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The Clarion (OnLine):
December 2006
“The
United Church of Christ is a teller of the Christian story . . .
but
we have to get it straight before we can get it out.”
Gabriel
Fackre
Pastor's Message
It’s dangerous to choose “Angels” as a theme for Advent; the potential for trivialization is so great. Open one out of five emails this time of year and there’s bound to be an angel in there. Today’s marketplace includes angel greeting cards and angel lapel pins, angel t-shirts and angel figurines, angel auto accessories and books and movies and songs. Indeed, if you hurry, and while supplies last, you can catch the “Super-Seraphim” sale on Angelheaven.com.
Though angels flourish in our culture, most are thinly related to God, more superstition than Biblical truth. Pudgy and cute, they are talismans, tokens of good fortune like a four leaf clover or a shiny penny in your pocket. Pin one on your shirt and you’re bound to be protected.
How far we have wandered from the real thing, angels so filled with Divine power they inspire fear and awe. “Do not be afraid,” is the first thing they utter. Meet one of God’s minions and your life is forever changed. In the Bible, angels (angelos in Greek and mal’ach in Hebrew) are “messengers” of God, intermediaries who fill the air with earthy words God does not have the mouth to shape. Fluent in both earth and heaven, they spend their days marketing God’s will to a reluctant ménage of humanity.
Some people view angels as spirit people, recycled humans, the souls of the dead. This is not the Biblical view. In Scripture, angels are God’s specific creation, translators of God’s will for humankind, just as Christ will give flesh to God for humankind. It’s always about communication.
Christmas angels are especially dear. Imagined in thousands of paintings, sung about in hundreds of hymns, described in countless stories, they break into the lives of ordinary folk each Advent, daring us to receive the most important words of all, “Unto us a child is born.”
This Advent, we will explore the Christmas angels of Matthew and Luke. Are there Gabriels in your life, announcing the most wondrous news if only you could bear to hear it? Is Joseph’s angel near when God asks you to cast aside your pride for your faith? How many angels would it take to send you running for a look at a manger-child?
Like Zechariah, Mary, Joseph or those shepherds in the fields, Advent reminds us that God’s angels are anything but frivolous, just as the birth of Christ is hardly a mere merchandizing event. “We see what we expect to see,” says Frederick Buechner. Keep your email angels if you wish, but please make room for some real ones to enter in this Christmas!
Peace be with you,
Pastor Cindy
Please be sure to join us on Sunday, December 24th at 10:30 for our Children’s Pageant, “Angels and Stars.”
Board of Trustees
Fund
Raising Reminders
Remember our ongoing recycling effort! Hold on to them until we start collecting them again. Our buyer ir re-organizing the plan. Save your old printer toner, ink cartridges and old cell phones. There’s a box at the Dunbarton Transfer Station for you to turn them in, or you can bring them to church. But don’t stop there! Consider asking local businesses, especially those that provide office services, to collect cartridges on our behalf. Bill Wetzel is already lugging home boxes from the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business! Please contact any trustee for more information.
Christian Education
How Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?
By Laura Tucker, Superintendent
Did you ever notice that Christmas commercials begin before Thanksgiving? Our culture tends to skip Advent and start celebrating Christmas after Thanksgiving—if we’re lucky to make it that far! Then it’s all packed up and stored away by New Year’s.
This year, consider returning to the ancient practice of seeing the whole Christmas “cycle”—the period that embraces both the Advent and Christmas seasons—as one unit of joyous celebration. Preparation comes first, then comes celebration extending a few weeks after Christmas Day.
The focal point of the Christmas cycle is obvious: God becoming one of us in Jesus, the Incarnation. All three phases of the cycle—Advent, Christmas and Epiphany—hinge on and celebrate that point. These celebrations help us to name the ways our lives are caught up in the “big story” of Christ. And these feasts tie our lives to Christians throughout history. The tradition of the Church, the living gospel, is the real-life experience of Christians like you and like me, and those who have gone before us.
During Advent, which begins on December 3rd, we emphasize the joy that some would compare to the months before a child is born: excitement, wonder, joy, expectation, even exhilaration at the life that is in our midst right now, yet also a hope and longing, and a carefulness to get things into order.
During the Christmas season we celebrate the wonder of the Incarnation. How wondrously we are made that the Word of God would become one of us! God shows us how to live fully: by pouring out our lives for others. That is what the days of Christmas are all about.
Epiphany and the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord celebrate Christ becoming manifest—that is, present—to all peoples. On Epiphany we focus on the three Wise Men symbolizing the many races for whom Christ was born. The baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of his public ministry. God’s “Christmas gift” of the Incarnation is a gift for everyone!
