. . .

 

STEEPLE SOUNDS

April 2025


We are a Christian community of people who are reaching out to our neighbors, 
at home and abroad, sharing our faith and our resources.

 

Central Square Congregational Church, UCC, of Bridgewater, Massachusetts is an open and affirming
church. No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.

 

Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, 9am-1pm

and by appointment

Remote worship on Facebook and YouTube

Sunday Worship will continue to be livestreamed from the Sanctuary at 10 a.m. 
Use the link on the homepage of www.csccucc.org to access Sunday worship, or visit our Facebook page. Past worship services are also available in both places.

NEXT CABINET MEETING is Wednesday, April 23, 7pm

Monthly meetings of the church leadership are held in the Fellowship Hall. All church members are also welcome to attend.

 

CARING FOR OUR COMMUNITY

Do you need a meal, a call, spiritual care, or even just a prayer or a chat?

Contact the Pastor, a Deacon, or a member of our Care Team.

 

To contact Rev. Beth, call the church office at 508-697-6016 or email her at csccpastor at hotmail.com. 

 

CSCC Deacons
Deb Sorgman – debsorgman at gmail . com

Anne Malmquist - amalmquist at comcast . net

Cristi Ciaramitaro

Savannah Wells, Jr. Deacon

Liam O'Connell, Jr. Deacon
 

CSCC Care Team
Carol Chaffee  *  Bev Mitchell  *  Rev. Beth Stotts  *  Nina Gabel-Jorgensen

Contact the church office if you need us!

 

The Bridgewater Food Pantry, hosted and supported by CSCC, is open Thursdays, 10am-1pm, and the first Mondays of the month, 6-7:30pm (except holidays). All Bridgewater residents who are in need of food are welcome.


If you are a Bridgewater resident unable to come to the food pantry, but are in need of food, please contact the church office by email (office@csccucc.com) or phone (508-697-6016) and arrangements will be made for you.

 

CSCC Team Leadership 2024-25


Spiritual/Congregational Engagement Team Leaders:
Carol Chaffee, Linda Chipman, Deb Sorgman, Eric Stotts

 

Property & Finance Team Leaders:
Patrick Donohue, Dave Hanson, John Sharland

 

Community Engagement Team Leaders:
Heather Ciaramitaro, Diane Glass, Terry Reynolds

 

VENMO!

We continue to make it easier than ever to contribute to CSCC. The church accepts donations via Venmo! Aim your phone camera below, or use the Venmo app to send your donation to @cscc-ucc

 

Did you know that Venmo has lower fees to the church than Paypal? So if you can't decide which one to use, choose Venmo.

 

 

 

I would like to thank everyone for the prayers, beautiful cards, calls, visitors, flowers and well wishes during my time out and in the hospital. It was very scary but with all the love and support it was made to be a little easier. I’m so thankful for everyone in this community and to be a part of it. Again, my sincere thanks to you all. 

Jenne Foronjy

Pilgrim Association Spring Meeting 2025!
Sunday, April 27, 2:00pm
Hingham Congregational Church, UCC
Program to include a review of the newly released draft of the United Church of Christ Manual on Local Church

 

Coins for Kids Church : April 6

 

Don’t forget to bring your spare change for the Coins for Kids Church collection ! This helps to pay for Kids Church supplies and teaching materials.


We normally collect it on the first Sunday of the month, but feel free to bring it on any Sunday!

 

Rehearsals at 9:20am: Apr. 6 - Apr. 13 - Apr. 20

Performance at 10am: April 20 (Easter)

Thank you to everyone who is helping out with coffee hour after worship. The response has been welcoming and the fellowship time is appreciated by all. April dates will be the 6th, 13th, and the 27th. A sign up sheet will be posted on the bulletin board near the kitchen in Fellowship Hall, or contact the church office. Two to three volunteers are needed each Sunday. Thank you in advance.
Connie Chandler

 

 

At our next meeting on April 2 at 6:30pm, we will be doing chair yoga with Judy from Maha Yoga in Bridgewater. Come and see how good it feels to loosen up your muscles! This is for all ages.


Spring Rummage Sale
The Guild rummage sale will be held Saturday, April 12, from 9-1 with bag sale starting at 12noon.


There will be clothing of all sizes, shoes, pocketbooks, accessories, jewelry, linens, household items, toys, books/puzzles, glassware, holiday decor, and more.


Our famous Soups “to go” will be on sale as well as sandwiches (with chips and brownies) and baked goods. Yum!


We need lots of donations so bring in your items in good condition to the Fellowship Hall beginning Tuesday April 8. All proceeds benefit local and worldwide non-profits.

