RALLY DAY FAIR WELCOME, PASTOR CHRISTA! Pastor Ann

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1 The Anchor Imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. ~ Hebrews 6:12, 19 Mystic Congregational Church Gathered on January 20, 1852 An Open and Affirming Church September 2016 Vol. 57 Issue 8 Dear Good People of Mystic Congregational Church! A few years ago Disney World aired a television commercial which focused on a family preparing to leave for their Disney vacation the next morning. Most memorable about the commercial was the youngest of the family, a boy around seven, clad in pajamas, tossing in his bed when Mom and Dad came in to say good-night. I m too excited to sleep! he confessed loudly. We can all remember a sleepless night or two in our lives due to the excitement about something wonderful about to happen: from Christmas Eves as young children to the nights before our weddings to the nights before beginning a new school year or a new job. As I write this letter, just two days after we voted to call the Rev. Christa Swenson to serve our church as our half-time Associate Pastor, I m already imagining myself tossing with excitement the night before she begins her time with us on Tuesday, September 6. My friends, God is good indeed, and has set before us an abundant platter full of gifts and countless opportunities for using them. We have gifted people on our staff in our returning Director of Music Andrew Howell as he seeks this year to establish a permanent children s and youth choir; in our enthusiastic and creative Director of Children s Ministries Suzanne Burns as she grows our Godly Play curriculum and continues to lead our children to embrace and protect God s creation; in our seasoned Office Administrator Leni Pomeroy as she keeps the church humming without missing a beat and extravagantly welcomes all who enter our doors; in our nursery caregiver Kathy Graham and her youth assistants as they offer a safe and stimulating environment for our babies and toddlers; and now in our Spirit-led, faithful and talented Associate Pastor Christa Swenson as she embarks upon gathering our youth to explore and deepen their faith. AND each one of YOU is a gift to our faith community: from committee chairs to coffee hour providers to Sunday school teachers to quiet volunteers within every aspect of our ministry mission: to joyfully bring the Christian principles of faith, hope and love to all through quality worship, education, fellowship and outreach. God has placed a new program year before us full of opportunities to express our love for God and neighbor, to contribute further to healing our world, to do more to pass on our faith to the next generation, plus all the gifts we need to carry them out. How incredibly exciting! If you happen to find yourself tossing and turning on the night before Rally Sunday, feel free to call me: I ll be wide awake, too! With great anticipation, Pastor Ann RALLY DAY FAIR Sunday, September 11, 2016 Immediately following the 10:00 a.m. Worship Service Welcome back to old and new! Join us in the Parish Hall for hotdogs, popcorn, and face-painting! BACK to TWO SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES Beginning Sunday, September 11, 2016 we resume offering two Sunday worship services at 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Sunday School also begins September 11 for children Pre-K to 8 th grade during the 10:00 a.m. service with child care for infants and toddlers in our nursery at 9:45-11:15 a.m. Welcome back! WELCOME, PASTOR CHRISTA! The church sanctuary thundered with applause as the Rev. Christa Swenson entered, followed by her family, after the special congregational vote on Sunday, August 21, to call her as our half-time Associate Pastor. Pastor Christa will begin serving Mystic Congregational Church on Tuesday, September 6, with her primary responsibility being ministering to and with our middle school and high school youth. Her job description also includes designing and offering adult faith formation opportunities and, as time allows, she will assist Pastor Ann in other aspects of church life as well. We are delighted to have Pastor Christa join us and are grateful to God and our Search Committee for bringing us together. Pastor Christa s office will be on the second floor of the Moran building directly above Leni s office. Be sure to stop by and give her a hearty welcome!

