Christmas Eve was wonderful

We had a wonderful service on Christmas Eve. Someone suggested it was one of the best ever. The music, the setting, the congregation, the readings and the message all came together in a magical way as close to 200 people looked on. Along with the carols we had special music by Patricia Ohlund who sang "Ave Maria" and Shawn Rucker who sang "Fit For A King." The Triette of Adele DiBiagio, Mary Brockway and Cynthia Strouse sang a beautiful song and Penny Sargent and the Praise Team gave us a dramatic rendition of "The Drummer Boy."

The scriptures and short meditations were read by Nancy Allen, Mary Brockway, Cliff Vanase, Zelda Fellows, Bob Walker and Cynthia Strouse. Then I finished up with a brief message asking "What Happens Next?" All the while the lights were being dimmed and the room took on a surreal look as we were bathed in candle light.

A nice nativity scene was on display thanks to Ty Menard and Adele DiBiagio who pulled everything together to give us something a little different as a back drop to this year's services.

At the late service Rachel Lord sang a solo and we had a nice mix of carols and scriptures as we greeted the Christmas morn. There are some photos from both services below.

Cal

Saying good bye to 2008 in worship.

On Sunday, December 28 we welcomed Rev. Norman Bardsley to our pulpit. Gwyn Green was the worship assistant. Our praise team shared a special song. It was a great service to close off the year. Although attendance was down, the spirit was good.

For the last dozen years we have held our Youth Recognition Service on the last Sunday of the year. We have some great kids take turns in the pulpit going back to Kate Strouse Canada in 1994. This year we are in a "rebuilding year" in the sense that we lack a large group of high school students. So we decided to give it a rest. We hope to bring it back in a few years when our current middle school class moves up.

Congratulations to the Rezendes family.

I have some catching up to do with the blog. Between getting ready for Christmas, two bouts of sickness and a little vacation, I have fallen off the wagon. So we will get a little schizophrenic here for the next few days. I may jump around a bit until we get caught up. So here is the first joyful entry.

Congratulations to Timothy and Karin Rezendes on the birth of their first son, Benjamin Timothy Rezendes. He came into this world on Saturday, December 27 at 3:22 a.m. and weighed in at 7 lbs, 7 oz. Amy Rezendes was on hand for the birth and got to hold the little guy.

Tim & Karin live at 251 New Holland Ave., Lancaster, PA 17602.

Cal

Our prayer list

I wanted to pause before the snow flies to share some prayer concerns with you all. If you get snowed in and are looking for something productive to do, please bow and say a prayer for the following people;

Our special interest missionary Rick Barnes lost his father today. Rick was at his side in upstate New York at the time. Earlier this week Rick's grandfather suffered a heart attack. He is doing better. Keep the family in prayer.

Julia Rogers is home in Norwich tonight. Mark came home with her this morning. Her new adoptive family was there at the JFK Airport to greet her arrival. What a wonderful Christmas gift for Fran, Mark and Priscilla.

Today (Dec 18) is Edith Robinson's birthday. We think of her as she recovers from her broken hip and ensuing surgery.

We lift up Bob Booth in our continuing prayers. He is battling back from about with pneumonia.

We think of Nikki and Shane Stroud and their boys, Chase and Daniel in our prayers.

We lift up Jean Roscoe, Ken Taylor, Doris Regets, Michelle Lord andLorraine Bober in our continuing prayers.

We lift up Timothy and Karin Rezendes and their soon to be born firstborn child. (Due next week!)

We give thanks for the babe whose birth we celebrate on Christmas day - Jesus.

Faith walking between Sundays

On Sunday I caught up with a few of our members who had helped out at the Extreme Home Makeover Project for the Girard family in Voluntown. Each of them were so grateful to be a part of such a project. The truth is that there is something within all of us that wants to do something good and noble for another person. I think God puts that in our hearts.

