VOLUME LXXXIII, No. 15

July 10, 2018

Sunday, July 15, 2018 Rev. Dr. Robert Leroe

ARMOR OF GOD SERMON SERIES: Sermon: The Helmet of Salvation

Calendar for Sunday, July 15, 2018

9:30 am Traditional Worship Service (Infant and toddler care provided)

10:30 am Prayer in the Chapel

Coffee Hour follows 9:30 service

11:00 am Contemporary Worship (Infant and toddler care provided)

Memorial Flowers The memorial flowers will be given in memory of

the loved ones of the MacDonald Family from Rob,

Mary and Julia MacDonald.

Greeter: Dom and Bonnie Mercurio

Ushers: Angela Faylor, Tom Martin, Ryan Peiffer,

Rose Porter, Joe D’Agostino, Linda D’Agostino

(Captain)

Coffee Hour Host: Thursday Bible Study

Sunday, July 22, 2018 Aaron Wolgamott

ASSOCIATE PASTOR OF YOUTH

AND FAMILY MINSTRY

Sermon: It Changes Everything

Calendar for Sunday, July 22, 2018

9:30 am Traditional Worship Service (Infant and toddler care provided)

10:30 am Prayer in the Chapel

Coffee Hour follows 9:30 service

11:00 am Contemporary Worship (Infant and toddler care provided)

Memorial Flowers The flowers will be given in loving memory of my

parents, Will and Maxine Iversen by Linell.

Greeters: Michael and Linell Nester

Ushers: Angela Faylor, Tom Martin, Ryan Peiffer,

Rose Porter, Joe D’Agostino, Linda D’Agostino

(Captain)

Coffee Hour Hosts: Michael and Linell Nester

Church Office Hours Monday - closed

Tuesday 10 am – 4 pm

Wednesday 10 am – 4 pm

Thursday 1 – 7 pm

Friday 10 am – 4 pm

Variations may occur from time to time

The Church Herald FIRST PARISH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

Rev. Dr. Robert Leroe, Interim Minister

One Church Street, Wakefield, MA 01880-2301

(781)245-1539/1644

www.FPCCWakefield.org

Prayers for healing:

Ken Wood, Ali Wolgamott,

little Samuel, MaryAnn Doherty, retired CCCC

Navy Chaplains, Ken Winters (cancer diagnosis).

Please continue to keep us in your prayers:

Chaplain (CPT) Scott McGowan, MA Army

National Guard – deployed to Kosovo,

Evangeline Brown, Barbara Costas, Donna Nicolai,

the Hopwood Family,

The Laboy Family, Stephen Taylor, Matthew

Willard (Ken Wood’s nephew)

Our missionaries around the globe:

The Sturgeons, the Rideouts, the Mindlings, the

Soderbergs

Please connect with our church family, with a call, a

note or even a visit! Kathryn Millheim, Warren Reeves, Albert Simkins,

Barbara Sullivan, Richard Pratt, Alwyn Van Cor, and Irene Whitehead

If/when you know of a prayer need that has been

met and no longer needs to be on our prayer list,

please let the Church Office know.

Prayer is the most powerful tool! Would you like our First Parish Prayer Team

praying for your needs? Please fill out a prayer

request. You will find the prayer cards in the back

of the Sanctuary on the Williams Table. Our Prayer

Box is also there to drop in your prayer request. The

Prayer Team will gather them up each week, and

they will pray for your needs.

Please contact the

church office if you

know of someone who

could benefit from

receiving a prayer

shawl.

CHURCH ATTENDANCE SUMMER SCHEDULE

Traditional Contempory + Sunday School Total

July 1 68 65 133

July 8 62 73 135

Summer Sunday School for all children

entering Grades Five or lower in the fall. All other

children please remain in the Sanctuary with your

family to enjoy the service.

Thank you,

CE Committee

HOSPITALITY/FELLOWSHIP TIME: If you

would like to host a Sunday to pour coffee, supply

cream for coffee and Goldfish crackers and apple

juice for the children, please check the Sundays

open on the board in the vestry.

OUR CHURCH NEEDS YOU. We still have

openings on various committees and hope that

you can find the time to help out your church.

The openings include Assistant Treasurer of

Trust Funds, Auditor, Advisory Committee on

Trust Funds, Antiques, Fair, Music and Usher

committees.

If I can be of help to answer any questions,

please get in touch with me. Thank you.

Linda D'Agostino,

(H) 781-258-8867

(C) 781-245-0243

Sunday Prayer time is at 10:30 am in

the Chapel.

Please join us.

The Student Ministry is going to Haiti from August

21st to 27th. We will be working with the local

church in the village of Bassin Bleue, located in the

mountains just outside of Jacmel. We will be

ministering to and with the church there, doing

Children's Ministry in connection with the church,

and doing some small work projects. We will also

be visiting and ministering at the Les Petits

Anges orphanage in Jacmel.

