Abundantly Far More Than We Can Ask or Imagine
December
South Congregational Church Newsletter
e-Lation!
December 4, 2014
Issue 44
In This Issue
2014 Tax Statements
A Time for Women
Many Thanks
Christmas Flowers
Handbells
South Seniors
December Offering
Family
Note Cards
In Our Prayers

Jenn Teaster on the death of her grandmother.

The families of:
    Carolyn Lis
    Mary Harris
    Herb Pickett
    Mary Hamilton

Memorial Services will be as follows:

Mary Harris, Friday, December 5 at 2:30 p.m. at Havenwood.

Mary Hamilton, Monday, December 8 at 10 a.m. at South Church.

Carolyn Lis, Saturday, December 13 at 10 a.m. at South Church

Herb Pickett, Friday, December 19 at 1:30 p.m. at Havenwood.
South Church Service of Remembrance

Monday, December 8,  

7 p.m. - Chapel

 

For most, the season of Advent is a time of joy and anticipation.  For those who have lost someone they love, however, Advent 

can sometimes feel especially lonely.   

 

For this reason the Lay Ministry Visitors' team, with Rev. Jed's help, will offer a brief Vespers service to remember and to name our loved ones who have died and whom we are missing.  If you have lost a loved one, we extend a special invitation to you and your family to join us.  Afterwards, the Lay Ministry Visitors' team will offer tea, dessert and time to be together.  

Join Our Mailing List

Christmas Caroling

Saturday, December 20

2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Pot-luck to follow at 5 p.m. in

Fellowship Hall. 

 

We will meet at the church at 2:30 p.m. and divide into small groups with a list of people to visit. Each group will visit 4-6 houses and stop for a snack along the way. After your group has completed their list of visits, we will come together in Fellowship Hall for a pot-luck dinner. If you are interested in joining some fellow church members to go caroling, please contact Alison or sign-up up in Fellowship Hall.
Contributions for your 2014 Tax Statement

If you want to make a gift/contribution to South Church that will show up on this year's (2014) Tax Statement, we must received your gift
in the office no later than Sunday, December 28. Gifts received after that date will show up as a January 2015 gift. The same time table is in place for gifts of stock. If you are planning on giving stock, please let Mae Murdoch know the type of stock and number of shares that you will be transferring to South Church.
A Time for Women

 

SPA for the Soul: A Gathering of Women Walking in Loving Accompaniment

 

Give yourself, or someone you love, the gift of A Day Away by registering for the January Women's Retreat. Held here at South Church on Saturday, January 24. The cost is just $20 and includes both lunch and dinner.  More details will be available on Monday, December 8.  Watch for emails, check Fellowship Hall or contact Paula Roberts.   Eleanor MacLellan, author of Sole to Soul: Walking a Path toward Loving Accompaniment, will be our opening speaker. Members and friends of South Church will offer a variety of 45-minute rejuvenating spiritual practices workshops. We'll enjoy time to simply "be" in the joyful, playful company of other South Church women. There will be opportunities to walk the labyrinth, sing, dance, play bells, Zentangle, play with art supplies, and try yoga, guided meditation - and more.




Heartfelt thanks to all those who
offered comfort and support at the loss of my beloved grandmother, Charlotte.  I am blessed to be in such a loving community.

Abby Charbeneau, your organist/pianist
Christmas Flowers

December 12 is the last date to order flowers for decorating the sanctuary for Christmas Eve.

Forms are available in the sanctuary, Fellowship Hall and the Church Office. 
Fellowship Hour

If you enjoy the refreshments after worship on Sunday morning, please help us continue this very important part of the worship service by volunteering to host a Sunday.  It is really easy and a great way to give back.

Sign up on the sheet in Fellowship Hall.

Thanks so much.
Christmas music is in the air! 

There are so many opportunities to hear beautiful Christmas music this season at South Church.   On
December 14, at the 10 a.m. service the Chancel Choir will sing "Love came Down at Christmas" by Joel Raney.  This is a Cantata which celebrates God's Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.  Helen Fitzgerald, Warren Emley, and Cal Genzel will be our guest readers that day.

On Christmas Eve, we will celebrate the music of the season at each of the three services in three very different ways.  The 4 p.m. family service will feature music played by children.  The 7 p.m. Lessons and Carols service will feature the bell choir and the chancel choir, with an emphasis on international carols.  Finally, the 11 p.m. service will feature Trillium, an a capella trio, with Jane Berlin, Peggo Horstmann Hodes, and yours truly.  Come celebrate the wonder of Christmas through music with us this season.
                                            Hannah Murray 


Christmas Open House at the Rardins

 

Jed, Laurie, Brynne and Marta Rardin will be hosting a Christmas Open House at their home on Sunday afternoon, December 21st from 3-6 pm. Take a break from your holiday preparations (or perhaps your shopping on the Heights) and come enjoy some South Church company along with food, hot chocolate, hot mulled cider, Christmas music and caroling. The Rardins live at 38 North Curtisville Road. Please park on the street. (If you need assistance walking to the house, please call ahead and we will be delighted to assist you.) A few extra hors d'ouevres and baked goods would be welcome - if you are able to bring something, please email Jed 

to let him know what you can bring.

Two Successful Fundraisers!

Thanks to Betsy Clardy and a host of South Church helpers, volunteers, and donations, the South Church Gala Auction on November 15 was a wonderful, festive gathering that raised $9,500 for the church.   Hundreds of items and services were generously donated and generously paid for by many of you! Thank you Betsy, for taking on the leadership of this event!

