The vendor was able to start the final process for completing the floors in Hadley Hall earlier than expected. The work started today, 8/10.

Due to the work that will occur, Hadley Hall and the office will have to be closed for all visitors and meetings from today, 8/10 - tomorrow, 8/11 and then again on Monday, 8/15 - Wednesday, 8/17.

Hadley Hall will be open for normal usage from Friday, 8/12 - Sunday, 8/14 to allow for the community dinner as well as coffee hour.

Suzanne and Pastor Kathy will have access to voicemail and email but will not be able to be in the building while the floor work is going on.

Join us this Saturday! We will be serving pulled pork, rolls, local corn on the cob, baked beans, coleslaw, pasta salad and brownies with ice cream for dessert. Vegan and gluten free options will be available as well.

There is a sign-up sheet in Hadley Hall to sign up to donate items we will need. There will be a “suggested donation” of $10, but no one will be turned away. Any donations you can give will go toward the costs of the food and paper goods to allow us to keep this a “Friendraising” event.

Please spread the word to your family, friends and social groups. We hope you can attend and share the blessings of our wonderful church family.

Questions can be directed to Kari or Ellen or emailed to the church office so Suzanne can forward them to us. Thank you so much for all your help!

We will worship outside in the back parking lot at 10am this Sunday, August 14th.

Please plan to bring a chair and join us for this special service. The service will also be live streamed.

Coffee hour will be held after the service in Hadley Hall.

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

As mentioned in Sunday's Worship Service, we, your Capital Campaign team, recently sent a mailing to you, fellow members and friends, that included a letter, fact sheet and a pledge form.

The detail may seem overwhelming at first, however, we wanted to provide detailed information to enable you to make what we feel is a significant financial decision to fund major church repair projects. Painting of the church exterior was recently completed. Replacement of flooring in Hadley Hall is in process.

It is helpful to remind ourselves what our church building represents to us as a church, its history, a resource to the community and more. Our house of worship has a long history that we encourage you to invest in its care and longevity as others before us bore that responsibility.

Please give some prayerful thought as you decide what is appropriate as your monetary pledge to the Capital Campaign in “Strengthening Our Foundation, Investing for Our Future” and return your pledge form to the church office as soon as you are able.

The steeple is lit in memory of Nick Mazzola by Cyndi Wood

Beginning on August 27th, Hampstead Congregational Church will be offering a Fiber Arts (knitting, crochet, hand work, etc.) gathering the 4th Saturday of each month from 10am-Noon in our Social Hall.

All skill levels are welcome and no commitment is needed-drop in when you can.

All are welcome to attend.

For more information, contact the church at 603-329-6985

If you'd like to make a donation from the bounty of your garden, please bring produce items to Hadley Hall when you come for Sunday Service or drop them off anytime in the basket located in the foyer.

Donations for the produce you take can be placed in the offering basket (on Sunday mornings) or in the lockbox in the foyer.

All proceeds go to RIP Medical Debt to help pay off medical debt for those in need.

For every $1 you donate, $100 of medical debt is paid off!!

For more information on RIP Medical Debt, direct donations to the organization, and personal stories by those that have been helped, go to https://ripmedicaldebt.org

We are continuing to only list first names and last initial to minimize scamming issues with personal information being shared via electronic documents.

Nicole W 8/02

Eric M 8/07

Alan M 8/11

Brian H 8/16

Alison H 8/16

Doug L 8/22

Andy W 8/25

Marion L 8/27

Andrew B 8/27

If you would like your birthday recognized, please call the office to make sure we have it in our records!

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire shared a video by Forbes Magazine called “How America’s Legacy of Racial Terror Still Affects Black Wealth”.

This is a 32 minute video that shed light on the time during and immediately after reconstruction continuing until after WWI. Most of acts of injustice perpetrated on blacks were never recorded except sketchy accounts in local papers until now as descendants of the victims have begun to speak out. They are looking as much for acknowledgement of that violence and including the stories in our history as for financial reparations to direct descendants. One quote from Dr. Nan Elizabeth Woodruff that struck me as a white person from the South, “I am not responsible for what my ancestors did, but I am obligated in the present to do what I can to make things better.” This reminds me of our call to simply be witnesses to the suffering of others.

The synopsis from the YouTube site:

The video discusses the civil war and the effects of reconstruction. It then highlighted three events, Red Summer, the Elaine Massacre, and the Tulsa Massacre, and their effects both immediate and today. Several speakers talk a little bit about Reparations and justice at the end.

The story lists 48 massacres from 1863 – 1943 in communities in the deep South up through New York and Michigan. Many of them happened around the end of World War I when black soldiers returned and expected more equity after their service. One, in Wilmington, NC, was an overthrow of an existing biracial city government. See the list all 48 events in the full synopsis following the video.

See the full Forbes video here.

More about the Wilmington coup d’etat here.

Blessings,

Debra

This is a list of farmer's markets in the state this summer. We have included the whole state in case you may be travelling and want to sample some local "color." By supporting local farmers, you are keeping your food dollars local, supporting local businesses and protecting the open space we all enjoy. It is a treat to meet the people who actually grow and produce the food we eat, and you may find interesting selections not available in grocery stores. Why not make it a part of your summer routine?

Check out all the locations here.

Office summer hours continue through Thursday, August 25th.

The office will be open from 9AM to Noon Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

We thought you might enjoy reading the NH Conference UCC weekly newsletter. You can read it with this link.

Each week, we will update this section of our Weekly Word with the new link for the current newsletter.

cans of Chef Boyardee pasta, coffee, granola bars, boxes of crackers, salad dressing, and any type of cereal

Please drop off any donations in the foyer of Hadley Hall

We located a national organization that has local chapters called Project Linus (https://www.facebook.com/projectlinussouthwestnewhampshire/). This organization's mission is "to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans". Blankets are given to children in need through NH.

*We accept all sizes of blankets. We donate to children, infants through teen years, so any size is appropriate. Baby blankets are typically 36”X36” or 36”X42”, toddler-pre-teen are typically about 40”X60”, and teen blankets are at least 60"X72".

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