Youth Group trip to Nomads

On Saturday night our youth group started out for the Haunted Graveyard at Lake Compounce but we were met by a storm while on the road. So we changed direction and went to a place called Nomads on in South Windsor. The facility offered mini golf, bowling, rock climbing, bumper cars, laser tag and a myriad of arcade games.

We had a great time and the kids said they'd love to go again sometime. Who knows. Here are some photos from the evening.

Cal

A typical Thursday at FBC

This morning I started the day with a trip to the Post office and a visit to Central Baptist Church. That was followed by an hour of stuffing envelopes with Yolanda Charles. Sandy Stone was out of the office today and Yolanda volunteered to help us get out the first letters in this year's stewardship campaign.

I left just before noon for another clergy meeting in New London. This group meets once a month and talks about ministry in the 21st century. It's a great group. After the meeting I stopped at L & M Hospital to visit Bob Johnson. He was there for tests after an episode two days again. I ran from there to BJ's to get some church supplies and then made my way back to church where I met with Len Goldberg, the administrator of the Pierce Baptist Home.We had some last minute details to go over regarding the Annual Meeting of the Board next year.

I was a good day. As you say your prayers tonight, can you please keep the following people in your thoughts. I forgot to say that I spent the first 20 minutes in prayer at the start of the day and I'm ending it here with more prayers.

Penny Sargent, Monique DuFour, Christian Fitchett, Bob Johnson, Logan, Tina and Curtis Royce, Jean Roscoe, Doris Adams, Judy Milligan, Bob Hall, Lisa Lapointe, Luis Pabon, Lori Lord, Michelle Lord, Central Baptist Church & their pastoral search, our mission Mexico team,, Carl Soderberg and others.

Cal

Norwich Clergy meet to talk about the future

Today the Norwich Area Clergy Association met for its monthly meeting. It was a bittersweet time at Central Baptist. It is always good to get together with colleagues but today we acknowledged the fact that this was Michelle Madsen Bibeau's last meeting with us and one of the last meetings for Rev. Sidat Balgobin who will be retiring from Park Congregational Church in December.

Rev. Greg Perry of the Greenville Congregational Church is the new President and he is excited about the group and has all kinds of plans for our monthly gatherings. Rabbi Charles Arian is the Treasurer and Rev. John Lancz of United Congregational Church is the Secretary. We got a picture of those who were present today.

The main topic of today's meeting was the frequency and make up of our meetings going forward. Greg Perry is determined to grow the group and get more of the clergy involved.Good programs and better connections will fuel his efforts. It is exciting to see his enthusiasm.

We also noted that there will be an interfaith Thanksgiving service on November 19th at GRace Episcopal Church in Yantic.

Cal

Gearing up for the Choir Festival

We've started working on our anthem for the choir festival on Tuesday nights. We are going to sing "In Christ Alone." It is a challenging piece that really grows on you. Since we began participating in the Annual Choir Festival back in 1990 we have always tried to pick a piece like this. We want something that is fun but also impressive when it is sung right. We've got the notes down and now Adele is pushing us to try to follow the dynamics.

The choir festival actually began in 1990 as part of Central Baptist's 150th Anniversary celebration. The next year it slipped through the cracks but in 1992 Maggie Schumaker of United Congregational Church resurrected it and made it an annual event. She organizes it each year and United has served as the perennial host. About five it has moved to a different venue as the different congregations have used it as part of anniversary or special church celebrations. We hosted it back in 1999 as part of our 200th Anniversary celebration.

This year we have a couple of new members joining us. Adele's friend and co-worker, Jackie is singing with us. She has also brought her son, David with her. It should be a great time. This year's festival will be on Sunday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m. at United Congregational Church.

