Pastoral. The. Perspective... One of the seemingly unstoppable trends of modern times is for the ever-narrower

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The First Congregational Church United Church of Christ Lebanon, New Hampshire October 2010 Issue 9 In this issue.

Whether it s direct marketers using technology to tailor their approaches to demographic niches or the profusion of cable TV channels appealing to particular interests, the days of the mass market

One thousand and seven years, to be exact. It was in 1054 that the Great Schism between the eastern and western churches occurred, sundering in two the Christian world.

The break between Catholicism and Orthodoxy would prove to be the precursor of further splits involving Western Christianity: in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the

1 The First Congregational Church United Church of Christ Lebanon, New Hampshire October 2010 Issue 9 In this issue... Crop Walk page 2 Trunk n Treat page 2 Kick off Sunday By Marcia Corkins page 3 Prayer Circle By Laura Place page 4 Apple Festival By Steve Silver page 5 News and Events...pg 4 October Calendar...pg 6 The Pastoral Perspective... One of the seemingly unstoppable trends of modern times is for the ever-narrower definition of who we are and the increasingly fragmented and even isolated nature of our communal experiences. Whether it s direct marketers using technology to tailor their approaches to demographic niches or the profusion of cable TV channels appealing to particular interests, the days of the mass market and the common cultural experience appear to be relics of the past. This dynamic can be found in the church, too. In fact, it s been present for a very, very long time. One thousand and seven years, to be exact. It was in 1054 that the Great Schism between the eastern and western churches occurred, sundering in two the Christian world. That divide, which arose over issues of theology, ecclesiology, and power, has persisted ever since. The break between Catholicism and Orthodoxy would prove to be the precursor of further splits involving Western Christianity: in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church and, though it wasn t his intent, gave birth to Protestantism and what has proven to be a ceaseless profusion of denominations that continues to this day. There is much to be said for the formation of new Christian communities. Worship, organization, and theology avoid stagnation. New people and groups have a chance to play leadership roles. The church, by being flexible, is able to better accommodate the workings of the Holy Spirit. But there is a down side: the loss of Christian unity. It s all too easy for us to identify with our own denominations. Many people think of themselves as Catholic, Presbyterian, Orthodox, Episcopalian, Baptist, Methodist, why, even Congregationalist or UCC member, before they think of themselves as Christian. One way the church universal seeks to remind itself that the faithful, despite their differences, are first and foremost united as disciples of Jesus Christ is through World Communion Sunday, which is celebrated this year on October 3. This date is much more than a nice ecumenical gesture. It s a powerful, tangible example of the hope expressed in John 17:21 that they may all be one. You, I, the folks in other churches throughout the Upper Valley and all around the world are the they of which the Evangelist wrote. On the first Sunday of October we ll join together to remember through word, song, and the sharing of the Lord s Supper that that which unites Christians the love of God made known to us through Jesus Christ and present among us in the Holy Spirit is far greater than anything we humans can cook up to divide the people of God s new creation. Yours faithfully, FCC October

October 3! Crop Walk The Upper Valley Crop Walk will take place on October 3rd at 12:30! Join your friends and neighbors in raising money to provide meals to those in need.

As in years past, our church will be hosting the walkers and providing the post-walk meal.

