| | Pastor's Sabbath Days:
Pastor Kelly: Tuesday
Pastor Kristy: Friday
Days to Reach Pastors
Pastor Kelly: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Pastor Kristy: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday |
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| A Message from Pastor Kelly
When I was growing up, my mother gave me a bookmark for my Bible. On a beautiful, white shiny piece of fabric was embroidered, in blue thread, a table grace that would become my favorite. It was embellished with birds in flight and a light blue tassel. Now it's faded and the laminate is yellow and cracked, but it's still a favorite prayer (I'm a sucker for prayers that rhyme):
Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything.
Lent is an opportunity to come together as a community in spiritual disciplines or family traditions, to enter this 40-day period of reflection in preparation for Easter. Some folks bury their Alleluias, some "give up" something, or "take on" a practice. Monks eat very simply during the season– I know, first-hand, from my Lenten retreats to Holy Cross Monastery.
Several of you shared that one of the things you miss most in these coronavirus-times is the fellowship around food at MSUMC, so we've create an opportunity to eat together–sort of.
We invite you to join in the monastic tradition of enjoying a simple meal of soup and bread this Lent (at least once a week), and share your table with the rest of us. Be it around the table with family, on a recliner binging your favorite show, from a thermos on the trail, or at your desk physically distant from co-workers... send us a photo of your meal. Use one of our recipes or one of your own. We'll post what we can on our page. And we'd love to hear your favorite table graces, whether rhyming or sung, ancient or new.
Let's come together around the table this Lent and share soup for the soul.
Cheese and Broccoli Soup
from Deborah Madison's Kitchen Vegetable Soups
1 1/4 pounds broccoli, about 4 "trees", separated into florets,
peel thick stems, chop into small pieces
sea sale and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons butter or canola oil
1 onion, chopped
1 celery rib, diced
½ pound yellow-flrshed potatoes such as Yukon gold,
peeled (unless organic) and diced
1 plump garlic clove, chapped
1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or more to taste
Aromatics: 1 teaspoon dried marjoram, 1 bay leave, 1 pinch dried thyme
1 tablespoon floor
½ cup light cream, milk or reserved cooking water from broccoli
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard,
2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1. Bring a quart of water to a boil and add teaspoon for salt and broccoli florets. Cook about 3 minutes, then scoop out florets, reserving the water. Rinse under cool water and set aside.
2. Melt butter or oil in a soup pot and add the onion, celery, potato, broccoli stems, garlice, cayenne, and aromatics. Cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring now and then. Add ½ teaspoon of slat, stir in the flour, then pour in 3 cups of the reserved water from the broccoli (saving any remainder). Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer, covered, until the potato is tender, 10-12 minutes. Add the cream or milk or additional broccoli water if needed to thin the soup. During the last few minutes, add the florets and allow them to heat through.
3. Remove the bay leave, puree the soup, and return it to the pot. Stir in mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, stir in the cheese but don't let the soup boil or the cheese will toughen. Serve with Country bread loaf or toast on the side or broken into the soup.
God bless to us our bread
and give food to all those
who are hungry --
and hunger for justice
to those who are fed.
Lord bless to us our bread. Amen. |
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| Recorded prayer services inspired by Taizé You are invited into a simple, meditative prayer service with Taizé chants as part of your Lenten journey. The pre-recorded services will be available each Wednesday from Feb. 24 to March 31, 2021. The services will be 30-35 minutes. Author, educator and spiritual director Kate Young Wilder will be our host. The services will be posted on the website at https://www.neumc.org/Taizé_Lent |
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| Caste: The Origins of our Discontents
by Isabel Wilkerson
Bishop Devadhar's Recommended Book Discussion:
Tuesday, March 23 from 7:00 - 8:30 on Google Meet
Join Pastor Kristy in discussing this important and hopeful book, as author Isabel Wilkerson examines American race relations from a new perspective. Dispensing with the charged word "racism," Ms. Wilkerson skillfully describes the history and context of an American caste system that has kept Black people and others from advancing as easily as their White counterparts in American society. The book is a page-turner and powerful in its assessment. Participants will be expected to have read or listened to the entire book before March 23, as discussion will be around the ideas in the book and not a general discussion of race in America.
