Chanticleer. September Volume 89, Issue 9

Transcription

1 Chanticleer Volume 89, Issue 9 Dear Friends, Welcome to September. It seems that the summer has been both incredibly long and over in an instant. And welcome to revision! Training for our facilitators will take place over the next few weeks, and then we are off and running. Well, off and walking. Actually, we will be off and praying. There are three big pieces to the revision process: BE OPEN BE BOLD BE HUMBLE First, BE OPEN: Everyone in the church will be invited to join a small group. These small groups will hopefully be 8 people each, including the two facilitators, as that will allow the best chances of being a part of the discussion. Each group will have six exercises that they will be doing together. Some groups may want to meet once a week, and some may want to take more than a week on a particular exercise. Groups can meet at the church, at someone s home (although knocking on a random door and asking if you group can meet there may seem a little forward), at a local coffee shop, at the café in the entryway of the Eaton County Health and Recovery Center, at Al!ve, or just about anywhere the group chooses. In addition to the group exercises, we will be reading through Christianity for the Rest of Us: how the neighborhood church is transforming the faith, by Diana Butler Bass. The church has 40 copies of the book, and they are available for $11. We will be keeping a devotional journal about our reading, and those will be handed out in the small groups. Books will be available in the Church office. If you want a copy and cannot afford one, let Pastor Phil know and it will be covered. Second, BE BOLD: We will have a Convergence Summit on November 27 th, the first Sunday of Advent. You may notice that this is more than six weeks out. This will give some groups a chance to take extra time with some exercises, and allow those who are preparing and serving at the Crafts from the Congregation time to be able to be involved in both projects. This summit will take what we have learned about ourselves, our church, our community, and how God is calling us, and turn these into visions of what is possible for us to do and be as a church for the future. We will take the ideas that people want to champion and put together Proposal Teams. These teams will figure out the logistics, costs, troubleshoot potential pitfalls, and needs of making these ideas a reality. This will take about three months.

2 After those three months, our Proposal Teams will bring their proposals back to the church for an Action Summit. At the Action Summit, we will choose, as a congregation, which proposals to move forward on, and with what priority. Third: BE HUMBLE From the Action Summit, we will invite people to be on Implementation Teams for the proposals that have been chosen and prioritized by the church. Why is this step being humble? Because change is difficult, and we will be growing into new ways of being the church together. The whole of this process will be one of growing in our faith, both as individuals and as a community. It is from this foundation that we will live and grow into the church that God is calling us to be. Please join us! Grace and Peace, Phil Sermon Scriptures for September September 4 Luke 14:25-33 Theme: The Difficulty of Change: Letting Go and Picking Up September 11 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 A Sufficient Grace: Our Weakness Meets God s Strength September 18 Joel 2:23-28 God s Spirit Poured Out: Equipping the Saints September 25 Acts 9:10-19 Unexpected Instruments: You are Called!

3 Greetings from the Board of Trustees. Thanks to all who voted at the special meeting held on August 14th and to those of you who gave input at the two informational meetings. If you haven t heard, the vote was 82 yes and 6 no to purchase the property next to the Annex, (the old drive-thru bank). We should be able to close on the property by the middle of September. If you are interested in serving on the planning and development committee, please contact the church office in writing. Those of you who have expertise and equipment you would like to contribute to the development we would ask that you respond in writing as well. The Board would also encourage every member to also submit development ideas in writing. This project will probably be developed in phases over a considerable length of time. Thanks again Bill Rinckey, Board Chair

4 One of the mandates of the Advisory Council is to "formulate a coordinated program of church activities, and to keep members and the community informed of these activities". To that end, we are beginning a long range calendar of activities. If you have activities or meetings that should be added, please contact Amy Frost. Sept. 8 Bell Choir organizational meeting Sept. 8 Canning beets Sept. 21 Community Dinner Sept. 25 Bazaar craft meeting Sept. 27 Habitat for Humanity informational meeting Oct. 2 CROP Walk Oct. 8 Red Tent retreat Oct. 16 Harvest Feast Oct. 20 Advisory meeting Oct. 29 Viking 5k Run Nov. 17 Advisory meeting Nov Bazaar Nov. 21 Christmas tree decorating Nov Festival of Trees Dec. 15 Advisory meeting Jan. 19 Advisory meeting Feb. 16 Advisory meeting Last weekend of February Michigan Nordic Fire Festival March Spring Shoebox collection Mar. 17 Advisory meeting Apr. 20 Advisory meeting May 18 Advisory meeting June 17 Advisory meeting

