All NGCC Church Activities Suspended​ Until Further Notice
          In the face of this growing pandemic, the church leaders of NGCC have been discussing what preventative actions NGCC should take. After exploring the recommendations of the CDC and our denomination's leaders, Council has decided that NGCC worship, activities, and meetings are suspended until April 22, 2020.
          While the church building will be temporarily closed, the church community remains alive and active. We may not be meeting in person for a few weeks, but we are most certainly together in spirit. Please, reach out by phone or email to your church friends. Contact Judith if you have any spiritual or personal needs. Pray, pray, pray (not just because this is a crisis, but because prayer connects us with God, strengthens our faith, and is more powerful than people know). And trust that God is guiding us through this crisis!
With faith in God's promises,
Rev. Judith

Message from the Pastor
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Of Snakes and Surprises
I am not a fan of snakes. Previously, I thought they were fascinating, being able to move without limbs, even able to climb trees – how amazing is that! But, after our house became snake infested last summer, my view of them changed rapidly. When I thought we had a couple in the yard, I appreciated their uniqueness. Having well over a hundred in our basement (although never more that a few dozen at a time) was when I stopped being friends with them.
 
In the book of Numbers, the Hebrew people also had a snake crisis. Venomous snakes were biting and killing the people. When they prayed to God, the unanticipated solution they were offered ironically involved more snakes.
“The Lord said to Moses,
‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ 
So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.”
Sometimes there are blessings in the curse. Sometimes the worst things in our lives have surprise gifts for us. As people of faith, we hold that truth in our hearts, trusting that even in our worst times, God creates new life and new possibilities.
 
Kitty O'Meara, who is now considered “Poet Laureate of the Pandemic,” wrote about this. She said:
  • And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned a new way of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.
  • And the people healed. And in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.
  • And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and healed the earth fully, as they had been healed.

May the promises of God sustain us all, as we journey together through this uncertain time.
 
Faithfully, Judith
Friendly Reminders
The church building may be closed but the ministry is not. Please continue to reach out to one another to offer concern and conversation. If you need pastoral, spiritual, or emergency care, please let me know!

You are welcome to join the Prayer Ministry! Let me know if you want to be included in the group that receives prayer requests, and I will happily add you. The more people praying right now, the better! If you have any prayer requests, please let me know.

Feel free to send your pledges to church, either in the mail or by using the tithe.ly app. Even with the “stay at home” order, our wonderful Finance Committee is still making deposits and paying bills to keep NGCC afloat financially.​
​
Stay safe and healthy!
Blessings, Judith
 
Behold, I will bring to it health and healing,
and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security.
​~ Jeremiah 33:6 ~
For more "Messages from the Pastor", please click here.
For important COVID-19 information
and how to Stay Healthy, 
​please click here
Sunday Services!!!
Pastor Judith is working on a way to share worship with you at home!
this coming Sunday (3/29/2020) will be our first Sunday online worship.
Please stay tuned for more details!
Message from the Pastor
​to Parents
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Being a parent is difficult in the best of circumstances. With the current coronavirus crisis, it can be overwhelming!
Whenever life is difficult, children need honest information, but providing it on a need-to-know basis may be best. You can do this by letting them know they can ask questions, and then phrasing the answers carefully so they do not become more frightened. Right now, they may be wondering: What if I get sick? Who will take care of me if my parents die? Will I get to see my school friends again?  As Christian parents, you can remind your children of the promises of God. Psalm 56:3-4 says:
“When I am afraid,
​I put my trust in you – in God whose word I praise, ​in God I trust and am not afraid.”
The other especially challenging part of this situation is that our children are not in school. Dealing with emergency childcare can be hard, and having our kids cooped up in the house with us 24/7 is also hard – wow, is it hard!!! Yes, we love them with our whole hearts, but too much togetherness may eventually wear on our nerves.
Please remember that you are not alone!  Our church community is full of wonderful parents of Sunday School children, like you.  If you are struggling with the difficulties of parenting right now, please reach out to me or to another church family.  We are all in this together, and the church community is here to support one another.
​
Stay safe and healthy!
Blessings, Judith
​LET IT SNOW!!! - Monday,
March 23, 2020,
​Outside the church office
A Coronavirus Prayer
By Kerry Weber
Jesus Christ, you traveled through towns and villages “curing every disease and illness.” At your command, the sick were made well. Come to our aid now, in the midst of the global spread of the coronavirus, that we may experience your healing love.

Heal those who are sick with the virus. May they regain their strength and health through quality medical care. Heal us from our fear, which prevents nations from working together and neighbors from helping one another.

Heal us from our pride, which can make us claim invulnerability to a disease that knows no borders. Jesus Christ, healer of all, stay by our side in this time of uncertainty and sorrow.

Be with those who have died from the virus. May they be at rest with you in your eternal peace.

Be with the families of those who are sick or have died. As they worry and grieve, defend them from illness and despair. May they know your peace.

Be with the doctors, nurses, researchers and all medical professionals who seek to heal and help those affected and who put themselves at risk in the process. May they know your protection and peace. Be with the leaders of all nations. Give them the foresight to act with charity and true concern for the well-being of the people they are meant to serve. Give them the wisdom to invest in long-term solutions that will help prepare for or prevent future outbreaks. May they know your peace, as they work together to achieve it on earth.

Whether we are home or abroad, surrounded by many people suffering from this illness or only a few, Jesus Christ, stay with us as we endure and mourn, persist and prepare.
​
In place of our anxiety, give us your peace. Jesus Christ, heal us. Amen.

Check out what's new!!

Come celebrate the 300th Anniversary of North Guilford all year long!

Weekly Worship
​10 am Sunday Worship from ​Sept - June
Summer worship starts at 9:30 am during July & August
with Sunday School and Nursery Care
Fellowship Hour immediately following the service​
Learn about ways to help support the ministries of NGCC!
​Learn about the generous people and businesses who support our church.
Please support the life giving ministries of NGCC
​with an online donation through tithe.ly
Third Sunday BRUNCH!!!
​Yum!
Please join us for brunch immediately after church!  Brunches are usually held on the third Sunday of each month​ (Sept through June).

Come meet new friends and connect with old friends! 
Come break bread with us - and egg casserole and salad and fresh-baked coffee cake and delightful conversation!
New Weekly Church Office Hours:
Monday - Friday from 9 - 1
​
NGCC follows the Guilford Public School snow schedule; if Guilford has a snow day, the office will also be closed.