June Southwick Congregational Church UCC. United Church of Christ 488 College Highway; P.O. Box 260 Southwick, MA 01077

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1 Buildings & Grounds: Christian Education: Craig Perras Dan Warriner COMMITTEE CHAIRS Ashley Greco Deacons: Flo Pitoniak Finance: Elaina Lempke June 2017 Flowers: Roxanne Cook Fundraising: / Nominating: Patti Wood pattiperusse@yahoo.com Library: Joyce Arnold Memorial Gifts: Missions: Karen Brzezinski Roxanne Cook Donna Sullivan rbcook1014@aol.com djsullivan135@hotmail.com Music: Melanie Nitsch emnitsch@gmail.com Pastoral Relations: Roxanne Cook rbcook1014@aol.com Church Office Hours: Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 1:00 Pastor s Office Hours: Tuesday through Friday 10:00 AM to 2:00 Church Office Phone & Fax: ; Pastor s Study: Website: Office Facebook: www. southwickucc.org southwickucc@gmail.com Southwick Congregational Church UCC Staff: Minister Reverend Bart Cochran Choir Director/Organist Roberta Kowal Bell Choir Director Patti P. Wood Office Administrator Lyn Casey Custodians Matthew Kowal & Maria Lempke Southwick Congregational Church United Church of Christ 488 College Highway; P.O. Box 260 Southwick, MA VOLUME MMXVII No. 6 The Good Newsletter of the Southwick Congregational Church United Church of Christ Southwick, MA Minister: The Rev. Bart Cochran Please join us Sundays for Worship Service 10:00 AM Mid-Week Service Thursdays 6:30 Website: www. SouthwickUCC.org

2 2 3 By the time you read this message in The Gold Dome, I will be off on my sabbatical. You may know that the UCC Massachusetts Conference recommends that pastors and churches enable pastoral sabbaticals every five years or so, and this time is included in my covenant with this church. The UCC considers these periods to be of enormous value to both the local church and to the clergy. The Conference recommends a thoughtfully planned and challenging respite from church as usual, with the benefits being revitalization of both clergy leadership and congregations and valuable perspectives that cannot be gained in shorter absences. I have carefully planned my sabbatical time to cultivate these benefits. I put myself on the path in mid-may by attending the Festival of Homiletics in San Antonio, a 5-day gathering of 1700 ministers from across denominations and geographic regions to celebrate and model terrific preaching. I was excited to go; as I said in my sermon on May 14 th, I ve always seen preaching as the heart of my ministry. I was not disappointed in San Antonio! I was thrilled to hear amazing preaching by some of the most well-known and respected ministers in the US, including one of my personal favorites of the UCC, Walter Brueggemann, an Old Testament scholar and theologian and important figure in modern progressive Christianity. I m inspired to hear more great preaching if you think about it, preachers rarely get to hear each other preach since we re in our own pulpits on Sundays! So, I ll be traveling to hear preachers I know and love, visiting two of my former churches in Northern Virginia, including the church where I was ordained. I ll be visiting a church in Florida that I sometimes attend when we visit Valerie s mother. I m also going places I haven t been before I ve never visited Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village or Riverside Church in Upper Manhattan. Both churches are associated with the UCC and have maintained vital activist congregations throughout the 20 th and into the 21 st centuries. Also on this sabbatical, I ve arranged to go on a silent retreat which I hope will help recharge my spiritual batteries! I ll be a sojourner at Holy Cross Abbey in Berryville, VA. I will have the opportunity to participate in silent retreat and I m looking forward to a period of reflection and personal renewal. Finally, as the UCC also recommends that family be part of the revitalization of the sabbatical, Valerie and I will be taking some time to visit Nova Scotia, Canada - someplace new to both of us. As excited as I am to be embarking on this adventure, please know that I will miss Southwick Congregational Church terribly, and that you will be in my prayers each day. I m looking forward to seeing you all again, and to hearing your summer stories, which are all part of the interwoven lives of our beloved church community: Our life is love, and peace, and tenderness; and bearing one with another, and forgiving one another but praying one for another, and helping one another up with a tender hand. Isaac Penington, 1667 Yours in Christ, Pastor Bart Don t forget, you can read the weekly sermon on our website: on the page: From the Pastor

