september 2015 - First Congregational Church of Eliot
Transcription
september 2015 - First Congregational Church of Eliot
Good News for the People of God SEPTEMBER 2015 THE ECHO The First Congregational Church of Eliot, United Church of Christ WELCOME HOME SUNDAY Sept.13 BLESSING of the BACKPACKS September 13 This is a time to celebrate the start of a new program year. Join us in Fellowship Hall to register for Fall adult small groups, Children’s Formation and Youth Experience groups.. You can also sign up for sanctuary flowers and Sunday leadership. Welcome home to the place where you are invited to learn, grow, serve, rest and worship. ! RALLY DAY and SUNDAY SCHOOL REGISTRATION We have four classrooms for learning and growing in faith. Registration forms are helpful to our Christian Education team to best meet the needs of our many students. Please plan to fill one out on this day and enjoy an introduction to our teachers and leaders for this year of faith and fun.Classes will begin on the 20th. Children begin in worship with a special message each week. ! The Echo Bring your back pack, your briefcase, or your satchel. A backpack blessing is a wonderful way to bless!part of our everyday lives, to connect Sunday and the rest of the week, and to lift up gifts and vocations of teaching and learning. This will also to be a blessing of the many students, teachers, school administrators, and other school workers in our congregation. Church Newsletter 1 Good News for the People of God BLESSING of the ANIMALS SEPTEMBER 2015 A Special Thank You September 20 I have learned over the past couple of years and especially this year what a truly amazing family and fellowship FCCE really is. Faced with financial difficulties, this community has reached out to me on numerous occasions and this summer has been no exception. ! When I posted on "Eliot on Line" trying to find someone to do my lawn care cheaply, Peggy and David Grey stepped in and have been doing an amazing job. It is such a pleasure driving up and seeing a nicely kept lawn.! All God's critters got a place in the choir! On September 20th FCCE will be celebrating animals of all kinds and blessing pets in a special morning service. Your pet is invited in real time or in photograph form as we honor the roles our furry family has in our lives. ! We will have a special ribbon and branch ceremony for those pets who are now with us only in our hearts. ! The other day I got a call from Diane Burbank about someone had read that I was looking for help this winter, through a posting on "Eliot on Line", and that I still owed for last year, again this amazing community came together and not only paid my balance but Jan also let me know that her husband Russ McMullen was going to plow my driveway. They also pointed me in the direction of the high school and help for shoveling.! This will also be a day to collect dog and cat food so that we can make a donation to the local shelter. ! Please use cages or leashes as appropriate to your pet. The worship service will conclude outside ( weather permitting) so that animals who might not like a pew, will still be able to attend and receive a blessing.! Mother Earth, our mother birthing Ev’ry creature from the ground. Jesus too was flesh and breathing, Kin to all that’s green and brown. Celebrate with all creation:God has joined the web of life. The Echo Never in my life have so many people showed such kindness to me. I don't even have the words to express how blessed I feel and I praise God for the day Bruce and I walked into FCCE and said yes, we have found our church. Thank you to each and everyone involved in all of this. Sincerely in Christ,! Rosemary Stevens! ! Church Newsletter 2 Good News for the People of God Christian Education SEPTEMBER 2015 Spiritual Formation and Reflection This year’s VBS theme was EVEREST, conquering challenges with God’s mighty power. It was a great success with over 50 people participating. ! Take a moment to check out our photos on the bulletin board in the entry hall. Thank you to all the leaders and participants, all who gave us money & supplies or loaned us items, those who helped decorate & undecorate, and to all those who drove neighbors, grandchildren & even great grandchildren so that they could attend VBS.! ! Special thank you to Sherri Anderson-Wormwood for donating all the food for Mountaintop Treats. First timers Ann Bailey, Keith Goodnough, Simon Roberson & Sierra Rodenhuis jumped right in – admit it, we know