The Church Bell

Chiming in…

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I want to begin my expressing my heartfelt gratitude for the

wonderful celebration of my Installation on April 17th. It was a joy

to have so many of you there as I was officially installed as your

new Pastor. My heart was so full to have friends, family,

colleagues, and congregation all together for that special day.

Thank you to all of you for the many ways you participated,

attended, planned, rehearsed, sang, played, prayed, or celebrated

-- it was a perfect day.

Alex and I are beginning to feel at home here in Little Compton,

thanks to the warm welcome we have received from all of you. In

these short 8 months, I feel I have gotten to know so many of you-

- and had the privilege of walking with you through both joys and

sorrows. It is an honor to serve this church and it was a joy to

formally mark my new ministry here with you on April 17th. I look

forward to all the ministries we will do together and the

adventures we will have!

In Gratitude,

Rebecca

United

Congregational

Church The Commons

P.O. Box 506

Little Compton, RI 02837

Telephone 401-635-8472

Fax 401-635-8473

Office Hours:

Tues – Fri, 9 AM – 3 PM

Worship Service:

Sundays at 10 AM

Email:

dawn@ucc.necoxmail.com

Web Site: UCCLCRI.org

2016

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Chiming In…A message from

Rev. Rebecca

Committee News

Bells Are Ringing (Baptisms,

Weddings, Deaths)

Community Shred Day Photos

Summer Fair News

Letter of Thanks from the LC

Food Bank

Memorial Brick Order Form

What’s Happening?

● May/June Calendar

~IMPORTANT~

If you have a pastoral

emergency, please contact us so

we can be there for you! During

office hours (Tues-Friday, 9am-

3pm), please call the church

office at (401) 635-8472 to reach

Rev. Rebecca. If you have a

pastoral emergency outside of

office hours, please contact

Head Deacon Kate Schmitt at

774-264-1972.

BOARD AND

COMMITTEE NEWS

For more information on any of

the following committees, please

contact the church office at

635-8472 or email Dawn at

dawn@ucc.necoxmail.com

Kate Schmitt, Chair

The Deacons would like to

welcome three new members

this spring. Cheryl Tammaro, Bill

Ryan, and Norm Lofsky have

joined the Board of Deacons and

are already contributing in many

ways to the life of the church.

We also welcome back Sally Ann

Ledbetter, who stepped up last

summer to complete Christine

Merriman’s term when she

moved away. Sally Ann is now

serving a full term. You will see

them greeting at the front door,

helping at the elevator, reading

scripture and helping with

communion. We are also

fortunate to have their

thoughtful voices in discussions

at our meetings.

As we move forward with our

new members, we also want to

send a big “Thank you” to the

Deacons whose terms expired:

Tara Bradley, Debbie Kelchner,

Christine Merriman, and BG

Shanklin. We are grateful for all

their contributions to the life of

the Church.

**********

A note from Rev. Rebecca

and the Deacons

Several members of our

congregation brought to our

attention the following letter

sent out by the United Church of

Christ (our denomination) in

support of a statement made by

the Episcopal Church just before

Holy Week. This is an

unprecedented action in which

the two denominations joined

together in supporting a

common statement. The

statement is a response to the

disconcerting rise in hateful

rhetoric in our nation’s public

discourse. It calls all Christians

to remember the guiding

principles of our faith -- love of

neighbor, especially those on the

margins, and the dignity of all

people as God’s children. We

discussed the letters at the

Board of Deacons meeting and

voted to share them with the

congregation for your

consideration. It is for each of us

to decide prayerfully in our own

hearts what it means to live the

life of service and love to which

Christ calls us. We hope these

letters will be food for thought.

Please let Rev. Rebecca or Head

Deacon Kate Schmitt know if you

have interest in further

discussion about these letters;

we would be happy to set up a

time for group conversation if

there is interest.

