THE BRANCH-LINE. From the Supply Pastor s Desk. I am the vine, you are the branches.

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1 THE BRANCH-LINE I am the vine, you are the branches. Published Monthly * Yearly mail subscription $12 Submissions deadline: 15th of the month From the Supply Pastor s Desk WILBRAHAM UNITED CHURCH Wilbraham, MA (413) x admin@wilbrahamunitedchurch.org Web Site: Church Staff Rev. Tom Howells, Supply Pastor Mark Jacobson, Director of Music Monica Stiefel, Administrative Assistant/ Branch-Line Editor Eric True, Maintenance Paul Nesbit, Director of Christian Ed. Betsy Johnsen, Bookkeeper The month of March affords us the opportunity to discuss several ideas. Since we are still in the "bleak mid-winter", I look forward to spring. The expression "April showers brings May flowers" is one of hope, but the full proverb is equally instructive. "March winds and April showers bring May flowers." So we must endure both wind and rain before we enjoy the beauty of flowers. As I understand it both wind and rain are necessary to prepare the ground for the seeds to grow. The wind to dry the ground so the seeds won't rot and the rain so that the seeds won't dry up and die before they sprout. The other and more important idea has to do with our faith journey. We are in the season of Lent in preparation for celebrating the beauty and joy of Easter. Like the soil we need preparation to fully experience the significance of resurrection and new life. We began our journey through Lent with a combined service with Church of the Epiphany - Christ the King on Ash Wednesday. During this service, everyone was invited to experience the ashes as a reminder of our mortality. This symbolic act, while it is significant, is not as important as one's contrition and penitence. Our journey through these forty days (not counting Sundays) continues with a Lenten Study series on Wednesday evenings at 7 pm. While you may have missed the first two sessions in February, you are welcome to join us for the final two sessions. The title of the series is "40 Days of R & R." When I announced this to several people, some tried to guess what the "Rs" stood for. I told them as I tell you, "you'll have to come to the series to find out." - (though you may have learned from those at the first sessions the meaning of the first "R"). I did tell them that it was not in reference to the three "R"s which I learned as a young person - Reading, 'Riting and 'Rithmetic. (Someone suggested that I should learn to spell or something to that effect. But that's the way I learned it and I'm sticking to it). The coining of the familiar phrase is attributed to Sir Wm. Curtis, MP of London [1795]. "What children need," Curtis said in the House of Commons, "is the three Rs, Readin, Ritin and Rithmetic." Whether he spoke from wit or from ignorance and confusion, the "Three Rs" remain the classic expression of basic education. By the way, the first reference to the three basic elements of primary school education is by Saint Augustine in his The Confessions of Saint Augustine [AD 401]. "For those first lessons, reading, writing and arithmetic, I thought as great a burden and penalty as any Greek." (He preferred studying Latin). You won't be learning Greek, Latin or the 3 Rs, but you will experience "40 Days of R&R." Join us for this growing experience in preparation for Easter. The other Lenten experience is during Holy Week. "All are invited to participate in our Sedar Supper on Thursday, March 29th at 6 pm in Fellowship Hall. It will be followed by a Maundy Thursday service of Holy Communion and Tenebrae at 7 pm in the Sanctuary. Our journey concludes with celebrating the resurrection of our Lord on Easter Sunday at our 10:00 am service. I hope that you will join us for some if not all of these services as we seek to grow in our faith. Peace Pastor Tom

