October 18, 2019
Greetings Mainstreeters!
The weekend ahead promises to be a very full weekend with something for everyone and a lot for some of us! It all begins tomorrow with the memorial service at 2:00pm for Barry Quimby. Barry is the son of Carl Quimby and he was known throughout his life as an advocate for the homeless and mentally ill. Many who knew him well will be sharing their stories and celebrating his life. Some of his musical friends will also share with us in song some of Barry's favorite music.
Our youth and their families will be gathering tomorrow evening at 6:00pm at the home of Erica and Clem Borrotto and their son, Austin, for the first of the fall youth potluck dinners. All youth and family members in grades 7-12 are invited to attend.
As you can see from the information below Sunday is going to be a very full day. Our District Superintendent, Taesung Kang, will be with us all morning and into the afternoon. He will meet with the members of the Staff Parish Relations Committee at 9:00am in the vestry meeting room. At about noon we will begin our annual Church Conference which will be held in the sanctuary. Grab a cup of coffee after the 10:30am service and meet us back upstairs so that we can begin promptly at noon.
The World Café focusing on issues pertaining to affordable housing will take place from 4:00-5:30pm at Temple Beth Abraham. This will be an informative opportunity to learn about the housing issues in our community from both faith leaders and city leaders.
The day will conclude for the members of the newly restructured Christian Education Committee with a meeting at 6:00pm in the Ladies' Parlor.
I hope that you will join us for some or all of these exciting and worthwhile church activities. Isn't it great to be an active and vital congregation!
Blessings on your weekend,
Pastor Rich
WORSHIP AHEAD
10/20 The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Consecration Sunday
Fall Stewardship Campaign Continues: Stewardship speakers- Bill Moseley at 8:15am and Dave Appler at 10:30am
Bell Choir playing
Choir singing
Scripture: Second Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8
Theme: Stewardship and Prayer- As stewards we are called to manage all of the resources that God puts at our disposal, but we do so with a particular purpose in mind- to transform the world so that the will of God is done on earth even as it is done in heaven. Sometimes it seems as though we are not making much progress on this front and we are tempted to give up. This is when it becomes all the more important for us to pray unceasingly and with perseverance.
CONSECRATION SUNDAY REMINDER
By now you should have received an invitation from Elizabeth Wilds, our Stewardship chairperson, inviting you to fill out your pledge of support for the mission and ministry of the Main Street United Methodist Church for the year 2020. Please plan to be with us, pledge card in hand, on Sunday, October 20th. On this day we will consecrate all pledges of support to God. All pledges, no matter their size, are significant. We thank you in advance for your commitment to God and to the Main Street UMC. If you are unable to be present in worship on October 20th please be sure to mail in your pledge card in advance. If you, for some reason, did not receive Elizabeth's letter and the pledge card please call the church office and one will be mailed to you. The church office number is 882-3361.
OPPORTUNITY OF THE WEEK
Each week we will try to highlight a particular opportunity for you to serve in and through the Main Street UMC.
At the most recent Church Council meeting the decision was made to begin to use our regular coffee cups during our fellowship time on Sunday morning instead of Styrofoam cups. This will require that they be washed afterwards using our commercial dishwasher. Needless to say, we are in need of a number of people who would be willing to learn to use the dishwasher. If interested please speak to Pastor Rich or Jerry Harrow. Thank you for your assistance in helping to remove hundreds or thousands of Styrofoam cups from our landfill during the years to come!
ANNUAL CHURCH CONFERENCE THIS SUNDAY
Our annual Church/Charge Conference date has been set for Sunday, October 20th following the 10:30am worship service. Our new District Superintendent, Rev. Taesung Kang will meet with the Staff Parish Relations Committee at 9:00am. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to come together as a church community to celebrate our ministries and prepare for the future. All are encouraged to attend.
WORLD CAFÉ SUNDAY AFTERNOON
A follow up gathering to have further discussion about affordable housing will take place today from 4-5:30pm at Temple Beth Abraham, 4 Raymond Street in Nashua. There will be three groups that people will spend 20 minutes each with:
Ø Affecting change: Context & Tools (hosted by Sarah Marchant, Sarah Jane Knoy, and Bob Keating)
Ø Impact: Personal stories (hosted by Tonia Kinsley, a friend of Tonia's, and Sarah Wrightsman as a story-telling coach)
Ø Moving forward: Goals and questions (facilitated by Rabbi Jon, Michael Reinke, and Sarah Jacobs (a professor of Ethics at St. Anselm)
All are invited to be a part of this important conversation.
CROP HUNDER WALK
In this 35th year of the CROP Hunger Walk in Nashua, we will step out from Temple Beth Abraham at 1:30 on October 27 to fight hunger in Nashua and beyond. The missions committee will provide a lunch for walkers, so just come to church ready to walk! If you haven't signed up yet, you can still do it on Sunday, October 20, or Sunday, October 27, and walk with our Main Street group. You can raise money for CROP online by going to http://nashuacropwalk.blogspot.com and clicking on the CROP stop sign, then find the Main Street UMC team! Add yourself if you want to walk! If you signed up to sponsor our CROP walk team, give your check to Nonny by October 27 since it must be turned in that day. If it's too late to do that, please support us online. If you have already signed up to walk or have sponsored a walker or our CROP Hunger Walk team from Main Street, thank you! Information is available after church in the vestry, and so are CROP Hunger Walk shirts!
THIRD SUNDAY FOOD PANTRY
If you want to help with our Third Sunday Food Pantry, meet us at the Nashua Soup Kitchen at 1:30 on October 20. The food pantry is open from 2 to 4, and if you know folks who could use food, please invite them to come on Sunday afternoon.
WHAT RECONCILING IS AND IS NOT
By now you've probably heard that MSUMC is looking at becoming a Reconciling congregation, but you may not be familiar with the term and unsure of what becoming Reconciling actually means. Here's a brief overview of what it would entail, courtesy of the Reconciling Congregation committee:
Reconciling is:
- Intentionally, publicly, and visibly welcoming the LGBTQ community inside and outside our doors
- Living out our statement that "we welcome all who seek to love God and neighbor"
- Supporting LGBTQ individuals in our congregation and community
- Excluding straight individuals and those in opposite-sex marriages or relationships
- Excluding those who believe marriage should be between a man and a woman
- Performing same-sex weddings at the church
- Putting our standing in the New England Conference at risk
- Adding a new financial burden
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