c. 1888 (from The Manchester Historical Society’s Collection)
“SpiritSpark”The First Baptist Church
of Manchester Center, VT
P.O. Box 1049, 4895 Main St. 802-362-1555
Pastor: Rev. Rebecca Sommons
______January 2017______
A MESSAGE FROM PASTOR RECECCA
I love fresh starts. When I was a young girl, I was required to record my piano practice time on a big sheet filled with squares. The excitement of a new sheet would inspire me to do well for a while, but then there would be days - or stretches of days - where no minutes were recorded. As a budding perfectionist, this bothered me. My solution was to throw the page away and start a new one.
January, the beginning of a new year, is like a fresh page for us. Many of us make resolutions to do something differently. We might want to start a new practice or stop an old habit. Human nature being what it is – imperfect – we may become discouraged and give up a few weeks later.
As a recovering perfectionist, the thing I try to remember is that God gives us an unlimited number of fresh starts, if we are willing to be honest that one is needed.
“This I call to mind,and therefore I have hope.The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,his mercies never come to an end;they are new every morning.” Lamentations 3:21b-23a
Whatever the Spirit is nudging us toward for 2017, let’s pursue it, confident that God will enable us, forgive us, and give us fresh mercy each day as we grow in love.
~ Pastor Rebecca Sommons
Christian Ed Moving Forward
We had a few youth activities this month including singing Christmas Carols with our talented choir at Equinox Terrace. It’s always wonderful to see old friends and the mingling generations. We also had a wonderful Christmas party at the parsonage with gingerbread cookie decorating, a Yankee gift swap, charades, an M&M count guess, and ping pong. Thanks to Steve and Heather for donating the ping pong table to the Youth Barn - it’s a perfect fit!! Pastor Rebecca has completed the “Grapple” curriculum with the Sunday’s Youth.
As many of you have noticed, there are young kids filling out pews each week. Not having anyone to teach the younger kids, there had to be some volunteering as well as shuffling of the deck. It was heartening to see the enthusiasm for making something work. So, here are the exciting new changes starting January 15.
Pastor Rebecca will be teaching Children’s Sunday School, ages 4-11 in Joy Hall (church downstairs). Jenny Russell and Linell Pike will assist. Matthew Sommons will be teaching Youth Sunday School, ages 12 and up at the parsonage barn (98 Bonnet Street). Holly O’Brien will assist Matthew. And John Hess will be leading the adult class at the church conference room (upstairs). All classes will be each Sunday from 9:30-10:15 or so starting January 15. Thanks to everyone for being so creative in making this happen!
- Submitted by Maurie Hill
The Missions Committee
Last fall, our loving pastor, Rebecca Sommons, delivered an inspirational sermon focused on the Giving Circle. The three tenets of the circle, generosity, gratitude and grace, inspire us to share our blessings and show our compassion for others. We see our heartfelt concern for those less fortunate working when we give to the Missions of our church. Through your generosity, the First Baptist Church Missions Committee collects funds and answers the call of local and global needs. Some people make an ongoing monthly contribution and others choose to give as need arises. By doing so, generosity, gratitude and grace surround us all at First Baptist Church.
In December, the committee made the following allocations:
$200 to Interfaith Council -Holiday Project
$100 to Manchester Food Cupboard
$200 to Kurn Hattin Homes for children
$100 to Global Gifts-Medical Equipment
$120.00 to World Vision-Help sexually exploited girls
Thank you for touching the lives of those in need.
The First Baptist Church Missions Committee
-Submitted by Dottie Sundquist
GNAT TV Church Services
Each Sunday, after we record our worship service, it is taken to GNAT TV where it is aired on channel 16 on Comcast. In our area, they are shown on Sundays and Tuesdays at 7am and 7pm. We have no control of the scheduling, so if you tune in at those times and find someone fishing or skiing, it just means they have changed the schedule.
You can also go to Click on “WATCH”, then the down arrow, then click on ARCHIVES, then under the “PLAYING NOW” scroll down to First Baptist Church. The videos of our church services are listed there. At this time, be aware that they are not being consistently updated.
Read the following two articles to see how we plan to improve this situation.
The Right Now Media
A focus of mine over the past couple months has been to find an effective and cost-efficient way to get our recorded church services out so that they can be viewed easily and regularly. Because of this, Pastor Rebecca asked me to look at a program that she thought might be a solution for that and could also be of interest to the church congregation in several other ways. Right Now Media is comprised of over 14,000 videos of workshops, training programs, and lessons for kids, young people, and adults.
The libraries available on this site range from Bible studies, books of the Bible, kids episodes, as well as videos for youth, marriage, men, women, small groups, parenting, leadership, missions & outreach, and many other topics. There are over 14,000 Bible study videos. And, we can up load our own recordedservices. Putting our church services on this site will be done in the future as we upgrade our sound system and learn how to put things together. This is all at no cost to church members. At this time we have sent 80 invitations to members and friends of our church and about 20 have logged on.
