From the Board of Deacons

As many of you know, we have agreed to covenant with the Reverend

Tom Kinder to be our interim minister.
Most recenty, Tom was the !astor at the First "ongregationa "hurch
in Thetford for #$ years, and before that he was the !astor at the %est
&ewbury "ongregationa "hurch. %e were very im!ressed with Tom's
e(!erience guiding congregations through chaenging times, and as we
as his thoughtfuness and ceary e(!ressed ove of his work.
Tom wi begin his work with us on )e!tember *th, and wi ead his
first service at Bradford +"" on )e!tember $th. As he is !art,time, he
wi do most of his work with us Thursdays through )undays, and wi ive
in the !arsonage on those days.
%e are very e(cited to introduce Tom to a of you, and are so ooking
forward to working with him-
As our interim minister, Tom needs to get to know us as .uicky as
!ossibe in order to he! our congregation focus on what is most
im!ortant for our future. /n the coming months, we wi be distributing
short .uestionnaire, your answers to which wi he! Tom earn where we
are now and where we ho!e to be in the future. Aso, there wi be
severa sma gatherings in members0 homes this fa. These gatherings
wi be an informa way for us to get to know Tom and for Tom to get to
know us. 1ease 2oin us as we begin this ne(t e(citing ste! in our church0s
ife-
A message from Rev. Kinder3
Dear friends,
/t has been a !easure getting to know the members of the Diaconate
during the interview !rocess and seeing what strong ay eadershi! you
have. / am eager to get to know each of you at Bradford "ongregationa
+"" starting in )e!tember. /t is an honor to be caed to serve you and
Bradford Congregational Church-United Church of Christ Bradford, VT
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AUGUST,
2014
this church with its rich history and great !otentia.
The Deacons asked me to introduce mysef to you in the ()istle, and
share something of how / wi a!!roach interim ministry. / cannot say
anything s!ecific unti / know you better. A / know for certain is that /
!an to ask many .uestions and isten intenty to discern where you are
on your 2ourney, where the )!irit seems to be eading the congregation
from here, and what / can do to he! aong the way.
%hie / cannot say anything more s!ecific than that, / can share with you
some of what the Diaconate saw in my ministeria !rofie. The first
e(cer!t beow is from the section that asked me to comment on my
understanding of interim ministry within the conte(t of ministry in the
+nited "hurch of "hrist. The second e(cer!t is from my )tatement on
Ministry. Foowing those e(cer!ts, / concude by addressing the .uestion
of what to ca me. A together this etter is about as ong as one of my
sermons4around 5666 words4so that wi te you something about me,
too-
From My Understanding of nterim Ministry in t!e U""#$
The +nited "hurch of "hrist recogni7es that interim ministry needs to
begin with the heart. A wide range of feeings can arise in the
congregation in res!onse to the changes it is undergoing. These feeings
need to be res!ected and met with com!assion in order for the
congregation to move forward together in a heathy, enthusiastic way.
"utivating "hrist,ike ove for one another is the task of every
congregation, but it is es!eciay im!ortant for a church going through a
transition8.
/ntentionaity is the cornerstone of interim ministry in the +nited "hurch
of "hrist8. 9very congregation decides for itsef what kind of interim
ministry it wi seek.
)ome congregations choose to go to see! and set the aarm for the
arriva of the new setted !astor8. Their intention is to wait !assivey for
the interim !eriod to end and rea ife to begin again. /n other words,
their intention seems to be to have no intention for this time. As a resut,
the congregation can suffer unintentiona oss of attendance and we,
5
being.
This is an unnecessary waste of a :od,given o!!ortunity. The transition
between setted !astors can be one of the most meaningfu and
stimuating times in a church0s ife. /t !resents the congregation with a
wide,o!en chance to ask ife,giving .uestions3 %ho are we; %hat have we
oved about this church; %hat do we dream we may become; %hat is :od
caing us to be and do8; %hat kind of ministry and activity do we need
during this interim time in order to !re!are ourseves to fufi our vision;
A skied interim !astor can he! a congregation ask and answer such
.uestions and wak the e(citing !ath into the ne(t stage of its ife. This is
the kind of intentiona interim ministry that the +nited "hurch of "hrist
recommends8..
A key to reaching the new beginning in the 1romised <and can be to start
the 2ourney with a good ending4saying goodbye to what has !assed in a
way that aows cosure and recovery to take !ace8.
The interim needs to earn the church0s !ast and !resent ways of iving
out its faith8. The interim needs to see with the eyes of com!assion, as
we as with trained methods of understanding church ife. "arefu
istening and observation are essentia to su!!orting the congregation in
its transition.
