THE SPIRE. Dear Beloved of God,

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1 North Canaan Congregational Church, UCC (860) Fax: (860) Office Location: 30 Granite Ave., North Canaan Church Location: 172 Lower Rd., East Canaan Website: northcanaancongregationalchurch.org Worship: 10:00 AM Pastor: Rev. Savage Frieze (860) (P House office) (860) (Cell phone) Pastor s pastorscfrieze@gmail.com Office Administrator: Jean Chapin Emberlin Tues., & Thurs. 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM Wednesday 9:00 AM 12:00 PM Youth for Christ Coordinator: Gert Anderson Sunday School Coordinator: Sharon Milukas Organists: Marilyn Mullins Sextons: Sally Pollard Church Marilyn Dowd Pilgrim House Boards and Committees: Moderator Frank Ghi Vice-Moderator Ned Gow Clerk Treasurer - Wendy Kennedy Asst. Treasurer Ned Gow Deacons/CE: Gert Anderson True Anderson Sally Ford Shirley MacCallum Lynne Martin Leslie O Connor Trustees: Barbara Austin Frank Ghi Ned Gow Sharon Milukas The North Canaan Congregational Church, UCC Dear Beloved of God, THE SPIRE November 2014 Happy Fall everyone! As I write this, I m looking out the office window seeing things that have been hidden for months. Most trees have lost their leaves, and the hill beyond is visible once again. It reminds me that when we can't see something it doesn't mean it isn't there, as it says in Colossians 1:16: In him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible. Making the invisible visible was the motivation of a recent conversation our Church Covenant and Membership Bylaw. It would be wonderful to renew our Covenant and Membership requirement in a way that is consistent with our practice and our mission statement. What follows is the next phase of the conversation: a recommendation for what we could say: Covenant: God our Creator, Jesus our Redeemer, and Holy Spirit our Sustainer: We covenant with You and with one another: To accept the Holy Scripture as our rule of faith and practice; To seek and respond to Your word and will, made known and to be made known; To worship You in unity and diversity, welcoming everyone; To care for and pray for each other in trials of the spirit and in times of joy; To encourage each other in the growth of our minds and spirits; To promote Your reign of justice and peace, meeting hate with reconciling love; and To reject the false gods of society, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. May God help us and be with us. Amen Membership Membership in this church shall be open to all people who earnestly seek to follow Jesus as Christ, Son of God and Savior; and, who assent to and sign the Church Covenant. Acceptance of the Church Covenant will be demonstrated by: public affirmation of the covenant, participating in the life and mission of the church, and by sharing in public worship. Every member of the Church is strongly encouraged to seek the sacrament of baptism if they are not already baptized. I look forward to our next conversation! Grace and Peace, Pastor Savage

2 The Spire 2 November BIRTHDAYS 3 Shirley Schmitt 8 Kyle Considine 9 Larry Carlson Sally Ford 15 Ned Gow 17 Michele Wohlfert 29 Jane Place Prokop November 2014 CALENDAR Fishes & Loaves Food Pantry: every Wednesday 9am 11am at PH. The Children's Clothing Exchange: every Wednesday 9am - 11:30am at PH. The Baby Boutique: every Wednesday 9am - 11:30am at PH. Mid-Week Sacred Conversation & Worship: Thursdays at 1:00pm at PH. Deadline for The Spire articles: Thursday, November 20 th Spaghetti Supper: Friday, November 21, 5pm at Pilgrim House. Turkey Distribution: November 25, 10:00 12:00 at Pilgrim House Thanksgiving Community Dinner: Thursday, November 27, 12-2pm at Pilgrim House. SPAGHETTI SUPPER There will be a spaghetti supper on the third Friday of each month at Pilgrim house from 5-7pm. The next supper will be held on Friday, November 21. All are welcome!

3 The Spire 3 FISHES & LOAVES FOOD PANTRY Wednesdays, 9am-11am During the month of September we provided over 3,000 meals. On October 29 th because of the due diligence of our wonderful volunteer staff, we passed our annual Connecticut Food Bank inspection. The staff recently completed Civil Rights Compliance Training and Food Safety Training for Pantries. Our pantry has been filled this past week with fresh radishes, turnips, cabbage, beets and sweet potatoes. The annual Thanksgiving turkey distribution will be on November 25 th from 10:00 12:00. We will be collecting donations for Fishes & Loaves on the first Sunday of every month at church. The Food Pantry is in need of CANNED VEGETABLES. All donations of non-perishables are greatly appreciated! Please submit all mail to Fishes & Loaves, PO Box 306, Canaan, CT CLOTHING EXCHANGE The Clothing Exchange is looking for donations of men s women s and children s COATS! THE BABY BOUTIQUE Please help us to keep this wonderful mission going! The Baby Boutique is in need of diapers and baby wipes! If you know of anyone in need, please spread the word! The Baby Boutique works on the same exchange system as the clothing exchange. Clients are also able to pick up one package of diapers and wipes per month at no charge. If you would like to donate any baby items or diapers, or if you know of a family in need, please contact the church office at Thank you for your support! MID-WEEK WORSHIP SERVICES Mid-Week Sacred Conversation & Worship is held every Thursday at 1pm at Pilgrim House in Canaan. Please join us!

