PATHFINDER
The United Church of Jaffrey
An Open and Affirming,
Just PeaceChurch
of the United Church of Christ
54 Main Street, Jaffrey, New Hampshire03452
Pastor: The Reverend Teri Motley
Hour of Worship: 10:00 A.M.
Child Care Provided
Office Telephone: (603) 532-7047
July
2013
PASTOR’S LETTER
Good Intentions
As many of you know, I am just back from medical leave after rotator cuff surgery on my right shoulder. As advertised, the surgery was painful, but I am progressing well and should have a complete recovery.
Like most of life, the experience was different from what I had imagined. I had stockpiled magazines, Christian Century, Homiletics, Science, thinking I would catch up on my reading, since I would be homebound for four weeks. As it turned out, most of the time was
devoted to pain management, and learning to do simple things with only one hand. The stacks of magazines sat unread, and are going to be recycled. This time has had some gifts, though. I have gained a new appreciation of the courage and ingenuity any kind of disability requires of the person with the disability. I have a new appreciation of community services such as the Visiting Nurses. And finally, I got down to a project I had been putting off: viewing the many home movies, now being
digitized, that my mother filmed and collected. Some of these movies go back to 1917, so I see my grandparents as young marrieds and my uncles as children, my mom as a child, and myself and my sisters as babies, toddlers, children, teens. It connects me to my past, and constitutes a gift to give to my children and other young people in the family. I think understanding the past will make it easier for family members to move forward together into our future.
Today at Council several people asked when we were going to get down to specific plans in the Visioning process. The answer is that before we do that, as a church we need to look at our community outside our walls, to see who is around us who might be waiting for us to become servants of God’s vision for them. Next, we will look at our history, to get an idea of who we have been, of decisions made in the past which bring us to this day.
As a convalescent, one of my tasks is to do just enough, but not too much, with the arm, or the good work of the surgeons could be undone by a careless move putting too much stress on an unhealed incision. The process is unfolding, but the visioning process, like my healing shoulder, takes what it takes, and it is unwise to rush.
I look forward to the next stage on our journey together.
Peace and Blessings to all,
Rev. Teri
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
July 7 Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Communion Sunday
Lectionary:
2 Kings 5 : 1-14
Psalm 30
Galatians 6 : (1-6), 7-16
Luke 10 : 1-11, 16-20
July 14 Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
Lectionary:
Amos 7 : 7-17
Psalm 82
Colossians 1 : 1-14
Luke 10 : 25-37
July 21 Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
Lectionary:
Amos 8 : 1-12
Psalm 52
Colossians 1 : 15-28
Luke 10 : 38-42
July 28 Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Lectionary:
Hosea 1 : 2-10
Psalm 85
Colossians 2 : 6-15, (16-19)
Luke 11 : 1-13
BIRTHDAYS
A Birthday/Anniversary book is in the
narthex. If you wish your birthday or
anniversary noted in the Pathfinder,
please add the date(s).
3 - Debbie Elliott
5 - Gwen Niskala
10- Eileen Cloutier
11- Lindsey Arceci
12 - Nicholas Bergeron
16 - Norma Houghton
18 - Kelly Olson Bergeron
18 - Nicholas Turelli
21 - Debbie Clapp
23 - Whitney Despres
27 - Kelley Hagstrom
30 - Stacey Kullgren
31 - Linda Moeller
ANNIVERSARIES
25 - Ron and Sheila Devens
31 - Joel and Debbie Weissman
BAPTISM
JADE PATTERSON
was baptized on May 12, 2013
She was accompanied by
Jean and Dick Bergeron,
Roxxe Perkins
and Shane Lafreniere.
VISIONING
Team Coordinators
Bob Dunn532-6139
Sally Carll-Long878-0965
A Monthly Update
The Vision Team met via Skype with it’s coach Paul Nickerson on Tuesday, June 4. We brought Paul up to speed on our presentation at the council retreat in May.
We also talked about how the scripture
readings are being received at the monthly team meetings. The scripture reading during June was Luke 24: 13 – 16 and 28 – 34. For those of you who would like to get a heads-up on July, we will be reading Genesis 15: 1 – 6 (God’s covenant with Abram.) Again, we
encourage everyone to read and reflect on the monthly readings in light of how God’s message might give UCJ vision for the future. We will also be posting the monthly scripture readings in the narthex.
Starting in July, the team of Bob Dunn, Stan Long and Norm Soney will be
conducting interviews with community leaders and town officials to get their thoughts about the needs and concerns in our community. When these interviews are completed, the data and findings will be used to help us determine how our church can play a more vital role in serving those needs.
The Prayer Team has been active with vigils and prayer walks. Please read the following article for an update.
