The Congregationalist Dec 2018 : simplebooklet.com

Table of CONTENTS Features 4 6 10 18 20 22 24 Recognition is Due ON THE COVER The Rev Dr Cindy Bacon Hammer talks with children about the Water is Life Mayyim hem Chayim meaning of Advent and Christmas at Heritage Congregational Church Madison Wis December 2013 Photo by Larry Sommers Believeland AMC in Cleveland On Giving Life Together On Mission The Preaching Task Gift of Life Departments 4 11 12 16 23 23 26 27 OUR VOYAGE TOGETHER What is Christmas LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ALONG THE WAY NEWS AND NEEDS NECROLOGY STAPLETON JOINS NACCC PASTORATES AND PULPITS CALENDAR EDITORIAL STATEMENT All content in The Congregationalist appears by the authority of the editor We reserve freedom of expression to our authors and freedom of opinion to our readers Except for service information clearly sponsored by the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches NACCC or its component parts content does not necessarily reflect policies and opinions of the NACCC Neither The Congregationalist nor the NACCC has a creed or holds positions on social or theological issues but we recognize the authority of each local church to do so for itself if and as it wishes and we encourage thoughtful and respectful discussion of our agreements and differences

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OUR Voyage TOGETHER A ccording to the authors of Christianity for Dummies Christmas is explained in this way You probably know that Christmas is celebrated on December 25 In the United States families distribute gifts that Santa Claus left under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning Many attend church services on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning and later gather for Christmas dinner with extended family Christmas is the observance of Jesus humble birth to a virgin in a stable in Bethlehem The holiday also celebrates the events surrounding his birth such as an angel s appearance to shepherds telling them to visit the newborn king This statement gets many of the basic facts about Christmas the date observed practices of people in observing the day and a reference to the Biblical narrative concerning Jesus birth but to my mind it does not really capture the essence of the meaning of Christmas Day Through the years in the various churches I have served and while I was at Piedmont College I participated in services of Lessons and Carols https www dummies com food drink entertaining christmas what is christmas 4 By Michael Chittum Executive Director National Association of Congregational Christian Churches The closing scripture in those services is taken from John 1 In that section of scripture we read these words And the Word became flesh and lived among us and we have seen his glory the glory as of a father s only son full of grace and truth John 1 14 NRSV To me these words have been captured in the sculpture located on the portico of St Martin In The Fields Church in Trafalgar Square in London You can see photos of sculpture at https en wikipedia org wiki Christ_Child_ sculpture What is Christmas It is when we celebrate and remember that the word became flesh and lived among us Have a Blessed Christmas Season Michael

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is DUE T he recognition of one s peers is the highest form of praise so the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches NACCC is especially pleased to provide its members opportunities for recognizing ministers who have made special contributions to Congregationalism Excellence in Ministry Awards Annual Excellence in Ministry Awards are given at the discretion of the Vitality Ministry Council VMC Award nominees should exemplify personal commitment to the Congregational principles of faith freedom and fellowship Churches or individuals may make nominations Supporting documentation such as letters of support and or articles about the nominee may also be submitted to assist the VMC in its selection process Butman Awards The Harry R Butman Award is given to an ordained minister who has served at least 10 years in an NACCC church The nominee must have demonstrated a commitment to the principles of Congregationalism The 500 award is intended to provide ministerial assistance to lift and encourage a minister The Jennette Butman Award goes to the spouse of a Congregational minister who has served an NACCC church for at least 10 years and has assisted his or her spouse in ministry The 500 award is based on need merit or outstanding achievement Deadline for submitting nominations for the Butman awards is April 30 2019 Award winners will be announced at the 65th Annual Meeting Conference in Cleveland Joseph Jones Russell Sermon Award The J J Russell Sermon Award recognizes pastoral excellence in preaching related to Congregationalism Submitted sermons must focus on some aspect of classical Congregationalism and its relevance for today The sermon must have been preached can be preached any time from July 2017April 2019 An applicant must be an ordained pastor who is serving an NACCC active member church of under 400 congregants Submissions must include the following 1 A copy of the Sunday worship bulletin at which the sermon was preached 2 DVD YouTube or website link of the sermon in its entirety visual and audio preferred 3 Full manuscript or a minimum two page outline transcript of the sermon Send links and documents to the Rev Justin J Nierer via email at theoutreachguy hotmail com Please email Rev Nierer if you require a mailing address or for submitting a DVD The winner of the Russell Award will be announced at the 66th Annual Meeting and Conference in Portland Maine Winner of the award will receive 350 full registration to the NACCC Annual Meeting and Conference and a 50 percent discount on the room rate at the meeting Nomination Forms To obtain a nomination form go online to http www naccc org awards All completed nomination forms and materials should be submitted by email to Rev Nierer at theoutreachguy hotmail com 5

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Water is Life Mayyim hem An interfaith mission to Y om Kippur observed this past September marked the 12 month point for Water is Life the joint mission project of Florence Congregational Church and Beit Ahavah Reformed Synagogue of Northampton Massachusetts Together they delivered life saving water purifiers to the people of Puerto Rico still struggling amid the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Maria It has been such a blessing to observe and interact with literally hundreds of people assisting in this mission project Beautiful amazing and sacred said the Reverend Dr Irven Gammon pastor at Florence Congregational Church Beit Ahavah Reformed Synagogue has been sharing sanctuary space at the church for 20 years The two congregations were always cordial but didn t know much about one another Hurricane Maria changed that On September 20 2017 the hurricane scoured Puerto Rico knocking out power to the entire island A U S territory Puerto Rico is home to 3 3 million citizens Most were without power or running water for up to eight months Communications were out and the airport closed Without a functioning airport and access to the villages the aid efforts were hamstrung Already U S disaster relief had been stretched to the breaking point by historic storms in Texas and Florida Gammon remembers watching coverage of the Hurricane Maria 6 Pastor Irv Gammon Florence Congregational Church and Rabbi Riqi Beit Ahavah Temple aftermath especially one disturbing image a group of Puerto Rican children drinking brown water from a stream At about the same time Rabbi Riqi of Beit Ahavah sat in her office and cried as she watched a news video of a grandmother with little drinking water and only saltine crackers for her grandchildren These images drove the pastor and the rabbi to join forces and take action It s interesting how a Jewish group with their theology and a Christian group with their own theology can find a common ground said Gammon That common ground is human need We all have an opportunity as well as a responsibility to reach out together A hiker Gammon is familiar with the use of water filters and suggested getting them to Puerto Rico to ensure clean drinking water for families He called Rabbi Riqi and they developed the plan for a mission to send LifeStraw Water Filters to Puerto Rico The first step was to contact the LifeStraw company which creates technology designed to provide pure drinking water including a high volume point of use water purifier with built in safe storage that makes contaminated water safe to drink Gammon negotiated a discount price from 75 to 52 50 per unit on the filters and the mission was ready for take off Both Florence Congregational Church and Beit Ahavah Reformed Synagogue launched the project during the first weekend in October 2017 just days after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto RIco Radio and television coverage articles in the Daily Hampshire Gazette newspaper a classroom demonstration at a local school posts on each congregation s Facebook page and a general buzz energized the congregations and the Northampton community The project received 349 donations large and small from near and far Gammon asked the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches NACCC to consider supporting the mission and the association jumped on board sending four substantial donations NACCC s initial donation in early October allowed for the first bulk purchase of water purifiers Getting There LifeStraw doesn t ship to Puerto Rico so the search was on for a free mode of transportation To succeed the mission also required a contact on the ground and a point of distribution in Puerto Rico There are no coincidences in life God has a plan said Gammon noting that once the units were ordered things just seemed to fall into place A member of the Beit Ahavah congregation Robin Warner happened to know JetBlue pilot Ophneal Kellman who she explained has an incredible

