A Crisp Contribution
“Give … in good measure, Packed down … and running over.” Luke 6:38
At the Laura Foundation Halloween Town, Saturday, October 26th, a 8-year-old girl said, “We’re here to take care of our children”. She was repeating what she heard at home from her parents. What was impressive was her use of the word “our”. Halloween Town is a community celebration to raise money for autistic and epileptic children and youth in the greater Mount Washington area. It is a remarkable event. I spent 4 ½ hours taking pictures, left 2-hours before the event ended, and had visited less than half the cabins and venues offered. It is an impressive undertaking! Real Estate firms, Boy Scout, Fuel Companies, community groups, Supermarkets, and families took over cabins and transformed them into fantasy or fright. The last cabin I served in as a counselor for Camp Tohkomeupog was transformed into Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger’s Hogwarts School. Different venues were run by former campers and staff of the camp. Our own church members served in a variety of different ways.
Our financial contribution for the event came from our “Crisp Volunteers”, Carl + Dawn Vitters, Paul + Silvia Weld, and Ben Jones + Megan Vitters, who doled out Vanilla Ice Cream and Crisp to hoards of ghouls and goblins. “We come every year and look forward to the Church’s Crisp” was heard throughout the evening. The proceeds of selling 22 pans of Apple Crisp were donated to the Laura Foundation! We are thankful for every one who offered to help and to everyone who attended.
What a “Crisp Contribution” to offer a unique, wonderful event.
Rev. John Hughes <’}>< <’}}><< <’}}}><<<<
Advent – Christmas Mission Project
For those who may not be familiar with Advent Calendars, an Advent calendar is a special calendar used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. Advent calendars contain 24 small windows or doors one to open each of day from December 1st through 24th as a countdown to Christmas. Hidden behind each door is small token gift, trasitionally of candy.
This year’s Mission Project for Christmas through the Outreach and Diaconate boards is Reverse Advent Calendar. So instead of opening a window on an Advent Calendar to receive a gift, we are asking you to place a gift in a box each day with food items that our Food Pantry is in desperate need of to support our neighbors in need through the winter months. The first three months of 2019 saw a total of 4,284, 3,780, and 3,444 meals served.
The holiday season is typically a hectic time of year. We will make this easy to participate. We will give you a box to place the food items in. Using the list below please place one item in the box each day December 1st through Christmas Eve. All items on the list may be purchased at the Dollar Store or the Dollar Tree or with your regular grocery shopping for a total of less than $25. This is a great project to keep us in the spirit of the season of giving and remind us how blessed we are.
Once you have filled your box on the 24th of December, we ask that you bring it back to church on Christmas Eve for the service. We would love to fill in around the Christmas tree in the sanctuary with these boxes. Let us be mindful of the spirit of giving this Christmas season and give to our neighbors in need.
Thank you,
The Outreach and Diaconate boards
Moderator’s Moment
A huge thank you goes out to all our volunteers at the church this past month.
For those that came out to prepare Apple Crisp and those that came out to serve it at the booth for the Fryeburg Fair fundraiser. For those that came out the following week to help paint the Fellowship Hall. For those that came out to help at Halloween Town to raise funds for the Laura Foundation. For all our regulars that come out to serve in the Food Pantry. For all our Trustees that have been meeting almost every week overseeing the Capital Campaign work in addition to the scheduling and preparation of the upcoming Stewardship program, budget meetings and regular maintenance of both the parsonage and church building. For all our Deacons That, in addition to the regular scheduling of Ushers, Fellowship, Flowers and Worship Services, they have also been working on Capital Campaign designs and needs for the Sanctuary. For all the volunteers that are beginning to sign up for the Holiday Fair Fundraiser in November.
