Holy Week at Union Congregational Church

Transcription

1 APRIL 2015 COMMUNICON Union Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Peterborough, NH Holy Week at Union Congregational Church April 2: Seder Remembrance, 6 p.m.: On the last night of Jesus life, he gathered with his closest friends to celebrate the Passover. The ritual meal, called the Seder, recalls Israel s trials in Egypt and its rescue by the Divine. On April 2, Maundy Thursday, we ll remember Jesus tradition. We ll have a full meal, served family style. There is no cost, but donations are welcome, and we d like to have an idea about numbers so that we prepare enough food. Please sign up on the sign-up sheet in the main hallway next to the choir room. April 3: On Good Friday, 7 p.m., Union Congregational Church will host a performance of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi s Stabat Mater and an Ecumenical Service led by The Reverend Monsignor Gerald Belanger of Divine Mercy Church, The Reverend Lourey Savick of Peterborough United Methodist Church, and The Reverend Jill H. Small of Union Congregational Church, UCC. Performers will include Amy Knight, soprano; Betsy Feiker, alto; and Jill Slocum, organist. April 5: We will celebrate Easter Sunday at 10 a.m. The Festival of the Resurrection, or Easter, is the high point of the church year. Western Christians base the date on the Gregorian calendar, and Easter can fall on any date from March 22 to April 25. This year, Easter is April 5: about as close to the midpoint as possible! While every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection of the Christ, we pull out all the stops on Easter. The sanctuary will be filled with spring flowers; brass will accompany our singing; and since it s the first Sunday of the month, we will share in Communion. Winter storms left significant piles of snow, and that means we ve lost some parking space. Please consider parking at the town library and/or carpooling to worship on Easter Sunday.

2 Small TALK FINALLY. It s spring. After a winter that seemed longer and rougher than most, it s a time to embrace the warmth, growth, color, and music of the world around us and within us. It s time to get to all those projects I could put off because it was too cold or because it got dark too early. In my experience, those don t get easier (or cheaper) the longer I delay. There s a bathroom renovation project waiting for me in Maine. There are sinks and a toilet and medicine cabinets waiting patiently in my basement. I need to get serious about finding the right bathtub, tile, and wainscoting. I like that sort of project. I like figuring out how I can transform a space that someone else thought was beautiful 30 years ago into something that makes me feel good about doing the best I can for the house we live in. I want the result to be in keeping with the house s age and character, and I want it to have the benefits and features that suit the way we live today. We love our house. We have since the moment we walked through it for the first time. We re the fifth family to live there since it was built in It s a big old house. We ve rewired the whole place. We ve reroofed; we ve insulated. We ve added a bath on the first floor. We ve enlarged the deck. We ve taken up shag carpet and refinished the wide pine floors. It s where we ve broken bread and where I broke my foot. It s been an amphitheater when we ve rejoiced and a cocoon when we ve grieved. When we moved in, it was just Charles and me. One bright, cold day, a bouquet of pink balloons floated above the front porch railing to tell our neighbors that Becca had been born. Twenty-four years later, it s still the only place she s ever called home. It s where our daughter opened her first birthday present, and where my mother opened her last. It s where school projects have been constructed, sermons written, vacations mapped. It s where I have been a die-hard Cardinals fan in the midst of the Red Sox nation. I know that we re closer and closer to the end of our time there. It will make sense to downsize one day. That makes me pensive, but not sad. I know I can buy another house. Maybe I can even love another house. But it won t be this house. This is the one that doesn t belong to us: we belong to it. I m looking forward to my project. I owe it to the house that s become my home. May this season of renewal fill you with a sense of belonging. Faithfully, Jill The Reverend Jill H Small News from the Christian Service Committee: One Great Hour of Sharing Beginning on March 23, our committee has begun the annual appeal for One Great Hour of Sharing. This is part of our church s wider mission to respond to worldwide disasters. There are money envelopes in the pews and an information sheet in the bulletin. We ll be working on this through April so plan how you can contribute. Please keep in your Please remember to keep in your prayers: Lisa and Patrick Foley; Mary Ann Fleming and Family; Mary Lib, Martha Dahl's sisterin-law; Katherine, friend of Carele Mayer; Larry Mayer; Ruth Comerford, friend of Deb Hanson; Leo Curley, Sarah Holgate s father; Carl and Marilyn Britton; Alfred Whitney; Larry Schongar; Joe Wilson; Fred and Ginger Nielson; Jim Suokko; Lorie Snydner; Jesse Taylor; the Pastoral Search Committee; and all in our church community. To add new names or remove names, please call or the church office by April 20. prayers 2