you had fun, see you next year? ! The children brought in a large amount of donations for End 68 Hours of Hunger. Due to the Everest VBS theme and the recent devastating earthquake in Nepal, the children also brought in monetary donations for relief aid totaling $75! ! Thank you to the volunteers who ran an informal Kidz church all summer. You did a great service to our children and gave our teachers a much needed rest. ! Rally day is scheduled for September 13th. This year we plan to have 4 groups which will consist of 3 classrooms and the nursery. Kidz church and nursery attendance continues to grow and we are adapting to accommodate all of our children’s needs to the best of our ability.! for Adults Book Circles : Participants are invited to sign up in the fellowship hall on September 13 and then begin reading the first selection,“Carry On Warrior” by Glennon Doyle Melton. Those interested in exploring this easy to read but powerful collection of stories.“Glennon Doyle Melton is church and Carry On, Warrior reads like one of those old rollicking hymns that make you want to stand up at the end and shout, “Amen!” Life is indeed “brutiful” but Glennon’s humor, warmth, and honesty are profound reminders that there is beauty in our struggle. I can’t stop thinking about this book.” (Brené Brown, Ph.D. New York Times bestselling author of Daring Greatly:$ Book Circles will be led onTuesday mornings at 10AM and Wednesday Evenings 5:30-6:30 beginning the first week of October. ! Classroom Excitement Little Blessings Nursery Group for those 3 and under. Sonya Quinn, Director! Holy Moses one: (pre K- 1st grade) Ann Baily and Carrie Carelton, teachers$ Holy Moses two (2nd -5th grade) Sherry Goodnough$ Re- Form: Tweens and teens (6th ,7th 8th and 9th) ! Film and Faith, Hollywood and Holy Once a month a special group of teens and tweens will be invited to meet during the sunday school hour with high school senior, Lydia Hoffman and her friends to watch a movie and talk about how Hollywood can inform our relationship with God.! Dates will be announced on September 13th The Echo Church Newsletter 3 Good News for the People of God Ruth Vetter Memorial Garden Late this spring, the Vetter family gave the church a sum of money that was to be used in Ruth’s honor. It was decided between Pastor Beth and Ruth’s son that a memorial garden would be something Ruth would have enjoyed. We gathered together a small group of people who were interested in working on this project and have spend quite a bit of time in initial discussing and planning. ! For a site, we decided upon the plot of land between the parking lot and the back of the church where the crabapple tree stands and blooms so beautifully in the spring. We envisioned a curving walkway leading to a bench sitting under the tree surrounded by beautiful perennial flowers; a place of peace and serenity where one could sit quietly for a moment’s reflection or enjoy a pleasant conversation with a friend. ! We have also decided that we would like to build the walkway of memorial bricks where others who have been important to our church and church family could be memorialized and remembered. But our plans have hit a couple of snags. First, the crabapple tree is in very bad condition. The inside of the tree is rotting away and several inside limbs have already died. ! It makes no sense to build a walkway or plant a garden surrounding a dying tree. Therefore, the tree will have to be removed and we will need to plant a new tree. Secondly, our original plans were a little grandiose for both our budget and our workforce. We are now scaling back our plans and collecting prices for different elements of the project. ! We would like the entire church to be involved in making the decision to remove the tree.! The Echo SEPTEMBER 2015 Therefore, we want to take this matter to a church meeting, maybe our annual meeting in January. If this site does not work out, we will move our plans to an alternate location. Spring is a much better time to plant trees and selection is also much greater then. ! These two things together have told us that we need to wait until spring to start work on this project. We will use the winter months to have all plans ready to go when conditions permit. For any who have said they would like to donate perennials from their own gardens for this memorial garden, don’t start digging until spring! This will give us all a reason to get out and clean up our gardens when Spring has arrived.! Jan