The Anchor

“Imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” ~ Hebrews 6:12, 19

On the occasion of my Installation the Search Committee gave me a copy of Mary Oliver’s book, “Devotions”. At the start of June, I finally had the opportunity to sit down with it. I haven’t yet kicked the habit of breaking in a new hardback book as I was taught in elementary school: starting with the book standing on its binding, taking one section of ten or so pages at a time, and letting it fall to the table, then pressing down the pages with my thumb, alternating sides of the book, front and then back, front and then back, until the book is open at the mid-point. When I opened “Devotions” and had the book before me, open at the mid-point, there it was: “Why I Wake Early”:

Hello, sun in my face. Hello, you who made the morning and spread it over the fields and into the faces of the tulips and the nodding morning glories, and into the windows of, even, the miserable and the crotchety –

best preacher that ever was, dear star, that just happens to be where you are in the universe to keep us from ever-darkness, to ease us with warm touching, to hold us in the great hands of light – good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness.

Summer is here. It is time for rest and rejuvenation. Greet each day with “Hello, sun in my face,” break open new books, take in the flowers and the moonlight, bake a pie with fresh berries, take your shoes off in the sand and stare out at the ocean, take a risk, make a new connection. Oliver suggests she has found the best preacher that ever was … but I’d still add to my list, come to church! You will be enriched by the presence of those who gather, the community found therein, and it is a sure way to start your day in happiness and kindness.

Good wishes for a wonderful, restorative, joyful summer,

Pastor Christa

Mystic Congregational Church 43 East Main Street

Mystic, CT 06355 An Open and Affirming Church

Gathered on January 20, 1852

July-August 2019 Vol. 60 Issue 7

Summer Single Worship Service at 9:00 a.m.

Please be reminded that our single worship service at 9:00 a.m. which

began on June 23, 2019 will run through September 1, 2019.

SUMMER WORSHIP with First United Methodist Church-Mystic

Again this Summer, we will “exchange” houses of wor-ship with the First United Methodist Church-Mystic (FUMC-M).

ALL at 9:00 am

Sundays, June 23, July 7 and 14, 2019 The people of Mystic Congregational Church will wor-

ship at FUMC-M with Rev. Dr. Kent Richards preaching. They’re at 24 Willow Street (right around the corner)!

Sundays, August 4, 11 and 18, 2019 The people of FUMC will worship at MCC

with Rev. Christa Swenson preaching.

Book of Life Entered into Eternal Rest:

Mary Alice Standard on June 2, 2019.

RALLY DAY

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Office Summer Schedule The church office will be open

Mondays to Wednesdays

from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon

until Wednesday, August 14, 2019.

Regular office hours resume

on Monday, August 19, 2019.

The youth had a fantastic Second Sunday Supper at the Dempsey's house in June. We discussed the mission trip and looked forward to our time together this summer.

Please keep in your thoughts and prayers all of those on the Mission Trip in Pittsburgh, PA in June. By the time you read this, these volunteers may already be on the trip. They are:

Charlie Bergendahl, Emmett Breen, Ellie Burns, Kiera Dempsey, Haley DelMonaco,Bailey McCarney,

Brenna McNeil, Rosemarie Mirabella, Amanda Nessel, Bennett Oakes, Stephen Sinnett,

and the chaperones: Jamie McGee, and Pastor Christa Swenson.

We look forward to sharing our experience with you in a presentation in the Fall.

Have a great Summer, everyone!

By the time you read this, our Sunday School program year will be complete, and we will be in summer mode where our children enjoy a more relaxed ‘curriculum’ of service–oriented activities for all ages in the parish hall each non-communion Sunday during July and August.

As we shift into summer, I would like to give a big “THANK YOU” to all of our Sunday School teachers, assis-tants and nursery caregivers who devote so much of their time in keeping our Sunday School pro-gram going throughout the year. Their dedication and enthusiasm allows us to continue to give our children the faith-based lessons and bible stories which we hope will help them grow into joyful, loving, so-cially-conscious and caring adults.

Please consider joining this important ministry—we always welcome additional help on our teaching team. Call me at the church, or contact me at cmdirec-tor@mysticucc.org if you have questions or would like to know more about our curriculum.