Helping Others Who Grieve at Christmas
By Laura Tucker
”.... that we may be able to comfort them which are in trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” ~2 Corinthians 1:3-4~
“Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted” ~Matthew 5:4~
I lost my mother a year ago to complications after back surgery. At that time I could not even think about how to deal with the holiday season, especially Christmas without both of my parents. Mostly, I cried through the holidays. People handle grief differently, but time and God’s unseen hand, through friends and family, have done their healing work.
It is perfectly normal for the holidays to be difficult for a while. That first Christmas will never be the same as in Christmas’ past. It will probably be the second Christmas when new traditions can be created. Researching some ideas on the web, I would like to offer the following ideas on how to help others who are grieving:
1: Remember not to say “Call me if you need anything”. When you are grieving you can’t think to pick up the phone and call someone to help you. Instead, call them to just check in and let them know if you are going to the grocery store and offer to pick up something for them. Drop by just to make sure that they really are ok.
3: Share a
special memory of the deceased person either in person or in a sympathy card.
It’s ok to share a story or talk about the person that died. They need to talk
about the person. Sadly, some families never talk about their loved one again.
Sharing happy memories helps to get us through our grief.
4: Volunteer to drive them to the grave site. Some people may not
want to go alone, and others don’t feel comfortable driving after all they have
gone through. Family members may have left to go back home, so transportation
can be difficult.
5: Offer to help with the thank you notes. It is often hard for people to send out thank you notes because they feel that they need to write a personal note back to everyone, and they feel totally overwhelmed. Some people purchase ready-made sympathy thank you notes or have sympathy cards personalized through a printer or the funeral home. Offer to do the addressing and stamping to give them a good start.
6: Make sure they have food and are eating. This is the time that “easy and simple” are the best words to remember. Drop off food that only has to be reheated. When you make a meal, make a plate for them and just drop it by. So many people bring food in the first few days after a death, and then several weeks later the person may not be eating well or at all. If you send food, make sure that your name is on the bottom of the dish or plate.
It is so wonderful that our refuge is in God. We have a place to hide and be comforted; in the everlasting arms of the Lord our God.
”God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” ~Psalms 46: 1-3~
For more ideas, check out
these web sites:
Annie’s “How to Cope with Grief and the Holidays” Page
Compassion Connection – (they “offer comfort and hope to the
grieving and brokenhearted”)
“How to Write a Eulogy Page” from Funerals with Love
And a few good books:
A Mourning Book - The most comprehensive resource offering
practical and compassionate advice on coping with all aspects of death and dying
by Helen Fitzgerald
Everyday Comfort - Readings for the First Month of Grief by
Randy Becton
Understand Mourning - A Guide for those Who Grieve by
Glen W. Davidson
A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis
Living with Grief After Sudden Loss -a Hospice book that
accompanies their course
Good Grief - by Granger E. Westberg
Grieving the Loss of Someone You Love - Daily Meditations
to Help You through the Grieving Process by Raymond R. Mitsch and
Lynn Brookside
Happy Holidays - How to Beat the Holiday Blues by Minirth,
Hawkins and Meier
Church
School News
Earth’s Treasures in Church School
By Tracy Strombom
In keeping with this year’s theme of Seeking God’s Treasure, the Missions Team led the children through a unit on Earth’s Treasures. The goal of the unit was to help the children awaken their awareness to God’s creation.
Over a five week period, the children had lessons on finding, protecting and sharing the treasures that God has provided us on earth. They came up with a long list of all the different things they have and can do because of earth’s bounty. They learned how important it is to be good stewards of God’s earth through conscious care of the planet and life.
The children learned how children in other churches have helped family, friends and community members take care of the earth. They thought of ways to share earth’s bounty with others and made note pads of recycled paper as well as a mosaic of the earth that included pictures of animals and people from all over the world.
To further share their experience, the children took part in letterboxing. They hoped that by searching for and finding the letterbox that they planted, others would learn about and experience the beauty of Dunbarton.
On one Sunday morning, the children found a spot in the Kuncanowet Town Forest that would hold their letterbox, made a list of clues to get to it and wrote a story that included those clues and would help others learn about the children and Dunbarton. They named themselves the DCC Squirrels, and the hero of their story was a squirrel looking for nuts in the forest.
On the final Sunday of the unit, the kids took the letterbox to the special tree they had chosen in the forest and left their letterbox there for others to find. After placing the letterbox, Patty Shearin and Heather Radl helped the children review what they had learned about God’s creation over the last five weeks.
A grateful thank you to Nancy Lang, Heather Radl, Pat Sellers, Patty Shearin, and Jeanne Sherman for all their hard work and for the great time and education they gave the children.