3/17/2016

UCC Conference cover letter:

Jim Antal, Barbara Libby and

Kent Siladi, the Conference

Ministers from Massachusetts,

Rhode Island and Connecticut,

respectively, sent out the

following message to churches,

clergy and lay leaders across the

three Conferences today:

Grace and peace to you as we

approach Holy Week. Over the

decades, this time has been for

each of us an opportunity to

identify more and more deeply

with the passion of our Lord

Jesus and its claim on our lives

and our opportunities for

witness.

As all of us gather together in

worship on Palm-Passion

Sunday, it’s also a time to find

solidarity in community.

On March 16, we joined the 38

UCC Conference Ministers and

together, we joined our

counterparts in the Episcopal

Church (the House of Bishops) by

unanimously signing on to a

statement they released March

15, 2016. This unprecedented

action -- the leaders of our two

denominations joining together -

- is in response to the

unprecedented political climate

in our country as the presidential

primary season continues.

You can read our statement

below. You can also find it in this

story on UCC.org.

Some of you will be moved to

read it aloud as part of your

announcements on Sunday.

Board of

Deacons

Some of you will make room for

this in your bulletins. Some of

you will forward this email to the

members of your congregations.

However you are moved to share

this word to the church, we are

grateful for you, your ministry,

and the witness we are called to

bear together.

Faithfully,

Jim Antal, Minister and

President, Massachusetts

Conference United Church of

Christ

Barbara Libby, Conference

Minister, Rhode Island

Conference United Church of

Christ

Kent Siladi, Conference Minister,

Connecticut Conference United

Church of Christ

**********

Original Letter from the

Episcopal Bishops:

A Word to the Church

Holy Week 2016

From the House of Bishops of

The Episcopal Church and co-

signed by the Council of

Conference Ministers of the

United Church of Christ

We reject the idolatrous notion

that we can ensure the safety of

some by sacrificing the hopes of

others.

On Good Friday the ruling

political forces of the day

tortured and executed an

innocent man. They sacrificed

the weak and the blameless to

protect their own status and

power. On the third day Jesus

was raised from the dead,

revealing not only their

injustice but also unmasking

the lie that might makes right.

In a country still living under

the shadow of the lynching

tree, we are troubled by the

violent forces being released by

this season's political rhetoric.

Americans are turning against

their neighbors, particularly

those on the margins of

society. They seek to secure

their own safety and security

at the expense of others. There

is legitimate reason to fear

where this rhetoric and the

actions arising from it might

take us.

In this moment, we resemble

God's children wandering in

the wilderness. We, like they,

are struggling to find our way.

They turned from following

God and worshiped a golden

calf constructed from their own

wealth. The current rhetoric is

leading us to construct a

modern false idol out of power

and privilege. We reject the

idolatrous notion that we can

ensure the safety of some by

sacrificing the hopes of others.

No matter where we fall on the

political spectrum, we must

respect the dignity of every

human being and we must

seek the common good above

all else.

We call for prayer for our

country that a spirit of

reconciliation will prevail and

we will not betray our true

selves.

Jane Lorch, Chair

Shirley Hardison, Clerk,

United Congregational Church

Quarterly Meeting

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Following Worship Service

WARRANT

Members of the United

Congregational Church in Little

Compton are hereby warned of

the Quarterly Meeting of said

church to be held on Sunday,

May 1, 2016 in the sanctuary of

the church immediately

following the service. The

purpose of said meeting will be:

�Reports from Board &

Committees

�Quarterly Financial Reports

�Old Business

�New Business

Peter Derbyshire, Chair

In November of 2015 we

contracted to have the insulation

of the sanctuary attic upgraded.

This was a long overdue project

which we hoped to help us save

money on our growing electric

bills.

Board of

Trustees

Buildings &

Grounds

The first step was to remove all

the existing fiberglass insulation

and generally clean up the space.

Then the roof was sprayed with

.8 lb. foam to a thickness of 8

1/2” resulting in R-38. The gable

end and belfry were sprayed to

achieve R-20. All this was

completed by early December.

At the end of January, we

compared our electrical use to

the previous January.

Jan 2015 we used 11,120 KwH.

Total cost of $2,070.72. Billed at

.187 cents per KwH.