 

On Sunday, November 23, over 250 people crowded into the sanctuary to hear the second live performance of the newly-minted Tall Granite Big Band. The music was as live and as good as it gets, and Pastor Emilia from First Church added her talented voice to the mix. We especially thank Tim Wildman and David Dustin for helping to bring the concert to South Church, and we thank everyone who donated that night for the $3210 which will go to help support the Emergency Winter Shelter.

Alternative Christmas Giving

The Faith in Action Ministry asks you to consider giving alternative gifts this Christmas.  Perhaps you could give a pair of oven mitts to your loved one and spend $55 to make it possible for a family in El Salvador to have a safe and efficient cook-stove.  Or you could give your loved one a water bottle and make a donation to the Water Project to help communities in Africa develop their own access to clean drinking water.  Or you could give a gift of handlebar tassels and spend $100 to help nurses in the Congo to purchase bicycles so they can have access to remote patients.  For more information or more ideas, please see the Faith in Action bulletin board display in Fellowship Hall or click on the following links.
Bicycles
Stoves - click Donate button and note donation is for "stoves"
Water - this link is to the South Church's page at the Water Project.

     Come Try Out Handbells!

 

Do you like listening to the handbell choir in the service? Have you always been curious to play handbells yourself? Now's your chance! Starting December 3, you'll be welcome to come in at 6pm for a no-pressure, drop-in beginning handbell choir. We'll get started with learning the basics, and playing along to familiar hymns and songs. You'll have some fun and great fellowship, and find out how addicting playing handbells can be! E-mail me to let me know if you're interested, and we'll have a spot for you!

                       Carlene Ruesenberg,  

                       Director of the Memorial Bell Choir

South Church Seniors (and all others)

Abby Charbeneau will join the South Church Seniors lunch program on Wednesday, December 17.  We are looking forward to this time for a chance to get to know our talented organist more, share in some seasonal songs, and feast on a lunch featuring maple....repeat, lots of maple!

Everyone is welcome at our lunches which start with a little fellowship at 11:15 a.m. followed by lunch at 11:30 a.m. and then the featured program.
The luncheons always follow an appropriate theme and are always delicious!

December Communion Offering

 

This month's Moment for Mission asks for your support with the United Church of Christ Annual Christmas Fund;   Also known as the Veterans of the Cross and Emergency Fund .     For those of you who may not have heard of the Veterans of the Cross, it is one of the five Special Mission Offerings of the UCC that grants us an opportunity to recognize and honor those who have served and continue to serve in lay and authorized ministries of the United Church of Christ. It is a fund that has been received for 112 years!  

 

One of the unique aspects of the Christmas Fund is that rather than support programs or institutions, these funds provide direct financial assistance to individual UCC clergy and lay church employees. These monies are dispensed through the UCC Pension Board's Ministerial Assistance program, providing assistance to hundreds of persons throughout the year. These are low-income retired pastors and church staff members who have brought Light into the world, serving to seek and do peace and justice in the lives of others.

 

Last year there were many retired clergy and lay employees who relied on supplementation for basic needs such as food, utilities, as well as living and medical expenses. This fund provided Supplementation on Pension and Quarterly Health Premiums for 239 low-income retired clergy to assure affordable and quality health care and prescription drugs.   Christmas 'Thank You' gift checks were given to 543 retired clergy and lay church employees to assure them they are not forgotten and that the Church is grateful for their years of service. And Emergency Grants for 65 active and retired clergy and lay employees assisted in costs that arise unexpectedly, anything from dental assistance to home damages resulting from natural disasters.  This supplementation totaled $1,545,076 in 2013, an increase of $80,000 over 2012.   Truly an awesome amount! But the needs continue and this year the national office is challenging us all with the opportunity to give just a little bit more----the goal is to raise $1,700,000. This challenges us and provides us all an opportunity to show those who have shaped us in faith that they have not been forgotten and how grateful we are for their years of service. Our Mission Monies during the Advent Season are designated to go to the Christmas Fund ..... Last year South Church contributed $653 toward the national goal. I ask that we prayerfully and generously let our hearts be open and shine for those who have served us in faith over the years. And perhaps together we can increase the amount we contribute to reach the national goal. Please use your pew envelopes to support this worthy mission. Thank you!

                                      Your Faith and Action Ministry

Who's Your Family - Really?

As I walked into the sanctuary, a friend looked up and said, "Are you looking for a family to join?"  I sat with her and her daughter, feeling part of their family for that hour.

Her words got me thinking - how do we define family?  I have loving relatives whose lives are full and busy so it is amazing that we get together as often as we do.  Yet we are not enmeshed in each other's regular routines.

So I look outside the biological circle to define family, and I have found a magnificent community of neighbors, friends, and South Church.

I live in a neighborhood where people chat over back fences, host holiday parties and bring chicken soup when someone is low.  We watch out for each other, sharing the ups and downs of life.

Through my photographer, I have found a circle of friends in Concord and beyond, many who came here from other countries.  I find that warm relationships can grow even with little common language.  Knowing at least a few words in another person's language can help to build lasting bridges.

The "South Church family" is more than a cliche.  Providing meals when someone is having a tough time, prayer vigils when one of us is in surgery, holding each other when joys or fears take our breath away - these are the makings of real family connections.

The holidays are not an easy time to feel far from family, whether due to distance, death or divorce.  If you feel short of family, consider adding in friends, especially those at South Church.  And if you have an abundance of family, consider offering "a family to join."
Becky Field
Stained Glass Window 
Note Cards 

Beautiful packets of 12 cards featuring photos of the beautiful stained glass windows of South Church are available now through the end of December.  Packets cost $12 and make lovely Christmas gifts.  This fund raiser is a project of the Faith Formation Ministry.