Our next Church School unit is “Angels and Stars,” a heavenly view of Jesus’ birth and how God continues to break into our lives.
Board
of Deacons
Youth
Group Happenings
Please come join the Youth Group.
Please call the church if you are
interested in more information or attending any of these activities.
MISSION ACTIVITIES
Doing Justice – One Cup at a Time!
By Heather Radl
Coffee is big business - it’s one of the most heavily traded commodities in the world. But for the majority of small coffee farmers, the benefits are small. The chain of events that leads from the coffee farm to your cup is long, often leaving the farmer with very little to live on.
Most small coffee farmers live in isolated communities in some of the poorest countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Cut off from markets, they usually sell their coffee through middlemen, known to Central American farmers as “Coyotes.” With world prices in constant flux and Coyotes offering the lowest price possible, farmers never know how much they’ll get for their crops.
Some 20 million people living near the equator depend on coffee for their livelihood. In their struggle just to make a simple living, the producers of a rich crop are often trapped in poverty. In recent years, a crisis in the world coffee market has meant that many farmers typically receive less than the cost of production for their beans.
But there is an alternative: Fair Trade. In partnership with congregations and faith-based organizations, Equal Exchange’s Interfaith Program is a bridge between these communities and our own. By paying a fair price, working with democratic cooperatives, offering affordable credit and supporting sustainable agriculture, Equal Exchange helps farmers build better lives for themselves and their families.
Please help us to support coffee cooperatives the Missions Board will be selling Equal Exchange whole bean coffee as a fundraiser for our 2006 budget. It will be available after church during the Fellowship Hour, but you may pick it up anytime at the Dunbarton Country Store. We will offer a Medium Roast and a Decaffeinated Vienna Roast - both will be $8.00/12 oz. Our first shipment should be arriving mid-March.
Experiencing the New Hampshire Conference’s Women’s Fall Retreat
By Rebecca Ray
This was a blustery overnight complete with power outages and blaring backup lights late into the night. Nonetheless, we enjoyed a nice meal served by Merrowvista staff and a relaxed evening chat about different passages from very diverse books in the Bible. We came together as a group to share our insights. Most of us slept tight in our snug bunks, but I used my sleepless night to reflect on the retreat thus far and how it fit into my life.
Seven women from our church went to this not knowing exactly what to expect. We met some wonderful women throughout the weekend. I was the youngest and I expected that. What I didn’t expect was that at this retreat I would have time to both listen to and reflect on others’ stories.
I’d been thinking about mission trips; I had no idea where I would want to go. That weekend I met someone who is going on the UCC trip to Biloxi, Miss. in March. So I signed up, remembering how much fun I had had on previous mission trips.
During the down time before lunch on Saturday, I got a personal tour of Merrowvista’s camp facility. I was most impressed with their large fireplace that serves as an indoor rock wall. At the top of the wall there is a ledge that juts out called the “leap of faith.”
We all have times in our lives where we need to take a leap. This retreat’s meditation and conversations has helped me to think a little more clearly about what my next step is.
I hope that you take time out of your busy lives this holiday season to meditate on what your next step is. I will leave you with the words of Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
HELP WANTED!
The Missions Board is looking for two new members! Duties include planning and carrying out activities to help people both locally and beyond. Benefits include increased sense of well-being from helping to do God’s work! If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Pastor Cindy or Patty Shearin at 774-3208.
Food Pantry
By Patty Shearin
Food Pantry Sunday
Food Pantry Sunday will take place on March 19th this month. The items needed for the food pantry are: flour, sugar, salt, pepper & canned fruit. Please leave your items in the basket in the narthex of the church. The food pantry is open on an “as needed” basis. If you or someone you know needs assistance, please call Patty Shearin @ 774-3208.
April Roadside Cleanup
By Patty Shearin
Mark you calendars for the first roadside cleanup of the season. The cleanup will take place on Saturday, April 15th at 8:30 a.m. All volunteers will meet in front of the Vestry to sign the necessary paperwork and get your safety vest and trash bags. Children 11 yrs. old and older are welcome with an adult. The first cleanup is always the most work because of all the trash that has collected on the roadside since last October. Many hands make for light work! If you have any questions, please call Patty Shearin @ 774-3208. Hope to see you by the roadside!
Camp
Opportunities
Registration
for camp is now open. Exciting camp programs are available at the Horton Center
at Pine Mountain in Gorham, N.H. and Geneva Point Center in Center Harbor N.H.
Programs run from June to Sept. 7th. Special
activities for all age groups are available. You can register as a single,
family or group.
Special
events this year include mountain climbing, rock climbing, a N.E. Missions trip,
mountain biking, canoeing, sailing on a schooner and a Plus 50 hike. There are
adventures available for all! Scholarships are available. Don’t miss out on an adventure
of a lifetime!
