Mira Cabrera - Design and Publishing

April 2026

Spring Gifts

Rev. Dr. Andy Nagy-Benson

Dear Church,

This year, the month of April begins in the middle of Holy Week. These days are steeped in the sacred stories we tell—stories of the Lord’s last lecture and Last Supper, stories of the cross and the empty tomb. 


I look forward to the special Taizè service on Wednesday, and to Maundy Thursday’s simple meal and solemn liturgy, and to Good Friday’s ecumenical service at St. Stephen’s, and to the Easter sunrise service at Alumni Stadium at Middlebury College, and to the Easter celebration in our sanctuary. Full days, for sure. Deep ones, too. 

 

One of the ongoing gifts of Easter is its invitation to pay attention for Love on the loose in the land of the living. Another is the hope that “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well” (Julian of Norwich). Still another is joy!

 

With these gifts in mind, I am happy to share that Eliana Cañas Parra will be returning to our church this summer. (For those who haven’t met Eliana, she is a beloved member of our congregation, a Member in Discernment who is discerning a call to ministry, and second-year student at Yale Divinity School.) Eliana will be serving as a Yale Divinity School intern at MiddUCC, under the supervision of Pastor Elizabeth and me, from late May to early August. 

 

I am working with Eliana to design a rich internship, one that leans into areas of pastoral ministry that are less familiar to her. Pastor Elizabeth and I are looking forward to working with Eli, and she’s excited to be back home.

 

Alleluia, indeed.

 

Peace,

Andy

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE march 2026

CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING

At its March 11 meeting, Church Council learned the church has been the victim of fraudulent activity in one of its checking accounts. Starting on Feb. 27, someone wrote at least 16 fraudulent checks on the account totaling about $11,000. The church has recovered $1,500 and hopes to recover the rest, but it may take up to three months for that to happen, Treasurer Cathy Chase said. St. Stephen’s Church also had a bank account compromised. The problem arose after HOPE (Helping to Overcome Poverty’s Effects), a local organization that assists people with low incomes, shared financial information with an auditor and someone accessed the data without authorization. Both churches write checks to HOPE, so their account numbers were in the stolen data. Cathy said she has frozen the compromised account. Police are investigating. 


Council members approved a warning for a March 29 Special Meeting of the congregation to hear a report on the roof replacement project, approve a disbursement from the endowment to pay for it, to hear a report on two infrastructure projects from 2018 (repainting and repair of the church steeple, and a solar energy project financed through Acorn Renewable Energy Co-Op), and to endorse a capital fundraising campaign. Because the church’s Building Care and Maintenance Fund would be significantly depleted by a roof replacement project, Council will ask the congregation to approve a capital fundraising campaign to replenish the account. 


Council members voted to designate as private spaces three areas of the church, and to post signs indicating they are not open to the public: the portion of the new addition used by the Red Clover Children’s Center, and the offices of the two pastors. The purpose is to provide a space that would be off-limits to federal immigration agents who enter the church without a warrant to make an arrest. The Council’s vote follows its recent discussions about aggressive actions by agents to arrest and deport people whose immigration status they challenge.

 

Moderator Leanna Maglienti asked John Emerson, a member of the Justice, Compassion, and Love Team, to explain how his group has been sharing with church members information about opportunities to participate in demonstrations against federal immigration policies. One way has been to send email messages to about 60 people who’ve attended the team’s meetings, he said. Another has been to include information in all-church emails that go out twice a week. The team uses the latter method only for events its members feel are without “political content” that might alienate people who support federal immigration enforcement efforts, he said.  “We are trying to be sensitive to the reality that our congregation is diverse,” he said. Council members said they have no objections to the way the team is communicating with members.


Pastor Andy Nagy-Benson told the Council Dottie Neuberger is stepping down in January 2027, from her role as leader of the Community Supper Program. Council will have to decide if it wants to continue the Friday night ministry, and if so, who will lead it, he said.


Council members learned that John Evarts has negotiated a more favorable revenue sharing agreement for  the cell phone equipment in the church’s steeple. Yankee Steeple, the company that maintains the equipment and collects payments from the firms that use it, has agreed that the Church will now receive 70 percent of all rental income. Previously, the church received 50 percent. Michele Brown told the Council that since January, the church’s cost for natural gas and electricity is roughly double what was budgeted, a consequence of unusually cold weather.  


Council approved a motion authorizing Pastor Andy to sign a one-year internship agreement with Yale Divinity School that will allow Eliana Cañas Perra, a church member in discernment at the school, to serve a summer internship from May 30 to Aug. 2. Council members also approved a one-year employment agreement with Church Administrator Mira Cabrera that categorizes her as a full-time, hourly employee working 32 hours a week. 


