HORIZONS
        MAY 2015
  Hingham Congregational Church, UCC
366 Main Street, Hingham, MA 02043
781-749-1276
Church photo
IN THIS ISSUE
Pastor's message
Christian Education
Mary Anne's Retirement
Board Messages
Staffing Task Force
Consignment Center
Sharing Walk Update
Building & Grounds/Capital Task Force
Adult Mission Trips
Easter Sunday Pictures
Prayer Requests

Dear Friends, 

 

I write to you just a couple of days after the earthquake in Nepal and the Baltimore riots. 

 

As people of Christ, we have a duty and pleasure (most of the time) to love God, love our neighbors as ourselves, and love the earth, and yet it is sometimes extremely challenging to do so. Systems and people in power oppress the most vulnerable. Individuals and mobs act badly. The earth shakes and our neighbors die. 

 

Where is God in all of this? Can we do anything about these tragedies or are we doomed to sit by in our lovely town and weep or shrug our shoulders?

 

I have no easy answers, but I do think that at times like these, it is important for people of faith to remember one important thing: God is love. 

 

And if God is love, we are people of love. And people of love pray for the hurting. We pray for systems and powers to change. People of love also act. We can't fix everything, but we can lessen the suffering. Absolutely we can do that. And we can speak up. Silence in the face of wrong is the opposite of love. 

 

So, let's come together whenever we can end offer each other some encouragement. HCC is a source of great love - God's love - in this community and world and we can and do make a difference when we choose to do so.

 

Peace,

Pete

 

PS I will be away at a preaching conference in Denver from May 11-15. Tracy and I will then be away on vacation from May 22-26 to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. During those times, Sara Holland will be available in a pastoral emergency. Her cell number is 336-225-5113.

Christian Education

 

HCC family and friends,

So much has happened in the past month and our acknowledgement of transition is of utmost importance. Experiencing change in life we see paradox - as we desire newness, we struggle in transition. In the spirit of acknowledging the difficulty of change, I invite members of this beloved community to hold one another with love. While transformation is hard, God is present in new situations which give us energy and help us grow together. (2nd Corinthians 5:17)

 

I could not be more excited to be getting started at HCC, a community that is obviously energized and passionate about loving kindness, seeking justice, and walking humbly with God. I have high hopes for the growth of HCC as a whole, for Christian Education, and for each person who is walking as a believer, a questioner, or a questioning believer. Let us empower one another for the remainder of this academic year and into the summer months!

Here is how adventure awaits us:  

 

Spring Cleaning of Church School Classes - May 2 and May 9 - This might be a time for fellowship and fun if even just a few people come together. Times to be determined as Sara will likely be attending a talk given at the public library midday on May 2. Email for details - [email protected].

Children's Church - May 3

Wonderful Wednesday - May 6 from 5:00 - 6:30 pm; 3rd- 5th graders come together for gluten free and gluten full pizza making party!

Middle School - May 12, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm; movie and dinner!

High School - May 17, Youth Sunday. Youth group ongoing; each Sunday 6:00 pm.

 

General Adult Education and Spiritual Development - "Sara talks through Ted Talks." Get to know the new CE person as she discusses a couple of Ted Talks which have greatly impacted her own faith journey in the recent past. May 10, 8:30 am, June 7, after church ~11:30 am. This will not only be an opportunity to get to know Sara, but also a time for one's own reflection and sharing if one wishes.

 

Children's Sunday - June 21

 

Vacation Bible School - July 20 - 24

 

You all know that I am new to the family at HCC; because of this, I ask that you please let me know of any questions, comments, or concerns you have. For now, I'm most easily reached at [email protected]  and 336-225-5113. I will work towards also using [email protected]. I have not yet determined when my office hours will be, but will certainly keep at least 15 hours/week once I graduate. I am more than happy to set up a meeting about any Christian Education matter; I am quite the coffee enthusiast, so I am always happy to get a coffee with anyone!

 

I am extremely grateful for the warm welcome you all gave me and my partner, Libby, this past Sunday. I look forward to continual growth in HCC's Christian Education and beyond!

Peace of Christ,

Sara

______________________________________________

Confirmation Sunday is May 31

Nancy Ham and Pete Allen have really enjoyed spending the year with this wonderful group of ninth graders! Please be sure to come to worship that day to show your support and love to the confirmands as they affirm their faith and join the church. Members of the class are: Brett Anderson, Graham Bates, Nick Beal, Sydney Boer, Katie Dettman, Spencer Havens, Brooke Igo, Andrew Nilsen, and Kiernan Pint

  

____________________________________

 

Save the Dates:

May 17- Youth Sunday

June 7 -Baccalaureate Sunday

June 14 - Open and Affirming 10th Anniversary

June 21- Children's Sunday 

___________________________________________________

It is with some sadness that I am announcing my retirement from my position as Office Manager on June 30.  I started at HCC in November of 2008. The first few years were quite challenging as I was still becoming acquainted with my job duties while working with 4 Interim Pastors and 4 Ministers of Christian Education and the ever changing church boards.

