A note from our Pastor... Celebrate Our Risen Savior!

Transcription

1 St. Matthew s United Church of Christ March 2016 Newsletter A note from our Pastor... Celebrate Our Risen Savior! Preparing for Easter is a very significant time for Christians. Yes, we celebrate the spring colors through our egg hunts and baskets; we look forward to those chocolate rabbits and welcome that big Easter dinner where we gather around with family and friends, after returning from church of course. If we pause for a moment, we can see the freshness of creation and renewal within ourselves that this time of year brings. We just traveled through Lent where we sacrificed and reflected on our lives and now celebrate our Lord s sacrifice for us. Easter is a time to celebrate our Risen Savior! Matthew 28:1-6 ~ After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. Inside this Issue: Pastor s Message Pg 1 Holy Week Schedule/ Participant List Pg 2 Birthdays & Anniversaries Pg 3 Prayer List Pg 3 Sunday School Pg 4 Dir. Christian Ed Pg 6 Spiritual Life Pg 7 Dunkirk CCC Pg 7 Caring Ministries Pg 8 Church and Staff Information Pg 8 Calendar Pg 9 His appearance was like lightening, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said, Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay! How glorious and wonderful is God s love for us. He sent his Son to die on a cross for us so that we may live forever. Share the good news of his resurrection with others. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the need for peace and well-being for us was upon him, and with the stripes that wounded him we are healed and made whole. ~ Isaiah 53:5 Together, let us celebrate our Risen Lord!

2 Sunday Mornings at St. Matthew s 9:00am: Prayer Circle in the Parlor 9:15-10:15am: Sunday School Classes; Youth Confirmation (No SS Easter) 10:30am: Worship Service (1st Sunday of every month: Holy Communion) 11:30am: Coffee Fellowship Holy Week Schedule Palm Sunday ~ Sunday, March 20, 10:30am Service Maundy Thursday ~ Thursday, March 24, 7:00pm Worship Service with Communion Good Friday ~ Friday, March 25, 7:00pm Service Easter Sunday! Sunrise Service at St. Matthew s Cemetery ~ 7:00am in the Chapel P A G E 2 Worship Service 10:30am ~ Communion Sunday Morning Participants Acolytes Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 20 Mar. 27 Emily Rich Gigi Raymond Casey Nistor Sydney Capasso Greeters Mar. 6 Cathy Tomkinson Mar Mar Mar Lay Readers Mar. 6 Cindy Rich Mar. 13 Joyce Corlett Mar. 20 Beth Stormer Mar. 27 Diane Miltz Coffee Fellowship Mar. 6 Judy McNerney, Pam Lach Mar. 13 Darlene, Casey Nistor Mar. 20 Stormer s Mar. 27 Dan Barrett, Pam Lach Ushers: Team 3 David Kaznica - Leader Dan Barrett Steve Jankowski Pamela Kaznica Bob Majewski Gary Rich Bob Velazquez Altar Guild Robin Federmann Children s Church Mar. 6 Ages 2-4yrs: Hamm s; Trevor Hoffritz K-2nd Grade: Sue Rich; Nicole Rich Mar. 13 Kaznica s; Ryan Goetz K-2nd: Michelle Kemp Brook Lynn Clausell Mar. 20 Jeff Rich; Blake Shrout K-2nd: Vanessa Rich; Juliet Hoffritz Mar. 27 (No Children s Church)

