17^th Annual Muslim Coalition of Connecticut Leadership Banquet
Access for All: Supporting Individuals with Disabilities in our Communities.

October 1, 2023 4-7pm

Hartford Marriott Downtown, 200 Columbus Boulevard, Hartford, CT 06103

Purchase Tickets Here

Candace Low, a member of Asylum Hill Congregational Church, is being recognized for her work in making houses of worship more accessible. She did an amazing job working with AHCC to make the community aware and as a result increase access to that establishment tremendously!

Keynote Speaker: Joohi Tahir, Co-founder and Executive Director of Muslims Understanding & Helping Special Education Needs, (MUHSEN) is a graduate of Boston University and has spent over 20 years excelling in the corporate world, speaking globally about strategies in the field of marketing and has turned her talents to become a national advocate for Muslims with Disabilities. This led to her involvement in Co-Founding and appointment as Executive Director of Muslims Understanding & Helping Special Education Needs (MUHSEN).

With her own family affected by disability, Joohi has been outspoken over the past 15 years about the need for inclusion for her daughter who is on the Autism Spectrum. She consults with masjid administrators and scholars about the need to raise awareness and provide more accessibility for people in our community with disabilities.

As a leader of this organization, Joohi advocates and markets the needs for which MUHSEN implements programs and services across North America promoting inclusion of all members of the community impacted by special needs through awareness, accommodation and acceptance. She has been a recipient of the MWA 2015 Inspiring Women’s Award and Top 7 Muslim American Women to Celebrate 2017.

We as a congregation have several things we can joyfully look forward to as we move into summer at AHCC – the Gospel According to Broadway worship series, the opportunity to gather at events through our Spotlight on Summer, and to generate increased energy to find just the right person to become our next Associate Minister of Mid to Later Life! The members of the Search Committee continue to work to identify the person with a special set of skills and passion for ministering to the Mid to Later Life members of our church family.

One of the advantages of a large, committed congregation is the vastness of our collective networks. The members of this congregation travel to a variety of places, and along the way hear sermons from ministers of other congregations – ministers and messages that are inspiring, spirit-filled, and memorable. Often, those qualities and their religious practices appealed to you on a deeper level and caused you to return to hear more when you weren’t at AHCC. It is through that kind network and communication with past search committees that several ministers have come to Asylum Hill Congregational Church – those who were not necessarily looking to make a change but were invited to look at the ministry offering at AHCC to see if it was a good fit. And several, guided by the Spirit, did make the change!

The members of the Search Committee are looking for your help in replicating this system that has worked successfully in the past by asking you to tap into your individual networks and perhaps again connect that special person to the current search. As the congregation plays an integral role in shaping the ministries of AHCC, we are confident that with a collective effort we will succeed in finding our Associate Minister of Mid to Later Life.

Prayerfully submitted on behalf of the Associate Minister Search Committee by
Wanda Williams McCormack

Knitters and crocheters from AHCC continue to create lovely shawls and lap robes for those in need of comfort. The shawls are given to mothers of victims of violence in Hartford, to people undergoing chemotherapy or dialysis, to AHCC members who are ill or struggling with difficulties, and more… Our shawls are created with prayer, and blessed when finished.

If you know of someone who would appreciate a prayer shawl, please call the office at 860.525.5696 or Diane Nattrass at 860.231.9794.

Prayer Shawl Ministry is on break for the summer, but will meet again in person in the fall. If you feel called to knit or crochet prayer shawls, please contact Diane to find out how you can participate in this ministry that provides a loving “hug” – a visible sign of God’s presence and love – with a prayer shawl.

We are pleased to report that applications for this important ministry are coming in and we are privileged to review each and every one using a discernment and evaluation process with prayer as an essential component.  As a committee, we also recognize the importance of getting to know one another and that, too, is occurring and is a privilege.

We do understand how you must feel – waiting and anticipating is both exciting and can be challenging. You are an important part of this process and we encourage you to spread the word, and if you know of someone that you think would be a good candidate, feel free to let us know. Just as a reminder: the church profile and job description for this position is on AHCC’s website here and our Facebook page here.

Please know that we will continue to keep you informed on our progress and we ask that you hold us in your prayers.  We know that God will guide us and provide us with a candidate that will bring the skills, passion, and gifts to this important part of our ministry team.  We are in this together and we are blessed to have your trust and care.

With deep appreciation, Kathleen Graham

Committee members: Lenell Kittlitz (chair), Tory Chavey, Anderson Curtis, Connor Gallegos, Kathleen Graham, Hannah Frenette Granfield-Horton, Africka Hinds, Wanda Williams-McCormack, Frank Virnelli.

Sunday, June 4, 2023, immediately following the 10am worship service; in person at AHCC.

The Board of Deacons of Asylum Hill Congregational Church hereby calls the Annual Meeting of the Congregation on Sunday, June 4, 2023, immediately following the 10am worship service.
The primary purpose of the Annual Meeting is to hear reports and to elect officers, deacons, committee and subcommittee chairs and members. Additionally, you will be asked to approve the minutes of the 2022 Annual Meeting.

Note: A sign language interpreter will be present at the meeting. Both Faith Lab and Faith labs Kids will be extended that day.

Please plan to attend the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Congregation.

Thank you!
Earl Exum, Moderator
Rev. Erica Thompson, Sr. Minister

On Sunday, May 21, during the 10am worship service, we will celebrate New Member Sunday! At AHCC, we believe that membership is grounded in an individual’s or family’s sense of call and belonging to a church community. Though you can become a member at any time throughout the year, we love to set aside a special time to celebrate our growing faith family! Please join us for worship on May 21 to welcome and acknowledge those who have made commitments to this community over the last several months. Let’s celebrate!

If you feel that you are in a season of discernment or have decided you want to join AHCC, we would love to celebrate YOU on the 21^st too! Rev. Erica or Rev. Jordan would welcome a conversation with you, or you may fill out the Member Interest Form and send to Mary Way at the church. You do not need to live in or near Hartford to join AHCC, as we welcome members who participate in the life of our community virtually as well as in person.

