What’s Going On
Cradles to Crayons at Crawford
We are happy to partner with Winchester Girl Scout Troop 77025 by serving as a collection site for their service project collecting new and gently used clothing (all sizes, all seasons, all types) for Cradles to Crayons! Cradles to Crayons is a non-profit organization that aims to eliminate children’s clothing insecurity — the lack of access to appropriate, affordable, and adequate clothing. By the end of their fiscal year in late March, they are on track to distribute 400,000 packages to kids across the Commonwealth living in families at/below 200% of the federal poverty level ($62,400 for a family of 4). Donation bins are outside of the church’s front doors. Please put your donations in the bins outside, where they will be collected regularly by the scout leaders. Do not leave them in the lobby outside of Gifford Hall. Drop offs will be accepted through Jan 26.
When:
Through January 26
Where:
Crawford Memorial United Methodist Church
34 Dix Street, Winchester, MA
What:
New or gently used clothing, winter coats, and shoes
New PJs, socks, and underwear
Celebrate the Gift of Christmas at Crawford
Please join us on Christmas Eve
We will celebrate with a service of lessons and carols at 5:00 p.m. and again at 9:00 p.m. Both services will feature a retelling of the age-old Christmas story, singing beloved carols, and special music by Occasional Brass and Strings.
And, as is tradition here at Crawford, we invite you to join us in a Christmas Carol Sing-along from 6:30 to 7:00pm in front of our church, led by our Chancel Choir member, Kate Frisoli, and accompanied by members of the Occasional Brass. Caroling is outdoors so do dress for the weather!
Bring Your Baby Jesus
Throughout Advent, we have spent time talking about the characters found in a typical nativity scene and offering blessings over a different categoy (the beasts, the angels, the shepherds, etc.) each week. We invite you to bring the baby Jesus figure from your home nativity with you to either Christmas Eve service for a special blessing.
Disaster Response Training Survey
“In response to the recent series of disasters throughout the United States, there has been a significant increase in interest in the New England Annual Conference (NEAC) offering Early Response Team (ERT) and Volunteer in Mission (VIM) training. These trainings represent an excellent opportunity for individuals to develop essential skills that contribute positively to disaster response and relief efforts within our communities.”
Does this sound like something you’d be interested in? Learn more and complete the NEAC’s survey HERE (by January 12, 2025).
Unite With Light, Winchester
Sunday, December 8, is Winchester’s 6th annual Unite With Light (rain date: Sunday, December 15). Members of Crawford will gather after our Sunday morning worship service to assemble the luminarias, and again in the afternoon to place them along the retaining wall on the Church Street side of the building and light the candles. While casting a lovely glow, the luminarias have a greater purpose than just beautifying Winchester. The proceeds from the sale of luminaria kits are donated to a charity of the organizers’ choosing. Crawford’s 100 luminaria kits for this evening and another hundred for Christmas Eve were purchased with a generous donation by a Crawford member. All proceeds raised by Unite With Light-Winchester this year will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of MA & RI, helping to grant wishes to children living with serious, chronic illnesses. Learn more about Unite With Light – Winchester and see photos from past events on their facebook page, HERE.
Christmas Music for Everyone
Many of Crawford’s musicians are members of other choirs, orchestras, and so forth. And at this time of year many of those organizations are performing concerts of Christmas music you might enjoy. Here is a short list of upcoming musical events at which you’ll find one or more Crawford member. Those Crawford musicians invite you to join them for one or more of these upcoming performances. Click on the links below (in red) for more information.
Just added: Compaq Big Band Concert at City Winery… two shows on Sunday, Dec. 22! See below!
Copley Singers Holiday Concert Series
Multiple dates and locations
Irish Tenors Christmas Concert
Multiple dates and locations
Celtic Woman White Christmas Symphony Tour
Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, MA
Wednesday, December 18, 7:30pm
Hancock Carillon and Morning Glory Ringers Christmas Concert
Hancock United Church of Christ, Lexington, MA
Friday, Dec. 15, 10:30am and Sunday, Dec. 1, 3:00pm
Compaq Big Band Christmas Concert
City Winery, Boston, MA
Sunday, Dec. 22, shows at 3pm and 7:30pm
Meet Bishop Bickerton
On July 22, the Council of Bishops announced that as a result of the General Conference’s decision to reduce the number of active bishops from 39 to 32 in the United States, effective September 1, most US bishops will serve multiple annual conferences. (See the Council’s announcement here.)
The New England and New York conferences will remain separate conferences, but will be combined into a single episcopal area, led by Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton. Bishop Bickerton met with delegates from both conferences at the 2024 Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference which concluded on July 12. You can read a summary of that meeting here.
We welcome Bishop Bickerton and look forward to working with him in the years ahead.
UMCOR at work in VT
“Recovery from the floods that hit in July 2023 was still underway when rainfall from Hurricane Beryl on July 10-11, 2024 — exactly a year later — brought additional devastation. Many Vermonters were impacted for a second time. The New England Conference was awarded a $399,450 grant from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to support recovery work and provide direct assistance to survivors in the Northeast Kingdom.” Read more, here.
Porchfest: Saturday, June 8
Join us this Saturday, June 8, for Winchester Porchfest! Crawford Memorial UMC is happy to be one of many venues around town, hosting musical groups during this fun, family-friendly tradition in Winchester. Our lineup includes:
1:30 pm – Randall Kromm
3:00 pm – Stroke of Luck
4:30 pm – Windshield Cowboys
In the case of inclement weather, check the Porchfest website. They will post a message at 9:00 am Saturday with further instructions.
Peace w/Justice Sunday, 5/26
Peace with Justice Sunday is one of our denomination’s six special Sunday’s. Peace with Justice Sunday encourages United Methodists to participate in transforming the world and challenging injustice by calling on our leaders and elected officials to prioritize policies that support communities and reflect God’s economy of abundance and grace.
If you’d like to contribute to this special offering, you can give by cash or check in the offering plate on Sunday morning. If you’re not able to join us on Sunday morning, you cangive online or set up monthly giving at UMC.org/SSGive.
Half of the gifts from the Peace with Justice Sunday special offering stay with local ministries in this conference, and half support the work of Church and Society globally. Learn more here.
UMC General Conference
The postponed 2020 General Conference of the United Methodist church was successfully held April 23-May 3, 2024, in Raleigh, NC. Pastor Anne Robertson summarized many of the decisions made there in a sermon she delivered on Sunday, May 5 (read her sermon here) In addition, United Methodist Communications produced this video that includes brief interviews with conference delegates and information about the worship, work, and fellowship that happened at this year’s conference.