Jan 2016 we used 5,520 KwH.

Total cost of $957.88. Billed at

.173 cents per KwH.

There were 1180 heating degree

days in Jan 2015. We used

9.4237 KwH per degree day.

There were 1011 heating degree

days in Jan 2016. We used

5.4599 KwH per degree day.

By doing some not so fancy

math, it appears that we

achieved a whopping 42.5%

savings when adjusted by

heating degree days! If this

savings holds thru the year (and I

do not see why it would not) we

will recover our investment in

less than 6 years. Yahoo!!!

Wi-Fi was installed in the Church

in January. There is one secured

and one open channel. Amongst

other possibilities, it allowed us

to install NEST thermostats to

control temperatures. Dawn has

control of the schedule from her

computer. When an event is

booked, she sets the temp in the

program for start and finish

times. The actual thermostats in

the building are soon to be

“locked”. (At present, I can

override from my cell phone

should the need arise. We are

still figuring out how best to

handle this day to day.)

This is just the beginning of our

effort to reduce our operating

expenses. We will look for other

projects as finances allow. Saving

energy is expensive in older

buildings!

While crawling down from the

steeple, during the insulation

process, it was noticed that

shingles were missing from the

belfry roof. We could see bare

wood. A quick call to the roofer

(Daignault Construction) and we

now have a new belfry roof! A

lot of sheathing had to be

replaced as it appears that it had

been leaking for some time. I

had to go up there to discuss

flashing details, sure glad I do

not spend too much time on

roofs anymore! It’s a long way to

the top of a 40 foot ladder!!!

A plea to all! The Church and

office have been found unlocked

after hours on numerous

occasions. If you are the last one

out, please check that the doors

are securely shut and locked!

Bob Hartnett, Chair

With the increase in people

attending on Sundays to see and

learn more about our lovely

Church we are beginning to see

positive changes in pledges and

giving on a weekly basis. Thank

you everyone for your

generosity, it is a vital part of

having a healthy place of

worship.

B&G took the time last month to

join our meeting to keep both

committees updated and plan

for future building needs and

costs associated with

maintaining our properties.

Throughout the year Finance will

be inviting other committees to

discuss ideas and any possible

changes that make sense.

We are grateful to have such a

dedicated Congregation. Keep up

the good work everyone! It does

make a difference.

Karen Corrigan

May is

Mental Health Month

Below is a small piece of an

article from Psychology Today.

Mental Health & Stigma

There are still attitudes within

most societies that view

symptoms of psychopathology as

threatening and uncomfortable,

and these attitudes frequently

foster stigma and discrimination

towards people with mental

health problems. Such reactions

are common when people are

brave enough to admit they have

a mental health problem, and

they can often lead on to various

forms of exclusion or

discrimination – either within

social circles or within the

workplace. What is mental

health stigma?: Mental health

Finance

Committee

Health &

Wellness

Ministry / Shawl

Ministry

stigma can be divided into two

distinct types: social stigma is

characterized by prejudicial

attitudes and discriminating

behavior directed towards

individuals with mental health

problems as a result of the

psychiatric label they have been

given. In contrast, perceived

stigma or self-stigma is the

internalizing by the mental

health sufferer of their

perceptions of discrimination

(Link, Cullen, Struening & Shrout,

1989), and perceived stigma can

significantly affect feelings of

shame and lead to poorer

treatment outcomes (Perlick,

Rosenheck, Clarkin, Sirey et al.,

2001). — Psychology Today

August 2013

If you or a loved one is suffering

from mental health issues, there

are many resources available to

you. Here are a few:

Newport County Community

Mental Health Center provides

trauma informed evidence-

based services to children,

adolescents, families, and adults

who are experiencing problems

with mental illness, substance

abuse or stress in their lives that

would benefit from counseling

and other behavioral health

services and supports. — 127

Johnny Cake Hill Road

Middletown, RI 02842

www.nccmhc.org

NAMI, National Alliance of

Mental Illness is the nation’s

largest grassroots mental health

organization dedicated to

building better lives for the

millions of Americans affected by

mental illness. www.nami.org

Mental Health Association of

Rhode Island, The mission of the

Mental Health Association of

Rhode Island is to promote

mental health, prevent mental

illness, and to improve the

system of care for mental health

through advocacy, education,

service, and the dissemination of

research. www.mhari.org

The Health & Wellness

Committee is available to assist

you in any of your health &

wellness needs and we would be

happy to point you in the right

direction.