McMullen ! Choir returns! Music is life. That is why our hearts have beats.Make a joyful noise! Please join us! Choir rehearsals will begin on Wednesday, September 9th at 6:30pm. We are always looking for more voices to join our happy group! ! Our first Sunday to sing will be September 6th (yes, Labor Day weekend). Please join us September 6th at 8:30am to go over a couple old anthems for that morning. ! Do you play the guitar? A woodwind instrument? Brass? Percussion? Please contact Lisa at 207-450-8079 if you are interested in helping us out with worship this year! Church Newsletter 4 Good News for the People of God Financial Update At our Annual Meeting in January, we passed an Operating Budget reflecting our anticipated spending for the year and an anticipated income for the year. Now, in the middle of August, which is 61.5% of the way through the year, how are we doing? A check of our Operating Budget figures shows that we have collected 64.7% of our anticipated income and have had expenses totaling 58.8% of our anticipated expenses. This tells us that our income is coming in just about as expected and we are doing a good job of holding our spending down. ! One group to thank for helping keep our financial picture looking positive is the new Fund Raising Committee. This group has worked hard throughout the year and has held two pancake suppers, a fashion show and silent auction, and a concert - add Andy’s Yard Sale for a total of almost $3800 added to our income. As of this writing, the Blueberry Festival is yet to come!! But our operating budget is only one aspect of our financial picture; let’s look at some other activities. The Mission Group has organized and shipped 75 school kits, 55 health kits, 11 baby kits, and one clean up bucket, all going to areas of our country to help the needy and people suffering the losses of hurricanes, flooding, tornadoes, etc. ! SEPTEMBER 2015 been started this year with the goal of purchasing a new sound system for the church. To date, $1860 has been contributed to this fund. We have also added $1960 to our Community Fund/ Pastor’s Discretionary Fund. This fund is set aside to help people experiencing financial difficulties. Through this fund we have purchased oil for heat, food, electricity and other necessities for people needing temporary assistance. Our Vacation Bible School had another great week this summer. Over 50 kids were in attendance, many for the whole week, some for only a day or two. Some of these children do not attend church or Sunday School on a regular basis so VBS is their only opportunity to learn of a life with Christ. We are glad to give them this opportunity. Our Church, and all it does for so many people, is a great asset to the community. We need to reflect more on what we do to help and, in a positive way, change the lives of others!! ! Jan McMullen, Treasurer ! ( Editor’s note: A huge and hearty thank you to our treasurer for these great words and her great work !)$ THRIFT SHOP Half Price Sale Thursday September 3! 3 P.M. - 6 P.M.! Saturday September 5! We sent $827.70 to the Amigos program to purchase food for children in Honduras who have very little food during their winter months. This food helps keep them nourished, but, because it is distributed through the schools, it helps to keep them in school. We have paid $285 to ship the mission kits and have sent $204.54 to One Great Hour of Sharing. ! This Christian effort works worldwide to provide water, food and relief from disasters. A fund has The Echo 9 A.M. - Noon! Thursday September 17! 3 P.M. - 6 P.M.! Saturday September 19! 9 A.M. - Noon! ! We are no longer accepting items for the Thrift Shop! We will be open every Thursday and Saturday! Church Newsletter in October until the end of the month. 5 Good News for the People of God Suppers at FCCE Deacons Ham and Bean suppers have been a tradition in our church for many, many years. They have contributed to our operating budget as well as provided an outreach into the community. For several years, attendance has been dwindling to the point that the outcome does not support the effort. ! Therefore, we have decided to end the reign of Bean suppers. This opens the door for others to step up with new ideas. There has been a supper at FCCE on Eliot Festival Day every year since the Festival started. Who would like to continue that tradition this year? And what kind of supper? ! Years ago the Festival Day supper was a Smorgasbord. Should it be again? Or something