Cross & Comments - February 2014

7/27/2019 Cross & Comments - February 2014

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701SandCreekRoad,C

olonie,NewYork12205-2497BruceK.Cornwell,PastorTele

phone(518)869-5589www.co

loniereformed.org

U p c o m i n g E v e n t s

Communion Feb 2

Service at City Mission Feb 6

Parents Night Out Fundraiser Feb 14

Time, Treasure and Talent

Auction

Mar 23

I n t h i s I s s u e :

Outreach Team Connects the Church tothe Community

2

New Members Join 3

Thank You 3

Mission of the Month 4

Cornwells Receive Well-Deserved

Tribute

5

Long Walk, Part of Gift 6

Day Care News 6

The Loaves and the Fish 7

To serve a church for twenty-five years is

rather significant and as the date of the

celebration of Sandys and my time at

Colonie approached, I found myself

reflecting on the many things that have

transpired during our tenure here. There

have been many changes. Many people have

come and gone, and in many cases come

back again. Many excellent programs and

ministries grew and peaked and then

disappeared, having run their courses only

to be replaced by vital new ones. We

survived a fire, paved the parking lot andreplaced the sanctuarys flat roof with a

sloped one. We have celebrated many

significant victories and weathered many

crises together. As in any individuals life or

organizations life, there have been many

ups and downs. Throughout it all there

have been many constants, but as I reflected

on them, two struck me as being most

significant defining the direction thechurch would go at every turn. The first

significant constant, of course, has been the

presence of a great God Father, Son and

Holy Spirit guiding us leading us and

sometimes pushing us into new and exciting

uncharted waters. The second significant

constant has been the presence of substantial

debt very often preventing us from being

the church that we believe God wants us to

be.

Every year we struggle to make payments

on our three RCA (Reformed Church in

America) Extension Fund Loans (Building

Loans) - $331,383 outstanding as of this

writing. Our annual payments are

approximately $41,196. The interest rate

on two of the loans is 6% and on the third,

4.5%.Every year, when the Finance Team

attempts to write the budget, it is always a

struggle. For years, many church and

daycare staff members have gone without

(Continued on page 2)

JIGSAW PUZZLECAPITAL CAMPAIGN


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2

raises of any kind, jobs and hours have

been cut and programs have been

operating on shoestring budgets.

Imagine what we might be able to

accomplish if we werent budgeting$41,196 a year in loan payments.

Money would become available for

salaries, programs and ministries.

In early January, I started to imagine a

way that we might address paying off

these loans early. At Januarys

consistory meeting, I presented my

vision or plan, if you will, and consistory

endorsed it. The plan is to pay off thelargest of Community Reformeds three

Extension Fund Loans ($157,792 @

6%) prior to the Churchs celebration of

its 50th anniversary on January 2, 2016.

This gives us two years to raise the

money.

By the time this article is read, I will

have ordered a 2000 piece jigsaw puzzle

custom-made from a photograph of our

cross and church building.

And beginning this month, we will be

encouraging members and friends of the

congregation to purchase shares (pieces

of the puzzle). For each purchased

share of the puzzle a jigsaw piece will be

added to the puzzle on display in the

sanctuary. Each share or piece of thepuzzle will cost $50.00. Pieces will be

available for purchase individually or in

lots of five ($250), ten ($500), twenty-

five ($1,250), fifty ($2,500), one

hundred ($5,000) and two hundred

($10,000).

There you have it. Thats the vision.

Thats the dream. And as is always the

case, we must begin this endeavor with

prayer. Therefore, I invite you to pray

for this church, specifically for its

finances. I ask you to pray for the

success of this Jigsaw Puzzle Capital

campaign and, most importantly, I ask

you to prayerfully consider yourpersonal contributions to this campaign

as well as, ways that you might raise or

enlist contributions from others. With

Gods help, lets do all that we can to

retire the largest of our three loans

before we reach 50.

