Sunday Worship Service 10:00 am
in-person at the Brick Church or via "zoom".
westmorelandunitedchurchnh@gmail.com
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PLEASE SEE CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
ALL ARE WELCOME AND ALL EVENTS ARE FREE
THANK YOU!!!
By Tim DeFreitas
Hello, all our church and town friends. If you have not yet noticed, the new roof on Fellowship Hall is completed. The new gutters will be installed the week of April 6th. If you have not seen it, please take a drive-by. We would love your feedback. Again, many thanks to all of you that contributed to make this a successful project that will serve our community for years to come. Also, many thanks to TJ Ferguson and crew for the caring and professional job that was done.
Pastoral Ponderings, December 8, 2025, Advent
Dear beloved community of Westmoreland United Church,
"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good… All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ… Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many… If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it."
From I Corinthians 12 (NRSVUE)
You, beloved community of Westmoreland United Church, are a manifestation of God’s presence, compassion, mercy, love, justice-working, peace-making, and more in the world. And no matter where we are, individually or collectively, God is with us, loves us, and desires for us to live in the way of Christ. It is Jesus the Christ, Immanuel – God-with-us, whose birth among humanity two millennia ago we anticipate and remember in these Advent and Christmas seasons. And this Jesus of Nazareth “walked the talk” of what God asks of us – being just so that all have what is needed for life, loving others mercifully and steadfastly, and abiding humbly with God.
We need to encourage and support one another in our differing ways and giftings of living as God’s children, as the body of Christ, in our place and time. As written by the Spanish nun Teresa of Avila in the 1500's:
"Christ has no body now, but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth, but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which
Christ looks compassion into the world.
Yours are the feet with which Christ walks to do good.
Yours are the hands with which Christ blesses the world." ***
Our paths will diverge as I say good-bye at the end of this month and we rejoice that it has always been and always will be God who is breathing new life into the body, into us, even if our beings are weary and worn. It is still God who gifts and gathers and knits us together as the body for God's delight and purposes and work in the world. It is God who helps us delight in God with our purpose and meaning rooted in God, in God's love, and in God's work in the world. And we do this as others of old have: we gather together, we listen and discern together, we share our lives and our bread with one another, we open our hearts and hands in God's love and by God's grace to each other – to neighbor – to stranger – trusting/believing that God is loving us and working through us.
Shalom, Pastor Lynn
***http://ocarm.org/en/content/ocarm/teresa-avila-quotes accessed March 19, 2016 – The Order of Carmelites (Teresa 1515-1582)
December 2025 newsletter
We celebrate:
The generosity of so many who gave for Maplewood gifts and who give for Joan's Pantry!
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Children's books are inside the Brick Church.
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Community outreach includes:
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We receive food donations for Joan's Pantry located in Chesterfield
{spaghetti sauce, macaroni & cheese, tuna, and more always welcomed} -
there's a box in the Church lobby for them. Thank you!
*AND*
Community caring with prayer shawls and baby blankets
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For inquiries about use or rental of Fellowship Hall, please call Jo Ann at 603 399-9028.
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9 South Village Common, P. O. Box 214, Westmoreland, New Hampshire 03467 603-399-4880
Email addresses: westmorelandunitedchurchnh@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/WestmorelandUnitedChurch
The church's virtual yardsale is on facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/Virtual-Yard-Sale-Westmoreland-United-Church-199621850722207
As the United Church of Christ likes to say,
"No matter who you are, no matter where you are in life's journey, ALL are welcome here!"
We the people of the Westmoreland United Church, have gathered together to worship God and to provide spiritual support for one another in our daily lives. Our common Bond is our belief in God’s love for all and our faith in Jesus Christ. We believe the Bible is just as meaningful today as when it was first written, and we strive to understand and practice its teaching.
Our mission is to help and support the members of our congregation, the people of our community and the people of the world to live meaningful and fulfilling lives. We support those things which promote equality, justice and peace according to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Our church is a member of the United Church of Christ, working together with them to accomplish those things best done on a broader scale, and using them as a resource as we serve our local community.
We emphasize individual freedom of conscience and respect the beliefs of other people no matter where they are in their faith’s journey. The Westmoreland United Church accepts all people and excludes none. We welcome everyone to join us as we live out our faith.
Westmoreland United Church Open and Affirming Covenant
We declare ourselves to be an open and affirming church that welcomes all God's people. Regardless of religious beliefs, physical or mental abilities, sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression , we welcome you to join us. We invite you to worship with us, to be married in our church, to partake of the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, and to fully share in the life and fellowship of our congregation. We recognize there are differences among us and we believe that we can love alike even though we may not think alike. We proclaim this statement of welcome and affirmation to all including those who have known the pain of exclusion or discrimination in the church and society.
(approved unanimously on June 2, 2019)
