This Week at Glade

This Week at Glade Church

     Glade Church, a United Church of Christ (UCC) congregation, is a progressive Christian community—welcoming, compassionate, and joyful—seeking to embrace all people wherever they find themselves in life.  We strive to discern God’s still-speaking voice through worship, study, fellowship, and service. We work for God’s peace and social, economic, and ecological justice. We seek a greater understanding of ourselves and others, recognizing that all persons are members of our one human family, God’s family.

Pastor Kelly is available for meetings on Mondays. Contact them at [email protected] to schedule an appointment.

Weekly Post-Service Fellowship

Please sign up to bring refreshments for our weekly post-service fellowship time. The signup sheet is posted outside the sanctuary or you can contact Sandra Bryant at [email protected] to sign up.

Volunteers are needed for Kids Church and Youth Group

There are leader slots available for youth, kids, and nursery. Youth Group and Kids’ Church are on alternating weeks during worship service. Here is the link to sign up to help serve our children:

Glade Kids & Youth Church 25-26 Signup

Sunday April 12

Nursery: VOLUNTEER NEEDED!    Youth Group: VOLUNTEER NEEDED!

Sunday April 19

Nursery: VOLUNTEER NEEDED!    Kids’ Church: VOLUNTEER NEEDED!

Breeze User Workshop Sunday April 19

Want to know more about using Breeze? Denise Dodd will hold a Breeze User Workshop after service on Sunday March 22. Bring your phone or laptop so you can follow along with the training. For more information, contact Denise at [email protected].

Did You Know?

Each month, UCC experts unpack a complex justice issue through our Getting to the Root series. This Earth Month, Rev. Brooks Berndt, United Church of Christ Minister for Environmental Justice, reflects on how advocates in the Climate Hope Affiliate program are building community, fighting for climate justice, and finding joy along the way. You can read the full reflection here.

Take Action: Tell Congress to Oppose Funding for War with Iran

From UCC: As Christians, we are called to be peacemakers and we cannot support investment in a war of aggression that is both illegal and reckless. Join us in calling on Congress to stand against providing even one more dollar for war by opposing further military funding. Take action here.

Sunday April 19 from 2-4 PM and Thursday April 23 from 6-8 PM at North Main Laundromat.

Laundry Love has opportunities to volunteer.  This is a great way to put “Words” into “Actions” of faith and love. We do this at the laundromat on North Main across from the Y-Thrift Shop. Click below to volunteer!

VOLUNTEER FOR LAUNDRY LOVE

Laundry Love is Always Looking for Volunteers on 1^st & 3^rd Sunday & 2^nd & 4^th Thursday

Food Pantry

Food Pantry donations collected at Glade are supplementing the Future Economy Collective Food Drive that’s distributed to Laundry Love guests on the third Sunday of each month. The items people seem to need the most right now are paper products, dry Purina dog and cat food, trash bags, all purpose cleaner, and disinfectant wipes along with non-perishable food items. The FEC currently has a good amount of soap, toothpaste, and menstrual products. Thank you all for your donations, they are greatly appreciated!

Coffee & Devotion on Zoom — Wednesdays @ 10am

This virtual get-together meets at 10 a.m. on Zoom and lasts for about an hour for a time to meet people, share thoughts, hear a brief devotion, and join in prayer. This time of fellowship is open to everyone, it’s a time to gather for conversation, devotion and prayer. Come meet some people you may not know.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89240288592?pwd=KzhRWlJiQTkzWWRlYTNuRkdPaUNqUT09 Meeting ID: 892 4028 8592 Passcode: 290014

Radical Conversations [RadCon] Meets Saturdays at 11:00 AM

Beginning in April, Radical Conversations [RadCon] will begin a series of explorations on the topic “Resistance as Public Theology in the United States”.  We will explore the role of religion as resistance in movements such as the American Revolution, Abolitionist Movement, Women’s Suffrage, Civil Rights, and Vietnam plus others.

RadCon is an ecumenical group that meets on Saturday mornings from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm (or as long as people want to stay and discuss!). We meet in the “Red Room” at Glade Church. This is an “open forum” rather than a classroom-like lecture and all points-of-view are accepted in an atmosphere of civility.

Everyone is welcome. For more information contact Edd Sewell or email him at [email protected]

You may be asking “What is public theology?” Here is a good definition from a recent article in the New York Times by Lauren Jackson titled “The Role of Public Theology in Crisis” on 22 March 2026:

People have always talked of God in the public square. Faith leaders, scholars, activists and politicians all bring religion to bear on otherwise secular issues, like public policy, economics and social norms. Around the middle of the 20th century, academics named that phenomenon “public theology.”

This was not just pastors sharing their religious views outside their pulpits. It was high-profile Christians, particularly progressive Protestants, using the reasoning of religious traditions to address the world wars, the Great Depression and, later, the civil rights movement. Reinhold Niebuhr, perhaps the most famous American theologian, and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were the two most visible examples.

This wasn’t evangelism. It was about saying: Religion has been thinking about poverty, power, suffering and justice for a very long time, and it has something to offer contemporary politics that purely secular frameworks do not.

Women’s Book Group Meets Third Mondays at 7 PM

The Women’s Book Group meets on the third Monday of each month at 7 PM in person and/or on Zoom for a discussion of the current book. The book for April is Radium Girls by Kate Moore. Contact Katie Morris at [email protected] for more information.

Mark your calendar – The Big Event is coming up on April 11, 2026, normally starting around 10 AM. This is the time when VT students, athletes, and staff come and help us tackle projects outside the church. This year David Taylor will be out of town so Jeff Swanson will be the point of contact. Jeff could use assistance in guiding the students in what we need done. Contact Jeff at [email protected] or contact David Taylor by phone at 540-250-2584 for more info or to sign up.

Do you have an item you’d like included in the weekly newsletter? Send info and pictures (if applicable) to Sandra Bryant at [email protected]

 UCC Purpose, Vision, and Mission Statements

 Purpose: To love God with all our heart, mind soul, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves. (From the Gospel of Matthew)

 Vision: United in Christ’s love, a just world for all.

Mission: United in Spirit and inspired by God’s grace, we welcome all, love all, and seek justice for all.