As always, any member of the Vision Team or Prayer Team is available for conversation and reflection on any part of the vision process. We must remember that visioning is a “process,” and even though it may seem to move slowly at times, it’s absolutely essential that the different stages build on one another. So patience is required, but even more important at this point is everyone's interest, questions, concerns.
We desperately need your feedback, as we all have a vested interest in the future of our church.
The Vision Team:
Lynda Baird Alison Bergeron
Bob Dunn Norma Holden
Stan LongSally Carll-Long Norman Soney.Brenda Pelkey
Rev. Teri Motley
Visioning Prayer Team
Team Coordinator:
Rev. Mary-Lu' Esposito
Contact Information: 899-6815 or
(cell) 320-2590;
.
The Visioning Prayer Team would like to pray for all that makes us the United Church of Jaffrey. What are your joys, fears, challenges, and hopes for our
future? What are you thankful for from our past? What can we pray for today for our present lives together? Pray with us as we expand our awareness of who we are. Listening for God's voice,
Your Visioning Prayer Team
MESSAGE FROM
THE MODERATOR
Kendall Bacon 532-8615
“Change is the only constant in life.”
Heraclitus said this many centuries ago and it applies now to the United Church of Jaffrey as we respond to the recent changes in the leadership positions of the church. I thought it would be a good idea to update everyone about these changes and the steps we’ve taken to address them.
During the month of April our
Moderator resigned which necessitated the Vice Moderator moving up to
succeed her. The Vice Moderator
position remains vacant. Also, our
treasurer resigned at the end of April. Both Deb Weisman and Gary Arceci are to be thanked for their dedicated service and capable work in their respective roles.
As so often happens in organizations where members care deeply about their future and freely volunteer to pick up the slack, it happened here at the United Church of Jaffrey. In a short period of time we have appointed a new treasurer – Brenda Pelkey – and upgraded the
secretary’s job to “Office Administrator” and appointed June Sheldon to the job. Brenda is a former treasurer and has hit the ground running so to speak. She has committed herself to the end of the
calendar year and for that reason we have titled the position “Interim
Treasurer.” She will do the payroll,
provide monthly reconciliations of the general fund and submit treasurer’s
reports to the church council. A number of the bookkeeping functions formerly done by the treasurer will now be done by June. As a result she has received a raise in pay and has had three hours added to her weekly schedule. All of this was made possible by the expert help we received from a consultant who got us up to speed in a very short period of time. Also, I commend Brenda and June for their dedication and energy for
implementing these changes as skillfully as they have.
I believe we are entering a new period of stability with capable people in place. Once we have a new Vice Moderator, I will restart regular meetings of the admin team so that we can be more
attentive to the many details that can be overlooked or get on the church council agenda by default. I welcome questions or comments about the reorganization or any other issue that is not being
addressed.
Ken Bacon
SPIRITUAL FORMATION
Deacons
If you are interested in helping to serve communion please speak to Rev. Teri or Maria Carbone.
Upcoming events:
July 7 Communion
July 14 Coffee Hour
July 21 Council Meeting
July 28 Vesper Service 7:00 p.m.
August 11 Cathedral of the Pines Joint
Service with Rindge and JaffreyCenter
The Deacons are looking for new
members to join our team. Please speak to one of us anytime: Rev Teri Motley, Dorothy Bacon, Helen Coll, Cynthia Hamilton, Norma Sands, and Maria Carbone.
JULY HELPERS
Communion Leader: Brenda Pelkey
Chancel Guild: Carol Naas
Worship Assistant: Helen Coll
Christian Education
Coordinator:
Norman Soney532-7263
Sunday School Director:
Lynda Baird532-7281
This years all Church Outing, with the church family and friends, will be a trip to the FisherCats Faith and Family Night on August 9th, game time of 7:05. The FisherCats are a Double A Minor League team affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. We need a minimum of 25 people to quality for the group rates.
The cost is $12.00 per ticket for adults and the church will cover the cost of children. This includes your admission to the game as well as a ball game meal (includes a hot dog, bag of chips and a soft drink or juice box). We must have our final numbers and money to the FisherCats 30 days prior to game day. Please check your family calendars and mark the date to spend with your church family. I will need to know who is
planning on attending no later than
Sunday, July 7th.
I am putting out one last plea for help for a VBS program for this summer. This would be the last week of July, in the evening, from the 28th to August 2nd. We need to have four to five people that would be willing to help with the program. We would need to have a
meeting prior to the start, to get
everything set up and make sure that we have all supplies needed. There is a lot of prep work that goes into organizing for the program. I would need to know by July 14th at the very latest, if we have folks that would be interested in helping with this program for the young folks of the community.
TRUST AND CARE
Coordinator: Archie Coll532-8412
We are pleased to have Bob Ballou back on lawn care this summer.Also Owen
Houghton is helping out making church lawns look well with his weedwacker. Thanks to both of them.
