A Note From Pastor Lauren

I N S I D E t h i s i s s u e

THE CRIER A PUBLICATION OF COLCHESTER FEDERATED CHURCH

January 2020 VOL 13 #1

INSIDE this issue

1 Pastor Lauren’s Note

2 Prayers

3 Celebrations

4 Worship Information

5 Sunday School

6 Christmas Pageant

7 Announcements

8 Poinsettia Dedications

9 Thank You

10 Calendar

11 Cover Page

Ministers:

All of the Members of the Church are called to serve in daily life. Staff:

Rev. Lauren Lorincz, Pastor

Kimberly Lewis, Music Director

Nicole Hosford, Office Manager & Christian Education Director

Tom St. Louis, Treasurer

Dave Hock, Custodian

Colchester Federated Church

60 Main St., Colchester, CT. 06415

Office Hours M-F 9 AM—1 PM

Phone (860)537-5189

Email/Website: cfc06415@gmail.com colchesterfederatedchurch.org

Welcome to 2020! I pray that you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. On Sunday January 5th (The Second Sun-day after Christmas and day before Epiph-any), we will once again select our Star Words as part of the worship service at 9 AM. If you cannot attend worship that Sunday and would like a Star Word, please feel free to stop by the church office as we will have some on hand.

As a reminder, this is a liturgical practice where various words are written (by yours truly here at CFC) on brightly colored paper stars. (Thank you again to Nicole Hosford and our office Cricut Ma-chine for cutting out the stars for us!) We come forward to receive the star that may well guide us on our way in this New Year. The stars are placed face down on a table and you are invited to select your star and ponder the word you receive in your heart. The list of Star Words is long, well over 100 different words! And the hope is that the word will resonate with you in some way. As we like to say in our tradition, “God is still speaking!” It links all of us to the story of the Magi who fol-lowed the Christmas Star all the way to Bethlehem and the gift of Christ that they found when they arrived after that long journey.

Here’s how Rev. Susan Foster ex-plains the practice playing out in her own congregation, “People allow these words to speak to them. They often start by looking the word up in the dictionary so that they are clear on its meaning; we hear the word grace all the time, but what exact-ly does it mean? A word that seemed un-clear at the beginning may gain new mean-ing as the year goes on. Often the words seem very timely, as if they were indeed designated for the recipient. It is this sense of serendipity and wondering how God might be working through this sim-ple process that keeps people engaged. A woman whose husband recently passed away receives the word perseverance; a stu-dent off to college turns over her star to read responsibility; our music director re-ceives the word harmony, much to the de-light of the choir.”

Perhaps you will have that mo-ment of serendipity when you receive your Star Word in the moment or later on in the year. Perhaps not, and that’s okay too. Epiphany is a time when we are thankful for the journey of the Magi (and for our own journeys of faith) as we discover deeper meanings and unexpected mo-ments of grace in our lives. May 2020 be a wonderful year for you.

Blessings, Pastor Lauren

January 2020 Volume 13 Issue 1 1

For those who are ill or recovering:

Jason Clarke

Sadie Dombrowski

Nancy Dooley

Joseph and Mary Hamel (Shelly Hirsch’s parents)

Frank & Lillian Lavech

Wildred Marvin

Karen Monteleone

Evelyn Plecan

Dot Olson (Barb Bosse’s mom)

Teri Sawchuk

Rex Walden (Karen Briggs’ Son-In-Law)

For those who are grieving the loss of a loved one:

The Bradstreet Family

The Sanford Family

For those friends in Assisted Living, Rehabs, and Convalescent Homes:

Alberta (Anderson) Mader

Prayers for Hanmok Church, our Korean Partner Church.

Prayers for all those who are providing care for family members.

Prayers for all those who are grieving.

Prayers for all who are in recovery and struggling with sobriety.

Prayers for all those separated from their families.

Prayers for our country, its leaders and for peace here and in the world.

