Minister's Message

Interim ministers join a congregation for a designated period of time to be a journeyer with a church as it moves from one ministry to another. You may find it odd, but interim ministers are not substitutes for a settled minister; instead, interims understand that their ministry has a unique focus geared to a congregation in transition. During that period, a congregation experiences grief and anxiety mixed with anticipation and hope. It is a rich and vulnerable time for any church community. Thus, interim ministers provide a specialized set of skills to benefit the important work a congregation is doing.

You read that in the month of September I participated in an intensive interim ministry training. The workshop was a full six-day program with 16 ordained ministers from across North America sponsored by the Interim Ministry Network. Now not every interim minister does this training, but I wanted to bring to my work at Amicable the latest thinking and practices of interim ministry. The workshop was rich with learning and sharing among those of us engaged in guiding churches through these transitions. It reinforced that this process can be an exciting time of discovery.

I want to share with you a few things I have learned already from the training and from my ministerial colleagues.

• All churches are undergoing transitions because of the pandemic. Whether a church is in an interim process or in a settled pastorate, COVID has profoundly changed the landscape of doing and being church. We are all in the same boat right now.
• We must keep some key questions in front of us: Who are we? Who are our neighbors? What are we being called to do in the world?
• Transitions are unsettling and take time to navigate. Rushing this process to an end point may be an antidote for that unsettled feeling, but it may not always be the best solution for the road ahead.

As I said in a sermon recently, I am here to journey with you along Amicable’s transition pathway. Most of all, I am here to love you in that process, which means lifting up all the treasures you bring to the church and the world, telling you the truth even when it is uncomfortable, and nurturing the new possibilities we find along the way.

Blessings, Rev. Nancy

Worship Themes

October 3, Holy Communion and Baptism, Part 3

Honoring Amicable as Community: What Prepares Us for the Future?

Baptism and Worldwide Communion Sunday

As Amicable considers its future during a ministerial transition, it is essential to consider the fabric that constitutes the congregation. How are we bound together? How do we approach our future as a community of faith in the 21st century? A global pandemic has altered radically how we engage in worship. How then do we adjust to celebrating our faith together? How do we best prepare spiritually for what lies ahead?

October 10, A 275th Sunday

Honoring Amicable’s History: The History We Know and Do Not Know, Part 1

As Amicable Congregational Church begins a celebration of its 275th anniversary, we will spend time between now and Pentecost 2022 considering both the history well known to us and the history more hidden from plain view. Over the course of our celebrations, we will follow the trail of Amicable’s past as each era brought about new challenges and important transitions. How did our spiritual ancestors in Tiverton meet those challenges? How does this history inform our spirituality today as progressive Christians?

October 17, A Stewardship Sunday

Honoring Amicable’s History: How Are We Tethered to Something Bigger? Part 2

Part and parcel of learning Amicable’s history relates to a larger denominational story. Amicable began as a Congregational Church with ties to other churches with the same polity. Then in 1931, it joined with churches of the Christian denomination to form the Congregational Christian Church. Another merger in 1957 with the Evangelical and Reformed Churches brought about our current union as the United Church of Christ. Why did these mergers and transitions occur? How can these transitions serve as an example to us of a vibrant, every changing, “still speaking” congregation?

October 24, A Stewardship Sunday

Honoring Amicable: Finding Community Anew in a Pandemic, Part 1

COVID rocked our sense of what forms and shapes community as faithful people. All the usual means by which we gather for worship, for council, for the building of meaningful relationships together were radically altered in a short time. It has left us hanging out in cyberspace unhooked from how we usually build community. How do we reconstitute community in new and meaningful ways as we still live in a pandemic? How can we reach out to each beyond masks and social distancing? What can this time in our history teach us about communicating with spiritual family?

October 31, Stewardship Sunday

Honoring Amicable: Finding Community Anew without the Church Dinner, Part 2

During our Children’s Message on Sunday, September 29, we shared all the things we love most about church, about being church. Lots of things were mentioned including, coffee hour, friendships, community, prayer, worship, and singing. But one aspect of church life was not mentioned: the church dinner. One of the best ways we are “church” is that we eat together whether it is at the communion table, a monthly dinner, or celebrations of special occasions. What does it mean when we cannot break bread together, sit for an hour or two and share potluck, taste coffee hour goodies? How can we reclaim that same sense of a spiritual sharing of food when we are still unable to share a meal?