3 Coffee Hour during the months of June, July and August are not hosted by one of the Church Committees. There is a sign-up sheet in Old Fellowship Hall if you d like to sign up for a Sunday. This is a great opportunity to serve for those who aren t currently members of one of the church committees. Spring Cleanup June 3rd is our Spring cleanup day. The format is the same as always. Two hours is all we need. The day starts at 8:00 AM and ends at noon. You choose what two hours work best for your schedule. If you can t make the day, some home baked goodies are always appreciated. It is an all around feel-good day! Please sign up so we can plan the projects. Contact anyone from the Building & Grounds Committee. Prayer Shawl Ministry Group continues June 5th at 7 at Lee Zinnack s Strawberry Supper The Strawberry Supper will take place Saturday, June 17th at 6. The menu will include ham, baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, strawberry shortcake with whipped cream, and beverages. Cost for adults is $14, children 6-12 is $7. Please contact the Church office for reservations (413) Summer Schedule Sunday Worship service at 9:30 AM begins June 18! Thursdays 6:30 Service! 4 5 Happy June Birthday Marion Vecchio June 2 Nathan Wilson June 3 Phyliss Martin June 3 Mike Pitoniak June 18 If we ve missed a birthday, please let the church office know! SUMMER SERENITY MEDITATION Is anyone interested in a Summer Serenity Meditation group with Dawn Turgeon? It would be similar to the one she led during Lent. Please call the Church office if you would like her to start one this summer Fundraising /Event Calendar June~ Strawberry Supper on the 17th July ~ to be announced August~ Clothing Drive end of month September~ Community Days on Sept 9th Vendor Fair, Sept 30TH, 10-2 October~ Antique Appraisals?? ~Spaghetti dinner/pumpkin Carving the 28th November~ Turkey Dinner December~ Holly Bazaar, 12/2/17 Cookie Sale, 12/16/17 January 2018~ Souper Sale future ideas~ Movie nite, another paint nite, Easter Please remember, all of these events will need your HELP & PARTICIPATION! VENDOR FAIR - Save the date! We will be having a Vendor Fair Saturday, September 30 th 10-2 There will be a variety of direct sales vendors to peruse and shop and it s a great time to get some early Christmas shopping done. A light lunch will be offered as well. We still have some space available so if you or someone you know has a direct sales business (such as Tupperware), please have them contact Andrea Warriner: rezten@comcast.net Patti Wood: pattiperusse@yahoo.com Cost for the Vendor is $30 per table or $25.00 with their own table.

4 All Church Committee Meeting May 11, 2017 The meeting was called to order by Moderator David Breton at 8:08 pm followed by an opening prayer by Pastor Bart. The Moderator asked if there were any questions regarding the 4/20/17 All- Church Committee Meeting Minutes, and seeing none, a motion was made to accept the minutes, seconded, and passed unanimously. Minister s Report Pastor Bart is leaving this week for a Festival of Preaching in San Antonio which he is very much looking forward to. On the last Sunday in May the members of the congregation will be asked to vote to accept Flo Pitoniak as a Member in Discernment. She wishes to be ordained for vocational ministry and is looking for our blessing. If accepted, this will be a commitment of our congregation to nurture and support her in her endeavor. It also involves a very small financial obligation for our church. Flo has made available to the congregation copies of her Statement of Faith. Pastor Bart also mentioned he offered a prayer for the opening day of Little League here in Southwick. Deacons Flo Pitoniak reported 3 members present. They discussed again the purchase of a new communion set to help preserve our old valuable set. Memorial Gifts may be used to purchase this. The group also discussed Flo s discernment. The church has received 2 requests for baptisms this summer while Pastor Bart is away on sabbatical and the Rev. Dr. Suzanne Hayes will fill in. Pastoral Relations Committee Roxanne Cook reported the group did not meet and will most likely meet 5/23/17 to touch base before Bart s sabbatical. Christian Education Audrey Baker reported 2 present. They are holding the Mother s Day Plant Sale again this year and May 21 st will be Children s Sunday which will mark the end of Sunday School for the summer. Mission-Outreach Roxanne Cook reported 4 present. The Food Pantry in Southwick receives a grant during the summer to provide children with meals so instead they plan to contact the Soup Kitchen in Westfield to help provide a meal perhaps once a month. They are also discussing holding Lunch on the Green and will invite the community. September 9 th will be the church s Community Days and the Boy Scouts will be cooking. Each committee is being asked to 8 donate a raffle basket and they would like a representative from each committee at least to attend the event to answer any questions attendants may have about our committees. Treasurer s Report Ted Orson reported that generally expenses are in line with our budget. He paid the entirety of our UCC dues obligation. The total bill was about $3,000 of which approx. $500 was contributed by church members paying their own dues. The church paid dues for 166 members. Finance Committee Beth Studor reported 4 present. They discussed the church s obligation regarding Flo Pitoniak and also discussed the budget and our UCC dues. Fundraising Committee Patti Wood reported that she was able to have a tree removed for free that was on church property by EverSource Electrical Co. There are lots of fundraising events planned: 9 June 17 th is the Strawberry Supper; The group still hopes to have a take-out lobster dinner in July. In August there will be a clothing drive thru Savers. On 9/30/17 there will be a Vendor Fair here at the church. Please let Patti know if you know of a vendor who would like to participate. Nominating Committee Patti Wood reported that Pam and Joe Rovelli have agreed to join the Buildings & Grounds Committee thank you! Buildings and Grounds Dan Warriner reported 5 present. They discussed the Spring Cleanup scheduled for June 3 rd. They have many jobs that need to be done. Water meters are being replaced in town so the church will first need to dig up our water meter and then the town will replace it. Craig Perras has agreed to do the digging. Music Committee Melanie Nitsch reported 4 members present. The group continued to discuss the summer music schedule and is working diligently at this. They are planning for Music Sunday on June 11 th. The church s organ is scheduled to be repaired on or before June 1 st. The Kawai piano in the Sanctuary is being tuned on May 15 th. Continued on p. 10