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m Chayim help Puerto Rico with Rev Dr Irven Gammon and Raquel S Riqi Kosovske The recipient Zevio Schnitzer humanitarian soul Warner contacted sent this email Kellman who changed his flight The filters arrived safely I took one assignment from JFK Airport in New York home to test it out and on Shabbat will to San Juan Airport in Puerto Rico He be demonstrating how it works and how also worked behind the scenes to to clean it and will then give one to each get the duffle bags full of LifeStraws family We will also distribute some to onto his plane as cargo families and community run soup kitchens Volunteers from both congregations and to families who live near our temple joined to pack the 202 LifesStraw units The rest will be given to volunteer brigades into 18 duffle bags in less than an hour that are working nonstop to deliver supplies Unfortunately the number of packed to the center of the bags exceeded the island where the cargo guidelines of devastation was no more than 10 greatest bags at a maximum It is indeed of 50 pounds each a small world Rabbi Riqi made The partnership a late night run of Florence to the 24 hour Congregational Walmart in the Church and Beit next town to Quick team packers Ahavah Reformed purchase larger Synagogue found bags After another Puerto Rican contacts who distributed round of packing and repacking a the units through their temple a network member of her congregation drove of churches community run soup through the night to deliver five duffle bags to the airport at the crack of dawn The 202 water purification units were delivered to Puerto Rico the morning of October 19 2017 Before handing off the bags at the airport Kellman uttered a phrase as password to make sure the recipient was from Temple Beth Shalom in San Juan kitchens and community leaders who had ties of some kind with Northampton Stateside they worked with Jossie Valentin a member of the Holyoke City Council who was raised in Puerto Rico She took several duffle bags of water purification units on a couple of her monthly trips to visit her family there Another partner was Fred Florentino a carpenter from New Jersey and founder of Cypress Missions a non profit that mobilizes short term work oriented mission projects Fred transported filters solar lights and solar chargers on his trips to help rebuild a community in Puerto Rico A Need Fulfilled By the end of 2017 68 354 02 had been raised to purchase Family LifeStraw Units duffle bags for transport and more recently portable solar lights In four months the interfaith mission sent 1 000 water purification units in 11 shipments to San Juan From there they were delivered to 16 towns and cities But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus Philippians 4 19 Congregants at Temple Beth Shalom in San Juan Continued 7

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There was no cost for the transport The mission not only helped our struggling neighbors in Puerto Rico but made good friends from many who were once strangers Estimates of the number killed during or because of Hurricane Maria have varied dramatically This past summer George Washington University s Milken School of Public Health released research results which estimated that 2 975 people died in the five months following Hurricane Maria compared to the prior year 1 The study examined the number of deaths between September 2017 and February 2018 Commissioned by the Puerto Rican government the independent study noted that people of all social levels and age groups have died from conditions resulting from the hurricane with men age 65 and older hit hardest The risk of death was 45 percent higher for people living in towns with low socioeconomic development 2 The study also took the Puerto Rican government to task for its lack of preparedness In May Harvard University released a study that placed the estimated deaths at more than 4 600 individuals This past September Gammon visited Puerto Rico to see for himself how the island is faring and to deliver more supplies He said the trip was amazing but also heart breaking to see the snailspace reconstruction He and three others traveled into mountains eight hours round trip to visit those with less access to assistance Gammon reported meeting a woman in Jayuja who has been caring for folks deeper into the mountains She drove an hour to meet the U S group She has shared her love with the people of a small village selflessly for eleven months Edgardo our guide and translator had met up with her to deliver our supplies in the past We finally were able to meet this amazing woman as well as she us After a brief conversation we loaded up her truck with additional supplies When we had to say goodbye I went to shake her hand For some reason we both found ourselves drawing each toward the other with the handshake We hugged She seemed almost ready to melt and tightly hung on After delivering supplies one day the team set out to visit the El Yunque National Rain Forest the only rainforest officially located in the United States As they neared the rainforest they were delayed at the main road When they finally reached the internal official entrance it was blocked and they were forced to park near the visitor center Edgardo was able to learn from the center s staff that the road has been impassible since Hurricane Maria hit and will stay that way for another three to four years While there we stumbled upon a team from southeastern states Georgia or the Carolinas said Gammon We discussed our mission and they theirs They were in Puerto Rico assisting folks in the hill towns with power grids solar panels etc We joined hands in a circle in the middle of the parking lot to pray It CONTINUED Water is Life Mayyim hem Chayim was powerful According to Gammon a year after Hurricane Maria made landfall the landscape is still afflicted by downed trees drooping power lines and washed out areas Hundreds of blue tarps and homes without power dot the countryside We met folks who claimed they would get power back for a couple days and then lose it for four or five Refrigeration was almost impossible even after eleven months of recovery said Gammon Seeing the ongoing devastation the congregations of Florence Congregational Church and Beit Ahavah Reformed Synagogue decided to continue their mission into the new year by supplying the solar component to Puerto Rico To contribute to Water is Life LifeStraw Family Water Filters for Puerto Rico make checks payable to Florence Congregational Church write water filters on the memo line and mail to 130 Pine Street Florence MA 01062 Online donations can be directed to Temple Beth Shalom s Hurricane Maria Recovery Fund or to the Jewish Federation of North America s 2017 Hurricane Relief Fund 1 GW Researchers 2 975 Excess Deaths Linked to Hurricane Maria August 29 2018 GW Today https gwtoday gwu edu gw researchers 2975 excess deaths linked 2 Ibid 8

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Believeland AMC in Cleveland Playhouse Square attracts over a million guests to its 1 000 annual events Photo by Cody York for thisiscleveland com A town that calls itself Believeland certainly sounds like an ideal location for a gathering of people of faith The 65th Annual Meeting and Conference of the NACCC will be held June 22 25 2019 at the Cleveland Airport Marriott in Cleveland Ohio Our hosts the Ohio Association of Congregational Christian Churches OACCC are excited about the venue s proximity to public transit that will allow visitors to explore and enjoy Ohio s North Coast Here are just a few basics about Cleveland Our city is located on Lake Erie smallest and shallowest of the Great Lakes Heavy industry now shares the economic spotlight with biotechnology and fine arts Greater Cleveland is home to over 2 million residents Cleveland is a huge professional sports town Expect a lot of team apparel Over a dozen colleges and universities infuse Cleveland with a young outlook Authentic neighborhoods are the heart of Cleveland Pierogis rule in Parma Little Italy hosts the Feast of the Assumption The Fairfax neighborhood northern destination for many during the Great Migration of the early 20th century 10 is home to Karamu House the oldest African American theater in the United States One story illustrates what grit and determination can accomplish threads woven through the Cleveland story The Cleveland Indians now play downtown at Progressive Field but their original home still exists League Park at East 66th and Lexington is now a city park Small portions of the original stadium Photo by Cody York for remain The thisiscleveland com baseball diamond occupies its original site You can stand at the home plate where Babe Ruth hit his 500th home run and where Joe DiMaggio got his final hit in the phenomenal 1941 streak Perhaps more important the park anchors a reviving Hough neighborhood New construction is replacing neglected buildings Cleveland is being reinvented block by block Visit web sites thisiscleveland org and livecleveland org for fascinating details about Cleveland neighborhoods and attractions such as the West Side Market and Cleveland Zoo If you are in the area a bit longer check out the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Healthcare leaders can meet and collaborate at the Global Center for Health Innovation which highlights another facet of Cleveland s reinvention Home to the world famous Cleveland Clinic and esteemed educational institutions the corridor east of downtown developed a reputation as a center of biotechnology innovation leading to the creation of the Global Center City planners seeing the possibilities for a corridor developed the Regional Transit Authority RTA HealthLine This route features hybrid electric vehicles running at 5 minute intervals In addition to serving the health community the line provides great access to cultural gems the Cleveland Museum of Art the Botanical Gardens the Museum of Natural History and more The downtown lakefront features the Great Lakes Science Center the Browns stadium and of course the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame You might wonder why the Rock Hall is in Cleveland Buddy Holly wasn t from Cleveland and neither was Elvis But Allan Freed was his radio show helped launch rock n roll into the national spotlight A few decades later a groundbreaking FM radio station featuring album cuts instead of background music advanced Cleveland s image as a rock mecca They provided the soundtrack and the attitude that helped Cleveland survive a deep trough in its history Their Buzzard logo adorned many of Cleveland s winter beaters which seem to sneer at the weather and the town s detractors in equal measure The station eventually achieved significant notice in the music industry That and an impressive promotional effort succeeded in bringing the Rock Hall to town The CLE vibe is youthful optimism serious dedication respect for the past and faith in the future Believeland once referred only to serious fans of Cleveland s Tribe Cavs and Browns but has come to mean so much more Believeland is Greater Cleveland We hope that you ll take the opportunity to visit and appreciate all that it has to offer

