The service will be live-streamed through Facebook Live here  or on 3CX here.

Because we care for each other…and in keeping with the latest Covid guidelines for our area…we are asking that everyone who attends in-person worship on Sunday mornings wear a mask during the entire service. Our numbers and the ample size of our sanctuary make social distancing not only possible, but also easy to maintain.

In addition, we are now going to set up our Coffee Hour outdoors instead of indoors. You will find our “goodies” on a table outside of Hadley Hall. We will also have a supply of chairs available for those who want to sit instead of stand.

Pastor Kathy will (finally!) be officially installed as Pastor and Teacher of Hampstead Congregational Church on Sunday, September 26th, at 2:30pm. Mark your calendars to join us for this special and joyous event!

We are so glad that coffee hour has returned!

Starting this Sunday, we will be setting up outdoors instead of indoors. "Goodies" will be on a table outside of Hadley Hall. There will be chairs available for those who would like to sit.

We are looking for volunteers to help with coffee hour prep and cleanup (and bringing in snacks). If you can help this Sunday or any following, please contact the Church Office or sign up after service.

If you’d like some fresh produce, feel free to stop by the foyer of Hadley Hall! Currently there are tomatoes, squash, beans, peppers and cucumbers for anyone who can use them.

If you'd like to make a donation, all proceeds go to RIP Medical Debt. Donations can be placed in the basket (on Sunday mornings) or in the lockbox in the foyer.

 If you have extra crops from your garden you would like to share with other church members and help an amazing cause, please bring them to Hadley Hall when you come for Sunday Service, or drop them off in the foyer. Thanks!

Even though it is hot and sunny right now, winter will come. We are looking for someone to shovel this winter for a person in need in Emerson Village. The person is alone and not mobile enough to be able to shovel.

If you can help, please contact the office at (603) 329-6985 or hcc1752@gmail.com.

Not long ago we wrote about the Fistula Foundation and their work in treating women suffering from fistula in many parts of the world. One of their hospitals is in Kabul. I received this letter via email today.

Dear Debra,

Like you, I’ve been engrossed in and troubled by the news and images coming out of Afghanistan this week. Our community has a deep tie to the country. The stakes are high for all Afghans, but I’m particularly concerned for the many vulnerable women with fistula whom we serve, with your support.

One of our longest and most enduring relationships is with Cure Hospital, in the capital city of Kabul, home to our female fistula surgery team. Our first thoughts were about how the Taliban takeover of the city and the chaos unfolding in the streets would impact the team at Cure. Many unknowns remain, but please be assured I plan to keep you updated on our partner’s safety and work in the days ahead. I am relieved and inspired to share with you news I received yesterday afternoon from Be Team International's President and CEO, Dr. Rick Manning, the longtime medical director at Cure Hospital:

It has been a chaotic week in Afghanistan. However, despite the chaos, our hospital has suffered no damage. While neighboring institutions and hospitals were evacuating their premises, our staff remained in place and continued working. Thus, our hospital remained untouched during the 10 hours of anarchy, when no one was in control and during which looters and rioters plundered many facilities. Our security team worked the front gate as per normal protocols. We admitted one person at a time and treated patients according to our protocol, including one Taliban soldier with a head injury.

Cure Hospital was one of our first partners in 2009, when we launched our global mission to be a force against fistula. Cure was initially founded by an American team. However, from the beginning, they’ve been building medical capacity with Afghan doctors and nurses. Indeed, for the last several years, the hospital has been staffed entirely by Afghans. This includes the fistula surgery team, comprised of women.

I’ll leave you with more of Rick’s inspiring words:

Instead of staying hidden in their homes… [the hospital senior management team] went to the hospital and rallied the staff. Together, they took actions that prevented the hospital from suffering any damage and may allow it to continue functioning within the new government.

Now, the city is filled with many desperate and displaced people. We have an opportunity before us. Laboring women will need a safe place to deliver babies. Some of those babies will need our neonatal intensive care unit. Some of those displaced people have clefts deformities. Some have obstetric fistulas. Others have different medical problems for which we are uniquely qualified to treat. We will continue thinking creatively about how we can assist and enable our heroic Afghans to meet these new challenges.

While the initial reports from Kabul are somewhat reassuring, the situation is clearly dynamic. We are hopeful that the new government will see that Cure Hospital is a true asset for Afghan citizens and will allow the fistula surgery team to remain in their posts. Time will tell if this hope becomes a reality.

With gratitude for your support,

Kate Grant

CEO, Fistula Foundation

Pastor Kathy will be back in the office on Monday, August 30 after traveling to Wisconsin. Rev. Linda Lea Snyder will be providing pastoral coverage (ph. 203-927-5387) from now through August 29.

Do you want to help children, youth and adults grow in faith, or maybe you'd like to organize community outreach activities? Would you like to see Sunday School at our church continue? Our Discipleship Team needs several people with these interests to keep our faith formation going at HCC. Please let Pastor Kathy know if you are interested in learning more.

Sarah Flower was born February 22, 1805 in Essex, England, the second daughter of Bejamin and Eliza Flower.

Sarah grew up in a home surrounded by poetry and song writing. Sarah married William Bridges Adams and moved to London where she attended the independent church of William Johnson Fox.

She contributed thirteen hymns to his Hymns and Anthems, one of them being "Nearer, My God to Thee". This hymn was written to follow the pastors sermon on Genesis 28:11-19, known as the story of Jacob's ladder, or Jacob's dream.

Sarah wrote the hymn in a week and her sister Eliza composed the tune.

Lydia Fagan and Erin McCune have offered to provide some of the rides for some HCC members that wish to come to Church services but are no longer driving. We could use others to be backup drivers.

Please reach out to our office at 603-329-6985 or at hcc1752@gmail.com.

If in doubt, please call the church or send an email to pastorkathyucc@gmail.com.