5 Gosh, it s September already. Where did the summer go? I, for one, hate to see summer end. I ve had a good summer and hope all of you have too. Outreach is gearing up for a busy Fall and Winter. I will try and keep you updated and events/ activities come up. The last Community dinner was August 3. It was a small group this time. Only about 50 including the servers. It was very hot that day which may have kept people away. Those that were there were very appreciative of the meal. Always a humbling experience to serve these folks. The next dinner is Sept. 21. Chris Reist is handling this one. Please consider helping if ask. CROP walk is coming up in October. Please watch for this and support it if you can. It is a very worthy program. The summer reading program went well this year and we expect to continue it next year. We will be doing the Spring Shoe Box program again. Please watch for sales of items that can go in these boxes-small toys, crayons, coloring books, books, outdoor toys, sidewalk chalk, etc. Also please save your shoeboxes. We do have room to store all items upstairs in our closet. Put them on the counter in the Bess Fulton room and mark them for Outreach. Sept. 27 there will be a speaker here at the church from Habitat for Humanity. She will be talking about their plans for the Charlotte area. Please plan to attend if you can. It will be at 7 in the Annex. More information will be coming as the time gets closer. Projects/events coming up as we move into Fall and Winter are Festival of Trees, Brown gifts, White gifts, Mitten Tree, and the Christmas Family. Details will come as these get closer. As always, we welcome your ideas/thoughts/comments. You are always welcome at our meetings the 3 rd Sunday of the month. Stayed Tuned Mary Normand, chair

6 Adult Bible Study with Curt Scott Tuesday at 6:30 PM The Wave, revisited - Curt Scott In my sermon in July of this year, I brought up, again, the contemporary theory that the history of Christianity can be divided into 500-year increments. The current shuttering shift in American Protestantism, being therefore, the natural end of a wave, induced by Martin Luther. To illustrate the point, 500 years before Luther was the first Crusade and birth of Christendom. 500 years before that was the fall of the Roman Empire and rise of Benedictine monasticism. 500 years before that, Jesus changed everything by being born. This is more of a human cycle than religious, as the changes that occur in society are so defining that we have named them Dark Ages, Middle Ages and Renaissance Age. Rabbis who have encountered this theory point out that Jews have their own 500-year wave pattern. 500 years before the Great Transformation wrought by Jesus, (for them, the beginning of Rabbinic Judaism) was the end of the Babylonian/Assyrian Captivity; the point at which Judaism became a literary faith. Literature and education was the great change of the West around BC. 500 years before that was David and the start of Kingdoms, mass civilization and the first major clashes of those civilizations. Historically speaking, at around 1000 BC, a tribe of Semitic people calling themselves the Habiru took their turn shifting from nomadic herdsmen with swords and spears to city dwellers with laws and houses. While turning their ancient myths and dietary practices into organized religion, buildings and all, the Habiru became the Hebrews of human record. Muslims theologically insist that Mohammed fits beautifully into this theory. As Muslims have claimed since the beginning of their faith, Jesus was supplanted as God s prophet by Mohammed, 500 years after the former prophet s murder by the state. 500 years after Mohammed s rise, Islam flowered. Its great cities and universities, throughout the former Roman and Byzantine Empires were the height of intellectual creativity, engineering, design and educational processes. Then the, so called, ignorant, illiterate grandsons of Vikings and their Germanic cousins took a break from converting to opposing forms of Medieval Christianity and killing each other, to come together to defend the Holy Land from smart people; murdering thousands of Jews in Germany for practice then slaughtering millions more Jews and Muslims when they arrived to occupy Jerusalem. A thousand years after the death of Jesus was an interesting time. It is also the moment when the three faiths line up. Discovering that the Holy Land was in pretty good shape before they destroyed it, the grandsons of Viking were smart enough to figure out they needed universities and brought home the smartest professors they could get, mostly Muslims and Jews, completely transforming Europe.

