THE TOWER. Diving in to Lent. Ash Wednesday. Maundy Thursday. Easter Sunday. March Lenten Edition

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1 THE TOWER March Lenten Edition Ash Wednesday Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on March 1st. A service of worship, with imposition of ashes for those who choose, will take place that evening at 6:30 in the sanctuary. Maundy Thursday On April 13th we will remember Jesus last meal with his disciples, and his preparation for the cross. Worship begins at 6:30pm with a celebration of the Lord s Supper and a service of Tenebrae. Easter Sunday On Easter morning, April 16th, we will joyfully proclaim the Resurrection! The sunrise service will be at 6am at the gazebo on Swasey Parkway. (Sunrise is early this year!) The traditional festival worship will take place at 10am in the sanctuary. An Easter egg hunt will follow for elementary-aged and younger children. Diving in to Lent The UCC s Still Speaking Writer s Group chose the theme of Diving Lessons for this year s Lenten devotional book. Those of us who write for it were asked to interpret the theme in our own ways. What resonated for me was the idea of going deeper, even when I m afraid. When children learn to swim they are often frightened of diving. You have to give up control, and jump into water that is so deep you can t see the bottom. Sometimes having faith is a lot like that. I can t see God. I don t 1

2 The Congregational Church in Exeter 21 Front Street Exeter, NH Office: 12 Center Street Open Tuesday-Friday, 10-3 (603) Did You Know? Six 7th and 8th graders from our church are currently preparing for Confirmation? We will be celebrating the rite on May 21st during worship. Their fall service project benefitted the Heifer Project, and funded a gift of a flock of chickens, and one llama for those in need. Our elementary church schoolers are just finishing a unit on the Prodigal Son. They are about to start a new unit on Lent. have a lot of tangible evidence that can reassure me that everything will be okay in the end. And yet, every time I have trusted God enough to jump, I ve found myself being caught safely in God's love and grace. In Lent we have the chance to swim into the spiritual deep end. Lent isn t about what we give up, or what we take on, but instead about how we draw closer to God. It s about swimming out to a spiritual place we have never been before, and finding that God is waiting for us out in the depths. This Lent I invite you to immerse yourself in the spiritual life of the church. Start by joining us for worship on Ash Wednesday. Participate in some of the special events featured in this newsletter. Pick up one of those Still Speaking Devotionals at the church. Pray with us on Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday. And then, break through the surface, and rejoice in the beauty of Easter morning. The further out from shore you choose to swim this Lent, the more beautiful that joyful morning will be for you. Grace and peace, Pastor Emily A new GLBTQ fellowship has formed at the church, with periodic activities and outings. They have already met for pizza and have plans for bowling. All are welcome to join in the fun. You can request a printed copy of the church directory at any time by simply calling the church office. The church is in the midst of a total website redevelopment. Look for information on a totally updated site soon! 2

3 Heifer Project Lenten Collection Fill the Ark and Give the Gift of Hope On March 5th, the First Sunday in Lent, we will be passing out Heifer Project arks to any household that would like one. The ark is a paper box that you can fill with spare change during Lent. A giving calendar comes with each box, and each day features a fun discussion question for your family to consider as they determine how much change to add to the box. You ll also learn more about the incredible work that Heifer Project does around the world. Boxes will be collected during worship on Palm Sunday, and our middle schoolers will tally our totals. Our total church-wide donation will be our congregation s Easter gift to those who are in need. So many in this church have been incredibly generous the last two years. This year may we send an even greater gift of llamas, bees, cows, fish, and more to the places that need them. Let us pray for those we have lost: For the family and friends of Rodger Rousseau. For the family and friends of Harry Thayer. (The photo above was taken from the tower by Tom Bergeron at Harry s funeral. It shows only some of the many firefighters who came to pay respects to Harry.) For the family and friends of Melissa Weeks. For the family and friends of Lucille Moore. for those who need healing: For Bob Hill as he recovers from hip replacement surgery. For Bill Sawyer as he prepares for knee replacement surgery. For all who struggle with addiction in our community. with gratitude to God: For Charis Edwards, Phillips Exeter senior, who will be attending Brown University next year. 3

