Feb 2010 Newsletter

Congregational Connections

Have a Heart: February Blanket Month

 


Blankets will be available for only $5.00 each. Church World Service says the $5.00 blanket is the basic concept of every disaster response program. When people are homeless, cold and alone, a warm woolen blanket provides both primary protection as well as shelter. Your $5.00 donation will provide that blanket to someone who needs one.

Checks payable to: Church World Service

Mail to: First Congregational Church of Leicester

Click Here to link to the Church World Service Blanket Program website.

Easter/Lent Season

This is such an important season of the Christian calendar, a time of reflection on our faith. The messages of the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ are rich areas for study, discussion and sharing. If you are interested in participating in a spiritual practice, study, or discussion group during Lent, please contact Pastor Doreen. Schedule and content will be decided by interested parties from suggestions by Doreen. If you are not able to participate or interested in such a group, you are most welcome to acknowledge the start of this holy period by attending the Ash Wednesday Service on February 17, 7:00 p.m., which includes ashes and Communion.

Website Update: leicesterfcc.org

Monthly newsletters are now available, offering additional pictures and links.
Children’s Christmas Pageant photos are available for viewing.

Growing Our Church

Do you love our church and wish more people would come and see what we are about? Have you been eager to see the pews filled on Sunday mornings, wishing for new energy and ideas from newcomers about how to serve God through our faith community? Well, the MA Conference of the UCC wants to help. They are providing a workshop “More Members for Your Congregation” on Saturday, March 27, from 9-3 in Tewksbury, Mass. Pastor Doreen would love to go, but in order to do so, must bring a team of at least three lay leaders. Registration deadline is March 1. The cost of the program will be covered by the church’s ministry budget, and includes lunch and snacks. Contact Pastor Doreen for more information.

Behind the Scenes

So many do so much behind the scenes. I want to call out a few that I’ve seen and give thanks. If there are others that you notice and wish to thank, whisper in Pastor Doreen’s ear. Thanks to Ron and Cindy LaPointe, Nancy Desautels, Neil Mulrain and Quentin Lewis for cleaning and decorating the sanctuary for Christmas; Marie Frascolla for getting the poinsettias;Nancy Tashjian for helping with the newsletter; and Deb Entwistle for her time and financial contributions to the stewardship campaign.

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Stewardship Committee

The recent Stewardship Pledge Drive for the next six months netted 21 pledges for a total of $14,968.00.

Worcester Fellowship Update
By: Quentin Lewis

Our ministry to help the people of the Worcester Fellowship continues, and the support by so many in the congregation is wonderful. Not only do we have expert participation on our sandwich assembly line, but we also have a steady stream of donations of clothing (white socks, hats, gloves and scarves) in a time of need; the cold winter months. The people of the Worcester Fellowship are grateful, evidenced when they sent our church a holiday thank-you card with the signature of many who attended several services in December.

Please note that we continue to collect socks, hats, gloves and scarves in a donation basket in Russell Hall, and our lunch supply dates are as follows: Feb 28th (with Pastor Doreen preaching), May 30, June 27, Aug 29 and Oct 31.

I thank you all for your generous donations of food, clothing, money and especially time.

Strawberry Hill Fair Update

To date our total proceeds from the Fair are $4,819.81. On behalf of the Women’s Association a special Thank You goes to Judy Ivel for her efforts since fair day.

Hope In Hands Community Garden

This is a community project to raise food for yourself and two non-profit organizations in town. The garden is located on Paxton Street the land owned by the Leicester Water Department. There are 10 plots, seven of which are already taken. The plots are 7″ by 10″ and can be used by individuals and non-profit organizations, the only requirement is to donate 20% of what you grow, and this food will be given to the Leicester Food Bank and Hope House. Any questions call Lois Wicklund at 508-892-8156.


