Church Bell. Pastor Rev. John Hughes. May Continued next page... First Parish Church on the Village Green Manchester-by-the-Sea

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1 First Parish Church on the Village Green Manchester-by-the-Sea May 2014 Pastor Rev. John Hughes The Newsletter of the First Parish Church Congregational Church Bell Rev. Fungayi Mutsumbei Graduates A.N.T.S. May 17 th On Saturday, May 17 th, Rev. Fungayi Mutsumbei will graduate from Andover Newton Theological School in Newton Centre, MA. Rev. Mutsumbei will then be returning to Zimbabwe after his two years of studies, earning him a Masters of Theological Studies. His degree program focused on how to change the relationship of the men and women of Zimbabwe so that women will not be treated as male possessions. The devaluation of women has resulted in much despair and depression. To build the dignity and worth of women, Rev. Mutsumbei is formulating Project Kusimudzira. To support Project Kusimudzira, Rev. Mutsumbei is looking for partner churches to financially support a poultry project ($459.00) or a building for a grinding mill ($1,100.00). These micro-economic projects establish women in business in ways that change the social fabric of villages and their church communities. At the same time, Rev. Mutsumbei is continuing a container project which ships clothing to adults and children, sports equipment and uniforms, sheets-blankets-mosquito netscrutches-wheelchairs-books, newborn diapers and clothing, and computers. The First Parish Church has been partnered with the South Down church in Zimbabwe. Missions will be organizing the collection of specific items to be shipped directly to the South Down church and neighboring clinic and elementary school. Continued next page...

2 PAGE 2 CHURCH BELL MAY 2014 Rev. Mutsumbei is part of the changing landscape of theological education in America. Attendance at seminary is moving strongly to older students (average age is up to 47 yrs. from 39 yrs.) as the seminary experiences a rise in second and third career students. 60% of seminarians still are affiliated with the 3 top denominations, United Church of Christ (38%), Unitarian Universalist Association (20%), and American Baptist (8%). The closing of Bangor Theological School in June 2013 resulted in an influx of 79 new students to A.N.T.S. In all 19 faith traditions make up the student body, including Armenian Apostolic, Baha i, and Unity traditions. Please hold Rev. Fungayi Mutsumbei in your prayers as he graduates from A.N.T.S. and returns to Zimbabwe for his vital ministry. Have you shared the experience? Our Care Team provides meals, rides, & visits to sustain families in our Church Community through times of illness and loss. If you would like to become involved with this wonderful support system please call; Sheila Kafer , smkafer@comcast.net Janet Groth at , jlgroth58@yahoo.com Christmas Fair Crafters - as you are beachcombing this summer, please collect small smooth well worn driftwood for our Christmas crafts. Nothing longer than 18" or larger than 1-1 1/2 inch diameter.

3 PAGE 3 CHURCH BELL MAY 2014 Christian Education Director I can t believe our Sunday school year is coming to a close and soon we will all be at Singing Beach enjoying school vacation! We have two Sunday mornings together until we meet for Children s Sunday and teacher s recognition on May 18 th. The last two weeks we will look at the stories of Sarah and Abraham in the younger classrooms and the Holy Eucharist and Pentecost in the 4/5 th grade room. In wrapping up the year once again I need to thank the volunteers that make our program a success, without them there would be very empty rooms, no music, no laughter and no stories of the Bible. In the Nursery thank you to Toni Rerisi-Patota and Emily Stanton who are truly the baby whisperers! In the PreK room thank you to both Holly Potter and Nancy Peterson who capture any child s attention! In the K-3 rd grade room thank you to Nancy Garvey who is so gentle and kind with the children that all are relaxed and listening to every word. The 4-5 th grade room has the luxury of Jen Powers and Sara DeOreo who put so much passion into their lessons that anyone who is present walks away with a smile having learned something new. Annie Greenleaf and Chip Price keep our halls filled with music and can keep all of us in tune and sounding amazing! Thank you to all of the parents who deliver their children to us each week you are all the driving force in the success of our Sunday school! Last, thank you to Nancy Klebart who is constantly making our Sunday school shine through her endless hours of updates, Facebook post, Cricket ads, Bell articles etc I know that many of you know how much she does for FPC another example of how blessed our community is to have her at her desk! We will all be in the church on May 18 th to say thank you in person and to congratulate so many on another wonderful year. Have a safe and wonderful summer, Priscilla Duda

