This year the flower committee arranged to have flowers on
the altar from September 7th through June 13th, accounting for 42 Sundays. The
flower committee provided 18 of these arrangements, the other 24 were generously
donated by families and individuals. The Keith family donated flowers for the
Stearns room at Christmas and Easter, and shrubs near the bench outside, in
memory of their son Jonathan. Many thanks for their generosity as well.
Respectfully Submitted,
Nancy Henderson, Chair
Flower Committee Members: Eileen Conway, Ruth D’Autremont, Bisty Donaldson, Dagmar Guthke, and Julie Pugh
The First Parish Director of Music Vickie Wagner (1981-1986) introduced bell ringing through the Children’s Choir. She borrowed bells from the Waltham Episcopal Church for at least two youth performances in our Sanctuary. These inspired the Music and the Religious Education Committees to have a fund-raising drive in 1983 to purchase our own set of the first three octaves of Schulmerich bells which were dedicated April 29,1984 by an intergenerational bell choir. Vickie conducted the adult and youth bell choirs until 1986. She was followed by Roger Rozell.
The first set of bells was financed by gifts in memory of Sylvia Moore, Peggy Newton and Helen Ames Savage as well as donations from nineteen families. In the early 1990’s, we purchased six higher bells, which gave us the opportunity to ring more difficult pieces.
Betty Drum of Sudbury was chosen to become our volunteer director in 1987. She has led us for 16 years. Our group of men and women of all ages practices Tuesdays 12:45-3 PM during the school year, and we perform at retirement homes, club meetings and Sunday morning services. The donations we receive are directed to the purchase of sheet music and the repair of bells. Several times a year we join with other bell choirs for national festivals and regional workshops.
Participating in this year’s bell choir are:
Ellie Donaldson
Taffy FernaldAdele Harvey
Jane Herlacher
Sue Hollingsworth
Mary Klem
Cindy McL.Greeley
Polly Pike
Julie Pugh
Fred Richardson
Diana Smith
Jane Tatlock
And substitutes:
Bobbi Benson
Diane Burke
John and Marg Kent
Marj Needham
New members are always welcome. Call any of the ringers or call the Church office with questions.
Respectfully submitted,
Julie Pugh and Ellie Donaldson
The Hospitality Committee continues to set the table most Sundays of our church year – September through June. Again we benefit from our terrific volunteers. These people not only serve and clean up, but also provide the crackers, cookies and cream.
My sincere thanks to Peggy Marsh, Liz Nickerson, Martha Grabill, Mimsy Beckwith, Eileen Conway, Ben Wells and Loretta Arthur. We could not enjoy the pleasant time after Sunday services without them.
My thanks also to those who have volunteered to substitute if needed: Denise Bienfang, Karen Clarke, Marion Cook, Peggy Elliott, Deb French, Susan Hallstein, Vicky Lochiatto, Jane Mundt, Judy Ogden, Claire Pearmain, Debbie Page, Cynthia Ritsher, Elizabeth Sedgewick, Diana Smith, Ginny Welles, Pam Caswell, and Deanna Laferriere.
Our budget was lowered slightly because we had not used all of the funds for 2002-2003 (thanks to our volunteers’ contributions). This year we still have some money left and expect to have a small amount of our allotted funds remaining when the current year ends.
We continue to use decaffeinated coffee from the Interfaith Coffee Project, which helps small farmers in several coffee growing areas of the world.
We look forward to helping make fellowship with one another possible through this coffee hour during the coming year.
Respectfully submitted,
Claire L. Mount, Chair