Living God’s Love, Justice, and Inclusion...April 20 Holy Week and Easter Adult Forums April 23 &...

Newsletter Title

Special Events:

Project Share

April 20

Adult Forums

April 23 & 30

Living God’s Love, Justice, and Inclusion

April 1, 2017

Volume 44, Issue 4

Inside this issue:

From the Pastor 2

Scriptures 3

Congregational

Preschool

3

SW Conference

Annual Meeting

4

Adult Forums 5

Prayers 5

SWC Mission Board 6

Around the Parrish 6

Signposts

Holy Week and Easter

April 9, 10:30 a.m.

Palm Sunday Worship with Procession of Palms

April 12, 7:00 p.m.

Maundy Thursday Service

April 16, Easter Sunday

8:30-10:00 a.m. Easter Breakfast

10:30 a.m. Worship

After worship: Easter Egg Hunt

Flowers for Easter

Help us transform the Dark Wood into a beautiful flower garden!

Join us after worship on Sunday April 9th to make flowers that

will decorate our trees in the sanctuary. Everyone is welcome to

help make flowers.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Congregational-UCC-Albuquerque/141821069198736?ref=hl

March 20, 2017

Dear Beloved,

During this Lent season, we are asking important questions about how we follow Jesus

in the world today. Immigration is high on our list. We wonder what people of faith can

do to help immigrants and refugees in our community. We are meeting after worship

on April 2 to continue this conversation. It is a potluck day, so please grab a plate and

head to the library as we continue to discern God’s call for us.

A group of us will be traveling to El Paso and Juarez April 20-23 to learn more about

the life of immigrants and to gain a deeper understanding about ways we can help.

You will hear from us as we return.

We have been exploring the theme “Gifts of the Dark Wood” during Lent and we will

have a beautiful service on Maundy Thursday in the Chapel at 7 pm. This service will

feature monologues from those who were closest to Jesus. We will sit around tables

and experience what it was like for those were with him in those last days. The service

ends with candlelight prayers in the sanctuary. Join us as we reflect together.

Easter Sunday will be a joyous celebration! Our youth will serve a pancake breakfast

from 8:30-10:00 am. Donations from the breakfast will support the youth trip to

Chicago. Worship will be fabulous with special music and brass. Following the service,

our children will hunt Easter eggs on the playground.

On Sunday, April 23rd we will celebrate Green Justice and Creation. Joan Brown,

director of New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light will be preaching. The following

Sunday, we will celebrate Youth Sunday. The youth will provide leadership and I will be

preaching. I am sure you will be hearing about our Border Immersion trip the previous

weekend.

Our Ministry Leadership Team and Paul Hook are working together to put together

ministry teams and would like to help you offer your gifts in a way that makes a

difference. Talk to one of the Ministry Leadership Team members, Sue or Paul Hook to

discover opportunities to serve in the coming year. You are welcome and needed to

help us live our mission in the world.

Finally, an invitation to help us fund ministry. As we prepare to add a new staff

member, we are looking for additional ways to generate revenue. We welcome your

energy and ideas for this. Please talk to Sue if you have thoughts about this.

I am so grateful for all of you. Together, we are God’s people in the world.

Blessings,

Sue

[email protected]

From the Pastor

From the

Pastor

April 14—Good Friday

Isaiah 52:13—53:12; Psalm 22;

Hebrews 10:16-25; John 18:1—19:42

April 15—Holy Saturday

Job 14:1-14; Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16;

1 Peter 4:1-8; Matthew 27:57-66

April 16—Easter

Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24;

Colossians 3:1-4; Matthew 28:1-10

April 23—Second Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:14a, 22-32; Psalm 16;

1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31

April 30—Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:14a, 36-41; Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19;

1 Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35

April 2—Fifth Sunday in Lent

Ezekiel 37:1-14, Psalm 130;

Romans 8:6-11; John 11:1-45

April 9—Sixth Sunday in Lent

Palm/Passion Sunday

Palm Readings: Matthew 21:1-11;

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Passion Readings: Isaiah 50:4-9a;

Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11;

Matthew 26:14—27:66

April 13—Maundy Thursday

Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14;

Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19; 1 Corinthians

11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Scriptures for April

April we are collecting

change for groceries for

Emma, a woman who is

in Sanctuary at the

Albuquerque Friends

Meeting House.

