North Falmouth Congregational Church, UCC 155 Old Main Road/PO Box 403 North Falmouth, MA Return Service Requested Dated Material

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1 North Falmouth Congregational Church, UCC 155 Old Main Road/PO Box 403 North Falmouth, MA Return Service Requested Dated Material The Sandpiper is a monthly publication of the North Falmouth Congregational Church, UCC. The Reverend Nancy W. Strickland, Interim Pastor (508) ,

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3 The Sandpiper North Falmouth Congregational Church, United Church of Christ Dear Friends, Pastoral Page If we want to be part of these events, Advent and Christmas, we cannot just sit there like a theatre audience. Instead, we ourselves will be caught up in the action. We must become actors on this stage. For this is a play in which each spectator has a part to play, and we cannot hold back. What will our role be? Worshipful shepherds bending on knee, or kings bringing gifts? What is being enacted when Mary becomes the mother of God, and when God enters the world in a lowly manger? These words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer make it clear that this advent time is a time of active waiting, a time to be involved, to be part of the drama unfolding. What part can you play, where do you find yourself in this sacred story? Why does this matter to you? Imagine the myriad of emotions surrounding the scene: doubt, surprise, fear, adoration, patience, worship. All understandable. As you reflect on the wonder of God s gift to the world in the coming of the child in Bethlehem, reflect on who this child is for you, what difference his coming makes for you. Allow the beauty of scripture and music of the season touch your heart and mind, and see what God might be doing in you this year. How can each of us respond to what God has done and continues to do as we walk towards Bethlehem together. In faith, December 2017 Worship for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany Sunday December 3, First Sunday in Advent 10 a.m. Intergenerational Worship and Holy Communion, No 8:30 service Advent Candle of HOPE Isaiah 64:1-9, Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19, 1Corinthians 1:3-9, Mark 13:24-37 Keep Awake! Dedication of New Large Print NRSV Bibles, Preparing a bed for Baby Jesus Sunday December 10, Second Sunday in Advent 8:30 Contemporary Worship, Holy Communion, 10 a.m. Worship and Church School Advent Candle of PEACE Isaiah 40:1-11, Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13, 2Peter 3:8-15a, Mark 1:1-8 Prepare the Way Sunday December 17, Third Sunday in Advent 8:30 Contemporary worship, Holy Communion, 10 am Worship and Church School Advent Candle of JOY Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Good News Coming Psalm 126, 1Thessalonians 5:16-24, John 1:6-8,19-28 Thursday December 21 Blue Christmas Service 6:30 p.m. UCC, Methodist, Episcopal, Lutheran churches of Falmouth join in a service of comfort for those who find the holidays stressful due to life s losses. This will be held at North Falmouth Congregational Church, UCC. Sandpiper 1

4 Sunday December 24, Fourth Sunday in Advent 10 a.m. Intergenerational Worship with Pageant Advent Candle of LOVE PAGEANT IN WORSHIP 10 a.m. 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16, Psalm 89:1-4,19-26, Romans 16:25-27, Luke 1: p.m. Christmas Eve Candlelight Service Lighting of Christ Candle, Isaiah 9:2-7, Psalm 96, Titus 2:11-14, Luke 2: 1-20 Sunday December 31, First Sunday after Christmas 10 a.m. Intergenerational Worship, No 8:30 service, Isaiah 61:10-62:3, Psalm 148, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2: 22-40, Long Awaited Gift Bring your favorite crèche scene to worship today Sunday January 7th, Epiphany 10 a.m. Intergenerational Worship and Holy Communion, No 8:30 service, Isaiah 60:1-6, Psalm 72:1-7, Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12, Star Seekers ADULT EDUCATION JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM WEDNESDAYS in Advent,12:45-1:30 following Winter Soup December 6 Bible Study with Sacred Stories of The birth of Jesus December 13 Poetry of the Season: Experience several Advent poems December 20 Songs of the Season: Explore the history behind several beloved Christmas Carols Adult Education Wednesdays in January 2018 January 3, 10, 17, and 24 12:45-1:30 after Winter Soup Did you know that this November, the 500 th Anniversary of the Reformation was observed? If you are wondering who Martin Luther was and how he is part of our history, come on Wednesdays in January to delve deeper. The class will use The Still Speaking Writers Group Study guide. It will be available after Christmas. Pastor Nancy and Lisa Allen will share leadership of the group. FAMILY AND INTERGENERATIONAL EVENTS IN DECEMBER Sunday December 17 5 p.m. Carol Sing in Sanctuary 5:45 Soup and Bread Supper Covenant Room BLUE CHRISTMAS WORSHIP THURSDAY DECEMBER 21 at 6:30 NORTH FALMOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH This ecumenical worship service will be held at our church this year. This time of year is one where people think they are supposed to be happy, yet for many people the holiday season is fraught with difficulties. Often feelings of loss and sadness get amplified. This could include the loss of a loved one, financial hardships, family discord, broken relationship or health challenges. The Blue Christmas worship service gives space to acknowledge the losses in our lives and helps us recognize that we are not alone in these challenges. This service of will include scripture, prayer, a brief reflection, candle lighting and Holy Communion. It is our hope that when people leave this service, they leave knowing that God is with us in the midst of our struggles and in places of darkness. As we recall hurts, we still find hope in Gods ability to shine light in the darkness. A time of light refreshments will follow the service. Sandpiper 2

