Christian Outreach

Thanks again for your generous donations to the Middlesex Family Shelter and to the mitten tree. The families were exceptionally grateful!

You can help make this a joyous Christmas for the families in our units at the Middlesex Family Shelter by taking a tag off of the tree in the social room; purchase the item requested on the tag and bring the gift (either wrapped or not) back to the tree before December 18th.

Please decorate the tree with hats and mittens for WIC.

The Middlesex Family Shelter is looking for the following items for the children who live there: Picture books, Easy Read books, crayons and markers, construction paper, and blunt scissors. Donations can be put in the basket in the Narthex.

During 2011 we will focus on a different outreach project each month. In January our focus was keeping warm. We heard from our Prayer Shawl ministry and they were a part of one of our worship services. We also sent "Warmth Banks" home with our families. When we appreciated being warm and having the ability to turn up the heat to take off the chill, we put some money in the bank. When all the banks were returned, we had collected over $400 for the Haddam Fuel Bank.

Our Februaray and March project is the Bitone Children's Center in Uganda. The founder of the center, Branco Sekalegga came and spoke to us and shared some of his music during a service. We will concentrate on learning more about Uganda and the children of the center and we will collect school items for Branco to take back to Bitone with him when he goes in May. We also hope to provide funds for a solar cooker. In May we will have a luncheon with Branco, hopefully with food cooked in a solar cooker!

In April, and the Lenten season we will concentrate on One Great Hour of Sharing.

Our May project will be to collect and send items to members of the Military who have connections to HCC.

THE RED CROSS SHELTER

We have accepted the request from the Red Cross to sponsor another unit in their short-term shelter. There was a family there until Monday night, November 15th. On the 16th 4 members of the outreach committee and their husbands showed up ready to work! And work they did! In one week the unit has been transformed. Among the things that were accomplished: complete and thorough cleaning, painting of the ceilings in the kitchen, living room, stairwell, hallways, both bedrooms and the upstairs bathroom, replaced ceiling tiles in the lavatory, washed all the walls, radiators, windows, replaced all 11 mini blinds, wallpapered the lavatory, repaired the vanity in the lavatory, replaced 2 toilet paper holders, washed, scraped and painted the front door, replaced the house numbers, caulked both bathrooms, replaced light fixtures in the bathrooms, scrubbed the cabinets and replaced the hardware, scrubbed the kitchen floor---under the stove and refrigerator, and powerwashed the outside! Our goal was to have a family in by Thanksgiving! We did it! Thanks to all who donated time, talent and treasure-in the form of money and goods to complete the unit. A family in need will be very thankful.

SERRV Party-Tuesday November 16, 2010 7pm in the Parsonage

Thanks for once again supporting this worthwhile outreach project. With good friends, good gifts and good food, a good time was had by all! Your purchases will be delivered in thime for Christmas!

GOOD NEWS of July, 2010!

GOOD NEWS just keeps on coming! The Outreach Committee applied for and was awarded a grant of over $2,000 from "The Small Church Outreach Grant Program of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ". We used the grant to partner with the Youth and Family Services of Haddam-Killingworth to expand their Summer Program for Youth in Grades 7-9. The program consisted of two, one week sessions. The first session, "Outdoor Adventure" ran from June 28-July 2 and the second session, "Wet and Wild" was from July 12-16.

As expected our involvement with this program benefited the young people, the chaperones, our church and our community.

In September the participants will share some of their experiences with the congregation and on the web site.

One more way we are spreading the GOOD NEWS and sharing our time, talents and treasures!

Good News....

as reported by the Outreach Committee of Higganum Congregational Church November 1, 2009

Gererosity Goes A Long Way

The generosity of the members of our church creates Good News from Higganum to Haddam to Middlesex County to the rest of Connecticut and, indeed, to the rest of the world! Little us! Touching so many lives. That is the GOOD NEWS!

The Eddy Shelter in Middletown was on the receiving end of several bags of personal care items donated by HCC this year. The items were definitely GOOD NEWS to the short-term residents there. How good it must be to take a hot shower with soap and shampoo-and to have toothpaste and a new toothbrush-and to shave with shaving cream and a new razor when you've gone without for a while.
The wonderful Heifer box made by the Malave's last year has been made even more beautiful! The chalk mural of animals available through Heifer International will encourage us to put our coins in the slots! Be sure to check out the newly labeled slots and see how your favorite animal is doing!
Our purchases this year of rabbits, trees, bees, chicks, ducks and geese will go a long way in spreading the GOOD NEWS around the world! We would really like to buy a BIG animal before the end of the year, like a cow or a water buffalo! it's up to YOU!!! We need about $80 to buy a water buffalo and almost $300 for a cow. Are we up for the challenge?
Our Mother's Day collection went to IMA World Health to purchase 9 Safe Motherhood kits. The kits contain plastic sheeting, gloves, and umbilical tie, a steril scalpel, steril guaze pads, a bar of soap, a washcloth and some baby items (a clean hat, tunic and blanket). The mothers and their babies experience the GOOD NEWS!
Knit 3, purl 3, knit 3, purl 3... That is the rhythm heard on the first Tuesday of each month as the knitters congregate to create lovely prayer shawls. If you know of anyone who would benefit from being wrapped in the love and GOOD NEWS of a shawl----in celebration or for healing, please contact us.
Time Rose brought GOOD NEWS of his mission in France with Global Ministries of the UCC. His work in France and the presentation inspired our Youth Group to visit Tim's church, Foyer Protestant d'Aubervilliers in Paris where they experienced first hand the GOOD NEWS at work. (see photos under the Christian Education tab)
Fifteen Easter Baskets were delivered to the Red Cross Shelter and Turkey Trimmings were given at Thanksgiving. Groceries were added to their pantry throughout the year. GOOD NEWS for the shelter residents.
Mittens on a tree???? Trees don't need mittens to stay warm, but children do! Tradition dictates that we collect hats and mittens on our Christmas tree to warm the families served by WIC and the Red Cross.
Coffee-Tea-or Chocloate? Helping others never tasted so good! we have consumed over 100 pounds of coffee, 30 boxes for tea and more than 150 chocolate bars! No sacrifice to create this GOOD NEWS through the Fair Trade project.
Eight care packages were sent off to our college students in February. The snacks and goodies were undoubtedly GOOD NEWS for those late night study groups!
A'Mission charge. For the month of October there was an A'Mission charge to come to church on Sunday morning. The charge was an item of non-perishable food or a cleaning item to help stock the shelves at the Haddam Food Bank and the Red Cross Shelter. Over 200 pounds of food was collected! Of course there reallly isn't a charge to come to church, but the hope is that the habit of bringing food each week was developed during the month. For Lent the A'Mission charge is a non-food item such as toothpaste, shampoo, deodrant etc. GOOD NEWS for our shelter family.
Sponsor children. As a congregation we sponsor Lucien who lives in Haiti. We are still praying for him and awaiting information from UCC Conspeth ministry in Haiti regarding his safety after the recent earthquake. Several families within the church sponsor other children in the USA and Mexico.

Your Thoughts!?!

The outreach committee wants to be sure that we are representing what you would like us to be doing mission-wise. We have tried to have a balance of local and world-wide missions. If you have a mission that you would like us to consider supporting, please speak to a member of the committee: Carol Matregrano, Ginny Murphy, Karen Terrio-Malave, Lori Chadwick, Susette Negrelli, or Betsey Booth.