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Available Now: July Messenger |
Our monthly newsletter -- 60 years old this year! -- is chock full of news, inspiration, and more.
Members can receive it by U.S. Mail -- but you can
also read it online by clicking
here.
Coming
(Please
chide the editor if you see mistakes.)
Thrift Shop Gets Thriftier
Our Thrift Shop will be open through July with a half-price sale for
two weeks, followed by a "bag sale" for the remainder of the month.
Donations of good, clean, salable clothing, linens, and small
household items will be accepted on Thursdays and Saturdays mornings
from 9 a.m. to noon. Proceeds go to the church and its outreach
projects. The shop will be closed during August.
Get Ready! The Flamingos Are Coming!
 Watch out!
One morning you may wake up to a flock of flamingos in your yard!
But do not fear; the youth group will be ready to come and clean
them up for a small fee and help send them to their next location,
which you can choose. Afraid of those pesky pink birds? You will
also have the chance to buy flamingo insurance to prevent them from
ever landing on your lawn. Watch for more information, coming soon.
Youth Groups Announce Summer Mission Trip
King Street Church and our sister
First Congregational
Church of Danbury are jointly planning an urban service learning
experience in Pennsylvania this July 13 to 19, open to anyone in
ninth through twelfth grades. Transportation will be provided, as
well as accommodations by the First Presbyterian Church in
Germantown, Pa. The cost is $275 per person. For information,
contact Jeff Falk at 203-791-1570 or Pam Baker at 203-746-0360.
Are You a Good Pray-er?
This summer, Pastor Cindy Maddox is leading a five-week group called
"Experiencing Prayer." Each Thursday evening the group will try a
different approach to prayer—"not
'sit-around-and-pray' kind of prayer," says Cindy, "but hands-on,
experiential prayer." The five sessions are:
July 24: Praying in Color. No artistic ability required.
July 31: Drumming Your Way to God. No musical ability
required.
August 7: Lectio-Divina: Ancient Practice, Ageless Wisdom. No
wisdom required!
August 14: Prayer Beads for Protestants. No beads required,
but you're welcome to bring anything you'd like to use—a
shell, seed, amulet, pendant....
August 21: Walking the Labyrinth
Each session stands alone, so don't worry about missing a week
because of vacation. Just come the next week and learn a new way to
pray.
Women's Society to Hold Annual Potluck Dinner
On Monday, August 25, the Women's Society will gather at 6 p.m. for
their annual potluck dinner. For details, see Melody Montgomery.
Catholic vs. Protestant
Ever wonder why Catholics do the things they do? Ever wonder why
Protestants do the things they do? Ever wonder what the big
difference is, anyway?
This fall we will offer an adult class every week after worship to
explore similarities and differences between Catholicism and
Protestantism. The class will be helpful for those who came from a
Catholic background, but should also interest Protestants who want a
better understanding of their friends' faith as well as their own.
See the September Messenger for details.
Needed
Volunteers Needed for Fellowship Time
Please consider signing up for Sunday Fellowship Time (coffee hour).
This is a very important time after the worship service when we come
together as a church community and welcome visitors as well.
You need only arrive a little early, start the coffee, set out the
supplies, and clean up afterwards; you also need to bring some milk
or cream for the coffee. Refreshments are always welcome, but not
necessary.
If you have never volunteered to help with the Fellowship time,
please let Laura Thompson know, and she would be happy to help you.
Help Us Finish Our Memorial Labyrinth Garden!
The
memorial labyrinth on our church grounds is almost finished. (To read about the spiritual
practice of walking a labyrinth, check Pastor Cindy's article in the
September 2007 Messenger, available
here.) Only
three major tasks remain:
-
Building a retaining
wall and completing drainage work, for which we are seeking volunteers.
-
Spreading topsoil and
planting grass or laying sod.
-
Finalizing the memorial
plaque to be displayed at the site. It's still not too late to add
the name of a loved one on the plaque.
The recommended donation is $25 per person you wish to remember.
(Naturally, you may give more.)
To
donate work or money,
contact us.
Latest
"Growing Ties" Is Launched
Remember the brainstorming session in
March, where we drew pictures? Those great ideas are now taking
shape. While we didn't yet know what we were striving for when so
many of us promised to find funds through God to make our new
adventure a reality, we now have a clear focus -- growth in three
key areas: Relationships, Service, and Numbers.
On April 27, a group met to share a delicious meal,
enjoy fellowship, and learn about our "Growing Ties" initiative.
"Growing Ties" (our new name for the Faith Promise project) weaves
together our relationship, service, and numerical growth goals.
"Our growth is all related," says Carlo Marano,
member of the Stewardship Committee. "When we grow our relationships
with each other, we have more energy to serve others, and our
numbers will grow out of that."
Kim Goodwin, Stewardship Chair, adds, "Now that our
true goal has caught up with the focus on the money, we expect to
make a lot of progress."
The team that met at the potluck dinner further
explored the two projects that will launch our growth.
Special Olympics. Mary Dunkle and Elizabeth
Day offered to lead our involvement in Special Olympics (with the
guidance of Michelle and Dave Kimmel), as the regional games are
coming to Danbury beginning in 2009. As you may know, the Special
Olympics provides sports training and athletic competition for
children and adults with intellectual disabilities. See their
website for more information:
www.soct.org.
