A THUMBNAIL HISTORY…

         Guilford Church was founded in 1767 by a small group of people in Guilford, foundered repeatedly, was reconstructed during the revolutionary war, burned down twice, but nonetheless, has provided Sunday School and worship for generations of Guilford inhabitants.  It was, for most of these centuries considered a “congregational” church, that is, its polity was determined by the pastor and the local congregation.

            In 1957, Congregational Christian churches worldwide banded together with the Evangelical and Reformed Church leaders  and formed the United Church of Christ. This union has always had a history of championing human rights and fostering attention on the gospel of Jesus.  (A fascinating Short History is available on-line at: www.ucc.org/aboutus/shortcourse/congchri.htm.)

    In 1977, under the pastoral leadership of Revs. Shirley and Larry Crockett, the Guilford Church joined the United Church of Christ and began its journey toward relationship with the UCC denomination. Church attendance grew, both from within Guilford and from outlying towns.  In 1995 the church made the important decision to move and enlarge the church. The building of the church was completed without incurring debt and with help of all kinds from members and non-members alike.

   In 1997, the Crocketts retired and shortly after, Shirley died.  Allyson Platt was interim minister for a year, followed by pastor Noreen Carter for about a year, followed by a year with the laity leading worship.  In 2001, Lise Sparrow was called as pastor.  At this point we were faced with the question of whether the church would welcome gays, lesbians, trans- and bi-sexuals to full life and privileges in the church. In 2003, a vote was taken and the church affirmed its openness and commitment to welcome and bless  all who come with the intention to deepen their relationship to Christ, the church and this community.

            Being part of Guilford Community Church History means being part of an evolving and expanding open-ness to God’s work in our lives. In the larger UCC church this is called the “God Is Still Speaking” Initiative, a phrase which continues to invigorate and inspire us.

CHURCH FAITH AND COVENANT

We are currently reviewing our Church Covenant and committed a recent meeting to discussing what it might mean to be able to stand secure in our faith as Christians all the while reaching out in respect and compassion to people of other faiths. Rev. Larry Crockett suggested we put it in these words, saying our GCC faith and covenant is:

 

An active seeking through the Spirit of God of what God is calling us to do and say today in the context of an open, welcoming, and diverse congregation which listens to and respects all the spiritual journeys, beliefs, and questions of its members.

 We welcome your thoughts and suggestions!

CHURCH VISION (written 1997)

We seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit; to love one another; to listen respectfully to each other; to be forgiving and kind; to respect diversity; to be down to earth and unpretentious as we strive to live out our faith and our Covenant

 

OPEN AND AFFIRMING AGREEMENT (May, 2003)

The Guilford Community Church, United Church of Christ, acknowledges that those who have become members and those who actively participate in the church community share a variety of beliefs, yet remain joined in Christian love and respect.

 

The Guilford Community Church is open to all. It affirms the spirit of God found in those who seek fellowship, comfort, and guidance here whatever their age, race, gender, ethnicity, education, disability, sexual orientation, financial situation, national origin, or any other circumstance that has historically been a barrier to a full life, participation, membership, mission, work, and ministry in the United Church of Christ. We embrace those brothers and sisters as equal partners in the Body of Christ with full access to every opportunity to serve God.

 

The pastor is confirmed in the discretion, after proper counseling of the couples, to perform weddings and civil unions at the Guilford Community Church.

WHAT DO THE COMMITTEES DO?

The Building and Grounds Committee…oversee the maintenance of the church and work together on building projects.  They usually get together three or four times a year for a Saturday breakfast and to set goals for upcoming projects. They are currently working on a front walk and on a shelter for the trailer out back.

 

The Christian Education Committee…work together to organize the Sunday School and Childcare for the children of the church. Some teach Sunday School, some work on the Christmas pageant, some help set up for special events like the Apple Fest.  All care about providing good care for our children.

 

The Finance Committee …provides support and oversight for the church treasurer . It creates the annual contract for the pastor and puts together the Annual Budget. In recent years they have also helped guide responsible investment of our small endowment. They meet once a month.

 

The Flower and Altar Committee…tend the gardens of the church as  they can, usually gathering once in the spring and once in fall and then contributing as they can over the course of the summer.  They also sign up to provide flowers for the altar and to care for the altar dressings on a month-by month basis.