Ive always loved putting together

puzzles though I think this one may be

a tad more difficult than most. It willcertainly be challenging, but I think it

will also be fun. So, I hope you find this

idea as exciting as I do and that youll

join with me in completing the puzzle.

- Bruce

(Continued from page 1)

CommunitySue Bredice

Love your neighbor as yourself. Mark

12:31

This is the second of the GreatCommandments of Jesus, and the onevery directly addressed by the work of

the Outreach Team led by Sue Bredice.The team helps connect our church tothe needs of our neighbors.

Two opportunities to fulfill Christscaring commission are detailed below.Please take some time to consider lovingyour neighbor by helping out in one ofthese ways.

Schenectady City Mission

February 6 - The next serving date forCommunity Reformed at theMission. Servers need to be at theSchenectady Mission at 5:15. Serving isnormally finished by 6:30.

If anyone is interested in carpooling, wecan meet in the church parking lot andleave by 5:00. Bakers are always needed

to provide brownies for dessert.

Please contact Sue Bredice 458-8601 oremail [email protected].

Community Hospice NeedsVolunteers

Volunteers make friendly visits topatients, provide respite for caregivers,give practical support such as runningerrands, or just provide a quietpresence.

If you are interested in becoming aHospice volunteer, please attend one of

the followingINFORMATIONSESSIONS:

* Wednesday, February 5, at 10:30AM at the Guilderland Public Library

* Friday, February 7, at 1:00 PM atthe William Sanford Library in Colonie

Call or email to register for theInformation Session at 724-0295 [email protected]


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New Members JoinJanuary 12, 2014, was a day of joy andcelebration as eleven new members joinedCommunity Reformed Church.

John Lombardo, John Baker, Nancy Baker, JessieAdams, Greg Adams, Jonathan Williamson,Stephanie Wood, Bill and Carolyn Ogren, David

Braungard, and Patti Van Kempen, along withthe congregation, spoke the vows that bind ustogether as a church.

Interestingly, all of these new members of ourchurch family come to the church through theirown families: spouses, children, parents, andpartners.

We thank God for His work of growth withinCommunity Reformed, and praise Him for thewonderful people He has lead to us.

John Lombardo John & Nancy Baker

Greg & Jessie Adams Stephanie Wood,

with Mom Anne

Green

Bill & Carolyn Ogren

David Braungard

Milestones in Faith this water symbolizes baptism tha

now saves you also--not the removal of

dirt from the body but the pledge of a

clear conscience toward God. It saves

you by the resurrection of Jesus

Christ 1Peter 3:21

Baptisms are always a special occasion for familiesand their churches. January 12, was especiallyjoyous as Jonathan Williamson was baptized into the

body of Christ.As Bruce explained during the service, baptism is aholy sacrament, instituted by Christ, as a sign andseal of Gods covenant of grace. By choosingbaptism for himself, Jonathan made an outwardwitness of his faith in Christ as his only Lord andsavior. His baptism serves as an sign and testimonyof inward grace from God.

We rejoice that Jonathan has entered into the Godscovenant community.

Jonathan

Williamson

Thank YOUDoris Neese

During the month of December,Community Reformeds Angel Treegift mission provided neededclothing and food to local familiesand fulfilled the Christmas wishes

of several children.Thank you to all of you who helpedout with the Angel Tree Project,making some families Christmasesa little brighter. We adopted afamily from the County of AlbanyDepartment for Children, Youth,and Families, and helped out withother families with some needsthrough the Village OutreachCenter and the Northern Rivers

Family Services (formerlyNortheast Parent and ChildSociety).

Notes of thanks have been receivedfrom Northern Rivers and fromVisions of Hope, the arm of theVillage of Colonie OutreachCenter through which we reachedthese families. Thanks to thegenerosity of CommunityReformed, gift cards, bus passes,clothing and toys reached manyneedy people.

Generosity has been overwhelmingand greatly appreciated and willhelp a number of families under thecare of these importantorganizations.


