Message from Pastor Karen...

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1 Volume 14, Issue 4 May 2013 At a Glance Helping Hands 10AM, the 2nd Spring Fling Tag & Bake Sale 10 2, the 4th Church Council 7:30PM, the 8th Craft Group 6:30, the 9th and 23rd UMW Bake Sale 11:30 AM, Mother s Day, the 12th Memorial Day The The United Methodist Church of of Danbury Message from Pastor Karen... The school year is going by so quickly! It seems that we just welcomed our student pastor, Peter Brown, at the beginning of his second year of seminary at Drew. His academic year ends at the beginning of May, and with it his official time with us. (Since Peter and Maddie live in Danbury, we have reason to hope that we ll see them occasionally in the future!) Peter has quickly become an integral part of our church family. His wonderful gifts of calm presence, deep thinking, and openness to new ideas have been a blessing to all of us. He has preached once a month and led a men s Bible study weekly; he sang in the choir, and was in charge of our Advent and Lent Oasis worship; he made visits and checked in with people; he brought creative ideas from Drew and from his home church. I ve never had a student pastor before, and I really liked it! Peter was open to learning, gracious with changes, and enthusiastic about ministry. He and I were not in agreement on some issues in the Methodist church, and we re proof that we don t have to agree to work together for the Kingdom of God. I will miss him. May 5 is his last Sunday. Peter will lead the entire worship service, and he is already working on a special message for the congregation. I hope you will all turn out that day to celebrate his ministry among us! -Pastor Karen 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 May 27

2 Page 2 Worship Schedule for May May 5 The Sixth Sunday of Easter Peter Brown s last Sunday as student pastor 10:30 a.m. Worship, Peter Brown preaching May 12 May 19 May 26 The Seventh Sunday of Easter Mother s Day Baptism of Carrie Elizabeth Tesbir 10:30 a.m. Worship, Pastor Karen preaching Pentecost 10:30 a.m. Worship, Pastor Karen preaching Trinity Sunday 10:30 a.m. Worship, Pastor Karen preaching And please plan ahead for: June 16 June 23 Pastor Karen s last Sunday in our sanctuary 10:30 a.m. Worship, Pastor Karen preaching Worship at Meckauer Park in Bethel with St. James Episcopal Church 11:00 a.m. Worship, Father Joseph Krasinski preaching Followed by a potluck lunch! June 29 8:00 a.m. ASP Send-off Pastor Karen June 30 Another chance to hear Peter Brown preach! 10:30 a.m. Worship, Peter Brown preaching We have classes for elementary, middle school, and high school students at 9:30 on Sundays, as well as two classes for adults: a women s Bible study led by Minnie Rouse, and a men s Bible study led by Peter Brown until the second Sunday of May, when another member of the group will step up! Child care is available Sunday mornings.. All morning worship services are followed by a time of fellowship.

3 Volume 14, Issue 4 Page 3 Mission Trip Our church has been given the opportunity to support an up-coming mission trip to be taken by one of our very own: Hannah Foster daughter of Penny McKowen and Marti Foster. As most of you know, Hannah has been studying in Malaysia this year and would dearly love to be a part of a mission trip this summer to Trinidad. The Church Council has agreed to help sponsor Hannah so she may take part in this important mission trip. This is clearly an opportunity for Hannah as well as the church she is a part of. We would therefore like to urge any congregant who is able, to join with the Council in this fund-raising effort. Donations may be made to UMCD with Hannah Foster s Mission Trip written on the memo line. Any support you can provide for this mission will certainly be a blessing. Earth Day Make Earth Day every day! - Chris Russock Commit to protect the environment! Environmentalism is important to everyone. Having clean air to breath, water to drink and neighborhoods safe from toxins is vital to all of us. Take Action! Start living a greener lifestyle every day. Volunteer to protect the environment Learn! Teach! Share! Learn about environmental justice. Sunday School Thanks to all who helped make the Easter Egg Hunt happen, from donations, to filling the eggs, to helping Easter morning. It was a lovely, fun-filled time. Thank you. Sunday School will meet downstairs in the kitchen on May 12 th. Join the fun and help prepare for a special Mothers Day coffee hour. Trustees The Trustees met April 3rd. -Coralee DeMouth The first item of discussion was considering alternative investment options for several Certificates of Deposit that are coming up for maturity. The purpose of these considerations is to increase the interest rate of return. After consideration of all options, it was decided we would transfer some funds to the United Methodist Frontier Foundation Program at approximately a 5% rate of return. The Foundation, sponsored by the Methodist Church, provides us with good liquidity at very minimal risk. Also discussed was making repairs to the west wing doors to stop the air from blowing in under the door. There was a discussion of the terms, conditions and rental rates to be included in the new lease agreement for the Inglesia Casa de Oracion Church. - Larry Bornemeier