3 P A G E 3 Norm Wahl 2 Joy Burger 5 Karen Cuddihy 5 Michelle Kemp 5 Tim Baker 7 Sue Rich 9 Karen Kaitanowski 10 Jimmy Meyers 18 Ryan Goetz 22 Jane Cotton 26 Darlene Nistor & Family Paul Federmann Karen Kaitanowski Those in the Military & Veterans Stephen Ministers & Care Receivers Those who are Homebound: Ralph & Marilyn Fenske Sy & Peggy LaVett Those Residing in Assisted Living: Maxine Helm Lois McMoil Jan Poppendeck Lyn & Howard Rich! March 3 rd New Address: Ruth Bernhardt The Manor House 427 East Main Street Batavia, NY $7.50 each Order Envelopes are on the windowsill in the Narthex. Cut off date: Sunday, March 20 th Pick up your plant(s) after the Easter Sunday service. Questions? Call Sue Rich at It s a Girl!! Feb. Worship Attendance: Feb Feb Feb Feb Congratulations to Joy & Dave Burger on the birth of their daughter, Kait Lynn Kathleen Burger! Kait Lynn was 7.3 lbs, 20 long. Everyone is healthy & happy!

4 Sunday School Classes Updates P A G E 4 -submitted by Margie Phillips, DCE F.R.O.G. (3 year olds - Kindergarten) Students learned about the man Jesus had become and about ways to pray. DISCIPLE ZONE (1 st - 4 th graders) The students continued to hear stories on all the wonderful ways God is always there for us. They learned why God gives us families, God wants us to forgive and love one another. They heard stories about Jairus love for his daughter, the story of Ruth and Naomi, and learning to put God first in our lives. CHILDREN S CHURCH (K - 2 nd graders gather following Children s Time with Rev. Bill in worship.) Class continues to learn about the tools that God gives us to use as we put on the armor of God. On Valentine s Day, they shared the love God has for us by making Valentines and joyfully handing them out to our congregation. GOD SQUAD (5 th - 8 th graders) Students learned about the prodigal son. Valentine s Day they spent it learning all about God s great love! Their class added another new student to the program. Everyone please welcome Sky to our church when you see her. In March, this class will be designing their own take-home bible bags. This will be helping them continue with their faith journey through biblical reading. Sounds like fun! Please comment on their awesome bags, when you see them! CROSSROADS (9 th - 12 th graders) Mid-terms are over but the daily stresses high school students have on them are not! Weekly class discussions happen so that the student can have a safe place to talk amongst their peers in a Christian setting. This class is still exploring bible verses on some of their challenges. Look on the March calendar for their classroom Movie Night, viewing Facing the Giants. There will be food, friends, fun and fellowship! Students...You don t want to miss out! This sounds like FUN! ADULT CLASS The challenging teaching of The Easter Experience is a series this class will be continuing through Sunday, March 13 th. The author, Kyle Idleman, has set each weekly episode to have its own message. Please join in the class when you can, you won t be disappointed that you did! March 6 th Episode 6: I have a hope that never dies. Followed by The Easter Experience Movie - Set up to run in a two-part Series. 1) March 13 th Part One 2) March 20 th, Palm Sunday Part Two Back by popular demand! The Road to Emmaus. The adult class will be viewing this 30-minute DVD on April 3 rd. What is our next step on becoming a disciple for Christ after our Lord Jesus Christ has risen! You won t want to miss it!

5 THANK YOU TO THE BCE FOR OUR ANNUAL YOUTH BOWLING PARTY P A G E 5 On Monday, February 15, youth from 2 years old to 8 th grade enjoyed 2 games of bowling and a pizza lunch at Braymiller s Lanes! Thirteen youth came to bowl, including the two high school chaperones. There were parents and grandparents that stayed to watch all the FUN we had. Please check out all the scores and some pictures of this fun fellowship on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall. Prizes were given to each bowler a free pass for 1 game of open bowling. Also, 2 Bowling Pins, signed by everyone at the party, went to: Top Score Eli Hamm, with a 2 game average score of 109 Best Effort Cierra Schwarz, with a 2 game average score of 56.5 FUN was had by All See you next year! Coming in March MOVIE NIGHT for High School More details to follow 2016 World Day of Prayer Friday, March 4, 2016 ~ 2:00 PM ~ Refreshments to follow Queen of Heaven Church (4220 Seneca St., West Seneca) World Day of Prayer is a worldwide movement of Christian women of many traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer each year. The women of Cuba have written this year s service. It is a movement symbolized by an annual day of celebration the first Friday of March to which all people are welcome. WNY churches in the Southtowns take turns hosting this ecumenical service, and women from local churches come together to plan and participate, including St. Matthew s.

