First Baptist Life

Wednesday night praise

2011-01-19T22:47:00.005-05:00

We had a great service at church tonight. Steve Contois kicked things off with some special music. He finished up with a song from Casting Crowns titled "Slow Fade." Here they are singing it.

I followed up Steve's song by talking about John 11:35 which states that "Jesus Wept." It points out the fact that Jesus really cares, so much so that he probably had this event on his mind when he was on the way to the cross. The pain and suffering that are the result of sin cause so much grief that only his obedience could get rid of it.

Praise God. We finished our service with a time of prayer for several individual situations and also for our church as it prepares to enter a time of uncertainty. It was a great night.

Cal

January 2011 Community Luncheon

2011-01-18T21:32:00.000-05:00

On Sunday Cynthia Strouse, one of her teaching sorority sisters and Nancy Allen were in the kitchen at the Community Luncheon. They cooked up a batch of macaroni and cheese that had everyone raving about it. Add a tossed salad and some mixed veggies and you had a wonderful Sunday meal.

Michelle and Elsie Chaffee, Amanda Duntz and two of her friends from Habitat, Lindsey Beth and Amana Trothier helped out in the dining hall. Here are a few pics from the day.

Cal

Top 25 memories in 25 years

2011-01-17T22:36:00.009-05:00

I have been reflecting on my 25 years in Norwich and was trying to come up with the twenty five biggest events to have occurred in our ministry together, Here is the beginning of my list. Can you think of anything else? We can rank them later.

*200th Anniversary Weekend - July 2000

We started it all with a recognition service on Friday night at church. Several special guests were in attendance and several proclamations were read. On Saturday we held a public baptism at Spaulding Pond in Mohegan Park.

*Miracle Sunday - October 1995

In July we began work on the renovation of our sanctuary. We stripped and repainted the ceiling and walls, upgraded the electrical and installed a new sound system. The total cost was just over $30,ooo. In October we planned a special one day campaign to pay for the project. We asked everyone for gifts and pledges to help with the expense. At the end of the day we raised 29,065.45 for the project. special music included a trio of George Rezendes, Nancy Allen and me.

*Building Projects 1996 - 1999

The Access 2000 project kicked off with an exciting ground breaking ceremony on June 6th. Several officials and dignitaries were present as George H. Strouse Jr, and Edith Robinson (our longest standing members) and Brian Grillo (our newest and youngest member) dug in with the first shovels. In January 2000 we celebrated the completion of our major building project which added offices and restroom upstairs and modern bathrooms and increased accessibility to our Fellowship Hall area.

This project was a nice complement to the work done at the back entrance of the church. Cliff Vanase oversaw a project in which a new entrance was made off the parking lot which allowed access to both the upstairs and downstairs in a single entryway.

*First joint worship service with Central Baptist - Jan 2006

On January 15 we began meeting with Central Baptist for eight weeks in the height of winter. We spent two weeks in each place and then moved back and forth accordingly. Rev. Sheldon Keller and I led the services and our choirs came together to form a mass choir. Although there were some adjustments to be made by everyone, it was great fun and very exciting. The first weeks saw record attendance figures as the excitement and novelty of the experiment captured our imaginations. Although the services and the ensuing talks about merger never took hold, we did have a great time and several good things came out of it. The two biggest ministries were the Joint Mission trips and service at the Community Luncheons at St. Mark's.

*Installation Service - October 1985

Rev. Michale Kary (our most recent interim minister) gave the charge to the candidate and Dr. Robert Roberts (Our Executive Minister) gave the charge to the congregation at the service. Dr. Dick Bowser ( The Pastor's mentor) offered the prayer as I was installed as pastor of the church in October 1985. Several colleagues were in attendance including Rev. Carole Simpkins, Rabbi Stuart Altshuler, Monsignor Joseph King, Rev. Ed Bradley, Rev. Bruce Elsensohn, as well as many from the church. It was a beautiful day as Lori sang "No Man is an Island" and the choir sang "Surely The Presence of the Lord is in this Place." Representatives from the SUNL Association and my friends from my home church, Lebanon Baptist came together to mark the official start of our ministry together.

*Youth Group to Colorado - July 2000

When we heard about the opportunity to go to Estes Park with 3,000 kids and group leaders from across the country, our kids got excited. We had never done anything like this before. We had a very large group of senior high students and it seemed perfect. We began raising money in the fall of 1999 and continued right up through July. It was a great experience for all who went. We not only attended ID2K Conference but we also had the opportunity to see God's handiwork in the Rocky Mountain National Park and to travel to the Continental Divide. Travelers included Becky Lord, Joanne Clubine, Amanda Guillemette, Stacia Green, April Rezendes, Jonathan Vanase, Timothy Rezendes, Roland Widstrom Jr. and their chaperons Buffy McFalls, Kay Lautzenheiser, Cliff Vanase and myself.

This trip launched a series of yearly trip which included a mission trip to Florida, Biennial meetings in Providence Rhode Island, a trip to Soul Fest Music Festival in New Hampshire and a second trip to Colorado in 2004.

*First Mission trip to Mexico Feb 2007

After a visit by Mercy Gonzales Barnes Pastor Sheldon Keller and I began talking about a joint mission trip to Mexico. We put together a team of fifteen from the two churches and set off for Mexicali at the end of April 2007. It started an annual trek back to Mexico for the next three years and spurred two stateside mission trips too. Each trip has been a life changing experience for those who went along.

*First Pumpkin Festival - October 1994

We were looking for a new fundraiser when Curt and Mary Brockway suggested a Fall festival featuring painted pumpkins. It blossomed into a great time with pumpkins, crafts, food and games. George Rezendes even built a couple of booths for outside. Kathy Duntz, Patty Bell and the Brockways chaired the event for the four years it ran. We only stopped it when construction began on the new addition and there was no place to hold the festival.

*25th Anniversary service - June 2010

It had to be the hottest day of the summer but it was way too cool. Tiger Lilies adorned the sanctuary and several dignitaries and special friends were on hand to celebrate 25 years of joint ministry. Rev. Greg Hamby preached and Lori and I sang. So did the choir, Steve, Cheryl and Paul and my girls. It was a great day.

*Big 50 Sunday - June 2008

This was a wild idea to help me ease the pain of my 50th birthday. It just so happened that we had a dozen others in the congregation celebrating at the same time and a half dozen couples celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. We added in those celebrating 50 years of membership and made it a great day of worship and praise.

* 190th Anniversary celebration with Rev. Walter Loomis - June 1990 & Rev. Orice Gracey - October 1990

We invited our former pastors back to help us celebrate our 190th Anniversary. Rev. Walter & Marguerite Loomis came in from Ohio to visit and they joined us for a pot luck supper in June/ Rev. Loomis (1944-1951) shared memories of his time in Norwich. In October Rev. Orice & Machon Gracey came up from south Carolina to visit. Rev. Gracey (1952-56) gave the message at our worship service and talked about his ministry in the community back in the 1950's. Doris Royce, our historian, posted wonderful displays to remind us of god's faithfulness down through the years.

* Homecoming - October 1987

We invited friends and family back for a day and honored Louise Strouse for a lifetime of service. Louise came to the church as a young women in the 1940's and it became the center of her life. Working with the women, teaching in the Sunday School, singing in the choir and serving in leadership and service, Louise embodied what it meant to serve the Lord. We had a great day and a wonderful recpetion following worship.

* Celebration of Rev. George Strouse's ministry - May 1988 & October 1999.

There were two times when the ministry of Rev. George H. Strouse was celebrated with gifts and homage. In May of 1988 we received new choir robes in his memory. They were beautiful and the choir felt honored to receive them. Rev. Strouse always appreciated the music of the church and his son and daughter-in-law thought this was an appropriate way to honor his memory. Then in the fall of 1999 money was given by the family to build a new organ in honor of Rev. Strouse. Alan McNeely began working on it during the summer of 99 and completed it in time for it's dedication in October of 1999 in conjunction with our 200th Anniversary service. That month we hosted the Annual Choir Festival and proudly used the organ for the first time in public.

*Christmas Joy - December 1991

We decided to do something different on Christmas Eve and had a living Nativity Scene with actors presenting a tableaux of the Christmas story. Amy Rezendes and Mike Keithley portray Mary & Joseph. The choir presented a Cantata titled "A Simple Gift" and the adults put on a skit at the Christmas Party & Pageant titled, "A Christmas Gift."

*The Bowling League - May 1992

We started a Christian bowling league with hopes that we could fill the norwich Ten Pin with church people during the summer. We had eight teams that year and has as many as twelve teams in our 17 seasons of play. It was a great night out for couples and a lot of fun for all.

* We co-hosted the Annual Meeting of ABCCONN with Central Baptist - April 1994

We welcomed delegates from across the state for the Annual Gathering of Connecticut Baptists. Lee McFalls and Will Willey did a lot of organizing as we painted and spruced up the building and grounds. On Friday we hosted the Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Baptist Minister's Council and treated them to an excellent meal. On Saturday the venue switched to downtown and we helped greet the guests alongside our sister church. It was quite a week-end.

Weddings

2011-01-16T20:28:00.004-05:00

Amanda Soderberg and Jimmy Morocco were in church today. They were recently engaged and are planning a June wedding down in Maryland in 2012. They are one of four couples with connections to the church who are planning weddings in the coming months. The three others are members of the church.

Jennifer Fraser is going to be married on May 22nd. Amanda Duntz and Jake Shanks are planning a June 11th wedding at Jake's father's home. Finally, Ben Strouse and Lauren Benson are working on a late November wedding here at church. These will be my last weddings at church. I am looking forward to them and am excited for each of the couples.

Today I went to lunch with Amanda and Jimmy after church. They were in town visiting her mom and step father, Elizabeth and Matt Isenburg.

Cal

A family dedication in church

2011-01-16T19:15:00.003-05:00

This morning Merlande Daniels and Pierre Charles brought their son before the congregation in a service of family dedication. I married the couple several years ago. Last fall they brought their newborn son, Kaidens before us. At the time they asked if Jalen was too old. I told them he wasn't and they said that they would like to do the same thing for him on a different day.

Just before Christmas they set the date. They joined us with some friends and family members and we built the ceremony into our morning worship service today.

In a family dedication ceremony the parents declare that they believe their child is a gift from God and promise to raise him or her in a Christian home.

Then we ask the congregation if they are willing to stand by the parents. The congregation promises to provide a place for the parents to come to find support and encouragement as they fulfill their promises.

In recent years I have introduced the child to the congregation. This morning Jalen and I walked down the aisle together. He was a little nervous to begin with but h warmed up by the time we got back up front. We even got a smile out of him when I gave him his own flower.

Cal

Taking down the decorations

2011-01-15T19:35:00.004-05:00

This morning a few of us got together to take down and put away the Christmas decorations. Randy Sargent had cleared an area in the basement for us to store them. So Karen Barber directed a crew of six to pack everything up and take them down stairs. The sanctuary always looks so empty after the decorations come down and it takes us a few weeks to regain a sense of its natural beauty.

Oliver Bray came in early to start taking down our candle holders. Then Karen, Cynthia Strouse, Pam Kane, Bob Walker and I joined him. It took us an hour and a half to finish it up and put it all away for next year. Here are a few photos so you can remember how it looked.

Cal

The bittersweet announcement

2011-01-15T08:41:00.004-05:00

The news is out and most of you have heard. If this is the first time you are hearing or reading this, I pass along my sincerest apologies. I have tendered my resignation at the First Baptist Church of Norwich in order to accept the call to serve as the next pastor of the Central Baptist Church of Westerly, Rhode Island.

My last Sunday here will be on Communion Sunday, March 6, 2011. It will be a bittersweet moment for all of us. Yet I believe that God still has big plans for our church here in Norwich. Just as God led me here twenty five and a half years ago, God will bring new leadership with renewed vision and inspiration. You are a great congregation filled with wonderful people. We have accomplished so much in the last few years. You have a heart for mission and sharing the gospel. You have a heart for the city of Norwich and its people. I think that you will have several candidates lining up waiting for the opportunity to serve alongside you.

Some may say that our success has been due to my leadership. I would like to think that this is partly true. The reality is that you have made everything possible by your willingness to follow God's lead. From the sports ministries to our mission trips, the Sunday School programs and cantatas, it has been your faithfulness and hard work that have made it all happen. That same spirit will bless you and the next pastor as you write the next chapter in the history of our First Baptist Church.

There will never be another Cal Lord. The next Pastor will have their own gifts and skills. He or she will forge new relationships. The next pastor will be there with you to share those special moments. He or she will be there to pray for you and walk you through the sad and lonesome valleys. You will always be in my prayers, especially those of you who I have come to know and love, but it will be their job to minister to your needs. In time you will come to love him or her in the same way you have blessed me.

So I hope we can enjoy the next two months together. Let''s celebrate what God has done. Let's come together and praise the God who gave us life and blessed us as pastor and people. He's not done with us yet. There is still so much to come.

Thank you for blessing me.

Over the next two months I will be sprinkling in some of my favorite memories from our time together. Enjoy and let's thank God for what he has done. It has been wonderful.

Yours in Christ,

Cal

A wintery Sunday at FBC

2011-01-10T22:46:00.002-05:00

It was a cold morning and there was snow on the ground as 37 brave souls came out for morning worship. Guest preacher Michelle Madsen Bibeau traveled down from West Hartford to be with us in the Pastor's absence. She didn't hold back because of the smaller crowd and everyone was blessed by her message.

Cal

A loss at Buenas Nuevas

2011-01-08T15:13:00.002-05:00

Our hearts go out to our brothers and sisters in the Hispanic congregation. They lost one of their most beloved members this past week. Jose was a greeter and an active member of the church. He died suddenly the other day and thew whole church felt the loss. They had a memorial service for him on Thursday evening and a reception at church after his burial on Friday morning.

Pastor Jorge said that it is a reminder that we all need to count or days and be ready. You never know when the Lord is going to call you, or someone you love, home. It is always a good idea to tell your loved ones how you feel.

Adele

2011-01-07T12:46:00.009-05:00

I was at the church early this morning and I bumped into our Organist and choir director. We've been doing that a lot lately. She comes by early to practice and to pick out anthems and special preludes and postludes for service. Adele has been with us for thirty one years this moth. She came to us in January of 1980 as a temporary, part-time organist.

After our last organist left, we scrambled to find someone. My predecessor, Rev. Doug Howell even played the organ on a few Sunday. (I'm glad that wasn't in my job description and you should be too!) Adele came along and by September the decision was made to make her position a permanent one.

Adele loves music and it is her gift to God. She seeks perfection and sometimes that comes out in how hard she works us. It is worth it though. The music at church has been excellent under her watch. She gets the best out of her choir. She inspires loyalty and builds confidence in those who sing. She is one of our special treasures at First Baptist. Make sure you tell her when you see her.

Cal

Clean up at church

2011-01-06T21:33:00.003-05:00

Today Randy Sargent, Cynthia Strouse, Rosie Rakowitz and Mary Brockway did some spring cleaning at church. Actually it was winter cleaning and it was a lot of work. The basement at church tends to accumulate a lot of junk over time. In the last six months things have really piled up. Today the group began chopping up and throwing out anything that has been sitting there for a while. They threw out everything that was broken and beyond repair. They did a great job and I can't wait to see the basement when they are done. It inspired me to think about doing the same thing in my office. We'll see

Cal

Plans for the mission fund raiser

2010-12-15T21:44:00.005-05:00

On Tuesday night we had a meeting of the Louisiana Mission Team scheduled but onyl a few of us showed up. We decided to postpone the meeting to next month and concentrate on the Fund raiser on February 5th. Our next meeting will be on January 4th at Central Baptist at 6:00 p.m. We will be asking all of our mission team partners past and present to find one auction item and to give us some time on Friday or Saturday of the pasta dinner.

We hope to raise $3500 for the mission team next year and build on the success of the past two years. So save the date - February 5, 2011 at Central Baptist Church.

Cal

45 MPH services

2010-12-15T21:39:00.004-05:00

Tonight we hosted our regular "45 MPH service" at church. We prayed for several people including Rachel B. who is having her tonsils out next week and Pam K. who had knee surgery on Tuesday. We also gave thanks that Judy D. cataract surgery went well and that Treasure H. was celebrating another birthday (even though she played hooky tonight.)

Cheryl and Steve offered up some praise music to get us started and then I spoke for a few minutes about the confrontation Jesus had with the Pharisees in John 8. I closed out my message by lifting up the joy that was ours in the birth of Christ which reminds us that we all have benefited from the love of God that came down at Christmas.

We will continue to meet right through the end of the year. Join us next week as we celebrate an early Christmas service!

Cal

Our coat give away

2010-11-13T19:59:00.004-05:00

This morning we hosted our Annual Coat Give Away. This year we set up in front of the church and pulled out dozens of coats and sweaters, shoes, mittens, gloves and assorted other goodies. We laid everything out on tables and waited for folks to drop in. We gave away quite a bit of stuff and over thirty families took advantage of our offerings.

Thank you to those who helped today: Erica Corbett, Michelle Chaffee, Sharon Fishkin, Cheryl Dimmock, Kelly Bolin, Robert Phillips, Zelda Earle and Julie Wagner. It was a great day.

Cal

An amazing Trustee meeting

2010-11-12T14:34:00.002-05:00

We had an amazing meeting of the Board of Trustees last night. We acted on three decisions and praised a fourth one. Yes, I said we acted on three things.

It really started last month when we approved the decision to lease a new copy machine. The next day we signed the contract with Flo-Tech and made plans to bring in a new Canon 2525 copier. After two weeks of using it, everyone was impressed. It warms up quickly, it prints right from the computer and it is very user friendly. When I asked about whether it was worth the money, Frank Royce responded that it was worth every penny.

The second thing we did last night was approve the snow plowing contract from Hyde Landscaping. After Monday's surprise 1/2 inch of snow, this decision was a no-brainer. They came back with a proposal that was slight higher than last years. Motion approved.

The third thing we looked at was a repair to the stove in the kitchen. Mark Kane had a representative form Adam's Restaurant Equipment come in to evaluate the stove. We had a bid in hand to repair it. The cost was about $573 and it was quickly approved.

The final item on our list was a big one. We finally received two bids to replace the furnace that services the chapel area of the church. We reviewed them and decided on the one we were going to take. As we discussed how to raise the money we were alerted to the fact that two major gifts were being offered to cover the cost of the conversion. So we voted to recommend going forward with the project and will call a special congregational meeting on November 28th to get congregational approval to do the work.

God is amazing and you could feel his hand at work as we went about his business last night. Thank you Lord. We hope to have the new furnace in place by the end of the year.

Cal

Wednesday nights with Jesus

2010-11-03T22:01:00.003-04:00

I love Wednesday nights. Tonight I really felt the spirit moving around the sanctuary. Robert Phillips joined Cheryl Dutrumble and Steve Contois tonight. As they were singing and playing he offered us some back-up on the tom tom drums. It was cool.

As we entered prayer time there was a quiet acknowledgment of God's presence. We lifted up several people going through difficult times including the family of Jenna Smith whose calling hours were tonight in Jewett City. We also continued our practice of asking God's blessing on seven different families in the congregation. It was a great time.

I jumped on that in my message where I talked about the woman at the well and how Jesus helped fill the deep longing that was in her heart. He does the same for us as he gives us the living water.

Wednesday nights give us the opportunity to simply be together with God and each other in a relaxed setting. That's what makes it so special. If you haven't been to a service recently, I invite you to come and join us.

Next week Robert Phillips is going to share the message and lead the service because I have another commitment. So come and be blessed.

Cal

Pentecost revisited

2010-11-02T21:44:00.003-04:00

Sunday is always a blur of activity in our building as we worship and praise God in at least three languages from sunrise to sunset.

We kicked off the activity with our Sunday School. Then we went all out with Worship. This week George Strouse was our worship assistant and Amy Rezendes offered the Children's Moment. I wrapped up our series on the Sermon on the Mount by talking about persecution and our faith.

After worship we had our Quarterly meeting and discussed some of the things that have been happening at church.

*We noted that pledges were behind a little bit but that was offset by the miscelaneous and regular/not pledge giving which was up.

*I shared the fact that I would be away the week of November 29 to travel to Germany with my daughter, Rachel, as she competes in the international Tap Dance Championships. Rev. Bill Huegel will be filling the pulpit for us and it should be a real treat.

*A lot of people commented on the Stewardship Brunch and unofficially voted thast we should do that again.

*We also talked about the furnaces and Dick Strouse laid out what we wanted to do. He told the group that we were looking to replace the furnace that heats fellowship hall and the chapel area with a unit that will be gas fired. It is in the worst shape of the two and can be switched out fairly easily and quickly. The other furnace is inefficient but it is in better shape and can wait a little longer. Now we are just waiting on a couple of bids to come in so we can vote on where to get the funds from.

At 12:30 p.m. Pastor Daniel Song and the members of the Korean Methodist Church began their worship. They love to sing and you can hear them all throughout the building. After worship they gather in fellowship hall for a meal. They really take the Biblical model for community to heart.

At 3:30 p.m. Pastor Jorge Morales and the folks from Buenas Nuevas start arriving for Sunday School and worship. On Sunday they finished up a little early because it was Halloween and I think a lot of folks wanted to get home. Talk about music, they really light up the neighborhood when they start singing. Their praise team does a nice job and they rock the sanctuary when they get going.

We gathered for our weekly Bible study at 6:30 p.m. but only a few of us made it this week. I thought briefly about cancelling it but didn't think Halloween would affect us that much. Of course, I do love to hand out the candy and was torn. But we went for it. We had a good discussion despite the low turnout.

So that was our Sunday at church. Praise God, it was a good day.

Cal

Norwich Baptist Habitat Build

2010-11-01T21:40:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, October 31 we put together a crew to work on a Habitat for Humanity home in New London. Amanda Duntz organized the day. Several folks from church and members of Amanda's wider family joined us for the day. You will recognize a few people in the pictures. For example Amanda and her mom, Kathy Spielman, were there. Pete and Betsey Adams were a big help with sanding and painting. Rachel Batter and her friend Emily Hendrick worked on installing the floor boards in the kitchen and upstairs. Marc Vaillancourt and I rounded out the crew from church.

Amanda's aunts Tina and Heidi were also there to help along and they brought along their mother and Amanda's grandmother, Mrs. Spielman. She worked circles around a few of us, especially an unnamed pastor.

Cynthia Strouse dropped by in the morning with all kinds of goodies for our break. That was a special treat. Well here are some of the pictures from the day. Enjoy.

Cal

A wonderful brunch after church

2010-11-01T21:15:00.002-04:00

I forgot to mention that on Sunday, October 24 we had a great brunch after church. It was part of the kick-off to our Annual Stewardship Campaign. Our Stewardship Committee hosted the event with some help from Rodney Green and Olde Tymes Restaurant. Rodney gave us a good deal on the basic breakfast platter and our committee served it up with coffee and a smile.

We laid out some posters around the room where people could put down their wishes for the three areas of our ministry. Then Nancy Allen, Mary Brockway and I performed a little skit that pointed out how we can be thankful for little things. It was titled, "Wake Up and Smell the Coffee Beans."

We had about 40 people stay for the celebration. A few of the things that got added to the list were ...

* renovate the kitchen
* hold a neighborhood block party
* have more pot luck suppers
* have a choir cantata
* Projector/screen for church

The list will grow in the coming weeks as people turn in their wish lists. So stay tuned.

