Announcements
Dear Friends,
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and I pray that the joy we experienced the day of Christ’s resurrection will fill our hearts and enliven our relationships in the days to come. Although Easter Sunday gets all the attention, the period of fifty days that follows it, known as Eastertide, is a gift to the Church. Eastertide, which extends until Pentecost Sunday (which this year falls on June 5) invites us to think about what it means to be a community shaped by the dying and rising of Jesus Christ. It provides us the opportunity to reflect on the good news of Christ’s extravagant love and to envision our grateful response. Expressing gratitude is a powerful spiritual practice. The more we do it the better we get at recognizing that God blesses our lives every day and in ordinary ways - through the beauty of spring, time spent with friends, and of course, in the relationships we have with our wonderful church family. The Easter season that lies ahead is a fitting time to be grateful for all that God has given us. Times are challenging, to be sure, but we can be encouraged that Christ is risen and has conquered sin and death. Let’s rejoice in his incredible love and respond gratefully during the Easter season and beyond.
Resurrection blessings to you and those you love,
Pastor Mary
Sunday Worship at 10:00 AM. We worship together each Sunday morning at 10:00 AM. Please pay careful attention to Pastor Mary’s weekly emails and other church communications for any changes in Covid-19 health and safety protocols. If you do not get the weekly email, or have any questions or concerns, please contact the church office at office@uccstoughton.org| 781-344-2371.
May Worship Schedule
All services will be held in the church sanctuary unless otherwise noted. All services will be live streamed on Zoom Please follow all current Covid safety protocols while in the building. •
May 1: Pastor Mary on vacation. You are welcome to worship at any of our local UCC churches. •
May 8 (10:00 am): Pastor Mary leading worship. Fourth Sunday of Easter, Communion Sunday. •
May 15 (10:00 am): Pastor Mary leading worship. Fifth Sunday of Easter. •
May 22: Pastor Mary scheduled Sunday off. You are welcome to worship at any of our local UCC churches. •
May 29 (10:00 am): Pastor Mary leading worship. Seventh Sunday of Easter.
ANNUAL PROGRAM MEETING – SUNDAY JUNE 12
The Annual Program meeting usually held the third week in May has been rescheduled to Sunday, June 12 immediately following worship. The New Directions team will provide an update on recent activities. The full agenda will be posted in the June Link. All members are encouraged to attend.
We Are Blessed
Thank you to all who provided casseroles for MainSpring House last month and to Anita Keenan for coordinating this important outreach. We also thank Russ Clough for his help in streaming our Sunday worship services and Janet Clough and Kay Giroux for organizing our Easter flower dedications. We also thank Susan Hill, Janet Clough, and Emil Kudryk for their help on Good Friday. Thanks also go out to the Worship and Music Ministry Team for all they did to make our Easter Sunday worship service special. We are very blessed!
Wednesday Phone Prayer Service
Pastor Mary will be hosting a brief prayer service by way of a conference call each Wednesday morning at 10:00 until we are able to resume our in-person gatherings. Dial 1-253-215-8782 and when prompted, enter meeting ID 862 2469 5175. There will be a scripture reading and time for the sharing of our prayer concerns.
Confirmation News
Confirmation classes began on Sunday, October 3 and will be held after worship on the first Sunday of the month. These classes are led by Pastor Mary with the assistance of parent volunteers. If you would like your child to participate, please contact Pastor Mary.
ATTIC TREASURES ONLINE
Our Church Fair may have been postponed until spring 2021, but you can still shop for just that right gift, find that hidden gem, or snag a bargain. Don’t miss out! We have been regularly posting selected items from Attic Treasures on Facebook Marketplace - and you can shop now! Here’s how:
- Go to Facebook Marketplace (https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/109554902404443/).
- Type “Online Church Fair” in the Search Marketplace box.
- Most items that pop up at the top of this search have Stoughton MA listed as the location of the seller.
- Click on one of those items, scroll down to Seller Information and click on Marcia Olson. You can also scroll down that post and see all the treasures currently for sale that day.
Ways to stay connected:
Sunday Worship at 10:00 AM. We worship together each Sunday morning at 10:00 AM. Please pay careful attention to Pastor Mary’s weekly emails and other church communications for any changes in Covid-19 health and safety protocols. We ask that all who attend indoor worship wear face masks and observe social distancing. If you do not get the weekly email, contact the church office at office@uccstoughton.org. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Pastor Mary.
