October Southwick Congregational Church UCC. United Church of Christ. The Good Newsletter of the. Southwick Congregational Church

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1 Buildings & Grounds: Christian Education: Deacons: Finance: Craig Perras Brittany Perras Patty Banasik Diane Orson Flowers: Roxanne Cook Fundraising: Patti Wood Library: Memorial Gifts: COMMITTEE CHAIRS Karen Brzezinski Missions: Donna Sullivan Music: Joe Sullivan October College Highway P.O. Box 260 Southwick, MA Return Service Requested Nominating: Pastoral Relations: Roxanne Cook Church Office Hours: Mon, Wed, Thur 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM Tues: 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM & Friday 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM Pastor s Office Hours: Tues & Thurs 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Church Office Phone: Susanne s Office Phone: Website: Office Facebook: www. southwickucc.org southwickucc@gmail.com UCC Staff: Interim Minister Rev. Dr. Susanne Hayes Choir Director/Organist Roberta Kowal Bell Choir Director Patti P. Wood Office Administrator Lyn Casey Custodians Matthew Kowal United Church of Christ 488 College Highway; P.O. Box 260 Southwick, MA VOLUME MMXVIII No. 10 The Good Newsletter of the Rev. Dr. Susanne Hayes, Interim Minister Please join us Sundays for Worship Service 10:00 AM Mid-Week Service Thursdays 6:30 PM Website: www. SouthwickUCC.org United Church of Christ Southwick, MA DATED MATERIAL PAID Permit No. 309 Southwick, MA US Postage

2 2 3 MISSION STATEMENT is a faithful Christian presence in the community of Southwick since 1773, and we look to the future. We are a diverse and loving congregation, joyfully serving, teaching, and sharing with one another, according to the gifts we have been given. Worship Schedule Sunday Worship service at 10 AM Thursdays Midweek Service at 6:30 PM Ecumenical Service at The American Inn on the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 PM Office Hours The Church office is open M, W, Th 9~1 PM Tuesday from 11:00 AM~2:00 PM & Friday from 8:30 AM~12:00 PM Rev. Susanne s Hours Rev. Susanne s Hours are Tuesday & Thursday 10~12 PM Special Meetings Sunday, October 7, 11:00 AM to discuss cell tower All-Church Meeting: Thursday October 11, 7 PM Sunday, October 14, 11:00 AM With the Reverend A~I Sunday, November 4, 11:00 AM With the Reverend J~R All-Church Meeting: Thursday November 8, 7 PM Sunday, November 11, 11:00 AM With the Reverend S~Z Coffee Hour Refreshment Schedule Buildings & Grounds October Christian Ed November Bell / Voice Choirs December Reverend s Reverie What do you like about our church? What would like to see done differently? Why did you join our church? What do you especially value in a minister? These and many more questions are going to be open for discussion with all of you! Over the next month, I will be holding meetings with as many of you as possible to discuss our church and its future, as the Search Committee works hard to find a candidate to become our new pastor. The purpose of these meetings is to gather as much information as I can from you, the church congregation. I will then share all of your thoughts and concerns, anonymously of course, with our Search Committee, who will use your input as they create a Church Profile, the document that potential candidates will be reading, that describes the characteristics and offerings of our church. I have scheduled three meetings, to be held after worship services, on Sundays October 14 th, November 4 th, and November 11 th. The purpose of these meetings is to give all of you an opportunity to express your thoughts, desires, and concerns for our church. I have scheduled these meetings around the first letters of your last name. If your last name begins with letters A through I, your meeting will take place on October 14 th. If you are J through R, we will meet on November 4 th. And if you are S through Z, our meeting will be November 11 th. If the date for your last name does not work for you, please feel free to attend any of the other sessions. The meetings will take place right after church in New Fellowship Hall. Of course you can stop at the coffee hour table and bring coffee and snacks with you! But most importantly, bring your thoughts and ideas about the church! I know that there are some of you who cannot make it to Sunday worship, and, therefore, would not be able to participate in these meetings. So I invite you to call me at , or me at suhayes@verizon.net. I really want to hear what you have on your mind! Everyone s thoughts are extremely important! As you think about our church, I hope you will keep in mind what our Bible tells us about what a church should be, and whether or not we are meeting these goals. First of all, the Bible often refers to the church as a family, as we see God as our Parent