Contact
Tammie Sullivan at 4sullz@bit-net.com or
774-3818 for more information.
Stewardship
Team
Thanks to all of you who have responded so generously to our stewardship campaign!
We received several requests to find a way to present all the wonderful “factoids” brought forth from those in church on the day we presented our activity aimed at helping us to get to know one another just a little bit better.
Well, our bulletin board now has these dreams and little-known facts posted, so please take a moment and sign your name under your clue so we can share this wonderful information with those who may not have been in church that day.
One last note; if you haven’t filled out your pledge card yet, please do so soon so that we can move ahead and plan our 2007 budget!
Music
Committee
Music Notes
Hidden in our congregation is a wealth of musical talent! In an effort to enhance the role of music in worship, we have added a line on our Worship Schedule for anyone of any age who would like to play, sing or perform a dance during the Offertory. Please consider sharing your talents so that we might bring God’s spirit closer through the gift of song and movement. We are a judgment-free zone! Questions? Contact Lizz Ferdina (lizzardsings@aol.com) or James Davenport (jamesd@gsinet.net).
Communications
Let’s Keep the Presses
Running!
By Linda Morse
Would you like to adopt a piece of the Clarion production costs for this
winter? Because we have so many activities and much news to report, we are
planning on producing the Clarion all year.
Community News
Dunbarton Garden Club
By Judy Petersen
The Dunbarton Garden Club will hold its last meeting of the year a week earlier than normal. We will be holding our annual Christmas Party meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 5th at the home of Diana Driscoll. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. We will schedule our meetings for 2007 as well as enjoy a pot-luck and Yankee swap. For more information or directions to Diana’s home, please call Judy Petersen 774-3115.
Tired of Your Same Old
Cookbooks?
Well, we’ve got just what you need! Our church’s cookbook, titled
“Family Favorites”., is 152 pages of recipes collected from church members
and friends. It even has tips on canning vegetables, baking, using herbs and a
calorie counter. Best of all, there’s a dedication to Mom in for Mother’s
Day in the front! All of this for a mere $5.00. Pick up your copy in the church
at the welcome table, call 774-7811 or email lmorse@gsinet.net.
March 2006
“The
United Church of Christ is a teller of the Christian story . . .
but
we have to get it straight before we can get it out.”
Gabriel
Fackre
Pastor's Message
The first day is the most daunting. As September leaves skitter outside the classroom window you and your co-coach stare down the seven twelve year olds you will spend the next six months with, meeting two times a week at first, then every afternoon and weekends as March approaches. These pre-teens will become part of your family. They will eat your spaghetti and get to know your friends.
As the months unfold you will come to know their gifts and limitations, the dynamics of their relationships, who works best with whom, who’s got a crush on whom, who’s brittle and who’s confident, who’s having family problems, and who takes which medications. Mostly, you will come to understand each child’s special talents and the growing edges where a good coach can make a difference in a child’s life.
In Odyssey of the Mind lingo, my team elects to do a “structure” project. Fifteen grams of balsa sticks must be glued together into a seven inch tower that can bear several hundred pounds worth of weight. When you begin, you can’t imagine your structure holding five pounds. You can’t even imagine gluing the sticks together. For my crew the race is on, Architecture 101, and all I can do as a proper OM coach is lead them to the well of knowledge and hope they will drink enough to come up with a solution.
Here at the church, we have just completed another wonderful Church School unit, this one on parables. Meaning no disrespect to Jesus, the parable of the wise builder is child’s play compared to the task set before my OM students. But to Jesus’ first century listeners, building a house upon rock must have seemed incredibly daunting. Perhaps he was envisioning a Palestinian wadi, a ravine with steep sides. Dry in the summer, it turns into a raging torrent when the rains come. The “wise man” prepares for this eventuality by building on the rocky slope of the ravine. The “foolish man” is thinking only of today and sets his house upon the sandy bed.
What is true for both men is that God does not shelter their lives from the tempests of fate. The rains come, the winds blow, the waters rise. While our faith can reduce our stress-level and our prayers can, in some circumstances, lead to miraculous cures, Christians must be prepared to live through the storms and tragedies that are common to humankind. Is this not the Lenten story itself—that unthinkable things can happen? What kind of foundation will we build to strengthen us for these worst of times?
The Greek word poieo (poy-eh’-o) occurs eleven times in Matthew Chapter 7. It means to make or to do something, in short, to act. “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.” What constitutes a strong foundation? Hearing the word then doing the word. Living the word. Being the word, not some of the time but all of the time, for who knows when our own storms, like a nor’easter, might come roaring in.