5 Intergenerational Christmas Pageant We will be to rehearsing our pageant on December 10 and 17 after the 10:00 service and Saturday, December 23 at 10:30am. People of all ages are encouraged to participate in this event. It is a great way to build family holiday memories and to help our congregation and guests find new meaning in the traditional Christmas story. Please talk to Lisa if you have any questions. 12/06 Connie Gawarkiewicz 12/12 Brian Latimer 12/14 Kayleigh Sanders 12/19 Adrienne Ovian 12/20 Roberta Markham 12/23 Helen Sievert 12/25 Katie Weldon 12/25 Nancy Wilson 12/28 Delaney Clements 12/29 Ava Gray College Care Packages Our care packages are filled and in the mail. Thank you to everyone who contributed. Our college students are always happy to receive these gifts especially as they remind them that we are thinking of the and always consider them a part of our church family. They make them popular with their friends as well! Advent Workshop A wonderful time was had by all! We ate a delicious lunch of everyone s specialties and had a fun time of fellowship. We had a great crew working on the church wreath. Take a look at it hanging on the front of the building, it really looks great. Lots of kids and adults made special centerpieces for their holiday tables. The popular children s craft table will remain throughout Advent so that kids may color and create after Sunday services. Children also purchased gifts for their friends and family and wrapped them to go under the tree. It was encouraging and gratifying to see church members of all ages interacting together and having a lot of holiday fun. What a great way to usher in the Christmas season as a community! Christian Education Thanksgiving Food Drive Thank you to everyone who donated food items for the Thanksgiving collection at the Falmouth Service Center. The organization provides Thanksgiving meals for approximately 1000 families. Thank you also to Barbara Rountree for delivering the food. This is a great way to express our gratitude for all the gifts we have been given. Ward and Son Michael Fraser assembling the wreath for the front of the Church. Sandpiper 3

6 Decorating the Giving Tree Lovely! Giving Tree Youth and parents at the Craft Table Our children have decorated our Giving Tree and tags are available for you to take. Please buy the gift listed on the tag, wrap it, attached the tree tag and return it under the tree by Dec. 17th. Also you may 'redecorate' the tree with mittens and hats. All of these items go to needy families in our own community. Youth Group Bring-a-Friend Christmas Party On Sunday, December 10, 4:30-6:30 we will have our annual youth Bring-a-Friend Christmas party for grades 5 and up. We will have games, a gift exchange, a pot luck dinner and lots of fun. Please do bring a friend or two and RSVP to Lisa as soon as you can. Sandpiper 4