I am working on an article for next month's newsletter that will pick up on this. For now, let me say that we are all very proud of Erica Corbett, Ken Kreger, Lisa Lapointe, Patricia and Steve Ohlund and Shawn Rucker. They stepped out and lived their faith by giving of their time and energy to this special project that captivated the hearts of our entire community.

Cal

Santa Claus Came To Town

Santa came to visit us last night and he thrilled all the boys and girls by listening to their Christmas wishes and by giving them little gifts. He also accepted soap, shampoo, toothpaste, mittens and gloves for the "Winter Survival Kits" that will be part of our neighborhood outreach project.

This year many of the girl's gifts were donated by June Deptulski. She gave us several very special Barbie Dolls. Sunday School Superintendant then went out and picked up some small gifts for the boys.

As Santa chatted with the kids, Sandy Stone and Zelda Fellows assisted him with his duties.

Cal

Happy Birthday Jesus - FBC style

Tonight we hosted our Annual Christmas Party and Pageant at Church. Heather Adams was the Narrator and our kids played the parts of all those who were there on that first Christmas morn. This was our Sunday School's way to say "Happy Birthday" to Jesus.

Sandy Stone, our Sunday School Superintendent, directed the play and had lots of help from Mary Brockway and several of the moms and teachers. Lori Lord was the pianist.

One hundred and eleven people were on hand to enjoy the production. It had its unpredictable moments but the story of Jesus' birth came through and the night mirrored God's love for one and all.

Jarod LaFlamme played Joseph and Chelsey Calkins played Mary.

Rachel Lord played the Angel Gabriel


Bethany Stone was the Inn Keeper.


Jacob Kreger played King Herod.


We had shepherds.




















We had angels.














We had wise men.


We even had barnyard friends!

What a great night! And that all happened even before the party began.

Cal

Too good to be true?

When I purchased the software for a "do it yourself photo directory kit" I was very excited. I thought to myself, "How hard can it be to put together our own photo directory if we have the software?" It has taken us six months. We started taking pictures at Easter (did I say six months?) and two weeks ago we ran off our first copies. I thought everything would be simple using our handy, dandy, color laser printer. Boy was I wrong.

We could only muster fifteen copies that first week and four the next week. The laser printer has a flaw. It runs too hot and after a certain number of copies the pages start sticking together and colors start running. There is also a scratch on the drum and it appears to put a fine line through some photos.

Never one to be intimidated, I decided to solve the problem by buying a new printer. Armed with a 10% off certificate and a coupon worth another 13.50 and the promise of a $50 rebate, I purchased the printer today. Two hours later I am ready to give up. Actually I already put up the red flag and called George Rezendes to help me install the printer.

I am used to working on macs where all you have to do is drag and drop and its done. Windows vista is another ballgame. Well if George is successful, we will have twenty more directories ready for tomorrow. If not....

Cal

The spirit of giving.

The flu bug does not discriminate. It doesn't matter how many things you have on your calendar. No one is above catching it. I was offered a flu shot a couple of times but foolishly was either too busy or felt too invincible to get one. Then my world came crashing to a halt. I missed several meetings and an opportunity of a lifetime to help out at the Extreme Home Makeover. I was in bed one whole day and a good part of two others now. Although I am making progress, I am still a bit woozy.

Anyway I just wanted to say how proud I am of our Extreme Hom Makeover volunteers. The ones I know of include Erica Corbett, Lisa Lapointe, Steve & Patricia Ohlund and Shawn Rucker. I know that they were as blessed as were the recipients, the Girard family. Giving to others is a great feeling. I think it is something that God built into our spiritual DNA. Have you ever noticed that miserly people are always grumpy? The people with generous spirits are always happy. They are living their purpose.

I'd like to suggest that all of us give ourselves a big gift for Christmas and the new year. Let's try to find ways to be kind, loving, giving and courteous to the people we know. Let's practice random acts of kindness each week to people we know and those we don't know. I think we will not only bless others but it will come back to us. What do you think?