My OM team has been hard at work for five months now. During that time we have poured over books on structural theory, visited the Harvard School of Design for a series of lessons on loads and stress points. My students have built and tested hundreds of different structures, they have video-taped their creations as they break and studied in slow motion when and how the wood begins to splinter. They have learned how to shave and glue sticks together seamlessly.
They work with care and intensity. Slowly but surely, each design they create is stronger, each can bear more weight than the one before it. As competition time nears, this disparate group of twelve year olds has congealed. They have become confident, not just knowledgeable but wise in the ways of what makes something durable, what makes even the flimsiest looking edifice strong—patience, practice, resolve, commitment, hopefulness, a willingness to continually learn and to put that learning to use. They have also learned the meaning of teamwork and passion, calling one another late at night to discuss one groundbreaking theory or another. What if we tried this . . .?
I can’t help but think of this church when it comes to the Parable of the Wise Builder. How strong is our foundation? Do we even know what it is that shores us up, that keeps us coming back week after week? Is it our history? Is it our potential? Is our own need or the needs of others? Can we withstand torrents and tempests? Or will we eventually be swept away in some flood of apathy or another? Even when we are feeling as fragile as little sticks of balsa wood, is our faith community constructed with care to help us bear the heaviest loads? What are we willing to do to insure that, like my OM students, we are all wise builders?
How much weight can a structure made of fifteen grams of balsa wood bear? If you are my team, not so much. Murphy’s Law intervened and our structure broke prematurely on competition day. That’s okay. We knew its true potential. But the world record set by students from the Poquoson Middle School in Virginia in 1998 is—are you ready—1,220 pounds. Half a ton, and that is the truth.
Fifteen grams of balsa. As light as a feather. Light like a simple story floating out over a Galilean hillside. Light like the Holy Spirit that descends upon our hearts and if we are willing to do something about it, makes us strong enough to withstand not the cross but every cross.
Walk with us this Lenten season! The good news awaits!
Blessings,
Pastor Cindy
Board of Trustees
The
Trustees are excited to announce their second Community Breakfast on Sunday,
February 13th from 7:30 am to 10:00 am. This breakfast theme will be a
“Thank You to All New Hampshire Servicemen and Servicewomen.” If you
wish, you will have the opportunity to make a special thank you card for any
military personnel from New Hampshire. All cards will be distributed through the
appropriate agencies.
Stay
tuned for information about another community breakfast with a yard sale in late
May or early June.
Fund Raising Reminders
Remember our ongoing recycling effort! Hold on to them until we start collecting them again. Our buyer ir re-organizing the plan. Save your old printer toner, ink cartridges and old cell phones. There’s a box at the Dunbarton Transfer Station for you to turn them in, or you can bring them to church. But don’t stop there! Consider asking local businesses, especially those that provide office services, to collect cartridges on our behalf. Bill Wetzel is already lugging home boxes from the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business! Please contact any trustee for more information.
Bylaws
Committee
By Dean Bacon
The church bylaws were successfully revised. See the Bylaws
Christian Education
Parables Wrap Up - Lent Begins!
By Joyce Ray
Church School children have traveled far and wide this year. With passports in hand, they have encountered many adventures in our self-designed curriculum, Living the Promise.
In February, they finished up the Parables Unit, where they listened to Jesus tell stories to teach a message. They have role-played “The Good Samaritan,” constructed shadow puppets to act out “The Prodigal Son,” played “Family Feud” to learn about “The Pharisee and The Tax Collector,” engaged in a scavenger hunt to find “The Lost Coin,” and even wrote Mad Libs after learning about” The Lost Sheep!” The parable team even planned to teach the parable of “The Wise Builder” by forming construction teams and presenting the opportunity to build a house from cement blocks or pool noodles.
Smiles, laughter and an understanding of why Jesus told these parables have been the results of this activity-rich unit. Our grand finale featured special guest New Hampshire Storyteller, Rebecca Rule. Rebecca graciously agreed to teach storytelling skills and help the children apply them to the parables of “The Mustard Seed” and “The Sower.”
A five-week Lent and Easter Unit will round out this year’s curriculum. This last unit, “Lent: Are We There Yet? Holding On to the Promise,” begins on March 12 and ends on April 2 with a celebration on Palm Sunday, April 9. The planning team consists of Tracy Strombom, Jeanne Sherman, Meagen Flewelling, Les Hammond and Judy Tardif.
Church
School News
By Laura Tucker, Superintendent
The
holy season of Lent, which begins on March 1st, Ash Wednesday, and ends on April
16th, Easter, is traditionally a time of preparation for the renewal of
our baptismal covenants. Lent is a time of stripping down to essentials as each
Christian focuses on his or her individual relationship with God. It is a time
when we as Christians remember our baptisms, Jesus washing away our sins, giving
us a newness of life to celebrate in the triumph of Palm Sunday and the glory of
Easter.
