The Meetinghouse News The First Congregational Church of Madison

Transcription

1 Newsletter April 2018 The Meetinghouse News The First Congregational Church of Madison April 2018 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him... As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over. So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us? Luke 24 From Rev. Todd C. Vetter Every year as Easter approaches, as the buds start to form on the trees and the first Crocuses push through the dirt, we come once again to this story of resurrection. Two disciples are leaving Jerusalem for the long, desultory walk back to their village. The events of the previous week have left them exhausted, despairing; they have lost a friend, teacher and master to the cruelest form of death. The Romans crucified only those they wished to shame; and the disgrace of Jesus dying on the cross could only have made his death and their grief and loss all the worse. It is at this moment, consumed with sorrow, their life in tatters, their future in doubt, that the two disciples are met by the risen Christ, there on the road home. But it is at this particular point in the story that something stranger still happens. They do not recognize him. In fact, the writer of Luke s gospel tell us that their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 1

2 This enigmatic note always leaves me puzzled. We are not told who or what prevents them from recognition of someone they presumably knew well. Is it their own grief blinding them to the reality of Jesus recognition? Does God somehow close off their capacity to see, until a more appropriate moment? Or is it simply that this moment is so removed from all previous experience, so divorced from the categories of understanding that shaped their lives, that they cannot comprehend that what was clearly dead is still living? In our time, with all of its soaring technological and scientific achievement, with categories of knowledge and experience set firmly and absolutely, we can fall victim to the same blindness. Too easily we share the disciples unwillingness to accept that there are things beyond our capacity to understand or control; that there is always more to come from God s deep resolve to reorder the terms of our existence to our blessing and benefit. We can also fall victim to the temptation to see in this story only the promise of life in the hereafter. We should be cautious about this as well. Even as people of faith bend our more fervent hopes towards the promise that death does not bring to a close the lives of those we love, we must be open to how the Resurrection speaks into the living world. It should be our hope as well that God raises Jesus to invest the breathing world with a renewed sense of promise and possibility; that older habits and understandings can and must give way to the new life breaking out around us. ************************************************ The story of the disciples walking home to Emmaus on the first Easter morning long ago has been one of my favorite pieces of scripture for many years. During the three years I spent serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho, in southern Africa, I would walk almost every weekend along the dirt road out of our Ribaneng, the community in which I lived, looking for a ride to the junction with the national road and a bus to the capital or wherever else I was going. In Sesotho, ribaneng means place of refuge. It was my home; the place where people knew and sheltered me for three years. But, it was along that road that I recall hearing God s call to ministry for the first time. The people living at the other end of that long dirt road had named their village Emmaus. The great resurrection stories bless us each Easter season with the reminder that as cherished as home can be to us, there is always grace, understanding and love to be found in walking along new roads, and knowing that in our venturing out from our places of refuge, God will find us and shape our living in new ways. Blessings to you all this Easter. Todd 2

3 Here s where to get the latest scoop on what s happening musically in the church! For even more information, call Nathan at: (203) , ext. 21. MUSIC FOR MAUNDY THURSDAY On Thursday, March 29th at 7:30, the Adult Choir will be presenting four movements from Gilbert M. Martin s Jesus Alone: A Holy Week Cantata as part of the evening worship service. The composer wrote this about his work: When I began work on this cantata, I was struck by the amount and quality of isolation, seclusion and remoteness associated with Jesus and his final earthly week. The words of Isaiah s prophecy, He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, surely reflect a great human affliction. Even the hymn texts within the various movements constantly remind the listener of this aloneness: Jesus entry into Jerusalem, although punctuated with Hosanna, hosanna!, also urge him to ride on to die in lowly pomp. Surrounded by his disciples in the Upper Room, his excruciating agony in Gethsemane and the horror of Golgotha, all leave on with a sense of terrible solitude. The alleviation of this loneliness is, of course, the exquisite and quiet joy of Easter morning, the tomb unsealed. It is a superb compilation, and the Adult Choir hopes you will enjoy this touching music as much as we have enjoyed learning and singing it. MUSIC FOR GOOD FRIDAY On Friday, March 30th, from 12:15-12:45 pm, I will be playing several solo organ works, including Marcel Dupré s beautiful Cortège et Litanie, Op. 19, No. 2 for the final recital of this year s Five Fridays Lenten Concert Series. I m also excited to play Astor Piazzolla s Ave Maria and Alexandre Aroutiounian s Aria with Coast Guard Band trumpeter Kelly Watkins. Kelly has won many awards as a trumpet soloist both nationally and internationally, and she was last here in 2007 when she played for the Dedication Concert for our 1875 Steinway! It will be great to welcome her back and hear her outstanding music. 3

