The Bell Ringer of the United Methodist Church of Cooperstown 66 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown NY 13326 Telephone: (607) 547-9540 NOVEMBER 2012 Email: ctownumc@gmail.com Editor: Brenda Alton stdx06@gmail.com HARVEST DINNER Turkey, all the trimmings, and homemade pie will be served at the annual Harvest Dinner on Saturday, November 10 th from 4:30-7 PM. Come and enjoy a bountiful meal and good fellowship with the church family and friends in the community. Or consider purchasing a ticket if you are unable to join us it will help support our fundraising for Ministry Shares. As always, your help is needed distributing posters, adopt or roast a turkey, prepare food, donate ingredients, serve and clean up. Sign-up sheets will be in the Fellowship Room. Linda Smirk is chair, 547-2532. Please let her know what you would like to do to help. HANGING OF THE GREENS Come and decorate the church for Advent on Sunday, November 25 th after worship. Soup and bread will be served in the Fellowship Room. The tree will be set up on Friday and ready for all our special ornaments. Also tables will need to be set up in the Chapel so that the UMW can prepare for the Christmas Tea & Bazaar on Saturday, December 1 st. Call Judy Green to help with decorating or lunch, 293-7527. Call Sandy Chase to help with table set up, 547-6242. CHRISTMAS TEA & BAZAAR to be held on Saturday, December 1 st, 1-4 PM OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD Shoeboxes filled with gifts are a project of Samaritan s Purse. Each year UMCC participates in this ministry, coordinated by Mary Beekman. Pre-decorated shoeboxes and brochures may be picked up in the Sanctuary or Fellowship Room. Please bring your filled shoeboxes to church by Sunday, November 11 th. The shoeboxes are taken to the area collection center at Main Street Baptist Church, Oneonta. COFFEE & CHIT-CHAT On Fridays at 10 AM our church women meet for coffee and conversation at TJs on Main Street. Hope to see you there bring a friend!
ABOUT OUR CHURCH FAMILY Winter Addresses: When do you leave your summer address and return???? Please let Brenda know by emailing stdx06@gmail.com or dropping a note in Brenda s box. Happy Birthday Kathryn Mollach Lona Smith Lucile Gilchrist Zaidee Powers Carl Banner Colin Bliss Randy Gelatt Mary Beekman Helen Smith Eliana Shelnutt Sundar Samuel Kate Casler Willis Monie, Sr. Virginia Sherwood Sarah Key Jeanine Harter Christine Becker Rena Lull, Jr. 01 st 03 rd 09 th 10 th 10 th 12 th 14 th 14 th 15 th 15 th 16 th 18 th 21 st 24 th 25 th 27 th 27 th 30 th Happy Anniversary Willis & Dina Monie 26 th FOOD PANTRY The Food Pantry continues its appeal for non-perishable food to keep the shelves stocked and meet a growing need for food. Cash donations are also appreciated. Checks may be made payable to Cooperstown Food Pantry and mailed to 25 Church Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326. There is always a collection box in the back of the UMCC sanctuary -- please double bag. To volunteer, call Ellen St. John at 547-9653. STEWARDSHIP REPORT 2012 General Fund Budget $138,500 Budget through August $ 92,333 Offerings through August $ 61,221 Below Budget ($ 31,112) 2012 Capital Fund Goal $ 30,000 Goal through August $ 20,000 Offerings through August $ 7,272 Below Goal ($ 12,728) To satisfy your pledge for 2012, please submit your cash or check by January 6, 2013. If using a check or envelope, please make sure it is dated for 2012. Anything submitted after this date will automatically be registered for 2013. Our church has severe financial concerns. Our income is simply not meeting our expenses. For 2012, we have received only 29 commitment/pledges. Our attendance and our income is down, and unless we reverse this trend, we will not be able to sustain our church as it is. We ask that you give what you can, attend Sunday Worship, and fill out your commitment cards for 2013. Let us know your ideas on what we as a church can do to meet our financial obligations. The Finance Committee
