Month: February 2019

What’s Up with Pastor Todd 2-25-19

A lot of different feelings, questions, ideas, suggestions are coming up in conversations as  we approach Legacy Weekend and anticipate the following Silent Period. I simply want to remind everyone of all of the previous hard work we’ve done in building healthy communication habits. It is more important than ever that we continue to practice them.

The guiding principle is direct communication. If you have something to say, communicate it to the appropriate person. If you have difficult feelings to share, share them with the person about whom you have those feelings. If you don’t know where to go with your feelings feel free to share them with me or someone on our conflict response team: Denise Moumene, Maureen Matthews, Pam Shadford, Jean Meyer, Rob Godzeno. If someone is sharing inappropriately with you, direct them to the correct person. Sometimes it may feel rude or uncaring, but keep in mind the larger goal: the future of our congregation. The number one killer of congregations is unhealthy conflict.

We’ve made so much progress in coming together over the past three years. It feels miraculous to me. I never would have anticipated in 2016 that we would find ourselves where we are now. Together we’ve taken bold action and made difficult decisions to give ourselves the possibility of a future.

Sermon for Legacy Sunday, March 3, 2019

Rev. Dr. Todd Grant Yonkman, Transitional Senior Minister

First Congregational Church of Stamford

Sermon for Transfiguration Sunday/Legacy Sunday

3 March 2019

Text: Luke 9:28-36

Transfiguration

The Bible tells us that a great flood once covered the earth. Noah, his family, and two of every animal on the earth took rode out a 40 day storm in a gigantic boat called an ark. After the rain had stopped and the waters receded, God put a rainbow in the sky as a seal of God’s promise to protect the natural cycles and season of life on this planet. God said in God’s heart: “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22).

The pomp and circumstance of this service might give the impression that something unusual and grand is happening today. Indeed, this is a historic moment in the life of First Congregational Church of Stamford. This is only the seventh time in this church’s 384 year history that the congregation has sought a new building. Nevertheless, as a congregation, we have done this before. Historic moves of this kind are a part of our spiritual DNA. They are a big reason why we have been able to continue as a congregation for as long as we have. So while this is an historic occasion, it’s also an event that’s as common as the passing of the seasons.

Our spiritual ancestors who left Wethersfield to build a log meetinghouse on a site just a quarter mile away from here could not possibly imagine the city that Stamford would become. They would probably also be surprised to find us here in this grand stone building with a fine organ and a choir in robes like the cathedrals they left behind in Europe. First Congregational Church has experienced a number of astounding transfigurations, and we are about to be transfigured again.

Jesus’ disciples were amazed and confused when Jesus’ appearance changed on the mountain. They heard the voice of God. They witnessed Jesus conversing with the prophets of the past. Peter wanted to stay in that magical moment. But as suddenly as that transcendent moment occurred, it was gone and they were once again confronted with the mundane task of following their master and healing the world person by person, season by season, step by step, moment by moment.

So, too, for us today we are confronted with the poignant truth of human existence: each moment is unique and precious, never to be repeated, lost forever to the insatiable maw of time. We grieve that loss just as the disciples grieved Jesus’ death, just as we grieve moving from this place that contains so many memories. Nevertheless, we are comforted in knowing that just as the earth endures, so too, are we as a congregation simply passing through another season, a season of change, no doubt, a season of loss, yes, but also a season of hope. Just as the transfiguration was a preview of Jesus’ resurrection, so, too, will we pass through this season of change into the promise of new life.

What’s Up with Pastor Todd 2-18-19

On Sunday, Feb. 17, the Silent Task Force will meet with the folks who have volunteered to host and lead home worship during the Silent Period. The Silent Period begins after the March 3 Legacy Service and will continue into the fall of this year. During this time we will have a variety of worship experiences, community reflections, training and service opportunities to prepare us to restart in a new Stamford location. You can find the schedule for the Silent Period at www.fccstamford.org.

The overview of the worship schedule for the Silent Period is:

  • 2 Sundays/month “All Together Worship”: We will gather “all together” for a time of worship, reflection, and training in restart skills in various locations around the community including some familiar spaces: FCC parlor, FCC dining hall, Ferguson Library, Avon Theater, UCONN Stamford, UUC Stamford. If you have suggestions for All Together Worship locations, contact Maureen Matthews (mmatth81@gmail.com). See the schedule for locations and times.
  • 1 Sunday/month: Home Worship. Informal worship in homes. The following people have volunteered to host home worship: Jen & Rob Godzeno (for kids and families faith formation focused home church), Pam Shadford, Jean & Bob Meyer, Peter Birch, Anne Mochulsky & Paul Bingaman, Pam Riley, Lori & Stu Constantine, Charlotte Smith. The following people have volunteered to lead home worship:  John Jelliffe, Denise Moumene, Maureen Matthews, Steve Ayres, Andrew Laro (faith formation one). If you would like either to host or to lead home worship, contact Maureen Matthews.
  • 1 Sunday/month: U-Pick Worship. You pick a growing, innovative church to visit for worship. Take notes. What worked? What didn’t work? Kids should go to Sunday school. What did they like? What didn’t they like? We will share our discoveries in All Together Worship. See Website for church visit suggestions, also to coordinate rides.
  • 5th Sundays: Service Worship. We gather informally and then engage the community to promote our restart. Examples: picnic in the park and hand out hotdogs, walk in the cancer walk and hand out water bottles, rent booth at Pride in the Park (Norwalk) and hand out swag, etc.