 

The Fundraising Committee…take great satisfaction in providing community events which broaden our outreach and contribute to our budget.  The Fall and Spring Pie sales, the Sugar and Strawberry Suppers, the Christmas Bazaar and Welcome Center Refreshment Sale are all organized by this Committee.  The members of the committee take turns organizing and helping out.

 

The Home Service Committee.. offers hospitality and comfort to the dying, bereaved and ill in our community. Specifically, they host special church occasions, funeral receptions, and provide food for  shut-ins.

The Nominating Committee … meets in the Fall of each year to help find new members for committees.

 

The Missions Committee…meets monthly to provide oversight and make decisions about the distribution of our Church Mission Funds.  They also organize three special offerings each year for wider church missions.

 

The Music Committee… meets irregularly to support the music ministry of the church. Members sing in hospital and in  hospice situations, support the choirmasters and welcome new members to the choir.

 

The Stewardship Committee… is active each Fall encouraging

active stewardship of church by its members. In recent years they have organized a Harvest Lunch at which committees eat, meet and share dreams and ideas. They also create materials each year to help folks decide how they can best serve the church community.

 

OTHER  WAYS OF CONNECTING AND SERVING CHURCH?

THE G.C.C. NINE O’CLOCK CHOIR is open to anyone who can arrive promptly by 9am on Sunday  to rehearse the music planned for the service. If you’d like to be on the Choir e-mail list of notices for ongoing choir news email Peter Amidon (peter@amidonmusic.com).

THE PRAYER CHAIN: Nancy Ragle is currently the head of the Prayer Chain. If you would like prayers said for someone in crisis call her at 254-9586.  If you would be willing to be part of the chain, let her know that as well.  The chain currently has twenty people who agree to call one other person and to pray over the course of a week for the person/s called for.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE PRAYERS READ for someone on Sunday, either leave a note in the offering plate or call the church phone (257-2776) by the Saturday evening before the service and leave the name and an explanation of the joy or concern.

LET US KNOW if you have special skills or time on your hands.

There are always small and large things to be done which benefit the church.

 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A MEMBER OF GCC?

 

•a personal commitment to grow as a Christian

 in community with others.

 

•a willingness to give of your time and money to support the  ongoing operation of the church.

•a desire to become a member of the GCC church community

and to learn from living over time with others by becoming a member of a committee or contributing in an ongoing way to the life and prosperity of the church.

 

WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?

In short,

About 40% goes to pay the salary of the pastor.

About 30% goes to keep the building maintained, the lawn mowed, the driveway plowed and maintained, electricity, water, etc. It also includes our secretary, maintenance and cleaning persons.

About 22% goes to the different ministries of the church. It pays for our various planned mission donations. It pays for Sunday School materials and for kitchen and food supplies for funerals and folks laid up with illness.

You will have noticed we also ask for optional/spontaneous contributions in emergency situations. This can mean contributions of food for families of someone for whom we hold a funeral or of cash donations for victims of a local fire or of a national emergency such as Katrina.

 

WHO IS THE PASTOR?

Lise Sparrow has been licensed by the Vermont Conference

Of the UCC Church to serve as pastor of the GCC since 2000. Before becoming our pastor, she taught graduate students at the School for International Training in Brattleboro for 25 years and at the end of her tenure there was the Director of their Master of Arts in Teaching Program. She is fluent in Spanish and German, lived overseas for many years and has a doctoral degree in Multicultural Education.

             In 1987, she studied for her Master of Arts in Divinity at Harvard Divinity School and served the Guilford Church as interim pastor in 1989. The focus of her studies at that time was Faith Development. She is also a Reiki Master which she brings to the church healing ministry. She is married and has four children and three dogs. They all live in Westminster West.

WHAT DOES THE PASTOR DO?

Our pastor leads worship most Sundays and helps coordinate Christian Education.  She leads our two youth groups and teaches 9am Sunday School. She meets with church leaders and attends committee and council meetings and is the face of the church in Guilford, Brattleboro and at UCC Association Meetings. She holds regular office hours to meet with folks in her office and spends at least one day a week visiting people in their homes, nursing homes, and hospitals.

 

 

HOW IS THE CHURCH GOVERNED?

True to its congregational nature, the church is governed by members of the congregation. A team of lay-leaders meet twice a month with the pastor to oversee the management of the church. The Board of Deacons oversees the spiritual needs of the church community and the Church Council, which includes heads of committees as well as the deacons, lay leaders and the church clerk and treasurer meet once a month to share in the making of decisions which affect the larger church body.