A publication of The First Baptist Church of...
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A publication of The First Baptist Church of Westfield Mary, the stable and the manger, the shepherds and the wise men as if it is the first time you are telling and hearing the miraculous and love- filled event. Be like a child and be utterly amazed by its simplicity but also by its profound meaning. Live the story in humility. Be careful not to contaminate the Je- sus story with the dual and confusing message of ho-ho and flying animals and chimneys and elaborate tinsel. If it is hard for adults to keep focus, im- agine what confusing metaphors do to our children! So, let us look anew at our traditions and customs and find in them their original intent: Worshiping and singing—as the angels sang and as the shep- herds worshiped Evergreens reminding us of God’s eternal love – always fresh and never dying Lights and candles reminding us that Jesus is the light of the world – an invitation to walk in the light and be children of Light Gift giving as a symbol of receiving and sharing God’s love in Jesus – a concrete demonstration of care Keep it simple. Keep it serene. Keep it and tell and retell our Sacred Story of Jesus. If we don’t, who will? -Pastor Mayra Telling the Sacred Story “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and ly- ing in a manger.” –Luke 2:10-12 Have you heard the sounds? Have you seen the sights? Have you en- tered the pace? Have you made your list? Are you ready for this? What time of the year is it? Christ- mas! And most people groan. Why? Because Christmas has be- come a shopping, frenzied, mind- less gift-giving, self-centered, mis- erable and downright bah- hum- bug holiday. Once January 2 nd comes around, people breathe a sigh of relief that is if they are still in one piece. But, now to work extra hard to pay the debt mounted on the credit cards. This degeneration of the sacred sto- ry of Jesus’ birth and its commemo- ration has occurred over many cen- turies now. While there is no exact date given in the Gospels as to when Jesus was born, long ago the church selected December 25 th as the birth of Jesus. As layers of tra- ditions and customs and symbols have been added to celebrate the birth of Jesus, it is true that Jesus is no long- er the reason for the season. It has become anything but a sacred and joyful holy time. But the followers of Jesus and there- fore believers in the birth, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecies in the Old Testament, have the blessing and the responsibility to be truth tellers of the sacred story to all generations now and those to come. It is really important to focus and humbly celebrate the birth of Jesus and all its serenity, simplicity and yet deep and life-transforming meaning “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” -John 3:16 Let us tell and retell the story of the birth of Jesus with the angels, Joseph,
Transcript of A publication of The First Baptist Church of...
A publication of The First Baptist Church of Westfield
Mary, the stable and the manger, the shepherds and the wise men as if it is the first time you are telling and hearing the miraculous and love-filled event. Be like a child and be utterly amazed by its simplicity but also by its profound meaning. Live the story in humility. Be careful not to contaminate the Je-sus story with the dual and confusing message of ho-ho and flying animals and chimneys and elaborate tinsel. If it is hard for adults to keep focus, im-agine what confusing metaphors do to our children! So, let us look anew at our traditions and customs and find in them their original intent:
Worshiping and singing—as the angels sang and as the shep-herds worshiped
Evergreens reminding us of God’s eternal love – always fresh and never dying
Lights and candles reminding us that Jesus is the light of the world – an invitation to walk in the light and be children of Light
Gift giving as a symbol of receiving and sharing God’s love in Jesus – a concrete demonstration of care
Keep it simple. Keep it serene. Keep it and tell and retell our Sacred Story of Jesus. If we don’t, who will?
-Pastor Mayra
Telling the Sacred Story
“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and ly-ing in a manger.” –Luke 2:10-12
Have you heard the sounds? Have you seen the sights? Have you en-tered the pace? Have you made your list? Are you ready for this? What time of the year is it? Christ-mas! And most people groan. Why? Because Christmas has be-come a shopping, frenzied, mind-less gift-giving, self-centered, mis-erable and downright bah- hum-bug holiday. Once January 2nd comes around, people breathe a sigh of relief that is if they are still in one piece. But, now to work extra hard to pay the debt mounted on the credit cards. This degeneration of the sacred sto-ry of Jesus’ birth and its commemo-ration has occurred over many cen-turies now. While there is no exact date given in the Gospels as to when Jesus was born, long ago the church selected December 25th as the birth of Jesus. As layers of tra-ditions and customs and symbols
have been added to celebrate the birth of Jesus, it is true that Jesus is no long-er the reason for the season. It has become anything but a sacred and joyful holy time. But the followers of Jesus and there-fore believers in the birth, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecies in the Old Testament, have the blessing and the responsibility to be truth tellers of the sacred story to all generations now and those to come. It is really important to focus and humbly celebrate the birth of Jesus and all its serenity, simplicity and yet deep and life-transforming meaning “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish
but may have eternal life.” -John 3:16
Let us tell and retell the story of the birth of Jesus with the angels, Joseph,
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Choir notes… WELCOME to our newest Chancel Choir members — Sirlene Roman, soprano, and Eli Weber, alto (Paul Koslowski’s future daughter-in-law!) and to Jessy Brown, our newest Song Leader…
THANKS to Katie, Molly, and Wendy Engel for the bell trio on Nov. 10… and to Glen Brown for organizing the classical guitar concert on Nov. 17… and a PRAYER of thanksgiving that Lil Wheeler is on the mend and back in bell choir…
Music in December
Children’s Choir Dec. 22
Chancel Ringers
Dec. 15
FBC Orchestra Dec. 22
Song Leaders
Dec. 1, 8, 15, 22 Christmas Eve
Chancel Choir Dec. 1, 8, 15 Christmas Eve
Carols in the Round Saturday & Sunday,
December 7-8 at 4 PM
THE WESTFIELD CHORALE Child care provided. Call the church office for ticket availability.
