Forest Street Footprints

Transcription

1 Forest Street Union Church 15 Forest Street Methuen, MA (978) Forest Street Footprints September 2009 Dear Friends in Christ, I trust that everyone has had a restful and re-creational experience this summer and we are ready to get back to the work of the Kingdom. I want to repeat some thoughts from one of my sermons in July. In Ephesians 2 Paul speaks of a wall of hostility that Christ has torn down. The literal reference is to an actual wall in the temple at Jerusalem. Its purpose was to keep non-jews (Gentiles) from entering the holy part of the temple. Paul proclaims that Christ came to help us to tear down the walls that we build to separate ourselves from each other and from God. In other words, Christ came to redeem us and to reconcile, to bring peace. There is so little peace in the world that our need for reconciliation should be obvious. BUT HOW CAN WE BE RECONCILED TO EACH OTHER UNLESS WE ARE FIRST RECONCILED TO GOD? Paul says it is by the cross of Christ that we are reconciled. I learned something interesting while I was preparing that sermon. Have you ever heard of LAMININ? Laminin are a family of proteins that literally hold our bodies together. In effect, they are cell-adhesion molecules which bind the cells of our bodies to each other. WHAT IS AMAZING IS THAT THE STRUCTURE OF THOSE MOLECULES IS THE SHAPE OF A CROSS! By the spirit and power which made Jesus the Christ and led to the cross, we are reconciled to God and bound to each other. Yours in the spirit and power...scott

2 NOTICE OF SPECIAL CHURCH MEETING FOREST STREET UNION CHURCH Sunday, September 20, 2009 A Special Meeting of the Forest Street Union Church will be held immediately following the morning service on Sunday, September 20, The following items will be presented for vote: 1. RESOLUTION FOR FUNDING FULL TIME PASTOR THAT: The Pastoral Search Committee seek a full time Pastor for Forest Street Union Church, Methuen Massachusetts THAT: A Pastor be sought who is willing to accept a contract for a three-year term during which time we expect there will be a positive growth level towards the goal to support the salary of a full time pastor. THAT: In order to accomplish the goal, no more than (and less is acceptable) the amount of $120,000 over the three-year period be expended from invested funds. We recommend that the $120,000 is the amount currently estimated. This is based on expenditures to date and the increased cost of a full-time pastor s compensation package deemed necessary to provide Forest Street Union Church with the guidance and encouragement that we believe would lead to filling the potential of what the Church deserves. 2. To present for a vote the following slate of candidates to serve on the Search Committee: Jim Hathaway Fran Lajoie Robin LaTorre Bill MacKenzie Ken Scherig Elaine Thibeault-Vandette Amy White Church Clerk Date: August 11, 2009

3 Council Meeting September 14, :00PM We are looking forward to seeing someone from every committee at the meeting. Nancy Pollock, Moderator or Liturgists are needed to read at Sunday service. Please sign up on the sheet on the board in the vestry. We need your voice! Friendship Circle September 17, 2009 at Joyce Barden's home 56 Poor Street Andover, MA 2:00PM All ladies of the church and their friends are welcome!

