October 2009

Greetings!

Fall is here, and we’re beginning one of the most beautiful seasons of the year. We watch the trees start to change into beautiful hues of orange, gold, yellow and red. We also begin to notice the air is getting cooler and crisper. It’s also the season of leaf-peepers where people from near and far travel to New England to see the brilliant colors and to sample some of October’s treats such as farm grown apples, apple cider and pumpkin. It’s always amazing to me to see the huge number of people who come in droves during this time without being prompted or enticed by television. They just seem to know by family tradition or intuition where they want to be!

Our church is a lot like that. We’re having our own “fall” season of change of brilliant colors, an analogy to the weekly change of “guest ministers” we see every Sunday, each bringing their own perspectives and personalities to the pulpit. And as fall leads to the anticipation of the changes of winter, our church anticipates the changes of soon having an interim minister join our church family. And, we are our own “crowd” who seem to know by family tradition, intuition and faith where we want to be.

This past month we had our annual Open House, with many great exhibits and much fellowship. “We built it”, but for some reason “they didn’t come”! It’s important for us to remember that we did all the right things, from early planning, to extensive promotions plus having a great program ready. What’s more important to remember is that we opened our doors, and practiced what we preached by being an open and affirming church, not just to the public but to each other.

Just as “leaf peeper” traffic varies from season to season based on factors such as economic conditions, weather conditions, or just un-seen factors, the same seems to apply to Church Open Houses! Would the fall foliage colors of the Kancamagus Highway or Lake Winnipesaukee cease to exist or be any less beautiful if there were no visitors one season? Certainly not! And the same is true of churches. Let’s continue to celebrate our own season of fall, and know that the openness and beauty of our church may or may not attract those seeking a new church family. Regardless, the true beauty and importance of a church comes from the joy and caring of its members, whether anyone is watching or not!

David Henderson, Church Moderator

OCTOBER CALENDAR 2009

This is UNICEF month led by the Sunday School

Oct. 1, Junior Choir 7:00 pm, Senior Choir 7:30pm

Oct. 4, Worship 10:00am

Oct. 7, Church Council 7:00pm Undercroft

Oct. 8, Junior Choir 7:00pm, Senior Choir 7:30pm

Oct. 11, Worship 10:00 am (music to remember our friend Ned Dahl), Senior Sunday

Dinner at 2^nd Baptist 12:15

Oct, 14, Centre Cemetery Program begins at 5:00pm at the Cemetery, then supper and Program presented by David Watters at the Undercroft

Oct.15, Junior Choir 7:00pm, Senior Choir 7:30pm

Oct. 18, Worship 10:00am

Oct. 20, Prayer Shawl Ministry 1:30 Taylor Community Craft Room

Oct. 21, Book Group 6:30pm Akermans

Oct.22, Junior Choir 7:00pm, Senior Choir 7:30pm

Oct. 25 Worship 10:00am, Seniors Sunday Dinner 12:15 Undercroft

Board of Trustees

Treasurer, Bob Ilgenfritz, reported a continuing favorable balance in the checkbook...The Trustees reviewed the work being done by our parsonage tenant. This entails some much needed painting of all the trim and other maintenance items. The Trustees had agreed that this necessary work would be done in lieu of a months rent payment. The home is already looking much nicer!

Chair Wally noted the work day held last Saturday. Although the crew was not that large, a fair amount of work was accomplished, thanks to the team that showed! Sat., 9/19 will be the work day at the Centre Cemetery.

Many thanks to Dennis Akerman for the work with Will Ellis to get the new sanctuary lighting in place. What a wonderful addition! And, once again, our special thanks to the anonymous donor who made this possible!

A number of pending items were discussed and will be part of future meetings … If any members have questions about the church finances or church property, please feel free to inquire of any of the Trustees. We will do our best to answer your inquiries.

Have a great Fall!

Wally Strauch, Chair

2009 STEWARDSHIP

The 2009 Stewardship Logo, which will soon appear on your Sunday Bulletin, symbolizes the “giving” spirit of the Sanbornton Congregational Church, United Church of Christ.