No matter who you are or where you are on your faith and life journey, you are always welcome at AHCC!

Thy kingdom come; thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. In this short phrase, Jesus called down God’s heavenly realm, with all the power and miracles that lie within, to dwell within our very hearts, lives, and actions.

This year at Asylum Hill Congregational Church, with Jesus’ words as our inspiration, we have been doing the work of Kingdom-building – locally, nationally, and globally. Some acts have been small, while others have been grandiose, but regardless of scale, everything has had transformational impact.

And we want to keep going. We must keep going! Our mission and ministry depend on YOU – which is why we ask you to participate in AHCC’s Annual Giving Campaign. We need your support and your financial commitment to continue the work of Kingdom-building … on earth as it is in heaven!

Thank you for being an integral part of Asylum Hill Congregational Church.

You are appreciated and loved.

Always,
Rev. Erica Thompson

The Search Committee for the Minister of Mid/Later Life is pleased to report that the job listing is complete and has been posted to the website of the Southern New England Conference of the UCC (SNEUCC) as well as to the AHCC website. The posting includes the church profile that has been updated through the combined efforts of AHCC staff and committee members working with our liaisons at the SNEUCC.

Now that the position is posted, God willing, the committee should be receiving applications soon, possibly even before you read this update! The committee has been preparing for submissions by discussing the criteria that will be used to evaluate the candidates and forming a subcommittee of three members to communicate with each applicant throughout the process.

The committee has been convening on a regular basis, gathering with SNEUCC contacts, discussing the church profile, and assigning various roles and duties to each committee member. We have scheduled upcoming weekly meeting dates for well into May, with the expectation that we will have additional meetings to discuss the applications as they come in.

Committee members, Lenell Kittlitz (Chair), Tory Chavey, Anderson Curtis, Connor Gallegos, Kathleen Graham, Hannah Frenette Granfield-Horton, Africka Hinds, Wanda Williams-McCormack, and Frank Virnelli, welcome thoughtful input from the congregation as well as prayers and patience as we seek AHCC’s Minister of Mid/Later Life.

The Search Committee for the Associate Minister of Mid/Later Life was blessed by the congregation and presented their charge on Sunday, January 29. We met after church that day to meet and greet each other and to set a meeting schedule. Our first meeting was with Isaac Lawson, Area Conference Minister, UCC Southern New England, and included a thoughtful dialog about the search process and the Committee’s voice.

Part of our agenda for each meeting is a Committee Forum, a time for each member to share, not only their own thoughts, but also dialog or feedback from within the church membership that has been relayed to them. These conversations are shared in the context of “listening,” appreciating the dialog of our church members, and grateful to hear your voices.

We continue to meet, focused on updating the Church Profile – a multipage document that outlines who we are as a congregation and the desired qualities of the candidate who will be a part of the clergy team at AHCC. Once complete, the Profile will be reviewed by our ministers, then shared with Isaac Lawson for review/feedback before posting on the UCC and AHCC websites.

Our Committee is awesome; their wisdom, experience, love for AHCC, and their voices are reflected in our process. When you see a member of the Committee, please say hello, and share a word or two. We all feel blessed to be together for this next important step in AHCC’s journey. We will keep the congregation informed of the process and our progress and each Committee member will have a chance to be the author, so you will hear from all of us.

Committee members are Tory Chavey, Hannah Frenette, Africka Hinds, Anderson Curtis, Connor Gallegos, Kathleen Graham, Wanda Williams-McCormack, and Frank Virnelli. We ask for your blessings and patience as we navigate together this Spirit-led process to bring the next associate minister to AHCC.

Blessings,
Lenell Kittlitz, Chair

Our sacred scriptures offer us many stories of Jesus encountering people who are seeking: Nicodemus comes to him in the veil of night, he approaches a Samaritan woman at a well, he heals a man born without sight. In these stories, each person is seeking a new beginning, a different life, a deeper faith. What unfolds in each of the stories is an exchange filled with questions and exploration. Often an unveiling occurs – assumptions are disrupted, a new perspective is revealed, mystery grows.

This Lent at AHCC, we invite you to journey with us on an exploration of diving deeper into who we are, where we fit in in the world, and where God is in our lives. Like the characters in each story we will read and examine this Lenten season, we are all seeking something: clarity, connection, wonder, justice, balance. We are seeking our calling, the sacred, and how to live better lives in community. Our theme for 2023 is “Seeking: Honest Questions for a Deeper Faith,” and we are excited to share opportunities for meaningful worship, reflective practices, and connection with each other.

During this season, we invite you to engage in the spiritual practice of seeking. We encourage you to stay curious, open, and nimble. We hope you will soften your assumptions and expand your perspectives. We pray that our time together will allow our questioning to create safe spaces for all of us to explore and to be drawn more deeply into the fullness of life – into the heart of God.

One of my favorite songwriters is Lori McKenna. A Massachusetts native, Lori has written songs for country music greats like Faith Hill, Little Big Town, and Tim McGraw, and even collaborated with Lady Gaga on writing for the soundtrack to the 2018 film A Star Is Born.

In 2017, McKenna won the Grammy for Best Country Song for her song Humble and Kind. Her lyrics remind listeners:

When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you
When the work you put in is realized
Let yourself feel the pride
But always stay humble and kind

AHCC, I want to take a moment to congratulate you on a job well done. On a job I’m not even sure you know you did. And I invite us into a moment of pride.

In the span of just four months, our church had the honor of hosting not one, but two, Services of Ordination. The first was for our beloved Minister of Early Life, the Rev. Jordan Rebholz, and the second was for church member and former vice moderator, the Rev. David Figliuzzi. Each service was beautiful, spirit filled, and unique to the individuals being ordained.

But I want you to understand that this is actually a pretty big deal and a place where we all should feel some pride! To be a community where folks can hear God’s call, have a safe space to discern that call, and then receive the support they need to say yes to God with confidence and joy is an incredible gift!