2 October 3! Crop Walk The Upper Valley Crop Walk will take place on October 3rd at 12:30! Join your friends and neighbors in raising money to provide meals to those in need. Local organizations will receive 25% of the proceeds while the remaining 75% of the funds raised will go towards efforts to end hunger in the U.S. and abroad. As in years past, our church will be hosting the walkers and providing the post-walk meal. There are many ways that one can participate: be a walker, sponsor a walker, pick up donated goods, help in the kitchen, make cookies. Packets for those who wish to walk will be available at coffee hour and in the church office. For more information, please contact Susan Reade at or susanreade@gmail.com or Marcy Chong at or marcychong@gmail.com. Fun with the Wider Lebanon Community On the weekend of Halloween our church will sponsor Trunk-or-Treat, an evening of fun for the children of Lebanon. It will be on the same evening of the Halloween event at the Lebanon Fire Station, which sees up to 1,000 children visit. We are looking for 15 to 20 adults to donate and decorate their car trunks for the evening. The trunks can be decorated as you choose (ex. large pumpkin, witch s hat, haunted trunk, ghost or any theme you would like; use your creativity!). There will be a prize for the best decorated trunk. Steve Silver will prepare brunch for the winners. We will also need donations of individually-wrapped candy and other treats to fill the trunks. When you donate treats, you will be given a note that can be posted on your front door the evening of Halloween, indicating that you have supported the Church with Halloween treats. The children will be able to go to each trunk and receive an individually-wrapped treats from each trunk. We will also have information to hand out about our Sunday School and our church. Our hope with this event is to open our doors to the children and their families of the Lebanon Community. Keep posted for info on this event and more events to come. If you have any questions, please see either Betty Tedeschi, Vicki Morgan or Marcia Corkins. Our Family & Friends Births, Anniversaries, Graduation, Marriages, Birthdays, Thank You, etc. Anniversary: October 6, Happy 68th Wedding Anniversary to Norm and Doris Dubie Birthday: October 20, Happy Birthday to Doris Dubie who will be 91 years young! Thank you: Thank you for making me feel so welcome last Sunday. It was great to put some faces with the names, and s, that I have. I am blessed to have 2 church families. Robin Cushman. 2 FCC October 2010

3 Kick Off Sunday Kick off Sunday was such a special day! There are so many people I must acknowledge. First and foremost is God, for without him, none of this would have happened. Thank you to Rev. Steve Silver for his support of our young people. Thank you to the Board of Governors for our beautifully painted and carpeted nursery and Sunday School area. Thank you to Christian Ed, Steve, Trish, Mark and Wayne for cleaning toys and furniture. Thank you to the kitchen crew for a wonderful lunch and for our church families who supported the children by attending the church service and joining them for the delicious lunch. Most of all, I thank the children. You are more special than you know! God Bless Marcia Corkins FCC October

4 Prayer Circle Everyone is welcome to be a part of the Prayer Circle; in fact, we encourage you to join. The Circle is designed and arranged for praying specifically for individuals and families who are coping with issues such as illness, death of a loved one, loss of work, or for whatever reason someone requests special prayers. The Circle is formed by the leader of the group calling another member and that member calling the next, in an assigned order, until all members have been notified. It is a means of serving on an individual basis rather than a gathered group setting. Prayers may be requested by calling the Pastor or the leader of the group. Likewise, if you wish to join the group, you may contact the Pastor or the leader. 4 FCC October 2010 News and Events Women s Fellowship Thank you to all who participated in the 2010 Apple Festival. It was a wonderful day of fellowship for the whole church family. We were blessed with the warm sunshine and at sometimes gusty breezes that God smiled down upon us. We will be having a regular meeting Monday, October 4th at 7pm in the parlor. Our meeting with begin with an opening prayer and devotion, reports and will recap the highlights of the Apple Festival. We will be marking the calendar for this season s pie sales. Following a short business meeting we will watch the documentary Quilt of Gee s Bend and there are books to browse showing many of these quilts. More information on Quilt of Gee s Bend can be found on Oprahs website at Respectfully submitted. Vicki Morgan, president The Forum Join us for the Forum, a new adult education series preceding Sunday worship at 9:00 a.m. Content and form will vary throughout the year, with classes, lectures, and discussions on a variety of topics speaking to our faith. We ll begin with a four-week series led by Rev. Steve Silver called Christianity 101 on October 3, in which we ll explore the basics of our faith. Blessing of the Animals Among the many wonderful traditions shared by the church universal is the Blessing of the Animals. This liturgy is traditionally celebrated around the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, who famously communed with and cared for animals, believing that all creatures, whether great or small, were beloved by God and so to be treasured. This year, St. Francis day falls on October 4; so as not to compete with the CROP Walk (Oct. 3) or Columbus Day Weekend (Oct. 10), we will hold our Blessing of the Animals on Sunday, October 17 at 3:00 p.m. on the church lawn. Bring your dog, cat, cow, iguana, horse, lizard, stuffed animal, picture of a beloved pet, fish, pterodactyl, whatever you have the more animal friends, the merrier. You re encouraged to invite your friends and neighbors to the Blessing, which will be a great opportunity to introduce people to our faith community. After the blessing, treats will be available for animals and their humans. Men s Breakfast Group The September breakfast will be held October 2. All men of the church are invited to come enjoy a delicious homemade breakfast and fellowship! Diaconate In September, everything seems to begin again and the deacons meetings resumed. We welcomed Ike Jacobs return to the diaconate and caught up on projects, problems, and themes. The picture directory is in the final stage, a brochure informing newcomers about our church is nearly ready, and the discernment process is ongoing. Rally Sunday and the Blessing of the Backpacks also marked the use of nametags for the entire congregation Thank you for wearing one! It is good finally to be able to put a name to faces we have recognized for a long time too long to make a new introduction anything but embarrassing! Wearing a nametag makes fellowship much easier, so we hope that this change will soon feel completely natural and normal. The worship bulletin has also been changing through the summer, in an effort to make the flow of worship smoother, to make the text clearer and easier to read, and to whittle down the fist-full of papers the congregation has to juggle to go from worship to announcements and back again. And to be better stewards of our resources less paper saves trees. Let us know how it is working for you.