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Februarys Mission of the Month

Februarys Mission of the Monthsupports the efforts of a local oral and

maxillofacial surgeon, Dr. Douglas

Smail, who has a private practice in

Troy. He is the CEO and Chairman of

the Smiles Bring Hope Foundation,

whose mission is to bring accessible

dental health care to people in

developing countries.

Dr. Smails organization became knownto us through our Pillowcase Dress

project. Recently, the women of

Community Reformeds quilt group and

others involved in making pillowcase

dresses last winter attended a Little

Dresses for Africa tea where Dr. Smail

described the birth of his foundation and

some of his adventures in serving the

people of Kenya.

Dr. Smails first venture took place

during his residency in the 1990s when

he was asked to spend two weeks in the

Philippines. It was a life changing

experience and since then, he has

devoted time each year to working in

places like Honduras and Africa.

He first went to Kenya in 2005.

We opened a clinic and within an hourthere were 5,000 people! he said. We

ran out of medicine in a couple of hours!

We pooled our money to buy more

medicine and we ran out of that

medicine by the end of the day. We

couldnt go back.

Deciding a more permanent solution was

needed, Dr. Smail made plans to build a

clinic in Naivasha, a city without a single

dentist for its 100,000+ citizens.

Violence following the elections in 2008

postponed the opening of the clinic until

2009. The clinic is staffed by Kenyan

dentists. Though the fees are modest, a

$200.00 account was set up for those

who cannot afford to pay for the $4.00

dental appointment.

Cavities are not an issue in Naivasha; too

much fluoride is. Extremely high levels

are found naturally in the well water.

The high concentration of fluoride

disintegrates the enamel on the teeth, so

we see a lot of children with exposed

nerves, Dr. Smail said.

Once the clinic was established, Dr.Smail, along with other doctors, nurses

and dentists, did a medical camp in 2011

in the Kibera slums of Nairobi. They

saw approximately 4,000 patients over a

two week period. Nurses did the initial

triage, pointing patients to the correct

doctor so that things moved smoothly

a lesson learned from that first visit to

South Africa in 2005.

Dr. Smail was not far from the Nairobi

shopping mall that was the center of the

September terrorist attack.

I was safer in the slum than out on the

street, he said. People in the slum

knew I was there to help. The danger of

kidnapping or violence was much greater

walking down the street.

Over the nine years that Dr. Smail has

worked in Africa, he has developed a

network of three people he trusts to

make sure resources get to the people in

need.

The women do all the work because the

men have either died of HIV or are doing

drugs, he continued. Women are not

encouraged to go to school, even though

school is free to age 12. They need to

find ways to make an income because

there are no government programs.

A group of women have done just that,

making things like blankets and beautiful

bead necklaces out of paper.

Dr. Smail bought 100 blankets for $4.00

each. The $400.00 from the sale was

split between the 20 women who hadmade the blankets, which Dr. Smail then

distributed to the elderly living in the

slum.

You can provide a lot of support for the

cost of the $1800 plane ticket, he said.

His goal is to have the dental clinic in

Naivasha employ Kenyan professionals/

owners and become financially

sustainable.

While continuing to provide support in

Africa, Dr. Smail is now planning a

mission trip to Costa Rica. For more

information on Dr. Smails Smiles Bring

Hope Foundation, visit

www.smilesbringhope.orgor Douglas

Smail on Facebook or YouTube.

Dr. Smail in

front of the

new dental

clinic set up

by the

Smiles Bring

Hope

Foundation

Dr. Smailspeaks to

Community

Reformeds

Sewing

Group


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5

Cornwells Receive Well-Deserved Tribute

January 26 was a dayof celebration andgratitude as thepeople of CommunityReformed Church

honored Bruce andSandy Cornwell for25 years of pastoralleadership, service,

and care to our congregation.

Morning worship was led by KevinBottini to enable Bruce and Sandy toworship together. Later in the day, agathering of over 125 family, friends,and church members celebrated theirmany contributions to the church.

