News from the Pews. the voice of the congregation. First Congregational Church UCC Ashfield, MA DECEMBER 2018

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1 News from the Pews the voice of the congregation First Congregational Church UCC Ashfield, MA DECEMBER 2018 Interim Prayers or, Is Any Prayer Not Interim? Interim Prayer: Dear God, May our conversations during this interim period be influenced by you. Help us to feel your presence as we listen to one another. Amen.!!!!!!!!!!! -Jan 21, 2018 Every week the deacons create an Interim Prayer for the congregation. A deacon will lead us in that prayer during the Joys and Concerns part of our service. What does prayer mean to a congregation of believers, questioners, and questioning believers? Does God hear our petitions and decide whether to answer yes or no? Does prayer focus our energy on someone who is suffering and that energy aids the person? Does prayer do anything? Joining in prayer with each other is singing with each other. Regardless of the words in songs, Old MacDonald Had a Farm or Ubi Caritas, the music shifts our spirits and we join with each other. Prayer is music, it brings us to a place of sacred attention when we are alone or all together. However each of us envisions God, we yearn to align ourselves with Wisdom, Compassion, Justice, and Love. Wherever we seek God, in nature, in our neighbor, in church, in silence, we yearn to find the Source of All and trust that it is good. Prayer is an expression of that yearning, of our deepest concerns and desires. While praying we release ourselves from the necessary questions such as Who or What is God? We enter the space that we want to understand more about. Then we go to Bubble Up Theology on a Tuesday night and give our brains a good work out. If nothing else, prayer allows us to open to each other. It gives us, as Buddhists would say, an opportunity to glimpse the Inner being of all. Prayer is a map we both follow and draw as we go. Those old prayers and hymns we sometimes recite and sing are the memories of those seekers before us. Something in those prayers opened their hearts, gave them courage, and urged them to follow their path. Prayers are not recipes or formulae, they are love poems. They need not be factual, but they must be true. " " " - Kate Braestrup, Beginning Grace " " " " " " " " " Alice Barrett for the Deacons

2 ABOUT OUR CHURCH Ministry - the Congregation , home Sunday morning Worship is at 10:00 am. Children and Sunday School are concurrent with Worship. The governing body of the church is its members, who traditionally gather the second Sunday of March, June, September and December at 11:30 am for the Monthly Congregational Meeting. Call or the church clerk, Wendy Pree ( ), wendypree@gmail.com; or the church Moderator, Keith Obert ( ), obert@aol.com with any issues/concerns you wish to include on the agenda by the Wednesday preceding the meeting. FRIENDS AND MEMBERS ARE WARMLY WELCOMED News from the Pews is published monthly by the Ashfield Parish, First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ. P.O.Box 515, Main Street, Ashfield, MA 01330, Deadline for copy is the 24th day of the month and may be ed to the editor, Victoria Nelson at nelsonvictoria173@gmail.com. December Choir News The Choir, which includes both Youth and Adult singers, is gearing up for another Advent/Christmas season of wonderful music! Each Sunday the Choir sings in December, music will be matched to the themes of the day, and will include traditional carols, early American anthems, music for choir with recorders, and "Love Came Down at Christmas" by John Rutter. Music for Christmas Eve will feature "Ave Regina Caelorum" (Hail, Queen of the Heavens) by Isabella Leonarda. Not only is this a very beautiful baroque work; it is also noteworthy that it was composed by a seventeenth century Italian woman. In addition, on Christmas Eve, Youth Choir singers will, by tradition, sing "Silent Night" from the chancel steps as candle lighting begins in the church - this year celebrating the two hundredth anniversary of this beloved carol. On Sunday, Dec. 9, special music will be presented by a small group of Choir members who are also in the Recital Chorus. (See also Holiday Concerts of Interest.) For more information about Youth and/or Adult Choir, please contact Margery Heins, Director, , or find her after church on Sunday mornings. Photo: Ashfield Congregational Church Choir with Margery Heins, Director Choir and Special Music Schedule Weds. Nov. 28-7:15 Rehearsal Sun. Dec. 2-9:00 Rehearsal; 10:00 Service Weds. Dec. 5: No Rehearsal Sun. Dec. 9: No Choir (see note on special music) Weds. Dec. 12: 7:15 Rehearsal Sun. Dec. 16-9:00 Rehearsal; 10:00 Service Weds. Dec. 19-6:45 Youth Choir; 7:15 Adult Choir Rehearsal Sun. Dec. 23-9:00 Rehearsal; 10:00 Service Sun. Dec Christmas Eve rehearsal for Adults and Youth: time TBA Mon. Dec. 24-6:30 Rehearsal; 7:30 Christmas Eve Service HOLIDAY CONCERTS OF INTEREST Friday, December 7: 12:15-12:45 p.m. Greenfield Community College Chorus An Informal Holiday Concert with audience sing-along and refreshments Margery Heins, Director Main Lobby, GCC Saturday, December 8: 7:00 p.m. The Recital Chorus Margery Heins, Director Amy Roberts- Crawford, Accompanist 23rd Annual Holiday Concert Shelburne-Buckland Community Center