Notes: This book is clearly written but will take you some time to read. If participants would like more time for discussion, extra sessions may be added to accommodate particular topics.
meet.google.com/fhb-ivcb-hve
Join by phone: 402-751-0306 PIN: 815 888 041# |
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| The UMHEF Scholarship Program awarded over $2+ million in scholarship every year to the members of the United Methodist Church to defray the cost of their college education. If your youth is an active member of the Mainstreet United Methodist Church and is preparing to attend college in the coming fall or is currently attending college, click this link to apply for a scholarship: https://www.umhef.org/apply/. The deadline is March 1, 2021 for scholarships for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Each year the New England Conference Scholarship Committee seeks applications from adults or recent high school graduates who are pursuing undergraduate education at any accredited two- or four-year college, university or technical school. Applicants must be United Methodist Church members and are eligible to apply every year until they complete their undergraduate degree. In 2019-20, there were 50 scholarships totaling $28,315 granted to students from the New England Conference.
The application for scholarship support can only be submitted online (see the links below). The deadline has been extended: Applications for 2020-21 support are now due midnight on May 22, 2020.
Find the 2020-21 application form
Find the 2020-21 recommendation form
Karrie Lam, the Coordinator of Youth Ministry, will be available to answer any questions and concerns about the application/recommendation you may have. Please email Karrie Lam at karrie.lam@mainstreet-umc.org to schedule a zoom meeting with her. |
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Election of new representative needed
In paragraph 32 of our Book of Discipline it lays out who the lay members of the annual conference are. A little over halfway through that paragraph it states, "Each charge served by more than one clergy shall be entitled to as many lay members as there are clergy members."
So now that Kristy is appointed to MSUMC, we get another representative to Annual Conference which is always held in June (usually in Manchester). But this year, it will be a virtual zoom affair so it will be easier for anyone interested in representing our church and getting to know the workings of the denomination at the conference level.
Let the office know if your interested and we'll elect a rep at our next Council meeting. |
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January 2021 Finance Snapshot: Thank you for your continued generosity to help us minister to the church, community, and to many places of need. We have a few large items of note that will enable a better experience when the time comes for us to gather in person. Those items are a license for Music ($370), AED ($397.00 balance remaining), and for the I-wave air cleaners ($19,403 balance). That I-wave will provide a little extra peace of mind when we do get back together in person. Thank you. General Fund (GF) Total GF Income Received as of 1/31/2021: $35,456.40 Total GF Income Budgeted through 1/31/2021: $36,744 Total GF Expenses Paid through 1/31/2021: $31,851.44 Total GF Expenses Budgeted through 1/31/2021: $38,043.72 Notes on General Fund - World and New England Mission Shares were not paid in January. We should be able to catch up later.
- The church owes for the air cleaning units installed. Donations received as of February 14 cover a bit over 10% of the cost. With help from others, we can pay this bill without dipping into invested funds. Donations in any amount are welcome. It would be wonderful to receive enough to pay the $19,403 balance.
- Current on other expenses
Heart of Nashua 1 & 2 (GiF) & HON Cont. (Capital Campaign/Elevator, Connector, Renovations) - Balance Due on HON Loan as of 1/31/2021: $146,781.93 (Loan was $358,343.45) - In January the $1,769.53 monthly payment was paid. HON Cont. funds on hand 1/31/2021 ($7796.84) will cover payments for four months. - Total Paid (including interest) Using HON 1, 2 & Continued as of 1/31/2021: $1,848,782.64 Funding for the Future, 100 for $150 (Endowment) – Received as of 1/31/2021: $315.00 Our goal is to have 100 people or families give $150 each year to this fund to grow our endowment for future generations. Thank You - Thank you to all who helped support this congregation in 2020 in any way. We were able to pay 2020 Conference obligations in full, pay our expenses and assist other groups and missions of this congregation. - The gift of snowplowing is especially appreciated with the recent snows. While the church is not open, some members and staff spend time at the church to keep the church going including our counters. - The UMM has agreed to purchase an AED (automated external defibrillator). As of February 14, we have received $520 toward the purchase of a second unit. - The Valentine thank yous to the committees were wonderful. Thanks to all who worked on them and to the Committees they were given to. Recent and Current Expenses Recent expenses include: $447.80 for office supplies (envelopes mostly), $18.99 vacuum bags, $240.89 for offering envelopes, $743.71 for boiler room sump pump repair, $214.65 copier lease, $49.72 elevator phone, $266 for elevator service contract, $63.94 for trash removal Upcoming Expenses One License for Music=est. $370, AED =$397.00 more needed, $19,403 balance to pay for I-wave air cleaners How to Help - We still need more counters to assist with counting donations. Our pleas brought us one new counter, for which we are very grateful. You can contact the office if you are interested or one of the pastors.
