February, 2021

“Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.”

Isaiah 51:1

Those of us who’ve hung around First Church for awhile will likely recognize the above quote; it’s one I’ve referenced frequently over the years. As a once-upon-a-time history major, I suspect my connection to Isaiah’s admonition is only natural. But beyond my personal affinity for mining the past to find inspiration for the present, I suspect the prophet’s guidance is anchored in wisdom. Not only as individuals, but also as a community, as a society, it is important to understand the stories that shape our identity. The “quarry” from which we were dug reveals tales of moral courage as well as examples of moral failure. We can learn from both.

Recently, I read Creating : Critical Moments That Shaped a Great State, by Walter Woodward. Walter Woodward is an associate professor of history at the University of Connecticut, and also serves as our Connecticut State Historian. Creating Connecticut is filled with stories regarding the evolution of our state. As we might imagine, our Congregational ancestors figure prominently in that narrative. In 1636, amid quarrels with clergy colleagues in about the proper standard for church membership, Rev. (who favored a more inclusive path), his associate minister Rev. Samuel Stone, and 100 or so parishioners packed their bags and established a community on the banks of the Hog River. Rev. Stone had previously scouted out the spot, and so they named the place in honor of his hometown, , England. Thus, Hartford, Connecticut was born.

Through the centuries our forebears did some good things…such as Thomas Hooker’s 1638 sermon where he expressed the revolutionary (in the day) idea that the foundation of government authority rested in the “free consent of the people.” (Though that applied only if you were male, white, and owned property. So, not perfect, but an important principle upon which to build.) Our Puritan forebears were also responsible for some less than noble feats…such as our treatment of the indigenous people, and for being, for awhile, anyway, the fiercest hunters of witches in all New England. New England’s first executed “witch” was a woman named Alice Young, who was hung for witchcraft in Windsor, Connecticut in 1647. To be fair, thanks to the intervention of Governor John Winthrop, Jr., we stopped executing witches a generation before those famous trials took place in Salem. Small solace, I suppose, for Alice!

In terms of race relations, our record is similarly checkered. In 1785, the Congregational church in Torrington, Connecticut, ordained Lemuel Haynes, the first African American minister in the country. That marks a “first” for which we should be rightly proud. But the fact remains that racism flourished in our state to such an extent that the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison once called Connecticut the “Georgia of the North.” As Woodward reminds us, even after the Civil War our citizens voted down amendments to the state Constitution that would give African- Americans the right to vote…and we did so twice. Yet, in 1851, William Lyman, of the now famous Lyman Orchards family and a deacon of Middlefield Congregational Church, took an early and courageous moral stand against slavery. Deacon Lyman helped found the Connecticut Anti-Slavery Society, and at great personal and financial risk, opened his farm as a busy station of the Underground Railroad.

(From the Pastor – Continued)

More recently, in the mid-1960’s, Governor John Dempsey created a Clean Water Task Force to deal with our state’s badly polluted waterways. Conditions had gotten so bad that Connecticut actress Katherine Hepburn (an Old Saybrook resident) called the Connecticut River, “the world’s most beautiful open sewer.” The governor’s task force implemented America’s first model pollution-control program. The initiative proved so successful and transformed our state’s waterways such that, in 2012, the Connecticut River was designated the United States’ First National Blueway.

Over the centuries, our state has seen a lot of change…and our churches have no doubt witnessed some pretty passionate coffee hour conversations. Truth be told, we still reflect diverse and strongly held opinions. Perhaps, then, it’s worth taking a step back, and looking to the quarry from which we were dug. For our moral struggles are not new. As did our ancestors, so our nation faces issues regarding, among other things, racial justice, environmental concerns, and voting rights.

Perhaps, as Isaiah counsels, we may benefit from a dose of humility, a little historical perspective, and the exercise of measuring our convictions against the tenets and values of our Christian faith.

Warm regards,

February, 2021 Page 3

The Steeple Published Monthly by The First Church of Christ, Congregational

Affiliated with the United Church of Christ

Sunday Morning Services Worship Service – 10:00 AM Sunday School – 10:00 AM

Church Staff The Rev. Dr. Dean C. Ahlberg, Sr. Minister The Rev. Jane Elizabeth Moran, Associate Minister Mark Cherry, Director of Music Jane McKee, Church Office Administrator Terry Tatta, Sexton

Church Office Hours Mon. through Fri. 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM Telephone: 203-938-2004 Email: [email protected] Website: www.FirstChurchRedding.org

PERSPECTIVES “How do we create a harmonious society out of so many kinds of people? The key is tolerance ‒ the one value that is indispensable in creating community.” Barbara Jordan

In This Month’s Edition……. Farm Frolic, Dorothy Day, Open Book ...... 4 Sunday School News, 200th Anniversary Plans ...... 5 Ash Wednesday ...... 6 Bible Study ...... 7 Kids’ Page ...... 8 February Calendar ...... 9