4 Mission and Action Plastic Bag Recycling To further protect God s green earth, Mission & Action invites you to bring in your plastic grocery and shopping bags for repurposing. The bags will be given to the Wonderland Thrift Shop for use in their store. All sizes of plastic and paper bags are needed. We will have collection bins available in the Vestry for the entire month of April. Watch for coming details! Okay, so you can bring in bags in to church for reuse/recycling during April. What about the rest of the year? Here are a few ideas: -Keep a few in your car for dirty shoes or wet umbrellas. -Stow a couple in your suitcase / gym bag / diaper bag / beach bag to separate clean things from not-so-clean things. -Carry a couple in your pocket when you go for a walk to pick up icky stuff, or to tote home treasures from the beach or trail. Shrub Sale Our Mission and Action Committee will be hosting a Shrub Sale in early May this year. Shrubs will include native species such as Ninebark and Winterberry. Your purchase is a win-win-win, supporting New Hampshire's forestry project, enriching your landscape, and providing a donation to one of the church's mission partnerships. Salvation Army The next meal our congregation serves is on April 23rd. Watch for our invitation in early April to participate in this important outreach by donating part of the meal. Or, did you know?! To help serve the meal is a time commitment of only four hours! The need is great and the appreciation shown by the people served is well worth the time invested. Beach Clean-Up and Kite Flying Coming back by popular demand: Beach Cleanup and Kite Flying. Join us in preserving God s earth, and for some congregational fellowship. Watch for details on this upcoming event! -Line your paint tray for easy clean-up, and wrap your brushes and rollers when you take a break. -Use crumpled bags as filler inside a package you are mailing rather than styrofoam peanuts. -Wonderland Thrift Shops accepts bags year round, but note that St Vincent de Paul does not, since they have switched to using only reusable bags. Thank you for recycling! 4

5 Crossroads House Necessities Drive Breaking the Cycle of Homelessness. Cross Roads House provides secure, transitional shelter to the homeless in the Seacoast area. The Mission and Action Committee will holding a necessities collection for the shelter every Sunday, February 12th - March 19th. Items most needed currently are: cough and cold medicines, ear plugs, new undergarments, and coffee. They are happy to accept gently used twin size (only) sheets and twin size (only) blankets, and bath towels, if you should have any in your linen closet that you are able to donate. Please visit our display in the vestry for the complete list of items. Cabin Fever Reliever On Sunday, March 12th join us for the Music Committee s Cabin Fever Reliever. Beat the snow and cold! Come out for an hour of fun, laughter, and fellowship. One Great Hour of Sharing In the midst of suffering, where is God? God is here. Where are you? When you give to OGHS, you are here. One of our major special offerings each year is One Great Hour of Sharing. This offering was started in the aftermath of World War II, and is taken up in a number of different churches in diverse denominations, including the UCC, Presbyterian Church, American Baptist Church, and more. The gifts we give go to provide clean water, hunger relief, disaster response, and more, all around the world. Look for the offering envelopes in your pews beginning March 12 th This year the offering will be received at our church on March 26th during worship. Visit one greathourofsharing.org to learn more. What s in the show? We have no idea! We already have a duet, a piano piece, and a story, but we re looking for more. Do you have some jokes, a poem, a skit, a magic tricks, a song, a comedy monologue? Dust off your hidden talents and share them with your church family. Contact Kim Karchenes or any member of the Music Committee to volunteer. 5

