The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme December 2018

Transcription

1 For unto us a child is born; Unto us a son is given, And his name shall be called, Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace Those words from the prophet Isaiah (9:6) have been emblazoned upon the memory and imagination of the world by Handel s oratorio, Messiah. As much as I love hearing the music year after year, it s the final image, the Prince of Peace, that resonates for me. What does it mean to sing about the prince of peace in a culture dedicated to violence? What does it mean to celebrate the coming of Jesus, whom Christians identify as the Prince of Peace, when there is equivocation about the murder of a journalist for fear of endangering a billion dollar arms deal, when mass shootings are as American a tradition as Thanksgiving dinners, and when the wretched of the earth (an indelible phrase given to us by Franz Fanon, essential reading in our cultural moment) are imprisoned, deported, criminalized, or slaughtered? What, for Christ s sweet sake, does that phrase the Prince of Peace, which we shall shortly hear in our worship services, mean for us today? It was MLK who said that true peace is not merely the absence of tension. It is the presence of justice. What he means is that peace shouldn t be reduced to tranquility, to life beside still waters. As often as not, the work of peace building involves tremendous conflict, the way sobriety involves a tremendous struggle for those addicted to alcohol or narcotics. It s hard to get sober when your brain craves intoxication. It s hard to imagine what peace even looks like in a culture immersed in violence. Most mornings, I read from a book entitled Blessed Peacemakers, in which a different individual who dedicated their lives toward the building of a just and peaceful world is featured for every day of the year. It s remarkable how difficult that task was for most of the people who grace the pages of that book. But I m inspired by each of them. They each give meaning and shape to what it means to worship the One that generations of people have named The Prince of Peace. Recently, a stunning example of the work of peace building took place in Pittsburgh, immediately after the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue. One of the nurses who attended to the shooter was Ari Mahler, a Jewish man whose father was a rabbi. Even amidst the horror, Mahler wrote about how he attempted to show compassion to the killer. To be honest, he wrote, I didn t see evil when I looked into (his) eyes he probably had no friends, was easily influenced by propaganda, and wanted attention on a sociopathic level. He s the kind of person that is easily manipulated by people with a microphone, a platform, who use fear for motivation. By contrast, Mahler wished to carve out a different path, one which treated the killer with decency, even empathy. At the end of the encounter, the injured man thanked Mahler for showing him kindness. I m sure it wasn t easy. For many of us, it feels unimaginable. But it is a shining moment. If my actions mean anything, Mahler wrote, love means everything. The pathway that Mahler chose is something I ll be thinking about throughout the coming Advent Season, as we turn our attention toward Bethlehem, toward the Christmas Event, and toward that ancient Hebrew poem announcing the arrival of the Prince of Peace. There will be carols and Christmas hymns. There will be decorations in the Meetinghouse. There will be a children s pageant. There will be an all-church Christmas dinner. There will be our Christmas Eve services. And there will be the celebrations and gatherings that many of us attend with our families or friends. These are all wonderful things, for which I m grateful every year. But beneath it all, or above it all, or within it all, lurks that powerful question: what does it mean, finally, to gather around a Prince of Peace? What does that designation mean for us? What will it require of us? Those are questions I hope to pursue with all of you this Advent season. May the grace, and peace, of Christ be yours in this season of waiting Steve The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme December 2018

2 CHRISTMAS SEASON SCHEDULE DECEMBER 16 Sunday 5:00 PM ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PAGEANT (Rehearsal at 2:30 pm) MONDAY, DECEMBER 24 CHRISTMAS EVE THE LIVING MANGER 5:00 PM Service for families with young children 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM CANDLELIGHT SERVICE OF LESSONS & CAROLS CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE MEMORIAL MUSIC & FLOWERS If you would like to make a contribution to our special Christmas Eve music and flowers in memory of a loved one, please leave a message at the church office, <fccol@fccol.org> or by Monday, December 10th. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30 TH ONE SERVICE ONLY AT 11 AM & No Sunday School. ELEPHANTS IN WINTER SALE Saturday, December 1st, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm Sunday, December 2nd from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm The Elephants In Winter Sale features assorted Christmas decorations and gifts, handmade craft items, and special treasures from many of FCCOL s mission partnerships: from the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota, from Haiti, and from Palestine.

