As most of you are hopefully aware my retirement effective June 30th of this year was announced on January 5th. At that time, Mike Brown, chairperson of our Staff Parish Relations Committee indicated that it was expected that the Bishop would announce who our new pastor would be late this month or early next month. To our surprise we received a call from our District Superintendent, Taesung Kang on January 6th to let us know that the Cabinet (made up of the bishop and district superintendents) had made a decision and he was ready to introduce their choice to the Staff Parish Relations Committee. This took place on January 9th and on January 12th Mike announced to the congregation that it is Bishop Devedhar's intention to appoint the Rev. Kelly Turney as the new pastor of MSUMC effective July 1st. Here are some of the highlights of Rev. Turney's extensive resume (which can be viewed in the church office):
· She is a native of Texas and attended Texas Christian University from which she graduated in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in religion, business administration, and composition.
· She met her husband Steve Hilbun while in college and they have been married for 32 years
· She graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN with her Master of Divinity degree in 1991
· From 1991-2001 she was appointed to an extension ministry at Emory University in Atlanta, GA which she was responsible for its Equal Opportunity Programs
· In 2001 Rev. Turney began her first pastoral appointment as an Associate Pastor at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Springfield, MA
· In 2005 Rev. Turney was appointed as pastor of the East Longmeadow (MA) UMC where she has continued to serve as pastor, now in her 15th year.
There is, of course, much more to Rev. Kelly Turney than what appears on her resume and we look forward to getting to know her as both a pastor and a person in the months ahead. Rev. Turney and her husband, Steve, hope to be able to spend a weekend with us sometime between now and July 1st and will move into the parsonage in late June.
Should you want to send her a note of welcome please send it to her home address:
8 Bartlett Avenue
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
WORSHIP AHEAD
1/19 The Second Sunday after Epiphany
Anthem- by the choir
Scripture: Isaiah 49:1-7; John 1:29-42
Theme: Widening the Circle of Salvation- The second of the "Servant Songs" in Isaiah identifies the nation of Israel as the "servant of the Lord" and speaks of how Israel is to be a light to the nations. John the Baptist, in turn, declares Jesus to be the "lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world". Salvation is not limited to just a few but to the many. The circle of salvation is a wide circle that takes in all people- the whole world and the entirety of creation.
ANNUAL MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. CELEBRATION PLANNED
The annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration will once again take place at the First Baptist Church located on Manchester Street here in Nashua. The service takes place on Saturday, January 18th at 6:00pm. There is plenty of great gospel music, including the Interfaith Choir which is led by our choir director, Julie Oliver and involves many of our choir members. A free dinner follows the service in the church's fellowship hall. All are welcome!
VESTRY ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS
TO ADDRESS THE TOPIC OF YOUNG ADULTS, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND THE CHURCH
During the months of January and February the Adult Sunday School class that meets in the vestry will be exploring the topic of "Young Adults, Social Justice, and the Church" using the Vital Conversations Series provided by the General Commission on Religion and Race of the United Methodist Church. In this series "millennial" pastors and lay members share what is important to them as they seek to be the church of Jesus Christ in the 21st century. They will touch on issues pertaining to racism, welcoming refugees, ethnic identity and diversity, welcoming differently abled persons, and other social justices concerns. As we seek to be a church that welcomes everyone we need to hear what our millennial members have to say about the importance of these and other social justice issues. Pastor Rich will lead this class with hopefully the assistance of some of our church millennials. The class on January 19th will be led by Dan McDonald and we will be viewing the video titled, "What is in my mouth?" which addresses bilingualism and issues that people for whom English is their second language struggle with in our societ.
CONFIRMATION PLANS ANNOUNCED
Confirmation classes for youth in grades 7 – 12 will be held during the months of March and April. A planning meeting for parents and youth will take place on Sunday, January 26th at 11:45am in the chapel. It has already been decided that the classes will be offered during the regular Sunday School time at 9:00am each Sunday morning. Confirmation itself will take place on Sunday, April 19th. Classes will be led by Pastor Rich along with assistance from various members of the congregation.
OPERA ON MAIN STREET RETURNS
Our collaboration with Jane Cormier and the offering of a "salon" series of operatic concerts will resume this month. Here is the schedule for the winter and spring:
January 25 Opera Potpourri - selections from the world's opera favorites
February 29 Sacred Music selections from Malotte, Gounod, Hadyn, Schubert, and Mozart.
March 28 Presenting the Coffee and Peasant Cantatas by Bach.
April 25 Music from your favorite musicals including Webber, Rodgers, Bernstein, and others.
May 30 Concert presentation of Orfeo e Euridice by Gluck
All concerts take place in our sanctuary at 7:00pm. There is a cost of $12.00 per person or $10.00 for senior citizens with children and youth free. A portion of each ticket supports the church's organ fund.
Food Pantry!
Our third Sunday food pantry will be this Sunday, January 19. If you would like to help, please join us at the Nashua Soup Kitchen at 1:30 that afternoon, and we will show you the ropes! Current Food pantry needs include spaghetti sauce, mac and cheese, and ramen noodles. Volunteers are also welcome any weekday at the pantry between 11 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. We will get you your own official apron! Please let Phyllis Appler know if you are able to help this Sunday.
Leaders of the Church
Happy New Year!!!
With the new year comes the time to submit your annual report for 2019 to the church office. You may email them as attachments (.doc) to office@mainstreet-umc.org or place it in the church office mailbox. In cases where leaders are new to their positions the predecessor should assist with the report. I will collect them and create the 2019 Annual Report Booklet. Due date for your contribution is 2/14/2020.
Thank you, Pam
We're on a mission… To Mars and Beyond, and we need YOUR help! We're collecting empty 2 Liter soda bottles in a box on the first floor of the Connector, so don't recycle those bottles yet! Let us creatively reuse them first! (We would greatly appreciate if they are rinsed out beforehand.)
MSUMC 2020 Youth Summer Mission Trip Fundraiser
Selling SUBS for Superbowl 2020
· Order Form due on 1/26/20
· Order form can be downloaded from the church website at https://www.mainstreet-umc.org/
· Order from now until 1/30/20, email Karrie Lam, Coordinator of Youth Ministry, karrie.lam@mainstreet-umc.org
Finance Note
The financial snapshot for 2019 is not yet available. The church was able to pay all bills due in 2019 and all Mission Shares in full. Thanks for your financial support to get us to that point. Many helped us reach that point with regular donations and additional donations for Christmas and to help us finish the year in good stead. Thank you and keep up the good work!
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