January 2017 FROM THE PASTOR S DESK

Transcription

1 January 2017 First Congregational Church of Pelham United Church of Christ FROM THE PASTOR S DESK On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me Epiphany! Well, it s not quite the song we sing, but theologically its true! We all know the Twelve Days of Christmas song. We enjoy the challenge of trying to remember every part. This song reminds us of the tradition of the church to celebrate twelve days of Christmas, beginning Christmas Day ending on the day of Epiphany, traditionally celebrated on January 6. On that day the Christmas calendar moves into the season of Epiphany. Epiphany comes from two Greek words epi and phaino. Together the two words mean to appear. In the Epiphany season we make known to the whole world the newborn Christ as God in the flesh. Epiphany reveals who Jesus is and sets us on the path to Lent and Easter seasons. Contd. Page 2 First Congregational Church of Pelham, United Church of Christ / 3 Main Street / Pelham, NH / /

2 About us. 3 Main Street PO / Box 847 Pelham, NH Phone: Fax: office@pelhamucc.org Like us on Facebook! SUNDAY WORSHIP 10:00 A.M. September June 9:30 A.M. July and August Child Care and Sunday School OFFICE HOURS Monday - Friday 8:00 A.M. 1:00 P.M. Rev. Bill Ferguson Pastor (revbill819@gmail.com) Peggy Murphy Office Administrator (office@pelhamucc.org) Tom Seniow Music Director Sue Howard Organist OUR CHURCH COVENANT We covenant one with another to seek and respond to the Word and Will of God. It is our purpose to walk together in the ways of the Lord, made known and to be made known to us. We hold it to be the mission of this church to be witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all the world, while worshiping God, and striving for truth, justice and peace. As did our ancestors, we depend on the Holy Spirit to lead and empower us. We pray for the coming of the Realm of God, and we look with faith toward the triumph of righteousness and eternal life. (Cont. from Page One) Four events from Jesus life are highlighted through the readings during Epiphany: the visit of the Magi to Jesus after his birth; the baptism of Jesus; the miracle of changing water into wine at the wedding of Cana; and the transfiguration of our Lord. All these scripture stories fulfill the Epiphany message; to let the world know who Christ is! We have the same responsibility as church members to let all know who Christ is in our midst. And we do that by participating as active members of our church community. We need volunteers to fill many openings on our various Church Committees. We need volunteers to work at various Mission sites, to attend events in our church such as Youth Group Dinners and Fellowship events, to attend worship and to support the church with our offerings and our time. All these actions will let the world know we are celebrating the gift that God has blessed us with in the life of God s Son, Jesus Christ! As a resolution for New Year, we can also try to emulate the life and actions of Jesus by doing the following simple things; - Be an active listener when people are in need, truly understanding the message they are sharing with you - Take care of your whole body and soul. Care for your physical and spiritual needs. - Be present Go to where people are and share what you know; the bank, the city park, the local store, the neighborhood. Tell them how much you love your church! And invite others to come along! - Speak simply and from the heart look for God in the everyday! - Be open to be changed by God! Remember that God has no plans of leaving us the way we are. This is how much God loves us. Have a blessed Epiphany season. In the middle of our celebrating may we join the shepherds on that first Christmas to worship and praise God for all the things we have heard and seen. Happy New Year! RB

