Message from Pastor Karen

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Volume 12, Issue 2 A quick look at March, 2011 Thursday Nite Life 6PM on the 3rd, 10th, 7th, 24th & 31st Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper 5 7PM on the 8th Ash Wednesday 7:30 PM on the 9th The Oasis 5 PM

group of 33 people climbed on a bus after church and headed to New York City!

1 Volume 12, Issue 2 A quick look at March, 2011 Thursday Nite Life 6PM on the 3rd, 10th, 7th, 24th & 31st Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper 5 7PM on the 8th Ash Wednesday 7:30 PM on the 9th The Oasis 5 PM on Sundays the 13th, 20th & 27th UMW Meeting 7PM Wednesday the 16th ASP Car Wash 10AM 2PM Saturday the 26th The United Methodist Church of Danbury Message from Pastor Karen On Sunday, February 20, a group of 33 people climbed on a bus after church and headed to New York City! Our destination was the New York Public Library s Three Faiths exhibit, which powerfully demonstrates that what binds us together is greater than what sets us apart. This wonderful exhibit of scrolls, books, and artwork from the Library s collection covers well over a thousand years of the history of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam three faiths that account for half the world s population. The exhibit focuses on commonalities between the faiths. Among the major ones are: Their forefather, Abraham. All three faiths trace their beginnings to this itinerant herdsman who lived some 3700 years ago in the Middle East. Monotheism. Jews, Christians, and Muslims believe in the same one true God, whom they call by different names. This set them apart from the pagans in the Middle East at the time of Abraham, and continues to distinguish the three faiths from polytheistic religions. Revelation. All three faiths believe that God wishes to be in relationship with humanity, and that God has directly revealed God-self to us. The messengers of this revelation include Abraham, Jesus, and Muhammad, as well as prophets and angels. Scriptures. Each of these faith communities maintains a fixed written text, believed to have been communicated by God to human authors. The Torah was given to Moses; the New Testament gospels, letters, and Revelation to followers of Jesus; and the Qu ran to Muhammad. Collectively these sacred texts are, without a doubt, the most widely read and influential writings ever. We were blessed with a tour by the chief docent of the exhibit, who was knowledgeable and authoritative, as well as amusing and kind. She was quite impressed by the fact that we had representatives of all three of these faiths in our group she mentioned it several times as we went around the exhibit. (continued page 3)

2 2 Vision The United Methodist Church of Danbury Making connections through Jesus Christ: people to people, people to God, and faith to life. Abundant Life Joyful Spirit Servant Heart Worship Schedule for March (March 4-6: Confirmation retreat) March 6 9:30 a.m. Sunday School for children, youth, and adults 10:30 a.m. Worship with a lay speaker preaching Wed, March 9 7:30 p.m. Ash Wednesday service in the sanctuary March 13 church First Sunday in Lent 9:30 a.m. Sunday School for children, youth, and adults 10:30 a.m. Worship with communion 5:00 p.m. Oasis worship, downstairs in the back of the March 20 Second Sunday in Lent 9:30 a.m. Sunday School for children, youth, and adults 10:30 a.m. Worship 5:00 p.m. Oasis worship March 27 Third Sunday in Lent 9:30 a.m. Sunday School for children, youth, and adults 10:30 a.m. Worship 11:45 a.m. Music and Worship committee meeting 5:00 p.m. Oasis worship The Oasis: Sundays at 5 p.m., March 13-April 17, downstairs in the back of the church

