Saturday, December 23, 2017

Thank you and Merry Christmas

To Pastor Rich, the members of the SPRC committee, and my Main Street UMC family,

I wish to thank you for the recognition of my 10 years of service here at MSUMC. It has been an honor and a pleasure to have spent 10 years of my working life here in your church. Not many people can say they have a Bible on their desk and a portrait of Jesus in their office.

I have opportunities to witness and offer hope to many who come to the church during the business week. I have grown exponentially in my faith walk over these years. I have learned a lot about life outside of my friends and family circle and had my eyes opened to the emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical needs of the larger population.

Thank you for the flowers, cards, kind words of recognition, and the beautiful necklace. I have been a Methodist all of my adult life and I'm proud to wear the cross and flame.

Have a very Merry Christmas,

Pam Axtell

Sunday, December 17, 2017

12/18/2017 Mainstreeter Online

 

December 18, 2017

Words from the Pastor

O God,
As Mary and Joseph went from Nazareth to Bethlehem
and there found no room;
so Jesus went from Nazareth to Jerusalem
and was despised and rejected.

As in the poverty of a stable Jesus was born,
so by the richness of his life, death, and resurrection are we saved.

And, dear God, as we come this day to make room for love in our lives,
so may we also, with thankful hearts,
open ourselves to the New Beginning we are being offered now,
in Jesus' name. Amen.

Like Mary and Joseph of old, we too are slowly making our way to Bethlehem and to the celebration of a birth. We always need to remember that Jesus' birth was not the end of the story but just the beginning. We need to continue our journey with the holy family beyond Bethlehem to Egypt, where they lived as refugees seeking deliverance from the tyranny of King Herod and on to Nazareth, where Jesus learned the ways of his Jewish faith before heeding the call of John the Baptist to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins in the Jordan River. This journey will ultimately take us, like Jesus, to Jerusalem and the way of sacrifice and death. May our experience of Christmas prove to be a new beginning for us as we recommit ourselves to the One who lived his life fully in the awareness of the divine presence and followed where he was led. May we too follow where we are led in the new year ahead.

Blessings on this Christmas Journey,

Pastor Rich

Worship Ahead in December

12/24 Fourth Sunday of Advent
Lighting the Fourth Advent Candle
Children's Pageant
Scripture: Luke 1:26-38; 46b-55
Theme: All Things are Possible for God

12/24 Christmas Eve Candlelight Service (One service only at 7:00pm)
Lighting the Christ Candle
Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Luke 2:1-20
Theme: The Light that Illumines the Darkness

12/31 First Sunday after Christmas (10:30am only)

A Service of Lessons and Carols

Please note that there will only be one service on December 31st at 10:30am. The 8:15am worship service will resume on Sunday, January 7th.

Enlisting Your Help!

Following the Lessons and Carols service on December 31st, we need to clear the sanctuary since work will be starting in the sanctuary on January 2nd. If you are able, please carry your hymnals, bibles, pew cards, and prayer cards downstairs where you will be instructed as to where to put them. Thank you in advance for your assistance!

Announcements

Calendar for the Week of December 17

December Mission News

Food Pantry: Main St. volunteers worked at the Nashua Soup Kitchen Sunday afternoon from 2 to 4 to organize shelves and put away donations to help the Soup Kitchen prepare for distribution of Christmas boxes. Thanks to everyone who brought food for sharing in those boxes. Distribution of boxes will be December 19 to 22, Tuesday through Friday, of next week from 11am to 2:00pm. We will not be organizing boxes ourselves, but will help with distribution from the Soup Kitchen.

Anyone who has previously gotten a Christmas food box from Main St. UMC, or anyone who needs a box this Christmas, is welcome to go to the Soup Kitchen and get one. Please tell people you know who may need that food box. There are fairly long lines, but you will be able to choose the kinds of food that are most useful to you.

Thanks to all of those "blue apron" folks who help out at the Soup Kitchen during the week. Whether you are recycling boxes, moving produce, distributing food, handing out numbers, answering the phone, or checking folks in at the computer, you are doing a great job! If you happen to be a student home for Christmas break, you are welcome to help either Sunday afternoon January 21 or during the Tuesday to Friday distribution days.

Gifts for the King: Thank you for providing Gifts for the King on December 10. Gifts ranged from easels and tents to Legos, make-up, and warm winter clothing. We estimated that we had at least $1000 in toys and clothing to deliver to the Front Door Agency, as well as another $400 in cash plus more gifts for the Nashua Children's Home. And thanks to the children of the church for their assistance in blowing out the candles on our Gifts for the King Birthday cake for Jesus!

If you are looking for a special Christmas gift, you can always go to the Heifer.org website and buy someone a goat that will start a family on the road to self-sufficiency!

Merry Christmas from Missions.

