eChurchlight, April 2009

through the looking glass
L.L.Wimmer

Watching the news of the world it sometimes seem that there is not much hope for us but, thanks be to God, nature and our faith conspire at this time of year to tell a different story, to offer an alternative to what seems, at least, to be business as usual if not even worse. In my 58th spring upon the earth it still comes as a delightful surprise that winter does end, that light returns and flowers and green things and warmth. How appropriate for us who live where we do that Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from death comes at the same time that the earth and all its growing things are also rising from death. I mean we can feel the life returning to a sad and frozen world. This is no abstraction. On some days when we are lucky and when we are paying attention we might even feel ourselves rising from death, opening to the sun and to the possibilities of another spring, opening to, dare we think, a new life as we become even more in love with God and with the world than when we began. We are weak (at least I am) and we need help to rise from death. It is easier to remain closed to the changes of the new creation. We need some help and so we turn to whatever it is that gets us out of ourselves and into re-thinking the reality we have settled for. For me whatever is often a word that sets me free. In our contemplation group that meets during Sunday School hour there have been two such words that have moved from my slumber and stayed with me too, to cheer me on as I wait for the promised spring and they even seem to be connected, in my mind at least, an affirmation of the same truth. The first is this written by Heather King in an essay entitled, "The Closest to Love as We Ever Get": . . . it's not that there's not enough beauty, it's that there's so much it can hardly be borne. And the other word is one stanza from a poem by Wendell Berry:
Eternity is not infinity.
It is not a long time.
It does not begin at the end of time.
It does not run parallel to time.
In its entirety it always was.
In its entirety it will always be.
It is entirely present always.

I love the word entirety. I believe that we are surrounded by the beauty of God and we don't even know it until we know it again for the first time. God's beauty and love is entirely present always and it is even more than we dare to believe. I can rise up and live with that. As the little angel disguised as a little girl no one would play with said that time:
May all the plants and flowers rise
And all people rise from death.
(from Dakota by Kathleen Norris)
Alleluia!

From Barbara…
What’s Happening?

Holy Week starts on April 5th with our Palm Sunday service. This year we are again having joint Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services with our friends at St. John’s United Methodist Church at 80 Mt. Auburn Street in Watertown (a few blocks from Watertown Square, going toward Cambridge), but there is a slight change in the schedule from past years:

·         Maundy Thursday service will be at St. John’s at 7:00 p.m.

·         Good Friday service will be here at 7:30 p.m.

·         Prayer Vigil will be here from Friday at 8:30 p.m. until noon on Saturday

Our Easter morning service will be here at our usual time of 10:00 a.m. There will be no Sunday School classes that day.

The Women’s Book Group, which meets the last Thursday of every month, has selected books for the next few months:

·         April 30: Sarah’s Daughter by Ruth Bass

·         May 28: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbary Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, & Steven L. Hopp

Special guest speaker! Ruth Bass, the author of our April selection, Sara’s Daughter, will join us on April 30 to speak about her book. A graduate of Bates College (and a classmate of Janet Coombs), she earned a Master of Science degree in journalism from Columbia University. She has been an editor for the Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and is a member of the Authors Guild. Sarah’s Daughter is her first novel, and features 19th century teen dealing with family sorrow, joy, friendship, and bereavement. Visit Ruth’s website at http://www.ruthbass.com/ to read more about her and her book and to find a link to Ruth's interview by Hannah Storm on The Early Show, CBS, May 2007. Join us on April 30 or May 28! If you have any questions, contact Louise Halstead.

Our All Church Lunches will not be held in April or May, because of other opportunities for us to gather for meals and fellowship --- see you in June

Directory update -- if you see me walking around coffee hour with a clipboard, it’s because we’re in the process of updating the address, phone, and email information we have for everyone. Thanks for helping!

As always, if you have ideas, suggestions or questions about our events or programs, feel free to talk to me any time at church, or email me at barbara.ryther@umcbelmont.org

Have You Noticed?
It’s not just the spring weather that’s making things seem brighter around here – our thanks to Harry Busteed and his crew who painted the walls of the Narthex. Be sure to thank him in person when you see him!

