Naugatuck Congregational Church

I am starting a new blog that I hope will become a regular feature on the Patch. Some of you may have read the Advent and Christmas season goings on I blogged shortly after December 14th that were just a way to give back to the Church and town I love, but giving didn't begin with Sandy Hook and as long as God is alive, giving will never end, it will just change seasons.  I hope that whoever reads this will realize this and that this little space will become a source of not just news but happiness for you.  Always remember, wherever you are in your life, "God is still speaking"--not just in church buildings but in our hearts every day.  We just need to listen.

And so we come to a new season of giving.  I'm reading a book now titled "The Power of Giving" that is helping me realize what I need to do in times of depression for not just other people around me, but myself also. Whenever I thought of giving in the past, the first thing I always thought of was money.  Those of you who know me know money is something I don't have.  Because I thought I couldn't give that, I didn't give much of anything.  Newtown made me realize I have much more than money that I was failing to give.

Now I have started finding little things I can give---like buying M&Ms for my chocolate-addicted wife (and who isn't chocolate addicted?), washing dishes at home, listening (a skill my wife still prays I acquire more often), being quiet, helping with a smile and an open door,   Small things, but small things go a long way to making the day a lot better. If each day I find something small I can do for someone else, I can energize the world around me while dragging myself out of a funk.

This is part of the joy we will hear in our town soon when Tracey O'Shaughnessy, columnist and features editor for the Waterbury Republican-American, speaks in the Parish House of the Congregational Church of Naugatuck Sunday, January 27th at 1pm.  "Why Give?" will open your eyes to what we can do to make our lives more joyful and the world around us much more beautiful, even though we think we may not have much to give.  A $10 donation at the door will go to benefit the team we are sending to help the Simply Smiles project on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.  Tracy's book "Even the Small Things"will also be available for purchase.  You can get more information by calling the church at 203-729-3037.

There will be many more thoughts I will share in the coming days, God and the editor willing.  Be kind to yourselves first and then all others.  Hope to see you January 27 and any other Sundays.

Dave McClay