Three busy days

It has been one of those weeks where I've been going sunrise to sunset with appointments across the state.

On Tuesday I tried to make several pastoral visits without much success. Everyone seemed to be out in the rain. Then I spent a few hours at a educational event in Manchester. Then I came back to finish my night with choir rehearsal.

On Wednesday I began the day with a visit from Rod Allen. I followed that up with some time at the Norwich Clergy meeting and then went up to Brooklyn for a program at Creamery Brook Retirement Village. Mercy Gonzalez Barnes was the speaker. After the program I met Mrs. Ward. She is the mother of Pastor Rusty Ward and a former missionary to Japan. The residents stayed afterwards and we shared some interesting conversation. I drove Mercy to New Haven where she met up with Rev. Linda Lea Snyder. Linda was taking Mercy to Bridgeport for an engagement with one of our Hispanic congregations.

I headed back to Norwich and met with our Missional Church Committee to talk about our next event. We are looking to reach out to our public servants with a "thank you" gift in May.

Today I began and ended with a stress test. In between I went to Ann Canon's funeral and attended a monthly meeting with my clergy friends in New London. The stress test went well and I got a clean check for another year.

Here are a few photos of Mercy and her presentation at Creamery Brook.



Cal

Easter revisited

I told you on Easter Sunday that we could continue to celebrate the resurrection every week from here on in. Tonight I got some great pictures from our Easter Sunday worship service from Matt Isenburg. He captured several of the children who were very excited to see me pull out some balloons as the prop for the children's moment. Enjoy as we look back at our celebration and remember that every day is Easter because He lives.

Cal

Take me out to the ball game

Softball season opens next week and we had our first practice of the year. It was the best attended practice we've had in 23 years. We took some swings and then played a simulated game. It is hard to tell but things look pretty good for a turn around from the last two seasons sub .500 performance.

Chip Chaffee, Jake Shanks, Chris Vaillancourt, Eric and Dave Poore and Sean Wilding were all on hand yesterday. Jay Mandeville, Dan Dutrumble and Daryl Alves wer also back in action as well. We also welcomed newcomers Tony Daugherty, Brian Bachman, Kyle Branson and Matt Smith.

We have several others who expressed interest but could not make yesterday's practice. They include Ken Kreger, Brian Goldin, Chris Adams, Jeff Brockway, Fred Stone, George Rezendes, Mike and Matthew Staron, Mike Young and Ann Kesckes.

We have one more practice scheduled for next Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. at Kelly Middle School. The season begins next week. Hopefully we will have a roster and schedule out by the end of the week.

Here are a few photos from yesterday afternoon.

Cal

Good day at the ballpark

We had a blast today at the Connecticut Defenders Game. Earlier this year we decided to combine several different experiences into one big event at Dodd stadium. First we wanted to host a fundraiser to make money for our mission goals. Pastor Michelle Madsen Bibeau got the information and secured 150 tickets for us to sell. We could make up to $450 profit if we sold all the tickets. As it turned out we made $408 for missions. It was a success.

Second, it would provide an opportunity for members of the churches to get together and have some fun outside of worship. This didn't work as well as we had hoped. I think everyone who went had a good time. But we didn't get as many people as we could have. It is a busy time of year. It was opening day for Little League. We also were in charge of the interfaith luncheon. The weather Forcast was also bad. It turned out to be a beautiful day and a lot of fun for all who did make it to the ball park.

Third, it provided an opportunity for us to promote our ministry in the wider community. The Defenders offered us the opportunity to have our name on the giant scoreboard and to sing the national anthem. This was an exciting opportunity. I've been to several games and the singers are usually pretty good. Our two choirs are very good and the thought of thirty people singing the anthem before the game was the thing that sold me on the whole event. It would be our opportunity to show the world that we weren't just a bunch of stuffed shirts.

As it turned out, the Central Baptist Choir could not do it for a number of reasons. We decided to go ahead with it with our choir though and we hit the ball out of the park. When Michelle and I went into the office later, several staff members remarked that they thought they were in a concert hall and noted how beautiful it sounded. I think we made some people think twice about who we are and what we do. It was a very positive thing for our ministry and I'm so glad we decided to go ahead with it.

I think we could do this again next year and build on the positives. It was a good day.

