The Chapel Bell
Newsletter of
Woodmont United Church of Christ
September 2010
In this Issue:
from your Interim Pastor…
Workshop Rotation Sunday School
Re:formation (Confirmation)
Information
Christian Formation Calendar
Pastoral Search Committee Progress
The Fall Fair is Coming!!!
The Bible, Part 2
Neighbors in Need
Prayer List & In Our Prayers
WUCC Bulletin Board
Community Bulletin Board
Words of Thanks
September Scripture Readings
Birthday Celebrations for September
Bottle and Can Drive
Email Addresses
from your
Interim Pastor…
“Covenant Sunday ”
My
summer reading goal is the book The
Empathic Civilization by Jeremy Rifkin.
It’s a tome of over 600 pages, covering philosophical, theological,
biological and neurological ground of how we are wired for empathy.
In
the church empathy, in its essential qualities, is the foundation of our
ministry and witness (though not according to Rifkin’s point of view). Jesus said, “In everything do to others as
you would have them do to you” (Matt. 7: 12a) and “Truly I tell you, just as
you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did
it to me.” (Matt. 25: 40) Empathy
requires a body, an embodied experience, as Rifkin puts it. Thus, we follow Jesus, God-with-us, the
incarnation of love, compassion and justice; we are members of a body, the Body
of Christ. The apostle Paul wrote, “When
one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all
rejoice together with it.” (1 Cor. 12:
26) And it is through this body that we
practice our wiring to be empathic, to put ourselves in the experience of the
‘other’ and to offer what we can, whether that ‘other’ be a friend at church,
the folks who come to the mission meal, or a neighbor 10,000 miles away.
Sunday
Sept. 12 is the first day of the new program year, a day when we re-member that
we are part of the Body of Christ, when we renew our commitment to be an
incarnation of love, compassion and justice.
Many churches have a special name for this day: Rally Day, Homecoming, Kick-Off
Sunday. To me, none of these really
communicate what is really going on and needs to be going on that day at
church, in the Body of Christ.
I
have read different definitions of community but the two I like the most are
these: “that place where the person you
least want to live with always lives (Henri Nouwen)” and “The gift of community
is to be absolved of the burden to be complete” (from the TV show Everwood). These definitions of community are honest in
their expectations and
yet
invite us to stretch beyond ourselves.
They also communicate the truth about community, that it necessitates
covenant: some sort of stated agreement as to how we are going to be in
community, in a body with one another.
One
of Woodmont UCC’s traditions is that when you join the church, you sign the
church covenant. I am here as your
interim pastor by way of a covenant, outlining behaviors and expectations for
both myself and the congregation. By
covenant this church is part of the United Church of Christ, linking us with a
larger body of Christ in a national and global context. Perhaps our first Sunday back in September
ought to be called Covenant Sunday, a time to recall who and whose we are as a
body. What do you think?
God’s
peace,
Cynthia
Christian Formation Calendar
September, 2010
2 Mudhouse Sabbath Spiritual Practices Group, 7:00 pm
5 Communion Sunday
9 Mudhouse Sabbath Spiritual Practices Group, 7:00 pm
12 Opening Day/Open House/Presentation of Bibles and All Church
Picnic
16 Mudhouse Sabbath Spiritual Practices
Group, 7:00 pm
19 Sunday School at Congregation Sinai and Adult Education following
Worship
23 Spiritual Practices week off
26 Sunday School and Sukkah after Church at Congregation Sinai
30 Spiritual Practices week off
October, 2010 - Rotation
Focus, Prayer
3 World Communion Sunday, Sunday
School
7 Stewardship Spiritual Practices Group, 7:00 pm
10 Sunday School
14 Stewardship Spiritual Practices Group, 7:00 pm
17 Worship and Education for All Ages (forum on “Praying in Color”)
21 Stewardship Spiritual Practices Group, 7:00 pm
24 Sunday School
28 Stewardship Spiritual Practices Group, 7:00 pm
31 Sunday School for 3-4 year olds, 6th
graders through High School Prayer presentation during Worship and Group
Program for K-5
Pastoral Search Committee Progress
Hello
all! I hope you have been having a
wonderful summer. I missed the last
Chapel Bell deadline, but want you to know that that does not mean the Pastoral
Search Committee has been on summer vacation.