3 and other church members as our brothers and sisters. As a family, God loves us and cares for us always. And we should love and care for one another with that same kind of love. Another word the Bible uses to describe the church is that we are a body, specifically the body of Christ. In this image, Jesus is the head of the body, and we all make up the rest! As the body of Christ, we all have different roles and talents. And this is what makes the church complete. As a church, the Bible also calls God s people Christ s bride. This image shows us how important the church is to God, because it shows how much God loves the church, like a husband loves his wife. This love that God has for us can be seen in Christ s ultimate grand act, as he dies for His bride on the cross. Another image the Bible uses for the church is temple. This image comes from the Old Testament, in which the temple was a huge, magnificent building where God lived. God s people could go to the temple and know they were near God. But now, because of Jesus, we do not have to go to a big temple to be with God. Rather, the Bible tells us that God s people are a temple of the Holy Spirit, meaning that God dwells within us, through the Holy Spirit, with Christ as the cornerstone of the foundation. A final image of the church that we find in the Bible is that of a lamp-stand. This image of the church symbolizes the church shining the light of Truth out into the world, because one of the roles of the church is to shine the truth of the gospel out into a world that is often bathed in darkness. So what do you think about our church? Do you see us as a family? Do you see yourself as part of the body of Christ? Do you accept God s love, as a bride accepts the love of her groom? Are we a temple, filled with the Holy Spirit? And are we, as a church, shining our light into the world around us? As you think about these questions, I look forward to meeting with you and speaking with you so that our church can move forward in the healthiest of ways! Rev. Susanne, Interim Minister Remember, you can read the weekly sermon on our website: on the page: From the Pastor 4 5 Oct 14 ~ Oct 21 ~ Oct 27 ~ November ~ Nov 10 ~ Dec 1 ~ Dec 15 ~ Coming Events Commissioning of the Search Committee Laity Sunday Spaghetti Dinner / Pumpkin Carvng Music Committee Raffle (Buy tickets in Oct) Turkey Dinner Holly Bazaar Cookie Sale Office Info southwickucc@gmail.com The Church Office will be closed Friday, October 25 and Monday, October 29. It will also be closed Thursday and Friday November 22 & 23 for Thanksgiving. Help Wanted Henrietta s Thrift Shop: Volunteer position; either Friday or Saturday usually from 9-1. See Joyce Hamilton for more information. Church Custodian: Paid position. See Craig Perras, chair of Building and Grounds for more information. Pastoral Care: Your joys and concerns are of the utmost importance to our community of faith, and pastoral care is offered for any and all personal and spiritual situations that might arise in one s life. Please call the church office at or southwickucc@gmail.com if you would like to speak with our pastor.

4 6 Gardening this year was much like the parable of the sower; the seeds were cast but many were overcome by weather, weeds and furry or feathered denizens who helped themselves to the produce. Still, as a steward we treasure the hours, the days, the years of our lives invested in our gardens of soil as well as the garden of our soul. To be a member of Southwick Congregational is to be a steward. As stewards we try to manage the many gifts that God showers upon us; time, talent, treasure, our friendships, natural resources, and the beauty around us. We gladly share our time with family and friends, strangers, the community and the church. How we choose to best use our time, our abilities and our resources is a matter of stewardship. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. ~Winston Churchill 7 September Highlights SOUTHWICK POLICE CHIEF KEVIN BISHOP VISITS US! We were very pleased to host Police Chief Kevin Bishop and his wife Carol at our September 16th service of worship and coffee hour. Chief Bishop spoke to us about his career in the Southwick Police Department, and for his reason for visiting all of the churches in Southwick. He told us that he feels it is important that there be a good and open relationship between the Police Department and the religious organizations in town. We were honored to have him visit our church. And he left having won two prizes from our Community Days Church Raffle! Join us for our annual Pumpkin Carving Spaghetti Supper Saturday, October 27th at 5:30PM Homemade meatballs and sauce, spaghetti, salad, rolls & a few sweet treats Please bring your own carving tools Halloween costumes are welcome! Please call Ashley to reserve dinner and/or a pumpkin (413) Adults $10 Children $7 Family COMMUNITY DAY / VENDOR FAIR A HUGE SUCCESS! Kudo's and Thanks to the Mission & Outreach Committee and Sonya for an outstanding Community & Vendor Day!!! We were so fortunate to be blessed with beautiful weather!!! I was ever so lucky to win the Pumpkin Spice 'N Everything Nice Raffle prize by the same committee... it is just so perfect ~yummy AND pretty! Thanks for all the hard work! ~Patti W.