3 3 Praise Choir That s the name we used to give to praising God with piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums and singing during worship. This is an activity that has been given a bit of a rest recently. I would like to toss it up in the air again and see if there is any interest on the part of musicians and singers in our church family. We can approach The Worship And Music Committee with ideas anyone comes up with! If there is interest we can offer to provide one song, like for an anthem, or we can offer to lead congregational singing throughout a whole service in addition to an anthem. Please call Jim Davis at with any ideas you have. We can explore any number of ideas! Worship Opportunities Oasis services will continue through the six Sundays of Lent, up to and including April 17. Child care is available Sunday mornings. All our morning worship services are followed by a time of fellowship in the Narthex. In our morning worship, laypersons read the scriptures and pray the prayers of the people. If you would like to participate in these important ministries, you can sign up on the bulletin board near the narthex, or speak to Pastor Karen. Training is available! Three Faiths (cont d) Some of the scrolls and books that we saw were almost impossibly beautiful. I was especially moved by the beauty of some of the illuminated, hand-calligraphed Qu rans. To my Western eyes, the Arabic script looks more like design than language. We also saw a Gutenberg Bible (1455), a King James Bible from its original publishing year (1611), and the first book ever printed in the United States, a psalter from Toward the end of the exhibit we learned the origin of the term the whole Megillah, when we saw one. Megillah is the word for the scroll of the book of Esther, read out loud in Jewish worship at the festival of Purim. This soap-opera-worthy tale of palace intrigue and the foiling of a genocide plot against the Jews was the last Hebrew scripture to be canonized. There was great disagreement about it, because nowhere does the scripture mention God. Because of this, the scroll of Esther can be lavishly decorated without fear of creating an idol. The example we saw was decorated with gorgeous drawings of all the major characters and events in the story, plus cityscapes and cherubs and foliage and flowers. It was amazing. We wish to thank Emily and Barbara McWilliams for making wonderful lunches for us, as a fundraiser for the youth group. Don DeMouth arranged our bus transportation. We had an excellent (and very well-priced) dinner at Mario s Pasta Garden when we got back. We were very fortunate to have some students with us one elementary and four middle school who were the instigators of singing on the way home. I also want to recognize and thank Serge Karpow, who learned of this exhibit and had a vision that it might be a wonderful trip for the church. He was right. Pastor Karen

4 4 United Methodist Women On Wednesday, March 16 th, there will be a United Methodist Women s meeting in Room 3 at the church. This meeting will start at 7pm. Brigid Guertin, Executive Director of the Danbury Museum and Historical Society, will be our speaker. We will be celebrating Women s History Month and Ms Guertin will tell us about Marian Anderson and her connection to Danbury. A dessert social will follow the meeting. A collection of cleaning products and paper goods will be taken for Renewal House (Shelter of the Cross). Please make every effort to attend. If you have any questions, or need a ride, contact Karlene Lombardo at Karlene Lombardo Appalachia Service Project The Appalachian Service Project (Danbury ASP) will be holding our ASP Rally on Thursday, March 10 at 6:30 PM for everyone that intends to go on the trip to Appalachia this summer. This event will be held at the Danbury United Methodist Church. Anyone currently in high school and who will be at least 14 years old by July is eligible to participate on the trip to Appalachia. There is no upper age limit. For more information, forms and links please check the ASP page on our church web site, Car Washes Saturday, March 26th and Saturday, April 2nd 10 AM to 2 PM Looking for Ideas: DUMC Sign We are looking for ideas for a sign for our church that can be easily read from Clapboard Ridge Road. Here s where you can help, if while in your travels, either around town, around the area, going to an appointment, traveling for work or on vacation you see a sign out front of a church that you think may be appropriate please take a picture of it. The picture doesn t need to be award winning, if your cell phone has a camera that will do. We re just trying to gather ideas, the more the better. As an example, our neighbor church Immanuel Lutheran added a new stone wall with the name of their church, street number and lighting along Clapboard Ridge Road. Please your pictures to either Mark Pierce, cb3gt@yahoo.com or Don DeMouth, ddemouth@netscape.net. Thank you. Thanks to all who made this Flame possible: March Editor Kathy Roig Contributors... Pastor Karen Karpow, Nan Salamon, Karlene Lombardo, Bev Anderson, Jean Walker, Don DeMouth. Coralee DeMouth, Jim Davis, Minnie Rouse Comments and suggestions regarding the Flame are welcome. Direct them to Pastor Karen, Jean Walker or Kathy Roig (or anyone else who might listen!) Deadline for the April Flame Sunday, March 20

