United Church of Strafford, Vermont
All are welcome, without exception.
Holy Week 2022
Holy Week begins Sunday, April 10th, with our 10:00 AM Palm and Passion Sunday service, in person and on Zoom. We begin the service with the jubilant celebration of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem and then we follow the story of that week as tension builds through the Last Supper and Garden of Gethsemane, and ending with his death on the cross.
It is one of the most moving services of the year and we sing beloved hymns, including “What Wondrous Love Is This,” and Isaac Watts’ “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and the J.S. Bach-harmonized Passion Chorale that he made famous, “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded.”
The service is designed to prepare us for the glorious outburst of life and light on Easter morning, April 17th. It makes Easter much more meaningful and real if we have gone through the Passion first.
Here are the other special services or opportunities that week:
Good Friday Observations on April 15th The sanctuary will be available on Good Friday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM for meditation and reflection. We will have a bulletin with passages to read and other suggestions. We encourage you also to consider the wilderness walk hosted by Metanoia of Vermont. Mark and Lisa Kutolowski write: “Everywhere there is life in the natural world, there is death, and everywhere there is death, there is restoration and life coming out of death. The Wilderness Way of the Cross is a way of prayerfully engaging with the dying of creation, in solidarity with the suffering and death manifest in Jesus’ own death. We invite you to join us on Good Friday to walk the Wilderness Way of the Cross with us from 10am – 12pm at the Metanoia Homestead. Email info@metanoiavt.com to RSVP and for more details.”
The Easter Sunrise Service on April 17th will be at 6:00 AM in front of the doors of the Town House. We encourage you to drive to the top if walking up the steep rise is difficult for you. Sunrise services are relatively short, including scripture readings, a brief reflection and prayer, and a hymn or two. Being outside at dawn together gives the ritual its power—rain or shine!
The main 10:00 AM Easter Service on the 17th will be the first time we have been together to sing our favorite Easter hymns since 2019, and we hope the sanctuary will be ringing with joyful abandon!
Joey Hawkins and Danette Harris will teach the children what Palm Sunday and Easter mean during Spiritual Exploration those two weeks.
It is the last stage of the wilderness journey through Lent. Thank you for walking it together!
2021 Thanksgiving through Christmas Services, Concerts and Events
The Sunday services are available to stream on Zoom—for instructions, click here. See below for the Christmas Eve Zoom link, and please email the church at unitedchurchofstrafford@gmail.com to make reservations to attend Christmas Eve in person.
Thanksgiving to Christmas Services & Events Calendar
Thurs. Nov. 25 Strafford Interfaith Thanksgiving Service
10:00 AM in our sanctuary (NOTE the change of location). We invite you to add meaning to the day by sharing readings, songs or spontaneous expressions of gratitude with your neighbors and visitors in a simple, heartfelt community service. This service will be in-person only, masked and physically distanced.
Sun. Nov. 28 First Sunday of Advent
Advent begins with the beautiful rituals of bringing in the greens and lighting the Advent candle of Hope and the congregation singing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Children love the rituals and stories, and so do adults! Celebrate the power of the light that shines in the darkness.
Fri. Dec. 3 “Noël” Concert 7:00 PM with Julie Ness, Timothy Cummings, Jeremiah McLane and Annemieke McLane
Sun. Dec. 5 Second Sunday of Advent The candle of Peace.
Fri. Dec. 10 CANCELED Thetford Chamber Singers Concert CANCELED
Sun. Dec. 12 Third Sunday of Advent and Pageant Sunday
During the 10:00 AM service Rachel Guaraldi will present a puppet pageant with an opportunity for children to participate and for the congregation to sing carols. Afterward, Tom will lead a brief Advent service and we will light the candle of Joy. A little more: This Year’s Pageant: A Nativity Puppet Show Inspired by puppetry of the Waldorf tradition and wonder-based storytelling of Godly Play, Rachel Guaraldi, a chaplain, minister & mother, will tell the story of the Holy Family as they traveled to Bethlehem, celebrated the birth of Jesus, and were visited by shepherds, angels and wise men.
Sun. Dec. 19 Fourth Sunday of Advent, Mary Sunday
Lighting the candle of Love and celebrating Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the model she serves for our spiritual lives.
Tues. Dec. 24 Christmas Eve Service 5:30 PM
Please note that we will have limited seating due to Covid and are requesting that you make a reservation in order to attend this beautiful, traditional service—lessons and carols and gorgeous choral and instrumental music, ending with a sanctuary lit entirely by candles and singing Silent Night. This year instead of blowing out our candles we will end the service carrying that light out into the world—both a Covid precaution and the return of a traditional ritual of this congregation. The Zoom link to stream the service live is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89273297553. The Meeting ID is 892 7329 7553. Please email unitedchurchofstrafford@gmail.com if you need more information or assistance, including to make a reservation for in-person attendance.