4 Page 4 Bike and Build: June 11 to 13 Save June 12 Our college students begin to arrive around 3pm until? on the 11 th. We will be serving grilled ribs and chicken that night. There will be sign up sheets in the Narthex on June 9 for side dishes for the dinner. Everyone is invited to dinner and it will be served from 6pm until the last bike rider is fed. On June 12, everyone is invited to Rogers Park for the collegiate baseball game of the Danbury Westerners. The bike riders will be honored at this game and we will have hot dogs and hamburgers at the field for dinner. There will be a free will offering accepted to cover the cost. Please come and watch the game with our bikers! Things that can be donated now: Napkins, paper plates, cups Drinks: coffee, tea, juice, bottled water Gift cards for local supermarkets Cans of baked beans, corn, French green beans I will let you know what else we can use in the June Flame. Questions? Ask Barb McWilliams, Mark Pierce or Bev Anderson. Outreach Saturday night April 13 th was the last night for this program. It will begin again on November 15 th. Please keep the hungry and homeless in your prayers! Thanks to Marcia and Chuck Vietrogowski for all their support for this program. Minnie Rouse donated 50 barbequed chicken legs for the last evening and they were eaten within minutes of being served!! It is a very rewarding program. I think I get back 10 times more than I give. On this last night many of the people I ve seen over the past 17 years stopped by to say hi and let me know how they are doing. It was great to see them all! I m looking forward to next year and I ll let you know how you can help. Thanks again. Craft Group -Bev Anderson Let s get started preparing for the Pumpkin Festival. Join the craft group. We will be meeting Thursday May 9 th and 23 rd, after Thursday night dinner at 6:30 pm in Fellowship Hall. Also, we need empty seed packets. There will be a collection box set up in the narthex. - Coralee DeMouth The May selection, The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, will be discussed at Lois Bornemeier s on Monday, the 20th at 7:30 pm. Meet at the church at 7:15 if you want to carpool.

5 Page 5 Being A Good Neighbor Most people will remember the man in this picture. Yes, it is Fred Rogers from Mister Rogers Neighborhood, a children s show that ran on PBS from 1968 until 2000, a total of 33 years. This particular picture with Mr. Rogers includes a quote from his book, The Mister Rogers Parenting Book. It has been making its way around the internet and most if it not all the social media sites, since the tragedy in Boston on Monday, April 15 th. I only saw a couple of episodes of Mister Rogers, but I always felt a sense of his warm and caring love for everyone in the neighborhood, a neighborhood that extended beyond sight.. Fred Rogers was a Presbyterian minister; he was always modeling a symbol of compassion, patience, and morality. I remember when I came to the neighborhood up on the hill overlooking Danbury. The roof that housed this particular church family had a funny shape to it almost like wings soaring through the sky. When I first opened the doors to this neighborhood, I was scared, but as Mr. Rogers said, I looked for the helpers, and sure enough, I found many people helping me, encouraging me and welcoming into this neighborhood. The neighborhood of the United Methodist Church of Danbury has been the neighborhood where I have practiced my pastoring skills for the last eight months. It has been exciting to learn from you all of you what family is like in the church. The Thursday life meals are always delicious, and I always get scolded if I don t grab enough vegetables. Our Thursday Bible Study has been a fun and learning experience, and usually Pastor Karen and/or I (if I am preaching that week) always gain some very helpful information from these studies that find their way into the Sermon on Sunday morning. Friends, most of you know that my Learning Covenant is up on May 5. I have had a wonderful time meeting and getting to know most of you, and it will be hard to say good-bye. I will be preaching on May 5 and hope all of you can make it. I look forward to seeing you there! Blessings, Peter Brown Got Pollen? We ve got ASP Car Washes: Only 5 left?!? Saturday, May 4 th Saturday, May 11 th Sunday, May 19 th Saturday, May 25 th and Sunday, June 2 nd We need pollen-less, clean cars!

