FCCW COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS
FCCW has suspended Sunday worship services until further notice and has implemented a modified plan for use of the building through the month of April to try and limit the spread of COVID-19 in our community. Please see the attached links for emails send from Pastor Gina on 3/12, 3/12, and 3/14. Please stay home if you are not well! If you need assistance getting things at the grocery store or running errands please be in contact with Krista or Gina who can put you in touch with someone who can help.
These are the activities that will be suspended until May 1st or until further notice.
* Food related events (potlucks, coffee hour)
* Committee Meetings (meet via phone, video chat or email)
* Office Hours - will be working from home and sometimes in the office. Call or email
* Pastoral Visits - call or email Gina if urgent. Happy to do phone calls.
* Outside groups using the building
* Choir practice
We will get through this time together. It will require a patience and grace from us that will stretch and grow us in new ways. We will be in touch frequently as things continue to unfold and change. If you would like to be added to church email notifications, please send us an email at fccwucc@gmail.com
Lenten Devotional
Copies still available, let Krista know if you would like Krista to mail one to you.
Climate crises caused by global warming. Strident polarization in communities. Gaping income disparities between the richest of us and the rest of us. The rampage of racism and militarism.
The existential and everyday threats we face are daunting. With faithful people across the ages, we cry out to God for deliverance ... not only pleading for God to act, but seeking the courage to let God act through us. We can take such a risk ... or we can play it safe. The Lenten season is a time for each of us to explore the ways in which we promote (or prevent) the deliverance we so desperately seek.
Family Lenten Devotionals
Krista is happy to email you a copy of this if you didn't pick one up at church.
“40-Day ‘Love Builds Up’ Family Challenge” is the perfect way for families of all shapes and sizes to strengthen spiritual muscles and emotional health during Lent. We could all use a little training - and a little practice!
Here’s the challenge: For each of the six weeks of Lent, spend some time at the beginning of the week (Sunday night, maybe?) reading that week’s Bible passage together. Talk as a family about the suggested topic, using the devotional’s optional conversation prompts if you like. Commit to taking on an action or practice for that week - and then just watch as the Realm of God fills, strengthens, and beautifies your house and the world!
One Great Hour of Sharing
Suspended until further notice
Special offering Sundays, March 22nd and 29th
Every day, we are being bombarded with images, stories, news, and sounds of hardship and misery. When suffering is nearby, we can be present to help and comfort, yet when the suffering is far away and of great magnitude, it can seem overwhelming. As the Apostle Paul wrote, ”by the power at work within us” God is able to “accomplish abundantly more than we can ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20) “We are the agents of transformation that God uses to transfigure this world” (Archbishop Desmond tutu).
One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) makes possible our presence and participation in relief efforts during difficult times, whether it be hunger, natural disasters, where water is scarce, or where basic needs of clothing and shelter are not met. The UCC’s Wider Church Ministries has, with our support, the logistical expertise and resources to partner with local organizations around the world to address these issues. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and powerless, we can feel empowered to show that Christ is present to help alleviate suffering. OGHS Special Offering will be March 22nd and 29. There will be special envelopes in the pews. You can make you check out to FCCW and write on the memo line: One Great Hour of Sharing. “Just as you did to the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me”(Matthew 25:40)
Wolfeboro Serves
Suspended until further notice
Sundays, once a month
1:00 - 3:00 pm
Pastor Gina, Pastor Bill (from All Saints Episcopal), and Maria Found (from Brewster Academy) invite you to join a service-focused, social-justice centered youth group for students in grades 7 through 12. We will meet once a month, and gather to put our faith into action. We are determined to be ecumenical (and happy to be interfaith, if you bring friends from other traditions!), welcoming, useful and inspired. Bring friends! All are welcome!
April 19th to pack meals at the food pantry (meet at All Saints).
Earth Stewardship
Suspended until further notice
Sundays, Gathering Space
11:15 am - 12:00 pm
The Earth Stewardship interest group (aka the “green group”) invites FCCW church goers to join in conversations on how to increase our personal and church environmental awareness and talk about our concerns and goals. The process is intended as a start to making a path toward growth in personal and church wide environmentally friendly practices.
Please join us in the gathering space after worship for any of our brainstorming circles to share your thoughts on March 22, 29 or April 5th. No advance notice is necessary.
Wolfeboro Reads
Suspended until further notice
Tuesdays
4:00 - 5:30 pm
Join Pastor Gina and Pastor Bill from All Saints on Tuesdays for discussion and sharing around a common read. We will meet each week (with some exceptions), from 4:00-5:30 pm in the Gathering Space at FCCW, 115 S. Main St. We will spend a few weeks on each book that we read. All are welcome!
March 18, 25 - Everyday Spirituality by James Hazelwood
April 14, 21, 28 - Braiding Sweet Greens by Robin Wall Kimmerer
May 12, 19, 26 - The Person You Mean to Be by Dolly Chugh
Church School Lenten Project
This project will continue when we return to regular worship.
Help our youth collect food items for End 68 Hours of Hunger during Lent. Starting now through Easter there will be collection boxes for you to donate food.
They are looking for:
Individual applesauce cups, Canned chicken, Canned ham, Canned pasta with meat, Canned tuna, Cereal: 8 pack individual size, Chicken noodle soup, Dinty Moore stew, Granola bars, Mac & cheese: boxes only, Peanut butter: plastic jars, Pork & beans, Pudding cups, Vegetable Beef Soup
Garwoods Benefit for FCCW
Suspended until further notice
Saturday, April 4
11:30 am - 9:00 pm
Have you been looking for a reason to ask the new neighbors to dinner or get together with a group of friends or family? Now is your chance to get out of the house and enjoy the Wolfeboro Bay views from the dining room at Garwoods Restaurant and Pub! The Roark and Ling families who own and manage Garwoods Restaurant in Wolfeboro, have generously offered to donate 50% of receipts from diners identifying with FCCW on Saturday, April 4th.
This is a fabulous opportunity to enjoy a fine meal while benefiting FCCW. All you need to do is to eat during their business hours (11:30 AM - 9:00 PM) on Saturday, April 4th and identify yourself as associated with First Congregational Church, Wolfeboro. Reservations are not required, but would be very helpful to Gordon so that he can plan for the day. Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your neighbors!
Participants are not required to be members of FCCW as long as they identify with FCCW. We hope you will join us! Thank you Garwoods for your generosity!
New Members Class
Suspended until further notice
Sundays, Chapel
11:15 - 12:15 pm
Pastor Gina and the Rev. Dr. Beth Nordbeck will be offering new member classes for anyone who considering joining the church. Beth is a retired professor of American Church History and UCC polity. Together Beth and Gina welcome you to come, get to know other potential new members, learn a bit about the history of our church and the wider church and denomination. Each week will be a different topic. New members will be received into membership during a 10 am worship service TBD.
Please know that you are welcome at these gatherings, with no expectation of your decision ahead of time! We have members of our community here who are full covenant members-professing this church to be their primary one. We have others who have joined as "associate members"-who maintain a primary relationship with a different congregation. We have wonderful "friends of the church" who participate in the worship, serve on boards, and fellowship with us too. And we always welcome visitors! But this is an invitation to consider deepening your connection and involvement at First Congregational Church, UCC of Wolfeboro, NH.
If you would like to talk more with Pastor Gina about this matter, or anything else, please contact the church office at 569-1555.