3 Church News Christmas Festival Open House Friday December 14th 5:00-7:00 PM Join us for fellowship and some light fare with a glass of cider or wine. Maybe shop a bit from church artisans and partnership committees. Take some time to sing the traditional carols of the season with our choir. Stop by briefly or stay the entire time! Fellowship Hall will be beautifully trimmed for the season as we gather with our church friends. You are welcome to bring your children to Sheffield Auditorium for some supervised fun while you relax with the big kids in Fellowship Hall! No need to RSVP, but please do stop by! Thank you and much appreciation to all our 2018 Newsletter folding volunteers: Nina Bazinet, Jasmine Bazinet, Nathalie Fogg, Carol Giuliano, Doris Hungerford, Doris King and her sister Rita, Sean McCarty, Bea Minson, Jeanne Nichols, Ann O'Reilly, David Pellerin, Carolyn Randall, Hildegard Rennhard, Priscilla Swanson, Barbara Traskos, and Nicholas Westbrook. New Members It is our custom to receive new members twice a year. If you have been attending, or visiting, and would like to talk about membership, Steve, Laura or Carleen would love the opportunity to sit down over a cup of coffee and chat! Please call any one of us and let s set up a time and place. We will receive new members on December 2nd. The new members orientation meeting will be Wednesday, November 28th, at 7:00 pm in the Hoag Parlor. There will be a New Members luncheon on December 2nd at 12:00 pm in the Sheffield Auditorium. Contemplative Prayer Circle It doesn t have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones; just pay attention, then patch a few words together and don t try to make them elaborate, this isn t a contest but the doorway into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak. --Mary Oliver. Join us on Wednesday nights from 6:30-7:00 pm for a time of deep listening for the Spirit moving within and among us. We ll explore different prayer practices over the weeks including lectio divina, centering prayer, music and meditation. Dates: "Contemplative Prayer in Advent" Wednesday nights: 6:30-7:00 pm Hoag Parlor on December 5th, December 12th and December 19th. Caregiver s Group A Special Caregiver Group will meet on Friday, December 21st, A Room of One's Own: Caregiving through the Holidays. Led by Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager. Ladies Who Stitch Don t miss our sales events! We want to be your gift supplier! Our creations are available at the Elephants in Winter sale days December 1 st & 2 nd and at the Essex Meadows Holiday Bazaar December 6 th. We meet from on December Mondays. We continue to collect reusable shopping bags for the Shoreline Food Pantry. Questions: Eunice at eunicetaylor@me.com.

4 More Church News Our new neighbor, high school student, Mariame Kazadi, is the eldest child of our new members, Joseph and Mariame Kazadi. The Kazadi family is living in our Rogers Lake home. Mariame's essay (below) was featured recently by IRIS in New Haven ( I am 16 years old, I am from the Congo and I speak four languages. I ve been away from home for 6 years. Being away from home doesn t make me sad because as much as I loved home, home didn t love me. I can still remember how everything happened in the 2012 election in Congo. There was a dictator who was very corrupt. My father was an attorney working for the election organization to make sure there was fairness. But then the election results came out and the opposition decided to target everyone who was against them. My father had to run away to save his life. I remember the awful names they called him, and threats telling my mom, If you keep protecting your husband you will see what we will do to your children. I was very young, but I can still see people coming into our house to vandalize it, looking for my father. My family left Congo as refugees because of persecution. After four years in a Kenyan refugee camp, we came to the US. I often describe this as a miracle. My family couldn t make it here without the help of IRIS. IRIS gave my family a home, helped my dad find a job, gave my sisters, brother and me a place to learn in the summer, so many things. Advent Poem: Making the House Ready By Mary Oliver Dear Lord, I have swept and I have washed but still nothing is as shining as it should be for you. Under the sink, for example, is an uproar of mice it is the season of their many children. What shall I do? And under the eaves and through the walls the squirrels have gnawed their ragged entrances but it is the season when they need shelter, so what shall I do? And the raccoon limps into the kitchen and opens the cupboard while the dog snores, the cat hugs the pillow; what shall I do? Beautiful is the new snow falling in the yard and the fox who is staring boldly up the path, to the door. And still I believe you will come, Lord; you will, when I speak to the fox, the sparrow, the lost dog, the shivering sea-goose, know that really I am speaking to you whenever I say, as I do all morning and afternoon: Come in, Come in.