In a world that seeks to tear almost everything down, being a church that seeks to build up, bless, and send folks forth to be about the ministry and mission of Jesus Christ is countercultural, my friends. So today, take a moment to feel the pride. Be proud of who you are and who you are becoming. But as Lori McKenna reminds us, always stay humble and kind.

Always,
Rev. Erica

Moderator Earl Exum has “office hours” on Sundays after church. If you are interested in speaking with Earl about any joys or concerns, contact the church office at 860.525.5696 to schedule a time for an in-person, Zoom meeting, or phone call.

Hands on Hartford is working daily to help those in our community with a helping hand – and they’re right in our neighborhood. They serve the community in many ways from offering free meals, counseling services, a pantry, and reaching out to the homeless (those living on the street, the recently formerly incarcerated, or those who are in need) 6 nights a week.

One of their needs is toiletry kits they distribute to the homeless. Won’t you consider donating travel size toiletry items which will later be packaged into kits to be given to Hands on Hartford for distribution? Thank you.

Items to be collected:

Tooth brush, toothpaste
Comb, brush
Shampoo, conditioner
Deodorant
Wash cloth, bar soap
Disposable razor, shaving cream
Dental floss, mouthwash
Feminine care products

Additionally, full-size detergent and fabric softener are needed for their pantry. Items can be dropped off in the bins located at the back of the church, in Drew Hall, next to the office and the door leading into Drew Hall.

Any questions, call: Patti Beckett 860.633.6147

We are now officially into summer and a few weeks into Rev. Erica’s sabbatical, and wanted to take a moment to thank you for all your encouragement and support. We are having fun connecting with you, learning with you, and growing in faith and service together!

As you may have noticed, our beloved David Figliuzzi, former vice moderator, has returned to AHCC to help with sabbatical coverage following his graduation from Yale Divinity School. David has been making calls, doing pastoral visits, helping coordinate Adult Education events for the fall, and connecting with community leaders to help further our justice and community initiatives. He will also be preaching and helping lead worship. We are so grateful for David to share his many gifts with us!

As you may have seen on social media, Rev. Erica has been enjoying precious and sacred time with her family. We all miss her greatly, and are grateful for your continued prayers for her and your appreciation of her need for this well-deserved sabbatical time. We invite you to reach out to Jordan, David, or Tracy if you would like prayer or a visit, if there is anything weighing on your heart, or if you want to share a joy.

We invite you to click the button below and take a look at the all fun summer social events we have planned. You can see more information and registration in the calendar. We hope they will help deepen our connection to one another, and we encourage you to participate in as many as you can.

The summer worship series, Steps to Living our Fullest and Most Fulfilling Lives, starts July 3. The series will explore the themes behind the “Twelve Steps” and will invite us to discover ways to cultivate compassion for ourselves; to regain our agency and discover our strength; and to free ourselves from the harmful habits, toxic relationships, and burdensome dependencies that might be holding us back from living our fullest and most fulfilling lives. If you’re in town, we’d love to see you at worship in person, and if you’re traveling, we invite you to livestream Sunday worship.

With joy, enthusiasm, and prayer,

Tracy and Jordan

The Neighborhood Vision Task Force created an incredibly thorough report, and this workshop (the first of many), held on May 16 was an opportunity to gather with AHCC members and delve into the report more fully, and discuss ways for all of us to bring it to life. The following are the highlights of what came from the discussion.

Ways of being: How can we be that would invite more relationship with our neighbors

• Relationship Led: The ultimate byproduct of this effort is deeper and more plentiful relationships with our neighbors and each other. There may be things we do, events we host, goals we accomplish, but in the end, the measuring stick is relationships
• Extend Hospitality: Hospitality is about offering grace to a stranger. What would happen if we simply extended that kind of hospitality to a larger population of our neighborhood? What if we extended more invitations for the things we do already?
• Community Catalysts: If we can bring people together to talk about what matters to each other, we are destined to discover that maybe we are not alone, or as different as we might assume. We also might begin to see our differences as treasure to learn from. In fact, this happened even in this workshop

Short-term actions to take:

• Sunday Meal – Could we do a special edition Sunday meal where we invite a broader population of the neighborhood, and encourage people to stay and engage in conversation over a meal?
• New Members – Could we host a workshop like this with new members, or member candidates to get them involved right away?

Exciting Ideas

• Youth Scholars/Youth Choir
• Connecting the energy of people within the staff and with what is happening
• Environment – what can we do within our walls, and outside of our building e.g., build a pavilion/patio/gazebo to use our outdoor space as a place to gather
• Worship in the park, break bread with people in the neighborhood
• Using music to heal trauma
• Offer technical/production internships
• Community meals expansion
• Employment networking/job fair
• Build a laundromat the community can use, and potentially operate

Questions for the community

• What is the relevance of assumed issues – e.g., gun violence, homelessness, hunger?
• How can we deepen relationships with who we already know, work with in the community?

Dear AHCC Family,

I am not sure I have the right words to even begin to describe how I am feeling today. When I first heard the news that there had been another mass shooting in our country, I am embarrassed to say that I wasn’t surprised. These horrifying acts of gun violence have become so commonplace that they barely register as a blip on our newsfeed. But as the reports came in explaining that this occurred at an elementary school and multiple children were dead, I fell on the floor sobbing. “What have we become?” I kept whispering to myself. I felt helpless and angry.

We have now learned that at least 19 children and 2 adults were killed. Last night, as I put my own children to bed, I stood staring at their little faces knowing that those parents in Uvalde, Texas were facing the unimaginable reality that that morning was the last time they would hold their babies. It’s heartbreaking and almost feels like too much to handle.

I want you to know that you are not alone in your grief and confusion. Each of us may feel or express it differently, but we all are affected. And it is not lost on me that for those of us who live in Connecticut, the re-traumatization of this event is very real, as not so long ago we learned of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Many of you may be wondering, “When will enough be enough?” or “What can we do to protect our kids?”

