April 2012 Newsletter

Congregational Connections – April 2012 Issue

Maundy Thursday Service: April 5 @ 7pm
With Tenebrae and Communion. Readers are needed, so please let Pastor Doreen know ASAP if you are interested.

Easter Sunday Worship: April 8

 

 

Please come and rejoice, celebrate the resurrection and the new covenant it brought, reconciling us to God, one another, and all of Creation through Jesus Christ. Let us join together to sing praise and give thanks to God who loves us so much, who continually reaches out and calls us to new life. The service starts at 10:00 a.m. on Sun, April 8.
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Worcester Fellowship Lunch Providers – Sun, April 29

Please look for the contribution signup sheet in Russell Hall beginning April 15 if you wish to donate lunch supplies. Donations of new white socks are always much appreciated. Many helping hands are needed to assemble the lunches on the 29th, so please join in. All are welcome to join us for lunch and worship on the Common behind Worcester City Hall beginning at 1 p.m. Pastor Doreen will be the guest preacher for the worship service.
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Pastor’s Emergency Fund
It has been a tough time for many people, and the pastor is privy to the financial hardships that are so often a part of people’s lives. We are called to care for one another, and Pastor Doreen often makes contributions on behalf of the church to individuals and families in need.
If you would like to contribute to this fund, you can write a check to FCC with a notation Pastor’s Emergency Fund and drop it in the offering plate or mail it to the church. If you would like to give a cash donation, please see the pastor directly for a receipt and to ensure the money goes to that fund. A special offering will be taken for this fund during worship later in the spring.
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SOCK HOP: April 28
Come dance on Saturday, April 28 6:30-9 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church in Worcester
(114 Main St.) to benefit the Worcester Fellowship.
The WF congregational leadership team will be running this event, a fun connection to the sock ministry of Fellowship, which gives away 60-100 pairs of socks every week. Pastor Doreen and Quentin plan to be rockin’ round the clock at the sock hop, so please join us.

Suggested donations:
• If you own a home and have a job, $25-$50 per person.
• If you rent a home and/or have a job, $5-$25 per person.
• If you have no home or no job, $1-$5 per person.

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Bible/Book Study
Mondays 7:00 p.m. and Wednesdays 10:30 a.m. Contact Pastor Doreen or see worship bulletins for locations, schedule and reading assignments.
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Women’s Association Meeting
Wed., April 4. Lunch at Bay Path Vocational High School, followed by a meeting on the premises. The cost is very reasonable, usually less than $10 for a full meal from a varied menu. Carpools leave from the church at 10:30 a.m., or you can meet us at the school at 11. All women are welcome.
The next meeting will be Wednesday, May 2 at noon. Location to be decided.
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Council Meeting
Sunday 4/15, at noon. All are welcome.
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A Note from the Pastor
Several years ago, not long after I started seminary, I sat at a playground with my friend from church and our children. Easter was approaching, and we got into a discussion about the meaning of this holy day. She said that she always had trouble believing that Jesus was resurrected, that he returned after death as a flesh and blood man. She asked what I believed. I told her I was unsure. There was certainly a time in my life when I would have dismissed the notion of resurrection, seeing it as literary license taken by people with an agenda. But I was a year into seminary, committed to a vocation in ministry, and I worried that if I didn’t believe all the Christian doctrine, I couldn’t expect to inspire others to live faithful lives. Also, as I grew in my relationship with God, I believed more and more that there were things outside my understanding, and that God could do more than I could possibly imagine. I told my friend I was open to the possibility that it was true.
At this point in my spiritual journey, I find myself in a paradoxical state of mind regarding the stories of the resurrection. I am absolutely convinced that the resurrection of Christ is true, yet doubtful that it happened as told in the Gospels. The Gospels differ in their telling of appearances of Jesus after his death. In Matthew, Jesus appears first to Mary Magdelene and another Mary as they ran from his tomb, and then to the eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee, where he commissioned them to “make disciples of all nations.” In the earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of Mark, there are no sightings of Jesus after his death, just an angel telling the women visiting the tomb to spread the word that Jesus has gone ahead of them to Galilee. Sometime in the second century, an additional passage was added that Jesus appeared recognizably to Mary Magdelene, and then “in another form” to two disciples walking into the country, and finally to the eleven, commissioning them to go and proclaim the good news.
In Luke, Jesus appears to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, but in a form unrecognizable to them until he replicated the acts of Communion – blessing, breaking and sharing bread. Later, as the two caught up with a larger group of Jesus’ followers, and were telling them about their experience, Jesus appeared to them all. He ate with
them, taught them, and promised them that they would be clothed with power from on high. He led them out to Bethany, and they witnessed his departure as he was carried up to heaven. In John’s Gospel, Jesus first appears to Mary in the tomb, but is initially unrecognized by her. Later, he goes to the house where the disciples were locked up in fear, and offers a blessing of peace, and shows his wounds. He does a similar thing a week later for Thomas, who had missed his previous appearance. Finally he appears to several of the disciples on a beach after they had been fishing for a night. Unrecognized, he advises them on where to drop their nets for a big catch. This alerts Simon Peter to his identity, and they eat together. Jesus tells Peter to feed his sheep.
It is possible that one or more of these events took place just as described, but it is not important to me to analyze the merits of one story over another; or to make the case that they all happened, but each Gospel writer knew only about their own version. For me, the truth is that all of the followers of Jesus experienced him in a real and compelling manner after his death, and that all of them were surprised and inspired by it in a life-changing way. It is not important to me to know whether Jesus showed himself in the tomb, on the road, in the house, or on a mountain. It is not important to me to know who saw him first. What is important to me is that Christ is real and available to everyone for a life-changing and inspiring encounter with him. We are not limited to an encounter with stories about him. Our faith in the living, resurrected Christ does not demand an intellectual confirmation of the Gospel accounts as historical fact. We need only to ask him to come into our lives, to live in our hearts. We need only to let ourselves be surprised and inspired by the various guises he takes, by his response to our prayers. We need only to follow the example of the disciples in living in the truth of Jesus’ continuing presence with us, excited and inarticulate, doing the best we can to share the good news. They will know we are Christians by our love. May new life in Christ spring up within you this Holy Easter Season.

