March 2008
Dear Friends,
The disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us how to pray.” In response, Jesus taught them what we call, “The Lord’s Prayer.” We say it every Sunday. It is appropriate that many of us know it from memory, “by heart.” It is a prayer meant to be held close to the heart; a prayer to say when words leave us and we do not know how to pray.
I invite you to join the Spirituality Group for a four-week study of the Lord’s Prayer. We will have an opportunity to explore its meaning by examining differing translations and theological reflections. We will meet on four Tuesdays in March from 5 – 6 p.m. Check the bulletin for location and details.
The disciples’ question is a good one. We know they witnessed Jesus setting time
aside each day to pray. They likely made
the connection between Jesus’ prayer life and his life of ministry. We too
may want to know, is there a right way to pray?
Though Jesus gave us beautiful words to say, there is no one way. As Roberta Bondi
writes in her reflection on prayer, In
Ordinary Time:
“Why do we have so much trouble around the topic of prayer, even at church, I wonder? Partly, perhaps, we’ve been told all our lives that prayer is something we “ought to do” as Christians. We are not sure exactly how we are to go about doing it, but because we are supposed to know about it, we don’t want to ask…Whatever the reason, however, it is too bad we feel like this. Prayer is such an ordinary, everyday, mundane thing. Certainly, people who pray are no more saints than the rest of us. Rather, they are people who want to share a life with God, to love and be loved, to speak and to listen, to work and to be at rest in the presence of God.” (In Ordinary Time, p. 14)
If you are looking for a time and place to pray, I hope you will join in the Easter Vigil; a tradition kept at our church for many years. In this Belfry we repeat David Hart’s wonderful reflection on what it means to keep the vigil. It is a time to pray for our world, for our church, for our community, for our loved ones, for ourselves. It is a time to keep watch for the unexpected movement of God’s eternal love and life in our midst.
We need not worry about finding a right way to pray. We can never get it wrong. When we turn to God with willing and expectant hearts, we can trust that God’s prayer is answered in us.
Faithfully,
Patrice
Keeping the Vigil – A
Reflection by David Hart
The Sanbornton Congregational Church, UCC, has a long history of “keeping the vigil.” The vigil begins in the sanctuary on Good Friday at 3 p.m., and continues for the entire time Christ was on the cross until His resurrection with the rising of the sun on Easter morning.
Vigil means to be watchful; a purposeful keeping awake during a time usually devoted to sleep; a devotional watch kept on the eve of a feast day; a time to protect, observe and reflect.
It is intended that the vigil be a collective endeavor. Our church is open to every one who wants to stop in for part of the vigil time. However, in order to be sure that there is the continuous presence of at least one person, a sign-up sheet is provided.
Although the vigil may be a collective effort, for many, it may become a personal religious experience. To be in the quiet sanctuary with oneself and with God can range from being a quiet time apart from the world to a spiritual discipline and/or a spiritual journey. Walter Rauschenbusch, a social justice voice of the early 20th century, reminds us:
In the castle of my soul is a little postern gate
whereat, when I enter,
I am in the presence of God.
In a moment, in the turning of a thought,
I am where God is.
To find this path to the castle of the soul, participants have chosen several vehicles: earnest prayer, readings from the scriptures and reflecting on those verses; devotional writing from the wealth of human endeavor across history; contemplating the cross and the meaning of the crucifixion; absorbing the beauty of the stained glass windows; asking questions of God and self about the meaning of Holy Week; voiding the mind of all distractions in order to practice silence.
There are myriad ways of using this quiet time. Some new ways may be found as you journey down the path and they will only be revealed to the searcher as the process opens. No one can predict what new perspectives, meanings and feelings may come as the Holy Spirit is given an opportunity to descend upon the soul. Whatever path you choose, it should not be distracting to others who may be in the sanctuary.