God bless. Pray for me. I am going back to bed for a couple hours.

Cal

PS If you have the flu I suggest you "not" pass that on. That's part of the reason I am laying low this week. I don't want to share this with anyone.

Rogers family to receive an early Chrsitmas present

Fran and Mark Rogers received a call last night that they can go get their little girl!!!

Mark plans to fly out early next Sunday morning from New York and return the following Thursday. They wish to thank everyone so much for their prayers and ask for continuing prayer for safe travels for Mark and a smooth transition for Julia! They feel so blessed to have such wonderful caring friends! We their excitement as Julia will begin her new life with her new family and be home for Christmas. What an awesome gift!!!

A recipe for a warm blanket

As Part of our Winter Survival kits several people have made the "No Sew" blankets that we will giving to the families in our neighborhood. Some have asked how to make them. Well, here are the directions.

No Sew Fleece Blanket (directions are from the Internet)

Materials needed: Fabric needs to be at least 40 inches or wider (most are 54 inches)

Baby/Toddler - 1 to 1 1/2 yards (in both fabrics)
Child - 1 3/4 yards (in both fabrics)
Teen/Adult - 2 yards (in both fabrics)

Feel free to make your blanket(s) bigger for taller or bigger people Things you need: Two pieces of fleece the same size. Piece may be the same pattern, two different patterns, two plain colors or a pattern on one side and a plain color on the other.

Scissors (sharp ones)
Tape measure or ruler
one 4" x 4" piece of paper…I found it easier to use a square closer to 6” No sew fleece blanket instructions:

1. Take your two pieces of fleece. Put one piece on top of the other lining up the edges so they are even. (one side will be the front and the other side will be the back of your blanket)

2. Trim your blanket so the two pieces are equal. You might want to trim off the “selvedge” edge of each side.

3. Take your square piece of paper and lay it on the corner of your blanket. Then cut out the corner through both layers. Proceed to do this on all four corners. I eyeballed the next 2 steps as I had so many to do

4. Now you are ready to cut your fringes. Cut into both fleeces as far as your paper was at 1 in intervals Your fringes don't need to be 1" exactly, just try to keep them the same size. (You don't want to have one fringe 1" and the next one 2") Proceed to cut 1" intervals on all four sides. You can place the tape measure or yard stick 6 inches in (or however deep your square was) so you know how far in to cut, or you can eyeball it!

5. Tie two knots in each corner so the two pieces of fabric will stay together. Or, you can pin them.

6. Starting on one side tie square knots (using one fringe from each fleece.) Tie these knots on every other fringe around the entire blanket. This helps them from coming untied, especially in the wash. A square knot is a type of double knot. If you don’t know how to do it, just tie a double knot.

7. Flip the whole blanket over and tie the remaining knots until your blanket is complete.

8. Tying every other one helps the blanket to have a more finished look. You can also gently stretch them so they are squarer. Just don’t stretch too much or it will look really out of shape.

Now you can make one for yourself.

And now a big thank you to all those that made them for us to distribute on January 24.

Cal

A busy time of year

I feel badly that I haven't written a lot lately. Life has been busy. We are gearing up for our Annual Christmas Party and Pageant at church. Plans are in the works for services on Friendship Sunday (this week), Christmas Sunday and two more on Christmas Eve at 7:00 & 11:30 p.m. We've also been putting together our team for Mission Mexico. That came while finishing up our Stewardship Campaign and putting together the church budget for 2009. We also kicked off the 2008-09 youth basketball season.

There is always something fun happening at church. Check out our web site to find something that you can enjoy.

Cal.

Mission Mexico 2009 ready to take flight

On Sunday afternoon we met to firm up plans for our Mission Trip to Mexico next February. We had many of those who have talked about going at the meeting. This week we will have a complete list of everyone who has committed to going. Right now we are very close and I hope to buy our airplane tickets in the next couple of days.