5 Apple Festival and Pig Roast By Steve Silver The 2010 Apple Festival and Pig Roast was a smashing success, drawing people from our congregation and across the Upper Valley to our church on a lovely fall day. Pies were purchased, white elephant items were whisked away, basket raffle tickets were bought in bunches, faces were fixed up with paint, cheese was carried off, lunch was lapped up, and a super supper of roast pig was snapped up. We would like to thank everyone in the church for their help on the Applefest. It was another successful day and night. This event is one of the few times where we come together as a church family. Everyone worked very hard with no complaints and hopefully had a good time. We are truly grateful and blessed. Corrine and Barb FCC October

6 October Calendar Coffee Hour Host for October: Mission/Social Action October 1 8:00 a.m. Men s Breakfast Sunday October 3: 19th Sunday After Pentecost 9:00 a.m. Forum - Christianity :00 a.m. Worship and Sunday School Communion Pizza with the Pastor Jr. High 5:00-6:00 High 6:30-7:30 Monday 7:00 p.m. Women s Fellowship October 4 Tuesday 7:00 p.m. Boy Scout Troop 279 October 5 Wednesday 6:00-7:00 p.m. UVPRN (private) October 6 Thursday October 7 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. The Grafton, Orange and Sullivan Clergy Association meeting. 7:00 p.m. Choir Rehearsal October 9 Sunday October 10: 20th Sunday After Pentecost 9:00 a.m. Forum - Christianity :00 a.m. Worship and Sunday School Monday October 11 Tuesday October 12 Wednesday October 13 6:00 p.m. Stewardship Committee 7:00 p.m. Diaconate 6:00 p.m. Discernment Committee 7:00 p.m. Boy Scout Troop 279 5:30 p.m. Community Dinner First Baptist Church 6:00-7:00 p.m. UVPRN (private) 7:00 p.m. Calling all Knitters Thursday 7:00 p.m. Choir Rehearsal October 14 October 16 Sunday October 17: 21st Sunday After Pentecost 9:00 a.m. Forum - Christianity :00 a.m. Worship and Sunday School 3:00 p.m. Blessing of the Animals Monday 7:00 p.m. Board of Governors October 18 Tuesday October 19 Wednesday October 20 Thursday October 21 7:00 p.m. Church Council 7:00 p.m. Boy Scout Troop 279 6:00-7:00 p.m. UVPRN (private) 7:00 p.m. Christian Ed. 7:00 p.m. Choir Rehearsal October Calendar (continued) October 23 9:00 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. NH Conference Annual meeting - Concord N.H. Sunday October 24: 22nd Sunday After Pentecost 9:00 a.m. Forum - Christianity :00 a.m. Worship Service and Sunday School After Worship - All Church Forum 2:30 Grafton/Orange Association meeting Post Mills, V.T. Tuesday 7:00 p.m. Boy Scout Troop 279 October 26 Wednesday October 27 Thursday October 28 October 30 6:00-7:00 p.m. UVPRN (private) 7:00 p.m. Calling all Knitters 7:00 p.m. Choir Rehearsal 7:00-10:00 a.m. Leb Food Share Sunday October 31: 23rd Sunday After Pentecost 9:00 a.m. Forum - Judaism in 50 minutes 10:00 a.m. Worship Service and Sunday School Trunk n Treat October Sunday Worship The Rev. Stephen R. Silver preaching October 3 World Communion October 10 October 17 October 24 October 31 News and Events (continued from page 4) We teach our children the song The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is a people. And that means that we are called to be open to a variety of ideas and opinions and the changes they bring. The change of seasons brings on the New Hampshire fall we treasure and, much as we loved the summer, we move forward. Our next meeting is 7 pm October 11. Respectfully submitted, The Deacons 6 FCC October 2010

