Christmas Eve 2020: 5pm & 9pm Worship Services
Watch both services on our official YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/c/fccej
First Congregational Church of Essex Junction, 1 Church Street, Essex Jct., VT 05452 | (802) 878-5745
Journey to Bethlehem: Christmas Offering
It is with great joy that we come to the end of 2020: a rough year for the country, Vermont, and many of those we know and love. We are grieving the 300,000 plus and counting Americans [100 Vermonters] who have died from the Coronavirus and for so many who feel isolated, depressed, or fatigued. All our lives have been disrupted and we will remember these days for the rest of our lives.
But I come to you with joy because First Church has weathered the COVID storm with grace and strengthened the ties that bind us together as people of faith. With the health and safety of our members in mind, we have continued to stream our services but to an increased number of followers. Administratively, we have met through Zoom and conducted the business of the church with aplomb. Our many and varied social groups have continued to converse and support each other electronically even with new ideas coming to fruition to meet the ever-deepening isolation of some of our members. We have continued to be a beacon to food insecure folks and maintain our community outreach. And through it all, our members have kept up their giving which of course directly pays for all the many programs, staff, building upkeep and ministries.
We have weathered this storm with joy because despite it all, First Church has expanded her scope, mission, and outreach during these crises. It is a tribute to your faith and dedication and all of us on the staff and in leadership roles are grateful for your positive spirit.
Let me offer you one more opportunity to support and strengthen your church as we come to the close of a difficult year. In the Spirit of Christmas, I would like you to consider making an end of the year financial gift to the church. Last year, the governmental PPP Loan kept us in solid financial shape but next year we will not have the PPP loan to count on and our budget will be significantly tighter. With your help, we can end the year financially strong and weather next year’s transition back to a more normal life with some grace.
Due to not being in church when we collected the Per Capita collection, we are also way behind in that particular offering, an offering where we pay $ 14.50 for every member of the church to the Vermont Conference of the UCC. Ideally, everyone chips in their share but that did not happen this year so again, I am offering you the opportunity to partner with the wider church in helping us meet that obligation.
Everyone on the staff and leadership of the church wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May God bless all of you and First Church as we look to the future with a confidence and joy.
Christmas Blessings from Your Church Staff and Leaders!
2021 Stewardship Campaign: Welcome to the Journey, Part 3
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept, remembering Zion.
On the poplars of that land we hung up our harps,
There our captors asked of us the lyrics of our songs and urged us to be joyful.
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” they said
How could we sing a song of Zion in a foreign land?
Psalm 137:1-4
Dear Friends:
Luckily, the Israelites did sing and offer prayers to God in Babylon and they became the only deported people of their day to ever maintain their national identity. Within a generation they returned home, re-built their temple with a renewed spiritual awakening, re-established civic organization, and watched as the economic underpinnings became strong once again.
First Church continuing to sing our song in the midst of the worst pandemic in a hundred years is a tribute to the faith and devotion of our members and friends. Worship, music, meetings, giving, outreach, and mutual support are all continuing to occur because of you…..thank you! Like the Israelites in Babylon, all of you know the importance of keeping First Church running smoothly now so that our witness to Christ’s love in the future might remain strong.
The importance of keeping our pledges steady during the next year of uncertainty is crucial to our continued well-being. Let me encourage everyone to spend a little time thinking about the importance of First Church in your lives and in the wider life of Essex and then pray some and figure out what you intend to pledge to the church this next year. Please consider level funding your pledge and if possible even raising it a bit to make up for the government coronavirus loan/grant that we will not be getting in 2021.
Together, we can remain strong and keep our beloved church looking to the future with hope. Your pledge will allow us to create an accurate budget and keep paying our bills.
On behalf of the Church Council, I offer you
Blessings and Gratitude
Rev. Mark Mendes
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Some statistics and charts shared in Part 2 of our Stewardship Campaign drive were miscalculated. Please, review these details by visiting this link:
2021 Stewardship Campaign: Welcome to the Journey, Part 2
Dear Friends:
First Church has changed quite a bit since I first arrived here in 2008, but all institutions and people change with time; circumstances, both good and bad affect how we engage the world. Those changes in turn demand our spiritual work in discerning where God’s Spirit is directing our attention. When civil unions awakened our culture’s conscience, First Church took up the call and listened for the Spirit’s leading and over a decade ended up voting to be an Open and Affirming Church and allowing GLBTQ marriages in our sanctuary. For 150 years, First Church has changed to answer God’s call to spread Christ’s love to the wider Essex community.
The same is true for 2020. To spread Christ’s love in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the percentage of our budget shifted dramatically from 2019 to 2020. Mission spending, as a percentage of the total budget, went up from 11% in 2019 to 16 % in 2020 and that does not even include the physical food we distributed to food insecure folks in our community. We have also taken advantage of no one being in the building during the pandemic for Building and Grounds spending as a percentage of the budget went up from 30 % in 2019 to 37 % in 2020 and that does not even include the money spend on the facility from the capital campaign!
In addition, overall expenses have been below the budgeted amount and overall income has increased thanks to our members faithful giving throughout the year as well as the US Government’s PPP loan that totaled $ 62,135. If we continue along these lines, then what started out as a deficit budget in January has turned into a surplus budget in October. Good news for this year.