3 In our worship. Worship news, prayers, joys and concerns January FIRST FOLKS Condolences to - the family of Bill Pulter who passed away on November 24 th. - the Pawlowicz Family with the passing of Steve s mother, Mina, on December 8th. - The Diack Family with the passing of Angele s Dad, Howard Marick on December 16 th. - The Hornbeck Family with on the passing of Elaine s sister Ruth Matakos. - The family of Leonard Edwards who passed away December 15 th. For Healing and Comfort - Deb Schneider s Mom, Marilyn Chadbourne - Shannon Sprague s mom, Kathy Barker - Sue Mikutel s Mom, Marilyn Ratcliffe - Don Hornbeck, from Pneumonia - Lucy Wilkerson from Pneumonia - David Wilkerson from Foot injury - Kristen Michaud from foot surgery THANK YOU! During this extremely sad time, we feel very blessed and loved by our wonderful, supportive church family. Thank you so much for your many cards, hospital visits and beautiful prayer shawl for Walter, and your words of comfort and encouragement for us. We appreciate your kindness and friendship. Love from Betty and Family FROM THE PELHAM FUNERAL HOME A generous donation from the Pelham Funeral Home to our church has been received in loving memory of the people of our church whose families the Pelham Funeral Home was privileged and honored to serve from December 2015 to December The Director, Jim O Donnell and his staff hope that the support of family, friends and faith may guide these families through the Hoy Season and bring them blessing sin the New Year. A donation was received honoring and remembering Donald DeGraeve and Stephen Blanchard. THANK YOU to - Don and Donna Clarke and Beaver Valley for the beautiful Poinsettias that adorned the Sanctuary this Christmas Season - Boyden Landscaping for clearing the parking Lot on Cantata Sunday - Shannon Sprague and Maureen Ferguson for coordinating the Breakfast Bag project for the Pelham Food Pantry and our awesome Youth Group kids for delivering the bags. - The Mission Committee for coordinating the Toy and Gift Drive - Called to Care Team for providing Cards for our members and Armed Forces members.

4 CHRISTMAS CHOIR THANK YOU January We would like to thank the participants in our Choirs for the beautiful music throughout Advent and the Christmas Season. CHRISTMAS CHOIR under the direction of Tom Seniow: Polly Bennett, Harmony Campbell, Deb Getty, Cheryl Koch, Maryanne Masterson, Candy Picard, Glennie Edwards, Wendy Henderson, Sandi Molenterri, Judy Reid, Sarah Zannoni, Gavin Campbell, Ken Henderson, Stan Mikutel, Shawn Duggan, Bruce Reid and Nathan Sprague BELL CHOIR under the direction of Shron Hone; Kim Boland, Angele Diack, Lois Freeston, Fran Gilfoyle, Rachael Grosman, Corrine Howard, Laurie Perrone, Donna Quigley, and Pam Tepolt. SPECIAL MUSICIANS Sue Howard, Kaitlyn LaFontaine, Angie Getty and Chris Bulkley. NEW MEMBERS WELCOME On Sunday, February 5, 2017, we will be welcoming New Members into the life and membership of our Church! It is a joyous time and we look forward to celebrating with our new members! We will have a New Member Orientation Meeting on Sunday, January 22 nd following our Worship service for all who are interested! Sign Up is on the bulletin board in Fellowship Hall to ensure we have enough materials for all of you who wish to attend. In our classroom. CE, Adult Ed, Bible Study, Sunday School, Confirmation FIRST THURSDAY BIBLE STUDY Our Bible Study will continue on Thursday, January 5 th at 7:00 PM. This month we will be discussing The Nature of Scripture.

5 January BIBLE QUIZ LAST MONTH S ANSWER +Christian symbol+ How many wise men followed a star to Bethlehem to worship Jesus? A. two B. three C. four D. We don t know because the Bible doesn t say. Answer: D (See Matthew 2:1-12.) THIS MONTH S QUIZ In Matthew 13, to what does Jesus compare the kingdom of heaven? A. A farmer sowing seed B. A mustard seed C. Yeast D. Hidden treasure E. A merchant who finds a pearl F. A fishing net G. All of the above Three Chests Sometimes called three arks, this image represents the gifts the Magi brought to the child Jesus: gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2:11). Because Scripture lists three gifts, the legend arose that there were three wise men. But the biblical account doesn t say how many travelers visited the Holy Family. ROTATION SUNDAY SCHOOL We are looking for Volunteers to teach the next rotation of Sunday School. Please see Kelly Sauer and Sandi Molettieri if you would like to enjoy a three week commitment to teach our kids! We are also looking for several new CHRISTIAN EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS. We have a couple who have left and some who are cycling of the Committee leaving us with 4 openings! We need you to STEP UP and serve. See Kathy Neskey and RB for information! In our work. Committees ANNUAL MEETING Our Church Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, January 29 th following our Worship Service. The importance of the Annual Meeting cannot be overstated; each and every member of our church has the obligation to be involved in the decision making process of the church. This is the Congregational Way! Each active member of our church has