7 At 1000 AD, Christendom, Islam and Rabbinic Judaism line up in one of the greatest periods in human history for intellectual advancement. Universities erupted within Europe s great cathedral complexes, like Notre Dame, Paris. Mysticism, a continuous thread out of Jesus time, began a revival. Out of Judaism came the Kabbalah and Maimonides. Sufism, Whirling Dervishes and the poet Rumi rise in Islam. Debate rises in Christianity as Greek logic, monastic transcendentalism and Oriental intellectualism thrive simultaneously to create the High Middle Ages. Christianity the Middle Ages brought the beginnings of church as we know it. It was at this point that the Church in Rome learned of the Genius of Greeks 1500 years earlier. In response to learning of former genius, the Church thought with an intensity that would not occur again for 500 years. Christian intellectual debate by the 13 th Century eventually came to define the West s view of reality, all of it upended by new thinking. As I sit on the beach of our Christian history, gazing out over a long line of faith-filled ideologies, moments of greatness and moments of shame, it does seem like everything comes and goes in waves. Although I see a more complicated picture not so linearly defined. Old wisdom says this. A prophet of the ancient Hibaru, given by Ezra s scribes the name, (in English) Samuel, warned his people about jumping on the civilization/city thing. To do so is to choose to surf the wave of organized, civilized man wars, greed, death and all. Kings protect; but they also invade, warned Samuel, using your sons, and now daughters, as soldiers. Universities teach; but they also call into question those actions of the powerful that don t meet adequate levels of reason and logic. The darker the deeds of empire, the less secure those who understand them. If the 500-year theory is valid, Luther s time is up. Even more challenging, the spiritual descendents of Abraham from Orthodox Jews, to Coptic Christians, to Sufis are now lined up to change together violently, wrenchingly. I take heart in what has historically followed such great upheaval. In every case, God s Children wake up. Shepherds emerge from the chaos to lead the flock to green pastures. People reach toward one another to form new bonds. Bond leads to community. Expressed faith moves toward social relevance and purpose, justice and compassion. We return, as a people, to listening and building. We return to the garden. As I indicated in my sermon, as a church, I believe we are already on the other side of this. Shalom, Salaam, Peace CALM A KEEP nd LEARN CHURCH

8 Music Notes - Ramona Kime - Director of Music Music Notes Ramona Kime, Director of Music School is starting back up and so are the church choirs, both the senior choir and the bell choir. Choir members have enjoyed their summer off, but we re all looking forward to being back with our choir family and enhancing the church service with our music. This would also be a great time to join one or both of the choirs! If you re not sure about it, come to a rehearsal and try it for a few weeks. You may just decide that you can t live without it! Here are some reasons to join a choir, some serious and some not-soserious (the gist of which were taken from a variety of online sources!). Hopefully they will convince you to give it a try! The choirs are open and welcoming groups. The choirs add beauty and creative artistry to the worship service. You ll gain another family. Singing in choir helps singers develop and improve their musical gifts. Playing in the bell choir helps musicians develop better reading skills. Everybody needs a good mid-week musical experience at choir rehearsal. You don t have to win American Idol to be in the choirs. You don t have to have a music degree to be in the choirs. You always have a reserved seat for Christmas Eve and Easter. Choir rehearsals means one night or afternoon away from the stresses of life. You ll be setting a good example for all the youth and reluctant adults. Making music helps stimulate both sides of the brain. People who are involved in music live longer and are healthier. You never have to worry about what to wear. From the senior choir seats, you can gawk, smile, guess who s sleeping, and otherwise enjoy watching the congregation! And, finally, choir is fun! Hopefully these reasons have convinced you to at least give choir a try. If you re interested in joining the bell choir, see Judi Cates, or meet with the bells on Thursday, Sept. 8 th at 2 PM. Or join the senior choir on Wednesday evenings at 7 PM in the lounge. We love making music, and we always have a great time!