 

 

NO LUNCH THIS MONTH

Because the third Sunday of the month falls on Easter this month, there will be no potluck lunch. See you in May!

 

 

Giving Statements


If you need a statement of your giving to CSCC for 2024, contact CSCC Financial Secretary Judy Pino at Judith.Pino@comcast.net.

April 6 Offering (rescheduled from March 30)

One Great Hour of Sharing is one of four special mission offerings of the United Church of Christ. This Lenten Offering supports the disaster, refugee, and development ministries of the United Church of Christ within Wider Church Ministries.


This year’s offering will be taken on Sunday, April 6. Donations will also be accepted via Venmo and on our website, www.csccucc.org.

 

 

Lent is in full swing! In March, the kids worked hard on various projects and learning about what the Lenten season is all about. These 40 days can often bring up some complex emotions so we've been working through what those emotions are, and then figuring out why as Christians this time is important to us. This will all culminate for Kids Church with them presenting what they've been working on to the congregation on Palm Sunday. So how will this work? 


Well, unlike other interactive worship services in the past, we will have displays not only in the Sanctuary, but also in the Kids Church Room! These displays will explain not only what we've been working on throughout Lent, but what a typical Sunday morning looks like in Kids Church. We hope to see everyone on Palm Sunday, April 13!
Eric Stotts, Kids Church Director

A Community Event:
Baked Potato Bar & Bingo
Join us for a night of Yumminess and Fun.
On May 3  from 5 - 7 PM


• $10 - over 17 - for one potato, two potato, three potato, four
• $5 - 17 and under - for one potato, two potato, three potato, four
Create your perfectly topped baked potato and enjoy some fun and silliness playing Bingo and Hot Potato. We will supply the baked potatoes, and an enormous amount of topping selections. The sky's the limit. May your juices flow with artistry and creativity.


If you don't want a potato, you can join us for some fun and games at no charge. Sign ups are encouraged.

 

CLICK HERE to sign up!


From “Let's Call the Whole Thing Off!"
You like potato and I like potato;
You like tomato and I like tomato;
Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto;
Let's call the whole thing off!
Let's Call The Whole Thing Off lyrics © Ira Gershwin Music, Nokawi Music, Chappell & Co., Inc

Church World Service

As you recall, on January 12, our worship service was about Church World Service; how it began, how it operates, and how we can help. If you go to the Church World Service website today, the following message pops up:


"Urgent: Sweeping funding suspensions and restrictive policies have forced CWS to make painful cuts, leaving vulnerable families without critical support. As a community of compassion and action, we refuse to turn our backs on those in need. Your donation today can help bridge the gaps, ensuring that refugees, communities battling hunger, and disaster-affected families receive the care and protection they deserve. Give now to keep hope alive."


If you feel so inclined to individually support Church World Service, a non-profit organization that expends less than 10% of its budget on overhead, please visit cwsglobal.org/donate.
Thank you,
Carol Chaffee

 

 

84.6% U.S. Government Support
8.6% Public Support & Community Appeals
4.5% Member Communions & Other Organizations
1.7% Investment & Other Income
.6% Donated Materials

 

78.1% Services for Displaced People
9.7% Management & General
4% Global Relief & Development
3.2% Fund Raising
3.1% Emergency Response
1.9% Advocacy

Lent & Easter

Join together on Maundy Thursday for a simple soup and bread supper prior to our Worship Service on April 17.


We will gather in fellowship hall at 6 PM and enjoy some soup, bread, and water. Reservations are required by Sunday, April 13 so we know how much soup to make. Please email the church office - office@csccucc.com or CLICK HERE. A suggested donation of $5 per person is appreciated to cover the menu costs. 


Featuring corn chowder and chicken soup.


The Congregational and Spiritual Engagement Team

 

End of Life Planning


Led by Rev. Beth Stotts
Certified Five Wishes Facilitator
Saturday, April 19, 10am


Five Wishes is an end of life planning document combining a living will and health care power of attorney in addition to addressing matters of comfort care and spirituality.

 

Wishes 1 and 2 are both legal documents. Once signed, they meet the legal requirements for an advance directive. Wishes 3, 4, and 5 address matters of comfort care, spirituality, forgiveness, and final wishes.


Bring your coffee and join Rev. Beth for a discussion on this meaningful process.

