Aldersgate Advocate
Beside the Alabaster Jar
Greetings,
As you receive this
newsletter, we will be ending our time of Lenten reflection and preparing for
the celebration of Easter. For me, this
time has meant an exponential growing of grace in my life. I have come to understand grace as much more
than just forgiveness from God; it is also the strength that leads me to change
my selfish human ways and open my self to God.
Yes, God’s
forgiveness is important because it frees one from being chained to greed,
envy, lethargy, anger, intolerance, and other ungodly powers that seek to
control our lives. And God’s grace also
leads one forward into a new way of living that is not possible without that
grace.
John Wesley, the
founder of Methodism talks a lot about “going on to perfection.” In a sermon titled
“Christian Perfection” he says this perfection is not about being free from the
ignorance of God’s ways, nor is it about being free from making a mistake. Christian perfection does not mean being free
from “infirmities” that limit our abilities of thought, understanding, speech,
or imagination. “Nor can we expect to be
wholly free from temptation.” (John
Wesley’s Sermons, ed. Albert C. Outler, Abingdon
Press, Nashville, pp. 71-73)
Our Lenten study
“Opening Ourselves to Grace” quotes another sermon from Wesley “On Perfection”
telling us that he identifies this perfection with perfect love. “This is the sum of Christian perfection: it
is comprised of one word, love. The first branch is the love of God: and
as they who love God love their brother and sister also, it is inseparably
connected with the second; ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Matthew
For some this idea
of perfection has become an unachievable goal sometimes moving one into
depression rather than freedom. We begin
to think that we have to do everything, yet we need to be reminded that
perfection is impossible without grace.
This perfection is something that God works in us; it is not something
we do to ourselves. So to those that I
sometimes offend I say, “Please forgive me, God isn’t finished with me
yet.”
May you acknowledge
the love of God and trust that by grace you have been made perfect in
love.
Happy Easter!
Sharon Jones
Palm
Sunday –
Worship:
Adult
Education:
Maundy Thursday –
Worship with Holy
Communion:
Good Friday –
We are invited to All
Saints Episcopal Church for a service led by youth at
Easter –
Breakfast –
Worship:
Guest Preacher: Jenn Carpenter,
Director of
Sacrament of Baptism:
Justin, son of Beth
Prayer
Concerns
Please
keep Asha, Sheri, Charlotte, Jack, Elaine, Jim, Cyndy, Ed, Pat, Gigi, Dave,
Lillian and Linda in your prayers.
Also,
please keep our servicemen and women in your prayers along with their
families. Pray for our communities –
peace without violence; all those who are homeless; children throughout our
world – that they may grow up without fear!
We
are grateful for the many ways our Aldersgate Church
Family minister to one another and throughout the community through
Thank You
Special
thanks to our group leaders for our tremendous class on “Grace.” To Pastor Sharon, Nancy and Cheryl, to Greg
and Roger for leading us on this journey!
Our
Vision -
Bible
March 2
1
Samuel 16:1-13
Psalm
23
Ephesians
5:8-14
John
9:1-41
March 9 April 6
Ezekiel
37:1-14 Acts 2:14a,
36-41
Psalm
130 Psalm
116:1-4,
Romans
8:6-11 12-19
John
11:1-45 1 Peter
Luke
24:13-35
March 16 – Palm Sunday April 13
Matthew
21:1-11 Acts
Psalm
118:1-2, 19-29 Psalm
23
Liturgy of the Passion 1 Peter
Isaiah
50:4-9a John 10:1-10
Psalm
31:9-16
Philippians
2:5-11 April 20
Matthew
26:14-27:66 or Acts 7:55-60
Matthew
27:11-54 Psalm 31:1-5,
15-16
1
Peter 2:2-10
March 23 - Easter John 14:1-14
Acts
10:34-43
Psalm
118:1-2, 14-24 April 27
Psalm
32 Acts
Romans
5:12-19 Psalm 66:8-20
Matthew
4:1-11 1 Peter
John
14:15-21
March 30
Exodus
17:1-7
Psalm
95
Romans
5:1-11
John
4:5-42
Aldersgate Book Group
The
March book is "A Tree Grows in
April
22nd is “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini; May 20 will be "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri; June 24th will be
"The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion,
and July 22nd
will be "Blessings" by Anna Quindlen.
Dates to follow....Get reading and please join us we would love to have you
all.....Deb
Congratulations
to John Park
John
will be recommended for commissioning by the Board of Ordained Ministry at the
New England Annual Conference in June.
