If you presently receive the Messenger via mail and would prefer to receive it via e-mail, or just by visiting the website, please get in touch with Joan Frederick at the church.

The second award is a 2009 Preservation Award from the Massachusetts Historical Commission.   Members of the Capital Campaign Committee, project contractors, and community supporters of The First Churches Meetinghouse Campaign have been invited to the award ceremony which will take place in Boston on October 27.

Congratulations to all those who worked so tirelessly to restore the First Churches building!

Dear UCC members and supporters:

100,000 UCC PHONE CALLS
Take Action Now

Help us flood the Capitol Hill switchboard on Friday! Use our tips for a successful phone call.
Well, it’s set!

Tomorrow, at 4:30 p.m. (PT), while visiting churches in northern California, I will be meeting with key staff from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s district office in San Francisco, and I will be delivering the names of more than 15,000 people who have signed our UCC petition for health care reform in the past 10 days. I will also be delivering the message that we plan to continue our mobilization in the coming weeks to reach our 100,000 goal.

I am doing this, because like many of you, I believe that caring for the sick, the injured and the broken was central to Jesus’ ministry. As Christians, this is an important moment to speak as people of faith to ensure that health care is available and affordable to all.

In solidarity with my visit to Speaker Pelosi’s office, we are asking UCC members and supporters to flood the Capitol Hill switchboard. So, anytime on Friday, please set aside time for three phone calls to your two senators and one representative, and be sure to identify your relationship with the United Church of Christ. Click here to see tips for a successful call.

We have established a UCC-specific toll-free number for this purpose: 1-888-797-8717.

Let’s take to the phone lines on Friday and deliver 100,000 phone calls for health care! The day can start with your calls!

Thanks for an incredible outpouring over the past 10 days. Now let’s redouble our grassroots effort to reach our 100,000 goal!
The Rev. Geoffrey A. Black
General Minister and President-Elect
United Church of Christ
Signature, The Rev. Geoffrey A. Black

P.S. If you have not yet signed the petition, there’s still time! Join us now and I will present your name along with thousands of others. Click here to add your name.

The lectures are scheduled for:

Sunday, Oct. 18 — film & lecture; 7-9p.m at Andover Newton Theological School;

Monday, Oct. 19 — Buffet lunch w/film & lecture, 11:30am-1:30pm, at Western New England College in Springfield;

Tues., Oct. 20 — film & lecture, 7-9pm. at Smith College in Northampton;

Wed., Oct. 21 — buffet lunch w/film & lecture, 11:30am-1:30pm at First Baptist Church in Worcester;

Thursday, Oct. 22 — film & lecture, 8-10 pm at Endicott College in Beverly

Evening lectures are free and open to the public. Luncheon lectures require an RSVP. To register for luncheon lectures taking place in Worcester or Springfield, please call Nathan at 617-969-9404 or email to admin@massbible.org. There is a suggested $15 donation for the Worcester luncheon.

For more on the Beck Lectures, visit www.massbible.org.

Part memoir, part resource guide, in this short booklet Hélène shows how an organized caregiving group can provide life-enhancing support to a friend or family member who is seriously ill. Published by Fiftyshift.com Publishing, “Friends Indeed” offers tips, resources and strategies for people who want to help but don’t know where to begin.

The First Churches Congregation appears in the booklet—come learn why!

Questions: Contact Hélène at (413) 584-8035 or hjpowers@verizon.net .

The show (which will start at 2:00, with doors opening at 1:30) will take place at the Iron Horse Music Hall.  All of the band’s proceeds from the show will be donated to support family music and arts in the Valley.  Additionally, other members of the church will contribute $2 per ticket sold to those same causes.

You can find more information about the show on the Facebook event page (you need not join Facebook to see the details), or at the Iron Horse’s website, which has a link to buy tickets.  Individual tickets are $10 in advance or $13 at the door; there will also be a $30 family four-pack price.

David was born on July 1, 1965, in Buffalo, N.Y., the son of James and Jean (Smith) Banigan of Buffalo, N.Y. He was raised and educated in Buffalo, graduated from The College of Wooster in Ohio and was awarded graduate degrees in education at the University of Pittsburgh.

David was a teacher of the visually impaired and an orientation and mobility specialist with the state of Connecticut’s Board of Education and Services for the Blind. He loved his work and had found his true calling there, among his beloved colleagues. David had many passions, including an abiding interest in World Cup soccer. He played soccer locally and intramurally and took important excursions to World Cup events with, among others, his dear friends Ronald Resetarits of New Haven, Conn. and Alexander Thomson of Buffalo, N.Y. These men were like brothers to him.

David had been involved with Flywheel Arts Collective in Easthampton since 2003 and was devoted to this organization. He loved the community-building, arts-promoting goals of Flywheel and the people involved with this cause. He was a member of the First Churches of Northampton and loved the community and the sacred space it offered to his family. He participated in local and national politics, and was overjoyed when Barack Obama became our country’s president. David was an excellent camper and in July of this year, took what would be his last excursion to Nickerson State Park in Brewster with his wife Kate, daughter Charlotte, and Charlotte’s dear friend Valerie. It was a glorious trip in the woods, with swimming, ocean waves and delicious meals cooked by Dave on the open campfire. David was first and foremost a loving and devoted father to his beloved daughter, Charlotte Curran, 8, and he and his wife Kate were soulmates. Recently and for many years they spent the best days of their lives together. David was a great companion to his beloved dog, Gunsa.

He was predeceased by his first daughter, Elizabeth Story, who died just after birth in 2000. He loved her in life and in death and did many wonderful things to honor her memory. Besides his parents, David leaves his wife, Catherine “Kate” Banigan-White, whom he married on July 5, 1997, and his daughter, Charlotte Curran Banigan-White of Easthampton. He leaves his brother, James Banigan and his wife Mary and their daughter, Clare; his brother, Thomas Banigan, and his son, Tommy all of Buffalo, N.Y. While David left Buffalo many years ago, it was his homeland and he is survived there by an uncle and aunt, Andy and Jackie Smith, and numerous cousins, eight of whom are Uncle Andy and Aunt Jackie’s children. He was predeceased by a paternal uncle, Tom; and aunt, Edwina; as well as a cousin, Uncle Tom’s son. He leaves his mother and father in-law, Ethel and Galen White of Louisville, Ky.; his wife’s siblings: Joanna (White) Kille and her husband John and their children Alex and Andrew Kille all of Arnold, Md.; Caroline White formerly of New York City and now of Northampton; and Galen White of Baltimore, Md.

A Memorial Service and Celebration of David’s Life will be held on Saturday, Aug. 22, at 10 a.m. at the First Churches of Northampton with the Rev. Dr. Peter Ives, Celebrant, followed by a reception there in Lyman Hall. David’s ashes will be scattered at his request. There are no calling hours. Donations in David’s memory may be made to the First Churches of Northampton, 129 Main St., Northampton, MA, 01060 or the Flywheel Arts Collective, 43 Main St., Easthampton, MA, 01027. The Czelusniak Funeral Home of Northampton has been entrusted with arrangements.

David’s family would like to extend thanks to all who have made the beginning of this journey bearable, including First Churches, Czelusniak Funeral Home, Massachusetts State Police, Easthampton Police and emergency responders, plus countless family and friends.

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You can see a little bit more about David’s work in connection with family entertainment (and more pictures) at the blog of another First Churches member.