September Pastor Bob, Artist. Welcome Bob Marrone! Union Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Peterborough, NH

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1 September 2015 COMMUNICON Union Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Peterborough, NH Welcome Bob Marrone! As of September 1, we have a new settled pastor! As you ll remember, Rev. Dr. Robert Marrone comes to us from the First Church of Monson (Massachusetts), where he was the pastor for 11 years. Pastor Bob and his wife, Jodi, have four children: Lindseigh, who lives with her husband, John, and their children, Walker (9) and Lola (7), in Winchester, New Hampshire; Giovanna (Gio), who lives with her husband, Matt, and their daughter, Emma (10 months), in Keene; and Joe and Ben, who live in Holyoke, Massachusetts. You may have met any or all of them, as well as Bob s mom, dad, and sister on Candidating Sunday at the end of May. We hope to see more of them in the future! Pastor Bob, Artist It s not surprising that Pastor Bob is passionate about his family many UCC folk have expressed their delight that the whole gang showed up on Candidating Sunday or his ministry. A bonus for us is his third love: art. Here s a very tiny sampling of his work. (All artwork Robert Marrone.) Left: In the Cross (watercolor/ illumination) You may also remember that Bob has a BA in Art from Keene State College and is a two-time graduate of Andover Newton Theological School with both a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry degree. The focus of his doctoral work was the visual context of worship, or how what we see affects our worship. In this issue, you ll find more about Bob s art and his commitment to fighting cancer, both of which are very much worth exploring more fully. But we also wanted to share with you our new pastor s response when we asked him to tell us 10 things we don t know about Bob. Right: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (watercolor) Continued on page 3.

2 Hair today Gone tomorrow Ongoing Prayer Concerns Do you recognize either of these men? Bob says he knows too many people who have been devastated by cancer, and he wanted to do something to help. What he does is to allow his hair to grow and then, every three years, donate it to Locks of Love. He s been doing this for 15 years. That explains the haircut but not the complete bald look. What s up with that? Before Bob has his hair chopped off, he issues a challenge: If friends and parishioners will contribute $2,500, he will shave his head in solidarity with those who are losing their hair to cancer treatment and will donate the funds to cancer research or support services. So if you think he needs a haircut when you see him again in September, just be patient. He ll get it cut in about three years... We know there are many people who feel supported and blessed by our continuing prayers, and we understand how important this ongoing prayer is. Including this list in the Communicon will help us to remember those in need of our prayers, even when we re not in church to see the list in the bulletin. Please help us with this by contacting the office by the 20th of the month to add new names or to remove old names from the list. The Sunday bulletin will continue to have a prayer list for new or immediate prayer concerns. To add or delete names from the list below, please contact Martha CB in the office by (officeucc@comcast.net) or phone ( ). Bob before... Bob after! Please Keep in Your Prayers Many thanks... for the wonderful basket full of memorabilia and gifts. From Harry Potter to Hallelujah, dry erase markers to maple syrup, photos, prayers, Cardinal crafts, and of course, the Peterborough basket itself, I appreciate the celebration of our time together. Things are nice, but it s your generosity of spirit and faithfulness that will stay with me always. Peace, Jill Carl and Marilyn Britton; Ruth Comerford, friend of Deb Hanson; Leo Curley, Sarah Holgate s father; Lisa and Patrick Foley; Emily Gibbons, friend of Carele Mayer; the family of Gordon Hale; Sue Henley; Katherine, friend of Carele Mayer; Larry Mayer; Mary Lib, Martha Dahl's sister-in-law; Lynn Nelson; Jim Suokko; Lorie Snyder; Jesse Taylor, Lisa Messer s father; Alfred Whitney; Joe Wilson; Jill Small and Bob Marrone; and all in our church community 2

