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Last Week's
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8:00 AM Servers
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10:00 AM Servers
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Acolytes
Crucifer
Elizabeth Meinhardt
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Server
Becca Favreau- Torch Bearer
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Pre & Post Servers
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Sally, Abby & Emily Warren
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Adrienne Spear
Anne Ludlow
Tom Richert
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This Week's Meetings
THURSDAY
4:00 PM
Disco Penguins &
B# Choirs leave
for Andover
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6:30
Handbell Choir
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8:00 AM
Holy Eucharist
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9:45 AM
Church School
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10:00 AM
Holy Eucharist
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11:15
J2A & Rite 13 Classes
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4:00 PM
Treble Choir Festival
WEDNESDAY
12:00 PM
Holy Eucharist
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This Week's Readings
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67
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Second Lesson
Revelation 21:10, 22-22.5
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Photo Credits:
Steve Grillo
Matt Hickcox
Ed Haynes
Paul Krenitsky
Harry Taplin
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Musical Notes 
Music for this Sunday vacillates between supporting the Gospel reading, and paying homage to Rogation Sunday, traditionally Easter 6 and a time to give thanks for all that has been planted. The anthem should be another Aha moment for you since its words come directly from the Gospel reading. The anthem, "Peace, I leave with you," is written by Victor Iams, who was Kathryn Chamberlain's father, and is a choir favorite.
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Sunday Forum
I will introduce N. T. Wright's Bible study series called The New Testament for Everyone by looking at a passage from his Galatians for Everyone. In that passage we will wonder about living a new life in Christ. What might Paul mean when he writes, "I have been crucified with Christ" and "I no longer live but Christ lives in me." Everyone is welcome to join the forum at 11:30 AM in the room off the parish hall.
Bill
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Prayer as First Resort
will be on Tuesday, May 10th 7:30-8:45 pm in the Blue and Cranberry Rooms.
If you would like to learn more about Prayer as First Resort, please contact Deb Dutton (debdutton@hotmail.com) or Lynne Grillo (lynne@odic.com).
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Treble Choir Festival is THIS Sunday at 4pm and all are warmly invited to hear our Disco Penguins and B# join forces with the choristers from Christ Church, Andover and the Cape Ann Choir School, based at St. John's, Gloucester. The service of lessons and singing will take us through the church year, beginning with Advent and ending with All Saints' Day.
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Our living stones campaign is proceeding apace and we'd like to report on our current status. We have visited about a third of the parish and our totals to date are as follows: $351,5000 pledged over a five year period and $100,000 in cash from those pledges. Our implementation committee is putting together a plan for how the money will be spent and we will share that with you upon receipt.
Many of you are probably wondering why you are hearing so much about this yet you have not been visited? That is because the campaign is structured in phases. We started small and each succeeding phase trains more visitors to cover the parish. Very soon we will enter the "capstone"phase where the remaining two-thirds of the parish will be visited. There will be a lot of activity in May and June so expect a call in that time frame. Please contact Mary Woodward or Dave Kuzara if you would like to help with the campaign. Finally, while we appreciate all gifts, please try to wait until you are contacted before putting a donation in the offering plate.
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Holy and Ever Loving Father we ask your blessings over our Living Stones Capital Campaign. May we be ever faithful to your will, loving and compassionate towards each other, and discerning in our endeavors. We ask that you abide with us as we prayerfully consider the potential of our contributions, the promise of the campaign, and our role as faithful stewards of this place. May God the Father encourage us, May Jesus the Great Healer remove fears and obstacles from our midst, and May the Holy Spirit unite us in purpose. Amen.
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Inclusiveness - Where the Rubber Hits the Road
With joy we welcome more people these days into our midst on Sundays for worship and fellowship! But more people means more cars, and we need to respond by making sure that all who need to park closer to the building and the access ramps can do so. For now we've added one temporary reminder sign near the narthex ramp. More signs to be permanently installed are on the way.
Anyone who is in a wheelchair, or unsure on their feet, or carrying little ones or for any reason at all needs the best access to the building, should interpret these signs as an invitation to use the marked parking spaces. For the rest of us, let's avoid parking near the entrances, ramps, or along the front of the building. Whenever possible let's park along the perimeter of the parking lot or behind the bank directly across Billerica Road. To mangle a line from Reverend Bill's sermon, let's avoid creating an "egoic conclave" of the highly mobile. Being mindful of the parking needs of everyone and acting accordingly is a small but important step we can take in acting out the inclusiveness modeled for us by Jesus. Thank you! -The Wardens
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We will be having a Yard and Plant sale on May 21st. Please save your junque and plant cuttings.
More details will be coming in the following weeks.
If you are interested in being a part of the Yard Sale Team, please speak to the Wardens - Chris Mills, and Frank Ouellette.
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West Virginia Potluck Dinner
and Talent Show
Calling all performers! This year's West Virginia Talent show and potluck dinner will be held Sunday, May 15th, at All Saints'. The fun and fellowship start at 6:00pm. Can you sing, tell jokes, or play the ukulele? Then we need you! If you can't do any of these, we still need you! We know you must have a talent you'd like to share, so come and get it on the fun! Please let Maggie Marshall (maggie@ccc.com) know what you can contribute in the talent department.
For those who just want to come and enjoy the show, this is a wonderful evening out for a great cause. There is no admission fee, but there will be a free will offering to benefit this annual mission trip to West Virginia in June to fix up homes of needy Appalachians. Please bring a dish to share as we enjoy this annual event with our Central Congregational brothers and sisters.
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The Friends of Boy Scout Troop 74:
are having their 31st annual Giant Yard Sale on Saturday May 7, 2016 at Central Congregational Church parking lot, corner of Fletcher St. and North Rd. in Chelmsford from 8 am-2pm, rain or shine. Profits support the Troop's advancement, leadership, training, activities, and equipment needs. Items for sale include but are not limited to: furniture, toys, household goods, outdoor equipment, books, electronics, clothing, and collectibles. Thank you!
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Worship Commssion Food for Thought
From time to time, the Worship Commission goes beyond planning our weekly worship, and discusses articles that might help us to approach things differently. Below is an article that the group wanted to share with everyone. Of particular interest is the list of ten things that we all, as a congregation, can do to be welcoming of young families, and new parishioners, also.
Almost every church I've ever known has wanted to Attract Young Families. The reasoning behind this includes the following:
- If we don't regenerate, everyone will eventually get old and die.
- It's energizing to have young people around.
- Younger members can do the work that older members can't/won't do anymore.
- Older members tend to be on fixed incomes and younger working members are needed for their pledges.
- Young families (i.e. mom, dad, and kids) remind us of church when we were (or wish we were) part of young families.
There are a few things wrong with this reasoning, including the fact that "attracting" people in general feels manipulative - as if people are "targets" to be used for our own purposes. Yuck.
Let's be honest about the "why?" Are we saying that we want these rare and valuable Young Families for what they can give to us?
What if - instead - the "why" of this demographic quest was about feeding souls and sharing authentic community? I always hoped - as a young mom - that church would provide adults that could help me nurture my children. I always wanted to know that - if my kids couldn't come to me or HH with a problem - they would have other trustworthy adults to whom they could go (and they did.)
Young families are great. Old families are great. Families made up of child-free couples are great. Families of single people are great. Imagine if every church simply wanted to be a church that could bring in broken people and has leadership that knows how to shift congregational culture. The culture in which we live and move and have our being has changed, but we are killing ourselves trying to maintain a dated congregational culture.
So how can we be the kind of congregation that welcomes Young Families for more than their energy and wallets? We can:
- Be real. Deal with real issues in sermons, classes, retreats, conversations, prayers.
- Listen to parents' concerns. Listen to children's concerns.
- Ask how we can pray for them. And then pray for them.
- Allow/encourage messiness. Noses will run and squirming will ensue. There might be running. There will definitely be noise.
- Check our personal Stink Eye Quotient. Do we grimace when a baby cries? Do we frown when the kids are wearing soccer uniforms?
- Refrain from expecting everyone to be the church like we have always been the church.
- Help parents, grandparents, and all adults become equipped to minister to children and youth. How can we learn to offer such loving hospitality to the younger people in our midst that they will always experience church as home?
- Do not use children as cute props. Yes they say the darndest things during children's stories, but they are not there to entertain us.
- Give parents a break. Really. Help struggling parents get coats and hats on their kids. Hold an umbrella. Assist in wiping spills.
- Give parents a break administratively. Make it easy to participate. Minimize the unnecessary.
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Cooks and support teams needed
Our annual feeding mission at the Epiphany School in Dorchester, B-Safe, is on July 5 and 6 this year. We prepare the meal for 140 here, drive it in, and serve. The B-Safe program is a Diocesan-run free day camp for at risk Boston youth, and is held at several sites throughout the city. Please let Maggie Marshall know if you are able to help cook, serve, or offer financial support.
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COME HEAR ANNA DAGMAR JOHNSON! SATURDAY MAY 7
Sat. May 7 at 7:30pm
Chelmsford Center for the Arts
Mother's Day Weekend Celebration
1a North Rd. Chelmsford, MA
$15 adults / $10 children and seniors
A Mother's Day Celebration Concert, featuring originals and cover songs by Susan Werner, Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky and Sara Bareilles.
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