Guest speakers Rev. David Jones ofGreenbush Reformed Church and Rev.Harlan Ratmeyer of First Church ofBethlehem shared their perspectives onthe challenges of pastoral leadershipover such a long span of time, praisingBruce and Sandy for the spirit-ledguidance, dedication and sacrificetheyve shown in serving thiscommunity.

Led by MC Vicki Lane, several

participants in pastprograms sharedtheir experiencesand offered theirthanks andappreciation forthe chance to workwith Bruce and

Sandy.

Marie Beck, Joan Baker, Joanne Gulum,and Stephanie Van Kempen, all formerclowns in the Joyful Joeys, told of thehard work that went into forming andmaintaining that troupe for 17 years.

Doris Neese and Barbara Berberichrepresented the Parable Players. Dorisshared the rewards she felt in portrayingthe word of God through drama.

Barbara read a message from LaurenFisher, who could not be present for thegathering, conveying her gratitude forthe chance to do Gods work throughthe Players.

Kevin Bottini, dressed in the costumecreated for him by Sandy, recreated partof Weep Jeremiah, the musical Brucewrote and produced more than a decadeago, and let us in on some of the back-stage secrets of the production.

Robert La Rocco and Bert Huiestprovided special music, My Tribute,aduet of piano and saxophone. And BillOgren recited his original poem inhonor of the many years of work theCornwells have given.

As a token of appreciation, thecongregation presented Bruce and Sandywith some special gifts. One was aframed mosaic composed of tinyindividual photos of the people of thechurch and depicting the churchs cross.In addition, they gave them a hand-crafted sun dial, calibrated for the exactlocation of Bruces day lily garden, andemblazoned with the words, Timebegan in a garden. The greatoutpouring of contributions from thecongregation also enabled us to givethem a cash gift.

The celebration ended with a time offellowship, accompanied by a samplingof delicious fare.

Ash WednesdayWorshipMarch 5

7:30 PM

You are dust, and to dust

you will return.

This ancient formula will be heardby millions of Christians all overthe world this Ash Wednesday asthe sign of the cross is made with

ashes on their forehead. Thissymbolic act is both a solemnreminder and an invitation to

renewal. All are welcome as webegin together the sacred walk

towards Easter.

Conversations on BelharThe Belhar Confession has its roots in thestruggle against apartheid in SouthernAfrica. This "outcry of faith" and "call forfaithfulness and repentance" was firstdrafted in 1982 by the Dutch ReformedMission Church (DRMC) which took thelead in declaring that apartheid constituteda status confessionisin which the truth of the

gospel was at stake.The Dutch Reformed Mission Churchformally adopted the Belhar Confession in1986. It is now one of the "standards ofunity" of the new Uniting ReformedChurch in Southern Africa (URCSA).Belhar's relevance is not confined toSouthern Africa. It addresses three keyissues of concern to all churches: unity ofthe church and unity among all people,reconciliation within church and society,

and God's justice. As one member of the

URCSA has said, "We carry this confessionon behalf of all the Reformed churches.We do not think of it as ours alone."In 2010 the Reformed Church in Americaadopted the Confession of Belhar as itsfourth confession. What is the Belhar andmight it mean for the American church?The First Church in Albany is sponsoring aseries of luncheon discussions led by Dr.

Allan Janssen, First Churchs theologian inresidence. The gatherings will be heldthree Monday noons: February 3, 10 and24. The time will be 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.and will include a light lunch.These conversations are open to anyone butplease email or call ahead to let us knowyou are coming.First Church in Albany110 North Pearl [email protected]


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Long Walk Part of GiftSandy and I would liketo thank the entirecongregation and all ofour friends and familyfor making our 25thanniversary celebration

such a memorableoccasion. We wouldespecially like to thankmy friends and colleagues, Rev. DavidJones and Rev. Harlan Ratmeyer fortheir kind and often humorous words;Bill Ogren for sharing his heartfeltpoem; Bert Huiest and Rob La Roccafor sharing their extraordinary musicalgifts; Ron Smith and Shawn Turner forpreparing the slide show; Marie Beck,

Joan Baker, Stephanie Van Kempen,Doris Neese, Barbara Berberich, LaurenFisher and Kevin Bottini for theirrecollections of the Joyful Joeys, ParablePlayers and Weep Jeremiah! Thank youalso to Vicki Lane, Karen Reynolds,Doris and Lou Ann Connelly forhosting, praying and presenting the briefhistory.

