Love Differently

This Week February 2

Dear Folks,

Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early Spring!  FYI:  Phil has only be correct 39% of the time.  :-)

This coming Sunday, February 6, is Transfiguration Sunday.  We will be celebrating Holy Communion.  The scripture reading is Luke 9:28-36.  The sermon is "Way Up There".

Following worship, the Women's Fellowship will be having their Annual Meeting.  All women are invited.

All women of the church are invited, at no cost, to attend our annual six week Lenten Quiet Hour sessions, beginning Ash Wednesday, February 10^th at 10 a.m. in the church library. The book is “Learning to Walk in the Dark” by Barbara Brown Taylor. Please sign up in the alcove. Books are available in the church office.

Ash Wednesday Service will be held Wednesday, February 10^th at 7p.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Shelton, 188 Rocky Rest Road.

HCCUCC will be hosting a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automated External Defibrillator Training on Sunday, February 21 following our 9:30 a.m. worship service. The cost will be $10. Please sign up in the Alcove or contact the church office at 203-929-1223 if you are interested in attending.

The bin from My Sister’s Place is back in Fellowship Hall for you to make your tax deductible donations. It will be there until the end of April. Please fill out the donation form, take your copy and attach or enclose their copy in with your items.

The 28^th Annual Bowl-2-Benefit The Umbrella Center for Domestic Violence Services will be held on Saturday, March 12^th at AMF Milford Lanes. If you wish to join our Team or would like to make a donation, please see Judy Tucker, Gordon Harris or me.  You can also make a donation at

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/LucilleFritz/bowl2benefit2016

Let us pray.  O Holy One, help us always to have open hearts, open eyes, open minds, and open arms.  Amen.

In Christ's love,

Rev. Lucille

ONA

Dear Folks,

Today, the Congregation of Huntington Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, voted overwhelmingly to become an Open and Affirming (ONA) congregation.  There were 46 people in attendance at the Annual Meeting.  The vote was 43 yes, 2 no, and 1 abstain.

This is a step forward into our future as a church of and for all people.  We are "Everybody's Church", sharing the love of Christ with everyone.

Thank you for your faithfulness and your participation in the ONA process.  I would like to express my gratitude to our ONA Committee:  Sue Lindley, Ace Ricker, Gail Schoennagel, and Judy Tucker.  Also, many thanks to our Moderator, Soren Ibsen, for his inspirational leadership.

Below is our Open and Affirming Covenant.

Huntington Congregational Church

United Church of Christ

19 Church Street

Shelton, Connecticut

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.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or any member of the ONA Committee.  The ONA comment box will also be available for your questions or comments.

Peace,

Rev. Lucille

Be the Church

Quote from Fred Rogers

This Week January 26

Dear Folks,

Hope you are enjoying the little rise in temperature!  The snow is melting!

This week's scripture is Luke 4:21-30.  The sermon is "You Can't Go Home Again".

Following worship is our Annual Congregational Meeting (postponed from last Sunday).  We will be approving the slate of officers, the budget, and voting on becoming an Open and Affirming Congregation. 

Connie Glenn will be traveling to Guatemala on a medical mission trip in early February. The following are the products that are needed. If you are able to donate one or more, please leave them in the alcove for Connie to pick up before she leaves: Vapor rub (little bottles), Vagisil, children's cough and cold medicine, children's Benadryl liquid, adult and infant vitamins, Tylenol and infant Tylenol, Simethicone drops, and soap.  Monetary donations are also welcome.

The bin from My Sister’s Place is back in Fellowship Hall for you to make your tax deductible donations.  It will be there until the end of April. Please fill out a form, take your copy and attach or enclose their copy in with your items.

The sign up sheet for Quiet Hour is up in the alcove.  Quiet Hour will be held on Wednesdays in Lent, starting February 10 at 10 A.M. in the church library.  The book we will be studying is Barbara Brown Taylor's "Learning to Walk in the Dark". Join us, if you are able!

CPR AED training will be held after worship on February 21.  The cost is $10.  If you would like to attend, please sign up in the alcove.

O God, here we are at the end of another month.  Time moves forward, seemingly faster and faster.  Thank you that you are the eternal constant, the endless love, and the steadfast grace.  Amen.

In Christ's love,

Rev. Lucille

January 24: A Snowy Day Devotion

Hi Folks,

Hope you are all getting dug out!

Since we missed worship today, here's a little devotional for you, if you would like to read it.

Luke 4:14-21

¹⁴Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. ¹⁵He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. ¹⁶When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” ²⁰And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

In this passage, Jesus makes a bold claim.  The people in the synagogue are witnessing the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophesy in him. 

In Christ's life is the culmination of God's message to God's people, not to just the people of that time and place, but for people of all time.  Jesus came for all people, bringing Good News, life, freedom, healing, love, and forgiveness.  Jesus fulfilled God's mission to have God's know how much they are loved, how valuable they are, how gifted they are.  But, the message just doesn't end there.  The true fulfillment of Christ's message is for those of us who listen and believe to truly take up the tasks in our own lives.  Wow, I am loved...so know, go out and love.  Wow, I am forgiven...so go out and forgive.  Wow, I am gifted...so go out and give.

Jesus message doesn't stop with our hearing.  The true fulfillment is in the message's doing.  We are partners with Christ's fulfillment.

Let us pray.  Thank you, O God, that you have given us so much with which to serve you and your people.  Help us to truly embody your love in this world by sharing and caring.  Amen.

Have a great day, folks.  Blessings abound!

Peace,

Rev. Lucille