Blessings, Pastor Doreen
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Annual Reports Due
The end of the program and fiscal year is fast approaching, and Committees can start working on their annual reports. They are due the first week of June to allow preparation time for our Annual Meeting on June 24.
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A Moment for Missions By: Michelle Morrison

My husband and I were driving to Cape Cod for our two weeks of summer vacation. Our two daughters, ages three and one, were fast asleep in the backseat as we waited patiently in the Cape Cod summer traffic. We were tuned in to a radio station that was conducting a telethon sponsored by Children’s Hospital Boston.

We listened as patients’ family members and hospital staff told of the high quality of care and compassionate people that made Children’s Hospital Boston one of the highest ranked pediatric hospitals in the United States. We also listened as the children themselves told their heartbreaking stories of the illnesses that brought them to Children’s Hospital and the treatments they received there. At that moment, we knew we wanted to help. We immediately dialed the number and became a monthly sponsor.

Five years had passed since the telethon and we continued to give our monthly donation. I never really thought much about it. The donation was charged monthly to our credit card. We didn’t need to do anything except pay the bill. I knew donating was a good thing and was helpful to the hospital, but I never thought about how or if it affected me personally. Until the day I met a five year old little girl with a rare form of brain cancer. Her mother was the new receptionist in my husband’s office and her daughter would come in often to visit. She was in and out of school because of the constant medical care she needed. She really didn’t live the life of a typical five year old child. I learned of the many doctor appointments and cancer treatments she endured. I also learned of the emotional and financial hardships her family faced when dealing with a child with a potentially fatal disease.

As we got to know this little girl and her family, we not only became emotionally involved in her fight but it caused me to reflect upon my life as a parent. I thought about how difficult it would be to have a child with cancer. Watching my daughter fight for her life and not be able to help her would be unbearable. Everything in my life and my family’s life as I know it now would be different. This child had taught me that I could no longer take anything for granted and that I needed to be thankful for the things that I have. Not the material things but for my family, friends and loved ones.

So that five year old little girl is now seven. She is back at school and living the life of a typical second grader. My husband and I continue to support Children’s Hospital Boston but with more heart than we did before. And every Sunday when Pastor Doreen asks us to take a moment for prayers that are too difficult for words, I thank God for the health and wellbeing of my family and for Him to help remind me to enjoy every moment of every day and not to take anything for granted. God Bless!
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Note From Your Stewardship Committee
“You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.” ~ Winston Churchill ~

The Stewardship Campaign has begun! It’s hard to believe another year in our church financial budget is coming to a close soon. But first, we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your support; time, talents and treasurers this past year. We are grateful for your loyalty, duties, and compassions.

The Financial Committee will be reviewing a proposed budget for the next fiscal year, June 1,2012 to May 31, 2013. In order to achieve that goal, they will need to assess anticipated income – among that, our pledging.

Enclosed you will find this year’s annual stewardship letter and a pledge card. We ask that you carefully read the letter and prayerfully consider your pledge for the coming year. We invite you to participate during the next several weeks, to share your views, thoughts, and stories of your commitments and love in the ministries of this church.
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Please hold in your prayers members and friends of our church family who are dealing with medical issues, financial strain, family complexities, isolation, loss and transition. Marie Frascolla is recovering from knee surgery, and Helen Rancke and Doug and Brenda Ponton deal with on-going medical issues. Let’s pray for their healing, health and wholeness. Marge Rabidou is dealing with stressful changes, as is the Cathcart family. May they all find comfort and peace in their faith and through their church family. Please pray for our church growth, and that we may be a blessing to this community. If there are others you wish to add to the prayer list, please contact Pastor Doreen.