|
The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord." Mark 1:3
|
|
Communion Sunday, December 6th
If you wish to take communion from the safety of your home on Sunday, please be sure to have some bread and juice or wine available.
Fellowship Time Resumes on Zoom
We will resume Zoom Fellowship Time on Sundays from 11AM to 11:45AM beginning this Sunday, December 6th. If you are interested in joining the Fellowship Time on Zoom, please follow the link in the email you will receive this afternoon.
Generosity Made Simple
The Stewardship Committee, headed by Dolores Sutton, has named this year's campaign Generosity Made Simple. If you missed the message Dolores delivered as part of last Sunday's worship service, you can watch and listen on YouTube.
Annual Pastor Evaluation
Rev. Lois has led us through a dark time in our church, yet through her guidance and leadership we have remained strong. This has been a most unusual year with COVID-19 shutting the doors and limiting access to individuals. Rev. Lois has spent the year not only acclimating herself to her new community, but also adjusting to a ministry where personal contact has been difficult and organizations unable to meet in familiar surroundings.
As Rev. Nancy Lois is nearing her first full year as our minister, it is time to provide her with a performance review, including a summary of areas of responsibilities in five categories: Worship, Sermons, Pastoral Care, Christian Education, and Leadership.
As explained in the email sent to you this morning, the evaluation form is now available on Survey Monkey. Please complete the evaluation by December 19th so we can begin planning for 2021.
NEW Third Church Website
Over the past 5 months a team of us has been working on a new church website and it was launched last week. Creating an accurate representation of our church was challenging as we have stepped through a wide variety of solutions to the pandemic.
Our hope is that the new website will help us during this challenging period. You can now easily navigate to ChurchTRAC and find contact info for all of our members. You will see the ChurchTRAC link at the bottom of every page – it’s simple to log in and get the info you need. We added a page for NEW HERE hoping that people who are considering our church can find valuable information and get to know us. I am very proud of the video “our members speak” found on the New Here page.
Every worship service we have done is uploaded on YouTube so you can go back to services you might have missed or to re-experience a previous worship service. You can share these videos and replay them – I’ve found it a great added benefit to be able to relisten to Rev Nancy’s messages.
Our church calendar is updated in real time – and we hope this will be a helpful feature when we resume our normal activities.
We hope our website will help to keep us together and to remind us regularly of what a great congregation we are. I encourage you to visit www.thirdchurchmiddletown.org and please share our website with anyone you think might be interested.
Christmas Eve Service
The church has received permission from the Fire Department to have a bonfire on Christmas Eve! Steve Pawson and Dana Andrew will be in charge of logistics, and Pastor Nancy is planning a service. More information will follow as details are finalized.
REMINDER: Missions Committee Annual Christmas Giving Project
Only 7 Days Left to Give!
Please remember that all gifts for the Missions Committee Annual Christmas Project must be received no later than next Wednesday, December 9th. The Missions Committee has selected the following groups:
The Eddy Shelter, an emergency shelter for the homeless in Middletown
Gilead Services, serving individuals and families living with mental health conditions
The Veterans Home and Hospital in Rocky Hill
One of our Third Church families
Items requested include:
- Toiletries (shampoo, toothpaste, travel toothbrushes, soap, disposable razors, shaving cream, combs, lotion and lip balm)
- Small boxes of chocolates
- Hats, gloves, mittens, long underwear, warm socks, hand and feet warmers
- You're also welcome to donate gift cards or a monetary gift.
Please drop off your gifts to the church office (Tuesdays & Thursdays from 10 -3). If needed, you can contact Kim Kennedy at 860-788-3575 and she will meet you at your convenience to pick up your gifts.
12/9 Bible Study: Peace
Next week’s Bible Study will be on Peace. This study will expand upon and deepen the theme of healing broken relationships – both our relationship with God and our relationships with others.
Please listen to the audio and watch the video. We won’t be discussing the passage from Luke about the healing of the hemorrhaging woman. We will discuss Ephesians 2: 11-22. If you have time, please read Isaiah 9:2 & 6-7 (Often read on Christmas Eve) and
Luke 1: 78-79 (echoes the Isaiah reading) also.
“Peace” is the theme for the 2nd Sunday of Advent, so this study will fit nicely into where we are in the church calendar.
Thanksgiving Cheer
With the generous contributions received from you, the Deacons were able to bring a little cheer to 13 households within our church family for Thanksgiving. Gift cards, meals, baskets, flowers or pies were provided to families who are facing extra challenges during this unprecedented time. Thank you for helping to make this possible. Your generosity was such that we have a good surplus to do this for Christmas, as well. If you are aware of anyone who is experiencing extra challenges during this time, please let Ken Joy or Corrine Sternberg know. Thank you.
The Congregationalist
A magazine of the Congregational Way is published by the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. In addition to association news, it includes timely articles and other resources. This issue's feature articles include "Leading in Times of Turmoil," and "Racism in America." You'll find the December issue here.
Committee Meetings Return to Zoom Exclusively
Effective immediately, all committee meetings will be held via Zoom. Meeting links, log-in codes and passwords will be emailed to committee members the Tuesday preceding each meeting. Please note that you only need a phone to join. If you don't have technical know-how, please dial in by phone to the number provided with the Zoom info and you'll be able to hear and participate in the meeting.
Support Our Church through Amazon Smile
If you purchase items through Amazon.com, please consider making Third Church the charity of your choice. If you do, Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchase price to Third Church, whenever you order through smile.amazon.com. To choose us:
1. Visit smile.amazon.com.
2. Sign in with your Amazon.com credentials.
3. Search for "Third Congregational Church."
4. Select the one in Middletown, CT as the charity of your choice.
|
|
|
|
Current Office Hours
Rev. Nancy Lois, and our administrative assistant, Chris Foley, have office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am-3PM. Our pastor is available to meet with you or visit you at your convenience at other times during the week. She also checks church voicemail and email daily Tuesday through Sunday. Monday is her day off.
|
|
|
|
Upcoming ZOOM Meetings
Trustees Meeting 12/8 6PM
Bible Study 12/9 10:00 - 11:00 AM
|
|
|
Prayer Requests *Please pray for our friends Leslie and Dean who have been diagnosed with COVID. (11/22)
*Please pray for our friend Bill W.'s sister and her husband Frank who recently had a leg amputation above the knee. 11/15
Prayer Requests are listed for 4 weeks. Please let Chris Foley know if you would like to keep them on longer.
Pray for Our Shut Ins
Betty Behn, Sally Parker, Bettye Nosenzo and Evelyn Macensky, Karen Keathley
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
