This week's events and announcements at Beneficent Church! (Note: If you can't see the entire newsletter, click "View in Browser" at the top of the email.) Issue Date: June 17, 2021 Sunday Worship You are invited to join us for this Sunday's worship service starting at 10am! If you are unable to attend, we will post a recording of the service on our YouTube channel ​ afterward. Download a PDF of the bulletin below. (It's also available on our website ​.) Click here to connect. Meeting ID: 594 289 087 Passcode: 1743 Call-in: 1-646-558-8656 ; when prompted for a Participant ID, press "#." When attending any of our services, review "Etiquette for Our Online Gatherings" below for important notes.​ Jun 20 2021 - ZOOM worship bulletin.pdf Download File Prayer Requests, Visitor Sign-In, Contact Staff Queer Vespers Service for Pride - Tomorrow, Not Today A special invitation from Rev. Gwen Howard... It looks like the calendar is suggesting something special is going to happen! Queer Vespers is on a different day this week. You can join us online Friday at 7 pm for our Pride Service. Queer Vespers is an ecumenical worship service designed by and for members of the LGBTQIA community (of course, allies, accomplices, and pets are also welcome). The service starts at 7pm and should run for about 35 minutes. It is followed by a social time for anyone who wants to stay. For more information and the Zoom link, email [email protected] . (However, if you are writing to say that I’ve renewed Norton antivirus at $317.17 USD and I need to send you my personal bank information so you can … ahem … “send me a refund,” you should probably try a different address.) Installation of Rev. Darrell Goodwin – June 19 The Southern New England Conference UCC invites all to join online at 1pm this Saturday, June 19, for the installation of the Rev. Darrell Goodwin as the first Executive Conference Minister of the Southern New England Conference. Faith Congregational Church in Hartford will be the virtual host for Rev. Goodwin's installation. The Rev. Goodwin, who began serving on January 1 of this year, is the first openly LGBT black person to serve as a Conference Minister in the United Church of Christ. As the Chief Vision-Keeper, he is responsible for guiding the conference and its affiliates to have a positive and lasting impact in our world. The Rev. Traci Blackmon, Associate General Minister for Justice and Local Church Ministries for the United Church of Christ, will preach at his installation. ​ Click here to register and receive the Zoom link for this historic event. Annual Program Meeting of Beneficent Church – June 20 The Annual Program Meeting of the Beneficent Congregational Church will take place via Zoom following worship this Sunday, June 20, 2021. At that meeting, the congregation will vote on a number of proposed changes to the church’s bylaws; please click here to download the details and review them in advance. An email was sent to members earlier today with the final Annual Program Report including all pending reports. (Hard copies of the additional reports will be sent to non-computer members next week.) For any questions, please contact the Church Office at [email protected] or 401-537-8987. Note that, while all are encouraged to attend the meeting, only members of Beneficent Church will be allowed to vote. Staff and Holiday Schedules Pastor Jermaine is unavailable today, and Director of Christian Education Jaquel Scott will be unavailable on Saturday, June 19. Pastor Elizabeth will be on vacation from Monday, June 21 through Sunday, June 27. If you have an urgent pastoral concern during that time, please contact Pastor Jermaine at [email protected] or (401) 479-6960. For most Fridays through Labor Day (September 6), Office and Communications Manager Michele Adamo will not be available. If you need something urgently, please contact her at [email protected] or (401) 537-8987 ​. Installation of Newly Elected Roster – June 27 During worship on Sunday, June 27, all Beneficent members who were elected or re-elected to committee and leadership roles will be duly installed and commissioned for service. Please attend and show your support for their service to the community. Attention, new and returning committee and program leaders: there is a mandatory 2021-22 scheduling meeting on Sunday, July 25 following worship. At that time, we will review your committee’s planned activities for the new program year and add those to the church calendar. Note that: If you cannot attend personally, you should send a delegate from your group. You are expected to stay for the entire meeting in case there are date conflicts. For questions, please contact the Church Office at 401-537-8987 or [email protected] . “Outdoor Fun” Photo Contest for June This week, the Agape Committee takes us to Rockport, Maine where Jenn Hoxie's family enjoys swimming, kayaking, playing