Bridgewater State University Choirs Present
Simon Bore the Cross 

by Margaret Bonds 
with poetry by Langston Hughes
Friday, April 18 - 7:00pm at Central Square Church
Free Admission

CLICK HERE for details

 

Maundy Thursday

Foot Washing and     

      Communion
April 17, 7pm

Good Friday, Worship
with pianist Julia Scott Carey and soprano Rose Hegele
April 18, 3pm

Easter Sunday Sunrise Service at Hanson Farm

An ecumenical service presented by the churches of Bridgewater
April 20, 6:30am

 

Easter Sunday Worship at CSCC, with Trumpet Fanfare
April 20, 10am

After our very successful fund raising campaign last Fall, Forni Oil told us that they could not get to installing a new boiler until March and they said that the zones it heats might be without heat for up to a week. 


 Well, March came, but in the meantime, we realized that with the North River Collaborative school using one of the large rooms that is heated by that boiler, they could not be without heat for a full week. So the good news is that we actually thought about this and caught ourselves, but also that Forni was contacted and we have locked in the week of April school vacation (week of April 21) for the new boiler installation.  


The old boiler gave us quite a week in March, needing first a Forni service call for a plugged nozzle on the burner and then a Sunday afternoon into the night emergency plumbing need to replace the ages old circulator pump that feeds the area used by North River. The two problems were not related, just coincidental.  Many thanks from the team for Dave Hanson's success at contacting local plumber Ray Isaacs on Sunday at noon and being with Ray into Sunday night to get the problem fixed.   


Again, thank you to all who donated to the New Boiler Fund.  While we were there on Sunday night, so were 75 or 80 folks who were attending the AA meeting in Fellowship Hall. People of all walks of life in recovery, one day at a time.  Without your generous support, both in regular giving and for these special projects, we would not be able to be the beacon of hope and service to the many outside groups that call our church building their meeting place. 

 

Wishing you warmth and comfort,
John Sharland for the Property and Finance Team

It’s Budget Time!


April 15 is the due date for teams to get their budget info to the Treasurer, Dave Sheibley (treasurer@csccucc.com). Here’s a bit of explanation to help you determine if you should submit a ‘budget request’.


Income
If you have an INCOME line item that should be added to the 2025-26 budget, please submit it. Maybe it’s a new fundraiser that you’d like to plan. Remember that we have been running deficit budgets in recent years, which we can’t sustain forever. Do you and some friends have a new fundraiser you’d like to plan for the church in the next fiscal year? Or maybe there is a new component planned for an existing fundraiser. If you’d like to head one up, but don’t have any ideas, let us know that too - we have some!


Expenses
If you foresee that you would like your group, project, ministry, or other responsibility to receive more money for plans that you have for next year, please submit those requests to your team. They might involve (but aren’t limited to): Bible and book studies  •  Worship music/choir •  Kids Church  •  Altar/sanctuary décor and supplies •  Worship supplies and planning


All projects and ministries should report their budget needs to their teams, so that the teams can submit their budgets to the Treasurer by April 15.


If team leaders have questions, feel free to reach out to Dave at treasurer@csccucc.com.

 

 

“Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself; and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other. No matter how difficult it is… life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you.”
—Pope Francis

 

Annual Reports from teams and ministries are due to the office no later than May 15, for the program year 2024-25.


Not sure what you should write, or if you are expected to submit a report? Visit the website to see past years’ reports (CLICK HERE), or ask the office for a copy of last year’s.

 

Spring is here - time to spring forward, time to clean and reorganize. We are in the process of cleaning, too, at the Central Closet Thrift Shop. We could use some suggestions of changes you would like to see us make. Any ideas you might have, please share. During the.month of April we will have a suggestion box out on the thrift shop side of the fellowship hall. Don't be shy, fill out a form and drop it in. All forms will be read and considered. Thanks in advance.


Central Closet Thrift Shop will be closed April 9th and 12th, and reopening on April 16th. The Women's Guild and Fellowship of Central Square Congregational Church will be getting the fellowship hall ready for their annual Spring rummage sale. The sale is being held on Saturday April 12th, 9-1. Be sure to check out their info on this page.
Any and all donations for Central Closet Thrift Shop should be delivered to the shop during shop hours. We are now accepting Spring and Summer items. Please limit your donations to 20 items per drop off. 