Would you join with other parishioners to keep the vigil? Come alone or with your family and friends at any time. You may be here at a designated time for one or more hours in succession, or at separate hours, as you see fit. There are signup sheets in the Undercroft for this purpose. If you have questions, the pastor or a deacon will be glad to assist.
Holy Week at
Sanbornton Congregational Church, UCC
Palm Sunday, March 16 The Senior Choir sings John Rutter’s Requiem,
10:00 a.m. worship; New Members will be welcomed.
Maundy Thursday, March 20: Lenten Pot-Luck Supper, 6:00 p.m. followed by
Communion and Tenebrae Service at 7:00 p.m.
(Please sign-up for pot-luck meal featuring Mediterranean foods)
Good Friday, March 21: Easter Vigil begins in Sanctuary 3:00 p.m. (please sign-up for a time slot using the sign-up sheets in the undercroft)
EASTER, March 23: Sunrise Service at 6:43 a.m. followed by Breakfast.
Worship at 10:00 a.m.
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS comes early again this year. Remember to set your clocks AHEAD before you go to bed on March 8.
Christian Education
Co-chairs for the Christian Education will be
Children’s Sunday will occur on
Our teachers for our final term will be Kara Downes and Kaylah Barton, Polly Fife and Jonathan Marchant, and Mary Morris and Tracy Wood. We will continue to try to provide care in our Nursery by volunteers, but if that is not feasible, the Nursery will function self-serve. In line with this topic, we will be looking into a paid medically-trained full-time person for our Nursery. This person would be there for about three hours every Sunday morning and hopefully might be a local person whom many families already know and feel comfortable with. We hope to include this in our 2009 budget.
The Committee is considering having a rocking chair in the back corner of the sanctuary for mothers to rock their babies to sleep during the service.
Our final revised Food Allergy Policy has been produced and is posted in each classroom. This was revised and unanimously agreed upon at our Christian Education Meeting of February 10th. Evaluation of this policy will be reviewed prior to the beginning of each church school year.
Submitted by
Using Puppets in
Church
A workshop on Using Puppets in Church was offered at
Prepared to Serve on February 16th.
The facilitator was Rev. David Slater, Senior Pastor of First Parish
Congregational Church of Dover. He
became involved with puppets when he was living in
Rev. Slater stated that you need to respect your puppet as you respect your audience. This appendage hanging off your arm is a part of you. One should have fun, not demean themselves, and most importantly must have a path of conversation that leads to a point when performing. Puppets need a proscenium-distance between you and the audience. The necessary illusion is lost when the children or adults are near. The puppet should not become a toy, as that can challenge the puppets effectiveness as a communicator. Pauses in your conversation are most effective along with a sense of humor.
Drama Dearie is so loved by the congregation and the children that she has her own picture in their Directory. He uses her for ongoing series of children’s sermons. One episode was when Drama Dearie ‘borrowed’ (actually stole) a bike that belonged to her friend Camille. The object of the episode was that good Drama Dearie needed to face up to the consequences of her actions. The results were good, but not without some pain in doing so.
One Christmas she was a shepherd in the Christmas Play. She has been in weddings and funerals. She can tell everyone what she learned in Sunday School. Rev. Slater never calls her his child, or himself her parent- rather they live in the same house. He makes the rules and she negotiates.
He claims anyone can become a puppeteer. He demonstrated the technique of moving the puppet -how one should keep the puppets head from going straight up and how moving ones thumb when the puppet speaks you can get the proper jaw action without the head popping up and down. The puppet should speak into the mike and small exchanges in conversation are better that long speeches. Rev. Slater moves his mouth when his puppet is talking, but the congregation is so enthralled and concentrating on the puppet, that they do not notice.
This workshop was fun and interesting, but it is hard to believe that anyone can just pick up a puppet and perform such as Rev. Slater does. I think one needs a special talent to do this, although he insists it only takes patience, confidence, and persistence.