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Ted and Ellen Polhemus Stiffler live in Mansfield Ohio and are members of First Congregational Church Recently retired they ran an art gallery together In his previous career Ted was a county planner Ellen continues her artistic endeavors making cards and jewelry They enjoy gardening and cooking They visit Cleveland often The NACCC s 65th Annual Meeting Conference will gather at the Cleveland Airport Marriott 4277 West 150th Street in Cleveland just three miles from the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport CLE and right off I 71 The Cleveland Airport Marriott offers complimentary airport shuttle service A courtesy phone is available in the baggage claim area or call the Marriott at 216 252 5333 and let them know you have arrived Reservations The group rate is 99 To make reservations call the Marriott Reservations at 800 228 9290 or direct dial 216 252 5333 A web link is provided in the registration brochure available at naccc org Cutoff date for reservations is Wednesday May 26 2019 Cleveland Airport Marriott Highlights The 99 group rate will be offered three days before and three days after the conference based on availability All NACCC Marriott Guests will receive a 5 voucher each day to use in the hotel outlets Complimentary airport transportation and transportation within a three mile radius of the Marriott are offered Complimentary parking will be offered for all NACCC guests of the Marriott and attendees from NACCC local churches Complimentary Wi Fi is available in the Marriott lobby guestrooms and meeting space Hotel is located eight miles from downtown Cleveland For more information go online to naccc org Click on Now Trending and click on the 65th Annual Meeting Conference brochure and registration forms TO THE Come Join Us Letters EDITOR Dear brothers and sisters I want to update you on what is happening with our work here in Riverside and Los Angeles Our little church thanks to C L U E Justice Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice and personal donors like yourselves made it possible for Miriam to be released with an ankle monitor and received into a widow s home in Menifee I drive her every two weeks to ISAP Intensive Supervision of Aliens Program for checkin I drove her to the Mexican consulate to obtain her birth certificate and provisional Mexican passport at my personal expense Miriam must turn over to ISAP a copy of the receipt and the actual passport Deacon Ibarra from St Vincent Ferrar Catholic church sees her every week for counseling regarding the trauma she has suffered at the hands of her abusers and the experience of being incarcerated at Adelanto Miriam has enrolled in ESL classes and volunteers at the Catholic church We must rely on the Community Cupboard and other food pantries for groceries Clothing has been donated including new undergarments The church is giving her personal toiletries However there is no allowance for medical care If she should get sick I will need to drive her to the clinic for the poor in Los Angeles and pray they don t charge us Miriam s appeal was granted and her case sent back to lower immigration federal court in Los Angeles Miriam has been blessed that she has an attorney from Public Counsel representing her for her asylum application Freedom for Immigrants works mostly with people who have been in immigration detention beyond one month In fact approximately 48 percent of people we work with are held in immigration detention for two to four years although about five percent of people are held in immigration detention for over four years I got involved in immigration advocacy because of the visitation done by Freedom for Immigrants at Adelanto The top complaint we receive from people in immigration detention is medical neglect abuse C L U E Inland Coalition for Immigration Justice and now our church are working together to use our funds for future bond posts Bonds are needed every day but more important is finding individuals who will sponsor asylum seekers and give them shelter In other words welcome the foreigner into their homes They accompany the person through the process until the end knowing that the end could result in deportation or asylum Training is provided in our areas for volunteers who want to do visitation paraphrasing Jesus if you visit one of these you visit me In my area you may donate by sending a check to The Congregational Church of Menifee memo bond fund and send to 27701 Murrieta Road Space 71 Menifee Ca 92586 Please note that once a case is resolved either with asylum granted or deportation the bond money is returned It is redeposited to grow and help the next person There is no knowing how long the process will take For more information about supporting this effort please contact Rev Riedy 11

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Floor to ceiling everything must go at Pamela s house Final day at Pamela s house THE Along WAY Youth On a Mission of Faith HOUSTON RELIEF EFFORT A COMPLETE SUCCESS S ummer 2017 The Youth Missions team at Faith Community Church in Franklin Wisconsin was just back from building wheelchair ramps in Nashville when Hurricane Harvey was forming in the Gulf and headed for a direct hit on Houston They were eager to head to Texas Initially Mission Discovery Inc our mission trip organizer wasn t planning to go to Houston but that changed when it was inundated with calls from churches like Faith Community Church that wanted to help The estimated cost to send one student to Houston was over 900 including travel lodging and registration with Mission Discovery The students theme for their annual February dinner silent auction and other fundraising was Houston We Have a Solution The NACCC provided some of the funds designated for Houston relief to help the youth on their mission Six youth and adults from United Church of Beloit and nine more from Maple Hills Congregational Church in Kansas signed on In the end a total 34 youth and adults participated in the trip My God sighting for the week was watching the houses come back to life and seeing the hope brought back to the people who we have helped Faith Anklam age 14 July 16 21 In Houston a group mostly from Kansas was assigned to help with the remodeling of a house owned by a 12 Submitted by Amber Hagin Second Congregational Church of Warren Maine woman named Caroline to replace the damaged drywall throughout Caroline could see her house literally being resurrected daily by the youth She had lived in it since 1950 and was saying goodbye to many memories The larger group mostly from the two Wisconsin churches was sent to another hard hit part of the city to help with demolition of a home which would be converted into a mission house by a local church organization Living Paradigm The renovated structure would house missionaries coming to Houston to provide ongoing relief work and outreach to the community We helped remove all the siding windows air conditioning unit and broke apart an old bathtub Organizer April Wolf hoped the group would complete removal of the siding on the back of the house but 90 of siding on the entire house was gone by end of day When the group unexpectedly finished the Mission House ahead of time April shifted their effort to Pamela s house a few blocks away Our group worked at Pam s house and this energized group overwhelmed her with joy faith I might even say a miracle that she was waiting for Eleven months of wondering how her house is ever going to be her house again Jason Kierzek adult leader Pamela woke on the morning of the hurricane to find her house with six inches of water She had lived with her sisters for 11 months during which her house had sat virtually untouched Mold and other flood damage made the house unsafe to live in Our group was instructed by a local volunteer on how to safely remove all the drywall from ceiling to floor They completely dismantled Pam s kitchen and removed all the furnishings and walls from her living room In two and a half days the group completely removed all the walls ceilings master bathroom tile and fixtures and filled two dumpsters with the remains of Pam s house The work was hot and dirty but the process of mitigating mold and rebuilding the home would finally get started after we left for home The best part of the trip was seeing how grateful everybody we were helping was Heather Schmidt young adult Mission Discovery provided housing at the St John Divine Church including all meals and evening worship time Each night the youth and young adults worshiped and shared their God Sightings from the day Pamela came to the group s final worship time Her heartfelt thanks were very uplifting Caroline had done the same at her home earlier in the day The youth were very moved feeling as though they had truly been a part of the solution for at least these two ladies The youth and adults made lifelong friends and they were grateful for all the support given them to make their solution a reality

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150 Years This year marks the 150th anniversary of First Congregational Church in Waseca and the congregation has found and Counting a multitude of ways to celebrate the occasion beginning with their annual n 1867 Waseca Minnesota was a meeting and potluck dinner The church pioneer town of about 70 homes shared its joy with the community by on what were once wheat fields hosting a variety of events The Greater The streets were unpaved and Waseca Ministerial Association Lenten one of the early pastors recalled seeing soup lunches a Passover Seder dinner a cow stuck in the mud on State Street the Waseca Community Easter Dinner First Congregational Church held its and the 45th Annual Ladies Friendly first worship service that year the first Salad Luncheon Annual events such as religious service held in Waseca About 25 people attended the services conducted by Confirmation Sunday and recognition of the graduating Reverend E H Alden in high school seniors an unfinished building became opportunities on State Street to observe the church s The following milestone For year a council was example graduates convened in the parlor were presented quilts of the Trowbridge made by the Ladies Hotel to consider Friendly group the organization of a The congregation Congregational church Waseca graduates with their quilts rededicated its present Nine articles of faith a church built in 1950 during a Sunday church covenant and a set of rules were service followed by a lunch read adopted and signed by 16 people A highlight of the past year was the who gathered there Don Fisher Memorial Concert featuring nationally acclaimed singer songwriter Pierce Pettis and the local high school The church today and the Old First jazz ensemble I Congregational Church in Waseca Ladies Friendly salad luncheon The City of Waseca was celebrating its own 150th anniversary events in 2018 In late August First Congregational Church held an open house during Waseca s all school reunion and 150th Year Community Celebration also participating in the Waseca All Church Service The First Congregational anniversary celebration has extended beyond church walls in myriad ways from staffing a booth at the county fair to sending youth in fellowship on their mission trip to Milwaukee with Next Step Ministries Rally Sunday and the start of Sunday School offered a soup luncheon open to the community Thanksgiving brought the annual dinner and talent show First Congregational Church of Waseca will close its 150th year with the celebration of our Savior s birth the youth Christmas program followed by a potluck meal In the 150 years since the Congregation Church of Waseca was formed the people have changed the church building has changed the ministers have changed the means of communication and carrying on the work has changed but the purpose of the church has remained the same The present church was built on the faith hope love and sacrifice of the pioneers and those who followed them The accomplishments have been many but they have seemed easy when members come together in a common faith in God People come serve and go but the church lives on and we pray is ready for another 150 years of adventure in Christ like living Those who make up the present congregation salute those who have gone before and pray that those who are to follow experience much joy in their service and strength in their belief Submitted by Maggie Alexander Moderator First Congregational Church Waseca Minnesota 13

