Check out our monthly Chimes Newsletter and History Highlight, as well as our weekly Sunday bulletins and other church and community news.
December 2023 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of November 26, 2023
Announcements for the week of November 19, 2023
Announcements for the week of November 12, 2023
Announcements for the week of November 05, 2023
Announcements for the week of October 29, 2023
November 2023 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of October 22, 2023
Announcements for the week of October 15, 2023
Announcements for the week of October 8, 2023
Announcements for the week of October 1, 2023
October 2023 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of September 24, 2023
Announcements for the week of September 17, 2023
Announcements for the week of September 3, 2023
September 2023 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of August 27, 2023
Announcements for the week of August 20, 2023
Announcements for the week of August 13, 2023
Announcements for the week of August 6, 2023
Announcements for the week of July 30, 2023
Announcements for the week of July 23, 2023
Announcements for the week of July 16, 2023
Announcements for the week of July 9, 2023
Announcements for the week of July 2, 2023
Announcements for the week of June 25, 2023
Announcements for the week of June 18, 2023
Announcements for the week of June 11, 2023
Announcements for the week of June 4, 2023
Summer 2023 Chimes Newsletter
By Cindy Ryherd Inside the narthex of our beautiful Congregational Church of Hollis, on either side of the doors leading into the Sanctuary, are two framed drawings done by E.J. Colburn in 1893 (the 150th anniversary of the 1743 ordaining of the church’s first pastor, Rev. Daniel Emerson). E.J. Colburn was a Deacon of the…
Announcements for the week of May 28, 2023
Announcements for the week of May 21, 2023
Announcements for the week of May 14, 2023
Announcements for the week of May 7, 2023
Announcements for the week of April 30, 2023
May 2023 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of April 23, 2023
Announcements for the week of April 16, 2023
Announcements for the week of April 9, 2023
By Cindy Ryherd This month, April 2023 marks the 280th anniversary of the ordination of Rev. Daniel Emerson as the first settled pastor of our church! It happened on April 20, 1743, which is the date used by the church as the anniversary date of our church’s beginning. The church has changed dramatically in its…
Announcements for the week of April 2, 2023
April 2023 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of March 26, 2023
Announcements for the week of March 19, 2023
By Cindy Ryherd Having the joy of watching two baptisms in February, I noticed a plaque on the baptismal font, which raised my curiosity about the history of the font. Feeling the importance of remembering and honoring our church history and the many individuals that helped to create it, here is what I found. The…
Announcements for the week of March 12, 2023
Announcements for the week of March 5, 2023
March 2023 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of February 26, 2023
Announcements for the week of February 19, 2023
Announcements for the week of February 12, 2023
Announcements for the week of February 5, 2023
February 2023 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of January 29, 2023
Announcements for the week of January 22, 2023
Announcements for the week of January 15, 2023
Announcements for the week of January 8, 2023
Announcements for the week of January 1, 2023
January 2023 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of December 18, 2022
Announcements for the week of December 11, 2022
Announcements for the week of December 4, 2022
December 2022 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of November 27, 2022
Announcements for the week of November 20, 2022
Announcements for the week of November 13, 2022
Announcements for the week of November 6, 2022
November 2022 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of October 30, 2022
Announcements for the week of October 23, 2022
Announcements for the week of October 16, 2022
Announcements for the week of October 9, 2022
Announcements for the week of October 2, 2022
October 2022 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of September 25, 2022
Announcements for the week of September 18, 2022
Announcements for the week of September 11, 2022
Announcements for the week of September 4, 2022
With Gratitude from the Widening Our Vision Team… The Widening Our Vision team was formed in the spring of 2021, with the blessing of the Church Council, to explore becoming an Open and Affirming church. This Open and Affirming (ONA) initiative provided an opportunity for our church to deepen and expand our welcome to people…
Announcements for the week of August 28, 2022
September 2022 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of August 21, 2022
Announcements for the week of August 14, 2022
Announcements for the week of August 7, 2022
Announcements for the week of July 31, 2022
Announcements for the week of July 24, 2022
Announcements for the week of July 17, 2022
Announcements for the week of July 10, 2022
Announcements for the week of July 3, 2022
Pastoral letter responds to attacks on transgender and nonbinary people…”We want every person of transgender or nonbinary experience to know this: you are beloved by God.” Trans and Nonbinary Pastoral Letter from the UCC and ONA Coalition
Saying “the stakes have never been higher”… A letter from the national setting of the United Church of Christ is calling the entire denomination to a special focus during Pride Month. UCC churches receive June call to stand with transgender, nonbinary people
Announcements for the week of June 19, 2022
Announcements for the week of June 12, 2022
From the Widening Our Vision (WOV) Team… Our Journey to Becoming Open and Affirming The Widening Our Vision team thanks those of you who responded to the exploratory survey. The results indicated to us that the vast majority of members support becoming an Open and Affirming church, but there are still a number of members…
Summer 2022 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of June 5, 2022