6 UPDATES P A G E 6 submitted by Margie Phillips - Month after month I write a suggestion that St. Matthew s has a Christian Ed class you are welcome to join. Aside from that whether it s a Sunday morning class hosted by the Board of Christian Ed or an extra bible study hosted by Spiritual Life on Wednesday or Friday of the week, our church has been happy to give multiple options for your biblical learning. We want to be led by Christ, showing him and others how to be great disciples! I don t want to sound like a broken record repeating myself over and over like picturing the parking attendant waving you into their lot for a Buffalo Bills game! Come join in, come park here, the cost is low for what you get out of being here! Aside from that it s totally up to you. Where are you each at on your faith journey??? Aside from that... (based on a small article written by -John Edgerton) "John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison." - John 3: The Bible is chock full of asides, little comments intended to clear up confusion or clue the reader into some important information we might otherwise be overlooking. From the ever-present "Selah" of the Psalms to the deeply weird "let the reader understand... " of Mark 13, the Bible assumes that we might well be missing the point. (Selah, like Amen, means so be it in Hebrew) "Wait, wasn't John arrested by Herod? Wait, the Temple has already been destroyed, so why hasn't Jesus returned? Wait, wasn't I supposed to Selah back there?" To its earliest readers, the bible was not a divinely inspired, inerrant document. All we need to do is read the bible to know that. The way the bible is written, it assumes that people are going to have some questions. It assumes people will be "thinking along," pondering the meaning of the bible's words and indeed questioning whether they are true. That's why I believe bible study is the best medicine for fundamentalism. During Lent, Christians study the bible deeply in order to gain a deeper relationship with the Word of God. The Word of God, of course, meaning Jesus. We are no different here at St. Matthew s UCC caring for your spiritual needs. I want you to know just how much our church is caring for each of you: The teachers and spiritual leaders of St. Matthew s are extremely dedicated to teaching us all about Jesus Christ through scripture and bible studies, worship sermons, Sunday School classes, fellowship programs and activities. Please join me in prayer, my church family, in gratitude to all our teachers & spiritual leaders. Living God, may I be filled with so much love for scripture that I always ask hard questions, and may I be filled with so much love for Christ that I never accept any substitute for the Word of God.

7 Spiritual Life Update P A G E 7 Spiritual Life will meet be on Monday, February 29 th. At this meeting, we will be electing new officers. We are pleased to share that we have 37 women from St. Matthew s attending the Women Of Faith weekend Friday, February 26 th and Saturday the 27 th. We are looking forward to having a beautiful Godfilled spiritual weekend. Thank you to Howard and Lyn Rich for hosting the War Room movie and bible study for the past 5 weeks. We wrapped up our book study on Monday, February 22 nd. What a beautiful experience showing the power of prayer! There is a copy of the War Room movie circulating. If you are interested in seeing it, contact either Howard or Lyn. If you have any thoughts or questions regarding the spiritual life of St. Matthew s, please see Reverend Bill or any of the Spiritual Life Committee members. God bless. Mary Hamm Therefore, let us approach the Throne of Grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time. Hebrews 4:16 Activity Group Thursday, March 17 th (St. Patrick s Day) at 12 Noon This potluck luncheon will be hosted by Ken & Shirley Haberman. Come join us for fun and fellowship! Dunkirk Camp & Conference Center News Help yourself to a brochure listing information about all the camps offered at Dunkirk this year. The brochures can be found on the shelf near the Fellowship Hall or on the table in the Narthex. Check out the Early Bird Specials now available for 2016! DCCC is once again having their annual Flea Market, Yard Sale, Craft Fair and Farmer s Market all to take place June 3 rd, 4 th and 5 th. We need your furniture, lawn/garden equipment, appliances and many more items that you want to get rid of. (No TV s, computers, pianos or organs.) Items can be picked up at your homes starting in March. Any questions, see or call Steve Jankowski.