IN OUR PRAYERS

January 2020 Volume 13 Issue 1 2

CELEBRATIONS

01/02 Gina Henderson Karen Monteleone 01/05 Kerry Felice Samuel Ringuette 01/07 Karen Sundin-Delzell AJ Tiezzi 01/08 Michele Wyatt 01/09 Lori Koziol 01/13 Terry Howard

01/16 Kurt Frantzen Camden McCarvill 01/20 Andrew Morozowich Noah Trigueros 01/22 Jakob Misbach 01/23 Charles Dente Kelly Goodwin 01/24 Kaitlin Bradstreet

01/29 Tom Culhane BethAnn Voiland 01/30 Joan Frantzen

01/31 Krista McGregor

We are very thankful to so many people in our church community…

… To Cheryl Letendre for organizing the Red Cross Blood Drive and all those who volunteered their time and baked goodies for the donors.

… To Christine Miskell, Kurt Frantzen and all those who have donated paper goods.

… Amy Domeika and the members of Church Life for organizing the Poinsettia sale and making the Sanctuary look amazing for Christmas Eve Services.

… To Joyce Johnson and her daughters Hanna & Avery for making the Christmas cards to benefit our roof fund.

… To Julius Totten for sharing his baking talents which raised $166.00 for our roof fund!

… To the Sunday School team and all those who helped with the Christmas Pageant.

… Dolores Sawchuk and her crew of helpers that put together and delivered fruit baskets.

… To Jeanie Cullen and Deborah Howard for donating supplies to our Sunday School.

… To all those who donated items for the Madonna House and our Adopt A Family.

… To Steve Bradstreet for scrapping ice off the front stairs.

… To Joyce Johnson and Tracy Gale for photographing the Christmas Pageant.

… To the members of Stewardship who come to the rescue time and time again when things are broken.

We thank those who check on and open/close windows and doors… for those who bring in paper goods to offset our expenses, and for those who donate their time and efforts to maintain and repair

our buildings and grounds.

January 2020 Volume 13 Issue 1 3

WORSHIP INFORMATION

Jan 5 Matthew 2:1-12 Cheryl Letendre Jan 12 Matthew 3:13-17 Tom St. Louis Jan 19 John 1:29-42 Cheryl Letendre Jan 26 Matthew 4:12-23 John Dooley

Communion will be served on January 5

Steward: John Sawchuk

Servers: Mark Bosse, Deborah Howard, and Donna Wink

Jan 5 Steve Bradstreet & Paul Goodwin Jan 12 Lori & Mitch Koziol Jan 19 Gerry Caron & Tom St. Louis Jan 26 Rich Hosford & Chris Wink

November Year to Date

Total Pledged $10,015.50 $110,170.50

Total Received $8,940.00 $108,708.58

Difference $1,075.50 $1,461.92

Percent Received 89% 99%

Giving Update

Usher Schedule

January 2020 Volume 13 Issue 1 4

SUNDAY SCHOOL & YOUTH GROUPS

Here at CFC we are very proud of our annual Vacation Bible School pro-gram. The program has really grown in recent years. Due to that growth, it is no longer possible for one person to organize it.

We are looking for volunteers willing to join a team that will be tasked with planning and implementing VBS next summer.

If you are willing to be part of the team, please contact Nicole Hosford or Christine Miskell

The annual Christmas Pageant will be held on December 22

during worship.

REMINDER: Classes will resume on

January 5, 2020.

ROCK-A-THON RESCHEDULED We have rescheduled the Rock-A-Thon to January 26 from 10-3 PM or whatever your schedule allows. This is a really fun afternoon for the kids with excessive rocking in rocking chairs, movies, lunch, silliness, etc. and an awesome fundrais-er for CFC.

Hope you can make it!!!! - Liza

January 2020 Volume 13 Issue 1 5

YOUTH GROUPS VISIT HARRINGTON COURT Feb 9 at 2 PM, let’s come together for a fun hour of crafting! We will be help-ing the residents of Harrington Court decorate for Valentine’s Day! This is a great opportunity for our youth to have multigenerational interactions! (and the residents LOVE being around children!) Please join us and help us spread some joy! Both youth groups are invited to attend. We will meet directly at Harrington Court in the main lobby at 1:45 PM.