Beth Manning

Interim Director—Children’s Ministries

Summer Calendar

June 23 Begin 9:00 a.m. Single Summer Worship Worship at Methodist Church

June 30 Parish Hall service activity for children

July 7 Worship at Methodist Church

July 14 Worship at Methodist Church

July 21 Parish Hall Service Activity

July 28 Parish Hall Service Activity

Aug. 4 Communion Sunday Children remain in worship with their families

Aug. 11 Parish Hall Service Activity

Aug. 18 Parish Hall Service Activity

Aug. 25 Parish Hall Service Activity

Sept. 1 Communion Sunday Children remain in worship with their families (Labor Day weekend)

Sept. 8 RALLY DAY Return to two services—8:00 and 10 a.m. 10:00 a.m. Sunday School Kick-off & Luncheon

Support the Church

via AmazonSmile

Go to www.smile.amazon.com, register your current Amazon account, and then select

Mystic Congregational Church as the beneficiary. All details of your account will be transferred

to AmazonSmile.

Then, at absolutely no cost to you, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of all items to the church. Ob-viously this is not going to amount to a huge windfall to the church, but many small contributions can add up to further the many good things the church does.

More details are on the www.smile.amazon.com website.

“Keep your face to the sun

and you will never see the shadows.”

~ Helen Keller

From the Director of Music

Hello, Friends of MCC!

Thank you, all, for another great program year!

As usual, I will be away during the summer at the Watch Hill Chapel in Westerly, RI.

We will have the same two wonderful musicians filling in for us again this summer:

Sue Skogerboe and John Tafone. They are both great people as well as great musicians,

so be sure to say hello before or after the service, and enjoy their beautiful music all summer long.

I will be back again on September 15th. Enjoy the Summer!

Andrew Howell

Already?

Seems like the school year just ended!

This summer our kids will be compiling school kits for Church World Service, which provide basic tools for learn-ing that will be given to children in impoverished schools, refugee camps, or other difficult settings.

Our goal is 15 kits, so keep a look-out this summer for sales on schools supplies! Look for our bulletin board showing what is needed; take a card (or more), and return the items to church by August 4.

No time to shop? Monetary donations are also appreciat-ed, and we will purchase supplies for you. Please make checks payable to Mystic Congregational Church, and mark SCHOOL KITS in the memo line.

Items Needed for School Kits: (15) Blunt scissors (rounded tip only)

(45) 70-page count bound notebooks (no loose-leaf or filler paper)

(15) 30-centimeter/12” rulers (lightweight)

(15) Hand-held pencil sharpeners (lightweight)

(15) Large erasers (no pencil cap erasers)

(15) boxes of 24 crayons (only 24!)

Thank you for your support!

Women's Fellowship complet-ed another successful, spirit-filled year at our Annual Meet-ing on June 5. At our brief business meeting, we voted to donate the funds earned at our very successful Tag Sale to sev-eral deserving organiza-

tions. These funds, added to the Bazaar proceeds, brought our total contributions for the year to $17,450!

Following the meeting Linda Lareau led the installa-tion of our Officers and Committee Chairs for 2019-2020 with gusto! Officers elected were Lisa Hilliard (President), Linda Lareau (Vice President), Kathleen O'Beirne (Secretary), Pat Schaefer (Treasurer) and Sue Johnson (Assistant Treasurer). We then spent time brainstorming program ideas for the coming year. Once again, the Program Committee has been provided with a wealth of creative ideas.

We then adjourned to Mason's Island Yacht Club for a delicious luncheon prepared by Sue Johnson and her committee. Happy Summer to all! We'll gather again in September! (Photos below were taken at Mason’s Island Yacht Club by Karin Stuart.)

For Children’s Ministries

Natural peanut butter 100% Pure Pumpkin puree Coconut oil Whole wheat flour Parchment paper 2-yard pieces of bright-colored fleece fabric Laminating machine

Please place donations in box outside the Children’s Ministries office.

OPEN and AFFIRMING COVENANT (Adopted on May 22, 2016)

We, the Members of Mystic Congregational Church, in the spirit of our commitment to honor all persons, declare our-selves to be a welcoming, Open and Affirming church. Fol-lowing the commandment of Christ to love one another and with God’s grace, we seek to be a faith community that in-vites into its midst all persons regardless of opinions, age, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, family structure, marital status, economic abilities and condi-tions, as well as mental, emotional and physical capacities. We welcome all to fully share in the life and leadership, min-istry and fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities and blessings of participation in our congregation.

This means that you are welcome, no matter who you are, no matter where you are on the journey of life, for each one of you is a beloved child of God, and this household of God was not complete until you arrived.

2019 Carolyn Benvenuti Memorial Scholarships to 2 Students

The Carolyn Benvenuti Memorial Scholarship was founded in 2017 by church member David Benvenuti in loving tribute to his wife Carolyn who passed away in 2012. Carolyn dedicated her professional career to helping others.

