The Springboard May 2018 Edition Pastor s Reflection Whether or not you realize it, we are literally saving lives. That little rainbow flag in the corner of our sign on Whitney Ave, That silly rainbow chair display we put up a few times this past year, That booth we had at New Haven Pride Festival passing out hand-knit hearts, The over-the-top Words of Welcome we offer each week, The big deal we make about the Words of Assurance on Communion Sundays, Those are all life-saving measures. The statistics are clear, religiously dedicated teens who identify as LGBTQIA+ are much more likely to have suicidal tendencies because of the abusive relationship they have with their church. In contrast to this heinous twisting of religion, we at SGC will round out our year-long series of guest preachers and events celebrating the 20th Anniversary of our Open & Affirming (ONA) commitment on May 6 during worship. Our church provides the world with a desperately needed sanctuary; and that is something to celebrate and brag about and make sure everyone knows because that is how we save lives. Our ONA stance calls us to intentionally and boldly counteract the false-christianity that has invaded our world. We provide the antidote to any poisonous proselytizer who misquotes or weaponizes scripture in ways that inflict harm both spiritual and physical. This is more than a matter of trying to be more inclusive; this is a matter of life or death. Good thing we follow a Christ who conquered Death. And that is why -- even when the statistics seem so bleak -- my faith gives me great hope and even greater joy. Because I know the Good News. And I know you know the Good News. And I know we are ready to continue doing the good work together, to shout it out and celebrate it and be the Body of Christ, the Word made Flesh, the Risen Savior, the Open & Affirming and unconditional Love that we call God. Good talk. Go team. Pastor Jack Inside this issue Resources for Spiritual Growth..2 Faith Formation..... 3 SGC in Service..4 SGC s New Intern.....5 Happenings in April...6 Church as Sanctuary 7 Quick Links Resources for Spiritual Growth Faith Formation Fellowship 1
The Rev. Clare Robert Associate Pastor Clare@SpringGlenChurch. Resources for Spiritual Growth Join the conversation for our Spring Book Read The Gift of Years by Joan Chittister - Second Meeting, May 17 At our first meeting we had a robust conversation about the promises and the challenges of aging well. Building on the first pages of the book, we talked about our experiences of regret, ageism, fear, meaning and joy. At our next meeting we will discuss authority, transformation, newness accomplishment, possibility and other topics which allow us to reflect on life, question how we can age gracefully and help us understand the spirituality of aging. The Gift of Years provides an enjoyable way to delve into the concerns of aging and share our experiences. You are welcome to join the conversation on May 17 at 7 pm in the Fellowship Room. The book is available online and some copies will be available for sale through the church office. Contact Pastor Clare if you are interested. Contemplative Prayer Practices: Walking Active Meditation Walking clears the mind, and is a great way to appreciate God s creation. When spring lends itself to our desire to get outdoors and enjoy the landscape, the practice of walking meditation can enhance our gratitude and deepen our connection to the divine Creator. In practicing walking meditation, first lay out a path of about 10-12 feet. Walk back and forth on that path, paying attention to your footsteps. You may find that you seem a bit off balance, which is normal. Usually walking is handled automatically and by slowing down and noticing, it may feel a bit different, and new. Like any meditative process, it takes practice to bring the mind into the activity. By observing your feet, your gait and your body you may find that the mind quiets down. Practice like this for about 10 minutes. Then, to bring in a prayerful element, reflect and repeat the phrase from the prophet Micah to walk humbly with God. Continue for a few minutes with this phrase as a background thought. What does it mean to walk humbly with God? To take each step as it comes, to go slowly, to appreciate the physical nature of our beings? This kind of practice can be adapted to any other physical activity. The overall object is to bring awareness to every day activities and to allow the mind to settle, to be ready for connection with others, and with God. Sermon Sound- Bite: We seem to forget that God is always present. We do not make God present nor do we make grace happen. When we simply open to God who is already present, to the redemption we have already received, to the movement of the spirit among us, we are home, we are free and we are saved. We don t have to do anything. And our wanting is satisfied. We are at peace. Pastor Clare 2