So here are those who have committed to going. Some of the names you will recognize. Others belong to new friends who will be joining us this year as a result of an invitation by one of our team members.

Returning team members include;

June Deptulski, Amanda Duntz, Mark Kane, Lisa Lapointe, George Rezendes, Pastor Michelle Madsen Bibeau and myself.

Newcomers include Amanda Duntz's friend, Amber Manning, and Sarah Rodriguez from Buenas Nuevas and two of her friends, Rob and Julie Wagner. The Wagners own a construction business locally and bring some additional expertise to the mission. June Deptulski's sister-inlaw and her daughter, Patty and Sarah Bober will be joining us as will Michelle Chaffee.

Central Baptist is sending Mark Salomon, Sue Fage and Ann Keckes.

That is a total of seventeen who are committed to going. We have another six who are seriously considering it and will let us know in the next day or so.

The total cost of the trip will run close to $13,000 and we will be looking for donations and running a few fund raisers to supplement the individual donations and the money earmarked through the church budgets. So stay tuned. The adventure is about to begin as we share God's love in Mexico.

Cal

Halleluia

Last night I was blessed by attending a performance of Handel's Messiah at the Noank Baptist Church. The 78 member choir was directed by Linda Lozis and included an orchestra and four gifted soloists. The church was packed and you could hear a pin drop as the chorus sang. It was very moving.

It was made even more special because three of our ladies were involved. Rosie Main, Susie Rothholz and Cynthia Strouse sang with the chorus. I hear they all had a great time. It certainly showed on their faces. Several churches were represented in the group as well as a few local vocal groups.

I also ran into a few old friends who are now members of the Noank Baptist Church, namely Jack Sebastian and Joyce Adamcewicz. It was a very good end to a nice Sunday afternoon.

Cal

Hanging of the Greens

On Sunday we begin the season of Advent and look forward to the birth of our Lord. In anticipation of our services a crew gathered to decorate the church today. Sue Vanase called in the troops and within an hour and a half we had transformed the sanctuary into a winter wonderland, filled with greens and angels, bells and bows.

Tomorrow we will focus on the coming of the Prince of Peace who take away our worry and fear. I hope you will join us. Each week this month we will savor the delight of knowing that God is with us in this babe of Bethlehem.

Enjoy these photos from today's activities.

Cal

Thanksgiving was in the air

On Sunday afternoon we set out to put together 25 Thanksgiving baskets. Cynthia Strouse, Gwyn Green, Sandy Stone and Sharon Fishkin sorted and separated all the food that had come in over the last three weeks. The amount of food donated this year, despite the economic crunch, was amazing. We also received over $800 in cash to fill the gap.

Gwyn Green, Dick and Cynthia Strouse left church to go to Shop Rite to finish shopping right after church. Because of the generosity of our congregation, they not only picked up the few items needed to complete the baskets, they also added several perishable items that had been cut from our lists this year. I met up with them at the checkout line and saw three wagons filled with milk, eggs, butter, bread, juices and other goodies. We ended up spending $450 and put the rest aside for Christmas and to stock the food pantry. (Since then we had spent an additional forty dollars to supply Thanksgiving meals to two additional families within the church family.)

At 3:00 p.m. our crew gathered to put the baskets together. Sandy & Bethany Stone, Chelsey Calkins, Madelyn Fishkin, Zelda Earle, Bella, Fred Green and Steve Contois all jumped in to make the job go quicker. Just before 4:00 p.m. the crowd started arriving to pick up their baskets. It was a heartfelt time as we passed out the food and received words of gratitude from the people we were serving.

At the end of the day we delivered 20 baskets for families in our community and seven for people within our wider church family. Thank you for your generosity. It made a happy day for a lot of people.