4 COMMUNITIES TOGETHER Sixth Annual Prayer Shawl Tea at St. Augustine s in Andover Communities Together will sponsor the Sixth Annual Prayer Shawl Tea on Tuesday, September 15, We are pleased to announce that St. Augustine Parish in Andover has graciously agreed to host this event for the first time. Please save the date and plan to join us as we celebrate the Prayer Shawl Ministry in this area. Knitters, crotchetier, clergy, shawl recipients, supporters, and those interested in learning more are welcome. This event is free and open to the public. Details will follow. Listen Up! ~ We are on the air! Tune to WCCM, 1110 AM every Wednesday morning at 11:00 to hear host Rev. Mike Shirley and his guests on our radio program, Living Faith. Annual Rummage Sale in October Communities Together is holding its Annual Rummage Sale (our annual delegates fundraiser) on Saturday, October 3, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at First-Calvary Baptist Church, 586 Massachusetts Avenue, North Andover. Come and browse for household items, clothes, jewelry, books, and special treasures. If you have items to donate, you may bring them to the church for storage in the church garage beginning September 14. If you need help getting items to the church or can volunteer for Friday set-up and/or Saturday during the sale, contact the CT office. Drinks and a light lunch will be available for a small charge on Saturday. FUNDRAISING Penny Social Saturday, October 24, 2009 VFW Hall 4:00 PM Ticket sales begin 6:00 PM Drawing begins How you can help: Collect new or handmade items. We would like each family to donate 2 or 3 items. They should be at least $10.00 in value. You can start bringing them to church on Sunday, September 27th. Put your name and the description of the item on the list. Check out the clearance items in stores like Kohl s or Target. Make something ceramics, knitted/crocheted items, or painted items. We will also be looking for a few big ticket items for the raffle. Spread the word to family and friends to come to the Penny Social. It s a great time of fellowship and the more people that attend the greater the success of the fundraising event. We will have a special collection each week for specific theme baskets starting on September 20th. The basket to collect the items will be placed at the front of the

5 church. Items for the theme baskets can be inexpensive. Be creative! Pick something up in the grocery store or wherever you shop. It will be fun to see what everyone finds. September 20th Pet Items September 27th Bath and beauty items October 4th Kid s games and activities th October 11 Kitchen gadgets, towels, placemats th October 18 Movie night Once all the items have been collected, we will put the baskets together for raffle items or regular drawing items depending on the amount of items in each specific basket. If you have never been to a Penny Social here is a description. WHAT IS THE PENNY SOCIAL? If you have never been it is a fun experience for the whole family. The church collects donated items from the congregation and friends, including gift certificates. Then on Saturday night, we all gather at the VFW Hall in Methuen. Each of the gifts will have a can next to it. Participants purchase card(s) of 25 tickets for $1.00. Then they take the tiny tickets and put them in the can next to the gift they would like to win. This is especially fun for kids. At 6:00 PM we start drawing for each of the gifts. The person, whose ticket is drawn from each of the cans, wins that particular gift. You can win a lot or nothing, but it s great fun and anticipation! We sell pizza slices and hotdogs, drinks, etc. to keep everyone happy. We usually wrap up about 8:00 PM. The more gifts we have, the more people that come, the more money the church makes for the budget. That s it in a nutshell! We hope to see everyone on October 24th at this year s Penny Social. Christian Ed/Sunday School We hope everyone has enjoyed their summer! We are looking forward to the start of a new Sunday School year. We will continue to use the online curriculum Whole People of God and My Confirmation for the confirmation class. Rally Sunday will be held September 13th at 10:00 am. We hope to see all of our students back along with some new students. The Sunday School is in search of a Superintendent and substitute teachers, if interested please speak with Amy White.

6 WORSHIP WATCH September 6 Communion Food Cart, Best Wishes Scripture for the Day: Mark 7:31-37 Sermon: Can You Hear Me Now? Liturgist September 13 RALLY SUNDAY/ Pancake Brunch Church School Begins Scripture for the Day: Mark 8:27-38 Sermon: A Pair of Ducks Liturgist September 20 Scripture for the Day: Mark 9:30-37 Sermon: Should She Have Jumped? Liturgist: All Church Meeting: Calling a Search Committee September 27 Scripture for the Day: Ephesians 4:30-5:2 Sermon: Dealing With Anger Liturgist: POINT TO PONDER Forbidden fruit can produce many jams!