Judith Anderson, Pam Church,

Wendy Merriman, Sue Chase,

Elizabeth Derbyshire, Holly

Billings, B.G. Shanklin, Karen

Corrigan

Bells are ringing…

Baptisms A warm welcome from our church

family to:

Timothy Taber Spooner

Son of Jonathan & Shannah

Spooner. Baptized on April 24,

2016.

Devin Gregory Oliveira

Son of Gregory & Cara Oliveira.

Baptized on April 24, 2016.

Kayla Mae Oliveira

Daughter of Gregory & Cara

Oliveira.

Baptized on April 24, 2016.

Mya Aliza Oliveira

Daughter of Gregory & Cara

Oliveira.

Baptized on April 24, 2016.

Passings – Members & Friends Our sympathies to the families of:

Ann Chase Hendrie

October 24, 2015 (F)

Pamela M. Mitchell

January 12, 2016 (M)

David Allen Harlow

March 5, 2016 (F)

Inger K. Ormston

March 17, 2016 (M)

Elinor S. Hough

March 21, 2016 (M)

Shirley Hardison

COMMUNITY SHRED DAY

THANK YOU to all who

participated!!

Outreach

Committee

SAVE THE DATE!!

Each year our church hosts an

annual Summer Fair, the largest

fundraiser for our church’s

annual budget and a much

anticipated community wide

event. There is a 4.8 mile Road

Race and a race for the kids as

well as activities of all types:

Arts & Crafts Vendors * White

Elephant * Used Book Sale *

Food Court featuring Little

Compton Restaurants and

Caterers * Bake Sale * Lobster

Luncheon * Ice Cream Sundaes *

Children's Game Tent * Dunk

Tank * Rock Climbing Wall * Jazz

Music * Jewelry * Silent Auction

* Dog Show. A Friday night

concert is being planned.

We will begin

accepting books

and White Elephant

items after church on Sunday,

June 5th! We would like to

encourage folks who are able to

please drop off on Tuesdays and

Thursdays between 10am and

noon or Sundays after church. If

you need to make special

arrangements for other drop off

times, please contact the church

office.

Sponsors and

volunteers are

needed for the

children’s games.

Sign-up sheets are located on

the Sunday School bulletin board

in the church vestry. Please

make checks payable to the

church and in the memo indicate

Fair -Children’s Games

Sponsorship. Thanks for your

support!

Summer Fair Silent Auction: It’s

never too early to think of the

Fair! Please consider donating

generously to the Silent Auction.

We are looking for items and/or

experiences that are fabulously

unique and wonderful. If you

are interested in donating

something, please contact the

church office.

Jewelry Table! We

have a wonderful

used jewelry table at

the fair. We

appreciate donations of any

jewelry in good condition that

you no longer wear. Items can

be brought into the church office

during office hours (Tues. – Fri.

9a.m. – 3p.m.). We also accept

buttons!

Questions about the Fair can be

directed to this year’s team of

Captains or to a specific

Committee Chair:

• Rev. Rebecca – Minister

• Russell Bodington –

Facilities, Set-up/Take

Down, Security & Race

Captain

• Debbie Kelchner – In-

house (Church)

Committees & Lobster

Luncheon Captain

• Sue Hutson – Finance,

Publicity/Sponsors, Raffle,

Silent Auction Captain

• Jane Lorch – Vendor &

Friday Night Special Event

Captain

Heather Helger

Director of Children & Youth

S.S. Faithful

May Sunday School

Workshops will

cover the Kingdom

of God (Heaven) Parable of the

Pearl.