But next year is up for grabs. We do not expect another PPP loan and as our church begins to open up in safe and prescribed ways, normal expenses are projected to return. So, the key is maintaining or even increasing our income and the largest part of our income stream is our giving from members and friends. This year, with the PPP loan, our pledges made up 66% of our income but last year without the loan it made up 80%!
We need your help to keep our church actively spreading Christ’s love and making Essex a better place in which to live. Look at the trifold and see where we spend our money. Your giving supports our Worship & Spiritual Care, our Building & Grounds, our Music, our Faith Formation & Youth Groups and our Mission & Outreach. Look at the bar graph and see where your pledge registers and see if you can nudge it over to the next higher category. If you do not pledge, seriously consider supporting our church financially…. now is the time when the need is so obviously clear.
Next week you will receive our final letter and pledge card and on October 25th, we will celebrate everyone’s support in worship. Think and pray about your gift and get ready to send your pledge in with some prayers for the continued well-being of our church.
May God’s Blessings Be With You All
Rev. Mark & the Stewardship Team
2021 Stewardship Campaign: Welcome to the Journey
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept, Remembering Zion.
On the poplars of that land we hung up our harps,
There our captors asked of us the lyrics of our songs and urged us to be joyful.
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” they said
How could we sing a song of Zion in a foreign land?
Psalm 137:1-4
Dear Friends:
It feels as if we are living in a foreign land. Our culture is different since the coronavirus changed almost every aspect of our lives. The way we interact with people, how we purchase – prepare and eat food, the birth of new political landmines, visiting our parents or our grandchildren, our new economic system and the availability of jobs, our relationship to our government……….all seem so different from a year ago.
The words of the psalmist missing the familiar worship and songs of Zion ring particularly true these days. Each Sunday, preaching and praying and listening to music feels lessened than when we met face to face: sharing a handshake or hug or goodies at fellowship hour or sensing the communion of the saints by just sitting in a room with like minded people of faith.
Our bread and butter of shared life is greatly diminished and yet we are still called to sing our songs of Zion. Our coronavirus captives are mocking us in their call to continue our song in a foreign land. Followers of Jesus are still being asked to live out their faith to spread extravagant love to our neighbors. And so we stream worship, Zoom the business of the church, care for our members with safe distances, e-mails, telephone calls and walks, enjoy fellowship time through the computer, distribute food and sell reasonably priced clothing, sing into microphones and let the leaders splice it together, and have our youth hike and our children experience Godly play in the parking lot. First Church’s ministry remains strong, but only because of you. All of you still volunteer your time, treasure, and talents to keep Christ’s song alive during these pandemic days.
The hope that kept the Israelites going is our hope: that one day we will return home where life will be normalized and we can sit in our sacred space and be with our friends, singing songs of praise to our God and living out our faith in familiar surroundings and ways.
This year’s stewardship theme is “Singing a Song of Zion in a Foreign Land.” Despite living in the foreign land of Corona, we still need to offer our gifts of time, talent and treasure to keep our church strong. Keeping the church healthy is more important than ever considering what is going on in our society and we’d ask all of you to think and pray about your pledge for the church this year. We need your support and appreciate you considering the church important enough to support financially. Pay attention for more to come.
Blessings for the journey home.
First Church Staff,
On behalf of Church Council
Flu Shot Clinic – October 25th
Flu Shot Clinic: Sunday, October 25th from 10:30 am – 1:30 pm
We want to help keep you healthy! Walgreens Pharmacy will come to provide a flu vaccine clinic in our safe space! Shots will be given in Fellowship Hall to one person/household at a time in five-minute intervals. Sign up in advance to reserve your spot. Walk-in appointments will be available if possible.
REGISTRATION REQUESTED – Click this button to sign up:
Please arrive a few minutes before your appointment to fill out the paperwork. A few important reminders:
- Remember to bring your payment or insurance information with you.
- Check in by the outside door to Fellowship Hall and collect paperwork for each person being vaccinated.
- Please wait in the parking lot (or in your car) until it is your turn.
- Enter through the parking lot door to Fellowship Hall and exit out the front wooden doors.
- Masks are required.
- ** Vaccinations at this clinic are for 20+ years old. Folks younger than 20 will need to get their vaccines from their doctor’s office.
- ** If you are over 65 – there is a special flu vaccine for you; let us know when signing up if you are 65 or older so the pharmacist knows how many of each vaccine to bring.
- **Most health insurance plans cover flu shots in full. If your insurance does not cover your vaccine and you have to pay out of pocket the cost is $30, or for folks 65+ years old the out of pocket cost is $58.
Crop Hunger Walk 2020
Sunday October 18, 11:15 am
Between now and Oct 18th, we’re raising money for the Crop Hunger Walk. The Crop Walk is a community-based event sponsored by the Church World Service and organized by local religious, business and school groups. Join or sponsor our First Church Team online HERE.
If the pandemic conditions are safe enough, we will walk up and down Main St. in Essex Junction on Sunday, Oct 18, 11:15 am, meeting in the church parking lot.