The financial gift, as well as, the sun dial(calibrated to our address) and thepicture of Community Reformeds cross(composed of miniature photos of thecongregation) were not at all expected,

but very much appreciated.

Wed also like to thank those who spentmonths planning this wonderful day, aswell as, those who shopped for gifts andsupplies, designed and mailedinvitations, printed bulletins, arrangedflowers, made punch, baked cookies,

took photographs, set up and cleanedup: Doris Neese, Karen Reynolds,Kathy Jubert, Kevin and Tina Bottini,Lisa Jubert, Maggie George, Vicki Lane,Joyce Karl, Cynthia Placek, Karen andSteve Latta, Marissa Lombardo, BethColbert, Mike York, Jerry Kallner, andBarry Berberich. In addition, wed liketo thank Lou Ann who coordinated allof the above. And finally, were so veryappreciative of the many friends,

colleagues and members of thecongregation who came and shared thisspecial day with us.

25 years is a longtime a longwalk, if you will,and Id like to closewith the story Ishared on Sundayafternoon, Long

Walk, Part of Gift: It is the story of ayoung African boy who presented hismissionary teacher with an exquisiteseashell as a gift. The young boy had

walked many miles to get the shelltoa special baythe only place such shellcould be found. He went to a lot oftrouble to get the shell and bring itback. It was difficult countrysidethere was bad weather and wildanimalsHe had to dive to the bottom

of the bay to find the right shelltherewere a lot of obstaclesand one mustwonder whether it was really worth theeffort.When he presented the teacherwith the shell, the teacher was veryimpressed and said, How wonderful oyou to have traveled so very far andgone to such trouble for this beautifulpresent. At that, the young boys eyesbrightened as he said, Long walk, partof gift.

The long walk is part of the gift thatSandy and I give to you. It is part of thgift that we have received from all ofyou. Fortunately, we still have a waysto go together. Thanks be to God andthanks, again, to all of you for twenty-five years of extraordinary ministrytogether.

February PrayerLord our God,we thank you fohelping us again and again. We

trust you completely and havefaith in you through Jesus Christ,the Savior. He reveals your graceeverywhere, in every hardship,giving us the courage and freedomto look toward your kingdom.Amen.

Day Care NewsJanuary is upon us and everyone seems tohave happily returned from Holidayexcitement with friends and families! Weare all embracing the winter weather by

making fun projects about snow and allthe fun things you can do in it!

Speaking of snow, we love our timeoutside on the awesome snow banks! 15minutes to put the snow gear on, plus 20minutes of snow fun, plus 30 minutes ofdrying and mitten matching equals 65minutes of winter (mostly) bliss!

Our upcoming daycare events include aKrause's chocolate fundraiser and aValentine's Parents Night Out

fundraiser!

If you are looking tobuy your loved onesdelicious candyand/or need a sitter

for your romanticnight out, call onus! The ParentsNight Out is onFriday, February 14th from 6:30-9:30and costs $30 per potty-trained child or$50 per family (up to 3 children)!

For information about the candy, call usat 869-0131. Any support is greatlyappreciated! Stay warm and see you inFebruary!


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The Loaves and the FishJoyce Karl

It was the Schuyler Inn Christmas Party,

mayhem ruled the day! There was a lot to

do and much to be set-up. I had the easy

job; I was to give out gift cards to each

resident. I got the daily list of residentsfrom the front desk and made a special list

of teens as it was decided that teenagers

would like to select their own gifts from

Wal-Mart.