Cal

A transition at Pierce Baptist Home

2010-10-30T07:31:00.002-04:00

On Thursday night I conducted my last meeting as the Chairman of the Board of Pierce Care up in Brooklyn, Connecticut. I came on the Board in April of 2006 and began serving as President in October of 2006. We were reeling for a shake up that devastated the Board and my job was to help bring back some stability and civility. I can proudly say that I have done that.

Robert Avena takes over and he is a good man. He has served on the Executive Board for four years and as treasurer the last two years. He is an attorney and is the wife of Rev. Erica Wimber Avena. We also have some representation on the Board from our church. Scot Rapoza, June Deptulski, Gwyn Green and newly elected Mark Kane all serve on the Board. June was elected as the Vice Chairman this week.

Pierce Memorial Baptist Home began with a gift from the Pierce Family in the 1950's. They wanted to see a home established for elderly Baptist women. By the early 1960's the home had expanded and become more of what we would know as a nursing home. An addition was put on the building in the early 1970's and again in the late 1980's. In 1999 Creamery Brook was built which provided congregate housing for independent residents and it became part of a continuum of care. In 2007 we added the Cottages. These are separate duplexes that offer independent living in a home with a garage. This year we are on the verge of launching our own health care agency which allows us to give Pierce Care to people in their homes.

We've come a long way! You will hear more about thew ministry in coming months. It is one of the things we support with our benevolence budget.

Cal

45 MPH services

2010-10-30T07:21:00.002-04:00

On Wednesday night we talked about how much God loved the world. This Fall we have been working through the Gospel of John in our messages. We've also been praying for different families in the congregation. along with the normal prayers for healing and comfort, we've also been praying for seven families each week. We've been asking God to bless them and to meet their needs. It has been a nice addition to our line-up.

We have been blessed to have Cheryl Dutrumble and Steve Contois lead our singing each week. When the Praise team broke up because Fred and Gwyn Green left to tend to family matters, we weren't sure what we were going to do. We were back in the same place we were before Steve Contois and Cliff Vanase stepped up to offer some guitar back up in the early 00's. This week Robert Phillips pulled out the overhead projector and put up the words to the music so some of us memory challenged participants could sing along. It was great.

We've been calling our services "45 MPH" worship. That's because they offer us a chance to slow down for music, prayer and a word of hope. We have averaged 18 people each week and that's not counting Caleb Dutrumble because he has to be there. The rest of us choose to get together. This past week we have 23 people present.

Speaking of prayer, lift up Bob Duntz. He has been in Yale New Haven Hospital following by-pass surgery. Think of Jane Seder too. She is doing rehabilitation following her emergency surgery to repair a broken leg. And remember Jenna, our 9 year old friend who is battling cancer.

Cal

Fun in the choir

2010-10-30T07:11:00.002-04:00

On Tuesday night we were singing God's praises. Of course we do that every week at our choir rehearsals but it was fun because we had a few guests. Shawn Rucker was back and Robert Phillips came back a second week. That was good news because some of us always worry whether we will scare newcomers away because we have so much fun. Curt Brockway, Paul and Carol Johnson were with us too. They signed up to sing with us in the choir festival. It was really nice to have a strong men's section again.

This past spring we lost several faithful members. Patricia Ohlund moved to Lebanon and is now going to the Lebanon Baptist Church. Fred and Gwyn Green were pulled away because of family commitments. Cliff Vanase also decided to take a break.

Adele DiBiagio gives her heart and soul to the choir and we really want to work hard to pay her back. Most musicians don't do what they do for the money. That's true with Adele. She does it because she loves us and wants to see us do our best as we lead worship every week.

We are taping our choir this fall and I hope to have a compilation of our anthems up on the church web site sometime in the next few weeks. I think you will enjoy it.

Mark your calendars now and put down November 14 at 7:00 p.m. at St. Mark's Lutheran Church on Washington Street. That's the date of the Annual Choir Festival. It is always a lot of fun and a great night. We get to see what is happening in Christ's churches across the city. See you there.

Cal

Hospital and convalescent home visits

2010-10-26T22:08:00.003-04:00

On Monday I traveled down to Yale - New Haven Hospital to visit Bob Duntz in the cardiac ICU after his double by-pass surgery on Sunday. He was doing well according to his doctors, but the first 48 hours are critical to long term health. I prayed with him and his mom, Bev Duntz. Bob has had an amazing ability to bounce back in the past and we pray his streak will continue.

On the way back home I stopped in to visit Jane Seder at Bridebrook Rehabilitiation Center in East Lyme. She is doing well after her surgery a week ago Sunday. She will be there at least another two to three weeks. We are praying she will be home well before Thanksgiving.

I didn't bring a blanket down to Bob because I knew he was in the ICU and couldn't have one but I did notice that Jane had hers on the bed. We have been giving our "No Sew" blankets to people that have hospital or convalescent stays. The people have loved getting them. So thank you to all who have taken the time to make them. They have become reminders of God's love and faithfulness in times of need.

Cal

A day of worship

2010-10-26T21:31:00.003-04:00

We had another great Sunday that began with Sunday School and concluded with our Video Bible Discussion later that night.

Lori Lord welcomed everyone in the morning. We sang a few of our favorite songs to get things started. After a Bible quiz, we took up the offering, prayed and then broke out into classes. The Adult class is studying the Book of I Corinthians this Fall and having great discussions. Pam Kane and Kelly Bolin are working with the kids in grades 3 -5. Rachelle Weimer, Janet LaFlamme and Zelda Earle are teaching the youth in grades K- 2. Mary Brockway is working with the middle school kids and I am using Rob Bell's videos as a discussion starter for the Senior High. Fran Rogers and Sandra Lucien are loving our nursery and pre-school kids and teaching them about the love of God.

Each week we seem to have someone new joining us and that's always good. People come and go as their schedule allows and we always have room for more kids. So if you haven't come yet, don't hesitate to start this week.

At worship we continued with our series of sermons on the Sermon on the Mount. Peace was the the theme of the day and we sang "I've got Peace like a River" and "It is Well With My Soul." Our choir sang a variation on the hymn, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" and Steve Contois, Anna and Cheryl Dutrumble offered some special music.

My message was titled, "The Prize Is In the Box" and to punctuate my point I pulled out a package of Cracker Jacks and grabbed the prize inside. It was a temporary tattoo. I noted that when you work for peace, God gives you the prize in the form of an immediate blessing. God's peace fills you up.

Here is the whole order of service in case you missed it.

Prelude Adele DiBiagio
Call to Worship Pete Adams
*Processional Hymn“Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven” No. 22
*Words of Welcome
*Greeting One Another
*A Prayer to Celebrate the Lord's Presence
& *The Gloria Patri No. 620

Responsive Reading (page 900 in the Pew Bible) Psalm 65

Worship In Song and Deed

Worship Through the Offering of Our Gifts, Talents and Tithes
The Offertory *Doxology (No. 623) *Prayer of Dedication

Special Music “God Loves You And Me” Cheryl Dutrumble
and Steve Contois

The Children's Moment

Sharing the Good News

The Choir Anthem “Come Thou Fount”
The Prayers of the People
The Pastor's Prayer The Lord’s Prayer (Using Trespasses)

Celebrating God's Word For Today

Scripture Reading (page 1830 in the Pew Bible) Philippians 4:4-8

*A Hymn “Peace Like A River” No. 360

The Sermon “The Prize Is In The Box”

*Closing Hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” No. 453

*Benediction & Response

Organ Postlude Adele DiBiagio
*Please stand if you are able

At 6:30 p.m. we gathered to watch Rob Bell's Zooma video titled, "Dust." It spoke about what it means to be a disciple. We had a good discussion and talked about the fact that Jesus called ordinary people like us to do his work in the world.

By 8:00 p.m. we were heading home and looking forward to the week ahead and the opportunity to come together again next week.

Cal

The Korean Church family celebrates

2010-10-18T22:19:00.003-04:00

On Sunday afternoon I joined Mark and Fran Rogers and their girls at the Korean Methodist Church's Sixth Anniversary service. We represented our church well. Rev. Dr. Daniel Song hosted the service and asked me to bring greetings from the First Baptist family. Then we joined them singing God's praises.

Even though I couldn't understand much of what Rev. Song said during the service, you could tell that he was filled with the Holy Spirit as he preached. He was excited as he talked about God's call upon the church. He threw in a few phrases in English as he talked about God calling them to minister here in southeastern Connecticut in the shadow of the casinos.

I was very proud of the fact that we had opened the door for this ministry. I remember how Rev. song came to our Wednesday night services back in the winter of 2003-04 and worshiped with us. He didn't know much English but he sat there and prayed. That summer he approached us about starting a ministry for Korean immigrants. Our church voted to welcome them.

Those first months were very difficult. Daniel averaged three or four people. It had to be discouraging. Yet he labored on. A bit later Daniel married and felt called to leave the area. In the interim period the church had two other pastors. But then two years ago Daniel returned and from that point on the church has blossomed. He wrote me a few weeks ago and told me that they had 37 people in worship. It was a new high.

Praise God for Rev. Daniel Song and his flock. You could feel God's joy in that service on Sunday.

Cal

Mission plans decided for 2011

2010-10-18T22:11:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we met after church with representatives from both Central and First Baptist Church to talk about our plans for a 2011 mission trip. We decided earlier that we would not return to Mexicali this year while Rick and Mercy Barnes were on home assignment. We do hope to send a gift to El Buen Samaritano though.

We talked about heading west to work with some of our Native American partners on one of the reservations or heading south to work with others who are still working to rebuild on the Gulf Coast after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

At our meeting Melanie reported that we did not have much success in locating a place needing our help out west. Every phone call produced a dead end. On a positive note she did manage to find a great program sponsored by the United Methodists that is co-ordinating efforts to rebuild homes in Louisiana. So we voted to work with them.

We will be heading to Slidell, Louisiana between August 9th -16th to work on the Epworth Project. This program works in conjunction with the Northshore Disaster Recovery Inc to provide spiritual, emotional and physical resources to those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Projects include general contracting, carpentry, cabinetry, framing, insulation,drywall hanging, flooring, plumbing and roofing.

The group will fly down to New Orleans and drive 30 minutes to Slidell to a dorm facility where it will be housed for the week. We will be cooking our own meals and be responsible for our own transportation. More information on the Mission work and the project can be found at www.epworthministries.com. There is also a facebook page at Project Noah.

We have limited the group to 20 participants between the ages of 14 years and up. We estimte the total cost per person will be about $750 per person. There will be fundraisers to help offset the cost for the trip, including our annual Pasta Dinner and Auction tentatively scheduled for February 5 at Central Baptist.

Deposits of $100 will be needed by December 12 to secure your spot. All spots are on a first come, first served spot so get your deposit in early to insure your participation.

We have three meetings scheduled for particpants from now through the beginning of the year. The dates are

Nov 16 at 6 pm at Central Baptist - We will have a better idea of prices and talk about the Pasta Dinner fund raiser

December 14 at 6 pm at First Baptist - We will meet as a team and go over what we will need and expectations of the trip.

January 11 at 6 pm at Central Baptist - We will finalize plans for Pasta Dinner and report back on airline tickets and final budget numbers.

Please pass the word to other potential team members. This should be another great experience for those whom God has called to go with us.

Yours in Christ,

Cal

Sunday morning celebrations

2010-10-18T21:49:00.004-04:00

On Sunday morning we opened up our day of worship at First Baptist with Sunday School classes. Because the Korean congregation was planning to have a reception downstairs following their sixth anniversary service, we met in the sanctuary for opening exercises before breaking up to head to separate classrooms.

At 10:30 a.m. we opened up our worship celebration with singing and prayer. Bob Walker was the worship assistant and he welcomed everyone. Muriel Roderick had a message for the kids and I preached on Matthew 5:21-37. I talked about purity. The sixth beatitude states, "How happy are the pure of heart for they shall see God." I noted that we need to clean up our talk and refocus our eyes if we want to see God. I then pointed out that God wants a new heart in all of us and all we needed to do was turn to him and ask for it.

It was a nice service. The choir sang one of my favorite anthems, God of Grace. We sang an old gospel hymn, "Are You Washed in the Blood?" and a very popular one, "Living for Jesus" to close out the morning. The music was very nice.

Jerry and Anna Hurd were among those worshiping with us yesterday. They were married in our sanctuary one week before. Keely Backus was also with us as and we learned she was celebrating her second wedding anniversary. There were a lot of prayer concerns and several celebrations noted. It was all part of a good day.

Cal

25th anniversary celebration in North Carolina

2010-10-18T21:25:00.003-04:00

On Thursday I flew down to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to help my friends Mike and Kim Slomianyj celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Shortly after I arrived in Norwich they asked me to marry them. On October 12, 1985, with mums all around the sanctuary, Kim walked down the aisle to meet Mike at the platform.

On Friday night we recreated a bit of that magic in front of twenty friends and family members as they renewed their vows. Mike welcomed and thanked everyone and then turned the floor over to me. With tears in her eyes Kim said "I do" all over again.

Kim planned the party but she had no idea that I was coming. Mike arranged everything and wanted to surprise her. Of course I warned him that it was awful risky doing something like this. Even though it is a romantic gesture, she might say "no" this time.

He didn't have to worry. She was totally surprised and happy to go through the service and affirm her love for a second time.

Participating in these kind of services always make me glad that I went into ministry.

Cal.

Mercy is love in action

2010-10-12T22:05:00.001-04:00

Here is that sermon I promised you. It is titled "Mercy is love in action and was preached on Sunday, October 10th. Sorry about the poor audio quality. I am working on making it better.

Cal

Monday morning ministry

2010-10-12T21:49:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was a great day. I got up early and went to the gym. Then I drove out to Camp Wightman to pick up seven ladies who were in Connecticut for their Fall Retreat. They were members of the American Baptist Women's Ministries Executive Committee. I volunteered to drive them to the airport with our church van. I had the opportunity to show them around Norwich and brag a bit about our city.

After I dropped the ladies off at Bradley, I drove to Farmington to check in on Hillary and Lee McFalls. On Sunday night Hillary gave birth to Cameron and Logan McFalls. Both boys weighed in over 4 and 1/2 pounds and were doing very well. One of the boys needed a little boost with the oxygen for a few hours but by morning both of them were doing very well.

Emily and Margaret McFalls were at the hospital when I got there and both of them had the opportunity to see the babies and were very excited. Seeing newborns is definitely one of the best parts of my job as a pastor. I prayed with the family and then made my way back to Norwich.

As I passed through Colchester I stopped in to see Leon Dalbec. Leon i a good friend of mine from High School who is part of our extended church family. He supports the church and has come to worship off and on for many, many years.

When I finally got back to church the was a message on my machine that the small wedding that was planned for this coming Sunday had been called off. I contacted the bride and told her that I would be happy to oblige them when the time was right.

I finished my day by making a visit to one of our members who has been going through a tough time. I stopped in and dropped off a little gift from the Deacon's fund. We talked and we prayed.

As I made my way home I smiled and thanked God for a good day of ministry. I also thank you for making it possible.

Cal

Sunday at church

2010-10-11T09:00:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was an awesome day. It began with Sunday School and worship and ended with a Rob Bell video discussion.

I love Sundays at First Baptist Church. I think it begins with the anticipation of seeing all the people. As the kids and their parents start arriving for Sunday School I get excited. They are mostly pretty excited to be here. Once the opening exercises begin we get to sing all the kids songs that are so fun. Yesterday we sang the Butterfly Song and Jesus Loves Me. Every once in a while I try to sneak them into worship but I am told that these are kids songs. I love them just the same.

We are watching the Rob Bell series in my Senior High Class. I think the kids like it but they aren't a very talkative group. Of course it probably hurts that I fill the void. Yesterday we saw the segment titled Sunday. It talked about the fact that God wants to do is establish an intimate relationship with us but we hinder that sometimes by getting hung up on rituals and rules.

The Sunday School hour goes by pretty quickly. Then it is time for worship. We've been averaging about 95 people a week. I usually walk through the sanctuary early on Sunday mornings and pray for the people who will be there. After twenty five years in the pulpit, you get to know about where people sit each week. A lot of people settle into a pew and stay there for years. Others move around a bit. I always think that moving around gives you a little bit of perspective. But then again, I shouldn't talk because I am the ultimate creature of habit.

If I get a chance I like to greet some people before worship. It is harder during the year because I run from Sunday School to choir warm up and get back upstairs just before we process down the aisle. I still do it if I can.

I think we have a good choir. We lost a few people this past year but we still do a pretty good job. Our voices come together to give a good sound. I tell them all the time that I look at them as a partner in leading the worship service each week.

Yesterday Lee McFalls was supposed to be our worship assistant. He called in at 8:00 a.m. saying that his wife, Hillary, was having contractions and they needed to go to the hospital. It turns out that Hillary delivered twin boys at just after 11:30 p.m.. Cameron and Logan arrived about five weeks early but both of them were healthy and mom came through it OK.

I've been preaching a series of sermons on the Beatitudes and using the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5 - 7 as the context for them. Yesterday we talked about mercy. The message was well received. I've been excited by this series and fur of the five sermons have made my A list. I'll post the video of yesterday's sermon in the blog here tomorrow and you can judge for yourselves.

Sundays have been busy in the last month. Last week I participated in the Installation service of Willis McCaw at First Baptist Middletown. The week before I was down in Mystic at Union Baptist church participating in the installation service for Associate Pastor Rob James. Yesterday I had the afternoon free but took a little time to set up for our new, eight week video series with Rob Bell.

We had six of us show up for the initial session. It was titled Trees and in the video Rob talked about the fact that many Christians look at the Genesis story and the Revelation Story and live life looking forward to the new heaven and new earth. Believing in Christ becomes a ticket to heaven. Yet he pointed out that this way of thinking doesn't speak to the here and now. Bell points out that what we do here is important. Jesus focused on how we should live, how we should treat others, how we should respect the earth and give God glory. Some good discussion followed. Next week we will be back at it again.

If I missed you this past week, I hope you will join us next week. I look forward to seeing you. God bless. Have a great week!

Cal

A funeral that reminds us of the generations gone by

2010-10-04T17:05:00.003-04:00

On Wednesday, September 22 we hosted a memorial service for Charles F. Hamblen. Charlie grew up in the church where his mother and father and his grandparents were active members of the congregation. His father, Charles P. Hamblen, was the Moderator of the church for many years and his mother, Elsie, sang in the choir. Charlie had a great voice and he was also very active in the music ministry of the church as a young man.

Charlie and Judy had a daughter, Bethany, and they lived on Huntington Lane in Norwichtown for many years. Charlie taught at Norwich Free Academy. He loved to read and especially enjoyed anything connected to history.

He will be missed by his family and friends.

Cal

Habitat and the Norwich Baptists

2010-10-04T16:32:00.002-04:00

We had 55 people join us at our Foundations Class for Habitat for Humanity on Monday, September 20th. Amanda Duntz welcomed everyone and then led us through the informational and safety sessions that are required to participate in building sessions.

This session was open to the public but we had a good number of people associated with First and Central Baptist Churches. Our hope is that we can plan a few days when we can work on a house as a group as well as encouraging people to get involved on their own.

The following people were certified at the meeting; Marc Vaillancourt, Ray & June Deptulski, Pete & Betsey Adams, Jake Shanks, Randy Sargent, George & Lois Strouse, Amy Rezendes, Rosie Rakowitz, Stephanie Mattos, Gwyn Green, Erica Corbett, Bob Sullivan, Carol Calkins, Sandy Stone, Chelsey Calkins, Meagan Malone, Kaitlyn Beavan, Andy & Melanie Schueurmann, Mark Salomon, Kathy Spielman and me.

We are planning our first group build on Saturday, October 30. We will be working at 18 Cape Ann Court in New London. The work day is from 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m and they are looking for fifteen volunteers. To sign up you need to go to http://www.habitatsect.org/ and click on the "Volunteer up button on the top left hand corner of the page. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and look for the FBC Norwich link.

If you have never volunteered before you will need to register and then sign up. For those who haven't taken the foundation course, you need to speak to Amanda Duntz. The next class is on October 9th is at the Habitat for Humanity Office from 10 - 11:30 a.m. You can sign up by registering online or by calling 860-442-7890. The address of the office is 377 Broad Street in New London.

Cal

The September luncheon

2010-09-25T14:14:00.003-04:00

On Sunday afternoon we hosted the monthly community luncheon. Erica Corbett put together the kitchen crew which included her mother, Ginger Sullivan, Michelle Chaffee and Keely Backus. We cooked and served up a quiche dinner with a green salad, a summer vegetable medley, slice of ham, some au gratin potatoes and bread. It was yummy. For dessert we offered them a tasty fruity, chocolaty treat.

We offered up a blessing and included some prayers for some of the 55 guests who were present. Then Judy Vickers, her daughter, Janet LaFlamme and her daughter, Jennifer began bringing out the dinners. They had help from Taylor Chaffee, Chelsey Calkins and Else Chaffee.

After lunch everyone chipped in to clean up and we were out of there shortly after 3:00 p.m. It is a great way to spend an afternoon. Check out some of the photos from our outing.

Cal

An enlightening Sunday

2010-09-24T07:57:00.005-04:00

Worship was great on Sunday. We continued our series of sermons on the Sermon on the Mount that I am calling "Walking with Jesus, Growing in Faith. Our choir sang another upbeat anthem and we came together in prayer for each other and our world. Here is a clip of our choir singing thjis week. You will notice that Shawn Rucker is missing. She is away for the next two weeks. So once again I am calling all singers to join us next Tuesday. Oliver Bray and I are lonely in the men's section. We have fun and as you can see from this anthem, we sound pretty good too. Come join us if you like to sing and want to use that gift for God.

My message focused on the reality that all of us have problems in our lives. Just because we are Christians we shouldn't think we will be exempt. I pointed out the truth that god never promised us a "problem free" life. As a matter of fact he talked about walking through the valley of the shadow of death.

What God did promise though, was that he would be with us to comfort and strengthen us. I pointed out three ways that God does that. First he hears our sighs and our cries. He gave us the gift of prayer to remind us that he is always there. Jesus taught his disciples how to pray in the srermon on the mount and we forget that this was a new idea. Prayer was always something you did as a community but Jesus personalized it and said we can call on God anytime.

Second he shines a light into our darkness with words of promise and hope from the scriptures. When God shines his light into our lives the problem never seem as big or imposing. Finally I noted that god always comforts us with a human face. He sends people with us to encourage us and help us get through. I noted how my step mother was there for me as a 13 year boy when my natural mother died. She was a gift from god. The truth is that God does this all the time. Even more amazing is the fact that after we have been comforted God often sends us out to comfort others.

If you are going through a tough time and think this sermon might be helpful for you, check it out here on youtube.

As I said, it was a good day of worship and the fun continues next week with a message titled Is that God's Yardstick?" as we look at how God defines success.

Be blessed.

Cal

Looking for our Mission Statement

2010-09-24T07:46:00.003-04:00

On Thursday night the Deacons met at church. It is an exciting time. We are looking at our purpose and trying to discern God's will for FBC Norwich. Sounds silly doesn't it? We know why the church exists. It is here to glorify God and to fulfill the great commission.

We are not looking to reinvent the world wide mission of the church. God did a good job. We are looking to focus in on what God is calling us to do and be here on the West side of Norwich, Connecticut, USA. It is the kind of thing we talked about when we were engaged in discussions with Central Baptist Church talking about a possible merger. We want to discern what God is calling us to do in 2011 and beyond.

So we began by looking at a list of things we decided were part of our purpose fro coming together as a church. The list included the following.

