Pastor
Rev. Duane Bartz
Minister of Music
Cathy King
Asst. Minister of Music
Kathy Haege
Office Assistant
Kelly Schmidt
Sexton
Barbara Cope
Lay Leader
Glenn Harrison
Lay Member UNYAC
Linda Sheeran
SPRC Chair
Ilah Sisson Walser
Treasurer
Maria Dickerson
Finance Chair
Trustee Chair
Jeff Blake
Christian Education
Grace Paster
Church Council Chair
Gary Wilson
Church Office
885-6886
Office Hours
Mon., Tues. & Wed.
9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Pastor’s Office Hours
Mon. - Thurs., 9 - 2
(unlessout for pastoral calls)
Parsonage Phone
309-3737
Pastor’s Cell Phone
(518) 522-4694
Pastor’s E-Mail
Web Site
ballstonspaumchurch.org
Sunday Worship
10:00 a.m.
April 2013
101 Milton Avenue, Ballston Spa, NY 12020
4-2 Finance (P) 6:30
4-3 Worship Team (P) 6:00
4-4 Prayer Shawl (P) 1:30
4-5 FOGGS 4th-6th grade Youth Group (FR) 6:00
4-7 Worship and Sunday School 10:00
4-7 Trustees after worship
4-7 Voice choir rehearsal after worship
4-7 Confirmation Class 12:00
4-7 Children’s bell choir rehearsal (S) 6:00
4-9 Church Council (P) 7:00
4-11 D-Line Dinner 6:30
4-14 Worship 10:00
4-14 Fair Trade Sale after worship
4-14 Voice choir rehearsal after worship
4-14 Confirmation Class 12:00
4-14 Children’s bell choir rehearsal (S) 6:00
4-15 UMW (P) 6:30
4-16 SPRC (P) 7:30
4-18 Prayer Shawl (P) 6:30
4-19 FOGGS 4th-6th grade Youth Group (P) 6:00
4-20 Roast Pork Dinner (FR) 4:00-6:30
4-21 Worship and Sunday School 10:00
4-21 Voice choir rehearsal after worship
4-21 Children’s bell choir rehearsal (S) 6:00
4-25Trustees 7:00
4-27 Free Lunch (FR) 11:30
4-28 Worship and Sunday School 10:00
4-28 Voice choir rehearsal after worship
S=Sanctuary, FR=Fellowship Room, P=Parlor, CH=Church House
1
Spring is here and Easter is just a few days away as I write this but the ground here in Ballston Spa still has solid blanket of snow. I’ve heard reports of daffodils and crocuses struggling to come out but I haven’t seen any myself. A year ago we had an early spring with the warmest March ever, but this year spring seems to be taking its time to get here.
As we travel through the season of Lent each year, we get impatient by the time Palm Sunday arrives and we want to be experiencing all the joy of Easter. All the symbolism that we associate with Easter, such as new life, renewal, blooming Easter lilies and other flowers, lifts our spirits in so many ways.
We are ready to get on with the rest of our year, renewed in the knowledge of what Jesus has done for us. Secure in the promise of our Savior that he has taken our sins upon himself and through his grace offers us forgiveness and salvation. Jesus’ resurrection has shown us God’s victory over death. We are allowed and encouraged to move ahead in our lives with the burden of our sins lifted off from our shoulders.
Jesus’ love for us has more depth and breadth and height than we can imagine. To be loved is the thing that matters most to us in our earthly lives. And so to love others is the greatest gift that we can give. It makes total sense that Jesus said the most important commandment is to love God and to love one another.
The entire time between Easter Sunday and the day of Pentecost is known as Easter Season. While God’s love is with us every day of the year, let this Easter Season especially fill your hearts with God’s abundant love shown to us through his only Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior.
May God’s love shine from within you,
Pastor Duane
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A Note from SPRC:
we appreciate our part time staff members and acknowledge all of the hard work they do. If you happen to see one of them, express your thanks and appreciation as well, to Kelly Schmidt, Barb Cope, Gail Palmer, Kathy Haege.
