Minister's Corner

"A Beautiful World"

A couple of weeks ago, a friend from my seminary days posted this prayer from “The Celtic Christian Tradition” Facebook Page. I have been drawn to the prayer ever since and have shared it with some of you. The first line haunts me: “The world now is too dangerous and too beautiful for anything but love.” I often think it is hard for us to admit that we live in a “dangerous” world. In this country, we have constructed lives that avoid “danger.” 

Despite surrounding ourselves with safeness, there are dangers that overcome, overwhelm, and outdo all efforts to protect ourselves. The pandemic has consistently proved this for two years. Each day since early 2020, we have lived in the midst of a global virus that simply cannot be escaped. Thus, the words “the world is now too dangerous” are very potent and close to me. Yet, the second half of this blessing is equally powerful: “the world now is…too beautiful for anything but love.” How can the words “danger” and “beauty” be positioned in the same sentence? But that is the world in which we live today: a world so filled with danger and yet so beautiful that our only response can be love, love as an antidote for danger and love as a response to beauty.

As faithful people, as faithful people who choose to gather as Amicable Church, this prayer’s first sentence is the heart and soul of our Gospels. I said during my Advent Sunday messages that Jesus’s world had little “room” for joy, peace, and hope. It was also a time and place that had little “room” for love. Yet, Jesus was all about love, revealing to the disciples and his followers the countless ways God’s passion for them was made known. Honestly, that outpouring of love was what made Jesus and his message so beautiful and yet so very dangerous to those who withheld joy, peace, and hope to the people Jesus knew.

We cannot change how the COVID virus began, how it morphs, and how it spreads. We can change our response to it as individuals and as a church community. We can choose forward propulsion or inertia. We can engage with life, as imperfect as it is right now, or we can pull back and say no. We can love, or we can hold back that love because we’re tired, we’ve had it, and we’re no longer interested. There are few half-measures here.

The last line of the prayer is “and may your heart be so opened, so set on fire, that your love, your love, changes everything.” I say to you all: “May your hearts be so opened, so moved by the beauty around you that your love ‘changes everything.’ May this be our collective prayer as we move forward.”
 

- Rev. Nancy Hamlin Soukup, Interim Minister

February Worship Themes

The big news for the February worship services is that we will return to in-person services on Sunday, February 13. We will still provide livestreaming access to worship via our “Amicable Congregational Church, UCC” Facebook page. The Worship Team deliberated about RI’s COVID rates and considered national and state experts' recommendations about the flattening of these rates. We recommended to the Church Council that we return to in-person worship in mid-February. All church COVID Protocols remain in effect, including the wearing of face masks and social spacing. Most important, we ask if you do not feel well to stay home and participate in the service through the livestream.

The recent blizzard resulted in canceling of the Sunday, January 30, worship service and the Annual Meeting. Thus, for the first Sunday in February, February 6, we will hold this service at 10:00 a.m. via livestream as originally planned and then convene for the Annual Meeting at 11:00 a.m. via Zoom. We will resend the Zoom link to the congregation. The theme for the service is thankfulness for all that was accomplished in 2021 during a pandemic and hopefulness for all that is ahead in 2022. Please join us for the service and the meeting.

The three other services for February revolve around our mission to the community, our veterans, and our ongoing 275th anniversary. On February 12, the church’s youth will take part in the annual Homelessness Awareness Sleepout by pitching tents outside of the church. The next day, Sunday, February 13, we hope those who took part in the Sleepout will share their experiences during the service. Our veterans will be honored on Presidents’ Day Sunday, February 20. COVID postponed this service in the fall. We are so glad to be able to use this national holiday to remember members of our church community who have served in the military. Finally, on February 27, we will return to our ongoing 275th anniversary recognition and the theme of remembering “the ground upon which we stand.” More information about this service will be forthcoming.

Church COVID Update

Last year in preparation for returning to in-person worship the Church Council on behalf of the congregation developed COVID protocols for the health, well-being, and safety of all who come into the church. Among the most important aspects of the protocols were and still are:
• Mask wearing in the sanctuary;

• No congregational singing; 

• 6’ distance between the pews with 3’ distance within pews unless sitting
with a household.

Other protocols include the use of individual communion cups and stationary offering plates, as well as restricted access to the upper hall and downstairs (except for the Thrift Store).
 

The importance of maintaining these protocols is accentuated by the Omicron variant. Those unvaccinated are at high risk from this newest form of COVID. Unfortunately, we are seeing a percentage of people with vaccinations have breakthrough cases. The most recent CDC guidance recommends vaccinated individuals to wear masks when indoors in public spaces.

As part of our COVID protocol we ask that members and friends who have attended services at Amicable immediately contact Rev. Soukup if they should test positive for COVID. We are required to inform the congregation when there has been a positive case. However, we will not identify in that communication who has tested positive. Rev. Soukup will help the person exposed to COVID reach out to those who were in immediate contact so that they can be tested. If a member of the congregation wishes to know the person with COVID, then they can contact Rev. Soukup.

We thank you all for your faithful observance to these protocols. We believe they are keeping us all safe when we can gather for worship. On those Sundays where we cannot gather for worship due to COVID concerns you may participate in worship by accessing the church’s Facebook page at 10:00 a.m. Sunday mornings.