Pizza with the Pastor: Junior High and High School Fellowships This fall two groups, one for Junior High, the other for High School students, will be forming.

If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Steve Silver at silver@fccleb.org or 448-4281. Board of Governors The Board of Governors met on September 14.

7 Pizza with the Pastor: Junior High and High School Fellowships This fall two groups, one for Junior High, the other for High School students, will be forming. Each group will meet twice a month on Sunday evenings to discuss topics of interest to teens over pizza. Join us for fellowship, faith, and food! Please, bring a friend. If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Steve Silver at silver@fccleb.org or Board of Governors The Board of Governors met on September 14. Although we had met during the summer, this is the start of our Fall Season. Thanks to the great turnout for the Spring Clean-up, we are planning a Fall Clean up and hoping for the same enthusiasm. Biff Simpson is chairing this and news from him will follow. There is still some necessary work to be done at the Parsonage before we can call that finished. The Silvers have been so patient and everyone appreciates that. Much of this latest work needed to be done to get the home up to code. We have changed internet providers and expect a financial and time savings. If you use for church, please check the new address. The phone number stays the same as before. We voted to change our regular meeting time to the third Monday of the month at 7pm. We are hoping for a bigger attendance with this change. Respectfully submitted, Lynn Anderson All-Church Forum Oct. 24 Join us for an update on the congregational discernment process! This will be an opportunity to exchange ideas, share dreams, express concerns, and hear more about what our church community is learning as it seeks to discern where God is calling First Congregational Church. UCC Events There are two opportunities to participate in gatherings of wider settings of United Church of Christ this month. The NH Conference will hold its annual meeting at the Grappone Center in Concord on October 23 from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and the Grafton-Orange Association will gather at 2:30 p.m. in Post Mills, Vermont. Please contact Rev. Steve Silver (silver@fccleb.org, ) if you are interested in attending either of these meetings. Christian Education Christian Eduction committee will meet October 20 at 7:00 p.m.. What: When: Where: Why: How: News and Events (continued from page 6) Children s Library Corner Many brand new books and some oldies to borrow Whenever you and your children are at church In the parlor To borrow to take home and/or browse during coffee hour or meetings 1. Date and sign card inside book 2. Place card in blue container on shelf 3. Return books to labeled basket with handle. ENJOY! Church Office Hours: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday mornings Phone: church@fccleb.org Web Site: P.O. Box 230, Lebanon, NH Rev. Steve Silver silver@fccleb.org and for Newsletter submissions Ms. Robin Cushman robin@fccleb.org FCC October

First Congregational Church, UCC 10 South Park Street PO Box 230 Lebanon, NH 03766 DATED MATERIAL PLEASE DELIVER PROMPTLY RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED The Blessing of the Animals October 17, 2010 at 3:00

8 First Congregational Church, UCC 10 South Park Street PO Box 230 Lebanon, NH DATED MATERIAL PLEASE DELIVER PROMPTLY RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED The Blessing of the Animals October 17, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. Animals of all shapes, sizes, and species are invited. Photos, mementoes, and stuffed friends, are welcome too! With treats afterwards for people and beasts. Questions? Contact us at or 8 FCC October 2010

G race Notes. What s Inside. The Pastoral Perspective. The Newsletter of First Congregational Church

G race Notes. What s Inside. The Pastoral Perspective. The Newsletter of First Congregational Church First Congregational Church of Lebanon United Church of Christ G race Notes DECEMBER 2015 The Newsletter of First Congregational Church What s Inside Advent Events...4-5 Thanksgiving...8 Native American