Board
of Deacons
A Word About
Weddings
By Nick
Holmes
Since its inception, our historic meetinghouse has been a popular spot
for couples preparing to unite in holy matrimony. Given the increasing
attractiveness of our church for this purpose, the Board of Deacons has
developed a written policy that summarizes the
policies and practices we feel best represent the interests and values of the
congregation. This new document is intended to serve as a guide so wedding
ceremonies will be celebrated with both reverence and joy. A copy of the policy
is provided to each couple when they first express interest in holding their
wedding in the church. By simply and succinctly addressing such issues as
retaining an organist, taking photographs, and paying fees, the wedding policy
allows all concerned to focus on the joy of the wedding day! If you are
interested in viewing a copy of the Deacon’s Policy, please see Pastor Cindy.
WANTED: A Few Great Acolytes! Click the link for details
Youth
Group Happenings
Please come join the Youth Group on April 16th as we celebrate Easter Sunday. Our service will begin at 6:00 am in front of the vestry. Following the service we will gather in the vestry for a fellowship breakfast
It
Is Enough
During
the Passover celebration, as Jews recall all that God did for the Israelites,
there's a beautiful reading titled "Dayeinu", Hebrew for "It is
enough," which conveys the ideas that even though God has given us abundant
blessings, he gives us another. Help celebrate the blessing in your family with
these activities adapted from Games for the Soul by Drew Leder (Hyperion).
*
Encourage family members to proclaim "Dayeinu" (pronounced die-ay-noo)
whenever they're blessed throughout the day.
*
During difficult times, use Dayeinu to keep each other focused on God's
blessings. If you don't feel blessed right at that moment, think about how God
is blessing others.
*
Make your Dayeinu a more formal celebration. Gather as a family and sit
comfortably together, and then light the room with candles. As each family
member offers a blessing of the day, everyone can respond with "Dayeinu".
Please call the church if you are
interested in more information or attending any of these activities.
MISSION ACTIVITIES
“Just Eating” Moves to the Library!
By Heather Radl
If you haven’t checked out our “Just Eating” program, you don’t know what you’re missing! So far we have covered the sanctity of Communion and how sharing a meal can build community, but the really “meaty” stuff is yet to come! And because we want the whole community to get involved, we are moving the next three dinner sessions to the Dunbarton Library as part of the Conversations for Life series.
On March 5th we will discuss Nurturing Our Bodies and how our society discourages healthy eating. There has been a lot about this in the media recently including the best selling book Fast Food Nation and the movie “Super Size Me.” We will view clips from “Super Size Me” and discuss how it relates to our own lives. We will savor a banquet of wholesome foods and learn more about how each food nurtures our bodies.
On March 19th we will take a hard look at hunger, its root causes and what we can do to help. As we share our food, we will focus on the people who grew it and picked it, and the difficulties they face in putting food on their own tables. The UN calls hunger a lack of political will, is it also perhaps a lack of spiritual will?
On April 2nd, our focus shifts to the environment. Food is a gift from God to all living things. How do our eating habits reflect this? What can we do to live out the covenant to be good stewards of the earth? As we share our meal, we will hear environmental stories about each specific food we eat. Some will be sad, others will inspire awe and respect for creation.
These sessions run from 5:00-7:00 p.m. every other Sunday night and dinner will be provided. Childcare will be provided upon request. Please contact Heather Radl at 774-7128 or hradl@gsinet.net for more information. Hope to see you there!
“We can just eat as a mundane activity done without mindfulness, or we can eat justly and explore the relationship between our food and justice. Eating can be a vehicle for practicing our faith.” Presbyterian Hunger Program Staffer Andrew Kang Bartlett
Doing Justice – One Cup at a Time!
By Heather Radl
Coffee is big business - it’s one of the most heavily traded commodities in the world. But for the majority of small coffee farmers, the benefits are small. The chain of events that leads from the coffee farm to your cup is long, often leaving the farmer with very little to live on.
Most small coffee farmers live in isolated communities in some of the poorest countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Cut off from markets, they usually sell their coffee through middlemen, known to Central American farmers as “Coyotes.” With world prices in constant flux and Coyotes offering the lowest price possible, farmers never know how much they’ll
get for their crops.
Some 20 million people living near the equator depend on coffee for their livelihood. In their struggle just to make a simple living, the producers of a rich crop are often trapped in poverty. In recent years, a crisis in the world coffee market has meant that many farmers typically receive less than the cost of production for their beans.