Cal

Thanksgiving Sunday worship

Sunday was a great day. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Church and also finished up our three week stewardship emphasis. During the service I invited everyone to come forward and share their gifts with God in the symbolic act of placing a leaf on the communion table. After listening to Patricia Ohlund sing a song titled, "Blessings" people filed forward with their leaves, offerings and pledge cards. It was a moving moment.

We also heard Mark Kane's testimony on how he was blessed by going on the Mission trip to Mexico last spring. He talked about growing up in a religious home, drifting away from church and then coming back when he and Pam were married. Then he spoke a bit about his faith and how it was tested in the loss of his daughter. But God carried him through and made his faith stronger. Mark talked about wanting to give back to God and saw the mission trip as an opportunity do that. He even got a bonus because he got to spend time with his son as a result.

Curt Brockway, Stewardship Committee Chair, noted that we had received $50,000 in pledges during the past two weeks. He noted the fact that this was the last official week of the campaign but that we would be receiving pledges and gifts through the end of the year as we make plans for 2009.

My message was introduced with a video clip featuring the music of Jars of Clay that challenged us to reach out with Christ's love to those around us. Preaching on the text from Matthew 25:31-40 which lifts up Jesus words "If you have done it to the least of these, you have done it for me..." I suggested that the best way to say "Thank you" to God was to share his love with our neighbors.

It was a great morning.

Cal

The Super Bowl

Well I survived the all nighter and actually enjoyed it once I made up my mind that I was going to do it. The group left for Springfield at 5:00 p.m. and watched an amazing hocking game. The Springfield Falcons won the game and it was filled with action right from the start. The boys liked the fact that the fighting began ever before the game had started.

After the game a speaker from the sponsor, Word of Life Ministries, spoke to the kids about God's love. He talked to them about making a commitment for god and several hundred young people did just that. Then the games and giveaways began. A number of kids were invited to come down onto the ice to participate in a few different games. They also threw a number of prizes into the stands. Our kids picked up a couple of shirts, and some other souvenirs.

At midnight we left for the roller rink in Wilbraham, Mass. We all put on skates and made a few trips around the circle. Even the old guy took a few laps without injuring himself or anyone else. It was fun. They had pizza, more pizza than we could eat, there for us and we all had our fill.

At 3:00 a.m. we set off for Chicoppee, Mass to the bowling alley. The place was a zoo but our kids had dun. Fred Green was on his game. He rolled a 234 to set the pace for the adults. Rachel Lord hit 98 and was the high roller for the teens. We had a good time and t 5:00 a.m. we hit the road for home. It was a goon night after all and I can't wait for next year. ;-)

Cal

Rockin around the clock

Tonight I will be heading to Springfield with our kids for the Annual Word of Life Super Bowl. It is an all night adventure that begins with a pro hockey game and includes a worship service and prize give away on the ice. At midnight we travel to a bowling alley for three hours of play and lots of food and fun. At 3:00 a.m. we move to a roller rink for a time on wheels and more prize give aways. By 6:00 a.m. we are back home again, tired and ready to sleep.

I don't know why, but the kids always sign up to go again. I find that I must be getting older because for me, it gets a little harder each year. I'll let you know how I made out. Fred Green, Amanda Duntz and Jake Shanks are the chaperons.

Cal

A missional Christian

To be a "missional church" you have to have missional Christians as members. That means your parishioners have to see their faith as something that needs to be lived out in the community. You see faith isn't a precious collectible that is put on a shelf and adored. It is a piece of furniture that you use every day. Missional Christians see their work, their involvement in community affairs, their interaction with friends and neighbors as an extension of who they are in Christ.

I want to give you an example of someone who thinks this way. Dick Strouse grew up in our church. He was hanging out in the kitchen since before he could walk. He attended Sunday School classes all the way up through high school. He was involved in the Youth Group and always felt church was a good place to be. A few years after he and Cynthia were married (they met at church) the family settled back in own and began raising their family. Dick got involved and before long he took on several responsibilities including serving on the Trustees and acting as the Church Financial Secretary (Collector back in the day).

