THE LANTERN. Mission & Stewardship Newsletter. Rev. Sandra Dorsainvil Associate Executive Minister for Mission & Stewardship

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1 THE LANTERN Issue No. Ten April Mission & Stewardship Newsletter TELEPHONE Rev. Sandra Dorsainvil Associate Executive Minister for Mission & Stewardship SKYPE SDNATICK Follow MSTheLantern We welcome the stranger. We extend a hand to the needy. We shelter the marginalized. Where will our feet take us next? WHAT IS HAPPENING LOCALLY, NATIONALLY & INTERNATIONALLY IN THIS ISSUE Lowell Habitat Update Page 1 Celebrations Page 2 White Cross Update Words to Reflect On Page 3 What s Happening Page 4 Your UM & MMF at Work Page 5 Upcoming Events Page 6 Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And lean not on your own understanding." Layout & Design by Kate Smith -- photoscreatedbyk8@gmail.com Habitat for Humanity Update this Easter season, I am glad to report on the progress In of Lucy s house at 73 Rock Street in Lowell. The railing is completely finished on the front porch and the back deck is finished as well. Mudding of the walls and ceiling is well underway. Thanks to a Matthew 25 grant, the furnace is in. I went with an electrician to view the house and see if his electrical union could do some work at Lucy s house. If it happens, that will be a credit of $5,000. towards the total cost. The recent fundraising breakfast brought $3,330. Thank you everyone for all your contributions, commitment and helping to build a safer home for Lucy and her son. Their home is #8 of the original 10 homes to which Habitat has committed to build in Lowell. It is part of a bigger affordable housing project that officials want to see in Lowell. Please contact Rev. Hazel at haroper@aol.com to sign up to volunteer for the upcoming Baptist Build Days. Rev. Hazel Roper Presentation on Cuba by International Missionaries Vital & Ketly Pierre FBC Melrose at 6:30pm May 18th

2 THE LANTERN Page 2 CELEBRATIONS Congratulations to the Matthew 25 grant recipients! Thank you for lifting up important needs in our region and helping in Faith Strengthening. Avon Baptist Church received $1,000 to purchase food items to supplement the church food pantry. Calvary Baptist Church in Lowell received $1,500 to provide tutoring assistance to middle and high school students in MCAS preparation. FBC/JP received $1,500 to provide MBTA Charlie cards to the needy. FBC/Rockport received $500 to help fund a college exposure trip to first generation students. FBC/Worcester received $1,500 to provide food to the residents of the Dismas House. Messiah Baptist Church in Brockton received $2,000 to assist survivors of domestic violence and their families. Curious about Dismas House? Read about it American Baptist Home Mission Societies Justice for Children Initiative Children in Poverty Grant Proposal Due: Wednesday, April 27, 2016 (Must be postmarked by 4/27/2016 no applications accepted by ) Oasis of Faith Campus Ministries expresses gratitude for the financial support received from local churches. It enables the chaplain to provide pastoral care, spiritual direction, programming, spiritual development resources, and be an ambassador of faith at the UMass/Boston campus. We celebrate that the team to teach VBS at The Tuscarora Indian Nation is COMPLETE. God has sent us the adult volunteers to teach Vacation Bible School to His children in the Niagara Falls area. Please keep our team in prayers, as they make preparations to head West in July. White Cross Update White Cross is Big in the Philippines! Wherever we went in the Philippines, to schools and hospitals, the people knew about White Cross. Most places had signs welcoming us, not as a Discovery Group from International Ministries which we were, but as White Cross visitors. We were told that White Cross monies were used at the Antique Outreach Program to purchase for each child a backpack, lunchbox, water bottle, and pencils good pencils. These children would otherwise be embarrassed to go to school without the proper supplies, or they wouldn t go at all. Now the mothers are attending Bible study while the kids are in school. We used to send bandages and quilt squares, but it cost too much to ship them and then it cost the Filipinos to receive them. Now we send money which goes directly to the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches (CPBS). CPBS makes sure the money gets into the right hands. Reports are made accordingly by the recipients. My local church, First Baptist Church of Bedford, the Women s Fellowship often doesn t think a small amount of money will make a difference, but when put all together, it makes a big difference in the lives of children and patients in a land far away. So keep giving of your heart and touching lives in the Philippines! Twila Wanamaker

