Newsletter
The Steeple
February 2012
JOIN US FOR THE LENTEN WORKSHOP
Rooster Riddle Q: Which came first— the chicken or the egg?
A: According to the Bible (Genesis 1:20), the chicken.
Heifer agrees, usually supplying chicks to families who may
not have equipment to incubate hatching eggs.
On February 19th the Sunday school will be decorating container to use to collect money during Lent and making cards for our “Thinking of You” people. Everyone is invited to participate. So join us on Sunday, February 19, in the Education wing of our church after the worship service.
There will be a potluck luncheon and yes, there is room for everyone. This is always a fun filled fellowship time.
Everyone is invited to participate in our Lenten Mission Project by every day during Lent adding coins to your Lenten container and saying this prayer or help your children make up a prayer.
God, our Father, through our observance of Lent, help us to understand the meaning of Your Son's
death and resurrection, and teach us to reflect the love of Jesus in our lives. We give thanks that you, God are like a mother bird (Deuteronomy 32:11–12) who cares for her young (Matthew 23:37).
Through Heifer, we, too, can demonstrate our care for all members of God’s family. Amen.
This year’s mission project will be to purchase flocks of chicken through Heifer Project. How many flocks of chickens will we be able to buy? Heifer Chicks • $20 Flock
Amazing Arithmetic One Heifer egg produces one hen that can lay around 400 eggs during her lifetime; half the eggs (200) will be cocks and half, hens. If the 200 hens each lay 400 eggs in their lifetime (80,000), and half are given to adults, how many eggs are there to provide hungry children with nutritious protein food? Answer: 40,000
WORSHIP NOTES
We are settling in to our winter worship space at the Masonic Lodge. We expect to be there through March 25th, returning to the Congregational Church building on April 1st. This congregation of the United Methodist Church cannot be held back by adversity and we are ever mindful that the church is not a building.
The schedule for our Lenten services has been set. On Ash Wednesday, February 22, we will join Faith UMC in Chicopee. Maundy Thursday, April 5, we will invite our friends from Faith to join us in the chapel at the Falls Congregational Church for a Tenebrae service. We expect an ecumenical Good Friday service to be announced in the coming weeks. Palm Sunday, April 1st, and Easter Sunday, April 8th, we will join the Falls congregational Church in their sanctuary. Harry will coordinate with Eric Frary to bring a glorious musical celebration of the risen Christ.
BIBLE STUDIES “One at a Time” – Thursday, February 5 at Pastor Peter’s
home in Chicopee. Next one (date and time) to be
decided at the end of each gathering.
Lenten Bible Study - on Thursday before choir, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
during Lent.
PASTOR’S PAGE
Well, it’s 2012 now, and you know what that means. The end of the world, right? I’m sure you’ve heard that some Mayan calendar from hundreds of years ago puts the end of the world at December 21, 2012. I can’t claim to know anything about a Mayan calendar. But you gotta wonder: dis those folks in Central America know something that we don’t know? Did they have the inside scoop on what’s going down while the rest of us were still in the dark?
Probably not. Although I’ve admitted my ignorance, I will now go out on a limb and deliver this daring prophesy: anyone who’s expecting the end of the world this year will turn out to be wrong. December 2012 will come and go, and we’ll roll on into 2013 without much of a hiccup in the order of the cosmos. Wanna bet a C-note I’m wrong? Well, you won’t collect if you win the bet; you and I won’t be around. Besides, I don’t gamble. (Unless you count that pension money in the stock market.)
And how can I cheerfully make this sweeping prediction with such confidence? Because end-times predicting has been going on a long time now and have always ended in failure – or spin control.
Fact is, we Christians also have a poor track record when it comes to forecasting the end of the world, or even just the end of “the present age.” The Apostle Paul told Christians that “the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away (1 Corinthians 7:29-31).
OK, you know what happened. The present form of this world didn’t pass away. It kept right on going. Pretty soon, Christians went back to mourning and rejoicing, loving their spouses, acquiring possessions, and dealing with the world as best they could – improving it some, I’d say. Every now and then one of us claims to know the end is near, but here we are anyway.
So along with my amazing prophesy, I’ll also give you a blessing: May you experience God as the One who draws you into the future – a future that perhaps He Himself cannot know in great detail, but in which He will continue to be there for you. May 2012 prove to be the most spiritually productive and rewarding year you have ever known.