This scholarship has been established at The Commu-nity Foundation of Eastern Connecticut to provide monetary awards for students who are members of Mystic Congregational Church and who will attend or who are already enrolled full-time in an accredited col-lege or university. For 2019, two $1,000-scholarships were awarded on June 16th to Cameron Dreher and Hannah Harens.

CAMERON DREHER graduated from Stoning-

ton High School in 2017 and currently attends Union College in New York. She is a rising junior as an Eco-nomics and Sociology major maintaining a 3.8 GPA and is a member of the Scholar program.

In addition to her academic pursuits, Cameron is the Secretary-Treasurer of her class, an Orientation Advi-sor, tour guide, member of the Garnet Society, serves on both Union's Finance Committee, and Planning and Priorities Committee, and is involved in Greek Life through Delta Phi Epsilon sorority. In the Fall, she will be travelling abroad to Vietnam for 16 weeks to take Vietnamese language classes and have an internship at a non-profit organization.

HANNAH HARENS graduated from Norwich

Free Academy in 2018 and currently attends Massa-chusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is a rising sophomore planning to Major in Biological Engineering and Minor in Data Science and Statistics.

Outside of class, she conducts research, where she is part of a team working to create an oxygen sensor to be used in cancer treatment. She is a member of MIT’s clay target program as well as the photography and yearbook clubs. (See photo on Page 6 of this issue of this Anchor.) From the Safety & Security Committee

Are you a current or former nurse, doctor, PA, EMT, volunteer fire person, or have other emergency responder

skills and would you be willing to be an emergency responder contact for MCC?

If so, please contact Patti Burmahl at plburmahl@gmail.com. Thanks!

Please Help Your Deacons!

We have an opportunity for you to spread a little friendliness! Every Sunday, we need volun-teers to help with Worship ser-vices:

For the 9:00 am Summer ser-vices, we need 4 ushers who will greet people and collect the offering.

A scripture reader is also needed for the service.

The Wednesday before, you will get a very clear set of instructions, and the Head Deacon will be there to answer any questions you might have.

Please volunteer to help us at least once a year, perhaps twice. You may approach any deacon to express your interest. It takes all of us to keep our Church thriving! Thank you!

RECORDS UPDATES Please help us update church records.

Do share your information through the church office whenever you:

Change your mailing address

Change your email address

Change your phone number(s)

Have new members to your family

This will be important whenever you request for the latest church directory. Thank you for your help.

ADULT FAITH FORMATION BOOK DISCUSSION

Sunday, August 25, 2019 10:00 a.m., Church Library

“Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others”

by Barbara Brown Taylor

Barbara Brown Taylor continues her spiritual journey of finding out what the world looks like after taking off her clergy collar. In Holy Envy, she contemplates the myriad ways other people and traditions encounter the eternal by digging deeper into those traditions herself and by seeing them through her Religion 101 undergraduate students’ eyes as she sets off with them on field trips to monasteries, temples, and mosques in rural Georgia.

MENTION “MYSTIC CONGREGATIONAL” at BANK SQUARE BOOKS and ASK for the MCC BOOK

DISCUSSION GROUP DISCOUNT!

April 18, 2019. CT UCC Recognized Women's Awardees at its Annual Spring Gathering at the Huntington Congregational Church which included our own Pamela McGee (middle row, 2nd from right) and Patricia Schaefer (unable to attend).

May 18, 2019 at the First Church of Christ Congregational in West Hartford. Last-of-its-kind Special Meeting. Delegates, guests and clergy of the CT Conference gathered to worship, receive reports from the Board and staff, consider resolutions, and celebrate the Liv-ing Waters award before the potential formation of the new Confer-ence and its First Annual Meeting this November.

May 25, 2019 at the First Congregational Church in Norwich. Rev. Chuck Ericson (Interim Eastern Regional Minister for the CT Confer-ence) addressed the delegates to the Annual Meeting of the New Lon-don Association. Sue Barker (not in photo) is Mystic Congregational Church’s representative to the NLA along with her husband Keith.

The Hispanic Education Committee invites everyone to join in celebrating

the 30th Anniversary of the partnership between Mystic Congregational Church and the Church of the City New London

(formerly First Hispanic Baptist Church) which has included weekly tutoring,

and scholarship grants. All are welcome!