else? Suppers at our church do not need to end. But they do need new leadership and a new vision. Who will say, “I/we can do this”?! ! Jan McMullen and Joan Donhauser! LADIES CIRCLE 270 items were donated to the PEASE GREETERS CARE PACKAGES. Carole S. reminds us that this is the time of year to look for school supplies for the school kits. On July 1st, fourteen ladies went out to eat at the Dinnerhorn in Portsmouth, and on August 5 eleven went to the Grill 28. Our next meeting will be September 2 at 12:30 in the Parish Hall. Doris Grover and Marion Eldredge will have devotions and refreshments. Remember to bring in school supplies for the school kits. ! ! ! ! ! SEPTEMBER 2015 Jane Spinney! 8-10-15 meeting: Present: D Burbank, W & L Gove, J McMullen, L Boyer, S Norris, L Futterrer Absent: B Grogan, S Anderson-Wormwood, R Wheeler, M Dodge, Pastor Beth,( At Pilgrim Lodge with campers). R Donhauser ! Devotions- Loraine ! Everyone thanked and congratulated Loraine & Diane for a job well done on Sunday servicer. Seemed to be enjoyed by all. ! Tyler Spinney Sound System – $ 1870.00 collected thus far; with additional $400 + $900.00 collected this week. This gives us in hand total $3170.00. Suggested there be an informational presentation to the congregation to describe; what type of system we are looking at and what it will do for our church services. $ Electronic giving - Only 2 people signed up, charges incurring monthly seems to be more than anticipated. Richard to follow up during Stewardship campaign. ! Vitality Team 2015-16 with Church Coach Paul Nickerson ( Pastor Beth, Loraine B. Linda G. Sherri A) – Brief review of who and clarity on cost of $1500.00 to church. This will be not added expense to church as will come from existing Education fund, along with Conference donations and grants. It is aimed at being a new spark to invite people to church! More to come soon!! Meeting schedules – has been difficult to define a meeting day/time that accommodates everyone’s schedule. Loraine will send email to all Deacons to get a sense of folk’s schedules and availability. Meetings will continue to be Tuesday @ 7:00 for remainder of this year. Next meeting Tues 9-15. ! -Linda Gove, Secretary The Echo Church Newsletter 6 Good News for the People of God close the end of October. In September the ladies will be bringing in articles for the Mission School Bags. ! Council August 18, 2015! Present: Jane Spinney, Jan McMullen, Joan Donhauser, Jean Paulantonio, Liz Futterrer, Sandi Norris, Dayle Shiverick, Sherri Goodnough and Pastor Beth.! Chairman Joan Donhauser, opened the meeting at 6:00 PM with devotions. ! Deacons: Plans for the Memorial Garden for Ruth Vetter have been put off until Spring. Many different ideas have come about. One area for this being where the crab apple tree is now. It has been suggested that we put an article on the agenda at the Annual Meeting about removing it. It appears to be not in good condition. ! The Deacons are trying to find a day for the monthly meeting that most can attend. ! Financial Reports: Jan McMullen, Treasurer, shared the church finances by presenting a sheet of information on income and expenses so far this year. She feels we did well this summer meeting expenses. Things are very tight with only $600 in the check book and end of the month payroll coming up. She is hoping for a good Blueberry Festival day income. ! Christian Education: Sherri's report was received by e-mail. VBS was a great success. It was suggested that a pre-school class might be added next year. Church School will need teachers for 3 classes this year. The nursery has grown and will need more help. Church School Rally Day will be September 13th.! ! Ladies Circle: The Thrift Shop has lots of clothing. Sales will start in September until we The Echo SEPTEMBER 2015 New Business:! Sherri spoke of the idea of having the children collecting a million pennies this year. Last year they collected over $800 for the Amigo program. She feels this is very possible and would be enjoyed by everyone. ! Sherri also spoke of the Sunday morning concert at the Methodist Church last week. What a wonderful way to enjoy fellowship with people from area churches and good music.! The next meeting will be September 15th at 6 PM with Dayle Shiverick having devotions. The meeting adjourned at 7:10 P.M.! ! ! ! Jane Spinney, Secretary ! Ministry Coordinators Begin A big welcome to SONYA QUINN and LISA MARSHALL as they begin job sharing the role of Ministry Coordinator