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CONTINUED THE Along WAY Church opens doors to homeless F or 16 years Family Promise operated a day center at a Lutheran church in Beloit Wisconsin Last spring Family Promise launched an effort to upgrade its facilities John Pickart a former member of its board as well as the United Church of Beloit contacted church leadership with the idea of offering space for Family Promise As a result United Church provided around 4 000 square feet of space and the new day center reopened this past July A remodeling project included the installation of bathtubs and showers in each bathroom at the church The Stateline Family YMCA donated day passes and use of its shower facilities during the remodel United Church of Beloit Lead Pastor the Reverend Steve Erkel said offering the site is an opportunity to better utilize WANTED Dedicated church members who feel called to be part of the leadership of the NACCC Get your nominations into the office before January Forms available on the NACCC website naccc org Let the Holy Spirit be your guide Remodeling progresses at UCB Photo by Family Promise Executive Director Ryan Bell church space and serve God He told the Beloit Daily News We are incredibly excited about this partnership and the possibilities of ministry which could take place with the use of our building in this way Pastor Carol Taylor added that it was wonderful for the church to take another step in a longstanding relationship with Family Promise We support this organization we know does great work in Beloit she said Another 11 area churches partner with Family Promise on a rotating basis to provide overnight shelter for the homeless At least 20 churches total partner with Family Promise several of which help the 12 host sites Submitted by Pastor Carol Taylor United Church of Beloit Wisconsin My Journey from Burma to Marshalltown Iowa USA I was born on December 20 1983 in Burma I lived in Burma until 2001 I moved to Thailand in 2001 because I had no human rights in Burma I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior in 2001 I was a Buddhist before I became a Christian I became a refugee in 2004 by the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees UNHCR Then I lived This photo was taken after the in Umpiem Mai refugee camp in oath ceremony I am standing Thailand where I met and married my beside the United States District Court Magistrate wife She was not able to come with Judge the Honorable Helen C Adams and all my support me when on July 28 2010 I came to group from church and family the United States under the Refugee Resettlement Program I lived in Moline Illinois until I moved to Marshalltown Iowa on Nov 1 2010 and began working at JBS Swift God led me to attend First Congregational Church in 2016 and I stayed because every church member welcomed me I became a U S citizen on August 3 2018 During the oath ceremony my name was changed from Nay Liew to Solomon M Davidstars I am proud to be an American citizen My wife Nan will come to live with me in Marshalltown on August 26 2018 The United States will be our home now Submitted by Solomon M Davidstars 14

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Bringing the Gospel to the stage O Submitted by Amber Hagin Second Congregational Church of Warren Maine n February 8 2018 I received an email from Nancy VanVuuren music director at our church about the John Richard Memorial Endowment grant opportunity asking if I would consider directing a youth musical theater production at Second Congregational Church in Warren Maine I was entering the second semester of my freshman year at the University of Maine having grown up in Warren and the Congregational Church singing in the choir and organizing and directing the Junior Choir I was excited This would mean moving into new responsibilities in musical theater working with young people opening music ministry to the larger community all near to my heart Then the hard work began First to find the right musical Godspell Jr This pick would challenge any group of young kids but especially those who had no prior theatre experience a church that had never put on a musical before and me who had never directed a theatre production Nancy applied for the grant and obtained scripts The cast carries Jesus out and music Next thing I knew singing the final song Photo by Hope Creighton we had everything we needed church historian to start this new adventure except the cast Our numbers were small but the support from the church was great The kids seemed excited but nervous as was I to step into this new experience but our church family took a leap of faith jumping in head first The cast worked endlessly to learn 12 new songs new Bible verses and lessons I used games and exercises I had learned in high school and college theatre to teach the cast and get them comfortable with acting The hardest scene was the death of Jesus on the cross followed by the kids carrying him out By the time the kids learned that scene they were prepared to take on the responsibility of this touching deeply moving topic Jesus was played by a few of the children throughout the performance to lighten the load for speaking parts and represent the idea that Jesus is in every one of us Throughout the whole experience Nancy was there to guide me through and so was the church family who took this project along with the kids and me under their wing to help in any way big or small Looking back from the first day the kids and the church grew so much In just two weeks these seven kids learned a lot and were transformed as they gained stage presence voice projection joy confidence and a new understanding of what it means to act out another person s thoughts and feelings I could see it on each face how proud they were of all they had accomplished when they took The young thespians rehearse Photo by that final bow My favorite moment from Hope Creighton the musical project came when I watched church historian their last performance The cast were all active in our Sunday School We plan to continue this project next summer reaching out to and involving more community members John Calvin Richard was a gifted musician His love for music and theater performance was a large part of his talented but short life The John Calvin Richard Memorial Endowment was established by his family as a loving and living memorial The Endowment awards annual grants of up to 500 to NACCC member churches of 200 or fewer members that are planning a fine arts or performing arts event in their church The First Congregational Church of Yarmouth Yarmouth Port MA Following Christ We Proclaim the Gospel Teach God s Word And Serve with Love We are searching for a full time Senior Pastor to guide us on our Christian journey sharing God s Word and His love with our church and the local communities More information about our church may be found on our website www fccyarmouth org as well as on our Church Information Form at www naccc org 15

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of OUR CHRISTMAS AT OUR MISSIONS The deadline for making Christmas donations to the missions has passed but any time is the right time to support our missions The missions will deliver a great deal of comfort to their communities this season Panamerican Institute Mexico gives out food baskets valued at 50 each to families for Christmas Every basket contains pinto beans rice wheat flour sugar salt canned tuna and vegetables margarine cereal cooking oil tomato sauce cookies pastas gelatin jelly toilet paper soap tooth brushes and toothpaste is needed Charles Nyane Word Alive Mission Ghana has been diagnosed with glaucoma The Castillo family NACC Philippines is feeling the loss of their husband father and grandfather The violence in northern India against Christians and the ministers of Indian Community Fellowship continues Flooding is causing suffering for people in Myanmar and Philippines as well as those affected by Hurricane Florence in the U S 16 Morgan Scott Project TN and Bread of Life Mission FL distribute toys for kids Our two missions in the Philippines NACC Philippines and Christian Mission in the Far East provide an extra month s salary to their pastors Our missions in Honduras Ministerio Vida Hospital and Mexico Mission Mazahua give out an extra month s salary to their workers as well One Great Hour of Sharing This summer has been a time of great flooding in Myanmar and the Philippines All three of our missions in these areas have been affected by storms in their regions The Mission Council sent disaster relief funds from One Great Hour of Sharing to help these missions Chris Bryan and his granddaughter Lucy of Milwaukee went a step beyond holding a yard sale to raise funds for flood relief in Myanmar They raised 135 Remembering Rev Castillo The Reverend Ernanie Castillo founder and director of NACC Philippines died of prostate cancer on July 10 2018 Born March 13 1941 he was raised by a poor family on Negros Island Philippines Nannie did odd jobs throughout high school to help his family Gang life lured him until he met the Lord He attended Bible College and served many churches He also worked for a well known Christian radio station Ernanie was employed for 17 years as the Executive Director of the Far East Relief and Development Services After that he began the National Association of Congregational Churches in the Philippines with the goal of bringing Congregationalism to the Philippines Ernanie Castillo AND News NEEDS Visit with Philip Malakar In August The Reverend Peter Smith pictured right from First Congregational Church in Hanson Massachusetts enjoyed a brief visit with the Reverend Philip Malakar Indian Community Fellowship in India Indian Trails Mission Has Closed Many of you are familiar with and have supported Indian Trails Mission Arizona and the Gossett family who directed its programs The NACCC has been a strong supporter of Indian Trails Mission for more than 50 years as it accomplished great work among the Native Americans in Arizona and Mexico After the passing of Sharon and Tom Gossett the mission lost many supporters The Gossett children continued the mission for a while but lost ongoing support As a result they made the decision to close The Mission Council and NACCC thank all of you for your generous support over the years

