Mainstreeter Online - September 9, 2018

September 9, 2018    A Word from the Pastor   "Give thanks for the past, for those who had vision, who planted and watered so dreams could come true.  Give thanks for the now, for study, for worship, for mission that bids us turn prayer into deed." Verse two of "What Gift Can We Bring", UMH, #87 Well, the time has finally come for us to move into full celebration mode. After all of the planning and preparation we will spend the better part of the month of September "giving thanks for the past" as we acknowledge the saints of old who "planted and watered so dreams could come true". The dream that is the Main Street United Methodist Church grew out of the vision of our spiritual ancestors who envisioned a new church building on Main Street in downtown Nashua whereby the good news of Jesus Christ might be front and center in the life of the community. For the last 150 years generation after generation of faithful church members has sought to fulfill this vision by being "the church with a heart in the heart of Nashua". It is my hope and prayer that you will join in this celebration with a sense of great pride in the past, confidence in the present, and expectation that our future will be bright. I believe that the best is truly yet to be as we continue to learn what it means to be the church of Jesus Christ in the 21st century. While much has changed in the last 150 years what remains the same is our faith in the God who has remained faithful to God's people who have faithfully embraced the good news and committed themselves to living with integrity and hope. Let's celebrate the past, the present, and the future as we participate in the various celebration events that are planned. Celebrating Together, Pastor Rich  Announcements Calendar Worship Ahead   9/16         The 17th Sunday after Pentecost                 Africa University Sunday                 Celebration of the sacrament of baptism: Harper Kennedy Smith                 Choir anthem                 Scripture:  James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38                 Theme: Speech as a mark of Discipleship--How we speak--what we say and how we say it--whether it be orally, in writing, via Facebook, or Twitter, says a lot about us as disciples of Jesus Christ. We are called to speak in ways that "build up" rather than destroy others. This is a particularly relevant for us as a culture especially in a political season.  Water Walk is Next Saturday Next Saturday, September 15, the Thank You Project will be holding a fundraiser to raise funds for its projects, especially the building of wells in Nigeria. It will be a "Water Walk" whereby individuals will seek pledges of support and then walk the one mile from Greeley Park to the Nashua river downtown where they will fill buckets and then walk back to Greeley Park. Once again you we hope to be well represented at the Water Walk. You can sign up in advance by going to the web site http://thankyouproject.org/waterwalk-thanks/  The walk begins at the hatch shell at Greeley Park at 9:00am with registration beginning at 8:30am. Your support is welcome! Mission Update Thank you Nonny Egbuonu for volunteering to be the CROP Hunger Walk recruiter! Thanks to everyone who brought TP for the Nashua Soup Kitchen drive. If you forgot to bring some this Sunday, you can bring it next week. -submitted by Phyllis Appler Caffeinated Christians Young Adult Group at Terragia            Sunday, September 16 from 1:30-3:00pm Join us for coffee and conversation! Each month's meeting has a theme so for this kickoff meeting we will be talking about "new beginnings" and picking out our first five topics for the program year. We are a gathering of young adult Christians who meet on the third Sunday of every month at Terragia Coffee on Main Street in Nashua from 1:30-3:00pm for coffee, conversation, and discussion.This group celebrates the incredible diversity of God's creation and welcomes people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and denominational backgrounds who are trying to figure out together how to follow Jesus' way of love and justice in this world. Bring your questions, passions, frustrations, strivings, and hopes and join us for this month's installment of Caffeinated Christians! The (coffee) ground rules: The group is for young adults ages 18-40. We agree to speak from our own experiences and perspectives. We agree to listen respectfully to the experiences and perspectives of other people. We agree to pay attention to the group process, making sure that everyone has the opportunity to speak and to listen. We agree to use this time as an opportunity for ethical, religious, and spiritual discernment, rather than as a time to debate politics or public policy. Our space is handicapped accessible and please reach out in advance if we can do anything to make you feel more safe and welcome.   https://www.facebook.com/events/307778779802364/ https://www.meetup.com/Caffeinated-Christian-Young-Adult-Group -hosted by Rev. Kate Harmon, Church of the Good Shepherd Concert Coming Up on September 29, 2:00pm As many of you know, Emily Adams and friends will be putting on a free concert at the church on Saturday, September 2, at 2:00pm. If you want to help advertise it, here is a downloadable poster you can print and share with friends: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ib_YdrqB2AXZGZ9fxZzawCEmh80BCn2E/view?usp=sharing Thank you for spreading the word! Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!   Many thanks for recent donations to our church. On August 26 we received $7866.04 to catch us up on mission shares for April, May, June and July. We had enough from your general fund donations and mission donations to pay August mission shares.This was a wonderful and unexpected donation and truly appreciated.Thank you.   Also on August 26 we received $1067.76 for computers for the Christian education classes.This donation added to previous donations gives us enough money to purchase computers for use with donated flat screens.Thank you.   On the same Sunday, we received $1066 toward  the playground installation. This added to the other donations gives us $1541 for the playground getting us closer to funding this project.Thank you.   Thanks to all who give and to all who have helped us with these needs. -submitted by Phyllis Bowden TED Talks Start This Tuesday at 10:30am It's time for TED Talks to begin again in the Ladies' Parlor this coming Tuesday, September 11. We'll be watching a talk where two high school girls talk about the tools needed to understand, navigate, and improve a world structured by racial division. We now offer childcare. Everyone is welcome! What do you know? How good are you with important dates? For example, when was the steeple removed because it was deteriorating? 1911? 1923? 1944? 1956? Click below for the answer.  Outline History of MSUMC Historic Tidbit With the upcoming 150th Anniversary celebration in September, the Anniversary Committee has gathered historic quotes to share, taken from Methodism in Nashua, 1831-1982, by J. Lawrence Hall. We will include one with each Mainstreeter Online.   Fourteen: In (the date from the previous article) it cost $1,400 to have the steeple removed because repairing it would have cost $3,500. It was later determined that the timbers could have remained for many years.The weather vane from the steeple was purchased by a trustee and put on his garage to be returned any time the church wanted. However he died and when his house was sold, the new owners sold the weather vane. (Another version of this story is that the steeple was taken down because a hurricane was coming and they didn't think it would hold up. It was never put back and deteriorated in someone's back yard. This version has not been verified.)    Copyright © 2018 Mainstreet Online, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Mainstreet Online 154 Main St Nashua, NH 03060-2731 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? 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