Worldwide Communion Sunday

On October 3, our worship service will recognize Worldwide Communion Sunday, an annual tradition at Amicable Church. Worldwide Communion Sunday was established 88 years ago when Dr. Hugh Thompson Kerr began the practice in a Pittsburgh Presbyterian Church. This ecumenical movement has grown during those nearly nine decades to include many other Christian denominations.

Held on the first Sunday in October, the service celebrates our oneness with Christians throughout the world by the sharing of Holy Communion in our churches. We are truly one body in Christ throughout the globe. Amicable honors this occasion with a special display of international flags and representative breads. Our children will distribute the communion for us. In addition, we display a world peace sign in many different languages. Additionally, during our Worldwide Communion Sunday we are pleased to welcome into Christ’s community Eustace Dufour Tully, the son of Julienne Dufour Tully and Jonathan Tully, through the rite of baptism.

Church COVID Update

In preparation for returning to in-person worship on June 6, 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; and
• 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 news of the Delta variant in all 50 states. Those unvaccinated are at high risk from this newest form of COVID. Unfortunately, we are seeing a small percentage of people with vaccinations have breakthrough cases. The most recent CDC guidance recommends vaccinated individuals wear masks when indoors in public spaces.

What does that mean? For now, Amicable is staying the course with our COVID protocols. I have people ask me regularly, “When can we remove our masks and sing in the sanctuary? Other churches are doing it.” I feel your discomfort and weariness with masking and no singing. Yet, protocols are not a one-size fits all. What one church does might be vastly different than another. At Amicable, the Church Council made wise assessments of COVID risk in the sanctuary and the rest of the building. The equation takes into account factors such as the size of the sanctuary, ventilation, and the age of the population. This indicates that we need to continue to maintain the protocols.

If a family wants to have a wedding, funeral/memorial service, and/or baptism—life rite services—the COVID protocols are still in place. We have been fortunate to have some of these services during the past year, where families have worked with us to hold their important occasions. It has meant adapting the seating and music to assure that all who attend remain safe. The Worship Team is also trying to come up with interesting ways to inject singing into our Sunday services outside of the sanctuary.

We thank you all for your faithful observance to these protocols. We believe they are keeping us all safe so that we can gather together for worship. If you cannot participate in-person, we are still posting the service on Amicable’s Facebook page on Sunday afternoon.

Blessings, Rev. Nancy

October is Pledge Month

As we have been doing for 275 years, we are planning for our future. The very practical form that planning takes is putting together a budget A budget says: we will pay our pastor and music minister. We will pay the light bill. See to it that the heater heats. We will be here warm and welcoming ready to open our doors. We will teach children, baptize babies, break bread, and share the cup.

A budget is an act of faith. It needs the generosity of members and friends to turn from hope to plan, from idea to reality. Be ready, for this month we will ask for your pledges and gifts, your commitment and your caring. And we will ask for God’s blessing on all we intend, and plan share and give. 

The Stewardship Team

Songs of Hope, Healing & Unity

Songs of Hope, Healing & Unity, Amicable’s concert commemorating the 20th anniversary of 9/11, was very well received by all who attended and participated in the event! It was held on 9/11 under a tent in Amicable’s north parking lot on a very breezy but beautiful afternoon. Songs from folk, to pop, to musical theatre, to classical were performed. There were perennial favorites, as well as some new songs, that the audience joined in on. Fourteen area performers, many from the Tiverton Community, sang pieces related to 9/11 and its aftermath. The program honored first responders, remembered those lost in the towers, acknowledged the pain of their families, and grappled with how to balance love of country with the ideals of peace and worldwide community. Most of all, the music and original script written by Vaughn to tie the program together sought to help audience members and performers emotionally move forward, even if just a bit. There were over 70 people at the event, over half of whom had never visited Amicable. All were touched by the program. The tears, laughter, sweet expressions and swaying while singing seemed to indicate that many did receive hope and healing at this concert. It was an important event in Amicable’s arts outreach ministry. (The program was also a fundraiser for the update of the church’s AV system. Figures will be reported in an article on that subject.)