-submitted by Phyllis Appler

Please note:

If there are other members of your household who use email and would like to receive the Mainstreeter Online, let Pam in the office know:

(603) 882-3361, or office@mainstreet-umc.org

 

 

 

Sunday, December 10, 2017

12/11/17 Mainstreeter Online

 

December 11, 2017

Words from the Pastor

In his daily e-mail reflection for November 30th, Father Richard Rohr speaks of the need to return to the essentials as the church. He concludes his reflection by quoting from a Quaker pastor who seeks to sum up what spirituality and church are all about in the 21st century. What do you think?

"Practical, practice-based Christianity has been avoided, denied, minimized, ignored, delayed, and sidelined for too many centuries, by too many Christians who were never told Christianity was anything more than a belonging or belief system. Now we know that there is no Methodist or Catholic way of loving. There is no Orthodox or Presbyterian way of living a simple and nonviolent life. There is no Lutheran or Evangelical way of showing mercy. There is no Baptist or Episcopalian way of visiting the imprisoned. If there is, we are invariably emphasizing the accidentals, which distract us from the very "marrow of the Gospel," as St. Francis called it. We have made this mistake for too long. We cannot keep avoiding what Jesus actually emphasized and mandated. In this most urgent time, 'it is the very love of Christ that now urges us' (2 Corinthians 5:14)."

"Quaker pastor Philip Gulley superbly summarizes how we must rebuild spirituality from the bottom up in his book, If the Church Were Christian.[2] Here I (Richard Rohr) take the liberty of using my own words to restate his message, which offers a rather excellent description of Emerging Christianity:"

1. Jesus is a model for living more than an object of worship.
2. Affirming people's potential is more important than reminding them of their brokenness.
3. The work of reconciliation should be valued over making judgments.
4. Gracious behavior is more important than right belief.
5. Inviting questions is more valuable than supplying answers.
6. Encouraging the personal search is more important than group uniformity.
7. Meeting actual needs is more important than maintaining institutions.
8. Peacemaking is more important than power.
9. We should care more about love and less about sex.
10. Life in this world is more important than the afterlife (eternity is God's work anyway).

Pastor Rich

Worship Next Sunday – December 17

Third Sunday of Advent
Christmas Cantata (10:30am service only)
Lighting the Third Advent Candle
Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; John 1:6-8, 19-28
Theme: Testifying to the Light (8:15am service only)

The gospel of John is clear, both that John the Baptist was sent by God to testify to the light and that John was not THE light. The prophet known as Second Isaiah speaks of God's anointing, an anointing that the earliest Christians came to associate with Jesus of Nazareth. What does it mean for us to "testify to the light"? Are we, like the prophet of old and Jesus, also anointed by God?

Christmas Day/Eve Schedule

There will be our usual two services on Christmas Eve morning at 8:15am and 10:30am with the Children's Christmas pageant taking place in the 10:30am service.

There will only be one Christmas Eve service and it will be at 7:00pm. The service will include the choir, other special music and candle-lighting.

Our annual Lessons and Carols Service will take place on Sunday, Dec. 31st at 10:30am. There is no 8:15am service on this day and no Sunday School classes.

Announcements

Calendar for the Week of December 10

UMW Mini-Fair and Bake Sale, Sunday, Dec. 17
before and after the 10:30 service

Building Update

- Sprinkler system in new construction is complete.
- Sprinkler work in Wesley building begins this week.
- Stained glass window is installed on rear of new construction.
- Wiring and plumbing in new construction complete.
- Opening for door into Wesley building has been cut.
- Brick work will be taken down this week after front glass is installed.
- Sheet rock work will begin this week.

-submitted by Ted Luszey

Circles® Greater Nashua Perseveres!

After a few unfortunate setbacks, Circles Greater Nashua begins its first cohort of future Circle Leaders and volunteers on February 13, 2018! With the full support of Harbor Homes Inc., we are ready to launch the very exciting journey toward eliminating poverty in Greater Nashua!

Circle Leaders (low-income individuals or families) are those who commit to learning how to set achievable goals that will lead to a more stable, fulfilling life for themselves and their families. Every Tuesday evening from 6-8pm, Circle Leaders and their families share a meal with Circles Allies and other volunteers, and participate in meaningful dialogue and activities to support their journey from poverty to self-sufficiency.

The time has come for Circles Greater Nashua to ask for your commitment to work with us to make this long-worked-for program a reality. Circles is volunteer-based, and requires many people to make it successful. Our first and greatest need right now is for 30+volunteers to step forward to become Circle Allies (i.e., intentional friends to our Circle Leaders). We also need 6-8 volunteers to work with the children of our Circle Leaders on the same, age-appropriate skills their parents will be using to reach their goals.

On Tuesday, January 9, at 6pm we invite you to join us at the Main Street United Methodist Church, 154 Main Street (rear entrance), Nashua to learn about Circles Greater Nashua and the role of volunteers. This space has been graciously donated to house this initiative. Refreshments will be served.

