Posted in 
At the request of Goshen Community Care and Hospice, the Mission Committee has decided to set up a food closet at the church for those approaching the church in need of food resources. With a growing number of families and individuals struggling with food insecurity (1 in 6 in CT!) we are having more need for resources to share. Particularly needed foods include: cereal, juice, canned ready to eat meals like stew or soup, peanut butter and jelly, pasta and sauce, canned meat like tuna, canned fruit, apple sauce, coffee, and breakfast bars. Food is being collected in the narthex under the Deacon’s table and is divided between needs in our closet and our partners in Torrington as FISH, Friendly Hands, and the Soup Kitchen. On Spring cleaning day, we set up the closet and stocked the shelves. Food is available to those who ask with no restrictions on means or where they live. Access to the food closet is available during church office hours or by request to Pastor Paige or Deb Dipietro at the Goshen Community Care and Hospice.
New Bible Study Series Thursday Nights! One of the provocative teaching tools that Jesus used was parables – short stories meant to make us think about our faith. Many parables have more than one insight to offer and raise as many questions for us to ponder as answers! Many of these stories are very familiar to us – like the parable of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son – and yet the wonder is that there are still gifts they offer in our faith journey! Join us for a series on Jesus’s parables. We will be using the resource “Parables from the Back Side” by Ellsworth Kallis. We will gather on Thursday evenings from 7-8:30 pm in the Fellowship room. Each meeting will consider a different parable. Come for one or for all! The series will go from April 26 – June 20.
This year, we have been focusing our goals around “Living our faith” and “Loving our community.” In a recent discussion around how we live our faith and how the church supports us, Deacons discussed making Adult Education programs more convenient for our busy members. To that end, we will be offering “Worship and Education for All Ages” once a month during the program year. The schedule for the morning will be 10-10:45 am – worship for everyone followed by Sunday school and an adult forum until 11:30 am.
Our next Worship & Education for All Ages will be on Sunday, May 5. The Adult Forum will be sponsored by Mission 4/1 Earth with a short film titled “Connecticut Working Lands” about farming in Connecticut. Since Goshen was and is still a farm community, this is of particular interest to us!
Pastor Paige’s Page: “Still Revolutionary”
The Connecticut Office of Tourism has a new campaign to attract people to visit our state: “Connecticut: Still Revolutionary”. It is an engaging slogan that points us both to our history, but also to our present and future all at the same time.
The Rev Kent Siladi, our new conference minister, wants to appropriate the slogan for the church in the 21st century! While there are many who think about religion as old-fashioned, out of date, up tight, and judgmental, we know that the path Christ set before us was anything but! As we try to live our faith and love our community, we seek to be relevant – a resource for the challenges facing us as individuals and as community in an ever changing culture. The core values that Christ taught us still make us revolutionary 21 centuries later – concern for justice, for creation, compassion, forgiveness, peace making, loving people considered disposable by society, focusing on giving instead of getting, building community instead of trying to get ahead as individuals, and living as people of grace in a world quick to pass judgment.
For many of us, the church is a blessing – a place of care and challenge, of opportunity and inspiration. How can we share that blessing with others and open their eyes to the church as a force that is not antique by revolutionary?
Believing without checking your brain at the door!
Do you have to accept the Bible “hook, line, and sinker” to be a Christian? What does it mean to take it seriously, but not literally? Do you have doubts and questions that make you wonder if you belong at church? Would you like to discuss faith topics in a relaxed place where questions are celebrated? Than join our Skeptics Club!
We meet the first Tuesday of the month from 7-8:30 pm over desert, coffee, and tea. All are welcome to join us! Our next meeting is March 5 at 6:30 pm when we will reflect on spiritual practices and join the Labyrinth Walk scheduled for 7 pm.
We have set the spring calendar for youth activities! More information is coming on many of these, but get these on your calendar!
Feb 10: 4:30 – DR Mission Trip Team Meeting
6-7:30 pm – Dinner Club for all youth
March 8-9 – 7 pm – Noon – Youth Lock-in: “Beyond the Peace sign”
March 16 – DR Lasagna Dinner and Silent Auction
March 17 – Giv2 Workday – Noon – 5 pm
March 24 – Palm Sunday presentation in Worship
April 7 – Bowling Trip
April 28 – Giv2 Workday – Noon-5 pm
May 5 – Movie Night
June 2 – Mini golf Trip
June 9 – 11:45 am – Confirmation 2014 Information Meeting
Week of Jun 16 – Weekday trip to Catamount Ariel Adventure Park
June 23 – Commissioning of DR Mission Team in Worship
Jun 25- July 2 – Dominican Mission Trip
July 25-27 – Trip to Heifer’s Overlook Farm
With busy lives, finding time for everything can be a challenge! We have been asked to add an earlier worship service for those who have other Sunday morning commitments. On Sundays at 8:30 am we will offer a shorter, simpler worship service. This service won’t include special music or children’s time. All are welcome!
Church fully Accessible!
It took an amazing amount of work and even more patience, but at last our Elevator is working again! This will make it possible for people who are challenged in mobility can come to worship, coffee hour and even use the restroom! With the Elevator, handicapped accessible bathroom, the hearing assist units and the large-print bulletins, we are vastly more accessible for those with disabilities! Spread the word! The elevator repair would not have been possible without the hard work of Ray and Heather Turri and Chuck Karnolt and a significant amount of Trustee time. Be sure to add your voice to the chorus of thanks going their way! Now that the elevator is working, lets try to make sure that our handicapped parking places by the Fellowship room door are left clear for those needing the elevator!Did you know that the church has a number of email newsletters that you can sign up to receive? There are weekly activity updates, youth news, sermons, Sunday school news, Mission Events, a prayer network, and more! If you want to receive any of these emails, all you have to do is go to the church webpage and click the button for “join our mailing list”. There, you will be able to sign yourself up! You can also change your email list or which newsletters you receive!