More to come. Stay tuned.

What’s Up with Pastor Todd 2-12-19


This past Sunday the congregation unanimously approved six separate motions that reorganized our previous boards into six (or seven, counting the Archiving Sub-committee) restart task forces: Legacy Task Force, Space Task Force, Search Task Force, Cleaning Task Force, Silence Task Force, Mission Task Force. The remaining administrative functions are shifted to an Advisory Committee Advisory Committee. Members of the Advisory Committee are: Jill Winger, Nicoline Sawabini, Ellen Taylor, Stuart Constantine, John Jelliffe, Cindy Richardson and Maureen Matthews. Church officer roles remain as they were under previous by-laws. These changes better align our organizational structure with the work needed to do restart. It really feels like the congregation is coming together around our restart mission. It feels good to be together. I hear an echo of Luke’s description of the church in its infancy: “All who believed were together” (Acts: 2:44).

We spent a fair amount of time clarifying the “Silent Period,” which will begin after the March 3 Legacy Service. Responsibility for planning and executing the Silent Period falls to the Silence Task Force: Maureen M, Rob G, Jen G, Pastor Todd. The purpose of the silent period is to create a shift in energy toward a deeper engagement with our spiritual lives and the lives of those in the Stamford community. This shift will prepare us for our “soft opening” in a new space in September 2019. You can find more details about the Silent Period including a worship schedule at http://www.fccstamford.org.

Worship Resources for Epiphany 7C February 24, 2019

*Call to Worship                                                                                                      

Years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached a sermon called “Love Your Enemies.” This was not the first time he had preached on this topic. Year after year he preached “Love Your Enemies.” And then by his example, he showed us what love your enemies means. Most of us are not called to the level of sacrifice Dr. King made, but every one of us is called to break the chain of hate with the disruptive power of love. Worship is our radical act of disruptive love. Let’s get to it.

Prayer of Confession

God, we are so conditioned to respond in kind. We are so worried that when the reckoning comes, we will find ourselves left with the short end of the stick. And not without reason. The powerful take and take and lie and lie and oppress and oppress seemingly without consequence. Teach us to love with skill. Teach us to love with precision. Teach us to love with abandon, trusting that when we step into the ocean of your abundant love we will receive the blessings of your abundant life. Amen.

*Prayer of Dedication

Holy God, we bring before you tokens of our intention to break the chains of hate with the power of love. Help us to grow in our giving so that we will continue to grow in our loving and in our living. Amen.

What’s Up with Pastor Todd 2/7/19

What’s Up with Pastor Todd 2-7-19

We had a productive series of meetings this past weekend with our search consultants from Griffith Coaching. About 30 people met in small groups to give their input into the restart pastor search process. Thanks to Nicoline and Stu for hosting a full day of meetings at their house!

Jim Griffith and Sally Morgenthaler will share a summary report based on the information they gathered. This will be the basis for creating a church profile which will then be circulated nationally within the UCC and on other job boards that are mostly likely to produce a good match with the goals and values of FCC Stamford. Griffith Coaching provides services throughout the search process up to and including onboarding the new pastor. Let search chairs Rob Godzeno and Nicoline Sawabini know if you have any questions.

This Sunday we will commission the restart task forces that were formed last fall following our all church retreat. During that retreat, we developed our restart plan. The task forces were developed to organize and execute different pieces of that plan. For the past three months, the task forces have been hard at work. A lot has already been accomplished in a short time.

Following worship we will have a congregational meeting to hear updates from the task forces and to continue the shift toward a more nimble, streamlined organizational structure that will better support restart.

The Legacy Task Force has been meeting weekly to plan the March 3 Legacy Service. Invitations have been sent out, and the events for that weekend are coming together nicely. Invite your friends. You won’t want to miss this historic occasion.

Worship Resources for Epiphany 6C February 17, 2019

*Call to Worship

Why are you here? Are you looking for a different life? A better life? Do you wish you were taller? Richer? Younger? Happier? Are you longing for friends or more meaningful work? What would happen if you embraced your life? What would happen if you just welcomed whatever life brings your way? Should we accept the things we can’t change or change the things we can’t accept? One thing is certain: life is full of blessing and suffering. Let’s bring all of our life to God in worship.

Prayer of Confession         

God of blessing, God of woe, we confess we often wish we were somewhere else with someone else doing something else. Bring us into this place among these people in this moment. Gather our scattered thoughts. Heal our broken lives. Amen.

*Prayer of Dedication

Holy God, we dedicate ourselves to hearing you teaching and putting it into practice. Give us the wisdom of poverty and abundance, hunger and fullness, ridicule and praise. Amen.