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Greetings in the name of Bethlehem's
Child!
The promotional materials for the 2008 Christmas Fund Offering (formerly
known as Veterans of the Cross) have been mailed to your congregation.
Please review the materials and begin to make plans for promoting the
Offering in your church during the coming Advent season.
The money raised through the annual Christmas Fund Offering provides the
primary revenue stream supporting the Ministerial Assistance programs of
the United Church of Christ: Annuity Supplementation, Health Benefits
Supplementation, Emergency Grants and Christmas "Thank You" Gift
Checks for low-income retirees. These programs are available to both active
and retired clergy and lay employees in financial need. In these times of
economic crisis, an increasing number of UCC annuitants and active clergy
and lay employees are facing severe financial hardship. Requests for
ministerial assistance are triple what they were last year.
Your church is one of the UCC congregations selected to participate this
year in the Magi Project, a three-year emphasis to increase the number of
dollars available for Ministerial Assistance.
Your congregation is being challenged to triple the size of your gift to
this critical annual appeal over the next three years. Congregations that
reach this goal will be designated as "Rising Star Congregations"
and will receive a banner signifying this milestone achievement.
A host of new resources for interpreting the Ministerial Assistance
programs and promoting the 2008 Christmas Fund Offering, including
PowerPoint presentations and supplementary print materials, are available
online at www.christmasfund.org.
Thank you for your support of this vital ministry.
~~~~~
Christmas Books are
Here
Thank you for your many requests. The
books are all gone!!
~~~~~
Andover Newton's 2009 Woodbury Workshop
"Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading"
with Ronald Heifetz
January 6-7, 2009
Problem solving no longer does the job. The change required in
congregations today is not simply a matter of adding contemporary worship
services, beginning a small group ministry or changing the organizational
structure. Adaptive change, which goes to the very heart of a
congregation's identity, is essential. The 2009 Woodbury Workshop will
explore the skill and art of leading adaptive change in the congregation.
Keynote Speaker
Ronald Heifetz - the Founding Director of
the Center for Public Leadership and author of the leadership classics
Leadership Without Easy Answers and Leadership on the Line.
Workshop Leaders
Margaret Benefiel - Andover Newton adjunct
faculty and author of Soul At Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations
and The Soul of a Leader: Finding Your Path to Fulfillment and
Success.
Jeff
Jones - Andover Newton faculty member and Director of Distance Learning and
pastor of the First Baptist Church in Plymouth, MA; author of Traveling
Together: A Guide for Disciple-Forming Congregations and the
soon-to-be-published Heart, Mind and Strength: Theory and Practice for
Congregation Leadership.
The Tuesday
morning sessions will introduce you to key dimensions of Ron Heifetz's
understanding of leading adaptive change. The Tuesday afternoon will
feature a presentation by Ron Heifetz with plenty of time for questions and
answers. Wednesday morning sessions will focus on practical applications
for your ministry.
For further information and registration go to http://www.ants.edu/lifelong-learning/workshops/
or contact Jen Walker and jwalker@ants.edu or 1-617-1100, ext. 316.
~~~~~
Interfaith
Thanksgiving Service
The annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service will be held on the
Tuesday before Thanksgiving, November 25 at 7 P.M. at
The First Baptist Church, 4895 Main St., Manchester (the red brick church across
from Northshire Bookstore). The service will be led by lay and clergy
of all the congregations represented in the Interfaith Council of The
Northshire. Father Tom Mattison of St. Paul's will be
bringing the message. A choir consisting of some of the members of
all our choirs (and anyone else who would like to join us) will be led by
Jeff Linebeck, Music Director at First Baptist Church.
Our Thanksgiving response will include a freewill offering to be used
toward the Summer Lunch Program, which provides free lunches to Northshire
children who are eligible for free and reduced-price lunches during the
school year, and nonperishable food to fill the shopping cart for the Food
Cupboard. Members of The Interfaith Council of the Northshire are
United Church of Dorset and East Rupert, The Federated Church of East
Arlington, and from Manchester, First Baptist Church, First Congregational
Church, Israel Congregation, Zion Episcopal Church, and St. Paul's Catholic
Church. Please join us!
~~~~~
Tyson Thanksgiving
Dinner
Tyson Congregational Church will be having
Thanksgiving Dinner at 1:00 PM on the holiday, 11/27. We have 3 volunteers
to cook turkeys, so if you would like to join us, please call Maureen
Norton (228-8506) to make a reservation & see what side dishes are
still needed. It is a great way to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast even if your
family is not close by or too small to cook a big meal on your own!
~~~~~
ALTERNATIVE GIFT
MARKET. THE MISSIONS COMMITTEE OF THE DORSET CHURCH HELPS THE
NORTHSHIRE SHOP RESPONSIBLY
The
community is invited to shop for fair trade gifts, housewares,
jewelry and more handmade items from artisans and farmers living in
developing regions by attending A GREATER GIFT SALE on Saturday, NOV 29
from 9AM to 2PM at the Dorset Church, 143 Church St. (off Route 30).
This is the 8th year that the missions committee has been selling products from
A Greater Gift (aka SERRV International, inc.).As
one of our missions projects, we enjoy selling
products where we know the artisan/farmer is paid a full fair price for
their labor and materials. Also, SERRV
provides much needed training to artisans and farmers in product
development, technical skills, quality control, and shipping and
exporting. It gives us such pleasure to help enable this
program.
The sale is hosted in partnership with A Greater Gift, which works in 35
countries to enable artisans and farmers to gain access to markets and
maintain a sustainable income. Anyone shopping at the sale can know
that the proceeds from their purchases improve working conditions and
provide access to education and healthcare for the artisans and their families.
In addition the Women's Fellowship will be selling their handmade
crafts. AND, NEW this year, we have invited nonprofits such as Heifer
International, Habitat for Humanity, and Interfaith Council from whom
you can purchase an honorary gift that helps support a project
that improves our world. Come join us. Have a muffin and
coffee, or lunch and experience some different shopping. Questions?
Call Muriel Roeth, 362-2067.
~~~~~
Stewardship Thought for the Week:
Needs Versus Wants
Kids grasp the idea of needs versus wants easily.
Talking about the difference is a great tool for making wise purchasing
decisions. Your children need food, clothing, shelter, love, and so on. At
the same time, children are bombarded with product marketing. Wants are the
extras in life. The next time your child says, "I need ________ !" help him or her put that request in
perspective.
Needs versus wants also reduces the "Gimme's"
- "Give me this. Give me that." Children need the security of
knowing their parents will meet their basic needs and provide the extras -
sometimes.
Matthew 6:25-33 is a colorful description of God's caring for the birds,
lilies, and grass. This passage captures children's imaginations and
reassures them of God's love. It is a great passage to share with children
while discussing value and God's provision.
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