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The AnchorJanuary, 2006 Vol. 46 Issue 1
Sunday,
January 1, 2006 Communion Saturday,
January 7, 2006 Communion ____________ Sunday,
January 8, 2006 8:00
& 10:00 a.m. ______________ Sunday,
January 15, 2006 8:00
& 10:00 a.m. ______________ Sunday,
January 22, 2006 8:00
& 10:00 a.m. ______________ Sunday,
January 29, 2006 8:00
& 10:00 a.m. From the Senior Pastor What may be your personal hopes and plans for the New Year? Most of us will put health near the top of the list, for ourselves and those we love. Peace for the world, hoping that we gradually learn to take war out of the list of options available to us – and the hope that as an international community we move closer together, close enough to see that everyone gains from peace and everyone loses in war. Am I idealistic? No. I am hopeful, with a hope that calls upon God’s promise. On a smaller scale, I don’t do New Year’s resolutions any more, but I do still look at the new year as a new beginning, a blank page that allows me to ponder what I might do differently this year. Life is learning, and there are few things that don’t benefit from asking how we might improve them yet a bit more. In the life of our church, I have asked myself that question about our Saturday worship. Together with that small, but committed group of members of our family of faith that have made the Saturday worship their own, I enjoy the intimacy of it, the lack of Sunday formality, the more meditative style, Trish’s music, and, more than anything else, the way it has made worship leaders and preachers out of so many of us. Truly on Saturdays we all minister to one another. We created the worship with the idea to make it especially welcoming to people from the community who are looking for an alternative to Sunday morning services. What I have missed, however, is a Saturday opportunity to connect with visitors and worshipers in the way that coffee hour allows us to do on Sundays. Here is my plan for the new year. Let us preserve in Saturday worship all that we love about it. Let us take more time to plan it and make it special by making it a once-a-month worship on the first Saturday rather than a weekly worship. And: let us follow it with a potluck dinner each time, so that it becomes a regular opportunity for fellowship with old and new friends alike. We’ll start with January 7th. I am already planning the dish I’ll bring. Many Blessings to you for the year to come!
Your Pastor Thomas From the Interim Associate Pastor Come to the Town Meeting!
On Sunday, January 15, 2006 (it will take a while
to get used to writing 6 instead of 5!) following 10:00 a.m. worship, you are
invited to an Open Meeting on the Mystic Youth Space.
Members and friends of MCC are invited and you'll have an opportunity to
ask questions, learn what is happening behind the scenes and discover how YOU
might help us take that next step. The Youth Space and its future programs is a
cornerstone of the Visioning Process of several years ago; at that time MCC
looked ahead and saw a need for a strong community based youth ministry program.
Now that vision needs your support and insight as we move forward.
Your Church Council, represented by Liz Webb, Hugh
McGee, our legal advisor for the non-profit status, Thomas and I will make brief
presentations and then answer your questions as we dream for the future of the
Mystic Youth Space. The developing shape of this ministry is also connected
to the Search Process for the New Associate Pastor.
He or she will have an important role in the Youth Space Programs and we
need to hear your thoughts as we build a new program from the ground up.
PLEASE SAVE THE DATE AND PLAN TO ATTEND: JANUARY 15,
2006 FOLLOWING THE 10:00 a.m. SERVICE. Peace and joy to you and yours in the New Year. Stay tuned for further developments on Youth and Adult Educational opportunities of MCC.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Pat From the
Moderator: Since I spent
most of the holidays out of town, I missed our Christmas Eve and Day services.
I'm sure that all was lovely and very meaningful. And now, we're into 2006...an
exciting and busy year for our congregation is in the making.
MARK YOUR
CALENDAR: January 8: the annual budget meeting will follow the 10 a.m. service. Please attend to hear the Trustees' presentation, to voice your opinions, and then to vote on the proposed budget. Remember that our budget must be based on pledges received. It is not too late to make your pledge, if you have not done so. Contact a Trustee or call the church office ...we can't continue to grow without this very important element of Faith in Action. January
15: after the 10 a.m. service is a "Congregational
Conversation" led by Pastor Pat and members of the Youth Initiative
development team. Get the latest news on this important new project of our
church. Listen and share your ideas with us. January
20: MAEC hosts a potluck dinner at our Parish Hall. The topic is
Christian Unity Week; Don Burbank will speak after dinner. We expect 100 people,
so plan to attend and bring either a salad or main dish to share.
We will be
using Fair Trade coffee for all church socials and functions. We will soon offer
varieties of coffee for your purchase and pleasure. The small
"mark-up" over the contract price we pay for the coffee will support
the MAEC assistance fund. We will encourage outside groups who use our
facilities to use Fair Trade coffee as well. Try a cup at the coffee hour after
service and then purchase some for your home use. The Search Committee for the Associate Pastor has been "charged" and they have begun the process. If we mount large sheets of paper on the walls of the Parish House and provide pens, will you take a moment or two to write your thoughts about the "role" of this new minister...about your perception of our church's vision....about the qualities you feel are most important in the selection of this new minister? I'm not getting any notes in either of my boxes, and we really do want your thoughts about this most important search and decision. Hopefully you will respond by writing "on the walls" of the Parish Hall, thus continuing to put our Faith in Action. -
Kay Janney -
Book of Life Wedding:
Rebecca
Wells Barstow to Bruce Michael Wagner, on November 26, 2005.