On Wednesday mornings at 10:00 AM Pastor Mary leads a 30-minute conference call Prayer Service. Dial 1- 253-215-8782 and when prompted, enter conference code 862 2469 5175. There is a scripture reading and a time for the sharing of our prayer concerns. This weekly gathering is open to all, so if you have a friend who might find this opportunity helpful, please share the information.
Pastor Mary has set up a private Facebook group called UCC Stoughton Prayer. No one sees the posts except group members, so it is a safe place to share your prayer requests, pray for others in our community, or just vent. If you have a Facebook account and would like to join the group let Pastor Mary know.
Also remember to check our church Facebook page and church website (http://www.uccstoughton.org/).
Church Council has been meeting on the 2nd Monday of each month at 7:00 pm via Zoom. These meetings are open to everyone, not just Council members. If you would like to attend, please contact Pastor Mary and she will send you the link to the meeting. If you prefer to call in by telephone, dial 1-646-876-9923 and enter Meeting ID: 837 8927 2962
Socks for Outdoor Church: The weather is getting colder and the street outreach ministry of The Outdoor Church in Cambridge is greatly in need of warm, water-resistant socks for the homeless in Harvard and Central Squares in Cambridge. We will be collecting new socks, as well as scarves, hats, and mittens for both men and women over the next two months. Please contact Marcia Olson (baglole.olson@verizon.nebaglole.olson@verizon.nett | 781-344-9547) if you have some to donate or you can drop them off in the Giving Corner in the church lobby.
Food Pantry Collection
Donations are still urgently needed. Now that we have resumed indoor worship, you can bring your non-perishable food items to church on Communion Sunday each month or leave them in the Giving Corner in the church lobby at any time. Please check the expiration dates. If you are looking for practical ways to help your neighbors, please consider making a monetary donation to the Stoughton Food Pantries.
To donate by credit card:
Food Pantry Foundation of Stoughton
To donate by check please mail to:
Food Pantry Foundation of Stoughton
- Box 757 Stoughton, MA 02072
Prayer Shawl Ministry
Although we cannot yet meet in person, we encourage you all to continue to knit prayer shawls for those who need to feel God’s loving care wrapped around them. You can also work on knit goods for the church fair.
June 15 (Wed): Mainspring House: This is this next date we are scheduled to provide dinner for Brockton’s homeless shelter. Although we cannot serve dinner due the pandemic, food donations are still needed. If you can make a casserole or make a monetary donation to defray the cost of salad and dessert, please contact Anita Keenan keenans21@gmail.com (781-244-7742). It’s a busy time of year so you can make your casserole early and pop it in the downstairs church freezer any time before Sunday, February 13. Contact Anita if you need a foil baking pan and recipe or to arrange drop off.
Volunteers Needed to Help Stop Hunger – NEW MINISTRY OPPORTUNITY - A group of 80 volunteers delivers thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables each week to 17 food pantries in the suburbs west and south of Boston, including Stoughton and surrounding towns. This helps struggling families who because of the pandemic and inflation cannot afford to buy fresh, healthy food. More volunteers are needed to help with this effort to avoid hunger in our community.The produce (which would otherwise be thrown out) is picked up from Fair Foods, a "food rescue” non- profit organization in Jamaica Plain.
Volunteers sign up for the dates and times that best fit their individual schedules, usually once a month. This is a Covid-safe volunteer activity. Vehicles are loaded and unloaded outdoors and there are people at both the pickup and delivery spots to help lift the boxes of produce. Many of the volunteers doing this are retired and cannot safely lift heavy boxes. Round-trip to make a delivery usually takes about 90 minutes.
Please contact Pastor Mary if you can help. Thank you!
Bottles and Cans: Please donate your clean, redeemable bottles and cans. Monetary donations are also gratefully accepted and the money collected is used for various church ministries and operational needs. Cans and bottles can be left in the drop-off container at the bottom of the stairs just before the church office or contact Maurine Upton for more information.
Sunday Worship
10:00 AM in the Sanctuary
Wheelchair Accessible
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