Dear Friends,

One of the core principles of our Mission and Outreach Ministry at First Congregational Church in Winchester is to identify opportunities for our church to serve the community. Typically, this time of year we would select a well-deserving organization to be the recipient of our Easter Offering. Given we are amidst a global pandemic with many people in our community facing serious health concerns and potential financial hardship, we wanted to be involved in affecting the response in our community.

To better position our church to deal with the impact and recovery associated with Covid-19, our Leadership Team has created the FCC Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund. This fund is designed to help our congregation and wider community address needs related to Covid-19. While we don’t fully know the extent of needs to come, we see on the horizon using these funds to help individuals and organizations respond and rebound from the current situation. Examples of support could look like; help with household expenses for someone who has lost their job, support for an elder with computer needs around tele-health, providing for funeral expenses, help to meet life-sustaining financial obligations, help for Outdoor Church and Dwelling Place participants (organizations that we usually support) and potentially much more.  Towards this end, there will be a small team established with Rev. Judy Arnold to confidentially manage the fund for the months ahead.

We hope you will consider giving generously to our  Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund by donating to this special Easter offering and beyond. Checks should be made out to First Congregational Church, noting “Easter Offering” in the memo and mailed to 21 Church Street Winchester, MA 01890. You can also donate via PayPal or Venmo noting “Easter Offering”.

Yours in faith and service,

Mission and Outreach Ministry