4 The Spire 4 PILGRIM HOUSE USAGE FOR NOVEMBER Every Monday - 5:30pm-9pm AND 7pm-8pm, Every Wednesday 5:30pm 9:00pm, Every Wednesday - Fishes & Loaves, 9-11am, Clothing Exchange and Baby Boutique, 9-11:30, Thanksgiving week the Fishes & Loaves turkey distribution will be Tuesday 10 12, with the pantry closed the day before Thanksgiving. Every Thursday (except Thanksgiving) Sacred Conversation and Worship 1pm, Thanksgiving Community Dinner, Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 12-2pm. CHURCH USAGE FOR NOVEMBER Wednesdays 12:00 5:00 pm Committee Night and Potluck Supper, Monday, November 10, 6pm. Candelabra Lighting for November The lighting of the candelabra for November was given by April Feathers in memory of Earl and Marie Feathers.

5 The Spire 5 BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES OCTOBER 14, 2014 BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES October 14, 2014 The Board of Trustee meeting was brought to order at 6:30 P.M. Present were Sharon Milukas, Barbara Austin, Frank Ghi, and Wendy Kennedy. The Treasurer s Report was reviewed. The Church's budget continues to be on track for the year. Pilgrim House We continue to work on the up-keep of Pilgrim House. Fall work includes the painting of outside doors by Greg Tidd. Barbara Austin will look into having the Pilgrim House roof and gutters cleaned as moss has grown on shady parts of the roof. Church - Valley Restoration will finish painting the church ceiling later this fall. Gert asked to have a Big Screen TV bought for the fellowship room to be used for Christian Education for both adults and Youth. The trustees voted to buy one and we will be checking into the best size for the best price. New Business Jean Emberlin has been hired to cover both the office and Fishes and Loaves Food Pantry. Banking for Fishes and Loaves will be done by Jean and Wendy Kennedy. The annual budget process for the coming year has been begun and will be completed at the November meeting. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Milukas, Co-Chair

6 The Spire 6 DEACON S MEETING Spire Notes from the Diaconate and Christian Education October 12 th 2014 The evening began at 6pm in our church fellowship room with a delicious potluck supper and wonderful conversation with all church members present. After the meal we broke up into our respective committee meetings. The Diaconate/Christian Ed meeting opened with a prayer from Pastor Savage. Prayer concerns and joy were shared. Lynne Martin will be the Deacon for November. December deacon duties will be shared. We reviewed our annual manual and agreed that we need to order new congregational candle wax drip catchers for our candle-light services. Church decorating for Advent will take place the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Volunteers are needed. The budget proposal to the Board of Trustees was presented to Church Council by Gert Anderson following the Deacon s meetings. Some members of the congregation remain concerned about the cost of a full-time vs. a part-time pastor position in our church. There has been a proposal to close down the sanctuary during the dark cold days of winter and worship in our fellowship room instead, in order to save on heating oil. The deacons are not in favor of this. The church is used usually only for 3 hours a week and worshippers want to spend those hours in the sanctuary. Lynne Martin has purchased drapes which may be used to reduce heat loss in the sanctuary. Gert brought her suggestion to the Church Council, and Lynne has been asked to bring a sample pair of drapes to church on Sunday for others to examine before any decisions are made. It is our tradition to pay particular attention to stewardship at this time of year, although stewardship is observed all year. Ned Gow and Barbara Austin are on the Stewardship Committee. We are looking for volunteers willing to share their stories of how our church has served them and how we can serve our church in return. We like the changes Pastor Savage has made in the number of scripture readings. Pastor has incorporated most of the readings into his weekly worship sermons. Pastor showed us a book which he feels might help us grow our church. Lynn Martin and Sally Ford will resume active visits, and Pastor Savage will continue his community outreach and visitations. Give Squared (Giv2): the Goshen Congregational Church hosted our first Giv2 community service project. Sara Frieze and Jessie MacDonald joined Ann Frieze and Gert Anderson at the Goshen Community garden to prepare it for next Spring s planting season. Approximately 40 kids and adults weeded, dug trenches, mulched, cleared garden beds, and had wonderful fellowship together while helping out the local food pantry, soup kitchen, and community participants. The next Give Squared project will be in December with the Susan B Anthony Project, hosted by the Norfolk Church. Submitted by Gert Anderson, YFC Coordinator.

7 North Canaan Congregational Church, United Church of Christ PO Box 306 Canaan CT Deadline for Spire articles: Thursday, November 20, 2014.