Saying Goodbye to Aunt Ruth

It wasn't easy saying "goodbye"  to  Aunt Ruth a year and 4 months ago. But she had a good long run, well into her 99th year, died in her own home ~ just as she wished, reaching up toward the presences that were reaching for her. Mission accomplished! September 10th would have been her 100th birthday, so the cohort of nieces and nephews had decided, back when Covid-19 was erupting, to hold her Memorial Service on September 10th, 2021.  And a gorgeous early autumn day it was at Tiverton Four Corners where Ruth lived her entire life,  blooming where she was planted, serving school children, church mission projects, and wider community endeavors in ways too numerous to count.

But Covid is still a big issue. And that led to one of the hardest tasks at Amicable Church that I have ever undertaken....how to invite some people to the service, no more than 55, ...how to not invite others...to this historically welcoming sanctuary to celebrate this wonderfully dear woman. Please accept my very deep apology if this is the first notice you've had of how Ruth's farewell/birthday/memorial happened and you were not at the party. The list came down to 21  next of kin, Rev. Nancy and Vaughn, the hospitality team that was serving the luncheon to follow, next-door neighbors, former students from Nonquit School and Sunday School (all grown up) and caregiving friends who were with her, back and forth to Marsh Winds, right to the very end.

Many, many thanks to those who came, those who helped it happen, to each and all of you,  whom she so admired and cherished! Family members have reprinted photos of many other occasions where the church was out in friendly force ... Ruth and Andrew's wedding, for example, my baby sister's baptism, Sunday School picnics,  surprise  "open houses"  at Amicable which marked my Mom's 75  birthday and Ruth's 90th. The dining room table at Marsh Winds is beautifully set, in one image, for the buffet which led off the Social Club's annual Christmas party there for years and years.

We know how to rejoice in each other's joys, to grieve in each other's sorrows, and mark the dailiness of daily living with deeds of kindness, generosity, shared burden-bearing, shared happy hopefulness. Our family has been blessed for five generations among you and your forebears, you and your brand new energy and investment in this congregation ... truly and deeply blessed.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

May we each and all continue to let gospel light shine all around, as we continue to bloom where we are planted and nourish the world by what we harvest. With ongoing love and gratitude from Leslie Stewart Simonson, my cousins, our mates in marriage, our children,  and our children's children.

Not by Bread Alone

As is tradition at Amicable, we will be doing the Not By Bread Alone collection for distribution with our Thanksgiving Baskets. Food stamps do not cover many of the essentials that people need. To help fill this gap we will be collecting the following items during the month of October:

Paper Towels

Toilet Paper

Shampoo

Soap

Dish detergent

Laundry detergent

Toothbrushes

Toothpaste

Feminine hygiene products

Any other items you may think of

Donation Bins will be available at the north and south entries of the Church during the month of October. Any questions email Pat Campion at pjcamp53@aol.com

Thanksgiving Baskets

 The ninth annual Thanksgiving Basket Mission spearheaded by Amicable Congregational Church in partnership with the Tiverton Public Library, St. Theresa's and St. Christopher’s and supported by many local businesses is underway.
 

Beginning Monday, October 18, 2021, vouchers for Thanksgiving baskets will be given out at the Tiverton Public Library. Vouchers will continue to be given out every Monday and Friday from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM and Thursday evenings from 4:00 PM -6:00 PM through November 13, 2021. Vouchers will also be available at the Old Stone Church food pantry on Friday mornings 9:00 AM until 11:00 AM.
 

If you or someone you know would benefit from receiving a Thanksgiving basket, please visit us at the above times and locations. These baskets are for those in the Tiverton, Portsmouth, and Little Compton communities. The only requirement we have is to show proof of residency such as a driver’s license or government-issued ID.
 

If you would like to support the Thanksgiving basket project with your time, talent, food items or financial gift, please contact us. The baskets will be distributed at the Tiverton Public Library between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 20, 2021.

There are countless numbers of people in the community that make this project possible, but any questions can be directed to Amicable Church at (401) 624-4611 or via email at office@amicablechurch.org. 

Audio & Video Update Fund Established

For instance, good quality video and audio recordings could potentially be incorporated into in-person services. Higher quality integrated audio and video recordings of in-person services could be made available online. Clarity and volume of audio in both types of services would also be improved.

 
Anyone interested in donating towards the fund may designate your donation to “The AV Update Fund.” Also, watch for information coming soon about a fundraising concert to be held in September!

