Congregational Meeting to be held SUNDAY, January 7th (snow date Sunday,

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1 JANUARY 2018 ON THE ROTARY NEWS First Congregational Church East Longmeadow, MA JANUARY MEETINGS Mission & Outreach January 2, Congregational Church Meeting January 7, after Worship Deacons January 9, Christian Education January 15, Business & Finance January 16, Cabinet January 24, INSIDE THIS ISSUE From your Pastor 2 Theology Club New Facebook Page Mission and Outreach 3 All are Welcome Church Notes Christian Education 5 Pilgrim Fellowship Kensington Thanks Transitions Advertise - Rotary News 6 Monthly Calendar Looking for TV Bible Trivia INTERESTED IN JOINING FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH? There is a New Members Class forming for the Winter of 2018! Are you interested in becoming a member of First Congregational Church of East Longmeadow? We would love to have you as a member! Looking for more information on what is involved? It is actually fairly simple to become a full or associate member of our congregation. Would you like to be able to serve on committees, vote at congregational meetings, and represent the congregation at functions of the wider church? Then membership in our congregation is for you. There will be This year our Lenten Bible Study will begin before Lent and end during Lent, a slight change from the previous two years. The Bible Study will focus on the New Testament on six Sundays from 11:30 a.m. 1:00p.m. in the Fireside Room. The dates are as follows: February 4, 11, 18 and March 4, 11, 18. The sessions will be interactive and there is suggested reading in preparation for each session. Each lesson is independent, so if you are unable to attend a particular session you can still continue with the course. This is the third and final course in the "Exploring the Bible an informational meeting on Sunday, January 28, 2018, after the Sunday church service. Please feel free to get a drink and snack during coffee hour and then join Pastor Bill in the Youth Room off of Fellowship Hall for this relaxed and informative gathering. We hope to be able to receive you into membership later this winter. Please feel free to contact Pastor Bill to find out more about membership at our church on the rotary. Thank you so much and God bless you! Congregational Meeting to be held SUNDAY, January 7th (snow date Sunday, the 14 th of January) to adopt the welcoming statement drafted by the ONA Study Group. LENTEN BIBLE STUDY Series" by Rev. Anne Robertson. Cost of the book is $ If you are interested in attending, please call Cindy in the Church Office at or her at office@churchontherotary.org by January 21 so that we can order a book for you and you will have time to do the reading for the first session on February 4. If you have questions or would like additional information about the course, we will be happy to talk with you. Foy and Ray Miller