The Massai tribe of Africa have a traditional greeting: “Kasserian Ingera” which means, “And how are the children?” This greeting reflects the high value the Massai place on their children’s well-being. Even those with no children of their own respond with the traditional answer, “All the children are well.” Meaning, of course, that peace and safety prevail, that the priorities of protecting the young, the powerless, are in place. The Massai society has not forgotten its reason for being, its proper function and responsibilities. “All the children are well” means that life is good and that the daily struggles for existence do not preclude properly caring for the young.

Friends, I am asking myself this same question today – How are the children? How are the children when they can’t go to school and be safe? How are the children when they hear parents and other grownups in their lives talking about yet another school shooting? How are the children when our leaders refuse to act on gun violence legislation, leaving the door open to more events like what occurred in Texas yesterday?

The answer, I believe, is this: WE have an opportunity to make the world safer for our children AND we can talk to them about the realities of this world in a loving and hopeful way. We are never to shy away from the fact that we don’t live in the Kingdom yet, and there will be loss and pain. But we also have a responsibility to ensure our kids grow up in a better world.

If you are feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, you are not alone. I want to make sure that you know your clergy are here for you – to offer support, to talk, to pray, to sit in silence together. Additionally, if you need help finding the words to talk with your children or grandchildren, AHCC’s Youth Director Tobey Aubert and I are both available to provide guidance or refer you to resources that may help you in having age-appropriate conversations. We are in this together and your AHCC clergy and staff are holding you in prayer as we navigate the realities of this tragedy.

I truly believe that we live in community so that someday our answer to the question, “And how are the children?” can be, “All the children are well.”

Holding you in love,
Pastor Jordan Rebholz

Over the past several years, we as a congregation have had to re-evaluate our ministries and how we connect with and serve our community. We have added and changed programs and events to work toward becoming the church we believe God is calling us to be. It’s been a difficult but important task, and we have only been able to do it with the support of our members and community partners, knowing that the Spirit is leading us to “love our neighbors” in new ways.

In the spring of 2020, when the pandemic began, so many of our ministries had to stop in the interest of safety, including in-person worship, Sunday school, and committee meetings, to name just a few. Another ministry that was affected was our Thrift Shop, which has been an important part of AHCC for decades. For many months, we stopped operations altogether to ensure we were protecting our neighbors and volunteers through an unprecedented and difficult time.

In January 2021, we began holding monthly “pop-up” thrift shops in the parking lot during the Community Meal, in an effort to continue serving our neighbors. At the same time, the newly assembled Thrift Shop Task Force took on the job of looking at how the Thrift Shop might be modified to operate in the new world we were living in. Over six months, the task force met and discussed how to respond to the pandemic, to changes in the neighborhood, and to available resources both human and monetary. At the end of their work, the task force presented a report to the Diaconate which included suggestions on how to move forward, and the formation of an ongoing Thrift Shop Advisory Committee to provide insight and support for the next phase. Led by myself and Africka Hinds, this team included AHCC members Dean Amadon, Lila Pierce, Sally Tresselt, and Karen Hewes, and worked closely with Moderator Tory Chavey, and Helena Carvalho, Director of Operations. Since the summer of 2021, the advisory committee has met regularly to discuss new possibilities for the Thrift Shop, including how to respond to a flood in the basement, locating temporary storage for Thrift Shop inventory, and looking into off-site locations. The ongoing repair and construction in the basement made it clear that the original location of the Thrift Shop would remain unusable for the foreseeable future. After exploring the idea of moving the operations of the Thrift Shop offsite and researching what that might involve, the advisory committee concluded that it would be both too costly and logistically difficult. Additionally, we recognized that the monthly Pop Up shops in the parking lot are incredibly labor intensive and not financially sustainable.

At the same time as the Thrift Shop Advisory Committee’s work was performed, the AHCC Roadmap 2024 was created and presented to the congregation, and the Neighborhood Vision Task Force completed their work of connecting with and listening to our neighbors to learn how we might better work together to improve Asylum Hill for all. The Thrift Shop Advisory Committee, taking into account the aspirations and goals of AHCC Roadmap 2024, the report from the Neighborhood Vision Task Force, and the desire to work in partnership with these guides and initiatives, presented its recommendations to the Diaconate at its April meeting.

We believe that in order to best serve our neighbors, we need to be intentional about how we move forward and take the time to reimagine the Thrift Shop ministry. It is the recommendation of the Thrift Shop Advisory Committee that the Thrift Shop stop its operations in their current form as of June 2022. For the immediate future, this means we will no longer be accepting donations of items for the Thrift Shop and will hold more frequent Pop Up Shops in the parking lot to ensure we can distribute all the inventory currently on hand. Further, the Thrift Shop Advisory Committee suggests we continue to serve our neighbors by holding seasonal clothing events, such as a school uniform drive in August and a coat drive in the late fall/early winter, etc. We see these changes as a necessary and vital shift in ministry that balances the needs of the neighborhood and the limits of resources.

At the same time, it is important that we celebrate the many people who have made the Thrift Shop such a wonderful ministry over the years, including the incredibly dedicated volunteers who spent countless hours sorting, cleaning, and displaying items, and our current Thrift Shop Coordinator, Sue Powell. We are so grateful to these wonderful individuals who have given their time and hearts in support of the Thrift Shop as well as to everyone who has donated items to this ministry. We pray that over the next several years, as we reimagine our mission, you will continue to support whatever direction we take as we find new ways to love our neighbors.

These are important and transformative times we are living in. We have always been a congregation that believes our mission is to “love God and love our neighbor” through the many ways we serve our world. While this is a change to the way we exist in the neighborhood, I believe it will allow us to step back and listen to where the Spirit is leading us so that we can continue the legacy of service and justice that is a hallmark of Asylum Hill Congregational Church. Thank you for your continued support and partnership as we look toward the future to find the ways we can love our neighbors in this new world.

