Newsletter December 9

As many of you noticed, it took the leaves an unusually long time to drop this year. So, there are many leaves still on our property just waiting to be raked up! Please wear your "leaf raking clothes" again this Sunday, December 9th and help us with a final clean-up our grounds. Thank you.

Orders are now being accepted for memorial poinsettias which will be placed in the Sanctuary on Sunday, December 16^th, These plants will then be delivered to special friends of the church who could not be with us in worship. If you wish to purchase a poinsettia in remembrance of a loved one, please fill out the form below and return it with your check payable to First Church of Christ by December 15^th. The names of these people will be listed in the Dec. 23rd bulletin.

Your Name: _____________________________________
In Memory of:    1) _________________________________
                             2)_________________________________
                             3) _________________________________

I don't know about you but I have the next 3 weeks planned out to the minute, from decorating, to shopping, to entertaining. I awoke to the groan of a 90 minute school delay for my kids. Ninety minutes - they might as well call off school for the day! Ninety minutes - that's going to ruin my morning! I can't go to the gym and now I have to bring my youngest to the doctor with me and drop her off at school for 10:30. School starts at 10, but I can't be in two places at once! Do I sound stressed? I was.

Then to make matter worse, we lost our power. So, I had to go to the doctor after taking a very lukewarm bath! No shower ?cause God forbid I get my hair wet and with no power, there was no way to blow dry it. I decided it was a hat day!

Now to top it off the doctor was running late- 1 hour late! I was so stressed I couldn't see straight! (I thought, "Now take my blood pressure!"). Long story short- I get to see the doctor, and I get my daughter to school, then I stop in at a new coffee shop down the street and sit down with a huge *sigh*.. God works in wondrous ways! This cold icy morning, dark, slick and gloomy - the sun came out! What a sight, like crystals or diamonds glistening, and just at that very moment "Joy to the World" began to play on their sound system. I said to myself "I hear you Lord, thank you!"

Moral of my long story? Please remember what this season is really about. It's about Jesus, a tiny baby, born in a manger. He came to save me?and you.

Thank you to all who helped with the Advent Workshop, the gingerbread houses, and the soup and sandwich supper! It was a great success and it was wonderful to see all the families having fun! Special thanks to:

Sue Anderson for her soup making; Dan Bartlett for his sandwich flipping; Shawn Mangan for his quickness in going to get forgotten items at Stop and Shop; and

12/8-12/9- Guys ONLY Retreat - ?BAD' BOYS OF THE BIBLE- 7pm - pick up at 9 am Sunday. Food and fun and a little learning mixed in!

12/16- 4-5 pm Annual Christmas Party at Paula's House. Bring a $5.00 grab bag gift for boy or girl. 6 pm- we go to Sunday Light Special Christmas service. Pick up at FC at 7pm!

Chuck Ericson has been the pastor of the Bolton UCC church for 17 years and has just released a Christmas CD. He grew up in Wethersfield, CT enjoying the music of the Beatles, Leonard Cohen, etc. He began writing original compositions that were inspired by the artists he admired, and tried to get them published, but surprisingly to no avail.

After a few years working, attending college & seminary, and getting married to his wife Jane, the urge to take up the guitar and create music emerged again early in his ministry at the Bolton Congregational Church. His compositions included his annual Christmas Eve songs with themes that were drawn from the biblical stories of the birth of Jesus.

Chuck's repertoire of compositions includes secular songs as well as spiritual songs that go far beyond the Christmas theme, it is the collection of Christmas Eve songs that eventually became the substance of his first CD, "Pause".

Last Sunday, the Archangel Gabriel came to visit us in Chapel. He told us about his very important job as the Messenger of God and reminded us that just like Noah and Moses, Mary trusted God when Gabriel told her that God had a very big job for her to do. God wants us to trust him as well. Sometimes we are faced with difficult choices or "jobs" to do. If you ask God to help you, those tasks always seem a little bit easier. One of the jobs we have during Advent is to reach out to other people and share the Hope, Peace, Love and Joy of the season. Each candle on the Advent wreath in our sanctuary represents one of those gifts. So you might try saying hello to a neighbor you don't usually speak to, or smile at another student in the hallway - especially if he or she looks like they are having a bad day. It may seem awkward, but God will be right there with you. And after you've done it, I guarantee you'll say "that wasn't so bad!".

Many, many thanks to all of the people who helped out at the Advent Workshop. It was lots of fun - even the "sort of nasty weather" didn't keep over 70 people from coming out. Special thanks to our musical entertainment provided by Kirsty Naples, Peter and Patty Gacek, and Fred North.

Children should check the easel in the narthex for instructions on where to go when they arrive in church this Sunday. See you then!

Birth: Ty Paul Aust, son of Tiffany and Doug Aust on Nov. 16^th. Grandmother is Nancy Aust.

Baptisms: Nov. 11^th - Emily Starr Werkheiser, daughter of Daniel Paul and Lisa Marie Starr Werkheiser. Godparents are Richard Werkheiser and Anna Meyers.

Nov 25^th - Allyson Marie Howell, daughter of Daniel Howell and Lisa Michaud. Grandparents are Bill and Lynn Furman.

On December 2^nd, First Church was happy to welcome five new members into our church family. They are:

In upcoming newsletters, we will be telling you more about each of these new members.

Mark your calendars! Rev. Cook and his wife have completed the sale and purchase of homes and are packing up their belongings. Jack is obligated to preach at his current church December 30^th and is hoping that the moving truck will make the cross-country trip the following week. Jack, Nancy, and daughter, Jenny are planning a four day drive to Connecticut.

Jack will lead worship at both the 10 am. service and Sunday Light service on January 13th (but we might see them around before then!). Please plan to fill our pews on January 13^th as we all celebrate a New Year with our new pastor!

During the 1980's, one of First Church's members was a retired minister who last had a congregation in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The Rev. Sam Lafferty was also a journalist, having served as an editor with the Herald and as its religious editor. But Sam was also well known for a dry, but well-directed, sense of humor. During one service, he sent a note up to the choir loft; "Imagine how much peace there would be in the world if the Cardinals stayed in Rome, instead of playing baseball in St. Louis."

Sam also introduced then State Transportation Commissioner, Arthur Powers at a prayer breakfast, saying they were in the same line of work - "Getting people from here to there."