2 ON THE ROTARY NEWS FROM YOUR PASTOR by The Reverend Dr. William Wildman Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Happy New Year! I hope that you all had a happy and blessed Christmas season. My family had a great time. For the first time in several years, we had all four of our parents joining us for our Christmas Eve celebration. Everyone came to the 5:00 PM Christmas Eve service, and then back to the parsonage for our traditional feast of Christmas Eve Chinese food. Gifts were exchanged, and a good time was had by all. Kayleigh and Bennett concluded their evening with the reading of The Night Before Christmas, Christilynn concluded hers by entertaining our visiting family, and I concluded mine with the celebration of my first late-night Christmas Eve service with you here at the East Longmeadow Church. We also enjoyed some family time during my week of vacation after Christmas. And we still have a little Christmas left to celebrate, the feast of Little Christmas! Better known as the Feast of the Epiphany, this 12th Day of Christmas is being celebrated on Saturday, January 6th. (we will celebrate it on Sunday, January 7th.) This is the day where we remember the visit of the Magi to Jesus as a young child. The Magi were a group of royalty from somewhere in the far east of ancient Israel. They studied the stars and nature for signs of God s will and guidance. In observing the skies around the time of Jesus birth, they saw a star rise out of the western sky, and determined from this that the King of the Jews, the promised Messiah, had finally been born. Their decision to seek him out to pay him homage was a very humble and faith-filled act on their part. Not only were they risking their lives and wellbeing on this very long journey to see him, they were also submitting their own royal authority and realms to a baby in a country that none of them had ever seen before. We are not sure exactly how many of them ANNOUNCING PUB THEOLOGY CLUB!! About a year ago, a small group from our church family started gathering on a monthly basis for dinner and to sample craft beers at local restaurants. We would talk about life, faith, religion, church, and any number of other topics in this relaxed and fun environment. The gatherings started with 2-3 people, and has now grown PAGE 2 would make the journey, but their faith and efforts would be very well rewarded, as they found the very Christ child that they were so eagerly seeking. They came to pay their respects to the newborn king and worshiped him: bringing him fine and royal gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. What faith they showed in this! May their faith also inspire our own faith as we remember their epic journey. Let s take some time to start the new year off right! If you would like a visit, or to get together for a cup of coffee, or have some other way that I can be of help to you, please let me know. Also, if you know of someone who is sick, or in distress, or in the hospital, please let me know so I can pay them a visit. You can call me at the church office at or e- mail me at revwilliamwildman@yahoo.com. Hoping that you all have a bountiful and happy New Year! May God bless you! In Christ s Love, Pastor Bill to 4-6 people. We would now like to widen the circle and formally invite you to join us for the fun in our new Pub Theology Club! Our next gathering will be on Monday, January 8, 2018 at 6 p.m. We will meet in the upper parking lot at the church and then car pool to our destination for the evening. The Club is open to anyone of legal age, and we each pay our own way for the evening. We are usually back at the church by 9 p.m. Please feel free to enjoy any beverage of your choice responsibly, including soft-drinks if you prefer. Please contact Don Campbell or Pastor Bill for further information. Looking forward to seeing you then! NEW FACEBOOK PAGE FOR THE CHURCH We are pleased to announce that there is a new, official Facebook page for our church family! Please like and follow First Congregational of East Longmeadow at churchontherotary/ to be kept up to date about church events, new, and other related information. Please also take a moment and offer a review of our page and church community. This will help greatly in promoting the page to anyone who may be searching for a church community to explore here in East Longmeadow. Please also note that there are 2 other pages that have been used for the church in the past that are not or no longer controllable by our staff. Please disregard them as they will no longer be maintained or updated by us. Thank you so much and please spread the word! Pastor Bill

3 ON THE ROTARY NEWS PAGE 3 MISSION AND OUTREACH NEWS 3 BIG thank yous from Mission & Outreach to our generous congregation! Because of the good weather, the Community Tree Lighting brought out lots of folks, infants to grandparents, all partaking in our delightful selection of cookies, both homemade and store-bought. We plated 20 trays of cookies and still had plenty to save for coffee hour on Sunday as well as treat Kensington School pantry with some cookies. Our guests enjoyed the hot cocoa and water we provided as well. Santa and his elf were a big draw as well! Thank you for your donations. All 60 tags that we hung on our Christmas Tree in Fellowship Hall were taken. Wrapped gifts and gift cards were returned to church. After the committee members sorted the items by family, presents were graciously accepted by Danell Tavella (new Director of Community Services) at the EL Council on Aging. She couldn't thank us enough for our generosity in helping the 6 needy families this Christmas season. Merry Christmas to all. Our "One Warm Coat" Challenge was very successful. Yes, we didn't meet our goal of 150, but we came close with 137! Thanks to all who donated, helping others keep warm this winter season. The Springfield Rescue Mission was very grateful. Christmas Giving Tree photos before and after!!