But there is an alternative: Fair Trade. In partnership with congregations and faith-based organizations, Equal Exchange’s Interfaith Program is a bridge between these communities and our own. By paying a fair price, working with democratic cooperatives, offering affordable credit and supporting sustainable agriculture, Equal Exchange helps farmers build better lives for themselves and their families.
Please help us to support coffee cooperatives
the Missions Board will be selling Equal Exchange whole bean coffee as a fundraiser for our 2006 budget. It will be available after church during the Fellowship Hour, but you may pick it up anytime at the Dunbarton Country Store. We will offer a Medium Roast and a Decaffeinated Vienna Roast - both will be $8.00/12 oz. Our first shipment should be arriving mid-March.
“When Was it that We Saw You.... Thirsty?” Matthew 25:37
By Heather Radl
“I go to collect water four times a day, in a 20-litre clay jar. It’s hard work! I’ve never been to school. I have to help my mother with her washing work so we can earn enough money. Our house doesn’t have a bathroom. If I could alter my life, I would really like to go to school and have more clothes.” Elma Kassa, 13-year-old girl from Ethiopia
Water has recently shown us it’s power – wreaking havoc in Asia during the Tsunami in 2004 and, closer to home, along the Gulf Coast during the hurricanes and floods of 2005. The power and volume of earth’s water is staggering, yet clean drinking water is unavailable to one of every six human beings. For these reasons and more, the United Church of Christ is focusing on that precious, but powerful natural resource during its One Great Hour of Sharing fundraising drive.
The funds that we raise during this drive will help to increase the supply of potable water to many people and will support education and medical services, income-generating projects, agricultural training and supplies in dozens of countries. The fundraiser will help refugees renew their lives and will ensure that some funds are available for immediate assistance when disaster strikes, in this country or elsewhere.
We will be sending home Lenten calendars and collection boxes to help you count your own blessings, and, on April 2nd, we will have a Walk for Hope around the sanctuary during the fellowship hour. Please join us as we learn together about how we can help people in need around the globe. The One Great Hour of Sharing flyer urges us to “…give as generously and creatively as you can”, so our Walk stations will focus on how our everyday lives affect others. Maybe they will inspire you to give by making a small change in your lifestyle as well as a donation!
A Must-See Play!
By Heather Radl
“A Peasant of El Salvador” is being presented at the New England Youth Theater in Brattleboro, Vt. on March 25th at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $8.00.
This is a riveting, funny and heart warming story of a hill farmer and his family during the heated civil war in El Salvador during the 1980’s. It teaches empathy, tolerance and much about world politics, ethnic attitudes and the relationship between hunger and world economics. It is a must-see for any high school and college student.
Audiences worldwide have been moved by the play, which has received the Denver Global Peace and Justice Award and the Queens College Chaney, Goodman & Schwerner Humanitarian Award for “making the world a better place to be”. A New Hampshire reviewer wrote, “It has the gentle eloquence of a folk tale, the simple beauty of a folk song, and the impact of a bulldozer.” Folk legend Pete Seeger called it “. . . magnificent and moving”. This is a performance you don’t want to miss!
Please join us for a night that will make you laugh, startle you, and most of all…make you think! If you are interested, please contact Heather Radl at 774-7128 or hradl@gsinet.net. Reservations are a must as this show will sell out, so please RSVP by March 5.
Easter for Jerome
By Patty Shearin
The Missions Board will be collecting school/craft supplies and outside toys to put in an Easter Basket for our foster child, Jerome. Please bring your gifts during the month of March and leave them in the Easter basket at the front of the church. We will be mailing the gifts to Jerome at the end of the month. Thank you for your generosity!
Also, it’s time to sign up and be one of Jerome’s monthly sponsors! Commit to one $30.00 payment and help Jerome live a better life. A sign up sheet is in the back of the church.
Food Pantry
By Patty Shearin
Food Pantry Sunday
Food Pantry Sunday will take place on March 19th this month. The items needed for the food pantry are: flour, sugar, salt, pepper & canned fruit. Please leave your items in the basket in the narthex of the church. The food pantry is open on an “as needed” basis. If you or someone you know needs assistance, please call Patty Shearin @ 774-3208.
April Roadside Cleanup
By Patty Shearin
Mark you calendars for the first roadside cleanup of the season. The cleanup will take place on Saturday, April 15th at 8:30 a.m. All volunteers will meet in front of the Vestry to sign the necessary paperwork and get your safety vest and trash bags. Children 11 yrs. old and older are welcome with an adult. The first cleanup is always the most work because of all the trash that has collected on the roadside since last October. Many hands make for light work! If you have any questions, please call Patty Shearin @ 774-3208. Hope to see you by the roadside!
