Our goal is to reach members and friends of our congregation through:
These are the ministries that our Mission Board regularly coordinates for the church:
February Souper Bowl of Carin, Super Bowl Sunday-Collect food for the Meredith Food Pantry! Thank you to our community for all the support!
Year Round United Church of Christ (UCC) Basic Support
Year Round Call to Action - community coalition re: Opioid crisis
Year Round Hearts & Hands Thrift Store - proceeds help local causes
Year Round Meredith Food Pantry - ongoing collections
Year Round Pastor’s Discretionary Fund - confidential pastoral assistance
As Needed Response Missions - ranging from natural disasters to economic emergencies, housing for exchange students and more.
March UCC One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) - International
July/August Inter-Lakes School District-Backpack Project to assist students who need help preparing for return to school - Local
August Children are Angel's from Heaven - tuition support for two students in India - International
October UCC Neighbors in Need - National
October India Students - gift bags - International
October/November Stewardship Drive - Annual Church Giving
November/December Christmas Angels - clothes & toys for children in need - Local
December Veterans of the Cross - National
- Mission Moments: Guest speakers on Sundays
- the monthly “Caller” newsletter in order to inform all shareholders about a variety of missions needs including dates and specific tasks to fulfill such needs, both locally & globally.
These are the ministries that our Mission Board regularly coordinates for the church:
February Souper Bowl of Carin, Super Bowl Sunday-Collect food for the Meredith Food Pantry! Thank you to our community for all the support!
Year Round United Church of Christ (UCC) Basic Support
Year Round Call to Action - community coalition re: Opioid crisis
Year Round Hearts & Hands Thrift Store - proceeds help local causes
Year Round Meredith Food Pantry - ongoing collections
Year Round Pastor’s Discretionary Fund - confidential pastoral assistance
As Needed Response Missions - ranging from natural disasters to economic emergencies, housing for exchange students and more.
March UCC One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) - International
July/August Inter-Lakes School District-Backpack Project to assist students who need help preparing for return to school - Local
August Children are Angel's from Heaven - tuition support for two students in India - International
October UCC Neighbors in Need - National
October India Students - gift bags - International
October/November Stewardship Drive - Annual Church Giving
November/December Christmas Angels - clothes & toys for children in need - Local
December Veterans of the Cross - National
First Congregational Church of Meredith (FCCM) has long been recognized as an iconic landmark within Meredith. Sitting majestically on Highland Street hill overlooking the Town with its spire and bell tower, it is visible for all to see for miles in multiple directions.
And just as FCCM has been a visible landmark, so has music been a vital part of the church for over 200 years. From the church’s earliest days in 1815, parishioners would sing hymns accompanied by hand-held, local instruments. In the 1860s, the church raised $1,200 to acquire its first pipe organ. In 1937, a church fire damaged the pipe organ, but it was rebuilt and used until the 1950s when the church acquired an Estey pipe organ. The Estey console served FCCM for over 60 years when it was finally retired in 2020. Our new Rodgers hybrid organ console greatly expands the Estey pipe organ’s overall capabilities. Blending historic pipes with this digital console has resulted in a truly revitalized and beautiful instrument. (Click on Organ Revitalization for more details on this).
Our new hybrid organ, with its unique attributes and enhanced range of voices, and its ability to bring forth the most robust of resonances to the sweetest of timbres, stirs your heart and soul to rejoice. To celebrate our newly revitalized organ and to share it and our beautiful church with the larger Lakes Region public, we are adding more focus on music in both weekly worship services and thru new scheduled musical events.
Beginning in July 2021 FCCM conducted a Bluegrass church service much to the delight of both congregation members and new friends in attendance. Pastor Peter Lovett’s vision is to make FCCM recognizable not only as an iconic visible Meredith landmark, but also as the Music Church on the Hill. As such, several additional musical performances were held during 2021 to introduce our new organ. For 2022, FCCM is introducing a more expansive Joyful Noise Music Series. And although COVID may delay our plans to conduct some events, we are committed to host musical performances / concerts in addition to our Sunday morning worship services as part of our community outreach. For more information, click on Make a Joyful Noise Music Events.
