October 2015 Church of the New Jerusalem Monthly Newsletter A community united by faith in God and love to the neighbor

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1 October 2015 Church of the New Jerusalem Monthly Newsletter A community united by faith in God and love to the neighbor Greetings, dear readers! I write to you on a beautiful fall morning. The temperature is a chilly 38 degrees! What a difference between now and a few short weeks ago. Though I can t help but want to linger a little in the warmth of summer, the world outside my window is ready to move on. My thoughts this morning lean a little more political than what I would normally share. Please don t worry I m not about to advise anyone on how to vote! (Though I did hear that the church used to do that at one time!) My favorite story about this is when Convention was going to vote on whether or not to ordain women ministers. Long time pastor here, Rev. Briggs, urged everyone from the congregation traveling to convention to vote no on the issue.and then on the cover of the next Messenger (our monthly Convention publication), there was a picture of his wife, Mrs. Briggs, voting in favor of women ministers. (I hope I have that story right, Martha!) It makes me smile. No, my thoughts are not about how to vote.i m thinking of how polite we are when we disagree about things, or express our political opinions. Just recently, I found myself sitting in a waiting room with three others while my daughter was having her adenoids out. On the television was Pope Francis heading to the White House. The energy and excitement was practically radiating from the screen. I was excited to see it Pope Francis has done so much for the Catholic community; I so admire his humble approach and his love for serving the poor, among other acts of kindness. As you might have guessed, not everyone in the waiting room felt the same way one man felt he needed to share his opinions with the rest of us. The comments ranged from the church only cares about money to there is a Catholic and a Muslim together (when the Pope and the President were onscreen together) to calling the President an awful name. I had heard enough and asked the man to please be more polite because we don t all share the same opinions. We all have different opinions about politics, and where the country and the world are at right now and that is fine. I write about this moment because what seems to be profoundly missing at particular moments is kindness and a consideration for others. Issues and opinions should never be so important in our minds that it doesn t matter how we treat others when we The Fryeburg New Church aka The Church of the New Jerusalem 12 Oxford Street Fryeburg, ME Rev. Alison Lane-Olsen, Pastor pastorfnc@gmail.com Office: (207) , Cell phone (620) Office Hours: Pastor ~ Wednesday thru Friday 8:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m., Saturday by appointment Secretary ~ Wednesday thru Friday 9:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m.

2 express those thoughts. When I was briefly involved in the Maine Council of Churches, civil discourse was on their list of priorities; they were working toward truthful and respectful interactions among us all, especially when we hold differing views. This matters because all of religion relates to life, and the life of religion is to do good and that includes how we speak to one another about our political views. May we be kind and thoughtful when approaching another about our opinions. In Galatians, Paul said the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and selfcontrol. Against such things there is no law. He also added, Let us work out its implications in every detail of our lives. I m including the Maine Council of Church s Covenant for political discourse in this newsletter. From their website: We invite all elected officials and candidates for public office in Maine, as well as individuals, campaigns, faith communities and other organizations engaging in issues in the public square to join us in this Covenant. Wouldn t campaign seasons be a little nicer if we could agree at least on this? Blessings to you, and may you honor the fruit of the spirit in all your conversations, Rev. Alison Office Hours: Weds. Friday 8:30am-12:30pm, Saturday by appointment pastorfnc@gmail.com Office phone: Cell phone: (620) Church Report The Trustees The Trustees next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 13, 2015 at 7:00 pm. The meetings are open to all, but you should contact the Chair prior to the meeting to get an item on the agenda. Also, please speak to any of the Trustees with your questions, concerns, compliments or complaints. We are here to serve you. Currently Serving Trustees Jon Crowe, Chair Stew Frost, Vice Chair Cindy Priest, Treasurer Dede Frost, Secretary Donnette Barnes, Trustee Jane Fullerton, Trustee Judy Hatch, Trustee Women s Alliance Representative: Patricia Swett Women s Alliance The next meeting of the Women s Alliance will be on Monday, November 16, 2015 at NOON. Bring a bag lunch. We meet the third Monday of each month at the Church. All ladies are welcome!! 2015 Officers for the Women s Alliance are: President...Jean Cressy Vice-President...Claire Kiesman Secretary...Sally Harnden Treasurer...Patty Swett Chaplain...TBA

3 Worship Schedule Sunday School 9:00 AM Family Worship 10:00 AM Oct. 4th - (first Sunday of Fair!) "Crumbs from the table" Matthew 15: Oct. 11th - (closing day of Fair) Message TBA 8am: Rev. Alison offering service at Fairgrounds at Hayseed Theater, music by Birds on a Wire! (Greg and Jenny Huang- Dale and Jeanine Loubier) Beginning a new series! Annual Meeting and Pot Luck Luncheon Please join us for our annual pot luck luncheon immediately following Worship Service on: Sunday, October 25 th FNC Annual Meeting will follow after lunch.. Also coming up: Maine Association Annual Meeting Saturday, November 14 th details TBA Potluck with a Purpose on hold until December. Oct. 18th - Living Gratefully: How a Grateful Life Leads to Happiness Oct. 25th - Living Gratefully Gift of freedom: So that we can be ourselves The Sanctuary and other parts of the church are going to see some new paint and carpeting after the fair! This means our Worship hour will see some adjustments to allow for the chaos of moving around pews, paintings and more. There has been a proposal to join our worship hour with the local Congregational Church (located just around the corner at 655 Main Street)! Otherwise, the plan is to worship downstairs. Please feel free to call the office or check our facebook page for updates! An announcement will be made at church as well. *Don t forget to get your annual reports in to the FNC Office by October 10 th so it can be included in the Church report. Thank you! Fish and Game Supper Nov 2, :30 p.m.

