Gold Dome July 2015

The Good Newsletter of the

Southwick Congregational Church

United Church of Christ

Southwick, MA

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Minister: The Rev. Bart Cochran

Please join us Sundays for…

Worship Service—9:30 AM

Mid-Week Service—Thursdays 6:30 PM

July 2015

Christ in the Storm (Mark 4:35-41)

Rev. Bart Cochran Sermon June 21, 2015

My goodness, how do I begin today’s sermon? Today we take up a story from the gospel of Jesus Christ as told to us by the evangelist Mark. Jesus and his disciples are in a boat traveling to the opposite shore of the Sea of Galilee when a storm hits. If only I had a good example to illustrate a storm in our own lives? I can’t think of any, can you?

We must keep our sense of humor in these trying times. We must remember that no matter what we are asked to face and no matter what we are asked to deal with in life, Jesus is in the boat with us… with ALL of us… with every single one of us. Jesus asks, “What are you afraid of?” That is a very good question for us, what are we afraid of? Are we afraid that this little boat that we are traveling in will be swamped by the wind and the waves? That’s a real possibility. Jesus asks, “Where is your faith?” Melissa read for us this morning, “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” We are not forsaken… we are not forsaken either individually or as a church of Jesus Christ. In fact, I would say that this church has it pretty good. There is a church in Charleston, South Carolina that has it truly bad this morning after a disturbed young man walked into a bible study and shot and killed 9 people and wounded one other. That’s a real storm. And yet, even in the midst of something so tragic and so horrific, Jesus asks, “Why are you afraid?” That very

same church is worshipping this morning. Do we believe in the mandates of Jesus Christ or don’t we? If our faith only serves us in the good times and in the sunshine… if our faith only serves us when things are going well… then it is no faith at all and is useless and we all might as well pack up and go home.

So let’s take a step back. We ask ourselves this morning a fundamental question, why are we on this journey to begin with. Why are we crossing the Sea of Galilee? Are we here in this building on a Sunday morning to feel better about ourselves? Are we here because we are terrified of a God that might destroy us if we don’t live by a certain moral code?

Or are we here because we love God and we love our neighbors? Are we here today because we are called into a holy community or is this just a place to meet the friends we already have? These questions are not meant to be provocative, but we have to look into our hearts and ask, why are we here? Why would we take this journey that is fraught with heartache… and it is you know... it IS fraught with heartache… that is what we risk when we open ourselves to other human beings… especially in church.

We do not get to pick who comes into our holy community with us, we welcome everyone… everyone… and we welcome them extravagantly. And I want to talk about that word “extravagantly” for a moment.

If we pick and choose who we think are going to be good for our church or bad for our church and not allow God to do that… we are a failure as church. Period. If we are slavish to policies and procedures and tradition above the needs of a wounded stranger… we are a failure as a church. If we cannot be flexible to those in the world and the community that pressure us to give more than it seems we can… then what are we doing here?

Please, please, please… I am begging you… do not misunderstand me… policy and procedure and history and tradition are all so very important. I believe that. These things give us identity as a church and a rich history to build upon and more… but if we can’t be

flexible… if we can’t maneuver as a church, then we are not church.

Sometime, there really is no room at the inn. I

know that and I understand that. Sometimes we do all

we can and we will still fall short. I can accept that. But SOMETIME we can provide a manger… and if we can do THAT then we might just be facilitating the birth of something SPECTACULAR. We might.

So we have chosen to get into this boat together. We have chosen to give to each other our time and talent and treasure… we have chosen to take this journey together and to learn from and to teach one another.

Our gospel story tells us that a great windstorm

arose… I guess in my analogy today I will be playing the part of the great windstorm. This windstorm really can be just about anything, whether it is something in our personal life or something that we must all face together. A windstorm on a boat is always dangerous. But it is in those dangerous places of life when we MUST trust God, sometimes… even unto death.

Am I saying we should be intentionally reckless?