5 More Church News COMMITTEE ON THE ENVIRONMENT An October report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was described by a UN official as a deafening, piercing smoke alarm going off in the kitchen. As an environmentally concerned congregation, it is incumbent on us to be informed about the dangers and costs of climate change and the need for individuals, corporations, and nations to act without delay. Here are links to three provocative articles and some of their highlights: David Wallace-Wells, How Is the end of the world already old news? nymag.com/daily/ intelligencer/2018/07/climate-change-wildfires This past July witnessed record-setting temperatures, wildfires, and biblical rains. But the media are skilled at compartmentalizing the threat. Although TV networks covered the heat waves constantly, they failed to connect the dots they told the story of the historic temperatures but failed to ask why we were seeing so many of them all at once. Treating every climate disaster as a discrete event only compounds the problem, suggesting that impacts will be discrete. We are already far along the path toward some worst-case scenarios for climate change. George Monbiot, We won t save the Earth with a better kind of disposable coffee cup Rather than seeking greener, we must challenge the corporations that urge us to live in a throwaway society. The right question is How should we live? There is a mistaken belief that a better form of consumerism will save the planet. The problems we face are structural: a political system captured by commercial interests, and an economic system that seeks endless growth. And the ideology of consumption is so prevalent that it has become invisible. This system seeks to transfer responsibility for structural forces to individual shoppers, but meaningful change will come only by citizens taking political action. Oliver Milman, Science says saving the planet could really be as simple as saving trees Our planet s climate prospects are inextricably tied to forests. They suck up carbon, maintain local water supplies and weather patterns, and provide homes for birds, mammals, insects, and other creatures. In most places, loss of forests is proceeding apace and so, therefore, is the loss of their use as a carbon sink. A strategy called bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (burn vegetation and bury the resulting emissions underground or directly suck carbon from the air), however promising, further risks removing this carbon sink. What is needed is an international price on carbon to fund the protection of forests. With a current focus on selected issues around climate change, the Committee for the Environment is considering the possibility of arranging small discussion groups. Please contact co-chairs Patsy McCook (PMcCook125@gmail.com) or Tink Willauer (ccwil@conncoll.org) to be added to our list.

6 More Church News A Moment for Planned Giving One of the best ways to contribute to the Church under the new income tax law for 2018 is transferring money from your IRA. How it works: The provision allows retirees age 70 1/2 and older to donate up to $100,000 tax free from their IRA each year. Generally, when you take a distribution from your IRA, it is treated as taxable income. Under this provision, made permanent in the 2015 federal spending and tax package, those assets are excluded from income if the distribution is made directly to the charity. The distribution is not included in your income so you avoid the potential negative consequences that regular IRA withdrawals in retirement can create, including taxes on Social Security benefits. Distributions excluded from income are also equivalent to a 100% deduction. Normally, charitable contribution deductions are limited to a lower percentage (or are eliminated altogether) for taxpayers who do not itemize and take the standard deduction. Turn your required distributions into charitable donations. IRS rules mandate that individuals age 70 1/2 and older take RMDs from their IRA each year, regardless of whether the income is needed. These annual withdrawals are subject to ordinary income taxes. By making a charitable contribution from your IRA, you can satisfy your RMD amount without reporting additional income. This provision may be especially attractive for retirees who don t need all the income from their IRA to meet current living expenses. By donating the money to charity, you can enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that you are contributing to a worthy cause while effectively lowering your tax bill. It s important to consider your tax situation before deciding whether to make a charitable contribution from your IRA. Be sure to work closely with your financial representative to determine whether this tax provision is right for you. This information is not meant as tax or legal advice. Should you have questions concerning using this technique please contact the Church office at or call Tom Grant from the Board of Trustees at SENIOR CHOIR Sunday, December 2 Singing at the 9:00 am service with a rehearsal at 8:15 am Wednesday, December 5 Rehearsal at 7:30 pm Sunday, December 9 Singing at the 11:00 am service with a rehearsal at 10:15am Wednesday, December 12 Rehearsal at 7:30 pm with Brian Cheney! Sunday, December 16 Singing at the 9:00 am service with a rehearsal at 8:15 am Wednesday, December 19 Rehearsal at 7:30 pm Sunday, December 23 Singing at 11:00 am with a rehearsal at 10:15 am Monday, December 24 Singing at 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm with a rehearsal at 6:45 pm Wednesday, December 26 NO REHEARSAL! Sunday, December 30 Singing at 11:00 am with a rehearsal at 10:15 am