There are also many volunteers behind the scene who help, our appreciation goes out to them as well.
If you are interested in being a member of our BSUMC email prayer ministry, please contact Peggy Traver . Anyone may also submit prayer requests in this way, but be certain to get permission from the individual or family concerned.
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Finance Report
Our church finances are doing ok at this time. It is still relatively early in our budget year with March not yet over at the time of this article. Our expenses are following our projections for the year. Our income is nearly identical to where we were one year ago at this time. However, our projected giving is expected to be higher for this year compared to last year, so we do have a little bit of a concern that bears watching.
Our financial picture looks stable for this year, 2013. But the proverbial elephant in the room that needs our attention is what lies ahead for 2014. We are greatly blessed by aid from our Upper NY Annual Conference of over $20,000. This aid will completely stop at the end of this year. If our current year goes well, we may have half of that amount from the balance that has carried over from last year in our checking account.
So, saying that our finances are stable is not good enough if we have our eyes on the future. We need to be gaining strength if we are to be prepared for at least a $10,000 increase in our budget in each of the next two years in addition to whatever increases will naturally occur in our budget.
The direction of our church seems very positive. Our pledges going into this year had a healthy increase. Our attendance has been up at times. And of course you have seen the numbers of children heading out to Sunday School each week and you have heard the many announcements about the many activities and missions going on in our church.
With so many good things happening in our church, please help us keep moving forward with your financial support.
Submitted by Pastor Duane
Birthdays
4-1Karen Fogg
4-3 Tara Conley; Ruth Ann Caswell; Daniel Sansone
4-5 Jacob Hott
4-6 Neil Heffernan; Joshua Parlapiano
4-7 Andrew Paster
4-9 George Mallette; Ethan Paster
4-10 Christopher Sutton
4-12 Wayne Harrison; Paul Kelley
4-14 Paul MacMillin; Jennifer Sutherland
4-16 David Staulters; Shelli Wolsey
4-17 Eric Thompson
4-18 Anna Taylor
4-19 Mia Lawrence
4-21 Jennifer Taylor
4-25 Ryan Kelley; Carey Shoen
4-29 Madison LeRoy
4-30 Derek Costanzo
Anniversaries
4-5 Christine & Eric Thompson
4-7 Jeff & Judy Wainwright
4-11 Sheri & Jerry Litchfield
4-16 Dick & Peggy Traver
4-20 Dan & Jilly Sansone
4-29 Jeffrey & Lynne Blake
4-30 Kristen & Lance Evans
Please let the Church Office know if there are any additions and/or corrections.
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Choir Notes
The voice choir will be practicing after worship beginning December 30, 2012.
After their Easter performance the adult hand bell choir will be taking a hiatus until Cathy King returns. Thank you to Dick Traver for directing the adult bell choir in Cathy’s absence.
The children’s choir will be performing a piece with the adult voice choir on April 14th and then we will be taking a break.
Children’s Bell Choir will begin rehearsingagain on Sunday, January 6that 6:00in the sanctuary.
Library Corner
If you are looking for a good book that does not need foul language, violence or explicit sex to make it interesting, try IN THE COMPANY OF OTHERSby Jan Karon.If you enjoyed The Mitford Series, you will be happyto follow Father Timothy Kavanagh and wife, Cynthia, on their vacation to Ireland to rediscover his roots. They go to a fishing lodge in a remote area. Their “vacation” turns out to be anything but! Cynthia opens the door to their room to find a burglar going through their things. He jumps out of the window; she jumps back injuring her recently fractured ankle. Doctor’s orders to stay off that ankle pretty well shuts down their plans for exploring. However, enough drama takes place right there to keep them occupied.
The story is rich in details about Ireland, its culture and its people.
Marilynn Peterson
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Does the office have your
e-mail address?