Our love and congratulations to you!
John was our Pastoral Intern a few years ago.
“At its best, giving is an
act of worship.” Cornelius J. Dyck
(1740-92), colonel under the command of Gen. George Washington.
On
January 27, the Aldersgate Congregation held a “clothing
shower” for the
3
pairs of boots
4
pairs of sneakers
28
hats
61
pairs of mittens
20
hat and glove sets
11
t shirts
One
pair of thermal underwear
Two
great big packs of snazzy elastics for the little girls’ hair
And
For the girls:
203
pairs of underwear
88
pairs of socks
16
sweaters and jackets
11
beautiful winter coats
33
pairs of slacks
20
little shirts
17
two-piece outfits
3
tank tops
For the boys:
101
pairs of underwear
113
pairs of socks
6
warm winter coats
8
sweaters and jackets
43
shirts
27
pairs of pants
And
19 two-piece sets
And here’s a prayer
request:
ask God to mightily touch the life of every child who receives a piece of
clothing and bless the child’s family, too. Some of the families are struggling
with things that are beyond our imagining. I know that God heals, strengthens,
and protects, and that He hears and answers our prayers.
You
are all part of answered prayer.
Debbie
Thank You …..
..From
all of us at the
Nicole Reedy, RN
From your
Outreach committee
My
cup runneth over!!!! You never cease to amaze us!!! A
great big thank you to Deb for bringing us a great cause!!! You all did us
proud. We are amazed by what you brought to the shower!!! We are truly blessed
here at Aldersgate, and we are able to help some
children at the
Deb
***
Thank
you to our Cub Scout Pack 81 from all of us at Aldersgate
for all the canned goods you gave to help supply our Aldersgate
Food Pantry. Your generosity will help
many families in need of food.
We sincerely thank you!
***
Thank you to the individuals who purchased tickets
to the Globetrotters’ game and then donated them to the Youth! They had a wonderful time and the Conference raised over $7,000 toward the “Nothing-but-nets” campaign in
the fight to eliminate Malaria.
Women’s Ministry Book Study
Once
again we would like to invite those who are interested to join us on the last
Thursday of each month to study the book Having a Mary Spirit: Allowing God to Change Us from the Inside Out, by Joanna
Weaver. This is a slow pace study and we study about a chapter a
month.
This
study is a home study at the home of Ginny in
This
is a very informal group where we try to hear God's word in scripture, the text
and in each others testimony.
We
have a simple dinner at
If
you would like to join us for dinner or just the study, please feel free to
come! All are welcomed.
Call
Ginny if you like to discuss the group or have any questions at the church
office at
From Finance
Your
Financial Secretary, Kelly, encourages all members and contributors to AUMC's ministry to use giving envelopes. This
increases the accuracy of the record keeping and documentation. Help us
be good stewards of your giving! Please see Kelly if you would like to
request a box of envelopes. Kelley can be reached through the church
office at
Change for
Change!
Thank
you for your continued participation in our “Change for Change” Program. We welcome and celebrate gifts of “change”
(pocket change, spare change, piggy bank change) each week specifically for
mission initiatives. You may remember
that we were able to help the
Our
church school is supporting the “Nothing but Nets Campaign” during the season
of Lent. “Nothing But Nets” is an
organization that supplies mosquito netting for families in
A Suggestion
One
of our members is suggesting that for all the service men and women on our
weekly Church bulletin Prayer List, it would be encouraging if they received
mail from our Aldersgate family from time to time –
perhaps a card or note - to let them know that they are appreciated and held in
our thoughts and prayers. So, if you
have a snail-mail address or – e-mail address, please share it with the office
and we will compile a list that will be available in the office for you to
use. The list is on the counter in the
Church Office. We now have addresses for
three … how about helping provide more!
Outreach Committee
Start
Cleaning Your Closets!
Outreach
is sponsoring a Rummage Sale and White Elephant Sale on May 23rd and
24th !
You will be hearing more about this – plan on helping the Outreach
Committee in this fund raiser!
What’s
Happening at Rolling Ridge
March
31, 7 – 9 PM Sacred Circle Dance; these dances are simple, graceful, contemplative
dances that help us slow down, come to center and participate in the Great
Mystery. They help us tap into our gratitude for and connection with inner
peace, with one another, with the earth and the natural cycles of life. The tradition is an ancient one with deep
spiritual underpinnings. The Registration Fee is $15 in advance and $20 at the
door.