7 More Church News As of November 15, we have received responses from 183 members and friends totaling $357,462 toward our 2019 Stewardship Campaign goal of $630,000. The average pledge amount is currently 14% higher than the same time last year. THANK YOU!! Of the pledges received: 37% reflect an increase in the pledge amount over last year 49% reflect no change in the pledge amount from last year 9% reflect a decrease in the pledge amount from last year 5% are pledges from new members The 2019 Stewardship Campaign is an opportunity to sustain and grow our investment in our church s life changing ministries and mission partnerships. The Board of Stewardship is providing this early status report because it is important that all members and friends of our church are kept aware of our progress. If you have already submitted you pledge commitment, please accept our thanks for your quick response! If you have not yet had a chance to do so, we ask that you Review the inspiring information in our pledge brochure Listen to and reflect on the testimonials presented during our Sunday services Return your commitment card to the church office at your earliest convenience. Your timely response will help make a difference! Contact the Board of Stewardship if you have any questions. We share our lives and share our world. Thank you for all that you do to support our vital ministries and mission partnerships! Members of the Board of Stewardship: Mike Long (Chair), Mary Kate Cox, Diane Hart, Steve Hart, Allison Hine, Wendy Knight, Wayne Mountz, Jeanne Thomas, Mike Winterfield

8 MESSAGES FROM THE TREASURER YEAR-END FINANCIAL MATTERS As we approach the end of 2018, we hope all members and friends who have made giving commitments, and who are able, will complete those commitments as soon as possible so that we can end the year with the books balanced as our budget calls for. And of course, special extra gifts are always appreciated and put to very good use at this time of year! If you have any questions about the status of your commitment, or contributions, or any other questions of a financial nature, please call the church office and speak with me, or our bookkeeper, Teri Gedrys at Thank you for your generous support of our church! WHEN SENDING A CHECK Please be sure to note on the check where the offering is to be credited (i.e. pledge, food pantry, donation, Habitat, etc.). It is also important to note whether your contribution is for 2018 or Thank you for your help. WHEN MAKING A GIFT OF STOCK Please notify the Church of your gift, including the designated use, at the time you request your broker to make the transfer. You may also use the Church s broker, Smith Barney, to make the transfer if you wish. We occasionally receive gifts from a broker without knowing the donor, or whether the gift is intended for a 2018 or 2019 giving, or for another purpose. If you have any questions, or need further instruction, please feel free to call me or Teri Gedrys at Your help is greatly appreciated. Our monthly 16-page printed newsletter is always available on the church website at If you can view it there, it will save the church some postage! Pleae call the church office at and give us your address. We ll send you a message when the newsletter is available. Thanks. Bob McCracken, Treasurer Please call Teri at the Church Office, , if you donated 99 shares of Concoco Phillips November 9, Annual reports from Boards and Committees are due Monday, January 7, The Annual Meeting is Sunday, January 27, 2019, after the 11:00 AM service.

