During worship on Sunday, Feb. 14, First Congregational Church of Bristol will honor two local organizations and a church member for actions that have been or are “transforming the world with Christ’s love.”
The Parent and Child Center at Bristol Hospital, Prudence Crandall Center, Inc., and 103-year-old Caroline Smith Warner are the honorees.
The church created the Transforming the World with Christ’s Love recognition this year to bring greater attention to organizations and people inside and outside its church membership who are making the Greater Bristol community and the world a more welcoming and loving place for all.
“With all the negative world and national news we need to recommit to recognizing the many good things that are happening in the Greater Bristol community,” said Rev. Kristen Kleiman in a press release.
The Parent and Child Center at Bristol Hospital promotes and supports healthy families through education and more than a dozen free services like the Positive Parenting Program and the Nurturing Families Network. Its Caring Closet program, offering basic baby items, served 422 families last year – a hundred more than were served in 2014.
Covering Bristol and eight other towns, Prudence Crandall Center, Inc. is the state’s oldest organization for people affected by domestic violence. In 2015, Prudence Crandall sheltered 154 victims of domestic violence; gave counseling to 218; and provided court-based advocacy for 3,354 among other cost-free services. It uses First Congregational Church as its base in Bristol.
From 1912-2016, Turkish-born Bristol resident Caroline Smith Warner lived a life of serving others. She spent years as a missionary in Turkey. She later taught elementary school in Farmington and Hartford. For her children, Warner filled Sunday nights at home with Bible stories, prayers, and hymns. She also strongly supported several local environmental groups like Bristol’s Environmental Learning Center of Connecticut and the League of Women Voters. Unfortunately, Warner passed away recently and will be honored posthumously.