Bring Christ Into Our Lives
Do God's Will
Fulfill great commission
Share God's love
Feed & Clothe Poor
Teach God’s Word
Gather With Other Believers
Pray For Each Other
Share God’s Word
Learn (Study) God’s Word
Bring God’s Word To Life
Comforting The Sick
Beacon To Jesus’ Love
Bring New Believers To Christ
Physical Care For One Another
Christian Education For All
Share God’s Love Around World
Deepen Each Others Understanding Of Gospel
Inspire & Refresh
Glorify God

Then we looked at our church covenant, this list and tried to come up with a mission statement. We knew none of them would be the final version of what we were looking for but this was more a brainstorming session. Everyone's response went up on the board and this is what we came up with.

To let God’s love shine through you…
To bring the knowledge of God’s love to everyone…
Put God first before making any decisions.
A Bible believing church family that seeks to reveal Jesus’ saving message in fulfilling the great commission to other believers and teach God’s word to the unsaved. Will do this by living as Christ like example bringing God’s word to life. Caring for all in our community.
Coming together to learn, experience & see God’s love
Open our doors & sharing God’s love to all who walk in…
Seeking to do God’s will by meeting together regularly to pray for each other, share and teach God’s word…
Spread the good news of God’s love & grace to our human family, through word & deed, so that those who already know will be encouraged to always do their best to live in the way Jesus taught and showed us we should, and so those who do not know it will see the light of God’s love in us.
Open our hearts to people who need help in knowing God.
An authentic faith community showing God’s will through word and deed.

Our homework was to look at these and to try to refine one or more of them to fit into an all encompassing statement that reflects what we feel God is calling us to do. Stay tuned. There will be more discussion to come.

If you have ideas on this subject, feel free to share them with Curt Brockway, our chair, or any member of the Diaconate.

Peace!

Cal

45 MPH services begin

2010-09-20T14:17:00.002-04:00

On Wednesday night we had our first mid week service of the Fall. we are calling them 45 MPH services. I stole the title form my fried Rev. Michael Crane at the Essex Baptist Church. It stands for 45 minutes of music prayer and hope. That's what these services are about. They give us a little dose of worship and encouragement in the middle of the week.

This Fall we are trying to keep them to 45 minutes beginning at 7:00 p.m. each Wednesday. Our singers weren't prepared for the first week so we sang some old favorites to get us warmed up. Then we spent some time in prayer. One of the things we will be doing this year is praying specifically for individuals and families in the congregation at random as well as focsing on those who have needs. We want to make sure that prayers are said for every family in the church. So each week we will lift up seven families or individuals and prayer for them even if there is nothing in particular going on in their lives. Then we will send a card to the family alerting them that we were thinking of them.

This week we lifted up the Tag & Joy Griffin and the family, Harry, Dot & Chelsey Calkins, Curt & Mary Brockway, Steve Contois, Adele & Harts Cofer, George & Lois Strouse and

We also kicked off things by watching a short video by Rob Bell. He is a pastor of a church in Minnesota and he has received national acclaim for his Nooma Series of short, thought provoking videos. I offered the first in a series of these videos titled, "Rain" and then made a few comments on what Bell said. We are going to use these videos as the starting point for a Bible study on Sunday nights in October and November.

The service ended at 7:46 p.m. with people already excited for the next Wednesday night adventure.

Cal

Fun at choir

2010-09-16T10:47:00.002-04:00

Choir met on Tuesday night and began working through the anthems for the coming weeks. We have a lot of new music so its been fun. It has also been harder than normal because we are learning a lot of new pieces instead of simply refreshing our memories on anthems we have done in the past.

We don't have a professional choir. That means most of us simply have fun singing. In order to catch on with a new piece Adele has to drill it into us. We need to go over and over it. That can be tedious at times but when you finally get it right, it is so rewarding and makes you glad that you decided to join the choir.

This week we are doing one that we did a few years ago that everyone liked. By singing it, we have a little breathing room to put the finishing touches on the first of the brand new pieces of the Fall. I put last week's anthem up on the page here and hope to do that regularly now that we are video recording the services. So look for them. Of course, I hope you'll plan to be here in person. There's nothing like it.

If you want to join the choir come next Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. and you will see for yourself how much fun it can be.

Cal

Sunday School opening

2010-09-14T13:52:00.006-04:00

Lori Lord greeted everyone and welcomed them to the opening day of Sunday School. We call it "Rally Day" because we root and cheer everyone on and rally them to come back to join us. We had a good number show up for our kick off event. There were several more who promised to be here in the coming weeks as they wrap up the fair season and come back from family vacations and illness.

There were goodies for everyone to enjoy and some welcome back gifts for all those who registered. After everyone got settled in we began with a salute to the flags and a few fun songs. Then Noah and Chelsea helped by taking up the offering.

Lori then introduced this year's teaching staff.

Fran Rogers and Sandra Lucien were introduced as the Nursery Class teachers.
Rachelle Weimer, Janet LaFlamme and Zelda Earle were leading the K - 2nd grade class.
Pam Kane and Kelly Bolin welcomed grades 3 - 5.
Mary Brockway was announced as the new teacher for grades 6 -8.
I am working with the High School class again this year.
Curt Brockway was named as the Adult Sunday School Teacher.

We finished up our opening exercises by going out front to take our annual photograph. As we look back over the years it is fun to see who was there and how much everyone has grown up.

Classes will run from 9:15 am - 10:15 a.m. again this year and anyone is welcome to attend. You don't have to be members of the church. All you have to have is a willing heart.

Pam Kane is the Superintendent of Sunday School. You can contact her if any questions arise. Lori Lord will be co-ordinating the opening exercises again this year and she and Cynthia Strouse will be working on music for the Sunday School. Cheryl Dutrumble has also offered to help.

Mary Brockway will be directing this year's Christmas Play so stay tuned for news as we move toward through the Fall.

It was a good day and we got aff to a great start. It is going to be a fun year for all of us.

Cal

Rally Day: The first worship service of the Fall.

2010-09-13T21:41:00.012-04:00

Rally Day. That's what they call it. It marks the beginning of another year of Christian education and religious programming at Church. I like it because everyone who was taking time away for the summer comes back. It is like a mini reunion.

Gary and Nancy Schuster were at the door welcoming everyone and we had a good turnout for the service. Our custodian, Will Calderon, had worked very hard to make sure everything looked good for the day.

The choir was back and singing again. They not only led us in singing the hymns, but they also sang the anthem, "Make a Joyful Noise." It was great. Of course I put in a plug for people to consider joining the choir. Right now we have 13 of us in the group. It is a good size but we have had as many as 21 in past years and I believe in the saying "the more, the merrier!"

Check out the video from Sunday and you'll see what I mean. We really enjoy singing God's praises.

I began a sermon series based upon the Sermon on the Mount. It is titled, "Walking with Jesus, Growing in Faith." The Beatitudes provide the jumping off point each week.

The title of my first message in the series was "GPS for Dummies." The first beatitude says that those who are poor in spirit, those who know they need God, will see the kingdom of God.

I talked about building a foundation upon which to grow our relationship with God. To do that we need to program our God Positioning System with four settings. First, we need to give God the first part of our day. Second, we need to give him the first part of our week. Third, we need to give him the first part of our finances. Finally we need to give him the first part of our relationships. By doing so we will receive all the blessings of God's kingdom.

Our text was from Matthew 7:24-27 which encourages us to build our house on the solid rock. I can't do this every week but here is the full sermon in three parts. I hope to be able to post them on our church web site in the future. If you like this then you can check them out

It was a great day of worship and it got us off to a good start this Fall. If you missed it, we hope you'll join us next week as we continue in worship and praise together.

Cal

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

The sound man

2010-09-07T10:53:00.003-04:00

Steve Contois is another of our unsung heroes here at First Baptist. Most of us see him in the choir loft playing the guitar and working with the Praise team. He does a great job there but he also works our sound system each week. That may be even more important to making worship go smoothly.

Steve does a sound check each week and makes sure there are fresh batteries in the lapel mikes. He sets up the microphone stands for special music and adjusts the volume for the different people who speak each week. He also makes audio tapes of the services for Adele and anyone else who wants one.

He is always looking for help but for now he is a one man show and the rest of us owe him a big "Thank you!"

Cal

A family dedication in church

2010-09-06T21:10:00.003-04:00

WE had a great day in worship on Sunday. We marked Labor Day by talking about the work of the church to make disciples. We also welcomed the Dutrumble family, their relatives and friends as Dan and Cheryl brought Caleb James forward to ask God's blessing on him in a service of family dedication. Cheryl's father, Paul Johnson sang "I Was There To Hear Your Bourning Cry" with piano accompaniment by his wife. It was beautiful.

We closed out the service around the communion table and then formed a circle of fellowship around the sanctuary and sang "Bless Be the Tie Which Binds."

Cal

Unsung heroes at FBC

2010-09-04T21:01:00.004-04:00

Bob Walker was at church today folding the weekly bulletins and getting things set up for worship on Sunday. He changes the numbers on the hymn board, replaces missing visitor cards in the pew racks and checks to see that everything else is in order in the sanctuary. On the first Saturday of the month he also prepares the communion table and gets it ready for the service.

Most people who walk into church on a Sunday morning don't think about all the little things that have to happen in order to make Sunday morning worship a spirit filled time. People like Bob quietly work behind the scenes so that you and I can connect with the Lord.

Over the next several days and weeks I am going to lift up a few of the people who make themselves available to the Lord so that we can enjoy the service. Bob Walker has been doing this job for several years now. He took over as the chair of the reception committee from Oliver Bray and he has gone over and above the call of duty.

Thank you Bob for your prayerful preparations.

Cal

It's choir time

2010-09-03T21:28:00.004-04:00

I met with Adele and Cynthia this morning to talk about the music program this fall. They are ready to go and have several new pieces of music picked out that will delight the choir. Rehearsals begin next Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. and we never know who will show up. We have a great group of faithful members now. The following people have indicated they are coming back this year; Mary Brockway, Amy Rezendes, Susie Rothholz, Cindy Costa, Nancy Allen, Cynthia Strouse, Lori Lord, Rosie Rakowitz and Helen Walker as sopranos and altos. Oliver Bray, Shawn Rucker and I singing Baritone.

Several of the new anthems are variations of familiar hymns or praise songs that touch upon the idea of God's grace. We will mix in a few old favorites along the way too.

Adele picked out a very nice anthem for the Annual Choir Festival. It is always a lot of fun and is usually held on the second Sunday of November. It is also one of the highlights of our ecumenical life in the city of Norwich.

We will also be practicing advent and Christmas anthems before we know it. I have to confess that they are my favorite.

So if you like to sing and are looking for something fun to do this Fall, consider joining us on Tuesday nights. You don't have to be a member of the church. The only requirement is a desire to sing God's praises. While you are at it, invite a friend to come with you. They will thank you and it will only add to the fun.

Cal

He lifts us up

2010-09-01T23:27:00.002-04:00

After a busy couple of days I had the opportunity to surf the web a little tonight. I was looking for some inspirational pieces I could for worship or in these blogs. I came across this video tonight and it spoke to me.

The truth is that this is the message of the church. We live in a broken world where dreams are unrealized and hopes are dashed. God sends us out to lift each other up and to help one another make it to the finish line. God himself often empowers us to to make it to the finish line.

A church that glorifies God is a church that carries his love out to the world to restore hope and make dreams become reality. I think our church is that kind of place.

Thank you Lord,

Cal

A Habitat Afternoon

2010-08-31T22:56:00.002-04:00

On Sunday afternoon Joslaire and Noah Lucien, Amanda Duntz and I participated in the walking tour and dedication of five Habitat houses in New London. It was a great event. We got to meet the families and see what was happening in the neighborhoods where Habitat was working to make a difference. There were five houses in different stages of rehab and/or being built.

There were at least seventy five people on hand as we began the walk. with singing and prayers and short devotionals we dedicated each of the houses. We participated in some demolition in the first house. We prayed over the walls in another house. We wrote our names and made our mark on yet another house. At the last house a group actually erected a wall.

We support Habitat with an offering from our mission budget every year but this year we plan to take the next step. We are going to offer a foundations class at church which will allow the participants to work on homes. The date for the class is Monday, September 20 at 6:30 p.m. right at the church. Then we plan on organizing a couple of days to actually volunteer on one of the houses. The good news is that in the next year there is a house scheduled to go online right in our own neighborhood. We want to be ready to jump in with both feet.

So come on board and let's make a difference in our own community by making this mission part of our mission at FBC Norwich.

Cal

Day of celebration at FBC Norwich

2010-08-30T09:47:00.006-04:00

When Jamie and Ingrid brought Gorman forward it was just the beginning of a very special day of worship. We had already sung "The Old Rugged Cross" and had a chance to greet some old friends. Fred Green was back and all aglow with that smile that only new grandparents can share. Stacia and Nick had given him his first grandson, Maximus Grange and Gwyn was down in Florida taking pictures and giving hugs. Patricia and Steve Ohlund were back too. They have been attending the First Baptist Church of Lebanon this summer. It is a little closer to their home and a very welcoming congregation.

Jamie and Ingrid had family and friends present for the celebration and Gorman was awake and ready. They came forward during the singing of the hymn "This Child We Dedicate" and then I explained the rationale behind our family dedication ceremonies. It is a simple service where the parents thank God for the gift of their child and promise to raise him or her in a Christian home where the child can come to know about the love of God.

We also ask the congregation get involved by asking them if they will stand with the parents and support them by providing a church family that they can come to for encouragement and advice. On Sunday I introduced Gorman to everyone and told him that he had several big brothers and sisters that he could count on to help him and his parents going forward. He smiled and looked around at everyone. Then I prayed over him and his parents asked God to bless them with wisdom and good health.

I invited the children forward and brought out baby Jesus, the one we use at Christmas. I noted that we always bring him out and put him in the manger on Christmas eve but then we put him away until next year. I said that this made Jesus sad. He wanted to be with us all the time. Then I pointed out that Jamie, Ingrid and Jesly were going to be baptized and when they did that they were really inviting Jesus to be with them every day from now on.

After the offering and announcements we sang "Just As I Am." Our scripture was from Luke 14:1-12 and in my message I noted that Jesus was the guest of honor at a banquet and he used the occasion to talk about who God wanted to see at his table. The point was that God cares about us and wants us all to sit at table with him.

That set the stage for our baptism service out at Camp Wightman. We left church at 10:2o a.m and drove out to North Stonington to our Baptist camp. There we invited Jesly Souvenance, Ingrid and Jamie Todd to come forward to be baptized by immersion.

Jesly came out to the water first.

Ingrid came next.

Jamie was the third and final person to enter the water.

It was a beautiful ceremony and celebration of new life. It was also the end of a great morning of worship.

Cal

Special times with church families

2010-08-28T21:56:00.004-04:00

We had a good day at church. This afternoon we hosted a memorial service for Kathie Wright. Kathie and her family attended the church back in the 1980's for a while. She was friends with Betty Watson and they came together. Of course being a Navy family they traveled all over and they left the area for many years. When she came back, she never really got involved in church again. Last week she passed away and the family looked to the one place where Kathie had found a spiritual home. Today we celebrated her faith in a service at church.

I got home about 4:30 p.m. and then decided to head up to Canterbury for an open house at the new home of Kevin and Lindsey Mariano. They invited friends and family over to break in the new house. It was nice to be a part of this new chapter in the family's life.

The book of life has many chapters and the church can often be found in between the pages. From celebrating birth to remembering life, to blessing a new home or starting a new path in life, God wants to be a part of all of it. So I feel blessed to be invited to so many intimate gatherings. I am absolutely certain that God feels the same way, even more so.

Cal

New life

2010-08-27T21:33:00.002-04:00

I can't wait until Sunday. It's going to be a big day at church. We'll begin with a very special family dedication service within our worship service. Jamie and Ingrid Todd were told they couldn't have any children. Yet through a miracle, Gorman was born earlier this year. As Jamie tells it, he got word that Ingrid was pregnant almost at the same time he decided to give his life to Christ. They look at it as a miracle of Biblical proportions.

They will be coming to worship to give thanks to God for the precious gift that they have in their son. It doesn't get better than that. Or does it? After the sermon we will be heading out to Camp Wightman where Ingrid and Jamie will join Jesley Souvenance in the waters of Christian baptism. The three of them will confess their faith in Christ and begin their Christian walk.

New life. That's what our faith is all about. Whether it is in the birth a tiny child or in the first few steps of a lifetime of faithfulness, our faith opens the door to wonder and joy. I hope you can be with us on Sunday as we taste the goodness of God.

Cal

Missions

2010-08-26T07:15:00.003-04:00

Last night Mark Kane, our treasurer, and I sat down to go over our mission giving and to make sure we had everything up to date. It is very satisfying to know that we support so many good ministries.

For example we give $400 a year to St. Vincent de Paul Place and their ministry to the hungry. It isn't much but every little bit helps. St. Vincent de Paul feeds breakfast and lunch to several hundred people every week. They also provide groceries for several hundred families. It is a safe place for people going through transitions. They are on the front lines working with people below the poverty line. It is great to have a small part in this ministry.

We also give $100 to the Care Net Pregnancy Resource Center. This group works with young women and offers them an alternative to abortion. They provide information and support for young mothers. They work to provide affordable medical care and offer encouragement for these ladies who make the hard choice to keep their children or put them up for adoption. They have so many testimonies to share and it is great to know that we are saving lives and making a difference.

We give money to Pierce Baptist Home, the Noank Group Home for Girls, Camp Wightman, Andover Newton Theological School and Eastern College. All of these ministries reach out to different segments of our population.

We can't do it all but through these partnerships we are able to have a hand in God's work as He makes a difference all around us.

Cal

A day in God's hands

2010-08-25T20:50:00.004-04:00

There weren't enough hours in the day for all the things I could have done today but I did manage to maximize my time and get to several divine appointments.

I got to church at 8:00 a.m. and went to work on my weekly epistle. It usually takes me a couple of hours to work it out and then send it. The epistle began as an occasional email to members of the church with something to think about. It went out as a reminder that God is always at work, always with us during the six other days of the week when we are away from church. About six or seven years ago a friend of mine at the Norwich Bulletin picked it up and starting using it as a weekly column for the Spirit page. It's popularity has grown and over the years I have heard many testimonies on how it has touched people's lives. People who don't go to church read it. People who are active members of different parishes read it. My Jewish friends read it. I even had a Jehovah's witness call me and tell me she enjoyed it. Today I consider it a part of our ministry as we reach out to share the good news. Just because someone doesn't come to our church on Sunday doesn't mean that we can't minister to them.

The truth is that you do it in your own way every day. When you give your day to Christ, everything you do becomes an opportunity to serve him. I do it with my column. You do it when you share yourself at work or at school.

I finished up my column and sent it off and then headed to the US Navy Base. Shane Stroud was retiring from the Navy as a Chief Warrant Officer after 20 plus years. I met Nikki and his daughter, Kyla, and a few family friends. I was asked to do an invocation as part of the ceremony and I agreed. What I didn't realize was that the MC had me sitting up front for the ceremony. I went from trying to hide in the back to being up front and center. I didn't mind and it turned out to be a real nice ceremony.

Nikki and Shane came to Norwich a few years ago. He was in the Navy and assigned to the Sub-base where he would be working with Electric Boat to build a new submarine. She was expecting twins. They came to church and I got to know them. They came a few times but then Nikki was told she had to lay low. She ended up delivering her twin boys prematurely and I made a few trips to the hospital and we prayed through those difficult days. Nikki had her hands full when the boys finally got to come home. A few of our people went to visit and help out with the boys and the Strouds became part of our extended family.

So I was extremely proud to be a part of their day. Shane had served for over twenty years and they were closing this chapter in their lives and getting ready to head home to Oklahoma. For their time in Connecticut, we were their connection to church and our prayers made life in New England bearable.

We get lots of people who pass through. They visit us and come into the life of our church family for a time and then move on. I think God sends them to enrich us and bless us as much as we bless them. I think of the Keithleys, the Eisans, and so many others who came and went like the seasons in a year.

After leaving the Stroud's celebration I went to New London to meet a former member of our softball team. I hadn't seen him in years but he called and asked me to stop by. He was going through a difficult time and asked me to pray with him. That's what I do and I was happy to see him again and I know he is on the right path. He told me he wanted to invite Christ into his life. Can you imagine that? He asked me how to do it. He came to me because of our relationship and he wanted what I had. The truth is that people come to you and me when they see Christ in us. We are the ones who can help them find peace and hope and the love of God because of our relationship with them. I left there thanking God.

I got back to church and met a woman who I have known since I was a teenager. She wanted to talk about her funeral. She has terminal cancer and was making her final arrangements. We prayed and talked about her life and what we were going to do at her service. She had made her peace with God and was ready. That is what faith can do for you.

It was only 2:00 p.m. when she left and I had already had a full day. I went home for a bit to catch up on my e-mail and before heading out again for more meetings. I am tired tonight but I was blessed today. I can't wait to see what God has planned for tomorrow.

Cal

Gearing up for Sunday School

2010-08-24T21:19:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe that summer is drawing to a close. Tonight we met to talk about Sunday School. Sunday School Superintendent Pam Kane led us through a number of questions that needed to be answered as we look forward to a new year.

Sunday School classes will open on September 12. Lori Lord will be back to lead opening exercises and Mary Brockway noted that she has some gifts to donate for recognizing birthdays. We are also going to continue our practice of giving little gifts for those who arrive on time each week.

Fran Rogers and Sandra Lucien will be teaching the Nursery Class again this year. Janet LaFlamme and Rachelle Weimer will be back with the K - 2 class. Pam Kane and Kelly Bolin will be working with the kids in grades 3-5. I'll be back with the High School kids this year. The only change will be the addition of Mary Brockway to the staff. She'll be teaching grades 6-8 this year.

On September 12 we will welcome everyone back at 9:15 a.m. with registration and refreshments. We will also take our annual photograph. Flyers will be going out in the next week or so to all of our families inviting them back. We will also put an ad in the newspaper.

We set the dates for our special events as well. The Christmas Pageant and Party will be on December 19th at 6 p.m. The snow date will be Thursday, December 23rd. Our Children's Day celebration is scheduled for May 22nd.

We are so excited for the year to begin. We hope that you will join us. Bring the kids. Come and enjoy the adult Bible Study taught by Curt Brockway. They will be studying I & II Peter and Jude this Fall. It's a great study for those who are just jumping into the Bible for the first time as well as for those who have been reading it for a while.

Cal

Sports Recognition Sunday celebration

2010-08-23T20:21:00.002-04:00

The Softball season came to its official end yesterday as we celebrated their success in morning worship. Several of the team members were present as we handed out end of the season awards. Sean Wilding was named Most Improved Player. Mark Staron was voted the 11th Player. The Best Defensive Player was Chip Chaffee.

The Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player was Tony Snurkowski. He joins Bill Discordia, Bruce Startz, Andy Miller, and Chip Chafe as the other players to win both awards in their first season on the team. Tony led the team with 23 games played, a team record 50 hits, 7 triples and 45 RBI. He and Eric Larsen combined to put up some pretty nasty numbers on offense. Eric led the team with 21 extra base hits, 40 runs scored, 47 hits and 13 doubles. Both of them also batted over .600 for the season and played great defense.

During the service Steve Contois shared some special music and the message was titled, "Hitting With God on Deck." The point of the sermon was that when we offer God our best he will make it count.

We also inducted two new members into our Sports Ministry Hall of Fame. Amy Brockway Meyer and Fred Stone were invited to come forward as we recognized them for their work in the bowling League and on the softball field, respectively. We also noted that Fred was a two time champion in bowling and a long time coach and past President of the Norwich Little League.

