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THE CRIER
Inside this Issue:
Worship Services
2
Prayers
3
Birthdays/
Anniversaries
3
Ushers
4
Stewardship
6
Youth News
7-9
Special Events:
† Mother-Daughter
Banquet, 2nd
† Congregational
Meeting , 3rd
† Children’s Day, 31st
Ministers:
All of the Members of the
Church are called to serve in
daily life
Staff:
Rev. Dr. Linda U. Barnes,
Senior Pastor
Tom Evans, Treasurer
Dave Hock, Custodian
Kimberly Lewis, Music
Director
Susan Skoglund, Office
Manager
Email/Website:
colchesterfederate@ sbcglobal.net
www.ColchesterFederatedChurch.org
MAY 2015
From Our Pastor:
Dear Members and Friends of the Colchester Federated Church,
Each of you are an important part of this household of faith!
As we gather for worship, to nurture and teach our children, to
reach out into the community and around the world, strengthen
one another in faith and service—each one is important. We
can’t do it without you. God is counting on you to be Christ’s
hands and feet, heart and head in this time and place!
How do we do that? By coming to worship, serving on a ministry or committee,
and contributing to our church. In January, we reviewed a 2015 budget that had
about a $26,000 deficit for the year. We voted to operate under it (so the treasurer could pay our bills) but did not officially adopt this budget. At our May 3 rd
Congregational Meeting at 11:30 a.m. in the Stage Room, we will again review our
annual budget. Your thoughts, your prayers, and your support are needed in this
vital time for our congregation. Times of change can be challenging, but they can
also be times of growth and new opportunities. I sense a spirit of hope and cooperation in our congregation’s leadership and members. God’s Spirit is surging
through us in this time.
We are very grateful to folks who have served faithfully for many years. In particular, we give thanks to Jim Caronna for his years of service on the Ministry of
Stewardship and Diaconate, and for his dedicated behind-the-scenes work fixing
things. He has become a mentor to other folks who have stepped up to serve.
We thank the new leadership of our Stewardship Ministry, as well as our other
ministries.
This May 3rd congregational meeting is a time to elect new members to our ministries and committees, and to give thanks to those continuing to serve, and those
concluding their work. In our church structure, we don’t have anyone outside of
the church telling us what to do. That means we all need to step up and contribute to our ministry outreach, and to caring for our church home. We inspire and
encourage one another in this community of faith. We can trust God in all things.
After all, God loves this church even more than we do—God is working through us
and with us in surprising ways.
Blessings and peace,
VOLUME 9, ISSUE 5
MAY 2015
Page 2
Worship
Services
Sunday, May 3—The Fifth Sunday of Easter
† 8:30 a.m. worship service and communion
† 10 a.m. worship service and communion
† 11 a.m. Special Children’s Communion
Reception
† 11:30 a.m. Congregational Meeting, Stage
Room
Rev. Barnes preaching. Scriptures: John
15:1-8, 1 John 4:7-21; Theme: Abiding in
Love
Sunday, May 10—The Sixth Sunday of Easter
Rev. Barnes preaching. Scriptures: Psalm
98, John 15:9-17, Acts 10:44-48; Theme:
Friends Together.
† 8:30 a.m. worship service
† 10 a.m. worship service
Sunday, May 17—The Seventh Sunday of
Easter
† 8:30 a.m. worship service
† 10 a.m. worship service
Sunday, May 24—Pentecost Sunday
† 8:30 a.m. worship service
† 10 a.m. worship service
Sunday, May 31—Trinity Sunday
† 8:30 a.m. worship service
† 10 a.m. Children’s Sunday Worship
Service
† Pot Luck Picnic on the Church grounds
8:30 and 10 a.m. Communion Elements
Steward: Carolyn Marvin; 10 a.m. Communion Servers: Kevin Avery, John Plecan
and Jeannette Tomlinson.
Tom St. Louis, lay preacher. Scriptures:
Psalm 1, John 17:6-19; Theme: Guided in
Prayer.
Rev. Barnes preaching. Scriptures: Ezekiel
37:1-14, John 15:26-27, Acts 2:1-21;
Theme: Spirit for All.
Scriptures: Psalm 29, Isaiah 6:1-8, John
3:1-17; Theme: Mysterious Encounter.
Throughout the year, Bible study is held in Rev. Barnes’ office Monday
morning at 10:30 to read and reflect on the scriptures listed for the following
Sunday. We encourage each of you to read the biblical passages each week as
part of your daily devotional, and in preparation for our Sunday worship time.
