Two Sunday Services on Shelton Road
Nichols United Methodist Church gathers at 35 Shelton Road in Trumbull, Connecticut. The 8:30 am service is a contemporary service with Holy Communion every week. The 10:00 am service is a traditional service led by the Chancel Choir, with communion on the first Sunday of each month, Sunday School for children, and a livestream on YouTube. Coffee hour in Fellowship Hall follows both services.
Music Across Both Services
Music Director Gregory Horton has shaped the church's musical life since 1997. He plays organ and piano, directs the Chancel Choir, the Handbell Choir, the Contemporary Worship Team, and the Youth Choir, and arranges periodic special music experiences in worship. The Chancel Choir rehearses Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 and sings at the 10:00 am service from September through mid-June. The Handbell Choir, playing four octaves of Schulmerich handbells and three octaves of Malmark chimes, rehearses Tuesdays from 6:30 to 7:45 and plays at the 10:00 am service on selected Sundays. Both choirs welcome new members, even on a trial basis.
Children, Youth, and the Nursery
Children begin worship with their families in the sanctuary, take part in a children's sermon with the pastor, and then go to Sunday School during the 10:00 hour. Nursery care is available for children three and under, coordinated by Margaret O'Malley, who has run the nursery since 2000. Children's Ministry Director Bailey Zurita oversees the program and also plans monthly family events and activities for children after the service. Vacation Bible School is offered each summer, and a Parents Night Out movie night gives parents an evening to themselves while the children watch a film on the big screen in Fellowship Hall.
The youth ministry, directed by Chrissy Ferrante, welcomes students in grades 6 through 12. Sunday evenings from 4:00 to 6:00 pm bring games, dinner, prayer, and a faith-based lesson; the first weekend of each month the group heads out for an outing. The year includes two retreats, summer pool parties, and movie or game nights. Older youth can apply for Appalachia Service Project trips, where teams travel to Central Appalachia to make homes "WARMER, SAFER and DRIER." Chrissy has been on six ASP trips with NUMC and has also taken missions to Honduras.
Mother's Day Out
Director Debbie Packnick has run the Mother's Day Out program since 2009. The preschool welcomes two- and three-year-olds each week, and Margaret O'Malley also serves as a lead teacher. The program grew out of Debbie's long involvement at Nichols, where she has served as Director of Christian Education, Lay Leader, Youth Leader, ASP Chair, and Chair of Nominations.
Operation Inasmuch
Each fall the congregation sets aside one Saturday for Operation Inasmuch, a worldwide ministry that helps churches organize a single day of service. At Nichols the day aims to involve 50 to 75 percent of regular worship attendance alongside local ministries that need help with yard work, small home repairs, packing projects, cards, music, and other acts of compassion. Randy Chase and Laurie Birch coordinate the day, and a community ideas generator survey invites suggestions from the congregation each year.
Weekly Outreach Partnerships
Throughout the year Nichols members feed neighbors near and far. On the third Saturday of each month a team prepares 300 sandwiches for the Thomas Merton House soup kitchen in Bridgeport. With Stratford United Methodist Church, members help serve the Neighborhood Breakfast Program on the first and third Saturdays, offering eggs, sausage, pancakes, hash browns, and non-perishables. The Golden Hill Community Suppers team prepares carry-out meals for the homeless and needy in the Bridgeport area around Golden Hill United Methodist Church. Volunteers can also drop non-perishables in a collection box at the church on any visit.
Binky Patrol, the Southern Connecticut chapter sponsored at Nichols, brings volunteers together to make cozy no-sew blankets for local charities and hospitals; only a pair of sharp scissors and a kind heart are needed. The National Bink-a-Thon joins chapters across the country for a day of blanket making. The Flower Delivery ministry takes the Sunday altar arrangement each week to members who can no longer attend in person. The Prayer Angels pray for hundreds of petitions from the congregation and friends, and the Prayer Shawl Ministry knits shawls, lap robes, scarves, and baby blankets that are blessed in worship and delivered by the pastor or visitation members, with a baby blanket given at every baptism.
Spaghetti Suppers and Concert Series
From September through May the fellowship hall fills with neighbors for spaghetti suppers from 5:30 to 7:00 pm, followed at 7:00 by a concert in the sanctuary. Started more than twenty years ago at Long Hill United Methodist Church and continued as a merged-congregation tradition, the series brings a wide range of musical guests to Trumbull, including The Jolly Beggars playing Irish music, the United States Coast Guard Academy Glee Club, the modern bluegrass quartet On The Trail, violinist Darwin Shen and friends, and the Yale Spizzwinks a cappella ensemble. Dinner costs fifteen dollars for adults, fourteen for seniors, and five for children; meatballs are a dollar each. The concert itself is a free-will donation, and no reservations are required.
The Live Nativity and Blueberry Festival
On a December evening the Live Nativity tells the Christmas story on the church lawn, with a stable backdrop, actors, carolers, live farm animals, hot cocoa, and cookies. The free, family-friendly tradition has grown into a Christmas marker for Trumbull and surrounding communities. In July the Blueberry Festival takes over the NIA green across Huntington Turnpike, with blueberry pies, more than thirty vendors, food trucks, and a small army of volunteers. The festival began at Long Hill United Methodist Church and moved to the NIA green the year after the merger.
Pastor, Lay Minister, and Program Staff
Rev. Albert Hahn has served United Methodist churches in New York, Connecticut, Virginia, the Catskills, and Long Island since 1992. Ordained as a provisional member in 1994 in the Northern New Jersey Conference and as a full elder in 1997 in the New York Annual Conference, he holds three master's degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and Boston University School of Theology, plus a Doctor of Ministry from Iliff School of Theology in Denver. He is married to Rev. Juhye Hahn, pastor at Faith UMC in North Haven, Connecticut.
Judy Lang, a Certified Lay Minister since 2019, assists with congregational care, discipleship, and preaching. She preaches monthly at Wesley Village in Shelton, provides pulpit supply at area churches, and sings in the Chancel Choir, Bell Choir, and Contemporary Praise Team. Music Director Gregory Horton, Children's Ministry Director Bailey Zurita, Youth Ministries Director Chrissy Ferrante, Nursery Care Coordinator Margaret O'Malley, Outreach Ministry Coordinator Elaine Song, and Mother's Day Out Director Debbie Packnick round out the program staff.
Joining Nichols
Visitors can attend either Sunday service in person or follow the 10:00 am service online. The mailing list delivers the weekly Nichols Notes and the monthly Carillon newsletter. Members can access contact information and photos through the Instant Church Directory app. Giving is offered by mail, Venmo (@NicholsUnitedMethodist-Church), automatic bank payments, and through a secure online giving page. Parking is available in the church lot or in the overflow lot across Huntington Turnpike in the NIA lot. The mission statement is straightforward: "Nichols United Methodist Church exists to Grow Jesus' Disciples through Worship, Education, Relationships, and Community Ministries."