6 January the responsibility for voting on the various decisions of our church. Approval of the Budget, electing new Members to Boards and Committees, and discussing the important issues that come before our Congregation all stem from your involvement in the Annual Meeting. There are no decisions made for the future of the church that you do not have a voice in deciding. You, as Members, hold all the power and authority to direct the church in the direction you choose for the future. PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ATTEND! Child Care will be provided. COMMITTEE CHAIRS, please have your Annual Report submitted electronically to the church no later than January 15 th. All reports should be submitted in Tahoma #11 font. FROM THE DIACONATE One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, Of all the commandments, which is the most important? The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:28:31 Important Events at a glance: January 29 th : Annual Meeting: We have a number of committee vacancies to fill, so please feel free to get involved in our wonderful and blessed community. - Acolytes We are looking for children from grades 3-6 to help us start our Worship services. Please use the sign-up sheet in Fellowship Hall or see any Deacon before Worship. - Greeters If you would like to greet, please see any Deacon following the Sunday service. This is a great way for you to meet your fellow members. You can sign up for one time or multiple times. - Altar Flowers If you would like to purchase flowers for the altar, please contact Peggy at the office. You are welcome to take the flowers after Service or ask a Deacon to donate them to a shut-in. - Name Tags We are encouraging everyone to wear their name tags on Sundays. If you need a name tag, the signup sheet is located near the name tag bulletin board in the hall between the Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall. - Friendship Books Speaking of names, we encourage everyone to please sign their names in the black books in the pews, pass this book down to your pew neighbor, and then pass it back to the center aisle. While you do this, take a look at the names of those sitting with you! In other churches, we have heard of our black books used less as attendance or contact logs, but more as friendship books so everyone can get to know each other so read a new name and say hello! - Church Directory Our Church directory continues to be available on the Church website, and was just updated with many of our new members, as we welcomed 11 of them (a record) in October! Click on About Us from the list on the home page, and then scroll down to the bottom to a viewing link. The Directory is open to ALL our church family, even if you are not a member. All are Welcome! PS: If you need (or forgot) the password to access, ask any Deacon or committee member (we never write it down!). If you haven t already done so, please consider adding your (or your family s) picture to the directory! - Transportation to Church Needed? If anyone has a need for transportation to church or a church function (e.g. church dinners/suppers), please contact the church office or a Deacon.

7 January Prayer List / Prayer Requests Please help us keep the prayer list current by using the Prayer Requests sheets in the pews, which can be filled out then handed in during the Offertory. One can also specify on the sheet whether a phone call or visit from Rev. Bill is needed. Names typically go on the prayer list for a three week period. Worship Coordinators & Greeters for January Rachel Grosman & Deb Getty Greeters: Trustees The next Diaconate meeting is January 10th, at 7PM. As always, please contact a member of the Diaconate with any questions, comments, or suggestions. Diaconate Co-chairs Bob Diack can be reached at bob.disck@siriusdecisions,com and Chris Bulkley at Christopherbulkley@gmail.com. GRANT NEWS In the past month we have been blessed with several Grants from various sources to support the Ministries of our church; here is a summary: - ELLA ANDERSON TRUST The Ella Anderson Trust awarded us a grant of $3,110 to assist us in our raising funds that will be devoted to painting the Interior of the Sanctuary. The estimated cost of the effort will be over $40,000, so this fund will not cover the cost of the maintenance, but we are grateful for their contribution. - RICHARD T. HALL CHARITABLE TRUST - We were awarded $29,800 from this Grant for recognition of the Youth Work and Ministries we have here in Pelham. Portions of the Grant will be used to supplement next year s Mission Trip to New Orleans! We also will use a portion to create an awesome Youth Room downstairs and a trip for our Jr. High Youth Group! We also will be setting aside 10% of the Grant to develop an new and exciting program that will connect us with local Nursing Homes. Stay tuned! - BILLINGS TRUST We received a $1000 Grant to support our Youth Group Mission trip program. - The use of these funds is restrictive in the way we use them; they are not to be used for the General Fund and are not meant to be used to replace Pledges and Offerings. We are blessed with the generosity of the Trustees of these funds and are overjoyed that our Ministries have been recognized in such a wonderful way!