4 MUSIC FOR EASTER Music will fill the sanctuary on Easter morning with congregational singing, music from our choirs, and guest instrumentalists! The big choral anthem the Adult Choir will be singing is Mark Hayes s Resurrection Suite, an extended medley of well-known Lenten and Easter hymns especially appropriate for Easter Day. They will be accompanied by a guest pianist along with two trumpets, French horn, trombone, flute, clarinet, and timpanist. The Handbell Choir will also be playing that morning, and it is worth mentioning that we have a whopping fourteen ringers this time! There are so many players I ran out of bells, so some folks will be playing handchimes! Of the fourteen, nine are returning members, two are new to the area (yet are experienced ringers), and three have never even picked up a handbell before starting rehearsals at the beginning of the month! Although snow forced us to miss two of four rehearsals, we re still in great shape, and I m excited to have them play in church that morning. SPEAKING OF HANDBELLS... Our next four-week rotation begins on Wednesday, April 11th, and you are invited to play! The dates are: Wednesday, April 11th, 6:00-7:00 pm: rehearsal Wednesday, April 18th, 6:00-7:00 pm: rehearsal Wednesday, April 25th, 6:00-7:00 pm: rehearsal Wednesday, May 2nd, 6:00-7:00 pm: rehearsal Sunday, May 6th: play in church BENEFIT CONCERT: APRIL 27th, 7:00 pm On Friday, April 27th at 7:00 pm, Sorelle Allegre, the young pianist and violinist Claire and Aimee Chang, will be performing in our sanctuary with proceeds to benefit the Madison Food Pantry. They are excellent musicians with well-constructed programs, and they last performed here about a year ago. There is a suggested cash donation of $10, or checks may be made payable to Madison Community Services. We re happy to host them again as part of Music at the Meetinghouse for this worthy cause. 4

5 CHANCEL CHOIR SINGING IN NORWICH A couple months ago, members of the Chancel Choir Livi LaTorre, Lexi Guerette, Avery Belcher, Holly Vetter, Carrie Edwards, and returning Chancel Choir alum Ella Dreier traveled to Christ Episcopal Church in Norwich to participate in an Ecumenical Children s Choir Festival. There were eight other church choirs that sang, totaling over 100 singers! Each choir sang a piece on their own, and our Chancel Choir sang Joseph Martin s The Journey. Led by director Rick Schumacher, the combined choir sang three pieces, including the traditional Dona Nobis Pacem, Nancy Raabe s Sing to the Lord, and Hal Hopson s arrangement of the traditional Zulu song, We Are Singing, for the Lord Is Our Light, otherwise known as Siyahamba. Organist Jesse Glaude guest recitalist for our own Five Fridays Lenten Concert this past March 16th provided highpowered, inspiring (and improvised!) prelude and postlude music. Here are some great pictures from the event (thank you, Lianne LaTorre)! 5