4 PAGE 4 CHURCH BELL MAY 2014 Heifer Talent Show and Fundraiser

5 Youth Director Emelia Attridge It s hard to believe our program year is almost through! Before we know it, it will be summertime, sailing, ice cream and many trips to the beach. Believe it or not, that also means we re already planning Youth Group programs for program year! Have thoughts, ideas, suggestions? Let me know! Here s what we re looking forward to in May and this summer: May Youth Group Events All youth (grades 6-12) are invited to paint their own pottery at Clay Dreaming in Beverly, MA on Friday, May 2, from 6:15 to 8:45 p.m. We ll meet at the Chapel, and leave at 6:15 p.m. For an accurate headcount, please register as soon as possible. We ll join Membership and Growth on Sunday, May 18 on the beach for the return of our church kite day! Solace meets on Sunday, May 4 and Sunday, May 11 at 10 a.m. in the Chapel. Join us for our last two days of Youth Group before the summer! Join us on Sunday, May 18 for Children s Sunday to celebrate the end of our program year in the church at 10 a.m. Confirmation Class will meet on Sunday, May 4 and Sunday, May 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for our last two classes. We ll have a Wrap-Up Party and practice for the upcoming service for Confirmation Sunday on Friday, May 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Youth Room. Confirmation Sunday is June 1, at 10 a.m. The Summer Youth Series will return this year after school gets out! Students entering 6th Grade in the fall are welcome to attend any summer programming. All youth, Middle School and High School are invited to attend. Stay tuned for the Summer Youth Series schedule! In addition to the schedule, we may also be meeting for the occasional gathering. youthdirector.fpchurch@verizon.net to get on the list for summer programming! Are you interested in this summer s Mission Trip to Orland, ME? Youth may submit an early registration form in May. Registrations will be accepted through the summer, but space is available on a first-come, first-serve basis, so register soon! Students entering Grade 8 in the fall, and all High School students are welcome. youthdirector.fpchurch@verizon.net for a registration form or more information. Adults! Church Members! Friends, Romans, Countrymen if you are interested in joining our Mission Trip, we would love to have you! Please me for details. With enough adults interested, this can be an intergenerational Mission Trip.

6 Summer Youth Series 2014 The Summer Youth Series seeks to strengthen the fellowship of the Youth Group (grades 6 to 12) of First Parish Church during the summer months through service opportunities and social gatherings. Students entering grades 6 and up in the following school year (Fall 2014) are invited to participate in the Summer Youth Series. This also allows students entering grade 6 to build friendships with students in the Youth Group. Recent High School graduates are also eligible to participate. Wednesday, June 25 (8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.) Challenge Course with Adventure Pursuits, Wenham, MA Team building challenge course includes activities, games and challenges on the low ropes course. The program runs for four hours, and is led by Adventure Pursuits leaders to provide fun and engaging ways for groups to get to know one another, learn how to work together and problem solve as a team. Team building principles such as encouragement, listening, respect and servant leadership are drawn out through games, activities and our low ropes course. Cost: $20, lunch will not be provided, but snacks will be available. Wednesday, July 9 (Time TBD) Dog Service Project, Ipswich, MA Service opportunity with the Dog Service Project, which trains Great Danes to become service dogs. We will help with whatever tasks they have need for on that day (may include grooming/bathing dogs, maintenance or care for animals. A favorite of FPC youth! Cost: Free, lunch provided. Wednesday, July 30 (5 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. ) Mini-golf and Ice Cream at Richardsons, Middleton, MA Play a round of mini-golf, then enjoy a sweet reward. Cost: $15, ice cream and dinner included Saturday, August 9 (10 a.m. - 2 p.m.) Service projects at First Parish Church Service opportunity at the Chapel. Tasks will include maintenance of outdoor features including the shed, steps to the kitchen door, and portico columns outside the main office door. Cost: Free, lunch will be provided. Sunday, August 17 Saturday, August 23 Mission Trip to H.O.M.E. Inc., Orland, ME Week-long mission trip to H.O.M.E. Inc., a community that provides support, lowincome housing, childcare, pre-school, food pantry and community meals. Students may spend the day on projects related to the above areas of service. Also includes a trip to Arcadia National Park and faith formation activities and reflection during the course of the week. Cost: $150; Advanced registration required

