Attention seniors!  Applications are available for the 2010 Sally Stowell Scholarship Award.  This scholarship was established in 2007 to offer support to a high school senior planning to major in childhood/youth studies in college.  Senior High members of First Church of Christ Congregational, UCC Bedford are eligible and encouraged to apply for this scholarship, which honors the inspiring Sally Stowell, who dedicated over 35 years of service as Director of Christian Nurture at First Church of Christ.  

Please pick up your application no later than March 10, 2010 and return it to the Christian Nurture Office by Friday, March 31st.  The recipient will be announced on Monday, April 26th at the Senior High Dinner.

Calling all Confirmands!  Classes for March are 17th   (Bridgeman) and 24th (Call me—Julie—if this is you, I forgot to write it down).  We will have a make-up day to catch-up sometime in April.  Bring your calendars so we can come up with a date! 

“Someone’s in the Kitchen with Katie!”  It’s banana bread baking time—Calling ALL Senior High Youth!  Come to the kitchen 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 7th to bake banana bread for Easter Breakfast.   We will eat dinner as the bread bakes.

Also, please sign up to help prepare, serve and clean up Easter Breakfast.  We need you!  

Also, Senior High Students, we will have another outing with St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Bedford on March 28th!  Together, we will go to “LazerQuest” in Danvers.  We need 10-15 sign ups in order to reserve a spot so, please sign up without delay!  Cost is $10.00 and dinner is included. 

On Sunday, December 13th, the Middle School Sunday School class transported the gifts from First Church’s City Mission Society gift gathering to First Congregation Church, UCC in Winchester for sorting for CMS’s Christmas Shop. In Winchester, the group helped unload cars of gifts from other churches, sorted gifts into like items (a very big and important job since gifts come in all mixed up), made scarves and drew Christmas cards. Our group is becoming experts at making scarves since we worked on additional scarves the first weeks of December to take with us to CMS. Carl McDonald, Boston Urban Outreach, CMS, greeted us and explained that all the gifts are distributed to agencies to give to people who are not able to purchase gifts for Christmas. When asked if anything is ever left over (because the generosity is overwhelming), Carl stated that there is never anything left over. It is all given away. The Senior High Youth came as we left and continued the work of the Christmas Shop.

The Board of Christian Nurture along with the Senior High Youth Group will be documenting this year’s comings and goings of the members of First Church to be compiled into a documentary entitled “Faith is a Journey…” and shown on Christian Nurture Sunday in May.  Please consider helping us with this project in one or more of the following ways:

·    Allow video and/or pictures of you and your family to be taken throughout the year

·    Take video and/or pictures and submit them for possible inclusion in the video

·    Participate in the various activities going on in the church this program year

For more information about this project contact Julie Braschler at the church office or Katie Gerrish (katie.gerrish@gmail.com).  If you have a strong preference about NOT being included in this movie please let Julie or Katie know.  We hope this will be a good way to document the life of First Church.  Please help us.

.Below are photos of our middle school youth in action this past year.

March Sunday Programs

Sunday, March 7th, 14th, 21st and 29th  —10:00 a.m. Worship followed by classes for Kindergarten through 5th Grade.  Childcare is provided for Babies and Preschool children. 

*Middle School Students begin in Worship service then gather in LFH.  Their class ends at 11:30 a.m. 

*On March 21st, Middle School students will volunteer at Cradles to Crayons.  Look for more information to come via e-mail and phone calls.

Wanted — stuff to go into plastic eggs! We are accepting donations of wrapped Easter candy, stickers, small trinkets etc…for the third annual Great Egg Hunt put on by the Middle School Youth on Easter morning. We don’t need eggs this year as we have so many left from the past two years.

And Speaking of Easter eggs—There will be baskets of fun in Lower Fellowship Hall on Sunday morning, April 4th at 9:15 a.m. Bring your own basket to this preschool through fifth-grade hip-hop happening! The fun starts promptly at 9:15 a.m. so, be “standing by” on the steps leading downstairs to Lower Fellowship Hall by 9:05 a.m.

Special THANKS to Wendy Plansky and the Middle School class for concealing the fun!

Youth Mission Trip

For those of you who haven't already heard, the Senior High Youth Group Mission Trip to Atlanta was cancelled because of weather conditions in Georgia.  We are all so disappointed that this event, which we all worked so hard to achieve, had to be cancelled.  We would like to express our thanks to all who helped us reach our goal in fundraisers and donations and all who gave us encouragement and prayers to make this journey.

We ask for continued prayers for the DOOR Project and the people they serve, not only in Atlanta but, across the United States.  We hope to work with the DOOR Project at a later date.

The SHY Group R.A.s and I came up with an alternate "mini local mission trip" for the same time period.  We met in Upper Fellowship Hall on Valentine’s Day to help assemble hygiene and baby kits for the Haiti Relief Project.  We prepared and took a meal to the Community Day Center in Waltham, which provides day shelter and support for adults.  For some fun we had a team building exercise at The Tomb in Boston.  On Monday, February 15th, we had a pizza dinner and lock-in/sleepover at First Church.

Thanks again for all the support and please keep our youth group in your thoughts and prayers.                 Julie

Below are some photos from the talent show...more are on a separate page.  Enjoy.