Children & Youth Sunday will

take place on May 22nd. Any

child or youth who wishes to

lead a part of this special

worship service or play music,

should contact Heather as soon

as possible. A reminder that

Children’s Sunday will be the last

official day of Sunday School for

the remainder of this academic

year.

As usual 3rd graders will receive a

bible, please let Heather know if

your child is in 3rd grade. Also,

we love to congratulate all

graduates and include their

names in the bulletin on this

Sunday. If you know of an 8th

grade, High School or College

Graduate who is associated with

the church (even if they do not

attend regularly), please let me

know who they are. If a High

School graduate, please include

a name of the college they will

be attending if applicable and if a

College Graduate, from where

and with what degree(s).

Summer Church Fair

Children’s Games

Before Sunday School is out we

are hoping that all parents and

Sunday School Summer Fair

Sat., July 9th!

youth over the age of 13, will

please sign-up on the Sunday

School bulletin board to

volunteer to run a Children’s

Game for one shift (1 ½-2 hrs.

only, leaving plenty of time to

enjoy the day with your family)

for our upcoming Summer Fair

to be held on July 9th this year. If

you cannot physically volunteer

for whatever reason, you are out

of town or have to work, then

we ask that you please consider

a financial donation to sponsor a

game instead. There is a bulletin

board for sign-ups located in the

vestry – you can’t miss it!

Youth Group

The Youth Group will host Coffee

Hour on Mother’s Day, May 8th.

Youth will bake the Saturday

night before May 7th at 6:30 p.m.

in the Sunday School kitchen. A

plan to go bowling on May 22nd

at 5:30 p.m. at Holiday Lanes in

Westport will be our closing

Youth Group event for the

academic year. The MA

Conference is hosting a Youth

Afire Eco-justice opportunity on

Saturday May 14th in

Framingham. It is open to High

School aged youth; please

contact Heather if a youth is

interested in attending. On June

11th, the Youth Group is

scheduled to host a Babysitting

Fundraiser for a local wedding,

youth who want to help out

should mark their calendars.

UCC Summer Camps

If you are looking for a

traditional church camp

experience for your child(ren)

going into grades 3 - 12 check

out the UCC New England

Outdoor Ministry Website for

great opportunities throughout

the region.

http://www.uccnecamps.org/.

If you decide to send your

child/youth please let me know.

It would be awesome if we can

start a new tradition of our

children and youth attending

UCC Summer camps. I have

heard many testimonials of how

great of an influence camp can

have on a child and youth's faith!

For 2016, The Rhode Island site,

Irons Homestead is offering

Church Camp. In place of the

traditional - send your children

off to camp - they invite us to

bring our children to camp.

Think overnight Vacation Bible

School. If your family might be

interested in attending with a

group from our church, please

let Heather know, so we can

gauge interest. We are moving

forward to gather more details

at this time and will share them

as they are ironed out (no pun

intended).

Marjorie Simmons

Church Historian

Junior Choir (date unknown)

Bottom left to right and then

up: Jennifer Romagnolo, Andrea

Domingos, Hilary Jansen, Sarah

Sheldon, Hope Jansen.

Row 2: Hannah Borden, Eric

Wildes, ?, John Faria.

Row 3: Tracy Bishop, Annette

DeSouza.

Row 4: Stacy Faria, Angela

Wildes

Our deadline for the

July/August

Newsletter is

Friday, June 17th.

Blast from the

Past

Letter of Thanks from the Little Compton Food Bank

Memorial Garden Memorial Garden Memorial Garden Memorial Garden Edith Borden, Chair

Our next brick order for our Memorial Garden will be placed around Memorial Day. If you would like to place an order, please fill out the order form below or call the church office at 635-8472.

The United Congregational Church invites its members and friends to be a part of the Memorial Garden located between the Parsonage and the Parish House. Each 4” x 8” brick will cost $100 and can be engraved with 1, 2, or 3 lines. All proceeds raised from this project will go directly to the United Congregational Church Endowment Fund. All donations are 100% tax deductible; IRS Code 501 (c) (3).

