August 2015 Newsletter
Congregational Connections
The First Congregational Church of Leicester
August 2015 Issue
You’re Invited to Dinner! August 16
Please join us at the church on Sunday, August 16 around 6 p.m. for food and conversation. We’ll continue the dialogue begun with the church consultant about being good neighbors. You don’t need to bring a thing except an open mind and willing spirit. Feel free to bring a friend.
An RSVP will help me plan the menu and amounts of food, but you are welcome whether you notify me or not. Call 508-892-3274, or e-mail pastorfccleicester@verizon.net. Hope to see you there!
Save the Date! The Harvest Fair is coming up quickly!
Please mark your calendars for Saturday, September 19 for the Town Harvest Fair. The church is used for many activities and exhibits, and we will have our own spot on the Common to serve the community and raise some funds for the church. Lots of help will be needed Friday evening and all day Saturday.
Christianity 101
Yay! I got four people signed up for the class, which means it’s on and open to others who might be curious. This is open to all adults and youth who are interested in learning more about the Christian faith. Whether you’ve been coming to church all your life, or have never gone except for weddings and funerals, this class will stimulate your thinking, stir up questions, and feed your soul. This may be considered a Confirmation class for anyone interested in being Confirmed. All who are interested are invited to attend a meeting on Sunday, September 13 after worship to work out a schedule that is amenable to participants.
A Note from the Pastor
Grace and peace to you, dear friends. I hope you have been making the most of the summer, spending some extra time outdoors and with family. The summer concert series
is in full swing, and I have enjoyed hanging out at the concession stand, catching up with all the workers there and serving the people stopping by. The casual conversations that take place are meaningful to me. People talk about their vacations or lack thereof, health concerns, updates on family members. It reminds me how deep the connections here go, and the importance of maintaining these connections.
I see summer as a wonderful time to recognize and celebrate our connections with nature, with others, and with God. In winter people stay in, nature can seem like an enemy, and our prayers are more likely to be of the “help!” variety than the “thanks!” or “wow!” prayers (not that there’s anything wrong with that). But summer shows so clearly God’s intent to please us, whether with bountiful bright flowers and green grass, a warm summer rain, or fresh tomatoes and corn. I remember the line from one of my favorite books, The Color Purple, when one character says to the other, “I think it [annoys] God if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it. People think pleasing God is all God cares about. But any fool living in the world can see [God is] always trying to please us back.” I hope you will let yourself see the beauty around you and the pleasure in your life as gifts directly from God to you. That gentle breeze in the evening – just for you! That warm sand beneath your bare feet that tide rolling in with cooling water – all for you. Why? Because you are beloved, you are worthy, and your delight is a delight to our Creator.
Whatever hardships you are facing – health, financial, interpersonal, career, grief – God cares. Sometimes God will intervene directly on those things, but maybe God will just be with you through them, reminding you to step outside to receive a free gift of summer beauty once in a while. Maybe God will send emissaries to chat with you at the concession stand, to visit with you if it is too humid to come to church, or offer a prayer over the phone. I would love to be that emissary, so please don’t hesitate to call me. We know how quickly time passes, so let’s take a moment for those “wow!” and “thanks!” prayers while we can.
Blessings,
Pastor Doreen
Worcester Fellowship Lunch Providers:
Sunday, August 30 (and 9/20)
Lots of supplies and helping hands needed to assemble lunches for the Worcester Fellowship ministry of food and worship for housed and homeless people of Worcester.
There will be a sign-up sheet beginning August 16 for food donations, and we will gather in Russell Hall right after worship on August 30 to assemble bag lunches. All are welcome to join in lunch and worship behind Worcester City Hall beginning at 1 p.m.
Leicester Food Pantry
• Lemonade / Ice Tea Mixes
• Juice
• Small jars of ketchup & mustard and salad dressings
• Canned pastas
• Taxable items are always needed (SNAP doesn’t cover these): bar soaps, deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper, and feminine personal items.
Thank you for all you do to help within our community.
Monetary donations can also be made and mailed directly to:
Leicester Food Pantry
PO Box 333
Leicester, MA 01524-0333
Church Stewardship
At the church’s Annual Meeting on June 28, our treasurer reported that she had been unable to pay all the bills for the program year on time. At the previous Annual Meeting, we voted to direct a higher percentage of cell tower income toward operating expenses, and still, we were unable to meet our operating costs. Pledging has decreased over the past few years, and with a decline in membership and attendance, this situation seems unlikely to change significantly in the near future.
My compensation is a large portion of the church’s operating expenses. I have noticed that many churches with membership / attendance similar to ours do not have full time pastors. FCC has had one full-time pastor whether there were 200 active members and classrooms full of kids; or 75 members, no kids, and worship attendance of 20. I have to wonder if a full-time pastorate still makes sense. I have given it much thought and would like to offer the option, beginning in the 2016/2017 program year, to serve three-quarter time rather than full-time. I think the only way I could do that without working full-time and getting paid only three-quarter time would be to work fewer Sundays, with approximately one Sunday off each month. The exact schedule would be negotiated. Right now I work 48 Sundays and am paid for 52. At three-quarter time I would work 36 Sundays and get paid for 39. I would also pick up some of the costs of living in the parsonage.
