Conway Village
Congregational Church
January 2026
Click the newsletter link below to view or download the full version of the newsletter
It’s a new year, and while we have many things to be thankful for from last year, it is time to set our new goals for the new year.
- Goal number 1: Have an access ramp built on the back of the church and have the entire church building re-sided.
- Goal number 2: Begin work on the sanctuary. The most expensive part is having the old plaster removed by an asbestos removal company. Even if this was the only thing that we accomplished on the sanctuary, that would be huge.
- Goal number 3: Have a successful fundraising campaign for the siding. This would allow us to do more work on the sanctuary.
- Goal number 4: Either secure a year-round accompanist, and begin working on a choir, or at the very least follow-up with at least one service each month with live music.
I would love to have a goal for this year to grow the membership, but at this time the church is not the most attractive offering. The new siding will go a long way in showing an outward sign to the commu-nity that the church is alive and will make people curious to see what is going on.
If you would like to get involved, your participation on the Deaconate, Trustees, Council, Christian Ed and Music/Choir would be greatly appreciated.
I look forward to spring when a lot of this work will begin. By the end of summer, the outside of the church should be looking really good. While I would love to ramble on and on about all the hard work put in by many people this past year for the sake of the church and the community, I think I will simply end with Spock’s greeting as a blessing for the church. “Live long, and prosper!”
Sincerely,
Carl F. Vitters – moderator
HAPPY NEW YEAR, WELCOME 2026
In December, we had the Holiday Fair. So many beautiful crafts, baked goods, and raffle prizes. Thank you Beth and Wally for the pulled pork lunch. The fair made $2,114 which went towards operating expenses.
Duddie gave an update on Stewardship. We have 24 pledges, totaling $71,889. The Trustees use this number to put together the next year’s budget. If pledges and offerings do not cover all the expenses then it is covered by fundraising, donations, and building use. Utilizing casino funds has been discussed, as we cannot continue taking money out of the Endowment. This all needs to be discussed at the Annual Meeting, your input on the budget is needed. Carl and Anne will finish up the budget in time to have it in the Annual Report.
The Annual Meeting is January 25th, right after the service. Annual reports should be available to all, the week before the meeting.
Heat in the Sanctuary was installed at the end of December. Next steps are to remove the asbestos walls, insulate, re-wire, install new windows and sheetrock. All this will depend on a successful Capital Cam-paign. In the spring, the church siding will be replaced as required by the insurance company. The $220,000 has been set aside for this.
Save the date: Pasta Dinner, February 20th. We are still working on who will be the lead chef(s). We will need volunteers to set up, serve, clean up and reset the room for the Sunday Service. Please contact Melody in the office if you would like to sign up. Thank you in advance for your support!
It has been a very busy 45 days for the Pantry. We ended November with an increased number of 49 households, 9 of which are new clients, that’s 99 individuals! We provided 60 Thanksgiving baskets right before the holiday. A big thank you to all who volunteered!
There has been a lot of publicity about the local food pantries being busy, which resulted in a greater number of food drives and donations in November and December. Our storage shelves are quite full, but will deplete fast due to pantry days being very busy.
Tuesday, December 15th, we provided 37 people with food, that’s one day!
In the first 3 weeks of December, we received cash donations in the amount of $16,284.
When spring rolls around, the Outreach Committee will look into improving the back door, to address falling snow and rain (having some sort of cover) and a ramp. Food donations come in the back door, and a number of people, needing access assistance, come in that way.
Wishing everyone a Very Happy New Year!
Anne Getchell
Rev. Hughes accepting a check in the amount of $1,000 from Jeffrey McLellan, Lighthouse Credit Union Branch Manager. A huge thank you to Lighthouse for their generous donation.
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING
TO: All Members and Friends of the Conway Village Congregational Church
The Annual Meeting of the Membership of the Conway Village Congregational Church will be held on Sunday, January 26, 2025, at approximately 11:00 am at the Conway Village Congregational Church after worship. The meeting will be held in person and via Zoom platform. Voting will be done via roll call method. To join the meeting and cast your vote via zoom, please utilize the regular weekly link provided for the Church service.
The purpose of this Annual Meeting will be:
- To hear reports of the officers, board and standing committees for the preceding year.
- To approve a Budget for 2026.
- To elect officers, board and standing committee members for 2026.
- To conduct any other business that may come to the floor of the meeting.
Dated at: Conway, New Hampshire, on the 19th of November 2025
Carl Vitters
Moderator
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” – 2 Timothy 3:14-15 (NRSV)
What do you do when you don’t know what you believe anymore because you don’t know what to be-lieve anymore?
We’ve learned and believed this: “In these days, there will be distressing times—selfishness, extreme arrogance, greed, cruelty, manipulation, outright lies, death-dealing propaganda, exploitation, oppression.” – 2 Timothy 3:1-4.
While we contend with the multiple troubling truths that surround us, the holy truths of what we’ve learned and believed ground us.
Prayer
Remind us, ground us, teach us again so that we might learn and firmly believe. Amen.
Chris Mereschuk (Daily Devotional)
Our Deacons: Charles ‘Boz’ Boswell, Beth Campbell, Judy Workman, Jill Reynolds
January Worship Schedule
Sunday, Januart 4th – Communion
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Isaiah 60:1-6
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon: “Taking Another Road”
Sunday, January 11th – Baptism of Jesus
Psalm 29
Isaiah 42:1-9
Acts 10:34-43
Matthew 3:13-17
Sermon: “Ripping into the Future”
Sunday, January 18th – Epiphany 2
Psalm 40:1-11
Isaiah 49:1-7
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
John 1:29-42
Sermon: “Look! Do You See It?”
Sunday, January 25th – Epiphany 3
Psalm 27:1:4-9
Isaiah 9:1-4
1 Corinthians 1:10-19
Matthew 4:12-23
Sermon: “Immediately They Followed”
Annual Meeting to follow worship at 11:30 a.m.