7 2017 Holiday Fair Successful!! The weather was perfect for November as we opened for business Saturday the 18 th at the 9 a.m. start. Temps were cool, so people would want chowder, but not rainy so people would want to come out to shop and enjoy lunch. Foot traffic thru the halls was lighter this year, probably because there were so many fairs going on at the same time on the Cape. Even so, we did pretty well considering the amount of people that came thru during the day. Thank you to those who helped in any way to make this fair happen, especially to Carolee Packard, Meg Tivey, Myrna O'Hara, Laura Murphy, Marsha Martin and Jan Finton who were crew leaders and put in so many hours before the doors even opened to get everything ready. Their crews worked to get things sorted, cleaned, baked, priced and displayed. Thank you to the Thrift Shop volunteers for saving the good stuff for us and all of you who gave items for either the antique treasures, baked tabled or holiday rooms. The Kitchen Crew again was in high efficiency mode as usual. Thank you to the workers who kept the Thrift Shop open during the fair hours. Thank you to all the people who donated things for the rooms, Raffle, baked goods, Silent Auction and luncheon. The baked table had plenty of pies and apple crisp this year thanks to Carolee's crews and the youth group. The church is most appreciative for all your hard work. People and businesses that helped by volunteering, donating $$, donating food for lunch and donating Raffle & Silent Auction items: Laura Murphy, Jean Davock, Missy Fox, Marge Marshall, Jean Sawyer, Marcia Mc Laughlin, Kay Clark, Eleanore Scavatto, Jan Finton, Priscilla Manning, Myrna O'Hara, Joyce Kenneally, Marsha Martin, Linda Thomas, Rin Morway, Kay Clark, Celina Gonzolez, Meg Tivey, Don Packard, Pam Fernsebner, M. Murphy, Sally Eldridge, Myrt Chatfield, Ray Rowitz, Betsey Woodley, Jeff North, Carolee Packard, Bill Martin, Betty Galbraith, Ken Evans, Sandy & John Checklick, Ryan Family Amusements, Roche Brothers Supermarket, Christmas Tree Shop, Maison Villate French Bakery, Eight Cousins Book Store, Sandwich Glass Museum, Gourmet Gardens, Sea Crest Beach Hotel, Crab Apples Restaurant, Lobster Trap Restaurant /Fish Market, Mezza Luna Restaurant, Stop & Shop Supermarket, Windfall Market and Shaw's Market. Please forgive us if we left someone out. We appreciate all the volunteers who helped carry things from the Thrift Shop over to the church the Sunday before the fair and to those who helped carry things from the church to the Thrift Shop or down to the basement on the Sunday after the fair. Thank you all for buying up the left overs and helping put things in order the day after the fair. Thank you Meg Tivey, Myrna O'Hara and Carolee Packard for pulling this fair together once again to get everyone in a festive Holiday spirit. What was that? Did I hear people singing Christmas carols? Fa la, la, la, la..., la, la, la, la. Maybe that was the clean-up crew, glad everything was over and finished for another year. Betty Galbraith & Ken Evans at the Bake Sale Table. Laura Murphy setting up her Jewelry Room. Sandpiper 5

8 Thanksgiving at NFCC Constantly grateful for all that God creates. Church Council Making it Real observations of Rev Nancy W. Strickland At the November Church Council meeting, Council and Transition team members participated in a Barnstable Association initiative called Making it Real. This two hour program led by volunteers, Rev Sally Norris and Rev David Powers began with grounding our group in scripture and prayer and lifted up a sense of giftedness right within each person present. The evening focus then moved to probing the question, what is our why? What is our purpose as a church? These questions moved us from surface, obvious answers to deeper probing of our faith experiences at church and why that matters to us. The Making it Real program came to us at an excellent time as we are in the midst of an interim time and will be seeking new pastoral leadership going forward. This opportunity, which is free to the churches in the Association, is a blessing as it stimulates meaningful conversation and helps us to go deeper in our journey with God and one another. Here are the thoughts of individual Council and Transition Team members of the why of church: THE WHY OF CHURCH: *We have a place for you. Come, sit awhile. Experience the love of God through joy, love, acceptance, and community. We'll always be here for you. *good sermons, caring people, family like atmosphere *Community based with poignant sermons *A church that feels like home, makes a difference and will welcome you like family Beverly Blaine created the magnificent altar display for Thanksgiving Sunday. The food baskets were collected by the Sunday School youth to be given to the Falmouth Service Center. *Find welcome, come to love and be loved, connect to God the source of all *I have been challenged spiritually, I have cried, I have laughed, I have applauded myself. I am educated, I am uplifted, I am not condemned. Sandpiper 6

