“Christ has no body but yours, no hands, feet on earth but yours.” –Teresa of Avila
Our local and global Christian service ministries are coordinated by the Board of Mission and Action. Ongoing ministries are described below, and you’ll find much more on the church events calendar, including seasonal service opportunities like the Justice Task Force, Construct Walk to Prevent Homelessness, the Christmas Giving Tree, and the Walk Out of Darkness (suicide prevention).
CATHEDRAL OF THE BELOVED
On Sunday, October 27, members of our congregation served approximately 100 meals of meatball subs, salad, apples, brownies and cookies to attendees of the Cathedral of the Beloved in Pittsfield.
Many thanks to Marion Pomeroy and Alice Collins who did the shopping on Friday, October 25. On Saturday, the 26th, Ronnie Cunningham, Glenda Anderson, and Gary Cilley were joined by eight members of the West Stockbridge Village Congregational Church in their kitchen to prepare the salad, slice rolls and bake brownies.
On Sunday morning, crock-pots warming the meatballs and sauce were scattered all over the church. After worship, Martha and Rick Floyd, Joe Catino, Vicky Cooper, Marion Pomeroy, Don and Holland Eaton, Jon Geldert, Hannah Fries, Ivan Ktuh, Allie Barrett and Pastor Brent along with youth members Jake, Sage, William, Amos and Mia travelled to Pittsfield to set up and serve the meal. Liza Catino and Marion Pomeroy cleaned all the crock-pots after the meal was finished.
As Jesus said in Matthew, chapter 25: “I was hungry and you gave me food. Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” What better way to take our ministry of showing God’s love than sharing a meal with those in need.
THANKS FROM THE CATHEDRAL OF THE BELOVED:
Greetings,
What a gift you Stockbridge folks brought yesterday to Cathedral of the Beloved’s Sunday Worship and Meal!! Everyone from Cathedral – clergy, staff, volunteers, community – was so impressed. The sheer number of Stockbridge volunteers, augmented by their cheerful demeanor and food-line serving skills was a joy to behold and experience!! It was so inspirational to see the number of young people among the Stockbridge contingent, all of whom also did such a great job on the food service line (additionally, several members of the community were delighted to see young people interacting and not glued to a hand held device!!). What a fabulous and absolutely mouth-watering meal choice: those meatball subs were devoured with gusto (really, really delicious -your Nonna would be proud!). The salad was THE perfect accompaniment! Can’t forget the meal finales: fresh fruit (always appreciated) was a bonus, and the perennial favorites: cookies and brownies. Yum from start to finish!
A million thanks for everything and everyone from Stockbridge Congregational Church. We are so fortunate to have your friendship, and hope to see y’all again soon.
-Kate
At the Congregational Meeting on February 4, 2024, the Congregation voted to approve the amendment of the Church Bylaws to add the following Article XIV, LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND COMMITMENTS
Land Acknowledgement This Church was founded in 1734 as a mission to the Mohican people with the intent that they would live and worship in harmony with European settlers. What began as a hopeful experiment led, within fifty years, to this Christian tribe being dispossessed of, and driven from, their homeland. As followers of Christ, we are called, in the words spoken by Isaiah, to “maintain justice and do what is right”. Accordingly, we offer this land acknowledgment using the language approved by the Stockbridge-Munsee Community.
It is with gratitude and humility that we acknowledge that we are learning, speaking, gathering, and worshiping on the ancestral homelands of the Mohican people, who are the indigenous peoples of this land. Despite tremendous hardship in being forced from here, today their community resides in Wisconsin and is known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. We pay honor and respect to their ancestors past and present as we commit to building a more inclusive and equitable space for all.
Commitments The approval of this Land Acknowledgement demonstrates the commitments of The First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Stockbridge, Massachusetts to continue engagement and collaboration with the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. This will involve ongoing education as we become aware of tribal issues. We respect the history and cultural significance of this land and, as stewards, intend to consult with the Stockbridge-Munsee Community prior to engaging in ground disturbing activity as described in the Addendum.
We commit, as well, to continue our own education around social justice issues and to find opportunities to provide appropriate responses and actions to build a more inclusive and equitable space for all.
For an excellent summary of the Stockbridge-Munsee history here, please click here. Through written material and video of tribal members as they walk Main Street, you will hear their story.
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On April 23 we heard a fascinating presentation form Josh Hall. He spoke about the colonization of the Hudson River Valley and the Berkshires, the founding of the Congregational church in what is now Stockbridge, and the impact of those events on the local indigenous people. We encourage you to watch:
“The People of the Waters that Are Never Still have a rich and illustrious history which has been retained through oral tradition and the written word. Our many moves from the East to Wisconsin left Many Trails to retrace in search of our history. Many Trails [see left] is an original design created and designed by Edwin Martin, a Mohican Indian, symbolizing endurance, strength and hope. From a long suffering proud and determined people.”
Resources: “The Story of Stockbridge, 1789-1989” published in 1989, includes a few pages that give a useful overview of the early history of Stockbridge. There is a lot of information, both current and historical, on www.mohican.com
Open 24 hours/day, 7 days a week; all are welcomed.
The Pop-Up Pantry, in a shed behind the office wing at the church, is open. This outreach provides access to non-perishable, shelf stable food items to anyone in need.
Our church’s Pop-Up Pantry needs donations of canned fruit, veggies, tuna, chicken, pasta sauce, pasta, peanut butter, crackers, box cereal, box rice, mac & cheese; gluten-free items such as crackers, pasta, and mac & cheese; toiletries such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, bar soap, lotion; paper products such as Kleenex, toilet paper, paper towels; plus miscellaneous treats such as nutrition bars, cookies, bottled drinks, cooking oil, baking ingredients.
We ask that you leave these donations in the blue storage box in the back hall of the church building, not in the shed.
We need volunteers to keep things moving along smoothly. You can help in many ways, with minimal time commitment:
For a list of all food pantries in Berkshire County, click here.
Every other month on communion Sundays (first Sunday of the month), we respond with an active prayer of thanksgiving, processing offerings of food and money which feed hungry mouths through the People’s Pantry in Great Barrington. Members of the church also volunteer regularly at the Pantry.
For information about how to donate to the Pantry, go to their website. Donations of food and funds are much needed.
The People’s Pantry Needs You
…to volunteer to drive carless South County people to the Great Barrington pantry on Monday afternoons or Thursday mornings. Or to shop and deliver to their door. Quite often Anne Hutchinson hears of people who need to come to the pantry but have no transportation. Mission & Action would like to create a list of people to call upon when help is needed. Just ask Vicky Cooper, Nancy Wilcox or Cindy Brown how fulfilling it is to help people and make new friendships at the pantry! They’ve all been volunteering for years, and the need has increased. If you’re interested in getting on the volunteer list, contact Cindy Brown (email: cindytoddbrown@gmail.com, text: 413-446-2623, home phone: 413-298-5365).
With faithful dedication, the Women’s Service League fashions handmade crafts which are sold twice a year (at the summer fair and Holly Fair), all while engaging in lively conversation over coffee, tea and snacks. Proceeds from the group’s work go to support the church, the community, and the wider world. The Service League is open to women from the church and the community at large, and generally meets once a week from 10AM to 1PM.
Our prayer shawl knitters engage monthly in a time of conversation and contemplation as they knit stitches of love, hope, and healing into prayer shawls which are given to people in times of trial or celebration. See the Events listing for dates and times.
