The Church Bell

Greetings from Greg…..........…...2 Search Committee News……...….3 Church Life Adult Discussion Group Church Register……….…….…....4 Christian Outreach WB Food Pantry March Bell Deadline……………...5 Administration and Finance Prayer and Praise…………….…..6 All Church Bowling……………….7 Crossroads Schedule Easter Lily update….……………..8 Christian Education…………...9 Birthdays Church Staff /Address…Back Page

Worship at 10:00 a.m.

April 5 ~ Palm/Passion Sunday The Sacrament of Holy Communion

The Reverend Dr. Gregory W. Schmidt preaching

April 9 ~ Maundy Thursday 7:00 p.m. The Sacrament of Holy Communion

April 10 ~ Good Friday 7:00 p.m.

April 12 ~ Easter Sunday

The Reverend Dr. Gregory W. Schmidt preaching

April 19 ~ The Second Sunday of Easter The Reverend George E. Vogel preaching

April 26 ~ The Third Sunday of Easter

The Reverend Dr. Gregory W. Schmidt preaching

THE CHURCH BELL APRIL 2020

The First Congregational Church Newsletter

A Congregation of the United Church of Christ At 26 Central Street in West Boylston

online at www.fccwb.com

The Lord has yet more light and truth to break forth from his holy Word.”

- John Robinson, pastor to the Pilgrims

Inside This Issue

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” ~ John 20:29 NRSV

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Greetings from Greg…….

Dear Friends, This has not been the Lent any of us expected. These past five weeks have been difficult to say the least. Sadly, I cannot say with any assurance that Easter is about to dawn and the resurrection will be made manifest in our lives and in our world. While we can still celebrate the glorious reality of Jesus’ resurrection we will probably not be dong it together in our sanctuary. This makes me sad. Like many of you, I miss being together. I miss both my natural family and my church family. It is very difficult to listen to the gloom and doom coming from all around us. Fear is being forced upon and it is an uncomfortable feeling, one that my prayers are not fully able to help resolve. I don’t know what caused this disease. One thing I am sure of is that this is NOT God’s doing or punish-ment for any person or group of people. God granted us with free will, and sometimes things that happen result in pain for us and for others. God is hurting along with us during this difficult time. Thankfully, as the message of Easter proclaims, God can defeat death. God’s own son died and was raised from the dead so that we might live again. George, Kristjon and I continue to try to find new ways to lead worship on Sundays. For the moment that is via Facebook live. Had we known that streaming worship was going to be an important part of our lives we would have bought fancy cameras and audio equipment a year ago. We did not. So instead we are making it up as we go along. We learn new things each week so please bear with us. For those, like me, without a Facebook account, we are trying to find a way to get the video of the service into your hands. If you don’t have a computer and would like printed copies of the service please call the office and we will mail them to you. If you have watched the two services we have broadcast you know that there are a few others participat-ing. Please know that, except for my wife, I have not asked these people to come out and lead wor-ship. Fred, Jon, Marie and Sonya have volunteered and come of their own accord because they feel that is their way of praising God. We are grateful for their presence. With a big empty sanctuary they all sit far away from one another and together we try to offer a few moments of clam in the midst of the storm. Our Holy week services will continue to be broadcast. Please join us this Sunday, Palm Sunday at 10 AM. We will be without palms, BUT it will be a communion Sunday. If you want to participate in the com-munion I encourage you to have some bread and juice available for our home communion. It is going to be different! But God is making all things new. Our Maundy Thursday service will be broadcast on Thursday, April 9th at 7 PM. As this is the memorial of the Last Supper, we will celebrate communion so have your bread and juice available. Good Friday will broadcast on April 10th at 7 PM. Finally, our Easter service will be on April 12th at 10 AM. As you may have read elsewhere, there will be no Lilies decorating our sanctuary. It will be a service of joy none-the-less. Honestly, this will not be the Easter celebration we are used to, but it will be an Easter we remember for the rest of our lives. I have told the staff that whatever Sunday we are allowed to once again gather together, that will be our Easter Celebra-tion. We all look forward to that day of reunion and resurrection. My friends, God is good in the midst of this chaos. It will not be long before we can proclaim the great words of faith - Christ is risen! He has risen indeed! Peace, Greg

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NEWS FROM THE PASTORAL SEARCH COMMITTEE