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Bible study in Maniche Preparing food for the new meal program Linda Miller Good Bye to a Good Friend On March 1 Linda Miller will bid farewell to the NACCC family and set out for new adventures in new places Linda began working with the NACCC in 2007 as assistant to John Carson Executive Secretary for Missions and Congregational Church Development and State Regional Partnerships Most of us know Linda for her dedicated service as Missions Coordinator and State Regional Associations Liaison If you haven t met her you ve most likely read her reports in the News Needs of Our Missions feature in this magazine or her quarterly newsletter Missions to people in need have been Linda s passion for a long time Prior to joining the NACCC she worked with Chicago s homeless for 20 years helped resettle refugees as a volunteer with Travelers Aid and worked with the Aids Pastoral Care Network Today NACCC and its member churches support about 25 international and U S missions Linda has visited most of the missions located in this country Happy Life in South Africa and the Panamerican Institute in Tijuana Reflecting on her experiences with NACCC Linda said Working with missions has given me a more worldly view of life I don t think locally or nationally but consider what s happening around the world My time with NACCC has broadened my perspective Linda plans to stay in Milwaukee but she won t be sitting still Following her retirement she plans to cruise the Danube from Budapest to Amsterdam Then she ll visit a cousin in the south of France Our best wishes go with her Haiti Mission Expands Its Reach Love Worth Sharing Haiti began a new ministry in Maniche a city west of Port au Prince The new program consists of a Bible study and feeding program The ministry is housed in the local school building until the mission can build its own facility There are 346 children enrolled in the school with 200 of them in the Christian Education Program They hope this number will rise next year to include all 346 children as they look forward to teaching the children about Jesus and leading them into a personal relationship with Him New Kitchen for Argentina Asociacion Civil Cristiana Congregational Argentina has built a new kitchen Their next project is a new dining hall The new soup kitchen will allow the mission to provide a Saturday meal for 200 children of the poorest families who have difficulty feeding their families New Center for Christian Mission in the Far East Christian Mission in the Far East Philippines is building a new Center for its office space The new facility will have three large rooms The middle room will be the office with a big room on either side to accommodate delegates for all the spiritual gatherings For more information on any of these missions or to donate to any of the these projects please contact Janet Wilson chair NACCC Mission Council at jaw 47jaw gmail com For a complete listing of NACCC Mission Projects please go to our website www naccc org and click on the Missions tab Mission and Outreach Ministry Council NACCC PO Box 288 Oak Creek WI 53154 Word Alive Mission Update Word Alive Mission Ghana has one orphanage with 17 children total capacity is 25 of which six are in high school and one is in nursing school The mission s school serves 250 children ranging from kindergarten through ninth grade Its Nursing School started in 2001 with 75 students Since then 700 students have graduated from the program The mission also operates a one to two year Bible College program Twenty eight churches have been formed by its graduates To increase its income Word Alive Mission is planting rubber trees and delivering water Rev Julian and his new well New center for CMFE 17

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ON Giving by Kevin Gromley T he holiday season has arrived It is a time for family and friends for happy reunions for children and the magic of Christmas It is a time to think about Jesus birth and all it has meant to the world It is also a time to think about those less fortunate It is a time to think about giving as well as receiving God s gifts We Americans are a generous people That is the common wisdom at any rate Last year U S giving to churches charities and education exceeded 410 billion of which 70 came from individuals This was up 5 from 2016 and the first time giving exceeded 400 billion Of the total 31 was donated to religious organizations https givingusa org We Americans give more to charity than any other nation on earth That said the number of households that give to charity has been falling since 2002 In 2014 the last year for which data are available some 56 of U S households gave to charity The dollar 18 total was up last year as the average donation size increased but fewer households are donating There is more to giving than money of course although in the commercial barrage of the holidays that may be sometimes difficult to remember The Charity Aid Foundation does a survey that looks at helping strangers and volunteering time as well as donating money to charity It ranks countries on participation along these metrics On this basis the United States was fifth in the world last year https www cafonline org Not bad but hats off to Myanmar a perennial number one This year there is concern among charitable organizations The new tax law has an impact reducing the tax benefit for many donors The results through the second quarter of this year suggest that both the number of donors and the total dollar amount of giving are down from 2017 And the need for giving is great This year we have seen wildfires in the West Hurricanes have ravaged Hawaii the Carolinas and Florida Hurricane Florence as one example destroyed or damaged nearly 700 000 homes and businesses Abroad Indonesia was hit by earthquake and tsunami A typhoon spread death and destruction in the Philippines and southern China Flooding and mudslides caused by extreme rains hit Japan So there is a need for donations of money and time to help those affected by disaster But there is also a need in our country for strong churches It is no secret that we live in polarized times It is as important as it ever has been to have healthy vigorous Congregational churches spreading God s word working to bridge divisions providing a place of spiritual healing and peace I have been on the Board of the Congregational Foundation for about a year now The Foundation works to secure donations to provide long term support to

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g the NACCC and to manage those donations in accordance with donors wishes and the NACCC s purpose In that time I ve seen the Foundation and National Association leadership at work I have seen the thought that goes into encouraging donations the care that is taken to follow donors wishes the focus on ensuring every dollar support the National Association s mission to nurture fellowship among Congregational Christian churches and to support ministries of the local church in its community and to the world all in the name of Christ And so I am encouraged I am optimistic I am inspired by those Congregationalists and congregations that have given to the National Association and have through the Foundation established endowments to help ensure the long term health of the NACCC as we strive to do God s work I am humbled by the dedication of those who give and those who use these gifts to further the NACCC s mission I am grateful to be a part of this work Jesus had quite a bit to say about giving Give and it will be given to you A good measure pressed down shaken together running over will be put into your lap for the measure you give will be the measure you get back Luke 6 38 Come you that are blessed by my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for I was hungry and you gave me food I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink I was a stranger and you welcomed me I was naked and you gave me clothing I was sick and you took care of me I was in prison and you visited me Then the righteous will answer him Lord when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you And the king will answer them Truly I tell you just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me Matthew 25 31 40 And my favorite He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury Many rich people put in large sums A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins which are worth a penny Then he called his disciples and said to them Truly I tell you this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury For all of them have contributed out of their abundance but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had all she had to live on Mark 12 41 44 It is not how much you give is it And it is not all about giving money For over ten years now Congregationalists from southeast Michigan have travelled to New Orleans in the first months of the year This started about sixteen months after Hurricane Katrina Over the years nearly 100 different volunteers from eight Michigan Congregational churches plus a few hardy volunteers from Green Bay have made the trip We have had men women retirees people taking a week off work We have had volunteers experienced in construction work and volunteers who had never wielded a hammer The group works on housing repairing damaged homes or helping to build new construction for displaced and low income residents Although the physical damage from Katrina has been repaired the dislocation and economic effects linger The Congregationalist volunteers give time toil and sweat When we work on repairing an existing home we often have the opportunity to meet the owners They thank us for what we have given and often bring some food for the work crew They tell us how much it means to them what a difference it will make when they can live in their own home again And every time we take away in our souls more than we give One of my favorite Mark Twain works is the collection of short stories in the form of excerpts from the diaries of Adam and Eve It shares their different perspectives on learning about the new world and about each other humorous of course But at the end of Eve s Diary Adam is at her grave He says Wheresoever she was there was Eden With apologies to Mr Twain Wheresoever there are people who give of their time and their talents and their spirit and their wealth wheresoever there are people who care for others without thought of reward wheresoever there are people who work to do God s will in the world there is Eden 19