4 PAGE 4 ON THE ROTARY NEWS ALL ARE WELCOME (A series of reflections about the Open and Affirming Discernment Process) We will soon be concluding our Open and Affirming Discernment Process here at First Congregational Church of East Longmeadow. As we conclude, we have one final and very important event that we will be offering in our discernment: the Congregational Meeting and Vote on the Welcoming Statement. On Sunday, January 7, 2018, there will be an official meeting of our congregation after worship service. The purpose of the meeting will be for us to vote on the final draft of a Welcoming Statement for our Congregation. After the input and suggestions that you offered the Open and Affirming Study Group, we have the following final draft to offer: We the First Congregational Church of East Longmeadow, U.C.C., in response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, strive to be a welcoming community. As an Open and Affirming Church, we accept all people into our faith community, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, physical and mental abilities, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression. We affirm the rights of all persons, just as Jesus affirmed the dignity of every human being as a child of God. Each person is invited and encouraged to participate in all aspects of our church life and ministry and to share in God s love. A vote of yes will accept this statement as an official policy for our congregation, as well as qualify us to be able to receive an Open and Affirming designation from the United Church of Christ. A vote of no would reject the statement and qualifying for the designation. My personal experience of our congregational life together over the past 18 months has led me to conclude that this statement accurately reflects what our practice of welcome as a church family has been and continues to be. It offers a simple, yet elegant, expression of what we are saying when we declare that all are welcome. I also believe that it will allow us to better share our message of Jesus Good New in our wider community. This has been a long discernment process for our church family, and you have all been very generous in your participation and patience. Thank you for that, and for all of your prayers, reflections, and involvement in the Open and Affirming Discernment Process. I look forward to seeing where God will lead us next as we conclude this discernment process together. Please continue to come and talk with me about your questions, thoughts, concerns, and suggestions. I am very happy to share in some good conversation, and know that when you talk to me, that I will provide a safe, respectful, and sacred environment for the discussion. We can agree, agree to disagree, and whatever may come, will continue to be a church family. Please feel free to call me at , me at revwilliamwildman@yahoo.com, or drop by the office some time with any questions, concerns or suggestion. I am looking forward to talking with you soon and spending some time together. Pastor Bill FOTR January 12th 7-9 pm (Open to all 6th, 7th and 8th Graders!) CHURCH NOTES Dear Friends, With sincere gratitude and warmest thanks The scarlet poinsettia is lovely. Thank you, Sandi O. Dear Church Family, What a delightful surprise to see Bobbie Guthrie at my door Sunday. My sincere thanks for the beautiful Christmas floral arrangement from the altar. It gives me a warm feeling to know my church family is so supportive. Ruth W. Thanks so much for the beautiful bouquet of church flowers that Foy Miller brought to me for my birthday. I enjoyed Foy s visit and will be enjoying the flowers for many days. Thanks also for the banner. They were both a real surprise. Betty C. A recent from Greater Spfld. CROP Walk- Thank you for your generous support of the 2017 Greater Spfld. CROP Hunger Walk. This year, we walked in solidarity with those who are hungry. We walked to promote peace and justice, and together we raised over $11,800 to help end hunger and poverty for our neighbors in Greater Spfld. and around the world. YOUR faithful support made this possible, and we are deeply grateful to partner with you in this important work. In peace and gratitude, Steve Clark Greater Spfld. CROP Walk

5 ON THE ROTARY NEWS FROM THE CHRISTIAN EDUCATION DIRECTOR November was a busy month of planning for December: the live nativity, the Advent Wreath workshop, weekly Advent craft activities, and the Christmas pageant. In addition, we continued creating church school lesson plans around the significance and meaning of The Lord s Prayer, as well as the symbolism of the four weeks of Advent. Have a look at the terrific Advent One HOPE display created by the church school class under the creative guidance of Katie Kruser and Patty Holman. Everyone had a great time making wreaths to take home at the Advent Workshop organized by Bev Steele. We produced a simple but lovely Christmas pageant that everyone enjoyed. PAGE 5 The boys and girls looked great in their costumes and did a terrific job! We had a Broadway worthy production crew with Directors, Patty Holman and Katie Kruser and Stage Manager, Bev Steele making it all happen. We're already looking forward to next year. Jan Wojtowicz PILGRIM FELLOWSHIP Dates: Sunday s on January 7th & 21st PILGRIM FELLOWSHIP December was a great month! We went ice skating at Cyr Arena and had our Christmas party where we made grilled cheese and soup. We did a Yankee Swap too. Good times! For the month of January, we will be having our annual Winter Olympics and hopefully doing some sledding if the snow starts to fall. Lastly, be on the lookout to place an order for Super Bowl grinders. This is our winter fundraiser for PF. Order forms will be available mid- January to reserve a grinder for February 4 th Super Bowl Football game. Have a healthy and happy New Year! ~Tracey, Nick and Dean TRANSITIONS Baptisms: December 24, 2017 Joseph Domash Parents: Emily and Rick Domash Grandparents: Dean & Fran Johnson December 24, 2017 Waylon Drenthe Parents: Cyndi and Kevin Drenthe KENSINGTON FOOD PANTRY THANK YOU You all saw the wonderful outpouring of love from our congregation as demonstrated by the bags of groceries that filled our altar on Thanksgiving Sunday. The food has all been moved to the shelves of the food pantry thanks to the willing hands of Mike & Marilyn Duffy, Jerry Sprofera, Lyssa & Rick Rose, and Ron Burns. We had a good time unloading such a bounty of food contributed by all of you. My heart just swelled with love and thanksgiving when I looked at the shelves overflowing with food. We had to slide cans underneath the shelf and loaded the tippy tops with boxes of cereal. The place is just stuffed to the ceiling with good things to eat as you can see from the picture that Lyssa took. So much food will help the children in need at Kensington during the cold winter months. I also want you to know how much this food pantry is appreciated by the staff at Kensington School and the families that we serve. Thank you so very much for supporting this project. Thank you, Sandy Burns