Cal

A Mission oriented Sunday at FBC

We had a great weekend at church. It started on a low note though. We postponed our youth outing to the Haunted Graveyard on Friday night because the weather forecast was awful. They were predicting rain/snow and temperatures in the 30's. After the snow showers on Thursday I began bracing for the worst. I woke up on Friday to a cold rain and decided to make the move. We rescheduled the outing for next weekend.

The rationale was simple. I wanted to make the call early enough so everyone could make other plans and not wonder all day if we were going to be crazy enough to go despite the weather. Well guess what! The day turned out to be pretty good. The rain stopped. The sun came out and the temperature rose. I had egg on my face. Oh well. The good news is that the weather held up for Saturday.

On Saturday morning we met at church for our coat giveaway. Cynthia Strouse, Sue Ferguson, Judy Dupont, Amanda Duntz, Kelly Bolin and Cheryl Dimmock loaded up their cars and headed across the street and up the road to Jenkins Park. They set up tables and laid out the coats and sweaters. It wasn't long before people started coming by. By the end of the day we had about forty people pick out more than sixty coats and sweaters. Things went so well that we decided we are going to continue collecting coats and sweaters and give more away at our January event at the Martin Luther King Center.

On Sunday we got to church to discover that the heat in the sanctuary was not working. We called in the service man and got it up and running in time for worship. We had to scramble a little bit for Sunday School. We moved Cliff Vanase's class out of the sanctuary into the chapel. It was a little busy but it was the best we could do.

The service was good and it included a children's talk by Muriel Roderick that focused on the story of Jonah and the whale, a talk by Lou Palshaw of the Gideon's ministry and my message on living with integrity. The service went a little long but most people took it with a grain of salt.

Immediately following worship a group of us went down the street to American Ambulance. We had quite an assortment of goodies. We went over to show how much we appreciate what the men and women of the ambulance service do. It was our way of saying "We care" and thank you.


At the same time a few of our folks stopped in to say good-bye to Pastor Michelle Madsen-Bibeau. It was her last Sunday at Central Baptist and they had a farewell reception for her. We got there late but had the opportunity to wish her well.

Our day concluded with our monthly ministry at the Interfaith Luncheon. Lee and Hilary McFalls did the cooking. They made up some barbecued chicken for the folks. We had lots of help. Oliver Bray, Muriel Roderick, Amanda Duntz, Zelda Earle, Lee's mom and her friend Dwayne, Michelle Chaffee and her daughters Taylor and Elsie all came to help out. It was great. We served about 55 people and all of the food went.

Amanda brought down several boxes of clothing to share with the folks and you'd think it was bargain days at Kohl's by the way the people rummaged through things. It was great.

All in all it was a long day but the perfect end to a good weekend at First Baptist Church.

Cal

A busy day of funerals and meetings

On Thursday I presided over two funerals. Randy Milligan and Mona Lindstrom both died before their time. I usually don't do two funerals on the same day but I felt called to do them. The Lindstrom funeral was at 11:30 a.m. at the Labenski funeral home. The Milligan funeral was at 4:00 p.m. at the church. Both were very emotional.

When I agree to do a funeral I try to paint a picture of the person with my eulogy and the scriptures and readings I use. I think back to the service that they had for my mother. I don't remember a thing about it except for the fact that it was very impersonal. It left its mark on me though. From the very first funeral I did, which happened to be for my friend Mike Slomianyj's grandfather, I have always refused to pull a service out of the book. I use many of the same elements but the heart and soul of the service is personalized for that man or woman. I think it is the least we can do for them. I like to say that the funeral service is a benediction on a life well lived.

As it turned out it was a good thing we brought the heat up in the sanctuary. The furnace that heats the rest of the building was down. The repairman was waiting on a part and it was cold. The Hispanic church usually meets for worship in Fellowship Hall so we moved them upstairs into the heated sanctuary.

The Deacons were scheduled to meet on Thursday night so I put the space heater in the parlor. It was a little chilly but it worked. On Friday the heating man came in and got us back up and running. So it all worked out.