 

As always thanks for all your help and support,
Connie, Sandy,  Jane,  Lynn, & Gail

 

 

PS - we still have Hilliard’s chocolate bars for sale! What a great idea for Easter! 2 for $5

Maybe You Can't Do It... Right Now
by Sheri Turner

Philippians 3:4b-14
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

 

I am moved by Paul’s humility in Philippians. I believe this to be inspired writing because more of us need to see this example of humility. Paul understands that humility doesn’t mean not acknowledging your strengths. He in fact lists many of his positive attributes when he writes to his audience. While he recognizes he is quite a specimen in his community (who knew that which day one was circumcised mattered?), he also recognizes that he should not lose focus on what is truly important. He has strengths sure, but those pale in comparison to what Jesus has taught him is truly important. Paul acknowledges that while he has positive attributes they are worthless if he doesn’t continue to aim to be faithful to Christ’s teachings.


Paul also acknowledges that he has not yet achieved the goal that Christ has taught him to pursue, but that the pursuit itself is to be honored. I am thinking of a song by Miley Cyrus as I write this called “The Climb.” Miley sings in this song about how the pursuit of the goal itself is the point. The pursuit itself has intrinsic value. While achieving the goal would be great, it’s the actual pursuit of something worthy that matters. As I consider this I find myself thinking about what kinds of thoughts Jesus had while living his brief thirty three years here on earth. Moving through his life as a human, he knew he had a lot of trials, both literal and figurative, ahead. I’m sure he had times where he felt unmotivated or discouraged, yet he kept in pursuit of his goal. Can you imagine Christ popping his eyes open one morning on his journey, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and thinking, “Why bother getting dressed today? People are only going to make fun of me…and I have no idea how much more walking I have to do. Maybe I’ll just turn over and go back to sleep. Hardly anyone will believe me anyway.” How horrible would that have been? We’d be in a real pickle as humans if he had done that, wouldn’t we?


So when you have a day or two where you feel like there’s no point to starting your day (I have this feeling more than I like to admit) remember the mere act of trying matters in God’s eyes. He cares that you are willing to do even the smallest thing to pursue what you feel your calling is. Some days you may be able to run towards the goal like a victor, but other days the best you can do is put your shoes on and take a few steps on the route. If you must sit down and take some water after this, God says it’s okay. He is with you. Just don’t give up. Whether it is a full-tilt run for miles or a few faltering steps that you can accomplish, it matters. Remember that you are pursuing something important and that your efforts in your pursuit ARE the goal.


Sometimes when I’m trying to do something difficult, I find myself thinking “I just can’t do it.” I might feel scared of trying to do what I am trying to accomplish. I may not have the physical strength, the emotional capacity or the intellectual grasp of whatever skills are needed to accomplish my intended goal. If it’s important to do whatever it is, I will sometimes cry and curse to myself. In those moments, I am trying to learn to remind myself that I can’t do it…yet. If I don’t get it done in the moment I can keep trying and eventually I WILL accomplish the task.


One last thought to offer you all some encouragement. Don’t look back. By that I mean, don’t spend a lot of time regretting what you didn’t accomplish, or bemoaning what you should have done. That is a TRUE waste of time. Keep pressing on towards the goal and don’t worry about what you didn’t do yet. What matters is that you are doing something to accomplish your goal now. God says so.

 

 

If you have any questions or concerns, 
you are invited to attend one of the three listening sessions (one of which will be held over Zoom) with the Church Moderator, Anne Malmquist 
and our Senior Deacon, Deb Sorgman:

 

Saturday, April 5th, 10:30am in the Fireplace Room
Sunday, April 6th, 11:30am in the Fireplace Room
Tuesday, April 8th, 5:30pm via Zoom (contact the church office for the link)

CSCC Cabinet Meeting – Minutes
March 19, 2025 at 7pm

Location: Fellowship Hall, Church

 

The meeting was called to order at 7:04 by Anne Malmquist, Moderator.

 

Cabinet members in attendance:
Anne Malmquist, Moderator 
David Sheibley, Treasurer
Carol Chaffee, Spiritual Engagement Team
Carol Chaffee, Congregational Engagement Team 
Nina Gabel-Jorgensen, Clerk
John Sharland, Property and Finance
Terry Reynolds, Community Engagement Team
Others in Attendance:
Dave Hanson

 

Reverend Beth opened the meeting with a devotion and a prayer. 

 

February minutes
The meeting minutes from the February meeting were presented and reviewed. John Sharland motioned to accept the minutes as written, Anne Malmquist seconded. The minutes were approved as written.

 

Update on Pastor’s report
Lenten plans and Easter plans underway. Temp office manager working out. Hired a sub for Rev Beth’s summer month vacation. Super Saturday workshop was incredible. One of the better ones. Pilgrim Association ministry check-in scheduled for April 9th. Missed last time in 2018 due to Josephine’s birth! Pastoral calls down. 3 funerals. Burrito Day is April 4th. April 5th book discussion then holy week begins. See Beth’s report for other dates.

