[Photograph by Kay Reynolds]
Congregational Church of Henniker
July 2017
Please join us July 9th and August 13th for a short Conversations gathering at the Parish Hall after services from 11:15-11:45 AM. Carol Hamilton has offered to provide ice tea as refreshment, as we entertain discussion and questions about our transition period.
Church Properties Committee
The Church Properties Committee, along with our resident "landscapers”, Carol Hamilton, Shirley Hewitt and Deb Dow, have "spring cleaned" and
mulched the property around the Parsonage. We managed to fill Lisa's dump truck with the debris!! On the inside, we have removed the kitchen floor that was ruined due to a leak from the dishwasher. The floor will be replaced by Ron Hewitt with wood to match the rest of the house. Two ceilings and the walls of one bedroom are scheduled to be painted later this
month by Leo Mercier. Then it will sparkle! Thanks to all! And Susan pulled us together and organized in such a way that so much was
accomplished - Many thanks for your low key, cheerful leadership!
By-Laws
[We are reviewing our current by-laws, one section at a time. This month we are looking at Article III: Faith and Covenant]
We believe in God the Father, infinite in wisdom, goodness, and love; and in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, our Lord and Savior, who for us and for our salvation lived and died and rose again and lives evermore; and in the Holy Spirit, who takes the things of Christ and reveals them to us for renewal, comfort and inspiration.
The Congregational Church of Henniker seeks to lead parishioners toward a closer walk with God, a life of striving to follow the teaching, ministry, and mission of Jesus Christ. The congregation seeks to attain that closer walk, living in ways that express God’s justice and demonstrate God’s love, locally and throughout the world. To that end, the church shall offer to all people:
1) A safe welcoming, and sacred place to gather;
2) worship that glorifies God with joy, wonder, music, message, and community;
3) care and a sense of belonging to those who seek to follow Christ;
4) Christian education and experiences and programs that seek to enhance people’s faith in Christ;
5) opportunities to identify, address, and serve the needs of others locally and throughout the world;
6) services and other events that celebrate life and mark the spiritual aspects of life’s passages for people in our community, recognizing and honoring our long history in Henniker.
And in turn the congregation shall strive to:
1) participate fully and joyfully in the worship services and activities of the church;
2) accept God’s love and forgiveness, allowing us to love and forgive ourselves and others;
3) Discover and nurture, through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, our individual passions and gifts, devoting them to God’s service;
4) embrace the costs and joys of discipleship by pledging our time, money, and energy to the church’s ministries and our own individual spiritual growth and faith development’
5) serve others locally and in the world through personal involvement, prayer, and practical action;
6) welcome with a warm spirit friends, neighbors, and newcomers alike.
Following the publication of William Young’s novel The Shack in 2007, it became the #1 bestseller on The New York Times Best Seller list. I first heard about it from an elderly friend who had read it in her retirement home as part of a book group. The Shack was very popular in book groups at that time, but the curious thing was I couldn’t get anyone to tell me what it was about. After I read it, I could see why.
The foreword is a folksy “I know the author very well” kind of introduction to Mackenzie Allen Phillips, a Midwest farmer who suffers from The Great Sadness which followed an “accident” which is hard to talk about. It takes the author 50 pages to get to the incident which started all the sadness: Phillips’ daughter wanders away from the campsite where the family was staying and is later found to have been murdered.
The Great Sadness is of course the pain and guilt which any parents would feel after having a child taken from them. Through an elaborate metaphor, Young attempts to guide the reader (and Phillips) through an exercise in “re-turning” to God for the answer to why bad things happen to good people. At one point a character explains to Phillips “As well-intentioned as it may be, you know that religious machinery can chew up people. An awful lot of what has been done in [Jesus’s] name has nothing to do with [Jesus] and is often, even if unintentional, very contrary to [His] purposes.”
Some theologians and evangelical authors condemned The Shack and its author as being heretical and troubling, but due to the popularity of the book and recently a movie of the same name, it is hard to ignore the impact its message has had. I found it a very interesting read, especially if you find yourself trying to sort out what is human-based religion and what is God’s larger plan for humanity. As another character states: “Every time you forgive, the universe changes; every time you reach out and touch a heart or a life, the world changes; with every kindness and service, seen or unseen, my purposes are accomplished and nothing will ever be the same again.”
It doesn’t take all that long to read the 250 pages of The Shack, but it may take you a little longer to think through what you just read.
World Service Committee
Our committee continues to support Claire Aucoin's mission in Colombia. There are envelopes in the pews for donations or you can send them to the church office. We appreciate any amount you are able to donate. Our goal is to donate $100/month.
We are hosting Family Promise July 9-16th at St. Theresa’s parish. We are always looking for more volunteers for this program. Please contact Sally Auer at 428-7773, Karen Landes at 428-6359 or Sue Crawford at 670-4147 if you are able to help. You can also contact the church office.
The Food 4 Friends program provides snacks for about 45 children who may not have enough food over the weekend. Please contact the church office or Deb Dow if you would like to make a donation or help pack the bags.
Ellie’s Home Office Hours
Ellie’s treasurer hours are Tuesday and Thursdays 8-11 AM at her house. Please respect her time and schedule pickups and drop offs during these hours. Call 428-7415 or email her at .
This year’s annual meeting of the NH Conference of UCC will be held October 21st at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord. The Conference is hoping to decorate the conference with quilts, particularly in the corners and behind the stage at the front of the room. If you have a quilt you would be willing to donate for the day, Rev. Bob Marrone would love to hear from you. He has some ideas on how to hang them, but would also like to hear from quilters on how they should be displayed. He can be reached at the Union Congregational Church in Peterborough at 425-4578.
Arrangements will need to be made for the quilts to be dropped off at the Grappone Center that Saturday morning in order to have them in place before the meeting begins. You may bring them to the Center yourself or someone will pick them up and return them to you after the conference is over. All quilts will be treated with the utmost care and respect and the Conference will be responsible for them while they are in their care.
What does an Interim Pastor do anyway?
Our new Interim Pastor Rev. Susan Tarolli will start her duties with us next month, on August 17th. She is making plans to move into the minister’s office earlier than that so on August 17th she can jump into her role and be ready to begin.
What exactly will she be doing, besides filling the pulpit on Sundays? The UCC Conference offers the following development tasks for each interim pastor:
1) Coming to terms with the congregation’s history
2) Discovering a new identity
3) Allowing new leadership change
4) Renewing denominational linkages
5) Committing to new directions in ministry
We will welcome Rev. Tarolli officially on August 20th, but since that happens to be Chili Fest and we expect lower attendance than normal, the celebration of her arrival will be held August 27th before Labor Day.
Church Library Gets a New Look
As part of our rejuvenating the look and feel of the sanctuary, the lending library has migrated to the Parish Hall in an inviting spot where we can browse the books more comfortably. Looks great!
2