Respectfully Submitted,

Matthew Cox, Church Clerk

  • Between annual meetings, the Church Council meets once a month to fulfill its responsibility to coordinate the church's programs and business. Council has the powers generally ascribed to a corporation's board of directors.


    The Church Council is composed of the following Church members:  Moderator, Clerk, Treasurer, Senior Pastor, Associate Pastor, and the chairpersons of the six church boards. Also, there are three at-large members. One is elected every year and serves a 3 year term.

  • The basic life and work of the church is under the direction and supervision of church boards, which meet monthly at the All Boards Meeting and report to the Church Council. Members of these boards are elected from the membership of the church. 

Children & Youth

May Poduschnick

Easter is almost here! Much excitement and build up but also some important and heavy days in our faith tradition starting with Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and finally Resurrection Sunday (aka Easter!). So before we get to the fun of Easter eggs, chocolate bunnies, Easter brunch, we need to reflect on how we got there and it is not easy to explain or to truly understand the suffering, the sacrifice, the symbolism of Jesus' death and resurrection. While I don’t expect all the kids to understand the theology of it, we are introducing the themes through our Church School lessons in the last few weeks. So when we arrive at Easter, we know it is not only about the commercialism and food, the reason we celebrate Easter is because without, we would not have a future or a faith. 


Of course, we will still celebrate Easter with a good Easter Egg hunt following church on Sunday, April 5 at the town Green, in combination with St. Stephen’s and St. Mary’s. Although not publicized publically, it is open for friends and neighbors as well. Last year we hid over 500 plastic candy filled eggs and I have a feeling this year will not be any smaller. Young and old are all invited to come and hunt or come and enjoy the event, starting at 11:45 am at the Town Green, in front of St. Stephen’s Church. 


The Junior Youth Group will be planning for our future at our retreat from March 28 –29. We hope this will be a time to bond, enjoy silly and fun time together, and talk about what we want the future of JYG to look like, topics to cover, shape it will take. Always a delight to be with this group of young people. 


The Family Fun Night/2nd Annual Cornhole Tournament sponsored by the Board of Christian Development was a fun afternoon of activities, food and playful competitiveness to claim the title of G.O.A.T. award, Top Banana and “Still on the Podium”. Grateful for the BCD to provide the venue and for all the families that joined us. We hope even more of our church will come in the future to participate in these intergenerational activities! 


Grateful for the new life that spring brings and the new hope we have each Easter. 


May Poduschnick,

Director of Children & Youth Ministries

Music Ministry

Ronnie Romano

Pastor Elizabeth's sermon this morning talked about the physiological effect of singing in groups. Seemingly magical things occur when human beings sing together—heart beats sync up, stress levels lower, and the voices of the people merge into one choral instrument that is larger than any one voice. The human voice remains the oldest and most primary instrument of civilization. When we use our voices to sing about the things we believe in, singing can result in radical social change.


Indeed, protest songs and spirituals are some of the most enduring songs of all time, both of which occur at a moment when speaking is no longer sufficient to express the depth of emotion needed. This is also how Sondheim decided when a musical theater production should move from spoken dialogue into the next musical number—at precisely the moment when words were no longer enough to convey the intended message.


Music is many things. It is solace, therapy, comfort, memory, and home. It is predictable, unexpected, harmonious, discordant, and inevitable. It is polished and unpolished, rehearsed and unrehearsed. Often, it is a mirror for the society we live in, amplifying trends and ideas that are circulating at any given moment. In this way, it helps us process and understand the world we inhabit while hearkening back to worlds past and invoking the future. Music is eternal.


As Lent comes to a close, pay attention to the music you consume. What is it asking of you? How might it be challenging you or supporting you? If you dislike it, why? What songs would be playing in a film telling the story of your life? What does it feel like to sing a hymn or protest song alongside other human beings? How might you use the music in your life as a force for social change?


During Holy Week, you will hear music at church that includes a Renaissance mass movement, a South African hymn, a spiritual, an up-tempo gospel number, simple Taizê chants, and so much more. You'll hear a violin, a cello, a piano, an organ, some handbells, and many voices. Consider what it means that all of these musical styles spanning many centuries can appear together in such proximity and work together to uplift the themes of the season. Listen deeply and look into the mirror each one provides. You may be surprised by what you find!


Love,

Ronnie

April Theme of Giving: 

“Cleanliness is Next to Godliness”

Our April collection for HOPE Food Shelf is all about the everyday items that help people feel cared for, comfortable, and ready to meet the day.