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4 Resolution to Prevent Nuclear War By Richard Prée, Mission and Social Justice committee Even as I type these words it horrifies me to see them. The very thought of again unleashing that monster, held chained in the closet for 74 years, is obscene and unspeakable. And yet today world leaders are rattling that most-horrible of swords, even by name (presidents Kim and Trump of North Korea and the U.S.). Nine countries possess the keys to nuclear Armageddon. Can you name them? In addition to the two cited above is: Russia, UK, France, China, India, Pakistan and Israel. (South Africa developed nuclear weapons but then disassembled its arsenal.) According to the Physicians for Social Responsibility merely one percent, or 150, of the present arsenal could destroy all life on earth. As global warming intensifies so will crop failures and droughts. Rather than face starvation climate refugees will pour into relatively less affected neighboring countries, putting enormous pressure on local resources and igniting social upheaval and armed conflict (e.g. Syria today). As tensions spread globally countries with their backs to the wall may do desperate things with the weapons they have, including nuclear. There is a growing international movement to defuse this disturbing scenario. In 2017 a international coalition called ICAN succeeded in getting 122 nations to sign the Treaty For the Prohibition of Nuclear Arms. (None of the nine nuclear nations agreed.) To support this international movement Rev. Peter Kakos, retired minister at the Edwards Church in Northampton, has asked our Ashfield UCC church to join a growing list of churches and synagogues in the area and pass a Resolution to Prevent Nuclear War. They need our church to take up the Resolution now for consideration and passage before the end of 2018 so that it can be taken to the UCC General Synod for ratification this June in Milwaukee. The Resolution calls upon the US to head a global effort to prevent nuclear war by: renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons first; ending the president s sole, unchecked authority to launch a nuclear attack; taking US nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert; cancelling the plan to replace its entire arsenal with enhanced weapons; and actively pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals. In response to Rev. Kakos request our church s Mission and Social Justice Committee agreed last month to call a Special Congregational Meeting December 9th to vote on the Resolution immediately following worship in the sanctuary. The Mission committee will provide copies of the Resolution at coffee hour each Sunday before then. In the meantime we hope you will investigate two growing international movements on the web: The Physicians for Social Responsibility has launched a campaign called Back From the Brink and is listed here: The other is Nuclear Ban US Richard Pree God of All. Hear our Prayer. May our eyes remain open even in face of tragedy. May we not become disheartened. May we offer the power of our sorrow to the service of something greater than ourselves. May we endure; may sorrow bond us and not separate us. May clarity be our ally and wisdom our support. May we not be afraid to see or speak our truth. May the soul's journey be revealed and the true hunger fed. May we be forgiven for what we have forgotten and blessed with the remembrance of who we really are. Adapted from The Terma Collective