2 Welcome Pastor Chip Hurd February 11, 2018 was Candidating Sunday. We welcomed Rev Wallace Chip Hurd, our candidate recommended by the Search Committee for our next Settled Pastor, and his wife Alison at a meet and greet that morning before our regular 10:00AM church service. Rev Hurd then conducted the Sunday service and preached the sermon. Immediately following the service there was a special meeting of the congregation at which it was voted unanimously and with considerable enthusiasm to invite Pastor Chip to become the next Settled Pastor of Wilbraham United Church. Having met Pastor Chip and listened to him preach, the congregation understood why the Search Committee had recommended Pastor Chip and definitively supported that recommendation. Pastor Chip accepted our invitation and the call Agreement was formally signed following the congregational meeting. The Fellowship Hour followed at which more people had a chance to talk with and get to know Pastor Chip and Alison. It was an exciting day for our church. A formal start date for Pastor Chip has not yet been determined pending his giving notice at his current church, First Congregational Church in West Boyleston, and pending the anticipated birth of the first child for Pastor Chip and Alison with a due date of March 20. Our hope is that Pastor chip will be available to start by mid-april. Meanwhile, Pastor Chip and Alison are in the process of searching for a new home in the Wilbraham area. They will be moving here from Jamaica Plain. Please join us in a warm and enthusiastic welcome for Pastor Chip and Alison. The Search Committee: Tina Bazarian, Kim Neelans, Steve Niederfringer, Tom Toman, Deb Trimble and Phyllis Walsh. Thank You to the Settled Pastor Search Committee I want to take this chance to say thank you to the members of the Settled Pastor Search Committee for their dedication and insights and friendship as we worked together over the past year. Yes, it has been that long. I lost track of the number of meetings we had to prepare our Church Profile and then to review ministerial profiles and conduct interviews with many candidates. Creating the Church Profile (all 50 pages of it) was a true team effort, trying to faithfully capture who we are as a church and what God is calling us to become, and based on that, clearly defining what we need and are looking for in our new senior minister. We received many compliments from candidates on the completeness and content of our Church Profile. The entire team participated thoughtfully in our interviews and openly shared perceptions and assessments about potential candidate s strengths and potential areas of concern. We then came together unanimously in our final selection. It was my great pleasure to work with this team of church colleagues and friends on our challenging and important assignment. It is an experience and a growth in friendships to be long remembered. Thank you to all Tina Bazarian, Kim Neelans, Steve Niederfringer, Deb Trimble and Phyllis Walsh for a job well done, for your active participation, for never a complaint about the many meetings and above all for your friendship and understanding of each other throughout. A special thank you to Deb Trimble for her irreplaceable efforts to document our proceedings, to keep track of and edit our many church profile revisions and to stay on top of communications and interview arrangements with candidates. Tom Toman-Search Committee Chair - 2 -

3 We will be receiving New Members into our church on Sunday, March 18. Supply Pastor Tom Howells will be hosting an informational meeting for potential new members on March 11, after the church service in the Zeckhausen Room. Anyone wishing to become a new member or seeking information about our church is welcome to attend. Contact Pastor Tom pastor@wilbrahamunitedchurch.org or the church office admin@wilbrahamunitedchurch.org to indicate that you are planning to attend the meeting. Why join you ask? You say you are happy attending our services but do not want to make the commitment? We need to be part of a community of believers in order to be faithful to Jesus command to Love Him and one another. Without the church community, it is all too easy to be distracted by everyday life and to put off the work of the church. Wilbraham United Church is entering into an exciting era and we want everyone to be part of it. Our new Settled Pastor, Chip Hurd, will be joining us in April with his commitment, enthusiasm and new ideas. We welcome him! We would like you to join us and become a part our work and our joy. Come on March 11. Learn about Wilbraham United Church and then join our church on March 18 in our commitment to each other and to Christ. Volunteers Needed for Super Saturday Super Saturday is a semi-annual gathering of the United Church of Christ from Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. This gathering included both clergy and laity who come together to pray, take workshops and participate in fellowship throughout the course of the day. For the second consecutive year, the March gathering will take place right here in Wilbraham at Minnechaug Regional High School. The Massachusetts Conference has been in touch with me as has asked me to assist with procuring volunteers. Volunteers will assist INDOORS by directing participants to the different areas such as coat check, restrooms, cafeteria, auditorium and where to go for a particular workshop. Deb Trimble and I have served as volunteers in the past and have found it a fun way to not only be involved but also meet folks from the Southern New England area. If you are interested in serving as a volunteer, please do not hesitate to contact Deb or Paul for more information

4 Mother Son Dance Join us for Holy Week Sunday, March 25, 10am Palm and Passion Sunday One Great Hour of Sharing Thursday, March 29 Seder Supper at 6pm Maundy Thursday Service at 7:30pm Communion Service with Tenebrae Good Friday, March 30 Check with local churches for services Easter Sunday, April 1, 10 am Celebrate the Resurrection Worship service with special music - 4 -

5 The Church Office is open weekly Monday Thursday from 9:30am to 1:30pm. Main Phone: FAX: website: STAFF & Phone Extensions: Reverend Tom Howells, PASTOR Church Ext. 103 Monica Stiefel, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Church Ext. 100 Mark Jacobson, MUSIC DIRECTOR Church Ext. 106 Paul Nesbit, DIR. OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Church Ext. 105 Betsy Johnson, BOOKKEEPER Through office Ext. 100 WILBRAHAM UNITED CHURCH NURSERY SCHOOL Church Ext. 108 Eric True, BUILDING SUPER Church Ext. 107 Missed church? Watch the service on Wilbraham Public Access, Channel 191, 8 PM on Mondays and 8 AM on Tuesdays. Services are also available on-line. Go to On the left click Public Access Schedules - Channel 191. Find the service you d like to watch by selecting a date on the calendar and a time, 8pm Mondays or 8am on Tuesdays. Click Watch Now - 5 -

