SCC HIGHLIG TS FOUNTAINPEN. The Roadmap

Transcription

1 SCC HIGHLIG TS SOMERS CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST WORSHIPING AND SERVING SINCE 1727 February 19 Volume 291 / #2 FOUNTAINPEN The Roadmap SCC Members and Friends, Rick, your Outgoing Moderator responded to a comment at the Annual Meeting repeating back aloud a description someone made about your Mission Statement that I thought captured what is ahead for Somers Congregational Church. He replied, Yes, the Mission Statement is a roadmap. What he didn t say was, Our next interim minister is our roadmap, nor did he say, Our new settled minister will be the roadmap we are waiting for. Nor did he say, The Council is our roadmap. No, he said the Mission Statement is our roadmap. The roadmap doesn t belong to the Transitional Ministry Committee. They were simply scribes. Nor is it the Council s Mission Statement. It certainly isn t the Mission Statement I would have written for Somers Church. You, right now, re ading this Highlight Newsletter couldn t have written it sitting in your living room. It was written by 70 laypersons who showed up at an all day Saturday Workday, at the height of our New England foliage season, wrestling with the questions of Who are we? and Who are we aspiring to become?, in small focus groups and wound up expressing with remarkable synergistic, uniformity in a closing plenary session, filled with laughter, applause and witty bows, remarkably similar convictions about how you want to live your life going into a new future. Was it written to make everyone happy? No. Was there any expectation that it would? No. Was it intended to set a new way of creating a congregationally based, missional vision based on the idea that your minister and staff are here to conform to your idea of how Somers Church will become once again a growing congregation that is fiscally sustainable and perhaps most importantly happily unified in being a relationally based church going into the future. You bet. I like to say with regard to congregational churches, Trust is a choice. But you can t exercise that choice unless you have a definitive perspective in front of you to either embrace and fulfill or argue over and eventually reject out of hand. The Pastoral Search Committee you commissioned Sunday will not have a resource with as much gravitas and authoritative declaration that captures your congregation s soul, than that statement. It belongs to you. It will anchor you when you drift or wonder why you are working so hard to succeed as a community of faithful followers of Jesus. because it s your roadmap. Faithfully Yours in Christ, Rev d Dr. David L. Fountain

2 Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy. Thomas Merton Thank You Thank You to our outgoing Moderator, Rick Skodinski, for a job well done. Rick has faithfully served for 4 years. We hope you can get some well deserved rest!!! AND Like the prophet Isaiah, Jim Jewell has answered the Lord s call with Here I am. Send me! Jim is filling the position of Moderator. The boards and the church will be in good hands, under Jim s guidance. Rev. Fountain has brought us to the point where we can appoint a Pastoral Search Committee. We thank him for all he has done and taught us about ourselves. Thank you David! A huge Thank You to the Ad Hoc Pastoral Search Committee; Deb Barry, Denise Jewell, Todd Weigel, MaryEllen Donell, and Donna Popham, whose efforts have resulted in a stellar Pastoral Search Committee. And Here is our Pastoral Search Committee, Todd Weigel (Chair), Laura Driscoll, John Plaster, Trish Endweiss, Emily Jewell and Jeffrey Roig, who were appointed at our Annual Meeting..

3 Do you remember? The Foundation Room was filled with pieces to make Bookcases for the Lakota Tribe in South Dakota. The year was 2007 and 15 from our congregation went to Eagle Butte, SD to assemble 35 bookcases for the Native American Children living on the Reservation. We also brought 1500 books and wooden bookends made by our Sunday School classes. What an intergenerational project, people of all ages helped to cut, sand, stain and then assemble the bookcases in 100 degree weather. It was quite an experience. Let s do something like this again! Trying to save on heat and electricity.. We have 12 thermostats in our building complex. They have all been re-adjusted and re-programmed according to current building use. Rooms (except the sanctuary)are programmed at 56º unless there is regular weekly use. However, we want you to have enough heat, if you are using a room for a meeting or an event. There are instructions on the thermostats near Room 206, in Room 116, Chapel and Room 217 (for rooms ). If you need heat, you can bump up the heat and it will return to the next programmed setting automatically. If you need heat for an event in the Foundation Room, let the office know ahead of time. 2/3/19 Given by Carol Kennett and Family in memory of Donald Kennett 2/10/19 Open 2/17/19 Given by the Bothwell Family in loving memory of Michael Ganley and Barbara Howe 2/24/19 Open

