january 27, 2011 epistle.doc

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THE EPISTLEVolume 16 Issue 1 JANUARY 27, 2011

I was going through some old papers the otherday and came across the bulletin forSeptember 16, 1984. It was on that Sundaythat I preached my first sermon as Pastor andTeacher of First Congregational UnitedChurch of Christ. As I looked through it, Ithought, boy how times have changed! Thiswas pre-computer days, at least at FirstChurch. The bulletin was mimeographed.

(Who remembers a mimeograph?) As I lookedat the names of those who were ushers, ordeacons or readers, I was reminded of some ofthe saints of days past, who are now part ofthe church triumphant. There were othernames of those who have moved away andstill others of folks who are still activemembers of our church.As I was reading the announcements (not yetcalled News in the Pews), I came across thefollowing:

The Church Council is looking into various

ways to increase church membership. As

part of this effort, we ask each of you to

come up with ideas and submit them to the

Council.

It was Yogi Bera, wasnt it, who said Dejavue all over again? Time change and yetthey dont change and once again ourchurch is engaged in ways to reach out withour story and invite those who have nochurch to become part of our community offaith. If you were in church on January 16,you heard our interim Conference Minister,

Rita Root preach and if you came to theadult forum you heard her speak to thisissue. There is no debate about the fact thatmainline Protestant churches have lostmembers. This is true here and it is true allover the country. One of the reasons for thisis that we are not reproducing ourselves.Mainliners have fewer children. Anotherreason is that over the years children ofmainline Protestants have not followedthrough on their parents commitments.

Confirmation became graduation andstudies tell us that for those raised in thechurch, continued church membership andinvolvement has not been a priority. If youhave adult children, think about that. Arethey active members of a United Church ofChrist congregation, or another mainlineProtestant church?The culture also does not assume churchmembership and involvement. The props ofanother day are no more. Sunday is just one

more day and the church another institutionthat is competing for time, talent andtreasure. Often the church is put into theposition of competing with activities thatdraw adults, children and young people, andto be frank, we can never win in such acompetition.


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2 THE EPISTLESo, then, what are we to do? Do we moan andgroan and hang our heads and give up? By nomeans! We seek ways to reach out and inviteothers to become part of a community of faithwhich is there for them in good times and bad;

a community of faith which laughs with themand cries with them; a community of faithwhich seeks to hold out a message of love andacceptance; a message of Gods grace andlove for one and all.Does this mean that some things may bedifferent? Indeed it does. Does it mean that weneed to be open to ways of being the Churchof Jesus Christ which are different from pastways? Indeed it does. Does it mean that wemay have to look at structures hinder rather

than help our mission and ministry? Indeed itdoes.Our church is already moving into a newfuture, like it or not. We begin on January 22a monthly Saturday service which we arecalling Saturday Live. This monthly 5:00PM service will be an opportunity for thosewho may be out of town or otherwise engagedon a Sunday to worship on Saturday. Theother dates are: March 5; April 2; May 7and June 4. There will be no one format forthese services, but rather, we will worship indifferent ways. Do you know a friend who isseeking a church, but may be uncomfortablebeginning on a Sunday, this might be analternative. Reach out and invite.Your membership committee has been hard atwork seeking ever new ways to tell our story.Two things are crucial as we move forward:use of technology and small groups. We willas a congregation seek to make good use ofthe technology we have both in telling ourstory and in communicating with our existingmembers. We also know that many areseeking a small group in which they canconnect with others. Some of these groupswill be gathered around common interests:golf, fishing, and other such things. Stillothers will be centered on a topic of interestfor those seeking to deepen their spiritual

lives; while still others will be geared tothose asking some of the basic questions oflife. We intend to have a full range of suchgroups ready to roll out in September!Your mission, should you chose to accept

it is to get on board. Your thoughtful ideasand also your thoughtful participation in thisnew and exciting chapter of our life togetheris crucial.

See you in church,

JohnJohnJohnJohn

SUNDAY WORSHIP

SCOUT SUNDAYFebruary 6th is Scout Sunday, and the

Scouts, parents and leaders from our Troop207 will be joining us for the 9:30 AM

service. Please welcome them!

OUR WORSHIP TOGETHER

DURING THE SEASON OF

EPIPHANY

January 23: Basics

Focus Scripture: I Corinthians 1:10-18

January 30: Awaiting Further

Instructions

Focus Scriptures: Micah 6:1-8; Matthew

5:1-12

February 6: What are you?

Focus Scripture: Matthew 5:13-20


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February 13:

The Law Reads

Focus Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Matthew 5:21-37

February 20:

Be Perfect?

