The Holiday Bazaar is our church's largest annual fundraiser, held on the first Saturday in November. It’s the one time of year when our church's Unity Hall, Fellowship Hall, and other rooms and hallways are transformed into a holiday marketplace. The entire community is invited and welcomed into our church home to enjoy a time for shopping.

So why are we reminding you in June? If you’ve contributed or attended as a shopper in the past, you already know how the bazaar works, but if you’ve never attended or had items to donate, this is to let you know there are several ways you can contribute to its success. Plus, this is often the time of year when folks are spring cleaning, reorganizing, downsizing, moving, or in transition.

Please keep the bazaar in mind! We accept these donations in good condition:

• Small household furnishings, such as small tables, lamps, framed art or photography, small bookshelves. Please send a photo or a detailed description, and we will let you if it is appropriate for the limited space we have available. (Excluded: large items, electronics, kitchen items, linens, dishes, and glassware.)
  
• Books, including hardcover and softcover (no textbooks or encyclopedias).
  
• Children’s toys, and puzzles and games for children or adults.
  
• Costume and fine jewelry, scarves, and ties.
  
• Garden items including household plants, potted herbs, and decorative plant containers.
  

If you have items that we cannot accept, we recommend that you donate to the following organizations. (Buy Again Alley and Neat Repeats sales benefit our church.)

• Buy Again Alley (mention church account #506): a resale shop on Main Street in Middlebury
  
• Neat Repeats (mention church account #45): a resale shop on Route 7 South
  
• HOPE: a thrift shop on Boardman Road in Middlebury
  
• Front Porch Forum: Sell items yourself and donate the proceeds (or offer items for free!)
  

As always, we are happy to answer your questions in person, over the phone, or by email any time before November. We are looking forward to mentoring two new volunteers to co-chair this 99th bazaar, then manage the 100th bazaar in 2024!

With gratitude,

Your 2022 Bazaar Co-Chairs: Ruth Penfield (ruthpenfield@gmail.com) and Judy Jessup (judyjessupvt@gmail.com)

Sunday school ended on May 21, with a beautiful, Spirit-filled Confirmation service in which we celebrated Kisung Davis and Rachael Nagy-Benson. We also gave an appreciation shout-out to our Sunday School teachers and youth leaders. These are the ones who make these programs possible, and I thank God for each of them.

Children and Youth Sunday will be happening this Sunday, June 4th, and I’m so looking forward to it! Our children have been working hard on their roles, they have written prayers and asked questions about the different parts of the Worship Service. They are as excited as I am. There will be an ice cream fellowship hour afterward, so be sure not to miss it!

After that, during June and July, May Poduschnick will be running a summer program for the children in our church. It will happen during worship; the schedule will be similar to that of Sunday School. It will be a time to learn, play, read, and have fun with friends. I thank May for running this!

Finally, one of the things I enjoyed the most during my first year in this position was leading our Junior Youth Group. This amazing group of 12 middle schoolers has definitely brought a lot of joy to my Tuesday nights. We just had our last meeting of the year, and we will have an end-of-year celebration at Branbury Beach this Sunday afternoon.

Peace-

Eliana

In January and February, Pastor Elizabeth led a study on a book by Emmy Kegler titled All Who Are Weary: Easing the Burden on the Walk with Mental Illness. Mental illnesses are medical conditions that impact an individual’s ability to think clearly and engage in healthy relationships. Mental illnesses encompass a wide spectrum, from those who cannot live on their own to those who have depression and do an adequate job of hiding it from others. 

A group of the book study participants have formed a Mental Health Team for the purpose of educating the church on ways in which we can be more welcoming and understanding of those with mental illness. Pastors Andy and Elizabeth have endorsed our work, as has the Church Council. Resources for dealing with mental illness will be posted on our church website soon. In the fall, we plan to offer an after-church presentation by the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Vermont (NAMI Vermont).

Michele Brown, John Emerson, Elizabeth Gleich, Judy Jessup, Bob Youell, 

Sandy Youell

I. Register to vote, and

II. Create a will.

Voting is essential for all who live in a democracy; in particular, it's an opportunity for us to work toward a just society for all. Having a will enables YOU to express your core values by deciding what happens to your possessions if an accident or illness leads to your early death.

The church nursery, downstairs next to the fellowship hall, is open Sundays from 9:45 to 11:15 a.m. for children age 0–4 and staffed by two highly capable youth from our congregation. In addition, our Safe Church Policy requires an adult to be present in the nursery alongside our teenage nursery care providers. 

We are trying to grow our pool of adult volunteers so that each individual would be signed up approximately once every six weeks. Adult volunteers will complete a background check and be oriented to nursery procedures and the Safe Church Policy. Please contact Matt Kubacki at mskubacki@gmail.com if you are interested in becoming an adult nursery volunteer.

Shopping Cart Sunday is coming up on June 4, and we think that will be the day we reach our first ton of food collected for HOPE this year. Can we do it? Yes, we CAN-CAN! (You know we couldn’t resist that one.). Let’s kick it up a notch and load those grocery carts with all kinds of cans for the community food shelf. Baked beans and canned soups are especially helpful, but all kinds of cans are welcome. The food shelf also needs condiments such as ketchup, mustard and mayo, as well as olives, pickles, relish, and marinades, boxed side dishes like Rice-A-Roni, Rice Pilaf products, cheesy rice items, Hamburger Helper, toilet paper, adult incontinence products like Depends and Poise, and laundry detergent– either small containers or boxes of laundry pods that can be divided.

Our friends at HOPE also tell us that the start of summer presents some special needs for families with children. Items such as granola bars, cereal, ready-to-eat soups/baked beans that kids can prepare independently, as well as shelf-stable juices and canned fruits are very helpful. Please consider pop-top cans when available as they are easier to open for those without can openers.