April
1,
April
15, 9:30 AM – 3 PM – Living Authentically: A Workshop in Discernment: Through the use of practical exercises, Phillip Petree, retreat facilitator, will help us examine our
values, desires of the heart and personal strengths, which will lead us to
greater self knowledge, and therefore help us make key decisions in our
lives. This is for anyone seeking to
find greater meaning in life.
Registration Fee is $40 in advance and $45 at the door.
Please contact Rolling Ridge directly to
register or find out further information at 978-682-8815 or thestaff@rollingridge.org.
A reminder: The flower chart is posted just outside the
Church Office for 2008. Thank you!
Women in the World 2008
Immigrant Women:
Singing God’s Song in a New Choir
8 St. Mary’s Street,
This conference will help clergy and lay leaders
understand immigrant churches and women’s voices in various contexts. The
Presenters include :
Rev. Dr. Aida Irizarry-Fernandez, District
Superintendent of
Rev. Laurel Scott, pastor of Centralville
UMC in
Dr. M.T. Davila,
Rev. Dr. Choi Hee An,
Rev. Yoo-Yun Cho-Chang,
To register
or find out more information, please take a brochure located on the table in
the front hall.
CHURCH SCHOOL NEWS
Valentines
Thank
you to each of our church school classes, and Lee’s Girl Scout Troop, for
making valentines for home bound members, friends, college students and
servicemen. The children and youth were
very creative in designing their valentines and their warm wishes are sure to
help spread God’s love to all!
Scout
Sunday
Thank
you to all the scouts and scout leaders for joining us in worship and helping
during the 2nd service on Sunday, February 10th. The scouts were a great help since we had to
set up for church in the Fellowship Hall.
Thank you!
Lenten
Our
church school has been supporting the “Nothing but Nets Campaign” during this
season of Lent. We have collected enough money to buy 9 nets to protect
families from malaria. Let’s see if we
can double the amount by Easter! The
cost of a net is $10.00. If you donate
$20.00, you will receive a T-shirt or cap.
Please fill out a form if you are donating $20.00 so you can receive a
T-shirt or cap. We can shine brightly as
a church all the way to
EASTER
CHOCOLATE
Our
Senior Youth group will be selling homemade chocolate after each of the
services on Palm Sunday, March 16th.
The sale proceeds will help pay for the mission trip to Mission Central,
a United Methodist Warehouse that supplies school and health and kits, and
flood buckets to those in need
.
NO
EASTER
BREAKFAST AND EGG HUNT
Full Course Breakfast:
Easter Services:
EGG HUNT FOR CHILDREN
There will be
Easter crafts for the children during the Breakfast!
Confirmation
Class
Our next confirmation class will be on Sunday,
March 30th, from
Please pray for the following youth and their
mentor partner: Billy & Bob, Andrew & Jim, Walker & Richard,
Anthony & Peter, Alexei & Walt, Hannah & Cheryl, Nicole &
Debbie, Kim & Christine, and Annalise &
Betsey.
It’s
VBS - August
11 – 15 from 9 –
Get
ready for an outdoor adventure that starts in our own backyard and will get
bigger each day as we take the love of Jesus into our neighborhoods and
communities! In God’s Big Backyard,
children and youth will…
·
Explore Bible servants and be challenged to serve each day
·
Listen to people who serve their neighbors and participate with friends
in service projects
·
Work together to create cool Bible crafts and play fun games that will
remind us to serve others
·
Celebrate the joy of showing God’s love through service to their
families, friends, neighbors, community, and Jesus
This
year children & youth, ages 4 - 14 will be in same age-level crews, we will
even offer a crew for teens! There will
be registration forms available at the end of March. If you have any questions, or would like to
help, please see Cheryl
Worship
Arts
Children,
ages 4 through 6th grade, are invited to
join us each Tuesday afternoon from
Junior
Youth Choir & Bells on Thursday evenings
Junior (Miller) Bells –
Youth Choir –
All children and youth in 4th grade or older, are
welcome to join us each Thursday for our exciting music program. Please see Becky Adams if you are interested
or have any questions.
Children’s
Choir on Sunday mornings
This
young children’s choir is for children, ages 4 years old – 2nd
grade. Becky Adams will use a variety of
musical media as a fun way to learn about music! Your child may go downstairs
with Becky after the theme conversation.
JUNIOR YOUTH FELLOWSHIP
This fellowship group is
for young youth in grades 4th, 5th and 6th
grade. Our mission is to provide your
children with a safe, healthy and loving environment to help them grow and
experience Christianity
Game
Night
Friday, March 14th
from
Bring
your favorite board game, fun game, crazy game, any
game for an evening of fun and good times!
Bring a topping for an ice cream sundae to share.
Cosmic
Bowling Fun
Friday, March 28th
from
We
will meet at church at
Treasure
Hunt Night
Friday, April 11th
from
Come
dressed as a pirate tonight as we go on a special treasure hunt for the
evening!
Town
Wide Clean Up Day
Saturday, April 19th
from
We
will be helping to clean up with the rest of the town to help green up
SENIOR YOUTH FELLOWSHIP
We are a fun group of
spiritually focused youth who celebrate Christ’s presence among us by engaging
in community and group activities, church participation and mission projects.
All youth in grades 7 – 12
are welcome to join us at any time and friends are always welcome!
Saturday,
March 15th – Chocolate Making Fun
Saturday,
We
will have fun making different kinds of chocolate treats to sell on Palm Sunday
for Easter. This is a fundraiser to help
with our Mission Trip to Mission Central.
We will sell the chocolate after both services on Palm Sunday, please
sign up to help.
Saturday,
March 22nd – Easter Breakfast Prep
Saturday,
Come
join the fun as we prepare food for our traditional Easter Breakfast and also
set up the Easter Egg Hunt for Sunday.
Sunday,
March 23rd – Easter Breakfast and Easter Egg
Hunt
Sunday,
Sign
up for a time to work a shift during the breakfast and Easter Egg Hunt. We will also have a couple craft tables for
the children that will need volunteer leaders for. Please sign up to help! This is also a fundraiser to help with our
Mission Trip.
Sunday,
March 30th – Confirmation Class - no youth group
Sunday,
We
will enjoy a pizza lunch – bring $3.00 to cover the cost,
class time will be
Saturday,
April 12th –
Saturday,
We
will meet at church, and then drive to the Lowell Wish Project to volunteer for
2 hours. Friends are always welcome to
join us as we help the community. Please
bring money for lunch – we will decide where we will eat.
Town
Wide Clean Up Day – We will be supporting the junior youth group in this
project!
Saturday, April 19th
from
We
will be helping to clean up with the rest of the town to help green up
Youth
Tuesday, July 22nd
– Monday, July 28th
Our Mission Trip this summer will be working at
Mission Central in
We will work on Wednesday – Friday, go to
The church we will be staying at has shower
facilities, a kitchen we can use, a gym with
basketball and volleyball equipment. We
may also go to a minor league baseball game, go
canoeing, miniature golfing, etc. We
will be renting a 15 passenger van, and stay at a hotel on Saturday and Sunday
night. The estimated cost of this trip
is $250.00, we should be able to cover half of the
cost with our fundraising events. Please
see Cheryl if you would like to go on this trip.
SPIRITUAL
GROWTH CLASSES
Tuesdays:
Plan
to rise early and participate in this Bible study as together we explore and
gain understanding of what it is to be a community of faith.
Thursday Morning
Thursdays:
This
class is a low key community study that acts as much as a support group as it
does a Bible study. After Easter, we
will be focusing on Disicpleship.
Prayer Shawl Ministry
Mondays:
If
you like to knit, or would like to learn how to knit, please join us on
Thursday evening in the Concord Room to knit Prayer Shawls. If you have someone in mind who would love a
Prayer Shawl as a reminder of God’s love that surrounds and gives comfort,
please let us know.
OUR
CHURCH
-
Aldersgate
U.M.C. is being transformed by God’s Grace!
During Lent, we have had many
small groups meeting and learning more completely about God’s grace and how
this grace can help us in our faith journey.
Each Worship Service has also focused on a theme each Sunday connected
to this study. We have shared stories,
studied Scripture, watched very powerful video segments connected to the study,
learned about our Methodist roots, and hopefully now understand that God loves
each one of us dearly and wants us to strengthen our relationship with
Him. We are also called to support one
another, to watch over one another, and encourage one another in this
journey.
There is a display area in the
Fellowship Hall where you can reflect on this Lenten experience and share your
thoughts, memories, or maybe something that happened to you as you explored the
meaning of Grace in your life. You do
not need to sign your name to your words, just share how God’s grace has
touched your life during Lent.
Palm Sunday Experience “The Seven Last Words of
Christ: Reflections for Holy Week” based on a devotional
series by Rev. Mark D. Roberts
Sunday, March 16th from