5 Happy October Birthday Louise Tagliavini 10/01 Todd Wilson 10/12 Roxanne Cook 10/14 Elsie Gosselin 10/23 Lyn Casey 10/28 If we ve missed a birthday, please let the church office know! THE RECOGNITION OF FLO PITONIAK AS A MINISTERIAL MEMBER-IN-DISCERNMENT On Sunday September 23 rd, we recognized Flo Pitoniak s official status as a United Church of Christ Member-in-Discernment. Flo has been called by God, and chosen by the people of God, to prepare for ordained ministry in the United Church of Christ. The Committee on Church and Ministry of the Hampden Association of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ has recognized her call, and has approved her status as a Member-in- Discernment, as she moves forward in her studies. During our recognition of Flo, she pledged to do all in her power to be responsible for the task for which she has been called. Our Deacons laid hands on Flo as we prayed to bless her, her gifts of ministry, and her future. As a church, we pledged to always be present to support her in whatever way we can, as she walks her journey toward ordained ministry The music committee is sponsoring a calendar raffle in November! We are asking local businesses for donations which might include gift certificates, services, or products. These donations will be listed on a calendar for 30 days of prizes which will be drawn each day for the month of November. Winner s names are placed back in the drawing so everyone has multiple chances to win! Please see a member of the music committee, or Lyn in the church office, for more information. Calendars and therefore raffle tickets are available for $10 apiece. Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat $30 Hairworks Salon 11 Zanto s 5 $100 Cash In memory of Merilyn & Paul Carpenter from Donald & Faith Carpenter 12 Summer House 6 Subway 13 Round of Golf for The Ranch 7 Water Genie from IBS / $20 Mrs. Murphy s 14 Applebee s 1 The Hood Café free quart of soup / free pie Blossoming Acres 8 9 $20 Hash House / 36 AA Home Depot 15 Subway 2 Round of Golf for The Ranch McDonald s Gift Pack 16 $20 New Main Moon / Indoor Home Depot 3 4 tickets to SCC Turkey Dinner on Nov $20 Southwick Florist / free pie Blossoming Acres 17 Southwick Inn 18 $50 Coward Farm 19 Village Pizzeria 20 Assorted Bottles of wine & liquor $100 value (Southwick Pkg) 21 $20 Designer s Edge / 2 Free Meals American Inn Restaurant 23 Custom Portrait by Craig Perras 24 $20 Hash House / Country Colonial Deacons Dawn Turgeon, Diane Orson, and Eric Nitsch lay hands on Flo as Rev. Susanne recites the Prayer of Blessing. 25 Tuckers / Big Y 26 $30 57 Hair 27 $50 Valvoline 28 McDonald s Gift Pack / 3 lbs Cookies from SCC Holiday cookie sale 29 Subway 30 Ray s Farm / Summer House

6 All-Church Meeting Minutes September 9, 2018 The meeting was called to order at 12:20 pm by Patty Banasik who agreed to chair this meeting as moderator for this month. A permanent Moderator still needs to be named. The meeting was opened with a prayer by Rev. Susanne. A motion was made to accept the Minutes of the June meeting as published in the July Gold Dome. This motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Minister s Report: Rev. Susanne is looking for volunteers to be our church delegates to our Hampden Association events. There will be an ordination at South Church in Springfield and she would like our church to be represented. Please call Rev. Susanne if you are interested. The commissioning of our new Search Committee will take place during our October 14 th church service. Kevin Bishop, new police chief for Southwick, will attend and speak at our church service on September 15 th. The Nehemiah House of Granby, CT, will be sponsored by our Missions Committee and will be doing a presentation to our congregation at the October 30 th service. Rev. Susanne is requesting our church have a Safe Church