March has been a busy month for us. Earlier this month, we conducted two interviews through Zoom video conferencing, using the TV screen in Boynton Chapel. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Zoom, it is similar to Skype. The technology allows us to see and talk with a candidate anywhere in the country. Both interviews went well. We are also reviewing two ministerial profiles that our area conference office sent to us last week. This process of accepting and reviewing candidate profiles will continue. Potential face-to-face meetings with any strong candidates will be on hold for the foreseeable future. Please rest assured, however, that we will stay in touch with any candidates in whom we are interested. Meanwhile, the nine of us on the search committee are continuing to review candidate profiles, read and listen to sermons by the candidates, contact the candidates’ references, and communi-cate with one another through email. These are the members of the search committee, as well as our contact information: Whitney Barnard whitneybarnard115@gmail.com Fred Borchelt fredborchelt@comcast.net Caroline Espe carolineespe20@gmail.com Chris Franger sparkyage@aol.com David Gustafson, chair gustofwind@charter.net Kristjon Imperio kristjon.imperio@gmail.com Cynthia Montalvo, chaplain cyn.montalvo@hotmail.com Janice Sioui jsioui@charter.net Nancy Thomson, secretary nthomson35@verizon.net Please reach out to us if you have any questions. We are grateful for your continuing prayerful support. Faithfully, David Gustafson, chair of the search committee

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New Members Carol Blake

Garrett Bush Dean Carlson Joyce Carlson

Francesca Harris Ursula Helle Kate Rasche

March 1

Deaths Marilyn Ethier

March 8

News from the Board of Church Life: The Board of Church life has a very busy couple of months ahead ! First, BOCL, wants to thank all those who have so willingly answered our requests for help each month to serve our church at our Sunday services. During Lent, we ask individual members of our board to each take one week (or a special service) in April to ask church members to serve as Greeters, Ushers, Lay Readers, and Coffee Servers, as needed, so that one person doesn't need to assume the respon-sibility alone for the whole month during a busy sea-son. Due to the Coronavirus this year we will be tak-ing a wait and see approach. We are not certain when we will be able to worship together under one roof. When we gather again, If you are willing to serve our church in one (or more) of these responsibilities dur-ing the Lenten season, please speak to any BOCL members and let them know. You may also fill-in your name on our monthly server schedule for April posted on our bulletin board, (where you can often find our board coordinators during coffee hour!), in Fellowship Hall near the exit door to the parking lot. We'll put you right up to the front of the line! Our Board of Church Life appreciates everything you do to help us meet our responsibilities. Thank you! The BOCL is looking to schedule a church wide co-ed Golf Outing, at a local course, on a Sunday afternoon, sometime in May or June, to have some fun together while promoting fellowship among our members and friends outside the formal church setting. We are looking at playing at Holden Hills Golf Course again but we are open to playing anywhere. Anyone who would be interested in par-ticipating, please email me @ mmrog-ers232@gmail.com or call me @ 508-963-0275 so we can find out how many people in the church would like to play. I will also hang a sign-up sheet on the BOCL bulletin board for sign ups. And please don't shy away due to the level of your golfing ability! None of us are pros! Besides, each of us will be playing in front of only 3 other golfers who are your friends! (Personally, I am terrible play-er!)

We'll make additional announcements in mid-April or as soon as we return so we reach as many people as possible. We are blessed to be able to watch the worship ser-vice that has been set up online at 10:00 am. If you need to be included in the email to log on please send Lisa a message. It is a great way for us to still follow God during this trying time. Stay Healthy and Safe and may God Bless Everyone ! Blessings! Matt Rogers mmrogers232@gmail.com

Hello from the Adult Discussion Group! Well, this is certainly turning out to be a different time. As most of you know, due to social distanc-ing, we have suspended meetings until the situation changes. At that time, we will resume our Adam Hamilton study, entitled, “The Walk.” It is rooted in Jesus’ own walk with God. Please stay tuned and healthy and by all means…...Stay healthy!! Blessings, George

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CHRISTIAN OUTREACH BOARD NEWS Upcoming Events…

JOHN STREET SOUP KITCHEN Our next opportunity to volunteer at the John Street Soup Kitchen will be: Saturday, May 2nd

We need: 30 lbs. of mashed potatoes in 5lb increments Desserts: 4 dozen squares or cookies Deliver to our church kitchen by

8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, May 2nd

Please contact Dave O’Brien at 774-279-6388 or dnbobrien@gmail.com for

more information.