Cal

Worship and Education begins the day at FBC

What a day! This morning we kicked things off with Sunday School. George Rezendes welcomed everyone and got us up and singing. After celebrating birthdays and going through the regular opening routing, we practiced one of the songs the kids will be singing on Children's Day, May 31. We also learned a new verse from Romans. "God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were yet sinners Christ died for us." Then the kids were dismissed for class.

When worship began Adele greeted us with a variation of "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" for her prelude and the congregation joined in as we sang it a little later as our first hymn. Gwyn Green welcomed everyone and the service was underway. Muriel Roderick talked to the kids about letters from God and the choir sang about inviting the gentle spirit of God into our lives. The sermon focused on Thomas, the doubting disciple and how his struggle is our struggle. Doubt is a part of a growing faith. We learned that Thomas went on to a long and fruitful ministry and so can we.

After church some of us headed to Dodd stadium for our Mission fundraiser and others went to St. Mark's Lutheran Church for the Interfaith Luncheon. The day finally ended with our first softball practice of the year at Kelly Middle School. It was a great day.

A Visit with Mercy Barnes

Tonight we co-hosted Mercy Gonzales Barnes at a pot luck dinner at Central Baptist Church. I had to go. I am the Pastor. I also am one of the people who has been to Mexicali and worked with Mercy over the last three years. I was bringing the projector too.

Having said all this, I want to tell you I am so glad I went. It was a great evening. Mercy talked about her work as a missionary and how she sees her work as an extension of our ministry. She reminded us that our prayers and financial support makes everything happen that happens. She showed a short video that spoke about the things they do every day and it featured some people from another church who went down to work with them. It made me want to go back again.

Even if you didn't go on one of the mission trips, I really hope you will take advantage of Mercy's visit to Connecticut and go see her in Quaker Hill or Danielson if you are free in the evenings or in Brooklyn if you prefer a daytime offering.

Mercy's programs in Eastern Connecticut

Creamery Brook Retirement Village
April 22 at 1:00 p.m.
Brooklyn CT

Quaker Hill Baptist Church
April 27 at 6:00 p.m.
Quaker Hill, CT

Cornerstone Baptist Church
April 28 at 7:00 p.m.
Danielson, CT

I'll be going to all three if you need a ride. I can also give you directions.

Here are a few photos from tonight's event.

Cal



Mercy greets the people as they arrive.


About twenty five people came out for dinner and the program.


Marie Noyes and Mercy share stories about ministry in Connecticut.


Pastor Michelle Madsen Bibeau and Melanie Schueuermann talk before dinner.


Mercy shares her passion for ministry and mission with the crowd.

Mercy has arrived in Connecticut

Yesterday I worked with Michelle Madsen Bibeau of Central Baptist and Lloyd Beachy of Niantic Baptist to finalize Mercy Barnes' schedule while she is in Connecticut. We are so excited that she is here and going to be available to the churches. I hope several folks from our church and the others will come to see her.

Mercy will be at Central Baptist for our pot luck supper on Friday at 6:00 p.m. I hope you can come. You will enjoy her presentation and be glad you had the chance to meet and greet her. If you can't make it on Friday, then join me at Quaker Hill on Monday, April 27 for a second pot -luck dinner. Same time - 6:00 p.m. You can ride with me if you want.

Cal

The celebration continues

On Sunday we had a beautiful floral display as a backdrop to everything else. It was one of those little touches that went into making Easter a special day. The music, the sermon and everything else was accentuated because we knew that there would be so many more people coming together than in a normal week.

Funny thing is that in the life of the church there is never an end to preparing for special services. That's because wed look at every week as being special. It is another resurrection Sunday. Just because Easter only comes once a year, it doesn't mean that we don't worship the risen Lord every other week of the Lord.

So this morning we took some of the left over flowers and delivered them. We updated the web page and started working on next Sunday's bulletin. Letters went out reminding people of our softball practice next Sunday afternoon. An email went out announcing that Mercy Gonzales Barnes will be in the state for some gatherings beginning with a pot luck dinner this Friday at Central Baptist.

That is the great thing about church life. It never ends. There is always something special coming up. It is kind of like living with Christ. The blessings keep on coming.

So we will see you on Sunday when the adventure continues with another worship service and a date with our Lord.