7 CORE COMMITTEE The Core Committee will disband officially On Sunday Sept 20, 2009 following the election of the Pastoral Search Committee. Our final actions follow: Pastoral Search Committee: Per the by-laws a slate of names has been determined to serve as the pastoral search committee. The nominations were approved by the August 10 council meeting to be voted up or down at the All church meeting on Sunday Sept 20, (See the warrant article elsewhere in this newsletter.) The individuals, nominated to serve on the Pastoral Search Committee are Jim Hathaway, Fran Lajoie, Robin LaTorre, Bill MacKenzie, Elaine Thibeault-Vandette, Ken Scherig, and Amy White. Publicity: The Core Committee is no longer responsible for publicity. We nominated, (she accepted) and Council approved on Aug 10th, Barbara Lewis as the publicity chair person. Barbara has already begun her task. All organizations and committees need to be aware how best to get the word out for upcoming events. Please see the Publicity article elsewhere in the newsletter for what this will entail. OUR CORE VALUES - Spirituality Children Love Family Respect The Core Committee: Steve Steiner (06 08 chair), Ruth Hattori, (06 08), Trudi Driscoll, (06-09), Charlotte Eichner (06-09), Fran Lajoie, (06-09) Ed Mackenzie (08-09), Frank Sapienza (06-09), Kim Walko (08-09) Led by Pastor C. Scott Raeburn Interim-Turn-around-Pastor The Hospitality Committee / FELLOWSHIP COMMITTEE September is here. Where did the summer go??!!! Fellowship Time was served during the summer months. Worshipers did enjoy that hot cup of coffee or a cool drink. It was a very HOT summer. Yummies were served by our volunteer hostesses. Thank you to all who hosted the fellowship time :o) :o) July 5th: Charlotte Eichner and Carolyn Keating 16th: Ruth Yanagi and Barbara Lewis 19th: Trudi Driscoll, Charlotte Eichner and Ruth Hattori 26th: Missions Committee August 2nd: Trudi Driscoll, Ruth Yanagi and Ruth Hattori 9th: Barbara Lewis and Carolyn Keating 16th: Charlotte Eichner and Ruth Hattori 23rd: Carolyn Keating and Ruth Hattori 30th: Missions Committee

8 This Committee expresses our deepest thanks to: Barbara Lewis for starting coffee every Sunday for us. Trudi Driscoll for setting up the serving table for us each Sunday. and has provided with us refreshments many times. Mavelyn and Cheri, our newest worshipers, for their thoughtfulness in bringing us such yummy desserts. Also, it is wonderful to have you and your sons worshiping with us. To the Missions Committee who have hosted the Fellowship Time the last Sunday of the months for several months. Thank you so much!!! We really appreciate your support. The Fall Months are coming and with it, the cooler weather will be with us. Fellowship Time will continue to serve the hot coffee to warm you before you leave the church. Won't you consider hosting the Fellowship Time?? There is a sign-up sheer, please check to see which Sunday will be convenient for you. The Fellowship Committee: Charlotte Eichner, Ruth Yanagi, Carolyn Keating and Ruth Hattori FROM THE DEACON'S CLOSET Everyone is invited to attend and lend Mary-Ann Thibeault-Vandette our support as she presents her program and request for ordination before the Andover Association Ecclesiastical Council at 7PM in the sanctuary on Tuesday evening Sept 8th. Refreshments will be served by the Deacon s in the Vestry following the Ecclesiastical council. Painting was accomplished: The vestry, the adjoining restroom as well as the trim in the pie room did get painted between Aug 1 and Aug 12th with minimal disruption of the facility. Its new face is a must see. 9 gallons of paint, 175 man hours and 16 people in various ways made it happen. From Ray Otis who did the purchasing of paint and supplies loaned us supplies and laid the plan of action as well as washing the floor when we were done, to Helen Otis who supplied pizza lunch for the first Saturday work party, to everyone else who helped as follows- there is no other way to say it except we did it and THANK YOU : Painters: Lori Bertrand, Trudi Driscoll, Jim Elliott, Robin LaTorre, Bill MacKenzie, Ed MacKenzie, Paul Poulin, Ray Otis, Barry Reich, Elaine Thibeault-Vandette, Kacey Walko, Frank Sapienza furniture mover, Barbara Lewis- dish washer & shelf -liner of cabinet items, Ben Walko - furniture polisher George Driscoll (hardware, furniture, cabinet doors) and Paul Poulin old hardware out.