9 By Auntie Archive ABOUT OUR TOWN Did you ever wonder what our town looked like way back then? Here are some excerpts from Eaton County Report of Pioneer Society For 1892 The city was organized in March 1871 in the center of an elevated plain in very nearly the geographical center of the county. It had a population of nearly 2800 hundred. The first charter election was held on the first Tuesday of April of that same year to elect city officials. E.S. Lacey was elected mayor. (Mr. Lacey was a son-in-law of Mr. Musgrave who so generously gave the bricks to complete our church..) There is one graded and three ward schools. The number of scholars attending this present year is 1,101. The school buildings are valued at $19,500. There are two banks, one national (Joseph Musgrave-president) and one exchange E. & J. Shepherd. The number of stores is as follow: Dry goods - 8 Book & Stationery -2 Grocery - 5 Boots & Shoes - 5 Hardware - 3 Bakery/Candy - 3 Drug - 3 Ready-made clothes - 3 Millinery - 2 Furniture - 2 Flour and Feed - 2 There are five hotels, two printing offices, one real estate office, two agricultural warehouses, three harness shops and two livery stables. There are seven churches in the place, the value of which is about $50,000. The new Congregational Church, when completed, will cost $30,00 or thereabouts. There were many more facts and figures to be gleaned from that particular source but space prohibits. It was interesting to me to see that our church and its members are prominent in the article, showing that our congregation has always been and continues to be so important to our community.

10 ASK BUD.September 2016 Bud: Earlier this year you talked about restricted and unrestricted budgets. Since the topic of using restricted dollars came up related to the purchase of the property next to the Annex, could you please explain again for me. What does this mean? Signed, still a little unsure. Dear Still unsure: It is ok, a budget is a difficult thing to read and understand unless you are working with this type of business budget. There are two categories under each: 1. Receipts Unrestricted and Restricted & 2.Disbursements Unrestricted and Restricted RECEIPTS UNRESTRICTED means that dollars that come into the church through Pledges, gifts and offerings along with any current interest and be used to pay for the overall cost of running our wonderful church. RECEIPTS RESTRICTED FUNDS are just that! These funds come to SPECIFIC GROUPS in the church. To name a few: Special Offerings: O.C.W.M; Outreach. Specific Use: Capital Campaign Funds Special Use Funds Endowment Fund Memorial Funds The dollars in these accounts cannot be used for any other purpose other than what they were specifically donated. Therefore, they are September RESTRICTED 2016 USE. $ Bud s Budget Bites $ The big news that surrounded our budget this summer was the proposal to purchase the property next door to our Annex Office Building. This property was the drive through for the Michigan National Bank across that went out of business over 5 years ago. In the process the City of Charlotte was the receptor of this property. It has been up for sale in the past but no one wanted this small piece of property. This property is actually two city lots, one on Bostwick and one on South Sheldon. First Congregational Charlotte was made aware of the sale and in the discussion of sale we settled on $25,000. So, where does this money come from? In discussions with the Endowment Committee, under Linda Foster s chair, it was suggested that the entire amount come from the RESTRICTED Endowment Fund. No-Unrestricted Funds (weekly pledges, cash offerings, gifts will be used. The main dollars to be used for the beautification of the property will come from multiple accounts. All will be restricted. These will be from Memorial Funds; Capital Campaign, gifts, fund raisers and donations. It has been discussed that there are Grants to change concrete space to green space. These will also be investigated as we move ahead on this project. These will be restricted dollars specific for use on the new property. It is an exciting time as we explore the use of this property and I for one of many cannot wait to see how we green up our community! Did you know.. In our Annual Budget Bud for 2015, the cost to run the gas and electric was a total of $11,153. The 2016 budget for the same line item is estimated to be $12,500. July Income/Expenses: Income: $11, Expenses: $11, Shortfall: $ YTD: Income: $115, Expenses: $114, Surplus: $

