In This Edition:

• Neighbors in Need

• Jimmy Fund Walk

• Music Notes

• Sunday School Volunteers

• Bible Study

• Sermon Snippet

• Holding in Prayer

Neighbors in Need

Outreach is collecting for the UCC Neighbors In Need fund that is a special mission supporting justice initiatives throughout the United States.  Feel free to visit UCC.org for more information.  

Neighbors in Need (NIN) is a special mission offering of the United Church of Christ that supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States. One-third of NIN funds support the Council for American Indian Ministry (CAIM). Two-thirds of this offering is used by the UCC’s Justice and Witness Ministries (JWM) to support a variety of justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, and direct service projects through grants. Neighbors in Need grants are awarded to UCC churches and organizations doing justice work in their communities. These grants fund projects whose work ranges from direct service to community organizing and advocacy to address systemic injustice.

Jimmy Fund Walk

Sunday October 5th, I am participating in the 2025 Jimmy Fund Walk taking steps supporting Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Team Sullivan Stronger who has been walking for 12 years. 

I walk with my friend Colleen Sullivan who is a cancer warrior and continues to be an inspiration to live life big! We will continue to support Dana-Farber to enhance programs and initiatives serving pediatric and adult patients and their families. 

Thank you for supporting my fundraising efforts. Your donation is appreciated by us all! https://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/site/Donation2?idb=1045744080&df_id=9982&FR_ID=2380&mfc_pref=T&PROXY_ID=1833280&9982.donation=form1&PROXY_TYPE=20

Thank you

Lauren Durso

Music Notes

Happy Autumn to all!  Our music program is in full swing.  If you're passionate about choir or handbells feel free to contact Jim.  You don't have to read music, but you do need to be able to count to 4. 😆

Mark your calendars now:  our FIFTH ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CONCERT is Saturday, December 6 at 2:00pm.  We'll celebrate at our own Union Congregational, and will be joined by sisters and brothers from neighboring communities.  It features our choir and handbells, jazz vocalist Victoria Eggleston from NYC, 7 local professional singers, harp, trombone, cello, accordion, organ, piano, and dynamic selections from Band Together.  Let's all celebrate the season together through festive music of all styles!

We're thrilled welcoming soprano Natalia St Jean this coming Communion Sunday with a focus on peace.  She'll sing Pie Jesu (Lloyd Webber), die Nacht (R. Strauss), and The Prayer, a much-loved Christian ballad.  She'll join our beloved choir in Rutter's Lord Make Me an Instrument.

One housekeeping note:  we'd encourage the community to refrain from talking during preludes. The prelude is an integral part of worship, is carefully selected and prepared, and helps eyes and hearts turn heavenward.  

Thank you from the Music Team!

Sunday School Volunteers

Thanks to those who have already volunteered for this important ministry of our church. This year, we are using a new one-room-schoolhouse style curriculum called Whirl, which introduces kids to biblical stories and themes through videos, songs, and fun activities. Our CE Committee (Joanne Grant and Deidre Donaldson) is ready and willing to help train teachers and familiarize folks with this new curriculum. We will also be able to provide materials in advance through our new online digital subscription (hard copies can also be made available from the church office), which will make preparation even simpler.

You can see the schedule of lessons for the Fall/Winter of 2025 and sign up to be a leader or helper by clicking here.

Bible Study

Weekly Bible Study with Pastor Shepherd is off and running! Each week we meet on Zoom on Fridays from 9:30-10:30 am. This Fall, to accompany the sermon series on the Fruit of the Spirit, we will be reading an accompanying text, Tending the Wild Garden, by Rev. Eugenia Gamble. If you’d like to participate and would like a copy of the book, please see Pastor Shepherd. This week, we’ll be discussing “Tending the Shoots of Joy” and “Tending the Shoots of Peace.”

Here is the Zoom Meeting link:

Sermon Snippet

This week’s Fruit of the Spirit is Peace. It’s a word we hear a lot in church; it’s something we share with one another every Sunday via a handshake, or two raised fingers, or a smile: “May the peace of Christ be with you.” Peace is all about “Christ with us;” whether Jesus is coming or going, there is peace. That is the reassuring word we’ll hear this Sunday, a word God graciously speaks into our selves, our homes, our church, our community, and our world.

Holding in Prayer

This week, as a community of faith we pray:

• for Shirley’s friend Diane, as she undergoes back surgery, and with joy, for Shirley’s “Red Wagon” find for the garden club

• with joy, for Jane’s granddaughter Abby’s wedding

• for Phyllis’s friend Paula, as she enters hospice care

• with joy, that Margie’s sisters eyes were used to help restore vision for two people

• for Padraig, as he heals from an injured hip

• with joy, for the wonderful write-up of the Apple Harvest Fair in the Hometown Weekly

• for Charleen’s family, as they mourn the death of her uncle, and for her mom, recently diagnoses with Parkinson’s disease

• with joy, for Jim’s collaboration with a violinist, and news of a performance in Italy this coming May.

• with joy, for successful and normal health test results for Lauren.

• For the employee of Enchanted Animals who experienced a medical incident at the fair.

• for Ray (Jordan and Travis’s grandfather) who has been hospitalized for over a week.

• for Ross Doty, recovering from ulcers while traveling in Europe.

• with joy, for Lauren’s friend’s daughter Liddy having a son, Jonah, and for Jonah as he is being treated at Children’s

• for the Sandahl family, as they grieve the loss of Carol’s older sister

• for Shirley’s niece Karen, who passed away after a long battle with cancer, and for all who mourn.

• for Pam’s cousin Julie, who successfully underwent surgery and is recovering.

• for Ben’s friend from veterinary school, who is staying with the Kerns’ during a 2-week rotation

• for Lew’s brother Richard and his wife Paula, for health.

• for Charlie Kirk, and for his wife and children as they mourn his death, and for his killer, and peace in the nation.

• for Barbara Carroll, for healing after a couple of falls

• for Barbara’s grandson Shayne, for healing after a serious head injury

• for Jordan, Amelia, Marcus, Madison, Charlie, and Lainey, as they study at college

• for Nelson’s son Greg, who is healing from a concussion

• for Kerry’s friend Diane, who is undergoing a difficult course of treatment for cancer

• for Noah, for healing after crashing his new E-Bike and for continued safety

• for Pam’s friend Cookie, as she battles cancer.

• for Lew’s friend Dan, as he faces kidney disease