Call Laurie Skibba, Chapter Coordinator at 603.820.5688 for information or to sign up for the January 9th introductory session, or send an email to Laurie@circlesgn.org. We also encourage you to visit www.circlesusa.org and www.circlesgn.org for more detailed information.

Many of us are longing for a reason to contribute our time to something that will truly make a difference. In this era of division in multiple forms, Circles provides a way for all kinds of people to come together to show that we have much more in common than what divides us.

-submitted by Laurie Skibba

F Troop Christmas Brunch

Saturday December 16, 2017
11:00am, Church Vestry

Please join the F Troop (our over 40 Fellowship group) for our annual Christmas brunch. In addition to a delicious meal and fellowship, we will prepare the candles for the 7:00 pm Christmas Eve service, and then, weather permitting, we will go caroling on the front sidewalk of the church. Please sign up on the sheet on the bulletin board under the clock in the vestry if you plan to attend! Merry Christmas to all!

-submitted by Mavis Pyle

Blue Christmas Service

Londonderry United Methodist Church
258 Mammoth Road, Londonderry

For many, the approaching Christmas holiday does not bring with it the joy and happiness as shown on television or in Christmas cards. You, or someone you know, may have experienced a difficult year due to a death of a loved one, illness, a broken relationship, a move, or any number of situations that have caused stress and challenges.

On Wednesday, December 13, at 7:00 pm, the Londonderry United Methodist Church will hold their annual Blue Christmas service to provide a service for reflection, healing, and hope. The liturgy and music will focus on the comfort God offers to us during dark times, acknowledging and honoring the reality that not everyone is upbeat and cheery during the Christmas season. No matter what your situation may be, you are invited to come in the stillness of the night and worship God, who ultimately knows your need. Come yourself, or bring someone you know who is hurting. Stephen Ministers will be on hand afterwards. Light refreshments will be served.

-submitted by Pam Axtell

Fundraising Updates

Heart of Nashua: Growing in Faith:
72 pledges for: $779.285
Amount received:--$492,288

Heart of Nashua I:
Amount received: - $941,634

SCRIPS (as of 12/4):
285 card purchased
$4,397.00 total value
$275.35 church rebate

Please note:

If there are other members of your household who use email and would like to receive the Mainstreeter Online, let Pam in the office know:

(603) 882-3361, or office@mainstreet-umc.org

 

 

 

Sunday, December 3, 2017

12/4/2017 Mainstreeter Online

 

December 4, 2017

Words from the Pastor

A Prayer for December

Winter God,
in the darkest time of year
you brought in starlight,
angel song, and baby cries.
Stay with me as I journey to new birth
and celebrate this year of saints, psalms and prayer.
In the silence and stillness,
fashion my prayer into a carol of praise
and focus my life so that I may act as a herald of Christ,
the child of peace and the prophet of justice. Amen

Taken from Openings: A Daybook of Saints, Sages, Psalms and Prayer Practices by Rev. Larry J. Peacock. Second Edition. Skylight Paths Publishing

It is fitting that the church chose to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the One who is the light of the world, in the midst of the darkest month of the year. Don't let the snow and cold of December keep you from experiencing the warmth and light of God's coming to us in the person of Jesus Christ. Come celebrate the Advent Season in worship, study, prayer, and service through the many opportunities that are afforded to us in and through the Main Street UMC. May you discover, as the author of the Gospel of John declares, that "the light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it."(John 1:5)

Pastor Rich

Worship Next Sunday – December 10

Second Sunday of Advent

Tithe Sunday
Lighting the Second Advent Candle
Gifts for the King
Christmas Ingathering
Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8
Theme: Preparing God's Way

The prophet known as "second Isaiah" and John the Baptist both announce the coming of the Lord and the need to prepare God's way. How do we prepare ourselves to experience God's coming and presence in this season of Advent? How can we prepare the way for others to experience God's presence as well?

Announcements

Calendar for the Week of December 3

Important Notice

Everyone who has responded to Nonny Egbuonu and is attending the wedding of her daughter Phyllis and Ejikeme next Saturday, December 9 at 2pm, please take note. The venue for the reception and time has changed. It will now be at:

White Birch Catering
222 Central Street
Hudson, NH

From 5 – 9pm

There will be light refreshment catered by San Francisco Kitchen immediately following the church ceremony in the vestry.

Anyone who wishes to give a wedding gift, please make a donation instead to Main Street United Methodist Church with a notation #Phyllis' Wedding Gift.

What's New for Christian Education?

According to the Discipline of the United Methodist Church, the purpose of Christian Education is to provide "essential support for the lifelong process of being transformed by God's grace into the likeness of God's Son, Jesus Christ. Ministries are to be planned to assist persons in developing their relationship with God and in living faithfully in the world. The ministries are to help children, youth and adults grow in knowledge of the Scripture and tradition; develop skills for practicing the means of grace; and gain the abilities to live as accountable disciples."

