Spreading the Good Word

Transcription

1 Spreading the Good Word October, 2017 FIRST AND ST. STEPHEN S UNIITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 6915 York Road Baltimore, Maryland firststucc@aol.com Web: MINISTRY TEAM Rev. Kelly M. Sisson Pastor Georgi Funderburk Dir. Of Christian Education Jeffrey Beyers Organist and Choir Director SUPPORT Rev. Alexander Vishio Asst. Minister for Social Justice & Witness Emily Perl President of the Consistory SUNDAY MORNINGS Children s Church School and Adult Christian Education 9:30 a.m. Service of Worship 10:30 a.m. Celebration of Holy Communion: First Sunday of the Month OUR MISSION STATEMENT As we become more fully God s people, First and St. Stephen s United Church of Christ CARES by Committing to Christ Advocating for social justice Rejoicing in worship Empowering for discipleship Sharing God s Extravagant welcome. THE MINISTRIES WE SUPPORT INCLUDE: Earl s Place & Prospect Place Assistance Center of Towson Churches The United Church of Christ Habitat for Humanity No matter who you are, or where you are on life s journey, you are welcome here. From the Pastor I love this time of the year. Temperatures are cooler; air is crisper; trees are becoming colorful. I love this time of year because in my family it is a season of birthdays, anniversaries, and football! But, even more I love this time of the year because it is an incredibly creative, fun season for worship in the church. We start with World Communion (Oct. 1) where we join with Christians from across the globe breaking bread, drinking the cup, and re-membering ourselves to Jesus Welcoming Table. Then, two weeks later (Oct. 15), we bring our critters to church for Blessing of the Animals. This is a great opportunity to remember that all of God s creation is sacred, and welcome our furry, fuzzy, finny, scaly family members to our church family. (See further details in this newsletter.) We will end October with a celebration of our coming together as pastor and faith community with A Service of Installation (Oct. 29). This is our chance to let the community know there is new leadership at First and St. Stephen s, and we commit to being the church in transitioning to this season of ministry together colorful, crisper, and maybe even a little cooler, furry, fuzzy and scaly. much joy! kelly

2 OCTOBER CALENDAR OF EVENTS October 1 World-wide Communion followed by a Soup and Spreads Extending the Table. October 8 Georgi Funderburk will be preaching. October 14 (Saturday) Habitat Build October 15 Blessing of the Animals October 22 Church-wide Business Meeting October 29 Installation of the Pastor October 29 The McCartin family is doing the Baltimore Buddy Walk for Down's syndrome at Rash field. If anyone would like to walk with us or make a donation contact Cindy or Brian. More information is online at CPDSPG website. The Pastor s Schedule Kelly will be taking a week of vacation from Oct While she is out, Georgi Funderburk will be available for pastoral concerns or to be in touch with Kelly for church matters. Georgi will be preaching on Sunday, October 8 th. Kelly will be back just in time for Blessing of the Animals on October 15. Art in the Evening Wednesday, October 4 th at 6:30p.m. is our next Art in the Evening. Bring a project to work on if you have something. Also, as requested at last month s gathering, there will be a demo and how to about knitting. Bring needles and yarn, or some extras will be available. If you knit, come join us and help beginners. Or, bring your other art and/or craft project as we get creative together. Blessing of the Animals On Sunday, October 15, at our 10:30 worship service, we will come to worship with our pets and animals that are part of our families. Since this will be a new environment for most of them and new friends all around we need a few guidelines: - If your pet has crossed the bridge, please bring a framed photo that we can display in the service. - If your favorite animal is a stuffed animal maybe a pink giraffe or a purple unicorn bring it along! - All animals need to be under control either on leash, in a crate, or contained. - If your pet appears stressed or fearful, please take that it to a calming area vs. leaving it around others. We want everyone to be safe. - Should your pet oops! Please be sure to promptly clean it up. This is a great service to invite your friends and neighbors to. If the weather is nice, we will hold the service outside so that our neighbors passing by can join as well. Please welcome them and their pets!

