The Bell Ringer. of the United Methodist Church of Cooperstown 66 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown NY 13326

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1 The Bell Ringer of the United Methodist of Cooperstown 66 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown NY Telephone: (607) MARCH Editor: Brenda Alton A Mission (or Lenten) offering envelope is included with this Memo. These offerings will be dedicated to our Apportionments for Ministry Shares. Your contribution, which may be given at any time throughout the year, will be recorded on your Quarterly Giving Report. WINTER WORSHIP Worship services from January through Sunday, March 22 nd, are held in the Chapel at 10:30 AM. Join us for cozy worship and fellowship followed by Coffee Hour. We return to the Sanctuary for Palm Sunday, March 29 th. Sunday School classes convene at 9:30 AM in the Fellowship Room. For info. contact Lorie & Ray Hillhouse CANCELLATION In the event of bad weather and Worship needs to be cancelled, you will receive a phone call from the Prayer Chain or an . If you are not on either of these and would like to be, please contact the Pastor at or pastorbilldelia@gmail.com. DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME Starts Sunday, March 8 th. Don t forget to set your clocks one hour ahead. Blooming Cross The cross is a symbol of deep significance for Christians everywhere, reminding us of death and life, of suffering and sacrifice, of hope and eternal life. Once again this year, we will witness to our community about the promise of the cross with a wooden cross on our front lawn. The cross will be placed as soon as the weather permits and will remain through Easter. On Easter morning, beginning after the sunrise service, we will decorate the cross with plastic flowers transforming a bare symbol of torture and pain into a living symbol of blooming life. When you come to Easter Services you will be invited to add flowers to our cross display. Come and celebrate life with us!

2 HAPPY BIRTHDAY April Higgins Tim Feury Kaitlyn Breiten Georgette Halloran Barbara Monie George Smith, Jr. John Collier Kari Mullin Linda Pickens Del Campbell Dan Evans Finn Morgan Gary Kuch Kelly Wedderspoon Erin Collier Simon Wyckoff Fred Wyckoff Jillian Green Richard Hanson HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Randy & Susan Gelatt Bob & Eulene Smith 04 th 04 th 07 th 08 th 09 th 10 th 11 th 11 th 13 th 14 th 15 th 16 th 17 th 17 th 19 th 24 th 28 th 29 th 30 th 09 th 29 th SATURDAY S BREAD Volunteers are needed MARCH 14 TH. Saturday s Bread is served at the First Methodist, corner of Chestnut and Streets. Parking is available in the First Baptist lot located on Academy Street (do not use General Dollar or Huntington Library lots). It is advised not to bring valuable into church. All volunteers should arrive at 9:30 AM. Jobs will be assigned at that time. Everyone should be prepared to stay until cleanup is completed (usually before 2 PM). Child care is not provided. Written checklists and core supervisors will be available to guide you in your work. Kitchen volunteers must be adults. Youth volunteers are welcome as follows: Age 16+ for kitchen help, 14+ for dining room help. 12 and 13 year olds may volunteer only with parents present. Volunteers should not wear sandals or open toe shoes. Volunteers should not text or use a cell phone while working. Volunteers should bring a hat (ex. Baseball cap) to wear if working in the kitchen or buffet table or papers hats will be provided. FLOWERS For February are in memory of Violet Dietz, given by her daughter, Dawne Dietz. Our church is scheduled to work the following dates: JUNE 20, OCTOBER 31. Please, please consider helping, at least, one of the dates. Ask a friend to come along and help. Maybe someone has never volunteered or heard of Saturday s Bread. Please see Rena or call her to offer your help. With much appreciation and a big thank you. Rena Lull DEVOTIONAL READING "Upper Room" (also large print copies), "Alive Now," "devozine" (for teens by teens) for March-April, and "Our Daily Bread" for March/April/May, are in the literature racks in the church entrance. Please help yourself to this devotional reading -- take a copy to a homebound church member. CHEESECAKE TASTING THANK YOU to all who helped, attended, and donated to the 16th annual Cheesecake tasting contest. Thank you also to the church for allowing us to hold the event in the fellowship room. Linda and John Smirk and Elizabeth Dunn