It was a great day.

Cal

Celebrating with the Kane Family

2010-08-22T23:09:00.006-04:00

The best part of being an ordained minister is the fact that you get to be there and actually participate in the special moments of peoples lives. On Saturday I had a front row seat for the wedding of Cassie Kane and Brandon Frechette. I watched as Mark Kane walked his daughter down the aisle and gave her away. I witnessed the heartfelt exchange of wedding vows between this young couple and saw tears of joy in his mother's eyes.

The wedding took place on the shore of Ocena Beach Park in New London. Mark Kane had built an a lovely canopy for them to stand under and Brandon's grandmother sewed the cloth covering for it. Brandon's brothers joined Cassie brother, Mark and a few friends as groomsmen on one side and several of Cassie's good friends stood up for her as bride's maids. Julia Rogers, Summer Barber and Rylan Bolin were the flower girls and ring bearer.

Priscilla and Nicole passed out the programs to everyone who came. It was a beautiful setting for a wedding. Several spectators joined the fun and watched the ceremony. One of Cassie's friends sang for us. I integrated a few Native American touches to honor Brandon's Nipmuk heritage. The couple wrote their own vows and shared them with each other.

After the service we all went over to the Port & Starboard Hall for the party. It was so nice to see the family together and enjoying the evening. The Father daughter dance always gets me. Maybe that's because I see myself in every dad. As I said, this is the best part of ministry. It is the blessing of being part of the God's family.

Cal

Preparing to welcome new members to the family.

2010-08-19T22:16:00.002-04:00

The Board of Deacons met with Jesley Souvenance, Jamie and Ingrid Todd tonight to share their testimonies and talk about the upcoming service of believer's baptism. All three were approved for baptism and church membership.

Several years ago we established a process for meeting candidates for baptism and/or church membership. The Board Deacons would take the opportunity to introduce themselves and share a bit of their story. They also encourage the candidates to do the same if they so desired. It has become a very meaningful time for all involved. Tonight Jamie and Ingrid shared how the death of Jamie's sister started them on a journey of discovery as they began reading the Gospels. A miracle followed as Ingrid found out that she was pregnant and carrying a baby that doctors told them they would never have. The story brought tears to our eyes as we marveled at what God can do.

On August 29th we will glorify God with a very special service as we rejoice with the Todds as they bring their son, Gormon, forward in a service of family dedication. After the ceremony Pastor Lord will deliver a message titled, "Who is on Jesus' Guest List?" The service will then be suspended and moved to Billings Lake at Camp Wightman where Jamie, Ingrid and Jesley Souvenance will be baptized. There will be hymns and prayers as we give thanks to God for new life and bright beginnings.

Come and join us at 9:30 a.m. and renew your own baptismal vows.

FBC Softball team hits bump at end of season

2010-08-19T21:45:00.005-04:00

Our FBC Softball season came to an end last night with a weird series of events. With the FBC team leading 13 -10 in the top of the sixth inning, members of Calvary Chapel protested the game and declared that our team was using an ineligible player. Play ended there with a win awarded to Calvary Chapel giving them their second victory in the best of three series.

The protest was strange in the sense that the opposing manager knew about the player and said he didn't have a problem with it when he was notified that Mark Ferguson was going to be in the starting line-up by Pastor Lord before the game. Two days earlier Calvary's manager and Pastor Lord talked about it and agreed that although Mark was added to the roster as an injury replacement one day after the deadline, he was definitely not a ringer. Mark is a member of the church and had played in ten of the team's final games. Calvary's manager told him that the other play-off team managers may question the validity and that Pastor Lord needed to be prepared for it. When Calvary protested it was as if the two managers had never talked.

There was a heated exchange between the teams as the events unfolded but in a display of good sportsmanship, the FBC team slapped hands with the Calvary team and left the field. It was hard for many of them to walk away with a victory to even the series within their grasp. Many wondered why the protest had not come earlier when Mark came to the plate to bat in the first inning. We will never know that.

When one of the more vocal players from Calvary who was calling for the protest heard that the two managers had talked, he wondered aloud how come he and other team members weren't told about the talks prior to the game. He went on to say that when the Calvary manager began telling players about the ineligible player that he didn't let on that he had discussed it with Pastor Lord at all. The player said he wouldn't have made a fuss if he had known who the player was and that it had been discussed in advance.

As is often the case, miscommunication leads problems. In hindsight Pastor Lord should have addressed the players on the Calvary ball club directly instead of assuming the opposing manager was going to do so.

Prior to the game the FBC team voted to have Mark play even though it could have, and eventually did, lead to a disappointing end. It was a great display of team unity and reflected our philosophy of team first even over victory. We would have loved to win the series and had a chance to compete for the championship but a rule made to stop teams from bringing in ringers forced our team to decide whether we were about victory at all costs or building friendship and fellowship. In the end, even though we lost, we won.

The FBC team finished the year with a record of 15-9 and took fourth place in the division. Members of the team included;

Daryl Alves, Chip Chaffee, Dan Dutrumble, Mark Ferguson, Ken Kreger, Eric Larsen, Cal Lord, Steve Moon, Paul Pont, Eric Poore, Tony Snurkowski, Mark Staron, Mike Staron, Fred Stone, Chris Vaillancourt, Sean Wilding and Mike Young.

On Sunday we will celebrate a great season during our time of worship. Join us at 9:30 a.m. to meet the team and their families.

FBC Softball team finishes strong

2010-08-12T19:57:00.003-04:00

Eric Larsen hit two home runs and Sean Wilding hit a grand slam to lead the FBC team to a 27 - 8 victory against St. Marks tonight. Dan Dutrumble, Mark Staron and Tony Snurkowski all added three hits to the attack.

Paul Pont pitched very well and the defense held St. Marks to two runs until the fourth inning when the opponents put together a rally of their own. FBC responded by putting up a ten spot.

The team finished up with a 15 - 9 record, matching the highest win total ever for a First Baptist team. Last year's squad also had 15 wins as did the Championship team in 1993.

The team is on a roll going into the play-offs. They won their last five games and saved their best for the final two, winning both of them by 20 and 19 runs respectively. It is a good thing too because they will face Calvary Chapel in the first round of the play-offs. Calvary finished the season 21 -3. The good news is that until this week we were only the team to beat them. We split the season series with them. They won the first two by scores of 12 - 9 and 13 - 7. The second game was a nail biter that they broke open in the seventh inning. We won the third game convincingly and they forfeited our lost match up.

If FBC can keep up the hot hitting they stand a good chance of coming away with an upset. It is all in their hands now.

Cal

Day two in the Big Apple

2010-07-30T22:47:00.002-04:00

Today we went up to the edge of Harlem to work at the York Common Food Pantry. It is one of New York's largest pantries. They feed 1800 families a week and serve over 3oo breakfasts five days a week and up to 400 dinners three days a week.

Gladys showed us what to do and for three and a half hours we packed food bags and distributed them to a crowd that came in to take them. Today was senior citizen day and the hall was filled with people ready to go even before we arrived. It was non-stop work until we c leaned up and got ready to go at 1:30 p.m.

The Pantry also ministers to the poor and the homeless by providing just about every kind of service you can imagine. Gladys described their services and we just stood there amazed. From social workers to showers and dog food, this community ministry went beyond anything most of us have ever seen.

We had lunch in a pizza parlor in Harlem and then stopped by a market place. Then we rode the train out to Brooklyn. We got off on 54th Street and crossed over to the church. As we were approaching the building we came up behind a man who started asking the neighbors if they could help with the prayer station. He began complaining out loud that he was going to be all alone. He didn't know what God was going to do. He got louder and louder and suddenly some of us realized we had been punked.

Robert saw the group of fifteen in their neon green shirts and immediately recognized us as the group of volunteers for the prayer station and decided to have some fun with us. He got us. Robert is a lay leader and has been doing a lot of extra ministry while Pastor Larry Piita recuperates after a near fatal accident last month.

He gave us a history of the church and shared about their long standing ministry to the homeless. Pastor Larry regularly distributes sandwiches to the poor and counsels them in love. Our job today was to simply be a presence in the community. We set up a prayer station, handed out tracks and greeted the neighbors as they walked by the church. We had three or four people stop and ask for prayer. One many asked for healing. Another was asking for help to get a job. A third man asked God to use him to make a difference in the world. We also prayed with Robert and for the church.

Before we left Robert then prayed for us and asked God to bless our ministries. It was a real nice moment and it empowered us as we headed back home. We were pretty beat and we decided to pass on going out to dinner and have it brought in instead. We found a great local restaurant that delivered and we ate out on the deck of the hotel. It was a nice end to a busy day of service.

Here are a few photos of the fun we had in God's name today.

That's all for now. I'll write more tomorrow.

Cal

Day one of the mission to New York

2010-07-29T23:12:00.003-04:00

My feet are sore as I get ready for bed after Day one of our New York City Mission Trip. The group must have walked a good six or seven miles but a few of us added even more with a couple of side trips.

We are staying at the Fairfield Inn on Long Island City, Queens. It is a nice place and we began the day with a free continental breakfast. We liked the price. At 8:30 a.m. we left and headed for the subway. It was an hour and a half ride from the hotel to Coney Island which is on the outer shores of the borough of Brooklyn. We never knew New York City was so big.

We got to the Salt and Sea Mission just before 10:00 a.m. and met Rocco, the business manager. He informed us that Pastor Debbie Santiago was in the hospital in serious condition. She had pneumonia and ended up having surgery and after more complications was scheduled for more surgery today.

He showed us a video that explained what they did at the mission and then we worshipped with several members of the community, some other short term missionaries from Ohio and the staff. The staff called on us to lead the worship service. I opened with prayer and then the group from Ohio lead the singing and shared some testimonies. Then one of their young people gave a short message about how God is always with us.

We didn't know they would call on us to help lead worship but Melanie and I led some singing and June Deptulski offered a short testimony. The staff member then shocked Sandy by asking her to offer a prayer. Sandy froze and her sister, Sharon stepped up and did a great job of closing the service.

The Mission packs food bags for people and they began coming up to get them at noon. There were a lot of volunteers today and somehow Rocco got word that we weren't coming so they didn't expect us. He told me they always had things to do so five of us went out to the Boardwalk with snacks and tracts. It was a stretch for most of us because we haven't done that before but it was ok. We had a number of copies of Daily Bread to share and several people actually wanted them.

At 2:00 p.m. we did a short devotional and prayer and then headed for lower Manhattan to make our firehouse visits. We had five visits scheduled for the fire stations around ground zero. It was an hour ride into the city on the subway and then a lot of walking. We got to see China Town, Wall Street, South Street Seaport and Ground Zero.

You won't believe this. Our visits to the first two fire houses were interrupted by fire calls. The bell rang and the guys were off while we were chatting with them. We stood outside the stations and prayed for the guys as they took off. We had gift bags for them filled with all kinds of goodies made in Connecticut. We also gave them a poster which was a reprint of a painting hanging in Washington, DC signed by Julie's husband's uncle.

We stopped for lunch and then finished up and of the last three stops, one left for a call and one was out on a call when we visited. All day we only made one visit and got to give our whole spiel. The firemen in New York really do need our prayers because they are always on the move serving and protecting the people of the city.

After finishing up our assignments, a part of the group headed to Time Square for a short visit. Some of the group had never been there. It was an experience. The lights, the crowds and the noise were amazing.

Here are a few photos from our adventure.

It was a long day and I'm turning in. Stay tuned for more tomorrow.

Cal

Settling in as we prepare for our first day

2010-07-29T07:35:00.002-04:00

We arrived in New ork last night. Melanie, Barbara, Doreen, Michelle and Taylor got here before dinner and did a good job of scouting out the area. They learned that the hotel was offering a free barbecue dinner to the guests and they obliged. Then they took a walk to the Food Lion to pick up some groceries for our bag lunch on Thursday.

The rest of us arrived at 8:50 p.m. and got settled in within the next half hour. They we went ot onto the deck and had our first devotion of the trp. I talked about looking for Jesus in the people we met as we ministered to "the least of these." Were-introduced ourselves and spent a little time in prayer for friends and family.

There is another group in the hotel this week for Waco, Texas here to do mission work. They have mostly teen-agers and they shared a bit of what they have done already. We learned that the pastor who runs Salt and Sea Mission is in the hospital in serious condition. She has an incredible story and we are praying for her. We go there this morning.

It is supposed to rain but I believe we will be inside most of the morning and be safe under cover. It is sad because we will be just off Coney Island and the beach today an no be able to enjoy it. (No roller coaster for me!)

This afternoon we head down to the area around Ground Zero to visit five fire houses and to deliver our care packages. I'll write more later. We are leaving for the day in fifteen minutes. For a few in our group this will be their first subway ride. Woo hoo!

Cal

Sent off to serve in New York on Thursday

2010-07-25T21:49:00.003-04:00

This morning during worship we commissioned our New York City Mission team. It was very nice. We prayed with them and promised to cover them all week long.

The team will leave on Wednesday night and make their first stop at the Salt and Sea Mission on coney Island. The mission was established in 1987 as a statement of Christian faith by Debbe Santiago. While Debbe was still homeless, the Lord led her to minister to homeless people under the boardwalk in Coney Island with food, clothing and the Bible.

The outreach program expanded to Debbe Santiago's home. Homeless men and women were able to take showers, have dinners and Bible studies. Debbe also allowed homeless women to live there. The street ministry was conducted out of a shopping cart filled with food, clothing and compassion for those whose only shelter and comfort were found under the boardwalk and in subway stations.

The need for a permanent facility in Coney Island became apparent, and a small apartment was acquired. Having outgrown that space, the Mission relocated in 1991 to a larger building where it is presently housed. By using the mission facilities, working in the streets, the subways, and having an outreach program to families in a Hotel that houses homeless families, the Salt and Sea Mission Church, Inc. provides the following services:

Food Pantry: Feeding approximately 28000 meals monthly.

Hotel Ministry: Special dinners and events each month and at holidays, feeding approximately ninety-five homeless families at each dinner. Families participate in Sunday worship services and furniture ministry and youth programs. Families receive sponsorship for apartments with Project Domiciles and follow-up for one year after getting their own apartments.

Russian Ministry: Once a week on Wednesdays

Spanish Ministry: Once a week on Fridays

Christian Fellowship: Bible studies are given five times weekly. Discipleship classes are offered separately for children and adults once a week. Prayer meetings are conducted five times a week. The Mission also provides Sunday School, and performs weddings, infant dedications and funerals.

Other Vital Ministries: There are Overcomers meetings once a week. Salt and Sea Mission Church, Inc. also offers drug and alcohol counseling, referrals to detoxification programs, job training, legal assistance, medical and dental, HIV/AIDS entitlement, literacy classes, long term residential programs, ESL classes for Russian and Spanish speaking people, reading classes for children, and outreach and food distribution to senior citizen apartment buildings

Along with these programs, there is also social service and housing advocacy, TB and HIV testing, distribution of clothing, blankets, toiletries, and assistance through the disbursement of donated furniture and household items. Salt and Sea Mission Church, Inc. is also used as a mailing address and approximately 11,000 pieces of mail are collected yearly.

The Youth Development Program offers summer camp, special excursions, Bible studies, arts and crafts, on-site recreational facilities, one-on-one counseling, after-school homework sessions, junior choirs, adopt a child, new back to school clothing, recreational time, Christmas gifts and knitwear, and new Easter and Christmas clothing.

The staff of the Salt and Sea Mission Church, Inc. are all volunteers. All food, clothing and funds of the mission are obtained through charitable contributions and grants. Tax-deductible gifts are welcome.

We can't wait to get there. The rest of the week includes work in food pantries, a prayer station and visits to give encouragement to firefighters around Ground Zero and in mid-town Manhattan. Keep us in your prayers.

Cal

Practice makes perfect

2010-07-19T07:44:00.003-04:00

This past weekend highlighted what church is all about. It began with a surprise retirement party for Mary Brockway. Mary is not only an active member of the church family, she has also been an outstanding elementary school teacher for many years. She taught fifth grade at the Bishop School and watched several of her kids go on to achieve good things in life.

On Saturday her daughter, Amy, threw a party in Mary's honor at her home in Stonington. A few of us from church went down to mark the occasion. This is one of the special things that I have enjoyed in my ministry. Over the years I have been invited to participate in weddings, retirement celebrations, anniversary parties, graduations, Eagle scout award ceremonies and other family events. It is a reminder that church isn't just about Sunday mornings. It is about people.

Earlier this year several of us went to a fund raiser for Steve Ohlund's daughter, Anastacia. She was battling cancer and we went out to support Steve as much as anyone. When Shawn Rucker got the lead role in a play at the Spirit of Broadway theater we bought tickets and went as a group to support her. Later this summer Cassie Kane and Brandon Frechette will be tieing the knot and some of us will be on hand for that great moment.

We don't always get it right, but these events feature the church at its brightest moment. On Sunday I got to see it happen in Quaker Hill for our sister Baptist Church. Pastor Greg Hamby celebrated his fifteenth anniversary at the church and the 20th anniversary of his ordination. It was a great time. The people showered him with gifts and acknowledged the things he had done as their pastor. I know the feeling because we did the same thing here a few weeks ago on my 25th anniversary.

It's funny but a lot of people complain about the church and how often it fails them. But I think we get it right a lot more times than we get it wrong. Living the gospel as a community is a powerful thing. When we learn to be loving, forgiving, encouraging people within the church it becomes that much easier to do it out in the world.

One famous theologian once said that God created the church so we could practice Christian hospitality before we engage the world with it. I can tell you this: At First Baptist the practice is going well.

Cal

the 25th Anniversary Celebration

2010-06-21T20:13:00.006-04:00

On Sunday we celebrated 25 years of ministry as Pastor and people at the church. It was a great day filled with special music, testimonies and special people. Nearly two hundred members and friends were on hand for the two hour and five minute celebration. Yes, it went that long but it didn't really feel that long. Things moved right along.

The Lord girls, all grown up, sang a beautiful rendition of "His eye is on the sparrow." It was a song that Lori used to sing quite often and was one of Pastor Cal's favorites. Lori and Cal came here a week and a half before Rebecca was born and this has been the only church the girls have known. It was a very special presentation.

The only time they let Pastor Cal speak was when he came up to join Lori for a duet of a song they sang on the Sunday they candidated back in April 1985, the same day that Cal was ordained and officially called to serve as the pastor of the church. The song is titled, "I want hat crown" and features Lori playing guitar. She hasn't done that in 10 years but she did pretty well.

Steve Contois, Cheryl Dutrumble and Paul Johnson also added a special song to the mix when they sang "There's More to the Story." It reminded us that even as we look back to celebrate the past, there is still more to come.

George Strouse and Curt Brockway, two of the young men in the church when Pastor Cal arrived, served as worship assistants for the morning. We read the responsive reading from his very first Sunday and Pastor Greg Hamby read the scripture reading from Isaiah that was used at his ordination. Fran Rogers had the children congratulate the Pastor on his anniversary as part of the Children's Moment. The choir rounded out the special music by singing "Make a joyful noise."

Kevin Mariano also helped out by adding a trumpet voluntary to the prelude and the hymns. It was just the right touch to make it extra special.

Pastor Greg Hamby was welcomed to the pulpit just before noon. He is a good friend of Pastor Cal and he was able to leave his service at the Quaker Hill Baptist Church and get here in time to share the message. He was great. He talked about Isaiah's sense of call and the promise God had given to be with him and bless his ministry. Title of the message was "Rev. Dr. Crackpot." That got a laugh out of the congregation and was a perfect ending of the celebration.

After the service we went downstairs for the reception and the ladies put on a beautiful spread. Cal also received a gift of an autographed ball by players of this year's Connecticut Tiger team and several other special gifts.

The Anniversary Committee was made up of the following people; Nancy Allen, Karen Barber, Oliver Bray, Curt and Mary Brockway, Adele DiBiagio, Judy Dupont, Sue Ferguson, Mark Kane and Cynthia Strouse.

It is sermon time

2010-06-05T16:16:00.003-04:00

I've been working on my sermon for tomorrow. It's titled "Just Make Sure You Stretch." It is based on Paul's epistle to the church in Philippi. The particular passage I'm quoting has Paul saying that he is going to forget the past and press on to the future.

I read somewhere that some Pastors do not like to preach. They feel it is an arduous task. They prefer the administration or visitation or pastoral care. The pulpit presents their greatest challenge. Not me. I enjoy looking at God's word and trying to apply it to our every day lives. I try to find out what God is saying to us. I think the secret to my preaching is that I try to discern what God is saying to me and then I turn it around and pass it on. I've often said that most weeks I am preaching to myself.

I know some preachers like to delve into history and their preaching is more like a seminary lecture. I enjoy that. I love to learn and feel empowered by anything new that I can take away from a sermon. Some preachers are linguists and they enjoy looking at the texts in their original language. They try to help us see what the authors intended when they wrote their texts. I agree that this is important to know. I get fired up by it. But my preaching takes a little bit of this and a little bit of that and combines it to come up with a word that speaks to what's happening in life.

That makes preaching fun. So I'm going to get back to my sermon. Hope to see you tomorrow.

Cal

We've got tickets for the Tigers

2010-06-04T18:49:00.002-04:00

I picked up the tickets for the Connecticut Tigers game on June 27th. We will be selling them as a fundraiser for the New York City mission team. For every $8.00 ticket we sell we get to keep $4.00 for the mission team. We will also have lots of fun. Last year we did this and had a great time. It is one of those events where you get to hang out with people from church that you don't normally get to spend time with.

As an added bonus, I will be throwing out the first pitch. You'll need to get there early that day to see it. The management team of the CT Tigers heard I was a big fan and decided to give me the opportunity. They also heard that there was a facebook page promoting the idea and how could they ignore that!

If you want tickets you can get them from me at church, Doreen Mainville at Central Baptist Church or any of the Mission team members.

Cal

Mercy Barnes will visit FBC

2010-06-03T21:20:00.004-04:00

Mercy Gonzales Barnes is coming to Connecticut this month. Mercy is our missionary partner from Mexicali, Mexico. Mercy and her husband, Rick, have hosted our mission team for the last four years. They are teachers and church consultants to the Mexican Baptist Convention. They were commissioned in 2000 and have been very active ever since.

Mercy will be making her rounds through southern New England for two weeks at the end of June. On Wednesday, June 16th she will be here at First Baptist. At 5:30 p.m. there will be an appreciation dinner with Mercy for those who have contributed to their ministry. At 6:30 p.m. the coffee pot will be on and everyone else will be able to meet and greet Mercy. At 7:00 p.m. we will host the worship service and Mercy will preach. at 7:45 p.m. we will head downstairs and enjoy ice cream for dessert.

Come join us if you are free.

Cal

Softball blowout has us looking for fresh start next week

2010-06-02T20:52:00.004-04:00

Our softball team played one of its worst games in our twenty four year history tonight. We only got 5 hits and one run. We also gave up about 14 unearned runs with terrible play all around. Thank goodness that it is only one game and we get to try again next week.

The one highlight for us tonight was Chip Chaffee's fifth home run of the season. Our record is now 2 -3 and we are looking to turn things around next week. We heard that Paul Pont had a broken ankle and will be out for a while. We added Corey Poore, Fred Stone and one of Sean Wilding's friends to the roster tonight. Hopefully a couple of them will be joining us next week. We only had ten players tonight.