The Crier
Those who are Ill or
Recovering:
Page 3
Contact a Church Life member
if you would like to donate
Sanctuary flowers. Please notify Susan Skoglund in the
Church Office as to how you
would like your memorial or
thanksgiving flowers noticed in
the bulletin.
If you know someone in need of
spiritual help, a hospital or pastoral visit, please tell Rev. Barnes
or call the Church Office.
A Message from Diaconate:
SURPRISE!!! Being part of a
Ministry, Mission or the
Diaconate is both wonderful and
uplifting. Members would agree
that God’s presence is often felt
among us and that the overall
experience is one of individual
and collective faith-building.
Kaitlyn Accola
Chester and Alberta Anderson
(Rev. Cheryl’s parents)
Evelyn Barr
Barbara Bosse
Austin Christiansen
Jason Clarke (son of Jen and John)
Bernie Erickson
Joan Frantzen
Raju and the New Life Mercy
Home in India
Maureen Granato
Athena Grey
(cousin of Deborah Howard)
Joseph and Mary Hamel
(parents of Shelly Hirsch)
Mitch Koziol
Wildred Marvin
(Deborah Howard’s mother)
Claire McCune
(Mike McCune’s mother)
Tiffany Nielson and her family
Dottie Olson
(mother of Barb Bosse)
Martha Paty
Clarence Schiebel
(father of Evelyn Plecan)
Hattie Turner
Joseph Cocchiarella
5/05
Garth Frantzen
5/06
Laura Stopa
5/06
Olivia Tellar
5/08
Robin Bosse
5/09
Devin Kwolek
5/09
Mason Poitras
5/10
Morgan Tyrrell
5/10
Liam Goodine
5/11
Calling All Musicians!!!!
Do you have a song to sing, or
instrument to play? Our summer services are a perfect time
to share them!! Please contact
me if you would like to share
your musical gifts during our
summer worship services! And
you don’t have to be in the choir
Deborah Howard
5/11
to sing!
Hannah Kardys
5/11
Friends in Assisted Living
and Convalescent Homes:
Colin Hiscox
5/16
Timothy Clarke
5/18
Owen McCarvill
5/18
Emily Baseler
5/19
Terrance Moore
5/23
Steven Moores
5/30
Bob Fletcher and Bob Miller
(Apple Rehab)
Evans Griffin, Emily Grundy,
Elizabeth Hageman, and Cecilia
Rogers (Harrington Court)
Children’s Day will be held
on Sunday, May 31, during
the 10 a.m. worship service,
with a Picnic following, to
be held on the Church
grounds.
Kim Lewis, Music
Director
Cathy and Brian Marvin
5/28
VOLUME 9, ISSUE 5
Page 4
APRIL 2015
March Total Income
March Total Expenses
March Net
Checkbook Balance
Current Liabilities
Year-to-Date Net
$20,183.61
$21,058.44
($874.83)
$11,825.69
$17,002.67
($5,176.98)
3/31/2015 Pledging:
Pledged:
$9,019.17
Received:
$9,889.24
Difference:
$870.07
% Received:
110%
May 3
8:30
10:00
Gerry Caron
Steve and Joey Bradstreet
May 10
8:30
10:00
Mary Tomasi
Tom St. Louis and Sean Stevens
May 17
8:30
10:00
Mitch and Lori Koziol
I an Beattie and Frank Tomlinson
May 24
8:30
10:00
Gerry Caron
Rich Hosford and Chris Wink
May 31
8:30
10:00
Gerry Caron
Tom St. Louis; Ted and Luke Sanford
Thank you to Tom St. Louis for assuming the usher scheduling duties from Jim Caronna.
Thank you to new ushers Ted and Luke Sanford, Sean Stevens, and Chris Wink!
Thank you to everyone who helps Colchester Federated Church
every day, including…
...all of our parishioners who made donations for the Food Bank
and paper goods and copy paper for our Church! Thank you!!
...everyone else who empties trash, closes windows, locks up,
and generally helps to care for our building and our church family; we appreciate your efforts
and couldn’t survive without you!
Silver Lake Youth Service Trip to the Cheyenne River Reservation
For our fifth Silver Lake service trip with Simply Smiles, we are headed to the Cheyenne River
Reservation in South Dakota! As hundreds of past participants will attest, this is a lifechanging opportunity for you and those you will travel to serve. Participants will live and work
with Simply Smiles in the town of La Plant on the Reservation in South Dakota. Trip Date is
August 15-22, cost is $1,500 including airfare and meals (not included, meals while traveling).