Submitted by
Rise Up for the
Economic Justice Revival! (PTS 08)
“A new wave of justice ministries is renewing the face of
the church,” proclaimed the leader of this workshop. He quoted extensively from
The Great Awakening, by Jim Wallis:
“The agenda of the faith community is changing dramatically to include issues
such as poverty and pandemic diseases, environmental care and climate change,
trafficking and human rights, genocide, war and peace.” A new denomination is emerging – “spiritual
but not religious.” We talked about the
Jubilee Act, legislation to expand debt cancellation, a proven means of
fighting poverty, to 67 countries that need this assistance to meet the
Millennium Development Goals agreed upon by world leaders to halve extreme
poverty by 2015. Economists have found
that more money flows out of developing countries than flows into them as
loans, aid and investment. A UN report
shows that in 1995, 40 billion dollars flowed into developing countries; but by
2006, this had been reversed to an outflow of 657 billion in the form of
interest payments, profits of foreign corporations and clandestine investments
in the financial markets of rich countries.
And much of this money ends up in the
Diane Farrell
Musings from
the Moderator
Your Church Council is looking forward to an exciting
year as we contemplate what a “spirit-raising” emphasis can mean to our church
family. Most importantly, we look forward to suggestions and participation of
all of us to strengthen our sense of “community.”
At our recent Council meeting, we took some time to do
some brain-storming on how we can expand our outreach to our own members and at
the same time reach out to the “community at large!” More “family” oriented activities was mentioned, along with programs that bring area residents
into our Church. The Deacons are preparing to launch an outreach program - Call
to Care - which will help us more effectively reach out to those in need.
Sanbornton’s Old Home’s Day will be without our golf
tournament activity, so the Council felt this would offer an opportunity for us
to be “more” involved in the activities of the day centered around Town Square,
- e.g., have a float in the parade !
These were just a few of the ideas expressed. Please
pass along “your thoughts and ideas” to
Council members or your Committee
chairpersons.
The Council also had a quick review of the “Vision 2008 ” status, and celebrated the many accomplishments of
the past three years. However, we also recognized that we need to be looking at
the next three years and what that can mean to the “life and spirit” of our congregation.
What will we be saying at the end of “Vision 2011” about the “spirit- raising” that
launched us into 2008? The time to start
answering that question is right now! Please give prayerful thought to how each
of us can provide at least one answer...
Peace, Wally Strauch
p.s. We need all committees and Boards represented at
Council! Please have your representative
ready to attend the March 12 meeting - 7:00 p.m. Thanks...
Three members of the Dover Congregational Church, Beth
Martindale and Jonathan and Kara Gray, told how they have built a youth
ministry from scratch. The four
cornerstones of their program are Education,
The small group discussions are critical to the success of the ministry. In these meetings relationships are built between the youth and the leaders. The discussions are solidly faith based with focus on scripture. The leaders are able to bring Christ to the members by sharing their own personal love for Jesus. Each small group discussion begins and ends with prayer. The group must be a safe place in which to fail, a comfortable place in which to share thoughts and feelings. The meetings end with Vespers from 12:45 – 1 p.m.
After each meeting the leaders meet from 1-2 p.m. The
leaders communicate with group members through email updates and a monthly
newsletter.
Diane Farrell
Missions Committee
This year’s “Souper” Bowl Sunday on February 3rd was a
terrific success. A
special “Thank You” to everyone who gave so generously. We delivered two overflowing boxes to the
First Fruits Food Pantry. In a recent
e-mail exchange with Catherine Robertson from the pantry, we pledged our
continued support even if the pantry is moved to the vestry of the
With people’s busy
schedules and the stormy weather, the committee hasn’t been able to meet for
awhile; but, we are hoping to do so soon.
We are excited to see how the Lord will lead us this year and to what
service we’ll be called. Please help us
to listen for that calling. If you see a
need or have an idea for service, please talk with a member of our committee.
Committee members: Patsy Wells, Chair,
Ann Emerson-Knott, Edna Hansen, Harriet Mitiguy,
Darlene Sellars, and Tracy Woods.
