In our ONLINE Church this Sunday,September 27, 2020

The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

10:00 a.m.ONLINE Service

Prelude Music begins at 9:50 a.m.

Message by Rev Paige Besse-RankinRivers of Healing

Exodus 17:1-7; Revelation 28:1-5

Children's Message by Pastor Paige

OUR ONLINE Ministry of Music

The First Parish Virtual Choir:Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring--J.S. Bach

Please click this link to join the webinar serviceonline: https://zoom.us/j/825890693

OR: phone in using this number: 1 929 205 6099. When asked, use our Webinar ID: 825 890 693.

ANNUAL MEETING

We will hold our Annual Meeting by Zoom thisSunday, September 27 immediately followingthe Zoom worship service. The meeting willuse the same Zoom link as the worshipservice--simply just stay on at the end of theservice.

Please join other members of our faithcommunity and participate in the 386th meetingof the Parish and the 371st meeting of theChurch. By Zoom! This is your chance toparticipate in the governance of your Church.

Your Council is committed to preserving thecharacteristics of our Annual Meeting that ourCongregationalist predecessors treasured. OurBy-Laws provide: “The government of thischurch is vested in the body of believers whocompose it…” That’s you! And you can safelyand fully participate with 21st Century Zoomsoftware. First, the Council wants to make sure everymember can attend the Meeting. If you cannotattend via Zoom, please call the office (603-742-5664) and we will arrange for you toparticipate in the meeting.

Second, we will assure that we have a quorum(15%, or 51, of our 339 eligible voting members)by asking you to use the Q and A feature inZoom to tell us who is attending. Many of youhave already used the Q and A feature to sendprayer requests to Paige during worship. When

you report your attendance, be sure to specify how many members areattending from your device. Non-members are welcome to attend butdo not count towards a quorum and cannot vote. Incoming CouncilChair Joyce Tugel will monitor Q and A entries; Moderator DonGoodnow will let you know when we have a quorum. Third, if you wish to speak during the Meeting, please raise yourhand, using the waving hand icon in Zoom. Rick Gremlitz will seeyour signal and “promote” you, in the order in which people raise theirhands. This “promotion” will permit others (those on Zoom and the fewin the Sanctuary) to hear you speak. (You may not be seen by others;you can attend this Annual Meeting in your jammies.) Some of themembers who plan to make a motion during the meeting will be in theSanctuary; Emily Grondin and Rick will make sure a camera is directedtowards speakers so everyone can see them as they speak. Beassured that everyone will have a full opportunity to address every itemon our agenda, just like when we meet in person.

Fourth, we will vote using the Poll feature in zoom. When it is timeto vote, the question under consideration will appear on your screenand you will be able to register your vote (YES, NO, ABSTAIN). Whenthe voting is complete, the results will show on the screen for everyoneto see. Unfortunately, Zoom only allows for 1 vote per screen. If youhave more than one member voting, the additional votes will have toregister using Q&A. These will be added to the Poll to get the finalresult. (The other option is to have each member sign in on their owndevice.)

Fifth, if you want to share some other comment, for example you

cannot hear, please use the Zoom Chat feature. Someone will monitorthis feature and we will try to respond to your comment.

Finally, the new hardware the Church purchased will permit PastorPaige to project the Zoom images (people and documents) ontothe wall at the front of the Sanctuary so those who are physicallypresent can see everything that is shown on Zoom. In the future, wewill use this feature when the Diaconate deems it is safe enough tohold a “hybrid” worship service with some members and friendsparticipating by Zoom and others present in the Sanctuary.

Zoom technology has worked for our Sunday worship and for manyboard and committee meetings since the Pandemic began. The hybridhardware worked well last Sunday for our Budget Hearing. Please joinyour friends at our Zoom Annual Meeting!via Zoom.

Treasurer’s FY 2019-2020 Addendum Reporting

Our church treasurer has submitted additional reports to be includedwith the Annual Report.

You may click here to read the report: Treasurer's Addendum

In Steeple Chatthis week:

*Sunday Worship*Annual Meeting

*TreasurerAddendum

*Sunday School*LunchtimeDevotions

*Pastor Paige'sCorner

*Thrift Shop*Blessings of Animals

*Prayer List*Neighbors in Need

*Book Club*Cookbook*SISC Event

*Your Offerings*Music Ministry

*Recordings Sign-up*Thrift Shop Opening

*Stephen Ministryavailable

*ONA Covenant

SundaySchoolTHISSundayat 9:15am!

Join us on Zoom for virtualSunday School.