For more details, please contact: Charlie Kuchenbrod, charliek@ctucc.org;
www.silverlake.ctucc.org
The Crier
Page 5
The Mother/Daughter Banquet will be held on May 2nd this year. This is
a Women's Fellowship tradition here at CFC. We are hoping that all
women, young and not so young will attend. This year we are having a
talent show made up of the women who will be attending the banquet. Please call Nancy Dooley, 860-537-2979, if you have a talent you
would like to share. By letting us know who will be performing we can
add your name to the program. The doors open at 5:30 and dinner will be at 6:00. The tickets
are $10.00, children under the age of 5 are free. Please call Deb Howard, 860-537-5609, to
make a reservation. Hope to see you all there!
DIACONATE
The goal of Diaconate is to empower the congregation and its members to take the body of
Christ into the community, home, workplace, and the world. The Diaconate shall encourage
decisions to be made which reflect the faith of the congregation and which honor the gifts of its
members and friends. It shall be the center for planning, coordination, monitoring, and
evaluation of the mission and ministry of our Church.
Diaconate responsibilities include:
 The spiritual growth, well-being, and worship life of the Church and its members.
 Preparation of communion elements, assistance in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper,
baptism, dedication, and reception of new members.
 Inviting people into fellowship and providing information about this congregation.
 Providing insight and guidance to the Ministers of the Church.
 Involvement in the annual pledge campaign.
 Ministerial vacancies shall be filled by Interims provided for by the Diaconate and the
Ministry of Church Life in cooperation with the UCC and ABC denominations.
 With the Ministry of Gifts and Leadership, nominating a Search Committee, as the
need arises, to be voted on at a legally warned Church meeting.
Most recently Diaconate has been focused on honoring our gifted clergy as they navigate their
joyful transitions in life, and as the church seeks meaningful ways to show appreciation and
say goodbye. Diaconate is also very close to selecting an Interim Minister who will shepherd
our church through the process of choosing a new Settled Minister.
Mother's Day Flower Sale
Boy Scout Troop 72, which is sponsored by CFC, is having its 14th annual Mother's Day flower
sale at the Colchester Haywood Volunteer Fire Department on Old Hartford Road on Friday, May
8, from 4:30 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, May 9, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or when sold out. The Scouts
will have a variety of hanging baskets and individual potted plants. The colors and types of flowers
for sale are too many to list. Prices are terrific and the quality will be outstanding. Please support
our Troop in its annual fundraiser. All proceeds will go to support scout camping and training activities. Troop 72 has over 30 scouts and has been serving Colchester since 1939.
VOLUME 9, ISSUE 5
MAY 2015
Page 6
As we leave a long snowy winter and enter spring, our thoughts
turn to “spring cleaning” with its many tasks; and we become
aware that each of us has much to do around our own homes.
We’re sponsoring a Spring Cleaning and Sprucing Up opportunity
on Saturday, May 9th from 9:00 a.m. until Noon. Join church
members and friends for a morning of fellowship and stewardship
to welcome spring to our church property and to spruce up our
church home inside and outside! Cleaning and landscaping supplies are useful to the tasks at
hand. Please bring a rake, broom, shovel, truck, wheelbarrow, cleaning rags, window washing
supplies, etc. And THANK YOU for all you do! The Ministry of Stewardship
Giving Made Easy
If you've been following the Stewardship notes each month in the Crier, you've
probably noticed that we have been operating in the negative so far this year.
The good news is that we are right on budget for the year! Over the last few
years, we've gotten very good at cutting our expenses and budgeting for what
we really need to keep our church running. A lot of the thanks for that goes to
all of you who donate your time and items that we use on a regular basis.
Yup, we've been in this situation many times in the past. Somehow, things always work out...
with a little faith.
Did you know you can change your pledge at any time during the year? Just contact Steve
Bradstreet or Tom Evans.
Did you know you can pay your pledge through your on-line banking just like you pay your
other bills? Just set up Colchester Federated Church as the payee and use your envelope number as the account number. Don't know your envelope number???? Call Tom or Steve. Don't
have an envelope number???? Call Tom or Steve or simply use 001 as the account number. You
can even set it up to be recurring every month or week so that you don't have to think about it.
That really helps us out when summer attendance is lower. You can also do one-time payments
this way as well.
Don't have on-line banking???? You can have us set up an electronic payment from your checking or savings account through Vanco Services, a banking service that deals with non-profit
giving. We have several people that currently give this way. You can do regular payments or
one-time through this service. See Susan in the office for a form, or contact Steve or Tom.
Good, old-fashioned cash works too!
Page 7
The Crier
Youth Programming
May 2015
Communion Class
We are excited to announce that seven
students participated in our Communion
Vacation Bible School
August 17-21, 2015
9 am –noon
Ages 3 years through 5th Grade
Students in 6th Grade and up can
volunteer as helpers.
program this year. They received
communion at our Maundy Thursday
Service. We will celebrate this special
occasion with a reception following the 10
am worship service on May 3rd. All are
welcome at the reception.
