Ever since Alan Berry, our architect, finished the designs for the new FCC Bristol Fourth of July Parade float and Jim Sapp ordered in all the wood and other materials to build it, a busy and talented team has been measuring and cutting and nailing and screwing it all together right on the church side lawn. As of Sunday, June 15, we now have a totally built 10 ft. church tower and a completed church skeleton that looks just like Notre Dame Cathedral! Just another day or two of work and the model of the FCC sanctuary and tower will have its plywood walls applied and be ready for the painters to begin painting on all the stones, windows, doors and roofing slates. Yeah!
A special thanks to Alan Berry, who not only drew up the “to scale” plans for the float, but also cut almost every piece of the complicated structure. Many thanks to our Construction Team, including Alan, Jim Sapp, Chuck Ramos, Ron Gamon, John Tyler, Caroline and Robert Jacobus, Paul Temple and Roger Dubord. Thanks also to Jim and Caroline who have procured all the needed materials for the float and decorations as well as the truck and trailer to pull it. If I have missed anyone, please forgive me.
Plus, a special thanks to our sponsors, ELJ Construction Supplies, who are providing us with a driver, truck and flatbed trailer on July 4th, and Hill House Graphics who donated their design time to improve our church banners.
Janine Beausoleil and Eleanor Ingraham, two of our most loyal members, participated in Special Olympics competitions earlier this month. As usual, they each came away with winning medals.
Ellie won 5th place in the swimming front stroke event and 6th place in the back stroke.
Janine won 3rd place in the soft ball throw and 5th place in the 1200 meter walk.
Ellie and Janine join Cliff, another long-time member, in greeting our incoming members before worship each Sunday. Congratulations to both of you for your athletic victories!
The worship service and fellowship on Sunday, June 8 fit in so many celebrations that it could only have happened on the anniversary of miraculous Pentecost — the official birthday of the church when the Holy Spirit is said to have descended from Heaven upon the heads of the assembled apostles.
Additions to the regular service started with the baptism of Lorenna Virginia Harrington, daughter of members Doug and Lindsey, bedecked in white satin and surrounded by 3 generations of her family and godparents and a congregation already in love with her.
This baptism was followed by a Time of Celebration and Recognition of Our Church School, Graduating Seniors, and Its Teachers. “You Make a Difference” award medals were issued to each Sunday School student and gifts of thanks were given to the many participating teachers. This was followed by a Time of Passage and Recognition for Our Graduating Seniors, when Lyla Birch and Cristina Marino were given large purple and lavender prayer shawls, hand-crocheted by our Prayer Shawl Ministry. Lyla and Cristina have served for several years as our two talented and committed audiovisual experts up in the booth each Sunday, making sure the live-stream worship service goes out to our many off-site viewers. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Next, we gave thanks to Ann and Marty Roussel, who are moving West to be closer to family, for decades of loving fellowship and service. During a Sending Prayer, a few more tears fell, followed by many hugs of fond farewell. When worship had concluded, we all moved out to the church lawn to celebrate the Pentecost birthday of the church with the Annual Church Picnic. Lots of grilled burgers, salads and coleslaw, chips and, of course, cake!
Pentecost is described in the words of the Apostle Peter as told in the book of Acts. “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon all my servants…in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.” In celebration, the fellowship of First Congregational Church came together this past Sunday, from the very young to the very old, to celebrate the Holy Spirit that enables all of us to have visions and dreams of a better, more loving world, and the will to speak out and take action to bring it about.
After the dark shadows and solemn music at the Maundy Thursday Tenebrae service, the family of worshipers on Sunday were filled with the joy of renewed life and fulfilled promises at the two Easter morning services. More than 30 souls from both FCC Bristol and the wider community gathered at 6:30 AM at our new “sunrise” location at the Bristol Boat Launch on the eastern shores of the Bristol peninsula.
The grey sky lightened as the sun shone through dramatic clouds over the bay. Birds sang and treetops swayed in the early morning breezes. Led by the Rev. Dr. Nancy H. Soukup, worshipers shared hymns and hopes for the healing of the world.
At the Easter morning service in the flower-filled sanctuary, the welcoming greetings of “Christ is Risen” and “Happy Easter” were followed by loud trumpet blasts and voices raised in praise. The Prayer of Invocation declared the hopes of all present: “Creator of Life, in raising Christ Jesus up, through, out of, and beyond the chains of death, You opened for us the way to eternal and abundant life. May our Alleluias on this day float high above the ceiling of what we think we know and transcend to the heaven of what we believe—and thus live. Raise us up! Renew our lives! Resurrect our dreams! Through Jesus Christ our Living Savior.”
After the sermon from Rev. Soukup, entitled “Through Jesus We Behold All of Humanity,” the service closed with a prayer of dedication and Holy Communion: “Let us remember that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes early in the morning. May these gifts of blessing be a sign of the love, light, and glory of our redeeming God who has created a world of abundance with all that we need. May we remain thankful for your generosity, O God.”
The full worship service in the sanctuary can be viewed here.
During worship on Sunday, March 30, 2025, Rev. Nancy Soukup and Chair of Stewardship Caroline Jacobus dedicated the memorial window plaques that have been installed on 9 of the 20 window sashes in the sanctuary. The happy coincidence of March 30th being both “Mothering Sunday” and the date of our Annual Meeting gave to this occasion the double significance of our gathering together to recognize the many roles that our church plays in our lives.
