First Congregational Church of Pittsfield
NEWSLETTER
The Pittsfield Pilgrim, Volume XXIV, No. 1, January 2012
The Rev. David Stasiak, Minister | Jonas and Elaine Glidden, Publishers
Previous 2011 issues | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul-Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
Meet Your Church Leadership
Editor: We asked Andy Houle, one of our Deacons, to share a little about himself for this month’s issue.
ANDREW HOULE | Deacon
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How long have you been a member of the First Congregational Church (FCC)? I have been attending First Congregational Church for about 30 years. |
How did you come to become part of the FCC family?
I married my loving wife, Paula Burbank, in this church.
What is your current occupation?
I am the owner of Andrew Houle Enterprises LLC, Your Appliance Solution. We sell
appliances, plus dolls, trains and fabric while they last.
Do you have a rewarding experience involving our church you’d like to share?
It was raining for a couple of weeks straight and, the day Paula and I were
married in the church, God gave us a sunny day.
Do you have a role model in your life? Why that particular person?
My father is my role model. His strong faith and life lessons he has taught me
have helped me to be the person I am today, and I love him dearly.
What would you like to see accomplished during the next few years at FCC?
I would like to bring in more members for our church, who would like to get
involved
Is there a challenge facing our church that you see becoming more important in
the future?
I think that we must keep our roots firmly planted and not change our church so
much just to attract more members and then forget why God brought us together —
to do his work.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I'm a hard worker with a strong faith, and I try to live my life and travel the
roads God places me on to do His work.
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Miscellaneous
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As we reflect on the end of another year we once
again
can be very thankful for what God has done in our lives individually and
through our community of faith in First Congregational Church of Pittsfield.
To review, we have continued our support of the five local food pantries with
financial and food contributions. By hosting another successful dinner we were
able to raise additional financial support for our Pittsfield Food pantry.
Through our missions program we supported the Cold
Weather Shelter and the Friendly Kitchen in Concord, Gideon’s International,
Seafarers Friend, Mary Poarch with New Tribes Mission, Kathleen MacNeil with
Greater Europe Mission, Dick and Diane Burley with Open-Air Campaigners and
provided camperships for some local children to attend Christian summer camp.
Church volunteers continued to organize and distribute food on the Monday night
hours the pantry is open.
We have committed to being a Fair Share church supporting the ministries and
missions of our National Association. We started a new bus ministry and through
many generous donations reached our financial goal for the Church brick
re-pointing project.
The Children’s Sunday school supported the Maine Seacoast Mission, purchased
turkeys and collected food items to make Thanksgiving Baskets for local families
and through their Advent project filled shoe boxes with toys, hygiene and school
items to give to local children.
Then of course there is the successful Christmas Fair and Luncheon along with
the Craft Fair organized and hosted by the Dorcas Guild which raised funds for
the many missionary projects they carry out throughout the year. Although the
Ladies Aid disbanded this year they contributed very generously with a financial
gift to support the ministry of our church.
| We have provided space for local organizations to meet, held two wonderful musical concerts thanks to the financial gift of Dorothy Freese Kristoferson, and through our Pennies from Heaven ministry made financial donations to the Pittsfield Youth Workshop and the Pittsfield Baseball field renovation fund. |
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I know I missed some things and I know it sounds a bit like I am bragging and I am only because I believe we are about doing what God calls us as His people to do. Most importantly all of this is to say thank you for your continued faithfulness, dedication and generous support as we seek to build God’s Kingdom and be the people that God intends for us to be now and in the New Year.
| May your New Year be filled with the peace that only God can give and may God supply all your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. |
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I not only love being your minister, I am proud to be as well.
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Rev. David Stasiak
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Dorcas Guild Update Our Christmas Fair and Craft Fair were enormously successful! The Dorcas Guild is proud to report well over $6,000 was collected. Again, many thanks to everyone associated with the fairs. A lot of time goes into their planning and production and we appreciate all your effort. The Dorcas Guild's service project is back and "OFF HOLD." As before, we are looking for new or gently used warm clothing—especially coats—shoes, boots, blankets, etc. in any sizes for our refugee families and needy in the area. The project will continue throughout the winter months. Consider shopping at local thrift shops, such as The Clothes Closet in Pittsfield, Barnstead Thrift Shop or Out of Your Attic in Chichester, where your gift is doubled. Place any donations at the bottom of the coat rack in the Vestry. For more information, contact Nella Hobson or Elaine Coffey. A sincere — and warm — thank you to everyone for your many donations of hats, mittens, gloves and scarves for the children of the Barnstead Elementary School, Pittsfield Elementary School and Blueberry Express Daycare. They will be distributed shortly. We have lots of fun activities planned for our monthly Tuesday evening meetings in 2012. We begin on January 10 at 7 p.m. in the Vestry with a birthday party and a wrapped used book exchange. We will also decide which missions we will focus on. All ladies are welcome. Great refreshments are always on hand. Our Wednesday work meetings will begin again on February 8, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Even if you feel that you are not “crafty,” stop by to be convinced otherwise! Or just drop in for coffee and a chat. We NEED you!! If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact Nella Hobson. |
See pictures of our Christmas Fair here.
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