Chan cleer Volume 88, Issue 4 Minister: Every Member of the Church Minister of Worship and Congregational Life Phil Hobson Minister of Program and Membership Development Tom Jones Moderator Katherine Johnson Vice Moderator Amy Frost Board of Deacons Rachel Harvitt Board of Trustees Bill Rinckey Board of Christian Education Amy Slot Outreach Board Mary Normand Church Clerk Barbara Anderson Financial Secretary Don Johnson Treasurer Eric Crandall Staff: Office Manager Sher Brown Custodian Janet Hamilton Director of Music Ramona Kime Dear Friends, What is your experience of worship? For some people, worship is like buying a house. There are one or two features that they really love ( Have you seen this awesome kitchen? ) and the rest of the house is the structure they live in to have that awesome kitchen. Maybe it is the music, or the people, or the prayer, or the sermon, but for some there are one or two key elements and the rest is the stuff they could take or leave, either way. For others, worship is a progression, and if all the parts fit well, it is a bit like a weekly minipilgrimage. Maybe it is the people that make it for you. Or si ng in this sanctuary that somehow s ll echoes with the hymns and prayers of genera ons of people, maybe even genera- ons of your own family. Maybe you have your spot, or maybe you move around from Sunday to Sunday. Is it your par cipa on as a liturgist, usher, choir singer or acolyte that is most meaningful? Or is this the one me of the week that you stop and sit quietly? What is your experience of worship? Are there things that help you connect with God? Are there things that distract you? These ques ons are not trivial. And I hope the answers are more than I like this, or I do not like that. How is worship worshipful to you? I ask these ques ons to prime the pump, because I would like to sit down with church members and friends and hear your answers. Grace and Peace, Phil HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE The Chanticleer is a monthly newsletter, distributed to members and friends of First Congregational Church. We welcome most comments and articles. Chanticleer article deadline is the 18 th of each month. April 2 Maundy Thursday, service at 7 pm in the Chapel April 3 Good Friday, Ecumenical Service at 7 pm in the Sanctuary April 5 Easter Sunday Sunrise Service at 7 am in the Chapel (actual sunrise at 7:17 am) Con nental Easter Breakfast from 8 to 9:30 am in the Bess Fulton Room Service of the Resurrec on at 10 am in the Sanctuary Easter Dinner for the Community - Noon to 2pm 1
News Care Commi ee During Pastor Phil s sabba cal, a small commi ee was formed to help out with pastoral visits to shut-ins and people in our church family who were in our prayer concerns. We telephoned, visited and prayed for members of both our church family and people of our community. I would like to con nue to implement this outreach and perhaps expand it to people who have been missing from our church services and let them know that they have been missed and that we care. We have the blessing of the Board of Progressive Dinner 2015 Sunday, April 26 5:30 pm Sign up con nues un l April 12 JOIN US! for the annual social event put together by Women's Fellowship: Progressive Dinner. Adults sign up to progress from a house hos ng appe zer to a smaller group enjoying dinner and then the full gathering of all par cipants at the church for ice cream. To par cipate, sign up on the poster in the Bess Fulton room BY SUNDAY, April 12 and you will receive your traveling and cooking assignments Sunday, April 19. We are always in need of hosts for both appe zer and dinner, consider signing on the line indica ng your willingness to host and provide the number you can accommodate. Trustees, Outreach Board and both Pastors. This would not replace pastoral visits, but hopefully enhance our outreach to those people who need visits and/or phone calls. Anyone interested in joining this group is encouraged to come to a kick-off mee ng on March 28th at 1:00 p.m. in the church Lounge. A follow-up mee ng at 10am Wednesday, April 1 will help us decide details; when and where is the best me and place, and how o en will we need to have subsequent mee ngs. If you have concerns about our church s con nuing outreach, I hope to see you there and help us in the