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tFIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST,

CONGREGATIONALMember of the United Church of Christ

An open, welcoming and affirming congregation2183 Main Street, Glastonbury, CT 06033

860-633-4641Television Ministry: LIVING THE WORD,

Sundays, 7:30 a.m. and noon, Cox Cable Channel 15E-mail: firstchurch@glastonburyfirst.org

Website: www.glastonburyfirst.org

Donations in the Church School envelopes go directly to the 2016-2017 Church School Mission Project, School Safe Zones. We suggest a children’s donation of $1 per week. Other designated envelopes are available for your pledges and Easter offerings.

Mission Immersion Day April 29Come one, come all, to share God’s love in the world! Spend a few hours on Saturday, April 29 volunteering your time to help others during Family Mission Immersion Day. We will have four sites – making soup, cards and cookies for our parishioners who could use a little cheer; working in the soup kitchen and thrift store at Manchester Area Conference of Churches; serving lunch at St. Vincent DePaul soup kitchen in Middletown and working on fixing up a house in Hartford through Rebuilding Together Hartford (RTH). For more information or to sign up, go to the table during coffee hour or contact Tina Sparrow at tsparrow21@gmail.com or 860-430-9484.

Covenant to Care RequestOne of our Covenant to Care social workers has reached out with an urgent request for a single mother with a six year old son on the autism spectrum. The young boy is in need of size 6/7 boy clothing and size 1 in boy’s shoes/sneakers. He could use a coat, rain boots and sneakers. The mother and son could use toiletries, paper goods, towels, twin sheets and a comforter. They are also in need of a couch and microwave since the ones they currently have are broken. Please drop off items in the back lobby of the church or contact Jim O’Brien (james_f_obrien@sbcglobal.net or 860-977-2890) if you are willing to help. Thank you!

Spring Rummage SaleOur spring rummage sale is coming up April 21-22! You may drop off your donations in rooms 206 and 207. We can use clothing, household items and small furniture (no sofas). All proceeds from the rummage sale expand our mission offerings to area organizations. For more information, to volunteer, or if you have items that need to be stored now, please contact Nancy Higgins (nnhigg@att.net or 860-633-6604) or Suzanne Schwartz (stonehill126@gmail.com or 860-430-1350). Thanks!

April 16, 2017

Foodshare Opportunity!Foodshare’s vision is for a community where all people can get all of the food they need. As the region’s food bank, they work toward that vision by getting food donations from the food industry and distributing them to 300 food pantries, community kitchens, homeless shelters, and other partner programs. Here at First Church we have the Mobile Foodshare truck come to our back parking lot every other Wednesday. Now we have a new opportunity to go to Foodshare’s Regional Market in Hartford on alternating Wednesday mornings to help sort and package the produce so it all gets given out to our neighbors. Thank you to our current volunteers, and we’re still looking for more to go to the warehouse to sort produce from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. People gather in the church parking lot at 8:00 a.m. to drive in together. If you are interested in learning more, please contact First Church member Jim Hartung at ctsdncmnfolk@gmail.com or 860-430-2123.

Walk Against Hunger May 7Foodshare’s 34th Annual Walk Against Hunger on May 7 is the region’s largest event raising funds and awareness in the fight against hunger. Here in Hartford and Tolland counties, the area served by Foodshare, there are 137,000 people who are not sure where their next meal is coming from. THAT INCLUDES ONE OF EVERY 6 CHILDREN IN THE AREA. The 2.5 mile walk starts with registration at 12:30 p.m. The Walk steps off at 2:00 p.m. from Liam E. McGee Memorial Park, 140 Garden Street, Hartford. FREE Parking at 690 Asylum Ave. Bring along your family and friends and be part of this fun event.You can participate in one of three ways: join the Walk yourself and recruit donors, sponsor someone who is walking or register/donate online at www.Foodshare Walk.org. Sign-ups and registration forms will be available at coffee hour on April 23, 30 and May 7. We plan to carpool from the church to the walk. Contact Sally Riddell at grammasal@att.net with questions.

Barbara Jenkins and Julie Schnatz Rybeck – Our Featured Artists!Beginning April 20, the Thursday Morning Study Group will sponsor a four-week study of art titled “Love Those Landscapes!” In addition to looking at classic landscape pieces from some of the “masters,” this series will include presentations by two local master artists, Barbara Jenkins and Julie Schnatz Rybeck! Barbara and Julie will each show some of their works, and describe the creative process by which they came to be! All are welcome. The Thursday Morning Study Group gathers in the Lehman Library at 9:30 a.m. on most Thursdays.

Knitters/Prayer Shawls Needed! Our Prayer Shawl Ministry enhances the life of our community. The group gathers monthly for

fellowship, inspiration and time to knit. If you can’t attend meetings, we would still welcome the donation of your shawls. Please contact Judy Burr at jaburr@cox.net or 860-643-9368. Newcomers are welcome at the meetings on the third Monday of the month (TOMORROW!) at 6:30 p.m. in the Lehman Library.

VBS Registration!Vacation Bible School will be held here at First Church July 31-August 4. Register at http://www.glastonburyfirst.org/vacation-bible-school. We’re looking forward to another great year!

Food Donations Needed First Church has a long tradition of collecting food items for our neighbors in need. In April, we’re asking for tuna, pasta sauce, cereal and other unexpired items. Thank you!

Our Church School Mission Project What do you expect to find at your children’s school building? A roof? Classrooms? Bathrooms? Clean water from faucets? Drinking fountains? Teachers? We would never dream of sending our children to a school without a solid building structure, plumbing and electricity. But this is reality for many students worldwide, including in East Africa. When a community struggles with limited access to clean water and sustainable food sources, it is often reflected in the school buildings.