Cal

Worshipful Wednesdays

On Wednesday night we met for worship again. The Praise team led us in singing and then I continued with my next message in my series on the Lord's Prayer. This week the focus was on the hallowed nature of God's name. Sometimes we forget just how Holy God is. We take him for granted. I called on us to remember to keep God's name Holy.

The funny thing with this series of sermons is that you don't need to go every week in order to understand what I'm talking about. They are stand alone messages. We've averaged 18 people each week and it has been a meaningful time of worship. Some of the folks work on Sunday and can't get to church every week and they've made this their worship time. We've also put out the offering plate and people have been making contributions.

We close each week with a time of prayer. That's been nice. I think it is the best part of our worship time. We take turns praying after everyone has shared their praise and prayers. If you haven't joined us yet, why not drop in this week. We meet each week at 7:00 p.m.

Cal

The stewardship committee lays out its plans

Wednesday night was a busy one at church. The evening began with a meeting of the Stewardship Committee. It was pretty exciting as we began fleshing out this year's campaign. The theme is "Fill My Cup Lord." We are going to be talking about the way that God meets our needs. He literally fills our cups with blessings when we most need them.

We are going to kick off the campaign on November 1st. We are asking everyone to bring in their favorite mugs for communion. That's our way of making it personal. It is our cup that he is filling. I'm going to be preaching on the text from John 4 where Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well.

We also decided that Patricia Ohlund and Mary Brockway will be sharing their stories of how God supplied their needs in tough times. It will be part of our presentation. We will also be sending out some charts, our proposed budget and a narrative budget. We want to give everyone a chance to invest in our ministry.

We don't do everything right, but we try and we have a good time doing what we do. I love the fact that so many kids have grown up in our church family and we have hosted so many weddings. I am honored that our ministry has been there for so many families when a loved one has died. I think it is worth the investment so that we can insure it will remain strong well into the future.

Any way... Stay tuned. You will hear more as we move into November.

Cal

Clergy Meetings

On Wednesday I went north for the monthly SUNL Clergy gathering. Once a month the pastors of our American Baptist Churches get together for lunch. We catch up and then enjoy some kind of program. This month the Rev. Greg Thomas of Cornerstone Baptist hosted the group. Cornerstone is the name of the church that emerged from the coming together of the Danielson and Moosup Baptist churches a few years back.

Rev. Paul Hayes of Noank Baptist and Mary Brodhead of Habitat for Humanity shared their hopes that our churches in SUNL would come on board as part of an Apostle's Build. Between the 24 churches of our association they are hoping to raise $5,000. Right now they are looking for help with a house in Jewett City.

This group is always fun and we encourage each other and celebrate what God is doing in our lives. Regulars in the group right now are Rev. Greg Hamby from Quaker Hill, Rev. Dave Larsen from Voluntown, Rev. Horatio De Valle from Old Mystic, Rev. Stacy Emerson from Mystic Union, Rev. Dave Thomas from First North Stonington, Pastor Michelle Madsen Bibeau from Central Baptist, Rev. Michael Crane from Essex and retired pastors Frank Murdock, Woody Babbin and Frank Burchell.

Cal

The efficient use of heat and energy at church

It's Tuesday morning and I am checking in after the Columbus Day holiday. A cold spell is expected so I moved the large screen television out of the sanctuary and brought it into the parlor. During the winter months we let the heat drop down to 45 degrees in the sanctuary in order to save on heating costs. We turn it up on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. It typically costs about $200 a week to heat up the sanctuary for those two services.

We set the heat to come up to 66 degrees in the chapel and office areas on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings when we have office hours. We've got to keep Sandy Stone happy. She does a great job in the office and typing gets pretty hard when you can't feel your fingers. The thermostat is set at 55 degrees the rest of the time. The heat in Fellowship Hall is set to come up to 66 degrees on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings to accommodate regular meetings here on those nights. The thermostats are pretty easy to set so when we have other meetings and events we can always bump the heat up temporarily. Programming the thermostats works well in our efforts to conserve energy and keep the costs down.