in September. This role will take the place of the church secretary as once fulfilled by Jane Spinney and Office manager, most recently filled by Sandy Norris. ! Both Sonya and Lisa bring a great deal of experience to the roll and have invested their spirits into the life and workings of our church.! The big advancement of this position is the connection to all the ministry of the church and less desk time during the week. Volunteers are welcome to staff the church office with Pastor Beth for hospitality needs. Someone is reachable 24 hours a day by phone.! The Ministry Coordinators serve as a source of communication support and guidance for the Church Newsletter 7 Good News for the People of God (Ministry Coordinators Con’t) faith community of FCCE and as a representative to the public.! They shall develop familiarity with the ministries of the faith community. The joy and challenge of this role is the balance between a visionary's comprehension of emerging and evolving ministries, and a manager's awareness of tasks that require attention.! The Ministry Coordinators work with the Pastor and key leaders.The Ministry Coordinators maintains the master schedule and coordinate with the Sexton and groups who use the building. They also handle the distribution and collection of building keys and keeps a record. The Ministry Coordinators oversees the communications and public relations of the faith community. Delegating wherever possible, and oversee telephone, postal mail, email, website, social media, notebook of team minutes, and communication infrastructure in the office.The Ministry Coordinator(s )oversees the physical look and presentation of the church office. ! The Ministry Coordinators work with the Financial Secretary to assure that the weekly deposit has been made in an accurate and timely manner. While regular office hours are minimal, availability through telephone and email, as well as in person by appointment, is expected.A commitment of 8 hours per week in addition to being a familiar presence in Sunday worship and having an awareness of congregational life. Additional duties and responsibilities will arise and be addressed as needed.! Let us welcome Sonya and Lisa into this key role!! Lisa has been working through the summer already and Sonya joins in on September 1. ! ! ! The Echo SEPTEMBER 2015 Seminarian Says It has been a wonderful summer. Amidst working hours at Kitchen & Company in Newington, I have enjoyed the lazy hazy days of summer. My days were filled with small household projects, writing sermons for pulpit supply at local churches, and reading books for pleasure (no school books for the summer!). It was wonderful having more time to spend with Liz, and she and I took several small day trips together.! But now school is about to begin again and thus my heart and mind is preparing for the fall. I have already registered for my fall classes and am excited for what I will be taking. They will be challenging courses but also diverse, and also quite different from what I have already had. ! The first course is "American Religious History: Colonial to Present.” The focus is on the diverse people, groups, movements, themes, events and institutions that have shaped and characterized the American religious landscape, and their relevance for contemporary leadership/ ministry issues.! The second course I'm taking is "The Heroines of the Qur'an." This course introduces students to women figures that appear in Qur'anic narratives. Particular attention is given to those women who play central and heroic roles. Attention is also paid to ethical and ministerial lessons that arise from the narratives.! My third course is entitled "Introduction to Pastoral and Spiritual Care: Healing and Hope Through Seasons of Loss." This course will explore in depth the ministry of pastoral care and counseling in times of grief and loss, with an emphasis on the theological dimensions in both Judaism and Christianity which assist persons to Church Newsletter 8 Good News for the People of God (Seminarian Says Con’t ) find hope and meaning in the aftermath of loss. I really appreciate this course given the losses we have had in our church this year.! that euphoria of Spirit consumption and nothing else...but that has to wait. We must descend those mountains and be God's hands and feet and heart in this fallen, hurting, world. Hard as it is...our job is to give away our contentment and euphoria. Those who only long for the mountain top