6 Page 6 Your Church Council During the April meeting, the Church Council voted to begin the monthly meetings at 7:30 PM instead of 8 PM. Committee meetings which normally meet before Council will now start at 6:30 PM instead of 7 PM. Given this earlier starting time, we would like to encourage more members of the congregation to attend our Council meetings and contribute to the important decision-making process that occurs at these meetings. Council was also pleased to announce that Barb McWilliams has volunteered to chair the Pumpkin Fest this year. The first in a series of planning meetings was held on April 18 th. Many volunteers are needed for this event in order that the responsibilities can be divided among many people rather than over-stressing a small group. As we all know, the Pumpkin Fest is the single most important fundraising event for our church. So let s pitch in and help Barb make it a great success. Watch for notices of additional planning meetings coming up. Council was also happy to hear that the initial activities in the pastoral transition are going well. Pastor Kim Bosley has already received a tour of the church and parsonage, and met for several hours with Pastor Karen. Finally, as more congregants are added to the Church Visitation list, Council would like to encourage even those who do not serve on the Committee to make the occasional phone call or send a get-well card to those on the list. From reports submitted by the Visitation Committee to the Council, these simple gestures do help raise the spirits of those who are not well or are facing some personal difficulties. Please contact Val Stagen for any contact information you may need. -Chris Russock, Council Chair May Birthdays Best wishes and God s blessings to those celebrating birthdays this month: Kwaku Aurelien 5/3 Mark Clemens 5/3 Justin Goodwin 5/6 Kathy Chambers 5/7 Kaitlynn Jackson-Slocum 5/7 Dorothy Perry 5/7 Clara Sussman 5/7 Kofi Aurelien 5/11 Brian Spaulding 5/11 Beth Jones 5/16 Elizabeth Mitchell 5/16 Laura Zeigler 5/20 Julia Goodwin 5/21 Elisa (Marie)Dos Santos5/27 Dot Treadwell 5/31 Thanks for this May Flame: Editor...Kathy Roig Contributors... Karlene Lombardo, Chris Russock, Pastor Karen, Larry Bornemeier, Peter Brown, Coralee DeMouth, Eileen Shaw, Bev Anderson and Valerie Stagen Comments and suggestions regarding the Flame are welcome. Deadline for the June 2013 Flame is May 22

7 Page 7 Time for Geraniums It s Spring and time for geraniums! Geranium Plants on sale April 14 th to May 21st To celebrate our veterans on Memorial Day Sunday (May 26 th ) Red only; $5.00 each (4 size) Sponsored by: The United Methodist Women of Danbury The geraniums may be purchased to keep, or to be given to a local VFW chapter for the veterans. Each geranium may be given in honor of or in memory of a special veteran or a loved one. These geraniums will be placed around our church altar on the 26 th of May. There will be a special red, white and blue bunting to add to this presentation for our veterans. To place orders: Contact Karlene Lombardo personally, at or lombardodk@netzero.com. Checks should be made out to United Methodist Women Danbury. (All proceeds go to mission giving.) - Karlene Lombardo United Methodist Women On Wednesday April 4, 2013 eight courageous women attended the United Methodist Women s meeting at the church. Beverly Regan talked to us about Homes for the Brave. It is a shelter and support center for homeless veterans. It is located in Bridgeport, CT. The program was well received. Beverly left with a donation, and several containers of coffee, sugar and creamer for the home. Later the Helping Hands donated a homemade afghan that was delivered to the home. The 2013 budget was voted on at this meeting. It is very important that the congregation supports and participates in the two fundraisers for May. (the UMW Geranium Sale and the UMW Mother s Day Bake Sale.) Thank you to all who attended and provided so much to the meeting. The next United Methodist Women s meeting will be on Tuesday, June 4 th, at the home of Donald and Karlene Lombardo. There will be a cookout and it will start at 6pm. Details will be announced in the June Flame. Mother s Day Bake Sale The United Methodist Women are holding their annual bake sale once again on Mother s Day, May 12th. We are looking for bakers and takers for all these tasty treats. If you plan on making cookies, please package them 6 to a zip lock bag and brownies 4 each to a bag. Also, cakes, pies and homemade bread are also needed. The baked goods will be available before and after church. If you have any questions, please call Myra Tesbir or Valerie Stagen. - Valerie Stagen

8 Page 8 The United Methodist Church of Danbury 5 Clapboard Ridge Road Danbury, CT Phone: Fax: A Safe Sanctuary for Children Pastor: Karen Eiler Karpow Music Director: Mark Adamy Associate Music Director: Carol Spaulding Church Administrator: Eileen Shaw Student Pastor: Peter Brown Child Care Coordinators: Jessie Raigosa and Marlene Vieira SATURDAY, MAY 4 TH is our Spring Fling Tag Sale The hours will be 10am to 2pm. Granny s Attic Jewelry Green Room Tag Sale: $5 a bag and Bake Sale, Hot Dogs & Hamburgers in Fellowship Hall Inquiries and offers to help should be directed to Bev Anderson at SATURDAY, MAY 4 TH