September 2019 Steeple Sounds

From the Desk of Rev. Beth

Rev. Elizabeth Stotts, Pastor

A colleague of mine shared this story:

I was in a restaurant and while we were there a woman came in with her preschool-aged daughter. As they sat down and started getting settled, the girl pulled out crayons—the kind you get at chain restaurants—and started coloring with them.
She went about it for a minute before the crayon she was using snapped.
“It broke!” she lamented. You could nearly hear the tears in her voice.
Her mother reached out, grabbed her hand, and said with genuine sympathy, “Broken crayons still color.”
She was teaching her child about more than crayons.
How often we let our baggage, our brokenness or the ways we think we’re broken, keep us from offering what it is we have to give and working to make the world more beautiful.
I don’t know if you need to hear it, but I sure did.
So for those in the back, one more time: broken crayons still color.

This year we are embarking on a new adventure as a community of faith. We are taking a “Jubilee Year” or a “Year of Release”.

“You shall make that year holy, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee to you. In it you shall not sow, neither reap that which grows of itself, nor gather from the undressed vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you.” -Leviticus 25

Historically for the Jewish people a Jubilee Year meant a time for liberty, restitution, and simple living. A time when business as usual was suspended so as to re-center and connect with community. We are living in broken times and many are burnt-out, hurting, and hungry for connection. We need a Jubilee Year. We need a time of release. We need to sit together, to pray together, to be broken together so that we too can remember that even broken crayons can color.

I’m looking forward to joining in community, in faith, and in Jesus’ love. Let’s see what we can color together this year!

In Christ, Rev. Beth
csccpastor@hotmail.com, 508-697-6016

We are excited to welcome back Equal Exchange’s Fellowship Coffee to our Sunday after-worship time. Thank you to all who participated in the blind taste tests last Spring where this coffee was the clear winner twice.
Equal Exchange provides Fair Trade coffee. All of their coffee beans are sourced directly from small-scale farmers as part of a more equitable and sustainable alternative supply chain.
Here is the schedule for hosting the fellowship thru June 2020:
First Sunday of the month: Board of Christian Outreach & Board of Stewardship
Second Sunday: CSCC Officers & Women’s Guild & Fellowship
Third Sunday: Growth Committee & History & Memorials Committee
Fourth Sunday: Board of Trustees & Board of Christian Education
Fifth Sunday: Board of Deacons & Music Committee

Fellowship Hour responsibilities:
1. Teams do not have to DO the hosting, just be sure hosts are provided
2. Make coffee and/or juice; bring milk for coffee service   3. Set up table (NO Styrofoam cups or plastic utensils/cups)   4. Serve coffee and juice. Snacks are welcome but not required.
5. Clean up

The Women’s Guild and Fellowship

Dates to remember:
WG&F Meetings
The first Wednesday of each month, beginning 10/2
Pot Luck Supper
Wednesday, October 2nd
Fall Rummage Sale
October 20th
Fund Raising through:

Fall & Spring Rummage Sale
We sell your treasured donations raising money to be given for various local needy projects.
Donations for Material Aides Giving : Items donated by the congregation and guild members to be used for local and wider mission projects.
Guild Angel Donations : Monthly monetary giving by guild members. These monies are distributed to people or families in need in the congregation or local community.
Partnerships
Last year the Guild worked in partnership with Christian Ed (the youth) and Christian Outreach on a mission project for helping to supply the homeless with food and items of necessity. At the same time the children were educated about the homeless. We hope to continue this partnership this year.
Monthly Programs
To be announced next month.
Co-Presidents – Beth Basler & Terry Reynolds
All women are welcome to join us!

CSCC is proud to welcome our Director of Christian Education, Jessica Stearns!

Jessica will be overseeing our Sunday morning Christian Education programs, as well as our Youth programs. With a background in education, and experience as a kindergarten teacher, Jessica brings strong faith and experience to this calling. We are so excited to welcome her!