7 PAGE 7 CHURCH BELL MAY 2014 Missions By Alice Eastland The Zimbabwe Mission Our Growing Connection The entire congregation has been inspired by Rev. Fungayei Mutsumbei s preaching in his visits to First Parish Church and by his presentation about the important work in the Zimbabwe UCC. Rev. Mutsumbei s has identified the South Down U.C.C.in Zimbabwe as a partner church with First Parish Church so that we can create an ongoing church-to-church relationship. The goal is to create a connection in which we come to appreciate one another s worship and culture. Christian Ed will be a significant player in this partnership because of the powerful learning experience for our children. The Missions Committee will be launching a church wide drive in May to collect and purchase goods to be shipped to Zimbabwe in a container. The Zimbabwe Container Project is spearheaded by the First Congregational Church in Wakefield, New Hampshire. Many U.C.C. churches in New England pitch in to fill the container with donations from their respective churches. In addition, Rev. Mutsumbei has requested help from church members to support Project Kusimudzira. May you please walk with me as I minister to the lives of women in Zimbabwe? Your financial support of a poultry project ($459.00) or a building to house a grinding mill ($1,100) or any part of this project will provide a way to empower and change women's lives. Publicity about the Shipping Container project will be made available to the congregation in early May. Watch for it! The May 24 deadline for the shipment is fast approaching but there s still time to volunteer or contribute. Ask a Missions Committee member what you can do to help. Plummer Home New Directions The Plummer Home Easter Baskets are an annual tradition for the Mission Committee. This year, Emilia Attridge and Candice McLaughlin from the Plummer Home had a busy session with Cynthia Franklin, Laney Franklin, Naomi Franklin and Sarah Potter. They packed 16 beautifully decorated baskets full of chocolate and other treats. (The goodies were earbuds, sportsdrink cups, net sports bags, a cool pen, and fittingly, a batterypowered toothbrush.) It s important to recognize that our FPC youth didn t just pack baskets; they participated in a mission. Continued next page...

8 Guest writer Jamie Ayer is the Grant Writer/Events Manager for the Plummer Home. Her May feature is timed with National Foster Care Month. Plummer Home has been helping abused, neglected, and troubled youth for more than 155 years. Caroline Plummer, one of America s earliest female philanthropists, established a program in which staff would guide youth toward productive and community-focused behavior, thus avoiding incarceration. How could she have known that her vision would not just be persevering, but thriving in 2014? At Plummer Home, we see first-hand the effects that trauma and neglect have on the young men in our Group Home. We know that our kids have internalized years of abuse and upheaval and that this pain often results in poor school performance, poor social skills, and anxiety. We also see that these adverse effects aren t limited to young men. Beginning in 2011 with the opening of On Point, a diversion program designed to keep court-involved kids living at home while they satisfy their court-mandated probation requirements, Plummer Home expanded Caroline Plummer s vision and began helping young women in addition to young men. Today, Plummer Home serves between boys and girls through our various programs. In addition to our Group Home and On Point, we offer supported apartments in nearby communities for young men and women. This program is designed for young adults who are about to age out of the fostercare system. In order to participate, these youth must be in school or working full-time. Currently, Plummer Home has six kids in its Community Apartment program: two young men live in Salem; one young man lives in Marblehead while he attends college in nearby Swampscott; another is living in Boston where he attends college; and two young women live in apartments in Beverly. In 2012, Plummer Home also started a foster-care program in Lowell. We currently have 14 families hosting six girls and 11 boys in and around Essex and Middlesex counties. May is National Foster Care Month and we are pleased to tell you of our most recent success story: Three young brothers will be adopted in May by their current Foster mother. We are fortunate to have so many wonderful, loyal and passionate people caring directly for our kids and supporting them, as do the parishioners at First Parish Church through invitations to outings, gift giving at the holidays, supplying and stuffing Easter baskets, and donating home-cooked meals and birthday presents. These acts of kindness go a long way toward making our kids feel worthwhile. Thank you for caring about the boys and girls Plummer Home serves. If you d like to know more about any of our programming, please contact me at: jayer@plummerhome.org

9 WILKINSON, SHIRLEY 05/01 5A PEELE HOUSE SQUARE MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA MA BACHMAN, FRAN 05/05 13A THE PLAINS MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA MA BERGER, GWENDOLYN 05/ OLD ESSEX ROAD MANCHESTER MA WARNOCK, LYNANNE 05/12 41 SUMMER STREET MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA MA GENDRON, CHARLIE 05/ SUMMER ST MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA MA FRANKLIN, LANEY 05/20 17 NORWOOD AVENUE MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA MA CURRY, SALLY 05/21 12 HIDDEN LEDGE RD MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA MA DEOREO, SARA 05/21 6 BROOK STREET MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA MA GRAYDEN, WILLIAM 05/ W SEAVIEW DR MARATHON FL LEHAR, MARGARET 05/22 14 CROOKED LANE MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA MA FEUERBACH, TASLA 05/24 5 HAROLD STREET MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA MA POWERS, ABIGAIL 05/25 dkpjfp@verizon.net 8 STORY ROAD MAGNOLIA MA LEARAGER, STACEY 05/26 schuhler@comcast.net 2 MACHAIN WAY MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA MA PRICE JR, ROBERT 05/26 cprice@vpg.com 38 EVERETT STREET BEVERLY FARMS MA KOOPMAN, NATALIE 05/29 julhindes@live.com, jekoop413@gmail.com P.O. BOX 522 MANCHESTER MA LUMSDEN, DAVID 05/31 david.lumsden@siemens.com 10 KNIGHT CIRCLE MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA MA 01944