I serve God, but I also serve you, seeking to minister to your needs for worship, pastoral care, faith formation, and justice discipleship. If you believe such work requires full-time ministry on my part, so be it. We will find a way. But if you think my ministry could be just as effective at three-quarter time, I hope you will consider this option. This will be decided next spring, but I wanted to give everyone plenty of time to think about it, ask questions, and share thoughts and concerns (with me and/or Council members).
Blessings,
Pastor Doreen
Hope for Housing Shopping Cards
Hope for Housing is a non-profit program developed by the Interfaith Coalition to Prevent Family Homelessness. By simply purchasing cards for stores that you already frequent, you can make a difference. The stores donate a percentage of the purchase price to Hope for Housing, and it costs you nothing!
Here’s the process: You will receive an order request e-mail each Tuesday (that Doreen remembers!). If you wish to purchase cards that week, respond to the e-mail by Thursday. Bring or send a check for the cost of the card by / on Sunday, and pick up your card at church. If you can’t make it to church that week, the card will be held until the next Sunday, or contact Doreen to make other pick up arrangements. The following cards are available. Please check and see if this is something you can easily integrate into your shopping routine.
Panera $10 and 25; Big Y $25 and $50; CVS $20; Shaws $25 and $50; Stop & Shop $25, $50, and $100; Hannaford $25 and $50. It is possible to get $100 cards for Shaws, Big Y, and Hannaford, and it is also possible to get $10 cards for CVS and Hannaford (with about 2 weeks’ notice)
Women’s Association
Our first meeting for the program year is Wednesday, September 2 at noon at Nancy D’s summer home in Rutland. Carpools will leave from the church around 11:30. You may want to bring a bag lunch to eat before diving in to Nancy’s blueberry buckle! Contact Nancy, Cindy L, or Marie F. for more information.
Bible/Book Study
All groups are on hiatus for the summer, and will gladly welcome new members beginning in September. We offer lectionary bible study on the first and third Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m., exploring the passages that will be included in the coming Sunday’s worship. A Monday evening group meets at 7 p.m. and studies a wide variety of spiritual books, videos and scripture. The West Side Book Group (Thursdays, 6 p.m. in Spencer or N. Brookfield) meets once a month to discuss a book that was read by all participants. If you would like to join the Thursday group, please _________read by mid-September.
MASS. CONFERENCE ANNUAL MEETING
On Friday and Saturday, June 12th & 13th, I attended the Annual Meeting along with Pastor Doreen. It was held at UMass, Amherst. The theme of the meeting was 2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us”. The theme was carried out with the stage being decorated with all kinds of shapes and sizes of clay pottery. Also, during worship time a potter was onstage forming clay pots. It was great imagery!
The keynote speaker was the Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, founding pastor of House for All Sinners and Saints, a Lutheran mission church in Denver, Colorado. With tattoos on both arms and who knows-where-else, the unorthodox looking minister still brought a powerful Christian message of God’s love for everyone to those assembled.
Votes taken:
1. The budget was passed with income of $2,220,850; expenses of $2,270,850 and a transfer from reserves of $50,000.
2. Conference dues were set at $18.55 per member. I voted for both.
3. A resolution calling for Dismantling Discriminating Systems of Mass Incarceration in MA passed. I voted for.
4. A resolution to sell the Craigville properties passed. I voted against.
5. A resolution to take actions toward a Just Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict passed. I voted against.
6. The 2016 Guidelines for Local Church Personnel passed. I voted for.
I had a great time meeting many friends, ministers, and representatives from other member churches during the weekend and came away with a spirit of rejuvenation in my spiritual life. If anyone has any questions, or if you feel moved to join me / us next year, please let me know.
In Peace,
Ken Latham
July 29, 2015
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 hand. May this simple practice fill you with peace and hope.
– Prayers for families in crisis
– Prayers for the healing of the earth and all who live here
– Prayers for Jan Albrecht who has been feeling poorly. Her illness kept her and Cliff from visiting us when they came north in early July, and it is still not clear why she is ailing.
– Prayers of thanks and celebration on the birth of Eva Elizabeth Borrelli, the 9th great grandchild for Jan and Cliff. Extra thanks that baby Eva lives close enough to them for cuddling!
– Prayers of hope and strength for Barbara as she prepares for another battle against cancer.
– Prayers for Nate to overcome health issues so he can feel well again.
– Prayers of strength for Nancy to continue caring for her husband Dick at home.
– Prayers for Sue MacNamara of Creative Florist on the death of her fiancé Phil Curtis
– Prayers for our church, and for all the sick, and shut-ins
– Prayers for our military, near and far
– Prayers for our homeless and at-risk; our children, too small and helpless against their caretakers who abuse them; our brothers and sisters of Christ, regardless of color, gender, or religion. Let us see Christ in every face.
– Prayers for those suffering with addictions, depression, and abuse
– Prayers for Susie, Liz Magill’s cousin, who has cancer
– Prayers for Mike, Ellie’s cousin, who just had open heart surgery in Florida and wants to come home to Mass for further surgery
– Prayers for Ellie Latham, who has a blood cancer and is awaiting chemo treatments; and for Ken and Lauri to have strength, love, and support in the coming months for Ellie