You may now be aware that our Director of Christian Education, Kathy Whitman, is no longer with us at Main Street. Our Christian Education committee will be responsible for the day to day running of our education programs, under the direction of co-chairs Susan Pederzani and Mavis Pyle, and with the guidance and supervision of Pastor Rich. We, as a committee, take our purpose, as stated above, very seriously, and will do our best to ensure our programs meet these goals.

Children's Time will continue to have special guests visiting during the season of Advent and there will be a world premiere of a new children's pageant on December 24th during the 10:30 service. You won't want to miss it!

Advent is a time of preparation for a blessed event, and is also the beginning a new church year. Make it a new beginning for church attendance if you haven't been here in a while, and see what's been going on. You won't be disappointed!

And remember, there is no Church school on December 31!

-submitted by Susan Pederzani and Mavis Pyle

Altar Flowers

The 2018 Flower Calendar is available for sign-ups. It is located on the bulletin board in the hall across from the church office. Forms for the office are located next to the poster; take one with you when you sign up. Please include your name, phone number, and the message you want printed in the bulletin. The cost for the church to order is $22.50. Please turn in completed forms and money (checks should be made out to Fortin-Gage) at least two weeks prior to the Sunday you sign up.

Reminders

Next Sunday, December 10, is both Gifts for the King and an Ingathering of Food for the Christmas boxes at Nashua Soup Kitchen. To help you remember what items are needed, a bulletin board of baskets is posted by the vestry doors. The boxes given at Christmas include all of the regular food items distributed in a monthly box, plus those needed for Christmas. Everyone also receives milk, eggs, and a turkey or other meat. Gravy, stuffing, mashed or scalloped potatoes in a box, seem to be the items that ran low during distribution week in November. In the "regular" category, canned tuna supplies are very low. Cash will also be very helpful.

Folks who have in the past received Christmas baskets at Main St. are invited to go to the Soup Kitchen during the week before Christmas to receive a very generous box.

Bring your unwrapped gift for the Front Door Agency or Nashua Children's Home to the sanctuary on December 10. Be sure the tag with the number on it is attached to Front Door children's gifts! Gift wrap or gift bags will be appreciated. As your birthday month is called, bring your gift forward and put it under the Chrismon Tree. You can also donate toward a special gift for a child at either location.

Our Gifts for the King celebration has been helping others have a better Christmas for at least forty years, when we began taking gifts to residents of Laconia State School. Thank you for continuing this tradition.

-submitted by Phyllis Appler

 

 

 

Sunday, November 26, 2017

11/27/2017 Mainstreeter Online

 

November 27, 2017

Words from the Pastor

An Advent Prayer

Help me be faithful, O God,
to receive what awaits me
at the holy manger
and to show others
the way.

Help me be faithful, O Christ,
to hold close the hopeless
and to linger with the lost.

Help me be faithful, O Spirit,
to give voice to the silenced
and manna to the starved.
With the poor,
O Spirit,
let me proclaim
the good news
with my life.

Help me be faithful, O God,
to Christ,
by your Spirit.
This is my Advent prayer. Amen

Taken from Prepare the Way: Cultivating a Heart for God in Advent, copyright 2016 by Pamela C. Hawkins, published by Upper Room Books

December 3rd marks the beginning of the season of Advent and the beginning of the Christian liturgical year. Advent is a season of watching, waiting, and anticipating God's presence and activity in our lives and in our world. It is, ironically, a season that invites us to think not so much about beginnings but about endings--in other words about God's bringing the world to its completion. Although Christians believe that God is at work in the world and is moving the world along towards a sense of completion we also recognize that God chooses to do this work in partnership with us. In Jesus, the celebration of whose birth culminates this season, we have one who shows us the way through his life, death, and resurrection. In Jesus we see love incarnated and experience the transforming power of love in people's lives and in the world. May God help us to be faithful to this task even as we follow Jesus' lead and live our lives with compassion, justice, and love.

With Advent Longing,
Pastor Rich

Worship Next Sunday – December 3

First Sunday of Advent
Holy Communion
Lighting the First Advent Candle
Scripture: Mark 13:24-37
Theme: Living Attentively in Challenging Times

As we work together with God to bring the world to God's desired completion, we need to be attentive, awake, and alert to God's presence and love in our midst. Advent serves as a liturgical "wake up" call for the church.

Announcements

Calendar for the Week of November 26

Finance News

First I want to emphasize the generosity of the people of this church, who gave significantly to enable our accessibility and visibility. Recently we received gifts to pay off our steeple loan and replace an urgently-needed electrical panel. Our congregation feels strongly about the work we do here in Nashua and gives accordingly.

I see God working through us uplifting our community. Individuals are deeply touched by what we do here, and tell me their appreciation. Even our professional fundraising consultant was moved by the work we do here and made a substantial personal commitment to our capital campaign.