10 Worship Schedule Sunday, May 4 th Rev. John Hughes Scripture: Acts 2:1-4a, Psalm 116:1-4, Luke 24:13-35 Sermon: Hymns: Appearing on the Way Christ is Made the Sure Foundation Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us At the Font We Start Our Journey Sunday, May 11 th Rev. John G. Hughes Scripture: Acts 2: Peter 2:19-25 John 10:1-10 Sermon: Hymns: A Wounded Healer God the Spirit, Guide, and Guardian Help Us Accept Each Other What a Covenant Sunday, May 18 th Children s Sunday Scripture: John 3:5-8 Isaiah 40:27-31 Sermon: Hymns: Which Way? How Great Thou Art In the Garden Saturday, May 24 th Wedding: Bridget Palardy/Sandy Cole 4 FPC Sunday, May 25 th Rev. John Hughes Memorial Day Sunday Scripture: Acts 17:22-31 John 14:15-21 Sermon: Hymns: So Much to Worship National Hymn Eternal Father Strong to Save Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory Sunday, May 25 th Wedding: Carol Iturralde/Terry Graf 2 FPC Monday, May 26 th Rosedale Cemetery Rev. John Hughes

11 Daily Lectionary Thurs., May. 1 Psalm 116:1-4, Isaiah 25:1-5 1 Peter 1:8b-12 Fri., May. 2 Psalm 116:1-4, Isaiah 26:1-4 1 Peter 1:13-16 Sat., May. 3 Psalm 116:1-4, Isaiah 25:6-9 Luke 14:12-14 Sun., May. 4 Third Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14a, Psalm 116:1-4, Peter 1:17-23 Luke 24:13-35 Mon., May. 5 Psalm 134 Genesis 18: Peter 1:23-25 Tues., May. 6 Psalm 134 Proverbs 8:32 9:6 1 Peter 2:1-3 Wed., May. 7 Psalm 134 Exodus 24:1-11 John 21:1-14 Thurs., May. 8 Psalm 23 Exodus 2:15b-25 1 Peter 2:9-12 Fri., May. 9 Psalm 23 Exodus 3:16-22; 4: Peter 2:13-17 Sat., May. 10 Psalm 23 Ezekiel 34:1-16 Luke 15:1-7 Sun., May. 11 Fourth Sunday of Easter Acts 2:42-47, Psalm 23 1 Peter 2:19-25 John 10:1-10 Mon., May. 12 Psalm 100, Ezekiel 34: Peter 5:1-5 Tues., May. 13 Psalm 100, Ezekiel 34:23-31 Hebrews 13:20-21 Wed., May. 14 Psalm 100 Jeremiah 23:1-8 Matthew 20:17-28 Thurs., May. 15 Psalm 31:1-5, Genesis 12:1-3 Acts 6:8-15 Fri., May. 16 Psalm 31:1-5, Exodus 3:1-12 Acts 7:1-16 Sat., May. 17 Psalm 31:1-5, Jeremiah 26:20-24 John 8:48-59 Sun., May. 18 Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 7:55-60 Psalm 31:1-5, Peter 2:2-10, John 14:1-14 Mon., May. 19 Psalm 102:1-17 Exodus 13:17-22 Acts 7:17-40 Tues., May. 20 Psalm 102:1-17 Proverbs 3:5-12 Acts 7:44-56 Wed., May. 21 Psalm 102:1-17 Proverbs 3:13-18 John 8:31-38 Thurs., May. 22 Psalm 66:8-20 Genesis 6:5-22, Acts 27:1-12 Fri., May. 23 Psalm 66:8-20 Genesis 7:1-24 Acts 27:13-38 Sat., May. 24 Psalm 66:8-20 Genesis 8:13-19 John 14:27-29 Sun., May. 25 Sixth Sunday of Easter Acts 17:22-31 Psalm 66: Peter 3:13-22 John 14:15-21 Mon., May. 26 Psalm 93 Genesis 9:8-17 Acts 27:39-44 Tues., May. 27 Psalm 93 Deuteronomy 5: Peter 3:8-12 Wed., May. 28 Psalm 93, Deuteronomy 31:1-13 John 16:16-24 Thurs., May. 29 Ascension Day Acts 1:1-11 Psalm 47 or Psalm 93 Ephesians 1:15-23 Luke 24:44-53 Fri., May. 30 Psalm 93 2 Kings 2:1-12 Ephesians 2:1-7 Sat., May. 31 Psalm 93, 2 Kings 2:13-15, John 8:21-30 Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. commontexts.org. Used by permission. This resource may be reproduced by congregations for their own worship and educational activities. Provided by the Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ made possible by Our Church s Wider Mission Basic Support and Fellowship Dues.

12 First Parish Church, Congregational 1 Chapel Lane, P.O. Box 187 Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA Address Correction Requested Pay by PayPal! You can now pay your pledge or make a donation to First Parish Church by using PayPal, just click on Supporting The Church on our website.