By Cindy Ryherd This is the final article of the Congregational Church of Hollis named rooms/spaces series, ending with the Adam Verrecchia Memorial Community Garden (AVMCG), located at the far end of the shared library/church parking lot. This article is both the easiest and hardest one I have written. Easy because I witnessed the “history”…
Announcements for the week of May 29, 2022
Announcements for the week of May 22, 2022
Announcements for the week of May 15, 2022
Announcements for the week of May 8, 2022
From the Widening Our Vision (WOV) Team… A Look Back at Where We’ve Been and What’s Next? Widening Our Vision Timeline: More than a Year in the Making… March 2021 – Church Council approved formation of Open & Affirming (ONA) task force April 2021 – Call for interested individuals to join ONA task force June…
Parents Group Fighting New Anti-Trans Laws…“It is painful to have your child rejected” As more Republican states target trans youth, a group of parents meet to push back on discriminatory legislation, share stories and celebrate. In the News: Parents Group Fighting New Anti-Trans Laws
Amtrak Responds to verbal assault of gay couple…Amtrak says it “strongly condemns” an act of hate that occurred on board one of their trains last week after an unruly passenger directed a hate-filled rant at a gay couple and their children. In the News: Amtrak responds to verbal assault of gay couple
May 2022 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of May 1, 2022
Announcements for the week of April 24, 2022
Announcements for the week of April 17, 2022
Announcements for the week of April 10, 2022
Announcements for the week of April 3, 2022
Fight LGBTQ Discrimination: We MUST Pass the Equality Act…While there have been important gains over the last several years in securing LGBTQ civil rights protections, there remain significant gaps in the law that leave LGBTQ Americans vulnerable to discrimination. In the News: Fight LGBTQ Discrimination
Terrible Time For Trans Youth: New Survey Spotlights Suicide Attempts — And Hope Forbes.com May 19, 2021 Dawn Ennis, Contributor:Diversity, Equity & Inclusion In the News: Terrible Time for Trans Youth
Open and Affirming Churches of the New Hampshire Conference, United Church of Christ – 1992 to 2021 NH UCC Open and Affirming churches
Comprehensive List of LGBTQ+ Related Vocabulary Definitions excerpted from The Safe Zone Project curriculum LGBTQ+ Glossary
This document contains a timeline of significant LGBTQ+ events in the United Church of Christ, New Hampshire and the United States LGBTQ+ Historical Timeline 1985 to Present
From the Widening Our Vision (WOV) Team… Mr. Rogers and our Open and Affirming Journey Beloved children’s television show host Fred Rogers donned his trademark sweater and sneakers at thestart of each episode and asked, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” He had much to teach generations of children about acceptance, caring, inclusion, being ‘helpers’ —…
April 2022 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of March 27, 2022
Announcements for the week of March 20, 2022
Announcements for the week of March 13, 2022
Announcements for the week of March 6, 2022
From the Widening our Vision (WoV) Team… SOGIE and LGBTQ+ … That’s A Lot of Letters – What Do They All Mean? At the moment of birth, there are three people (the person giving birth, the newborn, a medical professional/midwife) and the first question: “Is it a boy or a girl?” This question reflects the…
March 2022 Chimes Newsletter
By Cindy Ryherd This month, the “Room Names” series ends with Hardy (Parish) Hall. Hardy Hall Hardy Hall (originally called Hardy Parish Hall) was dedicated in 1925 upon the completion of the construction of our current church building (the previous Meetinghouse having burned down in 1923). It is named in memory and honor of Phineas…
Announcements for the week of February 27, 2022
Announcements for the week of February 20, 2022
Announcements for the week of February 13, 2022
Announcements for the week of February 6, 2022
From the Widening our Vision (WoV) Team… “Never place a period where God has placed a comma.” Gracie Allen, half of the husband-and-wife comedy team of Burns and Allen, wrote these words in a letter she left for her husband, George Burns, upon her death. They provided the gentle nudge George needed to keep going,…
By Cindy Ryherd This month, the “Room Names” series continues with the Flagg Room. The Flagg Room The Flagg Room (pictured) was named and dedicated as part of the 1965 west wing addition (the same time the Parkhurst Room was named and dedicated). Named after Etta Proctor Flagg (1868-1962), Miss Flagg bequeathed nearly half of…
Announcements for the week of January 30, 2022
February 2022 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of January 23, 2022
Announcements for the week of January 16, 2022
Announcements for the week of January 9, 2022
From the Widening our Vision (WoV) Team… Q & A – You ask, WoV answers: Why do we need to pursue Open & Affirming designation? Why single out LGBTQ+? Can’t we just welcome everyone? Good questions! The sign at our meeting front door proclaims, “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s…
By Cindy Ryherd This month, the “Room Names” series continues with the Austin Room. The Austin Room The Austin Room (pictured) was named/dedicated as part of the 1999-2000 renovations and accessibility addition. Named after Genevieve Hunt Austin (Jan Squires mother, Jim Squires mother-in-law), she moved to Hollis to be closer to her daughter and son-in-law…
Announcements for the week of January 2, 2022
January 2022 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of December 19, 2021
Announcements for the week of December 12, 2021
Announcements for the week of December 5, 2021
By Cindy Ryherd This month, the “Room Names” series continues with the Parkhurst Room. The Parkhurst Room The Parkhurst Room was named/dedicated as part of the 1965 renovation which added the west wing to the church. At the time, it was named in “honor” of Nelson and Hazel Parkhurst as they were both living and…
Introducing … Widening our Vision (WoV) “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28 Hello! The purpose of this communication is to share information about an initiative for our church to deepen and expand our…
December 2021 Chimes Newsletter
Announcements for the week of November 28, 2021
Announcements for the week of November 21, 2021
Announcements for the week of November 14, 2021
Announcements for the week of November 7, 2021