We have met regularly through the summer and with the support of various
committees, have firmed up answers to the majority of questions on the profile. Council lifted their summer meeting
restriction in a special effort to keep the momentum going toward the
completion of the profile.
The
efforts by committees generally has provided
historical and current financial information and policies. The compensation package was established at
the Council meeting for incorporation in the profile. All of these pieces are what come together to
fall in the hands of our potential new pastor, as part of a document meant to
tell them who we are as church and where we are on our journey. These pieces, when coming together as a
whole, have to draw the person that is best fit as spiritual leader. I think that is the most challenging part: as
we individually address the questions, that the whole
package represent fully who we are and who we strive to be.
We
have set a target date of October 1 to complete the profile and ask for your
support and prayers as we look toward that target. With a mind to making sure that our profile
is truly representative of our congregation today, there are some questions
that the Pastoral Search Committee has gotten stuck on and feels that some form
of congregational input may be useful, so do not be surprised if we come to you
with questions in some form.
Our
Committee has had some challenges, in that our membership comprises of six
voting members and the moderator, and this summer has been difficult for three
members in the way of personal and/or family health challenges. Please keep George (and Pat), Barbara (and
Al) and Sandy (and Bob) in your prayers, and thank you for your continued
prayers for the Committee and our work.
Yours
faithfully,
Jessica
Blacketter for The Pastoral Search Committee
THE FALL FAIR IS COMING!!!
Mark
your calendars! The Fall Fair will be held
on Saturday, October 2nd!!!!! Please be
sure to spread the word and if you come across a crafter, and you think they
might like to join us, we are renting space on the lawn for $30! I already got one when I was at Robert Treat
Farm! So get yourselves out there and
spread the word that the Woodmont UCC Fall Fair is coming!!
We
will be storing items for the Auction and the Tag Sale in the back part of the
Garden View Room, you will see we have moved the dividers forward so just go in
the there and put your stuff in. Also,
please, please, please do not bring items that are broken or dirty. What we don't see we then have to dispose of
and that can be very time consuming.
I
am sorry to say that this year our Ladies will not be having their craft tables
in the Lawn View Room, I am sad about this, but I also understand. Ladies (Janice, Betty and Flora) I thank you
for all that you have provided over the years to make our Fall Fair successful.
I
am planning on having a meeting with folks after coffee hour on Sunday, August
29th to start the planning. I am also
looking for folks who make things so we can have a table with crafts, jewelry,
etc. that are made by our very own Woodmont Folks! I hope you are all getting excited because
this is our one fund raiser and we need to make it big. More importantly, this is a day of
fellowship, and for me that is the best part!
Also, remember: when we all work together we do amazing
things!!!!
Peace!!
Kim
Gerlander
The Bible, Part 2
Since our
last Chapel Bell, I have been using the “Guide for the Journey of the Bible in
One Year” that I have handed out to some of you, which means I have actually
been reading my Bible every day! It
certainly has been interesting, enlightening and even a bit boring at times,
but I have also been surprised by it. For
instance we first hear “Love your neighbor as yourself” in Leviticus 19:18
which means to me that God has been trying to tell us to live like that for a
long time.
To be
honest with you I understand more now than I ever have because I feel like the
Word of God is closer to me because of implementing this practice into my daily
life. My hope and goal in working with
you is to bring more spiritual practices to you to try out and maybe even
implement into your own lives.
In August, we began our latest Spiritual
Practices Group by using the book and study guide based on “Mudhouse Sabbath”
by Lauren Winner. Having read some Old
Testament has been most helpful in looking at Jewish traditions and practices. The purpose of studying Jewish traditions and
practices is to better follow Jesus. After
all, Jesus was Jewish and by using the same spiritual practices he used we
might have an easier go of it.
All of that being said,
I would like to encourage you all to start reading the Bible. If you don’t have one, let me know and we will
give you one. There are several guides out there to even help you read the whole
Bible in one year. One resource is www.oneyearbibleonline.com. You can register on this website and it will
actually email you the daily passages for you to read! For those of us who would rather pick the book
up and find the passages, I can give you a “Guide For the Journey of the Bible
In One Year” copies of which I have already distributed to Church Council and
the current Book Group. You can also go
to www.biblegateway.com and print a chart as well.
Peace!
Debi
Neighbors In Need Offering
The Neighbors in Need offering, which we will
receive on Sunday, October 3, 2010,
supports the UCC’s ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States.