8 In our ministry. Missions, Youth Ministry, Conference and UCC News January FROM YOUR MISSION COMMITTEE We are excited and energized to start the new year. The Mission Committee has some wonderful decisions to make about the unexpected grant money received last year. This money opens the door to more far reaching mission opportunities for our youth and adult members. We ve been brainstorming and investigating new possibilities ever since we heard about this out of the blue windfall. We ll get the word out as soon as these decisions are made so keep your eyes and ears open. The Operation Santa Claus Christmas gift drive was a great success and closed out our special mission project schedule for Thanks to all who participated for their generosity and compassion to help others. Special thanks to Shannon Sprague for donating proceeds from her church yoga classes to support the needs of a family of 4 children in the program and to the Bell Choir who also donated toward gifts for the program. All the donated gifts were delivered to the DHHS office on December 5 th and 50 needy children in NH received presents on Christmas because of you. Thank you all for opening your hearts to these kids! January s hands-on mission projects include the Wish Project in Lowell on Monday, January 2 nd, the Nashua Soup Kitchen on Saturday, January 14 th, and Lazarus House in Lawrence on Monday, January 23 rd. See the sign-up sheets in Fellowship Hall or just ask a Mission Committee member if you are interested in donating some of your time and talent to these worthy causes. Our next special mission event will be our socks and underwear drive at the UMass Lowell vs. UMass Amherst hockey game on Saturday, February 11 th at 7pm at the Tsongas Center in Lowell. Signup sheets to reserve and purchase tickets at reduced group rates for our church members are in Fellowship Hall. This will allow all of us to sit together at the game and have some fun. Happy New Year to you all, Your Mission Committee In our community. YOUTH GROUP PASTA DINNER Join us on Saturday Night January 21 st at 6:00 PM for a delicious Pasta Dinner served by our Youth Group members! Following dinner we will enjoy an evening of Karoke with over 60,000 songs to chose from! Cost is by donation and promises to be an awesome event! We will eat well and have some fun, too!

9 January Book Club will be meeting, Thursday, January 26 th ay 7:00 in the church parlor. We will be discussing Sister by Rosamund Lupton, a suspense described as "A psychological murder mystery written with a literary flair". PIZZA SALE Watch for our Annual Youth Group Pizza Sale for Superbowl Sunday! Will the Patriot s push up our sales? YES! Order from any Youth Group member! WOMEN S FELLOWSHIP No meeting in January for Women's Fellowship. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, February 28, At that meeting, we will be working on Hygiene Kits for Church World Service. Details to follow later. We had a great time at our Christmas party at Deb Schneider's home on December 13th. Thank you, Debbie, for being such a lovely hostess! DINNER ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD Congratulations to Sally Morse who is the winner of the Dinner Anywhere In The World Raffle! We will let you know where Sally has chosen to go! And a huge thank you to you all for a very successful Fundraiser that has raised over $20,000! DON T FORGET TO CHECK OUR WEBSITE ( and Facebook Page (First Congregational Church of Pelham) for information about your church & activities.