Change for Change

Congregational

Preschool

Jefferson Middle

School Collaboration

We are so grateful to be able to

spend time with our neighbors

across the street. Jefferson

Middle School Leadership Group

visited our preschool on March

15, 2017, CrAzY HaT dAy. Our

students listened to stories,

participated in a project, played

on the playground, ate snack

together, and danced! This is

our second visit this year and we

look forward to many more in the

future. Thank you to Ms. Elena,

Mr. Ryan, and the Jefferson

Leadership Group.

COUNTDOWN TO HOSTING THE UCC SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE ANNUAL MEETING - 1 MONTH

As you know, we are hosting the United Church of Christ Southwest Conference's Annual Regional

Meeting on May 5th and 6th, and WE NEED YOU! We are looking for three general volunteers on

both Friday, May 5th and on Saturday, May 6th; you don't have to do both days. If you can join our

happy team, please let Steve Winton know at 505/554-2008 or [email protected].

Thanks so much!

House Hospitality

We are looking for a few members that would be

willing to host an attendee to the Southwest UCC

conference. The dates housing is being

requested are Thursday May 4 through Saturday

May 6. One of our members has used house

hospitality in the past and reports it is a

wonderful experience. The host may or may not

choose to provide breakfast on Friday and

Saturday mornings. For some attendees the cost

of traveling to Albuquerque and paying for a hotel

stay is financially difficult. If you are interested in

hosting a fellow UCC member, please contact Pat

Maben at 504-2466 or [email protected].

Art Auction for Bus Passes

Vera Rice and Marcia Schreiner have each kindly donated a piece of original art that will be on

display in fellowship hall throughout March and until Easter. You can bid on these pieces during

that time and the winners will be announced Easter Sunday. Proceeds from the auction will help

fund our bus pass program for those who need them, which has distributed around 50 bus passes

over the last year. Each bus pass costs $2.

Meth, Spencer, Craig, Wesley, Glenn, Charles, Amanda, Boo, Tammy, Mike,

Tom, Vic, Deborah, Jay, Lisa, Dave, Laurie and all who mourn.

We Remember in Our Thoughts and Prayers

Easter Egg Hunt

We will be having our annual Easter Egg Hunt after the Easter Breakfast

on April 16th. We are seeking donations of non-chocolate candies, small

toys, and fun stickers to put in the plastic Easter eggs.

There will be a donation box in the narthex on Sunday April 2nd & 9th in

which you can place these items.

Thank you for participating in this fun event!

Advance Directives/Medical Aid in Dying April 23

Carol Grisham from Compassionate Care will discuss the need for

every adult to execute advance directives to ensure that they

receive the care they desire at end of life. New Mexico has a very

good advance directive law. Carol will provide each attendee a

packet of information with New Mexico forms that will assist an

individual to consider what their options are for care at end of life

and how they can make those desires know to health care

personnel caring for them. Informing your loved ones through an

advance directive about what your wishes are for end of life care

is a gift that reduces the stresses on your loved ones.

Creation Myths April 30

In December, Krys Douglas presented a very interesting forum on

Celtic Christianity. At this forum she will talk about creation

myths. Societies create an oral tradition of how the world and

cosmos was created and how humans first inhabited the earth.

Those who attended her first forum know that this will be a

fascinating and interesting forum.

Around the Parish…

This new part of the newsletter is a place to hear

what is happening in the lives of our members.

Please let us know if you have news to share:

births, baptisms, illness, recovery, retirement,

deaths of loved ones. Here we will share our lives

together. We will not publish news without your

permission and we hope you will submit

milestones so that we can let others know what is

happening in your life.

Mission and Church Vitality Committee (MCVC) met on Saturday, March 25, and approved for final vote at Annual

Meeting several changes to the by-laws including language adjustments to recognize new guidelines coming from

the National setting - such as including "Community" as a designated member of the Conference. This is to

recognize different types of settings within the community that agree with UCC polity and actions, and wish to be

an active part of our Conference. Also, one change will affect "Authorized Ministers" reflecting expected changes

coming from the National setting that creates a wider path to ordination, and will lump all types of ministry under

ordination.

MCVC also approved a new Conference Committee - the Endowment Fund Management Committee (EFMC)

which will consist of 4 members from the Conference and the Conference Treasurer as ex-officio with voice and

vote. The EFMC has become important due to an influx of several million dollars from the sale of property of two

churches that have closed. It is felt that these monies should be separate from the general budget of the

conference, and used for special projects, missions and other needs. Please note, that this does not indicate we

should drop our tithes to the OCWM or the Conference!!

