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STANWICH NEWS
ENGLISH LESSONS AT STANWICH
Stanwich offers English lessons
for non-English speaking adults to help them be better prepared for interacting
in American culture. Classes are held on Mondays and Thursdays from 7-9 p.m. through June 10. Cost is $30, which includes books and supplies along with sandwiches and coffee.
Participants must register in advance for the class. If you or someone you know would benefit from this class, please stop by the church office to pick up an Alegria information sheet. For more information, please call Helen at 203-869-3057.
HELPING HAITI, GUATEMALA,
GALVESTON AND NEW ORLEANS
Stanwich is reaching out to those in need around the world through the generous financial gifts given by our church family to our Missions Fund.
In addition, relief efforts and mission trips are targetting the following needs:
Haiti - Financial gifts are being collected for disaster relief from the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Funds will go to Americares to provide life-saving medicines and medical supplies. Please designate "Haiti"
in the memo section of your check, and place in the offering plate or mail to the church finance office.
Guatemala - School supplies and beanie babies were collected for
the children who will attend a new
school being built by Rafi Agrait and
Last Call Ministries. A team of Stanwich volunteers took the donations with them on their trip Feb. 15-23.
Galveston - A trip is being organized
for April 11-17 to help with clean-up and construction projects for the victims of Hurricane Ike. To participate, please contact Bob Caie at caiebonn@aol.com.
New Orleans - Two trips are planned for high school students during spring break to assist in ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Katrina. The students hosted a pancake feast and bake sale on February 7 to raise funds for the trip.
More information about our church's missions efforts to provide help and hope throughout the world is available on our Mission Trips page.
SOMA - WEDNESDAY EVENINGS AND ONE-DAY RETREAT ON MARCH 13
The Wednesday evening Bible study at Stanwich has a new name, Soma, from the Greek word for body, in reference to the body of Christ, the Church. Please sign up in Emmaus Hall and join us on Wednesday evenings from 7-9 pm for a light meal and opportunity to study God's Word. The suggested donation is $5 per person to cover the cost of food.
Soma is currently studying the second half of the book of Acts, led by Chuck Davis and Steve Gilbert. Prior attendance is not required, but please sign up in Emmaus Hall or by emailing Steve Gilbert at spgilbert@optonline.net. Soma will not meet in February 17 due to Ash Wednesday service, so will resume on February 24.
A Soma retreat will be held in Emmaus Hall on Saturday, March 13 from 8:30-4 pm. The theme will be "Living on the Vine - Empowering the Holy Spirit in our Daily Lives". Cost is $40 which covers breakfast and lunch. Advance RSVP is required. Please sign up in Emmaus Hall or contact Steve Gilbert at sgilbert@optonline.net.
A schedule of topics, study outlines and links to listen online to past Soma teachings are available on the Seminars and Bible Studies page.
VOCATIONAL NEXT STEPS HOSTS RUTH SHERMAN
Vocational Next Steps provides help and counsel for people who are at a transition point in their lives. The group usually meets on the third Tuesday of every month. Each meeting includes a guest speaker and small group discussion, moderated by the VNS team: Ernst Schirmer, Heather Knapp, Peter Jayes and Shalaine McLaughlin.
Guest speaker Ruth Sherman, renowned author, communications teacher and trainer, presented two workshops on "Marketing and Promoting Oneself with Confidence" on January 19 and February 2. The next VNS meeting will be on Tuesday, February 16. Please contact the VNS leadership team at
vocational.nextsteps@gmail.com for more information.
HARK THE HERALD ANGEL
CHILDREN'S PERFORMANCE
Thankfully the snow was not as deep as predicted on Sunday morning, so the show could go on! The cast, crew and family members of Stanwich's children's holiday production braved the snow to present Hark, the Herald Angel as a special holiday gift to the congregation. The show tells the story of angels getting ready for the birth of the Messiah. Featured were the children's choir, the Stanwich Rocks dancers, Thomas Polak as the angel Gabriel, Matthew Lagana as Hark, Erin Curtis as the director, Katrina Kraus as Mary, Anthony Shaw as Joseph, and the Stanwich Sunday School as shepherds and lambs.
Under the direction of Anitta Tilly, the children have been rehearsing for months to get ready for this very special event. Many thanks to Anitta, Lorraine Hufnagel, the Sunday School teachers, and all the volunteers who worked so hard behind the scenes to make this production possible. To view more photos from the show, please visit the Stanwich Rocks! website.
HEALING PRAYER
Healing Prayer is available on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month. Since this is a time of personal prayer for healing, please contact Sheila Hyland to make an appointment so that she can arrange for prayer teams for each person who plans to attend.
MORE PRAYER - FOR YOUTH
Our youth prayer team meets in the Prayer Chapel on Thursday mornings at 8:45. They would love for the Stanwich family to join them in praying for our children and youth programs, and for each child who participates. If you can't attend the prayer gatherings but would like to be part of this prayer group, please contact Danielle Kohlberger to receive specific prayer needs via email.
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