Lenten Season Begins

Ash Wednesday

All are invited to an Ash Wednesday worship service Wednesday, February 10th, 6:30-7:15 pm in the Chapel, as we mark the start of the Lenten season. All ages are warmly invited to participate in this informal, interactive, and reflective service as we use various "stations" to deepen our experience of the Holy.

Take a Carbon Fast - Feb. 10 ~ March 27

Deepen your commitment to the earth this Lent by signing up for daily emails that will challenge and encourage you to change your daily practices. Each day you will be offered a concrete action to strengthen your care for the earth. To sign up visit: CLICK HERE.

Finding Our Way….

Community Church’s Membership Growth Initiative (MGI) received approval from the Church Council last fall to create seasonal advertisements in Foster’s Daily Democrat for Advent and Lent. On Friday February 5th MGI begins running the first weekly Lenten ad. It announces our Ash Wednesday worship in the Chapel at 6:30 PM on February 10th. During the 8 weeks of Lent an ad will run each Friday in Fosters announcing the theme for the next Sunday service. It will also invite the community to join us. If you see the ad, please let us know and tell us what you think. Thank you very much! ~ Pastor Mary, Chuck Hotchkiss, Don Smith, Ellen Ervin, Jimmy Hartman, Fred Atwood- Lyon and John Eller.

Ecumenical Sole Hope Shoe Cutting Party

Thurs., Feb.18th at 1:00 pm there will be a Sole Hope Shoe Cutting Party in Fellowship Hall. This will be an ecumenical event with St. Thomas More. We plan on tracing denim fabric, then cutting and assembling soles that will be later sewn into shoes by the shoemakers in Uganda. By creating shoes for the children in Uganda, we can prevent them from getting jiggers. Jiggers are small sand fleas that burrow into the skin of bare feet, causing infections, pain, and paralysis. We will provide the shoe sole patterns and the denim material. We ask participants to bring good cutting scissors, a black magic marker for tracing the patterns, and a box of gallon size zip lock bags. A $10 donation to help in the shipping cost would also be appreciated. This project is organized by the Justice and Witness Ministry, the Thrift Store, and Linda Dugas of St. Thomas More Church. There will be a signup sheet in Fellowship Hall. For further information, please contact Janet Vrettos at JanetVrettos@yahoo.com or Linda Dugas at lindu127@yahoo.com. The website is Solehope.org. Please come for a few hours of creating soles for the children in Uganda and creating friendships with our neighbors from St. Thomas More Church.

Prepared to Serve

On Sat., Feb.20th, in Pembroke NH, hundreds of UCC church members from around the state will gather for a day of workshops, idea, resources, worship, celebration, and inspiration - an opportunity to learn what is working in other settings, gather new ideas and information, and gain a deeper and broader awareness of the work of the United Church of Christ in our state and around the world. Our congregation will send a group to this event, and all are encouraged to pick up a registration packet outside the church office, or by going online: CLICK HERE. Carpooling will be available from the church parking lot. The first 10 people to register will have their registration paid for by the church. But all are warmly invited. Come celebrate and be inspired! For more info, please speak with Pastor Mary.

Families First

The next meal we will provide for Family Fun Night will be Monday, March 7th. The menu is: Chicken & Rice Casserole (your recipe or the one provided on the kiosk), rolls, salad, fruit and milk. We are looking for contributions in each category to serve ten people and 5 gallons of milk. The sign-up sheet is on the kiosk in Fellowship Hall. Please drop off food by 3 pm on the 7th. Thank you for your continued generosity!

BABY BLANKETS

This is a good time year to make a baby blanket for Goodwin Community Health and My Friend’s Place. Any pattern can be used. Here’s an easy one:

Cast on two stitches.
Row 1: knit first stitch, increase in second stitch.
Row 2: K1, Inc. 1, K1.
Row 3: K1, Inc. 1, K1, K1.
Continue always knitting the first stitch and increasing the second, then knitting to the end of the row. When the finished outside edge measures 32 inches (this will be half the blanket), start to decrease: K1, K2 together, continue knitting to end of row; continue decreasing in this manner until you are down to the end.
Please use acrylic yarn in pretty colors, with a size 10 straight needle or any size circular needle. If you have questions, call Diane Le Ray at 868-2219.