In love and grace,
Pastor Jordan Rebholz

Sunday, May 22, 2022 immediately following the 10am worship service; in person at AHCC

The Board of Deacons of Asylum Hill Congregational Church hereby calls the Annual Meeting of the Congregation on Sunday, May 22, 2022, immediately following the 10am worship service.

The primary purpose of the Annual Meeting is to hear reports and to elect officers, deacons, and committee and subcommittee chairs and members. Additionally, you will be asked to approve the minutes of the 2021 Annual Meeting. The meeting agenda, slate of nominees, and 2021 Annual Meeting minutes are available here.

Please note: A sign language interpreter will be present. There is no childcare, but Faith Lab will be extended.

Please plan to attend the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Congregation. Thank you!

Tory Chavey, Moderator
Rev. Erica Thompson, Sr. Minister

To our amazing AHCC community,

In anticipation of Rev. Erica Thompson’s long overdue and extremely well-deserved sabbatical coming up at the end of May, we wanted to take a few moments to let you know some of the exciting plans we have for our time together this summer.

We are honored to serve as co-pastors and sharing responsibilities during the summer of 2022. We also can’t wait for you to see some of the speakers/preachers coming in to lead worship with us, including a special time of joyfully and enthusiastically honoring the voices of the LGBTQI+ community during the month of June.

Additionally, we are planning several fun and relational events where we can come together to get to know each other (again or for the first time!). There will be many different types of programs available, and we hope you will join us for one or all of them. Be on the lookout for a big announcement with all of the event dates. Come play and eat with us!

As we look forward to this time of reflection for Erica, we invite you to see it as a time of reflection for all of us too. We as a church community have been through a lot over the past few years and have so much to be proud of and look forward to. We are incredibly honored to serve as your associate pastors and can’t wait to spend time with you this summer.

In love,
Jordan and Tracy

For the year end 2021, the balance in AHCC’s investment portfolio was $21.7M.

In 2021, the economy continued to recover. And given accommodative fiscal and monetary policies, initially put in place to help blunt the shock of the pandemic, equity markets posted strong returns. For the year ended 2021, the S&P 500 returned 28.7%.  Yet with investors’ desire to own riskier assets, returns for traditional “safe havens” lagged. The Barclays U.S. Aggregate posted returns of -1.5% for the year.

AHCC’s portfolio returned 15.2% for the calendar year end 2021, ahead of the benchmark by 160 basis points (bps). AHCC’s endowment was able to best its benchmark due to allocations to small cap stocks, U.S. corporate bonds and real estate.

When assessing future returns, the Investment Subcommittee expressed concerns about inflation and potential actions by the Federal Reserve. With the expectation that the Fed would take steps to raise rates, the Investment Subcommittee lowered, not eliminated, the allocation to fixed income. We also established two new positions in real assets, an asset class which tends to offer more consistent performance in inflationary environments.

Finally, recall that each year a sustainable draw is taken from the endowment to support the operating budget of the church. In 2021, this was 5% of the average balance over the previous 20 quarters. For an introduction and overview, members can access a replay of November’s presentation on AHCC’s endowment on the Member Portal.

David Stevenson
Chair, Investment Subcommittee

A significant priority at the church over the past several months was refreshing the website, and I hope you have taken a look at it. The redesigned website aims to make available a huge amount of information to our members and the public at large in an easily accessible and organized way, using pictures and colors to convey AHCC’s warm and welcoming atmosphere.

What are your first impressions?

My eye is drawn to the clean lines and uncluttered page layouts, the new AHCC logo, and features such as member stories. I have navigated around the new website to see what is there and familiarize myself with where I can find the information I need.

For example, I go to the website on Sunday mornings when I attend the worship service remotely, and now the “Livestream” button at the top of every page is easy to find. I also like to use the website calendar to see what programs and events are coming up, and the calendar, too, is readily accessible through the “Calendar” link at the top of every page. Also, each page has a link to “Log In,” which I use to reach the secure area of the website when I want to look at the member directory or check my giving history. (And, yes, I can attest to the fact it is easy to reset your password for the secure part of the website if you forget it!)

I really love how the new website includes some jolts of personality. Who noticed the picture of our three ministers’ shoes? Or how about the gorgeous close-up photo of our sanctuary organ? And the numerous member stories reflect the beautiful variety in our members’ backgrounds, faith journeys, and paths to AHCC.

Finally, I want to thank the entire staff for their hard work and dedication to creating the redesigned website, and special thanks to Director of Communications Rhonda Mitchell, who spearheaded the project, and to Director of Operations Helena Carvalho, who led the data integration aspect of the project.

Tory Chavey, AHCC Moderator

Since (re)reopening in mid-February 2022, we’ve been intentional in our approach to our COVID-19 health and safety protocols. As has been the case over the last 2 years, we continue to consult with professionals from within our community, consider the case numbers both nationally and locally, as well as CDC recommendations. We believe we have made decisions that have ensured the health, safety, and wellbeing of members and friends.

Therefore, amid declining COVID infection rates and increasing vaccination rates, as well taking the lead from many local school districts Asylum Hill Congregational Church will transition its face mask requirement to a mask-optional policy effective immediately. The exception to this will be Faith Lab on Sunday mornings. As soon as we are ready to announce changes to Faith Lab policies another communication will be issued.

While face masks will now be optional, we strongly recommend that you wear a mask indoors if you are unvaccinated, are at high risk for illness, have tested positive, or have been close to someone who tested positive for COVID within the past 10 days. We also ask that anyone with COVID-like symptoms stay home for the safety of themselves and others.

The other note we feel compelled to share is that absolutely no one should feel shame or encounter pressure or judgement of any kind for continuing to wear a mask. This has been a long, agonizing journey for all of us, and it’s not yet completely over. As we have said throughout the pandemic, emerging from this is going to be so much messier than it was going into it. As your pastors, we expect you will treat one another with respect, grace, and love – recognizing you may know nothing at all about another person’s journey.