11 ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION There will be an informative Hand bell Choir Meeting on September 8 th in the Church Sanctuary a 2:00 PM Judi Cates will be coming back as Bell Choir Director to give Diane Sowles a rest! Diane and I have worked over the years back and forth as Ringer/Director and Ringer-Director. So now again we will switch places. We invite anyone who would like to continue to ring (current Ding-a-lings) and anyone who would like to learn to ring. If you read music, that is great, if you do not, that is great also. We can work to teach you techniques, music and how to have fun. Do not be shy if you have never rung we were all there at one time. We will ring with those who attend the meeting to look at how many will ring this year and look at music. Plan on an hour and we will be out by 3:00 ish We will also discuss rehearsal times and day of the week. PLEASE BRING YOUR FALL CALENDAR. If you have questions please call Judi Cates at (517) This is Rachel Harvitt's last month as chairperson of Diaconate. She is resigning from this position to concentrate on her other volunteer work. Rachel is involved in many volunteer efforts at church and throughout the community. She embodies our "Be the Church" spirit. One of her greatest gifts is her dedication to funeral luncheons. Along with her volunteers, Rachel makes sure that everyone is cared for and comforted. Please join the Advisory Board in thanking Rachel for her continued generosity of time and spirit.

12 80 TH ANNUAL BAZAAR FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHARLOTTE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST NOVEMBER 18 TH AND NOVEMBER 19 TH 9:00 AM TO 4:00 PM First Congregational Charlotte has a very proud tradition of holding an annual bazaar since This project is the major funding for Woman s Fellowship that supports programs in our church and within the larger community. Many charities and programs use this money to support services to individuals in Charlotte and Eaton County. This year Woman s Fellowship is excited about some of the new additions to our Bazaar!! Our new dates will be Friday November 18 th and Saturday November 19 th. We hope that the date changes will help our friends in the City and County to again participate in our Luncheon and Crafts area. The times are also longer to accommodate more customers. We will be open Friday from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM and Saturday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. A new addition to our Saturday Bazaar will be a Continental Breakfast for sale from 9:00 am till items are gone. Along with the Continental Breakfast in the Bess Fulton Room will be some background Christmas Music. Stay tuned to find who will be playing to help us get in the mood of the season. Another change will be a simpler menu in our Luncheon on Friday November 18 th. MENU Hot Chicken Salad with a Muffin and beets Beef and Noodles with a roll and cold slaw Vegetarian Quiche candy apple slice and cold slaw As always the WONDERFUL pies will be available by the slice or by the pie up in County Kitchen! We also have a LARGE, yummy Buttermilk Cookie. All homemade wonderfulness at your finger tips. Beverages: Water, ice tea, coffee, milk COOKIE WALK Our very popular cookie walk will be ONE Day, Saturday November 19 th starting at 9:00 am. Start your Christmas baking done early this year!! More later on details. COUNTRY KITCHEN Pies; Cakes and cookies; breads; English muffin bread; jams and relishes, pickled beets; caramel corn and all sorts of homemade treats. Our super sharp knives and much more! Jewelry at Crafts for the Congregation We have a wonderful assortment of jewels collected from donors; estate auctions and different stores. These are Great Christmas gifts. Priced to sell $$$

13 CRAFTS FROM THE CONGREGATION Did you know that in 2015 the Bazaar, under the direction of Women s Fellowship brought in a total of $9,021? That s right; those busy ladies of our church work hard to support many organizations throughout our community. Such as Helping Hands; Christmas Kiddies Fund; House of Ruth; Kids Hope, Siren/Eaton Shelter, Eaton Clothing and Furniture Center and many more. Did you know Woman s Fellowship needs you? Yup, you reading this article!! We need folks that do not know how helpful they might be in crafting. If you do not sew, it is ok, we need you to cut things out, help organize table materials, sort, stuff and hand-stitch some items. We also need new ideas you might have seen on Pintrest or in a magazine. You can be part of our assembly line, cut, sew, stuff, and iron...all part of a process. WE CAN USE EVERYONE MEN TOO!! There will be a signup sheet coming to Coffee Hour and maybe someone stalking you as you drink your coffee :0) DATES: September 25, 2016 at 4:00 PM in the Church Annex Chris Reist to lead this planning meeting discussion Crafting Dates for crafty people: Mornings: October 6 th October 13 th October 20 th Thursdays from 9:00 AM Noon Evening: October 27 th at 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM If you have a portable sewing machine please bring with you if possible If you have good scissors, measuring tape, needles bring those too Remember Many hands make light work!!! Call Dyna Lehman at or Chris Reist at for more information SEE YOU ON SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 AT 4:00 PM IN CHURCH ANNEX

