eChurchlight, July/August 2007

Is anybody there? Does anybody care?
George Washington in letter to Congress – Musical 1776

These were the words that went through my mind after the Annual Meeting.  The answer appears to be YES and NO. YES, there were many familiar faces at the luncheon and meeting.  NO, many faces were missing – never came to church or walked out the door before the meeting occurred. YES, 33 pledge units have returned their pledge cards. NO, 66 pledge units still need to return their pledge cards. YES, pledges exceed $115,000. NO, we still need more than $114,000 to meet our budget. YES, many people have agreed to serve the church next year.  NO, many others did not offer to serve.
     The church is more than a building: it is people and relationships.  Your participation in pledge, service, presence and prayers are all necessary parts of the church and your relationship to the church.  Your serious contemplation of each of these defines your relationship to the church and the survival of the church. Everyone wants a church for baptisms, weddings, and funerals but if we are not present for the church daily it will not be present for us during these very important days.
     Everyone must consider their own circumstances and be more or less active as their lives allow.  Please think about your relationship with the church and how you can improve it with your pledge, service, presence and prayers.  If you have not returned your pledge card please return it to the church office, or e-mail me at Louise.Halstead@verizon.net.  

Louise Halstead
Stewardship Organizer

From Liz
Larry is on renewal leave, from now through September 18.  Already, it is clear that we are changed by his absence, by the lack of his spirit and energy around this place.  And yet we know that this, indeed, is a necessary thing for him—a chance for him to feed his soul, to further form his spirit, to have a time, long in coming, to rest and relax and just have time away.  Please join me in praying for him and his family over these next three months; that this be a wonderful, meaningful time for him; that God guard and guide him and bring him safely back to us.
     We have before us, as well, a wonderful opportunity—the chance to come together as a community, to renew ourselves, to have a season of rest and recreation.  Typically, we think of summer as a time to do that as individuals and families—to go on vacation, take weekends off, hang out by the pool or the shore.  This summer, Larry’s renewal leave gives us the chance to do this as a congregation—to intentionally have a time of rest as a community, to spend our summer in worship and re-creation, focusing on renewal and our spirit.
     We are blessed this summer to once again be worshipping with St. John’s UMC in Belmont.  Beginning July 1, we will alternate Sundays between our churches for the months of July and August.  We start July 1 in Watertown and end August 26 in Watertown; the full schedule is printed in this Churchlight.  Rev. Mike Clark, Claire Hoffman and I will be sharing the preaching, and we all will worship together.
     September will find us back together in our own church for three weeks in a row before Larry returns.  We will hold off the start of our program year until Larry is back; we will have a celebration on Sunday, September 23, then programs will start up on Sunday, September 30.
     It would be nice if we could focus all of our hearts, minds and spirits on worship and study from now until then.  Before we can fully kick into re-creation mode, however, we need to get our house in order.  On faith, we voted an optimistic budget on June 17—a budget that counts on faithful pledging from each of us.  Louise writes eloquently of our financial situation as a community—please, if you have not yet made a pledge, please do so prayerfully NOW so that we can move forward together peacefully as a community.
     At the same Church Conference on June 17, we voted into office our lay leadership for the coming year.  As someone said at that time, we are not so big a community that anyone can hide for long.  We need all of our spirit-given gifts to succeed.  Please use this season to rest and discernment to consider where and how you would like to serve within this community of faith when our program year starts in the fall.

Pastoral Coverage While Larry Is On Leave:
If you have a pastoral need:

PLEASE CALL THE CHURCH OFFICE FIRST at 617-489-0730.  The answering machine will be checked for messages at least once a day, every day.  The office is also staffed Wednesday and Thursday 9-3.

1.      Feel free to call Liz any time.  Her new home phone number is: 781-229-0994.  Her cell phone number is 617-872-9802.  Liz is in the office Sunday and Monday. Liz is away the weekends of July 15 and August 19.

2.      We have a team of lay volunteers who are willing to help in an emergency.  This team is being coordinated by Laurel Wainwright, 617-484-9461.

3.      Claire Hoffman is also helping to provide pastoral care this summer.  Her number is 501-626-5432.

4.      If you have an emergency and cannot reach Liz, a lay volunteer, or Claire and have already left a message at the church please call Rev. Mike Clark at St. John’s UMC at 617-926-2931.

Children’s Ministries during the Summer:
Nursery Care will continue through the summer as volunteers are available.  A sign-up sheet will be in the Narthex for the Sundays we worship at BUMC if you can help by volunteering—summer is a great time to get to know our littlest ones!  On Sundays when volunteers are unavailable, the nursery will be open for parents and their children if they choose to use it.
Children’s Church and Church School has ended for the program year. Clipboards and activity sheets will be available for children to use during worship.
Fall Planning:  All children, youth and parents of the church are invited to join our Education team on Sunday, September 9 at 11:30 to discuss what shape our fall education programs will take.

On the Mission Front
Youth Group Mission Trip to New Orleans
As of last count, we now have 17 youth and 9 adults traveling to our sister community in New Orleans October 5-8, 2007!  Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to plan and raise funds over the summer!

Announcements

The LaRocques have moved!
Liz, Mark LaRocque and family moved on June 20 to their new home.  Their new address is: 9 Nelson Road, Burlington, MA 01803.

Electronic Churchlight
The Churchlight is now only mailed out to a few who do not have email or access to the web.  Please let the office know if you would like a paper copy mailed to you – or if you would like to pick it up at church.
     If you are not currently receiving the Churchlight by email please go to the Newsletter page on the church website at www.umcbelmont.org to subscribe.  Current and back issues are posted on the website in the Newsletter section.

Home Needed for Amber
Terry Skelton needs to find a new home for his cat, Amber.  He is moving later this summer (August 15^th) and needs to find a loving home for her.  If you are interested, or know someone who may want to care for Amber, contact Terry at 617-484-4423.  (Please see her photo on the bulletin board).

Coffee Hour
Volunteers are needed to setup and cleanup for coffee hour during the summer months when our usual coordinators are taking some time off.  Interested?  Please contact Linda Rodi, 617-489-1538, llrodi@yahoo.com, or sign up during coffee hour.  You may choose any Sunday, not just your letter.
            Date                 Group               Setup/Cleanup          
            June 24           H-Q                   Linda Rodi
            July 8               R-Z                   Laurel Wainwright
            July 22             A-G                   Louise Halstead
            August 5          H-Q                  Open
            August 19        R-Z                   Open

Sunshine Page
Baptisms
Ava Tulimieri, daughter of Cindy and Steven Tulimieri, Jack Hoppe, son of Karen and Kevin Hoppe, and Laura Lynch, daughter of Susan and Andrew Lynch were baptized on May 27, 2007.

Alexander Michael Rogul, son of Mary and Emerick Rogul was baptized on June 17, 2007.

In our Thoughts
Get well wishes to Erdine Ellison, who is recovering at Belmont Manor.

Our sympathies are with the family of William Newcombe, who passed away on June 7, 2007.