Notes from West Mountain…                                            The Rev. Mark Diters

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE— THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME!

2021…To begin, a bit of news…Colleen Mitchell will be leaving her work here at the end of January. It is a loss for us, she has been with us for about ten years. And she is a pure pleasure to work with and I will miss her.

For a while now, Colleen has worked part-time at the New Britain Museum of American Art. Over the holiday she was offered a promotion to become the new Manager of Visitor and Volunteer Services. This is a marvelous opportunity for her. For all of us, I wish her great success and wonderful experiences ahead.

So! We are beginning a search for a new Office Administrator, post haste, as they say. As the moderator, Linda Wright has assembled a search group made up of Chris Morrill, Kim Dickson, and myself. We are honing the job description for circulation and will be sending it to the church mailing list before we expand the search.

We believe word of mouth will play a factor in finding someone soon, so please if anyone knows of someone who might “fit the bill” please let us know.

ANNUAL REPORTS DUE
Please email all Annual Reports to the church office by January 12, 2020. flaggroaducc@gmail.com. More details on the January 31, 2021 Annual Meeting to come.

JANUARY 2021 SECOND MILE OFFERING

The Hartford Deportation Defense’s Greater Hartford Immigration Fund will be the January 2021 Second Mile Offering.

Most people who are forced to appear in immigration court or who are in immigration detention do not have any legal support.  Members of the Hartford Deportation Defense’s network often go to court with people who don’t have attorneys. They fight deportations and challenge the repressive U.S. immigration laws.  Those who resist deportation are more likely to stay here if they have legal representation.

Since 2018 the Hartford Deportation Defense’s Greater Hartford Immigration Fund has made small grants (typically in the amount of $500) to families for legal expenses and other costs related to preventing deportation. The Center for Leadership and Justice (formerly the Christian Activities Council) engages in broad-based organizing for social justice in the Greater Hartford area and supports this vital fund.  Please consider donating to help immigrant families stay here.

WEEKLY OFFERING ENVELOPES

The weekly offering envelopes are available for pickup in the church office.

SILVER LAKE 2021

Registration for the 2021 summer season opens on January 15th. The 2021 brochure and additional information about the summer camp sessions is available at https://www.silverlakect.org/summercamp

EVENTS AND EXPERIENCES TEAM

Last March, the Events and Experiences team had been working on putting together an Art Show which was to open in April. Due to the pandemic, the show was put on hold.  However, many church members are being creative at home and we invite you to document or set aside your creations to share with others when we can again gather in our church space. Have you taken photographs, made an amazing dessert, written a poem, recorded a song, painted a picture, made up a game, or otherwise utilized your creativity during these unusual times? More information will be provided at a later date. Have fun!