Cal

A seven day a week church

2010-06-01T12:57:00.002-04:00

This morning I had breakfast with a few of my colleagues at Olde Tymes. One of them presented us with a challenge. He asked if we had any ideas on how to reach out to the folks in or community who now live in a 24/7 world. Sunday mornings are being encroached upon by everything from work, to sports, to shopping. Some activities are certainly entered by choice but so many of them are dictated by a culture that no longer leaves the sabbath as a time for worship and renewal. He noted that most of us are in small churches that have neither the staff or the personnel to have worship at various times on multiple days across the week. Then he suggested that maybe we could do something together.

It was an exciting moment. The thought of offering a worship experience every day of the week in a neutral location that was supported and managed by several of our congregations was intoxicating. A few sights were mentioned and obvious benefits lifted up. If this was to happen it would fly in the face of the ongoing concern about "us" and "them" and worries about losing members to other churches that is often at the center of our non-cooperation within the body of Christ. It would truly be a gift that the body of Christ was offering to a changing world.

Of course there is a long road from the idea stage to the actual birth of such a movement. It would involve money, time and the investment of leadership to make it come to pass. For now we can all begin to pray that God would unite us in such a way that God's will come arise out of any further discussions on things like this.

Childrens Day 2010

2010-05-31T22:15:00.002-04:00

We closed out a great year in Sunday School with our annual Children's Day Service on May 23rd. The theme was "God Cares For Us." Each of the classes presented a song or skit. It was a wonderful day in which 108 people looked on. Bibles were presented to Adam Dutrumble and Maddie Fishkin. Outstanding attendance were passed out to several people and we closed the service with singing. Here are a few photos from the day.

After Church we went to Fort Shantock for our Annual Church Picnic. It was fun for all as we cooked up some hot dogs, enjoyed picnic food and played some games. Here are a few photos of the activity there.

Cal

Memorial Day Sunday service

2010-05-30T23:02:00.005-04:00

We had a great day at church. The morning began with choir rehearsal at 10:00 a.m. in fellowship hall. It wasn't a full blown rehearsal. We met to run through the anthem and polish it up. We also wanted to give those who missed rehearsal during the week the opportunity to catch up. It was a good thing because Shawn Rucker showed up with a friend, Dakota, and they joined the group. Dakota is a friend of Shawn's who is also in the play, "Asylum" at the Spirit of Broadway Theater.

Worship began at 10:30 a.m. and Nancy Allen was the worship assistant. She welcomed us to the Memorial Day service and invited us to sing "America" as our opening hymn. Our responsive reading was Psalm 8 and Nancy noted it was one of her favorites.

Paul Johnson, Cheryl Dutrumble and Steve Contois got us clapping and singing along as they offered some special music. Paul plays the banjo and he chimed in and added a nice touch to the great music we have come to expect from Cheryl and Steve. Now you know why the folks who come on Wednesday nights have been so pleased since they started playing. When Penny Sargent had to beg off because of illness and Fred and Gwyn Green's travel took them away, we were not sure what we were going to do. That's when the trio stepped up and offered to share their music. We were so grateful that they were able to play for the whole congregation on Sunday.

I invited the children to come up and we talked about old and new. I brought them down to the pew where Cassie Kane and Brandon Frechette were sitting and told them that they were getting married in a couple of months. Then I walked the kids over to Harry and Dot Calkins who will soon celebrate their 58th wedding anniversary. I told the kids that our understanding of God's love grows deeper over time. We closed off our time with prayer.

I invited Joslaire Lucien and his family forward for a short time of testimony. Last Sunday we heard that he had finished a certificate program at Liberty University. He presented a stole to his wife Sandy for her support and encouragement. This week I invited him to talk about why he decided to pursue that program and what he was going to do next. He told us he was going to get his Bachelor's degree so he could do ministry with the youth. He told us how he had a heart for doing this and has been involved in youth ministry to Haitian kids since he came to the United States in 1994. Then I prayed over him and Sandy and their boys and asked Gold 5to bless their ministry and their family.

The choir sang "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty King of Creation." As we near the end of the program year we have had several people missing. The choir still does a nice job. The voices blend well. We hope that everyone will be back in the Fall and that we may even have a few new faces.

My message focused on one of my favorite verses of scripture Romans 5:1-10. I talked about the love of God that made justification possible when Jesus switched places with us. As a result we became family. You can read the whole sermon on our web site.

We prayed for Penny Sargent, Veronica Bryant, Staff Sargent Rivera's family and several others during our prayer time. We also asked God to be with all of our men and women in uniform and to comfort the families of all who have lost loved ones over the years.

At 11:45 a.m. we finished our service by singing, "Oh How He Loves You and Me." It was a great day.

Cal

Three funerals in a week

2010-05-08T22:03:00.004-04:00

Today I had the second of three funerals within a week's time. It's been three months since my last funeral. That's how it goes in the ministry of a small church like ours. Even more, all three of these funerals come through connections outside the church... although there are some ties you might recognize.

On Thursday I conducted the funeral for Rick Aikins. A friend from high school, Dave Debowsky, called me last Saturday and shared that his sister's husband had died suddenly. You may remember the name. Dave's parents, Phil and Gloria Debowsky, were regulars here at church for a few years before moving to Texas. This is their oldest daughter. Bonnie and Rick Aikin didn't have a church connection and Bonnie didn't know where to turn. Dave asked me if I was able to do the service. I told him I could. I met with the family and we had the service at the Belmont Funeral Home in Colchester.

Today I presided at the memorial service for Alice Regina Kirchner. The service was at Central Baptist because she was a member there. So you may be wondering why I conducted the service. Well, Reggie was the best friend of Myra Christensen and we met several years ago. She even visited our church a few times over the years when her pastor was away. At Myra's service Alice asked me if I would do her service if they didn't have a minister when the time came. I said I would be honored.

Regina passed away just about two weeks ago and her daughter Barbara called me. I worked with Barbara Poirier on the Otis Library Board for several years. We became friendly. She wanted to know if I would do the service for her mother. I told her that Central had a new pastor and it was proper to ask her to do the service but I would be more than happy to participate. I got a call from Pastor Nancy and after a brief discussion she suggested it would be good for me to preside over the service because of my connections to the family and her pre-arranged vacation days following her own mother's passing just days ago. So today we held the service and everything went well. Reggie would have been proud to see her family share in different parts of the service in "her" church.

On Tuesday I will conduct the third of these services. I got a call from another high school friend who owns the other Funeral Home in Colchester, the Aurora McCarthy Home. Sean said he was with a classmight of mine whose mother had just died. He wanted to know if I would take the service for Beverly Davis. I told him I would be happy to do so. I spoke briefly with my classmate, Raymond, and he said he appreciated the fact that I was doing the service.

I couldn't help thinking that it is funny how sometimes all of our worlds come together. Harry Chapin sang a song called "All My Life's A Circle" and over the last week it has rung true for me as I serve here in Norwich.

Cal

A day of celebration for our wider Baptist family

2010-05-07T21:47:00.001-04:00

A week ago Tuesday I was in New York City for an anniversary celebration of National Ministries of the ABCUSA. During the day the group reclaimed the name American Baptist Home Mission Societies and declared that their work would continue to reach into every corner of American society to share the good news and bring hope.

It was a great day. It began with a service the Mariners Baptist temple in the lower East Side of Manhattan just outside Chinatown. It continued with lunch at the Ministers & Missionaries office on Riverside Drive in the upper West Side. The day closed with worship at the Riverside Church which is bordered by Columbia University and Harlem.

It was a great day and a reminder that the work we do in our community is making a difference in the lives of the people who live in it.

Cal

The LUNCH Bunch at FBC

2010-05-05T22:55:00.004-04:00

On Saturday night Bill and Kay Pere were with us at First Baptist. They came with members of the LUNCH Bunch and sang songs and shared stories as they raised money for the hungry. We had about fifty people in attendance and they were treated to a special night. Here are a few photos from the event.

Cal

CROP Walk 2010

2010-05-04T21:32:00.007-04:00

On Sunday eight of us from First Baptist participated in the annual CROP Walk for world hunger. The walk stepped off at Lee Memorial United Methodist Church at shortly after 1:00 p.m. Pastor Ho Soon Han offered a prayer and Jill Corbin of St Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen led the charge.

Mark Kane, Karen Barber, Priscilla Rogers, Betsey and Pete Adams, George Strouse and I walked the route while Zelda Earle staffed the rest station back at our church. Our walkers contributed nearly $500 of the $5,000 that was raised. The total amount raised was about the same as last year and about 25% of the money comes right back to Norwich.

Walking is always a lot of fun. Knowing that you are doing it in Christ's name to help the poor and needy is an added blessing. If you missed out on the action this year, you can sign up to join us next year.

Cal

Look at my new clothes

2010-05-03T20:51:00.002-04:00

May 2, 2010 Philippians 4:4-9

Something happened when each of the disciples went into that empty tomb. They came out different than when they went in. It is almost as if they came out with a new set of clothes. I want to talk about that change today in our last message in the series about the empty tomb.

Most of you know that my girls have been involved in pageants. Right now Sarah is competing for the crown of Miss Connecticut. She is having fun going shopping with Lori and Rachel. You should see some of the new outfits they bought. Sarah looks stunning in them. Well the truth is that whenever we get something new to wear, it can make a tremendous difference even for those of us who aren’t quite so beautiful.

You see, a new set of clothes, whether it is a suit, a dress, a pair slacks and a shirt, all do something not only for our appearance, but for our attitude as well. When we put on a new outfit, we feel different. When the girls were younger, Lori would always buy them a new outfit for Easter. Lori would buy a new dress for herself and she’d get me a new shirt and tie. The new clothes made Easter seem even more special.

I thought about that and it made perfect sense because scripture tells us that in Christ we are a new creation. There is no better way to show that than to put on a new set of clothes. I don’t know about you, but I have an awful lot of old clothes in my closet. Some of them are worn out. Some of them are too big. Others are, if you can believe it, too small. (Just a side note here: As this contest between Mark Kane and I continues, I just might be able to fit in some of them again!) The truth is that these old clothes are only taking up room in my closet. Instead of throwing them out, even though they are tattered and ill fitted, I keep wearing them.

The truth is that clothes aren’t the only thing we hang onto. Sometimes we hang onto old attitudes as well. That was the problem in Philippi and Paul addresses it in his letter to the church. He tells them at the outset that they have to have a different attitude. They need to live in Christ instead of living in the past.

Since Easter we have been talking about the gift of forgiveness. Jesus died on that cross to take away our sin and give us new life. The problem is that too many of us have carried over the baggage of our old life and it keeps us from truly experiencing all of God’s blessings. So today I want to invite you to do some spring cleaning so you can make room in your closet for our new set of clothes. In order to do that, you need to get rid of five things that often clutter the closets of our lives.

First, let’s get rid of the burden of doubt. The definition of doubt is this: It is the uncertainty of belief that interferes with decision making. If you aren’t sure of something, you won’t be able to make a clear decision.

The truth is that the empty tomb proves that Christ rose. As a result, it confirms everything he said. He died for your sin. You are forgiven. God has given you new life. You never have to worry about being apart from him again. God loves you, there’s no doubt about it. So stop doubting it. Live like a child of God.

President Franklin Roosevelt once said, “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” Christ has risen. There is no longer any reason to doubt that God loves you. Second, we can get rid of the burden of guilt. Too many of us keep wearing this even though Christ has taken it away. That’s the message of the cross. You were guilty. Once you came to Christ and asked him to forgive you, it is gone. If you haven’t done it yet, it’s never too late. Every sin you’ve ever committed was nailed to the cross with Jesus. He paid the price and you are free now.

I’ve told this story before but I’ll tell it again. Lori and I used to enjoy going into Bee Bee Dairy. One time shortly after Becky was born, we went in for lunch and had a good meal. When I went up to pay, the cashier told us that someone else had already paid our bill. I felt a little guilty about walking out but when I tried to pay it anyway, she said “Didn’t you hear me? It’s already been paid. You don’t owe anything. Just go and enjoy the rest of your day.”

In Act 13 it says “Everyone who believes in Him is free from all guilt and declared right with God.” Now we can enjoy the peace of God in our lives.

The third burden we need to get rid of is that of old grudges. These hurts, that cause us anger and pain, are making us ugly. I have a silk shirt in my closet that I wore when I was in college. I used to wear it to disco dances. It is so ugly, but I can’t seem to let it go. That is how it is with grudges. But God says we need to forgive and forget. We need to remember that even as God forgives us our debts, we need to forgive our debtors.

A few weeks ago we talked about the unmerciful servant. God calls us to share the measure we have received and he tells us that in doing so we will find blessing. You can trust him on that.

The fourth thing we must clean out of our closets is regret. God doesn’t want us to experience regrets in our lives. Instead, He wants to replace regret with hope.

Roman 4:7 says, “Oh what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.”

You see, this verse says that past mistakes, sins, missed opportunities are put out of sight when we are forgiven. They are no longer remembered. We no longer have to dwell on them or bring them up over and over to punish ourselves in our minds. We can remove them, wipe them away, as if they had never happened. Why can we do that? With God’s forgiveness, second chances, third chances, fourth chances, will always be there. Every new day is filled with possibilities. The Prophet tells us that God has a future and hope planned for us.

Alexander Graham Bell said this, “When one door closes another door opens, but we so often look so long as so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that is open for us.” Don’t spend so much time looking back with regret and missed opportunities and mistakes that you miss the door that God has opened right in front of you.

Finally get rid of that burden of fear. For many people this is the heaviest weight they carry. We are afraid of the future. We are afraid of looking foolish. We are afraid of not being successful in our careers. We are afraid of what a financial situation is going to be. We are afraid of commitment. We are afraid of not finding Mr. Right or Mrs. Right. We are afraid of losing our marriage. We are even afraid of death. We have a lot of fear in our life and it is so heavy.

God did not create us to be afraid. We don’t have to be paralyzed with fear because we know God will be there and God will take care of us. When we fall down, God will help us up. II Timothy 1:7 says “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self discipline.”

You see we can get rid of these things because God has given us a new set of clothes. When we step into that empty tomb, we can put on Christ. The Apostle Paul gives us a picture of what that looks like in his letter to the church at Philippi. It is powerful. It is beautiful.

Rejoice in the Lord, always, again I say rejoice. You see God has called us to a new ministry, the ministry of reconciliation. He has sent us into the world to share the good news and to invite people to get to know him. To know him, is to love him. I’ll never forget the day my friend Dave Debowsky went out for his very first job interview after college. He put on his new suit. I asked him how much it cost. He told me, now this was in 1980, $500. He told me he bought two suits. I was blown away. You see my last suit had cost $35 at a Sears two for one sale. I laughed at Dave. You know what he said? He told me that in sales you had to make an impression. How you looked would either make or break the deal even before you said a word. His clothes were his life.

I think that is what the apostle Paul was saying. If you want to work for Christ, if you want to serve him, then you need to be humble. You need to fill your closet with whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable and wear it wherever you go. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, then it will reflect God and the fact that you belong to him.

God has got a new set of clothes for you and me. Let’s put them on and show the world what Jesus has done for us and what he wants to do for them. Amen

Is That a Promise Ring?

2010-05-03T20:50:00.000-04:00

April 25, 2010 Ephesians 1:3-14

Disappointment. Betrayal. Anguish. Sorrow. Regret. As the women took that slow, long walk to the tomb every hope that they had clung to had been dashed. They thought Jesus would be with them forever. He was their friend. He had been faithful. Now he was gone.

There are moments in life when everything you believe in is challenged by what is happening around you. People you thought would always stand by you, suddenly disappear. People who you believed in are no longer there. Jesus was everything to them. Now their world was forever turned upside down.

That’s why I believe that when they looked in that empty tomb they found things that brought them hope. Now if you weren’t here on Easter you might be a little confused. I’m talking in metaphors and playing off of Geraldo Rivera’s big television extravaganza in revealing the contents of Al Capone’s tomb in the 1980’s. Hence the theme, “What Did They Really Find in the Empty tomb?” Each of the items we are looking at represent some aspect of the forgiveness that Jesus’ death brought us.

We have already talked about the mirror and the ability to forgive themselves. Last week we talked about the friendship bracelet and how it reminded them to forgive one another. Today I want to talk about the thing that allowed them to really step up and move forward with hope again as they took on the mantle of discipleship.

In the coming months we will be talking a lot about what it means to be a disciple and a discipling community. The first step in that process is an understanding that in Christ, you and I have been given a promise. Hence, the thought that in that empty tomb the women found a promise ring. What’s a promise ring? It is a pre-engagement ring. When you receive a promise ring it means that the other person will be faithful to you, and only you, from now through eternity. It says that now I belong to you. We aren’t married yet, but I am yours. I will live now as though we are already in a committed state.

Today we are talking about God’s promise that came out of the empty tomb. The Apostle John puts it this way. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17)

Eternal life. When these words were spoken, when you look at the words in their native language, they didn’t simply refer to the time after death. Eternal life also dealt with life here on earth. It pointed to a life of peace, a life of joy, a life that is all that God wants to give us. That’s why in another passage Jesus says he came to give us an abundant life, a life of blessings.

When we decide to come home, like the prodigal son we talked about on Easter, God says “I forgive you and I give you a promise. I will never let you go.” There is a theological term that is often used to express what happens when we give our lives to Christ. When we return to God and ask for his forgiveness, he gives it to us and he also secures our future. This is called “eternal security.” What it means is this: God seals your future. You no longer have to worry about your salvation. Christ died on the cross and paid the price for your sins. You are forgiven. You are free. God won’t take it back. That’s his promise. You are his and he is yours and God is faithful on his promises.

In ancient times a king would put his seal on any declaration he made. He would take his ring and make an impression on the edict. When you come to God and give your life to him, confess your sins and ask forgiveness, he grants it and signs off on his promise. You are now safe forever. That is eternal security.

You can now live life without fear. You can now live life as a joint heir with Christ. You know why this is important? Because we can’t do it ourselves. Some people live their whole lives trying to be perfect, trying to follow the law, only to fail. They live in fear that if they make one mis-step that God will reject them.

Others live their whole lives trying to find sin in others and make it their job to be God’s secret police. In doing that they can disregard their own sin and feel they are making amends by helping God out. It doesn’t work that way. Sooner or later we are all faced with our own sinfulness. The apostle Paul said it best when he declared that whenever he takes two steps forward, he falls three steps back. We can never justify ourselves so we will always worry and become obsessed with it.

But in Christ, we have security to live and to love God. This idea of being in Christ is so important. “Being In Christ” is one of the big themes of Scripture. For example in Ephesians 1 we find that “in Christ” is used over and over.

Four times it says “in Christ”. God says—in Christ you are blessed, in Christ you were adopted, in Christ you were set free, and in Christ you are eternally forgiven. In fact, that’s what it means to become a Christian. Becoming a Christian simply means that you made a spiritual decision to take your life and you place it in Christ. When you do that you have God’s promise that you are forgiven and that He will love you forever. That’s the good news.

Now as a result of this promise several other things flow out of it. First, as children of God we want to please Him. That means trying to live a life that will glorify God. There is a bumper sticker that was popular a number of years ago. It read” Christians aren’t perfect. They are forgiven. The truth is that we will never be perfect. Following the scriptures is impossible. We all stumble and fall. But as children of God we need to go to God whenever we fall and ask forgiveness.

We don’t have to be afraid anymore. Our life is sealed by the blood of Christ. But if we don’t go to God with our sins, our relationship will suffer. If you aren’t feeling close to God right now, it isn’t because of what somebody else is doing, it isn’t because God isn’t listening, it is because there is something in your life that needs to be forgiven. It may be a big thing, one of the “top ten.” It could be an attitude, pride, greed, envy. It could be that you are living with sexual immorality in your life. I can tell you this: If you are not feeling close to God, you need to go to Him and ask forgiveness and then see what you can do to change what you are doing.

The good news is that you don’t have to worry about him rejecting you. You have his promise ring. You are sealed in his love forever.

During the height of my bad spell during college, I went to a wedding with some friends of mine. I was drinking heavily. On the way home I got too close to a car in front of me and I hit it. My car was a mess. I got a ticket. The worst part of it all was the fact that I had to call my father and have him drive to the Hartford police station to pick me up at 1:00 a.m in the morning.

The worst part of that experience was imaging what my father would say when he got there. I figured he would be angry and start ripping me up one side and down the other. I was truly afraid. But when he got there his first question was, “Are you alright?” My response was I am so sorry.”

I learned that night about unconditional love. It was the beginning of a turning point in my life. I never wanted to embarrass my father again like that. So I vowed to change. Now I wish I could say that was the end of it. It wasn’t. Just like the next time you go to God won’t be the last time. But I began taking small and we are called to do the same.

In I John 1:9 we read “But if we confess our sins to Him, He can be depended upon to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.” Confession is good. First it tells God that we know that what we are doing is wrong. Second, it tells him that we are going to take responsibility for it and try to change. IT may not be today, but we will continue to work on it until it isn’t a problem anymore.

It took me over five years to quit smoking. I knew it was wrong but I couldn’t break the habit. Sometimes I even gave up trying for a while, figuring it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. We do that don’ we? Today I am living with the consequence of that sin. I have heart disease. MY temple, this body, will not make it as long as if I had quit years earlier. I am paying the price for my sin. Praise God that I did quit in 1989.

The truth is there is always a price for sin. That’s why God calls us to turn from it. The good news is that he is there to help. He has given us his promise. We have been forgiven. That is what the cross and the empty tomb is all about. When we give our lives to him, he will never leave us. But if we want to enjoy the fullness of his blessing, if we want to live in his presence, then we need to confess our sins, ask his forgiveness and try to walk in his ways.

This morning I’m going to do things a little different as we close our service. I’m going to give any who want to come forward the opportunity to ask for God’s forgiveness. If there is something in your life that is stopping you from fully enjoying God’s presence, I’m going to invite you to come forward and give it to God. You don’t have to tell me what it is. Just tell God and then let me pray for you. Okay. And Know this. God has a promise ring with your name on it and he’s giving it to you today, just in case you forgot. Amen

Look! A friendship bracelet!

2010-05-03T19:32:00.002-04:00

April 18, 2010 Matthew 18:25-29

A FRIENDSHIP BRACELET! It’s not in the Bible exactly, but from everything I’ve read, they must have found one in a back corner of that empty tomb. For the scriptures have a lot to say about our relationships. The truth is that God seems to care almost as much about the way we treat each other as he does about the way we relate to him.

Just think about the Great commandment for a minute. Jesus said the greatest commandment; the one that all the others rest on is this: that we are to love God with all our being and that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. When we look at the cross we usually think about how God forgave our sins but that was clearly only the first step. For you see in forgiving us and restoring our relationship to God, he also made it possible for us to in turn to forgive everyone who has hurt us. I want to talk about that today.

Did you know that friendship bracelets date back to our Native American ancestors? According to indigenous tradition, the recipient of a friendship bracelet must wear it until the cords wear out and fall off naturally. The idea is that the friend paid for it with the hard work and love that made it, The recipient repays the friend by honoring the work. Removing the bracelet before it naturally falls off is a sign that the friendship has gone sour. Another variation of this tradition is that the recipient of a bracelet is entitled to a wish. After the bracelet wears out and falls off naturally, the wish will come true. No wonder so many young people share and wear them.

This morning I want to talk about broken relationships in the context of the sermon series we began on Easter Sunday titled, “What did they really find in the empty tomb.” On Easter I said that in the shadow of the cross, in the shadow of the cross, IN THAT EMPTY TOMB WE FOUND FORGIVENESS FOR OUR SINS. We found a fresh start, a new beginning and a chance to walk with God anew. Last week we found a mirror which helped us see ourselves as God sees us. It allowed us to forgive ourselves and claim that new relationship with God.