9 *We are a welcoming, committed congregation that serves the community and receives relevant spiritual music. *There is meaningful worship that feeds our spirits and carries us through the week, food for thought and strength. *Simple meaningful message relating life to your level with great community *To hear the purpose of life and how you can give your world, your community, and your family a more loving and caring life. *You will find fellowship with other folks who share the same love of Christ. Outreach / Winter Soup WINTER SOUP Wednesday at 12 noon Winter Soup time is here! This year we will be serving on Wednesday instead of Thursday. This is an important mission of our church. Gathering the community to share a meal provides food, fellowship and companionship for those who normally eat alone. To that end Outreach has allocated funds for making soup. Do not be shy about turning your expense in. We realize that the cost may hold some folks back from making soup. There will be a sign-up sheet for those wanting to make and serve for a given Wednesday. It will be in the covenant room on the hospitality board. The cleanup folks need to run the dish sanitizer, wipe all the counters and tables down, and put the dishes away. The last person out needs to check that the sanitizer is shut off, and the lights are off in the kitchen and the covenant room. They need to also check that the kitchen door has been locked before they leave. Winter soup runs from November 29 thru the end of March. It is a long season for one or two people to commit to. By splitting it up more maybe more folks will participate in the work involved. Please speak to Carolee or call ( ) if you want to take on a chore or want more information. Thank you. CHRISMONS Again this year the Altar Committee has decorated the sanctuary for Advent and the Christmas season. The white and gold ornaments on the tree and wreath are called Chrismons and were handmade by the ladies of the church back in the 1980s including Ellie Hodge and Sally Eldridge who are still members of our church community. The original Chrismons were developed in 1957 at a Lutheran church in Virginia as a decoration appropriate for a church Christmas tree as opposed to the colored lights and secular symbols being used at that time. The Chrismons are Christian symbols made in white with gold decorations. Chrismons cannot be bought or sold; they can only be made to give in love and in celebration of Christ s birth. The NFCC is very fortunate to have these beautiful symbols of the true Christmas decorating our sanctuary. It would be nice if we had a team that would do set up and put the coffee on each week or at least for one month at a time. It is a large commitment if one or two people have to handle set up and making soup. The team in charge of set up would set tables, set up the trays with bowls and the coffee. They would also put out the coffee fixings. The soup makers would serve the soup and see that the stove was cleaned and shut off or share this responsibility with another person. Sandpiper 7

10 Advent 2017 Bill & Ken hanging the wreath in the Sanctuary. Many thanks to the team who decorated the sanctuary for Advent...Carolee & Don Packard, Jean Davock, Sandy Checklick, Ken Evans, Ray Rowitz, Chris Polloni, Bill & Marsha Martin. Ray, Sandy & Jean with the tree. Carolee arranging the swag from the choir loft. Sandpiper 8

11 Ellie Hodge Celebrates Her 100 th Birthday!! Ellie with her Son Peter received numerous visitors at her home Sunday afternoon, November 19 th. Happy Birthday and Congratulations Ellie!!! Complete with singing from the NFCC Choir! From the Thrift Shop Hooray! More time to shop! Our NFCC Thrift Shop is pleased to announce newly expanded hours. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday the shop is open from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Thursday evening hours have been adjusted and are now 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Donations may be dropped off when the shop is open for business, and also on Wednesday mornings from 9:00 to 10:00 AM. The shop offers clothing and shoes for children, teens, women and men. In addition, recent renovations have increased the space provided for infant and toddler clothing. Not looking for clothes? We also offer Housewares, CDs, DVDs, Books, Games and Puzzles for all ages. All at unbeatable prices! Sandpiper 9

12 More Than Just a Thrift Shop The Thrift Shop is a very dynamic place that does much more than contribute about $45,000 per year to the church budget. It is also one of the church s main outreach programs. The shop offers nearlynew clothing for all ages starting at $1.00 for children s items and $3.00 for adult clothing. When need is great, the shop arranges for free clothing. Recently a family resettling here from Puerto Rico was able to obtain much needed items and an AFS student from Nigeria currently attending Falmouth High School was able to confidently attend the homecoming dance in a dress she picked out at the thrift shop. From the Stewardship Team Pledge Reminder.. Please review the Stewardship materials sent to you and complete your pledge cards as soon as possible. This is your expression of faith in the mission of our church, both within the church family and community. To those of you who have already submitted your pledge, thank you very much. We look forward to hearing from the rest of you. Additional pledge cards are available outside the office, if you have misplaced yours. Yours in Faith, Stewardship Team In addition, the shop is a firm supporter of recycling. Everything in the shop is being given a second chance at being useful to someone. When items need to be moved along, they go to a commercial recycler who again makes use of them. Volunteers also bring baby clothes and equipment to the Baby Center in Hyannis. Extra vases are brought to Windfall Market where they are reused and donated to hospitals and nursing homes. Recently a volunteer connected with the Flower Angels and extra teacups are now donated to that worthy cause. A recent donation of sporting equipment was happily received by the athletic department at Falmouth High School and will be available for students who can t afford to buy their own. As you can see, the thrift shop is a busy place helping our community in many ways. You are encouraged to come by and see what is currently for sale. It s never the same place two days in a row! Bring a friend! And, as always, new volunteers are most welcome. Sandpiper 10

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