Peter
FINANCE NOTES
We expect to have our annual corned beef supper and auction, so be thinking about what you might offer for the auction. Because we have had to forego some of our fall activities, it is more important than ever for this fundraiser to be successful. Be watching for more information.
Have you filled out a pledge card? Are you thinking to yourself, “Oops, I have been meaning to, but I just keep forgetting?” You are not alone, for there are a number in your boat. Take heart, for it’s never too late. You don’t even have to use a pledge card. You can send in a card or a note indication how much and how often you will pledge. Our pledges are down and the need is up. Despite our displacement from our own building we will remain actively involved doing God’s will in our community. Please consider prayerfully how you will participate in spreading God’s love.
PRAYER LIST: The Dunlap Family, Neal White, Sewell Frank, The Sicard Family, Kathy Tracy, Connie and Ron Cobb, Elecia Melville, Jackie Hartwell, Betty Merkel, Al and Jean Rachko, Bob Esner, John Guarnera, Samantha Snopek, Cecil Piper, Steve Fic, Tim – a friend of Kathy Washburn, Jean and Tom- friends of Carol Brunelle and Eric Szulc.
STEEPLELIGHTING
Our steeple is lit for the month of February:
In memory of Homer Washburn
from the Washburn Family
CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS/EPIPHANY SERVICE
The children of our church lead us in worship on Januay 8th. They explained what Epiphany is by presenting a skit called “What's a Piffany?” by Deb Mechler; they sang “Big, Big, Big New” by Steve Siler; some read the story as others acted out the of the birth of our Lord Jesus. It is always interesting to watch the littlest angels and shepherds. We all sang ‘Happy Birthday” to Jesus and after worship enjoyed birthday cake. Three of our children filled in at the last minute for other children who were sick. Everyone did a wonderful job leading the whole worship service.
Thank you to all who help to make this worship service possible – all the teachers, helpers, parents, grandparents and especially the children. Thank you to Harry Thomas for all his patience, support and help with the music. It is through God’s love that it is possible.
EVERYTHING YOU DO IS EVANGELISM.
I recently received an email asking for help for the Springfield Rescue Mission. The message suggested eight ways to truly help homeless people. In addition to the expected appeal for monetary donations and specific items (toiletries), there were six other ways of helping. I found all of these suggestions fascinating.
Don’t give them money. Even when the hard luck stories are true, too often money is converted into drugs or alcohol. If the person is hungry, buy a sandwich and beverage and/or refer them to the Mission.
Speak to the person in a friendly, respectful manner. It helps them to fight the loneliness and isolation. We have seen in the food pantry the impact of treating people with respect.
Recognize that as in the general population, all homeless people are not the same. The person you meet may be a veteran, mentally ill, a con artist, a battered woman, and so on.
Encourage the homeless person to get help. The Springfield Rescue Mission offers a one-year Christian Rehabilitation program as well as many other avenues for help.
“Pray for the homeless. Exposure to the elements, dirt, occasional violence, and lack of purpose all drain years from a person’s life. Pray that those who are homeless will find shelter. Pray that people seeking refuge at the Mission will build new lives.”
Share God’s love whenever possible. We are the hands, feet and heart of Jesus and surely he would be among the homeless to feed them, heal them and offer hope. It is through each of us that his work is done.
Christ Has No Body
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world.
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
~ Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-82)
Yours in the dance,
Mary Lou
All are welcome! Join us for worship or join in one of our missions.
More than 3,500 bags of groceries were collected on January 16 for the Neighbors Helping Neighbors food pantry by So. Hadley High School student & Count Me In. We are thankful for all who participated.
DATES TO REMEMBER
·February 2 – Bible Study at 6:30 at Peter’s condo
·February 9 – Choir Rehearsal at the Masonic
Lodge
·February 12 – Confirmation Class- 4:00 – 6:00
·February 13 – Education Committee at 6:30 at
Ann Felsentreger’s home
·February 19 – Lenten Workshop
·February 22 – Joint Ash Wednesday Service at
Faith UMC
·March 12 – Church Council at 6:30
·November 2-3- Women of Faith Convention in
Hartford
March Newsletter DEADLINE is February 16th.
United Methodist Church
of
Holyoke, South Hadley & Granby
30 Carew Street
South Hadley, Massachusetts 01075-2705
Rev. Peter Milloy: 413-331-2862
Church office: 413-532-0500
e-mail: churchofficeinthefalls.org
Harry Thomas, Organist and Choir Director
Laurette Sanford, Secretary
Neighbors Helping Neighbors:
413-530-8240
