1 Dear Church Family, I am part of a group of Interim Ministers who meet monthly at the office of the Vermont Conference of the United Church of Christ. Interim ministry is an evolving field, and every church situation is unique, so it is a fascinating and exciting gathering. It also is deeply moving because the interim time is a wilderness journey for every congregation, calling forth the kind of heroism on the part of laity and clergy alike that I wrote about in my Epistle article last month. This month I would like to share with you a description of the common agenda churches share during a time of transition. It could be the interim between pastors or a time of change in the makeup or setting of a congregation during the tenure of a settled pastor. All churches benefit from undergoing a process like this every four or five years because change happens around the congregation and within the lives of its members, and after five years or so it is in a very different place, even if they have done everything they could to remain the same. Members come and go, the economic or political landscape changes around them, everyone is older and we hope wiser, and the younger generations bring new gifts to offer or challenges that they face. The focus points in the description below are part of the covenant the church and I have signed, so you may notice ways in which we are addressing them together. You might reflect on them now and think about which ones we have already engaged. We are well into the process! I very much appreciate the dedication of this congregation’s lay leadership and membership, and the obvious love you have for the church. I have been enjoying getting to know you through board and council meetings and small group gatherings and individual conversations. There is so much goodness here. I am so thankful to be able to serve you. Peace, joy and love, Tom Bradford Congregational Church-United Church of Christ Bradford, VT See us on Facebook! (802) 222-4034 submit news to [email protected]EPISTLE Customer Name Street Address City, ST ZIP Code NOVEMBER, 2014
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Dear Church Family,
I am part of a group of Interim Ministers who meet monthly at the office of the
Vermont Conference of the United Church of Christ. Interim ministry is an
evolving field, and every church situation is unique, so it is a fascinating and
exciting gathering. It also is deeply moving because the interim time is a
wilderness journey for every congregation, calling forth the kind of heroism on the
part of laity and clergy alike that I wrote about in my Epistle article last month.
This month I would like to share with you a description of the common agenda
churches share during a time of transition. It could be the interim between pastors
or a time of change in the makeup or setting of a congregation during the tenure of
a settled pastor. All churches benefit from undergoing a process like this every
four or five years because change happens around the congregation and within the
lives of its members, and after five years or so it is in a very different place, even if
they have done everything they could to remain the same. Members come and go,
the economic or political landscape changes around them, everyone is older and we
hope wiser, and the younger generations bring new gifts to offer or challenges that
they face.
The focus points in the description below are part of the covenant the church and I
have signed, so you may notice ways in which we are addressing them together.
You might reflect on them now and think about which ones we have already
engaged. We are well into the process!
I very much appreciate the dedication of this congregation’s lay leadership and
membership, and the obvious love you have for the church. I have been enjoying
getting to know you through board and council meetings and small group
gatherings and individual conversations. There is so much goodness here. I am so
thankful to be able to serve you.
Peace, joy and love,
Tom
Bradford Congregational Church-United Church of Christ Bradford, VT
questionnaires and small groups, and will submit the
information to the Vermont UCC Council.
From the Trustees:
The kitchen floor work has been postponed until after Christmas. We have
received a price from Valley Floors and want to get another estimate.
Read “acknowledgement” for IRS tax
deduction use. The church will use this
when thanking those who have made
donations to the church for all purposes.
Act ‘n Spire Capital Campaign:
Brochures are done and printed. Will be distributing around the area. A
brochure went out with the Game Supper mailing.
Doug McLam is welding ‘Roman Numerals’ for the clock face
and Joe Button is gold-leafing them. He would like a work
group formed to get some help with this. Danny Perry III
has volunteered to pick up the clock to save the church the
$600 shipping fee.
From Interchurch Council:
Our church members will be asked for donations of green/yellow beans for
the Thanksgiving baskets that the Bradford Food Shelf will put together.
The regular staple items are always needed.
The film “Hungry Heart” has been used at Woodsville
High School and Oxbow High School is expecting to use
the film this school year.
Little Rivers will be the fiscal agent for the Community
Nurse.
Upcoming events in our churches Holiday Bazaar at
OLOPH November 1st; and the Game Supper at UCC
November 22nd
.
