An impressive victory

On Monday night the FBC softball team continued its memorable season with a 13 - 0 shutout of the top team in the league. St. Mary's was 12 - 0 and was having a pretty easy run through its schedule. The last time we met they beat us soundly and sent us to our second loss of the season. Monday it was a different story.

We scored a run in the first to take a one nothing lead. They threatened i the bottom of the inning by loading the bases bu couldn't get a run across the plate. We scored two more in the second inning and another in the third to take a 4 - 0 lead.

We played very well defensively and a couple of good catches by Steve Moon and Daryl Alves nipped potential rallies in the bud. In the fourth inning we traded zeroes on the score board. It looked like the game was going to go down to the wire but then our bats came alive in the top of the fifth. Daryl Alves led things off with a solo homer. Mike Staron, Dan Dutrumble and Chip Chaffee followed with RBI singles. Mike Young knocked in two runs and after a pop up by Eric Poore, Ken Kreger, Sean Wilding and Chris Vaillancourt ripped consecutive singles to plate a couple more runs. Steve Moon ripped a single to bring in another run and Darly Alves started it up again. By the time the dust had settled, We had scored nine runs and had a 13 - 0 lead. The rally knocked the wind out of St. Mary's and they went down to defeat.

Our record is now 9 -4 and playing very well. The best part of this run is That every night someone else plays the hero. Tonight it was Mike Young with three Rbi on offense and an impressive 3-6-3 double play on defense.

Our next game is Monday, June 15 at field one. Come down and root for us.

Cal

A proud moment

On Sunday afternoon Chris Vaillancourt received his Eagle Scout award in front of family, friends and a few dignitaries. Chris grew up in the church. His mom taught Sunday School and his day was a charter member of our softball team. He was coming to games and wandering around the church since he was just a little guy. He grew up in Montville and as a young boy got involved in scouting.

I got to hear more about Chris' scouting adventures during the ceremony and it proved what I already knew about him. He is a good kid and he learns his lessons well. As his Eagle Scout Project Chris built a trailhead map for Camp Oakdale. It involved remarking the trails and planning, organizing and supervising the construction of the map that defines all the trails within the boundaries of Camp Oakdale.

The Mayor joked that the town could use someone like Chris to help people navigate around the bridge projects in Montville. State Representative Kevin Ryan also alluded to how important projects like these were.

Scouting is a great program that combines a reverence for nature, the nurturing of individual skills and abilities, and a respect for God and country. I can see that it built upon the Christian foundation that Chris had in his home and in Sunday School. I was so proud to be there and be a part of the day.

As part of the Eagle Scout Ceremony, the parents are recognized and it was a moving moment. I watched as his dad, my friend, Marc received a Mentor pin from Chris. He had tears in his eyes. His mom received a special award too and you could see Jackie's smile from ear to ear as she beamed with pride over her son's accomplishment.

The truth is that sometimes we think of our ministry as being totally within the four walls of the church. Yet ministry really goes everywhere that we go. Chris is now a student at the University of New Haven. He will take a bit of us with him as he goes on to finish his college career and begin a life for himself. The experiences he had in our Sunday School and in our worship services as part of our community of faith are now part of the vast number of resources that he can draw on as he lives the life God is giving him. I praise God for that for it is true for every one of us.

Chris joins the rank of countless others who have attained the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest award a young man can earn in Boy Scouts. In our congregation we have several of them including George Rezendes, Ken Kreger, Chris Weimer and Roland Widstrom. They serve as a reminder that you can do great things if you set your mind to it.

Here are a few photos from the Ceremony.

Cal

Summer worship begins

On Sunday morning the choir gathered early to prepare their last anthem of the season. We were going to sing "Speak, O Lord" for the service. It fit right in with our theme of the day. During my sermon I talked about the reason we come to worship. I reminded us that church isn't about us. It is about God. We come to worship and honor God and then to listen as he speaks to us and sends us back out into the world.

Gwyn Green sang during the service as well. She strummed the guitar and sang the old song, "He Touched Me." Afterwards I encouraged others to let me know if they wanted to offer up special music for the summer. The summer months give us the opportunity to be a little freer in our worship.

Sunday School is now in it's summer recess. We take a break from regular choir rehearsals and worship tends to be a little less formal. Some people travel and are away on vacation but many continue to worship during the summer without having to worry about teaching or rehearsing or even serving in ways they do from September to May. One person I spoke to a few years ago said, "It's nice to be able to come to church and worship without thinking about what I have to do next or rush in from what I was just finishing up."

I hope you will take advantage of the more relaxed approach to worship this summer. Don't stay away simply because you aren't directly involved in one of the ministries. Come and be blessed. Worship is still at 10:30 a.m. through the end of June. We move to 9:30 a.m. on July 4th through and including Labor Day.

Ministry that all of us can take part in

On Saturday I spent the day in and around Howard Brown Park at River Fest.

I volunteered to help out at the Norwich Rotary Club booth in the afternoon and to row with the WICH/WCTY Air Raiders Dragon Boat team in the morning.