 

Treasurer’s Report - Dave Sheibley
1.    Pretty good month
2.    $14k in February, 6k donation from one person.
3.    Investments are “ok”.
4.    1.5% every month put into Community engagement account
5.    Diane S. reminding us to submit a budget request to Property and Finance committee by April 15th.
6.    Question regarding coffee hour expenses and lunches. Carol requests an itemization of expenses regarding this expense line.

 

Congregational and Spiritual Engagement Team – Carol Chaffee
1.    Selling lilies, daffies, and tulips for Easter Sunday. March 30th is the last date for order. Waiting for order forms to get to Carol - especially for memorial messages and payments.
2.    Connie had an idea to have a simple soup supper on Maundy Thursday. Soup, bread, water. 6pm. Two types of soup. Reached out to two high schoolers for community service with one supervisor so we can go to the service.
3.    Baked potato bar. Potatoes from Hanson’s. Play Bingo! Chocolate bars as prizes. Need bingo supplies. May 3rd, 5-7pm. Rev Beth will check with the Senior Center for bingo support. Potato Bingo.

 

Community Engagement Report
1.    Voted to support Church World Service.
2.    One great hour of sharing, last week of March and first week of April
3.    Bridgewater Business Association - nothing new.
4.    No progress on new sign - check on the Amazon link Dave sent. The sign in the link has wheels.
5.    Food pantry got a new freezer.

 

Property and Finance
1.    Flat roof is fixed. $2350.
2.    Waiting to hear from the guy with the “scissor lift” to get the front corner of the church fixed as well as the two windows.
3.    Two Sundays ago - serviced burner for the Sunday School room. Circulator pump had a lot of air, it needed to be purged. The pump had to be replaced. Put in a used one in the meantime until we can get a new one. No bills yet from Forni Brothers or the plumber for the circulator pump.
4.    Installation of new boiler April 21.
5.    Floor - church street entrance. Too much money for now.
6.    John motioned to keep Patrick Donahue on the Property team. Carol Chaffee seconded.
7.    Getting video cameras for the back door, with a sign “under surveillance”.
8.    Replace office door lock with a deadbolt that can be opened with a code for security reasons.
9.    Upgrade sign to lock door after 8pm.
10.    Brick project re: front walk on hold.

 

Reducing Reverend Beth’s time to ¾ time - letter review
Congregation listening sessions will be held on April 5th, 6th and 8th (zoom). Annual meeting would go forward with whatever decision was made regarding this issue. John motioned, Anne seconded, all in favor. Letter going out on 3/20/2025. The line items will accompany the letter.

 

Stewardship
Early stages, starting to come together. Working on the Gala. Coming up on the 30th.

 

Community Service Job List
When High School calls us for possible community service tasks, we’d like to have a list of tasks ready and at hand. Need a list of what we need for example:
-    Cut grass
-    Wash Windows
-    Shutter dusting
-    Ask each of the committees for a list of tasks

 

Team Point Person
-    Designate someone to answer emails from each of the teams.
-    Nina will create a column in excel spreadsheet to indicate who is the point person.

 

Property and Finance Team sub-Committee
Two types of fund-raising:
a.    Budget Church (Regular fund raising) and
b.    Capital Campaign
i.    Needs monthly meeting

 

Additional random ideas:
Kids Trivia Movie night
Patreon fund raising for online congregation

 

Next Cabinet meeting is April 23rd. Meeting adjourned at 8:27 pm.
 

 

For the current CSCC calendar of events, click here: CALENDAR


 

Church Administration
Pastor: Rev. Elizabeth Stotts, csccpastor at hotmail.com

Office Manager: Jenne Foronjy, office@csccucc.com
Minister of Music: Julia Scott Carey 

Director of Video Evangelism: Paul Holmes
Treasurer:  David Sheibley 

Communications Coordinator: Diane Sheibley

Kids Church Director: Eric Stotts

Office email: office@csccucc.com
Office telephone:  (508) 697-6016
Website:  www.csccucc.org
Facebook pages: facebook.com/csccuccbridgewaterma (main page), facebook.com/groups/801550253194149 (youth page)

Instagram: @centralsquarechurch 

Venmo: @cscc-ucc


Steeple Sounds submissions deadline is the 15th of the month prior to publication.

 

Amazon Shopping!

Shopping on Amazon and feeling generous? Check out the CSCC Wish List, and drop an item in your cart for us! CLICK HERE to take a peek at our Amazon wish list. (Whether you buy these items at Amazon or at other stores, this is what we need!)