Camp
Opportunities
Registration
for camp is now open. Exciting camp programs are available at the Horton Center
at Pine Mountain in Gorham, N.H. and Geneva Point Center in Center Harbor N.H.
Programs run from June 20th to Sept. 7th. Special
activities for all age groups are available. You can register as a single,
family or group.
Special
events this year include mountain climbing, rock climbing, a N.E. Missions trip,
mountain biking, canoeing, sailing on a schooner and a Plus 50 hike. There are
adventures available for all! Scholarships are available. Don’t miss out on an adventure
of a lifetime!
Contact
Tammie Sullivan at 4sullz@bit-net.com or
774-3818 for more information.
Stewardship
Team
We
Are ALMOST There!
By
Linda Morse
In
November, the Stewardship Committee put out a Call to Care, and care our church
family did! We received a 50% increase in pledges and a 25% increase in funding
over last year. Thank you, everyone, for your generosity!
But
wait, we’re not done yet! As things stand now, we will still need to withdraw
$7,500 from our investment fund to balance our 2005 budget.
Here
is the good news. If each of our existing donors increased their weekly amount
by $3.56, we would not have to withdraw ANY money from our investment fund this
year!
With
that in mind, the stewardship committee will be contacting each of you who have
pledged to ask if you would be willing to help us balance this budget. And, if
you haven’t filled out your pledge card yet, here’s a fantastic opportunity
for your pledge money to really count! Remember, one-time donations are welcome,
too. Let’s make this a banner year for our church’s budget! Thank you all
again for supporting the growth of our church.
Corporate
Partnership Program is Born!
The Stewardship Committee will be coordinating a new fundraising idea
that may give the Speedway a run for its money as the most productive
fundraiser! Many corporations and businesses reward volunteerism through giving
programs to encourage the support of not-for-profit organizations. These
programs take many shapes and forms, including matching gift programs and
grants. It’s quite possible that the company you work for has a program that
would recognize your commitment of time, talent and resources to our church. If
you work for company or corporation that might have such a program, please check
with your Human Resource personnel for details. Documenting volunteer hours or
filling out a form or two may be all that is necessary to increase our
church’s income! Please contact a member of the Stewardship Committee if you
think your employer may have such a program.
Music
Committee
Music Notes
Hidden in our
congregation is a wealth of musical talent! In an effort to enhance the role of
music in worship, we have added a line on our Worship Schedule for anyone of
any age who would like to play, sing or perform a dance during the
Offertory. Please consider sharing your talents so that we might bring God’s
spirit closer through the gift of song and movement. We are a judgment-free
zone! Questions? Contact Lizz Ferdina (lizzardsings@aol.com)
or James Davenport (jamesd@gsinet.net).
Spiritual
Drumming Resumes
Back by popular demand, James Davenport will lead church members in
another session of our Spiritual Drumming Group at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April
??th . No talent or instruments are required, just an
openness to receive the Holy Spirit as we meet in the vestry to collectively
create rhythms and explore world music on percussion instruments of every kind.
All ages are welcome! Questions can be directed to James Davenport at jamesd@gsinet.net.
Communications
Let’s Keep the Presses
Running!
By Linda Morse
Would you like to adopt a piece of the Clarion production costs for this
summer? Because we have so many activities and much news to report, we are
planning on producing the Clarion through the summer this year, although it will
be a smaller issue.
Since the cost of printing and mailing for July and August was not
budgeted, we are looking for people to “adopt” a portion of the costs.
Printing will run about $38 each month, and mailing runs about $33 per month, or
$71 total each month, and any and all contributions will be greatly appreciated!
Please see me or Pastor Cindy if you would like to help.
Community News
Dunbarton Garden Club
By Judy Petersen
The Garden Club will start our 2006 season on Tuesday April 11th with our first meeting at Donna Dunn’s home on Gorham Pond Road. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., and as yet we have no special program or speaker scheduled. New members or curious visitors are welcome – join us anyway even if you don’t know anything about gardening! Our members are always willing to share knowledge or try to solve problems.
Please call Judy Petersen at 774-3115 for more information or directions to Donna’s home. Please also make note this spring of the results of the Daffodils for Dunbarton program during which so many townsfolk purchased and planted or donated daffodils to public grounds. Spring should be extra beautiful in our already beautiful town this year.
Tired of Your Same Old
Cookbooks?
Well, we’ve got just what you need! Our church’s cookbook, titled
“Family Favorites”., is 152 pages of recipes collected from church members
and friends. It even has tips on canning vegetables, baking, using herbs and a
calorie counter. Best of all, there’s a dedication to Mom in for Mother’s
Day in the front! All of this for a mere $5.00. Pick up your copy in the church
at the welcome table, call 774-7811 or email lmorse@gsinet.net.
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