different opinions and viewpoints.  Votes were cast by the people of this congregation for both Clinton and Trump, and perhaps Johnson and Stein.

We may have differing views, but, I believe that we have something in common, our love of Christ and our belief in God.  I hope that love and belief give us the strength and the conviction to live the greatest commandment, to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

In this spirit, I want to remind us all of the Open and Affirming Covenant that we adopted by a overwhelming majority on January 31, 2016. 

Open and Affirming Covenant

“No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey,

you are welcome here.”

Huntington Congregational Church, United Church of Christ is called to spread the love and light of God like a beacon into the community and the world. We seek to embody Jesus’ great commandment to love God, and our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:25-27). In keeping with this calling, we, the members of Huntington Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, declare ourselves as "Everybody’s Church". We welcome and affirm all persons of every race, age, gender, marital status, physical or mental ability, socio-economic status, nationality, life history, faith background, and sexual orientation or gender expression or identity into the full life and ministry of this community of faith, including membership and leadership. We welcome and embrace the God-given gifts that each person brings to the life of our congregation.

As an Open and Affirming church, we join our sisters and brothers in the United Church of Christ and all persons who are committed to the struggle for justice, peace, love, equality, and inclusivity, with the example and teachings of Jesus Christ as our guide.

Our country is deeply divided.  There are protests in the streets. There is an up-tick in harassment and violence against women, minorities, and LGBTQ folk.  People are angry and fearful.

One little way we show love and support, besides with our prayers, is to wear a safety pin our our clothes, if so led.  This shows that we are a safe, supportive and non-judgmental person for someone who may be feeling fear and vulnerability.  There are safety pins available on the table in the Alcove outside the office.

It it up to all of us as Christ's followers to be on the side of love, justice, hope, and peace and to live out the greatest commandment.

As always, I hold you all in my heart and in my prayers during this uncertain time.  As always, I am available for conversation and prayer.

In Christ's love,

Rev. Lucille

This Week November 9

Dear Folks,

No matter who we voted for, I think we can all agree with the Grateful Dead, "What a long strange trip it's been."

The church will be open today for prayer and mediation and I will be available if anyone feels the need to chat.  I plan on hanging around until 6:30 P.M.  After that, you can call me either on my cell or land line.

This Sunday's scripture is Isaiah 65:17-25.  The sermon is "Get Out of the Way".

We will be starting the Pumpkin and Holly Fair set-up after worship.  All hands on deck!!

A reminder that we will be taking a non-perishable food collection during the holiday season.  The box is the Alcove or you can use the Wishing Well in Fellowship Hall.

On November 20, we will be taking a free-will offering following worship for "The Master's Table".  Master's Table Community Meals, Inc. provides a safe, clean, uplifting environment for individuals in need. They offer their guests hope for a better future. Every person who comes for assistance is welcomed regardless of race, sex, age, color, national origin, religious preference, social needs, disability, or income. Master's Table serves the poor, hungry, and the lonely by providing healthy nutritious and appetizing meals to all who come. Free meals are served at the Assumption Church in Ansonia.

The Shelton Clergy Association's Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service will be held on Tuesday, November 22, 7 P.M. at St. Paul's Episcopal Church.  I will be preaching. Following the service will be a time of refreshment featuring pumpkin desserts. A donation of non-perishable goods will benefit the Valley Food Bank. Monetary donations will benefit I.R.I.S., the Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services.

I would like to close with this quote from the Christian mystic, Julian of Norwich,

circa 1342-1416:

"All shall be well, all shall be well...

For there is a force of love moving through the universe

that holds us fast and will never let us go."

So be it!!

In Christ's love,

Rev. Lucille

Do Unto Others...

Opportunities to Give

Dear Folks,

As Thanksgiving approaches, we are ever more mindful of all the gifts we have received from God.  And, the best thanks we can offer to God is to share those gifts, especially to those in need.

There will be a box in the Alcove to collect non-perishable food items for the Valley Food Bank.  Please consider donating items that would give a needy family a wonderful Thanksgiving feast!

On Sunday, November 20, we will be taking an offering after worship for Master’s Table. Master's Table Community Meals, Inc. provides a safe, clean, uplifting environment for individuals in need. They offer their guests hope for a better future. Every person who comes for assistance is welcomed regardless of race, sex, age, color, national origin, religious preference, social needs, disability, or income. Master's Table serves the poor, hungry, and the lonely by providing healthy nutritious and appetizing meals to all who come. Free meals are served at the Assumption Church in Ansonia.

Also, watch for more information about our Christmas collection coming in December for BHCare, the Under the Tree Project.

Thank you all for your generosity this season and always!

Peace,

Rev. Lucille

On behalf of the Missions Committee

Pumpkin & Holly Fair, November 18 & 19

This Week November 1, 2016

Dear Folks,

On this All Saints' Day, may we all pause a moment and remember those who came before us, passing on their faith in God.  We offer them honor and thanks!

Remember to turn your clocks back on Saturday night before you go to bed!  Day Light Savings ends early Sunday morning.  Don't be early for worship!!!

This Sunday we will be celebrating Holy Communion.  Come, gather around the table!

The scripture for Sunday is Luke 20:27-38.  The sermon is "Blinders".

The Pumpkin & Holly Fair is quickly approaching:  November 18 & 19!  Sign-up sheets are in the Alcove.  Any help would be appreciated!

You may bring your items for Santa's Attic to Reuman House at this time.

Also in the Alcove is a sign-up sheet for anyone interested in joining the choir or bell choir for the Christmas Season.  We would love to have you make a joyful noise!

Let us pray.  Thank you, O Holy One, for the faith of our fore bearers, those saints who have gone before us.  Thank you that they showed us your love and goodness.  Help us to be like them, to be saints for others.  Amen.

In Christ's love,

Rev. Lucille