This year’s Church School Mission Project is School Safe Zones through Church World Service. Through the School Safe Zones program, we will be helping to revitalize a school in East Africa. Our goal is raise $10,000

for this special project. Money collected from children’s offerings, bake sales and your donations and memorial gifts all go to this project. If you would like to make a contribution, please make your check payable to “First Church of Christ,” with “School Safe Zones” in the memo line.

Godspell RehearsalsRehearsals for the cast and small ensemble for our Godspell service will resume this week. There will be no rehearsal today. Run-through rehearsals for everyone participating in the Godspell service on May 14 are listed below:Saturday, May 6 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.Sunday, May 7 12:00 - 3:00 p.m.Monday, May 8 6:30-9:00 p.m.Tuesday, May 9 6:30-9:00 p.m.Thursday, May 11 6:30-9:00 p.m.Sunday, May 14 8:00 a.m. Performance Call

Music at the Meetinghouse Presents...

A donation of $10 per person is suggested. $20 family maximum.

First Church of Christ, Congregational , UCC

Ring into Spring Concert!Saturday, April 29, 2017

7:30 p.m.

MERRIMACK VALLEY RINGERS

You’re Invited to a Homemade Syrian Dinner and Cultural Experience!Enjoy a delicious multi-course home-cooked Syrian meal by Ezdehar Al Abas. The dinner will be accompanied by a slide show and stories of her family’s four year journey from Syria to a refugee camp in Jordan, and finally to Glastonbury in July 2016, when our church sponsored them. The dinner is Sunday, April 30, at 6:00 p.m. in Schultz Hall.

The cost of this delicious feast and cultural experience is $25 per person. Please make out your check to “First Church of Christ,” with “Syrian Dinner” in the memo section. Please note this covers the cost of the meal and the presentation and is not tax-deductible. Seating is limited to 25, so RSVP to Lisa Hurley at lisahurley@snet.net or Danae Dwyer at danaedwyer@me.com or 860-967-2269 by Wednesday, April 27. Payments should be given directly to Danae or Lisa.

Thanks for Supporting Choir Camp!Thank you to all who ordered Munsons Candy and supported our Choir Camp fundraiser!

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Thursday, April 20, 2017 9:30 a.m. Thursday Morning Study Group, Lehman Library 4:00 p.m. Cantate Choir5:00 p.m. Ribbon Work5:00 p.m. Mallets Bell Choir6:00 p.m. Cantabile Choir6:30 p.m. Soloists and Select Chorus Rehearsal, Schultz Hall7:15 p.m. Chancel Choir

Friday, April 21, 2017 2:30 p.m. Rummage Sale, Schultz Hall

Saturday, April 22, 2017 8:00 a.m. Rummage Sale, Schultz Hall

Sunday, April 23, 2017 8:00 a.m. Worship Service & Child Care 10:00 a.m. Worship Service & Child Care 10:15 a.m. Church School 11:00 a.m. Cherub Choir, Room 11211:15 a.m. VBS Meeting, Lehman Library12:00 p.m. Soloists and Select Chorus Rehearsal, Choir Room 4:30 p.m. Spark! Service, Meetinghouse5:30 p.m. Supper after Spark!, Schultz Hall6:00 p.m. Sr. High Fellowship, Youth Room

This Week at First Church Monday, April 17, 20176:30 p.m. Prayer Shawl Ministry, Lehman Library7:00 p.m. Council, Parlor

Tuesday, April 18, 2017 7:30 a.m. Potpourri, Kitchen9:45 a.m. Prayer and Share, Parlor7:00 p.m. Confirmands rehearse for worship, Meetinghouse

Wednesday, April 19, 2017 8:00 a.m. Women’s Theological Reflection Group, Lehman Library9:00 a.m. Library Volunteers4:15 p.m. Caroler Choir7:00 p.m. Shrimp Boil Meeting, Lehman Library

Cheryl Foley, Child Care ProviderKarin Carlino, Church School Administrator

Susan Feller, Publications Specialist

MINISTERSAll the members of the church

Pastor Emeritus The Rev. Dr. Carl F. Schultz, Jr. (1932 - 2012)

PASTORSThe Rev. David T. Taylor, Senior Pastor

The Rev. Kate VanDerzee-Glidden, Associate Pastor

Peggy Hartman, Director of Handbell Program and Children’s Choirs

Rebecca Fleahman, Office ManagerWes Grove, Facilities ManagerThe Rev. Gordon Bates, Minister of Visitation

Angela Salcedo, Director of Music Ministries Kathy Ciolkosz, Administrative Assistant

Valerie Escalera, Program AdministratorElizabeth Gleich, Director of Children and Youth Ministries

Serve Lunch April 24 On Monday, April 24, we will provide food and servers for lunch at Center City Church. Please sign up during coffee hour or contact Suzanne Schwartz at 860-430-1350 or stonehill126@gmail.com.

A “Heads Up” for Heads Up – Heads Up Hartford, That Is!

Heads Up Hartford Camp 2017: June 2 – June 29, 2017. Heads Up Hartford (HUH) is a wonderful program for high school students founded several years ago by First Church members. Each year, over 100 high school aged students from the Greater Hartford area come together for a week of service and fellowship, helping to bridge the gap between urban and suburban youth while helping out local organizations. Registration is going on NOW! Go to the HUH website: headsuphartford.org for registration materials, and contact Elizabeth Gleich to let her know that you are attending!