Today I want to talk about the most difficult aspect of forgiveness: Forgiving those who have hurt us. Now I’ve got to confess that I am much better at this now than I was but it is still hard. I used to hold onto the hurts that others caused me. It got so bad at one point in my life that I couldn’t say the Lord’s prayer. It was like a hot poker and I just put my head down and mumbled the words. Not all of them. I loved God and wanted his will to be done. I asked him to supply my basic needs and lead me out of temptation and trial. It was THAT FORGIVENESS part in the middle that I couldn’t say. “Forgive us our sins/debts/trespasses as we forgive those who trespass,/sin against us.” That phrase hurt too much. I didn’t want to give up my hurts and forgive.

I told you about my grandparents. It seems silly now but when I was going to graduate from high school we invited them to the graduation. We only had four tickets but being the first grandchild of the generation, my dad made sure they got the invite. He was so proud. The night of the graduation my grandmother called and said they couldn’t make it. They had too much work to do to get the cottage ready for rental. It was like a slap in the face. My father had always felt like the black sheep of the family and this was one more straw in the basket. I was offended for him and I carried that grudge for years.”

You know the truth is that if we really kept count, we couldn’t begin to number the times that others have disappointed, hurt, and offended us. I am sure that right now, you could name a few people that you are angry or upset with for things they have said and done in the past. It could be a family member, a co-worker, someone here at church or your next door neighbor. We carry around these hurts, these grudges and they simmer just below the surface. I’ve got news for you. They hurt you a lot more than they hurt the person you are angry with. God knows that. The Bible says—just as God has forgiven us, we also must forgive others. This is tough stuff. But our Father knows best.

I think one of the reasons it is so hard to forgive others is because of a misunderstanding about what forgiving others really is.

Forgiving others is not— Justifying their actions. You don’t have to say things like—well, they were under a lot of stress. Well, I certainly don’t think they meant it that way.

Forgiveness has nothing to do with their motives. We don’t need to make sense of why they did what they did so we can feel good about it. Face it, most of the time we don’t care. They hurt us and we have the scars to prove it. So when we say we forgive them we are not sayin they had a right to do what they did.

Second it is not about letting enough time pass. You’ve heard people say “time heals all wounds.” That’s a bunch of baloney. We all know that time alone doesn’t make things better. Some of us sitting here are still feeling the sting of betrayal that happened fifteen or twenty years ago or more. Forgiving doesn’t get any easier over time. As a matter of fact it is often harder because that pain has been internalized and become a part of us. So there is no good reason to wait and believe that it will come naturally.

Third it is not pretending that you aren’t hurt and it didn’t matter. Men are especially good at acting macho but all of us do it. Sometimes we try to play nice in church and pretend that what someone said or did to us didn’t bother us. But it did! We keep a lid on it and tell everyone we are over it but denying it doesn’t make it go away. When somebody hurts you, it’s like getting a splinter in your finger. It may be really small, but if you try to ignore it, it will eventually get infected and you’ll be in worse shape later on.

Finally forgiveness is not about confrontation. It’s not going to them, grabbing them by the shirt, and saying—give me an apology. Forgiveness is not seeking revenge and getting in their face, as much as we want to do that when someone hurt us. The truth is that forgiveness is not totally about them. It is more about addressing something within us.

I’m going to give you four words to hold onto this morning to help you grasp it. It might not make it any easier but at least you will have a path you can follow as you try out live out God’s call to forgive as you and I have been forgiven.

Here they are. Remember Release Recognize Repeat. Can you say them with me?

Remember, release, recognize and repeat.

First, Remember how much we’ve been forgiven. Remember how much (with emphasis) I’ve been forgiven is how that should be said. Because the first step in forgiving others is to understand how much God has forgiven us.

A couple of weeks ago we talked about the Prodigal Son? It is actually our story. You see, we are the Prodigal Son, we are the Prodigal Daughter who has turned our back on our loving Father. We have gone our own way. We have enjoyed sin for a season and yet, when we return home, God welcomes us back. And God forgives us—not just partially, but God forgives us completely. God doesn’t make us pay it back. So we have to be reminded over and over, because we, as humans, have amazing capacities to forget and we forget just how good we have it. We forget how completely and fully and how freely God has forgiven us. Isaiah 1:18 is such a great verse because it talks about God’s complete forgiveness. It says. “Come, let us talk this over says the Lord. No matter how deep the stain of your sin, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson. I can make you white as wool.”

We hurt God whenever we sin but he opens his heart and forgives us anyway. We need to remember that.

Now I want you to think of somebody who has hurt you. Conjure up those feelings. Then think about Jesus and the fact that he feels the same way whenever you hurt him. I get the image of Peter and Jesus in the courtyard. In the movie The Passion of Christ, it is portrayed so well. As Jesus is being led away Peter is denying Christ in no uncertain terms. At that moment Peter sees Jesus. They lock eyes and the regret is so deep. The anguish and hurt fills the screen. If Jesus can forgive us then we have no excuse.

That brings me to our scripture today. It’s a story that Jesus told about forgiveness. The point is simple: A man who owes a great debt calls on the king and asks for mercy. The king hears his plea and forgives him his debt. The next thing you know this same man confronts another who owes him a debt and he shows no mercy. He lives by the rule “an eye for an eye.” He has the man thrown in prison and his family left destitute. When the king hears of it he is outraged. It is like a slap in the face. All the pity, all the compassion he felt for this man dissipates and he throws the book at him.

The moral of the story, Matthew tells us is this: "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. And Jesus said "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Ouch! Do you think Jesus thinks forgiving others is important? We need to remember that we have been forgiven. Maybe there is someone who has hurt you. Well now is the time to think about forgiving them.

That brings me to our second point. Release them. Let them go. Set them free. What does that mean? It means to stop replaying that tape of their offense over and over again in your mind. We do that don’t we? We relive the hurt. We keep it fresh by living through it again. Well you’ve got to let it go.

You don’t need to confront them or try to make amends or even try to repair the relationship to do this. You just simply go to God and ask him to help you forgive and let it go. You see, forgiveness is always a choice. It is not an emotion, it is a choice.

This process of setting someone free, of releasing them, is so key to the freedom that God wants you to experience in forgiveness. When you do that you are saying I’m giving up my rights to repayment. You no longer have TO WAIT FOR THEM to make amends, BECAUSE THEY PROBABLY NEVER WILL. So you are taking charge and reclaiming your own peace of mind. Let God deal with revenge, payment or what they need to do. He’s better at it than we are anyway.

Third Recognize that God has bigger things in mind. The truth is that every experience in life shapes us. It prepares us for the next thing. The struggles, the adventures, the relationships we have prepare us for the job that God is waiting to call us to. Joseph is the perfect example of this. Do you remember his story? It as tragic. It was ironic. He was a dreamer, the favorite son of his father, Jacob. His brothers get jealous of his favored status and they plot against him. They sell him to slave traders going to Egypt and tewll their father he was killed. Through a series of misadventures he lands in prison and then into the court of Pharoah. He interprets a dream and Pharoah places him in a position of authority. A famine hits the land and Jacob sends his sons to Pharoah for help. Guess who is there to greet them. Joseph could have taken his revenge. But instead he has forgiven them and in that process recognized that God used that circumstance to get his will done. Joseph was now in a position to save his family.

The truth is that God uses our circumstances to achieve his will. Now hear me: I am not saying that God sends pain and trouble into our lives so he can do something about it later. I am saying that God takes these difficult and tragic situations and uses them, like scraps off the table, to bring blessings down the road.

In Romans 8:28 it says “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

That’s why it is so important to forgive. God has a plan and he can take your hurt and still make it work for good if you can forgive.

The fourth step is to reestablish if possible. I’m going to be brief here. If you can re-establish the relationship, then go to it. There is a television show called “All About Earl.” I’ve seen it a few times. It’s really wacky. But essentially this guy has a list of all the people he has ever wronged and he has to go back and make it right. Some people readily accept his apologies and others don’t and that makes for the humor. The truth is that some bridges are broken and you can’t go back over them. But if you can build a new bridge after forgiveness, God calls us to do it.

In Romans 12:21. It says, “Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.” What does that mean? It means, even if you can’t reestablish the relationship, you can still act in a good way toward that person.

Pray for the person who hurt you. Ask God to heal their hearts. Ask God to bless them. When you can do that you know that your healing and forgiveness is well on its way. Finally, Repeat this process again and again. If you are lucky. Your life will be long. You will suffer hurts and you just need to keep doing this over and over again.

For you see, on the cross God was not only reconciling the world to himself, but he was doing the same for each of us. He died so that we would have the power of forgiveness in our hands. Don’t waste it. Use it to share God’s love with the people in your life. Life is too short to bear grudges and to walk alone. Reach out and share that friendship bracelet God has left for you and me in that empty tomb.

Let’s pray: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for how much You have forgiven me. Today, I forgive (just say their name, the person you are forgiving). God, I’m forgiving them for (you just tell God what it is. He already knows, but there is something about saying it and releasing that person). And God show me the action I need to take to reestablish the relationship even if it is just to pray for them. Now Lord, Help me to forgive others as much as you have forgiven me. In Jesus name. Amen.

There's A Mirror in There!

2010-05-03T19:22:00.002-04:00

April 11, 2010 John 21:15-19

Look what I found. It’s a mirror. No it’s not the one from the empty tomb. But I am sure that when the disciples looked in to find Jesus they found something very similar to this. For you see, they were all carrying some heavy baggage.

It reminds me of a story I heard of a guy who was at LaGuardia Airport and he was afraid he was going to be late for his flight, so he goes up to a complete stranger who is carrying two really big heavy looking black bags and he asks him for the time. Well, the stranger makes a big deal about carefully setting down his two bags. Then looks at his watch and says, the time is 6 PM. In Singapore, it’s 12 AM. The temperature outside is 37 degrees, and the barometer is dropping. My stocks went up two points today. Well, the guy was amazed. He said—your watch told you all of that. He said—oh, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This watch tells you so much more than just that. Well, the guy was amazed. He said—I have to have that watch. I will pay you $1,000 right now for that watch. The guy said—no, you don’t understand. I made this watch. I invented this watch. It’s not for sale. The guy wanted the watch. He said—I will write you a check right now for $5,000 if you will give me that watch. He said—no, you don’t understand. I made it as a gift for my son. He has graduated from college. I am taking it to him right now. He said—I will write the check right now for $10,000 if you will give me that watch. Well, $10,000 was too much for the stranger to resist, so he said—okay, it’s a deal. So the guy writes out a check for $10,000, hands it to the stranger. The stranger hands him the watch. He puts it on his wrist and is satisfied, turns away from the stranger and he says—hey, wait a second. He reaches down and grabs the two big heavy black bags, and smiles, and hands them to the guy and says—you forgot the batteries.

Baggage. It is part of life. No one wants to look in the mirror and face it. We have made bad choices in our lives. We have put off doing things that could have been a blessing. We have done stupid things. And we carry around the residue of these things in our hearts and on our minds. They weigh us down. They stop us from reaching out, from loving, from believing. The worst part of all is that sometimes they stop us from reaching out to God. We know that we have blown it. We know that we aren’t part of the A team anymore. So we settle for less.

You may remember the animated classic “The Beauty an the Beast.” The Beast covered over every mirror in the house because he couldn’t bear the thought of what he had become. Many of us do the same thing. We run from it. We ignore it. We live as though it never happened but deep inside we keep beating ourselves up. That’s the baggage that sin brings with it.

The Bible says sin separates us from God. Too often we get caught up in naming other people’s sin. He’s an alcoholic. She runs around. He’s always at the casino. She’s extended on her credit cards and deep in debt. He’s caught up in pornography. She’s… You get the point. But to God sin is sin and all of us have this baggage that we carry around. We feel better if we can shine the mirror on someone else. But every once in a while, we turn and catch our own reflection and it isn’t nice.

The only solution, the only way to get rid of this baggage is to look in the mirror and tackle it head on. And I’ve got good news for you. If you were here last week you heard that the first thing the disciples found in the empty tomb was forgiveness. That’s what Good Friday and Easter was all about. When Jesus was nailed to the cross, every one of our sins was nailed up there with him. The scriptures tell us that he was punished, he was crucified, he was killed for our sins… every one of them. He didn’t die just for the little white lies we tell. He didn’t die just for the cheating you and I did on this year’s tax return. He died for our financial irresponsibility. He died for our sexual immorality. He died for our slanderous, libelous mouth that destroys relationships. He even died for us if we have rejected him and are living only for ourselves.

I love that song we just sang. “Years I lived in vanity and pride, caring not my Lord was crucified. Knowing not it was for me he died on Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free. Pardon there was multiplied to me. There my burdened soul found liberty. At Calvary.”

Now I always went to church. Many of you know that I went through a bad spell in college. I let everything that had happened to me in my life catch up with me and I went wild. I partied. I got involved in things and relationships that were unhealthy. Basically I didn’t care about my life or anything. I flunked out of school and was lost for a while. Then one Sunday my Pastor said something, I don’t even remember what it was, but it clicked. And we sang this song and it fit. I was beating myself up because I couldn’t forgive myself for things I had done. So I was digging a deeper hole for myself. But then I realized that God had already forgiven me and all that was left was for me to go to him and find a way to forgive myself.

Last week we talked about the Lost son, the prodigal son who came to himself and returned home to ask his father’s forgiveness. We heard that even before he came through the gate, his Father was reaching out to him, ready to restore him to grace. Jesus told that story for your benefit and mine. God is more ready to forgive then we can imagine. All we need to do is ask.

It’s funny, but one of the people who was there in person and who heard Jesus tell the parable of the Prodigal Son, was a man named was Simon Peter. Bold, outspoken, one of the inner circle, Peter stood up and scolded the other disciples when Jesus told them that they would all fall away and betray him. Peter boldly declared, “Well the rest might, but not me.” His pride got the best of him. You see pride is a sin. Jesus warned him that even he would fall. That famous prediction that Peter would deny him three times before the cock could crow, came true and the scriptures say that Peter wept when he realized what he had done. – Talk about some baggage.

We don’t blame Peter. We all have done things like that. Every time we choose to do something we know is wrong, we deny Christ. We may not think of it that way, but inside we know it. After a while we justify it and then try to forget it. But it is there. So we go to the tomb like Peter and we find a mirror. God wants us to see ourselves so that we might come to him and ask forgiveness so we can be restored.

There are five things you need to know about God’s forgiveness. First God forgives specifically. Many of us have no problem asking God to forgives us with a generic prayer. “God forgive me if I have done anything wrong today.” That’s great but it doesn’t do anything for the baggage. It’s kind of like putting on a rain coat after you’ve been out in the rain for an hour or two. Good, but it won’t make you dry.

When we go to God with specifics, he responds specifically. No matter what it is, God will forgive you if you ask him. Scripture says no sin is greater than another. Because sin isn’t a list of rules, it is an attitude of the heart. When you confess that you thought you knew better than God on some issue and ask him to forgive you, he does.

Second God also forgives instantly. You don’t have to stand and beg. You don’t have to plead your case. You don’t have to justify it. You can’t. God forgives because Jesus has already pleaded your case and won your acquittal. You just need to show up. Case closed.

The third one is this—God forgives completely. Specifically, instantly and completely. You see with God, there are no leftovers. There is no residual unforgiveness. God doesn’t come back and say—remember when you did this? God doesn’t bring up our past sins and then throw them in our face. Your wife might. Your kids might. Your mother in law might. But not God. When God forgives, it’s done and it never has to be forgiven again. You are forgiven.

Fourth, God forgives repeatedly. With God, there are no limits. Turn to the person next to you and say—there are no limits.You see, God will forgive you over and over again without end. There is never a time when you can’t turn to God. There is no sin too great. There is no sin that you may have committed too many times that God won’t forgive it. God forgives repeatedly.

I know we have a hard time with this. We don’t think it is fair. Why should they get a break? Don’t they know any better? You know what God says to that? I am who I am. How many times have I forgiven you? You worry about you and let me worry about them.

Then the fifth one is this—God forgives freely. You see Jesus has already paid the price. That is what Easter was all about. You just ask for it and it is yours. So if God has forgiven you, then why are you still carrying your baggage? You need to let it go. You need to look in the mirror and say “God loves me. God has forgiven me. I need to let go and forgive myself so I can begin life anew.”

Then you need to begin life over again. That’s what Jesus meant when he said you need to be born again. He was saying you and I need to put the past behind us and to walk with Christ from this day forward. We need to make the commitment to love him and serve him and walk with him forever more.

That means you will try to get rid of the bad habits, the obvious sin in your life and live in a way that will bring glory to God. But if you do stumble, then you simply need to go back and ask him to forgive you. Ask him to help you not do it again, and go back every time for as long as it takes.
The good news is that once you realize that God loves you and that he has forgiven you, then you can look in the mirror and see the beauty that God saw when he created you. God bless that mirror. For it truly helps us see us as children of God. Amen.

What They Really Found in the Empty Tomb

2010-05-03T19:12:00.002-04:00

What They Really Found in the Empty Tomb

John 20:1-18 April 4, 2010

In April 1986, Geraldo Rivera captivated the imagination of a generation when he discovered a hidden vault in an underground basement of a building in Chicago. He claimed it held a fortune that once belonged to the infamous Al Capone. The promo for his special two hour session went like this: It may be Chicago’s equivalent to King Tut’s tomb. It belongs to the king of a criminal empire. It’s a mystery. What secrets lie within Al Capone’s Vault? Find out when we open it on live television…

Now long before television, an even greater mystery was unveiled on a morning just like this one. Two women made their way to a tomb in the side of a mountain. It was dark as they arose that Sunday morning... The two got up and put on their garments grabbed their spices and headed out on the dirt road that lead out of the city. As they headed out on the road and as the sun began to rise the path was lined with many dark shadows... but no shadow or darkness could compare with the darkness that hovered over their soul.

As they walked up the path towards the tomb... thoughts and sights of the last week -- ripped through their minds like violent tornados.. They had been there when Jesus rode in on the colt before thousands shouting his praises, what an incredible moment that was. But unfortunately their minds and the events of last week didn’t stop there.

Try as they might they couldn’t stop those other thoughts, those terrible scenes from playing out again and again in their minds. They saw Jesus tied to a post a Roman scourge filled with broken pieces of pottery, glass and bones ripping across His back. As they recalled the purple robe -- the beatings, the cruel mocking and the crown of thorns, the tears began to flow again.

They had seen it all -- they had seen Jesus, their teacher, their friend, their Lord they had witnessed everything that Jesus went through... And these 2 women, these two Mary’s (Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of James) were there at the cross... They saw Jesus hanging there on that rough cross of wood... they saw His body struggle and wince with pain with every breathe that he took... They were there when Jesus cried out, "ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI -- MY GOD MY GOD WHY HAS THOUGH FORSAKEN ME" -- and they saw his head fall as he cried, "IT IS FINISHED."

They where there when Jesus died, and when he died they died too. O’ they were still alive physically but their hopes and joy died on that cross with Jesus, on that dark Friday nearly 2,000 years ago.. Their Lord was dead... And their hope was gone.

So what were they doing up so early on this Sunday morning? Why weren’t they lying in bed wallowing in their misery? What was it that drove them from their beds before dawn, and put them on this dark uphill climb?

The thing that drove them, was their love for and devotion to Jesus -- someone had to prepare the body for burial and no one else had volunteered; Peter didn’t, James didn’t, neither did John -- So it was up to these 2 faithful followers, 2 women who had never left the side of Jesus, who were with Him until the end -- it was up to them to do it, and they did..

The task they were going to perform was a somber task, a difficult task... They would be the ones, who would wipe the blood from the brow, from the legs, from the sides, They would be the ones, to clean the blood from the body of Jesus... they would be the ones, to remove the blood that had matted in his beard, They would be the last ones, to touch his face and close His eyes. I don’t know what they thought they would find that morning, but when they got there, they found something they never expected. So what did they find?

Geraldo was disappointed but the women and disciples weren’t. Inside that empty tomb they found forgiveness. The truth is that all who look into the tomb can find it. Isaiah says that “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

Today, and for the next four weeks we are going to talk about this great discovery. We are going to talk about what this means in our own personal life as we deal with our own disappointments. We are going to talk about what it means in our relationships with our friends, our family and even those who have hurt us. We are going to talk about what it means as a people of God who are living in the world. So I hope you will join us as we look at this in more depth in the coming weeks.

But getting back to today, it’s Easter. In all the hype, in all the fun, in all the stories about Easter, the one thing that you and I need to know is that the empty tomb confirms everything that Jesus said. He was the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. He came to reconcile us to God. His resurrection meant that God had accepted his offering and that our sins were forgiven forever. The good news is that our past no longer controls our future.

A group of six-year-old kids were asked what each wanted to become when they grew up "President," "a fireman," "a teacher." One by one they answered until it became Billy’s time. The teacher asked, "Billy, what do you want to be when you grow up?" "Possible," Billy responded. "Possible?" asked the teacher. "Yes," Billy said, "my mom is always telling me I’m impossible. When I grow up I want to become POSSIBLE."

We are a possibility now. We are now free to start over. Nothing can stop us from becoming children of God. The apostle Paul writes “God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins.” Col. 2:13 The best illustration of this can be found in a story Jesus told. Some call it “the Lost Son” but most of us know it as the story of “the Prodigal Son.” Basically it is about a man who has two sons and one of them decides to go his own way. He takes his inheritance and fritters it away on loose living and selfish pleasures. Before long he has nothing left and his life is in shambles. The text then says that “he came to himself” and he began to think about returning home. He was embarrassed and ashamed but he hoped that if he humbled himself and came back on his knees, that just maybe his father would have mercy on him and give him a servant’s job. Amazingly enough, the Father, when he heard that his son, who was lost, was coming home, he set out a feast to celebrate his return.

Jesus shared this story with people who were hungry for God’s acceptance. They were lost. They were cast offs of society. In it was a word of hope that they too might one day find forgiveness and acceptance by God.

Imagine what this story said to them. It said that even though they had lived a sinful life, one that offended God, one that was steeped in every kind of selfish pleasure, greed, sexual immorality, gluttony, hatred, resentment, pride, idolatry, and even unbelief… they could still come home. All they had to do was humble themselves and ask God for forgiveness. It seems easy but it still scary.

Here’s the truth. The journey back to God is not a long one. All we have to do is take the first steps. The empty tomb tells us that God is waiting to receive us with open arms. Sometimes we think we have to be perfect, but we don’t. We don’t have to get rid of all the sin in our life first. We don’t have to overcome all of our addictions. We don’t have to have some supernatural revelation from God. We don’t even have to have a warm fuzzy feeling inside to come back home. All We have to do is take the one step and ask Him for forgiveness, a gift he’s already given us in the risen Christ. One step. And if We take that one step toward God, the Bible says, that God will cover the rest of the distance.

You see, Easter is not about us overcoming our sin so that we can be with God. Easter is about God overcoming it so that He can be with us. At the time of Jesus’ death, the Jews worshiped in the Temple and at the very center of the Temple was a place called the Holy of Holies. This is where it was believed that God’s presence dwelt most intensely. And the Holy of Holies was separated by a thick, big curtain. And nobody could enter the Holy of Holies, except for one priest, one time a year. This priest had to be completely pure and had to go through all of these rituals before he was worthy to enter there. These curtains served as a separation between God and people. It separated us from God. And when Jesus died on the cross, that curtain was ripped in two. It symbolized that everyone now has access to God, because of Easter. It was God reaching out to us.

