Offering
Hope Fund: Epiphany Resources 2023
Promoting the HOPE Fund During Epiphany 2023 As the HOPE Fund committee winds down our fundraising efforts and hands the baton to the HOPE Fund Discernment Team to award grants, we are asking congregations who have not yet contributed to the HOPE Fund to be part of this historic effort in the Vermont Conference. It would be so exciting to have 100% of our congregations participate in some way as we prepare for 2023, and the projects that the HOPE fund will support! Perhaps you have a traditional year-end fundraiser, or usually designate a...
read moreHope Fund: Advent Resources 2022
Promoting the HOPE Fund During Advent 2022 As the HOPE Fund committee winds down our fundraising efforts and hands the baton to the HOPE Fund Discernment Team to award grants, we are asking congregations who have not yet contributed to the HOPE Fund to be part of this historic effort in the Vermont Conference. It would be so exciting to have 100% of our congregations participate in some way as we prepare for 2023, and the projects that the HOPE fund will support! Perhaps you have a traditional year-end fundraiser, or usually designate a part...
read moreHope Fund: Pentecost Resources
On November 13th, 2021, a special meeting of the Vermont Conference of the United Church of Christ enthusiastically approved the creation of a visionary initiative called the Hope Fund. At that meeting the people of the Vermont Conference also approved the creation of a fundraising team to support this effort. Your fundraising team: Paul Sangree, Elise Foster, Kevin Goldenbogen, Elissa Johnk, Leigh McCaffrey, Andy Nagy-Benson (chair) On Pentecost Sunday, June 5th, 2022 (or another Sunday of your choice), we invite your church to hold a...
read moreEmmaus: Call & Prayers
Below you will find a Call to Worship, Prayer of Confession, Assurance of Pardon and a Prayer of Dedication to be used in a service that draws upon Luke 24:13-15 and the story of the post-resurrection walk to Emmaus. May your “hearts burn” as you open the Scriptures in worship! CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The road was sandy. Our feet were tired. People: We talked about many things. We just wanted to get home. Leader: We missed Jesus. People: We were scared. We hoped it was true. Leader: We did not know what to...
read moreWorship/Event
Many churches have a Sunday morning or two throughout the year when the congregation hosts both a worship service and a special event. Maybe your church hosts a Christmas fair, an Easter brunch, a breakfast fundraiser for a mission you support or something else. In our church, the last Sunday in September is always reserved for day two of our annual Old Fashioned Harvest Market which draws thousands from all over our region. I know from experience that on this particular Sunday our congregation’s attention and energy is divided...
read moreShared Outdoor Summer Worship
Our church has a tradition of gathering with some of the other churches in our community for a shared (ecumenical) outdoor worship service. For our worship space we set up a tent (a few of our churches own them or they can be rented) or worship in the gazebo in our town park. byIt is a lot of fun and is well attended. It also requires a good deal of coordination and planning. So, below you will find an outline of our planning process followed by the liturgy we used in July of 2016. Planning Process After Easter each year, I send out an...
read moreBe the Church
In 2016, The United Church of Christ has a lively new call to action, listing nine ways we are called to “BE THE CHURCH.” You can get banners and other materials to promote this vision of faith made visible in the world at www.uccresources.com. I explored the theme in a five part worship series, and these are the materials I wrote for the series. I have included the scriptures used, some of which are referenced in the worship materials. Martha Peck #1 – Be the Church: Care for the Poor (John 21:1-19, Acts 9:1-9) (NOTE: For this first...
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