January February 2019 Circuit Rider

Transcription

1 January February 2019 Circuit Rider First Congregational Church of Lebanon 588 Exeter Road ~ P.O. Box 125, Lebanon, CT We seek to demonstrate God s Spirit through worship, witness, and ministry to the needs of the people in the church and the community. Rev. Dr. Will Sencabaugh, Pastor Nancy Magnuson, Secretary Pastor s Office Phone: Office Phone: Cell Phone: Lebfirstcong@att.net revdrwill@comcast.net Church Kitchen Phone: Derek Waldron, Director of Music WaldronsStudio88@gmail.com Teresa Bielecki, Website/Facebook Coordinator teresabielecki@yahoo.com Margaret McCaw, Moderator Michelle Kersey, Clerk colgate62@yahoo.com Phone: Phone: Keith Kersey, Chair of Board of Deacons Tim Fields, Chair of Board of Trustees rkkersey@charter.net or rkkersey@gmail.com Phone: Phone: Cell: Karen Ziel, Co-Chair of Brd. of Christian Education Barbara Clark, Co-Chair of Brd. of Christian Education karenziel54@gmail.com Phone: Phone: Amy Kirkpatrick, Chair of Board of Outreach Phone: Our Prayer List Priscilla Donnelly Joan Dutko David Fields Betty Forrest Jim Forrest Ellen Meseroll Fay Morehouse Ellen Pelkey Barbara Rodman Chet Ryan Ruth Tilley Nancy Schwartz Neil Whitehead May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace! ~ Psalm 29:11

2 From the Pastor s Desk What a year for New Year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Are you big on New Year s resolutions? I love the idea. Maybe I m not so good about following through all the way- but it is a chance for me to evaluate aspects of my life or work and resolve to make changes. I followed through on one of my resolutions from last January which is why I am here serving the Lebanon church. One of the resolutions I would like to see our church follow through on is our collective care-giving. Let me begin by saying that I think we do this well- but like every church, we could do this so much better (please know that I include myself in these statements). I would like to share a couple personal stories. They are reflective of every church. My grandparents were involved in their church. They would often go out for dinners and such with 3 other older couples in their congregation. My grandfather was the first of their group to pass away. The couples were thoughtful and caring at first, but then they stopped calling. They probably didn t want my grandmother to feel like a third wheel, but it only isolated her more, and made going to church awkward. After a period she gave up going to church and nobody ever called. A very good friend of mine was obsessively active in his church. He served every board or committee at one time. He gave an immense amount of time to the church. As a young person he was met with resistance on new projects and ministries and for a time he handled it well. But then, he hit his burn-out point. He withdrew and became less active. Then he stopped attending worship. Nobody called. He doesn t go anymore. We are better than this. We have to be better than this. We do care about every member of our church. I know this because I hear from members all the time. I know that the Deacons are planning ways to reach out. But this isn t just a Deacon concern it is an every member concern. If you are one who hasn t been to church in a while and you are wondering if we miss you we do!!! We really do. If you are angry or hurt that no one has called let me say on behalf of the congregation we are so very sorry we are resolving to do better! If we haven t reached out to you, please reach out to us- so that we can try to make things right. I fear that my grandmother s story or my friend s story may happen more often than we d like to admit. Maybe you have a similar story. The goal of every church is to grow. But before a church can grow (or should grow)- it needs to make sure that the church is in a place of compassion. We do care about the community. We care about our church. We care about the condition of the world. This year, 2019, let us resolve to reach out to all our members and friends to be a truly loving and inclusive congregation. New Year s Blessings- Rev. Will

3 Loft Thoughts ~ January February 2019 It is an awesome time of the year where resolutions are made (with good intention) but rarely kept. Every New Year we have another chance. A new beginning new hope, for perhaps a better year, better health, more income, a happier family life. Yesterday I attended a gathering, here where I live, to hear a lecture on the animal life that we live with. The speaker works at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic. She brought several pelts of skunk, black bear, and red fox for examples, along with a live small owl, a 2-foot milk snake, and several species of turtles. She walked around the room, encouraging us to feel the fur pelts and touch the snake and the turtles. Many of us did. A first for me! The world is filled with the wonders of God s creation. There is much we cannot see, or understand, unless we are exposed to a moment like this. As I left the room, I felt humbled by the knowledge that all these more or less invisible animals are cared for by their creator. They have what is needed to survive and raise families. It is a story of the survival of the fittest that appears to be God s plan. And it made me know that He cares for me created in His image as it is related in the Bible. The New Year has just begun. Think about the presence of God in your life. Thank Him for the beautiful earth that fills our souls with its lovely colors. Happy New Year Just a Note, Jean Souter Lenten Book Study We had so much fun reading Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan s The First Christmas, that during Lent, we will be reading their book, The Last Week. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend any of the discussion nights during Advent. Admittedly, the book was not a quick easy read, and I suspect that The Last Week will present similar challenges. We will meet on Tuesday evenings 7-8 pm during Lent. Annual Meeting & Potluck Luncheon The Annual Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, February 3rd. A potluck luncheon will precede the meeting. Snow date is the following Sunday, February 10th. Severe Weather Cancellations In the event of severe weather, please check for cancellations of Sunday morning worship services and church activities on WFSB TV Channel 3, church website, or you may contact any deacon. February Birthdays 7th ~ Jim Gillespie 8th ~ Tom Boisvert 9th ~ Brody Raymond 12th ~ Don Lavoie 18th ~ Jon Magnuson 23rd ~ Jim McCaw 26th ~ Karen Ziel 26th ~ Brian Wagner