5 Capital Campaign Follow Up Team... Bubble Up with us! CAPITAL CAMPAIGN (CC) STATUS Members of the Follow Up Team for the CC have reviewed the status of the CC. 1. Our goal was $300, We have pledges for $345,000. All of those funds have NOT been received as of December 1, We hope to have all pledges paid by December The Joseph Bradley Foundation granted us two $10,000 grants for organ restoration, or $20,000 total. 4. As a result, we have pledges and cash for total of $365,000. WHAT HAVE WE SPENT SO FAR? 1. Paving the driveways and parking lot cost $44,800. The Community Foundation of Western MA gave us a grant of $15,800; the campaign contributed $25,000; the Food Pantry and an individual donor contributed $2,000; and our operating budget made up the $2,000 difference. 2. Painting the church cost $18,000, We paid for this out of operating funds. At our upcoming January 2019 Annual Meeting, the Trustees will propose to move $18,000 from capital campaign funds to our operating budget. 3. Bills are coming in for the organ s restoration, and the cost for that remains $225, We have renovated the chancel, covered the cushions, and installed a new sound system. We still have to do work on the organ chamber, and we hope to improve lighting for the chancel area. These costs are within our CC budget. 5. If all pledges come in as promised and we don t incur any further unexpected costs, we could have a surplus of $22,000. WHAT TO DO WITH THE EXTRA MONEY? 1. The Follow Up Task Group for the CC has asked the Trustees to come up with a list of projects. The Trustees will make a list at their Dec. 4 meeting, and then get estimates for costs. 2. A group of people have researched organ façade pipe painting. They are prepared to make a presentation to the congregation. WHAT S NEXT? Last month we had a small, but powerful, Bubble Up meeting. The subject was prayer. We spoke about our relationship to prayer: when prayer was especially important in our lives, the range of ways prayer happens, prayer through music, God is closer than breathing, using a God box as a vehicle for prayer and lovely etc. As always our time together was deep and meaningful, joyful and surprising, and sweetly inspiring to hear each other. Our December s theme will be Christmas. In our church how do we, as questioning believers, resonate with the story or the miracle of Christmas? What Christmas themes are important to our own spirits? What about Divine Mother in her role during advent and Christmas? Please join us for rich conversation. We will meet on Tuesday at 7PM on December 11th. Come share you thoughts, and/or come listen. There is room for all of us: "...believers, questioners, and questioning believers. We strive to be open and affirming to all we wade through the joy and pain of spiritual growth we support each other At Bubble Up Theology we live our church s vision statement!!!!!! Caroline Mack Racial Justice Rising On November 3, at the monthly program of Racial Justice Rising, I heard a Native American speaker, Grandmother Nancy Andry. She spoke to us of the sacredness of water, and shared a video that I found beautiful and inspiring, and want to pass on to you. Go online to SINGTHEWATERSONG.COM for a 4 minute treat. At the end of the video the words that are sung, which are Algonquin, are in print. Grandmother Andry appears in the video as a white-haired and white-skinned woman dressed in blue. She is albino. Grandmother Andry said that in her tradition, men are the keepers of fire, while women are keepers of water. As for our times, she said Trump is a gift because he brings all our ugliness to the surface where we can confront it and mend the Sacred Hoop of life. The time is now to recognize what we have in common and prepare for seven generations ahead. Let me know what you think! Sherrill Hogen

6 From the Trustees... HANDICAP LIFT The lift is now repaired and working again. As a reminder, after using the lift, please remember to raise OR lower the lift several inches from the position it was in when you exited. This will ensure that the door will latch securely (for safety). Let s Walk the Talk! The Trustees have been talking about ways that we as a community can be more responsible about what products we should or should not use in our church. Three products that we ve identified as harmful to our environment are: 1 Styrofoam 2 Plastic straws and stirrers 3 Hand washing liquid that is labeled anti-bacterial (such ingredients are actually very harmful to our water supply) The Trustees are working to eliminate all three of these in our church. We are all in this together and every little bit helps. Any questions? Ask a Trustee. Deacons' Wish List for the New Year Establishment of Teams to provide Coffee Hour the first and fourth Sunday of each month - which includes arriving at the church by 9:30 a.m., setting up tables/chairs in Friendship Hall, providing goodies/coffee/half and half, and cleaning up! (We already have Teams for the second and third weeks of the month.) Individuals to sign up / provide flowers for our worship services Individuals to be a "second adult - i.e. help Mae Rice Lesure in providing a safe and caring experience for our children We would gratefully receive any or all of the above gifts. If interested, speak with a Deacon. Sincerely, Your Deacons Alice Barrett, Bruce Bennett, Richard Clarity, Leslie Fraser, Judy Haupt, STEWARDSHIP POEM I give to this church because... I GET a community family, to which I give this homily. I GET wondrous music; sacred and soulful. from our dear Amy and Margery s overflowing bowlful. I GET humbling sermons which I dare not miss. I GET hugs and smiles and an occasional kiss. I GET to pray; silent and aloud when not too proud to speak out loud. I GET this beautiful building with a real bell that every Sunday, rings so well. I GET bubbled up, so I can bubble down. I GET coffee hour; always sweet, never sour. I GET a conscience teased, my soul seized, my heart relieved. And so I give to this fine church that has truly ended my Godly search.!!!! Judy Haupt, Deacon First Congregational-UCC of Ashfield P.O. Box Main Street Ashfield, MA Tree of Life Congregation 5898 Wilkins Avenue Pittsfield, MA 15217!!!!! November 7, 2018 Dear Brothers and Sisters in God: We are a small, rural congregation in Western Massachusetts that sees our mission as one of welcoming all people and serving the wider community in need. We write you to share your time of grief and disbelief, of weeping and keeping faith, of distress and disorder. You have lost family and community in an act of inexplicable violence, and now there is a hole in our collective hearts. We send love and prayers. If we were not so far away, we would be in your temple now, sharing in your rituals of loss. Please receive our blessings for healing and peace,! Deacons of the First Congregational Church-UCC! of Ashfield Search and Call Committee We are meeting frequently and making progress with God s help. God is speaking to us, and our ears are growing bigger!. Holly, Richard P, Alice, Margaret, Octavia, Krissy, Keith, Caroline