I have to confess that these two activities were not directly church related. You may even wonder why I mention them here under First Baptist Life. The answer is simple. When we talk about living our faith, it isn't something that can easily be compartmentalized. We don't pull our "faith" out of a box on Sunday mornings and put it back in again on Sunday night. We carry it with us all week long.

We've been talking about being a missional church and that means each of us should be looking for ways to live out our faith all week long. I lift up my activities on Saturday as an example of the way I am doing it.

I joined the Norwich Rotary Club in 1991 on the invitation of Leonard Royce. Len was a member of our church and a member of the Club. It was one of the ways that he made a contribution to the community and he suggested I do the same. He was right on the mark. Over the last eighteen years I enjoyed this ministry. I call it a ministry not simply because the Rotary Club does good stuff in the community. It is a ministry in the sense that I have had a number of opportunities to be with people and to talk about issues of faith that have arisen in their lives. As a result I have become a part time chaplain to a good segment of the community, especially to those who don't attend church regularly.

The truth is that you probably come into contact with a number of people who are dealing with spiritual issues every day. When you open up to your friends and let them know you believe in God and that your faith is important to you, God will use you to speak to the hearts of your friends and acquaintances. You will be in a position to minister to them and serve God at the same time. It will become part of your ministry. When all of us begin thinking about the ways we can be used by God to share his love, then we become a missional congregation.

Now I have to tell you that the dragon boat races was something I did just for the fun of it. I really wanted to do it and the kid in me jumped at it when Michelle Chaffee asked me. Then after I began to think about it for a bit and realized that this was an opportunity for me to meet some of Michelle's friends and co-workers. Some of them have heard her talk about the mission trip and the church. By jumping on board I allowed them to meet me and see that all Christians aren't stuff shirts and like the stereo-types they see on television.

The truth is that all of us are just normal people. We need to let the rest of the world know that. Too often religious people are portrayed as nuts in movies and in the media. You and I know that's not true. To be a follower of Jesus simply means that we love him and are trying to follow him and his teachings as best we can. So it's good to get out there and let the world know who we really are.

It was a good day of ministry, even if it wasn't typical. I hope you have days like this too. They are a blessing and they bring glory to God.


Cal

A few words about the newsletter ministry

Every month a small group of people gets together to assemble the monthly newsletter and prepare it for mailing. It's a big job but it isn't as bad as one might think. The banter is enjoyable and you never know what topics will come up. We've discussed everything from politics to education to raising children. Over the years the group has changed as people have come and gone. The character and good fun remains.

Today Harry and Dot Calkins were the first to arrive. Bob Walker came in a few minutes later. Shortly afterward Sharon Fishkin and her son, Connor, arrived. Sandy Stone chipped in and took her mom's place. Carol Calkins is one of the regulars but she was away this month. Steve Contois dropped in to practice his guitar but when he saw the group hard at work, he decided to lend a hand. I'm not sure if Harry and Bob shamed him into it or he honestly wanted to help. None-the-less it helped move everything along.

Today's newsletter had more pages and a greater circulation than normal. Four times a year we send out the newsletter to our wider distribution list and add a few extra goodies. We call it the quarterly edition. It usually takes longer to prepare but with all the extra help we sailed right along.

Back when I started at the church we did it all in the office. Chris Montalvo, my first secretary, and Amy Rezendes, my second secretary did most of the work. Of course the newsletter was much smaller back then. It consisted of anywhere between one and four double sided letter size pages folded in the middle. Today the average newsletter is almost four times that size. We use three double sided ledger (11 x 17) size paper and a letter size insert.

The format has changed quite a bit too. Our newsletter has always been newsy as opposed to a strictly billboard format. After I finished my doctoral project (which was published as the Church Newsletter Handbook by Judson Press in 1997) I began adding content that was not directly FBC related. It was added to help educate, inspire, and inform our members.

A lot changed when we introduced our first new Macintosh computer back in 1990. It was purchased with a gift in memory of Ethelyn Sebastian. This computer allowed us to use graphics and page layout designs. Instead of cuting and pasting and using glue stick to put the newsletter together, we did more and more of it with the computer and started printing oujt the finished product. The addition of a scanner a couple of years later allowed us to b egin importing photographs as well. We have come a long way.

We still send out about 260- 275 newsletters every month. Technology allows us to post them on on our web site in full color. More and more people are enjoying them that way but we still mail out the hard copies. In the next ten years this may all change. I hope not. Because it would mean that our special little group wouldn't have to get together anymore and I would miss it.

Some of the others who have been part of this special circle over the years include Hal Brockway, Henry & June Pendleton, Will Willey and Buffy McFalls.

So if you want to check out the latest newsletter, go to www.fbcnorwich.org and look for the June Newsletter link.

Cal

A game for the ages.

The last few years have been lean ones for our softball team. Two years ago we only won five games and last year we topped that by one. This year we are off to a great start due to a combination of good defense and timely hitting.

Tonight's game was really exciting. We started slow and couldn't seem to do anything right. After a scoreless first inning, we got on the board first by plating two runs. We couldn't hold Missionary Alliance though. They came back hitting the ball all over the field. When they hit it at us, we threw it away. When they were on the bases they ran with energy and enthusiasm. They scored eight runs and had us on the ropes.