With all of our giving, how has 2017 been such a difficult year for our general fund? Last month I mentioned how we were tracking a shortfall of $50,000 for the year. Many of you have made additional donations above your pledge amount to help defray the shortfall. Maggie and I have been giving additionally over our tithe this quarter. At this time of writing, we received your extra funds, but not enough to pay our 2017 bills. You still have time to make an "over and above your pledge" substantial general fund gift for 2017. Please make your gift soon so we can count it for the 2017 audit year.

Although we've kept the budget flat for the upcoming year, please pledge and give the next higher amount in 2018. If you give $150 a week, please consider $175. If you give $50 a week, please consider $60. This will help us avoid the situation we faced this year.

I will be happy when this construction is finished and paid for. At that time we can focus on applying our new facilities and accessibility to grow our church and our ministries and missions.

If you have thoughts on how we can grow our ministries and missions, I am listening. You've read my columns about expanding our ministries to include more youth, young adults, and young families. I am looking to put my focus in that area especially when it's time for me to hand over the finance committee chair to my successor. At that time I am aiming to have a stable general fund, our debt addressed, and a congregation energized about our future.

-submitted by Joe Dechene

Invitation to All

Please join the family of Nonny Egbuonu as they celebrate the
wedding of

Phyllis Ijeoma Egbuonu
&
Ejikeme Fidelis Ukatu

Saturday
The 9th of December 2017
2pm

Main Street United Methodist Church
154 Main St., Nashua, NH 03060

Refreshments at
San Francisco Kitchen
133 Main Street, Nashua, NH
(Right across the street)
4pm

RSVP
Nonny Egbuonu
(617) 304-9078

Gifts for the King 2017 Instructions:

  1. Take a tag from the tree in the vestry. There are four tags on the tree for each child given to us by the Front Door Agency. Sign the sheet so that we have a record of who took what tag.
  2. Please leave the gift unwrapped, but supply wrapping paper or use a gift bag. Attach your tag to the gift.
  3. Bring your Gift for the King to Main St. United Methodist Church on Sunday, December 10. As we call the months of the year, please bring your gifts to the Chrismon Tree in the front of the Sanctuary.
  4. If no tags are available, please feel free to purchase gift cards games, hats, scarves, and gloves, bowling passes, medium gym bags, or other items that you think teens at the Nashua Children's Home would enjoy.

-submitted by Phyllis Appler

Fundraising Updates

Heart of Nashua: Growing in Faith:
72 pledges for: $779.285
Amount received:--$460,448

Heart of Nashua I:
Amount received: - $941,634

Ham 'n Bean Un-Supper Tallies:
5 Beverages
5 Bread
7 Cole Slaw
7 Ham
8 Kidney Beans
9 Pea Beans
7 Pie
14 Potato Salad

Cookbooks--$743.00
Change for Church
--$1080.22
Amazon Smile
--$24.98

 

 

 

Sunday, November 19, 2017

11/20/17 Mainstreeter Online

 

November 20, 2017

Words from the Pastor

A Prayer of Thanksgiving for the Seasons of Life

Dear Lord, thank you for your presence with us through all the seasons of life
through the times of milk and honey and through our wanderings in the wilderness.

Lord, we give thanks for children; for their boundless energy, their curiosity, their love, their openness, their joy of life.

Lord, we give thanks for young adults; for their growing search to build meaningful lives, for their new ideas and approaches to the problems of society, for their children and the loving families they seek to build.

Lord, we give thanks for those in the middle of life; for the families they have guided into adulthood, for the life work they have built and sustained, for the faith they have nurtured in others, for the presence they provide as they walk life's path with their parent's and older friends.

Lord, we give thanks for those grown-up and grown older; for the experiences they have survived, for the wisdom with which they have been blessed, for the spiritual richness of their lives, for their witness of faith.

Lord, we give thanks for the cloud of witnesses that has gone before us, leaving their imprint of life and faith upon each of us and upon the world.

Creator God, we are indeed thankful that in each stage of life you bless us with your presence. At every age, and especially in old age, you mold and shape us with your potter's hands into people with purpose and value who can reach out to others, touching humanity with the love that only you can give us.

Praise be to God. Amen.

*Taken from "Remembering Your Story: A Guide to Spiritual Autobiography" pages 37 and 38 by Richard L. Morgan: Upper Room Books, 1996, Nashville.

While we normally think of the Thanksgiving season as a time to give thanks for the fruits of the harvest and the richness of the earth, most of us, when asked for what we are most thankful, tend to focus on our relationships as family, friends, and church. We acknowledge the people in our lives who bring us great joy and are grateful for the presence of people, old and young, who enrich us and help us to be more fully human. On this Thanksgiving Day let us remember with fondness the loved ones who have joined the "cloud of saints" while cherishing the time we have left on this earth with those who love us and whom we love as well. Thanks be to God for the seasons of life and all those who fill each and every season.

With Gratitude,
Pastor Rich

Worship Next Sunday – November 26

Christ the King Sunday
Choir Anthem
Scripture: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24; Matthew 25:31-46
Theme: For What Does God Hold Us Accountable?

