Deaconer - May 2003
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- Council Meeting - April 24, 2003
- Happy Birthday
- Trustees
- Diaconate
- Mission Ministries Team
- Christian Education Committee
- Membership Committee
- Pastoral Relations Committee
- Ladies Vestry Association / Evening Circle
- May Worship Services
- Hashing It Out
- Nightwatch
- Mission Ministries Team Soup and Bread and Dessert Supper
- May Breakfast
- Picture of the Month
- Computer Corner
- Conference Letter
- Hearing The Voice of the Churches - General Synod XXIV
- Special Events in June - Mark Your Calendars
- Mission/Employment Opportunity - Teaching English in Taiwan
- May 2003 Calendar
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Thursday, April 24, 2003 Present: Chairman Don Umlauf, Janet Umlauf, Jim Melhorn, Nancy Bogar, Janet Goodrich, Flossie Hastings, Steve Henrikson, Jane Hannon, Bernice and Marty Ferwerda Correspondence: Notes were read from Bernice Martin and Janet Umlauf thanking the church for the plants given them in appreciation for the four years of service they gave the church as Collectors. Reports: The March council minutes were read and approved, as were the Collector’s and Treasurer’s reports. All other committee reports were accepted as read and/or presented. Pastor’s Report: 1] Council members were encouraged to bring council discussions back to the various committees they represent. 2] Annual Meeting of the Cheshire Association: Steve Henrikson conducted a workshop on electronic media; Sue Casey and Jim Melhorn facilitated a workshop on membership. Both presentations were well received by the attendees. 3] Conference: Jim reviewed the current conference structure within Conference and noted that they will be conducting a full evaluation of that format and alternative structures that may facilitate serving the individual churches better. Jim will provide more detail in the Deaconer through a letter from Conference. 4] New Hampshire Charitable Foundation: Jim distributed a letter of information and grant applications to all members of the council. Grants of up to $1200 are available to Protestant and non-sectarian organizations to support prevention of social problems, helping children access basic needs and cultural programming, and to provide basic services in the areas of heath, education and human services. Each committee is asked to give thought to whether this grant would assist them is furthering their mission. Application deadlines are April 1, September 1, and December 1. Christian Education: Bernice reported that 25 people attended the recent “Come to the Table” workshop. We have received a donation of choral music and library books from the former Hope Church in Framingham. Children’s Sunday will be June 8. Vacation Bible School plans continue to move along well. Deacons’ Report: Steve noted the success of NameTag Sunday on Easter. Problems with the amplifier continue to cause difficulties recording the services. It is being given a good once over to see if it can be repaired or will need to be replaced. Ten parishioners have asked to be given copies of the Sunday services. Please speak to the pastor if you are able to deliver a tape to one or two shut-ins on a weekly basis. Delegates: The annual meeting will be held on June 13-14th. Membership: Steve Henrikson said we’re looking for delivery folks to bring the welcome baskets to members of the community. See a membership committee member if you are willing to do so. Pastoral Relations: Jan Umlauf reviewed the written report. Stewardship: The national office of the UCC has forward excellent stewardship materials, which have been given to the trustees for review. Trustees: Nancy Bogar noted the continuing need for a collector. Nominations committee will be asked to continue with the search. After a brief discussion about the need for space for record keeping, the council agreed that it would be appropriate for a broad review of how the existing space within the building is utilized and the need for files for appropriate storage of essential church records. As the committee responsible for the oversight of the property, the trustees are asked to entertain the formation of a Space Utilization Task Force for that purpose. Providing