Here is the Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81

872238147?pwd=UTFHR0g1Y1JyaGhMUmU2eVlscDZWZz09

Meeting ID: 818 7223 8147Passcode: 836687

Lunch Time Devotions:Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12:00noonWe offer devotions on Tuesdays andThursdays from 12-12:30. This is open foreveryone on a drop in basis. Come whenyou feel like it! What will you find whenyou join us? We spend a few momentsgreeting each other and catching up, wehear a scripture reading and a briefreflection on that reading. Then we listen to a song. We share people andsituations we want to lift up in prayer and finally we pray together. Please join usTuesdays and/or Thursdays and ground your day in prayer. You can find ushere:Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/92409379536?pwd=RUxZaFFBK3JOUWplRTRLaWFBaVRkQT09Dial: 1 929 205 6099 US (New York)Meeting ID: 924 0937 9536Password: 835028

Overload!I find I am having the same conversation all over theplace these days about how overloaded so manypeople are feeling in these days. And of course that istrue! The mammoth events happening all around usare more than we can process.

I heard a news story this week that commented thatas we pass 200,000 deaths in our nation to Covid,we are passing the death toll of all but 3 national

events: World War 2, the 1918 flu, and AIDS.

And news of the wildfires in the west that are impacting many we know and careabout and news of the floods and storms in the south have been completelydrowned out by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the comingpolitical battle about filling her vacant seat. And the on-going call for a nationalracial reckoning continues to escalate.

And that is what is just in the system around us. We each have our own struggles

and burdens – some significant. It doesn’t take much right now to put us overthe edge to complete overload.

It seems to me more important than ever for us to reclaim the Biblical practice ofsabbath in these days – even to the point of unplugging and avoiding news for atime each week. It is clear that the struggles of these days are more like amarathon than a sprint. Self-care is essential for physical, emotional, andspiritual resilience.

Someone once commented to me that the one commandment that people almostbrag about breaking is the one that calls us to keep sabbath 1 day a week and toallow it for those who work with us and for us. I am sure that keeping sabbathwas never easy in communities that have to work to just survive – on the edge ofhunger. But I know in these days when all adults in a household may be workingand then come home on days off to do the work to maintain the household, it isalso a challenge. It takes a special intention to rest, the worship, and to play. ButI am more and more persuaded that it is particularly important in these days ofcontinuous stress and overload. It is ok to unplug for a day. After all, the newswill still be there the next day! It is ok to limit media consumption to a shorttime each day, too. We all have limits that we need to honor. So let’s look out foreach other and encourage each other.With blessings,Rev Paige

The Find It At The First ThriftShop is OPEN on Saturdays from9:00 am to 12:00 noon! Other daysmay be added in future, but justSaturdays for now.

Please come into to say hello! Masksare required.

Blessing of the Animals – October 4On Sunday, October 4, we will include in ourworship service a liturgy to bless the animals inour lives. Many churches bless animals onOctober 4 as it is the day set aside to honor StFrancis of Assisi. Francis loved the larks flyingabout his hilltop town. He and his earlybrothers, staying in a small hovel, allowedthemselves to be displaced by adonkey. Francis wrote a Canticle of theCreatures, an ode to God’s living things. “Allpraise to you, Oh Lord, for all these brotherand sister creatures.” And there was testimonyin the cause for Saint Clare of Assisi’scanonization that referred to her little cat! It isalso a wonderful way to mark the end of the Season of Creation observed inSeptember.

For our Blessing of the Animals celebration, we would invite you to send usphotos of your animal friends or to show your animal on camera during Sundayworship. (We will use a procedure like what we are doing in annual meetingwhere those who would like to share their animals will be able to “raise theirhands” and be invited on screen for a moment.) We will offer prayers of

thanksgiving and blessing.

Our Prayer List is published weekly as a link herein Steeple Chat.

If you have prayer concerns that should beincluded in our weekly listings, please contact thechurch office at 742-5664 or by email at:firstparish@comcast.net.

For the latest Prayer List, click here:Prayer List.

Neighbors In Need One of the special offerings taken each year in the United Church of Christ is theNeighbors in Need Offering – usually taken on World Communion Sunday. NIN supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States.One-third of NIN funds support the Council for American IndianMinistry (CAIM). Two-thirds of this offering is used by the UCC's Justice andWitness Ministries (JWM) to support a variety of justice initiatives, advocacyefforts, and direct service projects through grants. Neighbors in Need grants areawarded to UCC churches and organizations doing justice work in theircommunities. These grants fund projects whose work ranges from direct serviceto community organizing and advocacy to address systemic injustice. This year,special consideration will be given to projects focusing on serving our immigrantneighbors and communities.

