First Congregational Church of Pittsfield



NEWSLETTER

The Mayflower The Pittsfield Pilgrim, Volume XXIII, No. 8, September 2011

The Rev. David Stasiak, Minister | Jonas and Elaine Glidden, Publishers

Previous 2011 issues | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul-Aug

Meet Your Church Leadership

Editor: We asked our JuBellation Bell Choir Director and Dorcas Guild President, Nella Hobson, to share a little about herself for this month’s Pilgrim.  

NELLA HOBSON | JuBellation Director and Dorcas Guild President

Nella Hobson, JuBellation Director and Dorcas Guild Pres. My husband, Mike, and I started attending the First Congregational Church in early 2007 after having moved from Columbia, South Carolina, where my job with the U.S. Army Chaplain School moved us. Right from the start, the folks at the church welcomed us and made us feel right at home. We had retired in 2006 and were looking for a community where we could fit in, enjoy our hobbies and retired life and find a church, different from Army chapels. We found that in Chichester and Pittsfield.

I’ve enjoyed volunteering at a library and in community theater and my creative side has me learning to quilt and doing various other crafts such as matting and framing and needlework for the Dorcas Guild. All the ladies of Dorcas and the entire congregation were very welcoming and can be relied on to support our church’s endeavors. Freda Jones, my neighbor on Pleasant Street (and the one who introduced us to the church), continues to be a very good friend and mentor. I also enjoy the music program and count it a privilege to praise God through the handbell choir and as substitute organist. Duets at the keyboard with Joan Riel are a true joy. Serving with the Deacons is very rewarding as well.

Before retiring, I worked as a writer and editor with the Army Chaplain School, producing a quarterly professional journal, and also performing many tasks as public affairs officer and photographer. I enjoyed working with all types of media and was responsible for “telling the Chaplaincy’s story” through many media outlets, including national media such as CNN, The Morning Show and the Associated Press. The United Methodist Church still uses photographs I took of Army training. Blessed to be named as the Army Editor of the Year for 1999-2000, I received an award from the Secretary of the Army in a Pentagon ceremony.

I enjoy every facet of our church life. Although there are some challenges ahead, I would welcome the opportunity to face them.

Dorcas Guild

Attention all ladies! The Dorcas Guild will begin its monthly evening meetings September 13 at 7 p.m. in the Vestry. Plan to attend and find out what is in store for our fall and fair projects.

All ladies are welcome to join the fun as this month we take turns telling a joke or funny story. Delicious refreshments will be served! If you need transportation, please contact Nella Hobson.

Minister's Minute by Rev. David Stasiak
It used to be when entering the month of September I would always think about returning to school, both public and church, the celebration of Labor Day, the opening day of the football season, my younger brother’s birthday and the beginning of fall. Now when entering the month of September I still think about those things but I can’t help but think about the horrific scenes that came from televisions across the globe on September 11, 2001.

On that shocking and painful day for many families, our country and the world, 19 hijackers/terrorists killed 2977 people with most of those people being civilians. The carnage was beyond devastating.

Towers After ten years, I can still see in my mind the crashing planes, the dark billowing smoke, the towers collapsing, the brave firemen pulling victims from the buildings.

The screaming, mayhem, twisted steel and debris was everywhere. The war on terror was real and it started in a big way. Life in America will never be the same.

Pentagon September 11 has now been declared Patriot Day and rightly so because the victims lost their lives essentially because they were citizens who loved their country.

Responders This September, and every September that follows, we must never forget the victims and their families, the heroic men and women who sacrificed their lives by entering burning buildings to save others, Honor Guard the doctors and nurses who worked day and night to save lives and the valiant soldiers who have done battle against those whose main objective is to destroy the life and freedoms that we enjoy. All of these brave people are a reminder to us that evil can never prevail over good.

In the days, months and years ahead, let us vow not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good.

I love being your minister. -- Rev. Dave
Altar Flowers

Contact Ruth Strickhart or Nancy White to arrange to have flowers placed on the altar in memory or in honor of someone.

Would you like to participate?
 
A sign-up sheet is posted in the Vestry for anyone interested in taking a 30 week course titled CHRISTIAN BELIEVER.

