Ogden Baptist Church News and Happenings

Transcription

1 721 Washington Street Spencerport, NY Office: April 2017 Volume 4 Equipping God s people for sharing in the ministry of Jesus Christ

2 PAGE 2 A message for Spring from Pastor Nancy Dear Friends in Christ, Holy Week arrives soon and perhaps no other week in Christian tradition provides more drama, emotion and joy than it does. Imagine that you were there in Jerusalem that week as a follower of Jesus. You arrive on what we call Palm Sunday to witness the triumphal entry of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. You may have put your own cloak on the ground before him. Perhaps you had a small child with you who was waving a Palm and together you shouted Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Because you are in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration you run into Jesus at the Temple and you hear the rumblings of the religious leaders about Jesus and his presumptive authority. As the week goes on you listen to Jesus himself share the many parables and teachings, and you are amazed at how he uses simple examples to put forth complicated truths about God. They are complicated because they seem to contradict the teachings of the religious leaders. They are truth because Jesus speaks with such authority. The more you listen the more you hear how upsetting what he is, and his words and teachings are to the scribes and Pharisees not to mention the chief priest. You begin to worry for his safety because the rumblings are reaching fever pitch as people argue and fight over his words. And sure enough a plot is hatched and you watch in astonishment as Jesus is accused, tried and taken to be crucified. You have gone from the exhilaration of his entry into Jerusalem, the anticipation of his teachings, to the despair of watching him die an agonizing death. Then, the news of an empty tomb, a resurrection and an appearance to his disciples would most likely leave me reeling incredulous that a dead man was now alive again. How would you be feeling if you had been there? I would be emotionally exhausted if I had been there. Holy Week is like that still. The story hasn t changed in over 2,000 years and yet, I sometimes think we move too quickly from Palm Sunday to Easter morning without allowing ourselves to experience that whole week and all of its ups and downs. We want to get to Easter because what happens in between is dark and difficult to experience and think about and Easter is bright colors, Hallelujahs and celebration. Cont. on P.3 May 4 May 7 PAGE 11 Looking Ahead National Day of Prayer Flagpole at Town Offices CROP Walk for Hunger 12:30p registration at United Methodist Church May 9 Trustees & Deacons 6:30p Church Council 7:30p May 11 May 14 Ladies Auxiliary Laurel Guild Mother s Day Church World Service Blanket Sunday We want your feedback! As we continue to make changes please take a moment to check in with us on the web and send us your feedback. We continue to make the website more user friendly as well as more inviting to younger people. Because of the importance of web presence we want to reach as many people as possible and realize that the first thing a potential pastor will look at is our website. This is our internet first impression and we don t get a second chance to make a first impression so all feedback

3 PAGE 3 PAGE 10 April Birthdays 3-ASHLEY LESNIAK 4-STACIE LaPIERRE 6-JACOB CALABRIA 6-KIRK HOAK 8-LORRY RYBAK 8-DEBBIE CARR 8-TOM HILL 9-NANCY BAKER 9-LARRY MANCE 12-RYAN PEDERSEN 12-GABRIEL HEDGES 13-CHERYL PREDMORE 14-BRUCE DEAN April 2 April 9 April CONNIE RYCHLIK 18-ELIZABETH STEELE 18-CONRAD LIND 19-HEIDI FEUERHERM 19-JIM VOLKE 19-BRUCE THOMAS 20-BETH CALABRIA 23-ANDY WEGMAN, SR. 25-JOHN O BRIEN April Sermons & Scriptures Guest Preacher Palm Sunday/Communion Scripture: Matthew Quit Dying to the Wrong Things Easter Morning Scripture: Matthew Quit Hanging Out at an Empty Tomb April 23 Scripture: Luke Sermon Post Scripts April 30 Scripture: 2 Timothy 1.7 Rise Up! But the process of the events of that week are important for us as Christians to witness in their entirety. Ogden Baptist will provide an opportunity for you to experience all of Holy week Palm Sunday, daily readings, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Sunrise Service and then the Easter Celebration. When put together as a whole, Holy Week brings us closer to Jesus in his humanity and his divinity and allows us to grasp the depth of his love for us. I hope you will join us for the services of Holy Week and then celebrate the majesty, awe and wonder of Easter morning where together we will proclaim He Is Risen, Indeed!!! For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1.18 In Christ, Pastor Nancy Pastor Nancy will be away from the afternoon of March 26 to April 8. Emergency Pastoral Care will be provided by Rev. Joanne GilbertCannon of First Baptist Brockport she can be reached in her office at Can t make it to Holy Week Services? Never fear! Try these Holy Week Devotions: Sunday, April 9 Monday, April 10 Tuesday, April 11 Wednesday, April 12 Thursday, April 13 Friday, April 14 Saturday, April 15 Sunday, April 16 Matthew 21:1-17 Matthew 21:18-45 Matthew 22 and 23 Matthew 24 & Matthew 25 Matthew 26:1-75 Matthew 27:1-57 Matthew Matthew 28:1-15

