The letters to the members and friends of Smith Church, the local Hillsboro businesses and the present and former Youth Group members have been sent. Thanks to the excellent coverage in the Concord Monitor, the Stonebridge Post and The Messenger, the community is aware of our project. We are on our way!

We’re off to a very good start with 100% of the committee making their commitment. In addition, We have received a couple of major gifts and with a $10,000.00 contribution from the Deborahs, we have $70,000.00 as of this report. Further, we have secured a loan with very favorable rates of $25,000.00 from the New Hampshire Conference, UCC.

This is just the beginning and we are optimistic that we can reach our goal of $125,000.00. If you have any questions, feel free to contact any member of the committee: Pam Cornwell; Barbara Daley; Joan DeBrine; Larry DeLacy; Doug Hatfield; Pastor Donna Vuilleumier.

It is almost done! The State and local inspections have been completed and all were satisfactory. The manufacturer has reviewed the installation and things look good. The system is actually functioning now as we experience colder mornings and nights. The electrician still has cosmetic work to do before submitting his final bill. We are looking forward to warm and cozy meeting spaces for the fall and winter. We all owe a big thank you to our sexton, Keith Audette, who secured the engineering study, obtained the proposal from Christiansen Plumbing and Heating, and then provided personal oversight and attention to details as this project moved forward.

Sponsored by the G&E committee, we invite you to join us in walking, walking, walking! We have several different routes planned and our first route will be walking from Smith Church to Florida, virtually stopping to visit our friends along the way and hoping to be in Florida to virtually visit all our snowbirds in the winter to enjoy the warmer weather there. We will be keeping track on a big map of the United States downstairs in the vestry and all you have to do to participate is to keep track of the miles you walk (outdoors, indoors, on a treadmill, any way you want) and send your weekly totals to Barbara Daley (bdaley@tds.net or 603-464-5239) every Friday morning to be updated on our map.

We have many stops planned along this first route, including those on the Smith Church address list, but we are happy to add any personal stops you would like to include along the way. I know it personally motivates my walking to know I will be stopping to visit Trudy Schmid in Massachusetts, Fay Tomlinson in New Jersey, and my cousin Frankie in South Carolina so feel free to send me names and towns that you would like added to the list. The last stop in Florida before we start on our second route will be Josh Varga in Navarre, Florida and I am sure he will have lemonade and cookies for us when we get there (heads up, Josh!) The great thing about these virtual visits, we don’t have to worry if people will be home, if they are quarantined, if they didn’t have time to clean the house, or if they actually want us to visit them.

No fair logging miles you have already walked, and the starting water pistol goes off right now – so let’s all get walking!

The 2020 Stewardship Campaign kicks off with Charles Hambrick-Stowe preaching a Stewardship sermon on Oct 11, and we will receive our pledges on Stewardship Sunday, Nov 22. The theme this year is “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”- 1 John 4:7. The committee members are Jackie Stetser, Mike Bradley, Elizabeth Hambrick-Stowe, Nancy Shee, Bob Charron, Jean Mogan and Rev. Donna Vuilleumier. Watch for more information in your mailbox and online.