A day at the waterfront

On Saturday I went down to River Fest and ran into several people from church. I saw Frank & Muriel Roderick. They watched the races and then enjoy some of the tasty treats with family. Joel Fishkin was there. He was on one of the Dragon Boat teams. Conner, Maddie and Sharon came to watch him. Luis Pabon, Stan Boyes and members of Style Extraordinare were there with several contestants in the Miss Connecticut Pageant, including Rachel Lord. George Rezendes was there and so Lori and I. Later on John DiBiagio and his band, Fat Cats, were there too.

I always like to go to community events like this because I see so many people I know. It also reminds me that we are connected to the community in which we live. When we do ministry, it is not in a vacuum. We are part of a great small city with so many activities and events that bring us together. Someday I would love to see us have a booth or a table at one of these events. Maybe we could give away something that would express the love God has for all of us. So let's think about it and see if we can come up with something good.

Baby steps in the kitchen

This morning our kitchen renovation committee traveled to UBS Lumber to receive the set of plans drawn for our project. The committee was pleased with the work what we saw. For the first time since we began talking about renovating the kitchen, we actually have a picture of what it might lok like when it is done.

I joked about the fact that back in 1995 we said the kitchen was our next project. It only took thirteen years to make this much progress. Anyway we are ready to take our next steps. We have a design layout and a price for cabinets, counter tops and installation. Now we have to get some pricing for demolition, flooring, plumbing, electrical and refinishing the walls. The property committee and Trustees will take us the next few steps. Then we will have to figure out how we will raise the money.

It is exciting and hopefully you will all get a chacne to see the plans before long.

News from here and there

The June Newsletter went out in the mail today. You can get it on line by going to our web site at www.fbcnorwich.org. Newsletter day is always an early one for me as I put the finishing touches on it to get it ready for our mailing crew. I was at church by 5:20 a.m. and the newsletter was ready to go at 9:30 when Dot and Harry Calkins, Bob Walker and Carol Calkins arrived. We send out anywhere from 275 - 400 newsletters at any given time. We send more over the winter and during the holidays.

I had to leave them at 10:30 a.m. because I was invited to speak at the Pendleton Health & Rehabilitation Center in Mystic. The group down there uses my weekly newspaper columns for their devotional on Thursday mornings. I was humbled to be asked to talk with them and it was an honor to talk them.

I left there and went to visit Doris Regets at Academy Point. Doris couldn't make our celebration at church last week so I brought down her certificate marking her 71 years as a member of the church. We had a nice visit.

I got back home and had to finish up this week's epistle and then I was off for a meeting of the Missional Church team. Phil Postler and Judy Dupont joined Curt Brockway, Amanda Duntz, Cynthia Strouse and Sue Ferguson. I get all excited when we talk about being the church instead of just going to church. The difference is that in being the church we are active and reflecting Christ's love out in the world. When we go to church we keep it inside and although it makes us feel good, it is a dead end as far as spreading God's love. I have said it before but you will be hearing a lot more about what it means to be a missional church in the next fifteen months. So stay tuned.

When I got home I sent out my epistle and then sat down to watch the Basketball finals and make my blog entries. So there you have it!

Cal

Summer sports

Tonight we had our third softball game in two nights. We play toughed and gave it our best shot. We played great defense tonight in a double header. We had some timely hitting. But alas, like my beloved Detroit Tigers, we didn't have much success in terms of wins and losses.

We did have some victories tonight. Fred Stone pitched a double header and he was tremendous on the mound. He pitched to a tough St. Pat's team and had them looking clueless at times. Although they had one big inning tonight, we stopped their potent line-up from breaking out again and again. Sean Wilding finally got his chance and not only did he get some big hits, he also played well in the infield. Chris Adams was moved to the outfield and he graciously accepted the challenge and he made some great plays. Chip Chaffee also shifted to the outfield tonight and he had four big hits and scored a couple of runs. Steve Moon and Jeff Brockway had some key hits and scored some big runs too. Jeff even saw some time in left field to spell Steve and he did quite well.

