Announcements |
Quick InfoSunday Worship
10:00 AM in the Sanctuary Wheelchair Accessible Coffee Hour After worship in the Fellowship Hall The Link Download our latest newsletter "The Link" Church Bylaws Download the current bylaws Have a Prayer Request? Let us know here. Welcome to the United Church of Christ in Stoughton! Our new sign, created by church members Gale and Ed Porter, is a clear affirmation of what our church is all about: Love Lives Here! We believe that each person, without exception, is created by God and deeply loved by God, and we do our best to extend that same unconditional, heartfelt welcome to everyone. Please join us for worship on Sunday at 10:00 AM to see for yourself!
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Sign up for our Newsletter
The Link is now digital. If you are not currently receiving our emails, you may subscribe by sending your name and email address to Link@uccstoughton.org. Or drop a note with your contact information in the offering plate on Sunday. Now would be a good time to make sure we have your current email address on file. And give us the name and email addresses of any of your family members that want to get The Link as well. We would love to be able to reach out to our college students. Computers and smartphones not in your comfort zone? If a printed copy is still your preference, please let the church office know and we will gladly mail you a copy of The Link. A donation of $10 to defray the cost of postage would be greatly appreciated. Some print copies will also be available in the literature rack in the church lobby. The Link is also posted on our website at www.uccstoughton.org. Women's Fellowship We invite all the women of our church to be part of our fellowship. We get together about seven times a year for social, spiritual, and educational purposes. Please feel welcome to join us at any or all of these gatherings. Our first gathering of the church year is September 24 from 4-6 pm. It will be a planning session for this year’s meetings featuring a Pot Luck dinner. Each person is asked to bring food to share for the main part of the meal. Dessert and beverages will be provided by the officers of Women’s Fellowship (Gail Randlov, Maurine Upton, Peggy Webster and Bonnie Bittner). We look forward to a lot of new faces joining us. Community Garden Have you noticed how our garden is growing? Lots of summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, basil, kale, sage, parsley and other goodies are ready for the picking! Bring some home to enjoy, make something to share at coffee hour or for the Caring Committee to bring to one of our housebound members. Harvest some to bring to the food pantry on Tuesday morning. It’s a community garden … let’s share God’s bounty and blessings with our neighbors! Thanks to all who have watered, nurtured and harvested our plants during the summer! Green Earth Garden School Join us in the Fireplace Room on Sunday, September 30 at 4pm for a viewing of the documentary, Food, Inc., “an unflattering look inside America’s corporate controlled food industry.”(IMBD), followed by an informal discussion. Bring a healthy snack. For details contact Lindsay Medeiros. PROJECT 275 “What Shall We Bring?” We hope you found our recent series of Project 275 conversations enlightening and thought-provoking. As we approach our historic 275th anniversary facing challenges of dwindling resources both human and financial, we place our faith once more in the God who has guided our beloved church community through many trials throughout our history. Yes, our congregation faces many challenges, but also exciting possibilities for change and rebirth. And we need to face them together by continuing our open and prayerful dialogue. We will begin our first conversation of the 2018-2019 church year with another snapshot of UCC Stoughton Finances at a Glance to coincide with the kickoff of this year’s Stewardship season, “What Shall We Bring?” on Sunday, September 30. There has been lots happening on the financial front this past year, from so many of you generously increasing your pledging, to the sale of the Chestnut Street lots, and significant repairs to the lower level due to last winter’s storms. We want everyone to have a voice as together we become educated, gather data and explore all our options in order to make the best decision for our church and what we discern to be God's purpose for our community of faith. From exploring many options over these past many months, we will need to prayerfully discern where the Holy Spirit is leading our church. We will begin each discussion in the sanctuary at the end of worship so that we can begin in prayer and to give everyone an overview of that day's topic. We will then move to the church hall for coffee and a 30-40 minute facilitated discussion. Please put these dates on your calendar and try to take part in as many discussions as possible. More will be posted as they are scheduled. September 30: UCC Stoughton Finances at a Glance November 18: 275th Anniversary December 2: Church Governance We need your voice. We want everyone to participate. And we invite you to be in contact with us throughout the year. Here is how you can keep the conversation going: · Send an email to future@uccstoughton.org · Contact any member of the Financial Viability Working Group (John Baglole, Russ Clough, Adam Isbitsky, Laura Kittery, Marcia Olson, Ed McGillicuddy, Rev. Mary Perry, Ed Porter and Lori Saville) Let's pray. Let's talk. And let's move forward in faith to face the future to which God is calling us |
FRIENDLY SERVICE
Friendly Service meets once a month to work together on community and worldwide service projects. We make quilts for the homeless shelters in Stoughton and Brockton; collect warm clothing and personal items for Seafarer’s Friend in Chelsea; make school bags for Church World Service and fill them with donations of pencils, notebooks, crayons and more from our congregation. Though few in numbers our dedicated band of volunteers continue to enjoy our work days together. We would love to have more of you join us. Our work days begin at 10 am, we bring our own lunches, and continue working until 2 pm. You don’t have to stay the whole time, come for as long as your schedule allows. We now meet on the third Monday of each month in one of the downstairs rooms. If you are unable to meet at that time, we would be glad to have you take projects home to work on at your own pace. We organize quilt faces, pin the squares together, and you could sew the strips together at home. Or you could make school bags or fill the mending kits we make for Seafarer’s. We can provide all the needed materials, you provide your time to sit and finish the projects. If you have any questions, call Janet Clough at 781-344-3860 or come to our first meeting on Monday, September 17 Lunch with the Pastor Please join Pastor Mary in the Fireplace Room at 11:45 AM on Thursday, September 6. Bring a brown bag lunch and she will provide beverages and dessert. This is a nice way to share what’s going on in our lives. Bring a friend! All are welcome. Adam Isbitsky Ecclesiastical Council An Ecclesiastical Council for church member Adam Isbitsky will take place on Monday, September 17 at 7:30 pm in our sanctuary. This is a very important step in Adam’s ordination process and an exciting time for our church. At this gathering Adam will present a synopsis of his theology and spiritual journey and will field questions from the delegates of Pilgrim Association churches. A vote will then be taken as to his fitness for ordained ministry in the United Church of Christ. If successful, Adam will be approved for ordination pending a call to ministry from a UCC church. Please plan to support Adam by attending this important gathering! Trunk or Treat No, it’s not October yet, but it’s never too early start planning! We are getting ready to host our 6th annual Trunk or Treat Halloween event. It’s a fun Halloween party for us, a safe family environment for trick or treaters and a wonderful opportunity for community outreach and to greet our neighbors. We had so much fun at last year’s Trunk or Treat last year and we would love for more of you to participate this time. Trunk or Treat runs from 5–7 pm on October 31 so there is plenty of time for you to head out to your own Halloween parties or trick or treating later that evening. What you can start doing now is to save your clear (not white plastic) gallon milk jugs. Clean them out and bring them to church. If you’re feeling creative, draw a ghost face on your jug. We will fill them with water and put a glow stick inside each one to illuminate the stone wall and walkway. In the meantime, get those ideas and your creativity flowing! Just Google “Trunk or Treat” and you will find tons of websites with great ideas – as simple or as elaborate as you want. We support the Teal Pumpkin project that helps make sure all children will come home on Halloween night with something they can enjoy. Please contact Marcia Olson baglole.olson@verizon.net 781-344-9547] or Sally Monahan sal_kev@yahoo.com for more information or sign up to help. Harvest Fair Friday, November 9 (4 - 8 pm) Saturday, November 10 (10 am - 2 pm) The church fair is almost upon us and there will be a church fair planning meeting after worship on Sunday, September 16.
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