9 THANK YOU -ALL New Name tags for adults and children will be available on Rally-Sunday Sept 13th They will be found inside the Vestry on the left just as you enter. Thank you to Mary-Ann Thibeault-Vandette for taking the August 9th service. Bell ringers are needed for call to worship. Please see the Deacon(s) on duty for the month and let them know that you wish to ring our bell for call to worship at 10:45 10:50am each Sunday morning. Young and not so young invited age has no bounds all new attendees are encouraged to participate. Next Deacon s meeting Sept 17, :00 PM The Deacons Meeting Thursday 6:00PM Weigh in starts at 5:30PM Friday 9:30AM Weigh in starts at 9:00AM Publicity

10 I ha v e be e n ele c t e d pu b li c it y ch a ir m a n for the For e s t Str e e t U ni o n C h u r c h. In this roll I a m re s p o n s i b l e for getti n g all pu b li c it y for the ch u r c h to the pro p e r pu b li c a t i o n s, bot h pai d an d un p a i d. To ac c o m p l i s h this I will ne e d yo u r co o p e r a t i o n as follo w s : 1) N o ti fi e d 1 m o n t h or earli e r if po s s i b l e, ab o u t an y ev e n t s re q u i ri n g pu b li c it y. 2) Fo r m a t det a il s yo u wis h in the articl e in Mi c r o s o f t W o r d do c u m e n t. 3) Fly e r s ne e d to be in the for m a t that yo u w a n t pu bli s h e d. 4) A n y pai d ad s re q u i r e d will be fun d e d by the co m m i t t e e s req u e s t i n g a pai d ad Th e rol e of pu b li c it y ch a ir m a n als o incl u d e s the sig n on For e s t Str e e t. H O W E V E R, to ke e p th e sig n up d a t e d V O L U N T E E R S are ne e d e d m o n t h l y to ch a n g e the m e s s a g e. Pl e a s e se e m e or e-m a il m e at chi p n d a l e 3 v e r i z o n. n e t B a r b a r a Le w i s, P u b li c it y ch a ir m a n S e p t e m b e r 1 2, B a n d Ni g h t #4 6:00 P M to 10:0 0 P M A d m i s s i o n $6.00 Lig h t refr e s h m e n t s av a il a b l e Th e ba n d s ar e m a d e up of yo u n g pe o p l e fro m the M e t h u e n ar e a. P E N N Y S O C I A L O c t o b e r 24, at V F W 26 Riv e r Str e e t. M e t h u e n Tic k e t s on sal 4:00 P M Drawing starts 6:00PM Family Fun-50/50 Raffle-Snack Bar-Door Prizes-Raffle, SCOTT SEZ...What is an Ecclesiastical Council? When a person feels called by God to ordained ministry there are several steps he/she must go through. First the call must be recognized and affirmed by members of the church. They then request the Association of UCC churches to take that person 'into care'. While he/she is in seminary earning a Masters of Divinity degree the Association provides support and guidance by the Committee on Ministry through an advisor, a mentor and regular reporting. When seminary is finished the person must present and Ordination paper (statement of faith and journey) to the committee for approval. When they are satisfied with the paper, it is presented to the clergy and delegates of the churches of the Association and an Ecclesiastical Council is called. At that Council the candidate makes a presentation to the clergy and delegates that is related to the paper. A vote is taken to approve readiness for ordination. Assuming it is positive; the candidate must then obtain a Call (job) and is then ready to be ordained.

11 A Note from Norma On June 21 I played for my offertory music the early American hymn tune Jewels, by George Root, arranged for organ and solo by Jon Spong. Several people remarked favorably of it at coffee hour, so I thought I d print the words, written by William Cushing, and which I learned way back in my childhood Sunday School days. 1. When He cometh, when He cometh to make up his jewels, All His jewels, precious jewels His loved ones and His own. Refrain: Like the stars of the morning, His bright crown adorning, They shall shine in their beauty, bright gems for His crown. 2. He will gather, He will gather the gems for His Kingdom; All the pure ones, all the bright ones, His loved and His own. Refrain: 3. Little children, little children who love their Redeemer, Are the jewels, precious jewels, His loved and His own. Refrain: I will play this piece again some Sunday in October when I am on the bench again. Norma Reich