The Rev. Barb Frey Christian Ed. Coordinator barb@springglenchurch.org COMING SOON (Dates and more info will be in the weekly bulletin and email) Faith Formation Summer Sunday School starts June 17 Summer Sunday School Teachers Needed! Sign-up on the poster in the church entrance Sign up for just one Sunday You will have a partner (for safe church, we need 2 adults) Multiage one room classroom experience (K-5 th grade) Theme: Heifer Project Creative, active easy-to-teach lessons Lesson Packets provided with everything you need QUESTIONS???? Contact: Rev. Barb Frey, Children s Coordinator of Faith Formation 203-9808567 barb@springglenchurch.org A Special Sunday School Tour led by the children. June 10 Worship led by Youth and children. Report by the Curriculum Work Group. More Information About Summer Sunday School Heifer Project will be the theme and each week a different animal will be highlighted. This summer Sunday School program will be fun and mission-oriented, yet still be linked to the Bible stories. There will be 9 weeks -- June 17, 24; July, 8, 15, 22, 29; Aug 12, 19, 26 The lessons: Fantastic Fish, Remembering Rabbits, Looking at Llamas, Celebrating Cows, Sharing Sheep, Praising Pigs, Beautiful Bees, Celebrating Chickens, Giving Goats. As in the past, volunteer teachers can choose their lesson and week of choice. 2 volunteers are needed each week. Lesson plans and resources will be provided An outline of a lesson might look like this: For example: FISH Link to the creation story Genesis 1:20-23 Bible Story about Fish ( Jonah and the Whale, Feeding the 5000) Connecting the need for fish to children in Zaire Craft Activities ( 3-D Fish, Woven Fish, Fish Stained Window Snack?: Goldfish Related Books-- The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister Sermon Sound-Bite "I was still missing a key part in order to experience the privilege of God s salvation. TRUST! Without conditions. Soul bearing trust that knows no bounds. It wasn t as easy as my grandmother made it look. Up until then, the door to my heart was ajar, and it needed to be open all the way." -Leigh Porterfield, Laity Sunday 3
Meet our Volunteers!! Spring Glen Church has been providing work training program for the Elizabeth Ives School. Paul Viglione Jr. and David Broadbent have been helping to keep SGC in tip top shape. Paul and Dave began by coming every Tuesday, but over the past 2 months, they have been working at SGC every Tuesday and Thursday. They have completed so may projects since the fall! Here are some of the highlights: Weekly, Paul and Dave (under the supervision of SGC member Jeremy Logan) make sure the sanctuary is tidied and that all of the toys in the nursery are disinfected. They have also done larger projects like cleaning out the closet in the great hall and cleaning out the storage area off of the fellowship room kitchen. Paul and Dave have picked up all of the sticks and trash outside and even pruned branches to make the handicap ramp more accessible. They have been a tremendous asset to SGC and we value them and their time. And, they always bring a smile and a cheery disposition to their work! We wish Paul Godspeed as he graduates this year but are excited to welcome back Dave with another student next year! Please support our SGC Service Trip to Puerto Rico From June 9-15, about fifteen Spring Glen Church (SGC) members and friends from Hamden and North Haven, CT will be traveling to Puerto Rico to help local residents rebuild after Hurricanes Irma (Sept 2017) and Maria (October 2017), both Category 5 storms, devastated the island last year. Through a partnership with Praying Pelican Missions (PPM, https://www.gofundme.com/ sgc-service-trip-to-puerto-rico, we will connect with a local church that will provide our base of operations. PPM will also provide a mission guide and local contractor who will lead us in assisting home owners with the repair or installation of windows, roofing, siding, sheetrock, and landscaping, and we ll be painting. On March 20, 2018, Julio Ricardo Varela reported for NPR s Latino USA that more than 150,000 residents of Puerto Rico, mostly located in the mountainous central region of the island, are still without power. And although the official death toll from Maria alone is 64, the true number is more like 1100 when you factor in deaths resulting from the loss of electricity: victims cutoff from life-saving medical equipment like dialysis, and medicines requiring refrigeration like insulin. The cost per service member is $1,000. We are looking to raise 75% of that number (times 15) and the rest to be funded by the volunteer. Any additional funds will be donated to families in need in PR and/or future SGC service/mission trips. You ve read about the devastation and the hardship sustained by our PR neighbors. Please help us help them get back in their homes and reconnected with their families and communities. You can donate at the website above or mail a check payable to Spring Glen Church, 1825 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT 06517 and write PR - PPM trip in the memo line. All contributions are tax deductible. OUR THEME -- Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, Here am I. Send me. Isaiah 6:8 Questions, or if you want to join us on this trip, please call Pastor Jack or Ron Offutt 4
Columbus House On Thursdays, March 22 and April 26, Columbus House clients enjoyed a dinner of casserole, green salad, green beans, applesauce, bread and butter, and cake. Many thanks to the following people for providing food in March: Geddes-Smith family, Bobbie Kraus, Carolyn Paul, Amy Lynn, Carolyn Cary, Theresa Voss, Michele O Connell, Bower-Phipps family, Marian Page, Michele Backus, Ellen Schowalter, Cynthia Licata, Jacki Colvin, Rhonda Voos, and Watkins family. Many thanks to our excellent March servers: Theresa Voss, Mary Mannion, Carolyn Cary -- who did the work of 6 people!! Many thanks to the following people who provided food in April: Bobbie Krauss, Mary Cameron, Paula Reagan, Jean and Hugh Davis, Marian Fontana, Barbara Hobbs, Amy Lynn, Ellen Schowalter, Theresa Voss, Gayle Logan, Brownell Family, Marian Page, Laurel Laster, and Jacki Colvin, and to our servers Laurel Laster, Carolyn Cary, Theresa Voss, Kathi Reid, and Everardo and Erika Zarate. This is a wonderful ministry, and one that is easy to get involved in. And it s one we need new helpers with -- some of our prior stalwarts cannot help every month, so there is plenty