Rev. Richard Wierwille            Pastor/Teacher
Grace Dickerson                      Moderator
JoAnn Allan                               Treasurer
Madelyn Johnson                    Clerk
Debra Ford                               Collector
Vicki Morgan                             Secretary

The Diaconate Board
Elmer Gattie and Grace Dickerson           Chairpersons
Tracy Bickford                                        Treasurer

JoAnn Allan, Tracy Bickford, Ann Collins, Grace Dickerson, Michael
Frappier, Elmer Gattie, George Gove, Ben Mayes, Alfred Michalovic,
Linda Oidtmann, Timothy Rediker, Bonnie Robinson

The Board of Trustees
Don Benton and Ron Montmagny             Chairpersons

Scott Allan, Don Benton, Dan Evans, Debir Ford, Madelyn Johnson, Linda
Maynard, Ron Montmagny, Mark Pageau

History
Our church was first gathered in 1768, and build a Meeting House on Seminary Hill in 1773. Our present meeting house in West Lebanon was built and dedicated November 8, 1849 with forty-four members. We have grown and changed with the history of our community and we value our legacy from Colonial America to the present day. In 1997, our church was recognized by the Lebanon Historical Society.

Worship
Sunday worship service begins at 10:00 AM.

Classes (2 years - 8th grade)              10:00-11:15 am
Nursery                                              9:50 am through                                                           the worship hour

After the service, please join us for coffee and fellowship.

Our Mission:
Mission is our response in gratitude for God's work in our lives. We act in obedience to Christ's' mandate to: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

 

LOCAL MISSION

Our church reaches out locally within the Upper Valley. Believing that our Christian faith calls us to respond to the needs of the community in which we live, we strive to
meet the challenges which call us to a variety of caring ministries.

The Food Bin - We have a food pantry which serves local people experiencing emergency food shortages. The last Sunday of each month is Food Bin Sunday. People are invited to bring canned or boxed food offerings to worship. Volunteers are needed to sort the food and occasionally to shop for special items.

Community Dinners - Dinners sponsored by LISTEN, a local support agency, are served five evenings a week in the Upper Valley. Teams from our church provide the supper in Lebanon the third Thursday of each month at the Sacred Heart Church. Volunteers are needed to bake cookies, shop, phone, cook and clean up.

The Dove Project - Each month ACORN provides groceries and household supplies for families in the Upper Valley living with HIV/AiDS. Our church responds to the needs of three families four times a year. Volunteers are needed to take doves from the hall bulletin board and purchase and return the designated items.

Templeton Court Summer Lunches -
AmeriCorps provides lunches for children attending the Children's Center at a low income housing project. Our church provides lunches for one week each summer. Volunteers are needed to provide food items, make sandwiches and pack and deliver the lunches.

Holiday Baskets - At Christmas time each year the community agency LISTEN provides holiday baskets of gifts and food for needy families and individuals. Volunteers are needed to donate gifts and money for the individuals assigned to our church.

Neighbors in Need Funds - Our Diaconate receives a special offering on Communion Sundays which offers various types of assistance to neighbors in need. Money is used with discretion to respond to crises that befall not only church families, but also our Upper Valley neighbors.

Nursing Homes - Our pastor regularly visits local care facilities. The Diaconate also brings spiritual support by participating in worship services at the Alice Peck Day Extended Care Facility and Lebanon Center Genesis Eldercare. Volunteers are welcome to assist with and attend these services.

Easter Flowers for the Homebound and Elderly - With the proceeds from a "cookie walk," the Mission Committee of our church purchases flowering plants which are available on Palm Sunday to be delivered to the homebound and elderly by Easter. Volunteers are needed to bake and buy cookies and to deliver the plants and visit with the recipients.

The Prayer Line - Our church has a Prayer Line which currently includes fifty people who respond to personal needs through prayer. People are encouraged to call the Church Office with prayer requests, Volunteers who wish to participate in the praying may be added at any time.