3 ECUMENICAL LENTEN SERIES Our Lenten Series, Lord, Teach Us to Pray will invite us to spend the weeks of Lent going deeper with The Lord s Prayer. Each of the sessions in the series will take a portion of the prayer and invite us in to examine it more fully in light of our faith and the challenges of living the Christian life. Date February 25 March 4 March 11 March 18 March 25 Host Christ Episcopal First Presbyterian United Methodist Christ Episcopal First Baptist Each Wednesday evening we will gather at 5:30pm for a simple shared meal of homemade soups and bread, followed by a time of prayer, devotion, and study all ending by 7pm. Please join us for this time of learning, sharing and spiritual growth. HOLY WEEK 2015 March 29 - Palm Sunday with a Reading of the Passion Sunday School and at usual times April 2 Maundy Thursday - Communion Service in the Chapel at 7:00pm April 3 - Good Friday Ecumenical Service at Bassett Hospital (Clark Auditorium) beginning at 12:10pm April 5 Easter Sunday Ecumenical Sunrise Service at Lake Front Park beginning at 6:45am - Easter Worship at 10:30am in the Sanctuary (no Sunday School) MEN S BREAKFAST CLUB The fellowship of Coffee Hour after the worship service continues. Iced tea, coffee or juice and a light snack are enjoyed. A sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board downstairs. The women s Coffee and Chit Chat Club meets Wednesday mornings at 10 a.m. at The Cooperstown Diner on Main Street. Confirmation Class Update Our Confirmation Class continues to meet regularly with seven young people: four from Cooperstown UMC and three from Fly Creek UMC. The class is being led by Pastor Bill and Pastor Sharon Rankins-Burd from Fly Creek. The class began in November and will continue to meet over the next few months with confirmation planned for Pentecost Sunday. In March, the class will participate in a retreat at Sky Lake Camp with confirmands from other churches. Please include the confirmation class in your prayers: Ashley, Braden, Jacob, Kai, Megan, Ray and Ushuaia (Pastor Bill and Pastor Sharon would appreciate your prayers, too.) This is an important time of Christian formation for each of them. Our young people are an important part of our church today and for the future. Stewardship Report 2015 General Fund Budget $136,750 Budget through January $ 11,396 Offerings through January $ 10,515 Below Budget ($ 881)

4 GREETERS AND USHERS Sign up sheets are in the Fellowship Room or cal Joan Ackerman, and pick a Sunday to volunteer. APRIL 17, 2015 (FRIDAY) PORK DINNER CHAIRPERSON: ELLEN KUCH HELPERS NEEDED: MEN, WOMEN, MAY 23/24, 2015 CLASSIC WEEKEND???? CHURCH PARKING CHAIRPERSON: RENA LULL JULY 25, 2015 (SATURDAY) HOF INDUCTION WEEKEND CHURCH BROOKS CHICKEN BAR-B-QUE CHAIRPERSON: WINNIE DENNY-SMITH HELPERS NEEDED: WOMEN, MEN, JULY 26, 2015 (SUNDAY) HOF INDUCTION CHURCH PARKING CHAIR: RENA LULL RELAY FOR LIFE Otsego County relay for life will take place from May 15 th to the morning of May 16 th at Cooperstown Dreams Park. The 2015 theme is: full steam at 17! In recognition of the 17 years the event has been held locally. This year s fundraising goal is $100,000, which will go towards cancer research, patient services, education and advocacy. Last year alone, more than 300 services supplied by the American Cancer Society, were used by Otsego County patients. The local event has raised more than $1.5 million to date. For more information contact Helen Gregory from the American Cancer Society in Sidney at or NOVEMBER 14, 2015 (SATURDAY) CHURCH HARVEST DINNER CHAIRPERSON: LINDA SMIRK HELPERS NEEDED: WOMEN, MEN, UMW NEWS MONDAY, MARCH 09 th is the next Regular Meeting of the UMW. The meeting will be held at 11 AM in the Fellowship Room. There will be Call to Prayer and planning UMW Sunday. LITURGISTS Liturgists are needed. Please check your calendars and call Alice Stiles, , if you can serve.

5 Pastor s Page Rev. William Bill H. Delia Pastor, United Methodist of Cooperstown 66 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown, NY Telephone (607) Cell Phone (607) pastorbilldelia@gmail.com So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see everything has become new! 2Corinthians 5:17 What an amazing promise everything old has passed away everything has become new! simply by being in Christ. Whoever you were before, whatever happened in your life, it has all passed away it s gone, it no longer matters. You are a new person in Jesus Christ even if not in the eyes of the world. Jesus not only brings hope for the future, but transformation right now, right here! If we are honest with ourselves, we know that we have not lived each day of our lives as God would have us live. It s no surprise our failures are as much a part of our humanity as mercy is a part of our God s love and grace. We know and God knows, too that it s not easy to live a God-centered life in this world. Still we can put that all behind us and begin anew in Christ. We can begin today living the life that God hopes for us and that Jesus offers. In this season of Lent, these six weeks leading up to our celebration of Easter, we are invited in to that kind of life changing, transformative process. We are called to put aside the things of life without Christ and become new in our relationship with God through the gift of God s love and grace in Jesus. This gift of new life eternal life is not about something that happens when life in this world is over. New life eternal life begins now, when we decide that the life OF this world is over and that our new life IN Christ is begun. Whether we have made this commitment before in our lives and found it difficult to live up to or whether we are making this commitment for the first time, the important thing is that we make the commitment and begin living new life in Christ. Over the coming weeks, may our worship services, our Ecumenical Lenten Gatherings and our personal times of prayer help each of us to accept the gift of new life that is offered to us in Jesus the Christ. Everything old has passed away everything has become new! May God make it so! Bill Pastor Bill Delia 5