Summer 2020 Newsletter
SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS
Miss you all terribly!!! Hope everyone is
doing well. Sunday School kids - look for
something in the mail from me over the
summer. See you in September!!!
The Sunday School Picnic has been
postponed until Sunday, September 13th
which is Rally Day. We have once again
reserved Pierson Park for our all church
picnic.
Dana Greco,
Sunday School Superintendent
FROM THE CHURCH OFFICE
DID YOU KNOW?
1. The church phone # is 860-635-4806.
2. The church fax # is 860-635-4246.
3. The Church E-mail address is
4. The Pastor’s day off is Wednesday.
5. Church website is www.fcccromwell.org
6. The office hours are: Mon. – Thurs. 9 – 2
p.m. The secretary is off on Friday.
7. The church address: 355 Main St. P.O.
Box 156, Cromwell, CT 06416
8. Facebook, find us listed at First
Congregational Church Cromwell
Remember to watch the church Facebook
page to listen to Pastor Doug give a brief
devotional every morning at 9:30 a.m.
EXECUTIVE BOARD
The Executive Board will meet on Thursday,
July 16th at 7:00 p.m. to hear reports from the
different boards, review the church budget,
and discuss any new business of the church.
The Board members are either the Chairman
or alternate of each board, Church Treasurer,
Church Clerk and two Members at Large.
The Members at Large are to represent the
church as a whole and are available to you,
the congregation, to talk with about any
concerns that you feel need to be addressed
within the church, to express your opinion
about any issues, or to share with them how
you feel things are within the church, both the
positive and negative.
Financials
As we discussed at the Annual Meeting in
January, we will keep everyone up to date on
a monthly basis as to how the church finances
are doing.
Period Ending: May 31, 2020
Income: $81,029.56
Expense: $82,195.39
Income (Under) Expenses: ($1,165.83)
PUBLICITY!
If you have need to put an article into the
papers or need help with getting the word
out about a special event, Lisa Paradis
oversees our publicity. She has an inbox in
the copy room office labeled “Publicity.”
NEWS FROM THE TAG SALE TEAM
What a strange year it has been! We have continued to sell vintage items on line at a brisk pace,
we have shipped over 300 packages worldwide so far this year. As church reopens and you are
planning on bringing in tag sale items, think about what might sell on Etsy, our on-line shop.
“Vintage” does not mean antique, it is defined as over 20 years old. (hmm….I think I have shoes
that old…) Items in good condition AND made before 2000 can be sold in our vintage shop. We
have been sharing pictures from actual sales to give you an idea of some of the unique pieces that
have sold. Below is a photo sent from a customer who repurposed this aluminum colander.
Gauze bandage $6
Due to the current pandemic, holding a crowded tag sale this fall would not be safe for
volunteers or guests. We will be bigger and better in 2021! We will continue to accept tag sale
items until we fill up the room. Please leave your contributions in the hallway outside the tag
Thank you!
Jean Dunning and Karen Gumkowski
Clothing Drive
The clothing drive is scheduled to go to Savers on Saturday, August 8th. Donations will be
accepted through Friday, August 7th. Please leave your donations in the last room on the left in
the basement.
Thank You!
Historian’s Page
Mission Board
We hope that this month's newsletter finds you all well. By the time you receive this,
hopefully, most of you will have had the experience of being welcomed back to our beloved
Church.
We have received a Spring 2020 newsletter from Carol and Gary Culbertson of Cru
(formerly Campus Crusade for Christ). It is entitled: A Heart for the Lost. What can God do
with one student's prayers for his peers? What God did next with this willing teen was described
as "one of the most student-driven outreaches" Carol's team leaders, Angie and Kirk Freeman
have ever seen. Please take the time to read what happened next. (see attached newsletter)
We also received an e-mail from one of our former missionaries, Ken Metz. He mentions
that the Peruvian mission has not slowed down due to the pandemic but expanded over the four
years since he and Cathie returned to the U.S. Ken referred to it as a miracle. The missionary
churches and teaching ministries for EVERY age group in Peru have all actually grown during
this crisis.
You may be glad to hear that his grief counselor says that he is doing very well relative to
his grief with the loss of his wife, Cathie. He hopes to return to Peru in November to continue
his mission there. In the meantime, the Peruvian mission is in need of donations which have
fallen to $2,500 a month. He is asking for churches to consider special offerings. Please read
his e-mail, accompanying this newsletter.
Cindy Dunbar sent us an e-mail telling us that Wheels for The World, like the Peruvian
mission, has not slowed down during this pandemic.
As of June 8th, our WFTW team has collected 135 wheelchairs so far in 2020. The
weekend of June 6/7, WFTW shipped 355 chairs, 310 walkers, 235 pairs of crutches, 135 canes
and 23 boxes of parts, from their warehouse, to a refurbishing center in TN.
Enjoy your summer. Most of all stay safe and healthy until we meet again.
In His Service, Carolyn Decko, Rob Foberg, and John Savvides
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
1. All the pews in the sanctuary have been painted.
2. The hymn racks are being stripped and shellacked and should be done by the time you return
in the Fall.
3. The communion cup holders and visitor card holders are all being sanded and given a fresh
coat of linseed oil and will be done by the end of the summer.
4. The electrical work has been completed for the two monitors as well as the cad 6 cables to
each monitor have been installed.
5. Two special steel brackets have been ordered through National Welding LLC and they should
be installed and the monitors mounted on the brackets in the next couple weeks.
6. Artisenergy, working with Eversource will be installing all new LED lights and motion
detectors throughout the entire church by the end of the summer.
7. Myron Johnson has been hired to repair and redo the stairs and sidewalk going into the church.
8. Bruce and Lorrie Huffaker donated enough mulch to do the beds up at the parking lot. Thank
you. Mulch was donated to do the south side and the north side of the driveway down to
kitchen entrance.
Mission Letter’s from Missionaries
Mission’s Letters from Missionaries
WIHS – Bread of Life
A re-airing of one of Pastor Doug’s Bread of
Life will start to air on July 27th. The
following is the schedule:
Monday – Friday: 12:25 p.m., 5:25 p.m., and
11:25 p.m.
Saturday: 2:06 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and 5:25 p.m.
Sunday: 1:05 a.m., 7:15 a.m., and 3:55 p.m.
July 2020
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
28
9:30 AM Worship
Service
29 30 1 2 3 4
5
9:30 AM Worship
Service
6
6:30 PM
Deacon
Board
Meeting
7 8 9 10 11
8:00 am
Men’s
Breakfast at
Mitchell’s
9:30 am
Finance
Property
Board
12
9:30 AM Worship
Service
13 14 15
6:30 pm
Blue Star
Mothers
16
7:00 p.m.
Executive
Board
17 18
19
9:30 AM Worship
Service
20 21 22 23 24 25
26
9:30 AM Worship
Service
27 28 29 30 31 1
Beginning July 6th, 2020: Noon AA Group Meeting from Noon – 1:00 p.m.
August 2020
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
26
9:30 AM Worship
Service
27 28 29 30 31 1
2
9:30 AM Worship
Service
3
6:30 PM
Deacon
Board
Meeting
4 5 6 7
Last day to
drop off
clothing
donations
8
8:00 am
Men’s
Breakfast
Mitchell’s
9
9:30 AM Worship
Service
10 11 12
6:30 pm
Blue Star
Mothers
13 14 15
10:00 am
Finance
Property
Board
16
9:30 AM Worship
Service
17 18 19 20
7:00 p.m.
Executive
Board
21 22
23
9:30 AM Worship
Service
24 25 26 27 28 29
30
9:30 AM Worship
Service
31 1 2 3 4 5
Noon AA Group Meeting from Noon – 1:00 p.m.