With Thanksgiving coming in less than a month, we have a lot to be thankful for at the Conway Village Church. We have certainly shown our faith through our tireless service, but we have not forgotten about our need for Spiritual growth either. The Men’s and Women’s Bible study groups have been very active. The Choir has been learning new anthems that raise our praise to God through Music. Rev. Hughes continues to bring the lectionary lessons into today’s understanding. We definitely should take the time to cherish our great blessings in this church and remember to thank each other even for the little things that we often take for granted that always seem to get done.
THANK YOU!!!
Faithfully yours, Carl Vitters Moderator/Treasurer
Historical CornerThe room directly under the sanctuary was for decades called “The Henderson Room” and may still be so. Why is this? To start with, before so named “The Henderson Room”, it served as a gathering room and as a Sunday School room. There was a small stage next to the Main Street end where plays were put on by young and old. Over in the corner sat a piano for music which has always been an integral part of our Brown Church – again for young and old. The room was entered by the little room (which was once Reverend Lee’s study) to the right of the descending stairs. There were swinging doors at the entrance – just like upstairs. We all had some wonderful memories there – especially never to be forgotten, Sunday School teachers. Mine included the high school students of Lydia McVitty, Mary Ball, and Margaret Ann Schurman. I think all of us little boys were infatuated with these young la- dies and that likely kept the attendance rate up. In any event, RUTH Henderson was a remarkable lady – among the most respected in the Con- ways. She was the head of the American Red Cross. She helped search for missing GI’s, including my Uncle Stanton, and our family was forever indebted to her. She also spearheaded the Blood- mobile which, for over a quarter of a century, was held in our Fellowship Hall long before the big ho- tels appeared on the strip. She had many assistants and the drive always attracted over 100 do- nors. She made sure that their names were listed in the local paper, The Reporter, and kept a run- ning tally of how much each had donated. Ruth Henderson also was a founding member and frequent member of the Litahni group, formed at the end of World War Two and lasting some fifty years. The group of younger women financially supported the church in many ways. They had their own closet in the aforementioned hall, and were responsible for the purchase of the China dishes which contains the graphic of the church be- fore the addition in 1956. They were designed in Portland, Maine and are of course, one of a kind set. The Litahni also catered funerals and weddings – at no expense to church members. They held meetings at various times. These included hands-on activities such as making crafts for fairs, hosting an annual Mother-Daughter banquet, and helping the Thrift Shop which was ongoing in “The Henderson Room.” Ruth did all of this with a cheerful heart. Her husband, Alden, was a long time custodian of the Church and they raised three boys: Lloyd, who now lives in Amherst and was a lawyer and news- paper writer; Charlie (“Chuck”) who is the famed “Chuck Roast” and now a local Rep for Senator Jean Shaheen; and Walter – of the tasty Fire 21 establishment on West Main Street and who also long served as a disciplinarian at Kennett High School. It should be mentioned that Charlie may have gotten his love for clothing from his mother who was also an expert seamstress. The Henderson Family lived on Crescent Drive – off the West Side Road – overlooking the Saco River. So, you see, “The Hen- derson Room” was most aptly named. We old timers will never for- get Mrs. Henderson’s kindness and endeavors on behalf of our church. Brian Wiggin CVCC Historian |
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2019 Holiday Fair November 21 – 23
It’s hard to believe that the Holiday Fair is just around the corner. In the following weeks at church we will be asking for food donations for the dinners, otherwise known as My Wish List, also we will need volunteers to help us in the kitchen (serving food, doing the dishes, and help cleaning off the tables), and just general help. Fair set up will be the week of the 18th. Details to follow. We are going to change the set up so that we don’t damage the beautiful new paint in Fellowship Hall.
Dawn Vitters
HOLIDAY FAIR
November 21st – 23rd, 2019
Please join us for some holiday shopping and wonderful meals.
Join us for our 2019 Holiday Fair, a tradition at the Conway Village Church for well over 100 years. You’ll find home baked goods, perfect for your Thanksgiving gathering; Wreaths and other Christmas Décor created by our Women’s Bible Study group; Home sewn quilted items for home & family and a Pick-a-Prize style raffle/auction with a lot of great gifts and gift certificates to win.