“We contribute to our Church community spiritually and through our contributions to the UCC, our prayer shawls and to the Church annual finances:

We contribute to the world and the environment through our green program and our outreach efforts:

We contribute to the local community through the Food Bank, Bread and Roses.”

This is just a sampling of the vitality which is so evident among our church community.

You are especially invited to attend services on October 18 and 25 and November 1 and 8 to worship, pray and celebrate the work and mission of the Sanbornton Congregational Church, UCC.

Committee: Marg Whedon, Liz Merry, Shirley Powers

Missions Committee

As the weather changes to grow a bit colder each day it reminds us of those less fortunate. This is the time of year when we begin collecting items for hygiene kits for people at local homeless shelters and New Beginnings Shelter in Laconia. We can use either large sizes or small travel sizes of toothpaste, dental floss, shaving cream, soap, shampoo, and conditioner. We can use packages of disposable razors, combs, and q-tips. If you prefer to give a money donation, we will use it to buy facecloths, toothbrushes, and other needed items. Last year we gave about 60 kits, this year with your help, we’d like to do more.

Another cold weather project is collecting warm outer coats, sweaters, gloves, and hats for the female inmates at the Shea Farm Half-way House in Concord. These inmates must walk about a mile to catch the bus to jobs they have in the community. It’s a long, cold walk – they are not allowed to accept rides. These women are trying to make a new start and anything we can do to help will be greatly appreciated.

Last Sunday in church we heard about the new Sanbornton Food Pantry that will be opening at the Town Hall next door to our church. It will be open one day a month – the first Thursday, but hopes to expand its days in the future. It is also available for emergency needs through the Sanbornton Welfare Officer. Now, a few people have asked why we need a second food pantry when we already have First Fruits Food Pantry at the Second Baptist Church. FFFP is only open one day a month and that does leave a gap that needs to be filled in these tough economic times. On the first Sunday of every month our church collects food and money for Local Hunger Relief. These donations are currently shared between FFFP, Bread & Roses Kitchen; and, we hope you’ll approve of now including the Sanbornton Food Pantry. We hope you’ll give generously to reach out and help our neighbors.

Together, friends, we do make a difference. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement.

Mission Committee: Ann Emerson-Knott, Edna Hansen, Patsy Wells and Tracy Woods

From the Minister of Music

Our choirs are back in operation once more…we have some new choristers in the Junior Choir, Sam Woods, Zoli Marchant, and Liam Downes. It is good to now have 4 boys in the choir, along with 6 girls.

We will miss Shirley Powers while she is sidelined for orthopedic surgery. Mary Ruth Scott will be helping out at Alto, so getting along without Shirley won’t be TOO hard. Losing a singer as talented and devoted as Shirley is never an easy thing, and we’ll all be glad to have her back with us in a couple of months.

We will be remembering our good friend Ned Dahl during worship on October 11. Many of his family will be with us. We’ll have some special music in Ned’s memory, along with some tributes.

Dave Henderson and I have been making progress in organ work. We’ve gotten much of the needed work done, but some still remains, and we’re chipping away at it.

Since I last reported, Katie and Kim Bossey and I have taken part in the Royal School of Church Music cathedral singing week at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland. It was a splendid week, with a very fine choir, music list, and musical leadership. This year’s course was the ninth which Kim and I have attended. We are now recognized among the “repeat offenders”. Next year, the course will be held at Exeter (not NH!) Cathedral, so we’ll be looking forward to that, if we get invited.

Dennis

Special Cemetery Tour and Talk

There will be a special tour of Sanbornton’s Centre Cemetery (established in 1775) on Wednesday evening, October 14, at 5 p.m., followed at 6 p.m. by a light supper in the Undercroft at Sanbornton Congregational Church, UCC, and a talk by Dr. David Watters, Director of the Center for New England Culture at the University of New Hampshire and an authority on Colonial literature, history and gravestone art. Dr. Watters will be introduced by Representative Liz Merry, Chair of the Centre Cemetery Committee.

This program is sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities Council; it is free and open to the public. If you wish to attend, please rsvp with your name and the number in your party to Diane at 603-279-8848 or at sneg@metrocast.net. The Church is at 21 Meetinghouse Hill Road, off route 132, opposite the Post Office in Sanbornton Square. The Cemetery is straight past the Church, two tenths of a mile up hill, on the left, on Tower Hill Road at the original location of the Church.