The idea is that we have what we need when we need it and try not to waste anything. This way we can make sure we are acting as good stewards of the gifts you give us. That is one of the reasons why we are looking into a new heating system at church. The boiler for the sanctuary is about fifty years old and not nearly as efficient as the new boilers. It could run for a while but we are using far more oil than we could be. You can suck it up at $2.00 a gallon but when it reaches $4.00 a gallon as it did last spring and summer, you really get hit hard.

The smaller furnace heats the rest of the building and it is 30 years old and limping along. This one needs our attention. Our plan is to replace both furnaces if we can afford to do so. We had hoped to work with Norwich Tech and their students. It seemed like a win -win project. We'd save on some of the labor costs and the students would be free to have at it and design and install the new systems. Everyone was excited from our Trustees to the supervisors and kids at the school. Then someone in the Central office rejected the proposal. They didn't give a reason but we feel it is because we are a church. The instructors were saying they do this kind of installation all the time. He couldn't believe it. It is a shame.

Ray Deptulski is looking into our options and we will hear more in the coming weeks.

Cal

We are a family

On Sunday morning we celebrated the gift of new life with Rebecca and Jason Matteau. They brought their daughter, Sarah, before us in a service of family dedication. It is a simple service which recognizes our children as gifts from God. We ask God's blessing on them as the parents promise to bring them up in a Christian environment where they will come to know God.

The congregation also has a part in this service. They promise to support the parents by insuring that the church is there to aide them a they fulfill their promises.

On Sunday I talked about the congregation as being more than just a group that meets on Sundays. I pointed out that God envisioned the church as a family, a group of believers who came together to support and encourage one another. I mentioned the way we welcomed the children and support the parents. I noted the ways we minister to one another and how important it is that we be there on Sunday for one another. You never know how much your smile or your hug is needed to boost someone's spirit.

So I'll see you next Sunday and we'll continue the discussion.

Cal

Investing in our ministry

On Sunday morning we met for worship as usual. The heat was up and it felt good to be in a warm place on a crisp and beautiful day. A big "thank you" to George Rezendes who dropped in during the week to program the thermostats. He gave Ray Deptulski and I lessons in setting them. Ray also had Brayman Brothers in during the week to give the furnaces their annual cleaning. It's a good thing. They were a mess.

I wasn't very happy to see the bill but everything has a price. The guys were there for a day and a half and they made quite a few repairs and adjustments as well. The cost for cleaning the two furnaces and the hot water heater and doing the repairs was almost $800. Where do we get the money to pay for it? We get it from the members and friends of the church. The weekly offerings that people make pay for everything at church. The offerings pay my salary. They pay to keep the lights on and to keep the heat flowing. The offering pays for music for the choir to sing and to keep Adele on staff. It goes to buy Sunday School materials and to organize and help pay for youth group outings.

Our property committee has been very active the last couple of years and they've been doing a lot of work around the church. They did a makeover of the nursery area this year and went up on a lift and replaced some shingles on the roof. We meet in an old building and there is always something that needs to be done to keep it in shape. Your giving allows that to happen.

Every year we make up a budget that tries to account for all the activities, expenses and needs at church and ask those people who call the church home to make a pledge, an estimate of how much they'll be able to contribute, to meet the expenses. That's how we make ends meet.

At church we don't tax people or charge fees. It's all voluntary. We ask people to prayerfully consider how much they can give to the ongoing ministry of the church. In the Old Testament the Scriptures taught that God gives us everything we need and he calls for us to give back ten percent as a tithe offering. Ten percent sounds like a lot. The Bible calls us to turn it all around and to realize that in reality God is giving us 90% of all the blessings and only asking us to show our love for him by giving back 10 %.