Just about the time I felt like I knew what I was doing, Rev. Pete was named as new Senior Pastor at HCC. The congregation and I were so happy that his appointment came to pass.

Since January 2013 Rev. Pete and I have worked together as a team. We have added weekly electronic mail through Constant Contact. Horizons continues as a monthly newsletter. To add to our previously published church pictorial directory, we purchased Church Windows database software. With this program we continue to work on establishing a correct and up to date list of membership names.

My office and the other offices have been renovated with the help of Trustees, painters, and various members of the congregation. This pleasant workplace is a reminder of all the work that went into updating the offices making them pleasant for visitors and staff alike.

As I prepare to leave, I think of the many enjoyable times we all shared as a community. The potluck suppers, the women's dinners, the church services during Lent and Holy Week, the Christmas services, the children's pageant, and of course the many thousands of bulletins we have provided. Thank goodness for the copier with a brain.

I have come to know so many of you on a personal basis. During my recovery from surgery, your prayers, visits, meals and rides to and from work helped in my recovery. I will never forget your many kindnesses. I also appreciate your drop ins at the office that have brightened my days.

I have learned so much more about computer software, office machines, the Internet, our website, email blasts and just plain person to person interaction. What a joy this has been.

After all this time, however, it is now the time to pass on the office duties to someone new who will carry on this much needed ministry.

I will keep you all in my prayers as I hope you will remember me and hold me in your thoughts and prayers. I look forward to starting another phase of my life in my new apartment. I plan to complete my decorating projects, work on my cooking skills, keep up with computer work, iPhone, iPad, etc. I will also increase my volunteer work hoping to become part of the Hull community and also play a more active role in other organizations to which I belong.

 

Fondly,

Mary Anne 

Mission Sunday May 3   

Please plan to join us on Sunday, May 3 for the annual HCC Mission Sunday.  Representatives from the agencies supported by HCC will be in church and available after church in the Marshall room to share the work of their agencies how our support has made a difference.  The Board of Outreach will provide lunch while you visit with these organizations. Susan Chandler from DOVE will be the guest speaker in church and a fund raiser will be organized for that agency.



Annual Women's Dinner May 6

Please join the Board of Fellowship for the annual Women's Dinner on Wednesday, May 6 at 6:00.

The dinner will be held at church and will be catered by Good Life Kitchen. We will also have a guest speaker this year. She is Jean Kerr, Editor-in-Chief of Northeast Flavor magazine. She will be speaking to us on her "food literacy" efforts with women in transition.

Sign up at coffee hour or email Nancy Vialle at [email protected] Deadline: Sunday, May 3rd. Cost $25

 

   

Women's Book Group grows into Discussion Group May 11 

Last month, the Women's Book Group undertook consideration of the ideas about Grace which were brought to us during the midweek Lenten services. Led by Suzy Burba and her message, "What is Grace and Where can I find it?", those present pondered questions like "What does it mean to be God's agents of grace in today's world?" and shared personal experiences of Grace coming to us in everyday encounters.

 

The time of investigation was so enriching, that a decision was made to continue a series of monthly meetings on a topical study of Christian virtues. On Monday, May 11, the Women's Discussion Group will meet at the home of Heidi Valentine, 20 Ocean View Drive from 7-9pm, when Suzy Burba will bring background texts on the virtue of Faith.

While you may wish to begin reflecting on the meaning of Faith during the days ahead, no advance reading (or book title!) is required. All women are invited to take respite from daily responsibilities and join in a time to renew spirit and friendships.

If you have questions, or are interested in carpooling, contact Sarah England ([email protected]) or Candy Heath ([email protected]).

 

 

  

Taste of Hingham, May 16.  

Sign-up on line to help HCC put on this great event.  

Hccucc.com and look for the strawberry

  

Staffing Task Force Update

 

The Staffing Task Force was charged with looking closely at our staffing requirements based on the long range planning feedback around current and future needs. We gathered input from the HCC boards, the other task forces, the UCC conference and from Pete to evaluate what our future staffing needs may be.

 

Our recommendations include the following changes to the staffing roles over the course of the next 3-5 years. We expect these changes will happen slowly and thoughtfully over the next few years when each change becomes necessary.

 

Associate Pastor

We recommend that HCC expand and evolve the current role of the Minister of Christian Education into an Associate Pastor position.  This role will partner and work in concert with the Sr. Pastor to support the needs of HCC including active participation in Christian Education, Preaching, Community Outreach and visibility, Pastoral care, Spiritual Gifts discernment and other areas deemed appropriate. This will likely be a full time position.

