Here is some of the BIG NEWS at church this week.
1. Worship this Sunday
2. Sabbatical Time
3. Sunday Coffee Hour
4. Soup Sale Update
5. Fundraising volunteers sought
6. Freedom to Marry films
7. Baseball trip
8. Ronn Koeppel's retirement
9. A course with Dick Devor
1. Worship this Pentecost Sunday, May 11, 2008: This Sunday will be a transition
Sunday leading into sabbatical time, which begins on Monday and ends on
September 3rd. Tom will be saying farewell to the congregation, and the
congregation to Tom. To mark the transition, the service will be partly led by
Tom and partly lay-led. Tom will speak with the children, deliver the sermon
and lead the Joys and Concerns and Prayers of the Church, and members of the
congregation will lead the remainder of the service. We will read Psalm 84
responsively toward the beginning of the service, and toward the end sing How
Lovely Is Your Dwelling, a beautiful hymn based on that Psalm, sung to the tune
of Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming. We will hear the story of Pentecost read from
the book of Acts by Charlie Buttrey. Tom's sermon will be entitled Visions and
Dreams, and will talk about the months ahead for him and for the congregation.
The service will be full of beautiful music, including the favorite Pentecost
Hymn, Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness, the favorite South African hymn, Thuma Mina,
and as a Benediction three short hymns, Spirit of the Living God, God Be In My
Head and God Be With You Till We Meet Again. Patricia will play a prelude by
the great Baroque composer Dietrich Buxtehude and other contemporary pieces by
Christopher Norton and George Wilson, and the choir will sing a Native American
Spirit Chant and an anthem by contemporary gospel songwriter Glenn Burleigh.
Red is the color of the day. And the children will be following the Holy
Spirit's example in surprising ways...
2. Pulpit Supply News from the Board of Pastoral Relations
Rev. Elizabeth Upton will be conducting worship next week, May 18th.
Rhonda Myers will be conducting worship for ten weeks beginning May 25th.
Rhonda has just graduated from Andover-Newton Seminary and will be commuting
each week from her home in Greensboro, Vermont to Thetford Hill. The
Pastoral Relations Board urges everyone who will be in town on the 25th to
make a special effort to be in church to welcome Rhonda on her first Sunday
with us.
In addition to the time Rhonda will be with us, the Pastoral Relations Board
has also planned an outdoor service on Sunday, July 27th at the Frey's
property on Lake Fairlee, and Rev. Dick Devor will be conducting a "Blessing
of the Animals" service on Sunday, August 17th. Other special offerings are
in the works. If you have a great idea you'd like to see turned into
reality, please speak with one of the PRB members.
If at any time while Tom is on sabbatical you have any concerns about
worship or pastoral coverage please speak with a member of the Pastoral
Relations Board or a Deacon. We have ensured that pastoral concerns will be
met by using the Deacons, the Calling and Caring team and by our four member
ministers. There will be information in the bulletin each Sunday with
contact names and phone numbers.
3. BON SABBATICAL Coffee Hour: Join us for a little send-off for Tom's last Sunday with us for 3 months!!! Come share the bounty of refreshments, the company of old and new friends and to wish Tom an inspiring summer.
4. SOUP SALE SUCCESS! Thank you all so much for working so hard to make the spring soup and dessert sale a whopping success. Last we counted we made about $925- That is $200 more than anticipated! I plan to organize these in the spring and fall again but will really simplify future sales by giving you the "to-go" containers to fill and label at home and also ask you to cut dessert bars at home too. Meanwhile thanks for all you do! Your humble fundraising Chair; Susan Kowalsky
5. UCC VT Conference held a wonderful day of seminars on Welcoming and Stewardship (among other topics) last Saturday in Randolph. Alice Pierson and I, Susan Kowalsky, came back refreshed and inspired. I am planning to work with the Stewardship committee and am looking for anyone to volunteer to take over one or more fundraisers in the future. I am making a Fundraising binder that will have complete instructions for any fundraisers (Auction, Summer BBQ, Soup & Dessert Sales) So if you are interested please call me at 649-2681. Thanks, Susan
6. In May and June, we will be showing two different films and having discussion on the topic of Marriage Equality. Both are on Sunday evenings: the first is May 18th, and the second June 15th, both at 6PM. (Please note the time change from last week's announcement. Due to the length of the films and to allow for discussion the time has been moved from 7PM to 6PM) Our hope is that we will then be ready to warn a Congregational Meeting in the end of June to vote on supporting the Vermont Freedom to Marry Resolution as a congregation. Come find out more about why this is important and what it means to some of the people in our congregation and beyond!
7. TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME!!
See tomorrow's stars today!
The first annual Church trip to see the Vermont Lake Monsters
will take place on Sunday, July 27. You get:
- Deluxe luxury coach from Thetford to Centennial Field
to watch the Lake Monsters (the Double-A affiliate of the Washington
Nationals) take on the Lowell Spinners (the affiliate of the World
Champion Boston Red Sox).
- Great reserved seats
- Cheeseburger, hot dog, side dish, potato chips,
cookie and a soft drink
- Our name on the scoreboard! A visit from "Champ",
the Lake Monsters mascot!
While the ACTUAL cost for all of this is just $35, we are
proposing a SUGGESTED contribution for all of this is just $50. If you
can make the suggested contribution, it will help those who would like
to go but otherwise can't afford to do so. All excess funds will be
contributed to the Church's general fund.
The bus will leave from the Thetford Elementary School parking
lot at 2:30 p.m. The game begins at 5:05, and we will return after the
game.
MARK THE DATE! SIGN UP NOW! SPACES ARE LIMITED!
USE EXCLAMATION POINTS!
Questions? - Call Charlie Buttrey (785-4005)
8. Save the Date: Ronn Koeppel's Retirement Party
Yes, it's true: Ronn really is retiring from Maple Leaf! We are throwing a party to celebrate his many years of service and we hope that all Maple Leaf families, past and present, will attend. The party will be potluck, so bring a dish as well as a memory or two to share.
Please spread the word to others . It would be a terrific surprise for Ronn - and a fitting tribute - if we packed the Town Common with friends and former students who want to say farewell.
Here are the details:
When: Sunday, June 1, 4:00 - 7:00 pm
Where: The Town Common, Thetford Center
What: Potluck, dancing, and a fun time for all ages
If you have any questions please contact Sarah Martel at 785-2018 or martel71@gmail.com
9. THE PROPHETS
Sep 8 through Oct 20, 2008 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
If you disliked Rev. Jeremiah Wright, you'll really detest the prophets.
They were pugnacious, sometimes poetic, often coarse; they were the whistle blowers of their time, radical and upsetting. They were the finger pointers of their time, but the trouble was, they pointed their fingers at themselves, particularly their own rulers. As a consequence, they were ridiculed as unpatriotic and threatened with death. One way or another, the prophets said, with Pogo, "We have found the enemy and they is us!" And amazingly, the rabbis determined they would be part of our Scriptures.
They were also part of what Karen Armstrong called "The Axial Age," that stunning period between 800 and 200 B.C., when "all major civilizations developed along parallel lines even when there was no commercial contact...." In this time, she writes in The History of God, "there was a new prosperity that led to the rise of the merchant class. Power was shifting from King and priest, temple and palace, to the market place. The new wealth led to intellectual and cultural florescence and also the development of the individual conscience. Inequality and exploitation became more apparent...."
In this Axial Age, Armstrong writes, every region in the world developed a distinctive ideology to address these problems: Taoism and Confucianism in China, Hinduism and Buddhism in India, philosophical rationalism (Plato and Aristotle) in Europe, and Zoroastrianism in Iran.
In Israel, the prophets burst on the scene: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah Ezekiel, and Ruth and Jonah, one way or another thundered the radical notion: God was not discerned in cult or temple. Instead, God's presence was seen in "the blood stained face of history." Nations hitherto thought to be God's enemies were rather God's instruments. In the name of global sovereignty, no longer the God of clan or nation, God was bringing about judgment and redemption for the sake of justice and compassion.
For two hundred years, from roughly 750 - 550 B.C. ,during the Axial Age, the Prophets proclaimed "The Word," a message which, by and large, like Jeremiah Wright, their country rejected as unpatriotic. No wonder Jesus said of his own people, they killed the prophets.
So, here's an invitation: For 7 consecutive Mondays, starting September 8 at 7:00 p.m. bring your Bible (hopefully, the New Revised Standard Version) and join me as the Prophets take us on! Cordially, Dick Devor.
That's all the news from the church for now. Peace to you.