To learn more about Community Gardens in America Click Here

December Collection Totals

(6th) $467.00 (13th) $803.75 (20th) no service (27th) $5,919.00

We received $4,000.00 from Women’s Association from Strawberry Hill Fair (reflected in 27th amount)

Grand Total= $7,189.75

We had a voluntary offering at the two Christmas Eve services for the food bank; $202.00 was sent to help support this mission.

Greetings from members who are away for the winter who write to say hello to everyone

Ellie Skagerlind says hello from Florida. We have had a long cold snap here with temps in the 30’s at night and 40 to 50 during the days. Missing you all.
Bob and Alice Kelly – We are doing great; Alice back in physical therapy but getting around well with her cane and Bob is as usual. Thinking of everyone, give them our best and stay healthy while we are apart.

A Note from the Pastor

Grace and peace to you, my friends. Since many who receive this newsletter are far away and I won’t be able to see you on February 14 (or in case of snow for the locals), let me wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day. Whether we are in a romantic partnership or not, Valentine’s Day is a time for celebrating all the love we have in our lives. Love and a sense of connection and belonging are among our basic human needs. Last month in this note, I talked about my concern for people’s basic physiological needs for food, shelter and warmth. How providential that I should now have the opportunity to reflect on this critical social need. Perhaps some of you have heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Abraham Maslow was a behavioral scientist of theorized that human needs are hierarchical, meaning you couldn’t even begin to address higher level needs until the most basic ones were met. He saw the physiological needs as the most basic and primary. If someone didn’t have enough food to eat, and a place to exist that was relatively free of threat to life and limb, they couldn’t possibly worry about anything else but that. Once those needs were met, though, the person’s social needs became paramount, the need for family, friendship, belonging and connection. Up next, very close to this, are esteem needs – feelings of confidence, achievement, self-respect and respect of and from others. And at the top level, Maslow put self-actualization, which includes creativity, spontaneity, morality, and becoming as fully as possible what you were meant to be.

 

Looking at Maslow’s hierarchy, I couldn’t help but notice how much faith communities do to support people at each level. Right here at FCC we provide food to the Food Bank and to Worcester Fellowship; blankets, socks, hats, gloves and scarves to those who need them; financial and practical support to those in our church who are going through rough spots. There are friends here, companions on the journey of faith and life, people we respect, people who recognize and acknowledge our

gifts and contributions. There are abundant opportunities to express your creativity, to use your gifts, to solve problems (If you are not sure how, please see me ASAP!). These gifts and opportunities are open to all who come through our doors, whether or not you join the church. But joining, officially becoming a member of FCC, offers a deeper level of commitment both from and to the church.

Joining means more than attending the church and its events, more than helping out at a church function. Getting married or baptized here does not confer membership, nor does being called as pastor. Those who are members have either been through a joining rite, or had their Confirmation here. I want to be a member here, so will go through the joining rite, and if you are not yet a member, I invite you to join me in joining. It is an important step. The United Church of Christ, our denominational affiliation, focuses on covenantal relationship. When you join a church in this denomination, you form a covenant, you make commitment to walk together and work together, to support one another through good times and difficult times. It is not a lifetime contract, there are no penalties for breaking it, and there may be a time when it makes sense to dissolve the covenant. But becoming a member is a chance to respond to God’s grace and love, extended to you through this body.

We will hold a session for those interested in becoming members on March 7. You will learn more about the church and what it means to join. You will have a chance to share about your faith journey, reflect on your relationship with FCC and the people here, to consider your gifts and talents that may be expressed here, and consider your values as well as those of FCC. Whether or not you decide to join after attending this session, I promise it will be a valuable experience. The joining rite will be held on March 21. I welcome your questions and thoughts, members and non-members alike.

Prayer List

Herb & JoAnn May
Helen Rancke
Phyllis White
Mandella Family
Cunningham Family

Pastor Nan had another very high risk surgery on January 26th and needs all of our prayers and blessings. Anyone wishing to send a card or note, please send it to the church office (marked for Nan) and we will forward it to her.