Aldersgate Advocate
Beside
the Alabaster Jar
Dear friends,
Lent offers a time for reflection
on one’s relationship with God. This
year, Aldersgate UMC invites you to join a small group study, Chocolate for Lent, be part of a 24-hour
prayer vigil on Wednesdays during Lent, read through a Lenten devotional book
by Debbie, and/or listen to a musical recording from our choir. All of these are opportunities for you to
focus on your relationship with God during the 40 days of Lent.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been
involved in several discussions that have emphasized the difficulty of
balancing relationship with productivity.
The business focus of our culture tends to value production of
consumable goods and the productive use of one’s time. Yet, I have been experiencing the value of
building relationship with one another and with God.
I often hear from some of you, “But
you’re so busy. I don’t need a
visit.” I am concerned that my perceived
busy-ness (which is very similar to business) may be getting in the way of
relationships that I know are important to God.
Balancing productivity and
relationship first came into my reflections while talking about our
relationship with our partners in Nicaragua.
Many of us see the poverty in Nicaragua and want to feed as many children
as possible or provide medicine to all those who need. Yet, many of those who live in New England are poor in spirit and benefit
from the relationships that we have with our partners. When those relationships are disrupted all
suffer.
This balance was also part of a
conversation I had regarding a major federal program to help the poor. If a program’s goal is to deliver as much
food as possible to the hungry (productivity), then it could interfere with a
church’s goal to help low-income people in their neighborhood toward durable
self-sufficiency. This latter goal
requires relationship building on the part of the church and the family
receiving help. Sometimes the lack of
food is the precipitating need that covers up other issues, such as the high
cost of housing, the lack of health insurance, or drug and alcohol abuse
sometimes brought on by the stress of trying to manage a no-win situation. Relationship building helps families to
acknowledge other issues and begins to lead them into more self-sufficient
circumstances.
During Lent, we acknowledge that
our relationship with God is the most important one in our lives. Concern about one’s productivity could
interfere with one’s relationship with God and with other people. Robert E. Lane, retired political science professor
from Yale University, published a book in 2000 in writes that we are experiencing
“a famine of warm interpersonal relationships” due to people striving so hard
for income that there is little time for friendship.
We, at Aldersgate, invite you to
renew your relationship with God and others during the season of Lent. Finding companions for your journey may be
more satisfying than making more money or getting that next promotion. Actually, having companions may help you in
the long run toward that next promotion.
Please join us for worship during this holy season.
Grace and peace,
Sharon G. W. Jones
Worship
News
On
Sunday, February 18th, we kicked off our Lenten Study, Chocolate for Lent. Lessons for the day were the traditional
readings for Transfiguration Sunday. The
assigned reading from Luke, 9:28-43a,
however, included a healing by Jesus that his disciples were unable to
accomplish. The story reminded us of the
possibilities of faith as we make the transition with Jesus to face Jerusalem and the
crucifixion to come. Rev. Greg was the
preacher for the day and encourages us to go on to the next mountaintop
experience and not get stuck in the last.
On
Sunday, Feb. 25th we began the season of Lent with worship and small
groups. Pastor Sharon’s sermon was
called, “Emptying Out, Making Room.” We
were encouraged to make room for God in our lives by giving up of something for
Lent. Making time for God can happen
when we join a small group, or participate in a prayer vigil. It’s never too late to start. Now is the time!
We
also introduced our confirmation class and their mentors: Zeke and Charles, Rebecca and Betsey, Rachel
and Hee Kyung, Sam and Jim, Jeff and Curt, Sydney and Pat, Paul and Reggie. Please pray for these young people and
mentors over the next few months as they prepare for confirmation.
The
focus of our worship and small groups for the week of Sunday, March 4th
is “Giving Out – The Power of Gifts.”
Lessons for the day include Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18, a story of God’s
covenant making with Abraham, and Luke 14:12-24, Jesus’ teachings about table
manners. We will also receive the gift
of Holy Communion at both services.
After
giving up and giving out, we move during the third week of Lent, March 11th,
to “Getting Wise- the Possibility of Change.”
In the lesson form Luke 13:1-9, Jesus is teaching about the connection
or lack thereof between sin and suffering.
The parable of the fig tree holds out hope to us that it is never to
late to produce fruit for God.
On
Sunday, March 18th, the gospel lesson is the beloved Parable of the
Prodigal Son. In preparation for this
Sunday you might look up the meaning of the word “prodigal” and decide who best
fits this definition. The emphasis in
our Lenten study for this week is “Getting Real – the Power of
Acceptance.” The older brother in the
gospel parable struggles with the acceptance that his younger brother received
when he returned to the family. With
whom do you identify in this story?
The
Fifth Sunday of Lent is March 25th and the themes form the Lenten
study is “Growing Up – the Process of Change.”
Lessons for worship include John 12:1-8 and Philippians 3:4b-14. In the Epistle lesson, Paul speaks about “not
having a righteousness of [his] own that comes form the law, but one that comes
from faith in Christ.” All too often we
dismiss the Jewish law as impossible to fulfill but Paul was able to do just
that. He turned to Jesus Christ not
because the Law was too difficult, but because it was not fulfilling. In what ways can you change such that your
life might be more fulfilling?
On
April 1st, we celebrate Palm Sunday this year. There is an irony in celebrating this holy
day on April Fool’s Day. We hope to have
the traditional Palm Sunday procession as a part of our 10:45 service. The lessons for the day include the passion
narrative, Luke 22:14 through 23:56. You might want to take the time to read this
in its entirety before or after this service as we prepare for Easter. We will close both services with the
presentation of the symbols of Christ’s passion.
Holy
Week will include a service on Maundy Thursday as well as a Good Friday
service. Both will begin at 7:30.
Please watch the bulletin for more detail.
Our
Easter Celebration begins with a sunrise service in the outdoor chapel provided
that the snow has melted. This service
is scheduled for 6:00 a.m. A continental breakfast will be available
right after the service. Worship is
scheduled for the sanctuary at 8:30 and 10:45 a.m.
We hope that our choir will sing at both services and we will serve
communion at 8:30.
Please
join us for worship at 8:30 and 10:45, each Sunday during this season. Adult studies and Children’s Education take
place between services. A coffee hour is
also available in the Fellowship Hall.
All are welcome!
Scripture Readings for March and April, 2007
March 4 March
25 April
15
Psalm 27 Psalm
126 Psalm 150
Genesis
15:1-12, 17-18 Isaiah
43:16-21 Acts
5:27-32
Philippians
3:17 – 4:1 Philippians 3:4b-14 Revelation
1:4-8
Luke 13:31-35 John
12:1-8 John 20:19-31
March 11 April
1 – Palm Sunday April 22
Psalm
63:1-8 Liturgy
of the Psalms Psalm 30
Isaiah
55:1-9 Psalm
118:1-2, 19-29 Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
1 Corinthians
10:1-13 Luke19:28-40
Revelation
5:11-14
Luke
13:1-9 John
21:1-19
March 18 April
8 – Easter Sunday April
29
Psalm 32 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 Psalm 23
Joshua 5:9-12 Acts 10:34-43 Acts
9:36-43
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 1
Corinthians 15:19-26 Revelation
7:9-17
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 John 20:1-18 or
Luke 24:1-12 John
10:22-30
Adersgate is a
family of faith …
As a community of faith, Aldersgate Church
believes strongly in the power of prayer.
There are many opportunities for
you to participate in a group prayer ministry such as the Early Bird Bible
Study at 6 a.m.
and Prayer Gathering on Tuesday evenings at 6:30
p.m. at Aldersgate and, of course, at home whenever and wherever
you are! In particular, please pray for: Ginny, Nancy, Dave, Kathy, Pat, Mike,
Judy, Charlotte, Barbara, and Cindy.
If you have a prayer
request, please notify Debbie or the Church Office. Debbie will alert AUMC’s
faithful prayer partners! We continue to
hold all the people you have requested in prayer in the Sunday morning bulletin
for a four week period of time. If you
would like someone lifted in prayer for another four weeks, all you need to do
is contact the Church Office or Pastor Sharon, and we are pleased to continue
your request.
Congratulations
Curt
and Sherry have a new grandson! Kristen
and Rob welcomed Aaron Robert on Valentines Day! Baby Aaron weighed 6 lbs., 12 oz. and he is
20 ½ inches
long. Our love and congratulations to
Kristen and Rob and to the happy grandparents – Sherry and Curt!
A BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY
We
wish our Child Care Worker, Sheri-Ann a belated Happy Birthday. Sheri’s birthday is February 24th !
We missed this special date on our previous Advocate – Thank you, Sheri for
your care of our little ones! We hope
you have a year full of happy moments!
Scouting Ministry
Scout
Sunday was celebrated on February 11,
2007.
During
this past year, Dan accepted the role of Assistant Scout Master for Troop 81,
the Aldersgate sponsored Boy Scout Troop.
Dan has been active with the Cub Scout program and now begins to take a
role in the Boy Scout Troop. His son
Brian is also a member of Troop 81. Some
of you may know Dan as a led actor in the Aldersgate Drama Group.