- Please continue to support us financially if you can. Checks may be mailed to Main St. UMC, PO Box 1517, Nashua, NH 03061, Attn.: Financial Secretary. Donations may also be made via PayPal, Vanco or by direct deposit to our bank account. We also accept stock donations. |
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Thank you for making the Family Promise housewares drive a success!
On January 31 and February 1, Main Street UMC members and new friends from social media converged on the MSUMC parking lot with gifts for the families who will soon move into the new Family Promise of Southern NH facility. These brand-new, colorful contributions will outfit 7 full adult bedrooms, 3 cribs, 3 full children's bedrooms and a whole family bathroom, with lots of additional sheet sets, towels, comforters, mattress pads, brooms, plungers, cleaning products and toilet paper to help program participants feel like home as they move forward through a time of crisis. In addition to the advertised items, an internet friend also donated new, handmade baby blankets and a collection of hand-tied fleece blankets made by her Girl Scout troop. And another church member donated a safety-step ladder that the program plans to use in their food pantry. Our gifts filled two very full van-loads, and the Family Promise Staff were thrilled by your generosity! Thank you!!
During a tour, Pastors Kelly and Kristy were impressed with the lovely new family suites, private family bathrooms, HEPA air filtration system, and the huge, industrial kitchen where weeknight meals can be prepared and served during the week, so that working parents are free to deal with family needs on those nights. Though the facility is not yet finished, we are certain that, even at partial capacity, it will be a huge support to families experiencing homelessness in the area. With the support of the program, including financial literacy training and case management, most families transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency within a year.
Family Promise will need other support as they begin to welcome residents. Stay tuned for opportunities to serve as we learn their COVID-19 protocols and their program needs. For more information, visit www.familypromisesnh.org |
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| COVID Vaccination Information:
- To register for an appointment for a vaccine in Nashua for Swahili, Kinyarwanda, French, Lingala speakers Call Abimana 603-682-5032
- To register for an appointment for a vaccine in Greater Nashua for members of Nashua's Black and African American community (Swahili) Call Nellie 603-430-0328
- To register for an appointment for a vaccine in Nashua for Spanish and Portuguese speakers call Silvia (603)682-2272
Information provided by the Nashua Intercultural Council
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| A Message from Missions
The Nashua Soup Kitchen at 2 Quincy Street could use some soup, especially soups like Chicken Noodle, cream soups, and the Progresso-type soups that don't need to be diluted. You can drop it off any weekday, and you might add some mac and cheese packages to keep folks cozy and happy! You can even order online and have it delivered! How great is that! GO SOUP!! |
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EASTER TREE OF LIFE: THE HEIFER PROJECT
Here are some options for our Easter Tree of Life, an alternative way to honor or remember a special person in the life of your family. Any gift that you choose will help to make another family more independent, and a young animal will be passed on to a new family so that your gift will keep on giving! Fill out the form below and mail it with your check to the church office at PO Box 1517 Nashua, NH 03061. Please complete by Palm Sunday, March 28, in order to be included in the Easter Sunday bulletin. You can also donate directly to Heifer at https://www.heifer.org/gift-catalog/index.html If you do that, please email your receipt to the church office office@mainstreet-umc.org and let us know who you are honoring! Or just call the church office so that the right animals make it onto the tree and onto the list. As your emails and phone calls and checks come in, we will put your animal or water pump or tree or seeds on the Easter Tree of Life. There has been some talk of videotaping as each new addition is made! Be sure to involve your kids in this project. This link takes you to many wooly and wonderful Heifer downloadable activities! https://www.heifer.org/what-you-can-do/get-involved/schools/home-school-activities/elementary-resources.html Honeybees $30 Flock of chicks $20 Water pump $150 Flock of ducks $20 Flock of geese $20 Pig $120 Share of a pig $10 Trees $60 Share of trees $10 Seeds Any amount Heifer $500 Share of a heifer $50 Sheep $120 Share of a sheep $10 Goat $120 Share of a goat $10 Donkey $120 Share of a donkey $10 Llama $150 Share of a llama $20 Fish Fingerlings $300 Share of Fingerlings $30 Water Buffalo $250 Share of a water buffalo $25 Trio of rabbits $60 Share of a rabbit trio $10 ***************************************************************************** Animal or plant chosen___________________________ Amount_________________ From _________________________________________________ In memory of _________________________________________________ In honor of _________________________________________________ In celebration of _________________________________________________
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