What do you believe?

Where else can you go to talk about God? Have you thought about that? God is the most important topic that you can get excited about. I know you are probably thinking that I am only saying this because my baseball team is floundering. But really now, how many places can you go where people talk about God and their faith and what it means to live the Christian life?

Wednesday Bible Study is the place where that happens every week at FBC. We are actually trying to discuss C. S. Lewis' book, Meer Christianity, right now. But the topics are so rich and so deep that we have actually had a hard time staying on topic. For example last night we got on the subject of baptism. We asked if your baptism as a baby, an act done by your parents, could save you? Or do you have to claim it or do something more as an adult? I bet some of you had never thought about it. Well Bible study forces you to look at different aspects of your faith. It challenges you to think about what you believe, what you have been taught and to try and make sense of it.

That is good. It forces you to grow and as your knowledge grows, so does you faith. So if you aren't busy next Wednesday, join us at Bible Study. Email me at fbcnorwich@sbcglobal.net and I will tell you where we meet.

Cal

PS. The May newsletter went on line this afternoon. Check it out by going to our web page and clicking on the May Newsletter icon

We all have a soul in need f nurture

On Tuesday I was able to hear Dr. Thomas Moore speak at the annual Clergy-Physician luncheon at the W. W. Backus Hospital. Dr. Moore has written a couple of books on the care and nurture of the soul. He talked about the tremendous advances made in medicine and technology in the 20th Century but pointed out that we lagged behind in really having a heart to heart relationship to go with it. He noted that we left the human perspective out of our discussions and that will be addressed, needs to be addressed in the 21st century if we are to continue to thrive as a society.

Dr. Moore noted that it is the deep connections we make in the soul that are the most powerful. He advocated that we all take time to nurture the joy that God put in our hearts as we seek to live fulfilling lives. He definitely gave us all something to think about.

Cal

Amy Hollis received approval from ordination council to proceed

Tonight Curt Brockway and I went to Amy Hollis' ordination council at the Essex Baptist Church.Most of you will remember that Amy worked with us as a student intern last year while taking classes at Andover Newton Theological School. She and her husband, Scott, and their two girls, Katie and Sarah were very much a part of our church family for the year. We heard her preach, enjoyed her children's moments, were blessed by the work she did with our children and encouraged y her prayers.

An ordination council is called to examine a candidate's call to ministry and fitness for the pastoral office. Usually the candidate reads a paper outlining their Christian story and detailing their theological beliefs. Questions are asked of the candidate testing their ability to defend their faith. Then a vote is taken as to whether the local church should proceed to ordain the candidate.

Pastor Greg Hamby, Moderator of the SUNL Association, called the meeting to order and introduced Pastor Erica Wimber Avena, Amy's sponsor. She outlined what we were doing and then asked Amy to read her paper.

Amy did a great job answering questions and the delegates voted to tell Essex to proceed with ordination in a unanimous vote. Pastor Michael Crane of Essex announced that Amy would be ordained on June 1 at 4:00 p.m. to the delight of all present.

CROP Walk smoney for hunger

Today we participated in the Annual CROP Walk to raise money for the hungry. I think the course is about 3 1/2 miles and it runs from Lee Memorial United Methodist Church down Lafayette Street over to Asylum Avenue. Then it makes its way down West Main Street with a rest stop at the church and over the West Side Bridge and up the hill on Washington Street back the church.

We had 8 walkers this year and raised several hundred dollars. I don't have the final figures yet, but I think we did well. I want to thank all those who made donations to the cause. Here are few photos from the event.

Cal


Here is our group. It included Kristen Deptulski, Lois & George Strouse, Karen Barber, Mark & Pam Kane, Cal Lord, Emily Depina and Rachel Lord.




Team Captains were Karen Barber fro FBC and Lois Strouse for Park Congregational.




And we were off. Despite some of our desire to get out front, we were reminded it wasn't a race!






And we met Zelda and Judy at the church to get our apples and water.