Curt
has also agreed to be our representative for Boy Scout Troop 81 and Cub Scout
Pack 81. Curt is the father of four
members of our Sunday School; Bradley, Jared, Ryan, and Kate. He is married to Aimee Krueger.
Girl
Scout troops that meet at Aldersgate include: Junior Troop 78, and Brownie
Troop 14, both under the leadership of Chris.
St.
Paul’s Kitchen is hosting their First
Annual
Spaghetti
Supper
Saturday, March 10 at 6 p.m.
Eliot Presbyterian Church in Lowell.
Tickets are
$10 per adult, $6 under 10 years old
Outreach has
20 tickets to sell, so get your tickets now!
Please call
Debbie Benson or the Church Office!
Thanks
to the Aldrsgate Mighty Men for signing up twice for St. Paul’s Feeding Ministry.
Have you?
Join us at the Greater
Boston Food Bank
On
Saturday morning, March 17, join the Mighty
Men of Aldersgate as they visit the Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) from 8:45 to noon, leaving
from Aldersgate at 7:30 a.m. The group will be inspecting, sorting, and
packing packaged foods for distribution to hunger relief organizations. Spouses and teens, age 16 and over, are
invited to join the Mighty Men. If you’d
like to participate, please e-mail Bill Wilder at wcwilder@alum.mit.edu or indicate
your plan to participate on the sign-up sheet, so that we can confirm to the
Food Bank how many folks will be coming.
Annually, the GBFB distributes approximately 17,500 pounds of food
through two partner Chelmsford agencies,
part of the 24 million pounds of food distributed annually through hundreds of
eastern Massachusetts local
hunger-relief agencies.
Save the Dates
Aldersgate
Golf Outing – Saturday, May 5 – noon to 6 p.m., Chelmsford Country Club.
Aldersgate
Rummage Sale – May 11 and 12 – to benefit St. Paul’s Feeding Ministry.
No Electronics!
More
Information to Follow!
News
from the Church Council
Change for Change…
A
people of God in mission through Aldersgate UMC, we hear the
call to bring change and healing to those in need around the world. We are a blessed congregation where regular
and ongoing giving by members and supporters funds much of our operating
expenses. Confident in this base of
faithful financial stewardship, we hear the call to reach out to those who
continue to be in need locally, nationally and globally. In response to those needs, we welcome and
celebrate gifts of “change” (pocket change, spare change, piggy bank change)
each week specifically for mission initiatives.
May the jingle and clinking of these gifts placed in the offering plate
be music to God’s ears and a symbol of our commitment to “change” the world
with into a closer reflection of the Kingdom!
Bonnie
***
Coming Attractions: Two Services Extended Till June 24th
The Church
Council, in consultation with the Staff-Parish Relations Committee, Worship
Committee, and the Christian Education Ministries, decided this year to extend
the two service format. The two service format, which traditionally ended on
Memorial Day weekend in May, will be extended to the last Sunday of June
(6/24). The services will continue to be held at 8:30am and 10:45am. Church School will end, as
planned on May 20th, with Church School Sunday
celebration.
We decided to
try this extension to continue to offer multiple and different services longer
in the spring based on research that worship choices are important to healthy
and vibrant churches. This concept was echoed by members of
Aldersgate. The Aldersgate family is truly blessed with our terrific
staff and worship volunteers who continue to give of their time and talent to
serve God!
The Single
service format will be held during the summer, at 9:30am, beginning
on July 1st until Labor Day.
See
you in church!
***
A Vision for Aldersgate – Let Your Voice Be Heard!
Last
fall, about 20 members of the congregation, led by the Church Council, met to
discuss the future of Aldersgate. We
were excited about the many great activities we have seen spring up over the
past few years: the organ purchase, the start of many small groups (Women’s
Ministry, Mighty Men of Aldersgate, Prayer Gathering, Prayer Shawl Ministry,
the Aldersgate Band), the growth of our adult study, the great response to the
Capital Campaign, and the creation of the Worship Arts program, to name just a
few. We discussed wanting Aldersgate to
be the church that each member of the congregation would be excited about, to
be proud to attend, to want to be part of.
The result of the discussion was some ideas for a vision for Aldersgate,
that is, what we, the congregation, want the church to look like, to be known
for, a few years from now.
So,
what would excite you about the future Aldersgate? Included in this Advocate is a short survey, which will be used to
create a vision and serve as a basis for plans for Aldersgate to be the church
we, the congregation, want it to be! Please take five minutes to fill it out and drop it in the box in the church hallway by March 18th.
We
will share the results with you!
Peter, Chair
Remind us, Lord, it
doesn’t take a special time or place,
To thank You for Your
daily gifts and daily grace.