planning. Pam Rinckey We are always in need of good appe zer, salad and main dish recipes and gather these before the planning mee ngs. Contact Linda Foster, 543 3041, if you have good recipes or can join us to plan the meal Monday, April 6, 4pm. First and Third Saturday of each month at 9:00 am a group of people meet and work or tex le art to be given to those in need of a tangible reminder of the prayers we offer to God for their lives. Prayer shawls can be requested by contac ng us in person or with a prayer shawl request card located in a pink mailbox at the Bostwick entrance. If you love to knit or crochet, join us, if you don t know how, join us and we ll teach you! we would love to have you! Ques ons? 2
Commi ee News This is the first installment of a (hopefully!) monthly update of music happenings at our church. The bell choir will be ringing in the church service on Sunday, April 19th. It s always a treat when they add their music to our worship service! This month is a busy one for the Senior Choir. In addi on to singing during the regular Sunday services, we will be par cipa ng in the Good Friday service that is being hosted by our church. Join us Friday, April 3rd at 7 PM in the Sanctuary. A big event for the Senior Choir is that we will again be joining with the Olivet College Choir and St. Mary s Cathedral Choir (Lansing) in a joint choir concert on Sunday, April 12th at 3 PM in the Olivet Congrega onal Church. The three choirs will be singing two massed choir pieces, including Handel s Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah. Each choir will also sing several of their own pieces. Our choir will sing Make My Life a Song, joined by a flau st from the college, and Goin to the Holy City so we can rock the ra ers of the Olivet church! The concert is free and open to the public, so come support our choir and hear some wonderful music! Ramona Kime, for the music program Cra Day Saturday, April 11th 9 am to 4 pm Bess Fulton Room Stewards: noun: a person who looks a er the passengers on a ship, aircra, or train (OR CHURCH.) verb: manage or look a er (another's property). At coffee hour our Chris an Educa on Board did a special cra for Lent: a BLESSINGS JAR. It is used to write down blessings throughout Lent, add them to the jar, and on Easter the family will gather to read and be reminded of all the blessings they acknowledged during the Lenten season. Know that each and every one of YOU, si ng in the pews or reading this at home, is a BLESSING to this church. Our programs wouldn t be able to con nue without you, not just because of your financial support but your par cipa on and blessings of our ac vi es help make our church a light to the world. There will be a Bring Your Cra Day at the church in the Bess Fulton Room. We will have soup on so bring a snack of any kind and your cra ing projects. There will be a very simple cra project for the church that we need help with if you don t want to bring your own cra s for the day. If possible bring 2 x 3 spiral notebooks in a pack of 10. Any ques ons contact Jamie at 517.331.4317 3
Outreach News SPRING YARD CLEANUP The Outreach Board is once again helping with spring yard cleanup. If any member, friend or neighbor needs help with their yard clean-up, please contact Bill and Carol Yerkes at 543-1384 or Mary Normand at 543-9487. Please leave a message if no answer. No job is too big or too small! A Staff and Board Directory is completed and available at the office. If you would like a list of all of the volunteers that fill our boards and commi ees, both elected and appointed. Their addresses, phone numbers and e-mail contact informa on is included in this directory. EASTER COMMUNITY DINNER Come to Easter services on April 5 and stay for Easter dinner from noon-2:00 p.m. The community is invited to join us. Dona ons will be accepted, but are not expected. The menu will include ham, scalloped potatoes, vegetables, salads and desserts. Chris Reist is chairing this event as well as the con nental breakfast following the sunrise service. Help is s ll needed in the kitchen for that day and for other items Chris has requested. See the chart on the table outside the kitchen door or call Chris at 543-7734 if you can help cook, serve, clean up, or donate food for our guests. Display for April 18-19 Eaton County