School has started for most of our local kids, and the Church office has been busy preparing for the new program year. We had a full and fun summer, with Nature Bible Camp at Branbury State Park and a Senior Youth Group service trip in June, Junior Youth Group (JYG) activities throughout July, and Backpack Blessings and our JYG Kickoff in August. Even without school in session, there was plenty to keep everyone busy!

As we look ahead, we are grateful for a new program year and all the exciting opportunities it brings. Church School will officially begin on Welcome Sunday, September 13, following our “soft launch” on August 30. We’ll kick off the year with our annual Church Picnic at the Franklin’s home in Cornwall. We’ll continue our familiar schedule of Big Meeting on the first Sunday of each month, followed by Communion, and Church School classes on the other Sundays. Church School and Big Meeting will begin together in Unity Hall before breaking into classes.

This year’s teachers are PreK/K: Stacia Greene with teen helpers; Grades 1–2: May Poduschnick; Grades 3–5: Annie Magri, assisted by Melissa Flint and Nancy Adams, with one more volunteer still needed; and Grades 6–8: Rik Poduschnick, assisted by Ethan Lee.

The Nursery has been open throughout the summer and will continue to operate every Sunday morning. One change this year is moving from the Firefly Room to the Honeybee Room, which is better suited to our growing number of babies and youngest children.

We are always looking for additional volunteers in our children and youth programs. Whether you can help once a month, once a quarter, or just once in a while, every bit of help makes a difference. Please reach out if you’d like to get involved!

JYG is excited to welcome our new 6th graders to the group! We’ll continue meeting twice a month on Sunday evenings at the church and collaborating with youth from St. Stephen’s and St. Mary’s. We’ve had a busy summer together, so check out the bulletin board outside May’s office to see some of what we’ve been up to!

We’re looking forward to a wonderful year of learning, growing, serving, and building community together.

May Poduschnick, Director of Children and Youth Ministries

A good morning often starts with a good breakfast—and this month, we’re helping HOPE stock the shelves with breakfast favorites for our neighbors.

Throughout September, consider adding one or two of these items to your shopping cart:

• Cereal and granola
• Oatmeal
• Pancake mix
• Tea and coffee
• Peanut butter
• Jelly

These familiar pantry staples can help make mornings a little easier for individuals and families in our community.

Bring your donations to worship and place them at the altar, or drop them off at the church office throughout the month.

Let’s help make sure our neighbors get a nourishing start to each day!

Join us October 16–17 at Silver Bay YMCA for our annual Midd UCC All-Church Retreat—a chance to step away from the busyness of everyday life and spend time together as a church community.

This year, we’re looking forward to a retreat centered on the chance to exhale, refresh, and reconnect with one another in the beautiful setting of Silver Bay.

The retreat will officially begin with dinner at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 16, and conclude at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 17. A full program schedule will be shared as we get closer to the retreat.

Ready to join us? Please register to secure a room for yourself and anyone you would like to lodge with.

REGISTER FOR THE ALL-CHURCH RETREAT

Silver Bay offers plenty of space for both gathering and reflection—from time together as a community to quiet moments overlooking the lake. We hope you’ll head home feeling refreshed, reconnected, and glad you came.

Questions? Contact May at may@midducc.org.

Thank you to church member Andrew L'Roe for this wonderful photograph of the last year's retreat!

On Monday, August 17, members of our JCL Team and congregation traveled to the United States District Court in Rutland to attend a naturalization ceremony welcoming approximately 20 new U.S. citizens.

The ceremony was presided over by the Honorable Mary Kay Lanthier, with Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas also in attendance. As part of the celebration, our group presented copies of the Declaration of Independence to the new citizens, as well as to Judge Lanthier and Secretary Hanzas. Pictured here are John Emerson and Judy Albright presenting one of the books on behalf of the team.

Those who attended came away describing the ceremony as a joyful and deeply meaningful experience—and they encourage others to attend one, too! Naturalization ceremonies are open to the public and take place regularly. The next is scheduled for Friday, September 11 at 11:00 a.m. at the Montpelier courthouse.

Consider going with friends or family to help welcome some of our country’s newest citizens and share in a truly special celebratory moment in the lives of your neighbors.

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 Gratitude Collection!

This month: A note addressed "to all 'worker bees' at a most special Church."

"Thank you, in no particular order, to Pastors Elizabeth & Andy, for well chosen words and pacing, and for dedicated musicians Jeff and Ronnie who inspire and 'lift' us creatures. And the Choir, so fine...And the real critical energy of all staff members..."

Gratitude for the work that brings us all together in shared purpose. heart

We love collecting and amplifying the gratitude you feel for our Church community and beyond! Have some gratitude you'd like to pass on? Email it to office@midducc.org OR drop a note in the "Gratitude Jar" outside the church reception window and we'll add it to the gratitude collection for a future Church Matters!

Mira Cabrera, Church Administrator

We invite you to help us shower Jan Lyons with birthday cards as she celebrates an extraordinary milestone—her 100th birthday on September 30!

One of the gifts of belonging to a church community is knowing that we are seen, remembered, and surrounded by care through every season of life. Christ calls us to love one another, and a simple card is a beautiful way to remind Jan that she is a cherished part of this community.

Please send your birthday wishes to:

Jan Lyons

PO Box 30

East Middlebury, VT 05740

Let’s fill her mailbox with love and help make this milestone birthday especially joyful!

Unlike most people turning 90, Dottie has a very specific birthday wish: presents for the Community Supper/In-the-Bag program!

Dottie helped found these efforts more than 20 years ago, and they continue to provide meals to members of our wider community. In honor of her 90th birthday, she would love to help stock the shelves with some of the ingredients used regularly in these meals.

Requested items include:

• Mild taco seasoning mix
• Sloppy Joe seasoning mix
• 6 oz. cans of tomato sauce
• Jars of spaghetti sauce
• Boxes of thin spaghetti

Please bring donations to the church offices by September 27 and make sure they are clearly labeled "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOTTIE".

What better way to celebrate 90 years than by supporting a ministry Dottie has cared about for so many of them?

Questions? Contact sjdstahl9@gmail.com.