Committee to review our current Safe Church Policy which needs to be updated and we need to adhere to this policy for liability purposes. Anyone working with our youth or elders needs to be CORI d. This committee should be in our church by-laws. Discussion on when to hold future All-Church monthly meetings. After a discussion, Patty Banasik made a motion to move all future meetings to the 2 nd Thursday of the month at 7 pm beginning on October 11, This motion was seconded and passed with a majority show of hands. Pastoral Relations: No report. Deacons: Patty Banasik reported 5 members present. The Deacons met several times over the summer to help get the new Search Committee coordinated and up and running. Laity Sunday will be 10/21/18 when church members will be doing the entire service. Several parts of the service are still available so please see a Deacon to volunteer. The prayer list was reviewed. They discussed contacting Kevin Bishop, Chief of Police, regarding holding active shooter training at our church. The group also discussed the Thanksgiving service and the Advent events forthcoming with Rev. Susanne. Buildings and Grounds: Craig Perras reported 3 members present. Exit signs and light fixtures still need to be finalized. A radio will be set up in the church nursery which will allow the church service to be heard in the Nursery. The church sign out front is being repaired and updated. They discussed the cell tower opportunity for our church with information to be handed out to church members. A motion was made to move forward with the cell tower opportunity and bring it to a special All-Church meeting on 10/7/18 to vote on the proposal of leasing our roof space to Blue Sky Tower for installation of a cell tower to be housed in our steeple. Christian Education: Brittany Perras reported 4 members present. Seven youth attended the outing on Aug 25 th at The Scoop in Granville. As of 9/9/18, seven children are registered for the start of Sunday School. Discussion on a confirmation class for later this year. The committee will have an Activity Table at the Community Day/Vendor Fair on 9/15/18. Discussion on Food Panty donations in November. The committee will help the Orsons with the Spaghetti Supper/Pumpkin Carving on 10/27/18. They discussed the lessons throughout the year for Sunday School. Discussion on the XMAS play. Discussed a possible winter youth trip to the Polar Express in Essex, CT, and a possible fundraiser to offset the cost of this. Nursery volunteers are needed. Music: Jen Cotto reported 4 members present. Choir robes were cleaned over the summer. The summer music went very well. The committee s calendar raffle fundraiser is in the works for the month of November. Tickets will be on sale soon. Mission-Outreach: Sonya Murray reported 3 members present. Reminder for everyone about the Community Day/Vendor Fair on 9/15/18 from 10-2 pm. The Boy Scouts will be providing the food and there will be face painting & a balloon artist for the kids. Music will be provided by the Pitoniak brothers and there will be 18 vendors to peruse and purchase from. The group has boxes packed for the military and should be sent out soon. Addresses are needed. Library: Sonya Murray reported that unfortunately she needs to resign from her duties in the Library due to increased work commitments. Finance Committee: Melanie Nitsch reported 2 present. A new Finance Committee chairperson is needed as Patti Wood resigned from the position due to increased work commitments. New members are needed for this committee. Our church s Tax Exempt status needs to be renewed by January Miscellaneous topics need to be discussed with Church Treasurer, Ted Orson. Lyn Casey is working on a new database in the office which will be very helpful once it is complete. Looking ahead, Stewardship Sunday is November 11 th. Treasurer s Report: No report.