14 Stewardship Moment As we begin our annual time for Stewardship Discernment; we begin by recognizing that there are thousands of volunteer hours devoted to this church by members and friends of First Congregational Charlotte -United Church of Christ. There are also many types of donations; some large and some small, all of which help this church. Some of the people are recognized at the time; others are recognized later and some people wish to remain anonymous. There are also those who may go unnoticed or unrecognized. EVERY act of kindness and generosity is VERY important and does good for the receiver and the provider. Your type of stewardship is done with this thought at its core, In His Service Know that you are appreciated and valued

15 The Prayer Shawl Ministry began in 2006 under the leadership of Mary Hobson and Kate Jones. Since then, hundreds of prayer shawls have been dedicated and given to our high school graduates, college graduates, new babies, to those facing health issues, grieving, or having serious challenges in their lives. We have even sent them overseas. The mission of the prayer shawl is to offer strength and patience to those in need so they can wrap themselves in God's comfort as God's love surrounds them. Prayer shawls, all sizes and shapes, can be knitted or crocheted. A wide assortment of yarn is available for your use. We meet on the first and third Saturday, at 9 a.m. in the lounge. However, you are more than welcomed to knit or crochet at home and then bring back the finished product. If you don't want to knit or crochet, you can help by making cards that are attached to each shawl. There are green cards in the pews which you can put in the collection plate for you to suggest someone in need of a prayer shawl or please let Phil or anyone on the CARE Community know. We love giving them away to those in need. This is our mission.

16 Minister: Every Member Minister of Worship and Congregational Life Phil Hobson Moderator Amy Frost Vice Moderator Curt Scott Board of Deacons Rachel Harvitt Board of Trustees Bill Rinckey Board of Christian Education Amy Slot Outreach Board Mary Normand Church Clerk Barbara Anderson Financial Secretary Don Johnson Treasurer Eric Crandall Staff: Office Manager Sher Brown Custodian Rex Todd Director of Music Ramona Kime The Chanticleer is a monthly newsletter, distributed to members and friends of First Congregational Church. We welcome most comments and articles. Chanticleer article deadline is the 18 th of each month. address: fcuc@sbcglobal.net Website address: ucccharlotte.org Church Office: Hours: Tuesday thru Friday from 9 am to 3 pm Phone Number: Mission Statement of First Congregational Church Our church will provide a place and direction for joining with God, healing the broken, and education for youth and adults. We will be challenged by our faith to reach out to our congregants, our community and world family, and to offer opportunities for spiritual growth and renewal. We welcome others into our Christian Family. Sunday Worship: 10:00 a.m., Children s Sunday School: 10 a.m. Adult Bible Studies: Sunday 8:15 a.m., Tuesday at 6:30 pm Men s Group: Saturday 8:00 a.m. Senior Choir meets each Wednesday at 7 pm in the Lounge Board of Trustees meet the third Monday of the 6:30 pm in the Annex Library Advisory board meets the third Thursday of the 6:30 pm in the Annex Small Meeting Room Women s Prayer Circle Women of the church are welcome the 1 st & 3 rd Thursday of each month at 10:30 am in the Annex Library. Blanche Moyer Circle Next Meeting September 12 At 6:30 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry meets The 1 st & 3 rd Saturdays at 9:00 am. Love to knit or crochet? Don t know how? We ll teach you! Come & join us we would love to have you!