There are 10 students and adults going on this trip:

Pastor Aaron; Ish, Chandra, Elisabeth, and Sofia

Laboy; Jacob and Rebecca Jackson; Chip and James

Black; Julia Youkstetter (friend of Pastor Aaron's

from NH who has gone with him before). And

praise the Lord that ALL FUNDS have now been

raised, so this trip is fully funded! Thank you to all

who have generously donated to this trip to make it

a reality. Please be in prayer for this trip, that God

would use us in many ways to minister there, and

that he would also use this experience in a powerful

way in our own hearts and lives as well.

Aaron "Woogy" Wolgamott

Pastor of Family and Youth Ministries

PLEDGE INFORMATION NEEDED: If you

have decided to increase your pledge amount,

please fill out a new pledge card or send a note to

Eleanor Elliott, the collector, advising her of the

new level. Other than online pledges, she cannot tell

if an increase in a pledge envelope is a one-time

event or not. Pledge cards can be found in the rear

of the sanctuary and vestry.

For the Trustees, Joe D’Agostino

The “Giving” page on the FPCC website, and the mobile

phone app GivePlus show several funds you can choose

to support, including the General Fund (Budget),

Building Improvements, and current needs, like our

Youth Mission Trip to Haiti.

FIRST PARISH COMMISSIONS 5 STEPHEN

MINISTERS Leaders: Pamela and Ken Hodgson

with Pastor Bob Leroe

On June 24, FPCC commissioned

5 Stephen Ministers

On June 24, we commissioned our new Stephen

Ministers. They are Barbara Flynn (re-

commissioning), Judy Gordon, Dr. David Frey and

Susan Randolph-Frey and Donna Woodland. These

men and women have received 50 hours of

specialized training in Christian caregiving. They

now join a team of Stephen Ministers serving our

congregation and community. Stephen Ministers

provide confidential, one-to-one Christian care to

people experiencing a crisis or going through a

difficult time. Stephen Ministers meet weekly with

their care receiver for around an hour to listen, care,

encourage, pray, and provide emotional and

spiritual support for the person. Caring relationships

last for as long as the person’s need persists.

Our congregation is one of more than 13,000

worldwide, representing 160 Christian

denominations that use the Stephen Series system of

lay caring ministry developed by Stephen Ministries

in St. Louis.

A Soldier looks at the Armor of God--

Ephesians 6:10-20

The Apostle Paul issues a battle cry: “Fight the

good fight, keeping faith and a good

conscience” (I Tim 1:18-19). In Ephesians he

describes our spiritual resources for victory, the

“Armor of God.” In eight messages we will

consider how to stand firm amid the

temptations, trials, and attacks on our faith.

Drawing from his military career, Pastor Bob

will help equip us for battle in an 8-week

sermon series:

A Soldier Looks at the Armor of God Sermon Series • Ephesians 6:10-20

Chaplain (LTC) Bob Leroe

Be Strong in the Lord

The Belt of Truth

The Breastplate of Righteousness

Gospel-fitted Feet

The Shield of Faith

The Helmet of Salvation

The Sword of the Spirit

Battlefield Prayer

“The Christian life is a life of activity,

a life of vigor, a life of exertion.

The strength is given to us by the Lord,

but we have to act.” (Dr. Martyn Lloyd-

Jones)

OUTREACH NOTES

Any day is a good day to

sponsor a Compassion child.

There are Compassion

pamphlets on the information

table in the vestry. They contain information about

Compassion and a user-friendly form if your heart

is led to release a child from poverty.

The Wakefield Interfaith Food Pantry has a

summer program called Kids First. A grocery

bag filled with nutritious, kid friendly lunch items

and snacks can be picked up twice a month in July

and August. This bag is in addition to the usual

foods available at the pantry. Perhaps a friend or

neighbor could use this information.

Summer is a quiet time for donations at the WIFP.

Can coffee, brand name cereals and jars of spaghetti

sauce are in short supply. There are red collection

barrels around town and a large bin on the lower

level at the Civic Center for donations.

Preparing for our 375th Anniversary Year!

In November, we launch our 375th year here at First

Parish! The 375th Anniversary Committee is

looking forward to us celebrating as a church family

the blessings that our Lord has poured out on us as a

congregation throughout the years. If you would

like to assist with planning the celebration activities

for next year, please contact Heather Hulse, and join

with us as a member of the committee or if you are

able make a monetary donation through either our

e-giving link online or by writing a check to First

Parish with '375th Anniversary Fund' in the memo.

Help with either is appreciated! Please pray for our

team that in our preparation, all our celebration

activities honor the Lord whom we love.