Danbury Women's Center. Liz Healy and Linda
Spione volunteered to lead the charge in this key organization that
strives to end the violence associated with sexual assault and
abusive relationships. Specifically, we will be involved in the walk
against domestic violence in October. Their website is
www.womenscenterofgreaterdanbury.org.
Our church council will guide us as we explore these
two initial adventures, and help us shape the path we lead to
growth. We'll hear more on these initiatives shortly.
Meanwhile, Faith Promise continues helping us find
the funds to grow. We are currently at 64 percent of our $10,000
goal, thanks to our promises to find the funds and to a generous
endowment. The Promise campaign runs through April 2009, so there is
still time to make your promise to find the funds to help us grow.
To continue the conversation about Faith Promise and
Growing Ties, visit the special
blog.
(If you have questions about using the blog, contact
Kim Goodwin or speak to
any member of the team or Pastor Cindy Maddox.
Congratulations to Jessie Patton...
...who was recently nominated for a special award through the
Connecticut Women of the United Church of Christ (CWUCC). All
nominees were honored at the CWUCC's annual meeting on Saturday,
April 26, in Bridgeport.
Seven join us...
Seven new members joined our fold on
Sunday, March 9. Standing, left to right, are Morgan Vondle,
Kristine Vondle, Elizabeth ("Liz") Healy, pastor Cindy Maddox,
deacon John Jesse, Lisa Petzold, JoAnn Petzold, Warren Petzold, and
Jeff Petzold.
...while two promenade.
Meanwhile, toddlers Chloe Petzold
(left) and Ava Vondle (right) amused everyone by prancing in the
center aisle.
Happy Birthday, Harriet!
Harriet Mangels, born on February
25, 1918, observed her 90th birthday at a special celebration in the
Martin Room after worship on Sunday, February 24. Also in the
picture, left to right, are
Erin Sullivan; a friend of Harriet's (please
email his name if you
know it); little Nicholas Manfredonia and his dad, Matt; Steve
Fuller; and the Rev. Lee Moore.
Bell Choir has New Director
Jan Gregory has been appointed director of our senior bell choir.
Jan comes to us with over 35 years' experience leading music in
churches, including 22 years of directing bell choirs (both adult
and youth) at four different UCC churches. Jan is also a composer
and arranger who has published three bell-choir pieces and three
pieces for combined choir and bells. Jan has both a bachelor's and a
master's degree in music education, as well as a certificate in
church music and a masters in religion and spirituality.
Because Jan is also director of music ministry for another
congregation, she will not be available on Sunday mornings. She will
prepare the choir during weekly rehearsals, and others will lead
them when they play in worship. Always Current
A Nifty New Way to Support Our
Youth Group Give your friends, colleagues, or loved
ones Perk Werks gift cards redeemable at their favorite restaurants,
theaters, stores, or websites, and up to 20 percent of their purchases
will be rebated to our own King Street Church youth group -- at no
additional cost to you! Perk Werks gift cards are good at nearly 200
places -- not only locally but nationally and online. Examples:
Amazon, Circuit City, Foot Locker, Loew's Theatres, J.C. Penney,
Blockbuster, Build-A-Bear, Eddie Bauer, Domino's, Chili's, Bath &
Beauty Bar, Toys R Us, Ms. Field's Cookies, Pottery Barn, Linens N
Things...and more. To order,
click here, print and fill out the form, and give it to Rebecca Manfredonia.
Questions? Phone 312-0199 or email
r_manfredonia@hotmail.com.
Got Any Staples or OfficeMax Coupons?
Our church office can use those $10-, $20-, and $30-off coupons to
help defray the cost of supplies. Please leave any that you aren't
using yourself in the church-office mailbox.
Don't Forget...
...that you can recycle your used printer cartridges and
donate money to the youth group at the same time! Check the box in
the Martin Room for details.
Make Your Church Smile Say “thank
you” to God by placing a bouquet on the altar for Sunday
worship. A number of Sundays are still open on the signup board on the
bulletin board opposite the church mailboxes. Celebrate anniversaries and birthdays,
special occasions, or “just because." Call upon the bounty of your own garden
or bring in a professionally made
arrangement -- or leave a $25 check to "KSUCC" in the
office cubby for the church secretary to order flowers for you. Your gift
will lift all our spirits! Free Storybooks for Kids
The Religious Education Team is giving every family in our church
with young children a free Bible story book. Parents should pick up
their copy in the office. (People who don’t have children but would
like a copy may purchase one for $10.)
Desperately Needed The Daily Bread
Food Pantry, located behind St James Episcopal Church in Danbury (25
West Street) desperately needs donations -- especially cereals,
meals in a can (stew, for example), pasta and pasta sauce, canned
corn and green beans, baked beans, tuna, macaroni-and-cheese, and
rice. Please drop your donations at the pantry or bring them to
church next Sunday for delivery afterwards.
Your Neighbors Are Hungry On the fourth
Saturday of each month, members and friends of King Street Church
volunteer to help feed the homeless at the
Dorothy Day Hospitality House in downtown Danbury. Please help
us serve dinners from 1 to 5 p.m. or prepare bag lunches
the day before. Sign up in the church's Martin Room or see
Outreach Coordinator Val Fuller.
Older Items
See the Scrapbook.
Got News?
office@kingstchurch.org or
203-748-0719 |