4 Anything Chocolate Sale and Pancake Breakfast will be held on Saturday February 9 th and features baked items with a chocolate theme from cookies to fudge and pies to candy. The sale is from 9-1 with a delicious chocolate chip pancake breakfast served from The breakfast is $6 per person ($4 for kids six years old and younger). Anyone wishing to bake or make a chocolate item to contribute can drop off their donation at the church kitchen any time before Saturday, February 9 th. Please leave a note on it: Anything Chocolate- (your name) and (name of what you made). March 24 th 5:30pm Foundation Room Bring a covered dish to share, beverages provided Enjoy great food and wonderful fellowship!!

5 The Membership Board wishes to thank Kathy Moulton, co-director of Champ s Place Food Pantry for being our guest speaker at the January Pot Luck. She shared the details about the tremendous ongoing outreach that she and the Champ s Place Food Pantry Team are doing every week. Mary Ellen Donnell, one of the Champ s Place volunteers and a church member, gave us a tour of the pantry located on the first floor of the Bugbee Building and explained how they organize and distribute food to over 70 Somers families in need each week. Kathy demonstrated how far a $10 donation goes when utilizing the regions Foodshare program vs. how far $10 will go if we grocery shop ourselves which was extremely impressive! We have much to be thankful for in Kathy s leadership and the church and community effort supporting our town s only Food Pantry. Please also watch the bulletin for specific needs that come up to help support this very vital Mission program. It takes a village to run a food bank! Here are the Villagers: Kathy Moulton, Kit Devlin, Lori Craddy, Amy Kozik, Joan Simoes, James Wheeler, Mary Ellen Donnell, Judy Guerette, Muriel Scully, Mike Lucey & Sharon Newcity Also, the Dunkin Dough Boys! This is a group of men who meet at Dunkin Donuts most mornings for coffee. They graciously offer to unload the delivery truck from Food Share. Food Pantry Needs: Jelly Dish Detergent When you are grocery shopping, remember those in need!

6 Share these jokes with your beloved on February 14 or whenever some humor can brighten a day! Q: What valentine did the French chef give his wife? A: A hug and a quiche Q: What did the paper clip say to the magnet? A: I find you very attractive. Q: What did the pencil say to the paper? A: I dot my i s on you! Q: How did the phone propose to his girlfriend? A: He gave her a ring. Q: What do you call a very small valentine? A: A valentiny

7 What Are Other Churches Doing? That s a question that many of us have been asking ourselves and each other during this introspective interim period. The web address below is a link to a video which is an informative look at 10 flourishing churches in Massachusetts that got together to share what steps they have taken to grow as a church both in numbers and spiritually. We hope you find it inspiring. Sharing our Time and Talents Do you have a talent, passion or interest that you would be willing to share with our Congregation? Membership Board is working on a series of programs, speakers, events, and activities for 2019 and we would like to tap into the many talents within our own Congregation as well as reach outward. Here are some thoughts and ideas to get you thinking about ways you (and/or a group of your friends or special interest group) could participate. Consider doing a onetime activity/workshop or an ongoing series or club. It can be free of charge or a fee of $5-$10 per attendee. You can choose your date(s), day of week, time of day... whatever works. Membership Board, together with the ad hoc Communications and Marketing Committee, will help you to MAKE IT HAPPEN! First/Last Name: Phone Number: Address: Description of Club...Event...Workshop...Program Scheduling...what would work best for you? Month(s) of the Year: Day(s) of the Week: Brainstorming ideas... Outdoor activity club (any How to Text Workshop kind) Gluten free cooking demo Tai chi demo/series Learn to knit..crochet...etc Build a Birdhouse Book Club or Podcast Club Benefits of Essential Oils How to... Invite a Guest Speaker Bible based discussion New Parents Group group Yoga for Kids Meditation Daytime or Evening: Is this a one-time event or ongoing? Would there be a fee? If so, how much per person or per program/workshop: $ Thank you for considering sharing your time...your talents...your passion! Someone from Membership will be in touch with you soon to discuss further. Sound Interesting? Complete the form and drop it off at the office...drop it into the collection plate...or give it to one of our Membership Board members. We ll get in touch with you to discuss it further...thank you! Margaret Festi, Lisa Gay, Mark Marschall, Lisa Gay