First Congregational Church in Bristol is our spiritual home and Mothering Sunday represented a celebration of our homecoming. So it was just the right day to be dedicating the memorial plaques, some in remembrance of beloved family members, some in celebration of our church family. And it was just the right day to recognize those families in our church who so kindly donated toward the preservation of these windows.
Many may remember the old windows in various shades of lavender and pale blue that used to grace the sanctuary walls – with the drafty winter winds blowing in, and the cracked glass, the panes falling out, and the wood dried to a gray brittleness. In 2021 we were fortunate to find New Outlook, a firm of expert historic window preservationists – and we launched a capital campaign which raised $158,000 to fund the restoration of the most damaged windows, those on the south side. Now these windows are weather-tight, the wood frames are sturdy, the glass is flawless. The light shines through to illuminate our lives and our minds, to bring in the nurturing warmth of the sun. Or, as one of our donor families decided to have engraved on their plaque: “May the blessing of light be upon you: light on the outside and light on the inside.”
As each family thought about the words they wanted engraved on their plaque, their hearts were moved to consider what was truly important, whose names did they want to send into the future for generations to see, what hope or message in their lives did they want to memorialize. And there was such variety in what they chose to celebrate: the birth of a grandchild, or the joy in relationships with their children, the appreciation that was felt for the love and support they had received from their parents.
Others celebrated the deep love and appreciation a husband feels for his wife.
Still other plaques call for us to celebrate our joy in preserving the history of our church – another simply celebrates the love that binds together all the members of our FCC family, to make a difference.
I invite all of you to take a tour of the memorial plaques the next time you are in the sanctuary. There are currently 7 plaques on the south facade and 2 plaques on the north facade. There are still 11 window sites remaining where a memorial plaque could be placed. If you feel inspired to create your own memorial plaque, just contact Rev. Soukup or Caroline Jacobus and we can make it happen.
Our Annual Meeting on Sunday, March 30 provided the fitting opportunity to give a huge Thank You to our dear friend Ron Grant. Ron has faithfully served as our talented and caring audiovisual master of LiveStreaming for more than 12 years. Each Sunday he has arrived early, made sure the sound and video systems were set to go, and skillfully managed the changing sound and camera settings throughout each service.
Then he would go home and edit the recording of the service video each week to a perfect hour-long program and drive it over to the local TV station so that our weekly service could be viewed by both Internet and TV audiences. This labor of love started on the first day he walked into the sanctuary and was asked by Bob Wilson if he knew anything about audiovisual systems. Well, yes he did.
Rev. Nancy Soukup presented Ron with a celebratory plaque acknowledging his long years of volunteer service to FCCBristol through his audiovisual ministry and a token of appreciation from his church family.
Thank you, Ron, from the bottom of our hearts, for faithfully showing your love every week. For more than 12 years, you have given your church family hours of your time and talent to help share our message of love to members who could not attend worship in person and to open our arms to members of the wider community. You have truly embodied our church watchword: “No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.”
Every time you shop at Clements Marketplace or Stop & Shop in Bristol, you can help us raise funding for FCC Bristol. Each of these community markets has a donation program based on the collection of receipts. All the details are included in the two flyers in this post.
Last Sunday’s service, on February 23, was a service to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Interspersed with powerful African American Spirituals presented by the choir and soloists Kyle Louviere, Jerilyn Turner Crenshaw, and Ben Zabinski , were equally powerful messages delivered by members of the congregation and the Rev. Dr. Nancy H. Soukup.
The New Testament reading, from Colossians, urged us: “Above all, clothe yourselves with love which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Members of our Church School provided readings from a host of African American leaders: Harriet Tubman, Wilma Rudolph, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Audre Lorde, Alice Walker, Dr. Mae Jemison, engineer and former NASA astronaut, the Hon. Shirley Chisholm, James Baldwin, and the Hon. John Lewis. Coming from the mouths of our church youth, these words of hope, persistence, inclusion, resistance, comfort, challenge, and inspiration were all the more powerful. Rev. Soukup’s message, entitled “An Invitation to Trust in Our God,” provided passages from many of the Rev. King’s sermons and speeches. The strength of his vision, his faith, his understanding, his hope for the future even amidst great adversity and injustice were present among the worshipers in the congregation last Sunday. It was a moving service and we are grateful for all who shared their talents with us.
FCC joyfully received six new members this past Sunday, January 5, 2025. They are the participants in the most recent Confirmation Class who have been meeting this past fall to discuss the history, beliefs and policies of the United Church of Christ and of the First Congregational Church in Bristol, founded in 1680.
All of the young women who have just become official members of FCC Bristol have been active participants of this church all their lives and have shown by their many years of self-giving and loving acts of kindness that they deeply understand the mission of Christ’s followers to bring about God’s Kingdom on Earth.
Class member, acolyte and dear friend Teddy assisted Rev. Soukup during the member installation.
The entire congregation gratefully receives these young people into membership at FCC Bristol and looks forward to worshiping, working, and embracing God’s joy with them.
On Sunday, December 22, the children and youth of the church gave us yet one more gift for Christmas. They practiced and memorized and fine-tuned their lines and, during the morning service, they reenacted the age-old story of the birth of the Christ child, the moment when humankind received the greatest gifts of all, the gifts of Hope, of Love, of Eternal Life, represented in Christ’s birth.
Many thanks to all our children, and to all the members of our church family, and best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a joyful 2025.