The Church has cared for the Cemetery for 234 years; volunteers do some of the maintenance. The pioneers who settled the Town of Sanbornton in 1771 repose in the cemetery. Dr. Watters, who will lead the tour and give the talk, is a Professor of English and American Studies at UNH. He serves as a trustee of the New Hampshire Historical Society, the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail and the Robert Frost Farm. He is also a state legislator representing Strafford County District 4 (Dover). He has received numerous awards for public service and for excellence in education and in the humanities.

The program is free and open to all. Donations to cover the cost of the meal and help with the maintenance of the graves will be gratefully accepted.

UNICEF CHURCH SCHOOL MISSION PROJECT

During the month of October, children in our Church School will be learning about UNICEF, the

United Nations Children’s Fund.

In Philadelphia in 1950, the children of Rev. Clyde Allison decided to ask for Halloween donations to UNICEF to help children survive around the world. Our children will be helping children in need of water, education and medicine. The familiar orange boxes will be given to the children the first Sunday in October. All month they will be challenged to find ways to collect and earn money for UNICEF. Last year, our children collected $207.20, and the total collected by UNICEF last year was $4.4 million.

We hope to celebrate during the Worship Service on November 1st, All Saints Day. You may be surprised at what the classes plan for that day.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR TWEENS CLASS

Marg Whedon is teaching the Tweens Class in our Church School. They meet in the second floor classroom. There is a need for a volunteer to join Marg and her class each Sunday. We hope there will be a different volunteer each Sunday. What a privilege to join this group - won’t you contact Marg or someone on the Christian Education Committee - Sarah Harbrook, Sue Long, Mary Morris, Shirley Powers, Shirley Strauch, or Marg Whedon. Thank you for considering this opportunity to be with our Youth.

CHURCH SCHOOL REGISTRATION

There are great teachers in our Church School.  The Bible based curriculum is fun and challenging.   Children will be bringing home related work and a variety of enrichment activities.  

 After two weeks of Church School, nineteen children have been registered.   This represents ten families.    There are a few more children that haven't been registered.    We have room for more, so invite your friends and neighbors -- and we hope to see new faces soon.     

CLOCKMAKERS OF SANBORNTON - By Milly Shaw, Historian

During the month of July 2009, I spent much time researching and sending history and photos regarding the clockmakers of Sanbornton to a retired MD and horologist of New Jersey. When completed, he donated his manuscript to the Sanbornton Historical Society.

Throughout the 1800’s the following named clockmakers carried out their business in this town: Simon and sons Richard and Robert Johnson (at Turkey Bridge, Salmon Brook), Elisha Smith at the Sanbornton Bay area, Edward Eastman (who was a friend of Simon Johnson), Thomas Gridley at Tin Corner {before 1869 date of the town division…now Tilton), and Simeon Cate Jr. who bought out the clock business from Thomas Bridley.

We know of three Johnson clocks in Sanbornton, one at Lane Tavern by Simon (1804-1870), one at the Town Office, and one which adorns the south wall at Sanbornton Congregational Church. The one at our church was probably made by the Johnson Brothers. At the Johnson clock shop, water was directed from Salmon Brook by a floodgate to a waterwheel which supplied power to a milling machine. Johnson also used foot operated lathes. Simon Johnson also taught his sons, who continued to use the shop with the primitive machinery throughout the 19^th century and produced fine and accurate timepieces in the “old manner”, forsaking the development of more modern machinery. The Johnson shop was the last of the great American shops where hand crafting continued to play a major role in clock production.

Simon Johnson primarily provided finished movements to the wholesale trade. Therefore, clocks with his name on the dial are not known. He made movements for patent timepieces, tower clocks, church gallery clocks and weight driven regulators. The Johnson brothers, Robert (1832-1911) and Richard (1846-1919} retired in the early 1900’s and are buried in the First Baptist Cemetery. It is interesting to note that while the other two Johnson clocks in Sanbornton are signed, the church’s clock is not.