7 All-Church Meeting Minutes (cont) Flower: No report but please sign up for a date to bring Altar flowers. The sign-up calendar is above the coffee pot in Old Fellowship Hall. Fundraising: Patty Banasik mentioned the Turkey Dinner on 11/10/18, the Holly Bazaar on 12/1/18, and the Cookie Sale on 12/15/18. Memorial Gifts: Karen Brzezinski reported a woman called her to discuss how we handle Memorial Gift donations in our church and Karen is hopeful she will call back with a memorial donation. Karen would like to thank Mike Pitoniak for working in the Memorial Garden and how nice it looks New Business Patty Banasik began a discussion on our refreshments following church over the past summer. Many times there was no clean-up that took place and food was left out, the coffee pot was left on, and the door was left unlocked all discovered the following day. She brought forth a motion, which was seconded and passed unanimously, to change the refreshment schedule back to having committees be in charge for a month at a time. The schedule is posted in the kitchen with the Deacons in charge for September and Building & Grounds Committee in charge for October. Please check the schedule to note your committee s month. The meeting was adjourned at 1:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Melanie Nitsch, Clerk EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING September 9, 2018 The meeting was cancelled this month. Respectfully submitted, Melanie Nitsch, Clerk The Finance Committee of this Church is in need of more members. Keeping our finances in order is of utmost importance and more input and help is desperately needed. Please contact Melanie Nitsch at # or by at emnitsch@gmail.com. The Nominating Committee is still looking for a chair and members. The Library Committee is looking for a chair as well: Our church library was dedicated to the by Walter S. and Margaret M. Anderson on May 24, The library is an important resource center for our church, as it is one of the ways to guide and direct people to books as tools that can help answer their various needs. The library books are sorted by topics appropriate for the library, labeled and placed on the shelves via subject. ~J. Arnold THE SLUG AND THE SNAIL Once upon a time there was a slug named Pugsley. She was your everyday slow moving, slime-coated, grey-colored, not much to look at, run-of-the-mill slug. She didn t care, she was a slug. One morning, as she crawled along, minding her own business, she bumped her head, hard, into something. When she looked up she saw the most beautiful orb in front of her. It had swirls and spirals as it rose and it seemed to change color from pink to plum to purple to peach to pearl! She was in awe! Hey! Watch where you re going! Pugsley looked back down and saw her own reflection yelling at her. What ARE you? What is that you are carrying? Can I get one? How can I get one? Are you me? Am I you? Who ARE you? She had never been so excited in her life! I am a snail. The snail said. You are a slug. You can never be like me. And he slithered off. Pugsley couldn t move. She was both awestruck and confused. What did he mean she could never be like him? He looked just like her except for the beautiful orb on his back. Oh, where could she get one? What did he have that she didn t? A shadow crossing over her reminded her it was time to move before she became lunch for someone else. But she was no longer hungry. She was now on a quest. She found a pretty rock and tried to balance it on her back, but it kept falling off. Then she found a flower and tied that around her middle and that worked for a while, but it made it very difficult to move. Finally, Pugsley glued together some colorful leaves that had fallen from the maple tree with her slime and crawled underneath them. These were staying on her back well and she thought she looked pretty good. In fact, if you asked her, she thought she looked better than the snail! She was very proud of her hard work and was soon strutting along when she heard a cry for help. Help! Pugsley over here! She saw her ant friends trapped in some pine pitch. She knew how dangerous that could be for them, but if she helped them she would lose her Maple Leaf Decoration she had worked so hard to make. What should she do? What could she do? Help us, please! Pugsley closed her eyes. The old Pugsley would have helped her friends without hesitation. It seemed her new decoration was beginning to weigh too much. She shook it off and crawled over to pull her friends out of the sap. As they crawled out of danger onto her back she realized this was the only decoration she ever needed to be as beautiful as she could be. ~Evelyn Dean Casey

8 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Have you bought your raffle Calendar yet? Midweek Service 6:30PM 5 Office Open 8:30-12 Henrietta s Open OA Meeting 6:00 AA Meeting 7:30 6 7Communion Service 10AM Sunday School Congregation Meeting Coffee Hour 3:30 OA 8 Indigenous Peoples Day Columbus Day Midweek Service 6:30PM All-Church 7PM 12 Office Open 8:30-12 Henrietta s Open OA Meeting 6:00 AA Meeting 7: Worship Service 10A Commissioning of Search Committee Sunday School Pastor Meeting A-I Coffee Hour 3:30 OA American Inn 6: Midweek Service 6:30PM 19 Gold Dome Articles Due Office Open 8:30-12 Henrietta s Open OA Meeting 6:00 AA Meeting 7:30 20 Private Shower (NFH & OFH) 21 Laity Sunday 10AM Sunday School Coffee Hour 3:30 OA Rev Susanne Away Rev Susanne Away Fair Share Co-op Midweek Service 6:30PM 26 Office Closed Henrietta s Open OA Meeting 6:00 AA Meeting 7:30 27 Spaghetti supper / Pumpkin Carving 28 Worship Service 10AM Sunday School Coffee Hour 3:30 OA 29 Office Closed Turkey Dinner is November 10th!