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“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.” -Emily Dickinson Greetings from the Church President
I hope you are all doing well and practicing social distancing…remember 6 feet! Have a Heart - stay home or 6 feet apart. We have been directed by our Governor to Stay in Place and Stay Safe. I hope that you are all doing just that. Although you can sneak out for groceries, medical appointments or trips to the pharmacy. The other thing you can do is get out and enjoy spring. After the snow storm, the weather has been lovely and the fresh air…oh the fresh air of Vermont. Do get outside and breathe and walk and get some exercise. Sad News On Friday March 27, we received the sad news that Pat Liao died Thursday evening. It is suggested that expressions of sympathy may be sent to Pat’s daughter, Jennifer Dechen, 8 Lincoln Street, Springfield, Vermont 05156. Continue to keep Jennifer and her brother, Peter Liao who lives in Shanghai, China, as well as, other members of the family in your prayers. A service of celebration for the life of Pat will be held at a later date. Pastor Donald E. Harpster Prayer Concerns Even though our community of faith is sheltering in place and will not be gathering for fellowship and prayers for the foreseeable future, there are many who need both our prayers and care. We are all saddened by the passing of Pat Liao from COVID 19. Please keep her daughter, Jennie and granddaughters, Avery & Arden in your thoughts and prayers. Brenda and Dick Dansingburg recently lost their granddaughter, Marina Kelley, after a valiant and life long struggle with health issues. Jean Eggleston is recovering at home with her daughter, Kate and her partner. We are grateful that Laura Caravatt is back in her home in Vermont. Her son-in-law, Richard Holden, a physician in Connecticut, where Laura was staying developed a high fever. He was later diagnosed with the flu and not COVID 19. She has a neighbor who checks in on her, but I am sure would appreciate phone calls and well wishes Richard Stewart has recovered from strep throat. Evelyn Tucker is at Cedar Hill Nursing Home Evelyn Verro is in a nursing home in Albany Carolyn Gauthier, Susan Kneebone, Kathy Doyle, Annie Oakes, Herb Van Guilder, Terry DeYoung, Ginny Kottkamp, James Almond, and Judy Edwards continue to need our prayers, phone calls, cards, and emails or texts In our larger community there are many who need our prayers Pam Dundy is at home on oxygen. She is most appreciative when volunteers can pick up her mail or help out with groceries The family of Bob Kirkbride need our prayers as he died this past week from COVID 19. He and his wife (who died earlier this year) were devout Catholics, but friends to the United Church. Two members of the Josselyn Brothers Construction crew have become ill and we wish them a quick recovery. We know the power of prayer. If you have others to add to our prayer concerns, please email: [email protected] Stuff the Mailbox! To those who sent in their offering last week, THANK YOU so much. We do have ongoing expenses even though we are not meeting on a regular basis and we depend on an income. Please continue with your weekly offering by writing a check to The United Church and sending it in to Anne Oakes at 145 Merrill Rd., Ludlow, VT 05149. Imagine how good the Receiver of Offerings feels when she gets weekly envelopes with checks. After you mail the envelope, you will feel good too as you did your part to support our church and staff during these challenging times. Thank you so much. Up-date on the Building project. As you know the Governor has issued the Stay at Home order so the construction on our building has slowed since last week. It appears that the sheet rock is hung and the mudding started, but now we cannot expect to see major changes. The window was not delivered anyway so…. It will get finished when folks can get back to work. We have waited a long time for this wonderful addition so we can wait a bit longer….especially since we are not able to hold services in the building anyway. Reaching out to Help our Community As the unprecedented pandemic of COVID 19 is affecting our everyday lives in ways we never could have anticipated, there will be many in our community who will need our help from picking up groceries or medications, taking out trash, a home cooked meal or even a phone call to brighten their day. If you or anyone you know of in our community needs help in any way, please contact Laura Lienhard [email protected] (802) 236-7310 or Linda Thomson [email protected] (802)-228-6275 Some members of our church (could be you) will also be reaching out to the Membership/Friends of the church by phone to check in to make sure they are OK and as needed volunteer to help them with groceries, etc. If you might be willing to help by checking in with some folks (calling or emailing), please contact George Thomson at [email protected] or by calling 802-228-6275. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Continue to be Social! We made need to practice “social distancing,” but we are a social congregation AND we can still be social. Please consider calling at least two friends or neighbors every day to check in or just be social! I called some folks this week that I have not talked to in a long time and each call was almost an hour. People do miss the social connections so now is a great time to call. It is a wonderful mission outreach and will make you and them feel good. Try it and you will be rewarded. And as always: If the Pastor or any member of the congregation may be of service to you, please contact the church office at 802-228-4211 or Rev. Harpster at 802-875-8895. His email is [email protected]. Regarding Individuals in the Hospital or Sick at Home: It would be greatly appreciated that if you know of individuals or family members in the hospital or sick at home, to kindly inform the pastor, Rev. Harpster. Comments are closed.
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