COMMITTEE CHAIR NEEDED As of January 1, 2013, Dawne Dietz will be chairperson for the Angel Network. Dawne is taking over the position for Rena Lull. Rena is looking for someone to chair the 2013 Pie Sale at the Clark Sports Center, Labor Day Weekend, Aug. 31, 2013 & Sept. 1, 2013. For 2013 Rena will not be chairing the following committees: Fundraising (the calendar is set for 2013), Leave The church (The Manor). Anyone interested in taking over one of the committees please contact Sundar. QUILTS & COMFORTS Quilts & Comforts, a benefit for the Otsego Chapter DAR Scholarship Fund, was a great success. It was held at UMCC on Saturday, October 20. The DAR chapter would like to thank the following church members for sharing their heirloom and new quilts for the show: Ushuaia Diaz, Gladys Howe, Carol Highfield, Sue Ann Jenkins, Rena Lull, Kathryn Mollach, Merrilyn O Connell, Helen Roberts, Linda Smirk, and Lona Smith. The DAR members deeply appreciate the use of the church Fellowship Room and Sanctuary for two luncheons and the quilt show. STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN Dear Members and Friends: Our Annual Church Stewardship Campaign is underway. You have received a letter asking you to make a financial pledge for the coming church year. Please prayerfully consider how you can help meet our financial needs. A brief review of finances for two pervious years, enclosed with the Stewardship mailing, makes obvious the need for an increase in giving if we are to continue to support the life of the church. In troubled times, the church stands as a beacon of our faith and hope and provides for our spiritual needs. Please help us to serve God as a congregation. You will be blessed. Caroline S. Harter Church Chair Council
UMW NEWS FALL RUMMAGE SALE OCTOBER 5 & 6, 2012. Drop-off for this sale started on Sunday September 16 and ended at noon on Wednesday October 3 rd. The racks were set up on September 26 th and after church on September 30 th everything was put in place for the sale. All sorting and arranging began on Monday and continued through Thursday with the help of about 20 dedicated women. Friday, October 5 th, was a bright and warm sunny day and there were about 55 people in line by 8:30 AM for the 9 AM starting time. Business was steady for much of the day and we closed at 4 PM. Saturday from 9-11 AM was the bag sale and again we were pleased with the turnout. With the help of an energetic group, we had everything packed, tables put back in order, shelves and other things stored away and were cleaned up and out before 12:30 PM. All clothing was bagged and taken to the drop box at the Baptist Church to be donated to missions both in the US and worldwide. Winter coats and jackets were taken to Bassett for distribution in this area. Several bags of appropriate clothing were given to Head Start. Some (worn) towels and blankets were given to SPCA. Some appropriate items were packaged for the Manor. All other usable stuff was taken to Salvation Army. Once again this project by UMW served several purposes. While it is lots of work, it is also a time of fellowship with folks we don't see all the time. It provides an opportunity for families to find clothes at an affordable price; it gives many a place to "recycle" stuff for a good cause. We thank everyone for everything that made it possible for us to realize about $1550 for mission. THANKSGIVING BASKET donations may be placed in the box in the back of the sanctuary until November 20 th. Any money donations should be clearly marked THANKSGIVING BASKETS and given to Nancy Davis 547-6137, or Linda Smirk 547-2532. If you would like to suggest a recipient of a basket, please contact Nancy, Linda, or Pastor Sundar. UMW REGULAR MEETING will be held, Monday, November 12 th at noon at the home of Gladys Howe, 995 ST HWY 166. The World Thank Offering Service will be offered. Bring a dish to pass for lunch. CHRISTMAS TEA AND BAZAAR: It s time to think about the Christmas Tea and Bazaar, a major fund raiser to be held on Saturday afternoon, December 1 st from 1-4 PM. Invite your friends, family, children, grandchildren to have a cup of tea and cookies with you and then go upstairs to do a little Christmas shopping. We will meet November 26 th -30 th to set up for the tea and bazaar. A sign up sheet will be in the Fellowship Room as we will need lots of help setting up. We would like to have as many as possible of your bazaar items here at the church ASAP, so we can get a head start on pricing. Chairpersons for this year are Advertising: Merrilyn O Connell & Joan Ackerman Telephone Committee: Bernice Key Baked Goods: Bernice Key Kitchen: Ingrid Graham, Linda Smirk, Heather Hubbard & Hope Mofield Tea Room Hostesses: Sandra Chase Treasurer: Nancy Davis Craft Tables: Gladys Howe, Alice Stiles & Mary Beekman. Anyone wishing to help Sandy decorate down-stairs may contact her at 547-6242. HATS AND MITTENS PROJECT: Hat and mitten sets in sizes to fit infants through teenagers are being collected again this year. PLEASE DO NOT BOX OR WRAP THE SETS; mark the size, and hand to Ingrid Graham by DECEMBER 11 th.