SAVE the DATE! SUNDAY, JULY 28 at

4:00 PM here at MCC

May 11, 2019 Movie Night

Benvenuti Memorial Scholarship Awards

6.16.2019 Left to right: Nursery Attendants Haley DelMonaco and Kathy Graham with Interim Children’s Ministries Director Beth Man-ning. (Not in photo: Bailey McCarney) (Photo by AmyDelMonaco)

The Adult Faith Formation Committee organized the evening that started with a potluck dinner. It was followed by the movie “I’ll Push You” which is an inspiring film that chroni-cled the 500-mile El Camino de Santiago pilgrimage traveled by two best friends—a movie filled with faith, hope, love and the power of community. (Photo courtesy of Keith Barker)

Children’s Worship Sunday

May 19, 2019. The Sunday School children of Mystic Congrega-

tional Church led the congregation in worship as they reflected

on The Kingdom of God through music, scripture, and art. (Photo courtesy of Keith Barker)

Teachers & Nursery Attendants Appreciation

Photo by Amy DelMonaco

Left to right: 2019 Benvenuti Scholarship Awardees Hannah Harens and Cameron Dreher, Pastor Christa, Dave Benvenuti and family.

6.16.2019 Commissioning of Mission Trippers

In photo are some of the 2019 Youth Mission Trippers: Emmett Breen, Charlie Bergendahl, Brenna McNeil, Amanda Nessel, Ellie Burns, Rosemarie Mirabella, Haley DelMonaco with Pastor Christa.

Photo by Amy DelMonaco

6.16.2019 Sadie Howell presents “Thank You” gifts to the Sunday School Teachers who were present. In photo (left to right) are Amy DelMonaco, Regina Covin, Suzanne Burns, Merin Troutman, Kate McCarney, Kristy Head, Jamie McGee. (Photo by AmyDelMonaco)

JULY 2019 Worship Services Sunday, July 7, 2019

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Sacrament of Holy Communion

9:00 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, Mystic

Rev. Kent H. Richards 2 Kings 5:1-14 and Psalm 30

OR Isaiah 66:10-14 and Psalm 66:1-9 Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 ______________________________

Sunday, July 14, 2019 Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

9:00 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, Mystic

Rev. Kent H. Richards Amos 7:7-17 and Psalm 82

OR Deuteronomy 30:9-14 and Psalm 25:1-10 Colossians 1:1-14

Luke 10:25-37 _____________________________

Sunday, July 21, 2019 Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

9:00 a.m. Rev. Christa D. Swenson Amos 8:1-12 and Psalm 52

OR Genesis 18:1-10a and Psalm 15 Colossians 1:15-28

Luke 10:38-42 ____________________________

Sunday, July 28, 2019 Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

9:00 a.m. Rev. Christa D. Swenson

Hosea 1:2-10 and Psalm 85 OR Genesis 18:20-32 and Psalm 138

Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19) Luke 11:1-13

_____________________________

AUGUST 2019 Worship Services Sunday, August 4, 2019

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost Sacrament of Holy Communion

9:00 a.m. Rev. Christa D. Swenson

Hosea 11:1-11 and Psalm 107:1-9, 43 OR Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23

and Psalm 49:1-12 Colossians 3:1-11

Luke 12:13-21 ______________________________

Sunday, August 11, 2019 Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

9:00 a.m. Rev. Christa D. Swenson

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 and Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23 OR Genesis 15:1-6 and Psalm 33:12-22

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Luke 12:32-40 _____________________________

Sunday, August 18, 2019 Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

9:00 a.m. Rev. Christa D. Swenson

Isaiah 5:1-7 and Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19 OR Jeremiah 23:23-29 and Psalm 82

Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Luke 12:49-56

____________________________

Sunday, August 25, 2019 Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

9:00 a.m. Rev. Claudia Highbaugh

Jeremiah 1:4-10 and Psalm 71:1-6 OR Isaiah 58:9b-14 and Psalm 103:1-8

Hebrews 12:18-29 Luke 13:10-17

_____________________________

Mystic Congregational Church An Open and Affirming Church

“where hope is alive and love is visible” Office (860) 536-4259 Fax (860) 572-2716 Email office@mysticucc.org Website: www.mysticucc.org www.youtube.com/mysticcongregational

Sunday Services 8:00 a.m. & 10:00 a.m.* *Sunday School & Child Care

All MCC Members Ministers Rev. Christa D. Swenson Senior Pastor Alan W. Head Moderator Andrew P. Howell Director of Music Beth A. Manning Interim Director of Children’s Ministries John J. Leary III Treasurer Stacey I. Herrman Assistant Treasurer H. Keith Covin Contribution Treasurer Eleanor S. Pomeroy Office Secretary Our Mission Statement: to joyfully bring the Christian principles of faith, hope and love to all through quality worship, education, fellowship and outreach.

Non-Profit Organization U. S. Postage

PAID Permit No. 31

Mystic, CT 06355