Cal

Easter at First Baptist Norwich

The congregation was abuzz as people streamed in for our Easter Celebration. There were over 200 people present as we came together to celebrate Easter morning in a music filled service. Our choir opened the service with an introit and Bob Walker greeted us with the news that Christ had risen. Then our special Easter band accompanied Adele at the organ as we sang "Christ the Lord is Risen Today."

A beautiful display of memorial flowers provided the backdrop for the service and the scent of fresh flowers filled the air. You can see it in this video of Sarah and Rachel Lord performing a liturgical dance to the song, "There is None Like You."



Over twenty children came forward for the Children's Time and we had some fun playing with balloons. Then the kids headed down stairs and the service continued. The great music continued as Patricia Ohlund and Shawn Rucker sang a beautiful duet titled, "Pie Jesu."



Our choir shared an anthem titled, "Christ is Risen." After a time of prayer we sang the hymn "Morning has Broken" to set the stage for my message. Preaching from John's Gospel, I talked about Mary's faith and how she came to Jesus on the dark night of her soul. It was then that he appeared to her. For Mary it was the dawn of hope. Today we have that same hope because of the resurrection. You can read the entire sermon on our web page.

We closed the service by singing "He Arose" and had some fun with it as we turned in our pews and shared the good news with the world outside. It was a good day.

Here's hoping you had a happy Easter too!

Cal

Sunrise in Norwich

We gathered at sunrise at in downtown Norwich to celebrate the resurrection. Rev. Jeff Sharp of Norwich Worship Center offered the message and the musicians from Norwich Alliance Church helped with the music. We sang "Christ the Lord is Risen Today," "He Arose" and "He Lives!" I served as host and we had readings and prayers offered by Joshua Elsensohn from Central Baptist, Ted Low of United Congregational, Rev. Charles Tyree of Norwich Alliance and Rev. Greg Perry of Greenville Congregational Church. About one hundred people were there to brave the cool temperatures. The sun came up on cue and provided the backdrop for a great celebration.

Here are few photos from this morning's celebration.

Walking where Jesus walked

Last night Norwich hosted the annual Way of the Cross Procession. This walk commemorates Jesus last hours as he carries his cross to Golgotha. Many years ago this tradition was part of the Roman Catholic observances on Good Friday in Norwich. The Bishop would lead the procession and carry the cross from Chelsea Parade to the Cathedral. There were stops along the way where reflections were read and hymns were sung.

Back in the mid 1990's the Bishop Hart invited the leaders of the Prostestant Churches to participate in the walk. That first year we combined the walk with our traditional evening service. That made for a long night as we walked from Chelsea Parade down to United Congregational Church and then enjoyed a service with hymns and a sermon.

The second year we shortened the service by including a short drama instead of the sermon. By the fourth year we decided to make major modifications. We gave up the a worship service at the end and incorporated a new text and several new hymns into the procession. The service included scripture readings and short reflections which were greeted with enthusiasm by the Protestant clergy.

In recent years we made more modifications in the service as we included stations read in Creole and Spanish as well as English. Today between 150 to 300 people participate each year. The truth is that I find the Way of the Cross one of the most meaningful services of the year. Carrying the cross is an humbling experience and listening to the story as you walk behind the cross, really brings it all home.

Cal

Remembering the Last Supper

On Thursday night we gathered to share the Lord's supper. Each year we try to do something a little different on Maundy Thursday. Some years we have had a short dramatic re-enactment with twelve men playing the disciples. Other years we've used different people to give voice to the scripture readings to provide some drama to the service. Back in the mid eighties, we had a pot-luck dinner followed by a service of Tenebrae.


This year we used a service I found on-line from a Lutheran church in Illinois. It combined a short communion service with the readings of the Tenebrae. We began in the upper room and read the account of that night from John's Gospel. Then we entered the picture and shared the Lord's supper. We listened as Shawn Rucker sang "Lord, Most Holy" and began to ponder what Jesus did that night.


As the worship service progressed we read the seven passages of the Tenebrae service that outline the events that followed the supper. After each reading we sang a hymn and a candle was extinguished and one of the bank of lights was turned off.

With only the Christ candle remaining lit, we hard the words of John 1:1-5 which says,

• "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through hi, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light has come into the world, but people love the shadows rather than the light."