of opportunity for you to join in the fun and service. Spring Glen Church provides the evening meal at Columbus House on the fourth Thursday of each month. It s an easy way to help others on your own time even if you can t serve on Thursday night, you can shop or cook ahead of time and if you have young children in your life, it s a great way to get them involved in helping others. (Children can be great cake bakers, casserole mixers, and servers) Our next opportunities to serve will be Thursday, May 24 and June 28. Look for the sign-up sheet each month in the entryway, and join us in this fun, rewarding, and essential ministry. (Questions? Contact: Amy Lynn, 203-281-7089, jesta5@comcast.net.) For I was hungry, and you gave me food. Matthew 25:35. Introducing our 2018-2019 Seminarian Intern!! We are excited to announce that Laura Kisthardt will serve as our Student Ministerial Intern next academic year! Laura is originally from Northeast Ohio and has just finished her first year at Yale Divinity School. She is pursuing ordination in the UCC and is passionate about prayer, spirituality, and retreats. In her free time, Laura likes to read popular fiction, walk through East Rock Park, and try out new vegan recipes. Gator Softball Starts Sunday May 6th. The teams are coed and open to anyone 15 or older. Games are Sundays at 6 with batting practice starting at 5. Schedule details to follow. If you're interested or have questions, contact: Gabe Johnson - johnsong4385@gmail.com or David Giblin - kdgibs@yahoo.com 5
Happenings at SGC in April! Easter Sunday Confirmation Mission Trip to Boston Guest Preacher Leigh Porterfield Making some necessary repairs! 6
Church as Sanctuary - Dan Smolnik On the afternoon of April 8, I, along with Scott Lucker, Barbara Hobbs, Nancy Beals and Pastor Jack, attended a presentation at Congregation Mishkan Israel in Hamden. About 50 faith communities from across southern Connecticut were represented. The topic was the rapidly growing need for faith communities to participate in supporting immigrants as they go through their due process in connection with deportation. We heard from, among many others, Representative Rosa DeLauro and Ravi Ragbir, an immigrants rights advocate whose harrowing experiences at the hands of ICE agents alerted us to the plight of tens of thousands of people in America seeking a better life. So you don t have to use up one of your free clicks, I saved an article from the Washington Post about him you can download from my server here. ICE arrests climbed 40% to 143,470 from January 20 to September 30 of 2017 over the same period the year before. Five days after his inauguration, the president signed an executive order empowering ICE to deport virtually any undocumented immigrant. Much of the deportation discretion is now left in the hands of the individual officer. As a result, the most vulnerable and visible immigrants and their families now live in what some immigrant speakers described as constant terror. Churches remain, under ICE policy, designated as sensitive locations. Pursuant to ICE policy, enforcement actions are not to occur at or be focused on sensitive locations such as schools, places of worship, unless; exigent circumstances exist; other law enforcement actions have led officers to a sensitive location, or prior approval is obtained from a designated supervisory official. Churches have a particular responsibility to stand up for human rights during times when some people are treated as less valuable than others. Rabbi Herbert Brockman said that faith communities should be beacons of light in the darkness. Whether and how SGC supports these immigrants facing possible deportation, and removal from their families and, often, the only home they have ever known, will be a matter for dialogue in the coming months. The New Sanctuary Movement, a nationwide effort, has an active program in Connecticut. I urge each of us to bring his or her gifts to that discussion as it goes on in our church, our homes, and our communities. Sermon Sound-Bite "When asked about church's role in segregated Arkansas in the 1930s, Rev Dr. James Cone reflected that out in the world his neighbors were looked down on, defined only as someone's maid or someone's janitor. But at church they were Deacons, Council Chairs, Beloved Children of God." -Pastor Jack Fellowship Hour Hosting Schedule Below is the Fellowship Hour hosting schedule for May. If you are not able to host on your assigned date, please try to help find a replacement, perhaps swapping with an individual/family scheduled later in the year. Please notify Debby Jagielow of any changes. She will update the master calendar and the church office. To find the phone numbers or email addresses of other members, be sure to log in as a member on this website, and then you may access a downloadable church directory from the right hand navigation menu. Alternatively, email Melissa in the office to request a PDF of the directory be emailed to you. Date: Host Family 1 Family 2 5/6/18 Connie Rogers Emily Smith Al & Marianne Fontana 5/13/18 Liz Wootton Chris Watkins Cynthia Licata 5/20/18 Congregational Meeting 5/27/18 Katharine Healy The Lasters TBD 7
Call to Annual Meeting of The Spring Glen Church Sunday, May 20, 2018- Immediately following worship. Childcare will be provided. Minutes of the Jan. 2018 Annual Meeting will be reviewed. Presentation and Election of Board Members. Spring Glen Church Senior Pastor: Jack Perkins Davidson PLEASE PLACE STAMP HERE 1825 Whitney Ave. Hamden, CT 06517 Phone: 203-288-3381 E-mail: melissa@springglenchurch.org The most updated calendar can be found on the Spring Glen Church Website: www.springglenchurch.org