4 THE FRYEBURG FAIR IS HERE!! IF YOU HAVEN T SIGNED UP TO HELP IT S NOT TOO LATE! THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS THAT YOU CAN STILL CONTRIBUTE TO THIS. CHECK OUT THE SIGNUP SHEET AT THE CHURCH, CALL CINDY OR DONNETTE, OR CALL THE BOOTH DURING THE THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! CO CHAIRS, CINDY PRIEST AND DONNETTE BARNES Christmas Cupboard The Women s Alliance is once again gearing up for the annual Christmas Cupboard which will be on Saturday, November 21st!! Donations of anything handmade are appreciated and very much needed this year! EVERYONE: We could really use donations of some handmade wooden crafts. Items for sale should be brought to the Church no later than set up day, Friday, November 20th at 9:00 a.m. Baked items can also be brought in anytime on Friday, or Saturday morning by 8:00 a.m. We also will be decorating wreaths at the Church November 15 th after the Sunday service. The Community Giving Tree is an ecumenical effort by the community churches in the MSAD 72 area, local businesses, civic organizations and service organizations to ensure that our children and others in need have a joyous holiday season. Your donations last year helped us give a total of over 1,000 gifts (many of which were winter jackets, snow pants and boots) to more than 118 families, including over 250 children. We received words of thanks from many of the families, often tearful thanks. That thanks goes directly to you because without your help we would not be able to assist as many families as we do, and we thank you in advance for your generosity and support in making this Christmas miracle happen again this year. Sincerely ~ The Members of the Community Giving Tree *Meetings held at Assembly of God Church Too old to go Trick-or- Treating? Join us for our 3rd Annual "Trick-or-Treating" event at our church! For the last two years, we have kept the lights on and doors open Halloween night, and have seen hundreds of children pour up our front steps as we handed out candy! Once more, let's use this holiday as a mission and outreach event. We invite you to come dressed up and help us hand out candy - donations of candy are much appreciated as well! ~Rev. Alison

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6 Maine Council of Churches A COVENANT FOR CIVIL DISCOURSE PREAMBLE A flourishing democracy requires rigorous public debate that includes freedom of expression for all points of view. For such debate to serve the ends of democracy and the common good it must be rooted in an environment of mutual respect and honesty. It seems, however, that communications around political campaigns and issues have become meaner, more deceitful and more disrespectful, causing confusion, division and discord among the electorate. Most faith traditions urge every person to treat other people as they would want to be treated, making no exceptions for behavior in public debate. The faith tradition shared by members of the Maine Council of Churches is to "speak the truth in love. To that end, we have adopted the following Covenant for Civil Discourse as a guide for participation in public life. We ask all candidates for state and national level public office in Maine to sign and publicly endorse this Covenant for Civil Discourse as a means of serving the people of Maine, our democracy and the larger goals of building a society of justice, sustainability, compassion and peace. COVENANT I, (name of individual and title of position running for) hereby commit: 1. To act respectfully toward others, including those who oppose me in public debate, and to attempt to understand others' point(s) of view. I extend this attitude of respect to all those engaged in civil discourse in the United States. 2. To refrain from personal attacks, while maintaining the right to vigorously disagree. 3. To refrain from making statements which characterize my opponents as evil. 4. To refuse to make untrue statements in defense of my position. 5. To value honesty, truth, and civility while striving to find workable solutions. 6. To expect any person, party, campaign or organization working on my behalf to meet these same standards for civil discourse, and to disavow statements that violate these standards.

7 Welcomers for October Oct 4 Fryeburg Fair Oct 11 Fryeburg Fair Oct 18 Martha Richardson Oct 25 OPEN Ushers for October Oct 4 Tom Barrett & Donnette Barnes Oct 11 Stanley Dolley & Chuck Priest Oct 18 Jen & David Richardson Oct 25 Dean Harnden & Jean Cressy Coffee Hour for October Oct 4 Fryeburg Fair Oct 11 Fryeburg Fair Oct 18 Jen Richardson Oct 25 Potluck & Meeting WORSHIP SERVICE ATTENDANCE SEPTEMBER 6-27, 2015 Date Adults Children Sept Sept Sept Sept October flowers in Honor of Sally Harnden & Edie Leach Calendar for October 2015 (held at our Church unless indicated) 4 Sun Fryeburg Fair begins Adult Choir Sunday School Family Worship 11 Sun Last Day of Fair Adult Choir Sunday School Family Worship 8:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m. 8:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m. 13 Tue Trustees Meeting 7:00 p.m. 15 Thu Swedenborg and Parsonage 18 Sun Communion Sunday Adult Choir Sunday School Family Worship Capital Campaign Letter Stuffing CGT: Caller s deadline, all info sent to Tag Team 21 Wed Rev. FHCC Worship Committee mtg. 22 Thu Swedenborg and Parsonage 25 Sun Birthday Bank Sunday Food Pantry Sunday Adult Choir Sunday School Family Worship Family Potluck and FNC Annual Meeting 29 Wed CGT: Volunteer s Tree and Tag Assembly of God Church 30 Thu Swedenborg and Parsonage 31 Sat Happy Halloween! Trick or FNC 7 8:30 pm 8:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m. after worship 7:00 p.m. 7 8:30 pm 8:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. 7:00 p.m. 7 8:30 pm

8 Church of the New Jerusalem a.k.a. Fryeburg New Church 12 Oxford Street Fryeburg, ME Address Service Requested