6 Online Gift Card Ordering! Try it today! We are seeing an increased participation in online ordering through and we thank those who have taken the plunge! It may seem a little intimidating at first, but once you try it, I think you ll be hooked. Have you thought about it, but don t know how to take the next step? Speaking from experience, it is a great way to get your scrip from your home or office computer. Do I need something from Amazon today? No problem. I go to and select the amount of Amazon scrip I need, place the order online from my home computer, wait a couple of minutes, get my gift card code from shopwithscrip and apply it to my Amazon order. I also use it for reloading my Shell, Whole Foods, CVS, Lowe s and Starbucks cards. It feels great to give a percentage of my everyday purchases directly to our church. How do I do that you ask? *Log on to and click on the Join a Program button at the top of the page. *Enter our unique enrollment code (contact Connie Stiefel) and then click on the Register icon *Fill in all of the required information and click Register *Now you can place and pay for orders online either by check or by enrolling in PrestoPay (advantageous for immediate scrip and reload options since payment comes directly from your checking account) PLEASE (cdstiefel@gmail.com) or call ( ) me any time to ask questions or get more information!! Thank you, Connie Stiefel NATE CHIVERS IN CONCERT Music for Solo Electric Guitar <><><><><><><><><><><><> Saturday., March 3, 7:30 PM Wilbraham United Church <><><><><><><><><><><><> Come see and hear extraordinary skill and talent free will offering HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Best wishes to the following senior members of our congregation who are celebrating birthdays in March: Lee Miner March 2 Judy Marek March 6 Nancy Nieske March 6 Betty Getchell March 16 Joan Florian March 23 Wilbraham United Players Receive Monson Savings Grant Recently, it was announced that the Wilbraham United Players have been the recipient of a $2, grant from Monson Savings Bank s Community Giving Initiative. This was awarded based on balloting on the bank s website. WUP received the second highest number of votes and was awarded accordingly. The money received in the grant will help with the upcoming production of Beauty and the Beast. This production will take place on June 16 and 17 at 7:30pm, and on June 22 (7:30pm), June 23 (10:30 am and 7:30pm), and June 24 (2:30pm.) Due the staging and seating demands, all performances are scheduled to take place at Minnechaug Regional High School. The Wilbraham United Players are in the midst of their 61 st season. They began as the Wilbraham United Church Players as an off-shoot of the choir. The group usually performed Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas as a means of fundraising for the new section of the church. The group branched off in the 1970 s and became the Wilbraham United Players and ventured into other areas of theatrical plays. WUP continues today and enjoys a healthy association with the church as well as the community. Most members of the WUP Board are also members of the church. The group is led by Artistic Director Deb Trimble and Board President Paul Nesbit

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9 OUTREACH COMMISSION NEWS One Great Hour of Sharing Outreach Commission will be doing a mailing with information and envelopes for OGHS. The Collection will take place on March 25, Palm Sunday. Please be generous. PIECEMAKERS The Piecemakers will be meeting on March 12 and 26, Mondays at 10:00 in the Bliss Room to continue working on quilts for the Pediatric Emergency Room at Baystate Medical Center. Link to Libraries Outreach Commission is excited about this new ministry team. We have made a commitment through Link to Libraries to sponsor Brunton School in Springfield for three years. We will donate $1500 each year for books. We will provide volunteer readers each month, Joyce Pierangelo and Edna Colcord. Anyone interested in being involved in this project contact Nan Bernard nanettebernard@yahoo.com or Ruth Karlson ruth@thekarlsons.com Thank you for your donations! The survival Center is grateful for them! MARCH Please look for anything on sale!! WOMEN S EVENING FELLOWSHIP PRESENTS LENTEN REFLECTIONS Women s Evening Fellowship cordially invites you to attend our next meeting on Tuesday March 27 at 7:30 PM in the Zeckhausen Room. Our guest speaker, Pastor Anne Strickert of St. Paul Lutheran Church in East Longmeadow, will share reflections on Lenten disciplines to prepare our hearts and minds as we journey through Holy Week. A time of fellowship will follow the evening s program, and delicious refreshments will be served

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11 To find the most up to date schedule throughout the week, go to our church s website and click on EVENTS