6 6 Easter Egg Hunt We are collecting candy and plastic eggs to help out the Easter Bunny for our annual Easter Egg Hunt. There will be a basket in the narthex for donations. Thank you! - Coralee DeMouth Be A Reader Join our Book Club at 7:30 PM on Monday, March 21 The Year of Living Biblically By B. J. Jacob Hosted by Karen Karpow at the Parsonage Opportunities for Benefactors Our current sound system in the sanctuary has been serving us for over ten years. In that time technology has improved and we have a chance to update our equipment with a module that will provide automatic control over volume and tone on a number of microphones. This new unit will tailor the sound for individual human voices while maximizing sound levels and eliminating feedback, the high pitch squeal we sometimes experience. Another inexpensive upgrade would be a pickup for our grand piano. Sometimes our beautiful sanctuary is a teeny bit less than perfect sound wise and the choir has a little difficulty hearing the piano. A pickup would allow us to quickly amplify the piano sound just so the choir can hear it better. If anyone is interested in being a benefactor for these possible improvements, please call Jim Davis at Planning ahead. Sunday, April 3 Confirmation Sunday Sunday, April 17 Palm/Passion Sunday Thursday, April 21 Holy Thursday Service in Fellowship Hall at 6:30 PM Sunday, April 24 Easter Services At sunrise & 10:30 AM Join the Craft Group! We are making various crafts to sell at the Pumpkin Festival. Our next craft gathering is Thursday, March 24th at 6:30, right after Thursday Nite Life dinner, in Fellowship Hall. If you would like to join us and/or have ideas for craft projects, please speak to Kim Goodwin at or Coralee DeMouth at We are collecting old Balsam Wreaths. We plan to make balsam pillows.

7 7 Aaster Moser Award, 2010 In December, 2010, the United Methodist Women honored Larry Bornemeier as its Aasta Moser Award recipient. This award is given each year to a person in our church who has given outstanding service to our church as well as the community. The special award money is donated to the Women's Division of the General Board of Global Ministries in Larry's name. Larry also received a pin and a certificate. This is the script of the introduction of Larry as the award recipient: M It is not unusual to come on the church grounds or walk into the building and see that someone has engaged in some type of work project. At one time, I would think I don't remember anyone asking for people to come help with this! I would be perplexed. Then I found out who did it. Through the years I have learned to recognize the handiwork: the bank of bushes that, all of a sudden, is completely cut back and cleaned, new paint that surprisingly shows up on the walls, flooring that has been repaired. No one asked for this work to be done. This is what characterizes our Aasta Moser Award recipient. Per his wife of forty five years,lois, He's always busy, always finding something to do. He notices things and thinks it is our responsibility to take care of it. He doesn't expect to be acknowledged. He is a member of the Men's Club, he visits the sick, he works with the Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen and he has served as a Trustee of this church for a number of years. He served as Chairperson of the Trustees for one of those terms. During his tenure as Chairperson, many accomplishments and improvements were made. Some examples are installing the efficient lighting system and new ceiling tiles. He is an usher and a counter. He encourages others in their endeavors and he has a unique sense of humor. He and his wife raised two handsome sons. His wife says he shows up when he's asked to come. Well, after Hurricane Katrina he joined a mission trip to Mississippi with a group from UMC, Hilton Head, SC when he was asked to come. For years he has traveled to the south to help take care of his aunt and uncle. He marches in the Memorial Day Parade with our church in his Marine uniform which still fits. Even now, he walks/runs six miles at least three times a week. Not only is he an untiring worker and an encourager, he is also an inspiration to others. To look at his lifestyle service to family, church and community to see the dedication and commitment that he puts into it to observe his unwillingness to allow obstacles to deter him to brush next to his courage and bravery to experience his fearlessness and his faithfulness to God in all things truly inspires us. I hope he is an inspiration to you also. I cannot express how honored we are and how much it pleases us that Larry Bornemeier is our 2010 Aasta Moser Award Honoree. In Service to God, Minnie Rouse What does the Lord require but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.

8 8 The United Methodist Church of Danbury 5 Clapboard Ridge Road Danbury, CT Phone: Fax: A Safe Sanctuary for Children Ministers: The Congregation Pastor: Karen Karpow Lay Leaders: Minnie Rouse & David Zeigler Interim Music Director: Carol Spaulding Child Care Coordinator: Jessie Raigosa 9:30 Sunday School 10:30 Sunday Worship SHROVE TUESDAY PANCAKE SUPPER TUESDAY, MARCH 8 Continuous servings from 5:00pm to 7:00pm in Fellowship Hall Adults - $8 Children under 12 $4 $6 Seniors (65+) Children under 3 FREE ALL YOU CAN EAT pancakes, sausage, fruit, applesauce, coffee, tea and juice Sponsored by United Methodist Women

Message from Pastor Kim

Message from Pastor Kim Volume 16, Issue 2 February-March, 2015 The United Methodist Church of Danbury The United Methodist Church of Danbury At a Glance... Corned Beef Dinner 3/13 5-7pm Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner 2/17 5-7pm