Jesus doesn't call for us to give the tithe. He actually wants more. He wants all of us. He wants us to give our heart and soul to God. The point is that Jesus calls us to think of God first in everything we do. So when it comes to church, it is like he wants us to look at the good it does and invites us to be part of it. It is like an investment. Our giving makes the ministry possible and God invites us to share in that. That's why we give.

In a few weeks we will begin our annual stewardship drive. That's when we ask everyone to make a pledge. Our theme this year is "Fill My Cup Lord." We will reflect on the way God always seems to fill our need when they come up and then see if we can fill the needs of our ministry. Stay tuned for more...

Cal

Getting ready for our next missional activity

This morning we were scheduled to head out into the neighborhood to distribute flyers for next week's coat giveaway. At ten minutes past nine only Cynthia Strouse and Erica Corbett had shown up but they decided to go and do what they could. We will be looking for volunteers to pick up where they left off and also to work with us next week as we set up and distribute the coats. On Saturday morning we'll be meeting at the church at 8:00 a.m. to pack up and then head out and set up at Jenkins Park. Come and be part of the fun.

Cal

The Youth Super Bowl is coming on November 13

This morning I sent in a pre-registration for our group to the 2009 Super Bowl Youth Extravaganza in Springfield, Massachusetts. We've gone several times over the past twenty years and the kids have always had a blast. We meet at the church at 5:00 p.m. and then head north to Springfield for a pro hockey game. It seems the Springfield Falcons always win when we show up and its always an exciting game.

After the game there is a youth rally right in the civic center. A speaker comes in and gives a short message about Christ and his importance in our lives. Then there is a time of fun as the crowd gets opportunities to go down and participate in various activities on the ice. Prizes are awarded, t-shirts are given out and eahc group gets a chance to have someone represent them in one or more of the games.

At midnight we head out to a local bowling alley and try our luck with the flashing lights and continuous contests for the next two and a half hours. Pizza is brought out and served and soda is flowing freely the whole time.

At about 3:00 a.m. we head out and make our way to a roller rink. The fun conitnues until the dawn arrives. Then we head back home again and try to find a pillow to lose ourselves in for a few hours.

The night is a blast and it only cost $39 for the entire evening. If you are interested in going, please let me know We have to give them a count by November 2nd

Cal

A visit with Kristy Engel

Tonight Central Baptist Church hosted a pot luck supper with Kristy Engel as the special guest. I wish more people were there. It was great to hear her presentation.

Kristy is a Physician's Assistant and she works out of the Good Samaritan Hospital in La Romana, Dominican Republic. She has been serving there since 2000. The ABC ministry there is very extensive and they work in the hospital and in the villages around the city. They run medical clinics and build churches and schools in the outlying villages.

I found out our old friend, Crystal Poulin visits Kristy in a mission trip every year. A few other churches in Connecticut and in Maine also make regular trips and we may consider going down there in coming years.

The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispanola with Haiti. Many of the people Kristy serves are those coming from Haiti to find work and shelter. They come and she and those who work with her bring hope. It's a great ministry. I will be sharing more about it in the coming weeks.

Cal

Raising up missionaries and the money to support them

Short term mission trips have become part of our life at First Baptist now. I stopped in to see Lisa Lapointe at her hair salon today and saw how she was raising funds for the upcoming mission trip. She has a donation jar at her station.

The total cost of the trip this year will be $673 dollars per person. Each person will be raising the money themselves. As a church we will host several fundraisers and be collecting donations for them. For years we've been collecting money and sending it to the mission field. Now we have the opportunity to go ourselves and to bring a word of hope and grace to our sisters and brothers in another part of the world.

Over the last three years we have gone on four mission trips. We have had 62 members of the Baptist churches go. They included 42 different people.