We came back with three runs and were feeling good with the score 8 - 5 going into the bottom of the third. Alliance picked up where they left off in the previous inning and scored seven more runs to take a commanding 15 -5 lead. They threatened to put the game away early.

Feeling the heat we jumped back into the game with five runs of our own courtesy of a couple of walks, three doubles by Mike Young, Sean Wilding and Daryl Alves and sacrifice flies by Chris Vaillancourt and Steve Moon.

In the bottom of the forth inning Alliance scored three more runs and came close to breaking things open. Only a miscue by their third coach saved us. The coach got called for player interference on a play at third ending the inning. We traded zeros in the fifth but the pressure was on for they could have won it by scoring two more runs.

With new life in the sixth we began a record setting rally. Chris Vaillancourt started things off with a double. Daryl Alves singled moving Chris to third. Steve Moon walked to load the bases with no outs. Mike Staron singled and drove in two runs. He went to second on the throw and Steve went to third. Chip Chaffee followed with a three run homer to centerfield to bring us to within three runs. The score was now 18-15 and we still hadn't made our first out.

Eric Poore and Mark Staron hit back to back doubles to score another run. Mike Young ripped a single to drive in Mark and we were down by one. Ken Kreger walked and Dan Dutrumble singled to bring Mike home with the tieing run.

The next two batters lined out sharply to third and short and it appeared the rally was over. With the top of the order coming to bat and men on the corners, Daryl Alves tripled and drove in two more runs for the first lead since the second inning. Steve Moon singled to drive in Daryl and Mike Staron walked to set the table for Chip again. He double to drive in his fifth run of he night. Eric Poore followed with a double of his own to bring in two more runners. Mark Staron and Mike Young followed with back to back RBI singles to complete the scoring.

When the dust settled we had scored sixteen runs and had turned the tables completely. Alliance went down quietly in their last two at bats and we moved our record to 8 -3. It was a game for the ages. No one could remember a bigger inning in our 23 year history. It was a reminder of how far we had come and what a "never give up" attitude can do for a team.

Cal

Children's Day 2009

We welcomed the children to the pulpit yesterday morning and they shared the message with us. I am so proud of our congregation. They came out to support the kids again this year. It means so much to them to see all the adults in the congregation as they shared their stories and acted in their skits.

Jesus said, "Let the children come unto me." He went on to point out that it is this kind of faith and trust, the kind we see in children, that will lead us to eternal life. We saw that innocent and childlike faith in action yesterday. The kids sang "We Are the Church" with gusto to start the program.

Then Rosie Main's nursery class acted out the parable of "The Lost Sheep." It was great. The kids got into it. They really had fun wandering around as the shepherd (played by Sarah Henry) tried to keep them safe. Then she reached out to the lost sheep and brought him back into the fold.

The K - 2nd grade class came on next and they recited the Lord's Prayer together. (A little later in the service they were very vocal as the whole congregation said the Lord's prayer in our prayer time. They showed that they learned well!)

The 3rd - 5th grade class then shared a recitation of the 23rd Psalm in a dramatic form. Jacob Kreger, Troy Anderson, Nicole West and Chelsey Maynard each took turns reciting the well known verse.

Our Junior/Senior High class finished things up with a dramatic reading called, "Were You There" that reminded us to think about our apathy and failure to act in the same way we look at those who failed to act in Jesus day. Then it pointed out that in Christ we have been forgiven and sent forth to share the good news.

Our Praise team gave Adele the day off and accompanied the congregation in singing the hymns. Cynthia Strouse and Lori Lord, our Sunday School pianist, provided the prelude, postlude and offertory music.


Sunday School Superintendent Pam Kane gave out excellent attendance awards to Maddy and Conner Fishkin, Jennifer, Jared and Joshua LaFlamme, Noah Lucien, Chelsea Weimer, Andrew and Jacob Kreger, Rachel Lord, Nicholas Costa, Sarah and Hannah Henry, Chelsey Calkins, Rosie Main, Sandra Lucien, Doris Calkins, Janet LaFlamme, Laura Kreger, Wendy HenryOliver Bray and Curt Brockway. The award was given to those teachers and students who had missed three Sundays or less during the year.

Pam then presented Bibles to the students who were being promoted from the second grade class to the next level. They went to Madalyn Fishkin, Noah Lucien and Nicholas Costa. Bibles were also presented to the eighth grade graduates Bethany Stone, Chelsey Calkins and Heather Adams.

We closed the service and then moved the festivities to Fort Shantock for an all church picnic. Over fifty people came out for hot dogs, salads and fun and games. Mark Kane fired up the grill and cooked the hot dogs for the group. While they were waiting, many of the children enjoyed playing on the swings, the jungle gym and the slide. I captured a few pictures and have posted them below. The kids had a good time. After lunch they took turns hitting the pinata and then went over to the field to play several games. I think everyone had a good time.

It's make me think that we should pan a couple of picnics every summer. It is a lot of fun and th kids really enjoy playing with each other.

Cal