June 2025 Newsletter

Barbara Schnek • May 30, 2025

Dear friends,


June is here, with several special activities and events, including our Vendor Fair, Children and

Youth Sunday, Special Offering for Cancer Care and more. Please see the articles and calendar

 in this newsletter for more information.


And please note that our worship time will change from 10:00 AM to 9:30 AM beginning July 6.

Worship resumes at 10:00 AM on September 7.


Blessings,

Barbara

VENDOR FAIR & YARD SALE

Saturday, June 14, 2025 9 AM-3 PM Rain or shine!!

Foster Memorial Church, UCC - 1791 Wilbraham Road, Springfield, MA

New and gently used items for sale! Something for everyone!

Bake Sale, lunch for purchase and a fun

Gift Basket Raffle!

Sunday, June 1: 11:30 AM – 3 PM

Texas Roadhouse Fundraiser


Friday, June 6: 7 PM

Quarter Auction: Doors open at 6 PM


Saturday, June 7: 8:20 AM

Men’s Breakfast meet in front parking lot


Sunday, June 8:

Children and Youth Sunday


Sunday, June 8:

Just Peace Team meeting: all welcome


Friday, June 13: 5 PM

Set up for Vendor Fair


Saturday, June 14:

Vendor Fair/Tag Sale


Saturday, June 14: 1-3 PM

Drive Through for Open Pantry


Sunday, June 22:

Cancer Care Special Offering


Sunday, June 29: 4 PM

Prayers for the Nation


Waving for Peace every Monday from 3:30-4 PM

SUMMER SCHEDULE FOR WORSHIP

Our worship services will be held at 9:30 AM for the months of

July and August. Please help us spread the word!


WAVING FOR PEACE ON SUNDAY MORNINGS

All are invited to participate in waving for peace on Sunday

mornings from 11:45 AM – 12:15 PM. We will also continue

waving on Mondays from 3:30 – 4:00 PM.

JUNE QUARTER AUCTION: Friday, June 6

Doors open at 6 PM, and the auction begins at 7 PM. Everyone

is invited to bring quarters and friends for a fun evening and a

chance to win some great items from our vendors! There will

also be a raffle! Admission: $5 for two paddles. Bring a non-

perishable food item, to be donated to The Open Pantry, for a

free third paddle. Part of our proceeds will go to The D’Amour

Cancer Care Center and The Sister Caritas Cancer Center at

Mercy Medical Center. Dinner food, baked goods and snacks

will be available for purchase.


Note: This is the last Quarter Auction until September.

MEN’S BREAKFAST: Saturday, June 7

All men of the church are invited to join on the first Saturday

of the month for breakfast at a local restaurant. We meet at

8:20 AM in the front parking lot. All are welcome and invited to

bring friends!


CHILDREN AND YOUTH SUNDAY: June 8

There will be special activities for our God Time (church school).

Following our worship, everyone is invited to an “ice cream social”

on the lawn or inside, as weather permits.


MONTHLY DRIVE THROUGH DONATIONS OF FOOD

Saturday, June 8, 1-3 PM in the back parking lot

All non-perishable food donations are appreciated, and will be

donated to The Open Pantry. Please note: The Drive Through

will take place during our Vendor Fair/Yard Sale.


SPECIAL OFFERING FOR CANCER CARE: Sunday, June 22

We are going to collect a special CANCER CARE offering on

Sunday, June 22 during worship. The money from this offering

will be donated to The D’Amour Cancer Care Center and The

Sister Caritas Cancer Center at Mercy Medical Center. After

worship, everyone is invited to decorate a luminary bag in honor

or memory of loved ones who have experienced cancer. We will

place the luminaries on the front steps of the church. Thank

you for your support. Donations can also be mailed to our

church office.

NURSERY HELPERS

We are looking for two more volunteers for our nursery, to

help once a month or once every other month. Please speak to

Pastor Barbara if you would be able to help. It’s so much fun!

Foster September ews etterr

September 2025 Newsletter

By Barbara Schnek • August 26, 2025
Dear friends, We are going to be really busy in the next few months here at Foster! Highlights for September include Rally Sunday with an Ice Cream Socia and our September Quarter Auction. On September 21, we will be hosting the International Peace Day Fair/event, where agencies and faith communities come together for

August 2025 Newsletter

By Barbara Schenk • July 28, 2025
Dear friends, I hope everyone is enjoying the summer – it seems to be flying. I know we have been very concerned about issues going on that are dividing our nation. Decisions being made can shake us to the core, daily. We have started Waving for Peace on Sunday mornings, in addition to Monday afternoons, and the response from our neighbors passing by has been overwhelmingly positive. We will also be looking for more ways to advocate for God’s justice in the coming days, including our hosting an International Peace Event in September. There are many hymns that can move us onward and upward with hope and conviction of faith. One of these is entitled Community of Christ, with words by Shirley Erena Murray. Community of Christ, through whom the world must sound- Cry out for justice and for peace the whole world round; Disarm the powers that war and all that can destroy, Turn bombs to bread and tears of anguish into joy. When menace melts away, so shall God’s will be done. The climate of the world be peace and Christ its sun; Our currency be love and kindliness our law, Our food and faith be shared as one forevermore. Blessings, Barbara

July 2025 Newsletter

By Barbara Schnek • June 30, 2025
Dear friends, One of the blessings of this season is gardens, both flowers and vegetables. There’s a hymn I love called “Come to Tend God’s Garden.” When I read the words, written by John A. Dalles, I am reminded that God does not intend for us to be overwhelmed or feeling in despair amidst these tumultuous days. We are called to sow seeds of hope and much more: Come to tend God’s garden, seeds of hope to sow, Planting fields of justice, watching mercy grow! In an arid wasteland, spread a verdant heath! In a land of tumult, cultivate God’s peace! As we tend God’s garden, from its furrows rise Stems of fresh beginnings, stretching toward the skies! Graciousness, our meadow, joyfulness, our root, Unity, our foliage, righteousness, our fruit! Blessings, Barbara