6 Worship on Wednesday WOW will be held on Wednesday, April 18th at 7:30 p.m. in the chapel. The message, "Finding my Wilderness", will be given by Christine Sima. Christine has been a member of FCC for a year and sings in both the Adult and Spirit choirs. She is active in the Healing Prayer Group and is on the search team for the new position of Minister of Community Life. Christine writes, "I was recently asked to reflect on Matthew4:1-11. Jesus's answers to the devil are more miraculous than his willingness to take action and actually follow the spirit into the desert. Most of us don't have what it takes to even recognize the wilderness, let alone march off into it. I got lucky." WOW is an informal worship service; dress is casual. The service will also include special readings, prayers, and music. If you would like to participate, please contact alisonhubley@gmail.com. We will gather for refreshments and a fellowship time afterward. All adults and children are welcome. Refugee Resettlement Update When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Matthew Jesus may be lamenting the lack of willing laborers. Or he may be pointing out that a few faithful people, committed to making love of neighbor and stranger manifest in our world, can produce a plentiful harvest. Most of us are aware of the plight of those families and communities throughout the world whose lives have been disrupted by conflict and war. They are millions of them crowded into refugee camps, or huddled in shelters waiting for some promise of welcome and hospitality. Last year, First Congregational Church voted with enthusiasm to do what we can to assist the efforts of organizations like Integrated Refugee & Immigration Services in New Haven ( As we come into this Easter season, the Outreach Board and I invite to consider prayerfully joining our efforts to welcome a refugee family to our community and start them on the path to citizenship in our country. There are a number of ways in which you can help. Later in the spring, we will offering opportunities to learn more. Each church or community group hosting a family will need between 20 and 30 volunteers to carry out a variety of tasks in support of the family s needs. We invite you to prayerfully consider how you might lend your time and talent to this important mission. 6

7 Trivia Night Join us on Saturday, April 28th at 5 p.m. in Hubley Hall for pizza followed by a fun-filled Trivia game (in the chapel). All ages of children and adults are welcome! Pizza is $5/person, $10/couple, or $15/ family. Sign up on the Fellowship bulletin board by Sunday, April 22nd. Hope to see you there! June 9 th Strawberry Jazz Festival 9:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m. and Livingston Taylor Concert 7:30 p.m. Folk Pop legend Livingston Taylor performs at the "Strawberry Jazz Festival" at The First Congregational Church of Madison, 26 Meetinghouse Lane, Madison. He has enjoyed a lustrous career in music as a singer -songwriter since the release of his self-titled debut in 1970 and critically acclaimed second release, Liv. A virtuoso on guitar and piano, Taylor is the musician behind top 40 hits "I Will Be In Love with You" and "I'll Come Running." Taylor has also enjoyed the honor of collaborating with folk legends Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Vince Gill, and his brother, James, for whom Taylor wrote lyrics for the double Grammy-winning 1997 album, Hourglass. Tickets to Livingston Taylor are $25, $35, $45 and $55. For reservations and seating chart go to: For more information call Kathleen Bidney-Singewald , ext Scholarships - Attention High School Seniors! The Williams-Morgan Scholarship Applications are available in the church office starting April 15, The scholarship is based on community and church involvement and is available to all HS seniors with an award of approximately $1, per year for four years. Applications will be due back to the office by May 20th. Applicants will be notified of a decision no later than June 3rd. The award will be presented on Children's Sunday, June 17th. Please contact Sue Timony-Hall with questions: stimonhall@hotmail.com or by phone at

8 We are updating our mailing lists again. If you receive a printed version of this newsletter by mail and do not want it, or if you prefer to receive it on-line, please send an to the church office with your request to mainoffice@fccmadison.org The First Congregational Church of Madison 26 Meetinghouse Lane, Madison, CT Overlooking the Green The Meetinghouse News April 2018 Non-profit U.S. Postage Paid Guilford, CT Permit #271 Change Service Requested Sunday Worship Service 10:00 a.m. In the Meetinghouse Communion Served First Sunday of Each Month Our Worship Service is broadcast on Madison Access TV Channel 18, Sunday at noon and at other times, check their listings. Sunday School During Service The Rev. Todd C. Vetter Senior Minister Phone: Fax: mainoffice@fccmadison.org Website: Facebook: First Congregational Church of Madison, CT Church Office Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday - Friday 8