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WINTER CHAUTAUQUA COMES TO WEST BLOOMFIELD
In “the spirit of Chautauqua” the local Congregational UCC church will honor its longstanding heritage of intellectual discernment and public entertainment by offering a “Day of Curiosity,” say event coordinators. On Saturday, February 11, the church will host a series of expert presentations on an eclectic range of subjects including sustainable home farming, physically moving better, engaging humor to effectively communicate, defeating racism, dream interpretation, discerning truth, and the birth of the universe.

The Chautauqua tradition, originating locally near Jamestown, goes back to the 1870s according to church pastor Rev. Corey Keyes. “Chautauquas were the rock concerts of their day,” Keyes noted. “All around America Chautauquas sprang up as organizers gathered orators, teachers, musicians, and showmen of all types and invited the broad public. The meetings were social, educational, fun, and usually held outdoors during the summer. Our upcoming Day of Curiosity is designed to help people connect, learn something new, and shake off the winter doldrums,” Keyes added. “It also honors our church tradition of independent thinking and challenging social norms. We aided escaped slaves during the 1850s and hired among the state’s first ordained female pastors in 1892. Two decades ago we became an open and affirming church, recognizing the sacred gifts of everyone, regardless of their gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other artificial means of exclusion.” 

The Day of Curiosity event is secular, non-denominational and open to everyone, said event leader Laurel Nelson. “The day isn’t about religion, it’s about experiencing new ideas, cracking open your mind, having fun, and maybe making a new friend or two.”

The donation-optional one-day event is open to all. Pre-registration is encouraged at http://tiny.cc/dayofcuriosity

For more information:

Laurel Nelson (event manager) 585-727-1687 Email: lnelson18@stny.rr.com

Join us for this live radio show style presentation of the beloved classic A Christmas Carol, with foley sounds and live music. Great for all ages! Saturday December 10th at 1pm and 7:30pm. All proceeds from these two performances will benefit West Bloomfield Congregational Church’s H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Eat) Food Pantry. At West Bloomfield Congregational Church 9035 Rt 5 & 20, W. Bloomfield. Accessible entrances. Tickets are $10 or $25 max per family, and can be clicking the link below or by calling 585-624-1313

We’ll be Blessing the Backpacks and saying a prayer for the New School Year on Sunday Sept 11th. (Yes, we know that school will have already started, but you can never have too many blessings ☺️.) Kiddos, bring your backpacks! Teachers, administrators, bus drivers, school nurses, coaches, food service workers, janitorial staff, etc., bring something you take to school with you, and come forward for a blessing too! *We’re also inviting the children to take part in all aspects of service that day… handing out bulletins, taking up collection, putting the hymn numbers on the board, lighting the candles (with supervision), leading the Lord’s Prayer, doing the readings, and helping to serve at coffee hour. We hope to see you at this special service.

Let’s meet around a campfire! When the world feels so big, this small scale, old fashioned gathering around a fire sharing ideas and song (and s’mores!) will help you to feel connected. Well be grilling up hot dogs as well.

Sunday July 3rd at 10am.

West Bloomfield Congregational Church is holding our annual chicken BBQ on Sunday June 5th. Stop by for a delicious chicken BBQ meal with all the fixins’ starting around 11:30. ,$12

We are also holding a bake sale with the proceeds going to Ukrainian relief efforts. See you Sunday!

Please join us for Holy Week services.

On Sunday April 10th we will celebrate Palm Sunday and welcome our New Members.

Maundy Thursday Service April 14, 7 p.m. The Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Denial of Peter…this year’s service will feature our adult choir, and, weather-permitting, a campfire and discussion on the front lawn.

Easter Sunday April 17, 10 a.m. A celebration of song and light, featuring the full choir and the return of the band! We will also have an egg hunt on the front lawn and coffee hour.

Hello! Thanks for coming to our website! Most of our communication takes place over on Facebook. You can find us at “West Bloomfield UCC”.

We ARE back in person for service, but we also are still livestreaming over Facebook on Sunday mornings. Join us however you feel most comfortable. We are still masking at our in-person services.

Unfortunately will not be offering a Thanksgiving meal this year. But we ARE having a Thanksgiving food giveaway on Monday Nov. 22nd starting at 8am. Please stop by if you need help putting food on the table this holiday.

Our annual Cookie Sale is BACK! Plan to stop by on Saturday Dec 11th from 9am -1pm for delicious cookies!

Dear Friend:

For 25 years we have been raising funds in various fun and different ways to support Family and Youth Missions of the West Bloomfield UCC—over $100,000!  This money goes to help LOCAL people and families on the edge, facing difficulties, or just temporarily down on their luck…with an explosion of need during the pandemic.  Could you help us continue our community mission again this year by donating:

• A Basket of goodies? 
• Restaurant certificate?
• Bottle of wine or spirits?
• Antique or collectible?
• Fun experience (flying, cruising, boating etc)?
• Handyman service?
• Yard or rain gutter clean-up?
• Knitting or sewing lesson?
• Handicrafts?
• Two or three dozen tasty cookies?
• A delicious fruit pie?
• Lessons in your unique skill (language, dance, music, art)?
• Anything of value worth at least $25?
  
  

Our Wild Carrot Online Auction runs September 19^th to October 3^rd.  Be sure to join in the fun—log on to participate https://www.32auctions.com/WBUCC2021auction 

Thank you so much for your consideration.

Just let our official volunteers Anna Boonstra (585-269-8172), Cheryl Walters (585-329-4362), or Kathy Lusk (585-698-3295) know what you’d be able to contribute, and we’ll see that you get plenty of credit and appreciation.  Advertising value is high—we enjoyed over 14,000 page views last year!

Sincerely,

Tom Exter
Auction Chair 

We have experimented with opening the sanctuary for in person services a couple times over the last couple of months, and the leadership and deacons have decided to move forward with remaining open for in person services! (Services will also continue to be live streamed via facebook and zoom.)

Opening up for in person services still comes with some risk, so for the time being we will require a reservation (go to https://rsvp.church/r/k4mXZzxi to rsvp) and adhering the the best practices regarding Covid-19, such as temperature taking at the door, mask wearing, and social distancing. When the weather cooperates we can meet outside with a little more freedom.

We are blessed by the discernment of our leadership and deacons in this the decision making process. Your health and safety have been our utmost concern.