In the Lord's service,

375th Anniversary Committee

From Pastor Bob: You can help me and

your next, settled minister, by having

your photo and contact information in our

church directory APP. And you can help

yourself by downloading the APP on your

smart phone and/or tablet. I find it very

useful in learning who's who...but a lot of

the entries lack photos, so I can't place

names with faces. Please send the office a

digital photo of yourself or stop by during

the week or after church and we'll gladly

take a photo of you. If/when your

information changes, let us know so we

can update your entry.

You can download the APP Instant

Church Directory and it will walk you

through setting up a password.

PLEDGE INFORMATION NEEDED If you have decided to increase your pledge amount,

please send a note to Eleanor Elliott, the collector, or fill

out a new pledge card (find one in the back or the

church) advising her of the new level. Other than online

pledges, she cannot tell if an increase in a pledge

envelope is a one-time event or not.

For the Trustees, Joe D’Agostino

To our church musicians, any age:

I’m taking sign-ups now for special music for our

9:30 am summer services. I invite anyone to sing or

play an instrument, but especially would love to see

some of our younger members join us on a Sunday

to share their talents. I’d be happy to accompany

you on piano or organ, or you can play/sing all by

yourself. Please talk to me or email me at

donhodg@aol.com, and we’ll set up a date for you;

at this point nearly all summer Sundays are

available for you to sign up.

Don Hodgkins,

Director of Music Ministries

VBS 2018 This year's Vacation Bible School, “Game On”,

will happen August 13th-17th, 9am to noon.

Registration will be open soon...the registration

form will be located on the church website. If

any adults or teens are interested in serving at

VBS, please talk to Pastor Aaron. There is a

need for some Grade Group leaders, Station

leaders, and helpers.

Aaron "Woogy" Wolgamott

Associate Pastor of Youth and

Family Ministries

Pastoral Perspectives•

On FAITH…taken from Pamela

Reeve’s book Faith Is

•Faith is being certain about the ultimate, even when uncertain about the immediate.

•Faith is doing the right thing regardless of the consequences, knowing God will turn the ultimate effect to

good.

•Faith is remembering that in the Kingdom of God everything is based on promise, not on feeling.

•Faith is remembering that I am God's priceless treasure when I feel utterly worthless.

•Faith is recognizing that God is the Lord of time when my idea of timing doesn't agree with His.

•Faith is confidence in God's faithfulness to me in an uncertain world, on an uncharted course, toward an

unknown future.

•Faith is depending on the fact that God is love, not on my ability to figure out why, in the midst of smashed

hopes, reversal, tragedy.

•Faith is trusting God when we can think of a hundred reasons not to trust anything.

•Faith is choosing to trust God even when I’m not sure if my life will improve.

•Faith is not a vague hope in a happy hereafter, but an assurance of Heaven based on my trust in Christ's death

as payment for my sins.

•Faith is refusing to feel guilty over past-confessed sins, when God, the Judge, has declared me “pardoned.”

•Faith is living with the unexplained and leaving the future to the God who controls the future.

•Faith is accepting the fact that God knows better than I do what is ultimately good for me.

•Faith is not for the things we can prove but for the things we cannot prove.

•Faith is believing that in the midst of suffering and need that God will be enough; that He will enable me to

make it through.

•Faith is drawing comfort from the knowledge that when I weep, God weeps with me.

Office Hours

Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 – 3p

Please call first, in case I am called out into the Mission Field.

WAKEFIELD SUMMER BAND ANNOUNCES 17th SEASON: FRIDAYS AT THE BANDSTAND

July 20 - 7pm

August 3 – 7pm

August 17 – 6:30 pm

The Wakefield Summer Band opened its 17th season of free Common concerts for the community on Friday,

July 6. Come on down to the bandstand, cool off, and celebrate summer with the sounds of Sousa marches,

patriotic numbers, Broadway/movie/TV soundtracks, arrangements of classical repertoire, “novelty” pieces,

and even some rock selections!

Feel free to bring chairs or blankets, and maybe even a little food or drink to enjoy while you are entertained

by the familiar music in the band’s program. In case of rain, the concert will be moved inside to First Parish

Congregational Church next door to the Common.

The Wakefield Summer Band is a volunteer, intergenerational ensemble open to anyone without audition and

without dues, founded to serve our community with a regular series of lakeside concerts during the summer.

New members are always welcome. Please contact Don Hodgkins, Founder/Director, for any further

information at 781-724-3297 or Donhodg@aol.com.

CHURCH HERALD First Parish Congregational Church

One Church St. Wakefield, MA 01880-2301

Phone: 781-245-1644

E-mail: office@fpccwakefield.org

Fpccwakefield.org

July 10, 2018

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

DEADLINES

CHURCH HERALD Thursday, July 19, 2018

(Will cover the dates from July 29 – August 11, 2018)

ORDER OF WORSHIP 3 pm on Wednesdays.

Meeting Minutes for Council The Thursday before Council