Focus Scriptures: Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18;

Matthew 5:38-48

February 27: Every little thing is gonna be

all right

Focus Scripture: Matthew 6:24-34

BOARDS AND COMMITTEESUPDATES

COMING SOON.LENTEN

PROJECT 2011

Soon it will be time to turn our attention onceagain to Lent and how we will observe thisseason as an individual and as acongregation. Mark your calendars for aLenten Kick-Off event on Sunday evening,Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. You will have theopportunity to join a small group of 10-20people to meet weekly for study, spiritual

growth and deepening the sense of communitywithin the church. The groups will study thegospel and how it is lived out in all of life.Through a curriculum called, Gospel inLife, participants will focus on how thegospel can be lived first in ones heart, then inones community, and finally out into theworld. Sign-ups for various small groups will

be posted soon on the rolling bulletin boardin Fellowship Hall. Small group meetingswill begin the week of March 6.

In addition, as part of this Lenten program,

members of the First Congregational UCCwill be encouraged to participate in amission project designed to help usstrengthen our faith as we make a differencein the world. More details about thismission project will be released soon. Staytuned!

EVENING CIRCLE

Evening Circle will gather together onMonday, February 7th at 7 PM in Fellowship

Hall. Our guest speaker will be SuzanneFeather from MVP Health Care discussingLife is a ball-- the importance of humor.Please join us. New members are always

welcome. Any questions, give NormaHarrington or Carol Moran a call.

MORNING CIRCLE MEETS

Morning Circle will meet on Tuesday Feb.8th at 10 AM. Rev. Cedarleaf will lead a

discussion about the book "MountainsBeyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder.

Please feel free to attend whether you haveread the book or not. New members are

always welcome.


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CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

SURVEY RESULTSIn September, approximately 35 surveys were sent

to church families with children in our Christianeducation program. The survey was intended togauge interest in changing the time of churchschool offerings for preschool and elementaryschool children. Only five surveys were returned.Of these, 4 of the 5 indicated they were contentwith the timing of current offerings. The CEBoard concluded that this is not a hot buttonissue for our families and voted to keep theofferings at their current time of approximately10:50 11:35 a.m.

THANKS!!

To all who donated food, money and/or helpeddeliver the Christmas baskets this year, we sayTHANK YOU! This year we were able to helpnine families have a brighter Christmas becauseyou cared enough to help.

Don Eaton, Board of Missions

THANKS SO MUCH!

Thank you to everyone that purchased theDelta Sonic Gift Cards for stocking stuffers.We profited $380.00 which will go to thechurch's general budget.

Nan & Bernie NotarBOARD OF DEACONS THANKS!

The Board of Deacons wants to thankeveryone who attended the Childrens Musicalprogram and the Advent Dinner on December

4, 2010. The musical performance was greatand the food was delicious. We want to give avery special THANKS to all of you whostayed after the dinner to put away the tablesand chairs. It certainly made the clean-upwork much faster and easier. HAPPY NEWYEAR.

Missions Corner

Even though we have all probably had enoughof winter, there is still plenty of winter to come.The work of Missions goes on despite thewinter.

This month the focus of Missions Corner is onAdvent House with our liaison to AdventHouse, Eileen Slocum, contributing thefollowing information.

For those of you who do not know about Advent

House, it is a hospice care home which providesfor the many physical, emotional and spiritualneeds of the dying. Anyone who has beenmedically determined to be in the last threemonths of life can be admitted for free to one ofthe two beds at Advent House. Preference foradmission is given to those who can no longerbe cared for at home.

Advent House provides a home-like setting forterminally ill patients and their family andfriends. The patient is encouraged to participatein determining what would most enhance his orher quality of life. Advent House also continuessupport of the family through the grievingprocess.

Advent House is always looking for volunteerssince it operates seven days a week, 24 hours aday. Volunteers, who enable this ministry tocontinue, perform such tasks as bedside care,


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property maintenance, clinical help, publicrelations and fund-raising. People who volunteerat Advent House find it a rewarding experience.

Advent House provides volunteer training on a

regular basis. If you feel that you could giveAdvent House a few hours a week on a regularbasis, you can get more information aboutbecoming an Advent House volunteer by calling(585) 223-6112 or e-mail Advent House [email protected].

On other fronts, we are looking for someone orsome people to take over the commitment to ourlocal Community Dinners. Community Dinnersare offered to our Perinton neighbors in needevery Sunday of the month in one of five churches

in Perinton. Our church has committed to servinga Community Dinner in any month in which thereis a fifth Sunday. Responsibilities includeobtaining volunteers, food preparation, fooddistribution (both in-house and take-outs), andclean-up on that fifth Sunday. This is a veryrewarding endeavor. If you are interested inhelping our church in this endeavor, feel free tocall me at (585) 388-1355 or e-mail me [email protected].