This will be the last year that Linda and Gary Moore will
head up the Community Christmas Dinner. If you know
of anyone interested in chairing this event contact Pat
Benjamin at 802-222-4581.
Rev. Kinder and Pastor Jordan will be working out the
details for the upcoming holiday services between the
two churches.
Rob Elder recommends the book “A Practical Guide for
Saving Your Church from Extinction” – Lee K. Richer.
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Other Business:
Storme Odell does the Coffee Hour on the 3rd
Sunday of each month – she
will be able to take care of October, November and December, but will be
away January, February, and March and will need someone or a group to
take care of Coffee Hour on the 3rd
Sunday for those months.
Julie Porter, speaking very emotionally, said that she
and David McLam would co-chair through next year’s
game supper, our 60th! They have not been able to
find two people to train with them to take over as co-
chairs. Also stressing how hard it is to get the help
needed to do all the work leading up to the supper,
they felt that it might be a good time to end the supper
– on a good note (the supper started with a Perry and a
McLam – let’s end it with a Perry and a McLam),
rather than having the supper go downhill. There was,
of course, some very emotional discussion about this:
the history, the culture, the financial support that the
supper has given us over the years. We ended the
discussion asking the clerk to put the following
statement into the October Epistle:
"At the October 2, 2014 Church Council meeting, the Game
Supper Committee brought forth the proposal to celebrate
the 60th Anniversary of the game supper in 2015 when at
that time, Julie Perry Porter and David McLam will be
retiring as Co-Chairs. The Church Council supports this
proposal, recognizing that this might be the last game
supper and sees the 60th Anniversary as a fitting
celebration."
Thank you,
Barbara Joslyn, Clerk
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Note from the Interchurch Council
The churches are once again assisting the
Bradford Food Shelf with the Thanksgiving
Baskets for needy families in the Bradford
area.
Our church is responsible for bringing
yellow or green canned vegetables. Please
bring them to church and put in the food shelf basket in the entry of the church by
Sunday November 23rd.
If you know of any family that would like a Thanksgiving Basket please contact
Storme Odell at 222-9655 by Nov 20th.
Thank you again for helping in this community outreach.
Storme Odell
Save the Date
Saturday, December 13 for the
Help Kids India
Fundraising Supper at the church.
If anyone would like to attend
an Indian cooking class as
well as help to prepare enough
food for the Indian dinner that
day please contact Lora
Chatfield 222-4029
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The Christmas Market with a Difference at the Hanover
"White" Church on Thursday and Friday, November 6 and 7 from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Saturday, November 8 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Lucia Button, Holly Young and I (and others) will be at the Help Kids India table with sewing center wares. Come by and say hello!
Community Nurse Sought
The Bradford Community Nurse Project is seeking a part time Registered Nurse with an active nursing license in the state of Vermont. Preferred qualifications include a minimum of five (5) years experience in clinical nursing with home health care/community health nursing preferred, professional flexibility and maturity, strong nursing assessment skills, health counseling skills and experience and a knowledge of resources available to Bradford residents.
The Community Nurse will act as a free resource person to all Bradford residents. This is not a “hands on” nursing role but involves home visiting, needs assessment, assisting clients in accessing desired services, and health education. The primary, although not the sole, focus of the project is to assist Bradford elders who wish to remain independent in their own homes.
For more information or to apply please contact Lora Chatfield 802-222-4029/[email protected]
Diaconate Announcements:
Rev. Kinder will be taking the week of Nov. 8-15 off. Except for an emergency
please refer any Pastoral Concerns to our Deacon of the Month, Dottie Unkles at
222-5643. For use of the church building contact Trustee Joe Button at 222-4586.
Deacon Marcia Tomlinson will fill the pulpit November 9th
.
Please remember that announcements for the bulletin should be submitted to Rev.
Kinder in time for the bulletin’s printing. Submitting them on Wednesdays should
do the trick. Getting them into the bulletin will shorten the amount of time now
being spent on them during the worship service. If you can’t get an announcement
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to Rev. Kinder you can send it along to Marcia Tomlinson as a last resort