Church School: Gratitude and Plans

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Parent Category: Programs and Ministries

[An extract from this week's Church School newsletter.  For the full scoop, click here.]

Children's Day and our "Festival of Faith" was truly a wonderful worship experience for all - the culmination of children sharing their ideas and expressions of what they've been exploring all year long. A special thanks is extended to all the faith leaders who share this children's ministry with me at First Church!

While there is no church school this weekend (May 26) for Memorial Day weekend, we are excited to announce the continuation of our children's summer ministry every Sunday with a mixed age for grades Pk-3.

Also, First Church Guilford offers a special week for Children!!

Everywhere Fun Fair VBS 2013 takes children to a global celebration with the look and feel of a world's fair. Children will make friends with neighbors around the world and discover that God's love can be found everywhere, including their own neighborhoods. Children will be introduced to special places from all over the world and discover that we are all neighbors and all children of God.

Everywhere Fun Fair VBS is easy to lead with exciting attractions such as interactive Bible storytelling, outdoor global games, fun music, super science, cool crafts, cooking & snacks and more!

Date: July 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12

Place: First Church Guilford

Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

Ages: Children Entering Grades 1 - 5

Want more information?
See Chris Solimene or email Chris at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Registration Forms can be emailed or picked up from the CE Bulletin Board in Fellowship Hall.

This offering for your children is a great way to kick-start your summer and it's free!

If you'd like to help with set up and decoration of our lands around the world, please see me. We're looking for African baskets and decor for our Zimbabwe land, 6 milk crates that all the same color to make a 'Big Ben Clock' for England, a few pinatas for Mexico, fans or umbrellas for Japan and anything with Australian flair for that land!

Thanks for all you do to share in our children's ministry!

Chris

Hasty Sisters in Concert: June 8

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Parent Category: Programs and Ministries

The Music Committee of First Congregational Church in Guilford, CT is pleased to present The Hasty Sisters in a concert to benefit Freedom to Marry, an organization committed to securing equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in all 50 states. On Saturday June 8th at 7:00pm, the sanctuary at First Congregational Church of Guilford will feel more like a sultry café in Alabama than a New England meetinghouse. The Hasty Sisters, Phyllis and Cyndie, will treat the audience to a mix of torch, blues, and jazz in a concert benefitting Freedom to Marry.

Phyllis Hasty is a classic chanteuse whose style has evolved into a fusion of torch, blues, and jazz. Her beautiful mezzo-soprano voice is equally at home with ballads or up-tempo swing. From Singapore to New York, Phyllis has made loyal fans with her smooth sophisticated sound and charismatic stage presence. Phyllis performs regularly in the South, as well as at top New York cabarets such as Don’t Tell Mama and the West Bank Café. In Nashville, Phyllis sang back-up vocals for Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Nashville Outlaw legend, David Allen Coe, on his debut recording “The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy” on Sony/CBS Records. Her one-woman tribute to the songs of World War II, On a Wing and a Prayer, written by sister, Nancy Hasty, has been nationally acclaimed. Phyllis recorded a children's album in Tokyo and has performed the National Anthem at the American Embassy in Japan and at Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks games.

Cyndie Hasty is a New York City-based singer-songwriter who has toured extensively in the U.S., Europe and Asia including performances at Lincoln Center, House of Blues, Caroline’s Comedy Club, and The Tribeca Performing Arts Center. Cyndie has recorded three CDs: Alabama Blues, Temptation, and Live at Raga. Music critic Stephanie Ramp notes “Cyndie weaves cryptically in and out of autobiography and fiction...giving you a peeping-Tom glimpse at her Southern origins and dazzling with an array of characters whose stories intertwine with down-home secrecy. Each of her songs take you on a road trip through someone's history until, ultimately, you feel like it's part of your own.” Cyndie and her wife, Lisa, who maintain homes in both New York City and Guilford are members of First Congregational Church, Guilford.

Together, the Hasty singers form a charismatic duo, fusing their distinctive vocal styles and contrasting genres to create a rich mix of cabaret torch, Americana, southern blues and gospel. The Village Voice writes: “When the songs connect, they're simultaneously stinging and soothing, like a morning wave coming off the Atlantic.” They perform regularly at Don’t Tell Mama in Manhattan, Compass Rose in Florida and have performed at the famed Florabama Club, The Florida Folk Festival and the Seaside Arts Festival as opening act for jazz legend, Mose Allison. Phyllis and Cyndie are thrilled to perform together at First Church to benefit for Freedom To Marry, a righteous cause to which they are both deeply dedicated.

There is no admission fee for the concert - instead a free-will offering will be collected, and all of the proceeds will be donated to Freedom to Marry (www.freedomtomarry.org). Freedom to Marry is pursuing a three-pronged approach to securing equal marriage rights: Win More States than the current 12 which have marriage equality; Grow the Majority For Marriage, through public education and one-on-one conversations; and End Federal Marriage Discrimination, by creating a climate to pursue repeal of DOMA.

CTUCC This Month -- May, 2013

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Parent Category: News

Find out about happenings in the UCC Connecticut Conference!  Click here.