Shabbat Shalom! May the peace of God dwell within you.

In Genesis, we are told that immediately after God created the universe and every living thing within it, including human beings, God rested … and commanded that it be so for all creation.

In the book of Leviticus, God’s people were instructed to allow their fields to rest fallow for one year after six years of production. This sabbath rest gave the land time to recover as well as the humans who were tending the land.

Sabbatical comes from the word Sabbath – which means “to rest” or to “cease from working,” and from the very beginning was God’s idea.

This summer, I will be taking a much-needed sabbatical! I have postponed it twice in the last several years – first because we were working on putting together AHCC’s clergy team, and then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. So, it is time! And with that, I want to be clear about what sabbatical is as well as what it isn’t.

In the upcoming weeks we will be sharing more with you about the specifics of my sabbatical, and you will be hearing from Jordan and Tracy regarding the scheming, dreaming, and planning they are doing to get ready for a Spirit-led summer, which will be full of joy and justice and will be a wonderful season for our community of faith to engage one another as we emerge from pandemic life.

Always,
Erica

As we move into March and celebrate women, and their contributions to history, I have been thinking about the millions of women, who right now, are courageously fighting for survival in Ukraine.

• The grandmother who made the difficult to decision to take up arms in defense of her young grandchildren;
• The teacher who has begun holding classes for children huddled in makeshift bomb shelters in the parking garage of an apartment building;
• The student fleeing the bombing of her university

Women – mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, daughters … we see you, we hear you, we are praying for you.

In just 2 weeks, Jews the world over will celebrate to Festival of Purim … a festival that commemorates the defeat of an attempted genocide of the Jews of the Persian Empire in the fifth century BCE.

After a virtuous Jewish woman named Esther married King Ahasuerus of Persia, she and her Uncle Mordechai interrupted a plot by the king’s right-hand-man, Haman, who planed “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day.”

At the eleventh hour, Esther revealed to the king that she was Jewish, meaning Haman’s plan would result in her death. And the king instead sentenced his friend to be executed at the very gallows he’d prepared for the Jews.

The most well-known lines from this Old Testament story are words Esther’s uncle shared with her:

If you remain silent at this time, liberation and rescue will arise for the Jews from another place, but surely you will perish. Who knows maybe, just maybe you have come into this place of power, for just such a time as this? 

Beloveds, it does not escape me that the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is Jewish.

That he had family members who were killed in the Holocaust.

And that he is now fighting not only for his own life, but for the lives and future of all Ukrainians, and for the soul of democracy.

President Zelenskyy … we see you, we hear you, we are praying for you.

Prayer for Ukraine:

Good and Gracious God, we ask you to hold the people of Ukraine deep in your heart.
Protect them, we pray …
from violence,
from political gamesmanship,
from being used and abused.

Give, we pray …
the nations of the world the courage & the wisdom
to stand up for justice and the courage too,
to dare to care generously.

Lord, in your mercy, take from us all the tendencies in us that seek to lord it over others. Take from us those traits that see us pursuing our own needs and wants before those of others.

Teach us how to live in love, and dignity, and respect – following your example.

In your name and for your sake, Amen.

During Lent, Christians remember Jesus’ experience of being tempted in the desert for 40 days. That wilderness time was critical, as Jesus recognized more about who he was and discovered his authentic self.

This Lent, we invite you to consider the “wild” not as being a physical location, but instead consider “wild” as being untamed, authentic, and the truest versions of ourselves. What does it look like to live our most authentic and untamed lives? What is it that God is calling us to do, and who is God calling us to be? How can we discover this individually and as a community of faith?

Wild things do not settle for what is, but instead courageously reclaim what is truth.

Wild things follow an organic and not-always-predictable path.

Wild things do not apologize for who they are and are not overly accommodating at their own expense.

Wild things do not settle or blindly comply, even if it means letting go of what is familiar or safe.

Wild things dare to imagine the future, even in the face of death and loss of the familiar.

To embrace the “wild,” we must ask ourselves hard questions like, “Why am I not satisfied or happy with this?” and “Is there more than this?” and “What is real and true?”

You are invited to join this wild journey as we discover who we were made to be.

Hello AHCC Family. It is a wonderful time to be vice moderator of Asylum Hill Congregational Church. We have a dynamic diaconate, an engaged executive committee, a wise and compassionate moderator, a committed staff, and spirit-filled clergy with brilliant minds. I watch in awe as the work of God and our church gets done. I feel God’s presence and guidance. I am confident the Holy Spirit is in our midst, that we are doing right and righteous work, and that, while challenges lay ahead, we are being blessed. Most of all, I feel like the energy that is coming from AHCC is resonating more and more beyond our walls and will attract loving people that will add to the momentum.

I had a recent experience on a task force that encouraged this enthusiasm. Often when you are asked to serve on a task force, your first thought is not necessarily enthusiasm. It seems we always ask people who are already very busy to do more. Have you heard this sarcastic saying? “The reward for good work is more work.” Well, let me share my blessing. It was a tough one. The task force members shared very personal and emotional experiences, hoping the other task force members could sympathize, empathize, or better understand alternative perspectives and points of view. We also tried using logic and facts to make our case. We could not reach consensus. It was tough. We struggled to agree on the way forward. However, in the process of respectful discussion, listening, and discernment, we found so many foundational things upon which we agree. These include that we want to work against racism. We want to find ways to support justice in our communities. We want to do the work to be good neighbors and stakeholders in the Asylum Hill neighborhood.

We take on challenging issues and decisions when we try to discern God’s will, and how we can best support a mission we can never truly understand. I simply pray and have faith that God will find a way to use us – the imperfect tools that we are. I believe that when we engage, as we did on the task force, with humility, respect, good will, and positive intent, we make ourselves available for God to guide us. As the words of one of my favorite gospel songs that our choir blesses us with periodically, relays, we must let God “order our steps.”