This month, we’re collecting personal hygiene and household cleaning items such as:
toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, soap, shampoo, lotion, laundry pods or sheets, and household cleaning supplies.


These items can be expensive, are often needed in every home, and can make a real difference for neighbors who are stretching every dollar.

To make it fun, consider:

  • picking up one or two extra items each time you shop
  • creating a “care bundle” with a few related essentials
  • choosing a theme like morning routine, fresh laundry, or kitchen clean-up
  • inviting your children to help choose items to give
  • challenging yourself to fill a whole bag with practical necessities

You can bring donations to church on Sundays, or drop them off at the church office during office hours (M-F, 9AM-12PM).


Let’s fill the shelves with useful, thoughtful items that help our neighbors care for themselves, their families, and their homes!

Helping our Immigrant Neighbors

Thank you to those of you who came and supported the large interfaith potluck and sing-in last Saturday! We had close to 200 people from around our community in attendance. It was a wonderful space to get to know each other, sing songs of hope and resistance together, and hear about how we can support our migrant neighbors in our state. We heard from clergy from different faith traditions share about what their sacred texts say about "welcoming the stranger." It was no surprise that the underlying message of each tradition is love and compassion. We are called to love our neighbor! We were blessed to hear from Joan Stephens from Addison Allies, who shared some ways our community can help. Here are some resources you may want to get plugged into: 


1. Grocery shopping, transportation, money sending, and furniture donations: 

Addison Allies: Patricia Reid (661) 645-5520 or Joan Stephens at (802) 388-9769

2. Family/child support and temporary guardianship: Bridges to Health: Hannah Ennis (802) 999-9330 and Claire Bove (802) 249-4611

3. Legal and immigration: Migrant Justice (802) 881-7229

4. Health and medical appointments: Open Door Clinic (802) 779-4828

Called to Journey, Called to Welcome: A Bible Study on Immigration

We invite you to join Pastor Elizabeth for a four-week Bible study exploring the timely and deeply scriptural topic of immigration. Beginning Tuesday, April 14 at 12:15 p.m. in Unity Hall, this study will guide participants through the biblical theme of welcoming the stranger — examining what scripture calls us to as a community of faith. Together, we will engage, connect, and discuss immigration through a Biblical lens, exploring our call to hospitality, the principle of God's blessing beyond borders, and what it means to navigate faithful risk and sacred welcome. All are welcome! 

Board of Missions and Social Concerns Organization Spotlight: VT Afghan Alliance

Once again, the Board of Missions and Social Concerns would like to introduce you to a local non-profit we used some of our budget to help last year. 

The Vermont Afghan Alliance, to use its own mission statement, “welcomes and assists Afghans resettling in Vermont, provides basic services and connects Afghans to service providers. The Alliance also helps preserve cultural traditions and connects the growing community through celebrations and community gatherings.”  


When the U.S. left Afghanistan in 2021, the thousands of Afghans who had helped us militarily and diplomatically faced a major threat with the Taliban because of this fact.  Hundreds of these Afghans settled in Vermont (more than 600, the highest per capita in the country). Many are separated from their family, due to the sudden nature of the departure, and are faced with finding a new life in a bewilderingly different country. The Vermont Afghan Alliance was established in 2022 and became a non-profit officially in 2023. The Afghans on the staff and board are deliberately chosen to come from different parts of Afghanistan, thereby offering different languages (Pashto, Dari, and English) and cultural patterns to help the newcomers settle in. 


Their programs include

1) a driving program to help them obtain their driving license and hopefully get their own car

2) employment help, including a training program for employers to make their workplace more “Afghan friendly” 

3) immigration legal assistance

4) training on civil engagement and legal rights

5) housing assistance

6) case management, interpretation assistance, and an English language program.

 

We hope you will investigate this Vermont organization and become more familiar with its work.

Earth Day Sunday April 19th

Join us for a special Earth Day Service as we celebrate God’s creation and reflect on our call to be faithful stewards of the earth. Through scripture, prayer, and song, we will give thanks for the beauty and abundance of the natural world and consider how we can care for it with love and responsibility. All are welcome to this meaningful time of worship and reflection.

From Your Green Team: Exploring Microplastics

The month of April brings us into a season of rebirth, as we celebrate Easter and lean into how we are inviting the congregation to continue to Grow With the Green Team throughout the spring. Our church will celebrate Earth Day and mark the fourth anniversary of our church's covenant as a Creation Justice Church later this month. Our team has been reflecting on how we as individuals can make a collective impact (stay tuned for more information on Green Up Day), and how even the small changes that we make in our daily lives can add up to make a difference over time, especially when compounded in community. The following information about microplastics has inspired our team to make some small changes, and we share it with all of you with that same intention.