2 Hello, MCC Youth! I hope you all had a great Summer and are looking forward to all the great new things happening this year at MCC! September 4 11:30 am in the Parish Hall Prepare and deliver meal for WARM Shelter (Westerly Area Rest and Meals) in RI. September 11 RALLY DAY Come and meet our fabulous new Associate Pastor, Christa! September 25 11:15 a.m. in the Parish Hall 2016 Youth Mission Trip Presentation Watch a short slide show and talk to the youth who went on this Summer s very eventful trip. ~Doug World communion Sunday October 2, 2016 Thank you to everyone who has been supporting our summer programming as we explored our relationships with God. The children have baked dog biscuits and donated them to a local animal shelter, crafted Christmas stars for Parish Care to distribute over the holiday season, strung prayer bead bracelets to help encourage praying and assembled Kindness Bags to give out to individuals that may need our assistance. We have had two guest teachers this summer. Kim Signor of Children s Yoga and Creative Movement visited us and lead the children in a fun and unique yoga class just for kids. Mary Addison, an art instructor from Mystic Museum of Art, visited and led the children in a nature art project. We will carry this momentum as we begin our school year lessons in September. Children in Pre-kindergarten through Grade 5 will continue with Godly Play and hear new stories to enrich their knowledge. Middle School will continue with Faith Practices and growing our garden. Please take the time to register your child. Registration forms have been ed and paper copies are located on the Children s Ministries Bulletin Board. ~ Suzanne Burns, Director of Children s Ministries Hope to see you at the Rally Day Fair on September 11 th! Rally Day Fair Sunday, September 11 Immediately following the 10:00 am Worship Service in Parish Hall CHURCH INCOME & BILL PAY There is a tendency for church attendance to fall off during the Summer, and for church income to fall off as well. Most expenses, however, are quite constant from month to month despite the season. The resultant strain on working capital until cooler weather can be challenging. More and more of our membership are making regular monthly contributions using the free online Bill Pay service offered by their bank. Thus their payment comes to the church whether they can or not. We are encouraging more use of this service. CHUCKLE CORNER A little girl became restless as the preacher s sermon dragged on and on. Finally she leaned over to her mother and whispered, Mommy, if we give him money now, will he let us go?

3 From the Director of Music Dear Members and Friends of Mystic Congregational Church, While it s hard to believe that the Summer is almost over, I can t wait to get back to making music with all of you this Fall! Our program year begins with Rally Day on September 11th, and from that point on all of the ensembles that make up the MCC music program will hit the ground running! There is still plenty of space in all aspects of our music program for new people and we have an exciting year ahead of us! What we need now is YOU!!! Here are some ways you can participate: 1. Senior Choir There is still a lot of room in the choir loft for new voices and we would love to have you sing with us each week. Join us as we strive to enhance the service each week with high quality musical offerings and provide strong vocal support for hymns and service music. Rehearsals are held weekly on Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Choir Room. 2. Children s Choir Beginning this Fall, there will be a youth choir for children ages 8 and up that are interested in singing regularly during the 10:00 a.m. service on Communion Sundays (the first Sunday of each month), as well as other special services and community outreach events throughout the year. The commitment expected from singers will be a weekly one-hour rehearsal, plus a 9:00 a.m. rehearsal on the Sundays we sing in the service. Our main goal is to determine the interest in this choir from you and your children. After we have established that there are enough children to form a choir, we will discuss when the weekly one-hour rehearsal will occur. 3. Bell Choir We have an excellent set of bells at MCC and a really fun group of people to play with, but we could use a couple more ringers to fill out the ensemble. Rehearsals are held on Thursday evenings from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. 