Food for memory and thought

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cal

In the midst of Holy Week

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

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

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

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

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

Good bye to a friend Bob Booth

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

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

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

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

Cal

Palm Sunday Celebration

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

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

An opportunity to meet a special servant of the Lord.

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

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

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

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

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

Cal

An opportunity to raie money for missions

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

Cal

Zeroing in on our next steps

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

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

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

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

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

Cal