4 PAGE 4 April Highlights Sunday Apr. 2 Communion Sunday Sunday School 9:30a, Worship 10:55a Monday Apr. 3 Chair Yoga 10a Yoga 5:30p & 7p Tuesday Apr. 4 AA meets Wednesday Apr. 5 Kid s Faith Discovery 6:00p-7p Choir practice 7:00p Thursday Apr.6 Ladies Auxiliary Meeting 11a Laurel Guild Meeting 7:00p at the home of Sue Feuerherm Sunday Apr. 9 Palm Sunday Sunday School 9:30a, Worship 10:55a Monday Apr. 10 Chair Yoga 10a,Yoga 5:30p & 7p Deacons 6:30p Church Council 7:30p Tuesday Apr. 11 AA meets Wednesday Apr. 12 Kid s Faith Discovery 6:00p-7p Lenten Bible Study 7:00p Choir practice 7p Thursday, Apr. 13 Maundy Thursday service at 7p Friday, Apr. 14 Good Friday service at 12p Sunday Apr. 16 Easter Sunday No Sunday School, Worship 10:55a Monday Apr. 17 Chair Yoga 10a Yoga 5:30p & 7p Tuesday Apr. 18 AA meets Wednesday Apr. 19 Kid s Faith Discovery 6:00p-7p Choir practice 7:30p Sunday Apr. 23 Sunday School 9:30a, Worship 10:55a Monday Apr. 24 Chair Yoga 10a Yoga 5:30p & 7p Tuesday Apr. 25 AA meets Wednesday Apr. 26 Kid s Faith Discovery 6:00p-7p Choir practice 7:00p Sunday Apr. 30 Sunday School 9:30a, Worship 10:55a Monday May 1 Chair Yoga 10a Mark your Calendars! Crop Walk is coming up, Sunday May 7th! See Mary Jo Green to Sign-up and begin seeking donations. Don t forget you can also register online at : crophungerwalk.org/spencerportny PAGE 9 ** Friendly Experiments ** In the coming months we will be conducting some friendly experiments based on the ideas and concerns gathered from our small group meetings regarding the pastoral search. Friendly experiments take place when we make changes in how we do things just to try them on before setting anything in stone. Because there were many ideas regarding worship and communication, in particular, we are going to be trying some of them. So be watching and listening. This is an important thing to do during an interim because a new pastor will bring in new ideas as well. And a word of caution, don t be quick to criticize these friendly experiments. If every new idea or change is immediately criticized, then opportunities for growth both personal and congregational will be missed. A Holy Week Think you know your Holy Week Trivia? Try this Holy Week Pop Quiz, Save your answers and bring them with you on Easter Sunday and the one with the most correct answers will win a prize! In case of a tie we will draw for a winner. 1)What is the meaning behind the washing of the feet? 2)In The Last Supper what is the sop? 3)Who is the disciple that denied knowing Jesus three times? 4)Who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver? 5)Which Jewish holiday were they celebrating? 6)Who were the two Roman leaders who had part in Jesus Crucifixion? 7) How many people were crucified with Jesus? 8)Why is the day of the crucifixion called Good Friday? 9)Of the people closest to Jesus, which ones were at the crucifixion? 10)In whose grave was Jesus buried? BONUS: The word Maundy comes from the Latin word; mandatum. What does it mean?