Hello to all! As this is my first newsletter, I would like to take this time to introduce myself. I am the oldest of 3 and my brother and sister are my best friends. My husband and I got married on New Year’s Eve and it was amazing! We are also overjoyed and so blessed to have our son Jameson in our life. Every day is an adventure and I absolutely love it.
   I am so excited to be the new Director of Christian Education at CSCC! My background is in Elementary Education and Psychology from The University of Massachusetts. After college, I moved to DC and taught preschool in a deaf and hard of hearing classroom. Once I missed home, I came back and accepted a full-time nanny position before I started working in a kindergarten classroom. I have always loved working with children and watching them learn—it is certainly my passion.
   Looking at our year ahead, we start with September focusing on Our Local Community. Who makes up our church? Where do we all come from? What roles do we have within our church? We start by thinking small before we expand our minds to think about the bigger picture, community in the world. Each month we will focus on a topic within our Jubilee year.
   We will be holding a Spiritual Enrichment hour from 9-10am every Sunday. This is when I will hold Sunday School and focus on the monthly topic. I am especially looking forward to breakfast Sundays when we eat together while we learn! We will meet in Fellowship Hall and sit down together before worship at 10, beginning on Sept. 15.
   For our older youth, I’ll also be heading up Senior Youth Group. Those in grades 8-12 will meet at 4pm at The 99 restaurant on the first Friday of every month. Please feel free to bring a friend and join me for some conversation over appetizers. The 2020 mission trip is currently being planned, and I hope you all can join me at our first meeting on Sunday September 29, following service.
   Together, we have a lot to look forward to this year. Personally, I can’t wait!
Jess Stearns
jessicastearns1231@gmail.com

Beginning Sept. 15, and continuing through the Spring, Sunday mornings at 9am will be a time of Spiritual Enrichment for all ages. This will be our new Sunday School time for children in grades K-4, and it will also be a time for those older than that, both youth and adults, to organically gather in small-group fellowship and discuss, well, anything. Talk about where you found inspiration in the prior week; pick a topic you share an interest in discussing; share inspirational stories of good works in today’s world; offer shared comfort with others that have experienced something difficult that you’ve experienced. There is no structure; there are no limits. On a breakfast Sunday, invite others to grab their breakfast and share your table for discussion. On other Sundays, bring your coffee and find a quiet place in the church to chat. Meet with the same folks every week, or once a month, or once. Have an idea for a spiritual enrichment group? Submit it to the office a week ahead, and Ellen will invite participants in the Monday blast email. Or make an announcement in church. Or invite people yourself.
And announcing the first group to form: Rev. Beth’s “Praying wih the Paper,” starting on Sept 15 at 9am. All are welcome!

This year our congregational life will be centered around monthly themes. These themes will be the topics for our Christian Education during Children’s Spiritual Enrichment at 9am each Sunday morning led by our Director of Christian Education, Jess Stearns. The themes will also be a part of youth group meetings, Sunday Stories with Rev. Beth in the Nursery at 9am (9/22,10/13, 11/10,12/8,1/12,2/9,3/8,5/10,6/14) and in our weekly Sunday Worship at 10am. They will also (along with the lectionary texts) be a focal point in our weekly Bible Study which will be each Tuesday at 7pm in the Fireplace Room starting on September 10.

Monthly Themes for the Year are:
September - Our Local Community
October - Our Global Community
November - Giving Thanks
December - Expectation
January - Light
February - Loving Our Neighbors
March - Questioning
April - Journeying
May - Growing and Changing
June - Release

Hey guys, my name is Jess and I am the new Director of Christian Education at Central Square Church. I hope everyone had an amazing summer. Hard to believe we’re in September already, summer goes by way too fast! I would love to meet you all as I’m going to be coordinating the Senior Youth Group meet-ups this year. The first meeting will be Friday, September 6, at 4pm at The 99. Please feel free to bring friends! The more the merrier. In case we have a big group and need a reservation, can you please let me know yay or nay if you (and any friends) will be able to make it?
I am SO looking forward to spending time with you! Let me know if you need anything, see you on Sept. 6th!
Jess Stearns
jessicastearns1231@gmail.com

If you’re in grade 5, 6, or 7, please join me on Sept. 15, 11:30-1:00 in the upstairs meeting room, for Junior Youth Group. Every month we’ll gather for an activity, a craft, and a shared meal. Our topics will follow the monthly themes for our Jubilee Year, so for September, it’s “Our Local Community”. What does that mean to you? What does that phrase make you think of? I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the 15th.