the appropriate record storage could be part of a Capital Plan. Missions: The missions team would like to order ten copies of a new devotional called Today Devotional. If there is an interest, additional copies could be ordered in the future. Pictures of the missionaries we support will be posted in the church to make our mission efforts more tangible. Tool of Hope and Blanket Program is a potential mission project we may adopt. There will be a soup supper on May 23rd. At that time Jonathan Ayers from Campus Crusade for Christ will be the guest speaker. LVA: Flossie noted a scholarship is available to church members attending college. Those interested in an application should speak to Lois May. Old Business: None New Business: May 24th breakfast: The proceeds from the May breakfast have been included in the budget. Last year’s chairmen will be asked if they are willing to chair the event again this year. Deaconer deadline for May: Congratulations to Dee on her upcoming wedding on May 24! It would be helpful if all May articles could be submitted as early as possible so she can enjoy the busy days before the big event and the honeymoon. Meeting House: Don reported that representatives from the church and the town toured the building with a HVAC engineer to assess the status of the heating system. The Ward Trust is paying for the survey. Results will be available within a month. Prayer: Bernice Ferwerda offered closing prayer. Doug Popp will lead May’s closing prayer. Next council meeting: May 15th. Repectfully submitted,
May 8 - Paul Chace
May 20 - Dana Hastings
Board of Trustees
Meeting was called to order at 7:15pm. Those present were Mark Warner, Jane Hannon, Don Umlauf and Nancy Bogar. February minutes were read and one correction made (Harper was changed to siding contractor). Motion was made to accept minutes and seconded. Financial situation: Don reported on our stock and bond portfolio. One of the bonds is being called in. A motion was made to leave money in our cash account and to invest the rest in something “good”! Motion was accepted. Right now the income and expenses are fine, but we will need more when work on the parsonage is finished. New business: 1) A bill came in to pay for the quarterly fire alarm sprinklers and fire pump test. Town paid for half and we were to pay for half. Motion was made and accepted to pay for bill, but Mark will have a discussion with Edgar regarding the appropriateness of our paying for such bills. 2) Jim will be going to a meeting on May 7th on Planned Giving. If anyone else is interested, please let him know. 3) There was a short discussion on the fact that there is no place for storage for any of our records. Would Council be the right place for this discussion? Old business: 1) Collector’s job – no one seems to be actively looking for people to fill the two positions. Mark will talk with Sue Casey to remind the Nominating Committee that they need to continue their search. 2) Trustees will be filling in until that time. April schedule: April 6th - Mark/DaveThe treasurer and trustees went through the financial reports and right now everything looks fine. Summer is always the hardest, and we will probably need to put a note into the monthly newsletter as a reminder for people to keep their pledges up to date. Meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm. Next meeting was scheduled for May 13th at 7:30pm. Respectively submitted,
Diaconate Deacon of the month for May is Steve Chace. Communion will be on May 4th assisted by Sue Chatwin, Robin Crowe and Kathy Fitzwater. As a reminder, please sign up for Coffee Hour – if you have any questions, see Sue Chatwin. When lifting someone up for prayer, it would be especially nice if you could provide an address so that the Deacon in charge of cards and flowers could follow up with an appropriate response from the church. Either fill out the Prayer List in the back of the Sanctuary before the service as you come in or write it on a slip of paper and drop it in the plate. Don’t be surprised it a Deacon comes up and asks for the information. Next meeting will be May 8th at 7:00pm in the vestry. Submitted by,
Mission Ministries Team