9 God s Neighborhood Sunday School Welcome to God s Neighborhood In God s Neighborhood during December we will be learning about Advent Traditions around the World! December 2 - St. Nicholas Day and the art of giving to others. December 9 - St. Lucia Day and the coming of the Light of the World. December 16 - Las Posadas and the qualities of humility, strength, trust, charity, justice, joy and generosity. December 23 - All-age service with childcare and activities for early elementary students. December 2 - Sunday Night Soup meeting for Pilgrim Fellowships. This month we will be inviting some friends from other faith traditions to share each of our Celebrations of Light. Many cultures have a celebration of light at this time of year. Let s appreciate and learn about the meanings of these celebrations as we join together! Both JPF and SPF (middle and high school) are invited to join in the discussion and sharing. RSVP to me by November 29th so I make enough soup! December 9 - Gifts Made with Love Sunday School Program Immediately following 9:00 a.m. Worship Service at 10:30. Look for permission slips and RSVP by December 2. Children in our Sunday School program will stay after the 9:00 am service on Sunday, December 9, to create holiday gifts for the special people in their lives. Lunch will be served. Parents may pick up their children at 2:00 p.m. December 16 - Annual Christmas Pageant. It s finally here! Join us at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 16, in the Fellowship Hall for a special Christmas Pageant put on by our Sunday School students. It s not to be missed! (All Sunday School students are welcome to participate. Participating students will need to be at the church at 2:30 pm. A snack will be provided for them after the rehearsal.)

10 Tree of Life News Thank You Mary! We are deeply grateful to Mary Tomassetti for her years of dedication and leadership at Tree of Life Educational Fund. Mary s devotion and enthusiasm have been an inspiration to all, and we are honored to call her friend. Thank you, Mary, for your service, your guidance, and for facilitating a remarkable array of TOLEF events and journeys these past few years. Your unwavering support and hard work are genuinely appreciated! We wish you all the best in your future endeavors and look forward to your continued friendship and support. Caption: Mary Tomassetti, center, and fellow travelers during the TOLEF March 2017 Journey to Palestine Thank You for Supporting Rachel s Children Fall Lecture Series! Since January of this year, more than 900 Palestinian children under 18 have been arrested or detained by the Israeli military. Most are charged with throwing rocks. Many of these children are arrested from their homes in the middle of the night a terrifying experience that can forever destroy their sense of home as the place of safety and sanctuary that most take for granted. This past October, our annual Tree of Life Fall Lecture series, Rachel s Children, explored this issue and more. Attendees learned that most of these children are subject to verbal and physical abuse, deprived of legal aid, and not allowed visitations from family members. Guest speaker Ruba Awadallah, a researcher for Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP), shared important data and heartbreaking stories highlighting the tragic costs of living under military occupation. Since 1991, DCIP has worked to protect and advocate for Palestinian children by monitoring and documenting abuse, raising awareness and providing legal services. Former IDF soldier, Eran Efrati, now Executive Director of Researching the American-Israeli Alliance (RAIA), shared his deeply personal account of the moment he understood that as an IDF soldier he was not making the world a better place, but rather subjugating an innocent population. While on duty during one of the middle of the night house raids, he realized that the vulnerable child standing before him was one he had tried to befriend just the day before. Suddenly it became clear to him that he was terrorizing this family. Since then he has dedicated his life to speaking out against the occupation. At RAIA he supplies vital research for the movement for justice for Palestine by highlighting the connection between American and Israeli state violence. ~continued