And just as FCCM has been a visible landmark, so has music been a vital part of the church for over 200 years. From the church’s earliest days in 1815, parishioners would sing hymns accompanied by hand-held, local instruments. In the 1860s, the church raised $1,200 to acquire its first pipe organ. In 1937, a church fire damaged the pipe organ, but it was rebuilt and used until the 1950s when the church acquired an Estey pipe organ. The Estey console served FCCM for over 60 years when it was finally retired in 2020. Our new Rodgers hybrid organ console greatly expands the Estey pipe organ’s overall capabilities. Blending historic pipes with this digital console has resulted in a truly revitalized and beautiful instrument. (Click on Organ Revitalization for more details on this).
Our new hybrid organ, with its unique attributes and enhanced range of voices, and its ability to bring forth the most robust of resonances to the sweetest of timbres, stirs your heart and soul to rejoice. To celebrate our newly revitalized organ and to share it and our beautiful church with the larger Lakes Region public, we are adding more focus on music in both weekly worship services and thru new scheduled musical events.
Beginning in July 2021 FCCM conducted a Bluegrass church service much to the delight of both congregation members and new friends in attendance. Pastor Peter Lovett’s vision is to make FCCM recognizable not only as an iconic visible Meredith landmark, but also as the Music Church on the Hill. As such, several additional musical performances were held during 2021 to introduce our new organ. For 2022, FCCM is introducing a more expansive Joyful Noise Music Series. And although COVID may delay our plans to conduct some events, we are committed to host musical performances / concerts in addition to our Sunday morning worship services as part of our community outreach. For more information, click on Make a Joyful Noise Music Events.
Dear Friends,
Our 1956 Estey Pipe Organ Console had served us well but was in serious disrepair. Although the pipes were still in good working order, hundreds of electrical contacts within the organ console had deteriorated creating a safety hazard and causing inconsistent playing of keys. After a full evaluation by an organ repair specialist, we were advised to replace the organ console.
Following considerable research and evaluating multiple options, a lightly used 2010 hybrid Rodgers Organ Console was located. The hybrid capability of this console allows it to integrate with our existing Estey pipe organ as well as play independently through electronic speakers. It also offers additional organ voices for expanded and richer sounds.
The cost to replace the Estey Organ Console with the Rodgers Organ Console was estimated to be $50,000. The church was very fortunate to already have $20,000 in organ designated funds available from two memorials, the Natalie Smith Fund and the Rosenberger funds. On May 31, 2020, the full church voted to approve the organ revitalization effort to utilize the memorial funds and to initiate a 6-month $30,000 fundraising effort to reach the $50,000 goal.
During June 2020, we developed a fundraising plan and launched this effort in July. Thanks to the generosity of congregation members and friends of the church, we were able to raise the needed $30,000 in only 4 months reaching our goal by the end of September 2020. The new organ console was installed in the fall of 2020 and the full integration of the new console with the existing pipe organ was completed during the summer of 2021.
A photo of the 2010 Rodgers Masterpiece T838 Organ Console appears below:
Following considerable research and evaluating multiple options, a lightly used 2010 hybrid Rodgers Organ Console was located. The hybrid capability of this console allows it to integrate with our existing Estey pipe organ as well as play independently through electronic speakers. It also offers additional organ voices for expanded and richer sounds.
The cost to replace the Estey Organ Console with the Rodgers Organ Console was estimated to be $50,000. The church was very fortunate to already have $20,000 in organ designated funds available from two memorials, the Natalie Smith Fund and the Rosenberger funds. On May 31, 2020, the full church voted to approve the organ revitalization effort to utilize the memorial funds and to initiate a 6-month $30,000 fundraising effort to reach the $50,000 goal.
During June 2020, we developed a fundraising plan and launched this effort in July. Thanks to the generosity of congregation members and friends of the church, we were able to raise the needed $30,000 in only 4 months reaching our goal by the end of September 2020. The new organ console was installed in the fall of 2020 and the full integration of the new console with the existing pipe organ was completed during the summer of 2021.
A photo of the 2010 Rodgers Masterpiece T838 Organ Console appears below:
