April/May 2019
The First Congregational Church of Leicester
Maundy Thursday Special Program: April 18
Please join us on Thursday, April 18 for dinner and a special program, followed by a worship service including Tenebrae and Communion. Dinner will be served beginning at 5:30 in Russell Hall, and the program will start at 6. Come learn more about what life was like in Jerusalem in Jesus’ time, and watch some video of what the area looks like today. The worship service starts at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary. Come hear the story of Jesus’ Passion – the events from his last supper through his crucifixion and burial. READERS NEEDED. Please contact Doreen if you are willing.
Easter Sunday: April 21
Come celebrate the Good News of Christ’s resurrection. The Sanctuary will be adorned with spring flowers and it will be a joyful occasion. Please join us if you can – and invite a friend or family member. It’s a great season to share the good news.
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Lent/Easter Offering
For those wishing to make a special contribution in honor of Lent/Easter, there is a donation envelope enclosed. May your sacrifice bring you many blessings, as it blesses First Congregational Church.
Stewardship Season
Be on the lookout for our letter and pledge card in the mail come May, and join us for Stewardship Sunday on May 5.
Thanks for the Blankets!
In the month of February (and a little beyond), we collected $610 towards blankets that will be distributed by Church World Service as part of their disaster response programs. These 61 blankets we have purchased will provide shelter and protection to those in need.
Women’s Association
Meets Wednesday, April 3 at noon at the church. After the business meeting, there will be a Pound Auction. Participants are asked to bring something attractively-wrapped that weighs one pound. All 1-pound items will be auctioned off then and there. The next meeting is May 1, and will include a local field trip (new library or fire station!). A delicious dessert is always served. All women connected with the church are welcome, whether members, visitors, or friends of members.
2019 UCC
Membership Dues
Each church in the United Church of Christ is asked to contribute to the support of the Associations and Conferences of the denomination. Churches benefit from these connections in numerous ways, which are often highlighted in our newsletter in the UCC Connections section.
This year local churches are asked to pay $21.65 per member. First Congregational Church asks that members pay these dues apart from their pledges to the church. Please make checks payable to “First Congregational Church of Leicester”.
Checks can be mailed to the church or dropped in the offering plate with note “membership dues.” If this poses a hardship for anyone, please see Pastor Doreen. Perhaps you can make a partial contribution toward the dues, with the church subsidizing the rest. Also, people may want to contribute extra to help subsidize the dues for those who cannot pay. All contributions are tax deductible.
A Note from the Pastor
Grace and Peace, my friends. I want to say Happy Easter!, but as I write, and when you receive this, we still have Holy Week to get through, and that is not a happy time. But it is rich and meaningful, and I hope you will join us on Palm Sunday, when the story of the Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem will be followed by the story of the antagonism he encountered, his arrest, trial and crucifixion. Or join us on Maundy Thursday for a special program and dinner, followed by a service of Communion and Tenebrae, in which the story is told again. Don’t jump too quickly to from the palms to the resurrection. Don’t miss out on the depth of love shown to God’s people through Jesus’ actions during that Holy Week.
Our Monday night book group has been reading 24 Hours That Changed the World. It gives an in-depth look at the 24 hours leading up to the crucifixion, and explores what we may learn from them, and how these hours might influence our own faith. One of the chapters focuses the torture and humiliation of Jesus. It was a hard read, but it offered me some insight into one of the gifts Jesus gave us through that experience. Jesus was mocked and humiliated. Crowds of people ridiculed and shamed him, and he bore it all quietly. I imagine he bore it with grace and with mercy in his heart even for his tormentors. The author asks us to reflect on times we might have been humiliated or shamed, or times when we might have been perpetrators of such behavior. It is, unfortunately, easy to slip into it. Just think of your sibling relationships when you were young – how much fun it was to get a rise out of your little brother or sister. Think about how much humor is based on someone’s embarrassing faux pas, or mocking someone’s differences, even if it is meant to be good-natured.
The author, Adam Hamilton, reminds us that when we see that person being ridiculed, we might see Jesus standing beside them in his crown of thorns. When we have felt shamed, or were made to feel small, were told we were nothing, that we are useless or foolish, we might remember that Jesus stands with us. He has been subject to such things, and still managed to remember that he is precious in the eyes of God. He stands beside us to remind us that we also are precious in the eyes of God, no matter what anyone else may say, and no matter what we may say to ourselves. And if we are doubting someone else’s worth, ready to laugh at or dismiss or marginalize anyone for anything, Jesus stands beside them looking at us with mercy and love, trusting in the power of those things to change our minds and open our hearts. He knows that power and invites us to claim it as our own. Love and mercy. May they prevail sooner rather than later. Wishing you Lenten blessings and a joyous Easter.