5 PAGE 8 Dear friends at OBC, How do I say enough thank you s to all of you? Your prayers, calls and cards have meant so much to me over the past several weeks. When we came home one day this past week to a package on the porch, we could not even imagine what was inside. Your thoughtful gift of the Sunrise Cactus is beyond words. It is beautiful and I am personally very grateful for a plant I ll be able to look at for a long time. Thank you again for all your thoughtfulness. I am truly blessed by you all. I am still continuing to recover from my heart attack and kidney failure, but I am getting stronger with each week that goes by. Thank you for your prayers as I continue on this path. Blessings to you all. With love Doris Vargo PAGE 5 Holy Week Services Schedule: April 9 Palm Sunday OBC April 13 Maundy Thursday 7pm Communion OBC April 14 Good Friday OBC April 16 Sonrise Service Spencerport Gazebo April 16 Easter Celebration Service OBC And You Don t Want to Miss The 9th Annual Rochester Cross Walk! Brought to you by the GRCC Faith in Action Network and the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester in conjunction with the Southeast Rochester Catholic Community. This year s devotional theme will be Rekindling Hearts of Hope for the Homeless and Downtrodden Good Friday, April Gathering : 8:45am Start Walking: St Mary s Catholic Church, 15 St Mary s Place Rochester This past month OBC kids have continued their studies on the early Ministry of Jesus Christ! In our efforts to become more Christlike this Lenten Season we have been working on our Journey Around Jerusalem Lent projects, showcasing the journey to the cross! We have also been preparing our own classroom Lent Altar to help to prepare our hearts and minds to meditate and turn our full attention to Jesus during this church season. In the month of April we begin to study The Parables learning how Christ communicated his ministry effectively to his listeners. Our Memory verse for this month is : Everyone with ears to hear should listen (Luke 8:8) OUR KIDZMIN SPOTLIGHT THIS MONTH SHINES ON SOPHIA CASTELLANO WITH HER TRANSLATION OF THIS MONTHS MEMORY VERSE: Everyone has ears, so everyone should listen. But not everyone listens and changes their hearts, so those people don t really hear God s words...even though God s words are really important so they should probably start listening! Well Said Sophia! A Message From the Region Delegates to the ABCRGR region met in January to conduct region-wide business. Main items follow: 1) It was voted to accept the Rochester Karen Baptist Church into region membership. 2) Revised Constitution/Bylaws of the Region were presented; vote to be taken at June s delegate s meeting. [The biggest change is the name of the region. The new name will be RGR Network of Transforming American Baptists (RGR Network). Another change will be to meetings of the delegates. Instead of the current Annual Gathering, this open meeting will be held on a biennial basis, putting the first Biennial Meeting in September If anyone is interested in reviewing The Revised Constitution/Bylaws please see Mary Jo Green.] (print and electronic versions are available)

6 PAGE 6 PAGE 7 GET INVOLVED!!! GET INSPIRED!!! A HUGE thank you to all who helped on White Cross Workday 98 School Kits were completed and 244 Roller-Bandages Wow!! SEM is looking for facilitators for the Human Need Fund, preferably a man and a woman, to help oversee this critical fund for the people of the Ogden/Spencerport area. Please see Pastor Nancy if you are interested in learning more. Mary s Place Cordially Invites You : No One is Alone Cabaret Join us for an Evening of Music and Song to benefit Mary s Place Refugee Outreach! April 21, 2017, 7:00pm York Wellness and Rehabilitation Institute Nazareth College 4245 East Avenue, Pittsford NY Tickets will be sold at the door: $20 for adults $5 for Students Spencerport Ecumenical Food Shelf Needs Currently SEM has very specific food donation needs. If you d like to help please pick up one or more of these items; Stew, Crackers, Muffin Mix Thank you For your Continued Donations and Support! A Note about Our Community Ministries and Mission Partner Spencerport Ecumenical Ministry (SEM) This past month Pastor Nancy attended her first meeting at SEM and came back with much to share! For those of you who may not be familiar with SEM and all they do here is an update : The SEM mission is to work cooperatively and collegially in Christ to intentionally address the following community needs: Community Outreach, Community Worship, Crisis Intervention, Human Needs, Interchurch Fellowship, Ministerial Fellowship and Pastoral Support. SEM sponsors the CROP walk, community holiday services and oversees a nursing home ministry among the churches. SEM is made up of both clergy and lay people. Currently, our lay people are planning the Easter SonRise service and the National Day of Prayer Service. The Food shelf is run by lay people as well. Ogden Baptist does not have a lay person on this ministry team and it would be a good opportunity for OBC to be involved in the community. The Human Needs Fund helps people who find themselves in need of more than food; working to find housing, secure medical care, provide transportation and other urgent needs. At the moment there is no one who facilitates this Fund and it is in danger of being dropped from the work of SEM. Ideally, we would like to see a man and a woman oversee this. There have been serious questions raised as to how this ministry can continue to survive without more participation from the churches. Like any long-standing program that relies on the same people over a length of time, people are aging out, moving away or burned out. New energy, new ideas and new people are always welcomed! The next meeting in on April 6 at 10am at St. John s Church to plan the National Day of Prayer. Cameron s Annual Bowl-A-Thon was a success! This year OBC had four teams participate in the fun and we enjoyed every second of it! For more great snapshots of the action check out OBC s Cameron Bowl-A-Thon 2017 album on Facebook and stop by Cameron s Facebook page for more great candid shots and more information on all things Cameron Community! Sophia C and Sophia D had varying techniques!