The treasurer of one of

the Focus churches

gave me the gift cards

that had been collected by the churches for

this party. - All 111 of them! Some were

for Wal-Mart, some Price Chopper and

some for Rite-Aid. I quickly scanned the

list of residents -115 - plus 6 teens. I

would need 121 gift cards, not 111.

As a math major, I quickly knew there

werent enough cards to go around! My

friend, Irene, said to give each family two

cards - I sadly shook my head and explained

there werent even enough cards to give

each family one card. She again said,Give

each family two cards. Where is your

faith? Give each family two cards. There

was a retired Reformed Church minister

standing at the table, overhearing the

conversation. He added, Joyce, thinkloaves and fishes and give each family two

cards.

Several volunteers came and handed me

one or two more cards that they hadnt

turned in at their churches on time. Then

the line of residents began. Each person

loved getting two cards. I would ask which

they wanted. Many took two Price

Chopper cards; some took one Wal-Mart

and one Price Chopper card. The

teenagers were thrilled to learn they each

got their own gift card, and they all chose

Wal-Mart.

At the end of the party I asked that staff be

told to come get gift cards - the girl at the

front desk, the house keeper, the cook and

so on. Then I packed up and tallied the left

over cards to give back to the church

treasurer. There were 68 cards left over!

I suppose you want to know how this

worked. I would love to know how the

five loaves of bread and 2 fish fed a crowd

of 5,000 people. I didnt keep track of

how many cards were handed to me after

the initial 111 - maybe 8 or 10. Perhaps

we didnt reach all 115 residents? We gave

additional cards to a couple of families

Father Peter Young had invited to the

party. We also gave cards to the staff

members and to the teenagers - who

actually came down to the party just to get

their gift cards.

Think loaves and fishes, or think of it as aChristmas miracle. As for me I believe in

the miracles

of Christmas

time.

SAVE THE DATE!

March 23rd

Time, Treasure and Talent Auction

We need donations of time, treasures ortalents to auction off! Make this our bestevent yet!

More information to come!!!

If you would like to help, please contact Sue

Bredice.


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701 Sand Creek Rd

Colonie, NY 12205-2497

Bruce K. Cornwell, Pastor

Community

Reformed

Church of

Colonie

Editor: Lou Ann Connelly

Layout Designer: Shawn Turner

Articles are due by the 15th of the month and may be submitted to

[email protected] or given to Lou Ann Connelly.

www.coloniereformed.org

www.coloniecommunitydaycarecenter.com

701 Sand Creek Rd

Albany, NY 12205-2432

Carol Grasso, Director

Tel: (518) 869-0131

E-mail: [email protected]

Colonie

Community

Day Care

Center

Tel: (518) 869-5589

E-mail:

[email protected] Bible Verse for February

In each issue of Cross and Comments we offer you a Bible verse to contemplate, studyand memorize. It is our hope that this will be one more way you can connect withGods word.

Be still in the presence of the Lord.

Psalms 37:7

C a r i n g f o r C r e a t i o n : H o n o r i n g G o d s C r e a t i o n t h r o u g h

E n v i r o n m e n t a l S t e w a r d s h i p

Energy Saving Tip The value of a sweater

By setting your home and office heating systems just a few degrees lower, you'll save a sizableamount of energy. Don a sweater to save big.

Most households shell out 50% to 70% of their energy budgets on heating and cooling, reportsthe Department of Energy. Yet, for every degree you lower the thermostat, you'll save

between 1% and 3% of your heating bill.A light long-sleeved sweater is generally worth about 2 degrees in added warmth, while a heavysweater adds about 4 degrees.

Happy February Birthdays to

Sue Bredice

Missy Ebli

Marion Fuchs

Shaylee Kallner

Danielle Lilkas

If you would like to have family birthdays

published, please contact Lou Ann Connelly.

Documents

Cross & Comments - February 2014