RSVP to Nicole at christianeducationatcfc@gmail.com

CHRISTMAS PAGEANT

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The ABC’s of Christmas! Our youth, with the help of a few adults, took part in our annual Christmas Pageant. The ABC’s of Christmas put a new twist on the traditional story we all know so well. A great big Thank You to all those who helped wrangle

kids and fill in open spots. It turned out to be a wonderful intergenerational pageant!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

January 2020 Volume 13 Issue 1 7

--WARNING-- The Members of the Colchester Federated Church are hereby warned to meet for the Annual Financial meeting, to be held immediately after Worship on January 26, 2020, for the following purposes: 1. To hear and act on the various Financial Reports for the Year 2019 2. To hear and act on the 2020 Budget as proposed by the Ministry of Stewardship 3. All other business suitable and proper to come before said Meeting. Dated this 12th day of December, 2019 Mark E. Bosse, Church Clerk

RED CROSS

BLOOD DRIVE

The Red Cross has sched-uled a blood drive to be held at Colchester Federat-

ed Church on Friday February 14th, 2020 in the Church's gym. The time will be from 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM. It is recommended you contact the Red Cross ahead of time to schedule an appointment. You can call the Red Cross at 1-800-448-3543 or you can schedule your appointment on-line at www.bloodct.org. Walk-ins are welcomed but depending on how busy they are there could be a long wait time.

We are in need of a few more hands to help with ushering on Sunday mornings.

Usher tasks include… -opening and closing (locking) the sanctuary doors and windows as well as turning on/off sanctuary lights. -handing out bulletins and greeting parishioners as they enter the sanctuary. -ensure the hymnal board follows the hymns listed in the bulletin. -light the alter candles prior to the start of worship. -fill water cups for Pastor Lauren. -pass the mic around during joys and concerns. -collect the offering. -take attendance If you are interested in helping or have any ques-tions, please see Rich Hosford or email him at rhos000@gmail.com

Poinsettia Dedications

January 2020 Volume 13 Issue 1 8

Thank you to everyone who donated the poinsettias in the Sanctuary. They were given by:

Chester and Alberta Anderson: In memory of loved ones.

John Barr: In memory of Evelyn Barr and John Barr Jr.

Steve Bradstreet: In loving memory of Pam Lane – The Bradstreet Family

Joan Cahill

Jeanie Cullen: In memory of loved ones.

Katie Frasier

Tracy Gale: In memory of Rhoda Metzler, Linda Orange, and Amy Smith.

Deborah Howard: In memory of Carolyn Marvin. – The Marvin Family.

Krista MacGregor: Dana & Bea Bradstreet, we love and miss you! – The Bradstreet Family.

Waller MacGregor, we love and Miss you! – The Bradstreet Family

Jan and Barbara McKelvey: In memory of our son, Jeffrey McKelvey on his Christmas birthday! In

memory of Albin and Nellie Anderson, Francis Kennedy, Russ and Lauretta McKelvey

Dolores Sawchuk: In loving memory of Corky.

Jeannette and Frank Tomlinson: In memory of loved ones.

The Wink Family: For those we have lost.

THANK YOU

January 2020 Volume 13 Issue 1 9

Dear CFC Family, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks for all the calls, cards, visits, meals, and help dur-ing my recovery from spine surgery. My healing is progressing well and I feel stronger each day. I am hopeful I will be able to remove the brace in February. Your prayers have

helped me so much, please continue to pray my healing goes well and the pain continues to decrease. Thank you so much. A Happy, Healthy New Year to you all! God Bless, Karen Monteleone

I wish to thank the following people for giving of their time to assist with the Red Cross Blood Drive on Friday December 13th, 2019. Ka-ren Wheeler, Donna Hathaway, Avis Hull, Al Letendre, Kathy Landry, Dolores Sawchuk and John Dooley. I wish to also thank our office manager Nicole Hosford for her help with organizing the blood drive. I wish to thank our Sexton Dave Hock and Al Letendre for getting the gym ready for the Red Cross workers. I want to also thank Mike Paggioli and Al letendre from Boy Scout

Troop 72 for their help with breaking down after the blood drive. I also want to thank Dolores Sawchuk, Amy Domeika, and JessieMay Kessler for bringing baked goods for the blood donors.

Sincerely, Cheryl Letendre

JANUARY CALENDAR

January 2020 Volume 13 Issue 1 10

Colchester Federated Church

60 Main St Colchester, CT. 06415 Phone: (860) 537-5189 www.colchesterfederadtedchurch.org