Present: Mary Alice D'Ambrosio, Betty Chenausky, Penny Chace, Marty Ferwerda 1. One Great Hour of Sharing - $100.00 to be sent from our budget. Marty to check on how much was collected from the March 30 offering. 2. Today Devotional - Marty would like to put these on back table in sanctuary. Penny will check with deacons to see if this ok. 3. Tools of Hope & Blanket Program - Betty will read the information on this & we will get this up & running soon. 4. Pictures of missionaries to be put up, Marty will obtain the photos for this. 5. Heifer Project - monthly offerings taken on communion Sunday will support this. 6. Tentative date for soup potluck dinner: May 23rd. Marty to check with Jonathan Ayers from Campus Crusade for Christ to speak to us that evening. 7. Discussed the welcome baskets & the possibility of us as individuals getting involved in this. Next meeting on May 18th after church. Respectfully submitted,
Christian Education Committee
Attendance- Doug Popp, Michelle Cormier, Robin Crowe, Jim Melhorn, Jennifer Skelton The meeting was opened with prayer by Cindy Melhorn. The minutes from the previous meeting were not available for discussion. Topics covered: 1. Rally Day - discussed the possibility of combining with the Ashburnham Church for a homecoming celebration following the service on Rally Day. It was decided to keep this topic on the agenda for future meetings as we continue making plans for the fall. 2. Communication - discussed ways to involve all committee members in important discussions. It was agreed that communication is sometimes fractured, and we need to remember the committee process. 3. Children's Sunday - June 8th was chosen as the date. We plan to use the theme "World Peace", and will be looking for ways to involve all classes in the service. Teachers will explore ideas with their classes. Bibles will also be given to 3rd graders, teachers will be recognized and attendance awards will be given. We will incorporate our bible bank funds into the service by announcing the amount collected and what will be purchased for the Heifer Project. A potluck picnic will be held at the Mathis home following the service. 4. VBS - plans to hold a combined program with Ashburnham are progressing well. One concern voiced was for volunteers - it is hoped that more will come forward and that several youth will also participate as group leaders. Appreciation and praise was offered for the staff of Toah Nipi and their assistance in this project. The meeting ended in prayer. Respectfully submitted,
Membership Committee The Membership Committee met on April 2, 2003 at 7:15pm in the vestry. It’s not too late to volunteer your time to deliver Welcome Baskets. This is a welcoming activity designed to bring community information to new families. Of course, we hope that this outreach will create a curiosity about our church and pique their interest. So if you’d like to meet new people and just say welcome, then we need you. The web site falls under the responsibility of the Membership Committee. We’ve decided that we will try to put in a short update each month just to let you know what’s been updated or added to the web site. Look for the “Computer Corner” in the Deaconer and please visit the web site to keep abreast of church life. Next Membership Committee meeting will be May 7, 2003 at 7:15pm in the Vestry. Submitted by,
Pastoral Relations Committee The Pastoral Relations Committee met at 7pm on April 11, 2003 Present were members Peg Brummer, Janet Umlauf and Barbara Wells. Lou Thomas and Art Fitzwater were absent. Also attending were Don Umlauf, Chairman of the Church Council and Janet Goodrich. Barbara agreed to be secretary, Janet will be council representative with Peg as an alternate and it was hoped that Lou Thomas would be chairman. It appeared that Wednesdays at 7pm would be a convenient meeting night. Yet to be determined is which Wednesdays of the month the church would be available. Several topics were raised for future discussion with Pastor Jim. The meeting adjourned at 8pm. Respectfully submitted,
Ladies Vestry Association / Evening Circle The LVA / EC will again be giving a scholarship(s) to a deserving student within our church family. If your are interested in applying, see Lois May or call her at 899-6651. Deadline for applications will be May 16th.