Thursday: November 21st Fair open 4-8 Dinner: 5-7 pm Pasta Bar
Friday: November 22nd Fair open 4-8 Dinner: 5-7 pm Apple Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Our famous Apple Crisp & Ice Cream for dessert
Saturday: November 23rd Fair open 9-3 Luncheon: 11-1 pm Hot Turkey Luncheon
Meals Prices: Adults – $12.00, Children ages 5-12 – $5.00, Children under 5 free
HISTORY OF HOLIDAY FAIR at Conway Village Congregational Church
The Holiday Fair at CVCC was previously called the Christmas Fair and
is the oldest continual Christmas church fair in Carroll County & certainly in the
“Valley”. Starting around the turn of the century, we have held the fair for
approximately 125 years!
One of the first church groups to organize the fair was the Ladies Sewing Circle. During World War II, the women’s group, Latahni joined to help. Also, the Men’s Club helped for a while.
The Holiday Fair has been a church wide effort for all these years. In fact, my mom, June, served at the candy table for approximately 50 years. Many folks have spent decades at the fair providing crafts & delicious goodies. Lots of times even Santa made appearances.
Brian Wiggin, CVCC Historian
Trustees Message
We had a successful year at the Fryeburg Fair. Many thanks to all who helped with the many aspects of our apple crisp fundraiser, including prepping the apple crisp, working at the booth, setting up and taking down the fair booth. This is our biggest fundraiser and it takes many to make it be successful.
Work continues on the building evaluations by Bergeron Technical Services. You may see people in and out of the church with their tape measures and clipboards. We hope to have the property survey done by HEB Engineers the first week of November. That will help the trustees in making decisions on parking lot options.
The church uses a number of professionals for building repairs and maintenance. For a number of years we have had David Hobbs as a very reliable electrician. He helped us out on many projects and came many times on short notice to fix emergencies. He recently retired and we want to thank him for all his hard work and help over the years.
Last spring we contracted with Alpine Web Designs to work on the church’s website which was long overdue for an overhaul. We have a draft that is being reviewed and tweaked by the website committee and when available we will share with all.
The Cabinet meeting in October was used to update all committee chairs and members on the status of the Capital Campaign. We will not know a final cost to all the work needed until March of 2020 but there is a lot of work to be done leading up to that date.
SAVE the dates: The Holiday Fair is coming up November 21, 22 and 23. This fair has been a part of the church for a very long time and is very successful. Hope to see you there.
Board of Trustees: Anne Getchell, Nancy Divine, Duddie Andrews, John Edgerton, Nancy Irving, Kim Murdoch, Paul Weld & Carl Vitters, (Treasurer – ex officio member)
The Trustees extend our thanks to:
Intervale Lock & Safe
Paul, we greatly appreciate the generous donation of your time and effort for the replacement and rekeying of all of the jewelry store locks.
David Hobbs
for his many years of reliable service to our church. You will be missed. Congratulations on your retirement.
Diaconate
Turkeys and cornucopias and pilgrim hats. Seasoned stuffing hot from the oven. Creamed onions, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Uncles and aunts and cousins to play with. Grandmothers and grandfathers with family gathered round. Children waiting for the Great Pumpkin rise over Charlie Brown’s pumpkin patch and dads watching college football. A day to relax and maybe rake leaves in the afternoon.
But Thanksgiving? How much will our celebrations tomorrow have to do with giving thanks?
A glance at the first Thanksgiving brings it all back. On December 21, 1620 the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth rock. Through the dead of winter the colony struggled with poor and meager food, stren- uous labor, a biting wind that chilled to the bone, and the ravages of disease. Nearly half the 102 Mayflower passengers did not live to see Spring refresh Cape Cod Bay.
But God sent Indians–Samoset, Squanto, and Massasoit–to help the English settlers plant and hunt and fish. The bountiful harvest that autumn led Governor Bradford to invite the Indians to celebrate God’s goodness. Ninety tall braves accepted the invitation to join the Pilgrims in a feast of Thanks- giving to God for His blessings.