Here’s the point of Easter. God was reaching out for you and me. The empty tomb is like a big bill board that says, “Come home. I forgive you!” He was saying he loves us and wants to restore our relationship to what it was meant to be. If anyone ever needed a dose of hope, if anyone ever needed to know that what Jesus said was true, it was a distraught, guilt ridden, sun weary fisherman named Peter....

Peter was standing with John when the Marys came running into town... And when they came in screaming, crying and laughing, when Peter and John saw them in this frenzied state they ran to them... And they said “the tomb is empty! Jesus isn’t in the tomb!"

And at that moment Peter and John headed to the tomb at warp speed. Peter was running as fast as he could, his heart pounding and his powerful legs were pumping his feet up and down the winding paths of the dusty roads leading to the tomb.... Suddenly Peter began to think to himself --

"WHY AM I SO HAPPY, I DENIED HIM, I TALKED SO BIG AND TOUGH, BUT WHEN IT CAME TIME TO TAKE A STAND, I FELL... MAYBE JESUS DOESN’T WANT TO SEE ME, I HAVE NO RIGHT TO TAKE PART IN THIS CELEBRATION... PETER THE ROCK, YEAH FAT CHANCE.."

His thoughts had slowed him down but once he made it to the tomb, without hesitation went in, he had to go in, he had to see for himself. And when Peter walked inside, he saw the strips of linen and the burial clothes, that had been around Jesus’ head folded laying on the stone slab. And he found the forgiveness he so badly needed.

Peter’s heart was racing and tears of joy were flowing, "HE’S ALIVE! JESUS IS ALIVE!!!"

And somewhere, but we don’t know where, maybe on the shoreline overlooking the Jordan, Peter felt a hand on his shoulder-- and he looked at the hand and he saw that it had been pierced.... His heart stopped beating and as he turned to fall to his feet, He heard the voice of the one he loved more than life itself say , "PETER" Jesus his hand on Peter’s shoulder saying "IT’S ALL RIGHT PETER, IT’S ALRIGHT, I KNOW, I KNOW, IT’S ALRIGHT NOW, I FORGIVE YOU PETER, PETER I FORGIVE YOU.."

The empty tomb means there is forgiveness....
The empty tomb means that our sins can be washed away......
The empty tomb means that Jesus has won the battle over death, sin and the grave..... that is what the gospel is… the good news of the forgiveness of sin....

The lamb of God has come -

"He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed.." Is 53:5

Glory be to God! God loves has claimed the victory. He arose!

As you leave this morning I want to give you two things. The first is a little booklet by the people who publish the daily bread. It is called “The Forgiveness of God.” If you want to read more about this wonderful gift of God and how it affects your life and mine, I hope you’ll take a copy as you leave. I’ll have some on the table by the door.

Second, I have some stones. I want you to take one with you as a reminder that the stone has been rolled away. Now there is nothing separating you from the love of God and his forgiveness. He arose, not to show his power… but that he might walk with you and me forever more.

Now let’s sing.

An Easter Sermon series at FBC

2010-05-03T18:14:00.005-04:00

I have to admit that I have been in a little funk because life has been so busy. I just haven't felt like writing. A lot has happened. We had a great Easter Sunday and the services following Easter have been great. I finished a series of sermons on Forgiveness last Sunday that I'm going to include here. I hope you enjoy them.

I'll begin with the sermon from Easter Sunday and include all five. The theme was "What They Really Found in the Empty Tomb." The messages dealt with the idea of forgiveness. I have to confess that I purchased the rights to a sermon series from the Journey Church in New York City in February. The original title was a little racy. When I mentioned it to Lori, she said it was too provocative. When I actually read the sermons I immediately realized that they were too long for our context and very simplistic as well. I liked the ideas but not the messages. So I began playing with the ideas. At that time I remembered the television expose that Geraldo Rivera hosted back in the 1980's that revealed the contents of Al Capone's tomb. That turned out to be a bust but Christ's tomb changed the world. So I picked up that theme and incorporated some of the thoughts from the other series that reminded us of the prominent place of forgiveness in the Easter message.

On Easter I revealed that when the women and the first disciples looked in that tomb on Easter morning they found forgiveness. For the next four weeks I talked about four particular aspects of it. I played these out by talking about a mirror, a friendship bracelet, a promise ring and a new set of clothes.

Well instead of telling you about the sermons, I'll let you read them for yourselves. I just have to remind you that the actual sermons did change some when they were delivered as I was moved by the Holy Spirit.

Cal

A holy week passover experience

2010-04-03T10:44:00.005-04:00

On Monday of Holy Week Lori and I attended a Passover Seder at the home of Joel and Roz Etra. Joel is an active layman at the Beth Jacob Synagogue and a long time friend. Actually, Joel and his daughter, Beth, came to First Baptist in 1993 to help us have a mini Seder as part of our Maundy Thursday experience.

The Seder is part of the Passover holiday experience for our brothers and sisters in Judaism. It is a feast where they gather and remember what God did for them during the Exodus. All of the foods are prepared in a special way and much of it also has symbolic significance. We ate the matzo (unleavened bread), the maror (horse radish, the bitter root) and the charoset ( a pebbly paste of fruits and nuts) and heard what each of them represented.

Joel explained the significance of dipping the vegetables in salt water. He offered prayers over the cups of wine (grape juice for us good Baptists!) We sang hymns and psalms and even a few fun, participatory choruses. As you looked around the room, you could sense the presence of God. I think the Lord was delighted that we were sharing His story again.

Each month when we celebrate the Lord's Supper we make reference to the fact that this was really a Passover meal that Jesus and his disciples were sharing but we don't elaborate on it. Being there with the Etra family and their friends helped give me the context for what Jesus and disciples were sharing on that night long ago.

Our Passover celebration went from 8:00 p.m. to midnight. Joel and his family had prepared for hours and days before. Walking in the door you knew this was a big deal. So when Jesus sat at the table with his disciples it wasn't just a dinner date. It was a very personal worship experience that brought the reality of all God had done for them home. When we read of that night in the Gospel of John there are long discussions and times of prayer. It made sense to me after being at the Seder on Monday night.

Every question has an answer and it prompts another question. Undoubtedly as Jesus was answering the questions new ones would arise. He began to tell the disciples about God's new plan and what was going to happen. It must have been an amazing night.

Being there was a great because it was a reminder that God had been reaching out to us and watching over us since the very beginning. From the call to Abraham to the deliverance through Moses, from the installation of David as king to the birth of Jesus, we have been a part of God's great plan. It was a wonderful way to mark the beginning of Holy Week.

Cal

Water, water everywhere!

2010-03-30T21:49:00.003-04:00

Time to build the ark. After a very wet Spring, we've had two plus days of rain and many people are suffering from flooding in their basements. This morning we discovered a river flowing through the church as well. It began in the basement and flowed right through the nursery and out into Fellowship Hall. The carpet in the nursery is going to be ruined. We will get the water up but it is going to take some time.

Mark Rogers came down tonight and began vacuuming it up but it just kept flowing in. We'll try again tomorrow. It's a shame too, because Easter is coming and we will have to relocate the nursery because it will never be back in shape in time for the weekend. We'll have to make due. I am sad but I am more concerned about the people whose homes have been damaged by the water. Let's keep everyone in prayer this week as the waters recede.

Cal

Palm Sunday Worship

2010-03-29T10:54:00.003-04:00

On Sunday we celebrated Palm Sunday in church with beautiful music, a baptism and a message about humility. George Strouse served as worship assistant and he greeted everyone and asked God to be present for our praise and adoration. George's words must have worked for you could feel his spirit in the house. Rosie Rakowitz forward to make her confession of faith in believer's baptism. Rosie came forward to the strains of "Amazing Grace." I shared a bit of Rosie's journey and noted how it was Amy Rezendes who encouraged her to come back to faith. Their deep and abiding friendship opened the door for Rosie to get to know God again.

After she was baptized I gave Rosie a red rose, purchased with money given in memory of our Missionaries Francis and Gertrude rose. They were missionaries to the Philippines who lost their lives in World War II. The rose reminds us that as beautiful as the gift of life in Christ is, there are thorns, there are challenges which will often leave us discouraged and feeling hurt. But then I charged Rosie to put her focus on Christ and he will carry her through.

The Praise team followed up the baptism with a song that Fred Green wrote called, "Even When Our Feet Are Dirty." It was very nice. Curt Brockway called for the offering and offered a prayer while I finished changing in the back.

Then I came out and talked about the palms with the children. We all got to walk on them just like Jesus did. It was fun. The kids told me the people put them down in front of him so he wouldn't get dirty. They did it because they loved him. And we waved our palms too.

The choir sang about Jesus triumphant entry and I talked about his humility that flowed out of his love for us. We also welcomed Amy Rezendes and Rosie Rakowitz into membership as Curt Brockway extended the right hand of fellowship to them on our behalf.

Finally we enjoyed the fourth installment of the JPS Man. Nicodemus (George Strouse) and Joseph of Arimethia (Curt Brockway) talked with him about Jesus and the cross. Joseph of Damascas (Steve Contois) and Joseph of Norwich (Randy Sargent) also had cameo appearances.

After church Mark Kane hosted the coffee hour. It was a very good day.

Cal

Lenten Service at Park Church

2010-03-24T21:36:00.002-04:00

Tonight Park Congregational Church hosted our last Lenten service this year. Pastor Barbara Poritzky welcomed us and then instead of preaching in the usual way, she shared two stories with us that made a point. They were like the parables that Jesus told. The point was that we should treat the people we meet with love and respect because you never know when you will bump into Jesus.

These Lenten services have been a wonderful addition to our church program. They've been met with mixed reviews. Some people love them. One person asked me why we couldn't continue doing them all year long. Then yesterday another person questioned why we give up our own service to participate in them. He felt we were shortchanging our people.

Here is the answer to both questions. I love our regular Wednesday night services. They fill a real need for those who come. Yet the opportunity to worship together with other Christians sends a message to the world as well as to the members of our congregation. It tells the world that even though we look divided and weak, we can come together in Christ's name and celeb rate our common faith. It also tells us that we have brothers and sisters who love the Lord living right next door. Most of us look forward to seeing each other every week during Lent.

As to the second question, I don't think we could sustain the enthusiasm all year long. People would want to get on to other things. So speaking of other things, we will return to our regular Wednesday night services next week. It's Holy Week so we will be reflecting on the walk Jesus took during that first Holy Week. I hope you'll join us.

Cal

PS. tonight the soloist sang Via Dolorosa tonight and it was beautiful. Here is Sandi Patty's version of it for you to enjoy.

A new baby in the family

2010-03-22T21:26:00.002-04:00

We got word on Sunday morning that Caleb Dutrumble was born on Saturday afternoon at 12:55 p.m. at the W. W. Backus Hospital. He weighed in at 7 lb, 3 oz and 21 inches long. I got the opportunity to get over to the hospital and visit momma and baby. Cheryl was their with some family and friends. She said Dan and the kids, Adam and Anna were very excited and couldn't wait for everyone to be home. Here's a quick pic of the Caleb and his mom.

Cal

Lunchtime at St. Marks

2010-03-22T20:41:00.003-04:00

On Sunday afternoon we hosted the Interfaith luncheon at St. Mark's. The crew was from Central Baptist. Mark Salomon and Roger Mainville cooked up a hamburger noodle casserole. Roger's wife, Doreen and Ellie Eccleston were working in the kitchen with them. Melanie Schueurmann and I were in the hall with help from her uncle Donald.

We had a good crowd. I said the prayer at 2:00 p.m. and then we served up the lunch. There were a lot of young people there. One couple even brought a baby. After lunch a number of the people there helped clean up and put things away. That's been one of the things we have changed since we began serving several years ago. We used to try and do everything for the people. Our missional church training suggested that we change that and begin partnering with the people we serve. This allows them to be a part of what we are doing as they begin to serve each other as well.

We had about 53 people for lunch and there was plenty of food so we gave out seconds. It was a great day and so many of the folks came back to thank us for everything.

Cal

A day of worship

2010-03-21T19:08:00.004-04:00

It was a great day at church. Members of our 2010 Mission Mexico team shared a few reflections from their experiences of working with Pastors Ramon and Alma in Mexicali. Prior to the service a slide show with photos from the trip was shown. Randy Sargent shared his testimony of how he was changed by his new friendship with Roger from Central Baptist and Eduardo from El Buen Samaritano. Erica talked about how this year built on what she had taken away from last year's trip. Her faith has grown. Amanda Duntz talked about the relationships that have been built over the three years and how now we had a sister church with people that we knew and cared about. Mark Kane spoke about the team building and how it had affected each person's faith. I promised everyone that we would have a dessert night with the opportunity to watch the 2010 DVD together sometime in April.

We also had another installment of the JPS Man. Fred Green has been playing the role of the Jerusalem Parcel Man trying to deliver a cross. This week he bumped into Barrabas (Pete Adams) a couple of bystanders (Rachel Lord and Zelda Earle)and Jesus (Harry Calkins.) After weeks of trying to deliver the cross he finally gave it to Jesus When Jesus took the cross Fred wondered to himself why it made him feel so bad. The skit has been fun and it has featured different people from the congregation each week. The cast has included Cliff Vanase, the Pastor, Mary Brockway, Judy Dupont, Nancy Allen, Bob Walker, Sarah Lord, Amanda Duntz and Mark Kane. We have two more weeks left so what happens next is anybody's guess.

The choir sang an anthem based upon a 15th century poem titled, "I Sing of my Love" and I preached about smelly feet. Actually I talked about Mary's anointing of Jesus' feet at a dinner at their home and how it foreshadows the last supper where he washes the disciples' feet. Mary washes Jesus' feet in a mirror image of his actions. She spares no cost to do what she does just like Jesus who pays the ultimate price to save us.

The service came to a close at 11:47 with the singing of the choral benediction.

Day five - Saturday

2010-03-09T22:37:00.001-05:00

Saturday was our fourth and final day of work at the church. The week went by so quickly. Unlike the previous three days, we waited to pray until we got to the church. We wanted to establish it as holy ground. I know that sounds silly considering the fact that we were working in a church. Yet, when you are working in concrete and drywall, it feels different. I invited everyone to offer up their work as an act of worship.

Andy Scheuermann finished putting in the copper piping needed to hook up the urinal, toilets, sinks and showers. The guys brought the blocks up as high as time would allow. Upstairs the group actually finished painting one of the rooms and finished prepping most of the others.

The work is always more than we can do in the time allowed. Pastors Ramon and Alma would have loved for us to do more but they were so appreciative of what we did do. We gave them a big jump start and we provided the materials for their dreams. This year we worked four mornings and two afternoons. The first two years we came down here we only worked mornings because of the extreme heat. Temps topped 95 - 100 degrees. Last year we came in February and it was a little cooler, only topping 80 degrees. Some of the group decided to go back a couple of afternoons to finish up projects they started in the morning. This year we built that into the schedule.

Some people wanted to work all four afternoons. I discouraged that. For one thing, no matter how many extra hours we worked, we would only be able to accomplish so much. Second, a part of our mission on these trips is to experience the culture of the people we are working with. Spending four days on church property wouldn't allow us to do that. So we build in these opportunities.

This morning we had an extra opportunity as Rick took us to a brand new ministry site in one of the poorest areas of the city. The new church is La Ladrillera. It reaches out to the folks who are brickmakers. You have to see the photos to get a sense of how precious this ministry is. The folks are dirt poor and they live right on the border. It was an eye opening experience.

In the afternoon a group of us went into the city. We had a good time picking up a few souvenirs, trying new food and watching the police in action as they rounded up some "women of the evening." We got back to the cars to find that someone had tried to break into one of the vans. That was a bummer. Fortunately Ramon is a police officer and Rick assured us he would help us with whatever we needed.

At 5:00 p.m. we were back at the church and ready for vacation Bible School. It was a beautiful night. It rained a bit during the day and that left the skies looking gorgeous. Amanda captured a few photos that are breath taking. While the kids were in class, sharing three or four Bibles among twenty or more kids in each class, Mark Hopkins came to me with the suggestion that we buy some Bibles for them to use in the Sunday School. Amanda happened to overhear it and chirped in that she and Jake actually had some money that was given to them to buy something for the children. It was like an answer to prayer. We talked to Mercy and we made plans to make sure it happened.

The kids came out of their classes and ran for the craft table. They really had fun. We played a variation of musical chairs during game time. Andy played his guitar an when he stopped, the kids had to freeze. They had a blast. After snack Michelle Chaffee gave away some Barbie Dolls she had brought along and a whole bunch of goodies that Chris Colter had sent along from Mad Science. T turned into a free for all with all of the kids reaching for a prize.

As the kids headed home, we packed up the vans and went back to the seminary. It was a great day and a great end of our work week.

Cal

Day 4 - Friday

2010-03-01T09:27:00.002-05:00

If we ate like we did on mission trips all the time we would all weigh well over 200 pounds. Of course some of us do and we are over 200 pounds but that’s not the point. The point is that our cooks do a great job. Mark Kane and Mark Salomon are up early and have the food ready for us when we get up. Verna cooks up a great lunch and it is ready for us when we return at 1:00 p.m. Every night we have left overs and there’s always something good to nibble on. Tonight Left us hot dogs and beans – an authentic American meal. Mark fried them up and we ate all of them.

The group works hard during the day. The work is messy and not very easy. The two major jobs have involved sanding and laying concrete blocks. I felt badly for the people doing the sanding. They were covered with white dust. Everyone wore masks but the dust got into everything and the crew looked like ghosts when they came out into the sunlight. Ramon, helped out today and he did it without the mask. He came out looking like something you see in the zombie movies. He was totally white faced. He wore a big smile though. He was so excited at the progress we were making. We worked a full day today and by the end of the day we were able to prime the big Sunday School room upstairs. That made he people who did all the sanding very happy because they felt they had really made some progress and that they would be able to see he result of all their efforts.

The bathroom crew was zooming along too. As the bricks were going up Andy Scheuermann began to install the copper piping that would support the toilets, urinals, sinks and showers. Mark Hopkins continued to work on the electrical so that we could supply power to the restrooms. The Salomon men worked in one half and Randy Sargent and Roger Mainville worked the other side. Our goal was to go up at least eight blocks high.

At one point Mark Salomon and Mark Kane went over to Ramon and Alma’s house to do some more work in their bathroom. They were going to grind out a layer of concrete so that new tile could be installed. That meant getting rid of the sludge and mold that had built up over time.

My job on these trips is four fold. I’m the chaplain of course. That puts me in charge of the spiritual welfare of the group. My goal is to help the team pray together and reflect on what God is doing in our midst. I do some of the devotionals but I always invite others to take a turn. God has this wonderful way of speaking through others. I admit that it is hard for me to keep quiet but when I do, great things come of it.

I also am the supply sergeant. I am in charge of getting everything people need to do their job once we get there. I work with Rick and Mercy to get what we need. For example today I got directions to the hardware store to get respirators for the two Marks who were working in the bathroom. The masks they had just weren’t doing it. When I dropped in on them the dust was so thick you couldn’t even see them. That wasn’t good. So I ran out to get them something that would give them better protection. I also picked up some scrapers and a level for the crew. I am also the one who gets the coffee and snacks for break time. I like that job the best because everyone really appreciates the effort.

I am also the official photographer and media person. I take photos, collect them from others and put them together in slide shows. I’ve also been trying to keep the world back home updated on what we are doing. We have had wireless internet at the seminary this year and it made it a little easier. The problem is that we have been very busy and I haven’t had a lot of time to write up these entries and post them. For example, this is day four and I am two days behind in getting it posted. I’ve been able to get some things up on facebook I’ll catch on Monday on the way back to San Diego.

The last thing I provide is overall leadership. This year I didn’t have another Pastor to bounce things off but the team has really come through. Everyone has accepted more responsibility and made the trip go very smoothly. I have gone to several people for advice on various matters and they willingly gave it.

Friday was a long day and after lunch the majority of the group went back to the church to finish some of the jobs they were working on. The big room upstairs got its first coat of primer and Andy Scheuermann really made some progress laying the copper pipes. Mark S. and Mark K. went back to Alma’s house to finish cleaning up the bathroom. Melanie S. Lisa L. and Michelle C. stayed back at the seminary and filled water balloons for the night’s games.

At 5:00 p.m. we went back to the church and participated in Vacation Bible School. Tonight Doreen, Michelle and Erica got up front when the kids sang the Superman song. It was great. When they broke up for classes, Doreen and her crew set up the chameleons the kids were going to make. Matt Salomon and I also figured out where we were going to set up the balloon toss game.

We set up the game on the road in front of the church. When the kids came down it turned out to be a big success. Roger, Randy and Mark S. volunteered to take the hits for the team. They sat in chairs with large inner tubes in front of them while the kids tossed water balloons at them. It was very funny and with 150 water balloons the fun last for a while. Carol, Matt and Jake fed the kids the balloons and tried to police the crowd. It was a huge success.

Earlier in the day I had Rick ask Ramon if he and Alma were satisfied with the stuff we were doing. Nothing had gone according to plan so far. Chaos usually ruled. The kids didn’t mind. They actually seemed to really enjoy everything we were doing but it was Alma’s opinion who mattered. She and Ramon told Rick they were very pleased. The kids smiles didn’t lie.

We closed out the games and the kids received a snack and we took off for our annual visit to Dairy Queen. What a blast. We did our devotional there in the middle of Mexicali. It was a familiar setting in a distant land. It was a perfect end to a busy day.

Cal

Day three on our Mexican Mission

2010-02-26T18:44:00.004-05:00

I am not sure if it is the time change, the amazing energy and enthusiasm or the power of the Holy Spirit but each day our group is up early and ready to go. Yesterday all of the men were up and in the kitchen by shortly after 5:00 a.m. I shouldn’t say this but we took bets on which of the women would be up and out to the dining hall first. It has become a bit of a tradition on these trips where all or most of the men are up and out while the women sleep in a few minutes longer. Of course it helps when you have people like Mark Kane, George Rezendes, and Mark Salomon cooking up big breakfasts for the group. Yesterday Michelle Chaffee took the prize. Of course Andy Scheuermann fixed the contest. After picking Michelle as the first lady to enter, he went outside until a few of the women were up and then he found a way to delay the others and get Michelle to walk through the door first.

It’s a good thing I found my cholesterol pills because bacon seems to be the comfort food of the cooks. They start cooking and the bacon begins piling up on the plate. We had pancakes the first morning here and toast and bacon. Not everyone eats what they cook, but those of us who do, are completely satisfied. At 7:40 a.m. we gather out in the courtyard to check in and do our morning devotional. There is always something to think about I’ve tried to get others to think about taking turns. Last night, for example, the devotion was a simple one. We all had a chance to reflect on where we had seen God that day. This morning I encouraged everyone to be thinking about the fact that each of us were called to be a part of this team because we had something to share. With that thought we prayed and left for El Buen Samaritano.

With a good understanding of what we were called to do, the group went right to work. I like this team because they know how to have fun. The friendly banter between Roger Mainville and Randy Sargent seems to get everyone laughing and joining in their fun. Randy has lots of multi colored shirts and Roger has plenty to say about them. Roger is the old man on the team and we get on him good about that. Every night so far, the guys have played cards. I’m not sure what they are playing but they sure make a lot of noise. They seem to be having a lot of fun too.
The walls of the restrooms at the church are going up slowly. Each cinderblock has to be laid in place with cement to bond them to the next one. The metal rods that run up through them every feet are also cemented in place to give the wall strength. The blocks are staggered and the room I starting to look like a fortress already. Michelle Chaffee, Erica Corbett and Lisa Lapointe were mixing cement and running it over to the guys. Mark and Matt Salomon were working on one side and Roger Mainville and Mark Hopkins were working on the other. Randy Sargent was cutting blocks and they had a pretty smooth operation going.