A Whirlwind Weekend

The weekend of September 11th brought Amicable members and friends together to do what they do best – enjoying each other’s company coupled with community outreach. On September 10th we celebrated the life of Mrs. Ruth Manchester, a lifelong member of the Amicable Church family, on Saturday we commemorated September 11th with songs of Hope, Healing and Unity and on Sunday September 12th we launched the beginning of our Church School year and a regathering of our congregation after the summer months.

All these events could not have happened without your time, talent, and support!

Special thanks go out to:

Leslie and Charlie Simonson for donating the tent rental for the church use on Saturday and Sunday,

Jim Aiello & Ray Medeiros in picking up, setting up and donating the cost of the performance stage,

Vaughn Bryner for his incomparable vision and musicianship in producing, directing, and performing in the September 11th program,

Bobi Zeiser for doing such an excellent job in designing and producing the Hope, Healing and Unity program booklet,

Jean Galipeau for being our ever reliable “sound engineer”,

Julie Lohr for the beautiful artwork,

Stephen Zuehlke for creating and donating the beautiful painting,

Sarah Martin, Mica Silvia and Julie Lohr for making Rally Day a success,

Rev. Nancy for her leadership in making sure that all these moving parts came together!

And the Publicity folks….

Employment Opportunity

There is a Church Secretary position available, which is a part-time 10 hour per week role. If anyone is interested please send an email to office@amicablechurch.org or call the church office at 401-624-4611. We are looking for an individual who has experience with MS Word, Excel and Google document management.

Volunteer Opportunities

The Christian Ed Team is in need of  Sunday School volunteers for the 2021-2022 year. If you enjoy working with children and youth and can share your time and talents with us at least one Sunday per month, please reach out to Sarah Martin at smartinrdn@gmail.com. 

We are in need of a freezer for storage for the Thanksgiving baskets. If you know of anyone looking to get rid of a freezer (upright or chest) please call or e-mail the church office.

Help Needed at ACTS

Calling All Able-Bodied Help…ACTS Needs YOU!

The Thrift Shop at Amicable is thriving! We see regular customers who look forward to interacting with our staff as well as checking out what is new in our ever- changing inventory. It is also fun to hear the exclamations from those who have discovered us for the first time and compliment us on the artful displays and unique finds.

However, we can only keep the Thrift Shop thriving if we have enough help. At a minimum, ACTS needs five (5) staff on the days we are open. We are busy putting merchandise out, organizing, pricing, and completing sales with customers. We would like also to have 3-4 volunteers on the days the Thrift Shop is not open to assist with set-up, sorting, organization, and cleaning. There is ALWAYS something to be done. Additionally, we would welcome a volunteer who is willing to learn how the shop operates in the event one of our current “managers” is unavailable.

At present, we have a wonderful hardworking team – but there is no back-up and we are often understaffed. We very much want to avoid having to close the Thrift Shop on days we are expected to be open as that would send a confusing message. People are used to seeing the “OPEN” flag on Thursdays and Saturdays. ACTS is not only a source of income for Amicable’s operational expenses but also an important community outreach on many levels.

If you can provide a couple hours, please call Gail  ducks4jkj@yahoo.com (401-624-2260) or Martha  m.s.macnaught@cox.net (401-624-2323)

Financial Notes of Interest - September 2021.

• With At-Church Worship Services continuing, still with some Covid-restrictions, pledged/donated collections were similar to August’s receipts.
• If the weekly/monthly pledged/donated contribution trend continues, expect this year’s regular collections to be about 6% less than budgeted.
• Cleaning, maintenance, and general expenses were similar to last month and should end the year less than budgeted.
• We are still operating without a Secretary so these expenses are not accumulating.
• Thrift Shop again had a great month, and is now at 58% over its budgeted 2021 year’s income.
• There will be some special Major Maintenance expenses this fall for South Ramp repair/repainting, possibly some Sanctuary electrical work, and maybe a Stained Glass Window crack repair, but the MM expenses will still end up less than what was budgeted for the year.
• The Trustees currently plan to take the full 4 th quarter General Endowment Withdrawal.
• 2021 should end up in a positive financial position, barring any unexpected expenses.
• 2022 Budget preparation activities are in full swing in preparation for the early November Business Meeting.

Respectfully Submitted: Treasurer, Roger Gauthier

Milestones