11 Tree of Life News And speaker Lara Kiswani, Executive Director for the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), inspired all with her direct action success stories. During the 2014 assault on Gaza, AROC helped to mobilize more than 6000 activists and, in cooperation with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), who refused to cross the picket line, managed to prevent an Israeli cargo ship from docking in Oakland and Long Beach Ca - permanently. In addition, AROC also convinced the City of Oakland to stop hosting Urban Shield, the largest militarized police training and weapons expo in the world. All in all, approximately 250 individuals attended our Rachel s Children conferences at four venues. We at TOLEF are immensely grateful to our sponsors, volunteers and supporters who helped us to make this series a great success! March 12 23, 2019 Extension to Jordan through March 26 Tree of Life Educational Fund will offer its next journey in March of This journey will have a special focus on the role of women, past and present, in their struggle to give birth to a New Creation. The Land of Canaan, sometimes called the Holy Land or the Land of Promise, is a place replete with the sacred stories of women who by their love, courage, resilience and determination endeavor to make their communities a place where all God s children could learn to live together in peace. The voice of Rachel weeping for her children can be heard in the lamentations of Palestinian and Israeli mothers who have lost their children in the violence. In organizations such as Women in Black, in those Israeli women who, despite being ostracized by members of their own families, courageously keep vigil at checkpoints in solidarity with Palestinians and their quest for human rights, we will be reminded of how Naomi said to Ruth, Your people shall be my people. The dignity of Hagar can be seen in Bedouin women who in weaving beautiful carpets also weave a new and better future for their children. They have opened a school in Hagar s name where Palestinian and Israeli children can learn together. We will see the face of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in those who everyday magnify God s love in the love and compassion for those victimized by a brutal occupation. In Nabi Saleh, in the home of 17 year old Ahed Tamimi, we will be reminded of a young woman from Magdala who refused to be intimidated by those in power. In Nablus, we will be reminded of a Samaritan woman who offered a cool drink to Jesus, a Jew, and in that hospitality reminded us of how crossing boundaries and comfort zones and transcending stereotypes can help to build a new and better future for us all. ln traditional Palestinian Dabke Dances, singers and ancient instruments such as the oud, we will remember the spirit of Miriam who with her tambourine and dance helped to keep alive the hopes and dreams of her people. This journey will be led by two remarkable women, Ghoufran Allababidi, President of Tree of Life Educational Fund and Mary Tomassetti, Tree of Life Coordinator. Serving as chaplains for the journey will be Colleen Keyes, former Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs at Zaytuna College and Muslim leader in the interfaith community and Laura Fitzpatrick Nager, Senior Associate Minister of The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, CT. Although this journey will have a special focus on the role of women from biblical times to the present; all men and women are welcome! For more information, contact TOL Coordinator Ann Perry at apery@tolef.org. or TOL President Ghoufran Allababidi ghoufran@tolef.org.

12 Adult Enrichment Programs BIBLE STUDY Due to popular demand and curiosity, Becky Crosby has continued the study on Paul from last year as we strive to answer the question, "What happened to Christianity after Paul's death? To guide our study, we will read the book by Bart Ehrman, "The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World." All are welcome (no need to have studied Paul with us last year). We will meet on Thursday, November 29 - December 20, and January 3 & 10 (8 sessions) Bring a Bible if you have one. If not, we have one for you! WRITING FROM THE SPIRIT The writing group meets on alternate Wednesdays at 4:00 pm, December 5th and 19th in the Hoag Room. Led by Vicky Murphy. All are welcome! POETRY READING The Poetry-reading group meets on Alternate Wednesdays at 4:00 pm, December 12th in the Hoag Room. Let by Alan Bradford. All are welcome! DECEMBER ADULT FORUMS 2 - Dr. Kate Ott, Christian Ethics for a Digital Society looks at how we live in an increasingly digital world. From sexting to hashtag activism like #metoo, technology has entered both our private and our public lives in a deep way. Far from hand-wringing about the dangers of technology, Christian Ethics for a Digital Society offers pragmatic wisdom on how to live thoughtfully today. Join us for this amazing and timely presentation! 9 - Amnesty International 16 - Handel s Messiah (Simon Holt and Church Choir) 23 - No Forum 30 - No Forum CARE-GIVER S SUPPORT GROUP "I found it shelter to speak to you." Emily Dickinson Our Caregivers Group will meet on Friday morning, December 21st, from 10:00-11:00 am in the Hoag Parlor. Facilitator: Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager

13 Employment Seeking Employment: Rab Nawaz/KAPPRI PAINTING, LLC Free estimates. Power painting, power washing interior and exterior, gutter cleaning, wallpaper install and removal. 30+ years experience. Satisfaction guaranteed. The church has experience with this company Home Health Aid, House Keeping Helwig at Hope Ironing: Yaldiz Hamou, who with the rest of her delightful family continue to settle into life as Old Lyme residents (a welcome change from their previous challenges in Syria), is happy to welcome your ironing needs into her nonsmoking home. Please feel free to contact her directly for further details at American Craftsmen need America s help. Let me restore your family heirloom as a furniture maker of 33 years. My work includes restoration of antiques, work on cherished family pieces, and general furniture repair. As well, my passion is designing and building fine furniture: large and small pieces include dining and side tables, beds, benches, and chairs; religious pieces, pet coffins, etc. Please contact Dick Humphreville at or Experienced master carpenter, licensed and insured, looking for work. Call Tom Kratzert at Home Designer Design & drawing from concept to construction documents for new homes, additions, and renovations. Servicing home owners, builders, and architects. Other services include drawings to help sell a house, develop & present an idea. Computer aided using DATA CAD 12-2 dimensional and 3 dimensional. David S Nelson-Building Design Service DSNdesign@comcast.net. The "Pet Nanny" Carol Giuliano, an Old Lyme resident, will provide loving care for your pets when you are not there. Over forty years experience with all types of animals. Call (203) Weaving Classes Always wanted to learn to weave? Start by weaving a rag rug on Stephanie Morton's ENORMOUS loom in her Lyme studio. Call her at or Sue Mandeville Transportation and/or accompaniment to professional or medical appointments, outpatient surgeries and home stay following anesthesia. Airport, train or bus transport. Livery license, insured, references and medical training. Call Sue Mandeville Lorelei Mitchell Mediator, Lorelei Mitchell, is available to assist with family dilemmas, landlord -tenant disputes or workplace conflict. Mediation is a better alternative to litigation and can often transform relationships, while giving you a say in the outcome. Call Lorelei Mitchell at (860) or lmitchell18@comcast.net to schedule a consultation. Guli Gvelesiani I lived in Old Lyme and worked for 7 years as a live-in caregiver for a church family. I am seeking a new full time, live -in position with a caring family. I can provide references. Please call Guli at We periodically receive requests to post notice of people who can be hired to help transport, help in light housekeeping or help by offering companionship to those who are housebound. We are not able to make recommendations; but their names and number are listed below. Marilyn Taylor Marion Campo Driver Martha Durfee Sissy Stinson

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15 The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Staff The Rev. Dr. Steven R. Jungkeit, Senior Minister ( ) The Rev. Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager, Senior Associate Minister ( ) The Rev. Carleen R. Gerber, Associate Minister ( ) Simon D. Holt, Director of Music ( ) The Rev. David W. Good, Minister Emeritus The Rev. Rebecca T. Crosby, Minister for Haitian Outreach The Rev. Cynthia C. Willauer, In Ministry for The Care of Creation Lisa Doggart, Church School Leader Mary Tomassetti, Assistant to Youth and Family Ministries ( ) Lisa Doggart, Junior and Senior Pilgrim Fellowship Leader Lisa Feltes, Director of Children s Music ( ) Robert McCracken, Church Administrator Joan Kelley, Church Office Manager Teri Gedrys, Bookkeeper Mark Testori, Sexton Church Office Tel: Fax: fccol@fccol.org Website: Sunday Worship - 9:00 & 11:00 a.m. Sunday School - 9:00 a.m. Summer Sunday Worship - 10:00 a.m. (June 2 to September 1) South Lyme Union Chapel Worship - 9:00 a.m. Pastoral Counseling Center Tel: Candace E. Wilson-Stanberry, MSN Counseling and Psychotherapy Tel: Cary Walker, LCSW FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF OLD LYME, Member U.C.C. The reproduction of our Meetinghouse on the cover is from a sketch by William Steeves.

16 The First Congregational Church 2 Ferry Road Old Lyme, Connecticut U.S. Postage Paid Permit #7 Old Saybrook, CT Non-Profit Organization Our next Newsletter will be in January; deadline is December 21. Please send articles as a Word document THE FOOD PANTRY NEEDS HELP FROM ALL OF US Whenever you come to church.worship, church events, meetings, or just to visit. PLEASE bring some non-perishable food items each time to restock the food pantry. Please let us know if you have some time to volunteer at the food pantry and/or with food drives. Please the church office at <fccol@fccol.org> if you want to be removed from the newsletter mailing list and read it on the website. Each household that can read the newsletter on (and print from) the website rather than receive it by mail will save the church $5.17 each and every year. We will ask for your address so we can alert you when the new issue is available on our website. Thanks for your help!