First Congregational Church in Bristol
An Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ
Expired Upcoming-Events
Worship service: Rev. Dr. Nancy Hamlin Soukup;
Scripture: “Romans 13:8-14” ;
Scripture: “Matthew 18:15-20” ;
Message: “Rising from the Rubble—25 Years since 9/11”
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Worship service: Rev. Dr. Nancy Hamlin Soukup;
Scripture: “Romans 12:1-8” ;
Scripture: “Matthew 16:13-20” ;
Message: “Loose Lips Sinks Ships”
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It is very exciting to give you regular updates on the progress with the kitchen. This coming week, we will enter a new stage of the recovery from the fire. We will have kitchen furniture and the salvaged kitchenware arrive at the church. A small team of members will be working in the Diman Room over the next week to receive and assemble the kitchen rolling tables and shelving. Next Thursday, August 27, PuroClean will be delivering the 52 boxes of salvaged kitchenware from the fire to unpack and begin to place back in the kitchen.
WE NEED YOUR HELP!!! We will be having an Unpacking Kitchenware Party on Saturday, August 29, from 9am-12pm in the Diman Room. We hope we can get 8-10 people who can help unpack the boxes and organize the contents of the boxes in the restored kitchen. If you can’t spend the entire three hours, then perhaps you can do hour and a half.
Contact Rev. Nancy at 401-338-4606 or nhsoukup@gmail.com to let her know you will join the party. This is the time we REALLY need your help.
Blessings, Rev. Nancy
Worship service: Rev. Dr. Nancy Hamlin Soukup;
Scripture: “Romans 8:35-39” ;
Scripture: “Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52” ;
Message: “The Small Difference”
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You are invited to the Church School Sunday celebration of our amazing children and our delightful teachers, who meet up most every Sunday for some straight talk about why we are all here on this earth — and some fun time making crafts.
And following that, everyone is invited to the All Church Picnic out on the courtyard lawn, hosted by the Christian Education Committee. Lots of good food and good conversation with friends. What could be better? See you there.
Come to help, or come for soup, or both! Many thanks to Blount Soups for their generous donation of delicious soups, available to anyone who comes. We could use a few extra hands to help. See you there.
The life and times of Rev. Henry Wight, founding pastor of our July Fourth tradition, will be the topic of the Bosworth Lecture Series on Thursday, June 11, 6:30pm, at First Congregational Church, (FCC), in the DeWolf Room. The event is free and open to the public.
Members of the church, Dyan Vaughan and Rei Battcher, will explore the life and times of Rev. Wight, who presided as the sixth pastor of the town’s founding church for 44 years after serving in the Revolutionary War. The Historical Properties Room at FCC, which exhibits relics and documents from this era, will be open on this occasion.
Rev. Wight was outspoken in the areas of religion, education, civic life, and politics, and his daily journals chronicled life in Bristol from 1784 until his death in 1837. In 1785 he started the tradition of reading the Declaration of Independence on the 4th of July, which continues to this day, making it the first patriotic exercise in the history of the country.
In conjunction with the Fourth of July Committee, and in tribute to the 250th Anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, Ms. Vaughan, Mr. Battcher, and the Rev. Nancy Hamlin Soukup invite FCC members and the larger community to learn about the life of this patriot and preacher, to see how he was shaped by the Revolution, and to discover how his views influenced the Town he loved. The lecture will conclude with excerpts from Rev. Wight’s Patriotic Address from July 4, 1809, read by Mr. Steve Brosnihan.
The Roswell S. Bosworth Jr. Lecture Series is presented by the Men’s Club, a local organization that pays tribute to its founding member, former editor and publisher of the East Bay Newspapers, with lectures of interest to the public. FCC collaborates with the Lecture Series to hold the annual June lecture at the church.
One of the hymns we sang this Sunday was written by Isaac Watts. In preparation for the coming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Rei Battcher, Bristol historian and member of our church, took a few moments during worship to tell us a bit about Watts (1674-1748), an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. Watts was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”, “Joy to the World”, and “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”. Most particularly, Rei retold the story which I (a New Jersey girl) had heard all my youth: the story of “Give ‘Em Watts” that took place at the Battle of Springfield, NJ on June 23, 1780. The picture, above, shows Rei in one of his Revolutionary uniforms with the Rev. Nancy H. Soukup at last year’s July 4th Interfaith service. And below is a photo of the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, whose minister gathered up all of the church hymnals and gave them to the Revolutionary soldiers for them to use in their fight for American independence. You can see the video, below the church photo, of Rei’s story telling and find out how the soldiers used the hymnals. It’s a good one!
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