Entered Into Eternal
Rest: Anita
Wheeler Greene, on November 30, 2005. Thanks to the 203 members and friends who have pledged a total of $307,437 as of December 14. The average change in 2006 pledge from 2005 is a 7.5% increase. This is all good news! The bad news is that we still have 137 members who have not returned their pledge cards, and cuts will have to be made to the operating budget if another $40,000 in pledges is not received prior to the budget meeting on January 8th. If you have not yet pledged, please prayerfully consider doing so, and then return your completed pledge card to the church office. If you have misplaced your card or would like to make a pledge by phone, please contact Joanne Lukaszewicz (xxx-xxxx) or Nancy McLoughlin (xxx-xxxx). If you are unable to pledge this year, please return your pledge card noting that. It is through the combined pledges of all of our members that we are able to carry out the ministries of this church, and put our faith into action. January Story Hour Readers Listed Eight volunteers will bring books, simple crafts, and a story hour to the children at the Norwich Family Shelter in December. The scheduled “readers” are: Connie Blair, Ruth Webster, Nancy McLoughlin, Felicia Mahoney, Patti Burmahl, Frances Moppett, Betty Guadliana and Elaine Sloan. Books used for this Church project will now be housed on shelves in our reorganized Church Library. These books, accumulated through donations and purchases, are used both for reading sessions and for individual gifts for participating youngsters. For more information on this project, and/or to volunteer, contact Nancy Peterson at (xxx)xxx-xxxx. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for Meals on Wheels delivery. Fridays from the Stonington COMO for 2 hours (10:30 am to 12:30 pm) about once a month. Questions or to sign up? Please call Priscilla Baxter, xxx-xxxx. Christmas – increasingly, the season has become a frantic whirl of shopping, baking, decorating and socializing. The task of putting on a children’s Christmas pageant every year does not make life any easier for the many adults who are behind the scenes putting together this time-honored tradition. Their dedication will be fodder for future columns; this one is all about the children. Because in the end with all the work and preparation, it is always what is not rehearsed that touches the heart. It is the crooked halos and mischievous grins that truly convey the innocence and spirit of Christmas. Each year the challenge is how to tell the Christmas Story in a new way. It’s fun to mix it up a little, but magically the end is always the same- a montage of young faces filled with faith and wonder with the sweet baby Jesus in the center of it all. The pews are overflowing every year on Pageant Sunday. It’s not all parents and grandparents. It’s anyone of us that needs to take time out from the hustle and bustle of the season and appreciate the story that never tires of being heard. Happy, holy holidays.
-
Jan Loomis, for the Stewardship
Committee -
The Adult Education Committee will meet in the Library on January 15, 22, and in the Workroom on the 29th between the two services to discuss the novel, The Alchemist. We invite everyone, who is able, to attend. Those interested should put their names on the sign-up sheet on our Bulletin Board. You can buy the book at Bank Square Books in Mystic for $13.00. The book is a quick and enjoyable to read. Questions at the end of the book will prepare you for the discussion. "A wise and inspiring fable
about the pilgrimage that life should be." - M. Scott Peck, M.D., author of
The
Road Less Traveled. MISSION MOMENTS The Missions Committee invites members and friends of the Church to come celebrate Missions Sunday on January 29th, 2006. We would like to honor the various agencies that our church supports and to share the news of the wonderful service they provide the community.
Please join us to worship with representatives from some of these agencies and take the opportunity to meet with them. Tables with literature regarding the services these agencies provide and representatives, who can speak to us first hand about what they do, will be available in the Parish Hall during Coffee Hour after the 10:00 service. Please plan to witness
"Faith In Action Reaches Out"! ARCHIVES UPDATE The
Archive Room is now organized. WEEK OF CHRISTIAN UNITY in January is customarily observed in Mystic
with a potluck Fellowship Supper. This year our church will host the gathering
on Friday, January 20th, at 6 p.m. in
the Parish Hall. This
has been proven to be a true fellowship experience that helps us feel our
Christian unity. We are all invited to attend and
bring a hot dish or a salad. In addition to group singing, there will be a brief
talk by Don Burbank of St. Mary (Top of Fort Hill) Catholic Church on a Church
World Service trip he took in November to Uganda.
It is time to mark that date on your calendar for a special night out. Women’s Fellowship ProgramsTuesday, Jan. 10 at 9:15 a.m.: “Making a Difference in our Own Lives.” Kathleen O’Beirne will explain the normal cycle of change, whether it is a change by choice or by chance. Small group discussions will apply the concepts personally. Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 11:00 a.m.: Winter Study – Jane Percy, CH, CIH, from the River Light Wellness Center, will help us explore “Creative Listening” (to ourselves and to others). Bring a guest and a brown bag lunch. Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 11:00 a.m.: Susan Hess of Georgetown, ME, will bring twelve of her “Healing Tapestries.” They incorporate some of Emily Dickinson’s poems in a journey of recuperation from abuse. A share of the profits from her book, I’m Nobody… a Journey of Healing: Weaving Truth with Trust, will go to the Women’s Center of Southeastern CT. Bring a guest and a brown bag lunch. MAILING ADDRESS CHANGES Please help us reduce our mailing expenses by advising the office whenever you have any mailing address change, even if it’s just for the season. Let the office know the inclusive dates when that address is valid so we can update our database towards printing the correct mailing labels. When you advise the Post Office of your forwarding address, they will forward our bulk mail to that address, advise us of that address change and charge us 70 cents for it. When they do not forward and simply return our bulk mail, they charge us 37 cents for it. Then there’s the additional cost for us to re-send it to your other known address. |