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FARM FROLIC AND GOAT GALLOP! Join us at 11:00 AM this Saturday, February 6, for some outdoor fun on a farm! Children will be given (temporarily!) a baby goat to dress-up (you must bring your own costume supplies), and prizes will be awarded for the best-dressed goat. The fully- dressed baby goats will then be entered in a short race (the Goat Gallop), and prizes will be awarded to the teammates of the winning goat. This event will take place at Farm Jibe-It across from Huntington State Park. Please park on Pheasant Ridge Road. You'll see decorations at the entrance to the pasture. This is an entirely outdoor event so please dress accordingly, including masks. For more information (or just to see a cute baby goat) watch this short video: Farm Frolic! This event is free and anyone is welcome, so feel free to invite neighbors or friends. If you have questions, please contact Ashley Bishop at [email protected].

DOROTHY DAY: FCCC Redding has been preparing and delivering a meal to Dorothy Day in Danbury for many years. While Covid closed things down for a while, we are back to helping out. Currently we need someone to split delivery duty with Tom McNulty. This now means picking up 3 (this may increase) large casseroles from Fellowship Hall and delivering to Dorothy Day at about noon on the 3rd Saturday of the month, every other month. If you are able to help out please contact [email protected].

OPEN BOOK Open Book Club Wed., Feb. 10, at 4:00 PM, location or Zoom TBA. Please note that this meeting is on the second Wednesday of February, not our usual third, because of Ash Wednesday. Our selection is Emily, Alone, by Stewart O’Nan. A bittersweet vision of love, family, and aging. Once again making the ordinary and overlooked not merely visible but vital to understanding our own lives … Stewart O'Nan's intimate novel follows Emily Maxwell, a widow whose grown children have long departed. She dreams of visits from her grandchildren while mourning the turnover of her quiet Pittsburgh neighborhood. When her sister-in-law and sole companion, Arlene, faints at their favorite breakfast buffet, Emily's life changes in unexpected ways. As she grapples with her new independence, she discovers a hidden strength and realizes that life always offers new possibilities.--- from Amazon “O’Nan’s book, with great poignancy and humor, offers a rare glimpse into the life of a woman whose life is nearing an end. . . . [Emily is] an irresistible character—funny, flawed, and thoroughly unsentimental about her inevitable fate. . . . In different hands, this might have been a morose book, but it’s actually delightful. O’Nan’s ability to deliver such a flawless portrait of a woman thirty years his senior speaks to his gifts as a writer.” —The Dallas Morning News All are welcome to join our discussions. For further information, call Margaret Brown 203-938-3808.

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Dear Church School Families, We hope you are enjoying this lovely winter weather! We’re reaching out to make sure you’re aware of all the latest news regarding our Sunday school. Even though we can’t meet in person, we have a lot going on! Farm Frolic Join us at 11:00 AM on Saturday, February 6, for outdoor fun on a farm! Details are on page 4. It will be a wonderful chance to get together, safely with masks, to enjoy some long-awaited fellowship!

200th Anniversary Time Capsule As of this year, our First Church of Christ, Congregational Sunday school has been around for an impressive 200 years! As part of our celebration, we want to provide the Sunday school students of the future with a way to know more about us and what our lives looked like in 2021. That’s why we’re a creating a time capsule—and we need your help. In order to learn more about how your family can participate in this project, please take a look at the parent letter available on our website: 200th Anniversary Parent Letter. There, you can find instructions about how to complete the questionnaire and mail it back to us for inclusion in the time capsule!

All the best, Your First Church of Christ, Congregational Christian Education Team

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Join us for a contemplative service of Holy Communion…

(artwork by Lisle Gwynn Garrity)

Ash Wednesday February 17th, 2021 7:00 PM Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87585084687

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Lenten Bible Study with Art and Poetry

Wednesday, February 24th: Mark 8:31 - 9:8; Psalm 22:23-31 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81827717176 Wednesday, March 3rd: John 2:13-22; I Corinthians 1:18-25 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87295561006 Wednesday, March 10th: John 3:14-21; Ephesians 2:1-10 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85282857824 Wednesday, March 17th: John 12:20-33; Jeremiah 31:31-34 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89881218758 Wednesday, March 24th: John 12:1-19 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81061455573

All Sessions Start at 7:30 PM

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February 2021

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5 6 7:30 PM Outreach – 11:00 AM Zoom Farm Frolic 7:30 PM CE - Zoom & Goat Gallop

Fifth Sunday 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 after Epiphany 10:00 AM Online 7:30 PM 7:30 PM Open Worship Business & Book Zoom Finance Zoom 7:30 PM Confirmation

Sixth Sunday 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 after Epiphany 10:00 AM Online 7:30 PM Council 7:00 PM Ash Dorothy Day Worship Zoom Wednesday Zoom Service

First Sunday in 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Lent 10:00 AM Online 7:30 PM Deacons 7:30 PM Worship Zoom Confirmation 7:30 PM Zoom Bible Study

Second Sunday 28 in Lent 10:00 AM Online Worship