7 WINTERFEST COOKIES Christmas season is coming! And what's the Season without Christmas Cookies. And how can there be Christmas Cookies without bakers? And how can there be Christmas Cookie Bakers without YOU?? WinterFest will be December 1 & 2, and you know how everyone enjoys filling a tin or two with the homemade and beautiful Christmas Cookies from our church's cookie fundraiser. So pull out your recipe box, open your cookbooks, dust off the cookie press and cookie cutters, and let's get baking! (A bit nervous? Google: easy Christmas cookie recipes.) The more we bake, the more we sell. Need a bit more of a nudge to get baking? You could WIN a tray of treats that includes one of Every Single Variety of cookie donated. Yep. You make one batch of cookies (or two or three) and you might end up with dozens of different, delectable dainties for your effort because everyone who donates cookies to our fundraiser will be entered in the raffle. Drop off your cookies in the kitchen Friday, November 30, 3:30-6ish, Saturday, December 1, 8:30-10ish, Sunday, December 2, 9ish-10ish, or any other time that we can connect. Be SURE to put your name/phone number, or already received raffle ticket in the container in which you bring your cookies. Happy baking. Happy munching. Happy holiday!!!!!!!!!!! Kare Marshall COUNCIL ON AGING Thursday, December 6th Appetizers and Sandwiches prepared by area restaurants, beverages, dessert, ice cream will be supplied. Tom and Ted will provide entertainment

8 First Congregational Church Calendar December 2018 DECEMBER 1 Ardath Garfield 2 Jeanine Haas 3 4 Tylor Bell-Rogers 5 6 Ava Wallace 7 Octavia Crawford 8 Richard Clarity 8 Lucas Obert Liz VanGuilder Caron Bromberg 17 Samuel Schreiber Abby Osterman Emmy Howe JESUS Zachary Obert Sat. Dec. 1: WinterFest in the Village 10-4 Lots of cookies and crafts, greens and goodies Sun. Dec. 2: Choir 9 a.m. Worship 10 a.m. led by Rev. Ann Hallstein; First Sunday of Advent / candle of Hope; Communion. Search and Call Mtg. at the Pree s 12-2 p.m. Sun. Dec. 2: WinterFest continues 10-3 with the Ashfield Community Band hosting a Family Carol Sing at the church, 3 p.m. Tues. Dec. 4: Food Pantry, Share the Warmth, and Sharing Christmas gifts: distribution 3-6 p.m. Tues. Dec. 4: Trustees/Deacons meet together 6-8 p.m., separately 8-9 p.m. Wed. Dec. 5: TaiChi 9:30 a.m., a COA sponsored event Thurs. Dec. 6: COA luncheon at noon. Sat. Dec. 8: CCL 12-2 p.m. Sun. Dec. 9: Choir 9 a.m. Worship 10 a.m. led by Rev. Sarah Pirtle. Second Sunday of Advent / candle of Peace. Special Congregational Meeting immediately following worship / discuss and vote on the UCC Resolution to Prevent Nuclear War. Church Council Meeting 11:30 a.m. Search and Call 3-5 p.m. Wed. Dec. 12: TaiChi 9:30 a.m. Choir rehearsal 7:15 p..m. Thurs. Dec. 13: Mission and Social Justice. Potluck 6 p.m. Meeting 7 p.m. Sat. Dec. 15: Search and Call 3-5 p.m. Sun. Dec. 16: Choir 9 a.m. Worship 10 a.m. led by Pastor Nancy Sykes. Third Sunday of Advent / candle of Joy; Children s Pageant with Sarah Pirtle. Tues. Dec. 18: Food Pantry and Share the Warmth distribution 3-6 p.m. Tues. Dec. 18: Bubble Up 7 p.m. Wed. Dec. 19: TaiChi 9:30 a.m. Choir rehearsal 7:15 p.m. Sun. Dec. 23: Choir 9 a.m. Worship 10 a.m. led by Rev. Ann Hallstein. Fourth Sunday of Advent / candle of Love. Mon. Dec. 24: Christmas Eve. Choir 6:30 p.m. Christmas Eve CandleLIght Service 7:30 p.m., led by Rev. Ann Hallstein and Pastor Nancy Sykes. Tues. Dec. 25: CHRISTMAS Sun. Dec. 30: Worship 10 a.m.

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10 First Congregational Church UCC P.O. Box Main Street Ashfield, MA 01330