Happy New Year one and all! We hope you all had a joyous Christmas. The church had many beautiful flowers given in memory of loved ones. That, along with the Nativity scene outside, certainly put you in the Spirit of the season.
The Andover Congregational Church voted in November to approve new bylaws for a trial year with the Anglican Diocese of New England (ADNE). The governing body of the church now consists of the Pastor, four officers (Senior Elder, Elder, Treasurer and Secretary) and six members at large. New members of the governing body, or Vestry, will be presented by our Nominating Committee for election at our annual meeting in January. Elders serve as chief lay officers and chief business officers of the church and, together and in agreement with the Pastor, support and provide appropriate supervision of the ministries and activities of the Church. We have been contemplating this connection with the ADNE for some time and had already been informally experiencing it. Finally, after much thought and prayer, we felt it was time to make it official and see how God leads us.
In the area of missions we strive to be very active. Food is collected every week and delivered to the local food pantries. (Several people from our Church volunteer on a regular basis at the Twin Rivers Food Pantry in Franklin). Our Missions and Action committee involve us with a number of projects, local and international. And weekly PRAYER is being offered up for Franklin on Fridays meeting at City Hall at 5PM for prayer and prayer walks. We want to do more.
Feel free to call the Church office (735-5160) to speak with Pastor John Wagner for more information on what’s going on at the church or if you need help in any way.
You are always welcome at Andover Congregational. Our church service and Sunday School begin at 9:30 AM every Sunday. Holy Communion, twice a month. Our worship is a blend of contemporary praise and liturgy.
Thought for the day: “Swallowing angry words is much better than having to eat them.” (Read Proverbs 29:11)