6 PAGE 6 ON THE ROTARY NEWS NEED TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS OR EVENT? Advertise in On The Rotary News!! Name/Business: Address: Phone Number & Please check which offer you would like below: Business Card Size Ad for 10 issues (Best Value!): $90.00 Single Line Ad for 10 issues: $22.50 (save 10%!) Business Card Size Ad for 5 issues: $50.00 Single Line Ad for 5 issues: $12.50 Business Card Size Ad for 2 issues: $20.00 Single Line Ad for 2 issues: $5.00 Business Card Size Ad for issues: (# x $10.00): Single Line Ad for issues: (# x $2.50): Please include your business card or single line ad with this form, along with a check or money order payable to the First Congregational Church of East Longmeadow, UCC, and either mail or drop off to the address above. Your Ad will begin to run the issue following our receiving of your order. Thank you so much for advertising with On The Rotary News. January God bless you! Tinning Copper Brass Antique Repair & Reproductions Works of Art 45 Donamor Lane East Longmeadow, MA ART BEMIS

7 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 7 Communion Sunday 9:15 a.m. Chancel Choir 10 a.m. Worship Service 11 a.m. Congregational Meeting 6 p.m. Pilgrim Fellowship 14 9:15 a.m. Chancel Choir 10 a.m. Worship Service 11 a.m. Coffee Hour 21 9:15 a.m. Chancel Choir 10 a.m. Worship Service Pilgrim Fellowship Sledding 28 9:15 a.m. Chancel Choir 10 a.m. Worship Service 11 a.m. Coffee Hour 11:30 a.m. New Membership Informational Mtg. 1 New Years Day Church offices closed 8 6 p.m. Pub Theology Club 15 Martin Luther King Day Church offices closed Christian Ed. mtg Mission & Outreach Meeting 9 Deacons meeting 16 Business and Finance Mtg JANUARY 3 5:30 p.m. Autism Network Bell Choir 10 1 p.m. Ecumenical Quilting Bell Choir 17 Bell Choir Cabinet meeting Bell Choir Bell Choir 4 Chancel Choir 11 Chancel Choir 18 Chancel Choir a.m. Staff Meeting Chancel Choir p.m. Fridays On The Rotary ALL 6th, 7th & 8th grades p.m. Loaves & Fishes

8 NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID 7 Somers Road East Longmeadow, MA SPRINGFIELD MA PERMIT NO 2403 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Thank you to everyone who took part in bible Trivia last month. Congratulations to Bill Yorns for correctly answering John to last month s trivia question: In which Gospel does Jesus wash the feet of his disciples? Bill also correctly identified chapter 13 as where the account of the washing of the feet is. Would you like to win coffee and pastry with Pastor Bill? It is easy, just be the first person to correctly answer the question below. The first person to get the answer to me in-person, by , or phone will be the winner. It s a fun and easy way to get to know each other, as well as the Bible, a little better. Here is the question: In what city does Paul end up in prison? The first person to get the answer to me in-person, by , or phone will be the winner. I am looking forward to all of the fun. So get your thinking caps on and let this month s contest begin. Thank you and God bless you! -Pastor Bill THE CHURCH IS LOOKING FOR A FLAT SCREEN TV Do you have a spare flat screen TV in good condition? Our Church School is looking for a new TV for our classrooms under the sanctuary. Our current TV is broken and needs to be replaced. The blessing of a gently used or new flat screen TV would be of great help in showing videos and quality, Christian education programming as a part of our church school and youth programming. Please see Jan or Pastor Bill for more information or to make a donation. Thank you so much for blessing our youth programming here at our church! Wishing You a Happy and Healthy New Year!