Contact the office , so we can add you to our mailing list. Please let us know if you’d like to receive The Tidings electronically. Also, remember to visit our website ( and find BSUMC on Facebook, so you can keep up-to-date on all of the good things happening at our church!
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Liturgists for the month of March:
March 3 - Sarah Vargas
March 10 - Thelma Armstrong
March 17 - Sheri Litchfield
March 24 –Gary Wilson
March 31 –Stan Lockwood
Communion Servers for the month of March:
Sarah and Marcos Vargas
Lily and Brandon Reid
Karen Bartz
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Upper Room Thrift Shop & Food Pantry
The Thrift Shop has lots of good used clothing of all sizes available for $2.00 a bag, as full as you want to get it. They are open every Tuesday from 9 am to noon. Just come in the front door to the Church House and go up the stairs. They accept all good used clothing in all sizes.
The Food Pantry is open every Wednesday from 9:00 - 11:30 am. You come to the back door of the Church House to receive a good variety of food. You can come and receive the food once a month.
We are very lucky to have such a giving community that helps provide the pantry with all kinds of food. They sometimes give money in memory of someone. We use that to purchase from the Regional Food Bank in Latham at a really good price. We also get a grant once a year from the Food Bank.
The items we usually need are cereal, peanut butter, and spaghetti sauce. Donations for the food pantry and thrift shop can be brought in any time that the office is open. Thanks to everyone who has helped in any way to make these projects such a success and also those who work in them.
Helen Senecal & Marian Phillips
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CONNECTIONS CAFÉ
…MEETS EVERY SUNDAY FOR FELLOWSHIP BEFORE & AFTER WORSHIP IN THE PARLOR
ALL are welcome,
please come to CONNECT with new and old friends
over Fair Trade coffee(or tea or hot cocoa) and snacks.
We appreciate your continued support
and welcome contributions of any kind
including tasty foods and healthy alternatives like fruit
and cheese.***************************
April 14, 2013
What’s New in Sunday School
The Sunday School has been observing Lent and preparing for Easter in two ways: through the use of family Lent Calendars, as well as with our mission project for the Ronald McDonald House. I’m overwhelmed and so grateful of your generous support of this mission project – I’m going to have a full van-load of items to take to the RMH Family House!
The Middle School and High School classes have been working hard to prepare a full worship service, which we will be able to enjoy on April 14th. A huge ‘thank you’ goes out to the students in those classes for sharing their gifts with the congregation during this special service; and to the teachers for their dedication and guidance through this process. So that we can all enjoy this worship service, there will be no Sunday School on April 14th. We will have Sunday School classes on the first Sunday of the month, April 7th. We will meet at the beginning of the service at 10:00 am, and join the congregation so that children may take Communion with their families near the end of the service.
As always, thank you to our church family for your continued love and support of the Sunday School program.
Peace,
Grace Paster, Sunday School Superintendent
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Save the Date!!!
Vacation Bible School
August 5-9, 2013
6:00 – 8:00 pm
Don’t miss it!!!!
Volunteers (adults and teens) will be needed for lots of different roles. To give you an idea, we will need:
Crew Leaders - lead groups of about 5 children to the stations and guide discussions
Station Leaders
Sing & Play Rock -begin and end the day with music
Imagination Station -lead fun "sciency" experiments
Missions
King's Kitchen -snacks!
Tournament Games -fun & active sports & games
Spotlight VBS -someone that is 'tech savvy' to take lots of photos and prepare a daily slideshow
Epic Bible Adventures -interactive 'role playing' that make the Bible stories come alive
We will also need:
Nursery -someone to take care of our volunteers' littlest ones.
Registration Helpers
Help with Decorating
See Grace Paster for more info!
Fair Trade Items will be offered for sale following the worship service on Sunday, April 14, 2013.There will be coffee, tea, hot cocoa, chocolate bars and Geo Bars (granola bars). Thank you to all members for supportingthe BSUMC church Fair Trade efforts through the purchase of these fair trade items for your own use, or as gifts, and also through your support of the church coffee hour following our Sunday church services.