8 MARCH 16, :00 am 3:45 pm Watch for more information on this great Day Registration will open in January 2019! Join us for a full day of worship, workshops and networking. All are welcome! Super Saturdays are growing in popularity REGISTER EARLY and ONLINE TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT! Great Day, Great Price! Cost includes morning worship, 2 workshops, an optional lunch activity, continental breakfast, lunch, marketplace and closing worship. Minnechaug Regional High School 621 Main Street Wilbraham, MA I drop kindness pebbles in still water every day, and I watch the effect they have on other people s lives. My favorite kindness pebbles are compliments. Drop a compliment and watch the ripple effect that it has in your life. Remarkably, these cheery words come from a father who has faced many dark, difficult days. In 6 Minutes Wrestling With Life, John Passaro tells of his daughter s heart-wrenching battle with meningitis. The struggles didn t make him bitter; rather, he frequently offers uplifting words on social media. What if we followed Passaro s example and complimented people regularly? Philippians 4:8 (NIV) instructs us to think about things that are noble, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. By extension, turning those positive thoughts into words causes kindness pebbles to spread God s light in ripples throughout someone s day and, doubtless, through ours Copyright by Communication Resources. All rights reserved. The Newsletter Newsletter (ISSN ) is published monthly by Communication Resources, Inc., PO Box 36269, Canton, Ohio 44735, Phone: , service@newsletternewsletter.com, Web site: Senior Editor: Stephanie Martin. Materials may be republished only in subscribers' own parish publications. No portion may be reproduced in any form for resale or redistribution. ervice@newsletternewsletter.com,

9 Church Council Calendar as of January6, 2019 Jan 13 How to Write a Sermon, 10:30 am Jan 13 All Church Pot Luck, 5:30 pm Jan 15 Community Supper Jan 15 Council Meeting Jan 16 Highlights Articles Due Jan 21 Martin Luther King s Birthday Jan 22 Council Meeting, 6 pm Jan 22 Congregational Conversation #3, 7 pm Jan 27 Annual/Organizational Meeting, 10:45 am Jan 27 Loaves & Fishes Jan 27 Ladies Group, Baking Biscotti ************************************** Feb 3 Communion Sunday Feb 9 Anything Chocolate Sale Feb 13 Council Minutes Due Feb 15 Community Supper Feb 15 Friendship Kitchen Feb 18 Presidents Day Feb 19 Council Meeting Feb 20 Highlights Articles Due Feb 24 Ladies Group, Your Family s Story ******************************************* Mar 3 Communion Sunday Mar 6 Ash Wednesday Mar 13 Council Minutes Due Mar 15 Community Supper Mar 19 Council Meeting Mar 20 Highlights Articles Due Mar 24 Loaves & Fishes Mar 24 All Church Pot Luck, 5:30 pm Mar 31 Ladies Group, Card making w/dorian & Friends ******************************************* Apr 7 Communion Sunday Apr 10 Council Minutes Due Apr 14 Palm Sunday Apr 15 Community Supper Apr 16 Council Meeting Apr 17 Highlights Articles Due Apr 19 Friendship Kitchen Apr 21 Easter Sunday Apr 28 Ladies Group, Tag Sale Prep ***************************************** May 4 Big Tag Sale May 5 Communion Sunday May 15 Council Minutes Due May 15 Highlights Articles Due May 15 Community Supper May 21 Council Meeting May 26 Loaves & Fishes May 27 Memorial Day *********************************** Jun 2 Communion Sunday Jun 9 All Church Pot Luck, 5:30 pm Jun 12 Council Minutes Due Jun 18 Council Meeting Jun 19 Highlights Articles Due Jun 21 Friendship Kitchen *********************************** Jul 7 Communion Sunday Jul 10 Council Min Due (?) Jul 16 Council Meeting (?) Jul 17 Highlights Articles Due Jul 28 Loaves & Fishes ********************************** Aug 4 Communion Sunday Aug 14 Council Minutes Due Aug 16 Friendship Kitchen Aug 20 Council Meeting Aug 21 Highlights Articles Due *********************************** Oct 13 All Church Pot Puck, 5:30 pm

10 Somers Congregational Church 599 Main Street PO Box 295 Somers, CT Phone: (860)