One of my favorite authors is Dr. Bruce Wilkinson. You may have read The Prayer of Jabez. Right now I’m watching his lessons from Secrets of the Vine. He uses John 15 to show how the Lord’s hand is in our lives and how to make the most impact for God. There really is something for almost everyone on this site!
If you have trouble logging on or navigating the site, please feel free to call or speak with Pastor Rebecca or me. Also, if you would like to get an invitation again, or know of someone who might enjoy watching these, let me know.
Our trial offer is up in February, 2017, so please make your thoughts known to Pastor Rebecca regarding this program.
Russ Taxter Sound System Update:
Although the holiday season is sometimes challenging when you want to get on someone’s schedule, we’re hoping to get input on what we should get for equipment during the first week of the New Year. As of 12/29/16, we are excited to report that we have collected $2250 toward our unofficial estimate of $3,500.00! A new system will help with the recording of the church services as well as improving the quality within the sanctuary.
THE CHRISTMAS COFFEEHOUSE was a success! Several people shared songs, memories, poetry, traditions, and stories! It was followed by an abundance of Holiday Goodies and spirited conversation in the vestry. Here are just a few photos courtesy of Russ Taxter.
In the five months since our Prayer Team was established, we have had over 10 requests for prayer come in through our church web site and over 45 by email. This is a great start! Right now there are 24 members of the Prayer Team. If you would like to be part of the team, you may email me at the above email address. Your only commitment is to pray for the requests, as you receive them, and as often as you like. We ask that you keep the request confidential.
Reminder to the Prayer Team: If you reply to a group message, you will get “rejected”. It has been set up that way so we don’t get into a dialog of messages or result in someone trying to post a message directly to the group. All requests must come in through the email address above or through the church web site or you can email me directly.
Thanks to the team! You are a blessing to God and our church.
Russ Taxter
How do we welcome visitors in worship and make them feel at home?
Most agree that our church excelsat welcoming visitors to our worship services, but, with the thought that there is always room for improvement, we offer this list of reminders. They are taken from a book titled Now Go Forwardby J. David Eschelman.
1. The most important person for a visitor to talk to order to feel at home is you. It is not the pastor, but a regular attender. Eschleman says, “One of the most impressive gestures we can extend to first time visitors is for people without official position to take the initiative and welcome them.”
2. Smile at everyone and offer your hand.
3. Look people in the eye and smile.
4. Take the initiative, don’t wait for visitors to initiate conversation with you.
5. Learn people’s names and remember them.
6. Ask questions and learn about your guests. It is better to express interest in them than it is to try to “sell” your church.
7. Listening is a very effective way to show love.
8. Tell people you’re glad they are here.
9. Pray for them throughout your week.
10. Be yourself! You are loving! You have a good thing going! You have the capacity to love more people, and to love more deeply. Eschelman says, “Practice making people feel special and what you give to others will be returned to you.”
The FBC ANNUAL MEETING is Sunday, January 22nd. If you, or your committee, need to submit a report, please get it to Jim Comar by January 6, 2017. He will compile them and have the Annual Report available for us before the meeting day!
The meeting will follow a quick luncheon after the Sunday service. Please bring your own sandwiches. There will also be soup available. If you would like to bring a favorite soup to share, please let Martha Thompson know.
IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATION
Church Office Hours 9:30-12:30 AM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Pastor Rebecca’s e-mail address:
Pastor Rebecca’s cell phone: (802) 688-3024
Church office Phone: (802) 362-1555
Parsonage Phone: (802) 362-5335
Please call to request a meeting or visit outside of regular church office hours.
CALENDAR OF CHURCH EVENTS
Sunday, January 8: Mary & Martha Fellowship 8:30 AM
Tuesday, January 10: Prudential 5:00 PM
Wednesday, January 11: Prayer Group 7 PM at Lois Squires’ Home
Monday, January 16: Martin Luther King, Jr. Service 7 PM at Israel Congregation
Thursday, January 19: Christian Education 5:15 PM
Thursday, January 19: Missions 6:00 PM
Sunday, January 22: Annual FBC Meetingfollowing the worship service (see above)
Wednesday, January 25: Prayer Group 7 PM at Lois Squires’ Home
FLOWERS CHILD CARE PROVIDERS
January 1: Poinsettias January 1: Lisa Towslee
January 8: Poinsettias January 8: Martha Thompson
January 15: Barb West January 15: Anna Ennis
January 22: Glenna Taxter January 22: Maurie Hill
January 29: Carol Lattuga January 29: Lois Squires
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