This is the 30th year of “Carols in the Round.” With thanks for the support
that “Carols” and Dickens” have received these many years, the
2013 donations will benefit the min-istries of the First Baptist Church.
CHARLES DICKENS’ “A CHRISTMAS CAROL”
Saturday, December 14 at 4 PM PETER J. HORN, NARRATOR
WESTFIELD HS
CONCERT CHOIR & ALUMNI
BILL MATHEWS & MICHAEL ROSIN, ORGANISTS
Appropriate for all ages, the pro-gram lasts about an hour and 15 minutes. Mr. Horn will use the
church’s sound system and the FM radios will be available for those
who have difficulty hearing. Free-will offering benefits Grace’s Kitchen
in Plainfield.
The double CD of music from Carols in the Round is available for $15 either after worship or at “Carols.” If we run out of copies, a special order will be placed on December 9 to be here on time for Christmas.
Christmas with the
Westfield Chorale
De��� ��� 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 Deacons, 7:30pm
3 4 CE, 7pm 5 6 7 Men’s Brk-fst, 8:30am Carols in the Round, 4pm
8 Carols in the Round, 4pm; Angel Tree gifts due back
9 Council, 7:30pm
10 Cookie Ex-change, 7pm; Evang/Missions, 7pm
11 12 13 14 A Christ-mas Carol, 4pm
15 Christmas Festival 12pm; Blue Christ-mas Service, 5pm
16 17 18 Agape Sup-per, 6:30pm
19 20 21
22 23 24 Christmas Eve Service, 7:30pm
25 26 27 28
29 30 31
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Women’s Book Club Saturday,
December 14, 10am Church Lounge
Join us for a discussion of Christmas
books; Christmas luncheon to follow. All are welcome. E-mail Be� e Sav-
age at [email protected] for addi�onal info.
12/3 Greg Mathews Chitra Singh 12/4 Atossa Cicchino 12/6 Hilary Araujo 12/6 Warren Hanscom
12/7 Dudley Painter 12/11 Trevor Morris 12/13 Charles McCloud 12/17 Alicia Lambros 12/20 Gillian Clark 12/23 Jaime Barton 12/28 Laura Jane Pineiro And a Happy Anniversary to….. 12/18 Jay & Lalitha Kakileti
...Paul Clark and Isaac Castañeda for hanging banners in sanctuary ...Lee Romano, Dot Waugh, and Lil Wheeler for helping to mail out the November Messen-ger. ...Wendell Scott, Steve Lind, Tyronne Singh and Paul Clark for helping to put back baptistery cover. ...Loren Fortna for sharing his gift of music on Nov. 17; Glen Brown for coordinating the event and for his continued leadership with YG; and Youth Group for ushering and all the hard work involved (pics at left) ...Ricardo Resende for his lead-ership ...Jesse Brown and Natasha Klochkova for the delicious and elegant reception afterwards and all who contributed with food and paper goods (pics at left) ...Cherie Parker, Chair of Dea-cons, and everyone who partici-pated in making the Thanksgiving Dinner a joyous occasion for all.; Alan and Pam Greenlaw for their devoted time in making tur-keys with the fixins; and Paul Koslowski for playing the accor-dion, which added the right melod-ic touch!
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COMMITTEE CORNER—CHURCH COUNCIL
The objective of the Church Council is governance and to lead our Faith in Action Ministry towards a Disciple-Making Church. The ele-ments of a Disciple-Making Church include prayer, inspiring and vital worship of God, relevant education/discipleship and impact mission. The pathway we must take with the guidance of Pastor Mayra is through:
*COMMITTED LEADERSHIP *FAITH BASED MINISTRY *BROADENING PARTICIPATION OF MEMBERS IN LEADERSHIP AND MINISTRY *LEADERSHIP AND TEACHER DEVELOPMENT *GIFT-BASED MINISTRY *EFFICIENT ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE
Members of Church Council are the Senior Minister/Pastor, Modera-tor, who acts as chairperson, the chair/co-chairs of each of the church’s committees, two at-large members and the investment man-ager as a permanent guest. Current committee members are listed below: The committee regularly meets on the third Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. from September through June.