The tasks of the interim !eriod that the +"" recommends are designed to
he! the church bring its new creation into being. They focus on the
church0s heritage, eadershi!, connections, mission and future8.
Transitions can be e(citing and im!ortant times. They can ead
congregations to a greater a!!reciation of who they have been, a cearer
vision of what they may become, and a stronger commitment to ways
that they fee caed to ove and serve. Transitions can be times of
creativity and growth. The best chance for this to ha!!en is for a
congregation to be intentiona about the interim !eriod and work with an
interim minister who has been trained to he! make the time between
setted !astors the e(!erience the congregation most needs.
=
From My Statement on Ministry$
My roe as !astor is the same whatever the theoogica or !oitica sant of
a congregation. / have served in churches a itte right of center, a itte
eft of center and one far to the eft of center. My roe is to he! each
congregation discover what :od is caing it to be, and to focus my
ministry to he! it fufi that ca.
The A!oste 1au says we need to undergo inner transformation so that
we may discover the !articuar !ath of ove that "hrist is asking us to
foow in our time and !ace. >e says, ?Do not be conformed to this
word, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you
may discern what is the wi of :od4what is good and acce!tabe and
!erfect.@ ARomans #53#,5B
"hrist is taking about a simiar inner change
when he says, ?Cery truy, / te you, uness a
grain of wheat fas into the earth and dies,
it remains 2ust a singe grainD but if it dies, it
bears much fruit.@ AEohn #535*B
The evangeica !reacher, Danie /verson !ut
it this way in a hymn he wrote in #F5G3
?)!irit of the iving :od, fa afresh on me.
Met me, mod me, fi me, use me.@
1astors are caed to he! create transformed and transforming
congregations in the s!irit of such scri!tures and hymns. /ndividuas and
the congregation as a whoe are caed to become ever coser to :od,
ever more o!en to the fow of the >oy )!irit, ever more "hrist,ike in
their oving service. The !ur!ose of inner transformation is to !re!are
them to turn outward to transform the word around them into something
more ike :od0s ream of mercy and !eace. This re.uires that churches be
o!en to discovery and reveation, because we cannot know in advance
what transformations we wi be caed to undertake.
Discovery and transformation are at the core of the ministeria vocation
as / have come to understand it over the !ast twenty years8.
*
Frederick Buechner defined vocation this way3 ?The kind of work :od
usuay cas you to is the kind of work AaB that you need most to do and
AbB that the word most needs to have done.... The !ace :od cas you to
is the !ace where your dee! gadness and the word0s dee! hunger
meet.@ (Frederick Buechner, *ishful Thinking+ , Theological ,BC, !. FHB
Ministry invoves congregations and the individuas in them in an ongoing
!rocess of discovering their vocations4the works that wi evoke dee!
gadness in them8.
The %est &ewbury "ongregationa "hurch, +"", caed me to be its haf,
time !astor in #FF* after my student ministry in the &orwich
"ongregationa "hurch, +"". The %est &ewbury congregation became
invoved in a community,wide !ro2ect to renovate church and viage
buidings. The aborers were !risoners !artici!ating in a work !rogram.
The church members knew what the !risoners needed to do for them.
%hat they discovered was what they needed to do for the !risoners.
"ongregation members and towns!eo!e fet moved to !rovide a unch for
the inmates every day, and then to eat with them. /t became their dee!
gadness to offer not ony hos!itaity, but friendshi! and ove. /t was not
anything they had !anned or !re!ared to do. /n fact many of them never
coud have imagined doing such a thing, but they had the courage to
foow as the )!irit guided them.
/t changed them. /t taught them to ook at offenders differenty. /t
brought 2oy and vitaity and vigor to the congregation. The church gained
new meaning and !ur!ose. The e(!erience was 2ust as transformative for
the !risoners. )ome of them s!oke at the ceebration at the end of the
!ro2ect about how it had restored their ho!e in their own future.
Ine day the !eo!e setting u! the mea asked me to make the coffee. /
am not a coffee drinker. / had never made coffee in my ife. / tried not to
!anic. / tried to understand the hasty instructions on how the big stainess
stee coffee maker worked.
"offee making turned out not to be my caing. My dee! gadness and the
H
word0s dee! hunger, or thirst in this case, did not come anywhere cose
to meeting. %e cannot discover our way through ife without some wrong
turns or faied attem!ts. The s!iritua !ath is a !rocess of straying,
stubbing our toe, humby acce!ting correction and returning to find the
way again.
/ was not transformed into a coffee,serving barista, but / discovered other
ways to serve the servers in their service, and it transformed my ministry.