A Night of Magic for our ladies at the Mother's Day Banquet

What a great night we had a First Baptist. To think that our congregation could put on a dinner and show for our ladies that featured one of the most talented young performers in America is beyond belief. But we did it. This year's Mother Daughter Banquet featured a turkey dinner by George Rezendes and served by a number of men in the congregation. It also included the talented singing of Miss Connecticut 2007, Dana Daunis from Watertown, CT.

Dana was one of the top 3 talent winners at the Miss America Pageant this year and she came and performed a forty minute set for us. After her show was over she stayed to sign autographs and have pictures taken. It was a hit for fans old and young. Boy did she make an impression.

Special thanks to Melinda Brick for organizing the event and to George and OB for working in the kitchen all day. Our waiters this year included Bobby Adams, Ray Deptulski, Bob Duntz, Mark Kane, Mark Rogers and Gary Schuster.

I've included some photos for those who couldn't make it this year. I think they will give you a sense of how special it was.

Cal

Tonight our 22nd season in the Church Softball League opened against Sts. Peter and Paul. Over the years we have played them tough. Both teams are very similar in that we don't have a lot of superstars. We are filled with guys and gals that just like to have fun.

Despite the fact that we have over twenty names of potential players, we only had nine people take the field tonight. Fred Stone pitched for us and he did a good job. He only gave up three earned runs. We made a few errors but played tough most of the night. Chip Chaffee was back at shortstop for us and Steve Moon, Dan Dutrumble and Ken Kreger filled the outfield. George Rezendes was behind the plate, and new comers Mike Young and Eric Larsen were on the corners. I played second base. We lost the game in the seventh inning when they scored two runs to go ahead. We came back by getting two men on base with one out. We couldn't pull it out though. Our next game is on Monday night. We will try to turn things around.

Cal

A day of prayer and reflection

May 1st - A day to walk with God. I woke up this morning with the hope of working on the May newsletter squeezed between a couple of big activities. As it turned out, when I got to the office I decided that there was no way that I could get the newsletter together in time to send it out on Friday. I had two special services to prepare for that would take time. Even though Sandy was pretty well set with her part, there was just too much to do for me to finish it up the newsletter and give the services the time they deserved.

So I went to work preparing for the National Day of Prayer service at noon and the Holocaust Remembrance Service at 7:30 p.m. I went on line and found some inspirational pieces that put the prayer service in perspective. A few years back I got involved in the program. Pastor Gary Fairchild of Norwich Alliance and I organized a breakfast and invited members of the city council and other clergy to participate. It was great. One year we heard a survivor of the 9/11 attack and the next we had one of the commanders from the Navy Base as our speakers.

When Gary left we let it go. This year I received a call from the state co-ordinator asking me to set something up. She was in a panic and I agreed. I put out a call to the local clergy and Pastor Randy from the Assembly of God answered. We met at noon on the steps of City Hall. There was only a handful of people but it was a powerful service. Everyone took turns praying for our government officials, for our children, teachers, police, fire and medical workers, the social service agencies and especially the former residents of the Peach Tree Apartments. We prayed for the men and women in the military and asked God to help us find peace in the world. I was so glad I answered the call and we all agreed that next year we would make it bigger and better.

Tonight I went to Temple Beth-el in New London to share a Statement of Concern on behalf of the Christian community during the annual Holocaust Remembrance service. Rabbi Charles Arian of Beth Jacob synagogue in Norwich invited me to do the honors and I was nervous. I didn't know exactly what to say. I went on line to see if I could find something and found that there really isn't anything to use as an example. Rabbi told me just to speak from the heart. That's what I did and I think it went well.

The speaker was Henry Laudone from Norwich Free Academy. He spoke about his experiences as an educator in learning about the Holocaust. He shared how he visited with survivors and listened to their stories and how this changed him and later, his students. A few minutes later several survivors came up to light candles representing the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust. This was a powerful reminder of the nightmare that touched the planet under Hitler's reign of terror.

The end result of this service is to insure that there is never another Holocaust. I can tell you this: had to plenty to think about as I got home tonight. I wish more of our people could have been at these services today. Next time I will certainly promote them better so that we can take advantage of them.

Cal