Two-thirds of the offering is used by the UCC’s Justice and Witness Ministries
to fund a wide array of local and national justice initiatives, advocacy
efforts, and direct service projects. Through UCCTakeAction.org, our national
Justice and Witness Ministries office offers resources, news updates, and
action alerts on a broad spectrum of justice issues. Working with members of the UCC Justice and
Peace Action Network (a network of thousands of UCC justice and peace
advocates), Justice and Witness continues its strong policy advocacy work on
issues such as the federal budget, voting rights, immigration, health care,
hate crimes, civil liberties, and environmental justice.
Neighbors in Need also
supports
our American Indian neighbors in the UCC. One-third of the offering supports
the UCC’s Council for American Indian Ministries (CAIM). Historically,
forebears of the UCC established churches and worked with Lakota, Dakota,
Nakota, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arickara, and Hocak in
North and South Dakota, Wisconsin,
and northern Nebraska.
Today there are 20 UCC congregations on
reservations and one urban, multi-tribal UCC congregation in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
These churches and their pastors are
supported by CAIM. CAIM is also an invaluable resource for more than 1,000
individuals from dozens of other tribes and nations who are members of other
UCC congregations in the U.S.
Neighbors in Need helps make another world possible. It needs your support. Please give as generously as you can on October 3, 2010. And remember, contributions to Neighbors in
Need can be made on-line at any time at: www.ucc.org/nin.
Debi
Prayer List
You
are invited to submit names and/or situations to be prayed for that will be
printed in the Chapel Bell. This will replace
the alphabetical prayer list. Each week
in worship the pastor will read the prayer list aloud to begin the time of
prayer. Names and/or situations will
remain on the list for only one month at a time unless they are resubmitted
each month.
In Our
Prayers
Please keep in your prayers: Kelly Hoff and family; Terry Schramm; Albert Walters (Barbara Mackintosh’s
husband); the family and friends of Franklin
(Althea Vasquez’ brother); George
and Pat List; Bob Steady; the Banoff family; Meredith
(Irene Young’s granddaughter); Liz
(Michael Way’s biological mother); Madeline
Aeschbury (David Kingsbury’s niece); the family
and friends Dotty Ruszkowski
(Carol Canapetti’s mother); Kathryn Mack; Nancy Rose
and Chris Fazzino;
Debbie Smith and family; Jennifer Gaetano;
Barbara Clark; Bill Mooney; Joe Brennan;
Althea Vasquez; John Bott; Dick and Wilma
Stott; Betty Vacca; those
serving in the military, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan; those suffering
and recovering from addiction; those who are jobless and homeless; peacemakers
around the world; all those in prison; the people of Haiti and Chile, Pakistan,
Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan; those affected by the mudslides in China; the
communities and habitats of the Gulf coast; the Pastoral Search Committee.
WUCC Food Pantry Revised
The
food pantry still exists at WUCC with dry good groceries available for our
guests who come to the mission meal held the fourth Tuesday of each month. In addition, any member of WUCC can receive
needed items from the food pantry by contacting the pastor. Donations are needed in order to have food
items to give away. These items may be
brought in any Sunday and placed under the table in a box in the narthex (just
outside the Sanctuary). Ann and Art Yost
(203 931 9943) keep track of items that are needed and Dorothy Osanitsch and
Bob Steady will assist in distributing the food monthly at the mission meal.
SUGGESTED
ITEMS: (Best if canned goods have zip tops that don't require a can opener)
small cans of tuna, peanut butter, snack crackers, canned macaroni products,
canned fruits, soups, cereal, fruit juices, high protein bars, gallon jugs of
water, toilet paper, tissues, and napkins.
September 12th Marks a Day of
Celebrating God’s Gifts
We will be celebrating our “Opening Day” of
our program year on September 12th! We will begin our day with open
registration for Faith Formation opportunities for our children and adults at
9:30 am. We will worship at 10:30 am
with a special Celebration of God’s Gifts and the children will attend a
special class where they will learn about the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and
make decorations for the Sukkah at Congregation Sinai!
After Worship and Sunday School, we will be
having our church picnic to wrap up the festivities! Please plan to come and invite your friends
and family. Also watch the mail for a
packet of information!
