DECEMBER Bob s Byte. Union Congregational Church, UCC Peterborough, New Hampshire

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1 THE COMMUNICON Union Congregational Church, UCC Peterborough, New Hampshire DECEMBER 2016 Bob s Byte It is always difficult for me to adjust when we change the clocks in the fall. It is not quite as bad as losing an hour in the spring, but the change does mess me up a bit. At two in the afternoon, it now looks like the sun is already heading down for the evening, and by the time the evening news starts, it is quite dark out. At this time of year I find myself starting supper earlier and earlier as the sun sets, I get hungry! I turn on lights to help cheer the evening, but the artificial light is not the same as the sun. Darkness surrounds us, and it is not just that the shortening days are dark there is also darkness around us in the world. Violence, intolerance, injustice, narrow-mindedness, bigotry, sexism, and racism are just a few of the ways we as humans make the world darker. Often, watching the news makes it seem as if there is no light, but that is a lie. As we move toward the darkest day of the year, we remember something: the light will never go away. And just after the days reach their shortest daylight, we affirm that the light is still alive, that God s light comes to dispel the darkness of the world. What does that light look like? What comes with the light of Christ? When I see people working together for the common good, when I see generosity of spirit, when I see people respecting each other, regardless of disagreements, when I see food shared with the hungry, when I see people standing up for the rights of the oppressed, when I see someone make room for a stranger, when I see love, I see the light of Christ. The days will continue to shorten. Christmas will come. But how will the light of Christ be known in the world? It is as we share love, as we reach out, as we birth Christ into being in our lives that the light shines. As we live into the call to share the Good News, as we open our doors in hospitality, as we build the beloved community, as we take seriously Christ s call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, house the homeless, as we visit the sick and imprisoned, the light of Christ shines. May it shine for us and through us this holiday season! Bob

2 Worship This Month December 4 Isaiah 11:1-10 Matthew 3:1-12 Sermon: Recalculating December 11 Isaiah 35:1-10 Matthew 11:2-11 Sermon: Turned Upside-Down Also, Ecumenical Peace Light Service, 7 p.m. December 18 Children s Pageant: Christmas Hide and Seek (Barbara T. Rowland) December 24 Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, 7 p.m. December 25 Isaiah 52:7-10 Psalm 98 Hebrews 1:1 2:12 John 1:1-18 Sermon: Come as You Are See you in church! Special Advent Concert Join Suzanne Schoel as she takes you on a journey in song through the Advent season. You ll hear well-known songs like O Come, O Come, Emmanuel as well as others that are sure to become new favorites. With Mary Ann Fleming accompanying on the piano, it is sure to be an enjoyable afternoon. Please come to this Musical Journey Through Advent concert on December 4 at 3 p.m., in our sanctuary. (Snow date, December 5, at 7 p.m.) Peace Light Service On December 11, Union Congregational will host the Ecumenical Peace Light Service at 7 p.m. Local congregations will gather in our sanctuary for an ecumenical service centered around the sharing of the Bethlehem Peace Light. Please join us in this special worship service. 2 Please Keep in Your Prayers Many people feel supported and blessed by our continuing prayers. Please remember to keep the following people in your prayers: Carl and Marilyn Britton Ruth Comerford, friend of Deb Hanson Leo Curley, Sarah Holgate s father Lisa and Patrick Foley Debbie Hanson Sandy Hanson Katherine, friend of Carele Mayer Lynn Nelson Joe Wilson and everyone in our church community To add or delete names from this ongoing prayer list, please contact Martha CB in the office (at or officeucc@comcast.net) by the twentieth of the month. To make a prayer request for the weekly worship bulletin, please contact the office by noon on Wednesday. Bible Studies Thank you! Each Wednesday we offer Bible studies from 10 a.m. to noon. We are working our way through the book of Ecclesiastes, a book that many know as the source of a popular song: To every thing (turn, turn, turn) /There is a season, turn, turn, turn... Come join us as we engage with this text and follow where it leads us!