Proverbs 11:14 “Where there is no wise guidance, the nation falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is victory.”
Wendell O. Scott, M.D.—Moderator and chairperson Church Council
Stewardship Campaign Update: We do have enough to give and to share in time, in talents and in our monetary treasure. We know God blesses. The question before us is --what do we do with all the blessings we receive? We thank God for all who have pledged
thus far. We are $10,000 short of our goal of $200,000.00. So, continue to prayerfully consider your pledge for 2014. The people of God walk by faith and not by sight. In God we do trust. - Tyronne Singh
Saturday, December 7 @8:30am
COOKIE EXCHANGE! Tuesday, December 10 @7pm
A highlight of the season for sure! Participants should bring 4-5 dozen cookies, or other small desserts to be shared. Plenty of good fun and delicious desserts to take home for our family and friends! Invite a friend or neighbor—the more the merrier!
Please Join Us!! Agape Dinner
Wednesday, December 18 6:30pm,Church Lounge
(please bring a dish to share)
Gifts are due back by this Sunday, December 8
CHURCH COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE &
COUNCIL MEMBER COMMITTEE &
COUNCIL MEMBER Senior Minister/Pastor – Rev. Mayra Castaneda
Moderator & Chairperson – Wendell Scott
Facilities & Finance – Tyrone Singh, Paul Clark
Christian Education – Carleen Morris Investment Manager – Trish Scott
Deacons – Cherie Parker Missions – Janet Winey
Evangelism – Elaine Pratt At Large Members – Janet Gabriel, Cal Martin
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December 7
4:00 p.m. – Carols in the Round
December 8
10:30 a.m. - The Birth of Jesus the Mes-
siah
Lighting of the Peace Candle
4:00 p.m. – Carols in The Round
December 10
7:00 p.m. Annual Cookie Exchange
December 15
10:30 a.m. - The Star of Bethlehem
Lighting of the Joy Candle
12 p.m. – Christmas Festival
5 p.m. -- Blue Christmas Service
December 22
10:30 a.m. - Angels and Shepherds
Lighting of the Love Candle
Children’ s Choir and Pageant
FBC Orchestra
December 24
7:30 p.m. - Christmas Eve Candlelight
Service
You are invited to celebrate Christmas at
First Baptist-Westfield
The Birth of Jesus, Serene and Simple
Save these dates! 12/15 -- Christmas Festival ... after worship 12/22 -- Children's Christmas pageant ... during worship Dress rehearsal date to be determined!!!
12/20 OR 12/21
12/8 --Games, Music, devotional, diner 12/14 --Crash Garwood’s YG, 7pm. Meet in church parking lot by 6:45 or better at Garwood (341 Spruce Ave). 12/15 --light/read advent candle of joy during worship 12/22 --Monster mini golf 12/31 --New Year’s Celebration: games, projects, video games, medita-tion, prayer time in sanctuary, maybe a lock-in (Parents: we need your help for this night)
ONGO ING SONGO ING S C HED U LC HED U L EE (Weekly, unless otherwise noted.) Sundays: 9:00a.m. Singles gathering 9:15 a.m. Bible Study, led by Pastor Mayra Childcare available until 9-11:30 10:30 a.m. Worship Service 10:30 a.m. Children’s Sunday School (pre-school-5th grades) - 11:30 a.m. Jr. High Bible Bite/Children’s Choir rehearsal (pre-
school to 5th grades) 5:00 p.m. Youth Ministry/Supper (6th-12th grades) Tuesdays: 7 a.m. GRUB w/ the Guys (1st Tues. of ea. Month, Dec 3) Wednesdays: 12Noon Conversations w/God Prayer Time (sanctuary) 1-3pm Knitting/Craft Group - (2nd Wed, Dec 11) Thursdays: 10:30 a.m. The Hearing Society: Speech Reading Class 7:15/8 p.m. Chancel Choir & Ringers Saturdays: 10 :00 a.m. Women’s Book Club (monthly, Dec 15)
www.fbcwestfield.org
OO URUR PP URPOS EURPOS E Coming together in joyful worship, we’re here… • To share the reality of God’s love, • To connect our lifestyles to
Christian truth, • And to put our faith into action
through responding to needs in our community, nation, and world.
CC HURCHHURCH SS TAFFTAFF
Rev. Mayra Castañeda, Senior Pastor William R. Mathews, Minister of Music Katie McGuire, Director of Children’s Ministries Nancy Lambros, Church Administrator Adriana Rodriguez, Custodian
170 Elm Street Westfield, NJ 07090
ph: 908.233.2278/fax: 908.233.0555
e-mail Pastor Mayra Castañeda [email protected]
Bill Mathews [email protected]
Katie McGuire [email protected]
Nancy Lambros [email protected]
@pastormayra
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