4. Instrumentalists I have met some of you already, but I am looking for instrumentalists who might be interested in playing every now and then for services. Any instrument at any level is welcome, so please don t be shy if you would like to offer your talents to the church! If any of this looks of interest to you, please get in touch with me and let me know how you would like to participate at andrew@chorusofwesterly.org or by calling my cell phone at Andrew Howell State of the Church: Come See Where We Stand and How We Can Move Our Ministry into the Future Our CAT results are ready! Please join us at an all-church meeting on September 18 when Rev. Tom Clough, our Regional UCC Conference Minister, will present and discuss the results of the CAT (Congregation Assessment Tool). You will have an opportunity to see where we stand and how we compare to other churches. With 127 survey respondents, we surpassed our participation goal and achieved a great cross-section of opinions about the future at Mystic Congregational Church. Priority issues from the CAT survey will be used to establish the next set of Mutual Ministry Goals. All attendees will receive their own complete copy of the survey results. A light lunch will be served at 11:00 a.m. followed by Rev. Tom Clough s presentation which will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall. Childcare will be provided. All are invited to attend this important meeting! SUBMISSIONS WANTED If reading the 2016 Lenten Devotional Booklet had you thinking of a Bible verse, hymn lyrics or quote that you find inspiring or an original creation (half-page or less, 8.5x11, landscape orientation), do consider submitting it for inclusion in the 2017 issue. Contributions will be accepted throughout the year and can be ed to Joe Barnett at jobarnet1@live.com or dropped off in the Deacons office mailbox (Attn: Joe Barnett). A CELEBRATION of LIFE will be held for Mina Ferguson by her family at Latitude Restaurant in Mystic on Sunday, October 2, 2016 from 12:00 noon to 2:30 p.m. Book of Life Entered into Eternal Rest: Robert Curtis Johnson, on July 1, Husband of Sue Johnson. Royce Colby, on July 27, Father of Beth Manning. Born: Hazel Ruth Aaberg, on August 6, 2016 to parents Ian & Stacy Aaberg; grandparents Rev. Ann & Doug Aaberg.

4 WOMEN S FELLOWSHIP Join us for our first meeting] of the new program year. Our theme for the coming months is Taking Care of Ourselves, of Others and of Our Planet. SEPT. 13, 2016 We will welcome guest speaker Jeanne Grande from the Asylum Hill Church in Hartford who will help us gain greater cultural understanding of the lives of women and girls in Kenya. Her topic is Days for Girls, a mission project that she will introduce to us and in which we might participate. We are asked to contribute underwear and wash cloths that day. See you on at 9:15 a.m. in the Parish Hall for delicious refreshments and good fellowship. We are now offering child care at our meetings, thanks to Susan Keach and Marybeth Kendle. After this regular meeting, all Bazaar chairs will meet. Please bring a sandwich as this will be our only full-group meeting. Marybeth Kendle is Bazaar Chair this year (yeah!), LOOKING AHEAD: On Tuesday, October 4, at 7:00 p.m., Women s Fellowship will sponsor a church-wide book discussion on Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature by Richard Louv. Suzanne Burns will lead us. Bank Square Books will give you the book club discount. CT UCC WOMEN S RETREAT Carpe Diem will be led by Rev. Lee Ireland on Saturday, September 24 8:30 am to 4:30 pm First Church of Christ, Congregational 830 Corbin Ave, New Britain, CT Registration is $35 which includes lunch. Deadline is September 15. Registration forms are available in the Women's Fellowship mailbox or in this issue of The Anchor. Completed registration forms and check payments (made payable to CT Women of the UCC) should be mailed to Liz Longacre at 115 Cook Hill Road, Griswold, CT Questions? Contact Liz Longacre at or her at CHRISTIAN MISSION CORNER NEIGHBORS IN NEED The 2016 theme for Neighbors in Need (NIN), This we believe connects the issue of child hunger to the work that UCC congregations are doing to serve their community and address this injustice. NIN is a special mission offering of the United Church of Christ (UCC) that supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States. Our