July/August Collection – School Kits for Church World Service

July 18, 2024

Our school kit collection is underway! Drop your donations off outside the Music Room.

Shopping List

  • One pair of blunt scissors removed from the package (rounded tip, only)
  • Three 70-page count spiral bound notebooks or notebooks totaling 200-210 pages (no loose-leaf or filler paper)
  • One 30-centimeter/12” ruler
  • One hand-held pencil sharpener removed from the package
  • One large eraser (no pencil cap erasers)
  • Six new, unsharpened pencils with erasers (remove from packaging and use a rubber band to to hold the pencils together)
  • One box of 24 crayons (only 24)

We are also accepting monetary donations for shipping expenses. Checks may be dropped off in the office (not in the kit collection box) or mailed. Write “CWS School Kits” in the memo line. To donate on the church website, use the link below and use the drop-down menu to select “CWS School Kits”.
https://www.churchofreading.org/donate/

Learn more about Church World Service: https://cwsglobal.org/about/…

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CWS School Kits

Once again, the church’s Mission Ministry will be assembling Church World Service School Kits to be shared with children in the US and around the world. Last year, we assembled a record 53 kits! Thank you to all who participated. We can do it again! Please start watching for the “Back-to-School” bargains throughout July and early August.

For those who are new to this project, it is a simple and fun way to share our resources with young students around the globe. Who doesn’t love buying a new box of crayons for a child? The list of items required for each kit is included below. You may purchase a complete kit or any quantity of the individual components. Please note the specific instructions for items as shown within parentheses.

  • One pair of blunt scissors removed from the package (rounded tip, only)
  • Three 70-page count spiral bound notebooks or notebooks totaling 200-210 pages (no loose-leaf or filler paper)
  • One 30-centimeter / 12” ruler
  • One hand-held pencil sharpener removed from the package
  • One large eraser (no pencil cap erasers)
  • Six new, unsharpened pencils with erasers (remove from packaging and use a rubber band to to hold the pencils together)
  • One box of 24 crayons (only 24)

Items may be dropped off in the school kits collection box by the Music Room between 10 AM and 1 PM, Tuesday through Thursday or at Sunday Worship. Financial donations may be physical or online.

In addition to school supplies, we will be accepting monetary donations to offset our shipping expenses, which typically run over $100, and CWS requests $2 per kit to be used to cover their own costs to deliver the supplies to each child. We greatly thank those who have helped our church cover these expenses in the past. 

To donate by check:

  • drop off in the church office or mail(do not place in the kit collection box)
  • make payable to the First Congregational Church of Reading and write “CWS School Kits” in the memo line

To donate online:

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Summer Groups

Summer may be here, but there are still groups to join at First Church!

Summer Bible Study – Join us in discussing the Book of Acts this summer.

Meetings will be held in person in the cool air-conditioned parlor and on Zoom (for you vacationing folk!). We will meet on the following Mondays at 10 AM:

  • June 3  – Acts 1-7: Birth of the Church
  • July 1 – Acts 8-12: Life within the Jesus movement
  • August 5 – Acts 13-20: The mission of the Church
  • September 9 – Acts 21-28: Paul’s Arrest

Monthly Work Day – July 16 & August 20

Each month on the 3rd Tuesday from 10 AM – 12 PM come and work on projects for various skills depending who shows up, what needs to be done, or the skill sets of those involved (building maintenance, cleaning, or even filing!).

Yarning to Care – July 22 & August 26

YtC will meet in the Parlor at 1 PM on July 22nd and Aug 26th. Contact the office to be added to the distribution list for reminders and additional information. If anyone would like to join by Zoom, let the office know. 

YtC is a group of fiber artists which meets monthly to create prayer shawls and baby blankets. These items go to those who are ill or in bereavement and to the babies who are baptized at FCCR. You can also join us just for good conversation. 

Let’s Talk – July 9 & August 13

Our monthly conversation group meets on the 2nd Tuesday of the month in the Parlor at 1:30 PM. All are welcome to join in the conversation! This month we will be discussing the Psalms (what are they anyway?) and are invited to bring our favorite psalm to share.

Women ‘n Stitches

WnS is wrapping up the Dress Around the World project. We will be donating more than twenty dresses to this cause. WnS will go on hiatus for the summer since Room 17 is not air conditioned. 

Please contact the office to be added to the distribution list for news of the September meeting. Any ideas for a new charity-of-the-year are welcome! 

Mindful Meditation – Some Sunday Afternoons

Mindful Meditation will meet periodically on Sundays at 4PM in the Parlor. This is a self-led group, using our own experiences, and resources from teachers and guest leaders.

Yoga at Church – Some Tuesdays

Gentle yoga continues on Tuesday nights at 4:15 in the Music Room. Please bring a yoga mat, block, blanket, or whatever yoga accessory you have. If you’re not on the contact list, please reach out in case classes are cancelled due to summer scheduling or heat.

To learn more about any of these groups, please contact the church office at office@churchofreading.org or 781-944-0205…

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Summer Worship Schedule

June 20, 2024

Join us for Worship this Sunday, June 23 at 10AM.
This Sunday kicks off a 4-part series (which we’ll explore one Sunday each month this summer) on building connection.

We’ve begun worshipping downstairs in Guild Hall where it’s cooler. If you can’t do stairs, please park in the driveway (on Woburn Street) and enter through the door at the end of the driveway.

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June & July Mission Project

Reading St. Vincent de Paul Summer Meals Program

We are 20 days into our summer collection for the St. Vincent de Paul Reading Summer Family Meal Program. Our goal is to collect 100 of each condiment by the end of July! Here’s where we are today!

Please bring donations of squeeze-bottle ketchup, mustard, and relish and leave in the blue collection bin outside the Music Room. …

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