3 May 2 Rummage Sale! Once again the Women s Fellowship will be organizing the Spring Rummage Sale! Come One! Come All! To a church-wide Birthday Party on April 17, a Friday, at 6 p.m. The racks will come down from the attic after Monday s supper, and from then on you may leave off your extra spring clothing. Everyone is invited to help sort on Tuesday through Friday, and then sign up on the bulletin board to sell on Saturday! The hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the Bag Sale starting at 1 p.m. That s all on May 2! Please save the date! This is a potluck, except the birthday cake/dessert will be created by Carele. Bring your own utensils, plate, etc., a salad or main entrée! This is a time for fellowship and FUN! The FUN will be a church scavenger hunt with prizes! Mark this on your calendar, and hope the Women s Fellowship has chosen a nice day! May 13 will be the date for the Women s Fellowship s Special Guest Luncheon. This is the 50 th anniversary of this event, so we hope you ll join us! 50th Anniversary! Calling Volunteers! We re refreshing our list of Sunday morning volunteers. If you d like to acolyte, usher, or read, please call or the office. If you , it will help a lot to use the subject line: Sunday volunteers. Thank you! Thanks, thanks, thanks! So many of you lend a hand in so many ways, and we thank each of you for your time and energy. This month, we send a special shout out to: Yard Sale on April 25 Mark your calendars for April 25, when we ll have our annual Yard Sale. Donations can be dropped off during the week, starting on Tuesday. The sale is scheduled for Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., but there are two special sales: The early bird sale for $5 takes place on Friday night, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The all-you-can-carry sale for $6 starts at noon on Saturday. Join us and find some bargains! Judy DeWitt for organizing food and paper goods in kitchen bins; the indefatigable Dick Sanders for being our recycling hero week in and week out and for raking March snow from the office roof; Kelly Kent-Kiburis and Sharon Smith for another terrific Winter Film Series. 3

4 Off the Waldo Your car has a name to distinguish it from other cars. Some cars have both names and numbers and secret letters. All of these are usually attached to the trunk or back of your car. We have informally researched the true meaning of these names, informally so as to avoid needless confusion over the facts. For instance If you drive an Avenger An AVENGER is one who takes revenge for something; hope it misses you. A MERCEDES MAYBACH S600 A7 is a relative bargain at $189,350. VW S AUDI self-drives. It is termed autonomous Price is not given. The numbers giving the price have not been invented yet. An ENVOY is a messenger, or an ambassador One you ll need to drive it. A MURANO is an island in the Venetian lagoon where glass has been made for more than 700 years. (We re just trying to be informative here.) A TAHOE is a lake where California and Nevada meet. Elev. 6,230 feet. A SILVERADO is a 1985 movie in which 4 unlikely heroes attempt to reclaim a helpless town from a corrupt sheriff. A TRAVERSE is to move something back and forth or sideways as on a rod. A MALIBU is an affluent beach city in California. Herb Alpert, Jennifer Aniston, Jeff Bridges and Charles Bronson live there. You need big bucks for a house. A SABLE Gs is a generic description of some black furred cats or rabbits. AN ESCORT is a radar detector costing $ It can be obtained overnight. A LARAMIE is a person who lives in Laramie, Wyoming. Pop in ,816. AN ESCAPE is to enjoy temporary freedom from unpleasant realities. A FORD FUSION is a Chevy Malibu in disguise. A MALIBU is a Ford AN ELITE is a small, powerful group. Forget even trying to get this one. A SONATA is an instrumental composition with movements contrasting in tempo and mood but related in key, but does it run?. A PRIUS is previous in order or time. Wait til the technology catches up with it. A PINTO is equal to half a quart or to two cups one or the other. A TITAN is a member of the second order of divine beings. Something titanic is considered to be bigger than gigantic even bigger than a Pinto. A PILOT is a person licensed to operate an aircraft, or it is a light on a stove? A FORD LIMITED is included as we were impressed with their frankness. A DENALI is included because they deny having any advantages at all. On the back of my car are the letters SR and 2/3PF which mean: still runs and two-thirds paid for. Drive good. WALDO 4

5 COMMUNICON APRIL 2015 Vol. 62. No. 4 Union Congregational Church United Church of Christ 33 Concord Street Peterborough, NH Interim Minister: The Reverend Jill H. Small Worship Service: 10 a.m. Nursery Care Provided Church Office Parsonage: officeucc@comcast.net Silent Support Team: Janet Brown, Randy Brown, Carolyn Peacock May Communicon deadline: April 20 Union Congregational Church United Church of Christ 33 Concord Street Peterborough, NH