NIN offering will be gratefully received on October 2, when we will also celebrate World Communion Sunday. Envelopes will be available in the pews and in the Sunday bulletin. CROP WALK Hunger kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined, according to Church World Service. This year s CWS CROP Walk will be on Sunday, October 16. It is the 39 th year the churches of Mystic Area Ecumenical Council have sponsored this walk. The funds raised will be used to relieve hunger, locally, nationally, and overseas. Of the donations, 25% is used to provide food for the needy who seek assistance through our churches. The balance is sent to Church World Service (CWS) for food and shelter programs throughout this country and world-wide. The walkers will gather at 1:00 p.m. at St. Mark s Episcopal Church on Pearl Street, Mystic. At that time, the donation sheets will be turned in and there will be a brief opening ceremony. This 10- kilometer (6-mile) walk starts at 1:30 p.m. along Route 215 to Noank and back. NLMC VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Come Join the Volunteers! Can you serve food? You are fully qualified to provide helping hands at the New London Meal Center (NLMC)! Beginning at 4:00 p.m. on the last Thursday of each month, volunteers from MCC help with basic tasks and serve meals prepared by a professional chef at the NLMC. We arrive at 4:00 p.m. to assist and serve the meal from 5:00-6:00 p.m. After a short clean-up, we are on our way home by 6:30 p.m. We would like to add you to the list of people willing to help. If you might be free on the last Thursday of the month, please join our group. Please Steve Piacenza at simonsays2023@sbcglobal.net. "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in." ~ Matthew 25:35 REFUGEE UPDATE MCC has partnered with Start Fresh, a New London-based organization working with Integrated Refugee & Immigration Services (IRIS) of New Haven, to help settle refugee families in our area. Over the summer, church members helped clean and furnish apartments for two different refugee families! The Mission Committee keeps a mailing list of MCC members interested in helping out. Please contact Kathy Parker, Committee Chair, (kayoparker@gmail.com) if you would like to be added to this list. We anticipate one additional family arriving in September.

5 SEPTEMBER 2016 Worship Services Sunday, September 4, 2016 Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost Sacrament of Holy Communion 9:00 a.m. Only Rev. Ann M. Aaberg Jeremiah 18:1-11 Psalm 139:1-6, OR Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Psalm 1 Philemon 1-21 Luke14:25-33 Sunday, September 11, 2016 Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost 8:00 & 10:00 a.m. Rev. Ann M. Aaberg Jeremiah 4:11-12, Psalm 14 OR Exodus 32:7-14 Psalm 51: Timothy 2:1-7 Luke 15:1-10 Sunday, September 18, 2016 Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost 8:00 & 10:00 a.m. Rev. Ann M. Aaberg Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 79:1-9 OR Amos 8:4-7 Psalm Timothy 2:1-7 Luke 16:1-13 Sunday, September 25, 2016 Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost 8:00 & 10:00 a.m. Rev. Ann M. Aaberg Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 Psalm 91:1-6,14-16 OR Amos 6:1a, 4-7 Psalm Timothy 6:6-19 Luke 16:19-31 FINANCIAL PEACE UNIVERSITY Sundays 3:00-5:00 p.m. For 9 weeks from September 25, 2016 To November 20, Mystic Congregational Church Library Led by Brett Sandman Contact: brettsandman@gmail.com or cellphone

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8 Mystic Congregational Church where hope is alive and love is visible An Open and Affirming Church 43 East Main Street Mystic, CT Office (860) Fax (860) Website Facebook Mystic Congregational Church UCC Sunday Services 8:00 a.m. & 10:00 a.m.* *Sunday School & Child Care All MCC Members Ministers Rev. Ann M. Aaberg Pastor Rev. Christa D. Swenson Associate Pastor Katie M. Korpi Moderator Andrew P. Howell Director of Music Suzanne M. Burns Director of Children s Ministries Franklin G. Davis Treasurer Stacey I. Herrman Assistant Treasurer Susan B. Lettrich Contribution Treasurer Eleanor S. Pomeroy Office Secretary Non-Profit Organization U. S. Postage PAID Permit No. 31 Mystic, CT Our Mission Statement: to joyfully bring the Christian principles of faith, hope and love to all through quality worship, education, fellowship and outreach.