become blind and miss the HUGE opportunity to share the gifts given on "the mountain". Like that magic penny in the children's song...if we give away some of our mountain top gains...we actually have more. Today I find myself full of fear for leadership who see the mountain top as a place to dwell, who expect the coming days to be extensions and continuation of that mountain top. It won't be. God provides "mountain tops" to encourage and feed us...but like Moses, with Son burned faces, we must march straight back down that mountain. THE mansion is waiting. Christ has OUR place prepared, but right now we live at the very bottom of that mountain and we must see Jesus only...in every single face we encounter.! So these are my courses for the fall. I am excited for them and what I will learn from them. Please pray for my heart even now that God will prepare me for what (S)He has to teach me.! I also have another prayer request. All Andover Newton Students are required during their time at Andover Newton to take a Border Crossing trip to learn about how another segment of the population lives. There is a trip this year to Jerusalem that I would very much like to attend. There are several difficulties - limited availability, cost, work scheduling, etc. Please pray that God would make know his will to me regarding this trip, and, that if it is God's will for me to go on this trip, that God would make way for me to go.! Thank you so much for your prayerful support.! Warmly,! ! ! SEPTEMBER 2015 Sandy! Editors note: Janet Andrews holds this congregation in prayer from afar and wrestles as a true disciple and Pastor Beth’s oldest and truest friend. $ Guest Reflection by Janet Miller Andrews Matthew 17:1-13! Oh, those mountain top experiences. If you've ever been there you know...building a "house" and staying forever seems quite reasonable. You don't want to leave. Who would? High on Jesus and absolutely consumed by the Spirit, what could be better? Well, the truth is ... nothing, but we don't live on a mountain. We live here, in this valley of a fallen world. If what we expect is a 24/7 mountain top then discouragement and disappointment will be our constant companions. Of course we all want to reside in the presence of our Savior. Of course we want The Echo Church Newsletter 9 Good News for the People of God Sunday Servants Fellowship Hosts for September 6 -Loraine Boyer and Paula Caswell 13 -Joanne Cultrera and Joan Donhauser 20 -Marcia Goss and Sherry Goodnough 27 Betty Grogan and Bobbi Gosslin- SEPTEMBER 2015 ! Deacon of the Month Robin Wheeler ! Fellowship Hosts for October 4 -Peggy Gray and Robin Wheeler 11 -Dottie Edson and Fran and Sally Hartford 18 -Doris Grover and Jeanne Morin 25 -Nancy Hoyt and Jan McMullen ! Liturgists 6 -Loraine Boyer 13 -Pastor Beth 20 -Diane Burbank 27 -Lydia Hoffman ! Ushers 6 -Liz Futterrer and Sandy Norris 13 -Brad and Jennifer Swanson 20 -Al and Jeanne Morin 27 -Walter and Linda Gove ! Birthdays 09/01 - Morgan Wayburn 09/02 - Peggy Gray 09/02 - Linda Libby 09/05 - Brooke Downey 09/06 - Emily Bersin 09/18 - Mario Colella 09/19 - Judy Pruett 09/20 - June Brackett ! Acolytes Anniversaries 09/18 - Mr. & Mrs. Harry Lankford 09/21 - Mr. & Mrs. David Webster 6 -Ushers 13 -Liam Quinn 20 -Isabel Fajardo 27 -Nicholas Norman ! The Echo Church Newsletter 10 Good News for the People of God SEPTEMBER 2015 First Congregational Church of Eliot, UCC September Sun. Mon. Tue. Wed. 1 2015 Thu. 2 3 Worship will be Ladies Circle Garden Club At 10:00 am 12:30pm 12-3pm Beginning September 6th Banjo Lessons 1-7pm Thrift Shop 3-6pm 6 7 HOLY COMMUNION Labor Day 8 First Choir Sunday!! Fri. 4 10 11 Banjo Lessons 1—7pm Exercise 8-9 Exercise 8-9 Bluegrass Group 4-7pm 5 Thrift Shop 9am-noon 9 Choir 6:30pm Sat. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Drowned V alley will be with us in worship today!!! A bluegrass group! Not to be missed!! Sunday School Rally Day! Craft Group 7-9pm ECHO ITEMS DUE Sr. Citizens Grp 11:30- 2:30pm Exercise 8-9 Exercise 8-9 Thrift Shop 9am-noon Council 6pm Banjo Lessons 9-4pm 20 21 Finance Comm 11:30-12:30 Craft Group 7-9pm Deacons 7-8pm 1—7pm Property Board 5:30pm Choir 6:30pm 22 23 24 25 26 Banjo Lessons 1—7pm Exercise 8-9 Exercise 8-9 Fellowship Hall reserved 7-9am Eliot Festival Day No choir CONVERGENCE noon-1:30pm 27 28 C. Ed 11:30am Craft Group 7-9pm Home Inspectors 29 Bluegrass Group 4-7pm Thrift Shop 3-6pm Bluegrass Group 4-7pm 30 Banjo Lessons 1—7pm Choir 6:30pm The Echo Church Newsletter 11