Gentlemen’s Breakfast
On the third Sunday of each month, the men of Woodmont UCC gather at the
Bridgeport Flyer Diner in Milford
for a time of fun, friendship and fellowship. In September, the Breakfast will
be held on the 19th at 8:30 am. Please contact Bob Steady,
203-878-8148 or s.steady@sbcglobal.net to RSVP.
You are
ALWAYS Welcome!
We invite and welcome our children wherever
and whenever they are able to join us in Sunday School, given the pace and
demands of their lives. Children never
need to be hesitant to rejoin their class after an absence. Teachers are eager to make each child feel
welcome. We also encourage children to
bring friends with them to visit Sunday School to the 10:30 AM programs.
Free Notary Service
Tricia
Walker is a Notary Public and will notarize any documents FREE OF CHARGE. Please let her know ahead of time, so she can
be sure to have her seal with her at church on Sunday. Tricia's phone number is 203-735-6523. If you
have something urgent that cannot wait, feel free to call and she will try her
best to accommodate your needs.
Silver Lake
Scholarship Fund
At the
July Council meeting, it was decided to set up a Silver Lake Scholarship Fund
for our children who wish to attend Silver Lake Conferences, but might need
some financial assistance. This fund was
set up with an initial $500.00 from the Diane Valdivieso Bequest. On Sunday, September
26, 2010 we will be celebrating “Silver Lake Sunday.” The youth who participated in Conferences at Silver Lake
this summer are going to talk about their experiences and why you should
support their going to summer Conferences. We will be receiving an offering on that day
to replenish the Fund after this past summer – thank you in advance for your
generosity!
You can
also contribute to this fund at any time by using the white envelope in the
Bulletin and writing in the other space “Silver Lake Scholarship Fund.” Please note that this is different from the “Silver Lake,
Now for the Future” space on the envelope.
If you have any questions or need to use
this fund, please speak with Debi Mastroni-Kenyon, DCE.
Bridges
(A Community Support System,
Inc)
Bridges
will hold its annual Folks on Spokes-Folks on Foot fund raiser on Sunday
September 12th. at Fowler Field, Milford CT. Bridges provides mental health and addiction
recovery services for Milford, Orange
and West Haven.
The Folks on Foot supports a mentoring program for middle school children. Bike
rides vary from 5 miles to 66 miles. Entry fees for Folks on Spokes are $25 for
adults. For Folks on Foot, adult entry
fee is $15 and for children 12 and under accompanied by an adult $5 each. After you walk or ride, visit The Red Wagon
Youth Fair from 11 am - 3 pm, including food, games and music. Brochures available at
church, at Bridges (949 Bridgeport
Ave., Milford) and
from Art and Ann Yost.
Women’s
Literacy Program Seeks Volunteer Tutors!
Mercy Learning
Center, located at 637 Park Avenue, Bridgeport,
CT, continues to look for
volunteers to teach English as a Second Language (ESL), Reading and Math to women in its tutoring
program. Tutors meet with their students
at the Center twice a weekly for two hours each session through early
June. Over 500 students participated in
our center last year. A one-day training
session is provided for all new tutors; teaching experience is not
necessary. Upcoming training sessions
will take place on Thursday, September2, Wednesday, September 22 or Thursday,
October 14, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. (lunch will be provided). For more information or to register for a
training session at the Center, please contact Diane Holmes, Tutor Coordinator
at 203-334-6699, or email at diane.holmes@snet.net.
Beth-El Fundraising Opportunities!!
19thWalk/Run-for-the-Homeless -
Save the Date!!
The
19th Walk/Run-for-the-Homeless, to benefit the Beth-El
Center shelter and soup kitchen in Milford, will be held on
Sunday, October 17, 2010, rain or shine.
Registration begins at 12:30 at the Fowler Field Pavilion, behind the
library. The event begins at 1:30 p.m.
We need walkers and runners – for the WUCC team – who are willing to make a
commitment to collect donations from family members, co-workers, and friends. Our walkers will travel a scenic 2 ½ mile
route in the Fort Trumbull and Milford Center areas or alternate one-mile walk
around Fowler Field - your choice - and will end at Beth-El Center for
refreshments, activities, a raffle, tours, and closing ceremonies. If you can't walk or run, you can still help
– by working, requesting pledges for our team members, or making a donation.
We need your help so we can continue helping the men, women, and children who
call Beth-El Center home throughout the year. We need your help so we can continue helping
the 50 to 60 people in need in our community who are served lunch-time meals in
our soup kitchen.