3 Welcome Bob Marrone, continued Anyone who already knew more than one of these goes to the head of the class; you were a really good listener on Candidating Weekend. 10 Things You Don t Know About Bob 1. I love food! 2. My favorite bird is the penguin (any kind). 3. I enjoy cooking and do most of our cooking at home. 4. My favorite color is a deep aqua. No, wait, it's a bright burgundy. No, wait I played trombone in grade school well, for part of 4th grade. 6. I was a Boy Scout. 7. I used to love to camp (see #6). Now I want a motor home. 8. I love gardening flowers and vegetables. 9. Star Trek, yes. Star Wars, yes. 10. I'm a dog person, but I do love cats. I just can't live with them. Pastor Bob, welcome to Union Congregational Church. We look forward to getting to know you! SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES! Judy Fernald Marilyn & Carl Britton (anniv.) Shirley Porter Dick Sanders Barbara & Alfred Whitney (anniv.) Ruth & Gene Kellogg (anniv.) Nancy & Paul Seguin (anniv.) 17 Lisa & Tracy Messer (anniv.) 18 Ken Blakeman 22 Roger Block 28 Sue & Hannu Kaartinen (anniv.) Alexis Newcomb Monday Night Suppers Begin On September 14, the Monday Night Free Community Suppers will start again. Meals are served at 5:30 p.m. Our menu is posted on the bulletin board next to the pastor s office. We expect our kitchen and clean-up crews back after a summer s rest. But there are many ways you can help this important outreach continue. Come any Monday at 3:45-4 p.m. and help with the setup and meal preparation. Come at 5:30 p.m. and share the meal and fellowship with our guests. The social element feeds the soul! We can always use donations of groceries, especially canned goods like those listed below, anytime during the year: diced tomatoes salad dressings grape jelly butter creamed corn craisins croutons tomato sauce canned fruit Share your leftovers! We can use large cake pieces, cookies, rolls, and garden vegetables. There is no need to call ahead you can just leave the offerings in the kitchen, marked Monday Supper. If you have any questions or want more information, just give us a call. Martha Dahl ( ) and Luciel Wilson ( ) all types of beans (large cans) peanut butter (smooth) large cans of soup (tomato and cream of mushroom) mandarin oranges Our Building Use Request form... is now available for download from our website. When you need to reserve rooms for church committees and events, you can find the form on the new Building Use Requests page. You can download a Word or PDF version. Of course, you can still pick up forms at the office whichever is more convenient for you! 3

4 Downton Abbey Garden Party Attention All Crop Walkers The Roaring Twenties have come to PBS s Downton Abbey, and Downton is again coming to Union Church. Say farewell to the popular series at a Downton Abbey Garden Party, to be held Sunday afternoon, September 20, in Fellowship Hall, 2-4 p.m. (OK, it s not a garden, but it sure will look like one once our dedicated gardeners do their thing!) The Crop Walk to fight hunger is earlier this year Saturday, September 26, beginning at the Greenfield Covenant Church at 8:30 a.m. Please reserve the date! We re always looking for more people to walk young and not so young, and of course sponsors for our walkers. Come in period costume or come as you are. Be greeted by Lord Grantham and Lady Cora. Be waited on by maids and footmen serving you tea sandwiches, scones, assorted sweets and, of course, tea. Grab a prop and have your souvenir photo taken in a period setting. Then buy a ticket for a Downton Abbey raffle basket. All proceeds go to support church activities and it s a sweet way to do that! For more information, call Carolyn Peacock at Last year s Downton Abbey Afternoon Tea was a huge success. But it takes a lot of people to make Downton Abbey run smoothly! If you d like to be involved, please contact Martha Dahl, Kelly Kent-Kiburis, Ann Lessard, Joni O Donnell, or Sharon Smith. Involved means anything from helping with setup or publicity to creating the garden for the party to working in the kitchen or serving on the big day or contributing props. Do you have card-table-size table linens or a portable arbor? Are you willing to donate money or ingredients for the food? Or can you come up with something fun and terribly British to add to the raffle basket? (Jam, tea, biscuits anything British) All contributions of time, money, ingredients, and raffle items will be much appreciated. Best of all, bring a friend to the party and have a wonderful time! Admission is $15 ($10 for children 10 and under); get your tickets while they last at the Toadstool Bookshop, at coffee hour, from the church office (between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Monday-Friday), or at the door. Don t miss this last chance to experience Downton Abbey. The Dowager Countess will be watching for you... Hear Ye, Hear Ye! I'm looking for handbell ringers! If you are interested in learning to ring or ringing handbells with the Tower Ringers, let me know and come to our first rehearsal at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 10 in the Chapel. I would also like to start a teen ensemble. If you are interested, call or me so we can find a time to get together. Happy ringing! Carele Mayer lcmayer1@myfairpoint.net Like Us on Facebook! Please visit our Facebook page, which you can find at and like us. We want to keep you and the world informed about what s happening at the church. You re also very welcome to post comments! Everyone at Downton is preparing to greet you one last time. Our thanks to Leslie Inglis for volunteering to update our Facebook page! 4