Sheldon & Eileen Keller
David & Karen Warfield
Andy and Melanie Schueuermann
Roger and Doreen Mainville,
Carol Calkins
June Deptulski
Sharon Fishkin
Nancy Allen
Cal Lord
Mark Kane
Mark Allen Kane
Connie Jensen
Nancy Janco
Carol Wocjik
Amanda Duntz
Merlynda Sol
George Rezendes
Lisa Lapointe
Michelle Madsen Bibeau
Michelle Chaffee
Erica Corbett
Patty Bober
Sarah Bober
Robert Wagner
Julie Wagner
Mark Salomon
Matt Salomon
Chad Pfieffer
Stacy Sedotti
Ann Kesckes
Amber Manning
Rachel Bober
Ellie Eccleston
Connie Hayward
Taylor Chaffee
Clayton Lord Sr
Michelle Lord
Chris Lord Jr.

The program has been a great success and it has been life changing for those who have participated. That's why so many want to go again. That's why it is worth every dollar we can give to make it possible.

A week in the life of FBC Norwich

It's been a typical week at First Baptist with meetings, appointments, mid week worship and ongoing work at the church.

On Monday we did our catch up from the weekend and updated the web page and started working on the Sunday bulletin for the 11th. Later that evening we had two committee meetings.

Mary Brockway and the Stewardship Committee met to talk about our Fall Fundraising campaign. Every year we take a few weeks in November to talk about giving and to lay out our hopes for the ministry in the coming year. We have a theme and we play with a little bit by using skits, testimonies and some kind of graphic aid. The point is this: God calls us to share what we have to do his work. If you and I believe in this ministry, then we need to support it or else it won't happen. Every member of the church is called on to give some financial support and to make themselves available in some way to make ministry happen.

Our theme this year will be "Fill My Cup Lord." We haven't got all the details worked out yet but I can tell you this. We are asking everyone to bring their favorite mug or cup to church with them on November 1st as we gather to celebrate the Lord's Supper. Our members and friends will be getting a special invite in the next two weeks with more information.

In another room at the church on Monday night, our missional church committee was meeting to make plans for the next two Saturdays. We will be distributing flyers to the neighborhood this coming Saturday at 9:00 a.m. announcing the coat and sweater giveaway. anyone who wants to walk and pray through the neighborhood is invited to come along. We'll be heading over to High Street and the apartment complex across from the church. On the following Saturday, October 17th, we will load up the church van and head over to Jenkins Park with the coats and sweaters and set up for the giveaway. If you have a smile, come be part of the fun. It should be a great day. The missional team also is asking folks to bring in baked goods for Sunday, October 18th. After church we will be heading up to American Ambulance to express our appreciation with their employees for all they do. We'll take cookies, cupcakes and whatever you want to bake up.

On Tuesday morning I met with a young women to talk about a memorial service for her husband. He died much too young. They will be coming to the church for the service on Thursday, October 15th. After she left I worked on my stuff for Sunday. I chose the hymns and fleshed out the sermon a little bit more.

On Tuesday night the choir met to practice for Sunday. They always have a lot of fun and recently there have been giggles aplenty. We chose the anthem for Sunday and also settled on our anthem to share at the Annual choir festival on November 11th. We miss George Rezendes this Fall. The rest of the group is pretty much the same. There's always an empty set left for anyone who God calls to join us.

While we were meeting downstairs, Pastor Song was meeting for study with members of his congregation in the parlor. They have been meeting every Tuesday night from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. this Fall.

On Wednesday morning Ray Deptulski was here early to meet with the heating company who was doing some work on our furnaces. They came in to clean them and to fix a problem that had developed with the burner that heats the chapel and fellowship hall. We had learned on Sunday that the Tech School would not be able to do the work to replace our heating system as we had hoped. so now we had to act on an interim plan. Ray noticed that there was some smoke escaping from the chamber and he became concerned about co2 emissions. The guys from Brayman heating were here for two days cleaning and fixing the problem.