3rd Graders
Maya Goodwin
Nathaniel Alexander
Samuel Ringuette
Neil Malloy
Avery Wrobel
Frank Gu
Natalia Vernali
CHILDREN’S
SUNDAY
May 31st @ 10 am service
Join us for a colorful
worship service lead by
our youth and stay for a
picnic.
CHURCH PICNIC
May 31st following worship. Families are asked to bring a dish to share and a
blanket to sit on. CFC will provide the hot dogs. We will be gathering on the
side lawn of the church to celebrate the completion of another great year.
Youth Programming!
The Crier
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VOLUME 9, ISSUE 5
Page 9
MAY 2015
Special Communion—April 2015
Natalia, Rev. Caronna, Frank, Samuel, Neil , Nathaniel, and Avery. Maya missing from photo.
On Friday, June 5, 3 – 7 p.m. and Saturday, June 6, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., a
Tag, Bake and Plant Sale will be held here at our Church. May 31st is the first
day to drop off items for the Tag Sale or plants for the Plant Sale. Please contact Avis Hull at 860-537-2094 or avis.hull@sbcglobal.net if you have any
questions.
Foodshare Walk Against Hunger
St. Vincent dePaul in Middletown is recruiting teams to walk in the Foodshare Walk Against Hunger,
on May 3, around Bushnell Park, Hartford. Free parking is provided at The Hartford, 690 Asylum
Ave. This event is a major fundraiser for the Amazing Grace Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen. Nine
faith groups from the Middletown area helped raise over $45K in 2014. In previous years, there has
been a sea of orange shirts representing SVdP; we’d love to have you be a partner with us. For
more info, contact Bob Walsh, Volunteer Walk Coordinator, at bwalsh@svdmiddletown.org or 860463-5061.
VOLUME 9, ISSUE 5
MAY 2015
Page 10
Andover Newton Honors One of CTUCC's Own
Rev. Martin Copenhaver with Rev. Dr. Davida Foy Crabtree
Photos by Eric Anderson
by Eric Anderson
NEWTON CENTRE, MA (03/25/2015) -- Andover Newton Theological School honored one of its
graduates with their Spirit of the Hill Award during Spring Convocation on March 20th, an
alumna well known in the Connecticut Conference: former Conference Minister the Rev. Dr.
Davida Foy Crabtree. Andover Newton President, the Rev. Martin Copenhaver, described her as
"one of the sages of the United Church of Christ."
Rev. Copenhaver proclaimed her legendary, both because, "she's cast a very long shadow in an
important career, but then also stories gathered around her, only some of which are true, I
gather." One true tale was the stickers she would attach to things around campus, reading,
"This is offensive to women" — in the early 1970s, she and other female students faced constant
resistance as they sought full recognition as leaders in the church.
"I owe a great debt of gratitude to certain members of the faculty here," said Dr. Crabtree,
"who were able to help me convert my pain and my sense of alienation and hurt on discovering
sexism, which I don't believe I had ever really seen or encountered until I encountered it in the
form of people believing that I could not become a minister. It was what I had set my heart on
starting in 7th grade when I went to Silver Lake Conference Center in Connecticut."
She urged her companion alumni/ae to support theological education with their prayerful encouragement and their financial resources. "If we do not come to the world's problems with God
clearly in our sights, if God is not the route through which we address the world's problems... it
isn't gonna work. It isn't gonna matter." Theological education which feeds the whole person,
she insisted, is what enables the Church and its leadership to serve as a light to the nations.
Page 11
The Crier
Tag/Plant/Bake Sale
Tag/Plant/Bake Sale
3-7 pm
9 am –2 pm
Office Hours: Monday—Wednesday,
and Friday: 9:00 a.m.and
to 2:30
p.m.
Rev.
Barnes
is p.m. Rev. Barnes is
Office Hours: Monday—Wednesday,
Friday:
9:00
a.m.
to 2:30
in the office on Thursdays,
with
varying
hours.
Her
day
off
is
Fridays.
in the office on Thursdays, with varying hours. Her day off is Fridays.
The
Crier
860-537-5189
60 Main Street
Colchester, CT 06415
Colchester Federated
Church
May 2015
A Monthly Newsletter
Colchester Federated Church
Affiliated with the United Church of Christ
and
American Baptist Churches
The Rev. Dr. Linda U. Barnes, Senior Pastor
(860) 537-5189; colchesterfederate@sbcglobal.net
www.ColchesterFederatedChurch.org