Perhaps AHCC will serve as an example of what the world needs today – civil discourse, good will, and love for our community.

Please keep praying for AHCC, our leadership, and for me.

God bless you.

Winter is a season marked by long nights and cold temperatures; the landscape is stark, barren, and seemingly dead. And truth be told, I have heard many refer to the last two years as a never-ending winter.

But did you know that ecologically speaking winter is the most active season of all? It may not look like it, because we cannot see the tremendous growth and transformation which is taking place. But it’s happening, just beyond our earthly understanding and our human perception.

It is said that faith is believing what we cannot see and trusting what we may not fully understand. For me, faith is like moving through the season of winter: believing that the Holy is at work even if I don’t have eyes to see it, ears to hear it, or the patience to be still.

The God of many names, who speaks every language, reminds us to be grateful for the innumerable ways God show up in the world and in our lives, remembering the words of the author of Ecclesiastes: “for everything there is a season, a time for every matter under heaven…” As we move through the season of winter, let’s pause to feel God’s presence in all the seasons of our own lives, as God pours out upon each one of us the strength to be grounded in justice, and mercy, and humility, and above all, love.

Blessing:

May the words you speak
May the words you hear and understand
Be holy

May your actions
May the actions of others
Be sacred

May your humanity be honored
May you honor the humanity of others
And may each one of you go forth bearing light, grace, compassion, and love out into a world so in need.

Blessings and peace be upon you all! Amen.

In an effort to stay connected as a church community IN SPITE of this most recent COVID surge, we are commiting to connecting with every church member during the 4 weeks of February. We’re calling it Connect Four.

The purpose of these connections: calls, emails, texts, maybe even a zoom gathering or two, is to simply reach out, connect, and check in. We hope these connections will be fun, meaningful, and maybe even lead to some new connections.

How will it happen?

We have assembled a great group of folks who have committed to making these connections happen, and over the 4 weeks of February they will be reaching out – calling, emailing, and/or texting. But please know and trust – no one wants ANYTHING from you, except to connect human being to human being!

December 31 marked the end of the calendar year and the midpoint in AHCC’s fiscal year which runs from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. This is the time in the year that the Administration & Finance Committee* takes a close look at not only a forecast of this year’s 12-month financial results but also how we are positioned to strengthen the church’s finances in our 3-year plan.

In line with other churches’ experience, AHCC’s contributions have trended downward consistently for the last 5 years due to external trends (e.g., demographics) as well as significant disruptions (e.g., the pandemic). As the largest component of our income, members’ and friends’ contributions are critical to our ability to sustain the missions and activities of the church. We are happy to report that this year’s forecast projects contributions to be slightly higher than our original budget and slightly higher than last year’s contributions.

It would be premature to declare this good news to be a significant turn in the tide of income decline. However, we are encouraged, we will continue to monitor closely, and we are actively collaborating with leaders across the committees of AHCC to take the steps necessary to return to income growth and sustainable financial health.

Our church community’s aspirations – to return to and exceed pre-pandemic activity levels as soon as possible and to undertake the exciting initiatives envisioned in our Strategic Roadmap – require that we address this challenge.  The charts below depict how our missions and activities will be supported this year.

We are delighted to share this first sign of good news with everyone! I welcome your observations and questions. Please contact me directly or email me at info@ahcc.org.

Claudia Lindsey
Administration & Finance Committee Chair

*This year’s Administration & Finance Committee members are Jim Bannister, Jim Carter, Jeremy Claflin, Africka Hinds, Claudia Lindsey, Tom Pringle, and Erica Thompson

See the charts here

Mission Statement:

Interval House is dedicated to ending domestic violence and providing services that will prevent and break the cycle of family and intimate partner abuse. They strive to reach all persons at risk and bring about social change. They are committed to empowering clients and providing a nurturing environment for victims to heal and reclaim their lives as survivors.

Program Description:

Interval House offers emergency safe housing, as well as intervention services and support for battered women and their children from Asylum Hill and the Greater Hartford area. “Victim to Survivor” provides those needing emergency shelter access to its 21-bed and 4-crib Safe House. Residents receive food, clothing and 24/7 advocate support, including information and referrals, safety planning, and domestic violence counseling. Residents receive ongoing advocacy as they develop income, employment, health, and housing goals, as well as assistance with legal advocacy, support groups, transportation, and childcare plans. Community clients (those not residing at the Safe House) are assisted just the same, and may receive crisis counseling, legal advocacy, referrals, and financial/housing assistance as they work to establish independence from abusers.

Watch this video featuring Interval House Mary Jane Foster, President and CEO of Interval House.

Iron Sharpening Iron, an executive leadership program for women clergy at Princeton Theological Seminary, equips women to embrace and build upon the capacities, agency and savvy they possess to negotiate challenging leadership contexts with a confidence born of competence. Rev. Mehr-Muska has been accepted into this program and will start in May 2022. “I applied to this executive leadership program with the hope that it will provide me with inspiration, wisdom, and practical strategies that will be of benefit to the clergy team, staff, and layleaders as we lead the church from this time of pandemic to its next exciting chapter of connection, inclusion, belonging, flourishing, impact, and joy,” said Tracy. Drawing on best practices from leaders in church, business, public service and beyond, the program’s interdisciplinary approach serves the fundamental goal of promoting capable women to thrive in God’s calling in a way that has theological integrity and a sophisticated philosophy and practice.

Each year, Iron Sharpening Iron selects women to participate in the 2-year program, at the end of which they will receive an Executive Certificate in Leadership. Intentionally gathering women at different places in their call — Associate Pastors, Solo Pastors, Senior Pastors and Heads of Staff — Iron Sharpening Iron is a commitment that leads to a credential that will open doors for longterm leadership goals. Rev. Mehr-Muska will continue in her role as Minister of Mid/later Life while participating in this program. Congratulations, Tracy!