At 4:30 p.m. the Girl Scout arrived. They meet here three weeks a month and have a great time together. We've had a Boy Scout or Girl Scout troop here at First Baptist church going back to the early part of the 20th century. I remember reading about Rev. Edward Dunbar being a Scoutmaster in the 1920's. In the sixties and seventies many of the men volunteered to lead including Merv Leffingwell and Paul Lorraine, two very prominent members.

On Wednesday night we hosted our mid week worship and prayer service. Gwyn Green led us in singing and then I preached the second in a series of sermons based upon the Lord's prayer. I focused on the idea of God as our Father. Jesus changed the image of God from Creator, King, holy other to the familiar when he told us to pray to our heavenly Father. It means we have a more personal direct line of communication with God than we ever dreamed possible. After the message the seventeen of us present offered up prayers for family and friends. Among those we prayed for were the animal control officer in Plainfield, my grandmother Barbara Hayes, Joe Mineau, Wendy Dart's friend Rick Hewitt, The Milligan family, and several family members and friends...

On Thursday morning we finished up the Sunday bulletin and got things ready for Sunday here by putting out our sheets in the back of the sanctuary for address changes and for volunteer opportunities. I had a meeting up at the Pierce Memorial Baptist Home at noon. I am the current chairman of the board. We met with representatives of the other Baptist home in Connecticut to talk about the challenges facing our nursing homes in this economic downturn.

I got back to church at 3:00 p.m. and met Ray Deptulski and George Rezendes to program the thermostats in the church. George has been doing it for many years now. Since he is living in Rhode Island he came by to teach Ray how to do it. We should be all set now. Thankfully, George is still only a phone call away. Now that the furnaces are up and running and the thermostats are set, we need to find a way to pay for the heating oil.

On Thursday night the Trustees met to talk about our expenses. the meeting began with a presentation by our financial adviser, Steve Adeletti from UBS Securities. He gave us some good news. Our investments are up over 16% this year. Of course that still doesn't bring us back to where we were in December of 2007. But we'll take it. The trustees noted that pledging is a little behind and we may have to cut some things as we come to the end of the year. The good news is that the Stewardship committee and Budget committee will be getting things ready for next year very soon and we hope that there will be more good news as we look ahead.

The Property committee met just prior to the Trustees and they celebrated the fact that they had a long list of accomplishments this year and were excited as they began making plans for next year. they'll be requesting about $5,500 in the budget for projects like upgraded lighting in the sanctuary, resodding the front lawn, painting the foundation outside and in various areas inside, and more landscaping outside. We have a great group of members on the property committee and they love to work.

Well that brings us to Friday morning. I usually lay low on Fridays. I take time off or finish working on my sermon. his morning I made a call to Joe Mineau and we prayed together. Tonight I'm looking forward to meeting Kristy Engle, our missionary to the Dominican Republic. She'll be at Central Baptist and they have invited us to a pot luck supper so we can hear about her ministry. Some of our members have asked about going on mission trips to other places and the Dominican Republic is certainly on that list. If you are free, you might want to come along and check it out. Dinner is at 5:30 p.m. at Central Baptist.

Well there you have it. This was a typical week in the life of our church. It's been fun and now I can't wait until Sunday when the whole family gets together again. We'll have special music by the choir and a family dedication as part of our worship. Rebecca and Jason Matteau will be bringing their daughter Sarah forward to ask God's blessing on them. It should be a great day. My message will be on encouraging one another in faith. sop come along and join the fun.

Cal

The First Sunday of October

On Sunday morning the church was full of activity. It began with Sunday School and worked its way into morning worship. We continued our series of messages on "Becoming the Church God Envisioned." My message on World Communion Sunday was that God calls us to reach out and make friends for God. We closed off our service around the communion table and with a circle of fellowship singing "Blessed be the tie that binds."

Mission Mexico 2010 team being formed

Last Monday night we met to talk about our Mission trip to Mexicali next winter. We had about ten people present as we watched the 2008 video and talked about the schedule and what could be expected on the trip. We outlined the costs and gave everyone a time frame.