Sun. Dec. 26 Our annual informal, potluck Christmas Carol Sing and Story Telling Service at our 10:00 AM service—a highlight of the season for many people. We sing carols by request, and you are invited to bring a favorite Christmas story to tell, either personal story or a classic tale, or poems or quotes or songs—a kind of inspirational pot-luck.
Sun. Jan. 5 Epiphany Sunday The Magi follow the star…
On Line Worship Service, November 21, 2021
Thank you for being part of our church community! We have returned to the sanctuary for in-person services but we will also continue live streamed and recorded service options. See those options below!
Whoever you are, wherever you are on your journey, you are welcome here and in our church community.
Pastor Tom Kinder
Ways to Join In Other Than in Person:
- Join us by Zoom on Sunday mornings by clicking here.
- Receive our weekly newsletter with updated announcements by emailing unitedchurchofstrafford@gmail.com. You can see our most recent newsletter at https://unitedchurchofstrafford.com/category/newsletters/.
- Respond with thoughts about the service or anything else by using the comment feature at the end of the post or by emailing us. You can also bring others into this experience by sharing the link to this webpage by email or social media.
- Browse the bulletin PDF with the Order of Worship, announcements and the weekly haiku.
- Read the texts of the Scripture Readings here: 11-21-21 Service Readings
- Read the texts of the Call to Worship, Children’s Time and Sermon by clicking here: 11-21-21 sermon pdf
- View the video below of the entire service (not including times of personal sharing). The video on YouTube has Chapters with timestamps listed in the description below the video itself, so we suggest that you click “View on YouTube” at the bottom of the video. Then if you click on the time of the section of the service you want to watch, the video will fast forward there. NOTE: You will need to click on “SHOW MORE” in the YouTube video description, and then a panel will open that will include the Chapters and timestamps.
Make an offering! This congregation is a small but meaningful part of the movement to establish God’s realm of peace, justice and care for God’s creation on earth, actively engaged in serving our community and supporting the wider worldwide movement. One of the ways we work together and increase our strength beyond our individual abilities is by pooling our resources. This is hard to do when we are forced apart by the pandemic, so we hope you will take just a minute to use our online donation service. To make your offering on line, please click here. (This is a service we are providing through an extremely well established on-line donation company specializing in churches that is recommended by the national United Church of Christ and used by thousands of churches like ours. To read more about our decision to allow on line donations, click here.)
Stay in touch! It is extremely important that we continue to stay closely connected during this transition time when we are not yet out of the pandemic. Please reach out by phone or email to neighbors and other members of the congregation, especially those who live by themselves or are struggling or vulnerable. Our Deacon Chair Becky Bailey is coordinating our Deacons Fund and our outreach to people in need of support, and Danette Harris, Chair of our Mission Committee, is leading our work with the Food Shelf. If you would like to donate or help please email us or use the comment feature on this page.
Bulletin with Order of Worship for November 21, 2021
You can see the bulletin for our 10:00 AM Sunday morning service here: 11-21-21 bulletin online version
The service is open to attend in person or by Zoom. We would love to have you join us either way! You can find Zoom instructions and the link by clicking here.
You can find video recordings and sermon texts and more from past services here: https://unitedchurchofstrafford.com/category/on-line-services/
On Line Worship Service, November 14, 2021
Thank you for being part of our church community! We have returned to the sanctuary for in-person services but we will also continue live streamed and recorded service options. See those options below!
Whoever you are, wherever you are on your journey, you are welcome here and in our church community.
Pastor Tom Kinder
Ways to Join In Other Than in Person:
- Join us by Zoom on Sunday mornings click here.
- Receive our weekly newsletter by emailing unitedchurchofstrafford@gmail.com.
- Respond with thoughts about the service or with anything by using the comment feature at the end of the post or by emailing us. You can also bring others into this experience by sharing the link to this webpage by email or social media.
- Browse the bulletin PDF with the Order of Worship, announcements and the weekly haiku.
- Read the PDF texts of the Scripture Readings.
- Starting Monday, Nov. 15, view the video of the entire service (not including times of personal sharing). The video on YouTube has Chapters with timestamps listed in the description below the video itself. If you click on the time of the section of the service you want to watch, the video will fast forward there. NOTE: You will need to click on “SHOW MORE” in the YouTube video description, and then a panel will open that will include the Chapters and timestamps.
- Make an offering! This congregation is a small but meaningful part of the movement to establish God’s realm of peace, justice and care for God’s creation on earth, actively engaged in serving our community and supporting the wider worldwide movement. One of the ways we work together and increase our strength beyond our individual abilities is by pooling our resources. This is hard to do when we are forced apart by the pandemic, so we hope you will take just a minute to use our online donation service. To make your offering on line, please click here. (This is a service we are providing through an extremely well established on-line donation company specializing in churches that is recommended by the national United Church of Christ and used by thousands of churches like ours. To read more about our decision to allow on line donations, click here.)