3 THE LANTERN Page 3 The Transformational Power of Your Faithful Support to the Ministry on 5th Sundays. can we keep spreading God s Truth, How Hope and Love in the region and beyond? We enlist your help to sow seeds of God s mission whenever there is a 5th Sunday in a month during the year. These are the remaining 5th Sundays this year: May 29, July 31, and October 30. We want to let others know about God s Good News and invite them to make a difference in the world. As whoever sows generously, reaps generously (2 Corinthians 9:6-8), being the hands and feet of Christ while serving others, transforms our hearts, our behaviors and our very beings. Sowing seeds of generosity received renews our covenantal relationship with God. As Rev. Laura Harris-Adams shared with me recently, we are resurrection people, and ought to celebrate this transformation more often. How can we do that? Churches can do it by joining the Mission & Stewardship Department in Faith Raising, Faith Strengthening, and dedicating offerings on the 5th Sundays (May 29, July 31, October 30) to be Mass Mission/TABCOM Sundays. I invite us to lift up our regional efforts of transformation on these Sundays. Let us shout from the roof tops how God uses us as His ambassadors of peace, mercy, hope and love. His ambassadors of transformation. Did you know that 100% of your support to Mass Mission (MMF) stays in Massachusetts and 65% of your support to United Mission 5th Sundays stays in Massachusetts, but 35% goes to support national ABC-USA efforts? Your faithful support to Mass Mission (MMF) and United Mission ensures that the regional office can attend to local ministry needs, such as ongoing trainings to Mission Advocates, practical guidance to search committees, accompany ordination candidates along the process, preach God s good news, host many visiting missionaries, help mediate church and pastoral conflicts, provide technical guidance on financial management, inform and advocate on grant requests, develop and organize mission trips, help facilitate pastoral placements, develop new missional projects where our time and talent can be utilized, lift up environmental stewardship efforts and applications, and engage churches in re-visioning dialogues. Help us to be better at celebrating discipleship and living Acts 4:32. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. I invite our ABC churches to be intentional and generous on 5th Sundays, and let them be known as transformational Sundays, gratitude Sundays, Massachusetts Mission/TABCOM Sundays. Thank you for celebrating the transformational power of your support to the ministry in Massachusetts on these 5th Sundays (May 29, July 31, October 30). Your support makes a difference. Thank you. Rev Sandra

4 THE LANTERN Page 4 What s Happening around Massachusetts THE READING FBC Holyoke The mission of The Reading Room at First Baptist is to encourage and cultivate a love of reading and learning for the children of the community. It will provide a safe environment for children to come and read books, get help with their homework and enjoy hands on activities. The purpose is to strengthen the children s confidence in their reading skills and instill upon them a true appreciation for reading and learning. First Baptist Church Holyoke 1976 Northampton St., Holyoke Open: Wednesdays 4-5:5:30pm Presentation on mission & civil rights pilgrimage to Professor Lee Farrow s Community Organizing: Micro to Macro class at Stonehill College by Rev Adrienne BerryBurton and Rev Sandra Dorsainvil Lisa & Matthew Tringali and FBC Melrose answered the call for backpacks at Bethany Hill Place in Framingham! Missionary Marilyn Raatz presents on Peace & Conflict Transformation FBC Hyannis The New Testament in FBC Lynn Long range planning FBC Wakefield facilitated by Nick Kakolowski FBC Lynn celebrates 200 years of service to Christ and Community

5 THE LANTERN Page 5 Your UM and MMF at Work Final Preparation for the April 2016 New Orleans Mission Trip Team Richard Wolf presents at FBC Worcester about the role and purpose of TABCOM. The youth from The Federated Church of Sturbridge plan their upcoming summer mission trip to Wayne County, NY Practical suggestions for Recycling & Composting from Boston University Visit to the Common Ground Farm To Table Church in Northampton FBC Hanson made 72 tote bags for Bread & Roses in Lawrence, Covenant House in Springfield, Bakhita House in Boston, & Deborah s House in Tijuana. Thank you! Where was this picture taken? Mission Advocate Training at Oceanwood Camp Rev June Cooper from City Mission gives program updates

6 THE LANTERN Page 6 April Save the date! Mission Advocate Training September 24th May June Upcoming Events 7th Annual Walk-a-thon to support Family Promise Metrowest -- April 9th For more information go to All Hands In Fundraiser -- Saturday April 23rd, 6:30-8:30pm Masonic 19 Academy Street in Arlington. Support continued awareness and education of human trafficking ills in our communities. Join UUs for Climate Justice And Community Justice -- Sat, April 23rd, 9-noon March against the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure. March for the rapid transition to new renewable energy. For more UU Uprising information: facebook.com/immoralinfrastructure "And Still We Rise" Performance -- Sunday, April 24th -- 1pm St. James's Church, 1991 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA A presentation of "And Still We Rise" will be offered by the prison ministry of St. James's Church in Cambridge. Contact the parish ( ) for more information or visit City Mission Summit on Homelessness Prevention -- Tuesday, April 26th Trinity Church, Boston, 9am - 3:30pm. citymissionboston.org/trinity-homelessness-summit Lift Every Voice: A Gospel Concert Saturday, April 30, 2016, 6pm to 8pm. Benefit Concert in Support of City Mission s 200th Anniversary Payson Park Church, 365 Belmont Street, Belmont To register and for more information visit: The Annual Gathering (TAG) -- Friday-Saturday, May For more information and to register visit: Climate Justice -- May 15th Join Minister Mariama White-Hammond from Bethel AME Old Cambridge Baptist Church. She will preach on climate justice and strengthening partnerships to improve Environmental Stewardship. Farm to Table Ministry Conference -- June First Churches In Northampton For more information and registration visit: July October November World Mission Conference MissionWorks 2016 Mission Trip 2 El Salvador November 5-13 July 4-9, Green Lake Conference Center October Sponsered by South Shore Habitat for Humanity For more information contact John Register at Leominster, MA jwgalvin@verizon.net