/ was abe to he! !eo!e !ut their e(!erience in a "hristian conte(t and
ceebrate its !rofound meaning. / contributed to the transformation that
was ha!!ening through my eading of worshi! and !roviding of !astora
care and writing of newsetter artices. / had never been in that situation
before, 2ust as the congregation hadn0t, but the >oy )!irit transformed
us into what we needed to be in order to serve as agents of
transformation for others8.
/ ove eading worshi!. / ove !roviding !astora care and s!iritua
direction and sharing !arishioners0 ife 2ourneys. / find dee! meaning in
he!ing !eo!e ceebrate 2oys or find their way through a widerness of
grief. / get e(cited at the !ros!ect of he!ing a congregation discern what
:od is caing it to be and do, and then he!ing it fufi that vision. / fee
fu of the ho!e / beieve "hrist intended us to have when / see individuas
find a heartfet !ur!ose for their ives and a fuer e(!ression of their
:od,given gifts. / fee my faith renewed when / see a congregation
transform itsef and the word around it into something coser to :od0s
ream.
%!at to "a&& Me
The churches / have served in &orwich, %est &ewbury and Thetford have
caed me Tom. / am most comfortabe with that, but we a come from
different traditions, and some wi !refer something more forma.
Reverend Kinder woud be my more forma
choice.

/ !erformed a wedding once where the
bride was from a arge /rish "athoic
G
famiy from the Midwest. Ine of her young nieces asked after the
ceremony if she coud he! snuff out the candes.
The gir ooked u! at me with the sweetest face and said, ?Father, may /
he!;@ My heart meted. / ove being a +"" !astor, but suddeny / envied
!riests. >earing the word ?Father@ from that chid made me want to ive
u! to the idea she had of me. After that, of course / handed the brass
cande snuffer over to her without hesitation- )o fee free to ca me
Father if you reay want me to say yes to something. But Tom or
Reverend Kinder wi suffice.
Thank you again for the o!!ortunity to serve you in your service of "hrist
and the word. / am e(cited to get to wak this ne(t stage of your
2ourney with you.
1eace, 2oy and ove,
Tom
'RA()R "*+")R+S
Among t!ose ,!o ,ere &ifted -. in .rayer in re/ent mont!s#
)usan )haw <ouise Aen Cirginia Bednarski +nnamed friends
Margie )trong >igh schoo J coege graduates
Ae(andria "offin
Eobin Messenger Cida Munson the Button0s niece
Eacob Kna!!
Those affected by the confict in /srae J :a7a
Those affected by the severa recent !ane crashes
*-r sym.at!y and &ove to t!e fami&y and friends of
)ean Tiotson
$
Re.ort from "!ristian )d
<atey, / have heard severa !eo!e say, ?%e have no )unday )choo
any more-@ But )unday )choo is not gone, 2ust on
summer vacation-
A new season of )unday )choo wi kick off when the
chidren host coffee hour on August =#
st
. 1ease 2oin us
for that, they are aways so !roud to serve you- Reguar
)unday )choo essons begin the foowing )unday,
)e!tember $. %e are ooking forward to many activities
and !ro2ects, such as !anting bubs, and a!!e !icking and a!!esauce
making this fa, and !erforming a !ageant at "hristmas time, as we as
ongoing hosting of coffee hour on fifth )undays.
%e ho!e that you wi continue to su!!ort our chidren with your
enthusiasm for their earning and !ro2ects, as we as with your time
assisting us when you can-
Thank you,
The "hristian 9d team
%omen0s Fe&&o,s!i.
/t is with sadness that / re!ort the %omen0s Feowshi! grou! has
formay ended for now. Two years ago we set out to revitai7e and re,
energi7e the grou! and unfortunatey it 2ust didn0t ha!!en. The funds
have been aocated for the various church activities that the %omen0s
Feowshi! su!!orted.
The !reviousy known %omen0s Feowshi! committees wi now
function under the church as a whoe. Adventures in Reading is !art of
"hristian 9ducation, Materia Aid is !art of Mission and )ocia Action,
>os!itaityKKitchen, "hurch Directory Booket and 1arsonage "ommittees
wi come under the Trustees. The >arvest Ba7aar wi continue with a
grou! of women from the church coordinating it and that grou! wi
distribute the donations from the !roceeds as they aways have in the
!ast.
9rin Ide.