- Stay in touch! It is extremely important that we continue to stay closely connected during this transition time when we are not yet out of the pandemic. Please reach out by phone or email to neighbors and other members of the congregation, especially those who live by themselves or are struggling or vulnerable. Our Deacon Chair Becky Bailey is coordinating our Deacons Fund and our outreach to people in need of support, and Danette Harris, Chair of our Mission Committee, is leading our work with the Food Shelf. If you would like to donate or help please email us or use the comment feature on this page.
On Line Worship Service, November 7, 2021
Welcome to this service. Thank you for being part of our church community!
We have returned to the sanctuary for in-person services but we will also continue live streamed and recorded service options. If you would like to join us by Zoom on Sunday mornings click here.
If you would like to be added to our weekly newsletter list please let us know at unitedchurchofstrafford@gmail.com
You can respond with thoughts about the service or with anything you would like to say by using the comment feature at the end of the post or by emailing us. You can also bring others into this experience by sharing the link to this webpage by email or social media.
Whoever you are, wherever you are on your journey, you are welcome here and in our church community.
Pastor Tom Kinder
Here are ways for you to connect to the service:
1. The Bulletin PDF 11-7-21 bulletin online version
2. The Scripture Reading Texts PDF 11-7-21 Service Readings
3. After the service, we’ll post the Video on YouTube (You can find instructions on how to watch specific sections of the service in the video description on YouTube. The description will be below the video after you click “Watch on YouTube.”)
4. Offering
This congregation is a small but meaningful part of the movement to establish God’s realm of peace, justice and care for God’s creation on earth, actively engaged in serving our community and supporting the wider worldwide movement.
One of the ways we work together and increase our strength beyond our individual abilities is by pooling our resources. This is hard to do when we are forced apart by the pandemic, so we hope you will take just a minute to use our online donation service.
To make your offering on line, please click here. (This is a service we are providing through an extremely well established on-line donation company specializing in churches that is recommended by the national United Church of Christ and used by thousands of churches like ours. To read more about our decision to allow on line donations, click here.)
Announcements
To read our announcements please see our weekly churchwide emails by clicking here.
You can be added to our email list by requesting so at unitedchurchofstrafford@gmail.com.
It is extremely important that we continue to stay closely connected during this transition time when we are not yet out of the pandemic. Please reach out by phone or email to neighbors and other members of the congregation, especially those who live by themselves or are struggling or vulnerable.
Our Deacon Chair Becky Bailey is coordinating our Deacons Fund and our outreach to people in need of support, and Danette Harris, Chair of our Mission Committee, is leading our work with the Food Shelf. If you would like to donate or help please email us or use the comment feature on this page.
On Line Worship Service, October 31, 2021
Welcome to this service. Thank you for being part of our church community!
We have returned to the sanctuary for in-person services but we will also continue live streamed and recorded service options. If you would like to join us by Zoom on Sunday mornings click here.
If you would like to be added to our weekly newsletter list please let us know at unitedchurchofstrafford@gmail.com
You can respond with thoughts about the service or with anything you would like to say by using the comment feature at the end of the post or by emailing us. You can also bring others into this experience by sharing the link to this webpage by email or social media.
Whoever you are, wherever you are on your journey, you are welcome here and in our church community.
Pastor Tom Kinder
RESOURCES FOR CONNECTING TO THE SERVICE
- The bulletin PDF with the Order of Worship, announcements and the weekly haiku. Click HERE.
- The written text PDF of the Sermon, Call to Worship and other key parts of the service.
- Within a day of the service, the video of the entire service (not including times of personal sharing). The video on YouTube has Chapters with timestamps listed in the description below the video itself. If you click on the time of the section of the service you want to watch, the video will fast forward there. NOTE: You will need to click on “SHOW MORE” in the YouTube video description, and then a panel will open that will include the Chapters and timestamps.
Offering
This congregation is a small but meaningful part of the movement to establish God’s realm of peace, justice and care for God’s creation on earth, actively engaged in serving our community and supporting the wider worldwide movement.
One of the ways we work together and increase our strength beyond our individual abilities is by pooling our resources. This is hard to do when we are forced apart by the pandemic, so we hope you will take just a minute to use our online donation service.
To make your offering on line, please click here. (This is a service we are providing through an extremely well established on-line donation company specializing in churches that is recommended by the national United Church of Christ and used by thousands of churches like ours. To read more about our decision to allow on line donations, click here.)
Announcements
To read our announcements please see our weekly churchwide emails by clicking here.
You can be added to our email list by requesting so at unitedchurchofstrafford@gmail.com.
It is extremely important that we continue to stay closely connected during this transition time when we are not yet out of the pandemic. Please reach out by phone or email to neighbors and other members of the congregation, especially those who live by themselves or are struggling or vulnerable.
Our Deacon Chair Becky Bailey is coordinating our Deacons Fund and our outreach to people in need of support, and Danette Harris, Chair of our Mission Committee, is leading our work with the Food Shelf. If you would like to donate or help please email us or use the comment feature on this page.
United Church of Strafford, Vermont 