Deacons
This is an exciting time in
our church, as we prepare for the end of Lent, and the start of Holy
Week. It's a time of year that I feel closer to my church family than any
other time, as we embark on a journey together, with the destination being
Easter.
There are several traditions
here at church that my girls and I love, particularly the Tenebrae
Service and Seder supper. Every year
Another wonderful part of our
Holy Week tradition is the annual Vigil, it
begins on Good Friday at 3 PM and ends on Easter morning at 6
AM. 40 hours that someone is literally at our church
sitting vigil, a true testament to the tremendous faith in our
congregation. In my time spent there in years past, I've found it
relaxing, healing, refreshing, and a real boost to my overall mood. I
often sit and read, or write, or just close my eyes and reflect (almost falling
asleep only once, alright twice). This year I've committed to
a "whatever is left time", I'm going to wait until the last
few slots need to be filled, and that's what I'm signing up for. This was
Of course all of this
culminates with Easter Morning, our Sunrise Service and breakfast,
followed by our traditional Easter Service at 10 AM. It's so fun to see
all the kids up at the crack of dawn, excited and giddy, preparing in
their own way for Easter. I get goosebumps just
thinking about it!
So, I close thinking about
all of these wonderful traditions in our church and how blessed my
family is to be able
to experience them with all of you.
Michelle Chapman
(for
the Deacons)
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VOLUNTEERS
NEEDED! For many years one duty of the Hospitality Committee
has been to provide meals for officials at Town and National Elections held
at the |
Prepared to Serve Report – Part 1
On February 16, 2008 I
attended the annual PREPARED TO SERVE day long convocation offered by the NH
Conference of the United Church of Christ, to the leaders of local UCC churches.
I had been asked to serve on a workshop panel discussing "HOW TO BECOME A
PEACE AND JUSTICE CHURCH." I realized I would have to do some research on
the topic, given that Dave & I had come from CT, and become members of the
Sanbornton UCC church quite a while after we had been designated a PEACE &
JUSTICE church.
My first discovery astounded
me! There are only FOUR Peace & Justice churches in the state conference!
They are the UCC in
I proceeded to call Shirley
Powers, Kim Bossey, Rev. Les Norman, Barbara Akerman,
Rev. Leanne Tigert, and Milly
Shaw, gleaning from each of these people bits of the puzzle which made up the path
to our church's decision to become a Peace & Justice (Just Peace) church. I
especially want to express my thanks to Milly, who
provided me with copies of all the Peace & Justice Committee Annual
Reports, since the committee was established. From these conversations I
gathered that the initial sparks which "lit the
fire" were something like this:
Dick Smart - Dick was an avid advocate for the cause of PEACE. He
was an expert on the United Nations. He kept talking to the pastor and other
church members about "doing something" to advance the cause of peace.
Rev. Leanne Tigert - Pastor
of the church at the time. She traveled, with others from UCC, to
The
Dick Smart gathered together
a small group of people, among who were Rev. Leanne Tigert,
Barbara Akerman, and Neil Steiger. Together they
worked on a statement to present to the Church Council, expressing their
concern for advocating for PEACE and suggesting action. The third draft of this
statement was taken to Church Council on January 29, 1989.
RESOLVED THAT:
We, the members of the Sanbornton Congregational United Church of Christ,
become
a Church for
Peace and Justice, which to us means that we covenant with others, with God's
help....
To reaffirm our dedication to prayer,
study, and understanding of issues of peace and
justice in
ourselves, our families, our community, our state, our world....
.
Whenever our prayer, study, and
understanding leads us, to speak out and act to resolve
words and deeds
of injustice and violence in ourselves, our families, our state our world.
To be mindful that the vision and promise
of God is that the lion and the lamb shall lie
down together in
harmony....
Knowing that this vision of a just and peaceful world
begins with the work of God through
each of us, we
further resolve....