L
"!-r/! "o-n/i&
1ease remember that "hurch "ounci wi renew our meetings starting
August Hth at $366 1M. %e need a member from every committee
re!resented to hande the business. %ith our interim !astor coming on
board )e!t #st., and he !ans to be at the !arsonage Thursday, Friday,
)aturday, and )unday, we need to consider and discuss the !ossibiity of
changing our meeting time, or he may arrange his. / am sure there many
other items needing our attention.
>o!e to see every committee re!resented-
Danie A. 1erry
F
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PICT'()S *ANT)"+
Do you have a !icture from an event 8 a su!!er, a gathering,
a fi(,it session, a !ro2ect underway; 1ease give it to me to
scan into the 9!iste, or of course you can emai it.
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S)1)+T2 A++UA3 A334"2UR"2 (AR5 SA3)
%e are having our a,church yard sae and it wi be hed in the "hurch
Cestry again this year.
Most items wi be by donation.
Friday August 55O F366 am to =366 !m
)aturday August 5= O F366 am to #366 !m
%e are soiciting items to be deivered to the church vestry Ano cothing
or bedding !easeB. /tems may be brought to the church any time after
August *. The Cestry door wi be o!en.
/tems such as but not imited to3
Furniture Knick,Knacks "hina
1ewter Books )ma A!!iances
)iver Toos "oectibes
Kitchen /tems ArtK"rafts
"o,"hairs O Dan 1erry, 9ris 9astman,
Cida 1erry,Munson,
<inda :ross, )ue 9astman, Mary2ane
Kre!!er
#6
Annua Meeting , May 55nd $366 !m , 5F members !resent. Moderator
)torme Ide o!ened the meeting with a !rayer and a recited the
covenant together.
P Minutes of ast year0s Annua Meeting were a!!roved with a
correction to incude the amount of the a!!roved budget of Q##F,
F*.
P The )!ecia Meeting of A!ri $th regarding the communication
guideines were a!!roved.
P Treasurer0s Re!ort was a!!roved after a cou!e of carifications of
why the !rofitKoss was set u! with a com!arison of !revious year.
9(!ained that this was done at the re.uest of a church member.
&oted that auditors were waiting for a date from the treasurer to
audit the books for this !ast year.
P After noting ty!o,second bueted item, /nvestment !ortfoio
baance as of 676171 sKb =K=#K#*B the Trust Fund re!ort was aso
a!!roved.
P A other re!orts were a!!roved with the foowing
correctionsKcarifications3
, "arification in 1ubicity re!ort database u!dated not set u!.
, Trustees re!ort3 Eoe Button a!oogi7ed for the wording in
severa ine items, as he was !re!aring for a tri! and wanted
to get the re!ort done before he eft. They incuded
e(!aining R#L counting of cash received by the church being
done by two !eo!e for accountabiityD carifying that Ide
/nsurance did not determine the net worth of the church,they
2ust reviewed the insurance !oicyD carifying where the
instructions to o!erate the dishwasher were ocatedD
carifying the ?giving triange@ at the end of the "a!ita
"am!aign re!ort As!acing errorBD R ## ?sticking draws@ shoud
be ?sticking drawers@
, Trustee0s re!ort R#* Katrina Munn Funds,Mary )anborn said
she did not transfer this money anywhere and wanted to make
sure it was understood that these funds are to be handed by
the Trustees,are not to be incuded in the Trust Funds. /t was
e(!ained that Trustees were handing these funds, but had
asked the Trust Fund re!s for he! in finding a better !ace
that the money coud be invested as the costs to kee! the
##
money where it is now AMerchant0s BankB is costing u!wards of
QG66. Trustees wi continue to have contro of these fundsD it
was never intended to become !art of the Trust Funds. /t was
aso noted that there is no sti!uation of any s!ecific financia
institution.
, "erk0s re!ort3 = received into membershi! , reads 5, but ists
three membersD 5 resigned from church,it was noted that
Cirginia "rowe resigned from committeeKboards but not from
the church.
, Memoriam shoud have incuded Merton Bean Adied Eune 5L,
56#=B , cerk wi incude Merton in ne(t year0s Annua Re!ort
Memoriam !age noting the year of his death.
, "hurch at <arge3 Tracey )mith said she did not write the
re!ort in the Annua Re!ortD cerk did not have !a!erwork or
com!uter with her to verify how re!ort was submitted.
Members decided to record in minutes that there was ?no
re!ort@ submitted.
, Fower "ommittee re!ort3 add the name Ruth Frydam
ADaughter to3B
, "hristian 9ducation re!ort3 carification ?we have teamed u!
with@ Awith was eft outB
P There was no od business.