Rev. Beth
csccpastor@hotmail.com, 508-697-6016
PS -- feel free to bring a friend!

I can’t wait for the return of our choirs this Fall! It has been a wonderful summer, with our more relaxed and spontaneous worship services of congregation-chosen hymns, and with some lovely vocal or ukelele solos by Mike Bundock and Deb Sorgman.
   Our adult choir will once again be rehearsing at 8am every Sunday. Our first official choir Sunday will be September 15th. However, we will meet at 9am on September 8th to go over music for the following week (we won’t present an anthem in church on the 8th, but it would be great to have a choir presence in church that day).
   Our children’s choir will rehearse at 9:15 on the second and fourth Sundays of the month, and at 9:30 on the third Sunday of the month (to allow you to enjoy our church’s wonderful breakfast before rehearsal). We will perform on the fourth Sunday of the month throughout the school year.
   Other plans for this year include additional opportunities for all the children of our community to learn songs, as well as a special music service combined with a score club later this spring. I’m so excited to once again be fully immersed in all the musical offerings and talent that our church community has to share!

Julia Scott Carey, Minister of Music

juliascottcarey@gmail.com

September’s Spiritual Enrichment Topic is:
Our Local Community

Here’s what Jubilee Sunday has in store:
8:00am - Sr. Choir Rehearsal (Sanctuary)
9:00am - Breakfast (Fellowship Hall)
9:00am - Nursery Opens (Nursery)
9:00am - Praying with the Paper (Fireplace Room)
9:00am - Kids Spiritual Enrichment (5- to 12-year-olds meet in Fellowship Hall)
9:15am - Jr. Choir Rehearsal (Sanctuary)
10:00am - Worship (Sanctuary)
11:00am - Fellowship Hour (Fellowship Hall)
11:00am - Opportunity Fair (Fellowship Hall)
11:30am - Jr. High Youth Group (5th-7th graders meet in the upstairs Meeting Room)
12:00noon - Nursery Closes (Nursery)

Booth Video Productions and BTV Access Corporation team up weekly to bring you live stream productions of our service. The link to watch the service live, as well as an electronic copy of our bulletin so that you can follow along, is available each week on our website homepage, www.csccucc.org.
You can also find replays by visiting the Booth Video Youtube Channel or search “Central Square Congregational” at Youtube.com. Select services are also available on Demand at BTVAccess.Viebit.com. Coverage is produced weekly by Paul Holmes.

Once again our church will have a booth at the annual Autumnfest, held on the Bridgewater University campus. We need some church folks to be at the booth where we will again have a free raffle for a marvelous character puppet made by our own Tracey Doherty. We also will give out flyers about our church activities, a goodie bag, coupons to promote breakfast, etc. Our own Mike Bundock will be part of the big stage entertainment with the Unlikely Strummers so we will be minus his help.
It is a fun day. Young and older can be great salespeople for our church!

We need:
1. Help bringing 3 foldable tables and 4 chairs from church to our assigned site: 8:30 a.m.
2. Booth staff—one or two hours or all day, 10 to 4 -- the more people the merrier! (please let us know what hours you can help)
3. Takedown help at 4 p.m.—return tables and chairs to church, help pack cars

Contact Gail Wershing, wershing@ptd.net or Mike, mm.bundock@comcast.net to offer your help or ask questions.

...oh my! These small commitment/big impact roles are available throughout the year. Whether for one Sunday, or once a month, or more, ushers, greeters, and acolytes are needed to create a helpful and welcoming experience for all. Contact the church office, or speak to someone in one of those roles on Sunday for more information about how you can participate.
Acolytes have traditionally been 3rd-6th graders, but anybody is welcome to take on this important job of leading off worship by lighting the altar candles. Be the one who brings the light of Christ into our presence at the beginning of Sunday service!

I had the opportunity to participate in a food packaging event last winter. It was held at the Lutheran Church in Abington and I was one of 12 folks who were standing around a long table, and in assembly line style, put all the ingredients of minestrone soup into a ziplock bag. It was fast and it was fun! We assembled a couple thousand bags in two hours. Bridgewater was one of the many communities who received these boxes of 36 bags of soup (each serves four) for their food pantries.
Interested? Join me at BSU on September 11 for their food packaging event. Why? In Massachusetts alone, approximately 653,000 (167,000 of them children) do not know where their next meal is coming from.
You must register! Read on for more information.