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on Mission Ephraim and friends T he fountain of fellowship is Jesus In Matthew 18 12 Jesus says For where two or three are gathered in my name there am I among them ESV In 2013 my wife Christina went on a mission trip to Haiti Three months later my impassioned wife dragged me back with her God ruined my life in Haiti in the most beautiful possible ways imaginable Not long after we moved there We planted a growing and thriving ministry there called Supply and Multiply We oversee that ministry with a large staff of workers and missionaries mission teams and partnerships while shepherding a church in America This model allows us to continue to gather friends for the work as we empower indigenous leaders Our family and friends have learned so much in this process Here is the heartbeat of what we have learned Expectations When we went to Haiti I thought I understood what it meant to be a missionary I went to seminary I ve read all the books You go to a place You set up shop You teach people how to do something You preach the Gospel You bring in groups of Americans to love orphans paint a house get their Instagram pics and head back to America Bing Bam Wing Wham you re a missionary Realizations There is a lot more to it than that The mission field doesn t know it s 20 by Chris Surber the mission field It s just another place on this beautifully desolate planet where people live I thought I knew what being a missionary meant Then I watched God shatter my expectations and build a ministry by building a community Being a missionary is about being broken before God and pliable in connecting with His people It isn t primarily even about helping people Being a missionary is being connected to God and people at the same time We ve had tremendous success in terms of quantifiable growth in mission activity We ve built and maintain two elderly care homes which we call Matthew 25 Houses Through them and other activities we employ a significantly sized staff We ve built and continue to build several family homes which have a huge impact on the local community We ve bought boats for fisherman We put more than 60 children in school this year alone through our school sponsorship program And much more But doing stuff isn t the point More importantly we get to watch God weave lives together Most notably we get to be a part of God grafting Christina Surber and Matye Christians together from two distinctly different cultures We find that when people come to Haiti the foundations of the understandings about the world are assaulted Americans are largely taught to fear people from places like Haiti Poverty equals violence we re told But when nervous Americans on their first mission trip is confronted with an authentically relationship driven culture when a desperately poor child offers them a portion of the granola bar they just gave him their hearts are torn into pieces We all have misconceptions about places like Haiti I have seen the anxiety in the eyes of many first time mission team members as they shyly debark the plane in Port Au Prince Then we roll into town in the back of a crickety clangyrusty pickup truck and witness throngs of children chasing the truck yelling Christina Christina as they excitedly look for my wife and her truckload of American friends There is a distinctive kind of belonging that happens when God creates a community It cannot be easily manufactured but we can sprinkle a few ingredients into our lives that at the very least put us into a position to potentially realize it Chris Surber Ben and children

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In his 1978 book A Special Kind of Belonging Herbert Wagemaker writes The love that transforms the group process doesn t originate within the 1 group members it originates with God It s common for mission team members to initially see themselves as heroes headed to a foreign land to educate poor people in some far off place or to bring them the Gospel that in many cases they ve already heard Indigenous people have false assumptions too Most Haitians are not unfamiliar with foreign missionaries Generations of empty promises and parochial attitudes have embedded a kind of cynicism among some Haitians and inflated expectations among others I m not knocking short term mission teams here In fact our ministry in Haiti depends upon them I love mission teams but when mission team work is primarily about doing stuff rather than knowing people they will seldom produce lasting progress and never impact underlying realities that contribute to the poverty of the spirit that drives material poverty When our primary interest is building Christ centered relationships the Holy Spirit crushes false assumptions and heals cynicism The amazing thing about it is that when that happens the floodgates of doing stuff opens up The synergism created in authentic loving Christian community is presently changing lives in Montrouis pronounced Mo Wee Haiti The Fruit of Christ Centered Community We re not just helping people in this life The truth of the eternal saving grace of God in Christ is constantly declared because it has become the regular discourse of this community God has created Wagemaker also writes That is what evangelism means in the Christian community It is the natural outgrowth of community the process of witnessing to changes so dynamic they have to 2 be shared The natural supernatural outgrowth of life together is missions It is the normative consequence of the supernatural activity that is presently binding hearts together in the Supply and Multiply family Time and again in the Scriptures we see the need for Christian community Where two or three are gathered Jesus is there with them Paul says that we are each living stones being built up into the true Church of God I Peter 2 5 We re mortared together God s Word declares that this connection is so intrinsic that as followers of Jesus it is not as though but is such that we are the very members of the living visible touchable present incarnation of Jesus as His body in this world Romans 12 4 5 That truth transcends metaphor The truth of our connectedness is a reality but it will only existentially be realized to the extent that we accept and enter into it But there is a cost to this level of deep fellowship Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes With an abstract idea it is possible to enter into a relation of formal knowledge to become enthusiastic about it and perhaps even put into practice but it can never be followed in personal obedience Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ It remains an abstract idea a myth which has a place for the Fatherhood of God but omits Christ as the living son And the Christianity of that kind is nothing more or less than the 3 end of discipleship I would suggest that the inherent link between Christian community and Christian mission is missing in many of our fellowships because we are living with abstracted ideas about the communal aspect of discipleship We have so individualized our understanding of faith and action that we have robbed ourselves of the greatest resource for faith and action one another Isn t that the point of the Church We are they There is no everyone else There is only the universal all inclusive The Reverend Dr Chris Surber is pastor of Mt Hope Congregational Church Livonia Michigan He is Executive Director of Supply and Multiply Haiti us I ve watched children from Virginia teenagers from North Carolina twenty somethings from all over the country come together with Haitians of every age to become a family unbound by race socioeconomics or even the language of the tongue The only thing we share in common is Christ and He is more than enough We speak the language of the love of Jesus I m convinced that what God desires from His Church in every expression of it whether on our street corner or an outreach in a hut in the most remote corner of the unreached globe is simple genuine Christian community Don t do missions Don t pursue mission projects Do live together and missions will pour out of community Pursue Christ in community and you won t have to twist arms into doing projects authentic Christian activity is always the consequence of authentic Christian community Life together leads to life on mission together Compassion shared together necessarily spills over to compassion shared with others In Haiti God shattered my expectations He used Haiti like an anvil upon which to crush my heart and begin to reshape it What I learned about mission reshaped my understanding of daily discipleship We need one another The deeper our fellowship together becomes the more abundantly the life of Christ will flow out of it in visible touchable lifechanging ways The root of fellowship is Jesus The fruit of Jesus centered community is mission 1 A Special Kind of Belonging Herbert Wagemaker Word Books Waco 1978 page 68 2 Ibid 84 3 The Cost of Discipleship Dietrich Bonhoeffer Macmillan Publishing 1963 First Edition 1949 page 63 64 21

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ThePreaching Task by Michael W Glidden A re there any preachers out there I must admit that I love the task of preaching How about you If you are a pastor I can imagine that you too are excited about the craft and task of preaching I began preaching in 1991 in small rural churches in Washington County Maine As a young 23 year old I had the joy of practicing the art of preaching upon many elderly congregants They were all very gracious to me The feedback was fairly consistent I was loud enthusiastic demonstrative biblical and conservative And not necessarily in that order They appreciated the fact that they could hear me Early on as I preached in these remote parts of Maine the voices beckoned me to remember to preach biblically What does it mean to preach biblically In the summer of 2001 I took a class on expository preaching while a Doctor of Ministry student at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary It was here that I was blessed to learn the fine art of preaching from a preaching giant Dr Haddon Robinson Dr Robinson taught the concept of the big idea of biblical preaching which means to take a single text and effectively communicate it to a congregation Robinson pressed it into my heart and mind that expository preaching is preaching that upholds the glory of God God s truth and power is communicated through the preaching of a text The text communicates a truth that is applied to the life of a believer And if an unbeliever is present God speaks 22 through the text to speak to the soul For two weeks that summer Dr Robinson painstakingly taught some crucial steps in helping along the preaching process It was during this class that I realized how vulnerable I am and that I can never be content with handling God s Word Before approaching the preaching task I need to open my life and heart before God and allow Him to search me I learned some valuable tools in the preparation of sermons that I still use to this day I would like to share these with you I would like to hear from all of you as to how you prepare messages I do not believe in a one size fits all approach to preaching I ve found with my personality style that expository preaching is a blessing and works the best for me On to the preaching task I get right at it on Monday mornings by reading the lectionary for the upcoming week I read all of the passages and begin to pray while jotting down some initial observations that come to mind From there I ask a lot of questions about the text the basic who what where when and why for which I thank my eighth grade English teacher After a while I need to leave it alone and let it all set On Tuesday I like to read commentaries and other sources to hear what other voices have to say I need to stop here to reinforce the fact that each session will always begin with prayer On Wednesday I begin to craft an outline which becomes the basis for a manuscript to take into the pulpit I look for the big idea with a central theme to preach on The Rev Michael Glidden D Min has been the senior pastor of the Sebago Lake Congregational Church in Standish Maine since 2012 He has been pastoring since 1993 Rev Glidden earned his Master of Divinity Degree in 1995 from Bangor Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry Degree from GordonConwell Theological Seminary in 2002 He was ordained in 2000 Mike lives in South Portland Maine with his wife Rhonda I try to write out the crucial statement that is the basis of the sermon On Thursday I look at my notes on the passage and begin to frame an outline into three major sections not including the introduction and conclusion As Thursday moves into Friday I begin to add flesh to the bone structure of my outline Not all my sermons look the same but have a similar flow I will explain the text illustrate the text and then apply the text Before Sunday comes I will often stand in front of a mirror or invisible congregation and practice my delivery I m grateful for this time because it s here that I can make all the mistakes to be made As Saturday evening comes to a close I realize that I have worked and prayed for at least 15 hours on this message Someone told me years ago I think it was in seminary or someone at coffee hour that the word worship actually means work Handling God s word demands work As a pastor I realize that the souls that sit in the pews are under my care How will I care I will lead I will teach I will visit And I must preach