So our record is now 1-6. But it doesn't feel that way. Take a look at some of the photos from the last two nights. You will see our guys and gals having fun. And that is what it is all about.

Cal

Fifty years and counting.

Yesterday we recognized our couples who have been married for over 50 years. Dot and Harry Calkins (56 years), Dick and Elizabeth Strong (55 years) and Bob and Marge Booth (51 years although Bob was home with ongoing severe back problems) all came forward to receive our appreciation. We also recognized Oliver and Barbara Bray (49 years) and Bob & Helen Walker (47 years) for their longevity and gave them honorable mention because we haven't done this kind of recognition in a long time at church. Each of the couples received a nice certificate to mark the occasion.

Cal

A special day for Amy Hollis

Amy Hollis was ordained into the Christian ministry yesterday afternoon in a beautiful service in Essex. It highlighted Amy's love of butterflies and rainbows and her creative nature. Her husband Scott and her two daughters, Katie and Sarah took part in the service. Judy Allbee, our Executive Minister, preached a message that touched on some powerful points including "Never Say Never!" and "Love is the answer to every question."

Amy grew up on the West Coast but she landed here after college. She and her husband Scott started a family and by 2001 they had landed in Essex at the Baptist Church. She immediately got involved. Not only was she active in church affairs, she also got involved in our SUNL Association and ABCCONN. In 2004 she began the journey up to Andover Newton to pursue her M. Div. In 2006 sh came to us and we called her as our student minister. Then last summer she accepted a position as the Associate Pastor at First Baptist West Hartford.

Last month Curt Brockway and I attended her ordination council and we were among those who voted to unanimously approve her ordination.

In our tradition an ordination doesn't magically change a person. There is no mystical gift that is given to make you a super Christian or endow you with super powers. The ordination is simply a recognition by the church that God has given you certain gifts for leadership in the body of Christ and the call of God on your life s visible to all. That was certainly true with Amy.

She blessed us in her time at FBC. She was so enthusiastic, her ideas were inspirational, and her creativity was engaging. I shared our best wished with her yesterday at the service as I brought greetings from our congregation. I think we should feel blessed that God used us to help shape Amy's ministry and that we received as much as we gave.

Keep Amy in your prayers now and I will try to give you regular updates on what she is doing and how God is using her.

Cal

Ministry outside the lines

On Saturday we hosted a memorial service for Nancy Vardar. She was delightful lady who loved life and enjoyed her family. She died rather suddenly a week and a half ago and her family was stunned. At the service we celebrated her life and her son, grand-daughter and a family friend shared some stories about her passion for life.

In any given year we minister to several families in the community that are touched by death. This family came to us because they have friends in the congregation. When they suffered this loss, they turned to their friends for advice and consolation and that led them to us.

I think sometimes we think of our ministry as being exclusive. The church belongs to us. We want our children to be taken care of. We want the sermons to speak to us. We want to have a place to have our baby showers and someone to marry our kids. The truth is that our church stands out in the community as a place where people can come to meet God. Strangers are always welcome and we minister to them in ways that can't be measured over a long period of time. We may never even see some of them again. But God does. He meets them as they sit in our pews and hears their prayers. He comforts them and sometimes it changes their lives.

Today we celebrated with and honored our 50 year members. We know the effect that our ministry has had on their lives. Doris Adams and Marge Booth, Edith Robinson and Bruce Royce, George Strouse and June Pendleton all have been active in our ministry. Lois Lopez, Jean Roscoe, Doris Regets and Jean Smith have lived life with a keen appreciation for the ministry that blessed their families. They are the pillars that have made ministry possible at FBC for the last fifty years. They join others who have given us a heritage of faithfulness that allow us to be a gateway to God's grace.

I'll have some pictures from our recognition service tomorrow.

Cal