Upstairs in the church Jake Shanks, Amanda Duntz, Carol Calkins, Doreen Mainville and Melanie Scheuermann were patching and sanding again. That was a messy job. Dust was everywhere. It is almost too much for any one person to be doing for any length of time. Fortunately, most of the people know their limits and only do a bit more than they should.

We quit for lunch at 12:30 p.m. and headed back to the seminary. Lisa, Erica and Michelle ran the two miles back while the rest of us traveled by van. Today we planned to take the afternoon off. That bothered a few people because they really wanted to keep going. I tried to explain to them that we needed the break and so did the local folks. For example, Pastor Ramon works full time as a police officer on the third shift. On the days we work I understand that he skips sleep and stays with us. That means that on the full days he gets little or no sleep at all. Yet, he is so excited to be with us that he counts it as joy.

We also take the break and use that free time to get a taste of the surrounding culture. Our mission trip has at least a two fold purpose. We come to do work and to accomplish something real. We also come to get an understanding of the people and the culture in which our missionaries work. Yesterday a group went up to the mountains to one of the newer churches that Rick and Mercy work with. The La Rumorosa congregation was started by a retired pastor and it is doing quite well. We got a chance to meet the pastor and hear about his ministry. The two vans also got an hour long drive to talk with Rick in one car and Mercy in the other.

Another small group went shopping in Mexicali. We got to see the local merchants and were able to barter with the people to pick up a few souvenirs. Michelle Chaffee was amazed at a pinata store where four foot piñatas in all shapes and sizes were hanging from the rafters and barrels of candy were placed underneath. I got three tee shirts for my girls and a mug. I almost bought a Steelers poncho but I couldn’t get the girl to come down on her price.

The group that went up the mountains got back late and missed the start of vacation Bible school but the five of us who stayed behind got there on time and enjoyed the singing. Michelle and Erica even went up front and helped with the motions on our favorite new song, “Jesus is better than Superman.” The other group did get there just in time for the classes to begin.

Although we tried to prepare for every scenario, our motto appeared to be working. “Be flexible” was our charge and for the second night in a row things did not go as planned. The kids came streaming down in two groups. The first group went to the craft table and the second group came down before the adults had cleared out of the sanctuary. So we had a balloon race in the street. We also planned a balloon tag and stomp game for the sanctuary but the kids were popping each others balloons even before we had the chance to tell them how to play the game.

In the final analysis, the kids all had fun even if things didn’t turn out quite how we planned. When we asked Alma and Ram on if they were happy with what we were doing, they replied with a great big smile and a resounding “Yes!”

We got home (can you believe I’m calling it home now?) by 7:30 p.m. and had dinner and a devotional. Michelle Chaffee gave us the thought for the night. She told us about the way she just happened to run into a candy store that had ice cream bars called devotions. Then she pointed out that this is the way God works. He guides us to the places he wants us to be.

After Michelle finished I told the group that a devotion as something you offered up to God. Then I challenged the group to look for things they could offer to God the following day and we broke up for the night.

Cal

Day Two of our Mexican Mission Trip

2010-02-26T00:51:00.003-05:00

Traveling west always messes with people’s internal clocks. In my room, Mark Kane, Jake Shanks and I kept waking up. At one point I noticed Jake was looking at his cell phone to check the time. I thought it had to be at least 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. and I asked Jake about the time. He responded it was 3:00 a.m. We all tried to go back to sleep and slept fitfully until about 5:00 a.m. and the we got up and started the coffee and got the kitchen ready for breakfast. By 5:30 a.m. all of the men were in the kitchen and dining hall. A short while later all the ladies joined us. We had a great breakfast. Mark Kane cooked up pancakes and Mark Salomon helped with the bacon. Matt Salomon made the coffee and Mark Hopkins and Roger chipped in to make toast and wash dishes.

At 8:00 a.m. we prayed and were on or way to El Buen Samaritano. We were very happy to have the church so close to the seminary. It was a five minute commute. Rick was there to greet us. He outlined the work that needed to be done and the group jumped right on it. It was a busy day. One group began working on the bathroom walls. It required mixing cement and piling cinder blocks. It looked like it would be a quick and easy job but it was a very time consuming endeavor

A second group went upstairs and began sanding the walls. That was a messy job. A third group went over to Alma and Ramon’s house to take care of a plumbing problem in heir bathroom. Ramo had all the tools and all the materials laid out and we got right to work. (I should say they got right to work because I did my usual thing – supervise and stay out of the way.) I actually tried to help by moving the 120 lb cement bags to Ricks truck but I cracked a finger nail and started bleeding all over the place so they told me to take it easy.

We broke for lunch at 12:30 p.m. and came back to the seminary for lunch. Verna is a great cook and we enjoyed chicken and rice. We ate with the ten seminary students and Verna. One of the students prayed in Spanish and we dug right in.
After lunch went back to the church to get in another two hours. We finished up some projects and cleaned up for Vacation Bible School. At 4:00 p.m. we headed back to the seminary to shower and prepare for the first night of Vacation Bible School.

We made our way back and the kids started rolling in. Before long their were forty kids jumping and singing and excited to be there. They welcomed us and made us feel at home. The night began a little late but before long we were singing and having fun. The funniest thing was a song that featured Jesus in a Superman costume and the lyrics saying Jesus was mightier than Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and even Barney! It was real cute.

After a half hour lesson we were in charge of a crafts and games. The kids were supposed to come in on a rotational model but as soon as they finished the lesson, chaos followed. The kids had a great time making hand prints on the banner and then pouring water into bottles. We gave that game a twist by having our team members put the bottles on their heads. The kids love it and Randy, Jake, Roger and Mark Salomon got a bath.

We had a blast and the kids touched our hearts. As Mark Hopkins put it, I came down here to work but seeing the kids and interacting with them has made the trip really special

Cal

Day one- Mexico Mission

2010-02-25T16:53:00.003-05:00

They told her to follow the yellow brick road. Dorothy waved good bye and set off on her amazing journey. Along the way she met some interesting people before her journey came to an end. They also learned a lot about themselves and came away with amazing and wonderful insights into the gifts that each of them possessed.

At 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 23 nine of us left the First Baptist Church parking lot for our adventure to Mexicali. Randy Sargent, Mark Hopkins, Carol Calkins, Mark Kane, Erica Corbett, Michelle Chaffee, Lisa Lapointe, Mark Salomon and I sped away in the church van and my Toyota. A light snow began to fall as we got to Route 2 and sped westward. A storm was in the forecast and we hoped to get out before the snow came in earnest. Like the twister that sent Dorothy on her amazing journey to Oz, we were in the middle of a storm as we set off on our mission to Mexico.

We stopped in Colchester and met up with Jake Shanks and Amanda Duntz. They jumped in ready to join us on or adventure. We arrived at the Roncari airport parking an loaded up in the shuttle that would run us over to the airport. We met Andy and Melanie Scheuermann and Roger and Doreen Mainville at the gate and we were off to see our own wizard, the wonderful missionary partners, Rick and Mercy Barnes.

We took our seats and were off to Chicago Midway for the first leg of our journey. When we arrived there we met up with Matt Salomon who was coming in from Baltimore to join us on our trip. The whole crew was finally together. We boarded the plane and continued the journey that would take us over the great plains, the Rocky Mountains, the Grand Canyon and on to the Pacific Ocean. We didn’t meet up with any flying monkeys or wicked witches, but we were ready and flexible in case we did encounter anyone or anything that came along.

For the first time in three years we picked up our rental cars without incident. Three Toyota minivans were waiting for us and we were assured that the gas pedals passed muster and were safe to drive. We were off on our journey through the mountains and the desert of the California southern coast. After two and a half hours in the car, eight hours in planes and airports. At 3:35 p.m. we arrived in Calexico and had lunch/dinner at Carl Jr.s while we waited to meet Rick and Mercy. By 4:30 p.m. we were heading across the border to our home for the next seven days at the Nosostros Con Dios Seminary in Mexicali.

We had our orientation, put our things in our barracks and then headed over to El Buen Samaritano to meet with Ramon and Alma to go over what we would be doing and to deliver invitations to the kids in the neighborhood to join us at Vacation Bible School this week. Ramon and Alma were so pleased to see us. Ramon began talking about the number of projects he had planned. We were going to build the cinderblock walls around the bathrooms and then put a roof over them. He also planned to finish mudding and sanding the walls upstairs in the church. They hadn’ done very much with the upstairs addition since we left last year. If everything went well he wanted us to paint the walls too.

I found it very interesting that even though Ramon couldn’t speak any English, most of thre crew could understand what he was saying through a few key words and hand gestures. Construction seems to have a universal language of its own.

It was dark by the time Alma divided us up in teams to go around the neighborhood with fliers. We went in teams of three or four with a host from the church. I am not sure how it worked in other groups, but we went with Alma. She began by knocking on a few doors and then she encouraged us to go to the doors. Mark Hopkins, Andy Scheuermann and I were tentative at first but we went. Then Alma would jump in and explain. By the time we finished we were even saying a few words like “hello “and “good buy.” I even was able to say this is an invitation to Bible school at the church.

We finished up and then went back to the seminary and most of the group settled in for the night. A few hearty souls decided to brave the night and head out to Walmart for our first visit of the outing. We picked up a few supplies and had a good time.

A few others played cards in the dining room and were glad to be able to relax for a few minutes. By 9:00 p.m. we were all in be after a long first day.

Our Lenten journey began tonight.

2010-02-17T23:25:00.004-05:00

We began our Lenten journey tonight. Since 2000 we have joined forces with Central Baptist, First Congregational, Lee Memorial, Park Congregational and United Congregational to host six mid-week services during Lent. It has been a pretty good experience.

Tonight we began at First Congregational and Rev. Bill Dunlap preached the sermon. All of the clergy took part in the service. It included special music by the church's choir and bell choir and the distribution of ashes. There were close to one hundred people present.

The services are always interesting but one of the nicest aspects of the event is connecting with old friends who worship in our sister churches. For a few weeks we get to worship together. We also get to make some new friends. I think it is one of the best things we do as a church. It's an opportunity to live like the body of Christ. I only wish more people would come out and enjoy the experience.

Next week we will be at Lee Memorial United Methodist on Washington Street. Come and experience the body of Christ.

Cal

What a pastor needs

2010-02-17T23:20:00.002-05:00

I found a post from Chuck Warnock, a pastor in Virginia, about "the five people a pastor needs in a church." I like it because it rings of truth so I'm going to post it here. I have definitely had people fill these roles in my twenty five years here in Norwich. So enjoy it.

If you would like to read more of his writing about ministry in the small membership church, you can find it at the following address: http://chuckwarnockblog.wordpress.com/

With apologies to Mitch Albom, here’s my take on the five people a pastor needs in church.

A friend. Because pastors are human beings, we need a social network of friends. But some pastors continue to believe that a pastor can’t be friends with people in his or her congregation. A pastor should not play favorites among church members, but that is far different than valuing the friendship of some members. Friends are the ones who keep your kids, invite you out to eat, drop by unannounced, and care about what’s happening in your life. Friends know the real you, and pastors need friends in church who know us in all of our humanity.
A counselor. Pastors need friends, but they also need counselors. Usually you only need one or two, but you need a wise, thoughtful person in the congregation who will give you an honest assessment of your ideas, vision, and goals. The Bible itself presents the idea that there is “wisdom in many counselors.”
A pray-er. Not a prayer, but a pray-er — someone who prays for you and the church. Daily. Regularly. Fervently. Paul encourages young Timothy to offer prayers for leaders, and church leaders need people who pray regularly for them. The legendary story of Charles Spurgeon’s “power plant” — the prayer room at his church — needs to be realized in our churches today. Pastors should be at the top of somebody’s prayer list.
A critic. Of course, critics seem to be in abundant supply in many churches. But pastors do need critics, too. We need critics to offer the counterpoint to our ideas, vision, and dreams. While praise is wonderful, we learn from criticism, especially when it is honest, helpful, and loving.
A supporter. In every church I have served, I have enjoyed great support from wonderful people. Supporters aren’t just fans of the pastor. Supporters are genuinely enthusiastic about the pastor’s leadership, the direction of the church, and the vision the church shares for ministry. Supporters provide the labor for our dreams together, enabling the church to move forward.

What do you think about these five people a pastor needs? Would you add any others? Have you experienced some or all of these in your own ministry? I’d like to hear your thoughts and experiences.

God bless! Cal

The snow could not stop us.

2010-02-17T21:23:00.002-05:00

Last night we had choir rehearsal despite the snow flakes that were falling outside. We shortened things up so those who came out could get home before it got too bad. Every week the choir rehearses the anthem for Sunday and works on pieces for the coming weeks. For example we are already working on the pieces for Palm Sunday and Easter. We run through them and then begin polishing as we get closer to singing them on a particular Sunday.

Last night we rehearsed and were out the door at 7:30 p.m. I stayed after the rehearsal because we were hosting a meeting of the Church softball league upstairs. President George Rapoza asked if he could meet at our church this year. I told him we would be glad to do it.

It was a good meeting. We talked about this season and some of the changes we'd like to make. After two years of controversy over the play-offs, I suggested we put more emphasis on the regular season and de-emphasize the play-offs. After a lot of discussion we came up with the idea to divide the league into two divisions and play 23 games. Then let the top team in each division play two of three for a league championship.

We also suggested having the banquet at the end of August so that it will fall much closer to the end of the season. Two months is just too long. Everyone loses interest. Well stay tuned.

We will begin to put together our roster for the 2010 season. Hopefully most of the team from last year will be back.

The meeting ended and at 8:30 I was home and out of the snow.

Cal

He's sending us out

2010-02-16T08:42:00.002-05:00

I came across this song from Third Day today and it moved me to think about the church. This is our message as we reach out to the world around us. Jesus changed our lives. He took us as we were and is continually working in our lives now. He's given us hope. He's become our rock to stand on.

I love what God is doing at First Baptist as we reformat our ministry and turn it from an inward focused ministry to one that moves outward to the hurt, the broken, the rejected and lost. Enjoy this song and ask who God is sending you out to visit with a message of hope and forgiveness.

Cal

A New Pastor for Central Baptist

2010-02-15T14:07:00.004-05:00

On Sunday afternoon Central Baptist hosted a party. They were installing their new pastor, Nancy Morrow. Mark Hopkins, the chair of the Pulpit Committee shared a bit of the ordeal that the group went though in their 28 month search for a pastor. Then on December 6th Rev. Morrow preached for the church and was called that afternoon. She began on December 8th. She is the 20th pastor of Central Baptist and the first woman called to the position.

The service was filled with music. Pastor Nancy worked with Central's choir director, David Warfield, to pull together choir members from four congregations to sing at the service. Cornerstone Baptist (where she had most recently served), Quaker Hill Baptist (where she was worshiping and assisting), Niantic Baptist (whose pastor was a member of Central Baptist) and Central's own choir formed a 50 member choir. When you add in the members of Cornerstone's Bell choir there were so many musicians present that they equaled the rest of the crowd.

Rev. Greg Hamby preached the sermon and Rev. Stacy Emerson from Mystic Union Baptist Church gave the charge to the Pastor. A member of the Cornerstone Baptist church gave the charge to the congregation. Through it all we learned a few things about her

She is a Red Sox fan.
She likes chocolate.
She likes music.
She likes to golf. (Her husband is the golf pro at River Ridge in Griswold.)
She has had a multi faceted career in and out of ministry.
Her last position was as VP of Development for Day Kimball Hospital.
She is not afraid of making changes.
She doesn't like vegetables.
She believes in the ministry of hospitality and will utilize the building to host community organizations and events.
She is not afraid of conflict.
She is a hopeful person.
She loves the Lord.

There were probably many more things that were said but it sounds like the future of the ministry is in good hands as Pastor Nancy and the people begin their life together working in the garden of God's kingdom. Congratulations to our sister church. May God bless you!

Cal

Recognizing the faithful.

2010-02-14T22:42:00.007-05:00

On Sunday morning we dedicated our officers for the coming year in morning worship. We had them stand and be recognized. Then we prayed over them. At that point we took a few minutes to recognize seven people who had given over a decade of service to the church. you know them because you see them every week. Their service is varied but without them and others like them, we would not have been able to do all that we have done over the last twenty years or more.

Cynthia Strouse has given a lifetime of service to her church. As a young lady she helped with the Junior Choir. After college she married and moved back to town. She started singing in the choir again and got involved with the Women's Guild. She also taught Sunday School and helped in the nursery. She joined the choir and got on the music committee. Later on she began helping with tag sales, dinners and other fundraisers. She began playing piano for the Sunday School. She was always at clean up days and painting parties. In the last few years she got really involved in the landscaping projects, the interfaith luncheons and with the Missional Church team. After over forty five years of service, she is still finding new ways to make a difference and we have been blessed over and over again.

Dick Strouse is no stranger to the church. He's been helping out since he was five. He was in the church kitchen with his mother as she was cooking lunches for the masses. As a young man he got involved as an usher and also began helping out at work parties and clean up days. He came on Board the Executive Council and then became a Trustee. He's served as chair for over twenty years and had oversight on every major and minor project done at the church for the last twenty three years. Beginning with the roofing project in 1987, the back entry way in 1994, the Sanctuary renovation in 1995, the Anniversary addition and organ loft project in 1999 and the new window and floor projects in the sanctuary in the mid 2000's. He's painted pumpkins and trimmed hedges, painted walls and counted offerings. He also served as the Church Collector for many, many years in the days before we had the computer and everything had to be done long hand. His recognition was a no-brainer and long overdue.

Oliver Bray started slowly by simply becoming an usher but before long he was called on to take over for Bob Buchowiecki. He organized the crew and set up a schedule. As people like bob and Paul Lorraine could no longer take part in setting up for worship, the role of his committee was expanded. It became more organized. Oliver also got involved in the Sunday School and on the diaconate where he ended up taking leadership roles in both areas. He served as Property Committee Chair and did a lot of work around the church. He helped out at tag sales and other fund raisers. Whenever we needed something done, Oliver volunteered to make sure it happened. He was a regular in the kitchen for early morning breakfasts, turkey dinners at Mother-Daughter Banquets, and Sunday lunches for the hungry at St. Marks. He joined the choir and continues today as treasurer of both the Sunday School and the Deacons. Since he joined the church he has never stopped giving.

Fred Green has been a leader on and off the field in our sports ministry programs. He has been cheerleader, chaplain, and organizer for all three sports and an organizer for two golf tournaments to raise money for designated causes. He has has worked with our teens and seved as chaperon on a number of trips. He has been involved with the choir and as a co-leader of the praise team for many years now. Whenever we needed something special to do with music, Fred picked up the baton and ran with it. Whether it was organizing an outdoor concert or planning an open mic, he was there with his team to make it happen. Fred has cooked dinner for our ladies at Mother - Daughter Banquets and served a few meals as well. He has also wielded a paint brush and a rake on a number of occasions. When I need help for prayer or worship, Fred is one of the first people I call on.

Gwyn Green has been at the forefront of our music ministry with the praise team. When we looked for a leader, she took on the role and helped get the group together. She continues to work with Fred and Steve to organize events and organize the music they will play on Sundays and at special events. Gwyn also organized a few Mother- Daughter Banquets as well as several of the most successful projects coming out of the work of the Deacons. She organized our first casserole brigade and our college care packages. She served faithfully as the first woman chair of the group and she raised the bar for the people who followed. Gwyn has used her talents to help whenever she could. today that continues as she currently serves as a counter and a member of the budget committee.

Nancy Allen has held just about every office in the church you can think of over the years. She has been our moderator, assistant treasurer, mission committee chair, property committee member and Deacon. These official positions are just the tip of the iceberg though. Nancy has been on sewing committees to make baptism robes, children's costumes and curtains. She always bakes up a treat to bring to church functions. She served on past financial campaigns to raise money for the new addition and is probably best remembered for her part in helping us make a miracle on Miracle Sunday in 1995. She was the spokesperson fo the four special ABCUSA mission campaigns for many years and has been a regular reader and worship assistant for many years. When you need something done at church, whether it is helping with the tag sale, a coffee hour or counting the offering after service, she has been Ms. Dependable for us since she joined the congregation in 1990.

Bob Walker joined the church in 2000but by that point he was already involved in the ministry. You may think of him as the new kid on the block but it feels like he has always been here. He has served terms on the diaconate and the trustees as well as on the budget committee and by-laws revision committee. Bob has also taken on the job as the chairman of the ushering committee and that means he not only organizes the group but he comes in on Saturdays to set up and prepare the sanctuary for worship. He has worked with our newsletter crew for several years now as they fold and prepare them to go out in the mail. He's worked on tag sales, clean up days, and special services. He's volunteered to be a reader and an actor on several occasions. He has also used his creative talents to build props, such as our wishing well last fall, and other niceties around the church. His smile and handshake are his most valuable gifts and he shares them freely week after week to bless the rest of us.

Previous Count on Me Award Winners include Doris Adams, Curt & Mary Brockway, Bob Buchowiecki, Kathy Duntz, Harry & Betty Eisan, Lori Lord, Rosie Main and George W. Strouse in 1996.

Getting together for fun -d-raising

2010-02-14T22:18:00.003-05:00

On Saturday night a few of us went to Colchester to support the fund raiser for Annastacia Ohlund. She is Steve's daughter and she's battling cancer. The fund raiser was a dinner and dancing put on by her friends. There was quite a crowd there. We had a dozen of us from church there. It was a good time.

I got a chance to talk to Mary Brockway's sister and brother-in-law, Carol and Bryan. They are very active in their parish church and I couldn't help talk shop. They are Roman Catholic and their organizational chart runs very different from ours.

Bryan was telling me that most building projects and major activities have to have approval from the Diocese. Beyond that, the local priest has a lot of pull over what happens. Yet their congregation does pretty well. They are growing and the pews are overflowing most Sundays.

Curt Brockway was telling me about a fund raising idea that he gleaned from talking with Brian. They are going to have a dinner with the Bishop. The dinner is free but they are going to ask for pledges. Only the most faithful givers will be invited. I told Curt that dinner with me wouldn't have quite the same appeal as it does with the Bishop.

It's always fun to get together with people from church. Last Sunday we had a good time watching the Super Bowl at Nancy Allen's house. This week it was at the fundraiser. I think I like it because we have this common bond in Christ. We come from different places and with different pasts but now we share this in common. I wish we could do it more often and i wish more people would come out.

Next month we are going to try another movie night and see what happens. If you are reading this I hope you will join us. Stay tuned for details.

Cal

Walking in the neighborhood

2010-02-14T21:58:00.002-05:00

On Saturday morning Cynthia Strouse, Peter Ingoglia and I walked through our neighborhood distributing fliers for next week's "Because We Care Day." We passed out 120 fliers up and down Pearl, Coit, Anne, Fairmount, Maple and Asylum Streets. We are inviting our neighbors to come to the Martin Luther King Center next Saturday morning to receive the goodies we've been collecting this winter.

This is part of our missional church emphasis to get out and meet and greet our neighbors. If you would like to join us, come by the church next Saturday after 9:00 a.m. We'll be loading up and taking everything up to the King Center for distribution at 10:00 a.m. It was a lot of fun last year and it promises to be the same this time around.

Cal