4 On the second Wednesday of every month, there is a gathering of musicians. We had so much fun playing and preparing for Camp Sunday that we decided to make it a regular thing. So, if you play an instrument or love to sing then please come to the Memorial Room on the second Wednesday of every month. We ll start at 7 pm. Bring some music to share. News from the Board of Christian Outreach Lebanon Social Services Holiday Giving Program Thank You! Thank you for your support of the Holiday Giving Program. Our congregation sponsored 12 children. Shelly Ashcom, director of Lebanon s Social Services, would like to thank our congregation for all our help this year. Community Dinner at the First Baptist in Willimantic January 30th We will be serving a Community Dinner at First Baptist in Willimantic on January 30th. If you would like to help cook, serve, or donate needed supplies, please contact Amy Kirkpatrick at We will be serving shepherd s pie. Donations of fresh fruit or bar cookies would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your continued support of Community Dinners. Our guests are so grateful for these meals. Fair Trade Market Products Equal Exchange Fairly Traded products will be available on the fourth Sunday of the month. Please stop by our table and stock up on your favorite products. Your purchases help to support small farmers worldwide. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE SPRING SCHEDULE January 13th Video Presentation of Inconvenient Truth The Sequel February 17th Speaker John Humphries of the Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs John will update us on the priorities for our state as a new administration begins and the progress of the CT wind farm plans. March 3rd TBA April 7th Speaker - Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt Jonas, Reviving Creation Margaret will be preaching and will hold a forum on Climate Change & the Church. For more information on this exciting speaker, link here: April 28th Juan SOUPER Sanchez BOWL Naturalist, SUNDAY!!! discussion of flora January and fauna 27th during (not the a walk date around of the the actual Lebanon Super Green. Bowl) Come in comfortable shoes join us for an informative stroll.

5 This year we will be doing something amazing. We will be participating in the Souper Bowl of Caring. While the Super Bowl is the first Sunday in February- we will be hosting our own celebration the week before- JANUARY 27th. Worship will be in the sanctuary but it will be different! It will be fun, full of fellowship and praise. Here are the rules for Souper Bowl Sunday Worship: 1. Come to worship dressed in your favorite sports team attire, if you like. 2. Bring in a non-perishable item(s) to be donated to the Neighbors Helping Neighbors Food Pantry 3. There will be envelopes provided for cash/check donations for the food pantry 4. Tailgate Party! Coffee hour/fellowship time will be a Tailgate Party. Please bring a dish or something to share (think potluck with your favorite tailgate foods/snacks). 5. Bring a friend. The Souper Bowl of Caring What is it? A simple prayer: "Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without a bowl of soup to eat" is inspiring a youth-led movement to help hungry and hurting people around the world. This prayer, delivered by Brad Smith, then a seminary intern serving at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC, gave birth to an idea. Why not use Super Bowl weekend, a time when people come together for football and fun, to also unify the nation for a higher good: collecting dollars and canned food for the needy? Youth could collect donations at their schools and churches in soup pots, and then send every dollar DIRECTLY to a local charity of THEIR choice. That was Since then, ordinary young people have generated an extraordinary $135 million for soup kitchens, food banks and other charities in communities across the country. In addition, hundreds of thousands of youth have experienced for themselves the joy and satisfaction of - giving and serving, inspiring people of all ages to follow their generous example. For more information please check out: Why are we not participating in the Souper Bowl on the actual date of the Super Bowl February 3rd? Three very good reasons. 1. We will be celebrating Communion 2. It will be Scout Sunday 3. We will have our Annual Meeting and Potluck following worship January Birthdays 1st ~ Edwina Rechlin 1st ~ Marge Page 1st ~ Brigitte Boyce 7th ~ Justine Battcher 9th ~ Jean Souter 10th ~ Wolf Rechlin 11th ~ Ruth Turner-Jones 14th ~ Duke York 17th ~ Dale Dubina 18th ~ Keith Kersey 23rd ~ Diana Vickers 26th ~ Asa Preli 28th ~ Margaret Gillespie