We will be starting the new handicap ramp downstairs to replace the steps in the classroom area and to help with the food pantry stocking and for recipients getting into this area of our building.
The trustees will present the proposal to the church congregation on Sunday, July 7th for all to see and hear of the
proposal and see what it is we want to accomplish.We do not have enough money in the Trust and Care budget to do all this project along with replacing the carpeting. And so we have asked the council members to pledge $100.00 per family and all greed to do this, along with a pledge from the food pantry and the Walker family fund pledge. With all these pledges we will have almost enough and would like anyone in the congregation or church friends to have an opportunity to help financially.
Please call the church office with a pledge or send a check to UCJ ramp fund.This should complete the funding.
Trust and Care (Ken Duquette and Archie) will be looking at replacing the church office copier, as ours is now 10 years old and has many problems.We hope to get info and quotes so we can put this on our 2014 budget.
We also are looking into price quotes for removing the storm windows in the
sanctuary, having the windows washed and storm windows put back on the building.
JUSTICE AND PEACE
Coordinators:
Sandi Carland532-6263
Owen Houghton532-6970
Tom Gundlach reported that gift cards were given to the Jaffrey family recently burned out of their home. Additional funds were also provided..
The Food Pantry has reimbursed the general fund for an ink cartridge
recently purchased for the office copier. Now that we have our own printer/
copier, we should not need to continue using the already over-worked one in the office !
Carol Naas has been kept busy inputting Food Pantry records into the computer.
We have had some kids from the High School Interact Group volunteer to help put large food deliveries away.
Some members of the team will be checking the Food Drive at Shaw’s in Peterborough on June 29th . We hope to get together with the directors of the Peterborough and Rindge Food Pantries to establish a closer relationship and find out how we can help each other.
We discussed doing a Great American Bake Sale. The two dates we are
considering will be during Riverfest in July or The Scarecrows in the Fall.
The Crop Walk will be in Dublin this year on October 5th so please put the date on your calendars and plan to walk. We hope to have a great turnout again this year. Cynthia Hamilton is our recruiter and will sign you up anytime ! UCJ will host the Crop Walk in 2014.
The One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) collection was less than $200.00
The Hundred Nights Shelter in Keene
recently sent out a newsletter describing changes in staff and reaffirming it’s
commitment to helping those in need all year. The 100 days of shelter (in-house sleeping quarters) runs from Dec. 21 through March 31. This past year they
provided beds for 102 different individuals — 78 men, 21 women and 3 children.
Over the 100 Nights a total of 1,684 bed/nights were provided. But all year the Hundred Nights, Inc. operates as an Open Door Resource Center, providing “everything from a warm lunch, receiving and distributing mail for our homeless guests, job counseling and resume writing, to finding an apartment, or obtaining a tent and sleeping bag.”
Their Wish List includes: Tents, sleeping bags, tarps, 5 lb bags of sugar, paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, copy paper, coffee, new socks, a box of small paper clips, regular size
staples, and fans.
Volunteers and financial aid are always needed as well. You can see their web site at or mail
donations to Hundred Nights,
PO Box 833, Keene, NH03431
CHURCH NEWS
Graduates
Jeremy Baird from ConantHigh School
Lindsey Arceci from KeeneState
College
Justin Moore (grandson of Norma Sands) from the University of
Massachusetts at Lowell
Other News
Nicholas Bergeron's team placed first for the 6th grade at the JRMS Mathlete
Challenge on May 21, 2013.
Hello: My name is Helen Soney. I am a freshman at ConantHigh School. This
summer I am participating in an
international exchange program with
Rotary. My family is hosting a French girl named Juliette. She lives in Romans which is part of Drome. Drome is south of Lyon and north of Marseille next to the Alps. She will be arriving on July 14th and then I will be travelling with her back to France on August 4th. Each of us will be staying in the others country for three weeks. I am responsible for paying the airfare, travel insurance and spending money/extra expenses while there. I will be also be expected to bring gifts to my host family that represent America and New Hampshire.
I was hoping that you might have some
opportunities for me to work to help pay for my trip. I have been a babysitter for 3 different families. The kids ages ranged from 1-10 years old. I also have lot of experience with animals (dogs, cats, bunnies and horses) and could pet
sit or dog walking. I have also helped my neighbor and grandparents with light housework and yard work. If you don’t need my services, I would be appreciative of referrals to those you may know who may. Thank you for your time and consideration. My home phone is 532-7175 or my e-mail (checked daily) which is .
Thanks Helen Soney
TRIPLE — D
(Diligence, Devotion Diversion)
President:
Brenda Pelkey532-6029
(February – July)
Dorothy Bacon 532-8615 (August – January)
Triple D has a major change coming up.
The Giant Flea Market and
Blueberry/ Bake Sale
is changing it’s date.
NEW DATE IS: July 27, 2013 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
in front of the church
and parish hall.