A Habitat Afternoon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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