On this final Sunday of the Christian year, this familiar gospel reading from Mathew 25 reminds us that we are accountable to God for how we treat our fellow human beings. When we feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, cloth the naked, visit the prisoner, welcome the stranger, etc. we do it as to Christ himself.

Announcements

Calendar for the Week of November 19

Mission News

Gifts for the King: On December 10, we will celebrate Gifts for the King Sunday. Please take a tag from the tree that will appear in the vestry. Then you can bring your unwrapped gift up to the sanctuary on Gifts for the King Sunday and you may place these gifts under the Chrismon Tree when your birthday month is called. This year, our gifts will go to children from the Front Door Agency here in Nashua.

Holiday Baskets: Thank you for your gifts of food for our Thanksgiving Baskets. We were able to provide food for this special meal for many families from our own refugee community and through the Nashua Soup Kitchen. At Christmas, we will do it again!! Ingathering of food will be on December 10, the same day as Gifts for the King. We will need all of the extras that go with a good Christmas dinner. Yams, canned vegetables, celery, pie crusts, and brown sugar are sometimes overlooked, but we will appreciate whatever you bring! Without your help, these families would not have a happy Christmas meal to enjoy. Food such as rice, dried beans, and fresh greens might be more useful to some of our refugee families than the usual cranberry sauce! Thank you!

Food Pantry: Thank you to all who remembered to put out a bag for "Scouting for Food" this year. Main Street got its regular share of Scout food, and it was loaded onto the Nashua Soup Kitchen truck and has been much appreciated.

Refugee Help: Thanks to the United Methodist Women and others who have helped supply needs of two of our refugee families who have recently added a baby boy. You have provided clothing, booster seat, diapers, as well as taking people to appointments. This makes a tremendous difference for them! Be sure to support the Downtown Crossing Bake Sale during the Holiday Stroll!

CROP Hunger Walk: Thank you for walking, supporting, and singing! Will report on our total when CROP reports it to us! Remember that 25% of the money raised stays here in Nashua to fight hunger locally.

Alternative Christmas Gifts: Through the United Methodist Church's "gifts of hope" catalog, http://www.umcmission.org/appeals/christmas
you can purchase anything from a latrine in Guatemala to a bed net in Ghana. The Heifer Project also has lots of animal and plant gift ideas at
https://www.heifer.org/gift-catalog/

-submitted by Phyllis Appler

Greening of the Church and Souper Supper
Friday, November 24, 2017
4:00pm

All members and friends of the Main Street are invited to join the F Troop, our over 40 fellowship group, as we decorate the church for the Holiday Stroll and the Advent Season. After the greening, we will partake of a variety of delicious soups and enjoy the beauty we have created before the hectic holiday season begins. This event is open to all--the more the merrier!

-submitted by Mavis Pyle

Holiday Stroll

On Saturday, November 25th, we will once again be a host site for Nashua's Holiday Stroll. There will be a dance recital held at 5:45 followed by musical performances at 7:10 and 8:35pm. Our choir will not be performing this year. Downstairs in the vestry there will be a joint fundraiser by our own Downtown Crossing along with the non-profit "Chefs of NH" group. The Gate City Immigrant Initiative will also be passing out free food and providing a welcome for immigrants during this same time frame. We are still in need of volunteers to help. If you could give an hour or two, that would be great. Please speak to Jerry Harrow or Pastor Rich in order to sign up to volunteer. Thanks in advance for all your support.

 

Fundraising Updates

Yuletide Fair Earnings: $2,654.05

Heart of Nashua: Growing in Faith:
72 pledges for:
-     $779.285
Amount received:--$452,786

Heart of Nashua I:
Amount received:
- $941,434

Ham 'n Bean Un-Supper Tallies:

3 Beverages
3 Bread
5 Cole Slaw
4 Ham
4 Kidney Beans
5 Pea Beans
5 Pie
6 Potato Salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hope you like our new look for news! Feel free to send comments to mainstreeter@mainstreet-umc.org

 

 

 

 

Monday, November 13, 2017

11/13/2017 Mainstreeter Online

 

November 13, 2017

Words from the Pastor

Veterans Day Prayer

by Susan Diamond

God of compassion,
God of dignity and strength,
watch over the veterans of the United States
in recognition of their loyal service to our nation.
Bless them with wholeness and love.
Shelter them.
Heal their wounds,
comfort their hearts.
grant them peace.

God of justice and truth,
rock of our lives,
bless our veterans,
these men and women of courage and valor,
with a deep and abiding understanding
of our profound gratitude.
Protect them and their families from loneliness and want.
Grant them lives of joy and bounty.
May their dedication and honor
be remembered as a blessing
from generation to generation.

Blessed are You,
Protector and Redeemer,
our Shield and our Stronghold.

Amen.