HOPE for HOUSING

PURCHASE GROCERY CARDS CVS Stop & Shop Big Y Shaw’s

Hannaford

Build a Habit...Save a Home Together, we can end family

homelessness! Food Cards are available for purchase each Sunday

following worship. Checks are accepted for payment

You purchase food cards- value from $10 - $100 You receive the full face value of the card you

purchase. What you don’t spend remains on your card for

later use. The store donates 5% of what you spend to

prevent family homelessness.

WB FOOD PANTRY

First Congregational Church partners with Oakdale United Methodist and Our Lady of Good Council churches in West

Boylston to host a Food Pantry. It is open from 1-3 p.m. on the 3rd Tuesday of every month. Donations of food and money are al-ways welcome.

Current Pantry Needs include: Toilet paper, paper towels, tissues,

napkins, and canned fruit.

Please check all items for expiration dates as we have to discard any items that have

expired.

Donations may be left in the blue bins in the

ramp entrance. Thanks so much for your gen-

erosity.

The May Bell Deadline is Thursday, April 16th.

Send address changes to administrator@fccwb.com

Church Office Hours Monday thru Friday 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Telephone: 508-835-4462 Fax: 508-835-4463

Office Email: administrator@fccwb.com Website: www.fccwb.com

Messages may be left on the church phone system for the staff at any time. Pastor Greg Schmidt (ext. 101) Administrative Assistant-Lisa Fisher (ext. 100) Financial office (ext. 103)

Staff Email addresses are: Greg: greg@fccwb.com George: gvogel@charter.net Financial Office: financial@fccwb.com Christian Ed Office: christianed@fccwb.com Community Nursery School: cnswb@fccwb.com

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Prayer and Praise All those with health concerns: Steven Small Sophia Landeo Bob Akins-Marsha Saunders’ brother Valerie-friend of the Poland family Lori Rotti-Carol Rotti’s daughter-in-law Danielle Akins-Marsha Saunders’ niece Janet Friberg-Carol Rotti’s cousin Philip Helle Nancy-Peter Borge’s sister Carol Ann Hamilton Sandy Flynn Richard Whitney Robert Comeau-Nancy White’s son Gibbons family-family concerns Nick Person Janice Gillis-Jeanne Borge’s sister-in-law Annette-Sue Coviello’s husband’s cousin Chuck Crone Ursula Helle Louise Friberg-Carol Rotti’s aunt Lee Bolivar Meagan Walden Lamb-Beth Tivnan’s daughter Barbara Osborne-David Gustafson’s sister Lisa-Laura Bronwell’s sister Sue-Arlette Peterson’s friend Brad Hawley Renee Whalen-Esther Bryant’s niece Shirley Patch James-Arlette Peterson’s brother-in-law Curtis Akins-Marsha Saunders' nephew In Sympathy: The Daigneau family-Franklin passed away on March 13th. Wider concerns: For safety, protection, needed equipment and sup-plies, and the health and well-being of all medical professionals and others on the front line of care in the COVID-19 pandemic. Our service men and women around the world and their families. Those who are unemployed among us and around the country.

Administration and Finance

Dear Parishioners, In this uncertain time where we are all feeling confined and fearful, we must take comfort in our families and our church. I am hopeful that all of you will join us on Facebook this Sunday at 10 for worship and "fellowship". I have had questions as to the best way to send in pledges. You may either mail in your pledge to Lisa in the church office and note in the memo that it is for a pledge donation or you can take this opportunity to join VANCO our online giving. You can do this in two ways. 1.) Go to our website: www.fccwb.com Click on "GIVE" Scroll down and click "GIVE NOW" This will lead you through an online account set up. or 2.) Go to your app store on your phone or com-puter. Download the GIVE+ app (Vanco Ser-vices) Enter: First Congregational Church of West Boylston Follow prompts to set up an account Another way to send your pledge payment is through online banking. from your personal ac-count. Set up a "Paybill online" with the church's address and it will send out a check on the date of your choosing. From this you can also set up automatic withdrawals. We are all becoming much more "familiar" with our computers and hopefully this was helpful. "See" you all on Sunday! In Peace, Beth Borchelt

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ALL CHURCH BOWLING…..

Thank you to everyone who came and bowled, ate pizza and had a good time. We had a great turnout and everyone had a great time. We are lucky to be able to do this due to generous dona-tion from Clifford Richardson in memory of AnneMarie Richardson.