Love, Pastor Doreen
Celebration Time!
Our church will be celebrating 300 years in 2019. There is much history and memories to share and we need your help to prepare for this special event. If you or anyone you know has pictures, newspaper articles or information about the church through the years, contact Ron Lapointe at 508-885-9875.
In Our Prayers
Never underestimate the power of prayer. You are invited, as you read this, to add your prayers for those listed. Take a moment to breathe in God’s Spirit, and channel your good will and hopes to each person or situation named. You might imagine them surrounded by a healing light or held in God’s hands. May this simple practice fill you with peace and hope. For our church, that we may discover and embrace the direction in which God is steering us.
Healing prayers for Carol Mulrain’s friend Judy who will be started chemo treatments.
Prayers of hope and healing for those in the midwestern states and especially Nebraska
Prayers for Sue Morowski’s brother Robert, who had another stroke this month and is now in rehab
Imagining a Future: Adaptive Change
By the time you read this, the Council will have gathered for a retreat / brainstorming session on the challenges that face FCC in the years ahead. The whole institution of the Christian Church is changing rapidly, as are all religious institutions. Books, articles and polls abound that note the rising number of people who claim no religious affiliation at all, and the overall decline of importance of religion in people’s lives. Going to church is not something people just do anymore because it is the thing to be done. The good news of that is that the people who do go are there because it matters to their life. The challenging news is that there are fewer resources to keep the church going. Churches can’t just continue with business as usual. Times are changing and we must change with them. This does not mean we lose our center – that God is at work in the world, that following Jesus can lead us to life eternal in the Beloved Community, that the Holy Spirit is constantly renewing and reconciling us. But it means the structures and tasks of the church must change.
FCC has made adjustments by necessity. We no longer have enough people to fill every vacant slot on our committees. We have had to let go of some of the community events we used to do, such as Bunny Day and Concerts on the Common. Instead of two deacons serving each Sunday, we usually have just one. We contract out for mowing and plowing. But I wonder what it might mean to be more proactive about the changes we make. Perhaps by engaging in conversation about the future, we can become clearer about our identity and call as a church, and make more room for the Holy Spirit to work, leading us into an unknown future.
I have been reading a book about this, called Canoeing the Mountains, by Tod Bolsinger. He uses the experience of explorers Lewis and Clark to describe the challenge of today’s church. Lewis and Clark were tasked with finding the water route that would connect the Mississippi River with the Pacific Ocean. Experts had been convinced for centuries that there was one. The explorers made their way to the origin of the great river, expecting to find it connected to a westward stream flowing gently off, and they could float their way to the Pacific with a little bit of paddling. Instead they encountered the Rocky Mountains. The point Bolsinger makes is that the terrain in front of us is nothing like that which is behind us. The skills and tools that got us to where we are will not help us get to where we want to go. The things that made for a successful church in the 50’s-70’s will not serve us in this new millennium.
It is hard to think about where we might be in five or ten years, let alone 50 or 100, but we must accept this challenge. We may long for the church to survive, but our call as Christians is not the survival of certain buildings or particular ways of worship. We are called to bring God’s love to the world. We are called to thrive in our faith, producing fruits of the spirit. And we are called to move forward into the unknown. We need your help with this movement, this imagining. We will be hosting conversations over the next several months and hope you will join us whenever possible. We have shown in so many ways that we are a community that is strong in faith, supportive of one another, and able to face difficult realities openly and with grace. This is one more opportunity, and we are up for it.
Worcester Fellowship Lunch Providers: April 28
Please look for the sign-up sheet for supply contributions beginning April 14 and join the lunch assembly line on the 28th right after worship. All are welcome to join in lunch and worship on Worcester Common beginning at 1 p.m.
Food Pantry Collection
During the months of April/May, we will be collecting Breakfast Bars to help support St. Joseph’s food pantry. Won’t you consider picking up a box or two next
time you’re out grocery shopping? Together, we can make a difference in the lives of those struggling to make ends meet.
The First Congregational Church of Leicester P. O. Box 122 1 Washburn Square
Leicester, MA 01524-0122