 

Office Manager 

With Mary Anne Odell's retirement on the horizon, we recommend that HCC focus on hiring an Office Manager with skills in technology and social media to enhance support of Sr. Pastor/Associate Pastor, Deacons, various Boards, etc. This position will be 5 hours per day.

 

Sunday School Teachers:

As our youth community grows, we recommend that HCC add 1 or 2 additional Sunday School/Christian Education teachers when the number of children in regular attendance makes this necessary.

 

We do not currently see the need to adjust other roles in the next few years. However, if any changes do occur, this plan could be adjusted accordingly.

 

Thank you to everyone who gave input to our process.

 

The Staffing Task Force

Kathy Beitler

Jim Cosman

Meredith Hollander (Chair)

Drew Hussar


Consignment Center

 

Remember Second Sunday at the Consignment Center!

 

The Consignment Center will be open again for half an hour before and after the morning worship service on Sunday, May 10 (9:30-10:00 and 11:00-11:30) so that HCC consignors can deliver selections and check accounts. We would like your feedback about the Second Sunday feature we have initiated this spring, and are interested to learn if this has brought benefits to our HCC families.

 

May ushers in a season of special events, and our supplies grow to meet the needs of proms and parties, provide gifts for mothers and special teachers, or commemorate graduations, weddings, and anniversaries. As beaches beckon, look for shorts, sandals, picnic baskets and sand buckets or choose deck planters and patio tablecloths for al fresco dining. Golf? Tennis? Gardening? Go green, re-use, or repurpose.

 

The yellow flag flies each Tuesday (10am-8pm), Thursday (10am-6pm) and Saturday (10am-1pm), so stop in during these business hours to shop, visit, or meet new friends.

As demand increases, we have a need for additional staff; if you would like to learn more about how you can become involved, contact Marcia Sinclair ([email protected]), Gail Shields ([email protected]), or Sarah England ([email protected]).


SHARING Good Friday Walk Update  

 

Our final donation figures are not yet complete, but many thanks go out to the following people for walking and for sponsoring walkers during this past Holy Week/Good Friday Walk for Sharing, Inc. Our numbers look to be very similar to last year's, but we will let the HCC family know more when we have the final results. Meanwhile, to the best of our knowledge, here are this year's walkers and sponsors. (If your name is not on one of these lists - and should be - please let us know.)

 

Thanks so much for joining in the important work Sharing is involved in throughout the year - and has been for 40+ years.

                   Caroline Gibson and Ed Bartholomew - HCC Reps.

 

2015 WALKERS 

Phil Edmundson

Carolyn Antoine

Nancy Hansberry

The Mayo Family -  Lynn, Jared, Anna Ethan, and cousin, Meika

Ed & Janet Bartholomew

Caroline Gibson

Heidi Valentine

Peter Allen

Kate Kallis

Lynn & Todd Anderson

The Childs Family- Rau. Erin, Morgan, Riley 

         

2015 SPONSORS                         

Mary Anne Odell  

David & Julianne Mehegan                     

Tom & Rosemary Arthur 

Phil & Debbie Edmundson

Carol & Will Ertman  

Carolyn Antoine

Jim & Laurie Cosman

Mary & Mike Jenkins

Connie Blood

Lisa & John Fiascone

Caroline Gibson 

Heidi Valentine

Debbie & Lincoln Rathnam

Kit & Mark Schlosky

Bryce & Kathy Blair

Marcia & Dick Sinclair

Lynn & Todd Anderson

Eric & Nancy Hansberry                                  

Candy Heath

Pete & Tracey Allen              

Steve & Lynn Waynen

John & Anne Fanton

Doug & Terri Fortin

Janet & Ed Bartholomew

Nancy & Jeff Bettinger

Gerald & Linda Jones

Mark & Stephanie Minister

Joanne Carpenter

David & Karen von Loesecke

 


Building and Grounds/Capital Campaign Task Force:

Questions for vote on May 17th Annual Meeting

 

The Building and Grounds Task Force along with the Capital Campaign Task Force have been working hard to present exciting proposals and plans for an upcoming improvement project for our church grounds and buildings based on findings from all the listening sessions conducted during our Long Range Planning process in 2013 and 2014.

 

Reports to the Executive Council, the Board of Advisors, the HCC boards and committees, and the congregation were presented this spring to share the proposals and plans.

 

In addition, the proposed site plans and drawings have been displayed during coffee hour since April 19th and will be available in the vestry for viewing through May 17th with members of the Building and Grounds task force on-hand to offer explanations and answer questions about the project.

 

The purpose of all of these presentations and viewings were to make sure that the congregation was well prepared to make some congregational decisions around this process at the May 17th Annual Meeting. We all want to be part of the exciting journey to accomplish our goals and move forward to becoming the extraordinary church we all want us to be.