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Crossroads Youth Group Schedule - Spring 2020

This is the tentative schedule. Please check with your leaders for up-dates. Date Day Time Activity Snack April 19 Sunday 6:00 – 8:00 PM Meeting May 3 Sunday 6:00 – 8:00 PM Meeting May 17 Sunday 1:30 – 4:00 PM Walk for the Homeless (Worc)

Easter Lilies

We all look forward to the beauty, peace and hope that Easter brings to our lives. This year we will not be able to purchase Lilies as the florists are closed and most of them come from Canada. If you would like to give an Easter Lily "donation", a special bulletin with a memorial will be created to honor our loved ones and the funds would go into the Memorial Fund for use during funerals and special services. Our lilies have been $15. If you would like to do this, please mail your donation to the church by Palm Sunday.

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Children are impacted by moments like these. Even if they aren’t watching the news they’re picking it up. And they’re picking up the stress of their parents, teachers, family and classmates. You can do a lot to reduce their stress and remove their fears. You’ll find more guidance for children and teens during times of disaster and trauma at our Disaster Resource pages. Here you'll find a weekly listing of the Top 3 Resources we've discovered in each of 4 categories related to Faith Formation and Discipleship during a time of physical and social distancing for churches. Each heading is a link to a full page of all resources we've curated and will continue to curate during these times. Faith Formation at Home

Bedtime Box Prayers- by Kristin Putney

Exploring the Bible at Home- Simple tips from Karen Ziel

Messy Church-Mini Mess by Lindsey Goodyear

Resources for Families and Households in Times of Stress

A Letter For Parents and Caregivers with Simple Reminders- Dr. Maria Trozzi, M.Ed, Au-thor, Talking with Children About Loss, Penguin-Putnam Pardon this Interruption: Flexibility for Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic by Amy K. Syv-ertsen, PhD, Director of Applied Quantitative Research and Senior Research Scientist, Search Insti-tute

The Case for Boredom to Ignite Our Minds by Kristi Ramirez

At Home Activities for Children and Youth

Kindness 101 with Steve Hartman, 2 PM Daily beginning 3/23/20 CBS Evening News Facebook Live EVERY WEEK! Story time online for kids stuck at home by Valerie Tutson each day at 11:30 AM. One of our gifted storytellers will entertain and educate your kids each morning on Face-book: Log into Facebook | Valerie Tutson

100 Activities to Do at Home During School Closures by Entertain Kids on A Dime

Tips for Faith Formation and Youth Leaders (including virtual and online ministry)

Tips and Techniques for A Good Virtual Experience from Karen Ziel Using online discussion boards with ProBoards.com, you can set up a discussion board based learning on a topic of your choice that you design (free).

Naming Loss and Gratitude with Young People in These Uncertain Days by Brad M Griffin, FYI

Christian Education

Here are some resources from the UCC in regards to the current COVID situation for helping your children.

Volume 65, No. 4 The Church Bell Back page

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 26 CENTRAL STREET, WEST BOYLSTON, MA 01583-1600

Phone: 508-835-4462 Email: administrator@fccwb.com Fax: 508-835-4463 Website: www.fccwb.com

The Reverend George E. Vogel, Associate Pastor The Reverend Steven A. Small, Senior Pastor Emeritus Melanie Robinson, Community Nursery School Director Marisa Jablanski, Community Nursery School Asst. Director

The Reverend Dr. Gregory Schmidt, Interim Pastor Kristjon Imperio, Minister of Music Lisa A. Fisher, Administrative Assistant, Editor Kendrik Imperio, Custodian

01 John McLaughlin 02 Kayden Le 02 Beth Tivnan 03 Scott Holt 03 Dorothy Whitcomb 04 Matthew Gagnon 04 Kelley Small 05 Beaman Cummings 05 Jack Krugman 06 Phyllis Dodge 06 Pamela Doonan 07 Benjamin Bryant 07 Thomas Doonan 08 Heidi Leftwich 10 Brendan Flaherty 11 Sarah Person 11 Dylan Rauktis

12 Katharine Oikle 13 Pamela Bjorklund 13 Janice Sioui 14 Joshua Michalak 15 Anna Wahl 18 Carl Barnard 19 Rob Franger 20 Jason Boyle 22 Matthew Rogers 23 Joanne Gulbicki 24 Samantha Bates 24 Deegan Ketchum 24 Gordon Lankton 25 Mitchell Benson 29 Whitney Barnard 29 Jody Poland 29 Judith Roy

Birthdays To Celebrate

In April