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HIT SHARE Joining the NACCC staff by Shawn Stapleton I have been a newspaper reporter a Congregational congregant and pastor a writer for an advertising agency a life coach and a child The Reverend Dr Shawn Stapleton advocate Today I am thrilled to say is the Pastor I am your newest support staff of Community Congregational member with the National Christian Church Association of Congregational in Citrus Springs Florida He works Christian Churches and am looking full time as an forward to finding new ways to advocate for children in support the health and growth of our foster care congregations around the country As your new Workshop Coordinator I am coordinating the recording of events that would benefit our wider fellowship It is our hope to create a virtual library of such resources from scholarly presentations to practical guides for congregational life These recordings will then be made available through the NACCC website naccc org In addition I am working with the Vitality Council to coordinate the redevelopment of the Lay Ministry Training Program This redevelopment will make it even more convenient for those who feel called to ministry but not to seminary to grow in their spiritual development and their understanding of the role of disciple and Christian leader among God s people guided by some of the most spiritually gifted mentors in our association If you have a special speaker intriguing Bible Study or other event that you believe would benefit other churches in our association please let me know You can reach me at shawn p stapleton gmail com or by phone at 727 403 3663 I look forward to hearing from you GOOD NEWS The Boston Seminar in Congregational History and Polity will take place mid summer date to be determined in Boston and Plymouth Massachusetts The 2019 seminar is open to Congregational lay leaders and ministers as well as ordained clergy from other faith traditions We are currently investigating holding the seminar in late July or early August For more information or to express interest in attending please contact the Rev Dr Charles Packer Dean of the Congregational Foundation for Theological Studies at drcapacker gmail com Stay tuned Necrology 2018 REVEREND DR ROBERT LAWRENCE The Reverend Dr Robert P Lawrence 88 died at home on October 2 2018 in Dartmouth after a brief illness A minister for more than 60 years Lawrence served churches in Little Compton Rhode Island and Fall River Massachusetts He was pastor emeritus at Fall River Congregational Church Early in his career Lawrence was a chaplain for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and worked for the FBI While minister at First Congregational Church in Fall River he coordinated with the Fall River Police Department to organize the first gun buyback program located in the church basement raised funds for a police K 9 and gear to protect officers A spiritual and civic force for good he was presented the Distinguished Citizen Award and an honorary associate degree in humane letters from Bristol Community College The Fall River Humanitarian Award was established in his honor For 20 years Lawrence authored a column From the Pulpit in The Herald News JANET GARBER Janet Garber passed away on July 17 2018 She was the wife of the late William Bill Garber until his death in 2017 The Garbers were members of the Congregational Church of the Messiah in Los Angeles Janet served the church in various capacities including involvement with the Cal West Association of Congregational churches Janet was active in the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches and served in a leadership position for the Congregational Foundation for Theological Studies 2007 2011 REVEREND DR LOUIS B GERHARDT Louis B Gerhardt passed away at home on February 13 2017 at age 92 Raised in Washington he attended college and was ordained as a Congregationalist minister after serving in World War II Following seminary in Berkeley he was called to ministry by a Congregational church in Port Chicago California where he met his first wife Grace and her children They lived in Alaska Indiana and Utah followed by a position with a church in Detroit where he hosted an interview show on television He returned to California in 1969 to serve a church in Fresno Grace died in 1994 A year later he was called by First Congregational Church in Twentynine Palms and soon after married Patricia His passion was fighting for human rights including the rights of indigenous peoples and gays and opposing capital punishment Gerhardt served in many leadership positions for the National Association of Congregational Christian Churche He was a member of Christian Education 19641967 the Executive Committee 1967 1971 Financial Stewardship 1978 1981 Nominating Committee 1981 1982 and served a term as Moderator 1980 1981 Gerhardt was editor of The Congregationalist magazine between July 1973 and June 1977 He returned to a church in California in 1980 and He is survived by wife Patricia stepdaughters Marjorie Christian and Nancy Colchico and stepsons Gabriel Ditommaso and Matthew Ditommaso He requested that no services be held His body was donated to Loma Linda University Medical Center 23

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Choir Member Gives GIFT OF LIFE by Terry Lester Wing G od leads us in directions we would never think possible in our lives We go to church on Sunday mornings and are active in the choir and other functions of the church social life We meet new people and make friends with the membership We sing together pray together cry together and celebrate together yet we never know what the people we worship with will do for one another When God asks us to do something we wonder if it is for real We question whether we re hearing ourselves or God talking God asks us to do things in our lives that we really must pray about That is what Bob and Karen Millholland found themselves doing in the winter of 2000 God told Bob that somebody needed one of his kidneys Bob said yes Church member Jackie Wing a diabetic had been on the kidney transplant list for two years She had been maintaining and was not yet to the point of being on dialysis but was slowly weakening Bob and Karen Millholland 24 One Sunday morning at the coffee hour following the worship service Bob told Jackie Wing that they had the same blood type He asked Jackie if she would like one of his kidneys Jackie was stunned that Bob who was not a relative would take such a risk for her After some tears Jackie said yes Bob Karen Jackie and I sang in the church choir together The choir not only sings but also is a core prayer group in the church Heritage Congregational Christian Church in Madison Wisconsin We pray for each other and for all members of the congregation and we have seen miracles happen We believe and acknowledge what prayer has done in our lives After weeks of blood cross matching and many medical tests Bob and Jackie were deemed compatible and surgery scheduled for August 1 2000 Both families began to prepare for the event We did a lot of praying over the next few weeks When the day arrived the two surgeries now common began at the University of Wisconsin Transplant Clinic in Madison Karen and I surrounded by family waited to hear any news Bob s doctor appeared first to inform us that Bob was in recovery and doing fine About an hour later Jackie s doctor let us know that the surgery went as expected the kidney was making urine and Jackie would be in her room shortly By February Bob and Jackie were fully recovered Terry Wing is a member of Heritage Congregational Christian Church of Madison and year round delegate to the NACCC Bob s wife Karen was once asked if she had ever second guessed the decision they made to donate one of Bob s kidneys She said she was jealous that it could not have been her own kidney that was donated Jackie died on August 22 2011 from complications of her diabetes but she and I were forever grateful to Bob Karen and their two children for their unselfish action Family and friends were by Jackie s side when she passed away In memory of Jacqueline Jackie Switzky Wing I planted an Autumn Blaze Red Maple on church property According to the United Network for Organ Sharing UNOS there are currently around 114 650 people on the national transplant list If more people would step up in faith as did Bob and become organ donors live or cadaver the lives of 20 people each day on average could be saved