 

As these two task forces are an outcropping of the Long Range Planning process that took place in 2013 and 2014, refreshing you memory by reading the LRP report will help you to be better prepared for the voting on 5/17 as well. The Long Range Planning Report, (accepted by the congregation in September of 2014), can be found on the HCC website under the Long Range Planning tab. In addition, the power point report that was presented to the congregation on April 26th is available on the website as well.

 

The proposed questions for the congregation at the Annual Meeting on May 17th related to both the Building and Grounds and Capital Campaign Task Forces that have been previously approved by the Executive Council are:

 

  1. Does the congregation approve of the proposed conceptual plans for the church building improvements, church office addition, and site/landscaping conceptual plans previously reviewed by Executive Council and the congregation?
  2. Will the congregation approve the expenditure of up to $150,000 for professional fees in order to advance from the Visioning Phase to the Design Phase of the proposed church improvements, church office addition, and site/landscaping conceptual plans previously approved by the congregation in Question #1?
  3. Will the congregation authorize the initiation of a capital campaign to raise the appropriate funds for church improvements, church office addition and site/landscaping plans? (The final design and costs to be approved by Executive Council and the congregation in fall of 2015).
  4. Will the congregation approve the use of the Hyde Park funds, (≈$42K), to fund a portion of the $150,000 for design services approved in question #2 with the balance to come from the capital campaign approved in question #3?

 

For questions about the building and grounds proposed plans, please contact Kathi Blair, Chair of the Building and Grounds Task Force, [email protected] 

 

For questions about the Capital Campaign, please contact Phil Edmundson, Chair of the Capital Campaign Task Force, [email protected] 

  

 

WHAT IS THE HYDE PARK FUND?

March 18, 2015

 

The Hyde Park Fund Committee (comprised of Pam Bates, Marco Boer, Phil Edmundson, Doug McCaig, and Linda Ricciardelli) recently voted to designate and commit the balance of the Hyde Park funds to HCC Long Range Planning's capital campaign.

These funds, originally in the amount of $50,000, were a gift to HCC from a member of the Hyde Park Congregational Church in 2008. The funds were entrusted to us with the express hope that they would be used to strengthen HCC so that we would never succumb to the decreased membership and resulting financial troubles that forced the Hyde Park church to close its doors. Ever mindful of that mandate, we have received and reviewed several proposals for some or all of the funds. To date, we have spent approximately $4,000 to fund a speaker's visit, to develop and build the church's new website, and to hire a public relations consultant to improve communication about HCC to our current members and to the community at large. Strengthening the connection with our members, increasing communication and awareness about the vitality of our church, and creating a more visible presence in the community are vital to the church's growth.

We believe that the plans and initiatives that are emerging as a result of the Long Range Planning process are consistent with the goals of the Hyde Park Fund. The Committee has great faith in the process and wants to participate in its success in a meaningful way. We also feel that the time has come to use these funds to help make God's plan for HCC become a reality. We hope to honor the origin of these funds by eventually incorporating the name, Hyde Park, into a specific, tangible aspect of the final Long Range Plan.

Respectfully submitted,

 

Linda Ricciardelli

Chairperson, Hyde Park Fund Committee

 

Adult/Young Adult Mission Trip to Philadelphia

This summer, a group of HCCers will be traveling to the City of Brotherly Love to serve the homeless population for one week. This experience will be full of learning, spiritual growth, and meaningful interaction. We will grow close as a group as we reach out to our neighbors with compassion. We would love for you to join us!

Please sign up in the Vestry. Dates: August 2-8. Cost to be determined (it will be very reasonable and scholarships will be available). Please speak with Rev. Pete or Tracy Allen if you have questions.

  

El Salvador Adult Mission Trip August 22-30

There are openings for volunteers to travel with the group from UCC Norwell to El Salvador in August. The week is spent visiting the various projects within the organization and includes among other things, hands on time with the beautiful children who cherish their visitors. See our HCC website page for photos of our 2013 visit, or log on to www.asaprosar.org . You may email Lisa Fiascone for more information at [email protected] .

                                        Easter Sunday   


 








    Sunrise Service at the Ministers' in Hull
                           
                                    Easter Sunday in the sanctuary

Please consider sending a card or note as you pray for those whose names we whisper in our hearts:

  • Mary Lou Fitzsimmons on the death of her husband, Rev. Don
  • Galen Hersey
  • Betty Hulbert
  • BJ Gorczyca
  • Hermelinda, friend of the Muller's from Guatemala
  • Tim Carpenter, Al & Linda's son
  • Dot Wagstaff
  • Susan Johnson
  • Mary Ela
  • Lew Scotton
  • Barbara Watts
  • Bill Ketchum, student at Andover Newton
  • Ray & Virginia DeYoung, Dee Wylie's parent