Announcements
Dear Friends,
All life requires rhythm, and the coming of summer invites us to enter into a quieter and more relaxed pace of life. As people of faith we’re called to care for our neighbors, but God also wants us to restore our own bodies, minds, and spirits, and to allow ourselves to be nourished and filled by God’s healing love. Without this intentional time of divine restoration, we risk becoming weary in our faith, lackluster in our discipleship, and closed off to the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture teaches us the importance of rest. The Book of Genesis tells us that even God rested. “Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all the work of creating that God had done.” In the Book of Exodus the exhortation to keep the Sabbath by resting is found in the Ten Commandments. In the New Testament, the Gospel of Mark reports, “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, Jesus said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
I pray that summer will bring opportunities for you to accept Jesus’ invitation to rest your body, calm your mind, and renew your spirit. Catch up on your sleep, read for pleasure, enjoy your family and friends, and revel in the beauty and wonder of God’s creation. Caring for ourselves in this way allows us to honor our own needs for rejuvenation and to continue to serve God with strength, focus, and devotion. May your summer be filled with God’s blessings of peace and love.
In Faith, Pastor Mary
July/August Worship Schedule
With the approval of Church Council, we will meet for worship in our sanctuary only on July 10 and August 7 and 21. There will be a church meeting on the 21st of August. We encourage you to worship at Christ Congregational Church in Brockton (1350 Pleasant Street) on the Sundays that we will not be gathering. They will be hosting a time of fellowship after the service on July 17, and we will host them in Stoughton on August 7.
“How good and pleasing it is when families live together as one…” Psalm 133:1 (Common English Bible)
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.
June/July/August 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.
June 5 (10:00 am): Pentecost, Confirmation, and Communion Sunday. Pastor Mary is leading worship.
June 12 (10:00 am): Pastor Mary is leading worship. Congregational meeting after the service.
June 19 (10:00 am): Pastor Mary is leading worship.
June 26: Pastor Mary’s scheduled Sunday off. We invite you to worship at a local church.
July 10 (10:00 am): Communion Sunday. Pastor Mary is leading worship.
July 17: We are invited to worship at Christ Congregational Church in Brockton and enjoy an ice cream social.
Aug 7 (10:00 am): Communion Sunday. Pastor Mary leading worship. Members of Christ Congregational Church have been invited to join us.
Aug 21 (10:00 am): Church Meeting after worship.
We Are Blessed
We thank Ed Porter for his continued faithfulness in attending to the many needs of our church building, and John Baglole for preparing the sanctuary for worship each Sunday and maintaining the church computer system. We also thank Janet Clough for reorganizing our historical files. Thanks also go out to Caroline and Chris Cesario and Anita and Steve Keenan for their support and assistance during this year’s Confirmation classes. 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.
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
July 30 (Sat) Outdoor Church of Cambridge:
We have been asked to serve at the Outdoor Church on Saturday afternoon, July 30, and would love your help to either make sandwiches that morning or travel into Cambridge to distribute them. Please let Pastor Mary know if you can help with this important outreach on July 30.
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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