More information about Neighbors in Need can be foundhere: https://www.ucc.org/nin

We will be receiving this special offering as part of our worship on October4th. We would invite you to send a gift with your offerings in whatever way youare making them and to indicate what you would like to go to Neighbors inNeed.

Hello Book Enthusiasts!

The FPC Book Club Discussion on A Gentleman inMoscow will take place on Thursday October 1st from7 to 8 PM. All are welcome! Please RSVP with Ingridat ingridFPCDover@gmail.com

Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/83628152199?pwd=Ymd3dTJ1UjBvZ0cybWE2eHVBYlU3Zz09

Meeting ID: 836 2815 2199Passcode: 224518

Hello from The Dream Team! The recipes are trickling in, and we're sograteful. We would like to create a cookbook that isunique and full of joy.

Please have fun with the recipes and be creative i.e.if your comfort food is Fluffernutter Sandwich goover the directions with your favorite bread. Or ifyour comfort food is a Twinkie...unwrap it anddescribe what was so wonderful about it. Includeyour comfort meal if you would like i.e. Prime Ribwith Gorgonzola blue cheese & garlic mashed potatoes. We welcome stories and memories about your favorite recipes and meals.

Please submit your comfort food recipes to Ingrid Roederat IngridFPCDover@gmail.com or send them to First Parish Church, 218 CentralAve. Dover, NH 03820Thank you Everyone, this should be a lot of fun!

The Seacoast InterfaithSanctuary Coalition (SISC) is

pleased to host:Finding Home: Portraits and

Memories of Immigrants

What does it feel like to comefrom another country and find ahome in NewHampshire? PhotographerBecky Field has been askingthat question for the pastdecade. What started as a

photographic journey has grown into a series of stories, told by peopleof different ages, genders, New Hampshire communities, andcountries of origin. Some came to escape violence, some came forlove, some came for education. Each story tells of a unique journey tofind a new home in a new land.Join us and Becky on Oct. 18, 2020, 4-5pm via Zoom as Beckyshares the faces and stories of people who have come from other

countries and who now reside in the Granite State.Please use this link to join the webinar:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88310141419?pwd=V1VFcXhDVlV0RHowSkhjcU1XTS9ldz09Meeting ID: 883 1014 1419Passcode: 658168Phone: 1 929 205 6099For more information about Becky Field’s work and her publications,visit http://differentrootsnh.com/All net profits from book sales go to nonprofits that support immigrantsand refugees.

YOUR OFFERINGS For those who are able,we strongly inviteongoing sharing ofpledges andofferings. Offeringsmay be made fromthrough the church

webpage here: Donate; or by mail, or through electronic giving.

An additional option for giving to your churchis through the QR Code box reproduced here.

To use: Hold your IPhone or IPad camera up tothe QR Code box and a link should appear onyour screen. Click on that link which will takeyou to the FPC donate area.

Music Ministry Videos posted inBasecamp

We are posting videos of various musicministry offerings from our onlineservices in a separate folder in theBasecamp Worship and MusicRecording section.

We continue to add to the musicministry collection every week.

If you do not have access to the Basecamp Worship and Music Recordings,please following the instructions in the box below:

VIDEO Recordings ofONLINE Sunday ServicesDuring this time of live-streamed services,we record the video (and audio) of ourSunday online services. These recordingsare now available as mp4 video files throughour Basecamp software program.

If you do not already have access to

Basecamp, you may register by filling in theregistration form posted on the Breezeprogram. Here is the link to sign-up:

https://fpcdover.breezechms.com/form/55811a

Find it at the First Thrift Shop The Thrift Shop is open Saturdays, 9from 9 am until noon. Many new items at bargain prices! Masks arerequired for entry to the Thrift Shop.

First Parish is a Stephen Ministry Church that provides weekly individualand confidential spiritual care for those in need. Please contact one of thefollowing to get connected: Judy Edwards, 603-978-4789 or Dave Dickson, 603-781-9791.

First Parish Church is Open and Affirming,

welcoming all to participate fully in the life of our church family, itsministries, fellowship, leadership, rites and sacraments, regardless of

ability, race, ethnicity, social or economic situation, sexual orientation orgender identity.

See you ONLINE!

First Parish Church Congregational

United Church of Christ218 Central AveDover, New Hampshire 03820(603) 742-5664Visit our website: www.firstparishdover.org