In our Missions meetings we have been discussing

how we can bring our message to the congregationin a more direct format. We have decided on aMissions Moment during the service. Ondedicated Sundays, we will invite the executivedirector (or stand-in) of the agencies we support tomake a five-minute presentation to thecongregation. Following the service, the directorwould join us in our Adult Education Class. Ourfirst proposed Missions Moment is tentativelyscheduled for Sunday, February 13th when we planon hosting the Director of Safe Journey (a shelterfor battered women here in Perinton). During the

month of May we plan on inviting the director ofAdvent House. We anticipate hosting twodirectors in the fall.

Stay warm this winter!

FAMILY NEWS

CHRISTIAN ED CLASSESNote: There will be no Christian Ed for kidson Feb 20 and 27 due to school break.

NEWS FROM OUR YOUTH

SENIOR VALENTINE

LUNCHEON

February 6th

Junior and SeniorHigh students are

invited toparticipate in theannual ValentineLuncheon. You

will be preparingand serving lunch to the senior

citizens of our congregation. Thepreparation begins at 9:30 am and you

should be finished cleaning up by 2pm. Please see the sign-up sheet onthe bulletin board. You need to signup to work and to bring some of the

supplies. This event is a lot of fun foryou and is very enjoyable to the

people you serve.


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VOLUNTEER & COMMUNITY

OPPORTUNITIES

ADVENT HOUSE EVENTS

Annual Dinner Dance & AuctionMarch 25, 2011, 6 PMCasa Larga Vineyards

Call Advent House for reservations,223-6112

Save the Date!

Advent House Golf TournamentSeptember 16, 2011 at Noon

Victor Hills Golf CourseCall Advent House for reservations,

223-6112

BAMNS OPEN HOUSESBertha Agor Memorial Nursery School ishaving two open houses to introduce theirteachers and their programs to families withyoung children. Please stop by the church andchat with the BAMNS staff. Dates for the Open

Houses are:January 31, 2011 from 5 7 PMMarch 22, 2011 from 5 7 PM

AN INVITATION TO FIRST CHURCH

WOMEN

The women of the Sisterhood of Temple BrithKodesh invite the women of First Church to

their annual Interfaith Event on Wednesday,March 23 at 11:00 AM at Temple BrithKodesh, 2131 Elmwood Avenue.

The program begins at 11:00 AM and isentitled: Interfaith Education, Past, Present,Future. The speakers are Daan Braverman,President of Nazareth College and Dr.Muhammad Shafiq, Professor of Islamic andReligious Studies at Nazareth.

Please bring your own non-meat lunch. Fruit,

dessert and beverages will be provided. Theprogram is free, but please make a reservationby emailing [email protected] or phoning, 244-7060x233.


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OUR CHURCH FAMILY

Our Christian sympathy is extended to Joan andTom Bigelow on the passing of Joans sister,

Carol Ellison onDecember 18,2010.

Our condolencesare extended toSandy and TedGood on the recentdeath of Sandysfather, David DelNero of RhodeIsland onDecember 18,2010.

Our sympathy isextended to Sally Forgensi and Martha Holmesand their families on the recent death of theirfather, Harry Schwartz on December 24, 2010. Aservice was held on for him on January 8, 2011 inCassadaga, New York.

THANK YOU!

Dear First Church friends:

Once again, Jean and I thank you for yourlove, support and caring expressed in yourgenerous Christmas gift. Over the years wehave worked together in our common ministryof speaking Gods gracious word of love toone and all. Each one of you has been an

important part of our common life together.Once again thanks for being who and whatyou are individually and what we are togetherfor Gods glory.

Faithfully,John

CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST

WISHES TO:

Erica Harper, on her new business, Harper

Danesh LLC.

Steve Hoover, who becomes chiefexecutive officer of PARC, which isXeroxs Palo Alto California researchcenter. We will miss the Hoover family whohave been active members of First Churchfor many years. Steve begins his new dutiesFebruary 1 and Vicky and the rest of thefamily will finish out the school year here.

WELCOME TO THE NEW ARRIVAL!Mike and Nora Root welcomed a new grandson,John Patrick Novak, on January 8, 2011. He isthe son Kate and Terry Novak. They live inHerkimer, NY.


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EPISTLE

DEADLINE IS3 PM

FEBRUARY17

TH

A PRAYER FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE

DAY

O Lord, grant me to meet the coming

day in peace.

Help me in all things to rely upon thy

holy will.

In every hour of the day reveal thy will

to me.

Bless my dealings with all who surround

me.

Teach me to treat all that come to me

throughout the day with peace of soul,

and the firm conviction thy will governs

all.

In all my deeds and words guide my

thoughts and feelings.

In unforeseen events let me not forget

that all are sent by thee.

Teach me to act firmly and wisely,

without embittering or embarrassingothers.

Give me the strength to bear the fatigue

of the coming day and all it shall bring.

Direct my will, teach me to pray, pray

thou thyself in me. Amen.

-Russian Orthodox Metropolitan,

Moscow, 1000 C.E.

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