Thanksgiving Offering envelopes are in this newsletter. The Thanksgiving offering will go toward mission work this year. Remember to take a moment on Thanksgiving to thank God for all that you have received. Have a blessed holiday! Special Giving Envelopes During the year special giving envelopes are sent to members and friends of the congregation for Lent, Easter, Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas. Unless designated otherwise, the money from these envelopes goes into the general fund of the church to be used for the operation of the church. AUTUMN RECITAL Roberta Rowland-Raybold (organ and piano) and Susan Marson (oboe) will present the Fifth Annual Autumn Recital at 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 28 at Christ Episcopal Church, River Street. It will feature the music of Bach, Karg-Ernst, Franck, and Dubussy., as well as original works. This free concert is under the auspices of the Adult Choir of the church. A reception will follow to honor Roberta Rowland-Raybold who will be leaving in February to make her home in Myrtle Beach. NURSERY VOLUNTEERS Following the Time with Young Disciples during Worship, there is nursery for preschool children. A volunteers is needed for the 2 nd Sunday of each month. Please contact the pastor if you can help. Poetry Meditation by Jane Yolan www.wisdomcommons.org I am the Earth And the Earth is me. Each blade of grass, Each honey tree, Each bit of mud, And stick and stone Is blood and muscle, Skin and bone. And just as I Need every bit Of me to make My body fit, So Earth needs Grass and stone and tree And things that grow here Naturally. That's why we Celebrate this day. That's why across The world we say: As long as life, As dear, as free, I am the Earth And the Earth is me.
EASTERN STANDARD TIME BEGINS ON NOVEMBER 4 th
Pastor s Page Rev. Sundar R. Samuel Pastor, United Methodist Church of Cooperstown 66 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326 Telephone (607) 547-9540 Cell Phone (607) 437-7466 Email sunsam52@yahoo.com Dear Members and Friends, Increasingly, Jesus, Mary and even the angels in heaven have chosen to forego conventional methods of communication, and have instead revealed themselves in wood splinters, and culinary mistakes. Fred Whan, after burning a fish stick at dinner, found with the help of his son, the face of Jesus on his fish stick. Diana Duyser declared she had found an image of the Virgin Mary on her decade-old burnt grilled cheese sandwich. Remona Peterson, saw the silhouette of Christ on the cross surrounded by his angels in her frosted bathroom window. What do we make of this? Has God abandoned his usual means of revelation and finally come to us in what we all really understand food, wood and water spots? No matter what you think about these miraculous images, we are all yearning in our culture to find Christ in every day. We dream of touching what we know only by faith, and whether it be in an old sandwich, some burnt fish sticks, our own church altar or even in the frosted glass of a shower stall, these images let us glimpse with our own eyes the unseen Christ. The problem here is that these cheesy images also pose a real danger to our faith. How in the world do you lift up a God worthy of praise and thanksgiving when you ve just found him on a fish stick? Where are my faith and my praise for a transcendent God when that God is not much more than a commodity on ebay? Psalm 100 urges us to prepare for the coming of the Lord by calling us back to worship, thanksgiving and praise. It tells us we should praise God for four reasons: Because God made us, because God loves us, because we belong to God, and because God is all around us. This is most significant. For in this the baked fish stick challenges us. We need not look for Christ who says Whatever you did to one of the least of these my brethren, you do for me (Matthew 25:40) in a piece of baked fish! We need not worry ourselves about dirt marks on our shower stalls when he has promise to be in the faces of those around us. It should not be easier to see Christ in frosted glass than it is to see him in the faces of our neighbors. If we long to see Christ, we need only to look around us. Christ is with us in the faces of our neighbors. In the people who do what Christ does for us as they care, provide, love and keep us safe. And in the people we are called to be Christ to, doing the same for them. God deserves our thanks and praise. God created us! God claimed us! God paid the ultimate price for us! And God surrounds us with people who reflect his face and presence! So don t be looking for God in the drumstick of a turkey in a few days. Find God in the faces of those gathered around your table, wandering the streets of your neighborhood or conversing at the water cooler in the office. And give thanks! The pastor and staff wish you and yours a blessed Thanksgiving! Peace and Grace, Pastor Samuel