Beloved Educators, School Staff, and Daycare Workers,

This is not how it was supposed to be. We can only imagine that when you  dreamed about how your days spent with our children might look … caring for them, teaching them, empowering them … this is not what it looked like. But YOU are exactly where you are supposed to be. For you love our children so deeply that you are finding that creative spark deep within yourself. You are tired, yet you find ways to show compassion; you are confused, yet you find ways to calm their hearts and minds; you don’t know what the future holds, yet you help our little ones discover who they were called to be in this world. And so we thank you with our whole hearts.

As you continue to navigate this time, please know that we are holding you in prayer and are here for you. We know that some days are harder than others. We see you. We see how hard you are working and that when things change or plans fall through, you are the ones holding it together for our children. Thank you for being the hands and feet of God in our world, and for making things more beautiful for the little ones in your care. Your kindness, compassion, and patience will help ensure that they grow up knowing that during this time, they were protected and loved. What an incredible gift you are sharing with us all.

Our prayers are with you, and we are showering you in love and support. We are here if you need to talk, to cry, to pray, or just need someone to listen. Thank you for caring for our children. While there are no words to adequately express how much we appreciate you, we offer this prayer for you to pray when you may not be able to find the words on your own. You are never alone.

God of creative love, we pray that you would be with us as we care for the children in our communities. Strengthen our hearts so that we might be present for them when they need us. Guide our hands and feet so that we might do what is best for them. And grant us grace in the moments when we don’t quite know the next step. We know that you are with us, and as long as we show them love, they will be OK. Be with us in these days and hold us in your safety. Amen.  

Pastors Jordan Rebholz, Erica Thompson, and Tracy Mehr-Muska, Tobey Aubert, Director of Children and Youth Programs

Following conversations with scientists and medical personnel in our community, as well as careful and thoughtful consideration of our current circumstances in Connecticut, we have decided to extend livestream worship (ONLY) through Sunday, February 13.  We will reevaluate this decision at the beginning of February and will let you know where things stand at that time.

Please know that we remain faithful to you and one another in these difficult times. Many of you have reached out in the last several weeks letting us know that COVID has made its way into your homes and lives (as has also been the case for us, your clergy). Even if physically connecting is hard right now, as people of faith we know that prayer is one of the ways we can always connect, to one another and to God, no matter what the circumstances. So let us be in prayer for one another as we weather the Omicron surge.

Always,
Erica, Jordan, and Tracy

This means there is NO in person worship on January 23 & 30 or February 6 & 13. Worship will be via Livestream ONLY @ 10:00AM at ahcc.org

“Who, me?”

This might be your reaction when you hear that AHCC is requesting volunteers to fill out the church’s many committees, subcommittees, and working groups for the upcoming year, which starts July 1, 2022.

If this is the question on your mind, my answer is: “Yes, you!” 

We all know and very much appreciate AHCC’s wonderful and dedicated staff and clergy team, who work tirelessly day in and day out.

But did you also know that AHCC has well over 100 volunteers who make up the church’s numerous committees, subcommittees, and working groups? Yes, you read that right – well over 100 volunteers who currently serve as a member of one of the groups that help make this church thrive in every facet of its work. That is a huge number of people, and we need every single one to help carry out the faith-filled work of this church.

AHCC’s committee, subcommittee, and working group participants include some of our newest church members and some of our most long-standing members; they include young members and retired members; they include members who live around the corner from the church and those who live in another state; they include members who have a specific skill to offer and those who just want to pitch in in any way they can; they include members with lots of time to share and those with limited time; they include members at all different points along their faith journey.

In other words, AHCC’s committee, subcommittee, and working group participants are widely varied and diverse, and yet they all answered the call to join in to help play a part in the work of AHCC. I have heard so many people say, and I wholeheartedly agree, that getting more involved at AHCC is a truly wonderful and meaningful way to deepen your faith and your relationship with the church and other members, while giving back to the church and the wider community in ways that speak to you.

Will you please join in? Will you say “yes, me!” to helping AHCC move forward with the key components of the AHCC 2024 Roadmap — engaging and nurturing this church community, pursuing justice, and expanding our impact? I hope you will!

And if you are a friend of AHCC, but have not become a church member, we welcome your participation, too. There are definitely roles for you, and we invite you to find out more.

For all who want to learn about opportunities to get more involved at AHCC, please contact Mary Way at the church office, mway@ahcc.org, and she will connect you to the appropriate people to get you the information you need. Thank you!

One of the expressions of my call to ministry has been my work as a hospital chaplain at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA – a 716-bed hospital that serves a large area that includes southern VT, western MA, eastern NY and northern CT.

I was honored to join the staff of the Spiritual Care Department at Baystate to serve as an on-call chaplain at the completion of a required educational program, Clinical Pastoral Education.

This summer, the hospital had a relatively low number of COVID patients within the system (the system includes some smaller hospitals in Western Mass). In August, the number of COVID patients hovered around 25. That number began to rise in the fall and I remember feeling some shock in December when the number of COVID patients exceeded 90.

On January 10, Baystate Health reported that the number of covid patients was 284, more than ten times what it was at the end of summer. The CEO issued a statement saying that the system is “in a state of crisis,” operating at 110% of capacity with severe staff shortages. These kinds of numbers translate into long delays in the emergency room, postponed elective care, and a tremendous strain on the healthcare system.

The numbers tell part of the story, but, for me, the story is best told in the faces of my colleagues. The front-line workers are exhausted. Nurses are working overtime, environmental services staff is working around the clock to maintain hospital facility standards, and the list goes on. One nurse described it me as “feeling numb every day.” They long to be their best for each patient, but the current situation is simply unsustainable.

I am thankful that AHCC is doing all we can to keep our community safe and healthy. Please pray for our healthcare workers – doctors, nurses, all hospital staff. If you know someone working on the frontline of this pandemic wave, reach out and offer them support. If you can, offer assistance with errands, household chores, child care, meal preparation, snow removal – it will be welcome.

May we emerge from this pandemic with a true recognition of the heroes among us.