May Worship Services May 4 –
Communion
Sunday
May 11 –
Mother's
Day
May 18 –
Special
Guest Rev. George Chapman will conduct worship
May 25
Hashing It Out We’ve started our video series, “Hashing It Out” and all those participating have enjoyed the chance to discuss the real issues of the world from a perspective of faith. The premise of the series is two people, conservative radio host and author Steve Brown and teacher and liberal evangelist Tony Campolo, gathering together to discuss real life issues from very different outlooks. While the discussion is heated, it is always measured by the love these two Christian brothers feel for one another. After the brief video, those gathered have a chance to continue the discussion. Each session lasts about an hour. We are seeking more participants for our discussion sessions. Each session will cover a new topic, so jump in at any time! We meet to ‘hash it out’ either as a brown bag lunchtime discussion group or in the evening. If you have an interest in this kind of series but can’t make any of these times, please let Pastor Jim know, so that we can consider other dates and times. Scheduled sessions for May: May 13 12:00pm - 1:00pm and 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Nightwatch Announcing an upcoming "Nightwatch" date: May 16 for all High Schoolers: current 9th graders and above. We have a confirmed date to attend Nightwatch, a youth program of fun and spirituality held at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, in New York City. I have extended an invitation to the United Church in Jaffrey and some of their high school youth may also be attending. Here's the deal: we will leave early in the afternoon (yes, you may even have to miss some school) on Friday and travel down to NYC. We'll grab something to eat, and make it to the Cathedral (in upper Manhattan) by 6 or 7pm. The program takes place in the Cathedral, which is really cool when it's dark and empty. After some free time, we gather at midnight around the great altar and share in communion. Lights out and, hopefully, sleep are somewhere around 1:30am. We sleep on the floor of the gym, so you'll need modest sleepwear and sleeping bag/pad/ etc. Next morning, we're up at 7am for breakfast, washing up (no showers, birdbaths in the school's sinks) and a tour of the cathedral in the daylight (the stained glass windows are incredible)! At 10am, the official Nightwatch program is over. Senior high groups are allowed to stay an extra night, so we will have the day to tour and explore NYC - I don't know exactly what we'll do or where we'll go. I've got some ideas - visiting Ground Zero of the 9/11 attack, Chinatown, sightseeing, the Village, shopping... maybe some time to check out how Christians are ministering to those in need... what ideas do you have? We'll arrive back at the Cathedral by 6-7pm and have some other type of program on Saturday night, and then have some free time and back to bed. Sunday morning, we'll wake up early again and be out of the Cathedral by 9am. I'd like to find an interesting place to worship- perhaps at Riverside Church, one of the largest UCC churches, or perhaps a rocking service at a Baptist church in Harlem! Again - I'm open to ideas. After worship, we'll load up and head North. The ride is about 4.5 hours one way. The cost will be minimal - the church should pick up a part or all. Besides, where else can you stay in NYC for 30 bucks a night? We will have to bring our own food + have money for food in NYC. Please let me know if you're interested. I reserved 10 spaces, but we can have up to 14. I'll also need parents or other adults, probably 1 adult to 4 or 5 youth. I'm not sure yet about transportation, but we'll work those details out as we get closer to the time. I'm excited about this, and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Jim
Mission Ministries Team Soup and Bread and Dessert Supper Friday, May 16th - 6:30pm Rindge Congregational Church -- Town Hall Meeting Room
May Breakfast Saturday, May 24th
Breakfast buffet of pannukakkua (Finnish baked
pancake),
Adults $5 - Children $3 Held in conjunction with the Rindge Woman's ClubPlant Sale Thank You, Trudie Kalinen
Picture of the Month We want to experiment with putting a picture in the Deaconer each month so here is one for May.
Computer Corner Unless you are a frequent visitor to the church web site, you may not be fully aware of all the changes and updates that go on from a month to month basis. The purpose of this article will be to bring you up to speed with the changes made to the web site. I plan to make this a monthly article. Probably the most frequent update is to the “Week in Review” on the Main Page (there is a button at the top of the page – just click on it). This update is simply a cut and paste from the Calendar of the Sunday to Sunday schedule of events for the coming week. Now of course, the schedule is only as accurate as the information that is provided, but I’m pretty good at extracting data from a multitude of sources so it is pretty accurate. If you are the source of any activity of the church, please be sure to let me know of your activity. To see further out in the church calendar, simply use the menu on the left side to select the month you want. A little side note about navigating the calendar. Click