No, but sometimes, when deeply held principles are at stake, we must embrace risk. We set sail and sally forth… we do not sit on shore and hope for the best. We trust that God is working… we trust that God is working in our brokenness; we trust that God is working in our weakness; we trust that God will work for all who trust God.

This past week, I have heard many voices that seem to be saying, “We are perishing.” And to be honest sometime that voice has been from within my own heart. I hope that I can have enough faith to remember that God is doing a new thing. I hope that I can have enough faith to believe that the storm has no power over Jesus Christ who is alive within my heart. I hope that when my small, weak, pitiful love fails… that Jesus Christ will rebuke the wind and the waves on my behalf and indeed

for all of us within this little boat. No matter what happens with our boat, I want

everyone in this room to know (and I do mean everyone) that I love you, I believe in you, I have hope in you. I trust each of you, but more importantly, I trust Christ

within each of you… and I do believe that Christ lives within each of you.

I’m not going to lie, this has been a tough week and

this is probably the toughest sermon I have ever written. But let me tell you something, I did not choose the text to preach this week. And while I will never say that I am some sort of mystic, I believe God chose the text this week. This was the scripture that was next in line in the lectionary calendar. And not just the gospel, but the Psalms and the Epistle as well. And when I opened my Bible and read the words on each page, I wept.

The storm that is buffeting our church is not over,

the wind and the waves are still churning… but today I have found calm within myself and I hope you can find it, too. Ultimately, we have nothing to fear, no matter what happens… because Jesus Christ is in our little boat.

AMEN

Sun Mon Tue

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9AM-1 PM Thrift Shop

Open

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9:30 AM Comm. Service

10:30 AM Coffee Hour

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6-8:30 PM Boy Scouts, Girl Scout Leaders

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Open

129:30 AM Worship. Service/10:30

AM Coffee Hour

3:00 PM Healing Service, Christ Church

United Methodist

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Open

19 9:30 AM Worship. Service, Bap-

tism/10:30 AM Coffee Hour

20 216:30 PM American Inn Service


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Open

26 9:30 AM Worship. Service

10:30 AM Coffee Hour

27 28 6-8:30 PM Boy Scouts, Girl Scout Leaders

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Open

July 2015 Wed Thu Fri Sat

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6:30 PM -Mid Wk. Service

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9AM-1PM Thrift Shop 6:00 PM .O.A. Mtg. 7:30 PM A.A. 12 Step

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4TH OF JULY!

Thrift Shop Closed

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Fair Share Co-op


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Cub Scout bottle & can drive, parking

lot

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All Church Committee Meeting

June 11, 2015 The meeting was called to order by Moderator Jim Putnam at 8:10 p.m. Pastor Bart offered a moment of silence for the passing of Lois Reynolds. A motion was made, seconded, and passed unanimously to accept the Minutes of last month’s All Church Committee Report. Minister’s Report Pastor Bart spoke about memories of Lois Reynolds, about two back-to-back funerals and the upcoming Strawberry Supper. He reminded us that our summer worship hour of 9:30 a.m. starts on June 21st which is also New Member Sunday. Treasurer’s Report A motion was made, seconded, and passed unanimously to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Nominating Committee Chairperson Patti Wood will focus first on new members for the Music Committee and the Finance Committee. Memorial Gifts No report. Buildings and Grounds Eric Nitsch reporting, 4 members present. The new keys for the church doors will be handed out soon by Sabine. The front steps of the church will be re-done. The dead tree in the back corner of the parking lot will be discussed. There were 35 people who helped with the Church Spring Clean-Up. Lots of needed projects were done and a big thank you to all who helped. Music Committee Melanie Nitsch reported 2 members present. They discussed the upcoming Music Sunday and all the arrangements involved with this. Reported on a few bell events: Played at Noble & Cooley Drum Shop 5/19/15, attendance at Handbell Festival Conference June 25-28th, and playing at Granville Federated Church July 12th. They are still hoping to fill two open Sundays for the Summer Music Program.