Vacation Bible School - Our Church sponsors a Vacation Bible School each summer. The event ministers to local children. Volunteers are needed to provide snacks, teach, assist, lead games or singing.

Local Agencies - Our church supports, through the budget of the Mission Committee, local service agencies which include: LISTEN, The Haven, ACORN, Headrest, Habitat for Humanity, WISE, Good Neighbor Health Clinic, and Children and Family Services of Lebanon.

The Crop Walk - This walk is an ecumenical Church World Service event which addresses world hunger. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds are retained by LISTEN to fight hunger locally. while the other seventy-five percent goes to address global hunger. Volunteers are needed to plan, prepare food, run and assist with the organization of this walk.

Veggies for Mission - During the summer growing season, the Mission Committee provides a table for excess produce from members' gardens. People are free to take the produce and leave a free-will offering, which goes to support mission projects. Providers and purchasers are appreciated.

 

WIDER MISSION

As a member church of the New Hampshire Conference of the United Church of Christ, we are able to support a wider network of ministry. Believing that Christ calls us to reach out "even to the ends of the earth," we welcome opportunities to reach out in mission beyond our local community.

OCWM - Our church budgets a yearly amount for Our Church's Wider Mission. This money funds resources, education, clergy placement and support, campus ministry, summer camping and community mission programs within New Hampshire. Nearly half of our OCWM donation supports the national instrumentalities and agencies of the United Church of Christ, in addition to supporting ministries in over eighty countries around the world.

UCC Special Offerings - Our church receives four special denomination-wide offerings during the year:

* One Great Hour of Sharing - Through this Lenten offering we support ministries of disaster relief, economic development, refugee resettlement, health care and social service in over 70 countries, including the US and Canada.

* Strengthen the Church - Through this Pentecost offering we share in the growth and future of the UCC through its local congregations and Conferences.

* Neighbors in Need - Through this autumn offering we express our deep commitment to reaching out and touching neighbors with justice and compassion.

* The Christmas Fund - Through this Advent offering we help meet a variety of needs, including emergency grants for active or retired clergy at times of financial crisis, as well as gift checks at Christmas to low- income retired clergy and widowed spouses.

Blanket Sunday - This day, often Mother's Day, is the occasion of a special offering which provides blankets and "tools of hope" for persons in need throughout the world.

Stamps for Vellore - This project collects used postage stamps, which are then sent to Vellore, India. People with leprosy and other disabilities earn an income from cleaning the stamps and placing them in marketable plastic wrap. You are encouraged to put your stamps in the bowl inside the back door of the church.

Work Camps - Youth and adults from our church have participated in work camps at H.O.M.E. in Orland, Maine, in Knott County, Kentucky, and most recently at NAOMI in Joseph City, Arizona. Such trips encourage persons of all ages to become aware of human need throughout the world.

Seminary Support - Through the Mission budget, we make yearly contributions to two regional seminaries: Andover Newton and Bangor. These schools, based in New England, are related to the United Church of Christ, and most often train men and women for ministry in our local churches.

Prepared by the Mission and Social Action Committee of West Lebanon Congregational Church, UCC,
September, 2002.

Spiritual Life
The Diaconate serves to uplift the spiritual life of the church. They attend to our two sacraments: Baptism and Communion. The Diaconate ensures that our church is prepared to officiate at weddings and funerals. They seek to create ways for effective pastoral care.

The Missioner
As the church and minister developed a focus for a Doctor of Ministry Program in 1996, they developed a new staff position known as "The Missioner." The Missioner helps the congregation to be better stewards of the community by acting as a liaison between the church and area service agencies. The Missioner also researches volunteer opportunities in our community and shares this information with the congregation.

Ecumenical Sharing
As a church, we seek to establish ties with other religious bodies by participating at ecumenical services on Thanksgiving, Ash Wednesday, and Easter, We faithfully support the Lebanon Council of Churches and the United Church of Christ, both at the Association and Conference Levels.