If all that Dick did in the church wasn't enough to tell you where his heart was, he also did some work with ABCCONN and the Camp Committee at Wightman. As time went on he began to serve in various capacities in wider Baptist Circles. His faith, which moved him to serve the greater community prompted him to join the Norwich Rotary Club where he soon became a Director. And then when the call came to serve on the Backus Hospital Board of Trustees, he answered the call because he believed in their mission to serve the community.

For the last three years Dick has served as the Chairman of the Board. He has spent countless hours in meetings and he's overseen the last major Capital Campaign and building project at the Hospital. He has given himself to the job and the whole community has been blessed by it. You ask Dick why he got involved and he'll tell you it goes back to the way he was raised and it goes back to his faith. He was born to serve.

Dick Strouse understands that our faith is not something to talk about. It is something to be lived and he has let Christ shine through him as he has served God in each of his roles through the years.

Congratulations Dick on a job well done!

This is my story - Testimonies that touch us

For the last four years we have asked members of the congregation to share their testimonies with us during the Fall Stewardship Campaign. We began with having them tell us how they "answered the call the first year." Who can forget Dave Murray or Lori Lord's thoughtful words. Dave spoke about the tithe. Lori spoke about supporting what you believe in.

This year our theme is Unearthing your Treasure. Last week Amanda Duntz talked about her teaching experiences in California working with AmeriCorps. She felt God was calling her to share Christ's love in tangible ways. Then she talked about her sense of call to work with WAIM and our own Missional Church Project.

This past past Sunday Patricia Ohlund spoke about this gift God had given her that she didn't know what to do with. She sings and has been singing since she was a little girl. She aid she even learned to read by opening the hymnal at church. It is her way to honor God today. She uses that gift to praise him.

Next Sunday Mark Kane will offer our third testimony as he talks about stepping out on the mission field and what it meant to him to go to Mexico earlier this year. I hope you will join us this week at service.

We will be collecting pledge cards as we give thanks to God for this ministry we have. We will also rededicate ourselves to serving God during worship.

Cal

Faithul in small things

Every Sunday after everyone goes home, a couple of people stay and do an essential job for the church. We call them the counters. They take the weekly offering, record it,make out the deposit slip and then carry it to the bank. Their work goes unnoticed but it allows us to pay the bills and do the ministry of the church.

The counters are nominated each year by the Board of Trustees and they serve a one year term that can be renewed. They work in teams of two and serve once every five weeks. After they finish the job they leave the records for our Financial Secretary George Rezendes and his Assistant, Frank Royce to record in our church management data base.

This past week I caught Nancy Allen and Frank Royce in action. A big thank you goes out to these special servants. They include June Deptulski, George Strouse, Frank Royce, Bob Walker, Gwyn Green, Nancy Allen, Karen Barber, Mary Brockway, Mark Kane & Oliver Bray.

Who Says There Is No Free Lunch?

On Sunday afternoon we hosted the monthly Interfaith Luncheon at St. Mark's Church. Doreen and Roger Mainville of Central Baptist cooked up the lunch and several of the young people from Central served it up. About eighty five people came out for the dinner and were treated to American Chop Suey.

Amanda Duntz brought a lot of clothing to set out for the folks to take home with them. It was like a rummage sale where no money exchanged hands. Actually the whole afternoon was a picture of what the world should look like. I am reminded of Isaiah's proclamation in Chapter 55,
"Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost"

We were sharing God's love with the poor. Just before lunch was served I offered a prayer and although it wasn't meant to proselytize, several of the guests came up to me during the meal and thank me even as they thanked the servers. Several also took time to share their concerns. One young man even came up and asked me to pray for him.

I am so glad we began this ministry three and a half years ago. It has not only blessed those who come for lunch. It has blessed those who cook and serve.

Cal