One of the things that I have come to see since moving to Nashua and becoming the pastor of this congregation, is that there are a significant number of military veterans, who make up the citizenry of our city and the membership of this congregation. You do not have to look far to find a veteran involved in the community and in the church. When I think of all of the veterans, who make up this congregation, I can only be grateful for the faithful service that is offered to God and the church, even as it has been offered to our nation.

The other place in which I experience our military veterans' though is among the homeless population of our city. We have had more than our share of veterans come to Café Agape for the hospitality that we are able to offer to them and many who are the patrons of the food pantry through the Nashua Soup Kitchen. Some of these veterans suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) directly as a result of their service to our nation through their experience of combat in Afghanistan or Iraq. Others have struggled with addiction, whether to drugs or alcohol and still others suffer from mental illness.

As we take the time to honor our veterans for their service, let us also go the second mile and do our part to insure that they receive the needed services so that they may move from homelessness to housing and from illness to health. Thankfully Nashua has much to offer military veterans and organizations, such as Harbor Homes, have set a goal to reduce the number of homeless veterans to zero. Let us offer our support to this effort through the ministry of Café Agape, through the support of Veterans Count (a service of the March of Dimes), and though our own volunteering in programs for Veterans.

With gratitude and praise,

Pastor Rich

Worship Next Sunday – November 19

The 24th Sunday after Pentecost

Thanksgiving Sunday

Reception of New Members

Choir Anthem

Scripture: Deuteronomy 8:7-18; Luke 17:11-19

Theme: Forgetfulness and Ungratefulness

Our scriptures, especially the Deuteronomy reading, warn us not to be forgetful of all God's gracious and loving acts in our lives, our church, and our community because forgetfulness leads to ungratefulness. Let us not be like the "other nine" lepers, who having been healed by Jesus, went merrily on their way; but instead, let us be like the one, a Samaritan, who returned to give thanks to Jesus.

Announcements from Sunday, November 12

Calendar for the Week of November 12

Building Update for 10-November-2017

Since our last update:

  • The loan for the project has been signed and is now complete! Pastor Rich and Ted Luszey met with Dan Hussey from the Foundation to review the project, which included a tour of buildings. Dan was pleased with the progress and our vision for the future.
  • The framing of the new construction is 90% complete. The exterior and interior wall framing is complete. Completion of the exterior sheathing is expected by Thanksgiving.
  • Roofing work has begun and is expected to be complete by November 17th.
  • HVAC, electrical and plumping work has begun in the new construction, ductwork can be seen next to the elevator shaft.
  • Hallway from the new construction into the Wesley Building has been roughed in.
  • Work to prepare the removal of the stained glass window from the Sanctuary and to relocate the rear upper wall of the new construction is complete. The new location has been framed and can be seen on the upper rear wall.

-submitted by Ted Luszey

Holiday Stroll

On Saturday, November 25th, we will once again be a host site for Nashua's Holiday Stroll. There will be a dance recital held at 5:45 followed by musical performances at 7:10 and 8:35pm. Our choir will not be performing this year. Downstairs in the vestry there will be a joint fundraiser by our own Downtown Crossing along with the non-profit "Chefs of NH" group. The Gate City Immigrant Initiative will also be passing out free food and providing a welcome for immigrants during this same time frame. We are still in need of volunteers to help. If you could give an hour or two, that would be great. Please speak to Jerry Harrow or Pastor Rich in order to sign up to volunteer. Thanks in advance for all your support.

We hope you like our new look for news! Feel free to send comments to mainstreeter@mainstreet-umc.org

 

 

 

Monday, November 6, 2017

11/06/2017 Mainstreeter Online

 
 November 6, 2017
Words from the Pastor
A PRAYER FOR ALL SAINTS' DAY
BY
JOHN WINN
(Taken from "For All Seasons")

O God,
like a cloud of witnesses,
saints of every shape and hue
have warmed us
with your grace and all it means.

We can call many of them by name.
Miriam dances by,
spreading the joy of small victories;
Isaiah inspires our hope
for a new and different future;
Jeremiah revives our soul
by writing on our hearts once more;
Ruth and Naomi show us how to dig deeper
in our commitments to love;
Paul gently whispers again,
"We walk by faith and not by sight;"
there is Luther standing firm;
John Wesley warming our hearts;
Bonhoeffer reminding us of
the cost of discipleship.

They never leave us
and by your grace, O God,
you give us eyes of faith to see others
in that great cloud of witnesses.

There are some alive and among us, even now,
weaving themselves in and out of our lives
when grace needs replenishing
and love is the only way it can come.
Some of them even call us by name,
and whether deserved or not,
enable us to feel
that these bones can live again.
In the name of all the saints, Amen.

Between Sunday, October 29th and yesterday, we celebrated the lives of reformers and saints alike. This prayer notes some of the many who lived their lives in such a way that they changed the course of history, not just of the church, but of the world. We are grateful for those saints who have gone before us who have dedicated their lives to the creation of a "new and different world." For some it cost them their lives. For all it meant challenging the powers that be and facing threats and danger from within and without. Let us pray that God will raise up other reformers from among God's saints who will do for the world today what these beloved saints and reformers have done in the past.