To provide a safe place for all people of
good will to converse with God and with each
other....
To use peaceful and creative ways, even
of thought and word; to settle conflicts....
To maintain a spirit of responsiveness and caring towards
all of God's creation: all people,
all creatures,
and the planet on which we live....
To work together
with others, to build a world of peace, kindness, responsibility, and
justice--
In God's name
From this small committee and
the action of the Church Council and finally the Annual Meeting, on Feb. 5,
1989, came the designation of the Sanbornton Congregational Church UCC, as a
"Just Peace Congregation", and also the establishment of a
Peace and Justice Committee as a regular standing committee of the Church.
Next month I will list the
array of issues which have been dealt with by Peace and Justice Committees
since 1990.
Lee Hart, Peace
and Justice Committee
From the Minister of
Music
During Lent we will sing three settings of “Ave Verum Corpus”: by Edward Elgar, W. A. Mozart, and Geoff Weaver. They are very different, from widely separated musical periods, but they share great beauty and sensitivity to the ancient text.
On Palm Sunday, it has been our tradition for many years to sing an substantial piece; this year we will return to an old favorite, “Requiem” by John Rutter. We’ve sung this several times in past years, and we always enjoy returning to it. One section features a ‘cello solo. We are delighted to have Ida Dyment return from college to play that with us. The “Pie Jesu” will be sung by Katie Bossey, who says she’s wanted to sing this for as long as she can remember. “I heard a voice from heaven” in the last section will be sung by Kim Bossey.
As beautiful as the solos are, they are not surpassed by the writing for the choir and the organ. This is a marvelous piece. It’s hard to believe that it’s now 22 years old. I think we sang it first in 1989.
For Easter Day we have a stunning new anthem: Christ’s Chanticleer, by A. F. Schutz. It is different!
We’re always on the lookout for new singers…don’t be shy!
Dennis
An Ode to Diane
(Sung to the tune, St. Denio, “Immortal, Invisible”)
Verse 1
Our dear friend Diane has led fund drives for years,
In good times and bad times; through laughter and tears.
In planning the budget her great in-tu-ition,
plus moxie and contacts brought plans to fru-ition.
Verse 2
She spent countless hours on every detail
With Rea’s help you knew that we never could fail
From dinners to golfing to holiday fairs
Her presence was constant - an answer to prayer!
Verse 3
Her interesting articles made local stands
The people would come with their checkbooks in hand
In times when our finances got very tight
She’d get on the phone to make everything right
Verse 4
She tried to retire from fund drives and fairs
Yet her sage advice was always still there.
There’s no way to thank you for all you have done
but know that our hearts and our minds you have won.
Verse 5
And though this poem wasn’t penned by Donald Hall
It tries to express our deep thanks from us all
So bless you dear Diane we love you most dearly
Your generous heart shines through brightly and clearly!
Dignity, Rights and
the Global Economy
Arnie
Alpert led this workshop at Prepared to Serve 2008. He began by asking what is the global economy? Answers
included NAFTA, CAFTA and other international trade agreements, the World Bank,
and the International Monetary Fund. Then he asked us, where does the power lie
in the global economy? Small group
discussions produced answers that included multinational corporations, the
We went on to consider the pluses and minuses of a global economy. The pluses included cheaper goods and the development of new technologies; the minuses included loss of jobs in this country, work performed for slave wages in other countries, out-sourced work performed without regard to the safety and health of workers, a war in Iraq to protect our oil interests, the decline of unions and protection for workers’ rights; the widening gap between the rich and the poor. The rise of fundamentalism can be attributed to the loss of autonomy.