In addition, you are encouraged to write a one-page biography of your loved ones, which will be entered in our Memorial Garden Album. Please write clearly (type or print) on the Logo paper, which can be picked up at the church office.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -

There must be one order form for each brick ordered. On each brick, three lines are available with 15 units maximum each line (one letter or punctuation mark per square). Allow one square for a space between words. If only one line is used, the size of the print will be larger. All capital letters will be used. Make checks payable to the United Congregational Church.

Line #1: � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

Line #2: � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

Line #3: � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

Purchaser’s name____________________________________Phone___________________________

Mailing Address_______________________________________________________________________ Street Town State Zip

You may duplicate this form to order more bricks. Please call the church office if you have more questions (401) 635-8472.

UNITED CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

The Commons

P.O. Box 506

Little Compton, RI 02837

Return Service Requested

SAVE THE DATE!

OUR SUMMER FAIR IS SATURDAY, JULY 9TH!!

UNITED CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH STAFF Tele: 401-635-8472 Fax: 401-635-8473

Website: www.ucclcri.org

Senior Minister Rev. Rebecca Floyd Marshall revrebecca@ucc.necoxmail.com

Church Secretary Dawn Ross dawn@ucc.necoxmail.com

Church Bookkeeper Maureen Cook bookkeeper@ucc.necoxmail.com

Director of Children & Youth Heather Helger ssfaithful@ucc.necoxmail.com

Music Director Michael Bahmann

Junior Choir Director Stephanie Derbyshire vtderby1@cox.net

Service Coordinators Janet Lofsky janetlofsky@aol.com

Karen Carneal Kcarneal7@cox.net

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

Communion Sunday 10:00 AM Worship Service 11:15 AM Shawl Ministry

2 3

7:00 PM Adult Choir

4 5

10:00 AM THRIFT SHOP OPENS!!

3:00 PM Junior Choir

6 7

11:00 AM Memorial Service "Hough"

8

10:00 AM Worship Service

9 7:00 PM Children & Youth Ministry Mtg.

10

7:00 PM Adult Choir

11 12

3:00 PM Junior Choir 6:00 PM Deacons Meeting

13 14

11:00 AM Memorial Service "Ormston"

15

QUARTERLY MEETING 10:00 AM Worship Service

16 17

9:30 AM Visiting Committee 6:30 PM Finance Committee 7:00 PM Adult Choir

18

6:30 PM Trustees Meeting

19

3:00 PM Junior Choir

20 5:30 PM Rehearsal "Lewis"

21

4:30 PM Wedding "Lewis"

22

10:00 AM Worship Service 11:15 AM Shawl Ministry

23 24

7:00 PM Adult Choir

25 26 27 28

29

10:00 AM Worship Service 11:15 AM Shawl Ministry

30 31

11:30 AM Staff Meeting 7:00 PM Adult Choir

1 2 11:30 AM Memorial Service "Hendrie"

3 4

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

29 10:00 AM Worship Service 11:15 AM Shawl Ministry

30 31 11:30 AM Staff Meeting 7:00 PM Adult Choir

1 2

11:30 AM Memorial Service "Hendrie"

3 4

5

OUTREACH SUNDAY 10:00 AM Worship Service 11:15 AM Shawl Ministry

6 7

7:00 PM Adult Choir

8 7:00 PM Fair Committee Meeting

9

6:00 PM Deacons Meeting

10 11

11:00 AM Memorial Service "Mitchell"

12

10:00 AM Worship Service 11:15 AM Shawl Ministry

13 14

7:00 PM Adult Choir

15

6:30 PM Trustees Meeting

16 17

18

19

10:00 AM Worship Service 11:15 AM Shawl Ministry

20 21

9:30 AM Visiting Committee 6:30 PM Finance Committee 7:00 PM Adult Choir

22 23 24 25

26

10:00 AM Worship Service 10:00 AM Worship Service

27 28

7:00 PM Adult Choir

29 30 1 2