Welcomers are needed for February and March - this is an important ministry that takes little time, but has a big impact.  What do Welcomers do?  Come to church by 9:45, greet folks as they come to the service and hand out bulletins, take up the collection, and help to ensure that newcomers in particular are made to feel welcome and comfortable.  We all have been newcomers at one time or another and how we are greeted can have a big impact on how we feel about our experience.  This is one of the ways that each of us at Eliot can strengthen the growth and outreach of Eliot.  We try to have four Welcomers every Sunday.  Robert Young will be asking folks to sign up during today's coffee hour, so please say "yes" or just sign up on the sheet posted in the hall.  Thank you from the Spiritual Life and Membership Commissions.

Black Box Bible Study-Theological-Spiritual Forums in  February.  During the Sundays of February, there are several Sundays available to offer 11:30 forums after worship.  Tony and Karla are collecting topics/issues that you are interested in discussing and studying.  All you need to do is submit your "topic" and after we have gathered a bunch of them, we will put them in a box and draw as many as we need to cover the Sundays!   Please submit your ideas by January 12th by either sending an email to Pastor Tony (askill@comcast.net) or sending an email to Pastor Karla (revkarla@gmail.com) or by placing your idea in the offering plate on Sundays.

HOW would you describe Eliot Church in ten words or less?  Your membership commission is looking to you, the congregation, to submit ideas and slogans that we might use as our "mission" tag line.   A mission statement should be brief, hopefully catchy, and capture who we are and why we exist.  For example, one congregation's mission statement is "Becoming the Beloved Community".  Another congregation's statement is "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors".    Some of the "mission" statements from the UCC national campaign include, "Ancient Faith, Fresh Perspectives", "God is Still Speaking", and "No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here."   What words or statement do you think will capture the spirit and community of Eliot Church?  Submit your ideas to Karla Miller, or Fred Balfour; or write them on the bulletin board by the church office.  There is also a prize-a Kiva Micro-Loan credit that you can use to invest in small businesses/entrepreneurs  in the developing world!  See www.kiva.org for more information!

Since pastor Tony can walk to church, we have never cancelled a Sunday worship service, and probably won't.  However, there are times when we may wish to cancel Sunday School, Chancel Choir, Children's Choir, and other planned programs.

Since most of the congregation is connected by email, we will use the Eliot Email list to "get the word out" about cancellations.  For major events, an all-church email will be sent by 8:00am, as well as separate emails for special groups - e.g. the choir, church school families, etc.  We will have a special message on the church telephone answering machine announcing the cancellations (also by 8:00am).

If you don't have email at home, or would prefer to get a telephone call (rather than email message) if a cancellation might affect you, please call Terri Whitney Jackson in the church office at 617-244-3639 ext. 201 or send her an email at office@eliotchurch.org and asked to be put on the phone contact list.