Also, you will see our Conference Minister, Rev. Bill Lyons, voted on for change to Settled Conference Minister

from Designated Conference Minister. This simply gives Bill the job for the duration, instead of being a

contracted term with an end date. Now either side may simply say yes or no to continuing our relationship.

And if you're planning to come to Annual Meeting, there will be no packets available with all the reports, agenda,

actions, etc. available when you arrive. Technology changes make it greener and more proactive to not create

piles of paper. Now you may simply print out your own copies, or download to your device of choice to have all

this at your fingertips. Should you require a printed copy, you are now asked to get this from your own church.

We ended the meeting doing a Bible study based on a Justice and Witness Curriculum from several years ago

called JLED: Justice Leaders Engaging and Developing. We explored how when things got bad, prophets arose to

speak God's word to the people. Think about this question, in light of things going on now: "How is working for

justice related to our baptism promise?" Could be something for us to consider.

And finally, if you attend Annual Meeting, you'll get to hear our very own John Dorhauer, now General Minister and

President of the UCC, preach at the closing worship!

From Rev. Susy Gaffney, Our SWC Mission Board Delegate

The Rummage Sale is Coming

As you are spring cleaning, please remember to

bring items to the church for our Rummage Sale

on June 3. We will not be doing clothing this year,

but other items are welcome. Please mark

electronic items so we know what works. If you

are available to help, please be in touch with Sue.

Leadership

Marcia Harris

Moderator

J. T. Vaughn

Vice-Moderator

Janet McHard

Treasurer

Shawn L. Penman

Secretary

Rev. Gail Joralemon

Covenantal Partner in Ministry

Rev. Susy Gaffney

SWC Mission Board Delegate

Ted Harris

Building & Grounds

Pat Maben

Faith Development

Danny Eitingon

Congregational Life

Pastor & Staff

Rev. Sue Joiner

Senior Minister

Kris Nolan

Director of Congregational

Preschool

Paul Morbitzer

Administrative Assistant/

Bookkeeper

Tim Beach

Building Superintendent

Ruth Striegel

Director of Music

Venessa Vogel

Nursery Attendant

Max Bode

Nursery Assistant

Paul Hook

Sunday Assistant

Rev. Mary Browne

Social Justice &

Outreach

Ann Fenton

Preschool Committee

Spencer Hatcher

Web Master

God is Still Speaking.

2801 Lomas Blvd NE

Albuquerque, NM

87106

Phone: 505-265-5749

Fax: 505-265-5740

E-mail: [email protected]

First Congregational

United Church of

Christ

An Open and Affirming,

Peace with Justice and

Green Justice

Congregation

Living God’s Love,

Justice, and Inclusion

As our parking lot fills up, we are

inviting you to park in the Jefferson

Middle School lot across the street. If

you are able to do so, please park

across the street and make room in the

church lot for visitors and those who

need to park close to the building.

First Congregational United Church of Christ

Electronic giving available on our

website: http://firstuccabq.org

http://firstuccabq.org/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Congregational-UCC-Albuquerque/141821069198736?ref=hl

April 2017

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23

30

24 25 26 27 28 29

9 am Building & Grounds Work Day

6:30pm Line Dancing

7:30 am Meal Prep 5pm Meal Serving

Project Share

6 pm Preschool Committee

10:30 am Text Study 12 pm Master Plan 6 pm Fitness Class 7 pm Meditation Group

6:30 pm Ministry Teams, Executive Committee

1 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry

1 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry

Potluck Lunch

Faith Development, Social Justice and Outreach

Sunday School for Children & Adults 9:30 am Sunday Worship 10:30 am

Pastor’s Day Off

Pastor’s Day Off

Pastor’s Day Off

Pastor’s Day Off

4:30 pm Progressive Christianity 6:30pm Line Dancing

6:30pm Line Dancing

10:30 am Text Study 12 pm Building & Grounds 6 pm Fitness Class 7 pm Meditation Group

10:30 am Text Study 12 pm Master Plan 6 pm Fitness Class 7 pm Meditation Group

Youth Group

Deadline for Signposts Articles

4:30pm Progressive Christianity

Communion in the Chapel

6 pm Fitness Class

6 pm Fitness Class

6 pm Fitness Class

6 pm Fitness Class

10:30 am Text Study 6 pm Fitness Class 7 pm Meditation Group

6:30pm Line Dancing Church Office Closed

Listening Sessions Newcomer Orientation

Communion in the Chapel

1 pm Personnel Committee

7 pm Maundy Thursday Service

Good Friday

Easter



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