3 End 68 Hours of Hunger is up and running and so are the UCC volunteers. Each group of packers is scheduled to work once a month, and our first turn came just before Thanksgiving. Ours was the second packing session that day, creating a double batch of food bags to go home with the kids over the Thanksgiving break. It s sad to think that while most of us are feasting, schoolchildren in our own towns are worried about having enough to eat. And it s wonderful to think that we can do something about it! The need for 16-ounce containers of peanut butter continues, and so does the need for cash. You can drop money in the donation jar at coffee hour, grab a preaddressed envelope there and mail in your check, or donate online at End68hoursofhunger.org, specifying that your donation should go to the ConVal program. Please be as generous as you can. It s for our kids. Thank you! Top (l to r): Judy DeWitt, Niki Tatro, and Martha Dahl packed End 68 Hours food bags this month, along with Sharon Smith (not pictured). Paint Night... will be offered next on December 10, at 6:30 p.m., and a second session on a day in December to be announced. The $10 fee covers the cost of materials. To sign up, contact the office (officeucc@comcast.net, ) and join the fun, refreshments, fellowship, and art! House Management Committee House Management just wanted to let everyone know that we have tenants in the third-floor apartment at the Mission House. As we were finishing up getting the apartment ready for occupancy, we found that Jeni and Simon were in need of housing, as their house had sold faster than anticipated and they needed to move quickly. What a wonderful feeling to be able to offer the apartment to them if they felt it would work. They are now living there with Ethan and Eli until they are ready to move closer to Simon's work. Christian Service Committee News During December we ll be asking for contributions to the Christmas Fund, which for 115 years has been a tangible expression of God s love from UCC congregations. It provides assistance to those who have faithfully served the church and now find themselves facing unexpected needs. Last year, UCC congregations contributed over $1,528,481 to the offering. The theme of the 2016 Christmas Fund Offering is God s Love Colors Everything, and our goal is to raise $1.7 million to help support these ministries. Please find special Christmas Fund envelopes in your pew or on the railing around the altar. Thank you for your consideration! Our Ring & Sing Come join the Handbell Choir on Sunday, December 11 as we take our bells and voices caroling to the four assisted living facilities in Peterborough. You are welcome to ring, sing, or both! We will be leaving the church about 12:30 p.m. and will finish about 5 p.m. Watch Church Bytes, read the Sunday bulletin, and listen to announcements for further details as we get closer to the date. Hope you can join us! 3

4 Union Congregational Church Income & Expenses as a % of Annual Budget January October % of Year On November 6 we welcomed ten new members to our church community. Shown here (l to r) with Pastor Bob are Bev Gienty, Connie and John Smith, Pat and Pete Zambri, Niki Tatro, Tony D Ambrosio, and Lucy Nordahl. Rhonda MacLeod and Karen Walter joined in absentia. 4

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7 Hello from Sunday School Thank you to all who helped us with our special crafts to decorate the sanctuary for the Advent and Christmas season. The kids really enjoyed your help, and it was greatly appreciated! There will be no Sunday school on Christmas morning; however, there still will be nursery care for little ones during the church service. Please join us in welcoming new helpers to the nursery! If you see Amanda Holt, Deb Fredericks, Anmarie Wilson, Luciel Wilson, Jeni Chui, or Margaret McCormack, please say hello and thank you for their help this year! Super thank you to Barbara Hanson for her services every Sunday in the nursery! Remember that we have "Camp Sunday School on the Sundays before and after school vacations, so if your children come to church, we will still have programming for them! Women s Fellowship News and Thanks Many thanks to everyone! Your help and support of our Holiday Stroll made it a great success. It was a wonderful day with many old friends connecting again, many new friends connecting, and lots of fellowship. After church on November 20, proceeds were $3,700. Shopping will still be available into December: after church on November 27, the remaining crafts were moved to the nursery for our two Christmas Boutiques, on Saturdays, December 3 and 10, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Again, many thanks to all. At the Holiday Stroll Top left: Judy DeWitt and Bev Gienty sell wreaths and ornaments. Top right: Margaret McCormack at the craft table. Note the plants in the background. Bottom left: People look for Christmas gifts, ornaments, and baked goods in our busy Fellowship Hall. 7