The total costs are as follows:

Airfare $300
Rental cars $100
Room & board $108
Building materials $100
Miscellaneous $ 60
Hotel in SD $ 25

Total $693

Each team member will be responsible for that amount but we will work hard to do some fundraising for them

.

This was our 2009 team

People who have expressed interest in being part of the 2010 team so far include: Carol Calkins, Michelle Chaffee, Erica Corbett, Amanda Duntz, Andrew Fernando, Mark Kane, Ann Kecskes, Lisa Lapointe, Doreen & Roger Mainville, Miranda Poore, Randy Sargent, Jake Shanks and me.

We hope to have the team in place by November 1st and have a meeting some time that week to go over details and choose the week we will be going. If you have been thinking about going with us, please speak to me in the next few weeks and I'll give you the details.

Cal

Nick and Stacia's wedding

They had hoped for a beautiful autumn wedding on the Narragansett shoreline. On Sunday morning the rain clouds rolled in and everything changed. They moved across the street to the restaurant and the wedding went on with missing a beat. The reason was simple. You could see the love that was shared between the couple.

Nick Grange and Stacia Green lived in the same area of Rhode Island when they were little. Both families moved to Norwich later and the kids ended up bumping into each other a few times. Nick's mom and step dad would often come into Bess Eaton where Stacia worked. Then Nick came home with Fred Jr. one day. Next thing you knew they were both working at Walmart and it was there that they realized that it was no coincidence.

Last year they moved to Florida and started their life together. At that time they began planning for this special day. I was very excited to be part of it all. The wedding part entered the room to the music that was provided by Steve Contois on his guitar and Lori Lord on the flute. Stacia was escorted into the room by her dad, Fred Sr., to the tune of Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle." It was beautiful. Fred could hardly contain his tears as he gave Stacia away.


It was an especially nice day for family as all of Fred's siblings were present and together for the first time in nearly twenty years. Gwyn also had her dad and mom with her as well as her sister and her family.

It was a great night for all who were fortunate enough to be there. To see a young lady grow up into a beautiful woman and marry the man of her dreams is definitely is one of the best parts of being the pastor of a church.

We pray that God will bless them with a long and happy marriage.

Cal

A Sunday with a focus on serving the Lord

On Sunday, September 27 Glynis LeBarre was in the pulpit. Glynis is one of our home missionaries from National Ministries ABCUSA. She is a transformational ministry expert. She works with churches that want to be more effective in what they do. For the last eighteen months she has been working with eighty churches across the United States. Twelve of them are from Connecticut. We are one of the dozen.

Back in April of 2008 Cynthia Strouse, Curt Brockway and Sue Ferguson went to the first meeting of the Connecticut teams. Glynis shared with them some pretty stunning statistics on how church attendance and participation had change in the last fifty years. We all know it. We just don't admit it. It has dropped from 80% of Americans attending worship each week to less than 20% in fifty years. Values have changed. Priorities have changed.

The church hasn't helped itself. We have become so legalistic that we have chased people away. We have become so angry that we have turned people off. In an effort to try to keep our moral center, we have at times lost our ability to remember the grace and love of Christ. In effect, we have isolated ourselves from the world.

Glynis called on us to remember that Jesus called us to minister to the world in his name. We were sent out as the salt and the light to share God's love with the least of these. A little earlier in the service Muriel Roderick asked the kids if someone looked like a lobster did that mean that they were a lobster? Her point was that one's looks could be deceiving. She reminded them that it was our love that showed the world that we followed Jesus.

Our choir sang two special anthems as part of the worship. The first was Ken Medema's "Come Build A Church." The second was Go Out and Serve Him" which was used as a benediction.

After church a few of us continued the conversation with Glynis over lunch and then we said our good-byes and sent her onto her next mission assignment.

Cal