6 Ukama Update Many thanks to all who contributed to the Christmas offering, of which half was dedicated to Pfidza Church construction and famine relief projects. These funds are so appreciated, as they help Pfidza Church to organize their members around different service projects and construction of their church, which is very dear to their hearts. The funds ($1,800) were taken over to Zimbabwe this month by Sue Heppenstall, co-founder of the non-profit A Light for Zimbabwe. We plan to bring Sister Sue (as she is called at Pfidza) to speak to us about her experiences in May, after her return. Mr. Bandama, Ukama secretary at Pfidza Church, wrote us recently, Just after Christmas we had the pleasure of distributing and sharing the nice goodies you sent us in the container from N.H. No one could hide their excitement. Even people who don t have anything to do with the church just came to be part of the event. Our church people are happy, really happy with all the parcels. We members of the Ukama committee did our best to distribute equitably." Christian Growth Youth Groups Middle School Youth Group takes place each Sunday evening from 4-5:30. High School Youth Group follows at 6. Both groups meet in the Youth Room. Come for fun, games, fellowship, and faith. Contact Dave Hayes, youth director, to learn more. Netflix and Faith Starting Wednesday, March 8th, a new Faith and Film series begins for Lent. Each week the group will meet on Wednesdays from 6 to 7pm. In preparation for each session, members will be asked to watch one movie which is currently available to stream on Netflix. If you'd like to join in, just watch the movie at some point before the group meeting, and come and discuss it with others. These films will be discussed on the following dates: March 8th: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe March 15th: Spotlight March 22nd: The Letters March 29th: The Crucible April 5th: Joyful Noise In Zimbabwe, church construction is only possible during the dry season. Mr. Bandama writes "The building committee is set to start leading the building after the rains. Mr. F.B. Sigauke, the chairman of the committee, is canvassing for support from members. We are hoping to find a few penpals for folks at Pfidza Church who have sent us letters please contact me if you would like to start a new friendship! - Erik Hobbie 6

7 Church Council At our annual meeting the church approved a new slate of church officers and leaders. Church Council is now beginning a new leadership year, and new members are coming on board. Here are the members of your Church Council for 2017: Alison Hobbie, Moderator Tom Bergeron, Clerk Bob Hill, Treasurer Bob Devantery, Member-at-large Bill Sawyer, Member-at-large Sheryl Scott, Member-at-large Danette Wineberg, Member-at-large Katie Coppola, representative from Deacons Tom Oxnard, representative from Trustees Jane Abbiss, representative from Mission and Action Kevin Bartkovich, representative from Christian Growth Emily Heath, Pastor (ex-officio) Contacts Pastor: Rev. Emily C. Heath Director of Music: Kim Karchenes Director of Youth: David Hayes Director of Elementary Church School: Allan Mayo Financial Services Manager: Faith Walsh Sexton: Jim Walsh Chair of Deacons: Alice Anderson Chair of Trustees: Tom Oxnard Chair of Christian Growth: Alex Simpson Chair of Mission and Action: Jane Abbiss 7

8 March Calendar Wednesday, March 1 6:30pm Ash Wednesday Worship Thursday, March 2 Friday, March 3 6:00pm LGBTQ Fellowship Gathering Saturday, March 4 9:00am Journey Song retreat Sunday, March 5 Heifer Project boxes distributed 9:15am Choir Rehearsal 10:00am Worship 4:00pm Middle School Youth 6:00pm High School Youth Monday, March 6 Pastor's Sabbath Tuesday, March 7 2:00pm We the People committee Wednesday, March 8 10:00am Women's Bible Study 6:00pm Faith and Flix 7:00pm Deacons Thursday, March 9 Friday, March 10 5:30pm Friday Family Fellowship Dinner Sunday, March 12 9:15am Choir Rehearsal 10:00am Worship 11:15am Music Committee 3:00pm Cabin Fever Reliever 4:00pm Middle School Youth 6:00pm High School Youth Monday, March 13 Pastor's Sabbath Tuesday, March 14 7:00pm Mission and Action Wednesday, March 15 10:00am Shawl Knitters 6:00pm Faith and Flix 7:00pm Christian Growth 7:00pm Trustees Thursday, March 16 Friday, March 17 3:00pm Confirmation Class Sunday, March 19 9:15am Choir Rehearsal 10:00am Worship 4:00pm Middle School Youth 6:00pm High School Youth Monday, March 20 Pastor's Sabbath 9:00am TOGS Tuesday, March 21 Wednesday, March 22 10:00am Women's Bible Study 11:00am Blood Drive 6:00pm Faith and Flix 7:00pm Church Council Thursday, March 23 Friday, March 24 Sunday, March 26 One Great Hour of Sharing 9:15am Choir Rehearsal 10:00am Worship 11:15am Joyful Spirit Rehearsal 4:00pm Middle School Youth 6:00pm High School Youth Monday, March 27 Pastor's Sabbath Tuesday, March 28 Wednesday, March 29 6:00pm Faith and Flix Thursday, March 30 Friday, March 31 8