Home and Business Expo. Pictures of church ac- vi es and groups are s ll needed for a display at the first Eaton County Home and Business Expo to be held April 18-19 at Charlo e High School. We also need more volunteers to take a shi si ng at the table both of those days. If you can help with either of these, please call Helen Schneider at 543-0288. Community Dinner - Wednesday April 15 is the next date for our church to prepare and cook the community dinner held at the Eagles each Wednesday night. See Mary Normand if you can help in the kitchen, serve, or bake a cake. Sunny Crest Youth Ranch in Sunfield is seeking volunteers and mentors. See Bill Yerkes for more informa on about their program. Ron Coppess is the director there and can be reached at 517.507.3144 or ron@sunnycrestyouthranch.org or visit their web site at: h p://www.sunnycrestyouthranch.org/ 4
Bible Readings/Chris an Educa on/community The Crea on Museum - Cincinna, OH July 15-17, 2015 - $359 per person (double occupancy) For reserva ons and informa on contact: Ruth s Adventures Ruth Conley, 104 Kensington Ct., Charlo e, MI 48813-517.543.1166 Tuesday night Adult Bible Study Classes Tuesday night's Church and Empire Class con nues to meet, "Going Forward: Mystery and Myth". In this series Curt will con nue to explore what the greatest minds, apologists and clerics have to say about where we are, where we're headed and what is most spiritually relevant to humankind. We meet in the annex at 6:30pm. Ques ons? Call Curt at 1.517.402.2957. Everyone is welcome, join at any me. Lec onary Readings for April April 5, 2015 Resurrec on of the Lord Easter Day *Acts 10:34-43 or Isaiah 25:6-9 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 or Acts 10:34-43 John 20:1-18 or Mark 16:1-8 April 12, 2015 Second Sunday of Easter *Acts 4:32-35 Psalm 133 1 John 1:1-2:2 John 20:19-31 April 19, 2015 Third Sunday of Easter *Acts 3:12-19 Psalm 4 1 John 3:1-7 Luke 24:36b-48 April 26, 2015 Fourth Sunday of Easter *Acts 4:5-12 Psalm 23 1 John 3:16-24 John 10:11-18 Camp Talahi serves as a summer church youth camp, and a retreat center for churches, organiza ons, and individuals throughout Michigan. Guest speaker, Ashley Finkbinder, camp representa ve will be at our church on the all church CAMP DINNER Tuesday, April 12 at 6:30pm to answer ques- ons. Come enjoy a real camp-style dinner including s'mores in the Bess Fulton Room. Our Chris an Educa on Board encourages all our youth to take advantage of the summer UCC camping sessions offered at this beau ful venue. Away from the pressures of everyday life, Camp Talahi offers a singular, spiritually enriching environment wherein one grows to a be er understanding of God, oneself, and one another. Camp Talahi provides an up-north Chris an retreat experience in close proximity to church and home. For more informa on, visit the Camp Talahi website: h p://camptalahi.org. Monthly Calendar See our most up-to-date Calendar HERE 5
THE CHANTICLEER First Congrega onal Church 517.543.1310 106 South Bostwick - Charlo e, MI 48813 fcuc@sbcglobal.net h p://www.ucccharlo e.org Minister of Worship and Congrega onal Life Rev. Philip Hobson Minister of Program and Membership Development Rev. Tom Jones Non-Profit Organiza on BULK RATE U.S. Postage PAID Charlo e, MI 48813 Permit #122 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Sunday Worship: 10:00 a.m. Children s Sunday School: 10 a.m. Adult Bible Studies: Sunday 8:15 a.m. Tuesday Bible Study 6:30 p.m. Men s Group: Saturday 8:00 a.m. Mission Statement of First Congrega onal Church Our church will provide a place and direc on for joining with God, healing the broken, and educa on for youth and adults. We will be challenged by our faith to reach out to our congregants, our community and world family, and to offer opportuni es for spiritual growth and renewal. We welcome others into our Chris an Family. Blanche Moyer Circle Meets next April 13 at 6:30pm in the lounge. New members are always welcome, contact Vonda Stanton for more informa on. Prayer Shawl Ministry Meets the 1 st & 3 rd Saturdays at 9:00 am. Want to learn how to knit or crochet? We ll teach you! Come & join us we would love to have you! Women s Prayer Circle Women of the church are welcome the 1 st & 3 rd Thursday of each month. If you have ques ons, please contact Sandra Field. 6