With that said, the Christ candle was extinguished leaving us in darkness for a minute or two as the service came to its end. Then we left in silence to ponder what we had heard.

It was a very moving service that set us up for the weekend.

Cal

Food for memory and thought

I cooked dinner the other night using a recipe I found in the First Baptist Church cookbook. We put them together as a fundraiser back in 1994. I no longer remember how much money we made but as I sift through the pages of the book, I see plenty of history in its pages.

The committee consisted of Patty Bell, Sue Damien, Geri Diehl, Buffy McFalls, Henry and June Pendleton, Amy Rezendes and Cynthia Strouse. They worked hard to collect recipes from as many members of the congregation as possible. Then we added some recipes from some members from the past. These recipes had been passed down and shared over the years. They added charm to the book.

The recipes came from multiple generations, and from all ages. For example Anita Lavallee shared her Quick Turkey Nachos with us and her grandmother, June Pendleton gave us a Dieter's Chili recipe. As you skim through the pages you see recipes from Will Willey for Salad Dressing Cake, Betty Eisan for Pappy's Spice Cookies, Kate Strouse Canada's Chicken Divan and Betty Watson's Pineapple Sweet Potato Casserole.

Of course you will also find some recipes from people you know too. Rosie Main gave us a Fruit Salad, Lori Lord gave us her Orange Salad, Lois Lopez contributed her Salmon Loaf and Debbie Bray her Vegetable Beef Stroganoff.

I especially like the recipes collected by the committee from members who had passed away. Dishes like Marguerite Peterson's Chuck Wagon Stew, Florence Leffingwell's Chicken Gumbo Hamburg, Rose Berniwer's Chicken Custard and Florence Kyle's Golden Cornbread are pure gems.

The cookbook gives us a slice of history and preserves some very good memories for those who lived through them. To think of Alison Keithley, Esther Lorriane, Doris Royce, Buffy McFalls, Amy Rezendes, Patty Bell, Betty Eisan and so many others who we walked with in worship, fellowship and service is delightful.

So I cooked up Crystal Poulin's Chicken Parmesan and had a great meal. I also enjoyed a walk down memory lane. Maybe it is time to put together a new cookbook.

Cal

In the midst of Holy Week

This is Holy Week and I pray you will find time to reflect on Christ's walk with you as we prepare to celebrate Easter next Sunday. We have several opportunities for you to gather and worship this week. Each has their own unique character.

On Thursday, April 9 we will gather around the Communion Table and remember the events of the Last Supper. There will be drama and music to prepare us for communion. The service is at 7:00 p.m. and is one of the nicest and simplest services of the year.

On Good Friday, April 10, we will gather with Christians from across the city at Chelsea Parade and walk down Broadway singing and reading scriptures as we remember Christ's own walk carrying the cross. The leaders of the various congregations will take turns carrying the cross and lay readers will share the scriptures. The walk begins at 6:00 p.m. In the event of inclement weather the service will take place at Central Baptist Church.

On Easter Morning we will gather at Howard Brown Park at 6:30 a.m. for our Community Sunrise Service. We will claim the victory of the resurrection and greet our Lord once again. I will lead the worship and singing and Rev. Jeff Sharp of Norwich Worship Center will present the Easter message. The band from Norwich Alliance will accompany us. Breakfast will follow at the Alliance Church as a reward for those who are able to attend.

Our Easter celebration will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the choir and our special Easter band leading the way. It will be one of the best services of the year and we will surely have a full house. Parking will be available across the street at Oak Tree Plaza and Midas Muffler as well as up above at Firestone Tire. We hope you will be with us.

Good bye to a friend Bob Booth

Bob Booth passed away last night. Bob grew up in Iowa and graduated from school there. He enlisted in the army and served faithfully. Along the way he met Marge. They were married almost fifty two years ago. They had a daughter, Stephanie. They lived in Norwich and Bob was proud to be a part of the community. He worked in the community and later taught at Norwich Technical High School. He was involved in politics and served on the City Council, the Board of Education and on many town committees, boards and commissions. He was also in the National Guard for many years.

Bob was also active in our church. Back in the 1970's he served on the Executive Council and even served as Chairman for a time. He was on pulpit committees an for a number of years was active on the Diaconate.