5 Our All-Church Potluck Picnic Is Coming! As part of TAG 5, aka Pastor Bob s welcoming committee, we will be having a potluck picnic at Mary Ann and Don Fleming s house on Sunday, September 13, at 1 p.m. It will be a great way to welcome Bob and Jodi into our family and have some time to relax, enjoy fellowship together, and play some extreme croquet. Please bring your own lawn chair and a dish to share. To keep from ending up with all of one type of food, we have broken down what category to bring based on the first letter of your last name: If your name begins with A E, please bring salads or sides; F K, please bring drinks; L O, please bring hamburger buns or hot dog rolls; P S, please bring hot dogs and hamburger patties (ready to grill); and T Z, please bring desserts. There is a sign-up sheet on the Church News bulletin board. We can t wait to see you all there! Fall Meeting of Women's Fellowship Circle September 29 at 10 a.m. on your calendar to remind you to join the Women s Fellowship in the parlor for our first meeting of the new church year! All are welcome men and women! Our speaker will be from the Peterborough Town Library's building committee, who will update us on the future plans for the library. Coffee and donuts will be served. Look for a sign-up sheet on the Women s Fellowship bulletin board. Will You Help Us Be Good Stewards? If everyone now receiving a paper copy of the Communicon by mail switched to the PDF version or printed out their own copy of the PDF version our church would save $ in postage a year more than 2,860 pieces of ledger paper a year the cost of toner, plus wear and tear on the copy machine staff hours that Martha CB could spend on other church projects The electronic version can be ed to you, or you can download it from Will you help us save money by getting the newsletter by ? Please let Martha CB know by calling or you can send her an at officeucc@comcast.net. Thanks! Concert for Arts Center Project on September 11 An evening of music covering classical to jazz, folk and blues featuring various professional and amateur musicians will be presented in Fellowship Hall on September 11 at 7:30 p.m. Enjoy scrumptious goodies like these at the September 20 Downton Abbey Garden Party! The concert is open to the public to benefit the drive for the Conval Visual and Performing Arts Center Project also known as "Fill the Void." A free will donation jar will be available for contributions to the project. 5

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7 Union Congregational Church Income & Expenses as a % of Annual Budget July % of Year Bells for Peace Did you hear the church bells pealing in early August? On the evening of August 5, we at Union Church joined other churches around the world as we rang our church bell 70 times. To mark the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, 11 church members and friends took turns keeping the bell going continuously, raising our small but ringing voice in support of peace and a world without war. At right (left to right): Sharon Smith rings the Union Congregational church bell while Carele Mayer, Nancy Hicks, and Jacquie Van Allen offer encouragement! 7

8 COMMUNICON September 2015 Vol. 61 No. 8 Union Congregational Church United Church of Christ 33 Concord Street Peterborough, NH The Rev. Dr. Robert Marrone, Pastor Worship Service: 10 a.m. Nursery Care Provided Church Office: Parsonage: officeucc@comcast.net Editor: Martha Carlson-Bradley Silent Support Team: Janet Brown, Randy Brown, Carolyn Peacock Deadline for October issue: Noon, September 20 Union Congregational Church United Church of Christ 33 Concord Street Peterborough, NH