The First Congregational Church of Reading

Do you miss the White Elephant sales? Are “treasures” cluttering your house or garage? Are you a crafter with fabulous creations to share? Join us for a town wide Flea Market, April 29th, from 10am to 1pm at the First Congregational Church of Reading in downtown Reading at the corner of Woburn and Sanborn Streets.

Sellers must register to reserve booth space (about 10’ x 10’ for $20) by April 21st . One table can be included, or you can bring your own; just let us know. Partner with a friend and share the space. Bring the family! Crafters are welcome and encouraged to participate.

Sellers sign up at Tinyurl.com/FCCRFleaMarket

Shoppers are welcome starting at 10am Saturday morning. Plans include crafts,

household items, antiques, tools, toys, books and more. This will be an opportunity for everyone to become treasure hunters. The market will close promptly at 1pm, so allow plenty of time to check everything out.

We cannot accept dropped-off items. Booth renters must take any unsold items with them at the end of the market.

We hope to see everyone at the Flea Market on April 29th from 10am-1pm

at First Congregational Church of Reading.

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Children’s activities will be available at our PrayGround area and table. Children are welcome to stay with their parents in the pews, sit at the table, or parents may accompany children to sit at the table too. Activities and books will also be available at the back of the church if children prefer to sit with their parents.

Easter Egg Hunt after Worship

Join us after church on the lawn on Sanborn Street for an Easter Egg Hunt! All are welcome. Worship will end around 11 AM, and the hunt will begin soon after that (about 11:15 or 11:30 AM). A lighter version of our fellowship hour with coffee will be available in the Library after worship for those who would like to stay. …

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Maundy Thursday

Thursday, April 6, 2023

Potluck Soup Supper at 6:30 PM downstairs in the Dining Hall
(Accessible entrance available through the driveway on Woburn Street. Park in the driveway and enter the building through the lower door there if you cannot use stairs)
Service at 7 PM downstairs in Guild Hall

Good Friday

Friday, April 7, 2023

Good Friday Vigil Service at 7 PM at Old South United Methodist Church
6 Salem Street, Reading, MA (Parking available on the street, behind the church by the food pantry entrance, or in the Town Hall Parking Lot)…

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Join us after church on Palm Sunday, April 2nd, for a sampling of food & wares, a children’s activity, and chances to win fun prizes!

Marketplace stalls this year include Bees, Chicks & Pigs, Sheep & Alpaca, Heifers, and Water Buffalo. Fair Trade Coffee and Clean Water will also be served.

If you can’t join us on April 2nd, you can donate by going to www.churchofreading.org/donate and selecting “Heifer” from the dropdown menu.

We hope you can join us for this annual tradition, and help support Heifer’s global efforts! For information on Heifer visit Heifer.org…

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Order your Easter flowers here. Pick up on Easter Sunday in the Sanctuary.

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Shop White Sales For Emmaus

This month, our church’s Mission and Social Action Ministry will hold its annual Linens collection or Emmaus, Inc. in Haverhill. Emmaus House, the family emergency shelter, serves up to 15 families at one time. Emmaus, Inc. runs eight additional housing units for various categories of residents. All of these need bed and bath items.

Donated bed and bath items can be either new or used, except for pillows, which need to be NEW. Only twin-size sheets are needed; sheet sets are especially welcome. Towels and facecloths are also needed.

In addition, Emmaus has requested snack packs that can be put out for hospitality purposes. Sealed bags of chips, Cheetos, or nuts are some examples.

Donations can be left in the Mission Ministry collection box outside the church office.
Thank you!…

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You can pick up a Lent Devotional with a weekly reflection on the poetry of Wendell Berry at the church (or one can be dropped off for you). Instead of “Lent in a Bag” this year, there are a few resources from past “bags” to help you rediscover Sabbath and rest that you can pick up as well. These will be set out on a table in the sanctuary beginning February 26.

Let’s Talk on March 8, at 1:30 PM in the Parlor will discuss the topic of Lent, Sabbath, and perhaps a poem or two.

We’ll only have a Soup (and more) Supper tentatively as a potluck on Thursday, March 30 with (and likely at) Temple Shalom Emeth in Burlington for an interfaith dialogue & program to learn about about and from each other on the themes of Passover, Holy Week, and touch on the implications and history of antisemitism (and the role Christians have played especially surrounding the story of the Crucifixion). Right now this is still in the planning stages, so stay tuned

A labyrinth will be set up for walking meditation and prayer in the Sanctuary sometime in late March. Another church lets us borrow this beautiful labyrinth, and we’re still working out the dates. Stay tuned!

Palm Sunday is Sunday, April 2.

We will host a Soup Supper dinner church service on Maundy Thursday, April 6, at 6:30 PM inviting our friends from Old South UMC to join.…

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This Sunday after church join Rev. Emelia in the parlor for the 1st in the (re) Member Class series! Learn about the history of FCCR, from its origins over 250 years ago, to the changes, trials, and celebrations we’ve had over the years.

Can’t make it this Sunday? Next Thursday there will be a link in the Enews for a Zoom version.…

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Bring on the trucks, and start up the band! This church community always supports our mission collections generously, and it has been no different this month as we’ve been raising funds for Church World Service (CWS) cleanup buckets. At present, donations total $900, which would purchase TWELVE buckets. Plus, the commitment of the Mission Team to match donations up to $500 means we will have another six and a half buckets to add to this number.

If you have not gotten in on the challenge yet, it’s not too late. Simply use the link below to purchase a quarter, a half, or whole bucket – or make a gift in any amount. If you do not use the link here, please be sure to mark your gift with the word “bucket.” Thank you!

Donate Here…

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