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Can Pull-Tab Collection
Before you toss any more of those cans in the returnable or recycling bin, pop off the metal tab, and save it. There will be a collection some time in the spring, whereby all these tabs will be brought to a scrap metal business and redeemed. All proceeds will go towards Current Expenses. Tell your friends, and have them collect them too.
Thank you-
Linda Sheeran- 885-1729 or
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UpWord!
April 26th – 28th
Church Tag Sale!!!!
Believe it or not, it's time to start thinking about those items you want to clean out of your house and garage!! June will be here quicker than you think, so start to put those items aside to donate for the Tag Sale!! This is a good fundraiser for the church and brings people to not only buy items, but a chance to meet us. Last year we had a Book Sale, Bake Sale, Hotdog Stand, several crafters and many tables of good sellable items. We will be looking for you to help out if you can. Sign-up sheets will be available in May!!! Just planning ahead!!!
Janet and George Mallette
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Bishop Webb, the resident bishop of our Upper New York Conference, has accepted an invitation to preach at a worship service in our church. He has scheduled September 22nd for his visit to our church. We will all be anticipating his time with us this fall.
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Mark Your Calendar
First Friday for May!
On Friday, May 3rd our church will be hosting The LivingGospel Ministries who will do a presentation on Peter.
More information will be provided in the future.
1
Annual Roast Pork Dinner
Saturday, April 20th
As we shovel the driveway one more time, it is hard to start thinking of late April! However, we have put it on the calendar and want you to do the same. George will start advertising with signs in front of the church and there are people in the community who look for those signs for our dinners.
The clipboard sign-up sheets will be coming soon!! Many of our members that have helped in the past like to work in specific places,we'll try to accommodate as many as we can -- no promises!! Space in the kitchen is limited!! Can't help working, then possibly you could support the dinner with a money donation toward items needed. And, of course, there will be a Bake Sale that will need donations, too!!
The best way you can support the church dinner is by coming and enjoying a delicious dinner!! Bring friends!
Any questions -- see Janet or George Mallette.
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History Faire
Saratoga County Heritage Hunters is planning its 2nd Annual History Faire. This is a historical year as we celebrate many anniversaries, 20th year for Saratoga County Heritage Hunters, 150th year for the Saratoga Flat Track and the Civil War to name a few. Our Church will be having a display at this event, which will also be highlighting the 100th Anniversary of Boy Scout Troop 1. Feel free to come and bring the kids. There will even be a scavenger hunt for kids with prizes. We will look forward to seeing you there! There will be something for everyone!
Date: April 20, 2013
Time: 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Location: Cornell Cooperative Extension Center
50 West High Street
Ballston Spa, NY 12020
Submitted by Karen Staulters
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Another Blast from the Past…..
The next pastor in our series that we are highlighting is the Rev. Winston A. Saunders. He was born in Schenectady, NY on May 14, 1918. He graduated from Union College in 1941 and from Yale Divinity School in 1944. He was ordained elder in the United Methodist Church in 1945.
During his teenage years, he attended the Fisher United Methodist Church in Schenectady. It was here that he committed his life to the ministry and also met the love of his life, Janet A. Dixon. They were married in June of 1943 and they had five daughters, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
He was pastor of the United Methodist Churches in Fort Johnson, Amsterdam, Slingerlands, Ballston Spa, Gloversville, Plattsburgh, Burnt Hills and Shenendehowa. He served the Ballston Spa church from 1953-1956. He was District Superintendent for the Albany District of the Troy Conference from 1975-1979. He was also a Delegate to the United Methodist World Conference held in London in 1966 and in Dublin in 1971.
Winston retired from the ministry in 1982 and he and Janet spent their winters in Sunset Beach, NC. While he was there he served two churches, one in Bolivia and the other in Tabor City, NC. He was also instrumental in starting the Seaside United Methodist Church in Sunset Beach. The church was established in 1971 and has over 700 members. The library in the church is named for him and Janet.