The Pilgrims lived close enough to the soil to know how dependent they were on God’s Providence. They had learned to thank God in the midst of the bitterness of winter past. And they were quick to thank Him during abundant blessing, too. We teach our children to say “please” and “thank you” as the rudiments of courtesy, yet it is so easy to be rude and unthinking toward God. How often we forget to gratefully acknowledge His goodness towards us.
This Thanksgiving let your prayers and expressions of love rise toward your Heavenly Father.
“What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 116:12-13)
Donna West
Board of Diaconate: Loiuse Saxby, Buel “Star” Almquist-Lee, Sam Rice, Suzanne Rancourt, Dawn Vitters, Megan Vitters, Donna West, Judy Workman
Outreach – Food Pantry Statistics 2019 Year to Date
We will be putting together Thanksgiving Baskets for our Food Pantry clientele on many hands make light work if you are available to help.
A Little History About the Dinner Bell
When I was asked to find somewhere that did community outreach
to donate some of my time and write a paper about, I panicked a little. There are so many programs that do wonderful things in our community, so many worthwhile causes to donate some time to. So, I sat down to brain- storm and see if any seemed more important to me than the rest. The Din- ner Bell, that’s run at “The Brown Church”, kept swinging back into my mind.
What could be more important than bringing people together and making sure they had good food and good company? Wasn’t that what my childhood desire, to run a restaurant, was based on? With my decision made I started to hunt online for information and was disappointed with the available pieces that I found; so, I got in touch with the church hoping they would help fill in some of the missing blanks. I was put in touch with Melody, and she was unbelievably helpful. She dredged up historical information and spent half an hour or so sitting with me, even though she was busy, she never balked at offering me help. This is what I learned.
The Conway Village Church was originally called The Second Congregational Church and they moved to their iconic brown steepled building in 1906 but they were founded in the 1880s. They have always had noteworthy outreach programs. From youth groups, Sunday schools and bowling leagues to name a few. But to me, the most notable is the Dinner Bell, which was in the beginning stages of planning in the 1980s, around the same time they started the Food Pantry. These were started by Reverend Lee Bayer with some encouragement from many folks from the community. With some support from local businesses, even some support from Tri- County Cap in the beginning.
By June of 1991 the Dinner Bell was averaging about 130 people per week, 6,240 meals in a year! They even had some anonymous donors so they could do a second night of the week during the coldest months of winter. In 1992 there was an article in the paper, “Approximately 20,000 meals in two years.” Everything that was needed for the Dinner Bell to run was, and still is donated, from food to labor. It wasn’t long before this inspired others. Today there are free community meals in many area towns; Fryeburg, Wolfeboro, Center Ossipee, Tamworth, and Center Conway too.
The Dinner Bell is still growing. In 1991 they were averaging 130 people a week, 6,760 meals in a year. In 2019 they continue to serve approximately 6,000 meals, that’s about 125 per week. Cur rently the Dinner Bell operates with the help of approximately 35 volunteers every week, some of whom have volunteered since the very beginning. The Food Pantry has also bloomed serving 23,725 meals by September of 2019. Currently, there are approximately 23 volunteers helping out at the Food Pantry. Each Monday the ‘Brown Church’ opens their doors and invites people to sit and eat, to talk and socialize. They have the option to donate a couple dollars if they want to, but it’s never required. They even offer eggs, breads and baked goods, donated by Hannaford, with each meal that 
you can bring home for later. The USDA and the NH Food Bank also provide food for the meals. The people who run this program have added another family kitchen for our community to gather around, which can only be a good thing.
As for volunteering my time, I look forward to getting a call so I too can help the community. I think it’s safe to say that the organizers and coordinators of The Conway Village Church outreach programs are both motivated and incredibly talented. What they do is simply amazing.
Written by Heather Cunningham
Student, White Mountain Community College