on any underlined date to go to that date for events. The underline indicates that there is a hyperlink (you don’t need to know what that means) that will transport you to the information. So that you don’t have to scroll all the way back up to the calendar, all you need to do is click on one of the multicolored bars and you will go back to the calendar (it’s a “back to the top” feature). Another button at the top of the web page is “Announcements”. This will take you to the “Announcements and Upcoming Events” page. Here you can preview various upcoming events. It is updated as I receive information. If you have a church activity you want folks to know about, just let me know. This page is maintained on a more casual schedule as events take place and as I update the “News and Events” pages, but it’s still a good place to check for details on activities of the church. Information on this page is geared to the whole church family and friends. As we move forward, certain activities take place in the church. I’ve taken an approach to bringing these stories in more of a pictorial sense. We have a digital camera and I like to use as many pictures as possible to express the life of the church. The upside is that people see themselves on the web, the downside is that pictures can sometimes take a bit to load so give the page a few seconds to load – it’s worth it. Ok, so now that I’ve given you a quick tutorial of the site, what were some of the more important updates over the last month or so? Each month I plane to let you know what was updated on the site and maybe explore a section to help you know your site better. As always, I’m open to input. Please feel free to click on any “webspirit” link to send me e-mail. Steve Henrikson – webspirit – henrikson@surfbest.net
Conference Letter
Dear Clergy, Conference and Church Leaders, I write you today because the partnership of eleven plus years between the Rev. Benjamin C.L. Crosby and the New Hampshire Conference UCC is ending. On March 20, 2003 the Conference Council, after conversation that was both heartfelt and honest, adopted by consensus a series of proposals. We: (1) dissolved the model of a co-equal team of Conference Ministers as of December 31,2003, and (2) realized that by dissolving the model, we were ending the last team position currently filled by the Rev. Benjamin C. L. Crosby (3) affirmed the need for the Conference to continue moving through the stages of an Intentional Interim Ministry and (4) affirmed our desire to adopt a model of one Senior Conference Minister and two Associate Conference Ministers. Since the Council's decision to end the team ministry model, and therefore end Rev. Crosby's employment with the Conference, does not reflect negatively in any way on Rev. Crosby' s ministry over the last 11 years, Council leadership proposed that Rev. Crosby receive a generous separation package from a grateful Conference. Since March 20, 2003 Council member Earl Miller, President-Elect Don Lyon and I have had several meetings and conversations with Rev. Crosby, and with UCC denominational leaders. We have mutually agreed on a separation package that provides full salary and benefits through March of 2004 and includes accrued vacation time, sabbatical time and severance benefits. We agreed to name March 31, 2003 rather than December 31,2003 as Rev. Crosby's last official workday and both partners agreed to consider a celebration of Rev. Crosby's ministry at an appropriate date in the future. Due to the circumstances of these deliberations, Rev. Crosby has been unable to attend to many communications and requests that have come to him since mid-March. The Rev. William McConnell and the Rev. Susan Henderson will pick up these and other pastoral concerns. They will also coordinate the procedures and tasks that were apart of Rev. Crosby's work with the staff. The Conference Council also took action on April 5, 2003, to authorize the Executive Committee to work as a Search Committee to secure an additional Interim Conference Minister whose work would begin soon and continue until a Senior Conference Minister is called. How did the Council come to the point of this action? The following brief summary of the Council's critical thinking is meant to answer this question in part and to invite further conversation and reflection between us. When the Reverends Henderson and McConnell were hired as Interim Conference Ministers, the Council did not immediately recognize them as Intentional Interims as opposed to Maintenance Interims. For nearly 30 years, whenever there have been vacancies in the Conference Ministry team, a Maintenance Interim occurred involving a continuation of the work of the team, but not an evaluation of the team model. The work was rearranged and redefined, but not the office. In 1997, when we adopted the "Walking into God's Future Together" document, although every other segment of the conference leadership was critically assessed, we did not evaluate the team ministry model. Recently, when the Rev. Charlotte Still Noble worked with the Council on structural and governance issues, we again did not evaluate the model of a team of co-equal Conference ministers. The Council did, however, authorize the Conference Ministers to attend Interim training and we authorized the creation of