First Congregational Church
of Ashfield
Creating Community, Welcoming All
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► IMPORTANT LINKS: Support Jamaican Farm Workers at Clark Orchard https://fundrazr.com/82dtN7?ref=sh_fEZ3B6_ab_9tKRlh20nvU9tKRlh20nvU Please Complete the Transformation Team's Survey https://forms.gle/V5rjQ2jY7x4yTyey9 Joe Osterman's Sermon from 11/16/25: The Golden Rule, Non-Violence and the Purpose of Religion COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD Hilltown Churches Food Pantry Distributions: Tuesdays, 3-5 December 23, January 6 & 20 
Transformation Team Survey
The Transformation Team has created this fairly short survey and is asking ALL church friends and members to fill this in and return asap. The results will be collated and used to help plan the Nov. 22 All Church Retreat - aka: “Mutual Ministry Review.” Printed copies of the survey are available at church if you’d prefer to complete your survey on paper instead of on line. See link is below. The Team thanks you for your time and input. Link to Transformation Team’s Survey: https://forms.gle/V5rjQ2jY7x4yTyey9 
Ahmadi Family Update
December 2025 From Ashfield Churches Together Recently Jafar sent an update to Ashfield Churches Together about their struggles and their joys. In the first paragraph he is referring to a gift of houseplants they gave to each Ashfield church – a living reminder of their love for us. Both churches have placed the plants near their altars. Here is what Jafar wrote to us: Thank you so much for your constant kindness and prayers. Your message truly touched our hearts. Although we are far from you, knowing that our plant gifts are beside your church altars makes us feel close to your community — as if a part of our spirit is always there with you. Regarding our immigration status, we have not yet received any news, and daily life can be challenging. However, we have not lost hope. I still remember the Thanksgiving Day four years ago when your prayers reached us exactly at a difficult moment — even while we were on the airplane flying from Afghanistan to Germany. Those messages gave us strength, and I will never forget that feeling. These challenges have made us stronger and taught us to live with gratitude — for God, for others, and for ourselves. I believe Thanksgiving is a meaningful reminder that gratitude connects our past, present, and future. I am developing this idea as a method for personal growth, and I hope to teach it to others as part of my work. The children, Zeinab and I are doing well, thanks to your prayers:
I am attaching a photo from a short family trip to New York City. Once again, thank you and the entire Ashfield community for your continued support. Wishing you a blessed and joyful Thanksgiving. ----------------------------------------- August 2025 Over sixty people gathered under the tent at St. John’s Episcopal Church on August 14 for the Ashfield Churches Together’s community picnic. The Ahmadi family joined the party, visited with new and old friends, while their children and other young people played soccer on the Town Common. Everyone enjoyed ice cream served by Laura Bessette and Nancy Hoff from the Ashfield Hardware. Thank you to everyone in the community who attended, brought food, helped set up and clean up, and donated dollars to the family to help them defray immigration related costs. We were able to pass along donations exceeding $2,000. Jafar Ahmadi offered the following remarks at the gathering: Dear friends and beloved families, Today, in this warm and heartfelt gathering, I want to sincerely thank both of the dear churches and the Ashfield community that have stood by us all these years. You are not merely a community or a group of church buildings – you have been like a big family to me and my loved ones. The last time I was here, I spoke about our struggles, about the darkness we faced. But today, I want to speak about light and hope – the light of hope that you have planted in our hearts. From the days before we even arrived in the United States to the moment we set food in this land, your kindness, support, and prayers have been with us. Along the way, I spoke every week with my dear mentor, Mr. Gary Partenheimer, staying informed about your efforts and encouragement. He has been like a representative of the Ashfield community throughout our journey of growth – reviewing my speeches, offering valuable guidance, and mentoring me like a life coach. We have travelled together to many important events – from my presentation at the American Psychological Association in Washington, D.C., to a trip to Albany, and to Bard College. In every one of these moments, I felt the spirit and love of the Ashfield community beside me. Today on behalf of myself, my beautiful wife Zeinab, and my children, Ali, Amir, and Fatima, I thank each and every one of you for your kindness, prayers, and companionship. You have given us not only material and moral support, but also a sense of safety, worth, and belonging. This is a gift beyond measure. I will close my words with a verse by Rumi from the Ghazel (Ode), 1475, Divan-e Shams: In this Earth, in this Field, in this clean Farm, Let us sow nothing but the seeds of kindness and love. May God bless you all. On behalf of Jafar, Zeinab, and their children, thank you for your support over the past three years. Annie Cheatham and Sue Craft for Ashfield Churches Together |
Thirty spokes share the hub of a wheel; yet it is its center that makes it useful. You can mould clay into a vessel; yet, it is its emptiness that makes it useful. Cut doors and windows from the walls of a house; but the ultimate use of the house will depend on that part where nothing exists. Therefore, something is shaped into what is; but its usefulness comes from what is not. — Tao Te Ching
OF NOTE:
IN PERSON & ZOOM WORSHIP First Congregational Church continues in-person Sunday services at 10AM, masks optional. Join the Sunday Zoom service here.
Meeting ID: 878 8863 1016 
Find previous recordings here.
♫ View/Download Choir Schedule ♫ Service 12/14, *8:45 am* Rehearsal 12/17 7:15 pm Service 12/21 9:00 am Recording of Sherrill Hogen’s talk about her most recent trip to Palestine From Traprock Center for Peace and Justice and Sherrill: Here is a link to the talk by Sherrill on July 24th: “Let’s Talk About Palestine."We are delighted to be able to offer it to you here, in full, courtesy of Greenfield Community TV: https://youtu.be/jBjQDSp2hmM "It’s in that convergence of spiritual people becoming active and active people becoming spiritual that the hope of humanity now rests."
VAN JONES 
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Creating Community, Welcoming All
Welcome
“Creating Community, Welcoming All” -- Those words sum up our aspirations for our Ashfield church. For over 250 years, we have been group of people who strive to know God — in each other, in our life together, in the wider community, and in ourselves. Read more. |
Worship
First Congregational Church of Ashfield is offering both in-person worship services and on-line access for those who wish to connect virtually. To receive information about online services, contact [email protected]. Read more. |
Spiritual Resources
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