epistle 2008-02

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THE EPISTLEVolume 13 Issue 2 FEBUARY 28, 2008

Spaghetti Dinner on

March 30 at Church

There will be a spaghetti din-ner at the church on March 30 to

benefit the youth mission trip. There

will be two seatings- one at 5pm

and one at 6:30pm. A silent auc-

tion will also take place. Our youth

will be selling tickets in church dur-

ing the month of March.

Our junior and senior high

youth will be traveling to Ohio inJuly to repair and rebuild homes for

low income families through Reach

work camp. All proceeds from the

dinner and auction will reduce the

cost of the trip for the participants.

March 30 at Church5:00 First seating

6:30 Second seating

Silent Auction

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THE WORSHIP PAGE

March 2, 9, 16, 21, 23, 2008Sunday Worship at 9:30 AM

Fellowship Time and Christian Education follow

March 2

Fourth Sunday in LentHoly Communion

I Samuel 16:1-13John 9:1-41

Through Darkness to Light

March 9

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Ezekiel 37:1-14

John 11:1-45

From Death to Life

March 16 Palm SundaySunday of the Passion

Blessing of the Palms

RequiemGabriel Faure

March 20: Maundy Thursday 7:30 PM

Service of Holy Communion andTenebrae

March 21: Good Friday Noon

Way of the Cross

Beginning here7:30 PM

Service of Prayer

March 23 Easter DayResurrection of our Lord

Holy CommunionActs 10:34-43

Colossians 3:1-4Matthew 28:1-10

Fear and Great Joy

First Congregational United Church of Christ

26 East Church Street Fairport NY 14450

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Pastoral

Perspective

...and Trinity are get away places for clergy and families to spend some down time in the

midst of busy ministries. I had not heard about this until I saw a small ad in The Christian Cen-

tury a few months ago.

I knew that I needed a few days to decompress and do nothing. We left on Sunday after worship

and got there about 5:00 pm. There is no schedule except meal time and no one tells you what

you have to do. I read and rested and slept and Jean did needlework and read. We took a couple

of walks and chatted with others at meal time. That was it.

All of us need such times in our lives. We are so accustomed to doing rather than being that

sometimes it is difficult to get out of that way of thinking. Some people have a hard time being

alone; alone with themselves and alone with God. They become agitated unless there is activity

surrounding them. This is a sign of spiritual trouble and needed to be remedied. One of theways of doing this is to take time for doing nothing. It may seem hard to do and no doubt it is

difficult, but it is necessary. When this doesnt happen, then our spiritual lives become dry and

unproductive and this flows over into our day to day lives, also.

No matter who we are or what we do or our age, this down time is important not only spiritu-

ally, but also physically. In our small groups this Lent, we are taking a look at spiritual disci-

plines. John Ortberg talks about hurry sickness. We all know about it, and all of us are af-

fected one way or another by it. Now is a good time to take stock of our lives and to make ef-

forts to root out that hurry sickness. We have all kinds of reasons, or excuses why we cant doit, but if we are honest with ourselves, we know that that excuses is just what they are. We can

do it. It takes small steps but it can happen and when it does happen, then our lives are richer

and more connected to the God who is the source and the goal of our lives.

Id love to chat with you about this.

Faithfully yours,]{

Im writing this on the day after we got

back from being away for a few days.

It was a wonderful few days at Trinity

House at Silver Bay on Lake George.

Many of you know about Silver Bay, a

conference center and summer retreat

for over a hundred years. Brookside...

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REMEMBER IN YOUR PRAYERS:

Martha Bowman, St. Johns Home

Barbara Cobb, Fairport Baptist Home

Louise Deller, Aaron ManorGeraldine Stearns, Perinton Manor

THANK YOU TO ALL

Thank you for the many sympathy cardsand prayers. The support of our churchfamily has given me strength. The trag-edy of the loss of my grandson, Andrewis a sadness that will linger in the heartsof so many people, especially the stu-dents of Penfield High School. It is withmy deepest appreciation to everyone forall the prayers that have been said for

Andrew, myself and my family.

Flo Kraai

New Adult Ed. Class

Celebrating & Sustaining

Gods Good EarthWhat, if any, responsibilities do we have as

Christians to sustain Gods good earth? How do

we celebrate Gods creation? What difference

can one individual really make? Where do we

even begin?

These questions and more will be explored dur-

ing adult education beginning on Sunday,

March 2. Led by Sondra Franzen, this 4-part

class will be held on March 2, 9, 16 and 30, fol-

lowing the worship service in the Snow Room.

Join us!

TOOL RAFFLE

The Trustees are holding a tool raffle to raise some of the money needed to offset the

fact that the Antique Show has been canceled. The intention is to raise the money outside ofthe church and not present the congregation with another donation request.

However, if any church member is interested in purchasing a $10.00 ticket to win

four DeWalt cordess tools (with case battery & charger), they can contact Pastor Cedarleaf

or any trustee. 200 tickets will be sold.

Our Christian sympathy is extended

to Debbie Cutter and her family on

the recent death of her father, Donald

Cutter. He resided in Florida.

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NEXT EPISTLE DEADLINE 3 PM MARCH 20, 2008

WELCOME TO THE NEWARRIVAL!

Congratulations to Matthew and Jennifer Fun-

derburkon the arrival of their daughter, Mia Elizabeth,

born on January 29, 2008. She is also the granddaughter

ofNancy and Kit Funderburk.

CONGRATULATIONS!Congratulations to

Marshall Strong.

He received his Boy Scout Eagle

Award at a

Court of Honor on Feb. 6, 2008.

For his Eagle Project, Marshall con-

structed a 70 foot boardwalk on Wild Iris Trail in Pen-

field; a DEC protected wetland owned by the Genesee

Land Trust. He began planning the project in May,

2006 and construction was completed in August,

2007. A combination of thirty-six adults, Scouts and

friends helped him with his project. It took 254.5 hours

to complete!

THANK YOU!Our appreciation and thanks for the celebration of our

90th birthdays at the coffee hour on December 9th. The

decorated cakes were much enjoyed, but even morewere the good wishes of the members of our church

family. Our sincere thanks for a truly memorable oc-

casion.

John and Winifred Smith

THE GVA

SPIRITUAL LIFE COM-

MITTEE

INVITESYOUTO:

COME AND SEE

What? A retreat to help you nour-

ish your spiritual life

When? Friday, May 9, 7:00 p.m. to

Saturday, May 10, 7:00 p.m.

Where? St Charles Borromeo Re-

treat Center, 3011 Dewey Ave, Roch-

ester

Who? Clergy and laity from the

GVA

Leader? Margy Mayk, an experi-

enced leader of spiritual retreats and a

founder of Step by Step, a programfor women who are or have been in-

carcerated

Cost? $50 per person includes ac-

commodations and three meals

Bring your own linens Save the Date!

More information and registration

forms coming later. Questions? E-

mail

Emily Castner: emscast-

[email protected] or

Bob

Miller: [email protected]

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SAFE JOURNEYSafe Journey, a not-for-profit agency supporting women and children in the greater Rochester

area who are rebuilding their lives after surviving domestic violence, is proud to announcesponsorship of four (4) free community events that highlight the challenges of domestic vio-

lence and support the healing process for former victims:

* See the Faces, Hear the Facts: Domestic Violence Community WorkshopWednesday, February 27, 2008, 7:00pm 8:30pm

Everyone is welcome to attend.Call 585.425.1580 to register and obtain location details.

* Support Group for Survivors of Domestic Violence, 5-weeksBegins Sunday, March 2, 2008

Participation for female survivors of domestic violence only, subject topre-qualification.

Call 585.425.1580

* Self-Defense Course for Survivors of Domestic Violence, 4-weeksBegins Saturday, April 12, 2008

Participation for female survivors of domestic violence only, subject topre-qualification.Call 585.425.1580

* Legal Aid Society Presents: Family Law Issues Community WorkshopApril 2, 2008, 7:00-8:30pm

Everyone is welcome to attend

Call 585.425.1580 to register and obtain location details.

All programs are free. Transportation assistance and childcare will be available as neededfor participants in the Support Group and Self-Defense Course. An interpreter for the Deafand Hard of Hearing will be provided for any event upon request.

See the Faces, Hear the Facts: Domestic Violence Community Workshop is an originalSafe Journey production designed to raise community awareness of domestic vio-lence. Anyone interested in learning more about the challenges of domestic violence is wel-come to attend. Advance registration is required. Advance registration is required

For more information about Safe Journey call 585.425.1580 or go to

www.safejourney.org .

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ADVENT HOUSE VOLUNTEERSNEEDED

ADVENT HOUSE is currently in high need of volunteers to help with caregiving,

housekeeping and fundraising. Advent House is volunteer staffed and donation

funded; therefore, our communitys support is crucial to continuing our ministry.

Have you thought about helping out at Advent House? Please call Carolyn Ruffing,

Volunteer Coordinator, at 223-6112 for more information. If you want to speak to

folks from our church who volunteer at Advent House, contact Harriet Breckenridge,Paul Yerrick, Betty Shamblen, Sally Forgensi, Freda Sheldon, Jim Weidman or Jim

Bradford

GoodSearch.com, GoodShop.com

What if the New York Conference United Church of Christ earned a penny every

time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase

you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can!

GoodSearch.comis a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its ad-

vertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate.

Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo,

and watch the donations add up!

GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of

each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Target,

Gap, Best Buy, eBay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with Good-

Shop and every time you place an order, youll be supporting your favorite cause.

Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter the New York Conference

United Church of Christ as the charity you want to support. And, be sure to spread

the word!

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ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARINGOn March 16, donations will be received for One Great Hour of Sharing. This has been

a great tradition in our Church for five decades. Once a year our denomination al0ong witheight other denominations collects money for use among the poor and needy world wide. This

has been one of the main ways our Church has been able to reach out with Gods mission be-yond our local community.

Funds collected are used in 80 nations in three general areas: sustaining communities,disaster relief, and for refugees. Sixty percent of the funds are used for sustaining communitieswhich involves fighting hunger, disease, illiteracy with healthcare, education, and agriculturaldevelopment. UCC alone raises $3 million annually through One Great Hour of Sharing.Please help sustain this wonderful tradition with a generous gift. Checks should be made out toFirst Congregational Church with a designation OGHS. They can be placed in the offering

pates or mailed to the Church. Thank you for your support.

MORNING CIRCLEMorning Circle will meet on

March 11 at 10 AM in Fellowship Hall. Ourspeaker will be Suzanne Feather from Pre-

ferred Cared. Topic: Life is a Ball.

The second Pot Luck - Just For Fun is setforSunday, March 2, 2008 at 5:00 PM.The first one was a lot of fun, so be sureto join in for a time of good company andgreat food!

Sign-ups are on the rolling bulletin boardin Fellowship Hall just so we know howmany tables and chairs to set up). Bringyour own service and a dish to pass - anda big appetite.

2007 PLEDGE

STATEMENTS ARE

NOW AVAILABLE

IN FH.They are in a box on top of the return

cart in the library area. Please pick up yourstatement today. If anyone is not able to getinto church to pick up their statement, callthe church office and it will be mailed toyou. 223-0224.

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Family News

30 Hour FamineThe 30 Hour Famine will be taking

place on

Feb. 29 March 1.

All funds raised at church and through

the efforts of the eleven participating

youth will be donated to World Vision.

Thank you for your on-going support!

FAIRPORT VACATION

BIBLE SCHOOL

SAVE THE DATE!!

Fairport Community Vacation Bible

School is a fun-filled week of music,games, crafts and growing in Gods

love! Children from age 3 to entering

7th grade are welcome to come spend

five action packed mornings in GODS

BIG BACKYARD! Teen and adult

volunteers are always needed and ap-

preciated! We have a job for every-

one! This year, FCVBS will held from

August 4 through August 8. Look forregistration and volunteer forms at

your church or the Fairport Public Li-

brary starting in April. Contact

Heather Moore with any questions

(585) 259-0122. Lets get excited!

ROTATIONSTUDIES:

Learn About the

Prophets Elijah and

Elisha, Holy Week andBest of All, Easter!Through our drama, storytelling, art and movie

classrooms, our preschoolers and elementary

school students will learn about the great

prophets Elijah and Elisha in February, as well

as the events of Holy Week from Palm Sun-

day to Easter Sunday. Our children will learn

of the prophets compassionate acts. And, theywill learn of the most compassionate act of all

Jesus death and resurrection.

Junior High and Confirmation

Class To Study

The Lords PrayerOur REALtime junior high and confirmationclass will continue with their 10 week study of the

Lords Prayer. They will study the prayer itself,

the context in which Jesus gave it to us, and its

impact on our lives today.

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Family News (p.2)

Family Movie Night on March 15 to Feature

The Bee MoviePreschoolers, elementary students and their families are invited to a family movie night on Sat-

urday, March 15 from 7 9 p.m. in Upper Fellowship Hall featuring the newly released hit,

The Bee Movie. Children are welcome to wear their PJs. Snacks will be provided. Sign up

on the rolling bulletin board in Fellowship Hall or call the church office (223-0224). Bring a

friend!

Children Invited To Participate In Palm

Sunday Processional and Easters Living

Cross Creation

On Palm Sunday, March 16, all preschool and elementary students are invited to gather in Fel-

lowship Hall at 9:15 a.m. to receive their palm and line up for the Palm Sunday processional.

Well march into the sanctuary, following the choir, as we wave our palms and shout,

Hosanna to welcome Jesus to Jerusalem. After the processional, children will sit with their

families.

During the Easter Sunday worship service on March 23, all church school students are in-

vited to help transform our wooden cross into a living cross decorated with lots of beautiful

flowers. This transformation symbolizes the new life we are all granted through Jesus death

and resurrection. While nursery will be offered for our youngest children, there will be no

Childrens Chapel on this day. Instead, all children will be given a special Easter goody

bag as they enter the sanctuary. They can enjoy looking through the contents of this bag,

as they worship and celebrate with us on this special day.

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Confirmation Class to Host Seder

For Class ProjectOn Palm Sunday, March 16, the confirmation class will host a Seder supper for their families

as their class project. It is customary for Jewish people to celebrate Passover with a Seder meal.

Passover is the Jewish holiday commemorating and celebrating the redemption of the Jewish

people from slavery to freedom. It is believed that Jesus last supper with his disciples was a

Passover meal.

The Jews celebrate Passover to remember how God freed them from slavery. Our confirmation

class students and their families will celebrate Passover to remember how Jesus incredible love

for us has freed us from sin and death. During the Seder meal, our students will recount the

Passover story as they lead family members in prayer and thanksgiving and explain the rich

symbolism associated with a Seder supper.

Senior High To Ex-

amine Music Choices

and Their FaithThe Senior High class will begin a new study

examining music choices and how they align

with our faith. During the classes, students

will be encouraged to think about what they

choose tlisten to versus simply being

unconscious consumers.

JYF & SYF

ANNUAL HEALTH CARE SCHOLARSHIPt. Johns Home offers a $1,000 Scholarship to a high school senior who will be attending a 2-year or 4-year college or university to pursue a degree in a health-related field. See the bulletin

board in Fellowship Hall for details. Additional copies of the application can be found on the

literature table in Fellowship Hall.


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JYF & SYF

Come, Walk The Way of the

Cross on Good Friday

All JYF and SYF members are invited to join with other mem-bers of the community at our church on Friday, March 21 at

noon to walk The Way of the Cross. Carrying a large wooden

cross, we will walk to various locations in the village, pausing to

remember and reflect upon various events of Holy Week culmi-

nating with Jesus being laid in the tomb. Please dress for the

weather!!! Well return to the church at approximately 2:30 p.m.

For more information, contact Kelly Weidman at 223-0224 or

223-8978.

Games Night Scheduled For March 28All 6th 12thgraders are invited to attend a Games Night at a local park shelter on Friday

night, March 28, beginning at 7 p.m. Watch the youth group bulletin board for more details!

Senior High To Join the 30 Hour Famine and

Help Starve Hunger!Our Senior High youth will be joining over a hundred other eastside youth in the 30 Hour

Famine on Feb. 29 Mar. 1. The money they raise will be used for hunger relief both

here in the United States and around the world. Please keep them in your prayers.

World Hunger, Poverty & Famine: How They Fit Together

852 million people across the world are hungry.

In essence, hunger is the most extreme form of poverty, where individuals or families can-

not afford to meet their most basic need for food. Hunger manifests itself in many ways other than starvation and famine. Most poor people

who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies,

which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness.

Countries in which a large portion of the population battles hunger daily are usually poor

and often lack the social safety nets we enjoy, such as soup kitchens, food stamps, and job

training programs. When a family that lives in a poor country cannot grow enough food or

earn enough money to buy food, there is nowhere to turn for help.

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The Epistle is printed once a month

By the First Congregational United

Church of Christ, 26 East Church St.,

Fairport, New York 14450

Office Phone: 585-223-0224

Fax: 585- 223-4264

Pastors Phone 585-223-8172

E-mail: [email protected]

Webpage: fairportucc.org

Office Hours: M-F 9:00-3:30

Church Service 9:30AM

Sunday School: 10:50AM

Pastor: Rev. Dr. John Cedarleaf

Christian Ed. & Family Ministries:

Kelly Weidman & Karen Hamill

Admin. Asst: Cathy Kinton

Church Moderator: Hank Ralston

Organist: Beatrice Benedict

Choir Director: James C. Jefferis

Business Administrator: Sue Brooks

Epistle Editor: Bill Lindsay

Wedding Coordinator: Sue Bickel

First Congregational United Church of Christ

26 East Church Street

Fairport NY 14450

Address Service Requested

Dated Material

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDFAIRPORT N.Y.PERMIT NO. 61

epistle 2008-02

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