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

fcchurch01@snet.net

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.