Christian Education Ashley Greco reported 2 members present. They tidied up classrooms, discussed VBS and Sunday School changes for the fall. They have also cleaned out an area of the attic and found some poster-type items that people may be interested in. Mission-Outreach Valerie Eastwood reported the committee met Tuesday 6/2/15 with 4 members present along with 3 volunteers. They made plans for the Community Open House on 6/27/15. Finance Committee Ellie Bates reported 3 members present. The budget is doing okay. Ted Orson is coming across a lot of bills that as Treasurer is he asked to pay but many times he is not aware of what the bills are for and finds it time consuming to follow-up and question these bills. He is hoping a procedure can be put in place such as a log of invoices/expenses that he can refer to. Deacons Melissa Day reported 3 members present. She reminded everyone that 6/21/15 is New Member Sunday and perhaps there will be one in July also. Mainly the committee got their summer plans in order. Pastoral Relations Committee No report Capital Campaign Study Committee Eric Nitsch reported that the Capital Campaign Study Committee needs to be organized over the summer and will need many volunteers to make it successful. Moderator Jim Putnam spoke about his appreciation for all the volunteer efforts from our membership. He reminded everyone to contact committee chair people over the summer with any immediate concerns and we can have a special meeting if necessary.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Melanie Nitsch, Clerk

. Happy Birthday and many

happy returns to….

7/2/15 Joanne Ela

7/22/15 Judy Wheeler

7/29/15 Rev. Bart Cochran

News from the Office

Recently, I had the pleasure of joining other church secretaries

at an annual UCC conference, sharing ideas and techniques to

improve bulletins, newsletters, etc. I now have templates of

other hall rental policies, for example. I also discovered an

interesting thing; all holders of keys to the church are legally

liable should something happen. When I heard that, I was glad

we’re working on new keys with signatures required!

Summer begins a different texture to the church, with a lovely

music program outlined on the next page, and punctuated by

special events like new members and baptisms. We welcome

Lynn Coach and Faith Carpenter to our congregation.

Thanks to all who have appreciated the changes to the

newsletter and bulletins, and overlooked the mistakes! I don’t

have humor for the turbulent times ahead for the church this

time, but offer this quote:

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as

though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though

everything is a miracle.” ~ Albert Einstein

2015 Summer Music Schedule

*Roberta is on vacation this Sunday

Summer Sunday worship time is 9:30 AM

Date Group/Person providing Music

June 21 Mike & Steve Pitoniak

June 28*

Sean Uliasz

Bob Franzen & Eric Nitsch

July 5*

Sean Uliasz

Mike & Steve Pitoniak

July 12 Todd Brown

July 19 Jack Yourous (Guitar)

July 26 Bob Keeney

August 2*

Sean Uliasz

Natalie Talbot & Erin Pulley (Flutes)

August 9*

Sean Uliasz

Patti Wood & Amy Cavallaro (Handbells)

August 16 Jack Yourous (Guitar)

August 23 Sabine Prather

August 30 Terry Putnam & Eric Nitsch

September 6*

Sean Uliasz

Nathan & Luke Dargie

Church Office Hours: Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Pastor’s Office Hours: Tuesday through Friday 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Church Office Phone & Fax: 413-569-6362; Pastor’s Study: 569-5630

Website: southwickucc.org

Office e-mail: [email protected]

Look for us on Facebook: Southwick Congregational Church UCC

Staff: Minister Reverend Bart Cochran

Choir Director/Organist Roberta Kowal

Bell Choir Director Patti P. Wood

Administrative Assistant Sabine Prather

Custodians Matthew Kowal

Florence Pitoniak

Southwick Congregational Church Committee

Chairs

Board of Deacons: Melissa Day, 569-0694, [email protected]

Buildings & Grounds: Eric Nitsch, 568-9722,

[email protected]

Christian Education: Ashley Greco, 579-2110, [email protected]

Finance: Ellie Bates, 569-5076

Library: Joyce Arnold, 569-0039

Memorial Gifts: Karen Brzezinski, 569-6816

Mission Outreach: Valerie Eastwood, 998-3585

Music: Melanie Nitsch, [email protected]

Documents

Gold Dome July 2015