P &ominating Re!ort , The sate of officers and committees and
boards were acce!ted by unanimous vote with the foowing
additions3
, write in for Assistant Moderator , Dan 1erry //
, write in for Treasurer , :oria Fo( Avounteered to do for
another year as no one came forwardB.
, write in for Assistant Treasurer , "harotte %ech Avounteered
to do for another year as no one came forwardB.
, write in for Auditor unti 56#$ , 1enny 1erryman
, there is no moderator, no assistant cerk, no !ubic reations
officer Athis !osition was eiminated in the By,aws
amendment ater in the meetingB. There are sti o!enings on
the Diaconate and "hristian 9d Boards, and /nter "hurch
"ounci, :rafton Irange Association Deegates, and the
nominating committee.
#5
, Mary )anborn noted that Dean Isgood , "hoir Director
9meritus shoud be added as that was voted on at ast year0s
Annua Meeting.
Moderator )torme Ide stated that with no moderator , it was vita that
a re!resentative from a Boards and "ommittees as we as a the office
hoders eected be !resent at the "hurch "ounci meetings for the
u!coming yearD !articuary as the "hurch "ounci is res!onsibe for the
1astor )earch.
P By aws3
, The 1ubic Reations 1ubicity Ifficer !osition was eiminated
by unanimous vote. Moderator noted that !osition coud be
reinstated if it is found to be necessary in the future. The
1ubicity committee wi take on res!onsibiities reguated to
this officer.
, Diaconate3 The word ?!referaby@ was added before
?consisting of no ess than = men and = women was a!!roved
by voice vote with # nay vote.
, Board of Trustees ?they may hire someone to carry out any of
these duties@ , e(!ained that this came to surface when
TreasurerKAssistant Treasurer did not want to be !ut into a
!osition to carry out a of the financia affairs, then the
trustees coud ?hire someone to carry out any of these
duties@.
, "hurch at <arge committee3 after discussion s!eaking for and
against eiminating this committee it was !ointed out that the
:uideines for "ommunications that was voted on in our
)!ecia Meeting this !ast year, incuded ?s!eak for mysef, not
other@.....thus, a unanimous vote eiminated this committee
which aso canceed the assignment of the two !eo!e who
had been voted to that committee under the &ominating
"ommittee re!ort.
, :rafton Irange Association Deegates3 change ?sha be
members@ to ?shoud be members@ thus aowing non,
members to be deegates if no member comes
forward8...voice vote of ayes and nays , ayes have it , change
made.
#=
P 1ro!osed Budget 56#*,56#H3
, Dan 1erry // amended the motion to a!!rove budget as !rinted
to3 as shown on a hand out showing a reduction in the
Ministeria "om!ensation from QHG,*FG.*# to Q=#,#LH.66
reducing the budget from Q#5=,F6F.56 to QFL,LH$.H eaving a
budgeted income,ess e(!enses of Q,G#*.$H.
- /t wi be #5,#L months before a fu,time minister wi
be hiredD and coud be at east a year for an interim
minister.
- Amendment on the motion a!!roved with unanimous
vote.
, Discussion on origina motion3
- "harotte %ech Aassist. treasurerB was asked for an
u!date on !edges received vs. money !edged for ast
year and this year3
P 56#=,56#* Budgeted 1edges QH6,666 , Actua
received3 Q*G,HHF
P 56#*,56#H Budgeted 1edges Q*H,666 , to date
Q55,*LG
- )uggested that !edge etterKcards shoud be an a,
church maiing Anot 2ust emaiedB.
- )uggested if we don0t meet !edge amount, we coud
ask Trust Funds for more money for budget.
- Trust Fund re!s s!oke to taking more that !ercentage
recommended causes these funds to de!ete faster.
- )torme s!oke to her e(!erience this year in attending
meetings concerning churches this year, and many are in
the same situation as we are. Morrisvie church,
however, decided to use much of their trust funds to
?save@ their church, and ho!e to re!ay those funds as
things im!rove.
- The motion to acce!t the !ro!osed budget as amended
was a!!roved by unanimous vote.
P Ither business3
, Mary )anborn thanked :oria Fo( and "harotte %ech for
ste!!ing u! to fufi the !ositions of Treasurer and Assistant
#*
Treasurer, res!ectivey, after retiring from those !ositions
this year and no members ste!!ing u! to fi those !ositions.
, Dan 1erry reminded a !resent of the u!coming "hurch
"ounci meeting on Eune =rd and the im!ortance, without a
moderator, for a officers, boards, and committee re!s to be
!resent. 1articuary as the "hurch "ounci is res!onsibe for
minister search.
Ad2ourned at L35L!m after a cosing !rayer shared by )torme Ide.
#H