8 P A G E 8 St. Matthew s United Church of Christ 5289 McKinley Parkway Hamburg New York stmattucc@verizon.net Minister: The Rev. Dr. William B. Shrout, Jr revdrbillshrout@yahoo.com In office: Mon. 9am-2pm & Wed. 9-11am Parsonage: 4388 Richwood Drive Director of Music: Norman D. Wahl normwahl@gmail.com Director of Christian Education: Margie Phillips bcestmatt@verizon.net In office: Wednesday 9-11am Administrative Assistant: Michelle Kemp Office: In office: Mon. & Wed. 9am-2pm, Thurs. 9-12, & Fri. 12:30-3:30pm Custodians: Pamela & David Kaznica (c) Note from Office: Michelle Kemp will be on vacation from March 3 rd through March 10 th. If you need something in the bulletin for March 6 th, please give it to her by March 1 st. Thank you. Caring for you... Our next outreach will be Wednesday, March 2. Please sign up to volunteer! If you have questions, contact Tom Schaner ( ). Your donations of warm clothes, toiletries, and children s books will be delivered on the day we serve. Stephen Ministers Stephen Ministers provide confidential one-to-one Christian care to people experiencing a crisis or going through a difficult time. They listen, empathize, encourage, pray and provide emotional and spiritual support on a weekly basis to hurting people. Questions? Contact Lyn Rich or Cheryl Larson. Caregivers Do you or someone you know need a Caregiver service a ride to a doctor s appointment? a home cooked meal? house or yard work? Call Karen Kaitanowski or the church office. Support Through Prayer Circle Prayer - Join in the circle of prayer at 9am in the Parlor. (Sunday School classes follow at 9:15.) Prayer Chain - Call Rev. Bill ( ), Dolly Errington ( ), Jane Duewiger ( ) or text Lyn Rich ( ) to begin the chain of texts/phone calls to those committed to pray when they receive the request anytime; anywhere. Text/call Lyn if you d like to be a link in the prayer chain. Family Emergency Fund St. Matthew s has established a special fund to provide financial assistance to members and friends of our congregation. Please contact the minister if there is a need.

9 March 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 AA 10:30am Staff 9:00am FoNP Praise Band 5:15 Soup Supper/ Service 6:00p Choir 7:30pm 3 BCE 7pm OA 7:30pm Michelle s vacation 4 World Day of Prayer 2pm (Queen of Heaven Church) 5 Pastor s Days off 6 Sunday School 9:15-10:15am WORSHIP 10:30am One Great Hour of Sharing 7 8 Stephen Ministry 4:00-6:30pm 9 AA 10:30am Staff 9:00am Praise Band 5:15 Soup Supper/ Service 6:00p Choir 7:30pm 10 OA 7:30pm Pastor s Days off 13 Sunday School 9:15-10:15am WORSHIP 10:30am Daylight Savings Time Ends 14 Church Council 7:00pm AA 10:30am Staff 9:00am Praise Band 5:15 Soup Supper/ Service 6:00p Choir 7:30pm 17 ACTIVITY GROUP 12 noon OA 7:30pm Pastor s Days off AA 10:30am Sunday School 9:15-10:15am WORSHIP 10:30am Stephen Ministry 4:00-6:30pm Quilter s Anon 7:00pm 7pm OA 7:30pm 7pm Pastor s Day off AA 10:30am 31 Staff 9:00am Sunrise Service 7am ~ St. Matthew s Cemetery WORSHIP 10:30am OA 7:30pm

10 St. Matthew s United Church of Christ 5289 McKinley Parkway Hamburg NY newsletter St. Matthew s United Church of Christ 5289 McKinley Parkway, Hamburg, NY Phone: officestmattucc@verizon.net Website: stmattsucc.org Our church building is fully accessible. No matter who you are or where you are in your life s journey, you are welcome here!