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IMPRESSIONS Awakening Symposium from the by Michael Chittum T he Awakenings Symposium hosted by the First Congregational Church of Marshalltown Iowa as part of the church s 150th anniversary celebration was held on October 11 13 2018 The Reverend Dan Vellinga pastor of the church was part of the organizing committee The other members of the Steering Committee for the Symposium were The Reverend Dr Charles Packer chair Pat Anderson Miriam Bryant the Reverend Kathrine Miller Todd the Reverend Richard Miller Todd and the Reverend Tom Van Tassell The Iowa event also celebrated the first NACCC Symposium held in 1998 at First Congregational Church in Wauwatosa Wisconsin In the September issue of The Congregationalist the Reverend Dr Charles Packer provided a preview of the upcoming Awakenings Symposium with a brief biography of the presenters and a sketch of the papers to be presented I will not duplicate that information but I The Reverend Dr Michael Chittum is Executive Director of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches NACCC He has over 35 years of experience in ministry in several different states He has served NACCC churches since 1997 the Plymouth Congregational Church in Wichita Kansas Covenant Congregational Church in Demorest Georgia First Congregational Church Salt Lake City Utah He has served the NACCC on the Division for Ministry the Strategic Planning Team and the Transition Team will attempt to share my impressions of the event My only disclaimer is that these are my thoughts I cannot and will not presume to speak for all who were there I would say first that the presenters and participants represented a crosssection of NACCC Congregationalists There were folks from Iowa and Nebraska of course There were also folks from California Indiana Illinois Ohio Michigan Massachusetts Minnesota Connecticut and Wisconsin and beyond There were even representatives of Congregationalism from England and Wales Some were older some were younger Some had been in ministry for decades a few had retired others were just starting their ministry journey Some were more conservative some were more liberal Some had advanced graduate degrees a few were beginning their academic careers In short it was a very Congregational crowd Second I would note that in the best tradition of NACCC gatherings there was great food and conversation The FCC Marshalltown kitchen team went above and beyond the call of duty to make certain we were all well fed and the church s volunteers pampered us for which we were all greatly appreciative The conversations that took place during breaks over table at lunch or dinner and with the morning cup of coffee before the presentations began were enriching For example I was able to talk to ministers and get an update on what was happening in their churches and in their regional associations I had chances to talk to ministers who had recently moved to new places of ministry I also had the opportunity to discuss issues and answer questions about the pastoral search process with folks Finally and most importantly the Symposium was an opportunity for us all to hear new ideas to think about our faith to open our hearts and minds to the leading of the Holy Spirit and to discuss how this information could inform our ministry in our church I learned about aspects of the First Great Awakening I was challenged to consider what or who was awakened and how that revival in the 18th century in America affected the local church and ministers I learned about the societal context of that time and how it was similar to or different from our day I learned how to consider the work of the Spirit in our churches now by thinking of new ways to work for the Kingdom of God within my community in mutuality and collaboration with others and I was challenged to be open to new ways to perceive the work of the Spirit Further I was challenged to dream of what God could and would do within our congregations as I heard about a model of discernment to be used by a local congregation in making decisions about how the local church should be and could be a place to nurture a sense of call to ministry and how the local church and individual members could engage in Christian social action I did not just listen to individuals lecturing me about these ideas I had the opportunity to discuss them all within small groups so that I could share my thoughts and reactions to the presentations and have my questions answered and my thoughts refined sharpened and integrated into a better understanding of possibilities for ministry through our NACCC churches In short the 2018 Awakenings Symposium in Iowa was a most Congregational event We were challenged to open our minds and to engage our spirits to consider what the Holy Spirit would move us to do as we strive to be faithful to proclaim the good news of God s love 25

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Pastorates PULPITS Recent Calls First Congregational Church Saugerties N Y has called Pastor Frank Fabiano as Senior Minister Ozaukee Congregational Church Grafton Wis has called Jeffrey Larson as Senior Minister Thomas A Edison Congregational Church Ft Myers Fla has called Rev Jim Harper III as Senior Minister First Congregational Church of Royal Oak Mich has called Rev Carrie Marie Orlando as Pastor The Shandon Congregational Church Shandon Ohio has called Rev Dr Edward Long as Intentional Interim Minister Mohegan Congregational Church Uncasville Conn has called Rev George E Blair III as Senior Minister First Congregational Church Fall River Mass has called Rev Andrew Stinson as Senior Minister First Congregational Church Laurel Mon has called Pastor James M Dawson as Senior Minister Second Congregational Church of Warren Maine has called Rev Matthew McDonald as Transitional Pastor Congregational Church of the Chimes Sherman Oaks Calif has called Rev Dr Elizabeth E Bingham as Senior Minister IN SEARCH Senior Minister Atkinson Congregational Church Atkinson Ill Congregational Church of Bound Brook N J First Congregational Church Crown Point N Y First Congregational Church Interlachen Fla First Congregational Church Peterson Iowa First Congregational Church Terre Haute Ind First Congregational Church of Yarmouth Yarmouth Port Mass Flatbush Tompkins Congregational Church Brooklyn N Y Founders Congregational Church Harwinton Conn Gahanna Community Congregational Church Gahanna Ohio Little Washington Congregational Church Mansfield Ohio McGraft Memorial Congregational Church Muskegon Mich Pilgrim Congregational Church Pomona Calif Second Congregational Church Jewett City Conn St Jacobi Congregational Church Richfield Wis Stafford Springs Congregational Church Stafford Springs Conn Tinley Park Community Church Tinley Park Ill Associate Minister Congregational Christian Church North Manchester Ind United Church of Marco Island Marco Island Fla Assistant Minister Minister of Youth Amelia Christian Church Clayton N C Non NACCC Church First Congregational Church United Church of Christ Springfield Vt Corrections On page 23 of the September issue of the magazine there is a photo of the Reverend Joy Matos The other person in the photo is Barbara Dabul whose name was left off inadvertently L R Joy Matos and Barbara Dabul On page 18 of the September issue the subhead at the top of the first column of names should be 100 249 Our apologies for any confusion we may have caused 26

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2018 CALENDAR January 14 2019 Copy deadline for the March issue of The Congregationalist Contact editor naccc org or 800 262 1620 ext 1624 April 29 May 2 2019 East Coast Ministers Convocation Cathedral Camp Retreat Conference Center East Freetown MA 02717 APRIL 29 MAY 2 2019 Midwest Ministers Convocation Weber Center Adrian MI April 29 May 2 2019 West Coast Ministers Convocation Zephyr Point Zephyr Cove NV 89448 JUNE 22 25 2019 65th Annual Meeting Conference of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches Cleveland Airport Marriott Cleveland OH SAVE THE DATES Editor Marianne E King Publisher Carrie Dahm Contributing Editor Linda Miller Graphic Design Goes Studio Editorial Advisory Team Rev Dawn Carlson Rev Dr Barry W Szymanski Randy Asendorf Rev Dr Michael Glidden Miriam Bryant Subscriptions Policy One subscription is provided free of charge to each individual requestor who is a member of a church in fellowship with the National Association One complimentary Newcomer Copy will be sent to any person one time only upon request by a church in fellowship with the National Association A subscription to The Congregationalist is provided free of charge to each church in fellowship with the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches and one to each accredited theological seminary on the magazine s mailing list Single copies may be purchased from the National Association office for 3 75 plus 3 20 to cover shipping and handling JUNE 27 30 2020 66th Annual Meeting Conference Holiday Inn by the Bay Portland Maine We seek and gratefully accept voluntary donations to help keep this magazine in print Donations are tax deductible except for the first 15 of donation per subscription received by the taxpayer per year JULY 22 28 2020 International Congregational Fellowship Quadrennial Conference Curry College Milton MA The Congregationalist ISSN 0010 5856 Postage paid at Madison WI 53714 9998 Published quarterly by the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches 8473 S Howell Ave Oak Creek WI 53201 0288 Periodicals postage paid at Madison WI and additional mailings offices NACCC Advertising Inquiries Editorial Inquiries Subscription Inquiries 8473 South Howell Avenue Oak Creek WI 53154 naccc naccc org Marianne E King 800 262 1620 ext 1624 editor naccc org Carrie Dahm 800 262 1620 ext 1612 cdahm naccc org Tracy Bernhardt 800 262 1620 ext 1615 naccc naccc org Articles and editorials in The Congregationalist are by the authority of the editor and do not necessarily reflect policies and opinions of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches The NACCC reserves freedom of expression to its authors as well as freedom of opinion to its readers POSTMASTER Send address changes to The Congregationalist 8473 S Howell Ave Oak Creek WI 53201 0288 The Congregationalist Online Our Web site congregationalist org features PDF files of the current issue plus back issues and a searchable index of all articles Each new issue is posted on the Web when the printed version is mailed so you can read it online days or even weeks before the printed copy reaches your mailbox Enjoy SUBSCRIBING CANCELING MOVING Email us at naccc naccc org Copy deadline for each issue is noted in the previous issue s Calendar section Letters to the Editor are welcome All letters may be edited for clarity and length We regret we cannot publish or respond to all letters The NACCC reserves the right to refuse any advertisement 2018 The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches All rights reserved The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches Mission Statement To nurture fellowship among Congregational Christian Churches and to support ministries of the local church in its community and to the world all in the name of Christ 27

The Congregationalist Dec 2018

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