Bob enjoyed talking politics outside the church and loved to listen and engage in the study of the Bible inside the church. At one time he combined both loves by getting involved in prison ministry as he sought to reform the prison system from the inside out.

Bob was a quiet, thoughtful man whose smile and warm handshake always made you feel like a friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with Marge, Stephanie and the grandchildren as they mourn his loss.

Cal

Palm Sunday Celebration

We had a great service on Palm Sunday. Of course the men had been primed for it with the Communion Service and Breakfast at Central Baptist earlier that morning. Dr. Frank Burchill shared about his experiences as a Navy Chaplain during the Viet Nam War and encouraged us to be bearers of good news to those looking for hope today.

The music set the stage for a powerful worship experience at our own church at 10:30 a.m. The Praise team had us on our feet and the choir was great. The hymns spoke of God's Glory and punctuated my message about humbling ourselves and living life God's way. It provide the perfect backdrop for the Rogers family as they came forward with their daughter, Julia, and the rest of the family for a "Family Dedication Service." We ended the service at the Lord's table and then received our palm branches as we left to share the good news.

An opportunity to meet a special servant of the Lord.

I am excited. Why? Tonight we agreed to co-host a pot luck supper at Central Baptist Church on Friday, April 17th. Our guest of honor will be Mercy Gonzales-Barnes. Mercy is going to be in the state for a couple of weeks after Easter to visit churches to talk about her ministry in Mexico. We have worked with her and her husband, Rick, for the last three years and have been blessed to be a small part of their ministry to the churches.

Mercy will be in Norwich on that night and our Mission team will get the opportunity to introduce her to the rest of our friends and family members at this time. The supper is at 6:00 p.m. and we hope you will come.

If you can't make this event, don't sweat it. There will be several other opportunities to hear her speak. She will be in Quaker Hill for a pot-luck supper on Monday, April 27th. Let me know if that night works out better for you and we can had down there together. She will also be up at Creamery Brook in Brooklyn on Wednesday, April 22 at 1:00 p.m. to share her program with the residents of our Baptist senior living community. Mercy will also be in West Hartford on Saturday, April 18th for a dinner and program and in Agawam,MA on April 16th for a Fiesta Night.

If you want to spend some quality time with Mercy, she will also be at ABCCONN's Annual Meeting in Waterbury on Saturday, April 25. She will be leading a workshop in the morning and be on hand as we will our own Buenas Nuevas into the ABCCONN family in the afternoon.

I hope you will take advantage of this great opportunity to meet one of God's special people. She has given her life to serve Christ and his churches. You will be blessed.

Cal

An opportunity to raie money for missions

On Tuesday I met with Patty Bell to talk about a fundraiser for our mission program. She and Tom have found a volume buying program that would allow us to raise funds by simply purchasing on line some of the things we need to buy anyway. We would provide a link to the page from our web site and then our members and friends could go to it for their needs. Several well known stores are a part of it including Kohls, Dick's Sporting Goods, Direct TV and so much more. I'll be looking into it some more. Anyone who has an interest in it should let me know. This may be something that could provide a regular source of funding for future mission trips with little or no investment.

Cal

Zeroing in on our next steps

On Monday night our Missional Church Team met to talk about our next community project. We have lots of ideas. They include giving away tomato plants, making bird feeders, doing a neighborhood clean-up, giving away free hot dogs, popcorn and soda on the night of the fireworks, and several more. At our last meeting we did some brainstorming but felt we needed more input to make a good decision.

So our plan was to invite Pastor Jorge and a few members of his congregation to join us for the discussion. We also decided to invite Garfield Rucker, the Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Center to be with us and asked him if he could invite a few Board members or even members of his church.

As it turned out only Garfield was able to make it. We talked about the ministry of the King Center. He shared its needs as well as some of the programs. We then talked about what he saw as being needed by families in the neighborhood. We also found out that they had a community garden program in the past but it had two problems - moles and lack of continuity. We talked about the possibility of hosting a block party or having movie parties with free popcorn.

As we got ready to call it a night, we decided to think about all we had heard and come back to make our decisions. We also decided that we would reach out to the firemen next door in some way. We will find out when a "care package" would be best received and then make plans to do it.

It is exciting to focus our efforts in ministry outward to the community in which we live. Even if we struggle to find the exact thing that will show we care, it is good to be doing something.

Cal