Missions

The Missions Committee actively supports the Church's local Community Outreach efforts and designated programs of the UCC Conference.  Funds in 2023 were sent to four of the five UCC Conference Outreach programs.  One special offering was collected for One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) and monies disbursed came from our Noisy Collections and Bottles and Cans Donations.  We also supported the Opportunity Alliance and Grace St. Ministry charities and the Riverside United Methodist Church (RUMC) Food Pantry.  In December 2023, we started to support the DAISYS Children Program of the UCC YorkAssociation and made our first donation of $250 in December.  Starting in 2024, we will donate $250.00 to this charity twice a year in both June and December.

Pastoral Relations

The primary charge of the Pastoral Relations Committee (PRC) is to coordinate communication between the pastor and the congregation so that the pastor can learn how the congregation believes its needs and wishes are being served, and the pastor can inform the congregation how their support can be directed.

The PRC met as needed during the 2023 year for three reasons:
1. To convey widespread appreciation to Pastor Kris for her support of members in need and for the thoughtfulness and quality of her sermons;
2. To determine how the congregation could be more supportive of her as more of her time was demanded by her service to the Guard;
3. To convey some minor concerns and suggestions to Pastor Kris that the Committee had collected from various members.  The complaints/suggestions that we did consider were taken seriously, but were also framed as considerations for improving an already healthy relationship.  Each suggestion or comment was respectfully discussed as Pastor Kris displayed a genuine concern for trying to find a resolution that might work for everyone.

As we had in the past, the Committee reported to the Pastor that we believed that the vast majority (if not the entirety) of the congregation was well pleased with:
1. Her genuine concern for the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being for others - especially for, but not limited to, members of the congregation;

2. The thoughtfulness and relevance of her sermons that left us with rich food for thought;.
3. Her positive, upbeat attitude that often helped us see the good in hard situations and in other people; and
4. Her initiative in trying new things (such as movie nights, youth church, painting and writing sessions) to help engage and enrich the congregation.

In short, the Pastoral Relations Committee believes the relations with our pastor are good, and we are grateful for her dedicated service to our small church.  We look forward to benefitting from Pastor Kris' pastoral guidance for theforeseeable future.

Ladies Guild

The Ladies Guild met a total of six times in 2023.  We had nine members for the year.

As in the years since COVID, we refrained from giving fruit and goodie baskets at Easter and Thanksgiving time.  Jean purchased Hannaford $25 giftcards and themed greeting cards and mailed them out before each holiday.  We reached out to five community members with our gift cards and remembered two members with greetings for Easter.  Our list had dwindled by November when we reached out to thee community members with a gift card and mailed greetings to four members.

The Bargain Shop was open from May 18 thru November 4 in 2023.  Our faithful manager was honored with remembrances by many shoppers each and every week there before their family re-located to New Hampshire.  The Guild is deeply grateful for all their perseverance over the years in keeping the Bargain Shop in good order and running smoothly.  With the guidance of the current members we expect to have business as usual at the Shop come May of 2024.

Our Christmas Fair was held in the vestry on Saturday, December 2, 9am-2pm.  A luncheon was available 11am-1pm.  We had all the usual tables and a replenished supply of Rada cutlery available to our shoppers.  Thanks to everyone who helped out by cleaning, decorating, setting up, sewing, cooking, knitting, crocheting, carrying boxes, waiting on customers, eating lunch and doing dishes!  It was a very busy few days and the list of volunteers is long!

We funded and contributed to a larger number of important projects during the year and saw the weathervane safely reinstalled on the clock tower of the Bargain Shop.  We are already looking toward 2024 and working with the Town of Cornish toward some much needed exterior painting at the Bargain Shop building.

The Budet Committee and the Nominations Committee

are administrative Committees.