Missions of the Belmont United Methodist Church
submitted by Louise Halstead, acting chair

On February 28^th we held a Nothing But Nets Shoot Out with the Belmont Youth Basketball Association and the Belmont Recreation Department. We had another Shoot Out at the church on March 8^th. Larry, Casey, Bob and Barbara started the Shoot Out and together shot a total of 55 baskets. We have received more than $2665 which sends over 266 nets to Africa. There are some outstanding pledges – if you would like to know how much you pledged please talk to Louise Halstead. Anyone is welcome to make a donation to the Nothing But Nets Program.

Thanks to everyone who donated to One Great Hour of Sharing. These donations help UMCOR keep vital programs running.

BUMC encourages our members to participate in mission. Here are some missions you can perform at home during your daily schedulable.

Shopping at Amazon? Go to http://www.umcbelmont.org/– (our website) and link to Amazon from the Amazon icon. The church receives a percentage of sales when you link through our site.

Do you use a computer? Go to http://www.freerice.com/– There you can practice vocabulary, math, geography…. and more. At the same time you are feeding the poor through the United Nations World Food Program. Take a look and explore the website.

Make a baby blanket while you watch TV (by crocheting, knitting, or sewing) and leave it in the office to be taken to Children’s Hospital for newborns. The blanket can be any size – 20 to 30 inches square is a good size, but it may also be bigger. It takes about two skeins to knit one blanket. There is yarn in the church office or you can use your own leftover yarn – the blankets may have as many colors as you like. Yes, any kind of baby blanket works so you are welcome to make them from fleece or to make small quilts.

While grocery shopping, pick up one or two items to donate to the Belmont Food Pantry. Drop the cans and boxes in the cart in the Narthex.

Save stamps for the Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History at Regis College. There is a collection box on the counter in the office – just drop them off when you come to church.

Way to Go!
Thanks to all who helped out at the Save A Life Hoop Shootout at Belmont High School and at the church gym. Our wonderful staff provided some real excitement at the March 8 luncheon with the “Staff Shootout Challenge” and BUMC members were extremely generous with their pledges. As you may have heard we’ve raised over $2600 so far, with a few outstanding pledges which could add to that total. Special thanks to Louise Halstead for her help organizing and promoting the event and for spending four weekend afternoons at the basketball court.

The two events included some periods of “thumb-twiddling” and some periods of great energy and fun. But in the end the good news is that we’ll be sending over 260 life-saving bed nets to Africa to protect hundreds of parents and children from malaria.

Thanks to all,
E. J. Johnson

April 2009 Coffee Schedule
April 5^th – VWXYZ
April 12^th – ABC, coordinated by Carolyn Backus, and DEFG, coordinated by Diane & Kevin Ghiozzi
April 19^th – HIJKL, coordinated by Terry Grimm
April 26^th – MNOPQ, coordinated by Linda Rodi

April 2009 Worship Services
April 5^th : 10:00 a.m. Palm Sunday Color: Red or Purple
Mark 11:1-11; Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 (UMH 839)

April 9^th : 7:00 p.m. Maundy Thursday (@St. John’s) Color: Red or Purple
Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10), 11-14; Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19 (UMH 837); 1 Corinthians
11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35

April 10^th: 7:30 p.m. Good Friday Color: (no color)
Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22 (UMH 752); Hebrews 10:16-25; John 18:1-19:42

April 12^th: 10:00 a.m. Easter Sunday Color: White
Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 (UMH 839); 1 Corinthians 15:1-11;
John 20:1-18 or Mark 16:1-8

April 19^th: 10:00 a.m. Second Sunday of Easter Color: White
Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133 (UMH 850); 1 John 1:1-2:2; John 20:19-31

April 26^th: 10:00 a.m. Third Sunday of Easter Color: White
Acts 3:12-19; Psalm 4 (UMH 741); 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48

April Sunshine Page
Birthdays

Anniversaries
7: Arty and Carol Marchetta
15: John and Nancy Montanaro
30: Richard & Sidney Gerrold

If you would like your birthday or anniversary date to be added to the monthly Churchlight page, please contact the office.