3 CONSISTORY PERSON OF THE MONTH BRIAN BARR I m Brian Barr, and I m the Consistory Person of the Month for October. I sing in the choir and I have been on the consistory several times over the years. I am currently the congregation s Treasurer; and I have been the main person managing the church s finances for the last five years. I was born in Hagerstown, MD and was raised on a nearby family farm/orchard (growing apples and peaches). Sharon and I met in college and we have been married for 25 years. I grew up in the UCC, and consider it my religious home. So when we moved to Baltimore 20 years ago, we looked for a church home to raise our two children; and we found our way to First and St. Stephen s. Why do I love this congregation? I value it as caring community where a widely diverse group of people come together to worship. All of us bring our own special gifts to the table, and together we strive to find a common ground that guides how we live and serve in this complicated and uncertain world. Thanks for the opportunity to serve on Consistory, and I hope to see you in church this fall. What are you offering? Emily Perl - For the Consistory As I think you will all agree, everyone in this church actively contributes to the vibrant community that we have become. You contribute with your presence, your time, and your creative ideas. You greet others, pass the peace, read the liturgy, decorate the sanctuary, sing joyfully, and bring food to share with children at a local school (not to mention the great food you bring for our monthly potlucks!). You share your prayers, joys, and concerns, and some of you (especially the little ones amongst us) brighten our community with your smiles. Truly, we are blessed with the generous ways we share with one another! Each month when Consistory meets, we celebrate the many ways that FSSUUC CARES (check out our mission statement) and shares. We also review our budget and fiscal health. Recently, we've noticed that the congregation isn't quite meeting our budgeted goals for monetary giving. Last fall, the congregation adopted a budget which called for $60,000 in annual giving through our offering envelopes. (The church's total budget is also made up of over $200,000 of revenue from other sources.) At the end of August, we had given $26,000 of that $60, or 43% of our annual budgeted allotment. Will we be able to make up the remaining 57% in the remaining 4 months of the year? We ask you all to consider your monetary sharing and whether you are meeting your own goals in this area. As you consider your giving to this church, please also be aware of the opportunity to contribute to those outside our church through our monthly special offerings. The Consistory has designated October as Disaster Relief Month, to support those UCC ministries which will assist with hurricane and other disaster relief. In November, our special offering will be the Assistance Center of Towson Churches (ACTC), a local food pantry. December's special offering is The Christmas Fund, which supports retired ministers in the UCC. For any of these special offerings, you can simply write a check to FSSUCC as usual, and mention the special offering in the memo line of your check. Or, clearly label your giving envelope as a special offering. May our offerings continue! Let us share our blessings.

4 AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MINISTRY --Sarita Hinon, LGSW, School Counselor, BCPS 1 in 2 children in Baltimore County struggle with hunger. We want to Change the Math, so on October 7, Christian Community Church will be packing 25,000 meals that will be distributed to children in need at 20 local schools. C3Feeds have agreed to donate some boxes to Deep Creek Middle School. I will be participating and welcome others to join. Here's How it Works Register your group, family, or as an individual today! 2. Come to make & package 25,000 meals in 4 hours. 3. All meals are being given to children in Baltimore County who struggle with hunger. 4. Make a donation. 5. Enjoy the satisfaction of helping end child hunger! Saturday, October 7, 12:30 pm Community Christian Church: 8009 Corporate Drive, Nottingham, MD * This is a family event. Children as young as 3 can participate! * This event will fill up quickly. Register today. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Mercy High School is Proud to Sponsor Our Inaugural HEALTH AND WELLNESS FAIR For Parents and Students Wednesday, October 25, :30 pm Welcome and Keynote 7 pm-8 pm Open Fair Mercy High School The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Auditorium 1300 E. Northern Parkway Baltimore, MD Are you a parent who wants to learn more about how to support the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of your child? If so, join us to discover the community health and wellness resources available to assist you! Over 15 vendors will represent fields ranging from nutrition, mindfulness, mental health counseling, physical therapy, and more.

5 YOUTH SCHEDULE October 1 - Extending the table October 8 - Bible study October 15 - Ever built a doghouse? October 22 - Family fun at the farm October 29 - Installation celebration NEIGHBORS IN NEED Neighbors in Need (NIN) is a special mission offering of the UCC that supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States. One-third of NIN funds support the Council for American Indian Ministry(CAIM). Two-thirds of the offering is used by the UCC's Justice and Witness Ministries(JWM) to support a variety of justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, and direct service projects through grants. Neighbors in Need grants are awarded to churches and organizations doing justice work in their communities. These grants fund projects whose work ranges from direct service to community organizing and advocacy to address systemic injustice. Funding is provided through donations to the Neighbors in Need offering. Most UCC congregations will receive the NIN offering on October 1, 2017 as part of their World Communion Sunday observance, and FSS will be receiving the offering that day as well. NEW MEMBER S CLASS A new member's class, for those interested in becoming a member as well as those who have already pledged membership, will begin meeting twice a month after worship. Please see Georgi for more information or reach her at fun.lovingministry@gmail.com or WORKING WITH CHILDREN As we strive towards closer relationships with God, we must also ensure that we are telling the stories to the generations after us. If you're interested in working with children during Sunday mornings, please contact Georgi for more information or reach her at fun.lovingministry@gmail.com or