Pledge sheets will be available in the Narthex. Our church has historically been rated among
the largest teams and largest in total donations in this fundraiser. Please help to continue our momentum by
participating or pledging to help the homeless and hungry in our community.
Coming in December:
A favorite,
Beth-El's "Spirit of Love” Holiday
Concert will be held on Saturday, December 11th at the Parson's Center Complex. This
evening event brings joy to young and old alike with an array of musical
favorites, kicking off the holiday season. Past years performers were: The NYC Big Apple
Chorus, The Elm City Girls Choir, CT University Jazz Quintet, The Yale Whiffenpoofs
and The West Point Cadet Gospel Choir, just to name a few. The event will feature a raffle and few other
surprises.
The Connecticut Hospice, Inc.
Regatta Race ‘Round
Faulkner’s Island
Saturday,
September 25, 2010 Regatta and Parade of Sails
Noon
Starting Gun – Branford
Harbor
Sunday, September 26, 2010 Lobster Bake Noon – 3:00 pm. $35.00 per person & Silent Auction Noon –
2:00 pm
100 Double Beach Road, Branford,
CT
For
Race Details: Eric Treu
(203) 483-9262
For Event Details: Pat Corradino (203)
315-7510
Words of Thanks
Dear
Friends:
“Thank you so much for your generous
gift. Because of your commitment to
helping others, and because of your kindness, a family once struggling with
hunger and despair has new hope. Your
support provides the foundation for a better future for those in need through
sustainable practices and educational measures that will last a lifetime.
Thank
you for partnering with Heifer International to help make a better world - one
family and one community at a time.”
Sincerely,
Charles
O. Stewart
Interim
Chief Executive Officer, Heifer International
Gift
amount $1,084.00
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July
20, 2010
Dear
Rev Robinson,
Once
again it is my pleasure to extend our sincere gratitude for the continued
generosity of Woodmont United Church of Christ to the Beth-El Center.
We
really do appreciate the faithful support of you and your congregation. Your most recent gift of $98.00 is a great
help to us in our efforts to serve our community’s homeless and hungry
population.
Together
we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of those in need!
Best
Regards,
Toni
Dolan, Executive Director
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August
12, 2010
Dear
Rev. Robinson,
Once
again it is my pleasure to extend our sincere gratitude for the continued
generosity of Woodmont United Church of Christ to the Beth-El Center.
We
really do appreciate the faithful support of you and your congregation. Your most recent gift of $64.00 is a great
help to us in our efforts to serve our community’s homeless and hungry
population.
Together
we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of those in need!
Best
Regards,
Toni
Dolan, Executive Director
September
Scripture Readings
September 5 - Jer. 18: 1-11; Ps. 139: 1-6,13-18 or Deut 30: 15-20; Ps. 1; Philem
1-21; Luke 14: 25-33. “A
New Identity”.
September 12 - Jer. 4: 11-12,22-28; Ps. 14 or Ex. 32: 7-14; Ps. 51: 1-10; 1 Tim 1:
12-17. “Growing in
God’s Love”.
September 19 - Jer. 8: 18-9:1; Ps. 79: 1-9
or Amos 8: 4-7; Ps. 13; 1 Tim 2: 1-7; Luke 16: 1-13. “Prayerful Living”.
September 26 - Jer. 32: 1-3a, 6-15; Ps. 91:
1-6, 14-16 or Amos 6: 1a, 4-7; Ps. 146; 1 Tim 6: 6-19; Luke 16: 19-31. “Surprising Investment”.
Bottle and Can
Drive
The Woodmont UCC Youth Group has an ongoing fundraiser of a
Bottle and Can Drive. The only thing we ask
you to do is bring your redeemable bottles and cans (THIS NOW INCLUDES WATER
BOTLES) to church and we will bring them to be redeemed and keep the money to
fund our activities. If you have any questions, talk to Dan Clinton, Melissa
Osantisch, Sue Barrieau, or Debi.
Email Addresses
Thanks
to all for providing me with your email address. I plan to use emails as the vehicle for
reminding people, who have email access, of meetings, hosting coffee hour and providing flowers for
the altar or the mission meal. Reminders
will continue to be mailed to those who do not have email. This will save on postage. If you are a committee member, please make
sure I have your latest email address.
Thanks!
Marsha