an Interim Ministry Strategy Team (IMST) that has been meeting with the Conference Ministers. IMST draws on the significant resources of the New Hampshire Interim Minister's Group and has helped to define the stages and processes that are involved in successfully completing an Intentional Interim ministry. The first stage looked at the history of the Conference over the last 35 years. The next stage of an Intentional Interim examines the roles and functions of leaders. It was as we began this stage that the Council realized we had to make a hard decision. To choose an Intentional Interim period would require critical examination of the office of Conference Minister while Rev. Crosby was trying to do the work of that office. This examination had the very real potential of appearing to critically assess one person's work rather than the office itself, which was not what the Council wanted to do. The Council made the choice to end the team model and thereby Rev. Crosby's position in order to stay focused on structural not personnel issues. In December 2002, the Council had already expressed its intention of looking closely at a new model of Conference Ministry with a senior Conference Minister and two Associates. We did not want to design new roles or offices around the present staffs style or talents. Rather, to critically assess the needs of the Conference, we must again stay focused on structural issues. These decisions were not easy ones to make. To ensure that our decisions were viable and our conversations faithful to the needs of the Conference, we invited Mr. Lorin Cope, Minister for Conference Relations in the national UCC offices to attend our meetings as an observer and consultant. Our decision-making has been both a labor of pain and hope - a breaking open of policies and procedures that have not been examined for a long time. We pray that the fruit of our work will be a new vision and new covenants of ministry in the NH Conference. We are fortunate in NH to have enjoyed the considerable talents of many Conference Ministers. Our gratitude for Rev. Crosby's ministry is large and our love and admiration for him as our Conference Minister is deep. I do not despair, however, of finding the path that God has laid out for us. I have no doubt that God is at work shaping us as God's people. Any of the Council members, Don Lyon or I are available for your questions and reflections. May God Bless us in these waning days of Lent. May we follow in Christ's footsteps to the empty cross from which shines God's resurrection light.
Hearing The Voice of the Churches General Synod XXIV For the second General Synod in a row, congregations will be able to use the UCC website to share their opinions about any proposed resolution or pronouncement. Text of proposed General Synod resolutions will be posted at <synod.ucc.org> on April 1. A feedback form will be included to all congregations to express their opinions about each proposal. The research department of the Office of General Ministries will compile the results and make them available to delegates. At the same time, resolutions will be discussed in the forum area of www.ucc.org. Congregations without access to the web, or which prefer to respond through ordinary mail, can request print copies of proposed resolutions and response forms from Mary Ann Murray, General Synod Office, (216) 736-2192, e-mail murraym@ucc.org.
Special Events in June - Mark Your Calendars June 1 – Special guest preacher – Bill Wildey, regional director of Church World Services June 8 – A special worship service conducted by our Sunday school students June 10 – Hashing It Out - 12:00pm - 1:00pm and 7:00pm to 8:00pm June 13 and 14 – New Hampshire Annual Conference Meeting, Wolfeboro, NH June 24 – Hashing It Out - 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Mission/Employment Opportunity - Teaching English in Taiwan Dear Pastor, Fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Education Dept. of Taiwan opened up 3,000 teaching positions for Americans to teach in their public schools last November, in order to improve the Taiwanese students' English. The salary ranges from US$1,400 to $2,000/month, plus bonus and other benefits. The news from Taiwan this week had just mentioned that the Mormon Church had offered the Education Dept. 60 "Free" teachers without requiring salary, and the Dept has already signed the contract with the "Church". This is worrying the Taiwan churches very much. Before long hundreds or thousands more Mormons will flood to Taiwan and take more teaching positions in the elementary and high schools. If Mormon Church is flourished in Taiwan, there will be more Asian Mormon missionaries for China from there in the future. It is a special time in history and the Christians and churches in America need to work together to take these teaching jobs as soon as possible, these are the mission positions paid by Taiwan Government & schools, and it will have a long term effect for future generations and evangelism in Taiwan and China. I wonder that can you place this ad on your church or campus bulletin and encourage more missions minded young people to spend one year (two semesters, or longer) in Asia. Thanks. Blessings! Serving Him
together,
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Happy Birthday