CHRISTIAN BELIEVER assumes that most people—though faithful followers of Jesus they intend to be—know little of the content of the central teachings of the Christian faith and its ties to Scripture. But they want to know. They want to know what is at stake in what the church teaches and how it makes a difference in their own lives, what it means to be Christian, and where we as Christians stand. CHRISTIAN BELIEVER aims at addressing the uncertainty about the substance of the Christian faith and the connection between believing and living.

CHRISTIAN BELIEVER assumes that participants are already followers of Jesus and that they come to study to understand the faith they already have. CHRISTIAN BELIEVER emphasizes the head as well as the heart and recognizes that “faith seeking understanding” is a part of Christian experience. CHRISTIAN BELIEVER allows space for questions, doubts, and dissent.

The goal of CHRISTIAN BELIEVER is to make available to people the substance of the Christian faith that the church has confessed as a way of connecting to God and living faithfully. This thirty-week study of the classical doctrines of the Christian faith aims at presenting, explaining, and interpreting Christian doctrine as the basic teaching of the church to the end that informed believing leads to committed discipleship.

Coming to faithful understanding of the teaching of Christianity through CHRISTIAN BELIEVER begins with disciplined daily reading of Scripture and of the writings of early and modern church leaders. The process of understanding continues in weekly group discussion about the relation of Scripture, beliefs, and daily living.

CHRISTIAN BELIEVER brings in history as it illumines themes and topics, but it is not a course in church history. Historical voices are heard in selections from the writings of early and later church leaders and in documents arising out of church councils that dealt with questions, conflicts, and controversies about what constituted Christian teaching. Participants in CHRISTIAN BELIEVER will gain a sense that Christians before us have wrestled with some of the same issues of belief that Christians wrestle with today.

CHRISTIAN BELIEVER emphasizes the relationship of worship, belief, and daily life. The beliefs of the Christian community, taught within the Christian community, equip the Christian community for living faithfully and for passing on the faith entrusted to it. The course will begin in late September. Class sessions are 2 hours long each week with home study required. Class dates and time to be determined. Cost of the course Study Manual is $36.00.

Reminders…
We will return to our 10:30 worship service time beginning September 11, 2011.
Remembering 9/11. A special service is planned for Sunday, September 11, to remember the tragedies of that day.
Sunday school classes begin September 18 at 10:20 am.
Rally Day will be held on Sunday, September 25, at the home of Don & Kathy Bergeron.

The First Congregational Church of Pittsfield will host a preventative health screening event on Friday, September 30, 2011 for residents in and around your community.

Life Line Screening will perform screenings for:

carotid artery blockage (stroke) atrial fibrilation abdominal aortic aneurysm peripheral arterial disease osteoporosis (bone loss)

These screenings are recommended for anyone 50 and older, or 40 and over with cardiovascular risk factors. They are non-invasive, painless, and take 60-90 minutes to complete. 

The results, which are mailed directly to you, will help you and your doctor protect your health. Stroke, Vascular and Heart Rhythm Packages range from $129.00 to $159.00. 

Call 1-888-653-6441, or you can visit their web site to schedule your appointment.

 

Giggles and Things

Painting the Church

There was a Scottish painter named Smokey MacGregor who was very interested in making a penny where he could, so he often thinned down his paint to make it go a wee bit further. He got away with this for some time.

Eventually the local church decided to paint the outside of their building. Smokey put in a bid; and because his price was so low, he got the job. 

He set about erecting the scaffolding and setting up the planks, and buying the paint and, yes, I am sorry to say, thinning it down with turpentine. 

Well, Smokey was painting away—the job nearly completed, when suddenly the sky opened, and the rain poured down, washing the thinned paint from the church. The lawn was covered with telltale puddles of the thinned and useless paint. 

Smokey knew this was a judgment from the Almighty, so he got down on his knees and cried, "Oh, God, Oh, God, forgive me. What should I do?" 

And from the thunder, a mighty voice spoke, Repaint! Repaint! And thin no more!”

Church e-mail: | Mailing address: P.O. Box 188, Pittsfield, NH 03263 | Office: 603-435-7471

Last revised 09 Sep 2011