in the sand, exploring, and taking walks on the beach. What do you like to do in the summer? Take a picture of yourself engaging in a favorite outdoor activity or hobby (gardening, going to the beach, making smores, hanging with your church friends), then email it to to Agape Committee chair Lynn Estrada ( [email protected] ). Be sure to include a short description so we can include it in our e-newsletter. (It might also appear on Facebook, so be sure everyone in the picture is okay with that.) The committee will choose the winning photos each week which will be published in the “Weekly Update.” The final winner will appear in the July 1 issue of “Weekly Update.” Save the Date: Round Trip RI in July Have you ever wondered how long it would take to walk all the way around the Ocean State? Let’s find out! In July, the Agape Committee is sponsoring “Round Trip RI” – a walking challenge where you can walk the length of the state’s border. (For the record, it’s 160 miles…let’s be grateful we don’t live in California!) To participate, start your trek on or after July 1, walk/run at your own pace – whether outside, in your apartment building, on a treadmill, just about anywhere!. Then email your total each week to Agape Committee chair Lynn Estrada ( [email protected] ). If you walk outside, you can use a pedometer or smartphone to track your steps, or you can walk on a measured trail. If neither of those options is available to you, just count your steps and Lynn can calculate the miles walked for you. (Hint: one mile is about 2,000 steps.) We’ll post updates online for you to track everyone’s progress. Silver Lake Scholarships - Can You Make Them Possible? The scholarships Silver Lake Conference Center provides to young people to attend camp are funded completely by donations. Silver Lake donors were extremely generous in 2020, and there is a greater need this year. Their goal is never to turn away a potential camper due to lack of funds. Help close the gap by making a gift to the Silver Lake Scholarship Fund today! Safety During the Pandemic While the church is closed for all worship services, meetings, and events, a skeleton crew of staff and volunteers visit the church occasionally for brief periods to maintain the building, access records, and research specific financial matters - basically tasks needed to keep the business of the church moving. When it's necessary to visit the building, all visitors (including staff, volunteers, and visiting vendors) are required to wear face coverings at all times . And to assist in contact tracing (as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, Rhode Island Department of Health, and the National Institutes of Health), we have a sign-in log at the front door. Each visitor is required to sign in and sign out so we have an accurate record of who to contact in case of exposure to COVID-19. Those records will be kept until we have returned to the Meeting House. Need Something Posted? Have an event or gathering that you want us to post on our Facebook page ? While we try to make sure the big events are promoted on our page, we could use your help! If your group is hosting something that you'd like to have shared on our Facebook page, please email the details to [email protected] ​. Thank you! Reminders About Scheduling Meetings If you are the leader of a committee, group, or ministry team at Beneficent Church, please keep in mind these reminders when you are scheduling meetings and events: All gatherings are online only until we return for in-person worship (currently not expected until September 12, 2021). All online gatherings must be scheduled by contacting Office and Communications Manager Michele Adamo at (401) 537-8987 or ( [email protected] , or by leaving a message at 401-331-9844). Michele will schedule your gathering using one of the church's Zoom accounts and send you a link to forward to your participants. Beneficent gatherings should take place only on church-sponsored Zoom account. To make sure your members and participants are more likely to attend, kindly do not schedule your meeting or gathering in conflict with any other events already scheduled. (Refer to the online church calendar to confirm what is currently scheduled.) Note that worship and church services, standing meetings and rehearsals, and Christian Education programming all take priority, so no meetings or events should be scheduled when they are taking place. If you have any questions, please contact Michele Adamo or Pastor Elizabeth (401-479-9791 or [email protected] ). Zoom Events Please use the links below to join our upcoming gatherings. Review the "Etiquette for Our Online Gatherings" below. Committee Meetings ​ Church Council – Wednesday, June 23 – 7pm (Z2) Click here to connect. Meeting ID: 832 2938 1737 Passcode: 1743 Call-in: 1-646-558-8656 ; when prompted for a Participant ID, press