News & Notes
Hello my Sisters and Brothers,
My first comments to you have to do with a sadness in our church family. Katherine “Kay” Campbell went on to glory yesterday afternoon. Kay was 95 years old, and had experienced mental and physical decline in the last few years. She was a resident of Wentworth Home until a couple weeks ago - she had a brief say at Wentworth Douglas, followed by a time at Dover Rehab. Her funeral will be a graveside service, at the family cemetery plot in Hillsboro, on Saturday, at 2 PM. Please keep her son, Richard, and all her friends and extended family in your prayers. Richard has given us permission to hold a Memorial Service, at a later date, in Dover. I’ll let you know when that is scheduled.
Next week is the Annual Conference session at Gordon College, in Wenham, Massachusetts. Several folks from St. John’s will be attending. Please hold us in prayer as we discuss the ministry of our Annual Conference. In fact this note came from the Conference offices: “Even if you aren’t attending Annual Conference, you can participate by being with us in prayer. Sign up for a 15 minute period and hold us in prayer during our Holy Conferencing. www.neumc.org/acprayer.”
Last week I mentioned that Sandy Dearborn’s brother, Leon, and his family had been burned out of their home. Our Outreach Committee is sponsoring a collection of kitchen items to “restock” their home. Many of you have responded wonderfully! Thanks! I asked Sandy to recreate the list of needed items for me, and to strike through the items that have already been given - so if you wanted to give, you might see what they’ve already received. Here’s the updated list:
Kitchen items needed: Dishes, glasses, cups, bowls, knives, measuring cups and spoons, cooking utensils, spatulas, tongs, potato masher and peeler, can opener, mixer, bake ware, crock pot, toaster, storage containers, cutting board, kettles, salt and pepper shakers, wastebaskets, aluminum foil, clear wrap, sandwich and storage zip bags, garbage bags. Also, gift cards for Market Basket and Wal-Mart for all the staples that are needed in a kitchen. The collection box is in Hartford Hall, outside Sandy’s office.
This Sunday we celebrate another baptism!! This is getting to be a wonderful habit! This will be our seventh since Easter - and I know about two more coming in July!! Praise God! This week Spencer M. will be baptized. He is the 2 1/2 month old son of Douglas and Susan M.! (Sorry ’bout using just the initial of their last name - I forgot to ask if I could put their names on the website!)
If, per chance, you didn’t bring your Heifer Project Ark back to church yet, they are still being accepted!! To date we have given $476.23! That’s great! The Sunday School appreciates your support in their mission project, I’m sure!
Also, this Sunday is “Peace with Justice Sunday” in the United Methodist Church. I forgot to send an article about this special day to Claire Bloom, to put in “The Bell-Wether,” so I thought I’d slip it in here.
“The origami paper crane is a simple yet powerful symbol, and thousands upon thousands of cranes are sent to the Peace Park in Japan every year,” says retired pastor Wesley N. Yamaka. When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, he was a high school student in Nevada.
“Years later,” he adds, “when I was serving a congregation in Monterrey Park, Calif., we sent a thousand paper cranes to the people of Hiroshima, and we received a thousand back! Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who died from the effects of the bomb and who statue stands in the park, began folding paper cranes as symbols of hope for herself. Soon afterward they became symbols of peace for the world.”
Every day people of many faiths pray - and work - for peace and justice. “The folding of paper cranes is a symbolic gesture that says we need to strive for peace even when it feels impossible,” notes Portland Area Bishop Robert T. Hosibata. “I see it as a way of ‘passing the peace.’”
Across The United Methodist Church, compassionate people respond to God’s call to be peacemakers. They advocate for human rights, buy fair-trade products, care for the environment, demonstrate for a cause, eradicate poverty, feed hungry people, mediate conflict, provide health care, seek affordable housing and model nonviolence.
Because of the special offering received on Peace with Justice Sunday, God’s people learn to coexist lovingly and peacefully. Global outreach through the General Board of Church and Society and annual conference-related peace with justice ministries transform lives.
In her diary Sadako Sasaki wrote: “I will write peace on your wings, and you will fly all over the world.” Please give generously on Peace with Justice Sunday, the first Sunday after Pentecost. Your gift makes a world of difference! Thank you!”
Looking ahead a little bit, I’m reminded of the “Second Sunday Concert” on June 10th, at 3:30 PM. It’s being presented by “Women of Note,” which is part of the national “Harmony, Inc.” organization - a four-part women’s chorus that sings in barbershop harmony style. And wouldn’t ya know, one of our own is a member of “Women of Note!” Karen Schutt is right there in the back row on the right - in the picture you received in your “Bell-Wether” in the last couple of days. There’ll be no admission charge to the concert, but a freewill offering will be received. After the concert there’s a pot-luck supper, too. Maybe our dishes should be a little bit larger so we can feed the chorus, too?!? This would be a great event to invite a friend! Who will you invite?
That’s all the news that I can think of to share today! After my sign-off, there’s an article from “Newscope” that I thought you might find interesting. Remember to hold all of our military personnel - especially those serving in foreign lands - in your prayers. And pray for peace in those foreign lands! Blessings on you as the weekend approaches! See you in church on Sunday!! Peace, Mark
Annual Conferences Begin General Conf. Elections
May is the beginning of annual conference season in the United States, and this
year that includes electing General Conference delegates. (Note: the number of delegates any Conference has is determined by the size/population of the Conference - much like our U.S. House of Representatives.) At the 2008 General Conference, the largest delegation will be from Nigeria, which will send 22 clergy and 22 laypersons. This shows the growth in the Nigerian church whereas its delegation in 2004 totaled 12 persons. The largest delegation from the United States will come from the Virginia Conference with 30 people, a decline of two delegates from 2004. All annual conferences send a delegation that is half clergy and half laity. Each is also guaranteed at least one clergy and one lay delegate. Nine annual conferences (including New England) in the United States will send the minimal amount. The Southeastern Jurisdiction will have representation from 252 delegates. Forty delegates will represent the Western Jurisdiction and its eight annual conferences. Outside the United States, 51 of 64 annual conferences will each send two delegates. This includes Cote d’Ivoire, which was limited to two delegates by action of the 2004 General Conference. In addition to the annual conference delegates, ten persons will represent churches with concordats with the UMC. These include the Methodist churches in Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and the Americas, and Great Britain (which sends two clergy and two laypersons). This brings the total voting membership of the 2008 General Conference to 988. In total, 284 delegates will come from outside of the United States.