                                                                             In Celebration of all God's Saints,

                                                                             Pastor Rich

Announcements  from Sunday, November 5
Calendar  for the Week of November 5


Next Sunday: 11/12
The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
Choir Anthem
Scripture: Joshua 24:1-3a; 14-25; Matthew 25:14-30
Theme: Membership in the Covenant Community

 

MSUMC Volunteers Honored by our Nashua Soup Kitchen Partner

Volunteers from the Main Street UMC were honored this past Saturday evening at the 17th Annual Dinner Auction Fundraiser for the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter. Pastor Rich, Phyllis Appler, Paul Curtis, and Mary Marchese were in attendance to receive the cutting board plaque engraved with a tribute to all volunteers from Main Street, who have been assisting since May at the food pantry located at 2 Quincy Street. Our opening a Sunday food pantry there on the third Sunday of the month was also commended.
The gala event at the Crown Plaza in Nashua had several auctions—a live auction that included two Boston Red Sox tickets, a six-day African safari, and tickets to the "Survivor" finale at Studio City, CA; two silent auctions offering everything from a wine basket to a fat tire mountain bike; and lively raffles and auction games with spontaneous contributions from the audience.
All in all it was a successful evening because of the money raised, and more importantly, for the recognition and support for an institution, of which we are a part, that does so much for the community.
-submitted by Mary Marchese

Granite State Organizing Project Annual Meeting 

The annual meeting of GSOP will take place on Sunday, November 12th from 2:00-4:30pm at the Unitarian-Universalist Church located on Lowell Street here in Nashua. This meeting provides a time for the members of GSOP (of which we are) to "reflect and evaluate, a time to plan, and a time to celebrate our many victories." All are welcome to attend.  Please see the poster on the bulletin board in the vestry for more details.

We hope you like our new look for news!  Feel free to send comments to mainstreeter@mainstreet-umc.org





Monday, October 16, 2017

Mainstreeter News: October 15, 2017

 

October 16, 2017

Words from the Pastor

In his book, A Missionary Mindset: What Church Leaders Need to Know to Reach Their Community, the author and former missionary, Douglas Ruffle, notes that in order for churches today to reach people in their community they need to adopt a "missionary mindset", which means identifying our "default culture" and intentionally changing to a new mindset that will enable us to meet people where they are at. One of the qualities that Ruffle indicates is necessary is humility and he lays out a few suggestions as to how this humility might play out in a particular outreach context. If we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our context we need to:

  • Show up: be accessible to the community you seek to reach. Walk the streets.
  • Communicate for today's world: use social media.
  • Simplify your organization so newcomers have easy access to your ministry.
  • Take risks: show that you love and care about all your neighbors.
  • Don't belittle other people's religion or opinions--Respectfully disagree without disrespecting the others.
  • Trust God and obey. It's the better way.

With this first Mainstreeter email blast we are taking one small step towards using social media in order to communicate with you as church members and beyond to the community. It is a change from the past and changes take time but hopefully this will be but one of many ways in which we are able to reach beyond our walls to our neighbors and friends in the community of Nashua.

Announcements from Sunday, October 15

Calendar for the Week of October 15

Next Sunday: 10/22

The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

Consecration Sunday

Choir Anthem

Scripture: Exodus 33:12-23; Matthew 22:15-22

Theme: Give to God the Things That Belong to God

Building Committee Update

Well, it has been just over a month since we broke ground for our new connector! As you can see by the activity in the parking lot and between the two buildings, much has been done.

To summarize, the drainage in the rear parking lot has been completed; the foundation was excavated along with an old concrete tank, which was removed--just a small surprise; and the concrete footings and floorings have been poured and tested for strength. All testing has met or exceeded our design specifications. Now, what's coming over the next couple weeks?

  • The fire alarm system for the sanctuary will be investigated as to the best way to install it.
  • There will be some demolition on the soap stone headers to get things ready for the entry way into the building.
  • The steel has been delivered and installed.
  • The lumber has been delivered.
  • The structural bolts will be installed in the steel.
  • The pressure treated header boards will be laid out and installed.
  • Elevator shaft framing will begin.
  • Framing of exterior and bearing walls to begin.
  • Framing of the second floor decking is scheduled to begin soon.

As always, if you have any question please don't hesitate to contact me at (603)493-3512.

Ted Luzey

Granite State Organizing Project Annual Meeting

The annual meeting of GSOP will take place on Sunday, November 12th from 2:00-4:30pm at the Unitarian-Universalist Church located on Lowell Street here in Nashua. This meeting provides a time for the members of GSOP (of which we are) to "reflect and evaluate, a time to plan, and a time to celebrate our many victories." All are welcome to attend. Please see the poster on the bulletin board in the vestry for more details.

We hope you like our new look for news! Feel free to send comments to mainstreeter@mainstreet-umc.org