5 Continued from p. 9 Memorial Gifts No report. Flower Committee No report. Library Committee No report. New Business Ted Orson reminded everyone that Bart s contract was ending at the end of 2017 and that we needed a committee in place for this, hopefully by our next monthly meeting. Roxanne Cook spoke that the members of this committee are already named in Bart s current contract. After discussion to dispense with the Executive Board Meeting this month, a motion was made, seconded, and passed unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:42 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~Melanie Nitsch, Clerk Stewardship News The Children s Annual Sunday Service held on May 21, 2017 focused on the theme of Community. From Skateboarding with friends to the Crop Walk to Noah s Ark to the Boston Tea Party, things happen when people come together. Likewise with Stewardship, our dedicated community is the key to making success happen. Through April, seventy-eight Stewardship pledges ranging from $3 to $127 per week have been received for The average annual pledge is $1016 or $19.54 per week. The Hampden Association assesses Southwick and other member UCC churches an annual Association Dues of $20 per member. To date at Southwick, about 75% of our members have yet to submit their 2017 Association dues. Check with Lyn Casey ( ) if you are uncertain whether your Dues have been paid. ~Virgil P Calling for Pastoral Care: If anyone in our church has a family member who is ill, hospitalized, grieving or moving to a senior living facility, please be sure to advise the church office. We want to respond with caring support. Call the church office at or at southwickucc@gmail.com Don t Hibernate this Summer! This June, July, and August, join us at Southwick Congregational Church! Call the office with more ideas! Join us for Worship on Sundays (9:30am) and/or Thursdays (6:30 pm)! Bring a friend! Hear guest preachers and visiting musicians! Stay for fellowship after the service! Come to an event we host! Check out the Church s Library! Start a small group to meet at the Church or your home. If you are planning a day trip why not invite friends you may or may not know...yet! From the Church Library June 18 Father s Day One Father is more than a hundred schoolmasters. The above quote is from Bible Memory Plan and Devotional for Fathers by Glenn Hascall, available in our Library. Happy Father s Day to all Dads and/or Father Figures. ~Joyce Arnold Know what God s FIRST name is?...andy! It s in Mommy s favorite Hymn! I thought I was Mommy s Favorite HIM!

6 June 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Annual Spring Clean Up! 8:00 Noon! Come for 2 hours! 4 Rev. Dr. Susanne Hayes Communion Service Coffee Hour 11 CROP WALK 12 5 Prayer Lee s 7 6 Bells 6:30 7 Voice 7 8 Fair Share Co-op All-Church Mtg Flo Pitoniak Worship Service MUSIC SUNDAY Coffee Hour 11 OA 3: (upstairs) Strawberry Supper 18 Rev. Dr. Susanne Hayes Worship Service 9:30 AM Coffee Hour 10:30 OA 3: American Inn Kirsten Allhusen Worship Service 9:30 AM Coffee Hour 10:30 OA 3: