Mainstreeter Weekly Blast February 29, 2024

It's Leap Day!

View this email in your browser New in this Issue: SOS - Save Our Spuds! Need a volunteer to help cook potatoes on Friday! Bishop's Day on District - this Saturday! Annual Reports now available. New 6-week book study! College Care Package Donations needed. UMM Meeting, Postponed - new date, March 9th Help us Welcome new worshippers! Nora's new play - buy tickets now! Click Here to Donate Today to MSUMC Gifts of the Dark Wood Beginning February 14, 2024 Watch Live So glad to have an extra day this leap year. As our Confirmation mascot, a frog reminds us to FULLY RELY ON GOD. That leaping frog is necessary because we're hard at work preparing for the 2020 General Conference which is just 52 days away in Charlotte NC. Since I've been involved in 7 General Conferences since 1996 in Denver, Colorado, I'm familiar with this final push to get things ready for our gathering. But I was surprised this morning when a colleague called saying she had decided to attend as a chaplain in the Convention Center prayer room. She's never gone to GC before and plans to retire in the next few years, so why now I wondered? The short answer is a realization that the church IS Christ's presence in human society–however flawed or grace-filled, who we are represents Christ to a world who are suspicious of faith. Whatever happens at GC, whoever we choose to be, however we act, whomever we fight for or against, we represent the denomination, the church universal, and Christianity. The world will be watching. Whatever we decide for the future of our denomination – what we say we believe, how we spend our money, who we aspire to be in the world. The world will be watching, I was amazed to hear that after GC Tampa in 2012, there were seminary students from other denominations who switched to methodism because they saw our efforts to stand up for LGBTQ persons, the anti-racism work, the commitments to international voices and social witness. How we show up for the least, the lost and the left-out matters. Please put April 23 - May 4 on your prayer calendar. Those of us on-site rely on the support of those back home to make it through. Thanks, Pastor Kelly Lent Devotional Climate & Faith Click Here to Download Bishop's Day on the Granite District Saturday, March 2, 2024 - hybrid 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM First UMC - 18 Wesley Way, Gilford, NH 03249 Register for Bishop's Day Click Here for Sunday's Bulletin Below is our Lent Reflections submissions. We received a call today from Lucille's son, Joseph. Lucille passed away this past Tuesday, February 27th.  They had just moved her down to Florida to be closer to them the previous week.  Plans are being made for a celebration of life here at MSUMC in June.  More details to follow. Buy Tickets Here to See Nora! UNITED METHODIST MEN MEETING - POSTPONED NEW DATE, SATURDAY, MARCH 9TH We will continue our discussions on our UMM study on the feasibility of transforming MSUMC power to solar power in the future.  I have contacted Revision Energy and they have assigned an engineer to prepare a preliminary study about how we might go about a solar power transformation and we will address that at the next meeting. They will come to our church and review our roof suitability to hold solar panels and to look at where else we might place such panels on church property.  As stated previously, please come and bring anyone you know that might help us understand the basic information we might need to assist in this effort to include decisions that will be required to move forward.  I will provide more information on how Revision Energy conducts its work so we can understand what they are offering and what they cannot do.  At this point, there is no agreement for payment for any of their services until they do their formal presentation and our church decides whether or not to move forward with the project. In Christ, Kent Swanson The youth will pack and ship snacks to college students in April on behalf of MSUMC. We would appreciate donated prepackaged snacks such as granola bars, cracker sandwiches, cookies, microwave popcorn, hot cocoa, oatmeal packets, tea bags, Raman noodles, Starbucks $10 gift cards, and assorted chips, including the most popular Takis Chips. A box will be outside the office for your donations. We will also welcome monetary donations to defray the shipping & supplies costs. Please send a check payable to MSUMC and write Youth College Care on the memo line. If you know of any college students who would benefit from a Main Street Care Package, please email the name of the student, college address, year in college, and their Major to Karrie Lam, Youth Ministries Coordinator, at karrie.lam@mainstreet-umc.org. Click HERE for Amazon List Community Baby Shower Wish List Click Here to Donate Today to MSUMC Church office hours:   Mon - Weds - Thurs - Fri from 9:00 - 2:00 Closed on Tuesdays. Copyright (C) 2024 Mainstreet United Methodist Church. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Mainstreet United Methodist Church PO Box 1517 Nashua, NH 03061-1517 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe

Mainstreeter Monthly Newsletter - March 2024

View this email in your browser Click Here to Donate Today to MSUMC Register for Bishop's Day - March 2nd Buy Refugia Faith for book study Click Here to Donate Today to MSUMC Copyright (C) 2024 Mainstreet United Methodist Church. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Mainstreet United Methodist Church PO Box 1517 Nashua, NH 03061-1517 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe

Mainstreeter Weekly Blast February 22, 2024

View this email in your browser New in this Issue: Plumbing is starting to be fixed today.  We will keep you posted via Facebook if we will have water on Sunday!  Prayers needed for a smooth repair process today! Items that must be removed from basement! UMM Meeting, Postponed - new date, March 9th Lent Devotional on Climate & Faith Available Breakfast Munchies needed for Sunday Confirmation Classes Nora's new play - buy tickets now! Click Here to Donate Today to MSUMC Gifts of the Dark Wood Beginning February 14, 2024 Watch Live 59 days till General Conference in Charlotte, NC when delegates from all over the world will join to make decisions about the vision and future of the United Methodist denomination. Individuals, delegations, organizations, and officials have been working toward this GC for 6 years. There's lots of aspirational legislation to call us into a more inclusive, justice-loving church. There's admirable efforts at regionalization to address the colonial US-centered structure of the current design and allow regions more say in living their UM expression. There's an effort to revise the Social Principles which was developed with global voices over many years that reflects the divine call to center the least and left out. The Uniting Women of Faith have done powerful work to help congregations honor children and treat women equitably. Amidst all these glorious efforts are those who have disaffiliated from the UMC who have pledged to be present disrupting the work and voting in ways to destroy the denomination. When we get dispirited by those efforts, we remind ourselves of our calling from Jesus, our Wesleyan roots for social witness (that's the subject of this Sunday's confirmation class), and the power the Holy Spirit provides to stand up to fear and stand in our story. We are the people centered in Loving Your Neighbor.  I invite you to be part of the work. Donate, volunteer, send dark chocolate....all of it will be necessary. Pastor Kelly Donate to Love Your Neighbor Coalition Lent Devotional Climate & Faith Click Here to Download Click Here for Sunday's Bulletin Below is our Lent Reflections submissions. Are you a flipper, reseller, or just like to collect things?  We have the stuff for you!  We are cleaning out the basement area that needs to be abated for asbestos and have a few things that MUST GO!  In order for the floor to be abated and new flooring to be put down, we need these items gone by Friday, March 1st. If they don't go by then, we need a volunteer that can take them to the dump! Please contact the office if you are interested in any of these items and/or can volunteer to move them and take them to the dump!  Must be able to move them on your own or 2 people are recommended. We are thrilled our project is underway and can't wait to see the finished results with no clutter! Buy Tickets Here to See Nora! UNITED METHODIST MEN MEETING - POSTPONED NEW DATE, SATURDAY, MARCH 9TH Due to the water in the church being turned off in the main church building, UMM will not meet on this Saturday the 17th.  Without water to use for cooking and cleaning up after our UMM meeting, we will postpone the meeting until Saturday, March 9th, so that we can continue our discussions on our UMM study on the feasibility of transforming MSUMC power to solar power in the future.  I have contacted Revision Energy and they have assigned an engineer to prepare a preliminary study about how we might go about a solar power transformation and we will address that at the next meeting. They will come to our church and review our roof suitability to hold solar panels and to look at where else we might place such panels on church property.  As stated previously, please come and bring anyone you know that might help us understand the basic information we might need to assist in this effort to include decisions that will be required to move forward.  I will provide more information on how Revision Energy conducts its work so we can understand what they are offering and what they cannot do.  At this point, there is no agreement for payment for any of their services until they do their formal presentation and our church decides whether or not to move forward with the project. We have also received a request to provide funds for the lawncare for the church and the parsonage during 2024.  The church bill is $480 and the parsonage is $420.  These figures represent a discounted cost if we pay the bills by march 1st.  If you have any objection to us paying these bills this year please let me know by responding to this e-mail.  If we do not receive a majority of "no" votes by the end of February, we will go ahead and pay the bills this month.   In Christ, Kent Swanson Thank you to the great team from MSUMC for the help on Sunday, Feb 18th at the Nashua Soup Kitchen - our efforts are definitely serving the community and paying it forward! Please continue to drop off donations at 2 Quincy Street or in our bin in the connector lobby.  Cereal and peanut butter are always needed as well as laundry detergent and personal hygiene items. Click HERE for Amazon List Click Here to Donate Today to MSUMC Church office hours:   Mon - Weds - Thurs - Fri from 9:00 - 2:00 Closed on Tuesdays. Copyright (C) 2024 Mainstreet United Methodist Church. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Mainstreet United Methodist Church PO Box 1517 Nashua, NH 03061-1517 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe