Vol. 29, No. 3 Mid-March 2020 FROM THE PASTOR

On my first Sunday as your new pastor, I spoke these words before the gathered congregation: “Good Morning Church!” You were all so warm and welcoming, but it turns out that some were confused by the greeting. “Why is the new minister greeting the building?” What does she mean “Good Morning Church!?”

Over the course of the next few weeks I shared with you my vision of Church. As we sang during the children’s time my second Sunday: “I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together, all who follow Jesus, all around the world. Yes! We’re the Church together!”

We have a beautiful sanctuary, amazing social rooms, lovely offices, plenty of Sunday School rooms, even an awesome chapel…but those are not the core of what “Church” is.

As the COVID 19 moves rapidly through our nation and our world, we are doing our best to slow and hopefully, eventually, halt its spread. To this end, our church, along with so many others churches across the globe, has elected to not gather in person on Sunday mornings. We are practicing social distancing, but that doesn’t mean distancing ourselves from God.

Does not meeting face to face make us any less the Church? I suggest that it does not! The Church is comprised of people of faith, sometimes people of doubt, people of compassion, and people who support one another in every circumstance.

We are living in a time of turmoil and fear. The world needs the Church more than ever. God needs you to find ways that you can offer God’s love and support to others during this time of social distancing.

To that end, we have created a group of “Caring Callers” who will help us to stay connected when we are not physically together. We have also moved to on-line audio worship and zoom meetings. If ever there was a time where being Church was important, it is now.

Our job over the next days, months and possibly years, is to find a new way of being a Church for one another and for the wider community. How can we do that in isolation? Well for starters, we can pray. There is much to lift up in prayer. I invite you to pray each moment of each day. That doesn’t mean sitting with your hands together and your head bowed 24/7. That means being connected to God in your heart and mind at all times. A song can be a prayer. A phone conversation can be a prayer. A card, or an email, or a walk outside, can be a prayer. It has to do with our spiritual openness and desire to be connected constantly to the Holy One.

Instead of focusing on what you can’t do in this time of social distancing and isolation, consider that you can do. I’ve read a number of poems, Facebook posts and emails encouraging people to think about what has been cancelled and what has not. Let’s focus on what we can do in this strange new world of ours.

Cancelled – Normal Church ServicesNot cancelled – Worship Cancelled – Sporting eventsNot cancelled – Walking outside, tossing a ball, playing croquet or cornhole, sitting on the porch, breathing in the fresh air of spring. Cancelled – Soup Suppers and Mission SpeakersNot cancelled – Making food for those who cannot feed themselves. Donating food to Gleaners for bag lunches to go, baking for your family. Cancelled – Meetings of social groups and service organizationsNot cancelled – Compassion, telephone calls, letter writing, donations, online meetings, emails, spending time with your family. Cancelled – Exercise classes, art and music lessonsNot cancelled – Getting out and moving, either at home, in your back yard or a nearby park. Playing your instrument for yourself and maybe neighbors (remember the stories from Italy!) Cancelled – Men’s breakfast, Rug Hookers, TOPS, AA, dances, choir, PEO, and so many groups that we are used to attending.Not cancelled – Playing games, reading books, gardening, napping, singing in the shower or on your front porch, painting, writing poetry, journaling, storytelling, looking through photos and scrapbooking.

Cancelled – Pastoral visits Not cancelled – Conversations with and connection with your pastor and others in your church community.

The Governor just declared that 100% of the non-essential workforce should be at home. I will be available by phone (585) 905-3105, facetime, skype, zoom or email: revdawn@canandaiguachurch.org, for anyone who wants or needs to talk.

Church, my friends, is not cancelled. We may not be meeting together for worship for a while, but the Church is still present. Let’s find new ways of being church! Let’s be strong and bold and present in the midst of this crisis. Let’s pray constantly and strive to be the presence of God for one another.

I invite you to BE the Church, now and always. Amen.

Rev. Dawn Garrett-Larsen

Keeping Connected During Times of Crisis

As we seek to care for one another we will be keeping social distance at the First Congregational Church UCC of Canandaigua. This means that we will not be gathering for worship on Sunday mornings, there will be no committee meetings, no soup suppers, no outside groups using the building, in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The Church Council voted to suspend all of these in-person activities until at least April 6. We will revisit the question at that time. Knowing how quickly this virus is spreading, we have no idea what the situation will be in a couple of weeks. Council will meet via ZOOM to assess the situation and will keep you posted.

We are moving to communicating primarily via email, phone calls, Facebook and our website. We invite you to worship with us on-line at canandaiguachurch.org. Each Sunday you’ll find the Sunday bulletin interspersed with audio files containing various parts of the service. It is easy. The sermon you would have heard if we were gathering on Sunday mornings will be posted along with liturgy, Scriptures, prayers and music.

Alicia will also be working from home as much as possible, and will be taking calls on her cell phone at (585) 314-1627 between the hours of 9 am – 4 pm, Monday – Friday, until further notice.

Please call the Church office/Alicia if you need help in negotiating the website to find the worship service.

Caring Callers

We are instituting a system of telephone calling with the goal of connecting with everyone in our church community. Every person or family in the church directory will be receiving a call from a volunteer who is a “caring caller.”

Please use this as an opportunity to talk with an old friend, or to get to know a member of the congregation who you don’t know so well. Yes, the caring callers are checking in to make sure that everybody has their needs fulfilled, but this is not just a service for the vulnerable, this is a new model of being church together when we cannot meet.

I fully expect that a caring caller will phone my home and I will be thankful for the opportunity to connect with someone who has called to check in with me. My hope is that everyone will use some of the enforced down time to pray and also to be the presence of God to one another.

Thank you to all the callers who have volunteered and to all those who will receive calls. May we find connections in a new way!

To that end, we are attaching a draft copy of the new church directory. You’ll see that not everyone has pictures yet, but in this time of isolation, we decided that people in the congregation might like to have contact information for one another. Feel free to call and check in with others even if you are not an official “caring caller.” If you find errors in the directory, please let Alicia know in the office so that we can make corrections.

Rev. Dawn Garrett-Larsen

Assistance with Technology:With the new guidelines of social distancing, connecting electronically will probably become more popular, even among those of us who do not typically use it!  We recognize that there are some folks out there that may need help setting up computer and/or phones with Skype or FaceTime.  If you are someone who

needs help or if you are someone who can help in setting up this type of technology, please contact Debbie Lyon, and I will connect you to each other!  Call or send a text message to 585-905-9345.  Let’s help each other stay connected!

 Prayer List Muriel Allemand (Jim & Connie Malone’s friend); Maureen Baker (Carla DeMeco’s friend); Steve Beck (Heidi Schwarz’s brother); Keith Blaker; Brad Bliss; Marjorie Case; Cathy Coots; Christian (Whitey Schultz’s son); Peggy & Bob DeSantis (Dorice & Don Raw, Sr.’s friends); Julie English (Janet & Kim Tenreiro’s friend); Sandy Erdman and Family; Brian Fuscaldo (Mara Huberlie’s nephew); Jerry Gomez (Kathi Nacca’s friend); Barb Harradine; Gayle Henry; Carin Herren; Bill Huberlie; Jeff Johnson (Jim & John Johnson’s brother); Carol Kober (Debbie Lyon’s neighbor); Jim Kolesar (George & Carin Herren’s friend); Sue Kotalik; Michelle List (JoAnn Reed’s friend); Loren (Meg & Jack Radley’s friend); Lynn (Joan Ryan’s friend); Scott Lyon (Betty’s son); Eileen McCarthy (Carla DeMeco & Betsy Dresser’s friend); Sally Mueller; Liz Nelson (Kathy Ward’s friend); Chris Pritchard (Rick, Cindy Mullen & George Herren’s friend); Jack and Meg Radley; Randy (Friend of Don & Marilyn DeSmith); Sara (Meg & Jack Radley’s granddaughter); John Paul and Pat Smith; Smith/Dworetsky Family (Okke & Kathy Postma’s friends); Sally Stowell (Alice Berry’s mother); Walker (Don & Dorice Raw’s friend); Kathy Ward; Gordon Wenner (George & Carin Herren’s friend); Merle Winn (Amy Ogden’s friend); Josh Yeo (Barb Stahl’s friend); Jason Zeller (Kathy Ward’s son); Linda Zeller (Kathy Ward’s daughter in law)

Happy Birthday! 1st – Brooke Lupton 15th - Jeff Bowen 22nd – Sheila Reynolds2nd – Hannah Blaker 16th - Daisy Case 24th – Nathan Beiner3rd – Ron Krahl 16th – Debbie Wilbur 24th – Elijah Beiner4th – Jeanne Hollenbeck 17th – Jean Davis 24th – Barb Davis8th - Albert Amouzou-Edah 17th – Don Payne 26th – Doug Brown8th – Bill Huberlie 18th – Brian Case 26th – Kathi Nacca8th – Edie Rice 18th – Jessica Casellas 30th – Carol Ennis9th – Roger Morse 20th – Samantha Eddinger 30th – Bob Ward11th - Amelia Berry 21st – Tom Herbek12th - Kitty Braddon 22nd – Molly Dutcher

Caregivers at First Congregational Church

We have a number of committees and individuals who help provide care to members of the congregation. In an effort to be more organized and to help people know what services are available, we have identified six different categories with various point-people to contact:

Visitation/Caring Callers – Rhonda Nyerges (Visitation Team)

Each visitor has one person they visit. We hope to see that person once a month. We take flowers at Easter and Christmas and Christmas cookies from the youth group. During the Corona Virus pandemic Rhonda will coordinate Caring Callers

Meals – Sue Hawkes (Hospitality/Special Events)

We provide meals for those who are sick, recovering from surgery, home from the hospital, or are going through a major life event (births, deaths, etc.)

Prayer – Dawn Garrett-Larsen (Prayer Chain)

We pray for those going through difficult times. Please contact Dawn with any prayer requests. She will then send a prayer request to people on the Prayer Chain. It you would also like to add the prayer request to the bulletin, please send an email to office@canandaiguachurch.org. If you would like to be a member of the prayer chain please send an email to Dawn at revdawn@canandaiguachurch.org and she will add you to the email list.

Cards – Kathy Ward (Sunshine Team)

We send cards to people who have lost loved ones or who are sick and in need of some cheer. We need volunteers who would like to write cards to folks in the hospital, home recovering or going through a difficult time.

Flowers – Alicia Francis (Office Manager)

The Church sends flowers for church members/attendees and immediate family members who are experiencing difficulty. This ministry is coordinated through the office. The flowers are paid for through the flower fund and delivered by florist. If you know of someone who should receive flowers feel free to send an email to Alicia. She may well already know about the situation, but in case she doesn’t its always better to be told twice than not at all.

Rides – Mike Parsons (Rides Coordinator) We provide rides to church, doctors’ visits, pharmacies, grocery store, voting, and can also include those deliveries to people who cannot leave their homes.

(During the Corona Virus pandemic: This group of volunteers may help to deliver prepared food or groceries to those who may be quarantined but will drop food outside of the house and will not have any direct contact that would infect either party)

Very Important: If you feel sick or are experiencing symptoms of the corona virus, the rides service is not intended to drive people to the hospital. If you are sick, please call your doctor who will provide the proper protocol for how to be tested and receive care.

How Can I Help? - If you are interested in participating in any of these caring ministries, please contact the point person listed above. Thank you in advance for the ways you care for folks in our congregation and in the world!

More Than Monthly Weathervanes!We plan to send the Weathervane twice a month or whenever there is vital information to get out to the congregation so that people can be kept informed about changes at the church. This is your mid-March newsletter. We expect to send another at the beginning of April. Hopefully, we will know more about Holy Week services by that point and will include the information in the next weathervane.

We have recently had to rebuild our group email lists. If you are aware of anyone who has not been getting church emails, please let us know in the office so that we can include them in future emails. Thank you for helping us get the communication out!

A Word from our TreasurerAs we miss being together for worship, we also realize that we miss the financial contributions from each week. Please keep our church in mind. In addition to our health scare, we are all concerned about what is happening on the financial side, and that some of our church families may be affected. But if you are able, you may send in what you might have given on the Sundays we do not meet. Sent with thanks and caring thoughts.

Tarry Shipley

The Annual Trustee Clean-up Days: (tentative)It’s that time of year again!! 

Spring is coming.  Clean up days are as follows:Sat. 4/25 - 9 a.m. – 12 noon: Clean up the grounds

Week of May 11th - PlantingSat. May 16 - 9 a.m. – 12 noon: Spreading mulch

We are looking for help!!!!See Lin Case if you have questions and/or willing to help.

Thank you!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Thank you to all of you that so generously supported the Gleaners Community Kitchen Walk for Hunger.  We were able to raise over $3,000 which is our most successful walk ever! Special thanks to Carla DeMeco and Logan Piorkowski for their outstanding efforts to solicit donations from church members and neighbors!

MANY THANKS!Thanks to all for donating your loose change which will provide funds for enrichment activities for the local Child Advocacy Center for children and youth.

Thank you for your soup supper donations which will be sent to the What If? Foundation...providing meals and education to children in Haiti.Your generosity is much appreciated! Beware of Fraud Calls : During this time of crisis, some people have experienced fraudulent phone calls telling people that their Social Security has been compromised and that they should return the call this moment. Just a reminder to never give out your social

security number, financial information, or credit card number over the phone.

Congregational Life Committee hosts the 13th AnnualChurch Family Brunch: Sunday, May 3 rd (tentative)

Join us to celebrate together on Sunday, May 3 immediately following church. All church family members and friends are welcome. The cost will be $4 for adults and $2 for children (10 and under) or $10 per family to

cover costs. Tickets will be sold for several weeks prior to the brunch so we will know how many to prepare for. Please try to let us know before May 3 if you plan to attend so that we can be sure to have enough food prepared. We would also appreciate exact change when you buy your tickets!

MS WALK: SUNDAY, MAY 17 th (tentative) For the past several years our Church has participated in the National Multiple Sclerosis

Society’s Walk MS to help fund the fight against MS. This year’s MS Walk will take place on Sunday, May 17th, at Sonnenberg Gardens and we would love to have you join our walking team

or sponsor someone who will be walking. If you are interested in participating please let Phil Nevin know. You can register online, but please specify you are a member of the First

Congregational Church team. Otherwise, we can register you closer to the event. Overflow parking will be at the VA. Any questions catch Phil when you can!

PLEASE NOTE: Worship Service Hours will Change on May 17 th :

We are changing the worship time the day of the MS WALK on Sunday, May 17. Worship will be 9:00-9:30 am (no choir this day) due to the MS Walk,

which starts at 10 am at Sonnenberg Gardens. Please join us!

Healthy Families Diaper Drive

If you were fortunate enough to hear Teresa Deacon’s enthusiastic presentation at the March 5 soup supper, you will know about our fledgling efforts to help the parents and young children served by Healthy Families Ontario County. This is a partial list of services provided by Healthy Families:

Pre- and post-natal support Child development assessment and activities Regular home visits for 5 years An annual baby shower A grandparent support group A twice-monthly baby café

These services are free for 50 young families in the county, regardless of income or education. The prayer shawl ladies have been providing much-welcomed baby blankets to Healthy Families, and some members of our church family have been donating disposable diapers and wipes for the babies. Social Action has decided to expand these efforts during the month of May through a church-wide diaper drive. As you can imagine, Healthy Families goes through a LOT of diapers!Look for further information about the diaper drive, but, meanwhile, please clip those diaper coupons! THANK YOU.~ Social Action

Easter FlowersIt has been our custom to give memorial Easter flowers in memory or in honor of loved ones. Some people have already ordered flowers, others may not be sure what to do this year.

Since we anticipate that we will not be meeting for worship on Easter, we invite you to order a memorial flower with the attached order form. (last page) Unfortunately, we are unable to order and have flowers delivered at this time. In lieu of our normal tradition, we will deposit the money for Easter flowers into a flower fund that will be used to send flowers to those who are sick or hospitalized or grieving the loss of a family members. We will print that full list of Easter Flower Memorials and publish it in the Weathervane that comes out near Easter. We will not be ordering flowers this year due to the quarantine. If you prefer to have your flower donation applied to your pledge instead, please let Alicia know.

Public Image CommitteeThe Public Image Committee was formed in early 2020 for the purpose of determining how, as a church, we present ourselves to the community, and to seek out effective ways to create awareness of our church in the community. The committee is tasked with coming up with ideas which will then be brought to the church Council, and ultimately to the congregation, for approval. Committee members: Alice Berry, Lindsey Boldt, Alison Boldt, Cathy Brooks, Jessica Casellas, George Herren, Mark LaRoach, Jon Schwab, and Jan Waxman. The committee has had two meetings so far and plans to meet every 2-3 weeks. The committee is currently evaluating the church’s vision statement and mission statement, as well as the website content. They are also taking steps to participate in the Ontario County Culture and History podcast as a way to let the community know about our church. We encourage the congregation to contact committee members with suggestions. **At the present time we are anticipating the possibility of having to continue with on-line worship through the end of April. We will resume gathered worship when the situation is safe. You will see a number of items with ??? to indicate that we just don’t know what will be happening to this regularly scheduled event.

April 2020 CalendarSun. 4/5 Worship online at www.canandaiguachurch.org (Palm Sunday)Thurs. 4/9 Tenebrae Service online Friday, 4/10 Good FridaySun. 4/12 Easter Worship Service online? Mon. 4/13 Trustees Zoom 4:00??Wed. 4/15 Weathervane DeadlineThurs. 4/16 Genesee Valley Assoc. Meeting 10:00 Hayes Room??Sun. 4/ 19 Worship online at www.canandaiguachurch.org?? Youth Sunday? Social Action 11:45? Tues. 4/21 Council Zoom? Fri. 4/24 Prayer Shawl 2:00?? Sat. 4/25 GVA Spring Assembly Mountain Rise 10:00; Camerata Concert 3:00?Trustee Clean Up 9-12Sun. 4/26 Worship online at www.canandaiguachurch.org;? Guest Organist

Let’s end this with another beautiful picture to leave you with a smile:

EASTER FLOWER MEMORIAL FORM

Memorials are due by April 1st. Orders received AFTER this date will not be listed in the memorials.

NAME: __________________________________________________

I would like to order plants:

_______ Tulips ($9.00 each)

_______ Daffodils ($9.00 each)

_______ Lilies ($10.00 each)

They are given in memory / honor (please circle one) of:_______________________________________________

Given By: _________________________________

They are given in memory / honor (please circle one) of:_______________________________________________

Given By: _________________________________

They are given in memory / honor (please circle one) of:_______________________________________________

Given By: _________________________________

This form can be emailed to the church office at office@canandaiguachurch.org or sent to the church office with your check made payable to the First Congregational Church. Please note on the memo line of your check “Easter Flowers.”