Dec/Jan 2021 Newsletter
Congregational Connections
There are Angels Among Us/Do Not Be Afraid!
Come worship with us throughout the Christmas season, in person (depending on Covid
safety) and on Facebook livestream. This Advent and Christmas, we talk about the
messages that angels carry all through scripture which speak to us today, especially their
counsel to Fear Not! Each Sunday in Advent, we light candles on the Advent Wreath and
reflect on the light that entered the world through Jesus Christ. You can join in at home
with candles of any kind that you may gather. Each year we celebrate anew the miracle
that God came to us as one of us to bring God’s peace and love. If you have friends or
family members who do not have a church, Christmas is a wonderful time to invite them
to experience worship at First Congregational.
Angelic Display
We plan to put up special visual displays for our Advent worship series,
changing some things up each week. If you have anything you would like to
lend us, we will take good care and make sure they get back to you.
We are looking for angels, feathers,
messaging things
(scrolls, phones, trumpets?) or things
related to the
Advent themes of hope, peace, joy and
love.
Please contact the pastor to arrange pick-up or drop off of the items.
A Note from the Pastor
I write this article just before Thanksgiving as the spread of
the coronavirus pandemic is on the rise and life is becoming
more restricted. We are being asked to make our holiday
family gatherings smaller if we have them at all. More people
are being asked to quarantine for weeks at a time, impacting
the functioning of businesses and incomes. All of this is
important for keeping people safer, but it is hard. It is also
about a week before Advent and it occurs to me that the rest
of the world is more aligned with this Christian liturgical
season than usual. The scripture readings recommended for
Advent are often apocalyptic – filled with images of the end
of the world, with calls to repentance. It is a time of
preparation, of introspection – similar to Lent. Some churches
claim theological grounding in their refusal to sing Christmas
carols in this period. This is often in great contrast with what
is going on in the secular world where preparing for
Christmas means something completely different – where it means shopping and going to parties and
decorating – letting the joy build and build (if you don’t get too stressed out by all the preparation).
Advent is a time of dimming, letting things burrow in, of a preparation that is not about adornment but
about awareness. With Christmas comes a light into the darkness which the darkness cannot
overcome. It is not a floodlight or a spotlight, but more like a match struck, or a new dawn with the sun
just peeking out. And the darkness does not overcome it.
This year provides a real opportunity to get back in touch with the rhythms of Advent as daylight
decreases, as our fears about COVID-19, about new national leadership, about the economy; fears
about on-going racial injustice and challenges to our ways of understanding our history. We can
prepare for the new dawn by naming our fears and sitting with them a bit before rushing for quick
dismissal or reassurance. What does it mean to us to face change, to face a more restricted life, even
to face death – as individuals and as a faith community? Where are we called to repent? How can we
become more willing to act in trust even through our fears? What does it mean to be self-giving in this
time? I believe the Christian church is especially equipped to guide people through such a time as this. I
believe our worship services will be especially meaningful this season, and I invite you to add in your
own personal scripture study. I would be happy to provide you with a guide to daily lectionary
readings, and a listen ear if you wish to share your questions or observations. The darkness is part of
the cycle of life. The dawn will come again, but in its own time. Meanwhile, let us find the blessings of
the night.
Blessings, Pastor Doreen
Christmas Eve Worship will be
on-line only
In accordance with COVID-19 safety protocols, we are extremely limited in the number of people able
to gather in the Sanctuary. Because we can’t imagine turning anyone away, and more people tend to
come on Christmas Eve than Sunday morning, we decided to
pre-record the service and play it at 5 p.m. on Facebook on Christmas Eve.
Even if you can’t join us at that time, the recording will remain available for whenever you are able to
watch, both on Facebook and on our website. We will still tell the Christmas story and sing Christmas
carols; there will be beautiful music, and candlelight.
YOUR PARTICIPATION IS NEEDED in the
pre-recording.
My plan is to pre-record people lighting and passing the candle, and then splice them all together so
the flame is passed around while Silent Night is played. I would also like to pre-record a “passing of the
peace,” splicing together words of angelic greeting from our members and friends to one another. All
you have to do is call or send an e-mail to me to set up a time and place to do the recording. Dusk or
darkness would be best for the candle lighting clip, but we can find a way to make anything work. It
can be here at the church or I can come to you – masked and appropriately distanced.
I also need readers for the lessons and carols to come to the church to be
recorded. Late afternoon or evening would again provide the best ambience,
but whenever you are available is fine. I look forward to this as a chance to have
a little visit with each of you as well as create a memorable Christmas Eve
worship service. Please contact me soon! doreenoughton@yahoo.com 978-
846-6498
Teacher Appreciation Card Drive
I am now a member of the Leicester Public School Wellness Committee, and the topic of teacher stress
came up at a meeting and ideas bubbled up about how to help them through this challenging time. I
thought we could send cards to every member of the school letting them know they are appreciated,
maybe saying we are praying for them. My thought was to use notecards or thank you cards rather than
holiday cards, and to target one school at a time, starting with the primary school which has 55 staff
members. If I could get, say, 10 people to write out 5 cards each, I will add names to the envelope and
send them to the school to pass out. I thought something with a little personalization might be more
meaningful. Then we would start again with the middle school. Please let me know