8 A Letter from the ONA Coalition As we continue our conversations about the possibility of becoming an Open and Affirming congregation, we think it s important to share excerpts from After the Election: A Pastoral Letter to Open and Affirming Churches from the ONA Coalition s Leadership Team : Dear Open and Affirming family: If there was ever any question that the Open and Affirming movement is urgently needed in our church, and in our communities the new political reality we face has answered that question We are a movement that has struggled for nearly 45 years to change our church so we can change the world. We have seen a remarkable success in the unfolding story of the United Church of Christ. We have saved lives in communities across America. We have advocated successfully for the equal dignity and worth of our LGBTQ members and neighbors. Together, we have built a secure foundation that will not crumble no matter who controls our federal government... We are stronger together, and we are grounded in a faith that will not fail us. Together, we will face the future. What will happen on January 20, when the new president takes office?... Clearly, our civil rights are in jeopardy, but legal protection for marriage equality won t vanish overnight Appointing a foe of same-sex marriage to the [Supreme Court] won t immediately alter the Court s balance. A constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage would require a vote of two-thirds of both houses of Congress and the assent of three-fourths of the states... But the new administration will nominate federal judges throughout the country [who could] chip away at legal protections, especially if the Justice Department seeks to establish a right to discriminate on the basis of religious freedom. More immediately threatened are the rights of transgender Americans. Discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression is still legal in most states. The federal protections that do exist are the result of President Obama s executive orders or the Justice Department s expansive interpretation of gender in existing laws. All of these protections can be erased by the next president, along with other executive actions that protect LGBTQ citizens from discrimination in housing, health coverage and federal employment... Now is the time to remind each other that the LGBTQ community is one of many that may face new threats in the years to come. Most ONA covenants affirm not only people of any sexual orientation or gender identity and expression, but people of any race, nationality, ability, age, or circumstance. The coming years will test whether the ONA movement is serious about our commitment to all who live with injustice and violence. Will we stand with immigrant families when they are threatened by mass arrest and deportation? Will we stand with our Muslim neighbors? Will we stand with refugees? Will we stand with African American communities in our own cities and across this country? Open and Affirming churches are needed now more than ever before. We represent an alternative path to the politics of fear and recrimination--a way based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. This is the time for us to live up to our values, not only behind the doors of our churches, but visibly and openly in the public square. Please know that the Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ has your back. We are here to support you as you seek new ways to act on the vows you took when you adopted your Open and Affirming covenant. 8

9 DECEMBER Birthdays and Anniversaries! 1 Gordon Kemp 2 Leslie Inglis 12 Lillian Grisafi Shea Tatro 13 Sharon Monahan 20 Erich Clark 22 Roger & Barbara Block (anniv) Karen Loudon 23 Ruth Nace Devon Tatro 25 Dick Chamberlain OFF THE WALDO Aren t you happy about the new enthusiastic programming planned by and for all of you good people in the church in Peterborough? It s obvious that the Spirit is at work among you. It won t do to name all the inspired folks in your congregation as I d be sure to miss some. God bless you, every one. Your mission now is, in part I think, to remind folks in this secular society of yours what Christmas was originally all about. Think: little baby in a barn manger. It s as simple and straightforward as that... isn t it? I mean that s what you start with: a baby and its mother and father in a barn because there is no room for them anywhere else. What you do with that is... up to you and the Spirit so obviously at work in your church. My question is: How do you happen to have a minister who is so multitalented and an organist / choir director who seems to be several people, all with the same name? It s uncanny. Hang on to all six or eight of them... not to mention the other amazing people in your congregation. In terms of talent and commitment, you ve got one of the largest churches in the US of A. But I hope that you will continue to focus on that little one in a manger this Christmas. He has made good company for you as He grew to manhood in your heart. So many of the folks in your country now don t know about Him. But don t worry. All that you need to do is to keep Him alive in your heart... and mind... and all the rest will take care of itself. It really is that simple. Merry Christmas, WALDO 26 Margaret McCormack 28 Rick & Judy Tracy (anniv) 29 Katie Richardson 30 Ruth Goodwin Pam Murphy Only You Can Save the Drains! Please leave the kitchen sink drainers loosely in place at all times, to prevent stray spoons, wedding rings, pot scrubbers, etc., from going down the drain and causing plumbing problems. Thank you! 9

10 COMMUNICON December 2016 Vol. 62 No. 11 Union Congregational Church United Church of Christ 33 Concord Street Peterborough, NH Minister: The Rev. Dr. Robert Marrone Worship Service: 10 a.m. Nursery Care Provided Church Office: Editor: Martha Carlson-Bradley Proofreaders: Karen Loudon and Sharon Smith Silent Squad Support Team: Janet Brown, Randy Brown, Carolyn Peacock Deadline for January issue: Noon, December 20 Union Congregational Church United Church of Christ 33 Concord Street Peterborough, NH 03458