Christ the King Sunday

Last Sunday the congregation met to approve a budget for 2026. A budget is a moral document - showing where we place our values. We include our best educated guess about money we expect will come in as well as what it will cost to carry out God's mission in this place. We place our trust in God's promise to provide even more than we could imagine. Now that we know what we wish to spend in 2026, we can make more informed decisions about how much we will pledge to give. These personal goals help us reach our collective goal. Life happens and sometimes we don't accomplish the goal, but it's helpful to have one.

$184,338 is how much we think it will take to carry out ministry guided by congregational and pastoral leadership, stewarding the property and sharing what we have with those beyond ourselves. We can expect around $50,000 from outside sources through our relationships with Ayer Community School, Stone Soup Kitchen and others who make contributions to use space here. In 2025 we pledged $100,000. We have received 70% of that amount as of the end of October and based on historical patterns, it is fair to trust that we may exceed the total amount, thus reducing our budgeted deficit. We have received additional contributions as investments in the future of this space.

As we enter into this year's Stewardship Pledge season, I invite you to consider how you make your values known. How are you able to participate in God's mission here at SOV using your time, talents and treasures? What portion of the $135,000 might you take responsibility for? How much time will you commit to depending your faith through worship, study and fellowship? What unique skills do you have to contribute as ministry?

I invite you to be in prayer and conversation over the next few weeks in preparation for making your pledge of time, talents and treasures. If you have not done so in the past and wish to begin this year, please let us know! You can speak with me or Val W. or just reply to this email.

Our worship service this week focuses on who we choose to follow and under whose reign we are called to live as Christians. In a sense, we cannot faithfully participate in No Kings rallies because we do have a king in a Christ our Lord. His reign is one of abundance, compassion, power and grace. May we be rooted in that grace as we publicly live lives that show the world who we are.

Peace in the name of Christ the King,

Pastor Gaeta

Children and Youth Ministry

For Sr high youth group, City Reach planning is underway as well and will be February 27-28. And we have selected a date and location for the mission trip next summer: Winchester, Kentucky July 5th - 11th! 

Grades PreK - 4 Youth Event: Pizza and Movie Night

Sat, Nov 15, 5-7 PM @ Fellowship Hall UCC (218 Main St., Groton)

Come enjoy some great pizza and a fun movie with youth from UCC, StA, and SoV.  Invite your friends to come also.

Atrium

We partner with St. Andrew's Episcopal Church for children's faith formation. Click here to learn more about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd which takes place in the Atrium from 9-10am.

Atrium schedule for reference (subject to change):

Meets from 9-10am in the St. Andrew's Parish Hall.

Nov 30, Dec 7, 14, 21; Jan 11, 25; Feb 8, 22; Mar 1, 8, 22; Apr 12. 16; May 3, 17, 31; June 7, 14 

 Local Opportunities To Serve

Household Goods

Household Goods is located at 530 Main Street (Rt. 27) in Acton.  If you have furniture (No office or gaming desks, and no office chairs), kitchen goods, bathroom goods, clean usable sheets, any household items that are in decent condition and usable, they will take them.

CityReach 2026

It is time to start collecting warm clothes and other items for the unhoused.  Including:

 ● Warm coats in Winter ● Nylon jackets, ponchos, and raincoats for the Spring & Fall ● Sweatshirts and sweatpants (especially hooded sweatshirts) ● Sweaters ● T-shirts ● Long-sleeve shirts ● Jeans, khakis and other casual pants ● Waterproof boots, comfortable shoes, and sneakers ● Hats, waterproof gloves, scarves ● Belts ⬥ All kinds of carrying cases such as backpacks, tote bags, fanny packs, small suitcases with wheels ⬥ Travel-size toiletries such as soap, shampoo, deodorant, lotion, chapstick.

Neighbor to Neighbor

Thursday mornings Karen S. and Janet V. serve at the Lowell location of the IINE sorting and delivering groceries. Please email Janet at jkvesper@comcast.net; or Karen at Karen.Sheldon217@gmail.com if you're interested in joining them

Between September and December teams are providing direct support to immigrant neighbors in our region under the direction of the International Institute of New England (IINE). IINE is a highly regarded immigrant support organization that has been in operation for over a century with offices in Lowell, Boston, and Manchester, New Hampshire.

Ayer Shirley Regional School District (ASRSD) Holiday Gift Drive

The Giving Tree with ornaments selection for gifts has been prepared by Kim Duhamel for the SOV tradition of giving holiday gifts to the children of Ayer - Shirley Regional School District (ASRSD) families. There are only a handful of children left who need gifts! See the ornament tree in the back of our worship space to claim one. Unwrapped gifts need to be returned to SOV by Sunday, December 14 or sooner.