Microplastics


What are they? Microplastics are small plastic pieces less then .2 inches (5mm) long.

Where do they come from? Primary sources are synthetic clothing, plastic pellets and microbeads. Secondary sources are from the breakdown of larger plastic objects like water and soda bottles, plastic bags and microwave containers.

Why are they a problem? Microplastics are a serious threat to our oceans and to marine life and they can also be found throughout our bodies. In humans, they have been associated with heart disease, some cancers and dementia.

So what do we do about them? It is difficult to get rid of the microplastics already in our bodies, but there are things we can do to reduce adding more.


Below are four steps that are simple and can be effective:

1)     Do not microwave food in plastic containers/bags

2)     Avoid plastic water bottles

3)     Avoid ultra-processed foods

4)     Use natural fibers (not synthetic clothing)       

Want more information? There are, of course, many sources listed on the internet. Here are two articles:


Microplastics and our health: what the science says


Baggies, retainers and more: 5 microplastics questions, answered


MemberS Spotlight: The Cabrera Family

Joe and Mira live in Middlebury with their two children, Orien (7) and Lumen (5). Mira serves as the Church Administrator at MiddUCC, and Joe works as an events Production Manager and all-around handyman; he is currently deep into the joyful challenge of fixing up their newly purchased 1790 farmhouse. The family first came to Middlebury in 2015 when Mira taught as a guest artist in the Middlebury College theatre department, and they later relocated from Brooklyn, NY, drawn by the care Vermonters show their neighbors and the shared love of the outdoors—especially time spent on the TAM Trail. Joe loves cooking and gardening, Mira is an artist working with natural pigments in collaboration with local farms, land trusts, and trails. Orien enjoys building, digging, rocks, and hockey, and Lumen loves making art and inventing songs to sing. As a family, they love camping and spending time outside. 

MiddUCC feels like home: Mira grew up attending a UCC church and values its welcoming culture, Joe currently serves as a Trustee and enjoys fellowship hour and showing off his cooking skills at potlucks; Orien and Lumen are enthusiastic fans of Community Supper, especially helping serve (and eat) desserts. Mira is also part of Arts in Unity and enjoys connecting people and groups across the church through the arts. The family is deeply grateful for the care and support they’ve received here—especially from House Menders and others who have offered wisdom and encouragement as they work towards fixing up the old farm house and building their "forever” home here in Middlebury.

The Gratitude Collection

Here in the office we have the pleasure of receiving notes of gratitude in the mail, over the phone, and in person. We thought it would be nice to have a place to collect these little gestures of gratitude and share them with our wider community...what better place than our monthly Church Matters publication?!  Welcome to the first installment of The Gratitude Collection!


Up first: A note of gratitude from Pat Chase, longtime MiddUCC church member:


Dear Church Family,

I want to thank so many for your support during Mal's illness and passing. The meals were crucial to both of us. In Mal's last days the choir and bells in his bedroom were special. Thank you! Peace and love to all.

 -Pat Chase


We love collecting and amplifying the gratitude you feel for Church and beyond! Have some gratitude you'd like to pass on? email it to office@midducc.org and we'll add it to the gratitude collection for a future Church Matters!

Birthdays

Alice Munson            April 03

John Wallace             April 03

Lydia Alberts             April 04

Elizabeth Robinson   April 05

Spencer Smith          April 05

Joe Cabrera              April 07

Colin Foster              April 07

Robyn Stattel            April 07

Til Boyce                   April 08

Maeve Hammel          April 08

Laurie Jordan              April 09

Alex Bonavita              April 10

Abby Gleason              April 10

Grady Leonard             April 11

Nancy Allison              April 12

Jennifer Bleich            April 12

Jean Fifield                 April 12

Leo Bone                    April 13

Vanda Crook               April 13

Timothy Funk               April 13

Elise Blair                   April 15

Ken Brownsword        April 16

Cathy Chase              April 16

Gary Gillen                 April 16

Gus Jordan                 April 16

Dorothy Krahn            April 19

Peggy Rush                 April 19

Edith Olmstead            April 20

Peter Hewitt                 April 21

Ginny Sinclair               April 21

Rachael Nagy-Benson   April 23

Katy Waterman              April 23

Ruby Munro                  April 24

Joyce Foster                 April 25

Neil Sinclair                   April 25

Kaden Hammond         April 27

Gregor Kent                 April 28

Eva Andrews                 April 29

Patty Hallam                April 29

Irene Zaccor                April 29   

Anniversaries

Tim & Wendy Hollander                   April 1


Susan Baker & George Jarvis          April 23