—Diane Glass

dglass260@gmail.com

Join BSU students and staff for a community volunteer event! The event is a collaboration between BSU, The Greater Bridgewater Interfaith Council (of which CSCC is a member) and the national nonprofit The Outreach Program. The Outreach Program organizes food and supply packaging events around the country to provide food, safe water, education, and medical care to those in need.
Together on 9/11/19 we will package 18,000 meals that will be distributed to local food pantries to serve community members who may be facing food insecurity. Volunteer with us on Wednesday 9/11/19 on BSU’s campus in the Rondileau Campus Center Ballroom from 6:30-8 pm.
Registration is available through the link below. 20 spots are available to community members. Volunteers must be 18 or older. Register now to kick off your year with service!
Register here: https://bsuform.wufoo.com/forms/z15frmd41bp1uqa/

Hello Church,
The Historical Church Building Committee has been meeting regularly since March 2019. And before that, much ground work was being laid by members of the committee.
Our Church’s 200th anniversary is fast approaching in 2021 and the Historical Church Building Committee, the HCBC, has set our sights on restoring our church’s exterior to magnificence, from the tip of the weathervane to the base of the foundation.

We have:
• attended Community Preservation Committee meetings
• met with the Historic District Commission Chair
• met David Moore, our Town Historian
• interviewed 3 architects
• talked with 3 contractors
• researched the important role that our church played in the 1800s
• reaffirmed the importance and the significance of Central Square Congregational Church to the Bridgewater Community

And we are about ready………..to share our plan with all of you!

In September or early October, it is our hope that we can share our excitement with you. Watch for the invitation to join our discussion and plan for the future of our beautiful church building.

Your HCBC – Barbara Morey, Gloria Weinrebe, Rachel Lawson,
Terry Reynolds, David Sheibley, Carol Chaffee, Jim Driscoll

You may be surprised to be getting your Steeple Sounds in the mail, after several years of almost exclusively distributing it via e-mail. But the truth of the matter is that we feel that more people will be likely to read it — and refer back to it — if it comes by mail, and it will be easier to share the information contained in it with family and friends.
Know someone else who might be interested in what we have going on? A neighbor or a friend who always marvels at all our events and activities? Someone who wants to be first in line for all of our food events? Let Ellen in the church office know, and we’d be happy to put them on our mailing list.

Central Square Congregational Church, UCC
says a big THANK YOU!
to our golf tournament sponsors and donors:

Yusen Associates
Beth Basler, Realtor with Keller Williams * Stretch Products

Back Nine Club * Baldie’s Lakeville * Bridgewater Credit Union
Bridgewater Fitness * Charred Oak Tavern * Chateau Restaurant
Dixon Golf * East Coast Dental Design * Grant’s Rental
Hapco * High Pond Estates/Stone Meadow
In Recognition of the Cole-Yeaton Senior Center
J,J,J,T Serenity Prayer * Just Desserts Bakery & Café
Morse Insurance * Prophett Funeral Home * R. F. Serlenga Masonry
Representative Angelo D’Emilia * Richard J. Nelligan Insurance Agency
Roche Bros. * Stardust Gym * The Barnsley Family * The Chandler Family
The McDermott Family * The Morey Family * The O’Connell Family
The O’Neil Family * The Sheibley Family * The Wershing Family
The Young Family * Turner Steel Co. * Women’s Guild & Fellowship

Church Administration
Pastor: Rev. Elizabeth Stotts, csccpastor@hotmail.com
Congregational Administrator: Ellen Atherton, office@csccucc.com
Sexton: Rich Sullivan
Minister of Music: Julia Scott Carey, juliascottcarey@gmail.com
Director of Christian Education: Jess Stearns, jessicastearns1231@gmail.com
Treasurer: David Sheibley, treasurer@csccucc.com
Office telephone: (508) 697-6016
Website: www.csccucc.org
Facebook page: facebook.com/csccuccbridgewaterma

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