Fred Bauer
(Daily Guideposts)
VISION
SURVEY FOR ALDERSGATE
The Church Council is developing a vision
statement that we will use as a basis for planning actions in the future to
meet the congregation’s needs. Please
check the ideas you identify with or would be excited to be a part of. If you have any other visions or ideas,
please write them down. Thanks!
_____ Expanded children and youth programs
offered to the community on a daily basis
_____ Creating
a church without walls
_____ Connecting
to people’s needs in the local community and the world (local and global): a
place of refuge and help, making a difference, known for “good”, vibrant
_____ Growing
in number of people
_____ Growing
in activities to serve individuals, community and world
_____ To
be a light
_____ To
be a force of change in the community
_____ To
be a healthy organization that is functioning and involving many people
_____ To
care for the members within the church family and to also be reaching people
outside “the doors” – locally/globally
_____ That
everyone involved is striving to be a disciple of Jesus and to live accordingly
_____ Local
outreach
_____ Yearly
focus for all committees “year of _____________”
_____ Engage
more members
_____ More
classrooms/better use of space to provide growth
_____ Retire
debt
_____ Be
more involved in world ministries and mission
_____ Environmental
stewardship program
_____ Extend
our church through “virtual imaging”
_____ Eucharist
Ministry
_____ Joy
– Joy – Joy
_____ Being
a church known for its ministries
_____ Need
to develop outreach to next generation of leaders
_____ Double
the active membership by 2012
_____ Become
the beacon/stand-out church in the area
_____ Become
known as the church built on small groups
_____ Be
known by our reputation for strong Christian disciples
_____ Growth
in membership
_____ More
participation from non-involved members
_____ Treat
Nicaragua as a separate entity from community outreach
_____ Other _______________________________________________________________
Don’t forget to fill out the survey form and bring it to
church with you or send it by March 28th! Thank you!
2006 AUMC Financial
Summary of Giving
General
Budget
Pledged Giving $192,717.00
Non-Pledged
Giving $ 43,259.85
Other Income
Loose
Offering, Church School,
Coffee Fund, Initial $ 3,875.02
Building
Usage, Fox Nursery $
13,130.00
Special
Seasonal Offerings $ 3,647.00
Christmas
Faire $ 6,694.58
Fund Raisers $ 603.90
Bank Acct.
Interest $ 46.21
Mortgage
Pledged $
43,434.00
Non-Pledged $ 4,581.50
Additional
Principal $ 4,100.00
TOTAL INCOME RECEIVED $316,089.06
In/Out Directed Giving
Conference
Special Sundays $ 699.00
Church World
Service Blankets $ 765.00
Outreach
Aldersgate and Lowell Pantries, St.
Paul’s Feeding Min., $ 1,228.00
Thanksgiving Baskets
Habitat
For Humanity $ 1,110.00
Habitat
Africa-Thanksgiving $ 376.33
Nicaragua
Teachers, Computers, Education Fund, Gen’l $ 2,930.00
My
Father’s House $ 145.00
Ghana Trip-
Babich $ 170.00
Katrina-Ash Wednesday $ 477.00
Coins for
Missions $ 133.87
Russian
Dinner, Heifer Proj., Santa Tree, Gen’l $ 487.00
Leaverton
Endowment Fund $ 2,170.00
Capital
Campaign $ 3,063.00
Capital
Campaign – Conference Disbursement $ 8,362.65
Study
Literature $ 961.72
Flowers,
Altar, Easter, Christmas $ 2,242.50
Staff Gifts
Christmas $ 1,275.00
Youth Fund
Raisers, Activities $ 2,279.00
Women’s
Retreat Registration, Books, Florals $ 1,164.84
Misc. Refunds,
Rebates, Loan Repayment $ 3,533.13
Educational
Programming $ 1,494.00
Music,
Knitting , Coffee Exchange, Memorial $ 624.00
TOTAL DIRECTED FUNDS $
35,691.04
The sharing of your resources has been a blessing to the
lives of many…Thank you!!!
************
Get your date book!
Aldersgate Golf Outing
Get your sticks ready --
we’re having a golf outing! 
When:
Saturday, May 5th -- noon to six.
Where: Beautiful Chelmsford CC
What: Nine holes of golfing fun
followed by a few burgers, dogs and prizes.
Mark your calendars --
more information to come!!
And
Start cleaning closets and save your
good used clothing,
Household goods For a Rummage Sale
Sponsored by the Outreach Committee and
Women’s
Ministry On Friday and Saturday, May 11
and 12
NO ELECTRONICS PLEASE
* * *
Watch for an exciting
announcement about Aldersgate some time
near the end of March!
Flowers for Easter Sunday