Two New Groups At Amicable

Prayer Circle at Amicable

Each Sunday, the Amicable congregation and friends thoughtfully lift up names for intentional prayer. These offerings are the fabric of our church's life, including members, family, and friends. We would like to extend this prayer circle into the week providing an opportunity to include more needs and concerns and have more impact than the Sunday worship service time permits.

You are invited to a Prayer Circle gathering each Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. at the church. Kimberly Poulton and Rev. Nancy Soukup will co-facilitate this time of prayer and meditation. This will be an in-person group with masks and social spacing. However, if COVID rates rise, then we will go to a Zoom meeting. If you are unable to attend the Prayer Circle on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m., you may submit prayer requests to Rev. Nancy at nhsoukup@gmail.com.

Thank God it’s Friday (TGIF), Amicable Chat! Time Change to 4:00 PM
As we move through the pandemic and the countless stressors caused by it, there are few places to talk about the impact COVID has had on our lives. We invite you to join us for the Thank God it’s Friday, Amicable, Chat! on Fridays at the 4:00 p.m. on Zoom. Bring whatever beverage tickles your fancy and join in conversation about moving through the COVID world or other life challenges you are experiencing. 
Topic: TGIF AMICABLE CHAT GROUP
Join Zoom Meeting:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88406452434pwd=dFM5cUYyMkV5VG0xMW5waTR2WGdjQT09
Meeting ID: 884 0645 2434
Passcode: 564986 

Homelessness Awareness Mission Project

Amicable’s youth are preparing for the Homelessness Awareness Sleepout on Saturday night, February 12, 2022. We have at least six participants aside from chaperones that will be spending the night out in the cold. Chaperones include Rev. Nancy, Mike, and Julie McCoy. Money raised will again be donated to the First Step Inn, and the youth will earn community service hours. (This year we will be using tents instead of boxes.) 

If you would like to support this year’s Homelessness Awareness Sleepout, a check can be made out to “The First Step Inn“ with "Homelessness Sleepout" on the memo line. Please mail your contribution to the church or leave it off in the black mailbox at the north side of the church. We thank you for your supporting this important organization.

If you are interested in participating in the Sleepout, please contact Mike McCoy, mkmccoy05@gmail.com.

A.C.T.S. Thrift Shop 

A huge THANK YOU to all who have contributed clothes, house hold goods and most especially time to ACTS (Amicable Church Thrift Shop). Keeping the shop open and welcoming requires the work of 5 or 6 volunteers for a minimum of 3 days each week
(2 open days and 1 or more set-up days). Please consider giving an hour or two now and then to ACTS. No need to let us know, just come by whenever you can during our open hours.

With Covid protocols in place we were able to stay open through 2021and contribute $54,742 to the church budget.

ACTS is open Thursdays and Saturdays 10-2. Come in and see what is happening at your church. Our “set-up” day is usually Wednesday. And of course, if you can provide one or more hours helping, please contact:  
Gale  ducks4jkj@yahoo.com (401-624-2260) or 
Martha  m.s.macnaught@cox.net (401-624-2323)

SNEUCC 2022 Super Saturday Event

Theme: "A Future with Hope: Relevant, Prophetic, and Transformative"

Twice a year (March and November), the Southern New England Conference UCC convenes the Super Saturdays, all-day gatherings to gain new knowledge about congregational life and to encounter other members of the Conference. Now held virtually, the upcoming Super Saturday will be on March 19, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Multiple workshops are offered during morning and afternoon sessions to instruct, engage, and inspire. The keynote speaker will be the Rev. Dr. Sarah Drummond, the Founding Dean of Andover Newton Seminary at Yale University. Registration for each workshop is $15. To register, follow this link.

Amicable 5K

Registration is live (https://racewire.com/register.php?id=12507) and the link is also on our website www.amicable5k.weebly.com. The race is Saturday, April 2, 2022 and starts at 9:00 am behind Groundswell. The registration fee is $25 for both the in person event or if someone wants to participate virtually. All ages are welcome, runners and walkers, and dogs that are leashed and good with crowds. If you register by 3/1/22 you'll get a long sleeved shirt as part of your reservation.

Financial Notes of Interest - 2022

• 2022 began with church closures due to COVID/Omicron and with weekly worship services still being presented via Zoom and available on Amicable’s Facebook page.
• January was a good month regarding donation receipts.  With virtual services, they have mostly been by mail, EFT transfers into Amicable’s bank account, and using Amicable’s  Website option (via PayPal); with a few drop-offs at church.
• The Thrift Shop re-opened at the end of January. In just those 3 days, it took in about 65% of its monthly receipts budget. So looks like the new year has kicked off well.
• The 5K Event scheduled for early April has been receiving quite a few Sponsor donations along with registrations, so it’s off to a good start.
• Expenses were standard for the first month of the year – no surprises in January.

• Contribution receipt summaries for 2021 were sent out to pledgers and contributors. 
If you have questions or did not get one please contact the Treasurer.

- Respectfully Submitted:  Treasurer, Roger Gauthier 401-624-2323