Alpert then asked where does our
power lie? We discussed consumer boycotts, socially
conscious investing, non-profit child care centers, non-profits
building affordable housing. He reminded us that the first strike in this
country was here in
Diane Farrell
Peace and Justice
Committee
As previously reported, the
primary focus of the P. & J. committee in 2008 is the Environment. In January we started on pursuit of the GREEN
CHURCH PROGRAM. Our recycle program was kicked off in January (after a
frustrating search for proper recycle bins for our undercroft.) Signs have been attached to the bins, and directions for what to do with the paper &
plastic items have repeatedly appeared in the Bulletin, and coffee hour is the
prime place to practice your "recycling skills!" The nice looking
blue bins were given to the church by an anonymous donor, which earns that
donor a big thank-you from the GREEN TEAM! You are reminded that your
bulletins (unless you are going to keep them) and waste paper from the copy
machine also go into the "Paper" bin. We thank Dana Nute
for taking charge of the disposal of our recyclables each week. We expect that
there will be a newspaper item about our recycling effort in the local papers
soon.
The committee has also
instituted THE GREEN BOOK, located on "The Green Corner"
(left) of the display tables which face the doors to the undercroft. The
purpose is two or threefold - to give us all (children, families, adults) a
chance to record, for all to read, what CHANGES we have made to our habits,
which will benefit the health of our planet. Simple things - like changing light
bulbs to the new
compact fluorescent light bulbs, turning off the lights
when you walk out of a room, or using cold water in your washing machine, or
using the new phone number or website to cancel your junk mail, make a
surprising difference in how much energy you save. Using recycled products
saves precious room in your town's landfill - already overfilled.
THE GREEN BOOK makes
interesting reading, helps us share our ideas & discoveries, & lists the
benefits which come from your habit changes. Please take time to make an
entry now & then. The committee will at some point compile all
these ideas and their benefits, and we'll have a celebration of our
accomplishments in the name of energy saving, money saving, water saving,
planet health saving.
I'm sure you have noticed
the Green Tips in the Bulletin each week. The
Committee is planning a family night presentation with a GREEN
THEME, and other speaker events. We have a new committee
member who will help us set up a lending library not only for GREEN theme
books, but for Peace and Justice content. If you would
like to donate (or lend) a book for this purpose, please
speak to me or to Elaine Rayno. Our theme throughout
the spring & summer will be REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, and our activities
will reflect these important ways to honor our planet.
Lee
Hart, for the P. &J Committee
Ten Things to Do
(From the movie, “An Inconvenient Truth”)
Change a light – Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.
Drive less – Walk, bike, carpool, or take metro transit more often. You’ll save one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile you don’t drive!
Recycle more – You can save 2,400 pound of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste.
Check your tires – Keeping your tires inflated properly can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out the atmosphere!
Use less hot water – It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Use less hot water by installing a low-flow showerhead (350 pound of CO2 saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year).
Avoid products with a lot of packaging – you can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10%.
Adjust your thermostat – Moving your thermostat down just 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.
Plant a tree – A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.
Turn off electronic devices – Simply turning off your television, DVD player, stereo, and computer when you’re not using them will save thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide per year.
Be part of the solution – Learn more and get active.
Historical Tidbits –
By Millie Shaw
“Here is the church, Here is the Steeple…..”
The Sanbornton
Congregational Church, built in 1834, combines elements of the Federal and
Gothic revival styles. The base of the
square belfry tower rises from the roofs of the main block and the
pavilion. The tall base is clapboard
with corner boards and a box cornice with moldings and frieze. On each of the three public sides of the
base appears a Gothic arched lower with plain sill and simply molded louver
frame. The slightly smaller belfry stage
is surrounded by a railing with plain struts, molded rails, and square corner
posts topped by pinnacles, tall wooden pyramids ornamented by moldings. A railing of the same design surrounds the
belfry’s low-pitched roof. The belfry’s
clapboarded walls are trimmed by paneled corner pilasters and a box cornice
with moldings and frieze. The three
public sides of the belfry have Gothic arched louvers in molded arched frames
with impost blocks. The rectangular louver on the rear east side has a plain
frame. We know that the bell was transferred
from the
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